Connecting…

This is a new chapter for me, and I’m looking at the road ahead with much enthusiasm and optimism.  I decided to start fresh with a new site and blog and make a renewed commitment to be more active with my own writing.  In the midst of this shift, I dug back through some old entries from the past few years to see if I wanted to move them over and I decided some of the content is still relevant. Hopefully they may provide value to someone.  Maybe even to you.

Exposure

Julien Smith wrote a couple of weeks ago about ‘showing your neck‘ and I thought he had some amazing insights with his take on showing weakness in public. It’s a short post and if you have 2 minutes, I really encourage you to read it.   Essentially, in life, we are all humans. People.  We’re on this journey together, and the more we can connect with each other as people, the closer our bonds will become.  This has become increasingly clear to me, and I’m striving to keep the human side in my work and my writing as much as possible.   The point is that by being more authentic, including ‘showing your neck’ – i.e. owning up to weakness, flaws, etc., we are all able to relate to each other on a deeper level as humans.  A little neck every once in a while is good.  Thanks for that reminder @Julien.

I’m posting this and launching my new site before it’s ‘ready’ according to my typical standards.  Instead of waiting on everything to be just right and perfectly designed, I’m making the leap and showing a little neck.  Time is too valuable to waste waiting.

Working with Intention

I’m looking ahead at the way I approach business with intention and purpose.  The moves that I am making and the work I am seeking are intentional, or specifically due to their alignment with my core values and beliefs.  Aligning passion for life and passion for business is not a long shot – the opportunities are out there, and I believe we simply need to open ourselves up to them and allow them to manifest in our lives.  We really can create our reality.  Smart thinkers have been proving this for generations.  I’m making a personal commitment to listen  – not only to what’s going on out in the digital world and within my networks, but to listen to myself and to what my internal guidance system is telling me.  From this place I will be better able to make decisions with intention that will line up the opportunities to move me forward toward my goals.

Voice

For me, my voice is saying that being a part of and actively promoting a sustainable future is my calling.  The relationships that I’ve cultivated and those that I’m developing now are the building blocks for this future.  Working with sustainable buildings, products, programs, travel – these are all areas in which I’m passionate.  More than any point in my lifetime, these ideals are becoming accepted in mainstream culture.  The idea that we can and should do better has seeped into the thinking of some important leaders in businesses, governments, and other groups around the world. At the same time, we are all becoming much more willing and able to share information with our networks than ever before. In essence, we are expanding our collective voice.  This alignment of sustainable thinking and social channels is amplifying the message, which allows these innovative ideals to spread even faster.  Is there a better opportunity than right now to propel this movement?  I think not.

Even as I was writing this entry, I saw a really cool tweet pop up in my TweetDeck alerts – it caught my eye because it was referencing a TreeHugger article on Starbucks.  I stopped to check it out and it definitely had my head nodding.  The article was an interview with Tony Gale, Starbucks’ Corporate Architect – in it, he discusses the initiatives that Starbucks has in place to make their stores LEED certified, and other steps that they are taking to be good stewards and community partners.  This guy is doing great work – I can’t wait to meet him! Interestingly for me, it was just last week that a career opportunity working with the Starbucks social media team also popped up in my TweetDeck, which I jumped on right away.  One of the reasons I got so excited about the opportunity is because they are taking steps like this out in the community.  And of course, they are known as having a pretty bang-up social media program.  Seems like alignment at work to me.

Connecting

As I embark on this new chapter for myself, I encourage others to show a little neck from time to time.  We’ll all be much closer as a community if that happens.  If we haven’t connected yet – please check me out on Twitter at @brandon101.  That’s where I tend to spread most of my thoughts on business and social media.  If you’re looking to connect on a more personal level, we can connect on Facebook at facebook.com/brandonsutton.  My only request is that if we’ve never met in person or we’re only distantly affiliated, please include a short note in the friend request so I know the context.  I use Facebook differently than Twitter, and to help manage the volume of info, this is what works best for me.  Thanks in advance!

Calling

This is my call out to the world, with a little neck thrown in for good measure.  I’m looking to create and explore opportunities with people who share these ideals.  I’ve got a ton of energy and stamina around this, and I have an open mind about what comes my way.  It’s time to get to work, and I’m ready.  More than ever!

Does this resonate with you?  I would love to hear what you think.  Thanks for being here – I hope you like what you read.