In 2007, one of the things I want to get better at is logging the “A-Has” I find out in the *real* world (whatever THAT is!). Cuz I DO come across them, often and always. I just don’t always have my handy-dandy blogging machine close by. (Cue melancholy violin solo.)

Anywho…

There’s this AMAZING business woman, Stacy Brice, and her natural penchant for “A-Ha-ing Herself” is downright humbling. Stacy is the brains, brawn, and dare I say, MOXIE, behind the incomparable AssistU - birthingplace of the finest Virtual Assistants on Earth.

She’s also methodically laying claim to one of the best and most underused words in the English language: Moxie. Ohhhh, but it’s a beautiful word! The definition on Dictionary.com hardly does it justice…

It’s bigger. It’s bolder. And Stacy knows this. Here’s HER definition:

Moxie. It’s an attitude; a way of being in the world that creates immense freedom. It’s where savvy, committed, smart and highly skilled meet spunky, shameless, gutsy, and brazen.  

She’s got a blog called Virtual Moxie, and she’s offers Moxie Coaching to lucky female professionals who earn the privilege of her time and experience. (She’s also an active contributor to several others (including Virtualosophy and The Virtual Wire.)

Through her coaching, Stacy pursues her one-woman mission to make sure other smart, success-minded women get over the crippling Ms. Nice Gal thing and take pride in becoming “too big for their britches.” Not in an “I ate too much turkey on Thanksgiving” kind of way, but in work, life, and vision. I’ve been having some issues with claiming my mojo lately, so I really appreciate that kind of, well, moxie.

I call all this to your attention simply to demonstrate how powerful an “A-Ha!” - bold insight PLUS joy-filled action - can be. Stacy earns “Epiphanies, Inc. Posterchild” status with a simple sentence she shares on her www.MoxieCoach.com site:

Moxie Coaching was born, as so many of my adventures are, with a sudden spark followed by a flood (and I mean a flood) of creativity.

That’s it, people. That’s the whole game, the entire recipe, right there is a divine little sentence.

Sudden sparks may come and go, but the ones that get that wild OOMPH! of action being them? Oh, yeah. That’s the sweet spot, right there.

Good things are born.

Destinies are met.

The world becomes a better, more vibrant, more moxie-full place.

For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business, sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, January 7th, 2007 at 1:59 am and is filed under A-Has in the Ether, Call in the Coach, How do you "A-Ha Yourself"?, Insight + Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

What happens when the goddess of the “Aha! Moment” finds her way into your inbox?

1. You pay attention. (Especially if your company is build around the power of the A-Ha - that’s bold insight PLUS some joy-filled action - in life and in business.)
2. You blog about it. (Which is what I’m doing here.)

Meet Aha-phrodite, “the inspired Muse of paying attention to possibility and new ideas.” She’s the creation of workshop facilitator and creativity coach Jill Badonsky, and she’s also one of the nine “Modern Day Muses” noted in Jill’s book, pictured to the right.

Turns out Aha-phrodite has some insightful opinions about generating ideas, enhancing your creativity, and finding answers you’re looking for, right smack dab in the middle of the present moment. Lucky for us, they’re summarized right here in this article on one of my favorite websites, www.creativity-portal.com.

Did you see the movie Finding Nemo? In the article, Jill flags the anecdote below as the perfect example of a trained pro grabbing from the moment to create one of the funniest animated characters of the decade:

Andrew Stanton, the director of the animated hit, Finding Nemo was trying to come up with the sidekick character to Nemo. Sidekick characters are usually rather dopey males. Stanton was distracted by his wife watching Ellen on TV in the next room. He heard Ellen change the subject about five times in one sentence … that’s how he came up with the character for Dory. He did not miss the random circumstantial gift present in the moment because he was paying attention and making a connection.

If Andrew Stanton can turn background noise into a killer character that helps a kid flick become one of the top-selling movies of 2003, you can tune into what’s happening in your environment and turn it into gold, too.

Oh - and if you want to see an awesome visual representation of the creative process in all its glory, check out Jill’s Muse Map! Very cool. (Bravo, Jill!)

For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business, sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 20th, 2006 at 2:54 pm and is filed under A-Has in the Ether, Insight + Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

First, a quick recap of concept:

The “Aha!” Moment = Bold flash of insight that has the potential to change your life, business, or both.

The “A-Ha” = That thrilling, aforementioned flash of insight combined with ACTION, so the life-changing potential gets its wings to FLY!

Which brings me to a certain Ms. Margot Thompson, Virtual Assistant extraordinaire, and one of the regular contributors to The Virtual Wire, the official blog for solo-preneur-savior AssistU (and a mighty fine resource for those striving to find a work-life balance that suits their ideal lifestyle vision).

In Margot’s blog postings, she takes the hearty soup of earning a living and living your life and serves it up in delicious, nutritious, biz-savvy spoonfuls. Last month she shared an “A-Ha” worth sharing with you. Here’s an excerpt:

The “Aha!” Moment 

“I see that if I want to get anywhere with my relationships, my business, my dreams and my life, the most important thing I can do for myself is to believe in and respect ME. Absolutely and entirely.”

The Action That Gives It Life (the “How”)

“Here’s a bit of what I’m learning to do along the way: 

• Remember that people I admire are actually mirroring back to me what I recognize as potential within myself. 

• Turn confidence into a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

• Dare; fail; learn; grow; then repeat the cycle. 

• Accept that some things that aren’t “perfect” about me are “perfectly me”. 

• Let go of regret and fear – walk right past them. 

• Stand for myself – and therefore everyone else.”

See? I told you this gal serves it up nicely!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 at 11:06 am and is filed under A-Has in the Ether, Insight + Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

“Oh no he di’in’t!”

Ah, YES, hedid.

Even before Samuel L. Jackson had a chance to shoot a “Snakes on a Treadmill” spot to leverage the hot viral content that is the “OK Go - Here It Goes Again” music video, a guy named Seung Lee got his Legos out and seized a content opportunity that deserves some applause. Check it out:

Why is this totally awesome?

1. It’s fresh. It’s not just a “standard” knockoff of the treadmill dance, with four new faces sliding and gliding to a different song…It’s freakin’ LEGOS, dude!
2. It’s creativity spun FAST. This is a person who watched something funny, thought about it, had an idea to put a fresh spin on it, and then put the idea into JOY-FILLED ACTION. Love that.
3. It’s *almost* strategic. Lee noticed a lot of people were watching this short video on You Tube, so he took advantage of the instant audience factor and served it up to the willing parties. Very smart.

But still, he did something wrong.

He didn’t include an easy way for grateful viewers to reward him with their visits, their purchasing power, or whatever they were willing to give him.

He almost did. He slapped on something that said “LNY Productions” before his Lego-riffic work and after it. And he even included his name. But we, the viewers, are LAZY.

We’re watching it on our computers, and we don’t want to have to work to figure out who this guy is, or what “LNY Productions” is, or why he or they bothered to put this together in the first place.

C’mon Lee! Next time, offer up a URL, give me a product to consider, or even spread some message you’d like to give to the world. Yes, there’s something charming about great content and creativity as an end to itself.

But when it’s just as easy to promote your talents, interests, and ideas with the materials you’re already making, wouldn’t it make more sense to take advantage of the opportunity you’ve created?

Even if you only get 10% - or 1%! - clicking through to your website, purchasing your wares, or absorbing a blip of your life philosophy - that’s hundreds or thousands of folks. 

That’s power. That’s adventure. That’s inviting the unpredictable and opening yourself up to future possibilites.

THAT’S how you A-Ha Yourself!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 at 10:31 pm and is filed under All About Content, How do you "A-Ha Yourself"?, Insight + Action, Mood Boosters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

“The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it.”
-Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s

See that quote up there? It’s pretty close to supporting our gavel-banging declaration that a TRUE “A-Ha” is Bold Insight PLUS Joy-Filled Action.  

Now granted, “being in the right place at the right time” isn’t an “insight” per se, but being in the right place at the right time often spurs valuable insights. What’s more, when you get good at following your instincts, being in the right place at the right time is seldom an accident.

But it’s that second half of the quote that really grabs our attention. More and more, as Allen and I tune into the power of the “Aha!” moment and its potential, we realize that the rocket science of success is in the action you take after your insight strikes.

Hey, Ray Kroc said it. It must be true!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 24th, 2006 at 11:16 am and is filed under Insight + Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.