Greetings, Ivy SeaZine subscribers!

Yes, we're into the fourth quarter of the year, and just as it's time to enjoy the season's color and bounty, it's time to take stock of the year's accomplishments and begin planting the seeds for next year's dreams-come-true.

The year thus far has been a rich one for me and Ivy Sea; I hope the same is true for you. Whether or not the bounty of the year is obvious to you, I assure you that it's there for you to celebrate and build from!

As always, we want to be a resource and inspiration for you on your journey. Here are the resources you'll find in this issue of Ivy SeaZine:

** Skillful Communication: Responding skillfully when you're "thrown off center"

** Wisdom and Mastery: Taking stock of the year's accomplishments and bounty

** Inspired Vision: Dreaming the vision-seeds that will sprout in the coming year

** "E-and-Tel" consultations: Get focused and move forward

** Ivy Sea Online in October - new articles, tip sheets, skill-builder kits

** Great Quotations: Wise words for the journey

[Ivy SeaZine is a "voluntary, by request" subscriber-only publication. Want to subscribe and receive the SeaZine in your own email box?]

Skillful Communication:
Responding skillfully when you're "thrown off center"

No matter how skillful we are as communicators, there are those instances where someone or something throws us from our center and we react in a way we end up regretting. There are many reasons for this: we may be tired, pressured, or stretched a bit thin; we may have neglected our own wellness and balance; or we may have an unfortunate interaction with someone who seems unskillful or combative.

We're human, so there are bound to be times during the work day or at home when we react instead of responding graciously and skillfully. And yet, in such interactions, there are little "advance warning signs" that an unskillful, under-pressure reaction may be in your immediate future!

You might hear it in someone's seemingly aggressive tone of voice (or see it in their body language); and/or you might feel it as a sudden knot in your stomach, flushed face, or "prickly heat" on the back of your neck.

Some potential responses, depending on the situation and the environment (work or home, etc.), include:

* taking a pause, and taking a deep breath that allows you to notice what's happening and center yourself;

* shifting your actual physical position in relation to the person to whom you're reacting (e.g. slightly shifting your body so that you're not facing one another "head on"); and

* making your response known, as appropriate, by saying, "I need just a minute here so that I'm able to respond in an effective way," or if appropriate, "I'm sensing some aggression or hostility here, so I'd like to change the tone of the conversation so that it's positive for both of us."

In some cases, if the situation warrants it, you might actually disrupt the conversation or situation with a request to take a break or to "get back to you in a little bit, so that I can focus completely on the best reply rather than something on the fly."

Find similar articles in our Ivy Sea Online Wisdom and Mastery Portal.

Wisdom and Mastery:
Taking stock of the year's accomplishments and bounty

Whether seasonally, annually, or even monthly (or more), it's a great practice to regularly take stock of the accomplishments you've created, the progress you've made, and the seeds you've planted. That practice can also include taking note of the bounty that's come your way during that week, month, quarter, and year.

October, given that it's harvest season, is a great month to begin an "accomplishments and bounty recognition" practice, if it's not something you already do. Chronicling your accomplishments, bounties, and seeds also gives you a head-start on your end-of-year reflection and vision-planning for the year ahead.

While this practice has benefits that are probably obvious, it also yields some unexpected benefits. In addition to it being an uplifting and motivating practice that catalyzes positive momentum, it's also inevitable that our list of accomplishments, progress, bounties, and seeds is much longer than we might have thought at the beginning. How much we overlook as we're doing the business of the day or focusing on the crisis of the moment or what did NOT happen.

So put it on your schedule right now, to spend 30-60 minutes making a list of all of the accomplishments, strides, progress, bounties, miracles, and seeds that were part of the year so far. Include both big accomplishments, and those that might seem tiny. When you feel like your list is completed, add ten more. Then sit back in wonder, and feel the momentum building.

Find more articles and tips on these and related topics in the portals throughout Ivy Sea Online.

Big-Vision Entrepreneuring:
Dreaming the vision-seeds that will sprout in the year ahead

Every accomplishment started with a thought, and every enterprise started with a dream. As business owners get immersed in the wonders and challenges of being self-employed and running a business, it can be all too easy to put that crucial time for thought, visioning, and dreaming on the back-burner.

But daydreaming and visioning is, for the entrepreneur, like water and fertilizer are to a garden. If you don't water and fertilize, sooner or later the vegetation in the garden stops growing, and ultimately begins to wilt.

Whether you're a solopreneur or a small-business owner with partners or employees, you and your enterprise are best served when you're making regular time to receive insights, daydream, and vision. Why? Because you'll either be creating your future from unconscious, hurried, and haphazard thoughts and fears; or you'll be consciously planting and harvesting from the thoughts, daydreams, and visions that will yield the garden — enterprise and life — of your dreams.

Take the time each month as the year winds down not just to acknowledge your accomplishments and bounties, but also to consciously wonder, daydream, and vision about what you'd like to create and experience in the coming year.

You'll find similar articles and tips throughout the Ivy Sea Online content libraries.

Tele-Consultations and E-Workshops:
Stay focused, inspired, and on track

Building and working from a place of clear and authentic vision, marketing authentically, leading confidently and honestly, feeling that your work is aligned with your deepest values and priorities — these are the foundations of conscious, big-vision enterprise (be it nonprofit or for profit).

For these types of needs, it's optimal to have an idea-and-dialogue partner with whom to discuss challenges, ideas, options, skill-building tips, and possibilities — and from whom to get skillful questioning, encouragement, inspiration, and a valuable independent perspective.

Of course, Ivy Sea collaborators can also provide more indepth consulting for your organizational visioning, leadership, process, communication, or transformation/change project.

If you'd like to explore how we can assist you as you deepen skillfulness, explore self-employment, envision and maintain an existing enterprise, and communicate and market yourself authentically and uniquely, connect with us for a dialogue about what might work best for you and your budget.

Want to explore the possibilities? Give us a call, or send along an email. We welcome your inquiry.

Wise Words for the Journey

** "When the forms of an old culture are dying, the new culture is created by a few people who are not afraid to be insecure." ~ Rudolph Bahro

** "The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." ~ Eden Phillpots

** "Everything on the Earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission." ~ Mourning Dove

** "Our possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react." ~ George Bernard Shaw

** "If you don't control your mind, someone else will." ~ John Allston

** "If the only prayer you ever say in your life is thank you, that will have been enough." ~ Meister Eckhart

** "We do not inherit the land, we borrow it from our grandchildren." ~ Native American Proverb

Ivy Sea Online - What's new in October?

Along with the October 2004 feature articles and resource portals at Ivy Sea Online, we've also got several new PDF Tip and Skill-Builder Kits for you to use for you own or your group's skill development.

** Entrepreneur's Mega-Inspiration Super-Value Bundle — end and start the year right!

** Conscious Marketing and Sales Guide - PDF guide and workbook

** Skillful listening essentials PDF guide

** Ivy SeaZine archives - lots of articles, tips, and inspiration

** Positively MAD - a November conference from Berrett-Koehler Publishers (find a link to more information at Ivy Sea Online)

Surf through Ivy Sea Online for more information on these and other Ivy Sea skill-builder resources, or contact us for more information.

Until next month...

Thank you for reading with us. Wishing you a month of abundant harvests, joyful gatherings, and lots of emerging seeds for future planting.

Sincerely,
Jamie S. Walters
Founder, Ivy Sea, Inc.
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Ivy Sea Online &
Author, Big Vision, Small Business

This Ivy SeaZine is protected by copyright, though we're happy to consider reprint requests, and welcome you to link to this page. As always, this information is offered as food-for-thought and dialogue rather than customized counsel. The most effective strategy is one that's specifically tailored to your unique organizational culture, group personality, and individual needs. Have questions? We welcome your email inquiry.

Make your quantum-leap with Ivy Sea's Inspired-Leadership and Conscious-Enterprise resources and consultations: We can help you: (1) discover how to define your inspired-leadership and conscious-enterprise principles, (2) clarify and make progress towards your vision, (3) make the most of your individual and organizational strengths, (4) identify ways to "get there from here," including effective communication and change-management strategies, (5) rise to greater levels of mastery, success and meaningfulness as an individual, group or organization; and/or (6) benefit from having a "thought-and-idea partner" with whom to evaluate options and challenges, and from whom you can gain ideas, a fresh perspective, and inspiration. We welcome your inquiry.