Traveling Light Ezine

Hi!

Welcome to the thirty-second edition of Jennifer Selby Long's Traveling Light. Are you blessed with the talent and opportunity to lead? Traveling Light will skyrocket your impact and lighten the load in your life. It’s based on the work of executive coach and management consultant Jennifer Selby Long.

Copyright 2008 Jennifer Selby Long. All rights reserved.

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This year has been simply amazing. I am so grateful for the many opportunities to help leaders, consultants, and other dedicated professionals skyrocket their impact.

I am also grateful for my team. I literally could not have accomplished all of this without them. 2009 is going to be even bigger for me, and it can be for you, too. Now is not the time to shrink back and hope no one notices you. That's playing not to lose and now, more than ever, you must play to win.

Every crisis provides an opportunity for those brave enough to see it or create it. There are no exceptions.

No matter what your financial situation or the financial situation of your company, in 2009 there will be something just right to help you skyrocket your impact and lighten the load in your life. I get all excited just thinking about it!

Soon we will roll out the programs and systems you've been asking for. If you are a leader or dedicated professional who is absolutely committed to your personal and professional growth (and the financial benefits that come right along with it), stay tuned because 2009 is going to be your year.

And on that note, I wish you a Very Happy New Year!

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Early Bird financial planners - mark your calendar now for the Financial Planning Association Northern California Conference happening in San Francisco May 26 - 27. I'll be speaking on Building Effective Client Relationships, Even During Difficult Times.

Attendance at this conference is a fraction of the cost of my private, customized consulting fees and it's a great opportunity to learn from not only me but from dozens of other experts as well.

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We're taking a well-earned vacation in Cancun soon. The Selby Group office will be closed December 22 - January 6. All coaching contacts will automatically be extended two weeks.

I'm reading eight books, but haven't finished them, so expect a slew of book reviews in 2009! However, people have been asking me for good holiday reads, so I am happy to oblige.

My first recommendation is to give your brain a break by skipping all business reading until January 6. However, I know some of you can not resist the temptation, so my first recommendation is Kerry Patterson’s Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High.

I am crazy about their hard-hitting advice and fun-loving tone. Their advice is quite similar to mine, so if you've worked with me, you will recognize a few things. Even so, it's well worth reviewing.

The beauty of how they approached this book was that, while the book is based on a long-term project for a large corporation, their advice applies in both personal and professional settings, which makes it the perfect business read during the holidays. You might find you have a few opportunities to use the tools with some of your relatives...

My second recommendation, without hesitation, is the entire No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith.

The plot lines follow self-employed Precious Ramostwe and, in an unusual twist, the story takes place in peaceful Botswana, providing a glimpse into a culture that is far from the Africa that we see on the news.

This series is a must-read for any entrepreneur as you will recognize yourself in Precious.

Smith continues to write the series and has committed to at least four more books. He is in active conversations with his many fans, all of whom seem to have an opinion on what should happen to each character.

In a world in which war and economic stress are daily realities, I find Smith's fundamentally peaceful, gentle tone to be refreshing and much needed. I saw him speak at UC-Berkeley this year and can say he is as funny in person as his writing suggests.

Lastly, I will add my first ever movie review, as I envision you will have some time for movies during this holiday break. My recommended movie is Blame It On Fidel, a portrayal of the process of change and transformation, when the change is not one we create, but one that is imposed on us.

The genius of the movie is that the story is told through the eyes of a nine-year-old girl trying to make sense of the changes she experiences in her life during a time a great civic unrest. As adults watching the film, we understand what she doesn't quite get, and at the same time, we experience her confusion.

This is a fantastic film for anyone wanting to better understand change and transformation through a story.

We tried to get Bill to pose as a reindeer with us, but it's not easy to get a 14-year-old cat to do what you want him to do.

I had better luck with the decorations, holiday activities, and our good friend and best man, Rocky Zion, in downtown San Francisco, and with the human subjects at the Pantheon holiday party and at Kirk's EMBA program party at the home of Professor John Dopp.

You can see more photos on my blog: www.jenniferselbylong.com. My personal favorite just might be the "SKATE AT YOUR OWN RISK" sign, which was hysterically out of place amongst all the holiday cheer.

I would like to extend my warmest thanks to those of you who have invited me into your business to boost your financial success and personal happiness. It has truly been an honor.

And to all of the members of the Traveling Light eZine community, I look forward to continuing our dialogue in 2009 and providing opportunities to connect you with one another, too.

I wish you all much peace, much love, much joy, and much success!.

Contact us for further information at: Lighten@selbygroup.com

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© 2008 Jennifer Selby. All rights reserved.

Please share the contents of this ezine with anyone at all. I ask only that you maintain the copyright and attribution.

Jennifer Selby Long
Selby Group

Email: Jennifer.selby@selbygroup.com
Web: www.selbygroup.com