An upcoming experience you don’t want to miss
Yoga has traveled me from the mountains of Northern India to the sprawling avenues of New York.
It has guided me through publishing two books, authoring a prolific blog, observing an ethical diet, volunteering with the elderly and assuming a renewed focus on what matters most in life. In 2012 I became a certified Jivamukti Yoga instructor. I feel blessed.
Amongst others, I am enormously grateful to the inspired and holy teachers at Jivamukti Yoga. But perhaps most of all, I feel indebted to the yogini who literally pushed me into Yoga some time ago.
“Max, you’re ready …” I still recall her saying.
Danai is one of the most electrifying personalities I know. Her passion as a Yoga teacher (and a friend) is contagious. Danai’s humble brilliance and spirituality is balanced by a tireless zest for life, music and partying. It’s impossible not to be uplifted after her classes.
Now, as a rule I only endorse products and people I’m not affiliated with. But I can’t help but break this rule for the first time, as I’m convinced this is of true value to my readers.
Danai has put together a week-long Yoga course at a stunning resort in Mykonos, on the 2nd of June. And she just informed me of a last minute cancellation, which means there is an vacant room up for grabs.
If you are ready for an exhilarating asana immersion taught by one of the best teachers around—all under the glorious mediterranean sunshine— then now is the time to act.
Public speaking: Need to give a talk?
Do you give talks? If not, then now may be a time to reconsider. Barriers have never been smaller.
Lingerie is a turn-off. Here is why
Why not let the allure of the “unexpected bonus” work its wonders? The effortless, the natural, the subtle.
8 Lessons from my Google Campus talk
My talk this week was supposed to evangelize the use of blogs as a way to improve personal and professional well-being.
It went great in the end, which is quite hard to believe, given that everything seemed to be conspiring against me. Last Tuesday I fell sick. Just when I should be pressing forward, I was mired with fever and did nothing at all.
By Saturday I had enough of all this misery. I went out and bought some Panadol Extras hoping for the symptoms to recede—recede enough for me to make some headway. I was days away from the event now. I was falling dreadfully behind and was freaking out.
Why so much preparation?
Early on I decided not to use boring bullet points in my slides. I wanted to memorize the entire talk and use the slides as visual prompts to augment what I am saying.
I also decided I didn’t want to hide behind a podium. I employed a remote control app for the slides, together with a wireless microphone so I could be free to roam around the stage unbound by cables.
To sum up, my dreams were lofty.
Alas, reality seemed to disagree with me. The paracetamol in the Panadols caused an acute allergic reaction. My eyes swelled to such a degree that I couldn’t open them anymore.
In the end I only managed 48 hours of preparation. The talk went better than expected, but it could’ve gone much better.
What went well:
- Based on feedback, people seemed to find the talk inspiring, thought-provoking and different from what they were used to.
- All technical components went smoothly. The remote control, live demos and slide transitions segued forward without any hiccups. It helped that the Google campus has hi-def, HDMI-capable projectors and wireless lapel microphones. I was spoiled for choice.
- A couple of days before the talk I traveled to the venue for a dry run. I got to familiarize myself with all the equipment, mics, sound, wireless et cetera. And that made all the difference.
- Managing the event through Eventbrite was a great choice. I was able to reach individuals far and beyond my existing contact base. The caliber of the people in the audience turned out to be superb.
- I recorded the talk with a Zoom H1 and that gave me great insights. See below.
- Using Apple’s Keynote proved to be a fabulous choice.
What didn’t go well:
- I didn’t have time to prepare every single part of the talk, and it showed. At some points all I could utter was umms, emms. Listening to the recording was painful at times. I always seemed to recover my flow in the end—but had I spent more time rehearsing then all those awkward sounds and pauses wouldn’t be there. Rehearsing the material is not about giving a “scripted” talk. On the contrary it makes me relaxed and confident enough to divert from the script when needed, knowing I can find my way back with no issue.
- Towards the end of the Q/A my fever flared up again, so I didn’t spend enough time engaging with my audience.
Why did I fall ill at such a critical juncture? That will keep me thinking for awhile. I have some pet theories—some of them more plausible than others—but haven’t decided upon them yet
Plenty of food for thought. I haven’t finalized my next steps just yet, but suffice to say I will be doing this again, as I felt it was worthwhile for everyone involved.
Stay tuned.
8 Lessons from my Google Campus talk
My talk this week was supposed to evangelize the use of blogs as a way to improve personal and professional wellbeing.
It went great in the end, which is quite hard to believe, given that everything seemed to be conspiring against me. Last Tuesday I fell sick. Just when I should be pressing forward, I was mired with fever and did nothing at all.
By Saturday I had enough of all this misery. I went out and bought some Panadol Extras hoping for the symptoms to recede—recede enough for me to make some headway. I was days away from the event now. I was falling dreadfully behind and was freaking out.
Why so much preparation?
Early on I decided not to use boring bullet points in my slides. I wanted to memorize the entire talk and use the slides as visual prompts to augment what I am saying
I also decided I didn’t want to hide behind a podium. I employed a remote control for the slides, together with a wireless lapel microphone so I could be free to roam around the stage unbound by cables.
To sum up, my dreams were lofty.
Alas, reality seemed to disagree with me. The paracetamol in the Panadols caused an acute allergic reaction. My eyes swelled to such a degree that I couldn’t open them anymore.
In the end I only managed 48 hours of preparation. The talk went better than expected, but it could’ve gone much better.
What went well:
- Based on feedback, people seemed to find the talk inspiring, thought-provoking and different from what they were used to.
- All technical components went smoothly. The remote control, live demos and slide transitions segued forward without any hiccups. It helped that the Google campus has hi-def, HDMI-capable projectors and wireless lapel microphones. I was spoiled for choice.
- A couple of days before the talk I traveled to the venue for a dry run. I got to familiarize myself with all the equipment, mics, sound, wireless et cetera. And that made all the difference.
- Managing the event through Eventbrite was a great choice. I was able to reach individuals far and beyond my existing contact base. The caliber of the people in the audience turned out to be superb.
- I recorded the talk with a Zoom H1 and that gave me great insights. See below.
- Using Apple’s Keynote proved to be a fabulous choice.
What didn’t go well:
- I didn’t have time to prepare every single part of the talk, and it showed. At some points all I could utter was umms, emms. Listening to the recording was painful at times. I always seemed to recover my flow in the end—but had I spent more time rehearsing then all those awkward sounds and pauses wouldn’t be there. Rehearsing the material is not about giving a “scripted” talk. On the contrary it makes me relaxed and confident enough to divert from the script when needed, knowing I can find my way back with no issue.
- Towards the end of the Q/A my fever flared up again, so I didn’t spend enough time engaging with my audience.
Why did I fall ill at such a critical juncture? That will keep me thinking for awhile. I have some pet theories—some of them more plausible than others—but haven’t decided upon them yet
Plenty of food for thought. I haven’t finalized my next steps just yet, but suffice to say I will be doing this again, as I felt it was worthwhile for everyone involved.
Stay tuned.
8 Lessons from my Google Campus talk
My talk this week was supposed to evangelize the use of blogs as a way to improve personal and professional wellbeing.
It went great in the end, which is quite hard to believe, given that everything seemed to be conspiring against me. Last Tuesday I fell sick. Just when I should be pressing forward, I was mired with fever and did nothing at all.
By Saturday I had enough of all this misery. I went out and bought some Panadol Extras hoping for the symptoms to recede—recede enough for me to make some headway. I was days away from the event now. I was falling dreadfully behind and was freaking out.
Why so much preparation?
Early on I decided not to use boring bullet points in my slides. I wanted to memorize the entire talk and use the slides as visual prompts to augment what I am saying
I also decided I didn’t want to hide behind a podium. I employed a remote control for the slides, together with a wireless lapel microphone so I could be free to roam around the stage unbound by cables.
To sum up, my dreams were lofty.
Alas, reality seemed to disagree with me. The paracetamol in the Panadols caused an acute allergic reaction. My eyes swelled to such a degree that I couldn’t open them anymore.
In the end I only managed 48 hours of preparation. The talk went better than expected, but it could’ve gone much better.
What went well:
- Based on feedback, people seemed to find the talk inspiring, thought-provoking and different from what they were used to.
- All technical components went smoothly. The remote control, live demos and slide transitions segued forward without any hiccups. It helped that the Google campus has hi-def, HDMI-capable projectors and wireless lapel microphones. I was spoiled for choice.
- A couple of days before the talk I traveled to the venue for a dry run. I got to familiarize myself with all the equipment, mics, sound, wireless et cetera. And that made all the difference.
- Managing the event through Eventbrite was a great choice. I was able to reach individuals far and beyond my existing contact base. The caliber of the people in the audience turned out to be superb.
- I recorded the talk with a Zoom H1 and that gave me great insights. See below.
- Using Apple’s Keynote proved to be a fabulous choice.
What didn’t go well:
- I didn’t have time to prepare every single part of the talk, and it showed. At some points all I could utter was umms, emms. Listening to the recording was painful at times. I always seemed to recover my flow in the end—but had I spent more time rehearsing then all those awkward sounds and pauses wouldn’t be there. Rehearsing the material is not about giving a “scripted” talk. On the contrary it makes me relaxed and confident enough to divert from the script when needed, knowing I can find my way back with no issue.
- Towards the end of the Q/A my fever flared up again, so I didn’t spend enough time engaging with my audience.
Why did I fall ill at such a critical juncture? That will keep me thinking for awhile. I have some pet theories—some of them more plausible than others—but haven’t decided upon them yet
Plenty of food for thought. I haven’t finalized my next steps just yet, but suffice to say I will be doing this again, as I felt it was worthwhile for everyone involved.
Stay tuned.
Business Blog: Here is why you need one. Now.
And here is where the blog comes in. The blog is where we articulate, and provide regular evidence of why we are in business. It is where we inspire our visitors and create customer loyalty, on a daily basis.
