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Greetings!
Once upon a time, I was a surgical nurse. I
enjoyed my work but I had a nagging feeling
that I was supposed to be doing something
else. Against all logic, I believed that the
something else had to do with
tropical rainforests. Mind you, I had never
been to a rainforest. I only knew, deep in my
heart, that I had something I was supposed to
do and that rainforests were a part of that
something.
In 1990, I went to Costa Rica on vacation. At
an incredible place called Rara
Avis, I had what I can only describe as a
satori (something like an enlightenment
experience or being figuratively struck by
lightning). I knew, totally knew, that I was
supposed to live and work in that rainforest.
It was my mission. My calling. To the
bewilderment of family and friends, I went
back to the States and in the space of two
weeks, I quit my job, packed my bags, bought
a plane ticket, and went back to Costa Rica.
I spent the next six months learning
rainforest biology right there at Rara Avis,
in the company of some of the world’s
greatest biologists. From there, I went to
the University of Illinois where I met the
love of my life and eventually earned my PhD
in biology.
Though my path over the last seventeen years
has been unorthodox, my sense of purpose and
meaning, my conviction that I am following a
calling in life, has never wavered.
While I was in Panama last month, enjoying
another amazing rainforest experience, I read
a quote by Tom Peters who said, “You are your
clients.” As I considered that quote, I
realized that I am meant to serve people who
possess or want to possess a real calling in
life. Mission. Purpose. People like me, who
yearn to do great things in the world, who
want to do good while doing well.
In the coming weeks, there will be some
changes at Zugunruhe. We are migrating to
some place new. We have a new colleague. You
can meet Dr. Teri Lewis Palmer by clicking here to see our video and by
reading her intro, below. We’re refining our
corporate mission and how we go about
delivering services. We’ll be making changes
to our website.
Today, we're
inviting you to join us on our journey.
Please join us on our
blog on Tuesday, April 10, where we'll
be documenting every step of our
process, starting with a
corporate journey through Michael Port’s
bestseller, Book
Yourself Solid. We also
want your feedback. What is your vision for
your life? What are your compelling desires,
your persistent obstacles, your urgent
problems? What sorts of help would benefit
you most? We need your answers to these
questions. Comment on our blog posts. Email
us. Call. We look forward to hearing from
you. In the meantime,
Peace be with you and traveling mercies,
Tara
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Introducing Our New Colleague
Teri Lewis Palmer PhD joins Zugunruhe
I first heard the word Zugunruhe last fall
while at Tara’s house. She was talking about
the business she was launching. My immediate
fondness for this word was partly based on
how much fun it is to say, but also because I
was in the midst of a transition, or
migration, myself. In fact, transition is the
reason that Tara and I originally met, became
friends, and now have become business
colleagues.
Like many of you, I am in a dual-career
relationship that has required compromise and
flexibility. For the past 20 years I worked
in the field of education as a consultant and
for the past eight years as a researcher and
university faculty member. A few years ago I
was attending a training where we had to
create a metaphor for our career paths. My
metaphor was a patchwork quilt that linked
both my interest in sewing and crafts and my
fortune in having great opportunities come my
way and the wherewithal to take them. The
patchwork quilt image original came to me
because of the discomfort I felt when
explaining that some of my career choices
were based on my spouses career needs.
Looking back now I realize that the beauty of
quilts is how seemingly unrelated pieces come
together to create a whole.
To be honest, I started college with the
intent of becoming a journalist but started
taking psychology courses and became
passionate about working with people and
providing support. In my masters program I
was offered one of two paid internships and
decided that working with adults with
disabilities sounded like a good idea. It
was. From this experience I learned to
consider actions and behaviors as expressing
a need. This perspective lead me to work in
public schools with at-risk students.
After spending over fours years as an
educational and behavioral consultant, we
moved back to Oregon and I had the
opportunity to get my Ph.D from the
University of Oregon. At this point I added
research to my service and consultation
background. While my passion remained to
understand a person’s behavior and then
provide them support by increasing their
skill capacity I began working on larger
systems – schools, districts and eventually
states.
So, why add another piece to my career quilt?
Several reasons: I have two teenage children
and commuting and out-of-state-travel was
keeping me from home more than I wanted, I
had out-grown my current position and was
needing to take a career step for my
professional development, and another
opportunity arose. A few months ago, Tara was
giving me a ride home from breakfast with
friends and I mentioned that I had a feeling
that there was something I was supposed to
do, that it needed to be service oriented,
rely on evidence-based practices and create a
supportive work culture. She turned to me and
asked “Want to do this together? I have some
ideas.”
So, here we are beginning the next migration
in our professional lives We look forward to
sharing our thoughts, successes and
challenges with you as Zugunruhe goes through
it’s own change process.
Best wishes,
Teri
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Wealthy Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
Article by Tara R. Robinson
You are already wealthy although you may not
be aware of it. If you are reading this at
all, it means you have access to the
internet. If you are reading this in a public
place, it means you enjoy freedom of speech
and thought without fear of retribution. If
you’re in business for yourself, it means
that you have access to capital, inspiration,
and the ability to choose your own path in
life. If you have a job, it means you are
making a salary that you can spend as you
please. See how wealthy you are?
Wealth is a funny thing. We’ve always been
wealthy (that is, my husband and I), even
when we were very, very low on cash. Back in
our grad school days, we earned $1700 per
month for four months out of the year. And
that was all. No lie. We were living in
Panama, doing the work we loved, and there
was always beans and rice on the table.
(Remarkably, we still enjoy eating black
beans and rice. Go figure.) Our attitude was
(and still is) that we enjoyed great
abundance. Why? Because we drove past shanty
towns, talked to, and gave money, food, and
clothes to, desperately poor people. We never
missed any meals, always had clothes on our
backs, and a safe place to lay our heads at
night. That meant that we were wealthier than
90% of the people we saw everyday. We were
blessed. We still are. So are you, whether
you acknowledge it or not.
One of the joys of being entrepreneurial is
I’m my own boss. My job is to make the boss
happy. One thing that makes me happy is
sharing what I have and helping other people
to achieve their goals. This month, I have
the pleasure of welcoming a new colleague
into my business in part, to help her achieve
her goals. Teri Palmer is my new business
partner. She’s also a very close friend, a
phenomenally smart woman, and a dynamite
professional. I think you’ll like her. I know
I do.
One way we are sharing our wealth and
abundance is by making loans through Kiva.org.
Kiva.org provides small business loans to
entrepreneurs in developing nations. This
form of micro-credit isn’t a hand-out. It’s
loan that recipients must pay back. (You can
see our loan portfolio by clicking
here.) Teri and I are inviting you to
join Zugunruhe
in our quest to support entrepreneurship
around the world. The world can be a
terrible, cruel, hard-hearted place. We can
change that through generosity and kindness.
The reason you should give to others, even
when you have little, is simple. Giving
affirms your abundance and wealth. Those who
have nothing, cannot afford to give. If you
have anything whatsoever, no matter now
little, you have a form of wealth. There is
also a paradoxically selfish reason to engage
in giving: when you give, you get more.
Selfishness and greed ignite scarcity;
generosity and hospitality create wealth and
abundance. I don’t pretend to understand how
this works, but I know it does. Try it. I
think you'll see what I mean.
Peace be with you,
Tara
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LLC may
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