What's Happening in Seattle this Week

Lectures:
Seattle Garden Club hosts
Thomas Kiernan on Feb 21st, discussing the future of our national parks,
free. We all realize what a gem our national parks are, but they always
seem to get the short end of the funding stick. * Also, Antioch's
Global Issues and
Perspectives , starting Jan 31st, free, including Business and
Climate Change, Finding the Road Home, and When in Gaza.
* Also,
Translation in Wartime , Jan 31st, free, exploring the historical,
political, and pragmatic relationship between translation and empire.

Family:
Model Making
Workshop , Feb 2nd, $15. If your kids are taking their Lincoln Log
homes seriously, here's the next step up. Kids design and build a
little model, while learning about how people live. * Also,
Strange Matter ,
starting Feb 2nd, bringing out the freaky matter in over 40 cool,
interactive exhibits, learning about how our world operates on the nano
level. * Also,
Alice's
Wonderland - A Most Curious Adventure , starting Feb 2nd, $7.50,
taking a Alice in Wonderland trip down the rabbit hole with your kid,
exploring and learning along the way.

Dating:
NW Dating
Expo , Feb 2nd, $99, of a full day of classes to get your game
together. Like anything in life, training helps, so if you're not
getting the success you'd like, then get some real education. * Also,
Single's
Winter Ball , Feb 8th, $30. This is a dressy event. Start off with
some dance lessons, and then the party gets going. * Also,
Valentine's Day Meet & Mingle Singles Mixer , Feb 14th, $25. This is
the antidote for single people spending the day alone.

Forum:
Global
Warming Solutions , Jan 31st, free. The forum examines how
transportation, food, and economic and political choices affect the
temperate gauge. Don't drive your SUV to this. Together, individuals
banding together can become part of the solution. Global warming has a
certain environmental cause de jour about it - it'll be interesting to
see if this issue still has legs in 5-10 years.

Fitness:
Fit for Fun , Jan 31st, free
but must RSVP. Most exercise equipment ends up as a clothes hanger
about six months after purchase. This little party helps you stick to
your new year's resolution by making sweating fun. There are door
prizes, light bites, and a fashion show.

Ballet:
Romeo and Juliet ,
starting Jan 31st, $20+. This story has been fodder for all sorts of
derivative works, so here's to tragic young love in dance form. This
one has gotten good reviews all over the world since it premiered about
a decade ago, so it finally makes its way to Seattle.

Business:
Build Your Business Case ,
Jan 30th, $55. If you're going to be talking someone into joining your
venture or handing over a wad of cash to invest, you gotta have a solid
reason as to "why?" This event helps you nail the points and formulate
a convincing case. * Also,
Village
Business Circle , for small businesses trying to connect with theater
audiences, since those theater audiences are generally affluent with
bucks to spare. Here's how to get the theater crowd to spend some of
their spare dollars at your business.

Paddle
Sports:
Sea Kayak & Canoe Seminar ,
Feb 2-3rd, $35. The pros give talks and vendors offer specials on the
merchandise. Take up these paddle sports, and you end up with iron pecs.
This event helps you get some exercise and find solitude on the water.

Gala:

Chinese
New Year , Feb 2nd, $88. This one is a notch better than the usual
gala fair with a Luly Yang runway fashion show. The price itself,
besides being a bargain, symbolizes fortune and good luck since the
number 8 sounds similar to the word Fa, or wealth. Take a look in
Chinese supermarkets, and you’ll see that many products deliberately
have 8's in their prices.

Organization:

Jane Austen Society of Puget Sound ,
for those who can't get enough of what some think is the best fiction
ever written in English. Jane Austen composed just six precious novels
in her short life, but what an impact they've made. Go learn about Ms.
Austen and Regency England.

Implementation

Much of success coaching nowadays centers on the thinking part, of
motivating yourself to take risks, creating new ideas, and setting
goals. Left out is the other half the equation--the "how?", the doing
part. More time is spent on creating ideas than the sweat work. After
you formulate a goal, what actions do you actually take to make that
goal happen? When you're ready to get to work...

Set goals which are
solid, relevant, and measurable.
First, if the goal isn't measurable, how will you know if it's met?
Second, emphasize actions with the best payback, those moving closer to
the goals with the least effort and time.

Identify actions to
the lowest level:

Actions should be
concrete, broken down to a single unit of effort, a simple and specific
physical action that advances the goal.

Brutal honesty:
postpone soft goals, analyze and follow-through, reward and punish.
Deprioritize the mushy goals, such as "improve employee morale."
Analyze if the actions are having the intended consequences. If
something isn't working, ditch it, and move on.

Getting
Things Done
has been in vogue for the last several years. This system helps you
manage your actions. Instead of a prioritized to-do list, this system
emphasizes control and perspective. Those who follow this
system always seem to be able to respond to their email within ten
minutes, and they never have old emails cluttering their inbox.

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Cool Video:
The Case of the Missing Diary :

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