Cool Spaces In Other Places

We're always on the lookout for cool & creative meeting spaces. First of all, they totally inspire us just lookin' at 'em. Secondly, we know your meetings can't always come to the most exciting retreat center on the planet in Columbus, Ohio. Check out these amazing spaces in London, England at spacehopper.com

By the way, if you're ever looking for creative meeting space outside of Columbus, Ohio, we have an ever-growing directory of unique spaces around the world (mostly in the US, but a few other countries as well). Send us an email for a complimentary copy of our creative meeting space directory. Looks like spacehopper will likely have a robust directory soon as well, so you might want to bookmark that site for your future space needs, too.

X-Rays Can Be Fun? Who Knew?

I'm thinking about getting an X-ray, just for fun. 


I'm not kidding. I recently had an X-ray at Riverside Health Center. We were checking my hand to look for evidence of arthritis. Thankfully, my hand contains nothing but boring, normal bones. My experience at Riverside Health Center was everything BUT boring and normal, however. I would even classify it as kind of fun.


Thanks to Tanisha. That's her in the picture with some brilliant (and obviously caffeinated) doctor at Riverside.

Have you ever approached a reception desk and been greeting by a H-U-G-E smile and a very energetic greeting? When it happens, you instantly feel more comfortable, especially in new, unusual, or potentially stressful environments (a.k.a. medical offices). A big smile and a warm greeting create a sense of welcome that no sign, brochure, or flat-screen TV video could ever replicate. 


That's the kind of greeting Tanisha gives you when you approach her reception desk. By the way, she doesn't wait for you to get within two inches of the desk before she flashes that smile. She projects it at you when you're still fifteen or twenty feet away. It pulls you in like a tractor beam. Heck, even if you weren't there for an appointment, you'd still be compelled to walk over and talk to her.


After a very friendly exchange during my check-in, I was again very pleasantly surprised when Tanisha came around from behind the desk and escorted me to the waiting area. For a moment, I wondered if she had mistaken me for John Cusack, my celebrity look-alike (according to my wife). Nope. It's just the way they roll at Riverside Health Center.


If I had any doubt that Tanisha was just a rare exception to the rule, my doubts were permanently shattered when Nicole, my X-ray tech came to get me in the waiting area. Another H-U-G-E smile, more VIP escorting, more happiness. 


I wasn't getting my Bentley serviced (no, I don't really have one) or fitted for an Armani suit (don't have one of these either...yet). I was there for an X-ray. 


If they can do that at an X-ray clinic, could you do that at your law firm, auto parts store, elementary school, insurance agency, or whatever business you're in?


Um, yeah. I'm pretty sure you can.


Try it. Flash a H-U-G-E smile at the next person who walks in your door, even if it's one of your own team members. Greet them with an energetic hello. Treat them like a VIP. See what kind of magic happens. Sure, they may look at you like you're crazy. But remember, crazy ideas are the only ones that really change the world.  

Tell Them Yes

I'm a big fan of Compendium, Inc. They produce the coolest inspirational and motivational books on the planet. We give them away as thank-you gifts and always have some laying around sparkspace. You may have also seen them at Starbucks. Last year, Starbucks carried the Five book, which helps you think about what you want to do with the next five years of your life.


This year, Starbucks carried their newest book, the 1 book. If you've ever wondered how to make a difference in the world, you should really pick up a copy. Starbucks is pretty much sold out (I know, I pretty much bought them out), but you can purchase any of the books at http://www.live-inspired.com.


I'm including an excerpt from the 1 book today that literally gave me chills when I read it. It's actually copy from a Nike ad. Let it inspire you to do or start something great today.




All your life you are told the things you cannot do.


All your life they will say you're not good enough 
or strong enough or talented enough.


They'll say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight 
or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this.


They will tell you no, a thousand times no 
until all the no's become meaningless.


All your life they will tell you no, 
quite firmly and very quickly.


They will tell you no.


And you will tell them yes.




Make 2010 your year of telling them yes.

Kickstart Your 2010 Goals & Resolutions - January 19th

Are you excited about 2010?


2010 is going to be a great year...but only for organizations and individuals that know how to recognize new possibilities, increase their ability, and create the energy required to transform possibility into reality. 

Where could your business, team, or career be a year from now if you knew how to deal better with change and create a positive future? Find out at this very special sparkspace workshop that will kickstart your best year ever in 2010!

Title: Creating A Positive Charge

Date: Tuesday, January 19th
Time: 8am-Noon
Location: sparkspace
Cost: $85pp  (Plus, bring a friend for FREE*)


Get More Info and Register Online

Imagine what you could you accomplish if you and your team could learn to navigate through obstacles that normally inhibit your progress and creativity? Imagine if you could maximize your effectiveness so you really could "do more with less" (like so many of us are asked to do!). 

In this short, but powerful workshop, you and/or your team will: 

- learn how to deal with change, uncertainty, and events that appear to be out of your control.

- realize how much power you truly have to make a difference.
- determine what you need to be the absolute best at right now to be successful.
- spark hope and positivity during tough times.
- create energy and options to move your goals, your team, and your business forward. 


*SPECIAL OFFER: Bring a friend for free!

For every paid registration, you'll receive an extra registration at no extra charge. Bring a co-worker, a friend, a client, or someone from your favorite non-profit organization! Hurry, though, because with this special offer, we expect to fill the workshop rapidly.

Get More Info and Register Online


Added bonus!

If you attend our Creating A Positive Charge workshop (or you've attended this workshop in the past) you are invited to join our Positive Charge Mastermind Group at no extra charge! The Mastermind group will meet each quarter for 2 hours to continue the thinking and conversation that makes this workshop so powerful. Each meeting will present new ideas and provide you the opportunity to work with other Mastermind participants to gain fresh insight and ideas about your current challenges. Our first Mastermind group will meet the afternoon of January 19th.


If you've attended Creating A Positive Charge in the past, email mark@sparkspace.com for more information about joining the Mastermind group.

Forget What You Need To Do

If you're like me, you're fired up for the new year and all the possibility it brings. I love new years and new seasons. Even just a new day usually gets me pretty excited.

Even so, I'm a little overwhelmed with how to achieve all the wonderful things I want to achieve this year. I'm also overwhelmed at the volume of self-help information intended to help me set goals and get motivated. So I'm going to keep this simple this week, but I do hope this single spark helps you as much as it is helping me think differently about this new year.

Forget what you need to DO to achieve your goals. Instead, focus on who you need to BE. If you become the person you need to become, the "to-dos" will suddenly become much easier to do, and many will magically start taking care of themselves.

For example, if your goal is to become "fit like an athlete," you already know what to do: eat right, exercise a lot, stay hydrated, and get the proper amount of rest. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you've probably done those things before in hopes of losing weight or becoming more physically fit. Yeah, I've done it, too. So why aren't you and I Olympians? Face it, most of us are more like Oompa Loompians than world-class athletes.

It's because we work on what we need to DO instead of who we need to BE. Someone who is fit like an athlete is disciplined, committed, and maybe a little bit crazy (have you seen those people who run in the snow????). They put their health and fitness FIRST, before entertainment, hobbies, and even before friends and family. I'm not saying they don't value these things, but they will sacrifice some of the time others might spend with friends, family, and American Idol in order to achieve and maintain the level of fitness they desire. 

So are you working on eating right, exercising, staying hydrated, and resting properly, or are you working on being disciplined, committed, and maybe a little bit crazy?

This applies to more than fitness, too. It applies to any kind of goal you strive for. If your goal is to become a better leader, build a better team, or create a culture of world-class customer service, take some time to think about who you will need to be as an individual or an organization first. Then, work on the ways you can develop into that. 

If fitness is your goal, you may realize that to create the time you need for exercise will require you to become a master of time management. Take a class or read a book (or two or three or ten) on time management.

Becoming a better leader might require you to become a motivator of people. Learning what makes people tick would help you become the kind of person you need to be to become a great leader. Go learn what makes people tick!

If doubling your sales is your big goal this year, you might need to become the best sales organization on the planet.You won't do that by simply checking off a to-do list. You'll have to develop your entire organization to be fanatically crazy about your product and seizing every opportunity to add amazing value to your clients.

This whole article really boils down to two questions (sorry you had to read all the other stuff...I couldn't help myself):

1. What do you want to achieve this year?

2. Who do you need to become as an individual, team, or organization to make that happen?

Oh, yeah, one more thing: start today. It's really the only day you ever have.