Back for another year, the 2016 Canadian Internet Marketing Conference (CIMC) will feature a powerhouse line-up of more than 30 of the world’s top minds and movers of the digital marketing industry. FreshGigs.ca got the awesome opportunity to have a pre-conference brain-picking sesh with each of the keynote speakers and panelists. Today’s Q & A is with Vicki McLeod, president of Main Street Communications Ltd.
What would you say to a fellow professional who is obviously stressed?
Slow down. Breathe. Take a nap. I’m not saying that to be flippant. There’s a wonderful story about Gandhi where he tells his compatriots that he needs to set aside one hour a day to do meditation. They exclaim, “Oh no, you can’t do that! You are too busy, Gandhi!” They were, after all, trying to free a nation. Ghandi replies, “Well, then. I now need to set aside two hours a day to do meditation.”
When we get really stressed we can’t see the forest for the trees. Slowing down, stillness, brings us back to a center point where we can get some perspective. It’s where we’re most creative – and where solutions become obvious.
Suppose they need to cultivate mindfulness but doesn’t know how?
There’s no question it’s a challenge, especially in the digital age, the age of distraction, to simply stop and ‘be’ for a few moments. There are lots of resources available, both online and off, including apps. A great place to start is with a simple morning practice – inspirational reading, followed by a few minutes of reflection and writing. By hand. I’m also a big fan of using a timer.
What benefits are there to adopting a mindful approach to doing business?
This is the kind question that always makes me want to raise my eyebrows, (which means it’s a good one). I think the benefits of mindfulness practice in terms of its impact on general health and wellbeing are well-known. But one of the biggest benefits mindfulness brings to all aspects of life, including business, is focus, calm, and attention to detail. The value this brings to quality of work, and client service is obvious, but presence also has the effect of slowing down time. And who can’t use more time?
You have a blog that discusses both online coaching and recipes. What prompted you to connect those two topics? What’s their connection?
There is a conversation I want to have in the world about #everydayhappiness. In the coaching side of my business I meet a lot of people who are longing simply for a happy life. A few years ago I had a surgery that really laid me out. I realized during the recovery period that personal happiness was really at my fingertips and it was living in the everyday moments – not the big dramatic moments, but in the daily activities that fill the minutes and hours.
When we get really stressed we can’t see the forest for the trees. Slowing down, stillness, brings us back to a center point where we can get some perspective.
For me, cooking, gardening, sharing meals with friends and family fill me with a quiet joy and contentment. I wanted a place online to share those small passions and to have a conversation about purposeful idleness as a pathway to a happy life. In many ways, it has become a cookery site, but there’s more to it – recipes for a happy life maybe? It’s a place where I can play online and share what I love.
You’re the author of Untrending: A Field Guide To Social Media That Matters (How to Post, Tweet, and Like Your Way to a More Meaningful Life). What’s the simplest thing someone can do to generate meaningful social media?
Ask yourself: What is the message I want to give the world? Then convey it with all your heart. Make it real. My lifelong friend Darlene Rosner refers to social media as the “Museum of Me.” She says, “I love that all of my posts are like an ever-growing, ongoing ‘time capsule’ of what I am thinking, seeing and posting about.” Long after we’re gone, our posts live on. What’s your legacy?
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Ha! I want say napping, but I think I’ve already got that one covered. For me, no question: time travel. Join me in the Tardis.
For more than two decades Vicki McLeod has worked with businesses, organizations and governments to create and sustain meaningful communications and marketing strategies. A business and personal coach, consultant and trainer, Vicki is an advocate for everyday happiness, mindfulness, and living a passionate and engaged life. She is the host of Everyday Happiness: The Pajama Podcasts, and hosts the business blab #TGIF: Thriving or Surviving. She also writes a monthly newspaper column on social media. She is the president of Main Street Communications Ltd, and a founding member of The Social Chicks.
The CIMC runs April 14-15, 2016 at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish BC, Canada. For more conference and ticket info, click here