Connected Well

The below is a moving video I watched earlier this week of a man, Victor Guzman, who was on the 85th floor when the first plane hit the first tower of the World Trade Center. I won’t post more about September 11th today. Two years ago, I posted “9-11: Where Were You?” which I think is enough. Other than this post, I will remain silent today in honor of those who lost their lives.

His life changed a lot after 9-11. Watch the video to see him tell his story of escaping the tower, only to turn around and watch the building collapse.

“Since 9-11, my life has never been the same. It’s actually better.”

He describes his journey from tragedy and trauma to hope, healing, and renewal through Jesus Christ. I realize with soberness everyone’s journey since 9-11 has not been the same, but I believe in the healing power he has experienced, and I appreciate the chance to share.

Please feel free comment, forward, tweet or share on facebook, etc., if this post moves you.

I will never forget those who died that day and since that day in the name of Freedom.

api America, human, life, people, video 9-11, faith, hope, life, tragedy, video

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life -

What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?

~ William Stafford

src

api life life, memory, poetry, William Stafford

definition: enticing – alluring: highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire;

Some new and exciting things are happening in the world of recruiting, and I am glad to be a part of a small portion of it. As some of you may have noticed, my linkedin and facebook profiles have all been updated with the news that I am no longer working with Omniture, and I have aligned myself with EnticeLabs, a software startup with some amazing technology to help companies get closer to candidates they’d like to hire.

This role fits me like a glove in many ways because I love software and I am passionate about connecting people through smart recruiting. The tools this team has been developing amaze and astound me. I am sure everybody says the same thing when they join a startup, but the technologies and abilities the team here talks about in everyday language would be impossible for most HR and Recruiting departments to imagine themselves doing.

Imagine your HR or Recruiting Department being able to:

• Develop an interesting talent pipeline that sells your corporate employment brand to passive candidates, while enticing great people to submit themselves to your talent database constantly… while you sleep.
• Simply and easily place your company’s employment brand in front of the 80% of jobseekers that don’t read job boards.
• Actually spend your time recruiting, not sorting through hundreds of spam emails.
• Leverage our pre-existing buying relationships to allow your employment messaging to be placed in front of hundreds of targeted individuals for a fraction of the traditional cost.
• Instead of the ‘Post and Pray’ method of traditional job posting services, rest assured that the system is automatically adjusting your spending to target and drive results from the people you actually want to hire (not just the ones who spend their days browsing job boards).  Did the requisition suddenly close or get placed on hold? No problem… turn it down (or off) and save your money.
• Receive insightful (and visually-stunning) analytics helping you know exactly what and where your job advertising is performing (and where it is not).
• Launch, adjust or shut off your job advertisements with either a one-stop phonecall top your dedicated Account Manager or a few mouseclicks online.
• Stop stressing about your job advertising. Be as hands on or hands off as you want to be.

Interested? Want to know more about Entice Labs? Check out this 2 minute video introduction or call 877-2-ENTICE

api Tools, next career, changes, employment, entice_labs, job, job_postings, life, recruiting, sourcing

This morning was evidence that Bill Cosby was Right:

Parents are not interested in justice, they want quiet!

api humor, life bill_cosby, family, happiness, justice, kids, life, living, parenting, quiet

Lance Halladay is a good digital artist.

I got tuned into Lance’s work because of a great video he did for Entice Labs, a company that looks like it will literally turn the recruiting and sourcing industries on their respective ears.

Here’s a funny video he did that goes along with a funny skit from Jim Gaffigan about how long church is (specifically, catholic mass).  Awesome stuff.

Jim Gaffigan Text Animation from Lance Halladay on Vimeo.

He’s also a comedian himself.

Need a digital artist or comedian? Connect with Lance.

api humor, life, video entice_labs, funny, humor, jim_gaffigan, lance_halladay, life, recruiting, video

Left to itself, a grape plant will always favor new growth over more grapes.

That’s why the vinedresser cuts away unnecessary shoots, no matter how vigorous…

Because a vineyard’s only purpose is… Grapes.

[Secrets of the Vine, p. 59]

Today, I will be bold and honest enough with myself to see, admit and know the difference between leaves and grapes in my life, and treat them accordingly:

• Cut off and cut back the “leaves”–the good but fruitless things–no matter how vigorously they grow.
• Thin the branches to allow nourishing sunlight to reach the “grapes”–true success in my most-important things.
• Add strength and ability to grow new fruit where before there was meager or no harvest.

Rahhb human, life, mobile abundance, book, growth, life, personal_development, purpose, reading, secrets_of_the_vine

Like the Hoobastank song, she’s the reason:

(If you don’t know the song, I recommend you check it out at the iTunes Store)

api life life, love, real life

The New York Post reports that some parents are encouraging their children to get sick (Chicken Pox, specifically) in order to avoid the requirement to have their children vaccinated (recently linked to autism), which is a requirement before entering Kindergarden in New York State:

Since 1999, kindergartners entering school in New York state must have had either the virus or the varicella vaccine, which protects against both chicken pox and shingles. But with recent public controversy concerning a possible link between vaccines and autism, some parents are turning to pox parties to protect their kids—by making them sick. “Measles, mumps, whooping cough…I’m worried about those diseases, so my daughter has had those vaccines. Chicken pox is a joke,” says Angie of why she refuses to get Samantha vaccinated.

But not everyone is partying over this. Trom the article, pediatricians don’t think this is such a great idea:

“Chicken pox parties are a terrible mistake,” says Dr. Anne Gershon, professor of pediatrics at Columbia University and president of the Infectious Disease Society of America. “Imagine how you would feel if you took your kid to one and they came down with encephalitis or group A strep. Most of the time chicken pox is a mild disease, but you can die from the complications.”

Is this a smart idea?

[hat tip: lilsugar]

Rahhb human chicken-pox, illness, life, parenting

I had never seen this before until I spotted it on Chad Bennett’s blog. Take a minute and watch. I am amazed at how emotional this little video is.

Free Hugs

Just another reminder to be human in all that you do, and don’t forget to feel and care.

Rahhb human caring, connect, hugs, human, life, love, real, video