In mid-2012 I read the book Twitter for Good. It was my first introduction to Claire Diaz-Ortiz (the woman who got the Pope on Twitter!). Claire’s efforts to make social media a little nicer place to dwell really struck a chord with me after witnessing so many off-putting behaviors and exchanges on Twitter and its ilk.
I signed up on Claire’s website to receive her email newsletter and received a copy of How to Be Social: A Social Media Manifesto, which was extremely helpful for me the anti-social, social-media participant.
When Claire put out a call for people to review her new book Lead by Morning which is based on Claire’s ebook The Present Principle: Seven Steps to Life in the Now (yep, I read that too) I jumped at the chance. I’ve become a seeker of a better way lately and Lead by Morning played right into my desires.
The concept of Lead by Morning is not a new one to me. Start your day on a positive note and the rest of your day flows from that positive place and will hopefully be better.
What is new is using the seven steps of The Present Principle (Pray, Read, Express, Schedule, Exercise, Nourish, Track) as your guide in the morning to get you to your positive place. This helps if you find mornings dysfunctional like I do. The seven steps are like a “For Dummies” guide to my positive side.
Lead by Morning seemed to land in my Kindle at just the right moment. Lately I’d been hearing that Lorrie Morgan song lyric “I’m putting on my war paint” while I was putting on my makeup in the morning. Instead of intending for my day to be positive I was preparing for battle. Reviewing Lead by Morning forced me to shift from battle mode to a more contemplative frame of mind.
I received Lead by Morning on January 2nd and read the book in a day. Claire’s writing style and voice is very approachable so it’s easy to read.
Since then I’ve made a point to diligently follow the steps daily. Lead by Morning includes 365 inspirational and thought provoking passages for the reader to study daily. The book also includes references to other books for those who chose to dig deeper.
It would be so great to end this blog post with a miraculous immediate turn around, but that only happens in fiction. I am not perfect and I still have a grump on that cannot be tamed on some mornings.
I am however happy to report that since reading Lead by Morning and following the Present Principal for the past eighteen or so days (as of the date of this posting) things have gotten better. Not a complete 180 but a turn toward brighter days.
The practice does make me think about my mornings and my attitude toward my day. Lead by Mornings has given me a different frame of reference to start the day. Instead of being angry going into a commute, in the past couple weeks I haven’t even noticed the traffic because I’m still thinking about the passage I read that morning.
I believe if I’m diligent about continuing on the path I’ve started with Lead by Morning the miraculous change can still come.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Claire Diaz Ortiz leads social innovation at Twitter, where she has worked since 2009. She wrote Twitter for Good: Change the World one Tweet at a Time.
She is a frequent international speaker and is known for developing the TWEET model — a framework to help organizations and individuals best excel on Twitter.
Claire holds an MBA from Oxford University, where she was a Skoll Foundation Scholar for Social Entrepreneurship. She also holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Anthropology from Stanford University.
She is the co-founder of Hope Runs, a non-profit organization operating in AIDS orphanages in Kenya.
Claire has lived on four continents and travelled to more than fifty countries. Called a “mover and shaker” by Mashable, she has been widely written about in such publications as Business Week, The Washington Post, and The Independent.
Find her at www.ClaireDiazOrtiz.com or via @claired on Twitter.
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