You have reached the Landing page for Reinventing Life Enterprises: a diverse group of activities all of which are aimed at helping people, students or organizations build their dreams and take the steps to make them come true.

From this page you can:

1. You can find out about Alana's work as a consultant and speaker and hire her for your next professional development activity or to provide motivational support.

2. Investigate our work in support of leading edge technologies for human development (CieAura page) and purchase those that interest you.

3. Read articles on the successful implementation of action research for business, non-profits and public administration, education and for personal development

4. Rent Our apartment in Kinsale, Co Cork Ireland as a tourists or visitor.

5. Investigate past writings from the early years of the company or link to an over view of the work we used to do to aid the future of education.

6. Link to information about the three principle forces in our work: Dr. E. Alana James, Margaret Milenkiewicz and Tracesea Slater.

Discovery

In these last two weeks winter has set in in Ireland. This year it is accompanied by consistently cold weather, freezing streets, lots of time in front of a fire, and of course very short days. After a bout of low spirits, no internal drive, and loss of belief in self, I needed to rediscover ways to combat winter sluggishness. Several things have helped a lot -- some old, some new. On the list of things I have done before are: Kelly Howells brain sync meditations (I'm going to sleep at night after listening to the Secret Meditation), jumping on the rebounder, standing on it in the kitchen when my hips hurt, taking fish oil, etc. nutrients and vitamins, and rediscovering the importance of regular workouts.

I have also discovered some new wrinkles in vibrational medicine. While this will be a longer story, one that I tell in the journey to optimal health series, for now it is just important to know that there are patches with holograms on them that have proven to me to be successful in raising my energetic levels back to a pre-winter norm. What I like about these new ideas in medicine are that they are in alignment with the concept of the body as energy, and therefore much more malleable to small directional changes within the current Western medical model would allow for. I envision a future where our current medical system seems brutal because we have developed effective and efficient but subtle solution to ill health.

On the business front, I've recently had some great conversations with my friend Patrick, and he is introduced me to a potential new business model. He suggests that over the course of the next period of time I begin to fold my multiple websites into one and use the URL www.AlanaJames.com. He introduced me to www.David McWilliams.ie, the site for an economist in Ireland. It's a good model and one I will consider as I move forward.

Measurable Action
I finished the first iteration of the consulting brochure, with measurements coming in from one of my students and Patrick to help me hone the words. It gets its first test in the real world this coming Thursday as I go into Dublin for a networking meeting. It's Patrick's supposition that I don't want to continue with the Small Firms Association. Therefore, I will be testing out when I think about the Association, and how well it fit with its members, as well.

I did some good printing yesterday, as I not only put together the brochure ware, and the business card for action research consultants but also published two nice-looking brochure packages and sent out the Bahraini proposal in hard copy. It's a nice model, and one I would not hesitate to use again.

I bought the domain www.actionresearchconsultants.com. I put a hold on www.AlanaJames.com. I don't know how the whole hold system works, so unfortunately that adds to my workload. However how are I move forward with websites will not be decided until January when Tracesea, Margie and I do a little retreat and discuss plans for 2011. The 'who will do the work to help' question will be one to sort out, as Tracesea will be a mom by February.

I finally got the first products up on the different websites. I also have made my first €20 through Amazon. Monetizing the sites is a slow process. The funny thing is I can't quite figure out how to I actually got paid at Amazon, so the money have it transferred yet. I will buy myself some lovely something for my Kindle when I do -- a celebration.

Finally, I have started to pull together a new mind movie.  During a Skype conversation I found a new web toy which may allow me to take a picture of myself with money floating down. It's a great visual, and a future measurement is to see how fast I can get this mind movie together. My goal is to have it working prior to the time I leave on the 17th.

The book is also progressing. Chapter 7 was rough drafted and will be sent on to Tracesea for edits today. Chapter 8 has been fleshed out and I will finish drafting it this weekend. The hundred and one articles in the hundred days is also progressing. With Tracesea putting them up after I write them the task became doable. It just goes to show that if the speaker dreams are going to continue I must always make sure that I have the help I need running in the background.

Reflections
It's good to lay out what has been going on by doing this reflective protocol. It helps me see the forest instead of just the trees. It's nice to live up to my own standards, and as I write more and more about action research and the need for reflective practice I must also commit to doing it myself. Along with reflective practice I want to commit to continuing as a writer for an entire year. That would mean 365 articles or solid pieces of writing to be done during 2011. With the house fill-in for Christmas, and the dark evenings and mornings, I settled into a nice routine on getting lots of writing done. The challenge be out of work ahead so that travel doesn't put me behind. And 2011 has quite a bit of travel in it.

Patrick's vision is that at the end of the day it's all about me, and I'm branding myself across the web. I mind that less and less as I get used to the idea and I see others doing it. It's interesting because it takes me back to a place I left behind before the Zappa quilt adventure.  What comes with that brand would be a greater participation in speaking events, which of course I would love. It's just the steps from here to there that are still vague. The interaction in all of these decisions is between business and marketing. Of course websites are one strong marketing tool, if when you can get traffic to them. Handing out brochures is another marketing tool, but then you have to get brochures in the hands of people who need the information. I am also considering direct marketing in some way, but then I have to know who I am marketing to and how to get to them. Each idea brings questions with it.

What do I want to do with my life? What are the legacy I want to me? The greatest woman is that people should follow their dreams. I built up a lot of wisdom about dream following and I want to pass it on and be an inspiration for those who need it at the time they need it most. This is what I want to do with my life. The fact that I have some expertise in action research may get me in the door to talk to people and businesses who in essence just want to follow their dreams. I would love to speak to large audiences, so how do I become a Martha Wielder? Hers is a model we should look at -- whether others?
Yes
I remember networking events as being people without jobs meeting other people without jobs -- or at least those who are not where they want to be meeting those were also not where you want to be. Not that some interesting new contacts Happen, or that they aren't a good place to test out a new idea, I am also looking to pass the word about action research consultants to an audience that may actually have work. I just have to trust that action research consultants is clearly a good solid path and let that path open in front of me. It's time for some synchronicity to set in.

The websites continue to be one of the burdens on my life that crunch my time. Having help has been beneficial. Perhaps I don't use them enough, or perhaps I'm just slow in making certain kinds of progressions, I need to put certain new tasks up on my list of things to do before the end of January. These include e-mail responses to people who sign up for the site -- auto responders. I see now that my actions take me to a vision that has some challenges. These include: my sites will always be relatively small on traffic because mine ideas and directions are not part of the norm. Therefore to make a quick students to business products profitable, do I need to have multiple sites that lead people to the same buying outcomes? This would be a strategy much like having multiple stores but only selling a few things.

The nice thing about websites is that they can come and go relatively easily. One of the questions that I bring to my yearly retreat is how to first and fastest make money on the web? I think, that doctoral net.com can be a moneymaker. But, I need a model in another sector to see how to do it. I don't think reinventing my or futures probably will ever make much money. If Tracesea agrees with me we may bring those down in order to launch something different. These feel like courageous ideas, because it's ditching something I have years in. Perhaps though I have enough courage to cut out the things that are not currently serving my vision.

The new mind movie then becomes a potentially critical component. We'll see how it goes.

Do you wrestle with lack of motivation? Extra stress? Personal insecurity? A desire for more personal success and prosperity? Kelly Howell's Brain Sync audio tapes are the subject of this  product review and it is my experience that her guided and non-guided meditations are helpful for all of these concerns.  Using the latest in neuroscience, these audiotapes use brainwave technology to sync your brain waves with positive attributes. Similar to the state that you would achieve through years of meditation, this brain sync allows you to use the power of your mind in a more effective and efficient way. If you're feeling "all tied up"it is likely that your brain waves are scrambled. Using the beta theta alpha and delta waves embedded in music and meditation is a fast and easy way to straighten out your stress, your motivation, and to achieve your desires.

I'm talking about Kelly Howell's brain sync, brainwave therapy- "your brain and made better" which you can find on her website. I have used her tapes for eight or nine months regularly and I consider these products great for people who are involved in reinventing their lives, a doctoral program, or some other life-changing event. To get benefits out of these audiotapes takes regular use however, so if you're looking for a quick one time fix this may not be everything you need.

Product Description
From the buyer's point of view, you go to her website using the link in the box below, choose a topic that most directly answers your desires, download the programs and listen to them, probably on your iPod or similar device. Because her products use binaural beats you will have to use headphones as the waves need to be able to hop directly from one ear to another.  This works perfectly for me, because I tend to listen to them when I am exercising, or going to bed. I listened to the non-guided, music only side (available on each package along with the guided meditation side) when I am working in my office. Some of my favorites include the three tapes I for exercise: Breakthrough Training, Running Meditation, and Power Training. I like the Power Training tape the best, as her guided imagery is extremely motivating as well. The ones I like the least work on Weight Loss and Creating Wealth, as the guided imagery seemed pretty elementary.

I think anyone who wants to enlist the power of your mind to help increase your motivation would be interested in these products. I have recommended them to friends who had trouble sleeping, or others who were facing a health issue or couldn't get past procrastinating and get on with their dreams, but I think the biggest and most direct help will be for those who are experiencing and can't stop their mind running long enough to be as creative as they know they can be.

Kelly has an easy to listen to voice and offers a program to recharge your brain, free of charge under her navigation link called free stuff. This should give you a good enough idea of whether or not you want to invest in any more of her packages. I warn you though, if you like her work as I did, you probably won't stop just one. For limited time, as of this writing in December 2010, she has a buy three get one free offer that may help take the sting out of your pocketbook.

Features
Her website tells us:
"Brainwave Therapy is the simplest, most affordable way to directly tap into your higher potential and unleash your power to think, create, heal and to change. There’s no training necessary, no need to travel anywhere, or spend hundreds of dollars on complicated home training programs that take up a lot of your valuable time. Just 30 minutes a day will bring outstanding results.

When your brain is in balance your ability to think, learn, create and recall is remarkably enhanced. Perception expands, memory improves and you can concentrate more easily. You sleep better and are more resiliant to stress. A balanced brain brings freedom from fear, worry and even addictions that have stood in the way of you experiencing more fullfillment and joy."\

I have found all of that to be true. How does that work? These audiotapes send precisely tuned soundwaves on different frequencies through your brain via headphones. The science is that different vibrations or sound frequencies resonate with each other to form what your brain considers a third or binaural beat it. Your brain resonate sympathetically with this beat and, effortlessly, the sound frequencies balance the left and right hemisphere of your brain allowing creative energies, calmness, and enhanced learning.

Price is probably the best feature – a good way to test this new science and see if it works for you – also great for a quick fix.  Other products make use of a greater range of brain waves, cost much more but also deliver long term stability and greater lasting peace or creative effect.  These other products also require a longer term commitment so I highly recommend that people start with BrainSync and then decide whether and to what extent they want to spend more money and develop further. Nevertheless, everyone who buys these products should find that they agree with this testimonial from her site

Product Performance
As I said, I've used these products for a number of reasons. I rate the power tape as my favorite, because I find it both motivating and it keeps me moving. A girlfriend who used to go, found that it did not work for running though, because it was too slow. I love the Secret Universal Mind of Meditation, because it reminds me of my greater connection to life. I find it soothing and comforting as did my partner and we listened to it many nights before bed. All the tapes for exercise are good, and if you exercise a lot, you'll probably want all three.

What I know is that, for me personally, I feel great when listening to her affirmative imagery. They helped me get past rough patches where motivation was low, that I come back to it and have used a variety of her tapes for over a year. That others feel the same is evident from the testimonials on her website. They claim that Kelly's MP3 files facilitate the same state as meditation, biofeedback, and induce calmness or creativity and excitement as appropriate. One woman even says she can't pay her bills without it (smile).

Summary
for anyone who wants a quick easy inexpensive way to test out brainwave technologies these products are great. However for people who may want to fall into a deeper meditative state, other more expensive products on the market might be a better fit. Other product reviews on this site will discuss my personal favorites in that category as well. I believe completely in the fact that we learn so quickly when we are young because our brains are primarily in the theta state. The more we can do as working adults to enhance the states in which our brains function, the more creative we can be, and the faster we can manifest our dreams.

So what are you waiting for? Follow these links and download your trial tracks today. You can only find yourself in a better mental state than you were before you started.  Special note: I am an affiliate of brain sync technology, and if you follow these links and subsequently buying any product a few dollars travels back to support this site. As always I appreciate your support.

Having adopted life in Kinsale, County Cork Ireland over five years ago now we have become adept at managing the celebration of Thanksgiving, a holiday specific to one country when living in another. Upon reflection, the changes we have experienced are instructive of our settling in and making connections within our community.

The first year I remember both celebrating and ruing the differences in what it took to get things done. On the one hand, there were no lines in the markets and we could purchase a free range turkey with no bother because few others wanted them in November.  However, we had to do without pumpkin pies as there was no filling to be found and the real pumpkins had all been sold earlier in the season.  Our guests were neighbours, older gentle and interesting folk who had graciously included us in the small gatherings that happened in the neighborhood.  Much of the conversation around the table made little sense to us, and in truth the Cork accents were often so strong as to render us incapable of reply.

The second year was an experiment in mixed cultures, one that perhaps did not lead to the best entertainment experience of our lives.  We had sorted the pumpkin pie issue by simply bringing cans home in a suitcase after travel to the US. The turkey was the best we had ever had, coming as it did from the local butcher.  Our guest list included a younger couple who we knew from the town, the older gentleman who manages the works of our village, and an American who had rented one of the houses close by.  Unfortunately the American was of the sort who felt that his way was the best way and “What was wrong with the locals that they didn’t…?”  Not answering his emails being at the top of his list.  The one brief moment of connection for me was when I explained to him what I had learned from my Rotary group in Cork - that people here are so closely connected that they seldom resort to emails, at most texting.  Why move to the impersonal when you can go downtown for lunch and run into everyone you need to see?  What we were experiencing was our lack of connection rather than their rudeness.  The Irish couple concurred and I felt as though I had won a prize in multicultural understanding.  When the older gentleman fell asleep at the table it seemed a proper comment on the evening.

Our third year felt as though we were finally at home and Thanksgiving modeled much of the lessons we had been learning.  We were flexible, resulting in a bigger dinner on the Saturday while we took the heart of the celebration of our holiday to our multicultural group meeting on the Thursday by sharing pumpkin pie.  Having built real homey connections with people, our guest list including the folks with whom we walked our dogs, worked, and lived close to, all of them people who shared other events regularly with us.  We understood 95% of what was said throughout the evening, only really breaking down at the end when our guests fell into politics and sports.  There was only one man whose accent was strong enough to cause me to have to ask him to repeat himself so I could answer a question.  And best of all people stayed, talked and laughed until well after 1:00am.  Great craic!

It wasn't until the fourth year that we unpacked the China, and rolled out the bits and bobs that truly make the celebration one with historic memory by including grandmothers silver, the tablecloth we picked up in Hungary, and the centerpiece that included the little bits of handmade crafts from Africa.

Perhaps, in retrospect, that is the greatest gift of moving to Ireland for us, that we become increasingly part of the world culture because travel is easier and the community norm allows for greater multicultural mix. That is the reason that this year we are moving both towards and away from what would have been our traditional celebration and taking Thanksgiving to a new high by incorporating our regular group of friends in a feast that stretches the tradition to include chopsticks.

We found that it didn't work for us to have a meal on any day but Thursday so we are back to the traditional day while being adventurous instead with the food on the table. Our friend from China, Tina, will be making the feast and we are adding Chinese traditions to our American norm. In China, it is bad luck to have an odd number of main dishes so we will have a small amount of soup and then six dishes to be shared together: a couple of types of dumplings, a vegetable and potato salad, and a stuffed tofu and a spicy tofu.  Tina and her friend Grace will teach us how to make all these, thus adding to the repertoire of our lives.

Thanksgiving continues to teach us many things as it helps us to reflect on our lives, and how much we have to be grateful for in our adopted home echoing the original Thanksgiving feast. Those settlers long ago found warmth and helpfulness in their new neighbours, who taught them new skills, literally keeping them alive over the  first winter. While nothing in our journey has been so extreme, we continue to find the connections with other people in the appreciation of the wide world in which we live in as sources for our deepest gratitude.

For people not embroiled in the world of research, it seems a strange suggestion to use a standard research practice to enhance your career. Nevertheless that is what this article intends to do. Because action research has proven itself "a tool for complex times," great success can be enjoyed by employing it in the personal arena, after all, our lives are nothing if not complex. In this article, I will introduce the three steps involved in action research (discovery, measurable action, reflection), and give examples as to their importance in each of the three main time periods within a career: 1) as you get started, 2) making strategic plans midway, and 3) transitioning to new endeavors.

Discovery

The first step in any action research project is to discover what is going on in the world that you want to study. This usually involves work on the web, in libraries, interviewing people, or generally asking questions in any format that comes your way. As you can tell this is a good way to get started on any project, because it grounds us in what is already known, making it less likely we "reinvent the wheel." As example, a person just starting off on their career should spend some time investigating the lifestyle involved in the jobs they are applying for. It is not often understood how much our work constrains the quality of our lives, and people need to make conscious decisions about not only what they are suited to do, but what the impact of that work will be short-term and long-term. For mid-career strategic planning, the discovery phase takes the professional into the literature of their work, ensuring that decisions are made with some broader understanding of what others are doing in similar situations but in other contexts. An example of this might be a woman I worked with who wanted to lead virtual teams.  She used her discovery phase to uncover the fact that communication would be the biggest area of concern and prepared herself with course work and other research to develop systems of communication prior to situations that would require them.  At the end of our careers, as we are transitioning into a new kind of life, a discovery process also serves us well. If, for example, we will soon be retired, a day or more searching the web about what retired people are doing will enlarge our view of the potential of our new life. I think one of the most exciting aspects of the discovery phase, no matter when we engage it, is that it opens us to potential and that enlivens our spirit. We are always better off moving into measurable action when we start from the potential of growth rather than in reacting to situations.

Measurable Action

The second step in action research combines two of its major components- taking action to move things forward and measuring the outcome of those actions when we do. For example, going back to our person just entering their career, strategically sending out cover letters with resumes to organizations that have openings is a natural step. But this becomes exponentially stronger when the person opens a spreadsheet and tracks: the date, the person they contacted, when they called back, the results of those calls, whether they were introduced by someone or session application because of an advertisement, and what they learned subsequent to that application. Over a period of time this spreadsheet helps them see what strategies were more successful. For instance, it would be likely the person would see that they got farther on the interview process through personal introduction.

Mid-career strategic plans have much in common with transition situations in the measurable action phase. They both involve mature decision-making and tracking results, perhaps over a period of time. The criteria for this phase is that no matter how small your action, you take it having predetermined your baseline. This allows you to measure your results. For instance, people that I have worked with have used action research will take measurable actions in the following laundry list of circumstances: 1) to develop professional training, 2) to work through risk management situations, 3) to understand the value of contractors within their industry, 4) to explore the efficacy of teaching classes using an online platform for delivery, 5) to narrowly define leadership options, and 6) to allow people to move into a multicultural settings easily. In all of these cases, mid-career or end of career professionals first investigated what needed to happen next to the discovery phase, and then took actions over a period of time tracking the outcome of each step using the measurable action criteria.

Reflection

I find that most mid- to end of career professionals consider themselves reflective practitioners. However when I ask them how they keep notes and what value they find from referring to them, this opinion breaks down. Reflection is more than looking back on what has happened and thinking about it. Quality reflection requires a protocol of regular use. It is like exercising the muscle, if you only do it once in while you don't have it's full range or strength available to you when you need it. So what is reflection involve and how might our three career professionals use it to their advantage?

The beginning career person could set up a weekly protocol of giving themselves on a Friday afternoon a half hour to review what they have done to find a job that week and how they are feeling. Writing the feelings down is important because it becomes data for later. I have found that men have more trouble with this then women can so let me quote one of the bank personnel that I worked with, My biggest take away was the functional benefit of using qualitative data from journals and meeting notes in a qualitative manner.  Journaling was new to me and didn't come easy to a few of us (men).  Converting it into data demonstrated the functional value and has made a believer out of me". If our early career example had to apply for work over a period of time, their reflective data would record the differences in outcomes in the morning this week to week. Patterns would become clear, such as that on a Friday they feel better if they have applied for work on a Thursday than if it has been the beginning of the week and they have heard no answer. Since it likely makes little difference to the human resource professionals to whom they apply, they may conclude that for the quality of their own lives they will apply for work later in the week, giving themselves happier weekends.

Our mid-career professional uses reflective practice to track a myriad of ongoing strategic issues. Consider it data collection and assessment for ongoing projects you are managing. Again, it is useful to have irregular reflective practice on a Friday so that you can put your body of work for the week to rest knowing what to pick up and do when you come back in on Monday, also allowing your weekend to be free of straggling thoughts.

Finally, our end up career transition professional uses reflective practice for dreaming. Remembering what our intentions were for our lives when we started them, gives us a lovely reflective backdrop against which to figure out what we want to do next. Some of those early dreams are worth picking up and pursuing now. Some of the things that gave us joy and as mid-career professionals can now become hobbies, or active volunteer work, or show us other ways we can contribute to our world without having to "work." In this case I recommend a daily reflective practice during a consistent period of time, often just after we wake up in the morning, or after lunch on a full stomach, or at the end of the day. Reflection during those times makes use of the natural rhythms of when our mind and body are relaxed our subconscious and be more active in our dreams more fruitful.

Action Research in Total

This article is too short to tease out all the various ways in which these three steps of discovery, measurable action, and reflection successfully underpin our careers and our lives as we grow. My own personal research has shown it to be vastly beneficial as professional development for people working in groups to solve very complex problems. But why not use the same tools that we use in our work lives to help solve the complexities in our personal life? I end this hoping that everyone reading it takes some small step today to discover something new, measure the actions they're taking towards their goals, and reflect upon: where they are where they wanted me and what will get them the results they are looking for.



As the personal action research practitioner develops in her use of the three steps (discovery, measurable action, and reflection) there comes a time to go back and revisit skills that may have been forgotten or lost. So it was for me in the fall of 2010 when I set off for the Collaborative Action Research Network (CARN) conference in Cambridge. In addition to a fantastic conference with new ideas, many of which I will write about in other places, I found Cambridge, in the United Kingdom as a lovely place to visit in the fall. This article deals with one woman's ideas about where to go, what to see and do in Cambridge. These will be written under the context of the AR three steps, therefore discussing what I discovered, the actions I took, their relative success, and my reflection on the quality of the city itself.

First Recognizance, the Pre-Trip Discovery Cycle

Prior to going anywhere, I think it is common practice for most women, to do a pre-trip discovery cycle on the Internet. I am no different. In this Pre-awareness stage, we often see things that later mean something to us. Two things become immediately apparent to me, first every site has pictures of people on bicycles or tooling along a river or canal in a wooden boat with someone standing and pushing it with a stick (Punts) and the fact that lots of people like the Fitzwilliam Museum. I tested my discovery program  by talking to a woman in Kinsale whose son went to Cambridge, as she has spent many comfortable weeks there at different times of year. She confirmed that in her mind several things were true: 1) never take the car into Cambridge, everyone walks or rides bikes; 2) punting was fantastic, and a way that college students made a little extra money but primarily a warm weather activity; 3) the Fitzwilliam Museum was a "must see" having too many gems to take away all at one sitting.  I only had one day prior to the conference so I decided to use those three targets as emphasis for measurable action. What could I learn about Cambridge through the lens of cycling, punting, and the Museum?

Second Phase, Measurable Action

It was clear from the moment I got into town that bicycles were ubiquitous. 30,000 bicycles, to be exact, were tooling in and around traffic, on and off the bicycle lanes, and generally competing very well with the cars. I headed off from my hotel, map in hand, with directions as to how to find the closest "bike hire" to rent one of my own.  Unfortunately the woman at the hotel didn't know what she was talking about, and the shop she directed me to did not rent bikes. Nicely enough, they directed me on, but, alas, I probably didn't understand the directions and got miserably lost. This is not to say that it wasn't a lovely walk, as I traveled through a delightful mix of green semi-wooded urban landscapes bordered by industrial age homes that have been transformed into childcare facilities etc. Yet, by the time I started to ask directions of every dog walker I met, my legs were tired and I was yearning to see the sights in an easier manner. Fortunately, my perseverance paid off and I found City Cycle Hire right at the corner of Newnham Roadand and the Fen Causeway. Because I'm a tall woman they loaned out a Dutch bicycle and off I went, sitting erect rather than in my more normal bent over position, like a woman of stature.

Seeing the colleges in the city center of Cambridge on a bicycle is an absolute joy. Once I got going the right way on a one-way system (having been very nicely told to turn around or walk by local bobby) the bicycle afforded the option to turn quickly, and investigate small lane ways. I came to enjoy city cycling on this very erect women's bike, because I could so easily stop, hop off quickly, take a picture, and move on. If you do this yourself, you will find it necessary to have a bike lock with you if you want to investigate any of the colleges, as they all require you to leave your bike outside their gate. There are many sites worth a stop: for example, the grasshopper clock with its mechanical movements and blinking bright eye, or Kettle's Yard, two cottages joined together to house temporary exhibitions of contemporary artists. Since greenways are never very far away, bike riding in and amongst the cars in the city can be punctuated with lovely cruising through the fall colors amongst the trees.

Alas, my friend had been correct, punting had stopped for the year. As I rode over and back across many of the canals of river ways I did see one punt out with a passenger bundled up against the cold, however, by early November, the hundreds of wooden Punts are mostly lined up with chains running through them positioned in boat yards and waiting for warmer weather.

The Fitzwilliam's Museum proved to be a great way to either start or end a day seeing Cambridge. A relatively small museum, it still has a variety of exhibits so as to be able to say "something for everyone." The special exhibit during my visit featured the literary art of Persia, and what would have been the equivalent of illuminated manuscripts from 1000-1600s. Fine Arabic writing interspersed with charming small paintings, the hundred or more books on display are all versions of the epic poem written by Ferdowsi in 1010 AD telling the history of Persia from an Iranian perspective. If you wanted to get a taste of the culture from which the art comes, the museum coffee shop featured a Persian appetizer/lunch.

Reflections on a day in Cambridge

Cambridge is a city where "smartness" permeates the air. From the children in their uniforms on the streets and in the museums, to the students on their bicycles or working in the restaurant and hotel bars, to the gentrified discussions going on in the coffee shops, Cambridge is a college town with an air of refinement. Its history is that it was the Protestant and scientific balance to the Catholic and philosophical edge of Oxford. Known for individualistic scientific endeavors to city of Cambridge seemingly exists just to support the University, rather than the University being part of a wider expanse of city activities. Or so it seems to me traveling there for a short of time.

The buildings that make up the various colleges are old, ornate, and interesting for the fact that there are so many of them clustered together rather than seen on a one per city basis as would be true in most of Europe. Of course, they house unique charms as would any buildings given their age and history. They remain excellent symbolic reminders of why a Cambridge education is seen in the world as one of the best. Likewise the amenities that are available to the traveler are upbeat and posh as is appropriate for a town situation catering to the fairly well-off academic and university student. In a similar fashion, nightlife goes on until the early hours, with very drunk college-age people still on the streets at four or 5 AM as I saw when I was leaving for an early plane out of Stansted airport.

The business of Cambridge is the University, and the work of all the colleges. While there are many ways to spend comfortable hours, there is little to attract the tourist just for the sake of the city itself. Nevertheless, if you're in the area, and have a spare day, you can spend it with great delight in Cambridge. As I reflect upon my time there, I'm glad I went, but would not go back unless once again some academic pursuit gave me reason to do so.

 So you think you may be interested in a biking holiday in Ireland? Good choice! Ten months of the year (all but December and January) you'll find great touring and if you keep these three cautions in mind you should have a fantastic time. This article addresses the three variables that we have found to make the biggest difference in the quality of our time on the road: Irish topography, the weather and the typical Irish fare.

Train for hills and plan your route on a topographical map

Ireland is a small island with few areas where roads are particularly flat. While taking the larger and more traveled roads may lesson the number of hills, why short yourself the beauties of the Irish rural landscape or increase the chances of a bike/vehicular accident? Picture rolling countryside, narrow roads with farmlands or ancient forest dotted with an old castle ruin or two and you will have some idea of the brilliance riding your bike through the Irish rural landscape. If you train for hills and be sure to know how to maximize the use of your gears on hills and you will be fine with biking in Ireland.

Every road, no matter how small will be in evidence on the topographical maps available in every tourist information office. Carefully marked in 1 kilometer squares, these maps will help you avoid the unexpected hill, the rise of which would cause you to have to get off and walk. On the other hand, many times we have found ripe blackberries in the hedgerows while pushing our bikes up just such one of these hills. In this landscape there is no shame in walking at odd intervals.

Pack modular clothing

Because we are on an island, the weather is changeable. While you might not consciously start your ride when it was slogging down rain, you may find anything from a soft mist to a pelting storm come up on you, and hopefully pass on after a short while. In a similar fashion, mornings are cool, if the sun comes out you may get quite hot, and the shaded areas can give you a chill. We recommend bike shorts, and a short sleeved bike jersey with leggings and arm warmers. In colder months we just double the layers of each. In this manner we can pull the leg warmers off our knees on the hills or change the number of layers as arm coverings without having to even stop the bikes. These with rain gear that quickly pulls on over the top and you'll be set.

Prepare healthy food alternatives

Typical Irish fare, such as you will find in any local pub may be the type of food that would sit in your stomach like a rock once you got back up on your bike. Our solution has been to buy tofu fillets, and pack spelt crackers with hazelnut butter. We typically stay somewhere in a hotel and augment our mid day meal with fresh or dried fruit from the breakfast buffet. This small assortment of food takes up little room in our paniers, but allows us to stop anywhere on the road for a pot of tea and enjoy a repast that leaves us light and ready to ride the next stretch.

I finish writing these hints from the porch of Muckross House near Killarney. This stately manor was once a stop over for Queen Victoria and sits on perfectly groomed grounds, at the edge of the lake and bordered by National Park. An easy 10k circuit takes you through yew forest, past Victorian cottages, to a waterfall and through acres of Rhododendron. Bike riding in Ireland is not to be missed.

This article is the second of two articles giving quick hints, using the process of action research to help you design the successful integration of “new paradigms” of thought into what you consider normal. The goal is to help you see change less as trauma and more as an adventure. Action research can help you incorporate change in your life with less stress. As I have written in other articles, don't be worried by the word research, the three steps in action research will seem familiar. Yet the unique blend of how we use discovery, action and reflection in the process makes seemingly difficult things simple, thus allowing you to move ahead in areas you previously thought impossible.

Measurable Actions

Where are you now? What is working and what needs to change? Take out a piece of paper and write these down. Then implement the change you have in mind. Two times a week take out your sheet, note the date and write out how things are going. You can expect that change takes time, is more expensive than you thought, and feels uncomfortable at first. By tracking these and other things,  you will begin to notice that what may be causing discomfort now is not the same as what was causing distress a short time ago. Change requires that we work out the stress. By tracking the successes and failures that come naturally with change we can decide if we are on the right track.

To give you an example from my writing, I recently started to investigate "automatic article submitters" as a means of gaining a wide dissemination of my work with less time. The first one I purchased was consistently dreadful. Every step got harder, with less positive results, and most importantly none of the challenges were taken care of by tech support. I decided it was a waste of money and tried to return it. A failure. Luckily my second choice has gone better, and while things were not as seamless as I was led to believe, I can see when I compare my notes that this choice is working and I continue to work with them to iron out the problems.

In both cases, however, emotionally I was on firm ground because I had been keeping track of what was going on.  I was not burdened with self-doubt about my decisions. Freedom comes with seeing clear evidence and moving on it. Change brings new problems, but when you measure the results of your actions, big and small, you don't ever get to feeling hopeless or overwhelmed. Challenges become just steps on the path. Once a week, or whenever you need to make a decision, you move to the last phase which is to reflect on your progress.

Reflection

I started this article series by discussing whether things are ever really a paradigm shift. Did email replace calling people? Or will text replace email? No, what happens is that we learn how to use the new idea and, as we do, we organize what skills, techniques, or technologies we will use in different circumstances. Regular reflective practice will save you more time than it costs you because you will feel solid and comfortable with your decisions. No reason to worry about whether or not what you are doing is the right move if and when you are basing your ideas on what has worked in the past.

I recommend taking fifteen minutes once a week to reflect on changes you are making. The first step is to look over any notes you have taken about the changes you are making in your life. Then sit back and consider how it is going, Write a few lines about what you like and what you find challenging. Then let it go until the next week.

Discovery, measurable action and reflection: I guarantee that with these three simple steps you will find that you quickly and easily incorporate changes in your life with less stress than you previously may have felt.

I love new ideas! As a perpetual learner I am fascinated to first understand a new concept and then work out all the ways it can be put into action. Thus, years back when the concept of “paradigm shift” came into our vernacular I was smitten with the idea that what is seen as a “normal” type of behavior could change so completely as to signal a new evolutionary stage. And indeed for years it appeared to me that this concept of change might work. For instance, email more or less replaced calling people on the phone, Then I moved to Ireland and found a different norm- text messaging. I had to blend the two. Did the paradigm really change or just expand in its range of choices? After all, I still make telephone calls.

Change presents problems. If we change when an idea is new, it may prove to be faulty or quickly taken over by an even better idea. There we are, having invested in an idea that quickly deteriorated. I think of my brother-in-laws collection of laser disk movies as an example. On the other hand, if we wait too long and we may find ourselves not understanding a whole section of our world that others enjoy, leaving us feeling out-of-place. I see this in my writers group when others admit that they don't use email. To quote a holiday card I received a few years back, “Isn't it time we stopped asking for the seas to remain calm, and instead learned to sail in high winds?”

This article is the first of two articles, giving quick hints, using the process of action research to help you design the successful integration of “new paradigms” of thought into what you consider normal. The goal is to help you see change less as trauma and more as an adventure. Action research can help you incorporate change in your life with less stress. As I have written in other articles, don't be worried by the word research, the three steps in action research will seem familiar. Yet the unique blend of how we use discovery, action and reflection in the process makes seemingly difficult things simple, thus allowing you to move ahead in areas you previously thought impossible.

Discovery

During the discovery phase you want to learn about and compare the positive and negative attributes of how you are doing things now and how things will be different if you adopt the change you are considering. I recommend you draw out a table – with two rows at the top marking how things are now and how you can expect them to be once you have implemented the change you are considering. On the left hand side, list all the ways in which they compare. Your final chart will look similar to lists you see comparing the less expensive and more expensive models on products. You should be able to tell if and when you want to start making a change. Make notes or check marks where they cross to indicate how the two compare. Be sure to add time and money on your list, as the initial expense of new ideas is often a turning point in making decisions.

After a thorough examination, when it becomes clear that you want to move on a new idea – move to the next step which is to take small measurable actions, tracking their success.

The next article “Just Another New Idea? Using action research to incorporate change in your life with less stress – Part 2 – Action and Reflection” goes over the next two steps in this process.

Weekly Report: November 21, 2010

When reinventing life, a solid reflective protocol or reflective practice is necessary - this is the first in a series where Alana makes her business growth transparent using solid action research strategies.

Discovery

What happened this week? - I wrote another article (embarrassing to say one of many) that extolled the virtues of regular reflective protocol. Feeling guilty in that I don't always walk my talk, I decided to put an end to that and to start this weekly reflection on the evolution of my business and ideas. That requires a little catching up so that my readers may understand all the things I have been doing and how I got to this place.

1. In October I unexpected was given the opportunity to suggest a COPAR like program in Bahrain – one aimed at helping the ministry for education to help their principals and teachers improve curricula aimed at creating independent and critical thinkers, capable of being entrepreneurs.

2. My second book is progressing in fits and starts. It's title will be: Action Research for Business, Nonprofits and Public Administration: A Tool for Complex Times

3. I have taken on the challenge to write 101 articles in 100 days – now about day 55.

4. I have started to work Tracesea on a part time basis – she will catch up the publication of my articles to the web, to ezine and to be spun and article marketed.

5. I am actively reading “GetAbstracts” on consulting and small business – I have learned/remembered ways of doing business such as contracts (will need a solicitor) and requiring 1/3^rd up front, half way through and at the end. So for a large contract as with Bahrain the freedom to rearrange other work comes with the contract.

I have found that I have both the motivation and the time to write – but not to publish. Therefore it is a good use of my resources to have that part done by others. This will allow me to put my energies toward marketing RL Enterprises as a set of websites and services that help individuals, businesses and government offices through using action research to develop locally designed solutions and create internally driven professional development. These solutions and designs for training will be more efficient, effective and at lower cost than if they outsourced or paid consultants.

Measurable Action

My baseline is that until I took on the 100 day challenge and then went to Bahrain I had not considered merging what I had started (the websites) with my expertise in action research. Now it seems like a no-brainer, a natural evolution and I am almost embarrassed not to thought of it earlier. Part of my baseline is the previous 5 year project in the United States, part of it is my teaching of action research at CTU and another part are my books. Merge all these with regular articles, which Tracesea is not spinning and web publishing and it seems a lot of capacity has been brought to bear on this idea quickly. My steps to date are:

1. I have written a total of 18 articles on some aspect of using action research to improve life, business, or education.

2. I submitted a proposal to the Kingdom of Bahrain for a Train-th-Trainer hub and spoke PAR design.

I do not have any measurements of success as of yet. As I wrote, the articles are slow in getting published, but Tracesea is attacking that so it should change soon. Then we can track how they are noticed and the relative improvement of visits to my site.

I have also heard that things move slowly in Bahrain – we will see.

Nevertheless I am psyched and ready to take on other opportunities to test other opportunities to consult and facilitate action research groups. Perhaps €500 for a consult and then €100 a month for access to an online classroom set up for your group? There is a Small Firms Association networking night coming up in December and I will prepare a brochure and business card for the event.

I can see progress. And as with all progress, there is more work to bring the other things (professorship, writing, and websites) into line with these new ideas and actions. Progress seems slow when I look at how little it seems I can get done in a week – but speedy when I look at how much I have done this year.

Reflection

I am excited by these changes. It seems as though a long lost part of my personal capacity has been reawakened. This feels as though it may be the end of the five year cycle of change that started with the relocation to Ireland. When I start to lead action research groups again I will have finished re-opening all the boxes of my life that I had to pack up in order to make the move to Europe.

My next steps are to work on marketing myself and this firm as consultants. I like the elevator pitch that RL Enterprises is a set of websites and services that help individuals, businesses and government offices through using action research to develop locally designed solutions and create internally driven professional development. These locally driven solutions and designs for training will be more efficient, effective and at lower cost than if the company or government outsourced or paid consultants to design and implement them.

Next Steps:

I should start carving out time to network – I 'll see how it goes in Dublin and then redesign a campaign for the new year. I'll ask Tracesea to look into social marketing opportunities and carve out time to work with Alan and Tracesea on the Facebook site. Done properly the marketing should be positive for both my consulting, the articles and website and the book.

I have friends I think that can help.  Since John is involved in a business growth group in Kinsale I will ask him about it. Also since Patrick was so helpful on the sites I will ask him to take a look at brochures.