Today’s post comes from Shawn Anderson, ShawnAnderson.com, five-time author, corporate trainer and national speaker on the topics of “possibility thinking and creating opportunity.”

 

 

It’s colossal.

Four 60-foot tall faces…each blasted out and sculpted with jackhammers on the side of a granite mountain. The width of a single eye runs eleven feet long. Noses are each 24 feet tall…the same height as four six-foot men standing on each other’s shoulders.
When you look up at Mt. Rushmore, the project seems as if it should have been impossible…but yet there it is. Staring out at us from the side of the mountain are four presidential giants: Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. It’s an amazing accomplishment that will continue to inspire generations “until the wind and the rain alone shall wear them away.”

But there is more to Mt. Rushmore when you look deeper. Hidden inside the vision and finished product of Mt. Rushmore are a few secrets that can empower individuals and organizations to also do great things.

1. Be a visionary and never be afraid to think B-I-G.

Never be afraid to set your goals beyond what others may think is possible.  A four-star general in “possibility thinking,” sculptor Gutzon Borglum didn’t let a daunting task immobilize him. Commanded with an assignment that seemed ridiculously impossible, Gutzon applied an awesome amount of action to make the four faces materialize. When we dare to unchain our own dreams and drive our direction with the same granite-like purpose…we, too, can do something as inspiring.

2. Focus “small” to avoid being overwhelmed by the size of the goal.

As Gutzon discovered, the trick is to dream big, but focus small. Break your project down into manageable “Can do!” pieces that you tackle one day at a time…one “face” at a time…one “eye” at a time…one “pupil” at a time.  B-I-G goals can’t be accomplished in a few days…but little goals along the way can be.

3. Build something that lasts…and lasts.

Construction of Mt. Rushmore began in 1927. Almost 85 years ago, workers were hanging for their lives in swinging seats with jackhammers and using thousands of pounds of dynamite to create American monumental history. Their work endures for generations to see…long after they are gone.

Gutzon’s remarkable feat took 14 laser-focused years. That’s roughly 5,110 days.

In the next 5,110 days in the life of either you or your organization, what can you “sculpt”? What program, event or product can you build or create that has the potential to live years after you’re gone? What legacy can you leave?

4. Stay determined and never give up.

It is highly likely there were thousands of original naysayers when Gutzon began, but yet he carried an unwavering “We can do it!” spirit in the idea and in his team. Make a conscious choice not to let your dream be hijacked by “No!” answers or stopped by seemingly unmovable “mountains.” Be passionate in your purpose. Destiny is not something we accept; it is something we create.

Each day of the next 14 years is a gift. Each of the next 5,110 days is a chance to start chipping away at something that is meaningful and lasting. The older I get, the more I realize the inevitable fact that life is not long enough. Eventually time runs out. When we understand this inevitable Law of Life, there should never be a reason for any of us to stop chipping, carving, sculpting, designing, building, and sharing.

And that’s our challenge. That’s the challenge of Mt. Rushmore. That’s the challenge of Gutzon Borglum.

What are we going to chisel during the next 5,110 days of our lives?

Shawn Anderson is the the Founder of the Extra Mile America Foundation, a non-profit organization empowering people to “go the extra mile” in life.  In 2011, the Foundation will lead the charge in motivating 200 mayors in all 50 states to declare November 1 as “Extra Mile Day”…a day to recognize those in the local community going the extra mile.

People from all over the globe have connected through social networks. Organizations have been able to measure what works for them and in what areas they want to grow. Find out what tools can help Facebook and Twitter work for you!

Mentionmap.com is an exciting web app for exploring your Twitter network. Tap in and discover which people interact the most and what they’re talking about. It’s rather useful in finding relevant people to follow because it loads each user’s tweets and finds the people and hashtags they talked about the most. The data is displayed using a graph-style visualization where mentions become connections and discussions between multiple users emerge as clusters. By clicking on a user, you’ll see their network of mentions and details from their profile!

It’strending.com posts top links being shared, items on Facebook  like news, video, pictures for the third party. It uses the recommended plug-ins by ebook and other services, which helps people find interesting and relevant content.

Retweetist studies what people are retweeting on Twitter to monitor trending topics. It lists what people think is worth retweeting, who RT it and how many times its been RT. The app also serves as a good guide to see who is creating the most retweeted messages, making it easier to find out which Twitter users are actually worth following. Retweetist’s own twitter account feeds new links that are currently being retweeted the most into your tweet stream.

The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keyword or topic in a Tweet. Any Twitter user can categorize or follow topics with hashtags, but this app just made it way easier. Hashtags.org tracks volumes and trends of hashtags and categorizes them accordingly.

Twittersentiment.appspot.com allows you to research the sentiment for a brand, product, or topic. Stanford University computer science grads developed an efficient way of characterizing sentiment analysis. From brand management to polling, purchase and technology planning to discovery, this tool helps decipher exactly what the people want.

Discover what people are really saying on Twitter with Twitrratr.com. With this, you can distinguish negative from positive tweets surrounding a brand, product, person or topic. Twittratr engineers a list of positive keywords and a list of negative keywords and search Twitter for keyword. Those results are cross-referenced against the adjective lists, then displayed accordingly.

Avid twitter users have often heard “Follow me,” but Foller.me.com doesn’t boost your follower count. Actually, it’s a web application used to gather Twitter analytics from any profile in seconds! It first scans your Twitter profile and parses your latest tweets and followers, then tweets are separated into topics, mentions and hashtags. Followers are pinpointed all over a Google Map.

Twitter analytics helps you understand how people interact with you and your content. Backtweets.com allows you to receive an e-mail notification whenever someone tweets a link to your website. They calculate a score  based on an examination of a user’s interactions and reach. The goal is to each is the maximum number of unique people that saw a link or tweet so you can see how tweets, impressions and reach translate to visitors to your web site.

Addictomatic searches the best live sites on the web for the latest news, blog posts, videos and images. It’s the perfect tool to keep up with the hottest topics, perform ego searches and feed your addiction for what’s up, what’s now or what other people are feeding on. After you search, you can personalize your results dashboard by moving around the source boxes. When you’re done, bookmark the page and keep coming back to your personalized results dashboard for that search.

 Do you need to find a person and do not have a Facebook profile? Are you looking for funny Facebook quotations and statuses? Facepinch.com is a free social network search engine. Search for people, free facebook quotes and fun Facebook statuses. On this site you’ll find many Facebook statuses including history, geography, sports and religious ones in addition to political and funny statuses.  

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Today’s post comes from Christine Williams,  an AmeriCorps Program and Training Officer with the Alabama State Service Commission in Montgomery, AL.

I have been a trainer/facilitator for 13 years, and now provide training and technical assistance to National Service Programs in Alabama.  In addition, I provide trainings for Alabama State AmeriCorps and VISTA members twice a year.

Due to the nature of what I do, I need skills that allow me to communicate and connect with all audiences; I must listen and be able to assess the numerous needs of those that I serve.  It is essential that I have the right heart, to ensure that I am providing the necessary information for program staff and members to become successful.

The opportunities provided by the American Express Leadership Academy are invaluable.  I was selected to participate in a special Academy that was hosted immediately following the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans on June 9 – 10.  As a participant, I gained knowledge and feedback about myself that I have never received. The opportunity to learn, experience, and share what I think about myself as a leader, as well as learn what those who work closely with me think, is immeasurable.  I also appreciate the opportunity to network and work alongside my peers from across the nation. It was great to see that we are all experiencing similar situations professionally and personally.

Participating in the Academy has given me the proper guidance, accountability, tools and resources to catapult me to the next level in my life and achieve the great goals that I have set.

Prior to joining the State Service Commission, Christine served as an AmeriCorps member in Nashville, Tennessee at Vanderbilt University, where she helped seniors to become healthier, safer and happier people by designing activities to keep them active.  Immediately following her term of service as a member, she was selected to become a part of a national leadership development initiative as an AmeriCorps Leader for the state of Tennessee.  Shortly before completing her Leader’s term, she became an assistant AmeriCorps program director for TenneSenior Service Corps at Vanderbilt University. She has worked with the State of Georgia – Department of Community Affairs and the State of Alabama Department of Finance Executive Planning Office.

 

Today many Americans will come together to celebrate Independence Day. Barbeque grills will be lit and meals shared among friends. Picnic tables will filled with bowls of potato salad and pitchers of iced tea, and friends will come together to spend time with each other.

At the end of the day, people will gather to watch fireworks light up the skies across the nation while people “ooh” and “aah” at the display.

We hope you’ll take some time today to think about how service has helped to build this country. From community organizations in the early days of our country to the nonprofits that are serving community’s needs today, service is a part of our country’s story.

Our service not only shows a dedication to a cause, but a promise to each other. That no matter what, we’re all in this together and that we’re willing to lend a hand to help to our neighbors.

There has been plenty of opportunity to show the strength of our dedication to one another over the past decade; the attacks on September 11th, the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the devastation caused by tornadoes and floods across the country. American’s response to these events was unprecedented.

People have come from across the country to give of themselves and to help restore a sense of normalcy after these events, and even more people organized donation drives in their communities to benefit the people affected by these events. Their action is a testament to the connectedness of Americans to one another and their willingness to give of themselves.

Today, we hope you’re able to take time to celebrate all of the things that make this country great, and that when you do it, you take a moment to think of everyone that’s working to make America an even better place to call home.

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!