Posts Tagged → san francisco

3 Keys To A Healthy Marriage

 

It’s so crazy that in just under 2 weeks I’ll be getting married! Our to-do list is long. Last week, after a busy day at work and separate work events, we needed a dinner out to get away from inside our own heads and everything we have left to do. Embrace the blur. A good friend said to us early on in our engagement, “You’re only engaged once. Enjoy every moment.” You really have to remember sentiments like that when the wedding planning (or wedding buying as my friend Kellee calls it).

So we met up for dinner at Odeon. A great little spot in TriBeCa that has been in the neighborhood for over 20 years.

We sit down and there was a really sweet looking couple next to us. They had a glow to them. He was wearing a bow tie and a suit, she was wearing a beautiful dress with a shawl. They were staring lovingly at each other and talking in a low tone and loving exchange that couples can do when they are really comfortable with each other.

Suddenly, their dessert came to the table, with candles and the whole waitstaff bringing it over and clapping for them.

They look at us and ask if we can take their photo (they asked the perfect couple, right?!). They met there on a blind date and are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. They come back every year to celebrate.

Of course, I couldn’t help myself! After they finished dessert I told them that we were getting married in two weeks. I asked if they had any advice for us. They gave us perhaps the BEST advice I’ve heard yet. They said there were three keys to a good marriage.

Humor. Flexibility. Loyalty.
It stuck with us. We talked about it the whole walk home. There are a lot of words and advice people can give about how to keep a relationship going, how to keep it strong and thriving. But I loved their advice. Here’s my expansion on their advice.

Humor: You have to be able to laugh together. Life is long. There is a lot that will happen. You can’t take yourself too seriously and you can’t take your partner too seriously either. You need humor between the two of you to keep things light and to be able to see the other person smile and laugh.

Flexibility: Sometimes you want to go left and your partner wants to go right. This could be a major as moving to a new city or as simple as wanting to order different Chinese food for dinner. It’s so critical to be maleable and flexible for your person. And it’s important for them to be flexible with you. Relationships are always in flux, it’s give and take. And in order to be successful you have to be flexible.

Loyalty: This is such a strong word it could go without explanation. You have to be endlessly committed and loyal to your partner. Fierce even. You have to stand by them, stand up for them, and understand that life is long and that loyalty is the foundation that will allow you to be flexible with each other and have humor to be able to laugh together. I don’t think the other two can stand up without loyalty.

It was so serendipitous. We are creating our own definitions and descriptions for what makes our relationships work. If you have any (free) advice to share, I’m all ears!

NYC, LA, San Francisco and New Orleans events on my radar, with discount codes for you!

What superhero power would you have? If I could chose one, I think (especially in weeks like this one) I would duplicate myself and be in two places at once! Since that can’t happen, then I have to take come comfort in at least sharing what events and conferences are on my radar. I’ve secured a few discount codes too (!) to help make registration fees more doable. If you go, send a report back ok? Enjoy!

New Orleans events as posted on NOLAlicious:

Classical music anyone? Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra has been hard at work launching a group for young professionals called Prelude. For $25 you get access to 6 events and the opportunity for discounts to LPO performances, drink specials and networking opportunities. The kickoff event is Thursday night at the Davenport Lounge in the Ritz Carlton from 5:30pm – 9pm. Join today (we did)!

Let’s get social! Social Summit 2010 is a 2-day training and business resource conference in New Orleans on September 28th & 29th that aims to change how you do business. From basic to advanced social media training sessions, the conference also includes opportunities to interact with experts in insurance, design, finance, and more. Cause we love to support locally created endeavors, we have a special discount code to offer readers. Enter “LICIOUS” in the checkout for $50 off registration!

New York

Tonight (9/22)! 5 ALIVE is presented by White Ribbon Alliance, NextAid, and Turntables on the Hudson. Part of this week’s UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), and WIE (Women: Inspiration & Enterprise) Symposium, I’m a big supporter of these organizations and excited to attend tonight. See you there?!

San Francisco

Keep on your radar for February 19th-21st! theCOREconference is an opportunity to engage, build, lead and collaborate alongside key thought leaders and practitioners in community building and collaborative leadership. From community leaders to technology developers from multiple sectors, people will gather to convene and learn from each other. Special rate for my readers! You can get  a $100 discount at registration with the code: THECAUSEMO.

Los Angeles

September 22nd-24th: Opportunity Green is a leader in the green space and successfully gathers (since its inception a few years ago) the best and the brightest in the green space to come together and collaborate in a new way of collective thinking that brings together unconventional ideas to push change in unexpected ways. For anyone interested in the movement to transform business for good in a sustainable way, this conference is for you! People, planet and profit all on the table. I have a special discount rate to offer you, go to registration and enter the code: ML35.

SOCAP10 Impact Challenge

Every year I pick a new conference (or two) that I really want to attend because I’ve heard it will blow my mind, because I want to connect with new people, because I know it’s good to stretch the mind and the soul. This year, it’s SOCAP.

In looking into the conference, I stumbled upon a post by my friend Emily about a contest where you can win a pass to the conference! Yes, the contest has some element of voting but it’s not everything (thankfully) and regardless of if I win, I like the question they’re asking.

The Social Capital Markets Conference (SOCAP) is a gathering of investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators at the intersection of money and meaning. SOCAP has spent the last two years defining the social enterprise movement. This year, more than 1,200 investors, donors, entrepreneurs, and innovators will decide: What’s Next?

A recent report by Hope Consulting on Money for Good revealed there is a $120 billion untapped market of individual investors looking to make a positive environmental and social impact with their dollars. With deserving entrepreneurs looking for funds to make that impact, the challenge is to discover:

What’s Next? How will social enterprise unlock the $120 billion market opportunity for impact investment?

SOCAP will be exploring this question throughout the conference, but they want to hear from you.

The challenge? Tell them (in 500 words or less) what’s next in social enterprise to unlock the $120 billion market opportunity for individual impact investment, and you could win a scholarship to this year’s SOCAP, valued at $1195, as well as the opportunity to be published in TriplePundit – an innovative new media company pushing the conversation forward about sustainable business in the 21st century.
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A Do Good, Feel Good Summer Reading List

Once a week this summer, come back to The Causemopolitan to read a guest post that will inspire you right up out of your seat to get involved and give back in a special series called Cause It’s Summer! Featured bloggers will be sharing their own reflections and stories, tips and resources, and perspective on philanthropy, social entrepreneurship and their own cause-filled life. This week welcome Emily Goligoski, who shares her must-read summer book list. However you won’t find any Danielle Steele novels here, instead inspirational stories from social innovators. Thanks Emily!
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I’m not one for beach reads. I didn’t really realize it until my family caught me reading Chekhov beachside one college summer (yes, for enjoyment, not a class). So lists published between May and August with reading recommendations have often fallen short for my bespeckled self, and not because I’m too academic or snobby for chick lit, but because I want to read work that I know my teammates and pals can also benefit from.

A few recent reads are just that, whether because they combine fun anecdotes with advice that has take home value or because they include stories you’ll want to tell over group dinners. They’re all first-person non-fiction, and I’ll let the esteemed authors speak for themselves:

On Collaboration

Twyla Tharp’s “The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together” was the second book I’ve read by the choreographer who has completed successful dance/music partnerships with the likes of Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. Readers gain insight into her personal dedication (think daily workouts with a trainer at dawn) but mostly ideas about working with other creative types: “The key to a workable routine? First, make sure you have agreed upon a common purpose. Amateur or professional—that distinction doesn’t matter. The first requirement of collaboration is commitment.”

On Making Things that Sing

On a recommendation from Sloane I read Nancy Lublin’s “Zilch” and found that the writer also stresses commitment—this time on the quality product front. The CEO and “Chief Old Person” at DoSomething.org shares 11 themes for organizational success along with advice for creating goals and values that team members care about, even when money is tight. Lublin explains that “people want to work on a product or service that they love and respect. John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla Firefox, the organization dedicated to producing and maintaining an open Internet, likes to talk about how his product ‘doesn’t suck.’ (This is a direct quote). Lilly believes that people may try Firefox the first time because of its open philosophy and not-for-profit status, but they keep using it because the product is good.” I couldn’t agree more.
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What Mobile Application Would Change Your Life?

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I’m on tour! It’s not quite the Cause It’s My Birthday madness that Doug Campbell and I created last fall, but it’s an exciting opportunity to meet and connect with EXCEPTIONAL techies (along with friends new and old) in five cities this summer. It’s an opportunity to help promote a company and a product we believe in, and help make the launch as viable as possible by sparking conversation and creating content with influencers and those most apt to purchase and develop this product.

The concept went something like this. Erica O’Grady and I wanted to create a unique opportunity for a company to get in front of their target audience, minus the top-shelf sponsorship cost. After all, what does “sponsoring” an event mean? It’s creating a place to get in front of the people that matter to you, right? So if we could do that for you, circulate a room and find the influencers and voices you wanted to reach, evangelize your product, sing your praises and back your endeavors, provide your with leads to follow up with after events that can lead to the same quantifiable ROI, what kind of sponsorship opportunity would that create?

The Party Crashers was born. And for our first project, we are party crashing Mashable’s 5-city SummerMash where awesome-super-amazing-client Microsoft has sponsored us to promote the Windows Phone 7. At each party in Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York City and Chicago, we’re asking the question (and capturing your answer) to the question:

“What Mobile Application Would CHANGE YOUR LIFE?”
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