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Living to Deadline
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Crafting the stories that shaped us: Me & Shayne Koyczan

This repost of a February 2013 article which was originally entitled:

 Power of others’ words to shape our self-concept 

It now has new life due to this site’s story focus!

“Spotting and celebrating the different” has been a talent and sensitivity that’s been great for my business. As a writer, a public relations strategist and creator of unique marketing materials, it’s been a gift.

Original article follows:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  It’s a sing-songy phrase children were taught to use to “hit back” when they were made fun of or when they were being bullied.

I used it once when I was young and under verbal assault. I don’t remember what  the insult was. I do remember thinking, “Yah, the magic little ditty? It isn’t doing anything for me.”

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Vocabulary’s value at the Golden Globes

Lines were all abuzz as to what Jodie Foster, aged 50 and an actress since she was 3 years old said, yet didn’t actually say at the 2013 Golden Globes.

Imagine 47 years to assemble the words, that lasted but a few moments and captured the desire for her privacy, developed over all those years.

She chose to express her single state, her sexual preferences and what she values and yet NOT say the actual words that Hollywood has been waiting for her to say.

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Eating Up Brand Messaging in Our Food Choices

Contemplating brand messages and how we ingest them in our consumer culture came to me well before any consideration of breakfast today.

It landed via tweet from a marketing colleague now super wellness coach, Carol Hutchinson. Her post led me to read “HartBeat.” This edition of The Hartman Group’s newsletter has all kinds of tasty connections to the things I find most delicious in language: information, insight into culture, analysis of cultural trends and how these messages are communicated in our every day choices – and evidence of all this in our food selections.

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Doodling and Handwriting Boost Creative Message Powers

To support my passionate cry for keeping pens, pencils, crayons and the magical markers as our tools on creative quests, I posted a study taken from the Huffington Post, in July 2011. Now, The Wall Street Journal has joined us in the campaign to connect to our creative potential with a fun, old-fashioned “communication tool”. Apparently it’s all in the wrists.  

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How to Spot Difficult People in Conversations, and What to Do About Them

Helena Kaufman suggests four ways to deal with difficult people

Difficult people have always been a part of  our circles of business or in venues meant to encourage connection through social conversation. Learning to spot and then neutralize that difficult person who’ll block your goal is helpful for the confident or novice conversationalist alike.

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Vancouver Cherry Blossoms Bring Joy, Japan and Bollywood Closer

Cherry Blossoms over VancouverToday marks the “official” start of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival which runs for a month from April 5 – 28, 2012. It is a vibrant example of how colour can influence an entire culture and send intangible, yet powerful messages to the senses.

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Cadince Voluptuous, from shy girl to burlesque star

“We like the nightlife,” says burlesque dancer Cadince Voluptuous of the denizens of her Colorado Springs, Colo. home base. “We also love our great outdoors and the lifestyle that comes with that.”

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