Galba Bright, Man of Vision and Passion!

"As for me, from my heart, 'A vision without passion is merely an idea. Developing people and transforming organisations is my powerful purpose'" Galba Bright [1959-2008]

Galba Bright of Tune Up your EQ wrote the above two line poem, in the Arts for Peace Challenge. He valued arts as an alternative to bring people together. And though he confessed he wasn't a poet, he two thoughtful lines for the Arts for Peace Project. They seem even more meaningful now.

You made a difference for people in Jamaica and beyond. This is only a small part of the wonderful legacy you leave. Today I write with tears in my eyes, since I can hardly believe you are no longer with us in this world.

Galba was inspired by the lyrics to "Treat Myself" sung by Stevie Wonder. And this is how he regarded them...

"I loved the lyrics to Treat Myself so much," Galba Bright shared, "that I had them pinned on my office wall when I was a consultant to the Government of Jamaica. I used to meditate on them in the sauna when I was planning my relocation to Jamaica. In my humble opinion the words are truly transformative."

Treat Myself
Music - Stevie Wonder; Lyrics - Stephanie Andrews

There’s a place I can go
When the tension’s high and I’m feeling low
In a flash I can be in another space
As a different me, have a new id.

I think I’ll treat myself to all the pretty places in my head
Yes, I’m going to treat myself to all the pretty places in my head

There’s no rich, there’s no poor
Everything is love, no such word as “war”
There’s no black and no white
Rainbow colours they, dress the days and nights,
Life’s a paradise

I think I’ll treat myself to all the pretty places in my head
Yes, I’m going to treat myself to all the pretty places in my head

It’s amazing how the mind
Can do what you want it to
It can take you to a time
Where you’ll want to stay forever
Feeling everlasting pleasure

If your life’s in a place
That you can hardly bear
Come along with me to mental ecstasy

I think I’ll treat myself to all the pretty places in my head
Yes, I’m going to treat myself to all the pretty places in my head

Whatsoever things are lovely
Whatsoever things are pure
Whatsoever things are honest
Whatsoever things are true

Galba inspired me as a learner. He spent about six months visiting and commenting on Dr. Ellen Weber's Brain Based Business blog to learn how to be a blogger before he set up his own, Tune Up Your EQ web site. And quite frankly, like the rest of us he made some blips in the first rounds. When the blog was first up he proudly announced it on Ellen's site. I went right over to leave him a comment to encourage him as did Ellen.

Unfortunately, he accidentally deleted the comment and he emailed me to share how badly he felt about it. So I gave it the second go. He was elated and told me in a million ways. His growth as a blogger and life-long learner continued on an upward curve. Ellen and I both enjoyed seeing Galba take flight.

Even now on Galba's blog, the third post down brings a great deal of pleasure to me since he named both Ellen and myself along with others as valued contributors:

"How would you describe Emotional Intelligence in just a few words? Last year, 8 Tune up your EQ readers, Manchild, Dr. Robyn McMaster, Dr. Ellen Weber, Ray Hobby, Linda Zdnawicz, Anthony Mersino, Tanika Williams and Jeanette Campbell shared their wisdom. Ellen Janssens also contributed great ideas.

You can learn from each of them. But what if you had to choose just one of their offerings?

The words that resonate with me most strongly come from Ellen Weber from the Brain Based Business Blog. Here’s what she said:

'Emotions for me are in no way separate from intellect …. They enhance the brain, though, only when we learn to wield them as resources and not leak them as deficits'"

Galba I can picture you dancing now... as I believe that is the way you would have it. You loved to dance... with your heart, mind and soul and we are all the beneficiaries. Thanks!

Treat Myself - Lyrics to Inspire

Treat Myself

Music - Stevie Wonder; Lyrics - Stephanie Andrews

There’s a place I can go
When the tension’s high and I’m feeling low
In a flash I can be in another space
As a different me, have a new id.

I think I’ll treat myself to all the pretty places in my head
Yes, I’m going to treat myself to all the pretty places in my head

There’s no rich, there’s no poor
Everything is love, no such word as “war”
There’s no black and no white
Rainbow colours they, dress the days and nights,
Life’s a paradise

I think I’ll treat myself to all the pretty places in my head
Yes, I’m going to treat myself to all the pretty places in my head

It’s amazing how the mind
Can do what you want it to
It can take you to a time
Where you’ll want to stay forever
Feeling everlasting pleasure

If your life’s in a place
That you can hardly bear
Come along with me to mental ecstasy

I think I’ll treat myself to all the pretty places in my head
Yes, I’m going to treat myself to all the pretty places in my head

Whatsoever things are lovely
Whatsoever things are pure
Whatsoever things are honest
Whatsoever things are true

"I loved the lyrics to Treat Myself so much," Galba Bright shares, "that I had them pinned on my office wall when I was a consultant to the Government of Jamaica. I used to meditate on them in the sauna when I was planning my relocation to Jamaica. In my humble opinion the words are truly transformative."

Galba offered the deeply moving message in Treat Myself for A Global Poem In Praise of Peace initiated by Thomas Warfield

Thanks, Galba!

**Photo by Robyn McMaster

8 Intelligences Shine across the Blogosphere

My first round of spotting bloggers's eight intelligences at peak performance resonated with readers, so it spurred me on for a second round. Now, 8 Intelligences across the Blogosphere will be a regular weekend feature at Brain Based Biz.

Verbal-Linguistic Bill Wren at Write Life --

Bill tells us straightforwardly what writing goals work and what don't!

They [clients, bosses, whoever's calling the shots] were caught up in the process of creating marketing material and utterly failing in making the connection between what was being written and the result they were hoping for. Had they paid attention to what the goal was (getting attention, selling whatever they were selling, engaging people), they might have had some different writing done, or even forgone the words entirely.

If you ain’t got a thing worth saying, for the love of Mike, don’t say anything!

Spatial – Sandy Renshaw at Purple Wren shares a great way to take a creative break – with Mr. Picassohead . If you want to build expertise in graphics, stop by Purple Wren or check Sandy's weekly tips at Successful and Outstanding Bloggers.

Sandy's blogs are chock-full of tips and she shares from a deep well of expertise!

Interpersonal and Musical – Mike Wager at Own Your Brand tells a story of a suggestion he made to Bruce Houghton of Skyline Music to check out his postings on Johnny Cash. The result...Bruce took Mike's work and crafted three postings that energized Mike's original content. Mike notes that

In our networked marketplace whatever you put in front of the world (a brand, a product, a service) can change and morph into a “new – new – thing.” Get used to it because it’s going to be happening more and more.

Mike and Bruce, your stories show that when we do things alone, we are limited to our own gifts, but when others take what we have done and use their gifts to craft it anew, it’s amazing what happens. That’s interpersonal intelligence tapping great rhythm!

Naturalistic – Matt, at The Copywriter's Crucible, tells an incredible story about How the Internet Can Sell Snow and a Good Story.” It’s hard to believe anyone would want to buy snow, let alone that anyone could sell it on Ebay. Matt gives details of a Colorado woman who sold three bags of snow to a family in Connecticut for $102.00. Check this out – it’s a fun read.

Intrapersonal – Galba Bright's, a new blogger who's off to a good start since his launch at the end of 2006. Galba provides strategies to improve your emotional intelligence at Tune up Your EQ.

Galba, a gifted young man, spent over a year studying other folks’ blogs and commenting often. Galba's learning curve was high and his own EQ was tested in the process. Check out Why a High IQ Can Be Bad for Your Health to see what's on his mind.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Valerie Cerami at The Final Sprint advises us to dance to kickstart both mind and body! Dance is a fun way to perk up your life and Valerie inspires us to consider it!

Logical-Mathematical – Ben Yoskovitz at Instigator Blog, shares several possibilities for blog promotion that help build both community and stats. I'll be experimenting with new strategies Ben lists below...

Mini Blog Carnivals

Contests

Theme Days

Blog Jolts (Use this as an example)

TheGoodBlogs communities [This new tool must work fairly well because when I visited another site today, I noted Ben’s Instigator Blog listed in a sidebar box titled TheGood Blogs. What’s your final take on this, Ben?]

Thanks Ben, for providing the links that show us how!

Whew! The learning curve’s high as I saw so many smarts on parade in the blogosphere. Stay tuned next Saturday for another edition.