Merrill Lynch CEO: bogus about his bonus

I heard this on CNN this morning also:

The Merrill Lynch Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Thain thinks he should get a 2008 bonus of $10 million!

Are you kidding me? The company lost $11 billion in 2008! I can't even believe the company's board of directors would even consider the guy's request. It's absurd. But news reports say the committee is only thinking about denying bonuses this year for Thain and other senior executives. So, that means they're also considering not denying them.

I just don't get it.

We are officially in a recession. Have been for more than a year now. People are losing their homes to foreclosure left and right. We had more than 500,000 people laid off work in America just last month, Merrill Lynch employees possibly included. Yet, some big wig corporate exec of a financial company that lost so much has the nerve to think he deserves a bonus. Quick. Tell me where to sign up for this scam?!

Seriously, how can a CEO--the man who oversees the entire company and its operations--not see this kind of attitude is part of the problem here?! What one person needs $10 million, anyway. If there's that kind of money floating around his company now, couldn't it best be used to hire people back?

I can tell you how to turn this obstacle into an opportunity--fire the guy! The fact that he can even make such a request tells me he's out of touch with what's going on in his own company. How is that call for a bonus? Why would it even be considered?

This kind of news just makes me mad. It makes me question everything I ever thought I knew about how our country operates, especially now, as I hear about real people with real families hurting, as I read about real companies that actually contribute real dollars to their communities shutting down.

This kind of news just makes me mad.

How about you?

Laid off workers in Chicago speak up

I woke up this morning, turned on the news, and heard this story about laid-off workers in Chicago. It seems a group of 200 former employees at a window and door plant have staged a sit-in to protest being laid off without severence pay and other reasons they say violate their union agreement.

They are on day four and expect to stay "for as long as it takes." CBS News called the group "a national symbol for thousands of employees who have lost their jobs as the economy continues to sour."

I applaud the group. They are standing up for what they believe in and speaking out so they can be heard. It's part of what I call owning your Expressive voice. They're using their voice to meet a basic need. If they just left the company without protest, they would have regretted it. I'm sure of that. Everyone deserves to be heard. Some of these employees have been with this company for more than 30 years. They don't want to just walk away with nothing. They deserve much more than that. For too long, we've seen too many companies get away with this kind of practice.

It's time we pay attention to how poorly corporate America treats its employees. They may not get what they're asking for--the Bank of America, as the company's creditor and now holder of the company's assets, to pay what's due them--but at the very least they would have spoken up and fought for their rights. They can walk away knowing that, no matter the result.

For me, it's easy to see why these laid off workers are making this statement. When someone else tries to screw you over, it hurts, and you don't want to take it lying down. You don't want to take it at all. If you can find the strength within, you fight back. If you trust in what you believe in, you find a way to protect your interests. You can turn an obstacle into an opportunity. That's what these folks are doing. Besides, the government did just give this bank $25 billion dollars in the bailout plan. Surely, executives can use some of that money to help make things right on their end. It should work both ways, shouldn't it?

What do you think?

More on nurturing the artist within--the "top ten" list

A few posts back, I wrote about nurturing your artist self. It's not a difficult thing to do, but it does take time out of your day or week to do it. If you're not sure what to do, how about writing out a list of things you'd like to do but haven't?

Here are a few tips on creating a list you're more likely to follow:

_Keep it simple by assigning a number. If you only have to think of, say, 10 things to do, the mere thought of even creating the list won't overwhelm you.

_Time yourself. Give yourself 20 minutes or less to write out the things that first come to mind. This leaves you no time to judge the list.

_Don't judge the list. If you start judging, then you might let things like practicalities or finances get in the way. And we don't care about practicalities or finances when we're nurturing the artistic spirit. We get to pick freely, think freely, and write freely.

_Stay in the moment. Find a nice shady spot outdoors under a tree (See example in photo above; it's Arizona's state tree, the palo verde.), with a bench or bring your own chair. Bring your pad of paper and write. Write from the heart.

_Think of things you've always wanted to do but never have (probably because of time)...an art class, a visit to that obscure museum you heard about last year, a trip to a nearby arts community, tickets to a comedy show, yard sale shopping, etc. Think of things you know you'd like to do but thought you couldn't afford. Write them down, anyway (This doesn't mean you'll do them now, but you'll be more likely to fit them in later.). There's power in writing things down; that's why lists work.

_Not sure about what you'd like to do? Never thought much about this before? Go back to your childhood. What kinds of things brought you joy back then? Was it building things? Maybe you can add to your list that you'd like to visit your city's downtown and observe and take photographs of old buildings. Did you enjoy crafts? Perhaps you can add to your list something having to do with that, such as making a special greeting card for someone you love. Did you like, as I did, riding your bike? Maybe you can just jot down something about taking a bike ride to a nearby lake or body of water and people watch. You can make up stories about what they're doing there.

_Have fun with the list. Buy a special notebook or journal for your list-making. Use colorful pens or crayons or markers. Add stickers for fun, things like colorful stars or balloons in which you can write silly sayings (You'll find these at office and teacher supply stores as well as craft stores.).

_Be sure to post the list on a wall that you see daily.

_Cross off the things that you've done, and add to the list regularly.

This should give you more ideas about how you can nurture your artist within. Just remember, it's your list. No need to let others see it, as artist's dates are for you only. No one gets to object or agree with your list. It's all about you. And better yet, if you decide you don't like the list you came up with, you can re-do the whole thing. The important thing about this exercise is that you're learning a little more about yourself, what you like, what you don't, what you thought you might have but didn't after all.

Nurturing the artist within is a great way to develop your mental BIKE. With this exercise, you not only begin to hone in on your personal interests, but you begin to listen to yourself more clearly. You begin to recognize that while it's nice to gain input from others, their input isn't necessarily what's best for you. I bet you didn't realize the creative spirit could be that important.

If you wish to add your own thoughts about today's post, I'd love to hear from you.

All my best,
Jackie

Do you tweat?

Hey, I'm just learning. So bear with me. But I did add the Twitter widget here at BIKE WITH JACKIE. You'll see my updated "tweats" on the right-hand side of the page. I keep forgetting I changed the format and nearly posted "left-hand" (All the widgets used to be on the left-hand side just a week ago.).

Anyway, if you want to follow me on Twitter, you can connect with me directly from this site.

How crazy is this social networking thing?!

Nurturing the artist within

I love art.

I look for it everywhere I go, and it's pretty easy to find. When I used to teach elementary school children art appreciation workshops, I told my students, "Art is everywhere you look--in the fabric and design of your clothes, on the furniture at home, in the architecture of buildings, in the design of the cars your parents drive, in the food that you eat." And, of course, art was also in the prints I took with me into their classrooms. We'd talk about the artists, the works of art, and then we'd do an art project together.

Once, when I taught them about Jackson Pollock, I filled several dozen water guns with water-based paint, and we went outside to squirt multiple colors onto large stretches of butcher paper to create our own interpretations of a Jackson Pollock painting. (For fun, try it online.) This uninhibited break from their normal routine helped them grasp their own ability to be creative. The students looked forward to my visits--to see what me might do next--and I looked forward to crafting new ideas to make my visits enlightening and fun for them.

Part of my interest in working with the children stemmed from my natural love of art. I've always been attracted to color, texture, fibers, buildings and design. I took art classes in college. I write about art and design for various magazines. And I do look for art everywhere I go. I've even tried my hand at practicing different art forms...drawing, painting, working with water colors and markers. I play around with photography. I'll do anything to nurture the artist within and help others do the same. But lately, I haven't designated enough time for this.

That occured to me at the end of October, when I attended a writers' conference in Tampa, Fla. On our last night together, a small group of writers, including Barb Freda and I, went out to dinner at a restaurant called Fly, known for its tapas and live jazz. On the walls were these amazing paintings (part of one pictured above) of jazz musicians. And I just had to walk around and look at them. I took my digital camera with me and snapped a few photos of the vibrantly painted murals. I wanted to bring the color home with me. At the time, I didn't know who the artist was, but I've since discovered he's Sean Spoto, a Tampa-based artist popular for his surfboard art. I really love the energy of this painting above; it looks as though you can hear it.

To notice the way art speaks to you is to nurture your artist within, that is, to tap into your own creativity. The more you practice it, the more tuned in you become. I learned to appreciate this when studying Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, a book which teaches a "spiritual path to higher creativity." In 1999, when I needed to grow my freelance business, a writer I met online at the Poets & Writers Speakeasy introducted me to it. Since then, I must have read her book and done the work in it three or four times. Each time I did, I became more empowered as an "artist." And I've noticed it's time for another dose of Cameron, as I'm in need of nurturing my artist within.

I actually give Cameron credit for fueling the work I've done here. I give her credit for inspiring me, for showing me that to produce art or anything else creative is an act of faith. And faith takes practice, too.

To nurture the artist within, Cameron suggests keeping a daily journal, but you must write in it first thing in the morning. She calls them the Morning Pages. Her book includes weekly exercises and questions to answer. She also suggests weekly artist dates that you must take alone. You can do anything creative, anything at all, including visit a museum, color in a coloring book, make a homemade necklace out of dried macaroni, attend a concert or theatrical production, whatever you might be interested in. Her point is that you must schedule the dates and the work on your calendar because nurturing the artist within takes time, practice and dedication.

If you're like me right now and feel as though your work isn't quite what you think it could be, if you're in need of inspiration or motivation, if you just need a kick in the pants on a particular project that seems stalled, nurturing your artist within might help.

You'll find yourself on a spiritual path of empowerment that will grow something very important to your success--faith.

I like the sound of that. Don't you?