Julie Cook
Julie Cook is the author of Unvaccinated, Homeschooled and TV-Free: It's Not Just for Fanatics and Zealots. She owns a successful life-coaching business (www.noregretslifecoaching.com), where she specializes in work/life balance, goal setting strategies, performance improvement at work, and parenting skills. She also has a full-time job as a manager for a global technology company. Her most important job, however, is being a mom to her daughter, Genevieve. Julie is currently working on her next book which will be out in late 2011 and revolves around the benefits of building an intrinsically motivated society.
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Annmarie Dadoly
Annmarie Dadoly is a Senior Medical Editor at Harvard Medical School, where she produces health reports for consumers on topics like healthy aging, exercise, and stress management. She’s also a divorced mom of two adorable children, Griffin, 6, and Hope, 4. When she’s not pretending to be a princess/Navy SEAL with her kids, she enjoys trying new restaurants in Boston and Newport, taking up tennis and salsa dancing, spending time with friends, and feeding her case of wanderlust. The most satiating destinations so far have been Cinque Terre, Paris, Venice, and Tokyo. But she still has an appetite for more. When approaching the future, she takes one of her cues from her daughter’s name. Hope. These days, she’s looking ahead with confident desire, anticipation, eagerness, and optimism.
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Christine Junge
Christine Junge is a medical writer by day, novelist by night. She got her MFA in creative writing from Lesley University, and has had short stories and essays published. She’s currently working on her first novel which, like most of her work, deals with cheery topics like death and loneliness. But she does like to have fun, too! She loves hiking with her husband, Brian, and their black lab, Chloe, dancing the night away with friends (or just dancing alone in her living room...), searching for finds at flea markets, and knitting anything from sweaters to puppets (she made an Obama finger puppet for the inauguration). Her goals in life are to publish a novel, to get to know herself really, really well, and to have solid, deep relationships with friends and family.
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Bill Silk
Time and gifts. I believe that these are the two most important things that each of us is given as we enter this world. Most of us worry more about the time we are given rather than to focus on the gifts. Some of us can influence the length of our lives by exercising, eating well, not smoking or wearing seat belts, but these things are all check boxes or switches that we either do or not. But in the end, when our 4100 weeks (or days) are over, we will either rejoice or lament over how we utilized the gifts that we were given, both at birth and throughout our lives. Do you know what your personal gifts are and how are you sharing those gifts?
Who do I think I am? Although the answer is ever changing, I believe I am one incredibly fortunate person. I have been given many overwhelming gifts for which I feel totally undeserving. Professionally, I have provided global organizations the technology and insight to communicate with employees, clients and prospect from a training, marketing and sales perspective. Personally, much of my main focus over the last 21 years has been directed toward my family. My wife and I have four children and they have shaped and formed me more than they will ever know. The kids are now in high school and college which leaves me with time to accomplish things that I need to do.
My goal for 4100weeks.com is to share my gifts of creativity and thought with all who will listen. My life took a strange and unexpected turn 20 years ago. I had always considered myself to be a creative and comical person up to that day twenty years ago when I saw a small advertisement in a local newspaper about an improvisation comedy class which was being offered locally. I signed up for the class and was five minutes into the first session when I realized that these people were crazy and that there was no way I could do the things that they were doing. I was wrong. Four months later I was part of three different improvisational comedy troupes and performing stand up comedy in and around Boston. One well known improvisational teacher referred to me as the ‘Rembrandt of Boston Improv’. Although I stopped performing on stage some time ago, I continue to perform on a bigger and better stage everyday: real life. And I invite you to play along. My posts will be a series of mental challenges and exercises that are created to help you see life in a different way.
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Kim Seeling Smith | Reigniting Professional Passion!
Kim Seeling Smith is a citizen of the world. Currently residing in Sydney Australia, she has lived in 10 different cities in 3 different countries (United States, New Zealand and now Australia). Originally trained as an accountant (can you believe it?) she quickly realized that this was not her bliss. Kim stumbled into recruiting in 1994 and spent 15 fabulous years working for large and small recruitment companies doing both contingency and retained executive search.
During those15 years Kim worked with over 10,000 people. She saw many talented and able individuals work hard and realise their goals: whether they be rising to a senior level position, managing career around family or just simply doing interesting things with interesting people in interesting places. Unfortunately she saw many more equally talented and able people plateau or worse, senselessly slide backwards as they neared their goals. She studied the difference between these two groups of people and now speaks, trains and coaches internationally on career management and staff retention issues.
For more information and lots of free tools in the area of career management and staff retention check out www.MyCriticalPath.com.
When not working you can find Kim on the yoga mat, in the Australian bush, or on the water with paddle or sail in hand.
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Craig Dadoly
As I write this I realize that I am much closer to 4100 weeks than I am to 0. With potentially fewer than 1500 weeks ahead of me, time picking up speed, and many things left to do, I have realized that I’ve been coasting for a while. I’ve done some cool things, but I’m no expert on living an adventurous life. I am a lifelong learner though, and I’m willing to try almost anything. Thus 4100 weeks for me is an opportunity to learn how others grab father time by the . . . well you know, and really live life. A lot of the content I post will be gathered from people far more experienced and smarter than me. It’s a chance for me to share what I do know, learn what I don’t, and apply it to make the most of the time I have left. I don’t want to leave behind a list of 50 cool things I’ve done, I want the list to be 5000.
So who is Craig Dadoly? I have been a bodybuilding promoter, a personal fitness trainer, a health club manager, the owner of a foam packaging company, a marketer, a web developer, and for the last seven years a learning and e-learning consultant. I'm passionate about learning and sharing knowledge. I’m focused on how I can positively impact global climate change, the search for responsible alternative energy, biodiversity loss and human rights, I find solitude and freedom running sprints on the track. I’m at home in the gym. It’s a place where I have suffered, failed, succeeded, and learned about setting and achieving goals.
I competed in the 100-meter sprint at the 2009 World Master’s Games in Sydney. I’ve snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. Hiked in Denali national park, kayaked in Hawaii, sailed off the coast of Maine, driven across the United States, camped under a thick blanket of stars in Wyoming, felt the earth rumble in California, watched the water roar by me in Niagara, saw the tomb of one of the world’s greatest adventurers, Christopher Columbus, in Spain, trained in a World Gym beside Schwarzenegger, drank beer with Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton and pro football legend Ray Nitschke, pitched an idea to Jay Leno, fished in the Snake river, watched the sun rise and set many times over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, stood on the Rock of Gibraltar, looked down on the city of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, stayed on the grounds of the Alhambra palace, climbed to the top of a Mayan pyramid at Chichen Itza, and soloed in a helicopter. My greatest adventure, though, is as a husband and father. My wife Diana and daughter Alyssa have challenged me to grow far more than I would have ever challenged myself.
I’m about 2/3 of the way through my life sprint. The stop watch is ticking. Now is not the time to slow down. Now is the time to go faster. I want to learn how to squeeze more out of every week, every day, every hour. I want to be at full speed and leaning forward when I cross the finish line.
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Bill Sleep
I love to compress 25 hours into a 24 hour day. It may be an ADHD problem or just that I really do want to do it all and fill 4100 weeks from buzzer to buzzer. I love living, working and competing so much that life's just too short for recliners and Blu-ray except when a lactic acid overdose tells me it's time to recharge. "Many-tasking" business, family, learning, fitness, and adventure in a day is a lifestyle I want to share.
During the last quarter century plus I have been an executive in service and retail businesses, an entrepreneur, a franchisee and franchisor. Those experiences gave me the skills, experience and fire-in-the-gut passion for the business part of my 25 hour day:
My leadership consulting business gives me the opportunity to give back the knowledge shaped by my successes and to help my clients learn from my failures without the pain of experiencing them personally.
"25" hour days accelerate my ability to live with passion and anticipation for endurance sports and the outdoors while feeding my healthy appetite for competition and the camaraderie of being around high achievers and a few risk maniacs. The satisfaction of setting a goal, most recently the Colorado River 100 mile Canoe race then preparing for the physical, logistical and mental challenges inspires me to encourage others to get 100% from your 4100 weeks. I savor the stories and memories earned by completing endurance events in running, cycling, XC skiing, snow shoeing, canoeing, triathlons and adventure races but only long enough to find the next challenge.
I draw energy and skills from leaders that open businesses, climb high mountains or set and achieve life, learning or fitness goals. I inhale adrenaline from coaching and helping others and deeply respect role models that have a moral compass with rock solid values that won't be compromised.
I don't have a "bucket" list, that sounds too fatal. My list is amoebic and doesn't stay static. I want to "ride, rope, hammer and paint" and do all the things that normal people can't.
My wife Beverly and I work and play from our base camp in Austin, Texas. Our "off the payroll" daughters Jen and Melissa are out finding their own adventures and profit from their own untamed ambitions.
Put 50 pounds in your 40 pound backpack and find your own business, personal or fitness "mountain. " 4100weeks will help.
