This boat caught my eye when I was walking around Fisherman’s Terminal in Ballard a few weeks ago.  I thought it was unique to see a quote painted on a boat, so I stopped to read. The quote says:

The Difficult we can do right now, The Impossible… will take a little while

I love it. Nothing is impossible. It may take some time and effort, but it can be done.

I love Seth Godin and I love this quote. I have been doing some soul searching lately, and I realized I have not been stepping outside of my comfort zone enough. I’m too comfortable. I recently had a huge decision to make in my career. I had to decide between taking a risk or playing it safe. I went with taking a risk because it scared the shit out of me. And it still does. I’m excited and freaked out, but I’m going with my gut, and I know it will all work out.

Sherry Turkle is an author and Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT. The woman studies psychoanalysis and human-technology interaction and has written books on psychology of human relationships and technology. She has also studied psychological and societal impact of relational artifacts AKA sociable robotics. I recently watched Sherry Turkle’s TEDTalk, Connected, But Alone, and immediately connected with her. In Turkle’s talk, she discusses how human nature is shifting, and that we expect more from technology and less from people. I, too, often find myself wondering if we are actually isolating ourselves by constantly using technology. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology and social media, but this level of always being connected cannot be healthy for us. How many nights have you sat at home, alone, on social media instead of going out and connecting with friends face-to-face? For me, too many to count. And what’s the first thing you do when you wake up? I check my email, twitter, and facebook before I even get out of bed. I am not proud of these habits, but what’s a girl who loves technology suppose to do?

We are designing technology with the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship. This is changing who we are and what we do. Social media and technology helps us connect in short ways, but they do not allow us to learn about one another in a truly meaningful way. Sure, you might think you know that person you’re following on twitter, but how often do you really connect with them offline? Think about the way we communicate through text messages. My text messages are direct and short. We don’t deeply connect with someone through a text message. Well, at least I don’t.

The other alarming point Sherry makes is that we are no longer comfortable and in control anymore. Okay, I know you’re rolling your eyes, but stop and think about it. How many times have you picked up your phone when you are alone? The moment we become alone, we become anxious – we panic. Do you grab your phone in the elevator? I do. How about when you’re standing in the checkout line at the store? Yep, me too. Or when you are sitting at the bar waiting for your friend to show up? All. The. Time. I’m challenging you to start a conversation the next time you are standing in an elevator. That is only if the other person is not on their phone.

Even our thoughts and feelings are changing thanks to technology, starting from the second we’re having them. Again, I love social media. And I love the simplicity of connecting through social media, but it is changing the way people think of themselves. The best way Sherry describes this is: I share, therefore I am. This is shaping a new way of being, which is awesome and scary at the same time. How is this affecting children and teens? Before social media we would have a feeling and call our friend. Now we turn to technology to create feelings by sending a text message or uploading a photo to facebook.

Like I mentioned before, social media and technology are powerful tools. And I love using them. But we need to figure out the right balance of technology exposure so we don’t set our children up for isolation. If we don’t teach our children to be alone, they will only know how to be lonely. And by alone I mean without the constant connection, which brings me back to grandma in the nursing home and her new best friend, the robot. Everyone is affected by these technological changes, including the elderly. Sociable Robotics are nothing new. MIT (and others) have been conducting studies on robotics in nursing homes for years. The robots have been developed to assist elderly individuals with mild cognitive and physical impairments, as well as supporting nurses in the daily activities. The relationships being built are fascinating! Can we really make sense of our life with a robot or technology? Will Suri one day be our best friend? Sounds crazy, but it is slowly happening. Technology is redefining the human connection in regards to how we care for ourselves and each other. So what will you do to teach your kids to be technologically responsible?

Did you know that when women receive feedback, our self-confidence and self-esteem drop to a much greater degree? This is not the same story for men. Why are we so hard on ourselves?

Women earn 57% of the undergraduate and 60% of the master’s degrees in the United States, but we do not describe ourselves as ambitious. That seems ambitious to me!

Sheryl gives some interesting tips on how to fake confidence – “fake it till you feel it.” This is something we’ve all done and will continue to do. I do it in my relationships – faking that everything is okay in public when I’m in a disagreement with someone. Or at work when I act like I’m following along in a meeting, only to run back to my computer after the meeting is over to Google more info. (I know, I know, I need to get better at asking questions…)

One thing I’m hung up on is the fact that women are so damn self-critical. Why is this? I’m guilty of it. In fact, I’m making it a personal goal to get better at it. I’ve had sweet opportunities come across my desk, and I think to myself, ‘That sounds amazing, but I don’t have enough experience in X,” or “,they need an expert and I’m only a guru.” I like to think of myself as a positive person, but this thinking is completely negative and needs to stop. The open question is: how?

I pick up on things quickly, and I know I can accomplish whatever I put my mind to. So I often ask myself: why do I pass on potential opportunities when I know damn well that I am perfectly capable of doing the work?

Another fascinating thing to think about is the difference between how men and women present themselves to others.

If you ask a man how he did on a test, he’ll say he did great (even if he knows he did not). If you ask a woman, she’ll say she did okay and point out the things she could have done better. How do we get to the point where we are satisfied with our work?

I once worked with a man who felt the need to come into my office and brag about himself. He would fill me in on his travels, or his impressive new motorcycle, or all the money he’s making for the company. Oh, and of course that he just received a fatty bonus. During our chats, he never asked about me, or if he did, he somehow turned it back to himself. It got to the point where I would tell him I was too busy to chat because I didn’t want to hear about his amazing life.

A woman would never do this, at least not any women I know. I couldn’t imagine walking into someone’s office bragging about how incredible my life is, or that I just made the company a crazy amount of dollars. If I want to celebrate success at work, I include my team. Is this wrong of me? Is it okay to give myself credit for something my team did? I know the answer, but I feel guilty.

The last thing I’m going to vent about is the 2005 Harvard case study, Heidi and “Howard” Roizen. If you are not familiar with it, Google it. To sum it up, half of Professor Flynn’s class received the Harvard Business Review case study on Heidi Rozen, a successful venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. The other half of the class received the same case study, but Heidi’s name was changed to Howard. The class was asked to go online and rate their impressions of Roizen. The students were much harsher on Heidi than Howard. They viewed Heidi as competent and as effective as Howard, but they did not like her, would not hire her, and did not want to work with her. The same was not true for Howard – they liked him, wanted to hire him, and wanted to work for him. Why is it okay for society to judge powerful women and look up to powerful men?

I do not have the answers to my questions, but I’m making it a goal to stop myself before mentally putting myself down – or being self-critical. I hope other women will too!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest, I’m going to leave you with a quote I enjoyed from the book.

“There is no perfect fit when you’re looking for the next big thing to do. You have to take opportunities and make an opportunity for you, rather than the other way around. The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.”

Sasha posted an article today that gave me chills. I’m not a fan of talking about politics on the internet, but this specific article cannot go unnoticed. The article is on HelloGiggles: We Are Legion: How America Learned To Speak Up For Itself.

I’m not going to dig deep into the article, but I will share my favorite parts. And I’m not saying I’m part of the Democratic or Republican Party – these are just the quotes that really made me stop and think.

I suspect, in the next Presidential election, the Republican Party will advise differently. Because the country is not just changing: it has changed.

We are a shifting nation. We are shifting toward further diversity. We are shifting toward deeper empowerment. We are telling people that their voice matters, and people are listening.

He (Mitt Romney) is a person, as we all are people. As a species, we’ve evolved successfully in no small part because we protect one another. A country governed by its people, by the voice of its humans, can and will make decisions that protect the people, decisions that strive to protect all of them.

The excerpts make more sense after you read the article in its entirety. Read the full article on HelloGiggles – be sure to leave a comment for Sasha after you read it!

I was one of the lucky 90 people to participate in the first ever Startup Weekend Women’s Edition in Seattle last July. I had always wanted to participate in a Startup Weekend, but was too scared to take the plunge. I kept telling myself I didn’t have anything to contribute – I was wrong.  When I heard about the first ever all women’s weekend, I knew I had to jump on the opportunity. Something about knowing I would be surrounded by intelligent women in the community made me feel more comfortable.

Boy was I right! I met some great ladies and learned a lot about business. Everyone on my team was great, and having the mentors there was the most helpful part. Startup Weekends are stressful, very stressful. But something about the stress mixed with passion is exciting and fun. You learn a lot about yourself, and how to work with others under pressure. For those of you who are not familiar with Startup Weekend, watch this awesome video by Mike Folden:

Here’s an interview I did with Jeff Dickey from Nextcast:

The interview is a little awkward on my part – I’m not use to being interviewed, I’m use to doing the interview! What can I say, I was a little nervous.

You can read about Anne Marie, the winner of Startup Weekend on Geekwire.

If you’re debating about attending a Startup Weekend, stop! You won’t regret it, I promise! It’s intimidating for about the first hour then it becomes fun!

Here are my favorite quotes from the article:

Great careers are no longer passed down or handed over. They must be seeded, tended and grown—and you are the gardener. When women take their success into their own hands, when they take ownership of their achievements, development and ambition, there is no limit to what they can accomplish.

If you’re not a little bit scared everyday, you’re not learning. And when you’re not learning, you’re done.

Challenge is what keeps you motivated, energized and moving forward.

What kind of stories are you inspired by?

After a few days of creating my personal pin boards, I scheduled a meeting with my team so I could introduce them to my newfound obsession. I told them I wanted to somehow replicate this experience for our customers. I knew our subscribers would love the simplicity of the layout and being able to share content on our site. At first, my team didn’t get it. They compared it to Tumblr. Since this meeting, my co-workers have started using Pinterest more, and actually enjoying it. I’m still pushing to implement this experience on our site.

Pinterst’s rapid growth, over 18 million monthly uniques, has me wondering how they plan to monetize the site without pissing off their customers – I’m looking at you, Facebook…

Pinning has become my new way to “wind down” after a long day of work. It’s mindless, and simple. I’m embarrassed to admit how many hours I’ve spent on this site with a glass of wine in my hand. You can follow my random pins here. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Pinterest – comment below and tell me what you love about the site.

I’ll get this going… in the meantime, enjoy this ridiculous picture I can’t stop laughing at: