As regular readers of this newsletter, our blog, or my LinkedIn newsfeed know, I broke my leg in May and am continuing a lengthy recovery process. Getting around is still challenging as I cannot put a lot of weight on my leg yet. The bone is healed – the rest is rebuilding muscle strength.

In the nonprofit management profession, we know the importance of communication. It is vital to use the best communication tools for the target audience we want to reach, and to use appropriate messaging. For example, we don’t want to promote a certification to those in the profession we serve if they don’t qualify yet, but we may want to promote an upcoming conference to that group.

There’s a lot of words people might use to describe me, but helpless is not one of them. Whether friend or foe, you know that I am a “can do” kind of person that is self-reliant and does my best to help others. As a solopreneur, I am always on the go whether writing, speaking, managing the business, or leading courses (just to name a few things I do outside the newsletter and podcast).

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter "Rogue Speak."

This week's message: The Reason We Celebrate

I like to call this time of year the “Winter Holiday Season” because there are so many holidays, both religious and secular, this time of year. As I wind down before my holiday break, I have been pondering why humans celebrate anything and everything. What is the need to point out that something special happened, or is happening, or will happen? From births to weddings to seasonal activities to new jobs, we celebrate. And sometimes when things go wrong, we gather to commiserate.

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter "Rogue Speak."

This week's message: Showing Appreciation.

When people help out, it’s usually because they want to and choose to help. Most of us don’t expect a plaque, trophy, certificate, or anything other than a “thank you.” Okay, maybe a hearty thanks with a handshake. We all want to be recognized for what we do and contribute, but that is not what necessarily motivates us to help.

Making anything takes effort whether you are making a meal or making furniture. Making peace is a lot harder than it looks and falls into that category of “easier said than done.” When two parties are in serious disagreement, it can feel like a war, full of bad feelings, fighting for influence and resources, and developing a stubbornness from not wanting to yield your position.

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter "Rogue Speak."
This week's message: Cognitive Dissidents

Our contentious world of emotional arguments and baseless data and emotionally charged accusations makes it seem impossible to get back to the world of civil discourse and debate. Remember when two intelligent people could disagree about an issue, share their positions, ask each other questions, and then go out for a drink? While those days may seem long gone, I saw a glimmer of hope this week that all is not lost.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting.

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, "Rogue Speak." This week's topic “Not a Clue”.

No matter how strong or “together” someone might seem, everyone has times in life when they haven’t got a clue. That’s right: the most capable and mature of us have times when they just have no idea what to do or how to deal. Focus can be lost, the road ahead looks crooked and there are no directional signs, and decision paralysis sets in.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, "Rogue Speak."  This week's topic is: Don't Even Get Me Started . . . Things On My Mind 1. Harassment Marketing 2. Women Not Speaking Up 3. Anti-Consultant Bias.

We all have them. Topics and issues that you don’t EVEN want to get started on because you will go on. And on. And on. Usually, these topics are emotionally charged or just plain frustrating because there doesn’t seem to be any resolution in sight. For example, when it comes to driving: Why don’t people use their turn signals? Was there a strange EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that ONLY affected cars turn signals making them non-functional?

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. This episode: the author reads her weekly Rogue Speak message.

It doesn’t happen every year, but this year it’s hitting me: The February Funk. You may know what I’m talking about: it’s not really winter any longer, but it’s not yet spring. The winter holidays are a somewhat distant memory. The weather tends to be dreary. Cloudy, Rainy, Bone chilling winds.

Like the saying “there’s an association for everything,” there is also a specially designated day for everyone! I often talk about how December is a month-long holiday including everything from religious observances to solstices to “national” days of all kinds. Most of us don’t get to take an entire month off but it is a month of special days that we can learn about and celebrate.

One of the things that bothers me about the Khardashianization of society (whew – try saying THAT 3 times fast) is that it overlooks how many people are part of the success of an individual. While so many are distracted by the celebrity of one person, no one accomplishes anything by themselves.

Years ago, I realized I was a grown up and had reached a certain level of emotional maturity when I could objectively judge a situation involving a person I do not like. I learned to set aside emotion and evaluate the situation; personal opinions did not apply. It took me years to become a disciplined and objective thinker, and it’s something that we all need to constantly work on and hone.

Most days I’m a positive person because I know from experience things are never as bad as they seem. Even on those “nothing is going right” days I tend to think, “Okay, this too shall pass. Like a bad kidney stone, but it will pass.”