Author: Dana Phelps

Tuesday Mornings in Japan

Dana PhelpsBlog, In Our Community, ,

For the last several months, Clairemont team members have been joining others in our business community on Tuesday mornings at the Triangle Business Journal in attempts to answer a complex question: How can we best help people in Japan living with the aftermath of March’s tsunami?

We have formed Project Kokoro, and we have adopted our first community in Japan to help. Many weeks we Skype with our committee members who are visiting Japan to give us a first-hand assessment of needs and others who will literally put the funds we raise into action.

This photo slideshow compiled by one of  our committee members who just returned from Japan will give you an idea of the ongoing hardships the people of Japan are facing and some of the issues we are hoping to address. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more information and photos as we announce the first project funded by Project Kokoro. In the meantime, please consider joining our efforts by making a donation.

Read More

Myrtle Monday — Postcards from New Friends

Dana PhelpsBlog, Counselors Academy, Inspirational,
Like Myrtle, I love my postcards!

When I gave my presentation, Myrtle Never Threw Away Her Postcards, at the PRSA’s Counselors Academy conference in May, I left the attendees with a homework assignment. I gave them blank Clairemont postcards to be used to write a purpose/mission statement or to send to someone, honoring the lost art of handwritten correspondence.

What a lovely surprise to have two of them returned to me with the most sincere thoughts about Myrtle and my presentation. Thank you, Missy Shorey and Paula Worthington! I also received handwritten notes about Myrtle from my dear friend, Abbie Fink and new friends, Sheryl Barto and Ray Artigue.

What an amazing feeling to get such positive feedback, and I know that Myrtle and all of her friends would be proud that in this digital age, some people still take time to put pen to paper.

Read More

Motivation vs. Inspiration

Dana PhelpsBlog, Professional Development1 Comment on Motivation vs. Inspiration

Whether you are trying to reinvent your business or — like me — trying to get back to a healthy habit such as running, help is on the way.

Lisa Capehart is a holistic wellness coach, passionate about helping women envision, create and live lives they love. She’s doing a webinar on Thursday called An Organic Approach to Cultivating the Authentic You. Since I’ve known Lisa for more than 10 years now, she allowed me to be a bit antsy and request some advice in advance of the webinar.

I told Lisa that I’m struggling a bit to get back to running, and asked how I can get motivated. As it turns out, maybe motivation isn’t what I need. Lisa explained that motivation is tied to thoughts of what I should be doing while inspiration is about things I want to do, and those things will bring me joy. I’m all for joy!

Honestly, I’m trying to wrap my head around this concept, and  I plan to learn more from Lisa about how to identify what I really want and let the changes occur organically during her free webinar on Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. ET. In the meantime, here are Lisa’s tips for getting started:

  • Accept where you are now.
  • Be grateful.
  • Make decisions and choices based on your values and priorities.

 

Read More

The Return of Myrtle Monday

Dana PhelpsBlog, Counselors Academy, Inspirational1 Comment on The Return of Myrtle Monday
Here’s the copy I would write with this photo as a postcard: Abbie waves goodbye as Dana tries not to cry.

Today is the return of Myrtle Monday… and of our blog. We were on a short hiatus as our tech consultants helped us recover from a bit of hacking. Lesson learned: keep your plug-ins up-to-date!

Now, about Myrtle. If you’ve read some of our other posts about Myrtle’s postcards, you know that Myrtle was blessed with extremely loyal friends who understood the power of the written word. I too am fortunate to have such a friend in Abbie Fink.

Abbie and I met through PRSA‘s Counselors Academy, and last year she was kind enough to listen to the whole (long) Myrtle story. Through her encouragement, I shared what I’ve learned about promise, people and potential at the 2011 Counselors Academy conference last month.

When Abbie blogged about how we became friends and about Myrtle’s postcards, I told her that I like the way she tells it! Read it for yourself on the HMA Public Relations blog.

Read More

Is Passion in Fashion? Threads Fashion Show

Dana PhelpsBlog, Fashion



Having attended the Threads Senior Collection fashion show at North Carolina State University twice now, I can tell you with certainty that the student designers from the College of Textiles have a passion for fashion. Last year I had the honor of being asked to join the industry advisory board for the department, and I’ve had the difficult job of judging one of the Threads shows.

From the intro videos that showcase each student explaining his/her collection’s inspiration, to the months of planning that go into the show, the designers’ careful selection and styling of their models, and the finished garments unveiled on the runway, the students’ enthusiasm is obvious. And contagious.

While I’m a big believer in having passion for whatever it is you do, I worried that passion had become one of those overused business words when I wrote a portion of my presentation at the recent PRSA Counselors Academy conference all about having a passion for the business. So I asked the other PR agency leaders in my session… has the word passion become like “sweet spot” or “synergy” or some of those other cringe-worthy phrases? Much to my satisfaction, the answer was a resounding no. Furthermore, I loved seeing heads nodding when I said that as agency leaders, we must recognize, nurture and insist on passion.

Where do we begin? With the hiring process. In the past year, I have passed on two extremely smart candidates because I felt like they were lacking in passion either for being communications counselors, for joining a start-up agency or for the specific job I had to offer. I knew they had the skills, but without the passion, I also knew it would not be a long term relationship.

Passion is easy to spot. So is the lack of it. Look at the photos from Threads — is there any doubt in your mind that these students love designing?

Read More