social media – Surprised By Joy

“Very often what people would accurately claim as what they DO isn’t where they want to GO.” – Dr. Vicki Atkinson

I wonder if Leonardo da Vinci would have had trouble creating a LinkedIn profile. Here’s how Wikipedia describes him: painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect.

We might not have a list as long as da Vinci’s but we’re all Renaissance people to a degree, right? People who pivot between roles and evolve to own different titles throughout life. Writers, moms or dads, professionals, leaders, caretakers, gardeners, woodworkers, advocates, seekers, athletes to name a few.

A few months ago I asked my dear friend, Dr. Vicki Atkinson, for some tips about updating my LinkedIn profile. And then I sat on her expert advice for two months because marketing one’s self seems so vulnerable.

When I sat down to actually follow her clear and helpful advice, it only took me about 90 minutes. So we podcasted about this effort to build profiles that honor all our facets.

Dr. Atkinson has so much good guidance on how to build a presence that reflects our many facets. Her professional experience as a career counselor, therapist, and educator comes shining through in this episode. We learn some great how-to’s in this episode.

I found updating my LinkedIn profile to be challenging. I have 30+ years in the technology industry and I’m unsure how to marry that with my writing and experience as an author.

So Vicki walks me through using headlines instead of titles. She provides a great tip about using tags to introduce some dynamism into our profile and ability to be found.

Dr. Atkinson talks me through the idea of integrity as it applies to building a profile that honors ALL of who we are. As we pivot from professional experiences, interests and passions, she coaches us to do the story-telling to paint a picture of our whole-hearted experience.

And finally, we talk about the use of images to compliment our presentation.

I’m confident you’ll learn a lot — and also love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling in our profiles.

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 87: LinkedIn Tweaks for Authors with Dr. Vicki Atkinson

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

HoTM episode 87 transcript

PDF presentation of Vicki’s recommendations and LinkedIn changes

Wynne Leon | LinkedIn

Dr. Victoria Atkinson, Ed.D. | LinkedIn

It’s Never Too Late for Courage – Victoria Ponders

Realizing Potential – Victoria Ponders

Vicki’s book: Surviving Sue

“Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder.” – Rumi

Nicholas Christakis, sociologist from Yale, has this really hopeful view of humans based on our ability to interact and cooperate with others. He concedes that we can be violent, selfish, and tribal but in the long view of human history, which is what he studies, we have developed this beautiful social suite of capabilities. Here’s how he described this on the On Being podcast with Krista Tippett:

“And these capacities include, for instance, the fact that we love the people we’re having sex with. We form sentimental attachments to them. We are technically monogamous. We befriend each other. We form long-term, non-reproductive unions with other members of our species. This is exceedingly rare in the animal kingdom. We do it, certain other primates do it, elephants do it, certain cetacean species do it — we form friendships with unrelated people. It’s universal in human groups. We cooperate with each other, altruistically. We’re kind to strangers — again, to unrelated individuals. This is different than many other types of cooperation, which are also seen in other animal species, but often that cooperation is between genetically related individuals. We do it with genetically unrelated individuals. We teach each other things. People take this for granted, but it’s actually unbelievable.”
Nicholas Christakis on the On Being Podcast

When I get too focused on the news, and all the destructive and unkind things that make up those segments, I find it comforting to be reminded of Nicholas Christakis’ long view. It reminds me of the way that I can work in any given moment to make a difference.

“We teach each other things. People take this for granted, but it’s actually unbelievable.” – Nicholas Christakis

(featured photo from Pexels)