the circle blog

Fears Schmears

Margarita de Guzman — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:38:03 +0000

This post is inspired directly from Chris Savage’s Savage Thoughts and it’s 7 months old. Yes, I’m late to this party, but this party is more like a festival; it goes on and on. I just felt it had to be shared, and not just with a simple Like or Retweet. GO READ IT.

Everyone’s got fears, not just entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are just a little crazier in that we face these specific fears on a regular basis, and continue to stomp them. Savage’s thoughts? “It’s okay to be scared.” And, more importantly:

“You have to embrace the fear. You have to try. And eventually, just trying matters. And suddenly you’re not afraid anymore.

Skull games! Courtesy of the Smithsonian.

Margarita de Guzman — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:55:57 +0000

Respectfully, skulls should never be played with. As archaeologists, our minds are trained to see things as artifacts, but when excavating burials, we try to be as respectful as possible. Playing with skulls digitally though – that ain’t so bad. In fact, it’s very cool!

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a Mystery Skull Interactive, where you can learn the differences between different human species, teaching you to identify them based on certain characteristics such as the size of faces, brow ridges and brain cases. Good times for kids of all ages… Thanks to ArchTools for posting this on Facebook!

I wish there was a similar database for prehistoric Caribbean folks; it would’ve been a great tool for SVG Digs. What do you think about this guy (see below)?

A return to the circle blog

Margarita de Guzman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:17:13 +0000

When I started blogging almost a year ago (or so), I didn’t know what to write about. I didn’t think archaeology alone would be interesting enough to draw attention nor did I think my personal interests were interesting to anyone at all. After a while, I found that blogging was a way to organize my thoughts, making myself transparent so that even if only a handful of readers were figuring out who I was, at least I could look back and see who I was becoming.

Then I got busy.

Busy is good! Especially when you are a start-up consulting company in archaeology. The daily question was always, “Will I ever get another job?” While that sentiment keeps one on its toes, it certainly does nothing for the stress level. So, I relaxed a bit, learned to find balance in life… and then took on a bit more than I can chew. There goes the stress level again!

On that note, what have I been up to? Let’s see… Calgary iFseries (yet another inspirational day of speakers), TEDxCalgary (TED talks are the best), some fieldwork (hurray) and, of course, my personal project, The SVG Public Archaeology Program (aka SVG Digs).

I will not ramble or self-promote SVG Digs. Ok, maybe just a little. It is a not-for-profit program that brings anyone who ever dreamed of being on an archaeology dig to do just that… on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. In a nutshell, we rescue and record some significant archaeology, while at the same time providing people with an experience; we just got back from our 2012 season, and for those that participated, we hope it was a good one. Visit the SVG Digs website or Facebook page for more information… and keep visiting because we will be posting more updates as time goes on.

Thanks to everyone that made SVG Digs happen in 2012! And thanks to Doug’s Archaeology Blog for listing us as one of the great archaeology blogs to follow! We are among some great ones! Guess I better write more often…

On the path to great leadership #TAOL

Margarita de Guzman — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:33:17 +0000

I recently attended my first “Art of” event and I must say that it was worth every single penny. The Art of Leadership should be mandatory attendance, and not only for managers, CEOs, and top-rung corporate employees. If I had employees (hey, I’m a young entrepreneur), I would make them all go. Leaders are everywhere, can be created anywhere, and all of them can become better.

Now, I can’t give away the milk for free, but here are some of the key points that I took away from this conference. In addition to these great tips, the speakers themselves were inspirational. When you see real people telling great stories (rather than read it in a book), you are inspired. So next time, don’t just read it here, go see it for yourself. Then, as Ron Tite, host extraordinaire, said, “Make an action plan.”

“Life is about mastering the simple things.” – Patrick Lencioni
Is that Patrick Lencioni in a nutshell? No way. I am one of his biggest fans and really think you should all read his books. And no, he did not pay me to write that; he doesn’t even know me. But here is the core of what I learned from him that day: Much of what makes people great leaders is simple in theory but difficult to do everyday. As a great leader, you need to be vulnerable, willing to trust, willing to ask questions, and willing to admit mistakes. This will allow for accountability, and will essentially lead to great teamwork.

“What difference did you make?” – Robin Sharma
First off, thanks Robin for the book! (We all got one.) Robin notes that we are in the age of distraction; how true. Things are changing at such a rapid pace that some of us simply can’t keep up; we’re too busy playing with our iPhones (guilty). But, will you be a victim or will you be a leader? Victims are scared of change, leaders are inspired by change… and you can be a leader no matter what you do. Leadership is about what you do when no one is watching. So don’t postpone: inspire, influence, make an impact.

“Success or failure happens one conversation at a time.” – Susan Scott
Susan spoke what I believe to be valiant truths… and truths are what people are often afraid to share when it is something negative or difficult to hear. But people can handle the truth; we just have to find a way to offer it with respect. This means being honest, open and transparent. This allows us to make decisions and constantly move forward: “I want to be different when this conversation is over. Influence me!”

“Screw the 5-year plan.” – Leonard Brody
What, that’s crazy talk! Everyone has a 5-year plan! Okay, not me. I have a rough outline of what I’d like to see, but I don’t really have a plan per se… because things change and I’d rather adjust to change than be disappointed about what didn’t happen. I hope that’s what Leonard was alluding to!? What he said immediately after the above screw phrase was, “What matters is the next 365 days.” This is important because technology has allowed us to change and evolve at such a rapid pace; we need to continually adapt and understand changes in human behaviour so that we can build an environment that they can fit into. “It’s difficult to know where we’re going without understanding how we got here… If you accept you are leaders, accept that you are students of your humanity.”

“Don’t think outside the box; define a better box.” – Stephen Shapiro
Through interactive exercises, Stephen Shapiro stressed the importance of asking the right questions. “If you don’t have a well-defined problem up front, you won’t solve anything.” Like the other speakers, he also stressed the importance of making connections with people… and people were certainly creative when he asked us to think of uses of a brick!

“If you’re a leader, it’s all about people.” – General Rick Hillier
This man needs no introduction; he commanded both respect and honour by his words and presence. He had some great stories, some of which brought a tear to my eye. His words were simple yet powerful. Inspire and be inspired; it’s circular. Without a vision, you will not have priorities and you cannot communicate anything. Be passionate, be optimistic, be yourself. With that, he got a well-deserved standing ovation.

“It’s all about relationships.” – Me!
This seemed to be a recurring theme at The Art of Leadership. I certainly didn’t coin that phrase nor was I the first person to think it, but I do believe it. So much so that I entered it into the Alberta Venture Small Business Advice Contest… and it made the Top 10! If you agree, please vote for me! It takes less than a minute and would mean the world to me.

Start with yourself, #occupy your mind

Margarita de Guzman — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:32:05 +0000

Amidst all the recent occupy movements, there has been increasing awareness with regard to financial difficulties amongst “the 99 percent” that are seemingly and abundantly different from those of “the 1 percent.” I sympathize with many of the 99%; financial difficulties, especially due to rising medical costs (so glad I live in Canada), are very real. But I would like to suggest that an unknown portion of this 99% is lucky and not so down on their luck; I am part of that percent, and WE can make something happen. As Behance‘s think tank The 99 Percent says:

“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making things happen.”

Two great things (among many) are happening in Calgary. The first is TEDxCalgary on November 18, which focuses on volunteering. A higher than average number of Calgarians devote their FREE time to making things happen. Be a part of it.

Second, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi recently launched 3 Things for Calgary, asking Calgarians what they can do about their city and their community, and encourages them to spread the word. It starts by asking yourself 3 questions:

1. What am I good at?

2. What do I care about?

3. What do I have to say about it?

These aren’t easy questions, but coming up with answers and spreading the word is a start. Stay tuned for my answers! What are yours?

Apple Inspiration – Love What You Do

Margarita de Guzman — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:52:08 +0000

If you haven’t heard yet about Steve Jobs passing, then perhaps you haven’t yet been inspired by the man. I believe him to be a true inspiration, somewhat of an icon. If you haven’t heard his 2005 commencement address to Stanford, go read it or watch it now (below, from YouTube). My favourite messages from it are about believing that one day, “all the dots will connect” and it will all make sense. Part of this is believing that with failure comes success, so we shouldn’t be afraid of failing…

AND, love what you do:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

Life is short, life is precious. We should at least have fun while we’re at it. Thanks Steve Jobs; life is more fun with my iPhone ;o)

Joys at camp?

Margarita de Guzman — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:53:14 +0000

If you have ever worked in northern Alberta, you are probably familiar with camp, in relation to work in the oil sands. For all you other folks, it’s not hiking and camping in the forest with a fire and some s’mores. I had heard some (horror) stories in the past, and was a little hesitant to live at a northern work camp because I can be such a picky eater… but this camp was actually pretty great. We were assigned good, clean, private rooms, and there was a great variety of food to choose from. The problem, which many will attest to, is that you are tempted to eat WAY too much. And for me, they had two of my loves just there for the taking 24 hours a day. Perhaps it was a good thing that I actually wasn’t there too long (gluttony!?)…

What are these loves? Well, coffee and cookies, of course! And now I have found the perfect mug, so that I can still have a free hand for checking out artifacts and digging in the dirt. They make it for lefties and righties, too. How clever. Thanks as usual to swissmiss for leading me to notonthehighstreet.com.

New multi-skelly photosynth

Margarita de Guzman — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:41:58 +0000

A collection, for lack of a better word, of skeletons were excavated during the 2011 season of The SVG Public Archaeology Program. After identifying “a few bones” on the surface, a second, third, fourth, etc. burial was identified in the course of excavation… and this was during our last week there. This always seems to be the case, that you find great stuff on your last day.

There were very few artifacts recovered here, though one complete pot was recovered, similar in form though much simpler in design, to the “grave-y boat” recovered with an earlier burial. But guess what? There are more burials there that need to be excavated. Wanna take part? Join us!

Here is a photosynth of this group of burials. Play around with it; you’ll see the progress of excavation, as well as some close-ups with excavation complete. Disregard our toes! These are from work-in-progress photos.

Inspiration is for amateurs

Margarita de Guzman — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:25:27 +0000

You know it’s been a busy summer when… you’ve had very little patio time, your skin’s as white as snow, … and when you’re not up to date with swissmiss. A little over two weeks ago, Andrew Zuckerman’s 99% Conference talk was posted. If you’re not aware, Andrew Zuckerman is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker, who created Wisdom, a book/film/exhibition that includes interviews and portraits of inspiring “elders.” As I’ve said many times before, I love being inspired. As an entrepreneur, I need to be inspired; at least I thought I did. What I learned is that inspiration is for amateurs. Curiosity and rigour makes things happen, but most of all, what really make things happen, what has made this world rumble and shake, what has created change and instigated success is…

… hard work.

As Chuck Close says, “If you just get to work, something will occur to you.” That is, something will happen. In my case, projects like The SVG Public Archaeology Program are born. Peanuts? Maybe, but a start. As Bill Wither says, “You can’t get to wonderful without getting through alright.”

Time to get to work.

Andrew Zuckerman: On Curiosity, Rigor, and Learning As You Go from 99% on Vimeo.

Field finds – more than just dirt

Margarita de Guzman — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:58:23 +0000

A good friend used to say (when I had to make a decision), “Just throw it out to the universe.” So sometimes, the universe tells you that you should, for example, enjoy being in the forest instead of trying to escape from it. That’s what happened to me… I left the beautiful city of Vancouver because I didn’t want to work in the forest; I hated it. Lo and behold, I can’t escape it, and I’ve learned that it’s actually not that bad! So, time for another one of my mottos: “Find beauty in the everyday, even the smallest things.” With that, here is a collection of photos of some of the things I’ve encountered in the field this past year. Just for kicks, they’ve been photoscaped in sepia, i.e., various shades of dirt.

Click to view slideshow.