Event Archives ______________________________________________________

SHift Forum
Monday, February 6, 2012

Your Story — Pathway to Your Greatest Life
It’s never too late to start living a life that’s true to who you are. And the starting point for that journey of discovery is as simple as your own personal story.

Drawing on new research and fun tools like the 4 Mores™, Catherine Reid Day will define how to uncover the clues to your story and create the future you want. You’ll discover where you’ve been, who you are, where you belong, and where you want to go.

Catherine is the founder of Storyslices, a company using story as tool for navigating transitions, and a co-founder of The Creative Enterprise Zone — which supports those who want to make a living by using their creative capacities. She is a recognized writer, speaker, media producer and consultant.

►  Visit Catherine's LinkedIn page ...

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SHiFT Forum
Monday, January 9, 2012

Get Good at the Art of Living
Life is a creative process. And it’s far easier to create the life you want when you’re feeling positive, energized and motivated.

At this inspirational Forum, Maryanne O’Brien presents the scientific principles and hands-on tools designed to move you out of your comfort zone, tap into your creative energy, and discover what’s possible. The session also includes a Personal Energy Assessment to measure where you are right now, plus daily practices to keep you on track.

Maryanne is a speaker, writer, trainer, consultant — and the founder of Live Dynamite. She has spent more than 20 years leading strategic planning and transformation within Fortune 500 companies such as Hormel Foods, Famous Dave’s, Coldwell Banker Burnet, and Ameriprise Financial.

Bonus: A SHiFT first!  Maryanne will lead a special networking exercise to help you make connections, nurture them, and create a support system for yourself during the next 30 days.  Don't miss this energizing Forum!

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SHiFT Forum
Monday, November 7, 2011

Technology, You, and a Networked World
New technologies challenge us to let go of old ways of thinking and doing. They also unleash a torrent of ideas, innovations, and opportunities for collaboration. How could we embrace technology, so that we can tap into our deeper potential -- both individually and collectively?

Anne Pryor, Ginger Sorvari Bucklin, and Paul DeBettignies will outline the new information technology tools, explain their impact and potential, and how we might use those tools to help us move more fluidly through our own transitions.

Anne is Online Visibility Strategist and a Career Coach at Career Partners International-Twin Cities and the co-founder of Meaningful Connections. Since 2008, she has coached and taught more than 20,000 clients how to be found online for business development opportunities.

Ginger is a partner at Cimarron Winter, a consultancy that delivers effective digital strategies and program management services to companies of all sizes. A self-described "nerd at heart", she founded the Bucklin Family Foundation in 2010, which is dedicated to building closer families through technology.

Paul is VP of Recruiting at HireCast Consulting. He's a frequent speaker and writer — and a sponsor, volunteer and mentor in the marketing and social media community. 

At his Minnesota Headhunter blog he's coached people of all ages on effective networking and job search strategies.

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SHiFT Forum
Monday, October 3, 2011

The Joys and Challenges of Pursuing the Work You Love

The vision is compelling. The journey’s not always smooth. What does it take to stay the course? Join Ann Bancroft, Kate DiCamillo and moderator Chris Farrell for an evening of exploration into what we all face as heroes and heroines of our own life stories.

Born to a family of risk-takers, Ann Bancroft is the first known woman in history to cross the ice — by dogsled, on skis, and on foot — to the North and South Poles.

Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995, she leads the Ann Bancroft Foundation, a non-profit organization that celebrates the achievements of women and girls. “Listen closely to what your heart tells you to pursue,” she says. “Let it drown out the negative voices and step forward."

"I think of myself as an enormously lucky person," says award-winning children's author Kate DiCamillo. "I get to tell stories for a living."

After moving to Minnesota from Florida in her 20s, homesickness and a bitter winter helped inspire her very first published novel in 2000 -- Because of Winn-Dixie. It became a runaway bestseller and then a movie. That success was followed by The Tale of Despereaux. Of her readers, she says “my hope is they will be more inclined to believe in the impossible."

Forum Moderator Chris Farrell is economics editor for public radio's weekly "Marketplace Money" program and author of the bestselling The New Frugality.

A graduate of the London School of Economics, he’s the recipient of a National Magazine Award, two Loeb Awards, and the Edward R. Murrow Award.

This Forum is presented by ...                   

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SHiFT Forum
Monday, September 12, 2011

Change Your Life in 30 Days
We will not change, says Verna Price, until we are challenged: a job layoff, a divorce, a life-threatening illness. Why? Because we're socialized to stay in our comfort zones. Fear of the unknown keeps us from saying Yes to change.

In this Forum, you'll be challenged to consider who you are, how you think, why you think the way you do, and what you want out of life.

Verna Price is the founder, president of J. Cameron & Associates, an organization committed to empowering and motivating people to realize and positively use their personal power. She is an author, organizational consultant, motivational speaker, executive coach, and educator.

           ♦ See Verna Price's Bio ...        ♦ View a Video Clip ...        ♦ Buy the Book at Amazon.com ...

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SHiFT Forum
Monday, June 6, 2011

Life Changes and Life Changers
Three presenters. Three stories. Three lives changed ... and a commitment to help others change their lives, too.

Catherine Byers Breet is Chief Stripe Changer at Arbez. In 2001, when her dream job burst along with the dot.com bubble, she ran away from her fear — and into the fire. She landed in a corner office, wearing a fancy title.  It wasn't enough.

After grad school, Pete Machalek of Sage Presence took a safe day job for the summer while he weighed his options. Three months turned into six, then a year. It paid the bills, but the job left him feeling unfulfilled. It took 10 more years to accept who he was — and what he wanted.

At age 62, Jeanne Larson of The Incubator is a 'serial entrepreneur' now running her 6th business.  "Retirement is not in my vocabulary," she says. "It's a myth and an antiquated term. All I can see are opportunities."

Finding what aligns with who you are at midlife can be a life changer. Come for the stories, fresh ideas, and some inspiration!

►  Forum sponsored by ...               

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SHiFT Forum
Tuesday, May 3, 2011


The Encore Stage of Life: A Call to Action
Finding passion, purpose and a paycheck at midlife is more than just an individual aspiration. It’s a social imperative that should engage Americans of all generations.

That’s the message from Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures — a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose. His new book The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife challenges us to turn down the volume in our dialogue about the staggering economic costs of a dramatically aging society.

In its place, he says, we need to convert the “encore” stage between midlife and old age from a do-it-yourself project (with little guidance, few role models and scarce resources) to an energetic force to solve our most pressing national problems.

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SHiFT Forum
Monday, March 7, 2011

Find the Hidden Gifts in Overcoming Adversity
The path of major life transition is often marked with obstacles and diversions. At this Forum, you’ll hear the stories — and explore the resources — that can help you navigate with greater clarity.

Mike Hanson, a Twin Cities attorney who is blind, found himself unemployed, newly divorced — and feeling highly vulnerable. He chose to make a powerful statement about independence and the creative spirit: hiking the Appalachian Trail.

After leaving Women Venture as its President and CEO, Tene Wells slipped into self-doubt. For 10 years, that pinnacle job had been her identity. She re-emerged after connecting with her passion: consulting with non-profits to help them become risk-taking, disciplined innovators.

Peter Bailey, an organization development consultant at The Prouty Project, found inspiration in classic tales such as The Lion King, Wizard of Oz, and The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell.  Then he developed his Heroic Journey model, with its keys to the cycle of life and learning ... which he'll present at this Forum.

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SHiFT Forum
February 7, 2011

The Life of Simple Abundance: Money, Food, and Home
Come join three Twin Cities leaders in the areas of economics, nutrition, and home living for a provocative conversation on how to live more fulfilling and abundant lives with ... less!

Chris Farrell is an award-winning journalist and the economics editor of NPR's "Marketplace Money". His recent best-seller The New Frugality asks us to rethink how we choose to spend our money. 

Lisa Kane is a registered dietitian with an emphasis on whole foods and balanced lifestyle and a background in oncology. She has written a local column for Minnesota Publications for 5 years, making nutrition information accessible and its practical application tangible. Paul Neseth of LOCUS Architecture works with a wide range of clients to reimagine their building needs to meet simpler lifestyles.

Looking for a "new normal" that will sustain you longer into your life?  Plan to attend this free event.

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SHiFT Forum
December 6, 2010

Life's Season of Giving ... When Midlife meets Legacy
Imagine a little more Christmas all year round.  Come join Sean Kershaw (Director of The Citizen's League), Judy Alnes (Director of MAP for nonprofits), and Jon Pratt (Director of Minnesota Council of Nonprofits), and a visit from Mike Mann of Center for Imagination) for a discussion on the art of giving back at midlife.

What are the many ways civic engagement can be brought into our lives? What are volunteer and job trends in the non-profit sector? What are good first steps to take? Interested in changing lives? Come to this event!

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SHiFT Forum
November 1, 2010

Myths & Realities at Midlife
Midlife is what we make of it. Some smart strategies: upgrade skill sets for your current career; stay physically and mentally fit; nurture your connections; and be willing to shift your vision when your values change.

Janet Pelto, George Dow, and Kate Schaefers are Twin Cities career counselors who specialize in coaching people at midlife. They'll outline the big questions and offer some answers:
From their coaching practices, they'll also present real life case studies of people who defied the myths.

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SHiFT Stories
Monday, October 18

The Power of Story in Playback Theater
For thousands of years, we humans have gathered together to share stories. Stories of our lives. Stories carrying the experience and wisdom of our tribe through the generations. We offer our accounts of what has happened -- and wonder what it all might mean.

River's Edge Playback Theater presents a form of improvisation in which audience members share stories from their lives -- amusing, sad, silly or profound. And a group of actors bring the heart of the story to life. On the spot. It's where theater meets storytelling ... and forms community.

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SHiFT Forum
October 4, 2010

Unleashing Your Inner Change Artist
At a time of great social and cultural change, people are also living longer and more active lives. The ability to reinvent oneself — again and again — is key to investing more meaning in life and work.

Author and artist Fred Mandell has just published Becoming a Change Artist, a book with profound implications for those of us entering midlife and beyond.  What can master artists teach us about the creative process?  At this Forum, Fred shared the "7 Creative Skills to Reinvent Yourself at Any Stage of Life" ... insights that will surprise and inspire you. 

Fred Mandell has earned a reputation as a highly innovative business leader, author, and catalyst for personal change. His life and work has been featured in the PBS series Boomers; Redefining Life After 50.

► View the Presentation ...