Set Your Super Power Free!

Recently a dear friend of mine posed the question, if you could choose a superhero power, what would it be?  This simple question got me thinking of all of the super powers I would love to have.

Think of these amazing powers:

- Everywhere I would walk, flowers would appear

- I would be able to repair our environment - patch the ozone hole with a swish of my hands

- I could grant every pet a home

- I would be able to heal people and animals just with my very presence

Then I thought... gosh, so many of us can pick a super power and act those powers out in our mortal, human way.  It would not be instantaneous, but it would be powerful, indeed.

For example, what if I chose my super power to be everywhere I walked, flowers would appear and I live out that power in my mortal way.  I could do the following things:

1. Plant a flower garden in my own yard
2. Hang flower baskets on my patios

3. Start flowers from seedlings and put in little pots

4. Bring those little pots of home-grown flowers with me to family and friends when visiting

5. Send home-grown flowers to school with the children to give to teachers and faculty

6. See if potted flowers can be taken to nursing homes, pediatric hospitals, etc.

You could live your super power in everything that you do and with every life you touch.

What would your super power be?  And how would you make it come to life in your human form?

Co-Op Web's New Site, New Tools for Your Business

Exciting News!!

Co-Op Web, Inc., an award-winning, Tucson based web design firm, was founded in 1998 by Ana Lewis, CEO, MPM, PME, a 15-year Internet veteran, certified Master Project Manager and Project Manager E-Business. Our primary focus is our business client’s needs – and how the Internet can meet those needs. Our long-time experience in the Internet industry ensures Co-Op Web remains focused on designing websites that meet our customer’s needs by analyzing current market trends, developing effective Internet strategies, and utilizing a simple skill – listening.

Listening is how we discovered that we needed to offer more information to our clients and followers, thus the inspiration for this new design for Co-Op Web.

New and Valuable information we are now offering:

1. Do-it-yourself - Yes you can! And we give you the tools in which to do so.

2. The most common question I get is, “How much will it cost?” – please check out our section to find out. This form must now be filled out by all new/potential clients.

3. Free matters - see how you can best utilize the Internet via free applications and software.

4. Community – The Internet is global and I believe the best way to be found is by participating in community. Please check out our newest community, Women on the Verge, to see how wonderful it truly is.

6. WordPress – While we have worked on WordPress for many of our clients, I decided to try it out for ourselves, too., with this site The software is offered on the servers that we host on and it’s free!

If you have any questions and topics that you would like for me to address, please feel free to email us at contact@co-opweb.com

Peace,
Ana Lewis, CEO, MPM, PME

Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert - a book review

As a wife, mother and previous lover of anything Elizabeth Gilbert, I am sad to  say that I am having tremendous difficulty getting through Gilbert's latest bestseller, Committed.

I too, was very scared to enter my marriage, especially after having survived two previous divorces, so I thought I might gather some inspiration from Ms. Gilbert as she "makes peace with marriage" (as the sub-title proclaims.  After all, I found tremendous inspiration in Eat, Pray, Love.

Eat, Pray, Love is listed as one of my all-time favorite non-fiction  books.  There was courage, inspiration, tears, heartbreak, laughter, humility and love in those pages.  I read the book and carried it around for days, as I didn't want to lose the flavor.

Committed has not hit me the same.  I hear Ms. Gilbert whining and complaining about a very real situation many people are facing in our country.  Loving someone who can't enter the country because of Homeland Security.  Only problem is, most of them are unable to financial accommodate themselves with a year of traveling TOGETHER.  Ms. Gilbert loses scope of that very quickly and sinks into crybaby mode... briniging to mind, she spent many of the first pages in Eat, Pray, Love in the same vein.

I must declare, that not all was annoying about Committed.  I adored Gilbert's stories from some of the families and women in the villages she visited and interviewed about marriage in her travels with Felipe (her now husband).  The wisdom and clarity they shared in the most matter-of-fact and uncomplicated of terms, typically made me feel light from the beauty in their simplicity and wisdom.

I do wish she talked about Felipe more.  He seems hilarious and when she quoted him, I could almost see his attitude and twinkle - even though I have never met or seen him.  The tiny morsels she feeds us of him, made me hunger for more.  He has a totally different zest for life than she does.  While she's the gypsy, he's the comfortable bed you miss when you're away.

Committed is a very real and raw account of Gilbert's internal trials about getting married, I do think that there are a lot of people who will get a lot out of her imparted lessons and the journey she shares.

 

Heart Song

She was not afraid of Death

Talked about it like the weather

I want to die quickly and in my sleep,

She made her request

And she did

It was her heart that

killed her

generous

passionate

active

angry

dramatic

talented

heart

Her generosity touched so many

Watched the news

With her checkbook in hand

Ready to help the family

In need
She was generous
With her time
Brother, dad and I
Were never told she was
Too busy –
to help with school projects
to take a class with us
to travel all over the world
to attend a game

She was passionate
about her music
Her piano was her dearest friend
She would visit her daily
Sometimes to cry
Sometimes to sing
Always with heart

She was passionate about family
Not even the Devil himself could get
between her and her family, she would say.
Her loyalty showcased
Her truth

Anger ran deep
Like a hidden tumor
She wanted to keep secret,
But couldn’t
Angry at a mother who was selfish
Angry at herself for eating through it
Angry at her children for taking her for granted
Anger was the Pac-Man that ate her
Magnificent heart

Drama was her middle name
Willing to perform
Ham-it-up
Sing
At any time or place
She dressed in colors
Played with her hair
Bought BIG toys
And laughed
Real loud

She’ll do anything
We thought
She’d ask the embarrassing question
Try new styles
Skinny dip with friends
Secretly go to the amusement park
while everyone was working

Her talent was vast
Numerous instruments
Were lured by her hands
Many sports her calling
She called herself a Jack of all trades
And she was

Laying carpet
hanging wallpaper
building shelves
Home was a museum
To her talents and constant activity
Quirky furniture with dioramas of western scenes
Clock that cracked a whip on the hour
And treasures given to her by famous and
Not so famous friends

She communicated her heart through
Her voice
Anytime in the brightest of day
In the darkest of night
I can hear her voice
Call me Sweetheart

With Love and Gratitude to my mother, Josie Gonzales, 1940 - 1988

Does Your Website Speak Your Voice?

As a designer, I find it fun and inspirational to work on my clients' websites.  I get excited by the possibilities, sometimes to the point of scaring them into hiding their coffee pots and other things that might add to my already high energy level.

The Internet is  a  wonderful medium for a person  like me, who not  only appreciates the creative side, but also the business side.  The global opportunities - the ability to communicate and reach out to people all over - simply by being present.  The Internet is the great equalizer.  You can have a presence right next to business giants like Microsoft.com and  Adobe.com - and pay the same amount of money for your domain, have access to some of the same software and build and design to your  heart's content.

Currently, I am working on my own website for Co-OpWeb.com.  I try to do this about once every 18 months.  Everytime, the design is a showcase of the times we are living in - what new software can I test?  What new toys can I play with?  Everytime, I learn something new about myself and my business.

This time I am playing with some of the free softwares we offer on our servers.  Most of our sites are hard-coded and do not utilize free software, but times-are-a-changin'.  Our times are calling for everyone to be able to be more self-sufficient.  We still  want the same things, we just have to be more conscientious about how we get it and go about doing it.

We built Women on the Verge entirely on free software.  It was a little buggy, but the site is up, fun and growing and I am learning a lot on the way.  We utilized Dolphin, a community software, typically used for dating sites.  We customized it to meet our own needs, got some help from our own programming staff and are making it work, riding through the little bumps  along the way.

For the new Co-Op Web site, we are utilizing some of the same thoughts and energy.  Offer as much as we can for free, and show people some of the things that have taken us over a decade to learn.  It's a great feeling to share like that and I am enjoying this site more than I have any previous re-build. 

I think the most important lesson is this - Make your website speak for you.  Make sure your voice rings true in it's design, concept and capabilities. If you enjoy giving to your community - showcase that!  Let people know who you are and what you believe in, by your web presence.  You don't even have to bang people over the head with your ideas.  If you appreciate beauty - make your site beautiful. 

Sometimes it's easiest to brainstorm with a professional in how to best communicate who you are (that's my favorite part of my business) and sometimes you can best do  it on your own - just by listening to yourself. Regardless of how you get the message out, just make sure that you are staying true to who you are and what the business would like to communicate - beyond the business of business.


New and Valuable information we will be offering on the Co-Op  Web site. (please visit us when we're done!):

1. Do-it-Yourself section - Yes you can! And we give you the tools in which to do so.

2. The most common question I get is,"How much will it cost?" This will have a form that must now be filled out by all new/potential clients.

3. Free matters -  see how you can best utilize the Internet via free applications and software. We have a growing and monthly updated list.

4. Community – The Internet is global and I believe the best way to be found is by participating in community. Please check out our newest community, Women on the Verge, to see how wonderful it truly is
.
6. WordPress – While we have worked on WordPress for many of our clients, I decided to try it out for ourselves, too, with our own site  The software is offered on the servers that we host on and it’s free!

The new Co-Op Web site is nearly finished.  I will announce when it's ready for prime-time and ready for your feedback.

Thank you,
Ana Lewis
CEO of Co-Op Web, Inc.
Master Project Manager
Project Manager E-Business