As a mentor and messenger for over 45 years (23+ years with my own training and greeting card businesses, 22+ with the Federal Government); I’ve taught and coached professionals to cultivate their calling, connect to their capacity, and live their purpose in their own style.
A decade living and working overseas and over four decades of focused research into personal and organizational energy; I’ve designed and delivered award-winning programs, adventure teambuilding activities, and special events around the globe transforming workplaces and workforces on the topics of leadership, teams, communication, conflict management, and customer service. Along the way I have earned the following professional credentials:
- Certified Speaking Professional (approximately 15% of Professional Speakers in the world have earned this honor through the National Speakers Association)
- Certified Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) Relationship Awareness® Facilitator
- Certified Executive Coach, Certified Professional Coach
- Certified Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) Facilitator
- Certified Park and Recreation Professional
- Executive with Send Out Cards
- Certified Laughter Leader
- Master of Arts in Social Multi-Cultural, and Bi-lingual Foundations of Education (focus on Outdoor Adventure Experiential Education)
- Bachelor of Science in Commercial Recreation (focus on Business and Commercial/Community Leisure and Recreation)
I live for new experiences, discovery, and exploration, and use my blog to share my personal adventures and misadventures around the world in over 100 countries so far. I’m so inspired and learn so much through exotic travel and other people, cultures, and customs. We are always learning and growing, and I find that meeting new people and new challenges keeps me on my toes and allows me to be a better messenger and mentor in the vein of continuous improvement. What I learn, I share with you: resources, tips, aha moments, and new research.
A recent profoundly-transformative discovery is that I am a Wild Sensitive – a combination of a High-Sensation-Seeking, Highly-Sensitive Person, and an Empath. I’ve been researching what it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person since 2020 after I accidentally uncovered that I was one, as well as a High Sensation Seeking Extroverted Sensitive – off the charts, even. Meaning I live with a perplexing paradox of complex and contrasting dualities such as freedom and security, depth and daring, comfort and craving, enclosure and escape, discernment and discovery with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake while chasing my insatiable wanderlust and curiosity.
So living the Artful Hartful life for me means taking time off from my global adventures and hectic career to just chill, hang with some goats, get grounded, and get my fur fix at the nearby SmithFarmGoatSanctuary.org, paint, create greeting cards, and slow down between programs and travel. Thus taking on far fewer coaching/advising clients and changing my focus from organizational clients to individual clients – in particular those who are High Sensation Seeking and/or Highly Sensitive, and female. I want to pass on the life-changing information that has helped me understand how I roll and how to work with my brain, body, environment, and schedule to create a lifestyle that best supports me so that I can help you do the same.
Enter Sassy Scribbles – my latest foray into blending the sassy-pants side of writing along with watercolor painting to create a line of cheeky greeting cards, playful home portraits, and whimsical word portraits. You can find my work on Etsy at SassyScribblesbyGaia.etsy.com. The cards and paintings are the opposite end of the spectrum from my other writing you can see below. After retirement/rewirement from full-time work, I now have more room for all kinds of play and meaningful, fun projects that re-energize me, give me a little giggle, and restore balance between my high-sensation-seeking self and my highly-sensitive self.
A blogger since 2006, I’m a featured Author in over 600 articles and 30 books:
- Keys to Energize Your Life: 85 Ways to Pump up Performance, Practice Safe Stress & Have More Fun
- Become the Obvious Expert Now
- Dancing Through Life With Guts, Grace & Gusto
- In Search of Adventure: A Wild Travel Anthology
- 52 Ways to Have Fun at Work
- 301 More Ways to Have Fun at Work
- Fun Works: Creating Places Where People Love to Work
- Stephen Covey’s Magazines: Personal Excellence, Sales & Service Excellence, and Executive Excellence
- The Communication Coach II
- Handle with CARE – Motivating and Retaining Employees
- Entrepreneur Magazine’s Small Business Book series: How To Start a Seminar Production Company
- Secrets of Shameless Self Promoters
- Care Packages for the Home
- Overworked and Underplayed: Boost Energy, Defuse Tension, and Make Fun of Life
- Energy: 120 Easy Ways to Get It, Keep It, and Keep From Giving It Away
- Simple Joys: Little Things That Make a Big Difference
- Behave, You’re at Work!
- Team Up!
- Team Energizers
- 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Pfeiffer Annual from Wiley Publishers: Trainers
- 2005, 2006, 2007 Pfeiffer Annual from Wiley Publishers: Consultants
- Follow Me: Building a Rock-Star following with Social Media
- Wealth Diva
- Market Out Loud Strategies
- Special Report: Energize Your Work Wealth & Well-Being
- Baltimore Business Journal
- Columnist for Off Duty Magazine, international publication for the Armed Forces
- Incentive Magazine
- Expert Magazine
- Self Magazine
With my definitive life purpose as uncovered in my life prints “Successful Artist and Messenger in the Community Spotlight”; I’m adding love, light, joy and wisdom to the world by connecting people to their capacity and energizing others in my unique style of “Comfortable Playful”, wrapped in my energetic profile of “Bright & Animated”; I invite you to join me in living Hartfully and Artfully.
Speaking, Training and Teambuilding video montage: http://youtu.be/h7LiwgQWkfg
email: Gaia at GaiaHart dot com
John Masters
January 12, 2008
Please keep these excellent posts coming