Important Notice Of Change In Terms Early Disclosure: Fill & Download for Free

Definitely not, at least in terms of outing me as transgender.I’ve had some people treat me pretty badly during gender transition, but not a single one outed me before I was ready! That can be hazardous or even cruel.Was there some quiet gossip? Possibly, but I never saw any sign of it. I think people were really good about respecting that my gender identity was mine to disclose. I was also careful in who I chose to trust, for my early disclosures. My trust in them has always been vindicated … and believe me I would have noticed if they’d let the cat out of the bag too soon!PERSONAL DISCLOSUREDisclosing my gender identity is very personal. Most people probably think that’s because it was a secret. The bigger reason it’s personal is because it impacts on every single relationship.Somebody’s response when I disclose that I am transgender tells me if they are safe, supportive, casual, neutral, hiding their response, disturbed, distressed or antagonistic. That’s important information for me to know. I prefer the opportunity to see it for myself.Seeing it for myself, being involved in that process, gives me an opportunity to adjust, to tell a quick little story, to explain something they might not have realised. Disclosing gender identity is complex, and individual. Whether they accept me or not, I prefer that to be based on my words, not someone else’s words.For my community choir, I disclosed before them in a group, but I chose the words! Most musicians and singers are accepting people.THE WORKPLACEOn my first day in a new workplace following gender transition, the boss introduced me around, using my pronouns “she” / “her” naturally in his speech. It was an inclusive workplace, so everyone clued up straight away, thinking, “Oh, she’s transgender!” :-)In my second workplace after gender transition, the boss left the disclosure that I am transgender in my hands. I think he might have let HR know, but my co-workers were certainly not advised ahead of time. It took my closest co-workers a few days to figure it out. I assisted that process by putting my transgender name badge prominently on my desk.I didn’t get to see all my coworker’s responses that way, but it achieved four objectives that were important to me:It let them see me as a queer and quirky woman, first, before realising that I am transgender, later.It let them know that I am open about being transgender.It gave them permission to talk about it with me if they wanted to.It clued them on how I wanted to handle disclosure, quietly and organically.How I manage disclosure of my gender identity, is a carefully considered decision. I don’t want someone else jumping in and changing that.Taking my “quietly and organically” cue from item 4 above, it’s possible that some of my co-workers discreetly advised other co-workers that I’m transgender, at the appropriate time. I was 100% happy with that.EXTENDED FAMILYI have willingly delegated some of these disclosures to others. I delegated my brother to tell my nieces and nephew, asking, “Have you told your kids about it, yet? Did you want any help with that?”In that case, he wasn’t paving the way for me, so much as simply passing on a subset of the things I’d already told him, with my blessing.I’ve done similar things with other extended family, and an open letter to old work colleagues. An open letter is an excellent way to give permission for people to pass on the news, while still retaining control over how it’s expressed.Naomi Lauren's answer to Why is it I can come out as non-binary to my entire school but not my own mother?

I represent the face of a Black Gay Man living with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. I’m currently at Stage 3 as of October 17, 2016.The first response I typically receive from people when I speak openly about my diagnosis is, “Oh I’m so sorry!” This is mainly because people do not quite know what to say. My advice: DON’T SAY ANYTHING – JUST LISTEN.Some people even say, “But you don’t look or act like you have Alzheimer’s!” This is a common misperception - that this disease only affects older adults. Sometimes people even try to reason with me and say, “Oh, I forget things too,” usually trying to minimize my diagnosis. This may be with good intentions or simply from shock due to my disclosure of the diagnosis. But what many fail to realize is that this is not simple forgetfulness ladies and gentleman. This diagnosis causes problems with my memory, thinking, and even my behaviors.For those of us who have been diagnosed before the age of 65, the diagnosis of younger-onset Alzheimer’s is often accompanied by the experience of stigma, but we also experience a unique set of challenges that affect our careers, families, and financial future. Today, I would like to share with you a little bit about my story and purpose to raise awareness of the disease and diminish the stigma surrounding an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.MY FAMILY HISTORYI represent 3 generations of Alzheimer’s: My mother who is currently living with the disease as well as my Aunt, who passed away 4 years ago with the cause of death as Alzheimer’s on her death certificate. Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and currently there is no way to prevent, cure or slow the progression.I can recall as a young boy, my grandmother, roaming the streets at night in Washington DC, often being picked up by the police. Police would ask my father to intervene but he always had his reasons not to. My grandfather lost custody of my grandmother to the state soon after several incidents. My grandmother was finally placed in a group home with others “like her” and back then, they labeled these types of events as old age and senility.My mother is currently living in a long-term care facility, at the cost of $50,000 a year. The cost for the type of care she receives can run as high as $80,000 a year depending on the long term care facility and the state funding. Alzheimer's disease is one of the costliest chronic diseases to society. Families are suffering, but this disease could also bankrupt Medicare. Unless something is done, by 2025, Alzheimer’s is projected to cost more than $1 trillion dollars.WARNING SIGNS FOR MEAlthough I was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s in August 2015, my family and I can look back now as far as 10 years to situations where I was having memory and thinking problems. It crept up so quickly with little things here and there. I began leaving items around, no longer paying attention to cleanliness, and leaving old food in the refrigerator. Once, I remember buying 4 cartons of milk. Not 1 but 4 cartons! Others thought I was being thoughtless, but actually, I was having memory lapses. I would leave packages, my wallet, and photo ID in strange places. I would place my phone on top of the car and drive away. More and more I would forget social dates and critical appointments.Even within my work environment, as a flight attendant for 20 years, there was never consistency with staff to help identify changes in my behaviors. Living alone, I experienced many challenges not having family or friends consistently around to monitor unusual behavior and recognize patterns or concerns. Being such an independent individual all of my life, traveling the world during my career, you can imagine how difficult it would be to come to grips with the possibility of losing that independence.Eventually, family and friends began to notice I was repeating myself in conversations. People began to discern the emotional ups and downs I would display at the smallest incidents. I would tell people, “I hate you, I love you, I hate you.” I began showing up late for meetings or not showing up at all. My rationale was, “I’m just getting older.”THE DIAGNOSTIC PROCESSBefore the diagnosis, I made the decision to start taking care of my health. It all started with a visit to a bariatric clinic. During my visit and psychological evaluation, there was a sudden change in plans when the physician referred me back to my general practitioner, stating they could not go forth with the procedure due to my scores on the evaluation. My general practitioner ordered a MRI & immediately referred me to a neurologist. My life changed as soon as I received the official diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The next day, I reached out to Alzheimer’s Association Western Carolina Chapter. I was determined to get connected, find support and learn more about the diagnosis. It was perfect timing because the local chapter was beginning a pilot program for Early Stage individuals 3 days later.SHARING DIAGNOSIS WITH OTHERSAttending the Early Stage program was the first opportunity I had to disclose my diagnosis and open up with others who were also living with the disease. We began meeting weekly for support groups and I realized I was not alone.After disclosing my diagnosis with family members, they were supportive and familiar with the disease due to other family member’s history. Many family & friends recalled some of the changes they observed in the years prior to my diagnosis, and began to understand that this was not in fact normal aging.LIFESTYLE CHANGES MADE SINCE THE DIAGNOSISSince my diagnosis, I have made big strides in my lifestyle and have adapted a new way of living and thinking. I currently have a life coach who has assisted with the emotional components of dealing with the disease. I go to the gym to work out daily and have lost a significant amount of weight. I am eating healthier and feeling more physically and mentally fit.I focus on maintaining my independence as much as possible, and have found creative and safe ways to continue enjoying some of my favorite activities, including traveling and socializing. I participate in the Couchsurfing community, which allows me to host or visit individuals from all around the world. This is a unique way for me to continue developing relationships and stay socially connected.Beyond home and lifestyle changes, my relationships have also changed since the diagnosis. I married my partner, Dayvid on July 23rd, 2016. We agreed to move the original date of the wedding up, with the desire to cherish memories and special moments presently, since we are unsure of the unknown.I am fortunate to have the support of my spouse who currently resides in Brazil. I travel frequently to Brazil and he travels to North Carolina. We continue to have on-going planning and discussion for permanent residence as the disease progresses.I am no longer able to work as an international flight attendant and I retired at the age of 64. I have now “re-imagined” myself to become an Alzheimer’s advocate and currently serve on the Alzheimer’s Association National Early-Stage Advisory group. I continue to see myself in this new role and journey of life. Day by day, I am embracing this testimony as I share with you today.I may not have needed much support in the past, but as my needs have changed it has become necessary to engage a support network, including my life coach, physicians, AARP family, the LGBT community, family & friends, and the local Alzheimer’s Western Carolina Chapter, to help maximize my independence and live a quality life.VALUE OF CLINCAL TRIALS & ENGAGING DIVERSE GROUPSI feel a responsibility to participate in research. Since 1987, I have been a participant in a study on HIV- I felt responsible to the AIDS community, partners and friends to participate. This experience has given me a new understanding of the importance of clinical trials, and I am a strong advocate for the needs of engaging diverse communities in the involvement of these trials. As an individual with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease, I am currently in the process of looking for a clinical trial through TrialMatch- the Alzheimer’s Association free clinical studies matching program- to determine available options.Clinical trials help our community more than we know, and means we get closer and closer to finding a cure and ultimately, a world without Alzheimer’s. There may be many barriers to break down when approaching certain demographics regarding clinical trial involvement due to historical traumas or general mistrust. My family has experienced our own trauma, through my grandfather’s experience in the Tuskegee study. Yet I whole- heartedly believe this is an issue that needs to be openly addressed and embraced. It’s important to move on from this dark past and encourage participants, especially those from diverse groups to engage in critical, potentially life-saving research.It is important for researchers to consider reaching the gatekeepers of minority populations and begin to learn how to connect with the community. It is important to learn about diverse group interests and needs. It is also crucial to allow data to be used in more useful way after a study concludes and to disclose these results with participants.Considerations for participation in clinical trials regarding exclusion criteria must also be addressed. I personally experienced challenges with access to clinical trials. Several trials required that I have a care partner a minimum of 10 hrs a day. This eliminated the possibility of my participation due to my independent lifestyle, although I was more than willing and interested in participating and met all other criteria.PLANS FOR THE FUTUREI cannot predict what the future will hold, yet I continue to plan ahead and remain involved in volunteerism in multiple organizations. I am enjoying my involvement with AARP and the Re-imagination project as well as my on-going partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association National and local chapter engagements.Do not feel sorry for me. I grieved during the first 2 months of the diagnosis. Lying in my bed weeping, being afraid of what the future would bring. Now, Alzheimer’s disease is a part of my life, but does not need to define who I am. I do my best to focus on the things that I can control rather than what I cannot. I approach one task at a time, and minimize triggers that can cause stress. I am no longer afraid to talk openly about my diagnosis and ask for help.Thank you for the opportunity to share my story with you and shed light on the personal experience living with this disease.

I wrote a blog post for a client a while ago about this topic.7 Things You Need To Stop Doing To Be More Productive, Backed By ScienceWhen I was 17 years old, I used to work and study for about 20 hours a day. I went to school, did my homework during breaks and managed a not-for-profit organization at night. At that time, working hard landed me countless national campaigns, opportunities to work with A-list organizations and a successful career. As I got older, I started thinking differently. I realized that working harder is not always the right path to success. Sometimes, working less can actually produce better results.Consider a small business owner, who works non-stop. However, working hard won’t help him compete with his multi-million competitors. Time is a limited commodity. An entrepreneur can work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week (the most amount of time anyone can work, really). His or her competitor can always spend more money, build a bigger team and spend a lot more time on the same project. Then why have small startups accomplished things that larger corporations couldn’t? Facebook bought Instagram, a 13-employee company for a billion dollars. Snapchat, a young startup with 30 employees is turning down offers from tech giants Facebook and Google. Part of their successes were based on luck — the rest is based on efficiency.The key to success is not hard working but smart working.There’s a notable distinction between being busy and being productive. Being busy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being productive. Being productive is less about time management and more on managing your energy. It is the business of life. We need to learn how to spend the least amount of energy to get the most benefits. I am so lucky to work with an amazing team here at Filemobile. Everyone always challenges me and helps me sort my priorities to become more productive. I learned to reduce my work week from 80 hours to 40 hours, and get a lot more work done in the process. In other words, less is more.Here are 7 I things I stopped doing to become more productive.1. Stop working overtime and increase your productivityHave you ever wondered where the 40-hour work week came from? In 1926, Henry Ford, American industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company, conducted experiments with interesting results: when you decrease your daily working hours from 10 to 8, and shorten the work week from 6 days to 5, your productivity increases.Source: Calculating Loss of Productivity Due to Overtime Using Published Charts — Fact or FictionThe more you work, the less effective and productive you are going to become over both short and long term. “Scheduled Overtime Effect on Construction Projects”, a report issued by The Business Roundtable in 1980 states.“Where a work schedule of 60 or more hours per week is continued longer than about two months, the cumulative effect of decreased productivity will cause a delay in the completion date beyond that which could have been realized with the same crew size on a 40-hour week.”Source: Calculating Loss of Productivity Due to Overtime Using Published Charts — Fact or FictionIn an article for AlterNet, editor Sara Robinson referenced research conducted by the US military that revealed that “losing one hour of sleep per night for a week will cause a level of cognitive degradation equivalent to a .10 blood alcohol level.” You can get fired for coming to work drunk, but it is deemed acceptable to pull an all-nighter.Irrespective of how well you were able to get on with your day after that most recent night without sleep, it is unlikely that you felt especially upbeat and joyous about the world. Your more-negative-than-usual perspective will have resulted from a generalized low mood, which is a normal consequence of being overtired. More important than just the mood, this mind-set is often accompanied by decreases in willingness to think and act proactively, control impulses, feel positive about yourself, empathize with others, and generally use emotional intelligence.Source: The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at RestIt’s important for us not to overwork ourselves and get enough sleep to maintain a high level of productivity. Next time you’re wondering why you may not be working productively, the reason may be simple as you being one of 70% of people who doesn’t get enough sleep.Did you know?Leonardo da Vinci took multiple naps a day and slept less at night.The French Emperor Napoleon was not shy about taking naps. He indulged daily.Though Thomas Edison was embarrassed about his napping habit, he also practiced his ritual daily.Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, used to boost her energy by napping before speaking engagements.Gene Autry, “the Singing Cowboy,” routinely took naps in his dressing room between performances.President John F. Kennedy ate his lunch in bed and then settled in for a nap—every day!Oil industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller napped every afternoon in his office.Winston Churchill’s afternoon nap was a non-negotiable. He believed it helped him get twice as much done each day.President Lyndon B. Johnson took a nap every afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in order to break his day up into “two shifts.”Though criticized for it, President Ronald Reagan famously took naps as well.Source: 5 Reasons Why You Should Take a Nap Every Day — Michael HyattOn a personal note, since I started getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day, I’ve noticed a change: I became a lot more productive and got a lot more work done than when I worked 16 hours a day. Who knew sleeping was such a great tool for marketers?2. Don’t say “yes” too oftenAccording to the Pareto Principle, 20% of the effort produce 80% of the results; however, 20% of the results consumes 80% of the effort. Instead of working harder, we should focus primarily on those efforts that produce 80% of the results and forgo the rest. We will have more time to focus on the most important tasks. We should stop saying “yes” to tasks that bring low or almost no result.“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say “no” to almost everything.” — Warren Buffet.This begs a question: what should you say “yes” and what should you say “no” to? If you can’t figure if something is going to be worth your time, consider running a simple split test. Track everything you do and optimize if it is possible.Most of us say yes more often than we should because it is so much easier than saying no. Nobody wants to be the bad guy.In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, researchers split 120 students in 2 groups. One group was trained to use “I can’t”, while the other was trained to use “I don’t”. The results were interesting:The students who told themselves “I can’t eat X” chose to eat the chocolate candy bar 61% of the time. Meanwhile, the students who told themselves “I don’t eat X” chose to eat the chocolate candy bars only 36% of the time. This simple change in terminology significantly improved the odds that each person would make a more healthy food choice.Next time you need to avoid saying yes, say “I don’t”.Another great trick to avoid activities that don’t add enough value into your life is the 20-second rule: give yourself 20 seconds longer for activities you shouldn’t be doing.Lower the activation energy for habits you want to adopt and raise it for habits you want to avoid. The more we can lower or even eliminate the activation energy for our desired actions, the more we enhance our ability to jump-start positive change.Source: The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work3. Stop doing everything yourself and start letting people help youAt some point in my career, I was managing a very large community and couldn’t handle it. I tried to do everything myself. I burnt out, but the community ended up taking over and managing itself. Surprisingly, members did a better job than I have ever done. I learned the power of community and why brands need user-generated content.Consumers understand what they want and how they want it better than any marketer. Did you know that, according to Octoly, user-generated videos are viewed 10 times more than brand-generated videos on YouTube? When seeking information about a particular brand, over half (51%) of Americans trust user-generated content more than the content on the brand website (16%) or media coverage on the brand (14%). It’s important for marketers to open up and seek help from the brand’s community.Source: Earned Media Rankings on YouTube — OctolyBeing a great content marketer is not about creating the best content, but building a great community that will generate high-quality content for you.It’s important for us to realize we can seek help when needed. We cannot do everything ourselves. It is better for you to let someone who can do a better job taking over some of your tasks. It will give you more time to focus on your most important tasks. Instead of wasting your time trying to figure something out yourself, let the experts help you.A lot of time, even if your friends can’t help you, having them around can help you become more productive.Just having friends nearby can push you toward productivity. “There’s a concept in ADHD treatment called the ‘body double,’ ” says David Nowell, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist from Worcester, Massachusetts. “Distractable people get more done when there is someone else there, even if he isn’t coaching or assisting them.” If you’re facing a task that is dull or difficult, such as cleaning out your closets or pulling together your receipts for tax time, get a friend to be your body double.Source: Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are4. Stop being a perfectionist“We found that perfectionism trips up professors on the way to research productivity. The more perfectionistic the professor, the less productive they are,” Dr. Simon Sherry, a Dalhousie University Psychology Professor who conducted a study on perfectionism and productivity, tells University Affairs magazine. Dr. Sherry found a robust correlation between increased perfectionism and decreased productivity.Here are some problems associated with being a perfectionist:They spend more time than required on a task.They procrastinate and wait for the perfect moment. In business, if it is the perfect moment, you are too late.They miss the big picture while being too focused on small things.Marketers often wait for the perfect moment. In doing so, they end up missing it.The perfect moment is NOW.5. Stop doing repetitive tasks and start automating it.According to a research study conducted by Tethys Solutions, A team of 5 people who spent 3%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 70% of their time on repetitive tasks respectively reduced this time to 3%, 10%, 15%, 15% and 10% after 2 months of enhancing their productivity.Source: Using Automation Software To Increase Business Productivity & Competitiveness -Tethys SolutionsA week ago, I spent 15 minutes writing a basic Python program. The idea was to generate content from the data, which I pulled from Twitter API using a Ruby bot, and use Hootsuite to bulk schedule them. While it used to take me an entire day to accomplish, it now takes me less than 5 minutes. Nowadays, whenever I do something repetitively (more than 5 times), I would ask myself if I can find a program to do it for me.You don’t have to be a coder to able to automate your repetitive tasks. It’s nice to have the skills or the resources, but it’s not a requirement. If you cannot build it, buy it.People often forget that time is money. People usually do things manually because it’s easy and requires almost no research. It is manageable to moderate 30 images on Instagram for your user-generated campaign. But if you have to manage 30 000 photos and videos from 5 different platforms, you need a good digital asset management software. At Filemobile, we help people to solve that problem generate even more user-generated content. Just like managing rich media, you can easily purchase a software to solve almost all of yourproblem on the internet.If you still can’t find a solution, you can hire an expert to help you. Keep in mind that you need to spend money to make money and that time is your most valuable commodity.Tips for marketers: check out GitHub or Google app script library. Often times, you’ll find free ready-to-use open source code that requires very little programming knowledge.6. Stop guessing and start backing up your decisions with dataIf you can optimize websites for search engines, you can optimize your lives to grow and reach your maximum potential.There are so many research studies out there that can provide answers in a range of areas. For instance, did you know that most people are more easily distracted from noon to 4PM? This random statistic comes from recent research led by Robert Matchock, an associate professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University. Even if you can’t find the data you need, it doesn’t take a lot of time to run a split test.For instance, last week we did a few tests to figure out the best way to optimize images for Twitter in-stream preview.Keep asking yourself how you’re going to measure and optimize everything you do.7. Stop working, and have do-nothing timeMost people don’t realize that we’re essentially locking ourselves in a box when we are too focused on something. It’s important to walk away from our work once in a while and have some alone time. Alone time is good for the brain and spirit, according to The power of lonely, an article in The Boston Globe.One ongoing Harvard study indicates that people form more lasting and accurate memories if they believe they’re experiencing something alone. Another indicates that a certain amount of solitude can make a person more capable of empathy towards others. And while no one would dispute that too much isolation early in life can be unhealthy, a certain amount of solitude has been shown to help teenagers improve their moods and earn good grades in school.Source: The power of lonelyIt‘s important for us to take time for reflection. We often find the solutions when we’re not searching for them.We don’t become more productive overnight. Like everything in life, it requires efforts. Change doesn’t happen if you just sit there and wait for it. It’s important for all of us to learn more about our body and find ways to optimize our energy for a more successful and happy life.Disclosure: Filemobile is a client of my agency, ThinkRenegade | eCommerce + Digital Marketing Agency.