Occasionally I have an identity crisis. I think that's good. From time to time I have to ask myself questions like: Who am I? What am I doing? Do I like doing it? Am I good at it? Will it help the world? and How does the world know I'm doing it?

It began this time when I asked a friend and colleague to help me with the process of reexamining my business card and letterhead. Since my last printing, I had expanded the way I work with voice, conflict and aikido, and I wanted my visual image to reflect the changes.

I thought it would be simple. She'd take all my questions and resolve them in some way that would be clear, concise, and visually pleasing. She did -- but it wasn't simple, and I wasn't prepared for what lay ahead.

When she showed me her ideas I literally stepped back, wide-eyed, and almost stumbled over my chair. She presented a new, much more powerful image of me and my work. It was very different from the look I'd grown accustomed to, and it simultaneously shocked and delighted me. It also began an internal process of discovery that has been quite interesting.

Aikido and Power

I thought I knew who I was. I just had some questions about how to visually integrate the different aspects of my work -- voice, aikido, conflict resolution -- into a coherent package. But I had a basic image that I'd been using and that functioned pretty well. As it turns out it wasn't the whole me, nor was it the whole of my work. In the Japanese martial art Aikido there are two central elements. One is learning to flow and blend with energy. The second is the power you gain when that happens. Aikido is a very powerful martial art. It is not resistant, but it is not passive. Verbally, we use aikido when we are clear about our position while acknowledging others, and when we use words to connect instead of attack. I have always identified with the flow of aikido but found it more difficult to engage its power. Similarly in life I find it easy to blend (listen, acknowledge, agree) but more difficult to use power (state my position, ask for what I want, say no). My image on paper reflected that too.

In my aikido practice -- and in life -- I