I must say I really enjoyed the talk by John Boyle at ‘The Board‘ event last week in the Stillorgan Park Hotel.  He told the story of how he battled from being a van driver fired from his job with alcohol problems to being a hugely successful businessman with 170+ betting offices with Boyle Sports.

He was a very humble man and as he said himself ‘I used to want to be John Wayne, now I just want to be John Boyle’.  The main take away from his talk was how to achieve success and happiness with mind training combined with the correct work life balance.

You can find lots more notes here on ‘The Board and apologies for the poor lighting at the start of this clip. Thanks to The Board for arranging such a great event.

As you may know Connector likes getting free stuff and sharing free stuff with friends.   I love to give away tickets to events especially if they are events that are hard to get tickets for due to popular demand .  So I am delighted to have some FREE tickets to give away to the Arthur Guinness party in the Church on Thursday 24th September. The exact amount is to be confirmed today but be either 2 or 4.  AndI amsure we can throw in a few complimentary pint of  Guinness for your too !

If you would like to join the party in the place where Arthur Guinness was christened,  then here is a chance you have to pick up some tickets.  The Church is a fantastic venue for a live music show & it is supposed to be a BIG band playing … but I am sworn to secrecy as to who it is !

To enter, simply leave a comment below & we’ll pick one at random on Thursday morning and contact the winner to make arrangements.

Motivated Film crew seeks camera person with equipment & experience for
Ted Fest Documentary @ Father Ted Festival 2009. Person needed 5th or 6th – 8th March on Aran Islands.

Flight ticket from Dublin & island travel connection plus accomodation covered. Experience of a life time for the right person so call LISA ASAP on +353 86 1000 541 or+353 87 78 11150

Yes folks, this is a genuine call for help !!! Get dialling !! Get connecting with one of Ireland’s holiest festivals !

I recently blogged about the launch party of the St. Patrick’s Festival which probably the best launch event I have been at in my short connector history !

I really like the way it has seamlessy become a week long festival and not a day of celebration !! At the party, Marcus MacInnes, founder of Ireland’s top photo sharing web site pix.ie was telling me about how they have teamed up with Ireland’s top festival as THE official photo sharing location for festival goers photo sharing.

As part of the Irish community, it is great to now be part of Ireland’s fast growing photo blogging community and especially on such a great day to be Irish !  To join in, all you gotta do is check out the events page, head down to some of the great events and upload your photos to the St. Patrick’s Festival Pix.ie group >>

Here’s what Pix.ie have to say about some super prizes !

To make things a little more interesting, we’ve created a competition (more details to follow) and will be selecting three lucky winners whose photos capture the spirit of the festival. Canon have very kindly offered to sponsor some of the best prizes we’ve seen in a photo competition and with a total value of just under €1,800, these are very generous prizes!!!

• 1st Prize – Canon EOS 1000D digital SLR camera, Selphy ES3 photo printer, 150 Euro photography training course, adding memory card and photo printing paper. Total value €1,050
• 2nd Prize – Powershot E1 digital camera and Selphy ES3 photo printer. Total Value €480
• 3rd Prize – Selphy ES3 photo printer. Total Value €240

A great idea and a great coup for Marcus & his team … now there is even more … how about this for an amazing photo blogger initiative … this is top notch Marcus, check out this great party too !

“”To celebrate the Guinness 250 year anniversary, the Guinness Storehouse are inviting 250 Pixie users, bloggers and photobloggers to continue the Pixie Party after the parade and join in the fun at the Storehouse’s annual Paddy’s Day festival on March 17th:

“On St. Patrick’s Day, Guinness Storehouse will host an electrifying global celebration of Guinness and the Irish national holiday with over 250 entertainers of every description. Prepare for a barrage of rock, soul, roots, swing, jazz and traditional Irish, as well as international street performers and marching bands. Learn how to Pour the Perfect Pint of Guinness like a true Dublin connoisseur, savour the taste of Guinness variants and try some food with a Guinness twist.” – More details of what to expect!!!  “”

Credit too to the Guinness Storehouse & Canon !!

For my part, I just have to tell you about this highly innovative idea and I hope you will see me snapping as one of the chosen photo bloggers ! Click here for my new Pix.ie Connector profile >>

On Friday evening I was down with Oscailt on Pemboke Road to meet some of the practitioners.  The group wanted to chat about web sites & web marketing and Google Ad Words in particular.

I brought along my friends & partners Alex (Google& Yahoo Ads) & Victor (Web Sites, Blogs & Logo Design) who are pictured here with Sheila, Mary, David, Fiona & Mari.  (Josephine sadly missing from this photo.)  These guys work in yoga, dance, mindfulness & life coaching so it is important we can find them !!

Thankfully feedback was positive from this group of entrepreneurial individuals seeking more contacts, leads & business from the web.  Contact conor [@] connector.ie if you have any questions about eMarketing.

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I get up to all kinds of stuff in my free time – its the idea behind connector – to get off the laptop, get out and meet new people that I normally would never get to meet.

So off I went to the RDS today with a free invite from Oscailt Integrative Health (thanks Aelaig) to the Mind Body Spirit Show in the RDS where there was a lot of interesting stands & exhibitors.  This whole subject area seems to be one women are more into than men but I did not let that put me off.

It is weird but I knew a few people there as a result of my work with Oscailt and I got to meet Aelaig, Mari, Sheila, David, Patricia, Paul & Tino.

More about Positive Life & Buddha Bag soon … a real community is growing out there – a fireball of positive energy is forming in South Dublin … and maybe further afield too …

I met Lenka (Czech) at the recent October Connector Meetup and she asked to meet for some web marketing help to promote herself as a part time physio & massage therapist.  The issue she faces is by offering ‘massage’ services on the internet she can attract some undesireable clientele with the wrong impressions of what is on offer!

We came up with some ways around this and when she has her web site set up, I will add in the link so you can check it out.  In the meantime if you need a good massage, please email conor [at] connector.ie for Lenka’s details.

I was only too glad to help and in return she agreed to feature in the connector blog. Thanks Lenka and good luck with the volleyball tonight and don’t forget to bring your teammates to the November Connector Meetup !

I met Sheila last weekend at the Funky Sheomra and we agreed to meet today.  We had a good chat about marketing her small business Real Freedom & she is also from the Oscailt community (new web site due soon) I am working with on eMarketing projects.

We also talked about her forthcoming book about the super hero in all of us.  I am looking forward to this and wonder does CONMAN count as my ’super hero’ ??  I always thought he was my ‘anti-hero’ .. maybe that will be her follow up book … !

Sheila is very good company and she has some interesting ideas about leading a positive life and this is from her web site -
`”Are you unhappy? Lonely? Lost?

Are you leading what Thoreau called a life ‘of quiet desperation?’

It’s a sad fact that most of us are. This is because we carry around harmful beliefs, hurtful stories about ourselves that become insurmountable obstacles to joy and peace. We are imprisoned in our own minds.

RealFreedom is about breaking this pattern of self-hate, about recognising the lies in the stories we tell ourselves and about creating new stories, new beliefs of our true selves, our true potential for happiness.”

Read more >>

The Funky Sheomra is an alcohol free dance club / community in Dublin city centre on a Saturday night …. I was there last night and must say it was a great night with a unique location & atmosphere.

Well done to David Mooney for organising such a well attended and original event.  Great dance area, great bean bags, great beverages, great food, great people and no great hangover !  This is going to be monthly so put these dates in your diary. (22 November & 13 December 2008)

As they say themselves …

Imagine yourself on a night out in an exciting club atmosphere where you’re free to dance anyway you like without limitations, to the lush beats of funky music from around the globe. All this in a vibrant, ecstatic, alcohol-free atmosphere.

What’s INSIDE • all ages and persuasions • funky beats & lush rhythms by dj david mooney • stunning cathedral space in ss. michael & johns • warm, friendly atmosphere • organic snacks and chocolate treats • chai & specialist tea bar • smoothie bar • chill out zone

What’s NOT • cramped, overcrowded dance floor • sunday morning hangover blues (this is an alcohol-free event)

VENUE & CONTACT
Cultivate Centre | 15-19 Essex St West | Old City  Temple Bar | David Mooney | www.dublin.ie/websites/movement | danceindublin@gmail.com

I will be writing more soon about Patrick Bridgeman but in the meantime, here is an introduction to ‘Buddha Bag Meetings’, one of the many Dublin communities he is involved in.  I was at one of the events are they are worth checking out.

The Buddha Bag Meeting is a gathering of open-minded individuals who come together to discuss and practice a broad range of spiritual teachings and techniques.

A meeting usually contains a meditation, followed by a guest-speaker or spiritual workshop. Alternatively, a screening of some spiritual documentary or feature film will be followed by a group discussion of the topics raised therein.

The Meeting is held every Thursday, in Oscailt, 8 Pembroke Road, Dublin 4. Doors open at 7:45pm for an 8:00pm start.

Links – Map ~ Bebo ~ Web Site

(Art by another Buddha Bag member Oisin Byrne)