Mark Gorkin

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The Audacity of Humility: Leading by “All Too Human” Example

Just before the start of a “Stress, Change and Creative Teaming” workshop, I was testing out my microphone. The program was for managers of a global engineering company. Most of the 50 + particpants were ex-military, now contractors working with commands and brigades based at Ft. Hood, TX or presently stationed overseas. As I called out, “Can people in the back hear me?” a former Sergeant Major who knew me from my work at Ft.

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Strengthening Stress Resiliency and Brain Agility with Humor and Natural SPEED

My participation as the “Stress Doc” ™ at the USPTO Health Fair reminded me of two basic facts: 1) people like to laugh, especially when they can share a gentle and knowing laugh at their own flaws and foibles and 2) especially in a high demand-production work environment and a “TNT – Time-Numbers-Technology – Driven- and Distracted World, many folks are hungry for concepts, tools, and strategies that will impact and improve the quality of daily life.

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In Challenging Times, No More “Inner Child”: Boldly Bring Your Inner Chutzpah

Over lunch, a colleague posed a provocative challenge: “Write an article on chutzpah.” He believes the timing is right. In this difficult economy and uncertain times it’s certainly tempting to withdraw into a shell. But a better strategy might be a contrary one, throwing off the shell and putting yourself out there.

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Discovering Your Passion Through Humble Practice and Outrageous Play

A playful challenge from an audience member helps bring to life the importance of searching for and developing your passion, whether in the face of skepticism, long periods of self-doubt and/or having to accept (even better, learn to play with and laugh at) your own flaws and foibles. Setting the stage for the dramatic close of my Practice Safe Stress program with the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Dentistry faculty and staff, I declared, "Find something you love to do, that you are truly passionate about.

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The Four “R”s for a PROductive Relationship: Be Respectful, Real, Responsible and Responsive

The Stress Doc presents a four step, “Four 'R'” communicational guide for building successful “give and take” professional relationships. The Four “R”s are dramatically illustrated in his recent encounter with an ENT surgeon. Many of us “Boomers” grew up with an alliterative academic mantra as educational foundation, that is, the Four “R”s – Reading, Writing, Rithmetic and Religion. Let’s just say I focused more on the first two “R”s and sort of made a nominal wave at the latter.

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Laughing in the Face of Layoffs

"How can the person displaced or downsized see both the danger and opportunity in career change or disruption? Can we learn, even, to both cry and laugh at this career crisis turning point?" To be able to see the comic in the crisis requires two achievements. First we must embrace Charlie ...

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Confronting Your Intimate FOE: Fear of Exposure

Confronting Your Intimate FOE: Transforming Fear of Exposure into the Fun of Embarrassment As a speaker and workshop leader, I’m always designing and experimenting with small group exercises that, hopefully, generate positive energy, emotional give and take and some knowing, if not hearty, ...

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Leading With Passion Power

Leading with “Passion Power” ™: A Four “P” Interactive Model for Expanding Personal Energy, Professional Creativity and Organizational Synergy – Part I Awhile back, preparing for a talk on “Becoming a Dynamic and Engaging Speaker,” I asked myself a fundamental question: what are the essential ...

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Developing Your Passion Power: The Four “P” Path

A few years back, preparing for a talk on “How to Give Exciting and Engaging Presentations,” I asked myself a fundamental question: what are the essential qualities that I bring to a speaking program? In general, my goal is to help people become more FIT, that is, how can attendees have “Fun” ...

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On Becoming a Leading “Word Artist” on Stage and Page: How to ASPIRE2 – Part I

As a speaker, writer and leader I’m always looking to follow in the mind-prints of, or at least understand and hopefully emulate, Nobel-prize winning scientist, Albert Szent Gyorgyi’s “elegantly simple” words: “Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought!” With originality as frame, form and function, what are the key skills and strategies for exploring new performance possibilities, generating potent ideas, inspiring others and strengthening my creative output as a word artist – whether on the stage or the page?

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Individual and Collective Crisis/Trauma Intervention and Debriefing: Ten Steps & Strategies

In light of events fifteen miles away (Baltimore) to 10,000 miles from my doorstop (Nepal), this essay titled, "Individual and Collective Crisis/Trauma Intervention and Debriefing: Ten Steps & Strategies," clearly has immediate relevance and application. Actually, the impetus for the article occurred last week when a friend and colleague (originally from Nepal) asked me to talk briefly about stress and trauma on a strategic planning phone conference with other Nepali-bo individuals.

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Critical Incident-Trauma-Grief Intervention & Debriefing: Train the Trainer/Caregiver Workshop -- Addendum

In a world where encounters with sources of aggression and violence, trauma and grief are all too common, understanding the dynamics of “critical incidents/hazardous events” – both for adults and/or children directly impacted and for those encountering second-hand effects – is vital. This “train the trainer/caregiver” workshop is for family members or close friends, colleagues, educators, religious or community leaders, emergency responders, or an array of helping professionals.

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Stress Doc Website

The award-winning 'Stress Doc' Website is a "workplace resource" (National Public Radio/NPR) featuring "Motivational Humor" speaking programs, books, training/marketing Kit and coaching services wide-ranging, syndicated essays archive of articles, videos and audios.

September 27, 2010

Website

Stress Doc WebSite

The Stress Doc WebSite is an archive of articles, videos, audios and information on the Doc's acclaimed speaking and training programs on Stress, Team Building, Managing Anger/Conflict, Managing Change, Passion Power/Soul-ar Power and Humor.

March 3, 2008

Website

The Stress Doc

September 23, 2007