This is a great post Gwen. And I watched some of the lecture series too - you are quite an inspiration!
I love the chicken nugget analogy - I struggle with 2 things mainly -
1. trying to understand who is ordering what - do they want a nugget, the bucket or the whole dinner. And my nuggets come in different flavors - I have yet to create a unique flavor for myself I guess.
2. I think I sometimes try to serve chicken curry with the nugget dinner and that does not always blend very well with the rest of the feast. I think that is a classic branding problem - doing/thinking too many things and not finding a way to align them - thus preventing a coherent brand from emerging.

I did that testimonials thing with my corporate jobs - I guess you just reminded me that it is an important thing to do even when we work for ourselves ;) Thanks!

Congratulations on numerous accounts GwenBell - but most of all on entering married bliss and teaching that class!

Thank you all so much - @gwenbell, @sethjenks and susan(@5minutesformom) . It is so so great that you had this call and this recording.
There is so much we know but there is so much we all need and want to learn - and is a super way to knowledge share since not everyone can afford the money and/or time to get away. And in a lot of ways, a discussion is such a great way to learn. And thank you to all the participants that tweeted out some awesome links.
I would love to share what I know at any point. I will come up with ideas and keep @gwenbell in the loop.

I love that you quoted Maya Angelou - a lot of what she says makes me quiver - deep down somewhere ....

You put a little secret in your post - "doing something well means you have to start by admitting that you do not know what you are doing" ....

- it makes all the difference between doing something and doing it well, really ...short term versus the long term approach. Choosing a new activity every so often really challenges me and keeps me alive ...and I live to see the day when the activity and me become one!
I have done yoga for years and I know exactly what you mean ....

I am not sure I have done too many things with other people - like learning something along with my husband ...what a special experience that must be !
I love dancing the bollywood numbers though ;)

Awesome post - what a great book this could be - geek love story + practical advice.
You should consider writing a handbook - I am amazed at how much sense you make - and I am going on year 10 with my husband (year 7 of married life) ...

Wish you both the best - always!

Yes, this is it. And I am always trying to live my life to the fullest. It is really the only secret to happiness I think ....
Wonderful post and I love the fun pics of Joel and you! Wish you both a wonderful year in 2009 and I look forward to meeting you sometime real soon :)

There is so much pain in this, but so much beauty, Gwen. When I think of a 13 year old passionately protecting her memories of her mother, I think it is so beautiful. You do not really remember her laugh, but you do remember the spitfire spirit she had - and that is beautiful. How you weave a story so strong with strands of memories so few is amazing ....All of it is a testament to how much of her spirit and energy your mom left with you ...and then you touch all our lives - and then some more ...every year. If ever there was someone so alive in her absence ........I am a mom and somehow I think Celeste Bell is very proud of you today.

Your piece has touched me in so many ways. I have 2 little girls, and if I ever have to leave them and move on, I only hope they protect their memories of me as fiercely as you have protected the memories of your mom.

Thanks Gwen.

Entrepreneurship is a state of mind. An awesome one at that. I feel a sense of combined sense of excitement and fear as I set off on my first entrepreneurial venture. I have decided to share my journey and details of my start-up on a blog. Why? I need help. I need feedback. And why will people help me if I do not share my passion, give details and ask for exactly what I want, right? (I am a little nervous about giving away so many details but I am trying to believe Guy when he says that "it is all in the execution, not in the idea" ).
I am learning so much about being an entrepreneur from social media ...about the importance of being authentic. About sharing. About helping and getting help. I am yet to navigate the ups and downs - but I try to read the "real" stories as much as I can - and take lessons from other entrepreneurs' life experiences ....

This is such a sensitive topic for me. I love it. I hate it. I think it is so important that we should really talk about it and then I feel it is all worthless ...what will come of it anyways?

I am a techie. I love being techie. A coder. I am good at it. I love the feedback it gives me. I also have a degree in business. I can use my logic and brain in my business. I communicate pretty well - so I am marketing (just started) my startup as well. But how long will I do ALL of it myself. It is just the start - it is good to set the core of everything up myself - but surely I will have to let go and delegate if it takes off, right?
I have to choose. And in spite of being an uber geek all my life, I am going to choose to delegate the s/w development. I think it is cool that I can do a bunch of things but that is what has ALWAYS gotten me in trouble.

Grew up in India. Socially, it is a man's world, It was 15years ago - no idea now. Undergrad, there were more girls in CIS than boys. It never occurred to be that some things would be challenging once I got into the corporate world ....
With every new project I have had to prove myself. I am a woman and I can communicate. That makes it doubly worse. I do not fit the "programmer profile" - so I am pushed back even more. I always give it some time - to have my first small victory (sometimes, I craft them myself) and that is when they will even start to consider me a techie .... but sooner that later I am in the flow and am enjoying the awe of being a "geek-babe". And then, when we had to fight the ranks to get sell one tech solution over the other (usually selling open source ;)), I was always the natural choice - the "talker". I have the guts and honestly, as much as I love programming, I love sticking my neck out and getting in a fight or two - with the big guys ...and we have to note that not all programmer types will do that ;). Strangely enough, the biggest victories in my technical career have come as a result of non-technical efforts. That is where I have stood out - and done what the others around me have chosen not to do..

Man, I am rambling.

But the point of all this is yes, there is certainly a gender aspect to it. It is also about how web 2.0 has given a lot more women the opportunity to do something that fits with their life stages. And yes, it is about mutual respect and appreciation. I think the solution to this is about looking past the gender or roles. No matter what we are doing, people who go above and beyond their defined roles deserve recognition and appreciation. People who do what we cannot do deserve respect. Let us use these differences to make the whole a win-win. Now I sound preachy, so I will stop :)

Would have loved to make this a podcast, but my 2 year old is less than cooperative when it comes to things like this!

Enjoyed this GwenBell!!!

I read this post from start to finish without a pause.
The more we get consumed in the world and looking outside, the harder it is to look inside.
This post a beautiful dedication to your mom and to life. Very real and very surreal at teh same time.