Lisa Niver's Blog: We Said Go Travel, page 110

Lisa is a winner! National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards 2019

Thank you NAEJ! I am a winner! In the Category F6a. Soft News Feature – Under 5 Minutes—Film/TV: KTLA TV Oscars Countdown to Gold with Lisa Niver



[image error]TEAM KTLA on the red carpet at 2019 NAEJ



Thank you to KTLA TV and my incredible and sparkly producer, Kimberly Cornell!



[image error]KTLA winners: Lisa Niver, Paul Sanchez and Michael Joseph James



[image error]KTLA table at 2019 NAEJ Awards



[image error]Congratulations Lisa Niver! Photo by Michael Joseph James



[image error]All of the KTLA finalists for 2019 NAEJ awards



[image error]Michael Joseph James and Lisa Niver, KTLA Winners!



[image error]Ann-Margaret and Danny Trejos on the red carpet



[image error]Lisa Niver and Cher Calvin on the red carpet



[image error]CHRIS PALMERI, Press Club President

Thank you to KTLA and Thank you to the Los Angeles Press Club and especially to Chris Palmeri, Club President, and Diana Ljungaeus, Executive Director!

[image error]DANNY TREJO – Visionary Award



[image error]BEN MANKIEWICZ – Luminary Award



[image error]ANN-MARGRET – Legend Award




[image error]TARANA BURKE – Impact Award



[image error]JAMIE FOXX



[image error]QUENTIN TARANTINO – Storyteller Award



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Thank you for all of your support! I am a three time finalist and WINNER for the 2019 National Arts and Entertainment Journalism (NAEJ) Awards!



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The National Entertainment Journalism Awards were founded in 2008 and recognize the finest work from U.S.-based entertainment reporters and editors and theater, film and television critics in all media – print, radio, TV and online. This includes international journalists working in a language other than English.

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Click here to read my three nominated stories as well as my six nominations from the Southern California Journalism Awards over the past three years. For all of the winners for the NAEJ 2019: Click here

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Wharton Magazine: Treat Your Business Rival as Inspiration, Not Competition

And other lessons I learned from Simon Sinek’s new book, The Infinite Game

Read my article on WHARTON MAGAZINE by Lisa Ellen Niver C89

Do you feel that business is a competition—a game that must be won in a limited amount of time?

In his new book, The Infinite Game, author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek shares how “a worthy rival inspires us to take on an attitude of improvement.” Sinek admits that he first felt the need to compare himself to and despair about his perceived rival, Wharton professor Adam Grant. They shared a stage at a conference and both realized that there was no need to compete for book sales or any other marker. Since then, Sinek has turned his focus away from a finite mindset and arbitrary self-measurement and works only towards improving what he can offer to others.

Simon Sinek and Matthew Upchurch at Virtuoso Travel Conference in Las Vegas 2018,
Photo by Lisa Niver

I heard Sinek speak at the 2018 Virtuoso Travel Conference about his progress on The Infinite Game and was surprised when he explained that he told his publisher he would need another year to work on the book. He said the research was very important and he wanted it to be right and it would simply take longer.

As he says in the book, “Great leaders are the ones who think beyond ‘short term’ versus ‘long term.’ They are the ones who know that it is not about the next quarter or the next election; it is about the next generation…because there is no finish line, no practical end to the game, there is no such thing as ‘winning’ an infinite game.” We face deadlines, like the one he had to finish the book, but Sinek writes that to “succeed in the infinite game of business, we have to stop thinking about who wins or who’s the best and start thinking about how to build organizations that are strong enough and healthy enough to stay in the game for many generations to come.” Or to think more broadly: “Players with an infinite mindset want to leave their organizations in better shape than they found them” and say “I lived a life worth living.”

Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center

Since I first heard Sinek at a travel conference, I thought I would share the analysis in his book about the Four Seasons. Sinek says—and I agree—that the hotel chain is a wonderful brand because the “managers at the Four Seasons understand that their job is to set an environment for [employees] in which [they] can naturally thrive. Leaders will work to create these environments when we train them to prioritize their people over the results.”

JEAN-GEORGES PHILADELPHIA on the 59th floor of the brand new Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center

For example, the managers routinely walk the halls, ask questions and “actually care about the answer,” Sinek writes. “Because the leadership at the Four Seasons cultivates the will of their people before the resources they can produce, the people who work there want to give their jobs their all and the guests of the Four Seasons can feel it.”

“In any game, there are always two currencies required to play—will and resources,” says Sinek. “When we talk about will, we’re talking about the feelings people have when they come to work.” When managers care about their team and the team takes care of the guests, everyone makes an effort to do their best and use their skills to solve issues before they become problems.

Sinek recommends that businesses “put people before profit as often as possible.” Business can make money and change the world, he insists, and our rivals can make us better if we see them more as inspiration then competition. The Infinite Game offers a noble philosophy that companies and leaders great and small would stand to benefit from adopting.

Lisa Niver is an award-winning travel expert who has explored 101 countries and six continents. Find her talking travel on KTLA TV and in her YouTube videos with over one million views.

Read my article on WHARTON MAGAZINE

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TODAY.com: We All Need to Unplug!

Read this article on TODAY

When things do not work around my house, I try to remember that I should power down and try again. Whether it is my phone, my laptop or even my car, this has helped me solve so many issues. I love this quote from Anne Lammott, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

Have you been searching for a place where your family can disconnect to reconnect? I highly recommend a beach destination for your next detox. Here are some photos from where I recently stayed at Malolo Island Resort in Fiji to help you get inspired to find your place to personally power down.

Children love to be in the kids club with other little ones their same age on cruise ships, beach resorts and at Tia’s Treehouse. In the islands, they often learn words of the local language, culture and event to dance!

Children at Tia’s Treehouse for Meke (dance) performance.
Photo courtesy of Malolo Island Resort.

You may want to find a place that has a nanny service so even your youngest children can be looked after while you are relaxing or choosing an active activity like scuba diving or snorkeling.

Snorkeling with your partner!
Photo courtesy of Malolo Island Resorts

Maybe you will rediscover your love of paddle-boarding, kayaking or find time for a relaxing massage!

Photo at Leilani’s outdoor Spa at Malolo Island Resort

For many of us, social media, the internet and email has invaded all the corners of our minds to the point where it feels impossible to clear a space for ourselves and our families. Often, when we go to a new place, we can shift perspective and start again.

Video: Where to stay in Fiji

Pick a next holiday where you can unplug so that you can return renewed and ready for the new decade!

Read this article on TODAY

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Bula! Enjoy Sheraton Fiji Resort and Fiji Airways Premier Lounge

View from my balcony at Sheraton Fiji Resort

After my journey to the Mamanuca Islands, I stayed at the Sheraton Fiji Resort because it is so close to the airport and the sunset! There are five in the BonVoy Marriott family so close to the airport and the beach. It was the perfect spot before my early morning flight to Vanuatu.

Enjoying the beach at Sheraton Fiji Resort



Video #10: BonVoy: Stay at Sheraton Fiji Resort on Denarau Island









The pools at Sheraton Fiji Resort

I loved the flagship Fiji Airways Premier Lounge at Nadi International Airport! The living green wall on the way into the lounge sets the tone for a beautiful experience. I enjoyed Fijian hospitality and having space to relax. There were many food choices including an international buffet and several gluten free options. You can even have a massage!

Fiji Airways Premier Lounge, Nadi International Airport

There is a special room for children and many places to sit, eat and re-charge yourself and your devices. There is an area with computers in case your did not bring your own.

Lisa Niver at Fiji Airways Premier Lounge



Video #11: Join me in the Fiji Airways Premier Lounge in Nadi, August 2019









Want to see the rest of my journey in Fiji?

Welcome Home at Malolo Island Resort, Fiji

Fall in love with Fiji at Likuliku Lagoon Resort

From Fiji, I flew to Vanuatu! Have you been yet?

Ready to travel from Fiji to the Solomon Islands? I wrote about my journey for Smithsonian Magazine, Dive With WWII Wrecks in the Solomon Islands 75 years after the Battle of Guadalcanal, walk in the footsteps of history

Where else can you travel on Fiji Airways in the South Pacifc? Enjoy my videos from Tonga, Samoa and Palau! I even swam with the Jellyfish!

I always enjoying staying with Marriott! See my other favorites here:

Where do you dream of traveling in the South Pacific? I cannot wait to return to Fiji!

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TODAY.com: Make History Come to Life

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Where can you travel with your family and learn about our great nation? I went to college at the University of Pennsylvania and for four years Philadelphia was my home. I made the best friends and want to share my favorite things about this incredible city, the City of Brotherly Love.

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Where can you learn about an amazing woman who helped create the United States? At the Betsy Ross House, see the upholstery shop where Betsy Ross sewed the Stars and Stripes to make the very first flag for the USA. George Washington asked for her help and she said YES!

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Want to know what makes America GREAT? The constitution.
Learn more at the National Constitution Center which opened July 4, 2003. This is the world’s only museum dedicated to one of our nation’s greatest documents, the U.S. Constitution. Walk through the exhibits to learn about citizenship and why the U.S. Constitution is as important today as it was over 200 years ago.

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In Signers’ Hall, you can literally walk among the 42 life size bronze statues of our Founding Fathers. There are the 39 signers and the 3 dissenters. Who do you want to stand next to? Feel like you were there at the moment when they signed on September 17, 1787 and created a government ruled by “We the People.

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Make sure to experience Freedom Rising which Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor called “the best 17-minute civics lesson in the country.” 

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At the Museum of the American Revolution, see the headquarters tent of George Washington – our very first president! It served as his command center throughout most of the Revolutionary War and is one of the most iconic surviving artifacts of the Revolution. The Museum is located just two blocks from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, in the heart of historic Philadelphia which is the most historic mile in the entire United States.

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Visit my University campus and be among the first at the Penn Museum’s newly restored Mexico & Central American Gallery and Africa Galleries with new interpretive displays and see the famed Sphinx of Ramses II as you enter. Explore the past in the engaging rooms of this archaeology and anthropology museum.

[image error]Eric Carle Exhibit, Photo by Kristi Jan Hoover

Children always love the Please Touch Museum! Right now they have a special exhibit from the prolific children’s author-illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Very Lonely Firefly, Very Quiet Cricket. Your littlest readers can immerse themselves in Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit.

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Benjamin Franklin was a founding father of our country and my University (1749)! He was an inventor and great thinker. He even created the public library system! At The Franklin Institute, you can learn to handle unexpected situations at The Worst-Case Scenario: Survival Experience. Did you love the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook?  It has sold 10 million copies! In the interactive scenarios, you can survive an avalanche and leap from a moving train and even learn more about real worst-case survival success stories.

[image error]The view from Assembly Rooftop Lounge
at The Logan Philadelphia, Curio Collection by Hilton

Where to Stay in Philadelphia?

I loved staying at The Logan Philadelphia located on Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, at Logan Square. I always enjoy Hilton Honors perks like breakfast and wi-fi and at this property the view from Assembly Rooftop Lounge was spectacular.

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I discovered the colorful Kimpton Hotel Monaco on Hotel Tonight. It is so bright and full of life I felt like I was staying into a painting. It is literally steps from the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center. You are sleeping in the most historic square mile in the country!

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Read this article on TODAY

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#MuseumStoreSUNDAY: Discovering Women

What do you do with your holiday time? I love museums and their stores almost as much as I love libraries. Going into an exhibit can feel like traveling to another place or another time and I always see things from a new perspective.

Lisa Niver and Joan Weinthal Clayton at NMWA

I recently went to the National Museum of Women in the Arts for the first time in Washington D.C. I specifically went there to see the new Judy Chicago exhibit, The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction, to honor the memory of my mentor who recently died. It is a moving exhibit and the first room is an exploration of Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s five stages of grief. The second room is personal musings on mortality and the third room focuses on creatures and communities like polar bears, Mexican gray wolves, orchids, bleached coral reefs, frogs, penguins and turtles. Habitat destruction and other environmental issues are bringing these animals and plants to the brink of extinction. The exhibit includes nearly 40 works of painted porcelain and glass, as well as two large bronze sculptures. The pieces are smaller in scale and include Chicago’s handwriting. It feels very personal almost like reading her journal. Chicago is asking us, now that you are faced with these realities, what are you willing to do?

The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction photos courtesy of National Museum of Women in the Arts

Joannie Parker, my mentor,  taught my high school Women’s Studies class about Judy Chicago and took us to see her installations including both The Dinner Party and The Birth Project. 

Lisa Niver and Judy Chicago at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery for Visionary Women Salon

Recently, I was able to meet Judy Chicago when she was in Los Angeles for the opening of her exhibit at The Jeffrey Deitch Gallery. Visionary Women hosted a salon in her honor with a discussion about women in art including Judy Chicago, Andrea Bowers and Connie Butler.

Video: Visionary Women Salon

Many of my best museum experiences have taught me about important women. Currently at the National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, you can see Notorious RBG, a phenomenal exhibit about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I loved it so much I went twice when it was at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. I was inspired and saw both recent movies about her, read her book and wrote about her for The Female Quotient on her birthday.

Last year at the Skirball Cultural Center, I learned about Mexican-born, American Jewish writer Anita Brenner (1905–1974). I was spell-bound by the exhibit and her journey to becoming a journalist. I had never heard of her but learning about her life story helped me work think differently about some of my own issues with my career in journalism.

Lisa Niver, Penn Quaker and Rabbi Faith Dantowitz

In New York City, I visited The Jewish Museum with my friend from University of Pennsylvania, Rabbi Faith Dantowitz, and we even brought the PENN Quaker with us. We explored the exhibit: “Edith Halpert and the Rise of American Art.” I had never heard of her and I was amazed to learn what she accomplished. 

I loved the story of how Halpert met and advised Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. She represented artists including Georgia O”Keeffe and worked to change her reputation that Steiglitz had immortalized. She believed folk art was important, helped her artists have their own exhibits and promoted racial integration. She was the first mainstream art dealer to represent an African American. When an artist she represented, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, who was a Japanese born painter, was labeled an enemy alien, she kept supporting him and made a retrospective of his work.

Whether you are looking for a new perspective on death and dying, or on your career aspirations, if you are interested in the path to becoming a Supreme Court Judge, or be the first to promote certain artists, or be exposed to people, places, experiences from the past and present in all different mediums, I highly recommend a visit to the museum!

I am so grateful to have recently seen carefully curated exhibits about Jewish women who have changed all our lives! Make sure to find your favorite exhibit in your home town or on your next travels. I wanted to share these stories today as it is Museum Store Sunday. You can learn more about art, nature, culture, science and history at a museum near you.

“On December 1, 2019, for the third consecutive year, more than 1,200 museum stores representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 18 countries, and five continents will offer inspired shopping at museums and cultural institutions during Museum Store Sunday – an exciting annual event and shopping campaign that encourages consumers and museum visitors to consciously contribute to the future sustainability and success of each museum and cultural institution.”

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Notorious RBGThe post appeared first on We Said Go Tra...

Notorious RBG

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Visionary Women Salon: Discussion with Judy ChicagoThe ...

Visionary Women Salon: Discussion with Judy Chicago

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