Down Time & I are Not Friends!

Photo credit: Sodahead.com

Well, it's not a shocker to anyone: down time and I are NOT friends. Nowhere in my DNA did God program idleness. I am a consumer of information, a story teller, a creator, a socializer, a deviser of strategies and a communicator. I'm on day three of a six-week, post-operative recovery and I'm already going bonkers mentally. 

Physically I am completely incapable of functioning, of course. The dizziness prevents me from getting up much and the nausea prevents me from reading, looking at a screen or focusing on anything for too long. Conversations are hard to maintain because I can fall asleep at any given moment and the person speaking sounds very loud and overwhelming. I took the suggested slow ten minute walk this morning and THAT was my major accomplishment for the day. There my activity began and ended! Although my insides were faced with a roto-rooter-slash-heat gun-slash Edward Scissorhands experience and I am indeed in significant pain, I was certainly correct in assuming that the whole "rest" thing would be the greatest challenge of this experience. 

My nurse told me I was supposed to feel like I got hit by a truck and my doctor encouraged me that I was doing everything that was expected of me, so there are two medical confirmations that I am behaving. It took countless naps today to get to the point where I could write this. Go me. Hopefully I will soon feel well enough to be able to at least stimulate my mind in non-stressful, expressive and artistic ways, while also resting physically. Until then, I'm slamming back the fruits, vegetables, water, ginger and peppermint tea trying to dig myself out of this invalid misery.

Of course, I am showered with love, flowers, cards, encouragement, flat out demands that I rest, and help by way of meals and the like. Clearly, I am not the only one not surprised by my number one recovery challenge. I've always said it takes a team to keep me going, but apparently it takes an even bigger (and more aggressive) team to slow me down! I guess it can be said that this is yet another season where my friends are contributing a few more patches to my quilt of life. No matter how long it takes me to fully recover, I can always look back and realize just how much more they have woven beauty into my present and my future.

Wisdom for female professionals

In business:


If given a choice to help yourself or someone else, help someone else.


When choosing between being strong or being cowardly, be strong.


If you must choose between investing in those you lead or investing in your own advancement, invest in those you lead.


If faced with a choice to show grace or be selfish, show grace.


If you have power, ignite others with your flame.

An even temperament wins

You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.

-John Wooden

Everything I've learned about success I've learned as a mother

On Mother's Day, I am very grateful for these two wonderful children I brought into this world, my beautiful step-daughter, memories of my step-angel in heaven and all of my "other kids" whom I've been lucky enough to be adopted by over the years. 

Motherhood is the greatest gift, THE most important calling in my life and what leads every decision I make--even when those decisions are difficult ones to stand behind. 

@Epic_Woman tweeted a quote yesterday (and I think I traced the source to Bunker Hunt) that sums up my attitude towards life in general: "To be successful, you must decide exactly what you want to accomplish, then resolve to pay the price to get it."

Having Brittany at 16 was scary. However, in that moment of looking at the two lines on the pregnancy test and discovering I was suddenly a mother, I made the decision that even if it took me until her 364th day as a 17-year-old, she was going to become an adult with all the opportunity she would have had if I had her in a more traditional manner...AND I would personally see to that outcome, no matter who else stood behind me. Even when others should have helped, but didn't, I had decided what I wanted to accomplish and resolved to pay the price to get it. 

As I continued to watch my daughter, and six years later my son, continually turn into phenomenal children, the lesson I learned through that first steadfast commitment was that such a resolve is indeed rewarded. And that positive reinforcement of behavior carried through in other areas of my life. So now I can say with confidence that I have learned more lessons about success from my role as a mother than any position held, educational experience, conference, mentor, or any other source.

Yet I cannot credit myself with this inherent attribute--it was modeled for me for many years before I had a child of my own. In fact, the late night I looked my own mother in the eyes and told her at 16-years-old that I was pregnant, she first encouraged me, then went to the store, and came back with a pack of onesies, prenatal vitamins and folic acid. She was always there for me, but pretty much let me figure out most of it on my own. This was probably hard for her to do, but was EXACTLY the decision that created my current reality and my successes of today. Why? Because she, too, decided sixteen years before that she was going to be successful in raising me and resolved to pay the price to get it. 

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers who have made the ultimate commitment of raising the future of our world. When you look at it like that, I hope it confirms that your priorities are indeed in line and you have not only the right, but the duty to do whatever it takes to protect that role as the priority. Much love and encouragement to each of you on this day!

Guns, spoons and booze

My friend posted this picture on his Facebook page and I immediately saved it. I'm no NRA activist, but the fella to the right has a solid point. It is the same point I make when people try to make wine an inherently evil thing. PEOPLE make stupid decisions with THINGS. It is kinda a requirement for the thing to have a negative impact.

We do not live in the enchanted Beauty and the Beast mansion where inanimate objects come to life; therefore, objects should be found "not guilty" when facing the court of public discourse. 

I have made a career of overseeing strategic communication efforts and planning large scale events, so you can imagine how many event committees I've served on for various non-profits over the years. In doing so, I have been told by obese committee members of yesteryear that we should not serve alcohol at said parties because alcohol leads to alcoholism. In those moments I really could have appreciated a cardboard sign of my own. Only mine would say, "Hors d'oeuvre buffets lead to obesity," and I would suggest that they should also be banned from these parties.

I guess I just prefer "if-then" logic when it can be aligned repeatedly in similar circumstances. I could be wrong. Nonetheless, this photo resonated with me. What is your opinion on the matter?

Success is living like a rabid dog

I tell my team that to be successful in our work world they have to hunt down who and what they need to complete their tasks like a rabid dog. In our 24-7 environment and the public as the priority (as it should be), our needs will not be at the top of the to-do list. It is what it is, so we have to be persistent to move ourselves up that list.


This is also applicable to life. I know I'm sometimes perceived as aggressive, overly confident, or as my friend told me today (and you know who you are) someone trying to save the world because I just won't give up. Yet in today's society with too much to do and not enough time, technology placing an expectation of constant connectivity and attention spans increasingly waning, it TAKES a relentless resolve to get what is important accomplished. 


I choose to pursue success in critical areas like a rabid dog--with unmatched tenacity. And with limited energy, rabid or not, it is always a choice on what to pursue with such intensity.


Do you find to get things done (and done right) you have to go on a relentless hunt? Or are you happy to take a more passive approach? 

Let's get with the green program, Lebanon

I admit, as a native Californian, I'm a bit of a tree-hugging, greenie-weenie. I have lived in Lebanon, Tenn. on and off for about twenty years now. When my family left Orange, Cal. we had enjoyed the convenience of curb-side recycling for years by then.


Now I will admit the beautiful South tends to lag a bit in relation to the West Coast, but really? Twenty plus years? Really?


I reached out to my city council woman to inquire about where we were at as a city in terms of implementation. You can't get there if no conversation has begun. I was told there was no appetite for this and no immediate plans for the City to approach a plan. I was then told she took her recyclables to Kroger, where there are bins for the public. As you can see, this hasn't worked well for me, as I documented the norm today:

Come to find out, the mayor has indeed researched this opportunity and there are eminent government mandates fast approaching. What's more, The Lebanon Democrat ran a story just weeks after I had this email exchange. Hmmm.


So I ask you, especially you people of Lebanon, are we going to bicker about nonsense at City Council meetings while waiting to be forced into responsible actions as a city? Or are we going to get ahead of things and do whatever it takes to build consensus through grass roots efforts, education and awareness campaigns to live as a socially responsible community?


I can see why people don't recycle in our community. It's a hassle. If you remove the road block of inconvenience, perhaps you can engage more people to participate by creating a culture of sustainability by default. Then it simply becomes part of how we live.


I'm not a rocket scientist, but one day I might just become a politician to be the voice of common sense and conscience. In the meantime, I guess I will just be that annoyingly vocal citizen. :)