Hard Truths You Must Embrace to Be Successful It’s a no-brainer, or at least in my thinking. Everyone wants to be successful, right? And in theory, everyone can be successful. But you may have noticed that most people give up way before they achieve their goal. Or they’re happy with some short-term success, early on in their careers. They choose to stay in comfortable stagnation and think that success is only for high flyers. But if you want to be successful at anything, you need to accept and … [Read more...]
Three Sisters on a Journey of Discovery
In my dream I am the eldest sister, bossy and precocious and adored by the two younger girls. They look up to me, literally and figuratively and with the knowing that I will always be there for them. We're shopping at our store, Three Sisters, at the 79th Street Shopping Center in Miami. The youngest giggles as a woman holding a little boy's hand passes us by on the way to the dressing room. We pretend we are the three sisters and our father owns the store. The manager comes over to see if we'd … [Read more...]
The Road Trip
During the summer of 2016 I took a road trip across the United States. I drove over six thousand miles (about 10K kilometers) and the experience was life changing for me and those with whom I connected while I was on this journey of self-discovery. I was not driving a Volkswagon van and I did not pass through Zion Canyon National Park, but it was an incredible journey nonetheless. In May of 2021 I am repeating the experience. It will only be a five-day road trip days this time and I will … [Read more...]
World Peace… One Person at a Time
I'm on a quest to help achieve world peace, one person at a time. This journey began in the fall of 1986. I was a new teacher in Los Angeles, hired on an "emergency" credential due to a teacher shortage throughout California. My assignment was at elementary school in the San Fernando Valley section of the city and it was a 5th/6th grade split. A "split" class means that you have students in your classroom from two different grade levels, each requiring their own lessons, instructions, … [Read more...]
That Time When I Pleaded the Fifth…
There wasn't a sound to be heard as the attorney asked me the question for the second time. I sat still and upright in my chair before answering her. "I'm going to invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege." I looked down at my hands in my lap and waited for someone else to speak. The silence continued until a child in the back of the courtroom went into a coughing fit. When he did catch his breath it scared him and the wailing began. The woman holding him climbed over several people and exited … [Read more...]
When My Preparation Met Opportunity
"Everything we choose to do during our lifetimes and everything that comes into our realm of consciousness is preparing us for something we will be called to do in the future." ~ Connie Ragen Green I have long known that nothing is an accident or a coincidence or just plain luck. I came to this conclusion after too many things in my life came about after I planted the seeds in my mind and focused on them. I'll share some examples here with you, but first I want to give this subject the time … [Read more...]
A River Ran Through It
I should have known that a river ran through it. Even from the main road leading into the property, the roar of water moving rapidly had entered my consciousness. The Pacific Ocean was less than a kilometer to the west, but oceans make a very different sound and have their own unique rhythm. This was definitely a river, or perhaps a creek that was very close by. It was March of 1986 and once again I'd accepted an appraisal assignment in Santa Barbara. At that time I was living in Chatsworth, … [Read more...]
The Touchstone Concept
In the third grade I was first introduced to the "touchstone" concept. It was early on a Monday morning, before school officially began but when great learning often took place. While standing in a small circle with some of the girls in my class, a boy named Albert Allen cautiously approached. Phyllis paused mid-sentence and Jacqueline rolled her eyes, upward and slightly to the left to announce the arrival of a boy into our private circle. Albert was unaware of his faux pas and shouldered … [Read more...]
When Perfection is Your Goal, You Have a Long Way to Fall
When Perfection is Your Goal, You Have a Long Way to Fall I will preface this essay by sharing that I am a recovering perfectionist. It wasn't until I was almost forty years old that I realized this was the case. Once I did, my life became both easier and more challenging, simultaneously. What came next changed my life and that's what I intend to share with you here. It was the late fall of 1993 and I was having my final walk through with the social worker before I could be certified as a … [Read more...]
The Kindergartner Down the Road
The Kindergartner Down the Road and My Efforts at World Peace I knocked on the door and got no response. Then I rang the bell and the family appeared, smiling and seeming happy to see me. I smiled, and then hung my head as the emotions welled up inside of me. Then I spoke the words that felt right, in that moment. "I'm so very sorry. About what happened in Atlanta, I am sorry." The father whispered something and the mother answered him in Chinese. The sister remained silent. "Ah, yes," he … [Read more...]