It was the final week of a year that almost broke many people around the world. I was one of the lucky ones in 2020, or so it felt to me. My health was good. My business was growing. My family was happy. But something was still missing in my life. Three days before Christmas I had a call with Hannah, the young woman with whom I would be working in January. She is the adult daughter of my close friends. I've known her for more than five years but we had never had a serious conversation. She … [Read more...]
Randy – The Boy Who Made Us Smile
When the social worker popped open her trunk, the stench of the smoke was almost more than we could stand. It was emitting from the two large trash bags that contained Randy's clothes. There was also a small bicycle and a pair of cowboy boots. Together she and I dragged everything over to my car and jammed it into my trunk. Then we said our goodbyes. They shook hands without him looking up and he didn't watch as she drove out of the parking lot. We got into my car without either of us saying a … [Read more...]
Maintaining Your Sense of Humor During a Pandemic
Why Maintaining Your Sense of Humor During a Pandemic is So Essential Visualizing into the future is an effective way to deal with the present and to find a way to carry on in the face of adversity and hopelessness. Making sense of the year 2020 is something we will all benefit from doing, I believe. Engaging in mental gymnastics that stretch our imaginations and paint pictures we are able to insert ourselves into will give nourishment to the hollow recesses of our minds. Filling in the empty … [Read more...]
Positive Thinking with a Creative Twist
How Positive Thinking with a Creative Twist Changes Everything Positive thinking saved my life. I went from being someone who thought of myself as a victim and not capable of achieving any of the goals I dreamed about to becoming a confident person who was capable of anything. Then I learned the secret of how anyone can do the same and now I share these principles and concepts with everyone I possibly can, through my written and spoken words. The secret (lean in closer to get the full effect … [Read more...]
How the Hell’s Angels Saved My Real Estate Deal
I had been in real estate for several years before becoming a classroom teacher. It was while watching the Space Shuttle Challenger launch with some of the other agents in my office in front of a tiny, black and white television set on January 28th, 1986 that I made the decision to return to school to earn a teaching credential. So it makes sense that these two careers would forever be intertwined. When Emi Yamamoto came to me at recess and closed the classroom door facing the play yard … [Read more...]
On Bullies and Bullying
The first time someone held a gun to my head while demanding money, it was not the work of a master plan carried out by a brilliant man and his accomplices. It came in 1973 while I was working at my very first "real" job, a Little General convenience store in South Miami, Florida. There were two children in the store at the time. A pre-teen brother and sister who frequented our store as a refuge from home, they had brought in their pet Florida King snake in a pillowcase to show to me and my … [Read more...]
Shifting My Thinking and Mindset
Shifting My Thinking and Mindset in 17 Seconds a Day Life is a journey. For decades I insisted on focusing on the destination I had in mind instead of embracing the experiences I would have along the way. At age 50 I realized my life was not anything like I had envisioned it would be by this time and I set about to learn what I had missed and to make up for some of what I had lost. I'm still enjoying this journey and I now understand that it was the destination that was important all … [Read more...]
Believing in the Possibilities
Over a weekend decades ago I came to believe in magic. It happened when I fell in love with a book, and with reading and the experience would shape my thinking and turn me into the person I am today. Every time I decide to gift a copy of this book to someone special in my life, I spend the weekend before rereading it from cover to cover. The title is Carbonel and it was written the year I was born by Barbara Sleigh. She was a British author and when the children's librarian recommended it to … [Read more...]
On Eagle’s Wings
The sounds were unmistakable; full size pickup trucks roaring through the streets, slightly off balance as they gunned the engines and burned rubber. Mostly Ford and Chevy and Dodge, with a few GMC models here and there. Not a single Toyota or other foreign made vehicle in the bunch, and this was a part of their message. Americans love their cars. Your car is a part of your identity in most parts of our country. As a little girl I strove to compete with the boys in being able to recognize and … [Read more...]
Hoping for a Positive Outcome
Hope. It means different things to different people, and at different times in their lives. But this moment is the most important to you, so let's spend some time focusing on how hope can boost your resiliency and keep you moving forward. I believe in the concept of hope as a state of mind. Not in the "wishful thinking" kind of way, but instead in the knowing that our futures are bright if we decide to make it so. Do you remember this phrase from decades ago when it was a part of our culture? … [Read more...]