They say that children and teens are the most impressionable, but adults come in a close second. Peer pressure from adults is also more powerful, both positively and negatively than it is from children. This is why it's so important to walk with the right people at all times. Early on in my journey as an author and entrepreneur I heard the quote by Jim Rohn that has changed many people's lives. You may already be familiar with it and it goes like this: "You are the average of the five … [Read more...]
Why I Write Stories of My Childhood
For as long as I can remember I have been intrigued by stories from other people's childhood or young adult years. It fascinates me to no end to read or hear tales told from different perspectives by people living together during the same time and under similar experiences. I'm an only child and have no personal reference to how or why this might occur. I spent the impressionable part of my childhood living next door to a family with four children. Nathan was 12, Tory was 9, Larry was 6, and … [Read more...]
Welcome to On Ramp View Estates
It was the summer of 1983 and I had passed the real estate exam on my second attempt. The first time I had failed by five questions and told myself I probably wasn't smart enough to be in real estate. A close friend told me that was just "stupid thinking" and encouraged me to try again. I believed the second test, a different version administered six weeks to the day later in a stuffy downtown Los Angeles high rise, was easier than the first. I never said that out loud and just counted my lucky … [Read more...]
Reflect and Remember…and Then Carry On
This morning I was out walking and the thought came to me that I had never taken this same exact route before. Years ago, beginning in 2006 when I left my former life as a classroom teacher and real estate broker/residential appraiser I walked every morning for a full hour. I was in a new city with so much natural beauty to explore and loved finding new areas where I could walk and think and talk to myself and plan what I would write about once I had returned back home. One day I stopped … [Read more...]
Honesty Pants
The honesty pants started out as an impulse purchase from Macy's on lower State Street. I had originally thought they were black but when I attempted to squeeze into them at home the next day I realized they were sort of an olive green. My first thought was that I had the perfect blouse to go with that color, but as I pulled them up over my knees I knew that I might never fit into these pants. The honest truth was that I knew they were too small when I took them off the rack and held them up so … [Read more...]
She Was a Sensitive Child
She was a sensitive child. No one could say exactly when it started, but it had never been so obvious as on the first day of Kindergarten. She cried so hard on the walk back home her mother had to pick her up and carry her. The sobs brought on the hiccups and she was covered with sticky, wet tears mixed with mucous and bits of the peanut butter sandwich she hadn't finished at recess. Once at home she was plopped into bed, shoes and all, where she slept until the white Persian cat who didn't … [Read more...]
Then Buy More Underwear!
This is the story of how I overcame my fear of success and embraced the abundance I wanted and deserved. It's also how I began to understand the importance of mentors who take us under their wing and guide us towards our goals. "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." ~ Sir Isaac Newton It was early June in Chicago and even deep inside of the Delta lounge at O'Hare the humidity had managed to slither inside and make the leather chairs sticky with … [Read more...]
Losing My Focus and How I Found My Way Back Again
I didn't want to admit it to anyone, especially not to myself. For weeks I pretended that everything was alright and as it had been before. But down deep I knew something was very wrong. Losing my focus felt like I was losing my mind. It was worse than death because I was living through it each moment of every day and could not escape its grip. My mind would wander and I would exert every ounce of determination and mental toughness I could muster to pull it back in. It was as though I was … [Read more...]
Ain’t No Sunshine When He’s Gone
As I write this it is Father's Day in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as these countries celebrate on the third Sunday in June. It is also observed on this same day in the countries of Qatar, Argentina, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Mexico, Pakistan, Singapore, and Venezuela, as well as almost a hundred more countries. In Egypt, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Syria and the United Arab Emirates the celebration of fathers is always on June 21st, coinciding with the summer solstice. … [Read more...]
It’s Just Another Day
It's Just Another Day, and How Great It Is! Years ago I remember a mentor telling me that I would not do many of the things I had planned in my life. One of these was to start my own non-profit for a cause related to children growing up in poverty in the United States. That had been my experience and I wanted to help other kids have an easier life throughout their childhoods, for a variety of reasons close to my heart. When I asked him to explain why he believed I would not be able to … [Read more...]