Part of my new life, after my reinvention in 2006 when I resigned from my job as a classroom teacher and gave away my real estate clients to people who could better serve them, includes spending time with people I may have never met in the past. Even though I'm an introvert I have found these experiences to be ones I would not trade for the world. One family I met was through my church. We first became friends in 2012 when their youngest children were nine and eleven. There is also an adult … [Read more...]
Fishing Off the Pier
There are few activities in life that provide for more personal and business self growth than fishing. When you go fishing off the pier your experience becomes even more valuable and insightful, due in part to the duality of interacting with the people coming and going while you are focusing on the water far below you as you attempt to catch a fish. It's usually the perfect storm for giving you time to think while also enjoying a day outside. It's late August, a Friday morning in Ventura. … [Read more...]
An Awful Howl
Hurricane Andrew crept in on little cat feet on the morning of August 24th in 1992. Or at least that was my memory of how the chaos began... I had been in south Florida twice before during hurricanes. The first time had been in late August of 1964 when Hurricane Cleo came through the area and the next was Betsy over Labor Day weekend in 1965. Both years my parents and I had been there to visit close friends on my mother's side of the family and we became caught up in the storm before we could … [Read more...]
Three Up, Three Down
In baseball there is a phrase that tells the story of an inning. "Three up, three down" means that three batters took their turn at bat and all were struck out by the pitcher and never made it to first base. This is every pitcher's goal when they take their place on the mound against the opposing team. In my online business I think of this "three up, three down" concept as being one where I share three paid offers and three free ones to make sure my community always has some training to move … [Read more...]
Duality Between Realism and Idealism
I was raised by a mother who was an idealist. She turned away from her Midwestern upbringing and moved to California with my father the day after they were married in a traditional wedding at the Francis & First Street Methodist Church near downtown St. Joseph, Missouri. California was a culture shock for both of them, but in different ways. My father was appalled at the aberrant behavior of the people he encountered. My mother was enchanted by the freedom for women to smoke cigarettes in … [Read more...]
Other Than That, How Was the Play?
Over the course of my lifetime I have come to accept that I attract the people and the situations into my life experience based on my my vibrational frequency and that I must take full responsibility for everything that occurs. The overwhelming majority of what comes into my realm of experience is joyous and positive. I'm giving out good energy and vibes and the universe is bouncing that back to me in kind. It's what happens every once in awhile that forces me to take pause and question what I'm … [Read more...]
If I Knew Then What I Know Now…
If I Knew Then What I Know Now... If I had known back while I was in my twenties what I now know, I would have lived my life a little bit differently. Don't get me wrong; I have no regrets and love the life that has unfolded for me so far. And I'm grateful for everything. But a few tiny tweaks and small changes would have made the feast of life a bit more delicious and satisfying. Allow me to share more on this theme of "If I knew then what I know now" with you here. While I was in college … [Read more...]
The Death of Your Dream
Death changes you. It changes everything, forever. Whether it is that of a parent, or a child, or of a close friend or family member, once that person is gone you are never the same. What I want to discuss is a different type of death, but one that will nonetheless change your life and your perspective forever. What I am referring to here is the death of a dream. This type of death may sneak up on you. It is like a cancer that has been growing inside your body for months or years and … [Read more...]
My Mother’s Hopes and Dreams for Me
July 29th, 2019 My mother had great hopes and dreams for me, as all mothers do for their children in one way or another. I was named Connie after singers Connie Stevens and Connie Francis because she wanted me to sing and play the piano. Another singer she admired was Constance "Connee" Boswell, born in her home state of Missouri and part of "The Boswell Sisters" jazz harmony group. Connee was a gifted jazz vocalist, unable to walk after a childhood bout with polio, and a great influence … [Read more...]
“Go Back Where You Came From”
The words rang loud and clear and pierced through to the heart… "Go back where you came from!" It's the first week in August of 1986 and my first year as a classroom teacher. I was assigned a 5th/6th grade split and happy to have the job. Even though I had been a substitute teacher for several months during the previous school year I had no idea what it would be like to be the leader and at the helm in my own classroom. I'd imagined an idealistic setting where everyone loved to read and … [Read more...]