I looked at today’s list and shuttered!  I wanted to run away from home; then quickly realized that what made me shutter is all I have to do to “run away from home” - if only for 8 days.

When my back’s against the wall & there is more to accomplish than moments in the day, I make a list.  No, I make several lists!  Then I try diligently to work my way through each list; feeling a sense of satisfaction when I can cross each item off & mark as “done”. 

But sometimes the list(s) are too much.  The tasks take longer than a brief phone call or quick dash-off the computer.  They may take an hour or more to complete while I’m constantly checking the clock to see how much time I have left.

However, over the weekend I discovered something.  I discovered that when I just calmed down & turned my mind from fretting over “getting it all done” to simply getting it done - I got it all done!  For instance, our plan includes taking a gift to Russell Watson.  A colts jersey & a CD to be autographed for a certain person. 

I fretted over getting to the official Colts store in the city when I didn’t really have time to do that.  A long story short; I found the shirt at a store much closer to us, as well as the CD I needed.  A quick trip yesterday and I could declare - “mission accomplished!”

I had spent as much time mentally ‘fretting’ as we did getting the needed items.

While I believe that women tend to become more natively organized as we ‘chrono-mature’, I also know that we tend to ‘fret’ over the small stuff because we don’t realize the maturing of our abilities.    If I had just set my mind to making the couple of phone calls it took to find the jersey & CD; I could have been on the road and back again at least 24 hours earlier.

The amazing thing is - we get it all done!  We do.  And we do it with a fair amount of grace, charm and flair.  And if there is a morsel left on the list; we seem not to concern ourselves.  At least that’s true in my case. 

It’s another Monday and another week at the “well” (ours or another’s).  If you are like many of us, you began mental preparation for today - yesterday.  At least by the close of Sunday, you were going over in your mind what had to be down today. 

And you arose with a clear agenda as to what, how, when & where you would apply your focused energy on the last day of June, 2008.

So my encouragement for you today is to shove the “fretting” aside if you are prone to such action.  Take your list of “to-do’s”; prioritize from imperative to “if it doesn’t get done - oh well!” and dig in.  Trust me - by the end of your day, you’ll find you got it all done!  And moved the “oh wells” to another day.

And reward yourself with something awesome as you mentally make your list for tomorrow!  WOW, aren’t we a talented organized group of folk!

Linda, a fellow journeyer

We hear the phrase “glass ceiling” a lot.  And some of us even talk about it often.  A phrase relating to how difficult it is for women to rise to the top of their professions and/or executive positions.  In some quarters - even to be recognized for their skills and accomplishments in the same manner as a male.

Before I go on, I want to assure everyone that the phrase “crystal cathedral” does not describe a specific place, entity or organization!    So let’s be perfectly plain about that.

Yesterday, I opened a daily email I get from one of the nation’s most respected Christian marketplace leaders.  I was eager to see what was happening around the country relative to marketplace leadership.  If you think the last bastion for women to scale isn’t church or religious institutions - think again! 

There it was!  12 or so men and ONE (1) woman.  And to further enrage me, you wouldn’t know there was one woman unless you ‘clicked’ on “speakers” at the top of the webpage.   The use of her “nick”name is one that both a man or a woman might have.  So at first glance, a major conference for Christians in the marketplace appears to be led by men only!

And to top it all off, the woman’s business is referred to as a “ministry”.  As if any Christian working in the market place with others is not involved in “ministry”.  We don’t think of it that way, but if we are in the world of commerce, connecting with others and our Christian worldview and ethics shines through - trust me, we are ‘ministering’.

When will the church ‘politic’ (in this case I call it the ‘micro-church’) recognize that God made us too (women that is)! That He endowed us with tremendous gifts that compliment male leadership in any arena of life!  PLUS, when these folks put together a conference, they have a tendency to only use folks who have a “ministry” or at least use the word “ministry”; thus turning-off folks who don’t realize that each of us - male or female - has a “ministry”!  We just don’t use the term because we know it’s a ‘loaded word’ that turns some potential ‘connections’ away. 

Besides, it’s not about what we say - it’s about what we do!  The fruits by which we are known.  How many times have we done business with someone (of either gender) who reels us in by saying “I’m a Christian too” - only to be snookered.  And then we wonder why those considered to be “outside the fold” look askance at us if we even breath the word “ministry” or “Christian” or however we describe ourselves as persons of faith.

My dearly beloved sisters, I’m beginning to think that the corporate world (considered to be the “evil one” by many believing folk) has caught on much faster than the church.  Oh yes I know, the men in charge are fond of quoting Paul and women want to refer to him as a male chauvinist!  I don’t happen to think that’s true; but that’s beside the point. 

However, while those same folks are spitting St. Paul’s words to justify their refusal to give women full participation; they ignore some of Paul’s most beautiful words, such as “husbands, love your wives”!

It’s all about power.  Who has the power!  That’s the world view and unfortunately the very organization that is not supposed to operate from a “world view” is the place where it is most often practiced. 

Imagine holding a major conference for men and women of the Christian faith tradition who are involved in the marketplace with only ONE WOMAN on the “expert speakers panel”?! 

Are there no other “expert” women out there?  Might there be a woman or two in a high level executive position who are also committed Christians and practice the essence of the Gospel every day?

Where are they?  Why are they not also on the presenters list?  Who put the thing together?

I must say that one of the presenters is a fellow I greatly admire.  His teaching is solid and he has learned how to work with folks both in and out of the fold.  I also have to say that I have absolutely no issue with male ‘headship’.  I do take great issue when that role is used to “lord it over” others - male or female.

Now that the adrenalin is subsiding, I want to say that we have our work cut out for us.  Folks of either gender, who’ve had it their way for centuries will not give over easily.  Radical feminists of previous generations have made our job tougher. 

All I’m saying is that it’s time “God’s kids in different skin” deserve to take our place at the table with an equal share in responsibility, recognition and input. 

It’s time we pushed the ceilings of the crystal cathedrals higher into the heavens to make room for those God made because “it is not good for man to be alone”!

Be encouraged in this day as we walk the 2nd half of the journey together.  Perhaps one day. . . . !

Linda, a fellow journeyer

I’m not known as the most organized woman in the world (not even in my own family mind you)!  However, when it comes time to get down to the “brass tacks” (another very old expression); I can rise to the occasion and folks marvel  and say, “My how organized she is!”

Next Thursday a.m., I will arise early to make certain the last minute preparations are complete!  What’s the occasion? 

A trip across the pond!  For those who don’t know that expression, it means we’re flying across the Atlantic to the UK.  Now try to work the prep for such a trip into an already overloaded schedule and you’ve got overwhelm overload!!!

So yesterday, although totally exhausted after a horrendous Thursday straddling traffic on I-465 to get home & a “flying trip” (in my car) to be on time for the funeral of my friend’s brother yesterday a.m.; I went SHOPPING!  I had 2 gift cards for Jean Claude Penney’s that had been burning a hole in my wallet.  I knew exactly what I wanted & thought it would be a quick buy.

No such luck!  They didn’t have what I wanted; the sales were great, but not much for us “between regular and plus-size folk”!  So I changed my strategy for what to wear to “my Russell’s” concert; wandered around the store trying to find something to use the rest of my card funds; and finally paid and left.

Gee whiz, I thought.  Then I headed for Wal-Mart where I had a wee bit more success.  Since laundry facilities won’t be available at the B&B in Edinburgh, I decided to buy another pair of slacks in red and one in black to go with the color scheme I’ve decided to use to “wow” the Scots! (If the weather is hot-hot there, I’m screwed!).  Let me see - small packs of tissues & an aqua tee to go with the dashing “Russell” wear.

What should have been a simple shopping spree taking no longer than 1 hour turned into a “rest of the day” expedition!

The point of all this is to say that once at home - I took suitcase from closet; set it in a corner & actually began packing.  New ‘digs’ in first (rolled neatly); passport & “RUSSELL TICKETS” in the new rolling computer case, etc.  Then I headed to that dreaded “place” - the basement laundry where the dryer is full from last week’s sojourn to the “pit”; washer holds yesterday’s clean wash & basket holds more from this week!

How, I wonder, do we get it all done when we can be so caught up in “organized disorganization”?!  I’ve decided that it takes a really bright mind to be so disorganized, yet make total sense of it.  I’ve decided that a truly brilliant woman has an office that looks like a ‘Rumpke’ site (landfill folks).  And I know that only a genius female can prioritize well enough to leave at least one small pile of laundry in the upstairs bath ready to be carted to the “pit”.

But it takes a woman who can do most anything with one hand tied behind her back to decide less than a week prior to major departure to put opened luggage in the corner & drop what’s needed for the trip as she wanders by during the day. 

So for all of you who consider yourself to be a “disorganized organized woman”; take heart!  It only looks like we don’t have it together.

And we all know that appearances aren’t everything!

Have an awesome Saturday with no laundry in the bin and all essentials accounted for!

Linda, a fellow journeyer

I’ve got a terrible problem!

My friend’s brother died; the funeral is this a.m. & I have no fresh clean clothes to wear!  Literally!

You see, I get the clothes in the washer (which is in the basement, ugh) and a few days later - in the dryer.  Then they lay there waiting for someone to take them out; fold them (or hang on hangers) and carry them up 2 flights of stairs!  When one is “up to the eyebrows” each day just trying to stay on top of business; laundry can be a menacing distraction!

I think I’ve found a solution though!  Short of moving washer, dryer, ironing board (what’s that you might ask) and all the assorted trinkets required to do the clothes; I’m considering moving my office to the basement!  Only challenge is - the lighting is poor; there’s no windows & it’s very lonely there.

That’s why the fancy treadmill that would reduce the bulge at my middle sits idly in the corner!

Seriously, for those of us who primarily work from home; working the home can be a real challenge!  If we must stop what we’re doing to move business forward to attend to some mundane “home management” chore - well what’s the use?

You may think this is a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ post for the day, but I’m serious!  I’m mulling in my brain how to combine office space with laundry space.  When I get it all worked out, I’ll share it here so those of you who face the same or similar challenge can be adequately informed.

In the meantime, I’ll search the closet for some “in the back of the closet” outfit appropriate for the task at hand.

Ah, it’s probably in the basement!

Have an awesome day with all the ‘home management’ chores under control & clean clothes ‘to boot’!

Linda, a fellow journeyer

You know the old expression “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!” 

Well I feel the same way about “leads”.  You can call it anything else you want, but “a lead by any other name is still a lead!”

What’s wrong with that you might ask?  What’s wrong with it is it’s just that - a lead.  It’s not even a referral in the strictest sense and it may or may not pan out to amount to much of anything.  So you have the business card; the name & contact info.  So what?

Several years ago, I traveled to an affluent area of Ohio (about 65 miles one way) weekly for a leads group that was part of the Chamber.  Usually attended by 35 - 50 folks (many of them financial advisors; insurance agents and printers) who gave a brief intro and then passed their biz cards. 

That was it!  65 miles one way to collect the same business cards each week.  Follow up meetings were almost non-existent and when I was fortunate to get a little time; I was often “stood up” or simply brushed off with a few quick words about how “busy I am”.

Next I tried a “referral group”.  The approach was pretty much the same as the “leads group”.  More business cards, and occasionally an offer to “introduce me” to someone who might be interested in what I had to offer.

The truth is, business is done when we make connections.  They may come from a “lead” or a “referral”, but more likely they come from meeting, greeting, following up and forming a level of personal relationship.  I may never do business with the person with whom I connected, but the relationship will produce all the qualified referrals and introductions I need.  Put more than one connection in place that has “staying power”, and watch your business grow.

Challenge is that for too long, we’ve done networking in one way.  We’ve either done the social or open networking route or we’ve done the structured 30 - 60 second “Hi, I’m. . . .”.  Or we may have combined the 2.  We walked away and hoped that a follow up call or email would do the trick. 

What’s the old expression, “out of sight, out of mind?”

Beloved women, times are a’changin’.  The old way is dying off and a new way is on the horizon.  Actually it’s not so new - just rediscovered.  It’s all about making connections that are nurtured into relationships that meet not only business-professional needs, but personal & social needs as well.  If you’re my friend & I really like you because I know you and trust you - who do you think I’m going to refer when the opportunity arises?  The woman I met at the leads group?  The woman I heard rattle off something in 30 seconds who is now a blip on my radar screen? 

No, I’m going to talk about you.  I’m going to hand the other your business card.  I’m going to offer to set up coffee or lunch or a simple visit to your office & I may accompany you until the connection is made.

But I won’t do that from a “leads” event or from a “referral” event only.

It’s true.  “A lead by any other name (referral or whatever) is still a lead”.  And without significant intervention somewhere, it will remain so.  And the change you put in the meter each week to get the same biz cards & make the same ‘plastic’ speech will net you the same things its been netting you all along.

So look for opportunities to make connections.  If leads and referral groups (where referrals are nothing more than leads in a different dress)  are all that’s available to you; find a way to turn 1 or 2 of those folks into connections that will travel the road of success with you.

And both of you will benefit as the relationship grows.

My encouragement for the day is to look for the serendipitous connections that life sets on your path.

Linda, a fellow journeyer

The sudden death of news caster, Tim Russert, raised awareness as to the dangers of arterial plaque!  Chunks of cholesterol building up in the arteries.  One breaks away; travels the arterial system and reaches the heart or lungs.  When that happens, life on this planet stops!  In a matter of minutes.

My early morning musings led me to think about other forms of “plaque” that plague (a play on words there) our lives.  Built up “junk” that clogs our mind and spirit.  While it may not take us physically from this planet; it can damage our lives and lifestyle in ways we may never recognize.

From the Christian spiritual viewpoint, I would consider this a buildup in the channel through which our Heavenly Papa communicates to us.  The more “junk” that clogs the pathway, the less likely we are to receive guidance and direction.  Guidance and direction that keeps the paths before us clear and unencumbered.

But what about folks who aren’t in that mindset?  Does the same affect them as well?

Yes, but without the recognition of the challenge or a language with which to articulate it.  When our goals are thwarted in some manner - you can bet we’re clogged somewhere internally.  The signals, nudges, urges & signs simply go unnoticed and often unheeded.

We are spiritual beings.  This is an argument (or heated discussion) I never engage in because very few folks dispute the fact; and those who do are simply foolish (in my humble opinion).

If we haven’t found it through traditional systems; we will look for and find it in non-traditional ways.  Ways that I won’t go into here.  We’ll latch onto things like the “Law of Attraction” which is nothing more than the underlying principles that those of us who adhere to the Christian tradition recognize in our Scripture!

The point of this conversation is to say we need to be as cognizant of our ‘spiritual arterial health’ as we are our physical.  And I’m not even talking about “after death” issues here.  I’m talking about keeping the spiritual pathways that are intrinsically built into us - open, clear and unencumbered by things such as anger, bitterness, jealousy.

As humans, we’ll get angry, we’ll experience bitterness if the anger festers over time and we’ll be jealous of someone or something.  It just comes with the territory. 

The ‘trick’ is to own it.  When we own it, we can dispose of it.  If we spend a chunk of time denying or trying to ignore; trust me, it will just get worse.  Part and parcel of our soul (or ‘heart’ - get the connection?) maturity is to accept our humanity as an accumulation of thoughts, emotions, feelings and behaviors that are sometimes great - and often not so great.

It’s the “not so great” that needs to be owned so that we can dispose thereof and keep the pathway or channel (whatever label one puts on it) free of ‘garbage’.

Garbage in the form of “soul plaque’.  Junk that we accumulate and allow to build up slowly and silently until it hits us “like a ton of bricks!”

So my encouragement for the day is to do a daily “soul check”.  Keep what seems okay; own what isn’t and dispose of it quickly.  Ask for guidance and direction on where and how to dump the junk.  Then the urges, nudges, signals and signs willl come through unencumbered and clear.

Have an awesome day with little or no ’soul plaque’ building up along the journey.

Linda, a fellow journeyer

I don’t know about you, but I’ve reached the point in life where I have enough aches, pains and other foibles that I do not need to be sick on top of all the usual.

Being sick really sucks.  Our daughter called me at work, “Mom, Aidan’s throwing up everywhere!”  She took him to the doctor’s.  The verdict-a stomach virus/flu.  He was okay, just miserable.  Poor little baby.  You can’t explain to a five month old why they feel this bad or what barfing is all about.  This was just a few days prior to the celebration of daddies everywhere.

Father’s Day-Aidan’s older brother Dylan was fine until he started to take a nap.  Poor little guy-he threw up so much that they went from my sister’s home to the hospital.  He had to have an IV.  Dehydrated-big time. 

They got home.  Now it was Daddy’s turn.  He threw up about 6 times and collapsed.  He had to be at work the next morning, no fail, he just started this new job after being out of work for over 5 months.  Then our daughter got it.  Like all mothers, she had to forget about being sick, because she still had to take care of both kids.  They stopped throwing up, but it was flowing out the other end.

Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. at the day job-I start feeling really, really, really queasy and my head felt as if it was going to explode and I got the chills.  Even my hair hurt.  I got home, barfed and I was so grateful that someone decided to contradict my rule about junk food and bought some diet cola.  I sipped it.  I was running almost 101. 

Hubby comes home.  He asks if I want some chicken noodle soup.  Ick.  No thank you honey-I think I’ll just go to bed.  Sometime later-he realized he had “it” too. His fever wasn’t as high, but enough to make him feel horrible.  Then, our son woke up at 3 a.m.-“Thanks mom”.  Now he had it.  We’re waiting to hear about our future daughter-in-law.  She was the only one still standing when she left for her classes the next morning.

 “Thanks mom”??? 

I started this?????  It’s always the mom’s fault. 

We all called in sick.  This was the first time in 6 years that my husband called in ill. 

Luckily, as miserable as we all felt, we knew it would be over soon.

I don’t know what I hate worse when I’m sick-being unable to breathe from a  cold or feeling as if I’ve used sea foam green as my foundation.  Either way, I’m not a very good patient.   Thankfully we were all in our separate corners of the house, leaving each other alone.

We did check in every couple of hours to see if the others were still alive, but otherwise we were all so miserable we just wanted to be by ourselves.  Wow, a whole day off and all we did was sip clear fluids and work our way up to toast and jam for dinner.

Obviously the stomach flu happens to make you appreciate just how great a cup of green tea and saltines really taste.  Maybe not as gourmet as a rosemary/mint/garlic and lemon roasted chicken over some brown rice pilaf with a side of raspberry-Greek spinach salad, but after two days of medical torture-it tasted mighty fine.
 

My how times have changed!  Gone are the days when one worked 40 - 50 years at the same place and then retired to sit on the porch and watch the world go by.

People retire more than once these days.  They leave one place of employment; move to the next while rolling over retirement funds, only to move on again in a few years.  Others take ‘early retirement’ in order to pursue a particular passion and turn it into a second career - or third or more.

Last year, when AWP launched, I had an email from a new registrant stating she was nearing retirement age and hoped to learn from us.  I don’t know if she’s learned much that will be helpful to her as she moves toward the day she’ll no longer report to an office & pick up a paycheck for doing so.  But what I do know is that she will have gotten loads of encouragement not to sit on the porch and let the world go by.

Medical science tells us that folks who do that are less likely to live as long as those who trade someone else’s well for something of significance they’ve always wanted to do or do because it keeps them up, out and active.  Just walk into any Wal-Mart and be greeted by silver-haired folks who may earn slightly over minimum wage for smiling, speaking and handing us a cart.  Why do they do it?  Because it’s a low-stress way of earning a little extra money while remaining active and socially connected.

Retirement planning really ought begin when we accept our first paid employment - usually after completing a high school diploma or college degree.  Most companies now have some kind of retirement program (wish that had been the case when I had to get serious about a career because I was rearing 2 of our 3 children sans husband who had died).  The best time to hook up with a good financial planner is when we have little or nothing to plan with.  It’s the advise we’re after at that age.

The questions we ought ask ourselves is what are we really passionate about?  If money were no object, what would we do or be?  If we could leave paid employment at the hands of another to pursue our fondest dream - what would it be?  If we could retire at 59 and begin a second career; what would it be?  Those are the kinds of questions we ought look at as soon as we leave the teller’s counter having deposited that wonderful first paycheck.

But most of us don’t.  And young folks don’t think about growing ‘chronologically mature’.  They assume they’ll live forever; be healthy forever and never have to pound the pavement for employment again. 

Those days are over!  Pure and simple.  We’ll work 2, 3, 4 or more varying jobs and roles throughout our adult life.

Since most of us didn’t have the foresight or forethought to do that kind of planning; what can we do if the word “retirement” hangs over us like Damacles sword?

First, we can decide that retiring need not be “retirement”.  We can take what we have in retirement and build a lifestyle around it that most nearly meets our fondest hopes and grandest dreams.  If travel is what we’d like to do, then plan for one grand trip annually.  Sit down and map out the places you’ve dreamed of visiting and make a plan as to when, where, how and with whom.  If retirement funds won’t stretch that far; find part-time work that is satisfying and will meet the shortfall in your travel purse.

Sometime ago, I read an article about a woman well into her sixties who retired from years of employment in a factory.  She had a good retirement package, but after a few months - she was bored.  Her passion was baking and she was very good at it.  She consulted several advisors with her dream of opening a specialty bakery.  After months of consultation and tweaking, she opened a home-delivery baked goods business.  Her recipes were unique and her warm personality came through as she cheerfully delivered scrumptous baked goods all over town.  Friends and family joined in the fun by referring her specialties to folks who expressed a desire for special bakery products for this event or that.  Soon the business grew to include clientele outside her small town.

Last I read, she was working on a plan to go global via the internet and had only to figure out the freshness angle when shipping to far-flung locations.

Now that’s a woman after my own heart.  She makes more money now that she made annually at her factory job.  She arises well before dawn each day when she wouldn’t have to - but wants to because each day is a fulfillment of the passion she’s had for baking special creations for special folks all her life!

So if retirement is written on the wall of your place of employment and you’re wondering what to do with it - don’t!  Don’t think of it as “retirement”.  Think of it as ‘retiring’ to do something you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t dare dream it would happen.

Then go out and make the dream a reality!

Be inspired today to begin planning for when you can retire to new horizons and fulfill dusty dreams and not-so-worn-out-visions.

Linda, a fellow journeyer

At recent networking meetings, I’ve heard women describe their target market as “everyone” or “anyone”.  I used to do that too because I thought I had to get product and services in front of everyone.  After all, isn’t that the way to build a successful business?

The fact is that is not the way to build a successful business.  Not “everyone” or “anyone” is going to be interested in what we have to offer.  And trying to connect with “everyone” or “anyone” is time-consuming; ineffective and inefficient.  It also costs us money to pursue “anyone” and “everyone”.

Defining a target market requires us to get really specific and strategic about our business.  What is it we really offer?  To whom is it most likely to be of more-than-passing interest?  Where will we find the folks who have that level of interest in what we offer?

The big question women ask me, when I press them to be more specific and strategic in defining the market share where they should focus their energy and attention, is “but I might lose potential business!”

Not likely!  In fact, the increased productivity you will have when focusing on a specific sector of the general market will likely increase your profitability.  Your time, and that of your referral partners, will be more focused, strategic and well-used.  Rather than attempting to turn “everyone” you meet into a client or customer, you’ll be looking for persons who fit neatly into your targeted market population.

There is simply no way we can reach out and connect with the “everyones” and the “anyones”.  Even adding the modifier “who” or “that” to the everyone or anyone isn’t target specific.  Target market refers to specific industries that have a natural affinity for what we offer. 

I call it the “micro-market”.  It’s that segment of an entire industry or market share that we specifically and strategically target as the place/folks where we’ll focus the majority of our energy, effort and referral-partner (or “success partner”) education & training.

An example might be a realtor.  Rather than saying her target market is “anyone wanting to buy or sell a home”; she could define her target market as “first-time home buyers”.  When looking for listing opportunities, her focus would be on homes that make good “starter” homes (smaller, less expensive, good school districts, reasonable taxes - even those we might call a “fixer-upper”). 

What if a more ‘chronologically mature’ couple walks in and wants to downsize their large home to something more affordable and easier to maintain?  Our ‘target-market focused’ realtor has several choices.  She can accept them as clients even though they don’t fit her target market (which is not a bad idea), but do fit the listings she “targets”.  Or she can refer them to another realtor with whom she often works whose target market is the older couple looking to downsize, etc.  Either way, if the sale is made - she wins!

That’s a fairly straight forward example and rather simplistic.  It gets stickier when we have a less common commodity to offer or there’s one of “us” on every corner in the city.  The “stickier” it gets - the more we need to define a target market.

And the more important it becomes to educate and train our connected relationships in what we offer and who’s  in our target market.  Then when they encounter a someone from our target market; they know exactly who to refer.  Better yet, they make the connection between us - for us!

I hope that’s helpful.  It can get a little tricky - defining target markets.  But taking the time to really examine our businesses and getting strategic with our networking and networking goals will pay-off over time.  Then we won’t find ourselves saying - “everyone” or “anybody”.

Have an awesome day with loads of connections that fit neatly into our target markets.

Linda, a fellow journeyer

Yes, it’s mid-afternoon and I’m just getting to Monday moments.  Yesterday afternnon and much of today was a turn of focus for me in order to be present at the mortuary and funeral service for a friend’s husband.  Such an event is not the way I would wish to change focus for much of the day.

On the way home, listening to a Russell Watson CD on the car stereo, I thought about all I needed to do when I arrived home.  Yes, the E-letter is nearly complete and many of the tasks laying all over my desk are cleared away; but there is always something that needs to be done to continue to move us forward.  As I dwelled on undone tasks, I wanted to just keep driving (or riding since friend Harold was driving) and enjoy the sunshine and green countryside.  The “turn of focus” was welcome!

Sometimes, we just must turn our focus from building our business; shoring up someone else’s business or the complex tasks involved in home management.  We think we can’t and continue to ignore other very important aspects of life that pass us by almost unnoticed.

What the “turn of focus” of the day taught me - with its accompanying sadness for our friend - is that it has been far too long since I simply walked away from a day’s strategy and monumental tasks to let life be life!  Even something as emotional as sharing the grief of friends can seem like a respite when we keep our focus - focused for long periods of time.

How much we long to keep our focus turned is an indication of how too-long we’ve kept our noses to the grindstone (as the old expression goes). 

As I listened to the world’s greatest tenor (IMHO) and thought of our upcoming trip across the pond, I recognized how excited I’m becoming about an opportunity to change focus again.  Not only a change of focus, but a change of location; countryside; people and nationality.  Suddenly it didn’t seem so important that I have a map with the location of Edinburgh’s hotspots so I could stay wired to each of you.   And I realized that I’m truly excited & eager to board the jumbo jet and take off into the wild blue yonder - and of course, sit in the audience to experience Russell live & in person for what may be one of the most precious experiences of my life!

Have you ever been so focused and driven to get it all accomplished so that nothing remains undone - that life slips away from you without a single notice?  More than life - it’s the feelings that accompany just knowing something new and exciting is around the corner.  Just knowing that if we set it all down - for just a few moments - that exhilarating feeling of life rolling over us in giant waves of joy will return.  “In spades” as the saying goes.

Finally, turning our focus even when there is much left to do invigorates us and allows us to re-create.  It makes time for the mind to mend and relinquish the stress of being “on” all the time.

And when we return to “focus as usual”, there is a renewed energy and eagerness to go at it again.

So I’m glad I didn’t use having more to do than a “one-armed paperhanger” as an excuse for not attending to the friendship of a grieving widow who has meant much to both of us.  I’m glad I said “it will be there when I return”.

So my encouragement for Monday’s moments is to “turn your focus” even when you think you can’t possibly do so.  You’ll return refreshed.  And life will roll in; catch you up in it’s energy and set you down in a new renewed place.

And all that needed to be accomplished will get done in record time!

Have an awesome day with moments of refreshment and renewal.

Linda, a fellow journeyer