Action Creates Reactions

"The mark of a good action is that it appears inevitable in retrospect." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

I was speaking with someone this week that was looking for a new career. In our discussion I asked if money weren’t an issue what would you do and he responded cook. I asked if he had thought about having a business that involved cooking and he told me about receipts he had created that had been inspired by his grandmother. As we talked I realized how far we are from how we are meant to live. We grow up and get jobs to make money and forget about pursuing our passions and hobbies. The next thing we know our kids are grown and our lives our half over and we wonder where did time go and what are we going to do with the rest of our lives. However, we can start today. What is it you love to do? Take my friend, he could put together a menu, a business plan and start looking for a place to open a restaurant. There is no cost to lay the idea out on paper. No cost to move towards what if and then you never know a door may open you never imagined. I flew to LA to meet with a Film Producer about our products, a week prior the idea of that had never crossed my mind. The outcome of that trip has yet to be decided however, I took the chance I opened the door. When we start to take action doors will open that make it seem as if it were always meant to be

Friendship In Family

Everyone wants to know they are needed. That in some way they have made a difference in someone else’s life. Take the time to share your feeling with those that have been there for you.


One of the things in life I have found to be most difficult is to tell family how much they mean without it sounding planned or rehearsed or insincere. I’m not talking about your spouse or children, more your siblings or parents. We assume for the most part they know how we feel. After all, they have been in your life from the beginning. Yet there is never a perfect moment to say thanks for making my childhood more fun and mischievous; for the memories you would never want to remember, and those you couldn’t bear to forget. For being the one I looked up to when it seemed there was nobody else to believe in. For keeping me true to myself and the stories of the past from becoming too disproportional. For the push when I didn’t need it that helped me to be tough. For the smile when I didn’t deserve it to help me know life will always work out. For the courage to know when to leave, by doing it first and doing all you set out to do. I learned from you to go out on my own and you always supported my choices. In your eyes you see the same person you have always been, but in my eyes I see so much more than that. You once were my big sister and today are my dearest friend. Find your words and share them.
"Courtesy of But What Do We Know"

Find The Beauty

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” ~ Joanne Kathleen Rowling

Today we seem to find more of what is wrong with the world then what is right. We turn on the news, sign on to a computer, open a browser on our phone, listen to the radio; it doesn’t matter what it is there is something that has happened coming at us 24/7. There was a time when after midnight all you had was white noise. When you could leave your home and not be subjected to what was wrong in the world unless you picked up a paper. While technology is an amazing tool that allows us to offer our products to everyone in the world from the comfort of our own homes, it is also the very thing that is impacting so many lives, and not always for the better. Each time we listen, read or see the news we decide how we are going to process that information. Are we going to let it consume us or are we going to decide to know what is going on in the world without feeling we have the burden of the world on us. News, information, knowledge are all positive things to be aware of, however like anything in life, too much is not a good thing. Especially if we allow it to bring us down. This evening on my drive home I was amazed at the beauty of the Harvest Moon. As I looked up at it I realized, the men and women protecting our country, the local authorities, the doctors and nurses that care for so many all have the same bright moon. Life is a flash of lightening in the sky that is here and gone before you know it. Surrounding us outside of all the negative information is a world of beauty and wonder. Take time to witness the beauty in the world. Make a choice to see your own beauty. Live this life you have been given be thankful for those that protect us, respect those that work insane hours to keep us alive and healthy and most of all respect and appreciate the beauty of your own life and the value it plays in so many lives you may not even know.

Fill Your Time Up

Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” ~ Jim Rohn

Have you ever been to a sporting event or concert that wasn’t sold out? You look around and think they are paying the same amount for the lights, entertainment, why not drop the price and fill the place up. Maybe you thought you knew friends that would have attended had the tickets been better priced or a discount. Sometimes events sell out within minutes and yet other times they don’t. As an event owner you realize that this space that is left empty is lost revenue and there is more than the money lost from the ticket, the ancillary items like t-shirts, food and beverages. However if you can capitalize on the situation and offer a promotion to fill the seat then you stand the potential to make money in other areas. Life is the same way. We get this day, these moments and we can leave them empty with what didn’t happen or what didn’t go our way, or we can fill them up with the potential of what they can be. Like an event center the time the performers are on or the athletes are playing there is the opportunity to earn something. Our minutes in our lives are the potential to develop our lives to make memories and to live. If we fail to see the value in the minutes, to make the most of them even if some aren’t worth as much as others we are only missing out on other potential opportunities to earn more out of our lives. We all get the same 60 minutes, 24 hours and 365 days the difference is how we fill the seats.

Realize That Life Is Meant To Be Lived

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” ~ Mark Twain

Tonight my daughter had her senior corn roast and bonfire and then some friends came over after, let’s say more than 20 less than 35. As I am upstairs typing this blog my downstairs is full of teenagers laughing and having fun. It makes me smile and realize how time changes things. Just over 2 months ago she was broken hearted thinking the boy she had dated for over a year could hurt her so badly. She was confident she would never be okay. As I glace beside my bed at a photo of my daughter at 2 and my grandmother that raised me I remember how much it hurt to lose her. To not have her to talk to every day to lean on, I didn’t know how I would make it. Now I talk with her often, and know she is always with me in spirit. Time allows us to realize the loss we felt is due to the love we felt. The love was a gift and the end is just part of what happens in life. It is how we let those ends affect us that determine if we have a life of fun and happiness or a life a pain and heartache. See the gift life is, that each day is an opportunity to experience life to live. Live it.

Follow Your Heart, Follow Your Dream

"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place." ~ Anonymous

Throughout history we have been taught that in order to achieve great potential we must be willing to never give in.  Walt Disney went bankrupt, several times.  Thomas Edison experimented with over 6,000 materials to use as filament in a light bulb before he found the one that worked.  The Wright Brothers didn't fly on their first try.  Ford Motor Company planned to sale 100,000 cars in a year and sold only 100,847 in three years.  Hollywood told Fred Astaire "Can't act, can't sing, slightly bald but can dance a little. 

Every person I have listed went on to follow their heart and succeed beyond what anyone had ever thought possible, outside of themselves.  We have a power without our passion.  A drive and a will that overcome obstacles, look for ways to make things happen and move ourselves and things in a tireless effort if we are following our heart.  If someone says it's a great idea but, it may be just that.  Consider this, IPad, Iphone, Texting, 4G networks were all just an idea once. Today they are a household name.  Technology has advanced because of those individuals that have proven an idea can become a tangible thing.

What is your dream, what is your passion?  Are you taking steps, reaching out through a variety of channels to make your dream a reality?  If so then quiet the voices that say to give up and give it your all instead.  You will reach something, maybe not the goal you had seen, maybe a better one. 

A Clear Perspective

Ellen Glasgow said: "No life is so hard that you can't make it easier by the way you take it." 

Each person has obstacles to face in life. I have been in the room with individuals that were multi-millionaires and with individuals that couldn't make it to the next paycheck. Each person had their own individual situations to face.

To All The Fathers

The Legacy Of Love

The world is filled with individuals we look up to.  These can be athletes, performers, educators, actors or they can be someone we know.  For the most part we pick someone that has achieved something we dream of achieving or aspiring to be like.  However, for me the person I most looked up to was the person that raised me.  She had the heart of Mother Teresa.  She would give you her last penny if you asked her, however that wasn't her greatest gift.  Her gift that made her so amazing was her love.  No matter what happened in life or to her she always loved.  I don't think in her life she understood the meaning of hate.  Her capacity to love enabled her to forgive everything. 

When I think of who I would aspire to be like and what I would like to achieve in my life it would be her capacity to love.  To see within each person I encounter their potential to understand that with faith in an individual we can ignite their internal flame and help them find their purpose.  There aren't thousands of even hundreds of individuals that know her name.  In her lifetime she never made the cover of any magazine and was never on any Television Shows.  Regardless, to those who did know her, their lives were better from that experience.  To those who know me they know the impact she made in my life.  If I had one goal and that was the only thing I could accomplish, I would strive to know her ability to love.  She is proof that one person can impact and etch within us a piece of them that changes us and stays with us for a  lifetime.

The Legacy of A Sister Love

I doubt there is anyone that hasn't heard of the Susan G Komen Foundation.  If I say the name Nancy Brinker others of you may not know who that is.  After her 36-year-old sister died of breast cancer in 1980, Nancy Brinker founded the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in her honor. Its mission is bold: eradicate the disease by improving research, screening, education, and treatment. Since its inception in 1982, the organization has grown into a global network of volunteers who raise money and awareness through local affiliates and by sponsoring Komen Race for the Cure events. The first Race for the Cure, held in Dallas, Texas, in 1983, drew 800 participants; within 20 years, the organization was sponsoring more than 100 races annually across the globe, drawing more than one million participants. The races raise money, but also deliver a message of support to survivors.
Over the years, the organization has raised $750 million, making it one of the largest cancer charities in the world. "There is hardly an advance in the science of breast cancer over the past 20 years that hasn't been touched by a Komen grant," Brinker told BusinessWeek 's Catherine Arnst. "That's what I'm most proud of."


Nancy Brinker's love for her sister enabled her to over come the loss of her sister and start an organization today has touched so many lives.  One sister with a dream to make a difference for women everywhere has done just that. 


Within each one of us is the potential to make an impact and to make the world better.

Laughter was her Legacy

According to IMDB - Ball tried unsuccessfully to launch her show business career, finally landing a spot as a "Ziegfeld Girl". She launched her Hollywood career as one of the "Goldwyn Girls", but she moved out from the crowd of starlets to starring roles. With "I Love Lucy" (1951), she and husband Desi Arnaz pioneered the 3-camera technique now the standard in filming TV sitcoms, and the concept of syndicating television programs. She was also the first woman to own her own film studio as the head of Desilu.

Her quote “I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done” symbolizes her life. She was willing to be herself and follow her dreams. Women that have gone before us are a great examples of what we can do with our lives and the potential that we all have to live the life we imagined.

Learn for the Legacies that have gone before us. Ask “what is my dream, what do I love to do?” Then figure out what steps you need to take to make that dream a reality and take the first step. You never know what Legacy you might leave behind and the individuals you might inspire. Start with you, inspire yourself.

The Legacy Of A Wish

Thirty years ago the Make A Wish was started by a group of individuals that wanted to grant a wish to a child with a life threatening disease. Today the organization has granted thousands of wishes. While this is amazing, the thing that amazes me the most are the recipients of the wishes. These children that are granted wishes and go into recovery then ask to help make other children's wishes come true.  From making bracelets, to have carnivals in their backyard there is no limit to the drive of these young individuals to make a difference in others lives.  When we think about the power of a Legacy, consider if we could impact our youth.  If we could inspire them at a young age to want to make a difference in our world what they can do in their lifetime the number of individuals they will be able to affect.  A Legacy can be created while we are young and expanded on.  We all have within us a Legacy to leave.  A purpose to fill.  What is your Legacy?  What change or affect do you want to have?  Never be afraid to pursue your purpose.  If a child can after being face with a life threatening disease then you can to..

What Legacy Do You Want to Leave Blog Hop

Posted in IE Mommy by The IE Mommy

When I saw this Blog Hop in my mailbox I knew that I had to post about it. You see, the term “legacy” has meant so much to me since my father passed away 5 years ago.

Upon his passing…I had to reflect on what was left behind? As a Christian, I have the hope that I will see him again one day but what about the “here and now”. What is left on this world? In one word his… legacy.

His love for music and family. His willingness to laugh, his ability to put his emotions into song and word. I remember looking around at my family during his service and realizing that everything he was and has done of importance was right here. His family….his legacy.

So what do I want to leave my girls? What legacy do I want to live? I need to be working on it daily. For myself I think often of Proverbs 31. The story of the most gracious, close to perfect wife and I remember that at one part..the reflection is that her children call her blessed and she is a jewel in her husband’s crown. I want to leave a legacy of virtue, strength, humility, gentleness and love. A love and desire to know and walk with the Lord daily. A kindness that hurts when others hurt but a strength to stand close to God and travel the journey of life behind him. I want to know that my legacy is that my girls and my grandchildren will all be walking with the Lord and living a life glorifying to Him. All else in my life pales in comparison to reflecting Christ to my daughters, to my husband and my family.

Yes, that’s the legacy I want to live…what about you?

***
Ideas: This is a Blog Hop! 4 entries so far... you're next!


http://www.theiemommy.com/2010/06/07/what-legacy-do-you-want-to-leave-blog-hop/

One Legacy Leads To Another

Throughout time there was always a first. However, sometimes there was a first before that first that inspired the way for others that went before us. I had never heard of Kitty Wells until I wanted to write a blog on Taylor Swift. I wanted to know the first female country singer to top the charts and did some digging and found Kitty Wells. In 1952 her hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” hit the charts. Another hit “The Wild Side of Life” and its controversial pre-feminist lyrics was said to pave the way for singers like Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette and established Wells as the first major female country star.

Taylor Swift debut song “Tim McGraw” was released in 2006 and she was one of country music’s youngest faces. Her first album was released in late 2006 and had 5 consecutive top ten singles a new record for a female solo artist. Swifts debut album made her a titan in the country world; however in 2008 Fearless positioned her as the year’s biggest star on any genre.

On Saturday night I was at the last concert of her Fearless Tour along with 55,000 other fans. As the young Taylor took the stage and throughout the performance shared some of her journey and I was inspired. While I have no desire to be a singer I as do most of us have dreams and being around individuals that have made a dream a reality I felt inspired. Only 6 years earlier this was a dream. A young girl with her guitar sitting on her bedroom floor dreaming of being able to sing her music was now a reality. I wonder if during her dreaming she imagined she would be the first female singer to be the main performer at Gillette Stadium to a sold out crowd of 55,000 fans. As these thoughts danced through my mind I wondered if possibly the only difference between individuals like Taylor and Kitty was the passion and drive to see them through. So I will continue to search for Legacy’s that have made a difference that have had an impact and by doing so maybe someday become my own legacy and inspire someone.

Hope Transforms

Just when the caterpiller thought the wold was over, it became a butterfly ~ Unknown

There are moments in life that it appears things aren’t going the way we had planned. If we look at history there are numerous examples of individuals that transformed from failure into success.


Henry Ford In 1899 the young mechanic and engineer started the Detroit Automobile Company with the backing of three prominent politicians. Ford hadn't quite mastered the innovation and production techniques that would eventually make him rich, though. Over the next two years, Ford proved to be too much of a perfectionist, and his plant only produced 20 cars as he painstakingly tinkered with designs.

The enterprise went bankrupt in 1901 and reorganized into the Henry Ford Company later that year. Ford eventually left that group and finally got things right in 1903, when he founded the Ford Motor Company.

Walt Disney His name may be a stalwart brand today, but early in his career, Disney was just a struggling filmmaker with too many bills. In 1922 he started his first film company with a partner in Kansas City, Kansas.

The two men bought a used camera and made short advertising films and cartoons under the studio name Laugh-O-Gram. Disney even signed a deal with a New York company to distribute the films he was producing. That arrangement didn't work out so well, though, as the distributor cheated Disney's studio.

Without the distributor's cash, Disney couldn't cover his overhead, and his studio went bankrupt in 1923. He then left Kansas City for Hollywood, and after a series of increasingly successful creations, Disney debuted a new character named Mickey Mouse in 1928.

Sometimes we have to be willing to keep trying to risk everything to discover success. As the butterfly leaves behind what is was in order to become a butterfly. We must sometimes let go of what we have to get what we want. Hope transforms.

The Tides of Hope

Hope may come in cycles like the tide.  Sometimes it seems far off and there is a stretch of beach between it and the waves that it seems out of reach. Other times hope is high on the shore and catches up to us like the incoming tide that encroaches on the dry beach.  But just like the beach we may have to walk out a little further to reach the waves of hope and sometimes it finds us.  Whatever the case, hope is within our reach and that which gives us despair can be washed away if we find the hope.

Hope Illuminates

In every life there are moments of darkness and doubt. There are minutes, hours or days that we may be faced with fear. Like darkness that weights us down and keeps us from seeing. Every life, ever moment no matter how dark it may seem has the potential to touch a life. A flicker of hope can illuminate something larger than anyone could have ever imagined possible. Organizations like Make A Wish and Susan G Komen were born from someone finding hope in a moment of darkness. Today these organizations have illuminated millions of lives. Hope is that flicker when you wonder how I will do that says “you can do it’. Hope is that flicker that when you are scared says “you are not alone” Hope is that flicker that if given a chance grows into a flame. Hopes smallest flicker can illuminate and encourage others. Hope is that flicker that enables you to pursue a dream. Hope is that flicker that lights life’s path and upon reflection we see the power of hope to illuminate.

Silent Hope

Hope can be the sole purpose of an action that we aren’t even aware of; it can be completely silent. Recently I was listening to a high school senior explain her dream career. She had every detail planned out, from the college she would attend to her graduate degree in 5 years, to her intern positions and the first step she would make towards her dream career. Her inspiration was an individual that was a VP at 26 and she had researched his path, his degree program, intern positions, and promotions. He had supplied silent hope.

Have you ever heard about something on the news, in the newspaper, or in a conversation and thought, “I could do that?” It may have been a place to vacation, a promotion, or investment. Have you ever watched someone do something, enter a marathon, change careers, or start their own business and been inspired to considered it for yourself? Buying my first home was a risk I took after an acquaintance who was also a single mom purchased her first home.
People, their stories and life offer silent hope to other people they are not even aware are watching. Individuals witness events, or hear about them and are moved to try something they have only dreamed of and consider a change they may have never considered. Have you ever asked yourself what silent hope your life demonstrates to someone else? What dreams have you inspired? My daughter’s base line for marriage is our close friend’s parents. They embody her dream of what marriage after 50 years is. The love, respect and appreciation they have for each other after all these years instill a hope for a life she wants to have.
We may not be aware, however, our lives are an example of hope to our children, friends, family, and beyond. We buy a new car, redo a room, take a vacation, or get a promotion. These things are examples to others of what is possible. This is silent hope.

What Children Teach Us About Hope

There is something about the way a young child sees the world that can make us believe in anything at all. Children seem to believe in miracles even before they happen. They believe that if they wish for something hard enough it will come true. Children have hope that when they blow on a dandelion or see the first star at night their wish will come true. Children know in their hearts that if they find a four-leaf clover they will have good luck. They put faith in the results of blowing out all the candles with one breath. Don’t stop believing just because the there are more candles to blow out.

Hope Floats

“Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad, but it’s what’s in the middle that counts. So, when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will!” - Hope Floats -1998

I recently heard a speech in which the speaker was saying that sometimes we just need to “let it go.” It was intended to remind people that they need to not get caught up in petty grievances and let the hard feelings go. I took it a little differently, probably because I didn’t feel like I was holding on to any kind of grudges or feelings of being wronged. Instead I took it that when we have things happen to us that are beyond our control, we need to feel what we feel and then move on.
It can be scary to start new and let go of something that is familiar, even if that something is a negative feeling. If we are used to harboring those feelings, then they are what feel normal and right. On the other hand, we do find it sad when a good thing comes to an end. Hope can pull us to begin something new and helps us better handling the end of something good. With hope, ever ending becomes a promising new beginning.