Archive for June, 2008
The Meaning of Life and the Mermaids
June 30th, 2008
One of the most decidedly decadent things I have ever done for myself is put my nonfiction on hold to write a novel. Gone were the rules of journalism, and suddenly I had the freedom to twist and turn and create and invent. Mermaid Mambo download bloody sunday online was released last year and it’s been one of the more joyful risks I have ever taken.
In my acknowledgments, I note, “Novels are scary things to writers like me, who have built careers in the nonfiction world. If your nonfiction stinks, it might be the topic. If your novel sucks, it’s all your fault.” Because of that fear, I’d been too chicken to let go of my fiction. I asked Stephen King how he got the confidence to let go of his fiction and he told me, “You just have to know you are brilliant.” It’s a hard thing, putting your work out there in full view, where it can be ridiculed. That kept me from letting go of it and receiving all the wonderful mail from people who loved my characters and story. Mambo has been out there for a year now, and it is the most joyous project I’ve had.
My central character is a 78-year-old former Weeki-Wachee mermaid who needed to get back to the 60th reunion of the mermaids at the faded Florida tourist attraction. She winds up on a crazed road trip and it’s kind of a combination of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Thelma and Louise. In doing my research, I was embraced by the former and current Weeki Wacheemermaids who have filled my world with levity and perspective.
Some people tell me they are impressed by the litany of famous people I have interviewed for my nonfiction books. They want to know what Hillary is like and what I thought of Susan Sarandon. They ask about the presidents and prime ministers and CEOs. And the movie stars and Nobel laureates.
Those icons gave me such great material for success and leadership strategies. But, the people who gave me the greater insight on life were the mermaids of Weeki Wachee. I go tubing down the Weeki Wachee River with them and I am suddenly 20 again, and so are they, even though most of them are in their 50s and 60s. I’ve often told the story of mermaid Vicki Smith climbing a tree, letting out a yell and swinging through the air from a rope before making a remarkable splash into the river. At the time, she was 67. That said everything about living. Mermaid Barbara Wynns introduced me to this world and I marvel at how she redefines herself every day with more whimsy. That’s her helping me get into the tail in the above photo.
They are mermaids. They put on fabric tails and swim through the water, performing synchronized routines in a pristine Central Florida spring that has called to them since they were paid mermaids in their teens and 20s. They have their issues and their hardships — like all of us. All of that fades when they are on that river or are together sharing the bonds of friendship that have so deepened over time. I meet many people who measure their worth by the title on their business cards or the number on their paychecks. They miss the point of living.
Life really is a big adventure where we become rich with experience — if only we open ourselves to accept all the magic the world offers. We can live closed and limited lives by focusing on things or achievements that are temporary or ultimately inconsequential, or we can find great joy in the moment, daring to take in all the energy that surrounds us — if we just let go and live.
Mermaids Susie Pennoyer, Crystal Robson and Bev Sutton continue to crack me up with their river antics because they are free-spirited women who don’t care about pretense. They care about celebrating good times — even when they have their own challenges. We have a lot we can learn from them.
That’s why they inspire me.
Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of four books and speaks to corporations and organizations about courages and creative leadership strategies.
Dare to climb out of your rut.
June 30th, 2008
Years ago, the argument for my inertia was strong: I had a secure job, decent pay, good health insurance, five weeks of vacation, the best friends I’d ever had. On top of all of that, I got to live in glorious Colorado. My argument for change was rather short: I was in a rut and was unhappy at work.
Someone wanted to hire me in Florida. The job looked good, the pay looked fine and I’d be near my family. But, I couldn’t seem to take the leap.
One of my mentors told me: “Don’t let security be your dangerous anchor.” And then, she said it again. “If you aren’t doing something,” she said, “you’re doing nothing.”
I took the job and never looked back as I created a new life of challenge and adventure, quickly learning that change is nothing to fear.
Ruts are comfortable and comforting. We know what to expect of our outside world, but there isn’t much cause to challenge ourselves. Our measurement of what we accomplish tomorrow is too often based on old goals that have lost their significance.
How often do you celebrate the goals you have reached, then take a moment to dream a little larger? Don’t measure yourself against the expectations of others, and don’t focus on competing against your peers. What do you want for your life? More money, more time, more freedom, more wisdom, more credentials, more perks, more love, more adventure? Know yourself, and measure yourself against your own dreams. Don’t fear change – seek it out. Don’t let security be your dangerous anchor.
The Ten Tell Tale Signs that you are in a Rut
1. You aren’t having fun
2. You aren’t challenged
3. You enjoy your job less and less
4. You don’t feel like talking about your work with your friends and family
5. You are smarter than your bosses
6. You keep reminding yourself of the good attributes of your job, and they all have to do with “golden handcuffs” – good pay, benefits and time off
7. You can predict your future and it looks exactly like your present
8. People say, “Are you still working there?”
9. You are jealous whenever someone “climbs over the wall” and quits
10. You feel stuck
Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of four books and speaks to corporations and organizations about courages and creative leadership strategies.
Why self-discipline is a very good thing…
June 29th, 2008
I can’t tell you how many people tell me they could never work from home and get anything accomplished.
“I lack the discipline,” they all say.
Well, me too. But, seeing as I do work from home, it is pretty clear that if I don’t get the discipline, I won’t eat. If I don’t get the discipline, I’ll have to get a traditional job. If I get a traditional job, I will likely have to wear panty hose again. hill richmond breast augmentation grand rapids breast augmentation
I remind myself of those critical matters whenever I start slacking off. Because I realize what a privilege it is to have my own business and work at home, I have to be disciplined – whether it comes natural to me or not. This skill can be developed.
And since many of you will say “The reason I won’t try to do x, y, or z is that I am not disciplined enough,” I will tell you right now that your excuse sucks. If you want to do something badly enough, you will discipline yourself. You will get organized.
I am not an organized person, but I know there are certain steps I have to take in order to move toward my goals. Every Monday, I come up with a list of things I need to accomplish during the week in order to stay on task and move forward. I use that list whenever I become distracted. If I lapse into one of my marathon Net surfing expeditions, I have to go to the list to pull myself back on track. That is discipline and it is organization. It all comes from one simple list.
Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of four books and speaks to corporations and organizations about courages and creative leadership strategies. black book divx land before time the dvdrip
Choosing extraordinary
June 28th, 2008
I once asked Nobel Peace Prize winner Jody Williams what separates an ordinary woman from an extraordinary woman.
“The belief that she is ordinary,” she said.
Simply profound and profoundly simple. The only thing that limits you – is you. Think you are average? You’ll be average. Think you can do anything? You can.
Last night, I met a 22-year-old singer/musician who blew me and about 100 other people away with her voice. Afterwards, I asked her what her plan was for becoming famous.
“Oh, I don’t want to be famous,” she said. “I just want to be able to make a living doing this.”
“Shoot for the middle and that is where you will wind up,” I told her.
People who don’t shoot for the top – the very top – often limit themselves because they fear making an enormous emotional and personal commitment, and ultimately falling short. Well, so what if you do? So what if you have big dreams and accomplish only 70 or 80 percent of what you’d hoped? You’ll still be far ahead of where you will be if you just aim for the middle and stay there. And, your experience will be so much more interesting.
Achievement comes in trying what you are afraid to try. Achievement is not the ultimate success or failure of any attempt. It’s getting out there, getting dirty, trying your hardest and enjoying every aspect of the challenge. It’s expecting obstacles and conquering them. It’s recognizing and treasuring the support you get from people who love you and believe in you. Achievement is the knowledge that you are defining who you are every day, rather than letting the circumstances of life define that for you. The reward in all of this is that you are living your life. risperdal weight gain space cowboys download free
Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of four books and speaks to corporations and organizations about courages and creative leadership strategies.
So, Fawn Germer starts a blog…
June 27th, 2008
This was my very first blog post. Please visit www.hardwonwisdom.com for daily motivational posts.
It’s 10:29 p.m. and I’m sitting here writing, thinking about how many times in the last year that the day dissolved into the evening which dissolved into the late night with me sitting in front of my keyboard doing exactly this: writing. This is my job, because I get paid for it. But it is not my work. It is my world. I would rather sit and write than do almost anything else on this earth. zelnorm recall cipro throat will infections treat
I rail against workaholism, but I wonder if you are a workaholic if your work is your passion, and something you would do even if you weren’t getting paid for it. I love cycling and kayaking and taking pictures and talking to strangers. I love being with my family, connecting with my soul mate and hanging out with my friends. And yet, it is this — writing to inspire others to dare to bet on themselves — that calls me and fulfills me and makes me whole.
I begin this blog wishing for you the kind of clarity and reward that came to me almost nine years ago when I found the courage to leave my job, my paycheck, my five weeks of vacation and the great benefit package to dive into the unknown and bet on myself.
Many of you know me through my speaking or my books and have heard the story of how I left my secure career as a Pulitzer-nominated newspaper reporter and editor to become an author. My first book was rejected 15 times, and when it was finally published, it came out the day before Sept. 11. I pushed and persevered past so many obstacles that Hard Won Wisdom became a best-seller and Oprah told the world it was “very inspiring.” My speaking career exploded, but I still encountered (and continue to meet up with) obstacles. I’ve come to love those obstacles, because they always become defining moments that propel my success. That which comes easy isn’t worth it. The things I’ve fought for have come through great sacrifice and resulted in even greater reward.
Anyhow, this is it. My blog. It is the beginning of my ongoing, regular relationship with you. I hope you will enjoy it.
Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of four books and speaks to corporations and organizations about courages and creative leadership strategies.
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