http://hardwonwisdom.com Fawn Germer Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:34:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en http://hardwonwisdom.com/uncategorized/in-prep-for-my-birthday/ "What do you think of China?" That's a hard question to answer, especially when the person asking it is the executive vice-president of a $4 billion retail chain, and when that person is clearly Chinese. But, Wilson Zhu, executive vice president of Michaels, wanted my impressions. I muttered something -- certainly not the ... http://hardwonwisdom.com/uncategorized/where-are-the-men-in-black-suits-maybe-they-are-in-our-heads/ What a moment. I traveled to Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Shenzhen and Hong Kong to speak on leadership and begin interviewing Chinese business pioneers for a book on globalization. Here's a little of what happened: http://hardwonwisdom.com/uncategorized/2678/ Last week, I returned from a speaking tour of Asia where American bravado met Chinese humility. I am a leadership and motivation speaker who tells people to expect success, make decisions with confidence and to advertise their strengths and wins. That is the exact opposite of the Chinese way, which is ... http://hardwonwisdom.com/uncategorized/success-is-always-temporary-failure-lasts-much-much-longer/ I gave a motivational speech yesterday for a group of men and women who have been unemployed for awhile. A long while. Most of them have been out of work for more than a year and many are closing in on two years without a paycheck. At least 90 percent were ... http://hardwonwisdom.com/uncategorized/unemployed-for-more-than-a-year-the-shows-not-over/ My first thought when I woke up this morning was, "Mom is going to die soon. Maybe this week." Two weeks ago, I believed that Mom's condition had been so severely compromised that she was suffering. A friend shared a similar experience with her own mother's battle with Alzheimer's. Because she ... http://hardwonwisdom.com/fawns-world/bettys-still-in-charge/ My cousin, the indomitable Faye Ellen Himelhoch Valencia, died this morning at age 48. She is exactly nine months younger than I am, and we grew up together. We both played the flute, but she was the better flutist. We went to Hebrew class together, but she was ... http://hardwonwisdom.com/fawns-world/the-true-beauty-of-faye-ellen-himelhoch-valencia/ I've written about my mother many, many times. I used to hope her story would inspire and help others . Now I write about her because it is the only thing I know to do. I feel helpless, but I feel less alone when I know others are hearing about ... http://hardwonwisdom.com/uncategorized/the-hardest-decision/ "There's your mother, Fawn," my best friend said as she pointed to a woman crumpled over in a wheelchair near the nurse's station. "No, that's not my mother," I said. "Yes, it is." I walked over to the woman, certain it was not my mom. Her head and shoulders were completely slumped over, ... http://hardwonwisdom.com/fawns-world/this-is-why-they-call-alzheimers-the-long-goodbye/ Wilma Mankiller died of pancreatic cancer today at age 64. She is the first woman to lead the Cherokee Nation as its principal chief and instantly became an icon of women's history. I interviewed her for Hard Won Wisdom and was so moved by her insight and kindness. She was ... http://hardwonwisdom.com/hard-won-wisdom/long-live-wilma-mankiller/