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Grace Under Fire: Turning My Mess into a Message

Over the past twenty years as a professional speaker, I’ve had my fair share of speeches that didn’t go my way. But last week’s presentation to the National Charity League in San Antonio was an epic disaster. I was so excited because the NCL’s mission aligns so well with my message of fostering the mother daughter relationship and developing confident young women leaders, and 250 mothers and daughters would be there for my talk. Never in a million years did I imagine that weather would be a factor in traveling from Florida to Texas, but that day 50 mph winds prevented us from landing in San Antonio and we were diverted to Houston. My speech was at 4:00pm and it was already 12:30. As we sat on the tarmac, I kept telling myself, “God makes all things come together for my good,” even though things didn’t look so good. Then [...]

By | 2017-03-07T11:02:22-05:00 February 6th, 2017|

Create Dangerously: As If Someone’s Life Depends On It

The other day on Facebook I read the transcript of a speech delivered by a girl from York PA. Her name is her name is Devon Hornberger and she gave the Valedictorian Commencement Address at her high school graduation ceremony. I was blown away by her speech that began by recounting the abduction of 276 girls from their dormitories in Chibok, Nigeria. They were kidnapped because their abductors believe that girls should not be educated. Her message to her fellow classmates was about the privilege of their education and how young people around the world are risking their lives for that same right. In her speech, she also sited a quote by Edwidge Danicat, an award-winning Haitian-American author: “Create dangerously, for people who read dangerously. This is what I’ve always thought it meant to be a writer. Writing, knowing in part that no matter how trivial your words may seem, [...]

By | 2017-03-07T11:44:34-05:00 June 2nd, 2016|

Crawling to the Finish Line: I think I can… I think I can

I am so close. I can see the ribbon. You might imagine that I'd be sprinting full on with my goal in sight. I am almost finished writing my book. And I am crawling to the finish line. Since gearing up to come back to Boston for the summer, I have come up with a million excuses why I haven't been able to write. First it was closing up my condo in Naples. Next, figuring out what to clothes to pack for an entire summer (I kid you not, this kept me up several nights!) Arranging to have my car shipped up here was also on my to do list - I mean what's the point of driving a BMW convertible in Florida all winter if not to show off to all your friends up North in the summah? Then making the move up here and getting settled into a [...]

By | 2017-03-07T12:51:01-05:00 July 12th, 2013|