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When I was little, the paper dolls and trading cards I played with were all ballerinas and princesses. It surely looked like everything was perfect in their pristine, prettily-dressed lives. And, given that this was the 50′s, there was little else to aspire to.
Now a full-grown woman and business owner, I had the opportunity to see a princess’s life played out on national television last week. Sarah Ferguson appeared on Oprah to discuss the recent sting operation that put her back in the headlines. I found it terribly sad, but also riveting, that someone who ‘had it all’ could fall so far from that idyllic lifestyle. I had also watched a taped episode (also on Oprah) involving child bride’s of a religious fanatic who all lived on a compound in Arkansas. What these two shows had in common were women who had been sorely deprived of reality. One captive of the religious community, upon leaving, asked, “How do you know which side of the road to drive on?” Similarly, Fergie seems equally baffled by how money works.
After watching these shows I made a gratitude list thanking my lucky stars that I am not a princess and have had to slog it out in the real world and learn the lessons that help us stay out of sting operations. Here’s what I came up with:
- I’m grateful that although I am ‘out there’ in the public eye, I am not that famous.
- I am debt-free.
- I trust my instincts and act on that intuition. Sarah said she knew the offer was from a journalist and didn’t honor her gut feeling.
- I know exactly where I stand financially–what the balances are in each of my accounts.
- I live within my means.
It must have been super-cool to live in Buckingham Palace and be married to a prince, but I’m feeling very fortunate today that my life is uncomplicated and I have everything I need.
I had my wonderful reunion walk with Lucy this morning (see Wednesday’s blog for details). I told her I had blogged about her and gotten a tremendous response regarding her energized, pro-active connecting abilities. She looked at me and said, “Connecting is my oxygen.”
I feel the same way and am so glad to have that supply reciprocated.
P.S. I recently received a compliment and a request about the images I use for my blogs. Often, they are photos I’ve taken on my own digital camera. Sometimes I borrow from the website of the person I’m featuring. But, more often than not, I use istockphoto.com for the impact I want to create. Unfortunately, today, the only walkers of mature women bore no resemblance to me, although if you squinted, you might think Lucy could be the woman in the fuchsia top.
I’ve talked about Lucy Hedrick on many occasions, but her re-entry to Connecticut this season prompts another side of Lucy I’d like to share. Enviably, Lucy spends over six months a year as a snowbird in Sarasota, FL, taking her writing and book proposal coaching business with her. Once the Northeast warms to her liking, Lucy returns to her Greenwich home for the spring and summer months.
Lucy doesn’t sit around and wait for her friends and colleagues to notice that she’s back. She doesn’t even consider that anyone should have her on their radar. Rather, she gets busy reaching out and setting up her calendar to include the people and activities she most enjoys.
Last week I received a personal messages from Lucy with an inspired way to connect. She emailed me that we had lots to discuss and would I like to meet her for a walk. Note the benefit here: Lucy invited me for an activity she knows I engage in regularly. She also knows that getting anywhere in Fairfield County is a challenge. She made an irresistible proposal. She offered to drive to my house to meet me. My answer was an immediate, “YES!”
Early this week I was included in a group email sent to the women from my writers group which disbanded a few years ago. These creative writers are still foremost in my heart, but we haven’t gotten together as a group in well over a year. The email was from Lucy with the suggestion we get together for a reunion. Again, not only did Lucy come up with a lovely idea, but she also named a place and put out 5 dates that we could respond to.
How many times do you hear, “We should really get together!” followed by an enthusiastic, “Yeah! That’d be so nice.” And nothing happens. Lucy pre-empted that go-nowhere invitation with her thoughtfulness and commitment.
Lucy and I are walking this Friday morning at 7:30am, and our group will meet at one of our colleague’s homes at 3pm on the 29th. When you connect like Lucy, things happen. From my own experience, more things happen when you’re connecting with others than when you’re sitting in your office. I’m grateful to be on the receiving end of Lucy’s networking outreach.
