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I received a beautiful invitation in the mail last month for an event I’ll be attending tomorrow night, March 31. The pink sticky note on the outside of it was from Linda Hunt, a current client in my Mastermind Group. It read, “Jane, this is a wonderful event I thought you would enjoy. Please attend as my guest + feel free to bring a friend.”
What attracted me, in addition to the handwritten note which was the closer, was:
- The name of the event–Hearts of Hope Women’s Benefit
- The tag line for the benefit–Women who can…for women who can’t
- The cause– Bridgeport Rescue Mission’s Women’s Ministries for Homeless Women
- The guest speaker–Elisa Morgan, Author, She Did What She Could
- The invitation to bring a friend
After reading the bio of the keynote speaker who has authored over 15 books on mothering, I immediately thought of my friend Leigh Scott who is currently authoring her own book on parenting. When she said “yes” to the invitation, I let Linda know her table would be two women fuller.
This morning I called Linda to find out more about this group. Now I’m even more excited than I was when I originally rsvp’d. The premise is to get women together in a room. We women understand how powerful that energy is. This group started two years ago with 150 women attending, had 300 last year and expects 500 tomorrow evening. (There’s still room for two more at Linda’s table. Contact me asap if you’re able to join us.)
Linda’s interest began when she ‘stumbled upon’ the non-profit Alpha Home (see their mission below*) after being hired do handle their bookkeeping. Her deep compassion for the homeless took this job opportunity beyond the office and into her heart. Hence, her hosting tables at these events and spreading the word about how women can help each other. Will you join me, Linda and Leigh? (BTW, it’s free–sponsored by underwriters who believe in this mission and support it with their dollars.)
*WELCOME TO ALPHA HOME
At Alpha Home, our goal is to provide women with an affordable, safe haven where they can identify and overcome the core issues underlying their chemical addictions, regain their independence, and rejoin their communities as healthy, whole women.
Leigh Scott attended my Create Your Own Future retreat three year ago this month. During that event, we had a Come As You’ll Be activity projecting forward five years from the present. That night Leigh presented herself as the successful author of a book on parenting. She’s right on schedule.
This morning Leigh showed me a copy of her proposal–the document an author prepares for a literary agent who then sells it to a publisher. I got goosebumps when I saw what Leigh had put together. It was a spiral bound book with dividers for each of the areas required in a proposal including:
- About the book
- About the author
- Marketing
- Table of Contents
- Sample Chapter
- The Competition
And more. It took Leigh nearly a year of dedicated work to prepare this draft. She made the book her priority during this time. She made other changes as well. Knowing how much time she wanted to devote to writing, Leigh looked at her whole life and chose to make changes. She downsized her living situation to reduce her cost of living, which in turn reduced how much money she needed to earn.
These were all well-considered decisions with the vision of the book serving as the achievement that would make this worthwhile. She knew that in order to accomplish this life goal, certain activities would fall by the wayside. Making writing her priority, Leigh intentionally went without watching TV for a year. She chose to make time only for what was most important–earning enough to live while writing this book. Leigh was sure to include and pay for an accountability structure to keep her on track with her writing during the process.
In describing her feeling of satisfaction and delayed gratification, Leigh told an analogous story, perfectly related to her subject matter: parenting. A young boy had poured water on his father’s laptop computer. The father, modeling the behavior of a loving authority, explained to the child that his toy tractor was going to be taken away until the little boy carried out enough chores (suited to his level of ability–like licking envelopes and putting away toys) to make up for his dad’s loss. After four months of enforcing this ‘punishment’ the debt was repaid. The father took out the toy tractor which the little boy thought was brand new. “This is even better than the one I used to have!” he proclaimed. “It goes faster and I like it better.”
When you process something step-by-step (no shortcuts), suffer the slings and arrows of the journey, the ultimate reward is sweeter. Even if you weren’t in Westport, CT this morning, you may have felt the joy radiating out from Leigh’s pleasure in accomplishment.
Watch for Leigh’s book Becoming a Loving Authority: How to Get Out of Your Own Way as a Parent. I’ll see you at the book party!
Almost all of the attendees from Monday night’s event hung out for a long time after the official 7:30pm close. To me, that’s the sign of a successful program. If folks are streaming out the door at the final bell, you can be fairly certain that they weren’t fully engaged. But, when the crowd interacts and takes their time moseying out, it’s a measure of accomplishment.
Based on that theory, the Remarkable Women’s Network held at Troy Art and Framing in Fairfield was a resounding success. Denise DiGrigoli, pictured here in the middle between Leigh Scott of Leigh Scott Parenting and me, is the owner of Troy. She was our inspirational hostess.
At the centerpiece of her showroom was a stunning visual presentation Denise had just completed exhibiting the capacity and talents available at Troy. In addition to Denise’s computerized display of their capabilities, each woman attending had the opportunity to tell what she does and share recent good news. We heard breakthroughs, heartfelt happiness–like a child’s upcoming wedding–and positive financial reports. All of it positive and inspiring.
Nancy Moon, owner of Moon Public Relations–a PR firm in NYC and CT–always has her camera on hand and took the shot above before handing the camera off to Denise to capture us. At the end of the event, when I asked for feedback, Nancy said, “I’d love to attend these monthly.”
I’m working on it!
