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I received an email from my alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, thanking me (and every other alum who has contributed) for my/our support. I believe in tithing and attribute much of my success in life to the education I received there. Even my tagline: Leading Remarkable Women to Uncommon Success tips it’s hat to our founder’s, Mary Lyon’s, description of us as uncommon women. I’m happy and honored to be able to give back.
This video acknowledgment brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. It’s extremely hopeful. Do you agree?
I’m thoroughly enjoying the biography of Wendy Wasserstein written by Julie Salamon. I’ve always felt a special connection because we were in the same Theatre 145 class at Mount Holyoke College in 1967. Also, we shared a mutual friend in Aimee Garn who is quoted throughout the book.
I’m just halfway through the 460+ page volume but had to immediately blog about the paragraph I just read.
Unlike many artists, who claim they don’t read their reviews, Wendy studied the criticism of Isn’t It Romantic–so much so that every time she sat down to write, she heard Walter Kerr say, “You aren’t really a playwright.” Finally Chris Durang told her, “You have to open the window, push Walter Kerr out, and close the window.”
In coaching I tell my clients to invite their gremlins to sweep up the room next door, leave the premises or in some other way occupy themselves so that you can do the work you were put on this earth to do.
I’m reminded of a quote I heard years ago from a member of the Clinton administration:
The higher up the mountain you go, the harder the wind blows.
Wendy heard Walter Kerr’s voice. We underlings may hear our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers or a high school social studies teacher who once said to me, “You’re not Mount Holyoke material.” Hah!
It’s not only businesses that need to create branding messages these days. In her opening remarks to the assembled alumnae who gathered to meet and greet Mount Holyoke College‘s newly inaugurated President, Lynn Pasquerella told us of her current mission to tell our alma mater’s story in a more compelling way.
In addition to being a thought leader and passionate about the college community, Lynn sees her job as College President in an even broader perspective. Although I just tried (and failed) to listen to the 7:37am segment of The Academic Minute which streams twice daily, I appreciate the enthusiasm and momentum President Pasquerella is generating for MHC. She created this broadcast venue as a branding initiative on behalf of the College. Newman’s Own provided a 2-year grant for the project. I was inspired by the creativity and implementation of this undertaking.
“I need to be at the forefront of a rich intellectual life,” she told us in explanation of her agenda this year to speak all over the country. She is passionate about many issues including bringing safe water supplies to families in Kenya as well as addressing end-of-life issues (“Death is often seen as un-American.”) here in the US.
“I’m shameless,” she pronounced. I get the strong feeling that because of this leader’s efforts, awareness of Mount Holyoke will increase exponentially during her tenure.
I’m glad, because I believe this is what it takes in today’s environment. No longer can we sit in our ivory towers (academic or professional) and expect the world to come to us. It simply doesn’t work that way anymore, if it ever did. College presidents and entrepreneurs need to get out on a regular basis, toot their horns, be at the forefront of their industries and demonstrate through their examples what they and their companies, followers, students, etc. stand for.
I smiled when I saw this message in my inbox this morning. It brought me right back to my time at Mount Holyoke College when, on one bright and sunny fall day, the chapel bells would ring out signaling the cancellation of classes for a once-a-year tradition: Mountain Day.
The message today included this challenge: “Although you may not be able to join President Pasquerella, and the MHC community for a noon ice cream celebration, you can still evoke the unexpected freedom of Mountain Day: give yourself an unscheduled day off, open your windows, get out of the house or your office for a walk, eat ice cream for lunch, or call a classmate to reminisce.“
I’ve already opened my windows and will get out of my office for a walk. What unexpected freedom can you reward yourself with today?
Until last year I had never heard of LeBron James, the basketball superstar who just made front page news by choosing to go with the Miami Heat. His name first came up when I was driving up the California coast with my coaching co-leader Brad Isaacs who described his deep attachment, awe and enthusiasm for this basketball star. Need I tell you that although Brad now lives and works in California, he hales from Ohio, where LeBron has been playing and winning since he began his career. Having a superstar from your home state has a huge impact, which Brad made abundantly clear.
When I was growing up on Easton Avenue in White Plains, NY, my mother referred admiringly to the smart girl across the street: Jane Levy. “Jane Levy goes to Mount Holyoke College.” That admiration was not lost on me. When it came to looking at schools, Mount Holyoke was on my list. I enrolled there three years later.
What do these two anecdotes have in common? And what does this have to do with being an entrepreneur?
I heard one person whose opinion I value talk about something he was passionate about, and I remembered it, even though I’m not interested in the NBA. I paid attention because Brad told me, I heard him, and made a connection. I’ll call him today to acknowledge his pain.
Although my mother wasn’t passionate about Jane Levy or Mount Holyoke College per se, what she admired in someone, what she held in high esteem, was important to me.
The advertising industry is based upon creating these powerful associations in us consumers. As entrepreneurs, the brand experience we craft is one we hope will be passed on by our satisfied clients and customers. Social media have underscored how influential word-of-mouth (or word-of-mouse, as I’ve recently heard it called) is.
These two stories make that connection for me again today. When someone I value speaks with enthusiasm, I take it in and use that information when the time is right. As a business owner, I want to create the kind of experience, success and devotion that clients enthusiastically pass on.
The Class of 1970 is gathering today, along with hundreds of other alumnae from Mount Holyoke College to celebrate our 40th reunion since graduation. I’m imagining that the topic of conversation among us baby boomers will have to include the enormous changes we’ve encountered since we first set foot on the South Hadley campus in the mid-60′s.
Then there were curfews with locked dormitory building doors, no locks on our dorm room doors, no phones in the rooms, no computers, dress-up meals (skirts for dinner nightly; Gracious Living with stockings and pumps on Wednesday nights and Sunday lunch) and men only allowed in the parlor rooms on the first floor.
During the tumultuous end of that decade ALL of that changed along with protests to the Vietnam war, a moratorium on exams and peace signs on our mortar boards. Ted Kennedy was our commencement speaker.
Here we are 40 years later with vegan dorms, wireless everywhere and majors in fields I’ve never heard of. What has stayed the same is our commitment to being “uncommon” women — Mary Lyon, our founder’s, special word for us.
I come back every 5 years to find out what my “uncommon” classmates are up to. It’s always something fascinating, engaging and of service to the world. I’m a proud alum and happy to be a part of the baby boom generation.
Cookie Russo (left) and I met at Camp Chinqueka as young girls–eight and ten. We were drawn to each other back then and re-united when Cookie found me at Mount Holyoke College where she entered a year after me. Our friendship re-ignited living in the same dorm and choosing the same major–Studio Art. So, I’ve known Cookie longer and better than any other friend, which I cherish.
Not surprisingly, Cookie (or Marisabina as she’s known professionally) created a successful business out of her art background. She has become a very successful author/illustrator of children’s books. At lunch on Saturday she gifted me with a hot-off-the-press copy of A Very Big Bunny and told me how she got inspired for this most recent publication.
When donating her time for an unrelated community art project Cookie meticulously painted the first two sections of her entry. Then, noting the time, quickly finished it off with a flourish, but little concentration. That last piece, so fluidly done, was the bunny’s face. It caught the eye of an editor who fell in love with its simplicity and became completely captivated. A Very Big Bunny was born out of that gesture made without planning or expectation.
I love this story! How many times do we labor over an apostrophe or comma only to then dash off a paragraph that effortlessly captures our essence and communicates it to the world? I’m a huge believer in doing what you love and letting go of the results. Cookie couldn’t have planned this better than it came out. She was doing what she was born to do, worked really hard at contributing a piece of her talent, let go at the end and achieved a greater success than she could have dreamt up.
Years ago I had an intern come and work for me from my alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, during the January term when the campus shut down. Rachel Atkinson was an art major and came daily to my studio to help me with my creative projects. Because her father owned a thriving graphic design business, she wanted to share some of his resources and expertise with me. One day she brought in a carton of resumes he’d received for a job posting. This was in the early 90′s when everything was hard copy.
I was wowed by the variety of styles, formats and sophistication the applicants demonstrated. You could immediately toss aside 1/2 the pile for lack of originality.
Which leads me to my friend and client Malene Barnett who recently purchased and renovated a building in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn. That’s a fearless enough feat to accomplish. But what really knocked my socks off was the email I received from Malene advertising the rental of her freshly minted apartment offering.
No Craigslist.com for this extraordinary woman. She created an 8-page pdf (cover image above) of her creation placing her property in an elite category and immediately qualifying her prospects. Let me know if you’re interested and I’d be happy to connect you to Malene. By the way, breaking the mold of the repetitive red brick facades is another measure of Malene’s strength of character and determination.
The message here: Take the risk to be bold, break the rules and get noticed. Might just get you a tenant or a job.
I heard a familiar refrain this week. Something along the lines of, “Since I never heard back from “x” prospect, I decided to enroll in a course I’d been thinking of taking. I really got a lot out of it, and am moving forward in this new direction.”
Substitute any opportunity that pops into your life or notice when a door you wanted to have opened doesn’t. What are the alternatives?
As a Baby Boomer high school senior in the largest demographic to enter college, I was wait-listed at my first choice Mount Holyoke College and accepted at my safety school, George Washington University. Mount Holyoke had instituted a February Freshman program allowing wait-listed students the opportunity to enter college in the winter when early-graduating seniors would vacate rooms. I accepted that offer and attended GWU for one semester.
Since I wasn’t permitted to enroll in GW’s freshman English course, (MHC wanted to be sure I took theirs) I had to substitute something from another discipline. I chose a life drawing course. Mount Holyoke’s General Education requirements included studies in the arts, so I knew the credits would transfer.
I hadn’t been “allowed” to take art since 8th grade when it had been part of the curriculum. It wasn’t on the academic track at my high school, so I never took classes there. When I had to substitute a course at GW, I enrolled in a 9-hour life drawing course–three 3-hour sessions per week.
I never looked back. When I arrived at MHC I continued taking art and theatre courses which became my split major resulting in my first teaching job when I answered an ad for a stagecraft teacher in the art department at Westhill High School in Stamford, CT. Thirty years in my own art business began shortly after my two-year stint at Westhill.
Had I gotten into Mount Holyoke along with the rest of my class, would I have fallen in love with art the way I did during that intensive drawing class in DC? What I thought was the worst luck, not immediately getting into the college of my choice, turned into finding my life’s work.
Life is throwing a lot of curves these days. We are constantly at choice as to what to do with opportunities or the seeming lack of opportunities. I’m firmly convinced that following our passions and listening to our inner wisdom is the path to happiness. It may be a bumpy ride, but worth it.
