The Best Job In Twitterville

The best jobs are the ones you don't have to apply for or ask permission to have. The Dancing Believe Act Go Lady has proclaimed her position as Twitter Jockey in the town of Twitterville.

Expanding on a concept from Angela Shelton, The Dancing B*a*g Lady will put a new perspective on songs that will make them more empowering and self relevant as we quest for more joyful lives.

Listen in at @believeactgo. Hope you catch her in cyperspace.

"This is Major B*a*g Lady to ground control. I'm leaving the capsule now. Do I dare? Yes I do. Leaping in the air. Floating on Faith"

I Hope I Get Your Voicemail

Oh good, I am rounding the curve, out of the "dead zone". I was on my way home from work and thought I would call my friend Rosi(E) Beachy(E). Some time ago, I had started to place an E at the end of her first name. I guess subconsciously I thought she had a great anchor woman name. "And now back to the newsroom, with Rosi(eee) Beachy(eee). Rosi(eee), what's the update on our late breaking news flash?" This is a friend that gave me a birthday that reads, "Happy Birthday to someone who's just the right amount of weirdness for me." I always tell my kids that when somebody calls you weird take it as a compliment, even when that wasn't the intention. Ya saying that Rosi gets to see and hear my "weird" from time to time is an understatement.

She had moved to the east coast a while back, taking a sales position with our employer. With her new position she was spending more time traveling in her car, a car equipped with XM radio tuned into "Oprah Radio". We'd give each other our best Maya Angelou and Dr. Robin voiced advise during our phone conversations. The chances that I would catch her in her car was high.

As far as transparency goes, I'm pretty see through. You know, the kind of revealing that is mysterious. I could use a negligee analogy, but that would be weird. Yah I know, go with it. There's a time to reveal just enough and a time to reveal it all. Listen and you will know when and with whom to reveal.

"Happy Birthday to someone who's just the right amount of weirdness for me." Rosi brings out a side in me that I love, but many times question. Why question it? That's weird in an irrational kind of way. As I started to discover my B*a*g I had to make a commitment to being a better friend, which required me to share me with my friends. There were friends that embraced "me" even when it seemed a bit outrageous. There were friends that would just knod and smile. They didn't really get it and that's fine too. Rosi gave me that birthday card at the beginning of my re-birthing process. She probably doesn't even know the magnitude of her gift. She said to me that I was "ok".

Rounding the corner out of the dead zone. I better call Rosi before I forget. 70's on 7 was blasting from the radio. "Gee I hope I get her voicemail." It's 6 o'clock her time and she's probably enjoying diner with her family. It's important to have family time and not answer the phone. Glen Campbell is blasting....

I've been walkin' these streets so long
Singin' the same old song
I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of Broadway
Where hustle's the name of the game
And nice guys get washed away like the snow and the rain
There's been a load of compromisin'
On the road to my horizon
But I'm gonna be where the lights are shinin' on me

Like a rhinestone cowboy
Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo
Like a rhinestone cowboy
Getting cards and letters from people I don't even know
And offers comin' over the phone

The next day on the way to her next sales calls, Rosi gets my voicemail. The Dancing B*a*g Lady had left her another weird voicemail. It put a smile on her face and spring in her step. Ever time I hear that song I think of Rosi and am inclined to leave her a musical voicemail.

Pave the streets of your success with friends who accept and embrace YOU. There will be less compromising on the roads to your horizons. I LOVE YOU Rosi(eee) Beachy(eee). You're one BIG rhinestone in my hat.

A Standard of Excellence - "Its a Good Thing"

Having worked 22 years for a successful, corporate manufacturing company, I know a little bit about standards. There are two things you can do with a set of standards; put them in a binder and stick them on a shelf OR live them.

The fact that I am standing in front of door at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia isn't extraordinary. I mean it's pretty cool, but honestly hundreds upon thousands of people have passed this door, right? Its just a door with a logo or...... maybe not.

Here's a very short story on how I came upon this door with a "logo". There once was a woman who had a list. She checked everything off the list. She was rendered exhausted and unfulfilled. She went to the doctor. The doctor said she needed to lose the baby apartment. Surgery led to an off ramp from the "American" dream. The busy mom, wife, career woman thought she would start her own business. She worked her ass off and learned a whole bunch of new stuff. She was meeting new people. She stopped doing the business to start writing a blog. A stranger left a comment on her blog. This woman connected with that stranger and started volunteering her time to her nonprofit. The founder of the nonprofit won Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doers people choice award. Some members of the Dreamers into Doers community suggested meeting in NYC. The founder of the nonprofit suggested that if we were going to be in NYC, we should make a difference for women living in a domestic abuse shelter. The Dreamers into Doers community rallied together to gather donations of beautiful things for the women of Safe Horizons. Dreamers into Doers gather with the women living at the shelter and share lunch, stories and their hearts. A cooking demonstration preceded the luncheon. A live taping of the Martha Stewart Show and tour of her media company proceeded the luncheon.

The door. The logo. Martha Stewart is a woman, a brand, but more importantly Martha Stewart stands for excellence. Excellence doesn't happen by accident. My Martha Stewart experience reminds me about the difference between putting standards into a binder and living it. Every person we interacted with at Martha Stewart Living OmniMedia knew their mission and the standard. They did their jobs well and with conviction.

Martha Stewart is Martha Stewart. She is a woman with standards. If you want to work for Martha Stewart Living OmniMedia, I suspect you go into the job knowing the the objectives and expectations. Take them or leave them. When you expect the best and get the best.

Listen very carefully. Do what you love. Do it very well. Make your expectations and standards of excellence known. If you are so inclined expand your passion requiring you to hire the best, who are passionate about what they do and have them do it with you. Quality first. Quantity second. You don't have to build an empire. Just start by filling in these blanks. I will make the very best _____. I will be the very best _____.
Learn more about how I came to be at Martha Stewart Living OmniMedia by watching the video of my speech I gave during the luncheon. Learn more about the Dreamers into Doers Community facilitated by MSLO. Meet all the Dreams into Doers who attended the two day event.
A standard of excellence. It's a good thing.

More Scavenger Hunt than Map ~ Hunting Precious Metals

The next time you are in bed and can't sleep because you have ideas and dreams dancing in your head, there is only one thing to do. Get out of bed, find every magazine in the house and start flipping through the pages. Pull out words and pictures that resonate with ideas and dreams in your head. Go to bed. The next day prepare to arrange your pictures and words onto a foam core poster board. I recommend this type of poster board because it is rigid and will stand up better.


January 2009 I got out of bed at 3 am and made the vision board pictured above, which proclaims, "From OC to NYC." I am going to NYC next week to speak at a special celebration for women who live at Safe Horizon Shelter, which is being hosted by Martha Stewart Living Omni Media. Many women have come together to make this happen. Much more is planned for the 2 day event and I will share more with you after I return.


Last week I was invited to contribute to The Survivor Manual website. It is supported by Angela Shelton and the Angela Shelton Foundation. Angela Shelton lives in California. I will be supporting the empowerment of survivors of sexual and domestic abuse to live joyful lives.


Since the January 2009 vision board creation, I have made one trip to Chicago and two trips to Detroit. I will be in NYC next week, Kansas City is on the itinerary for March and Asheville in October. When I dreamt of a Traveling Sanctuary my heart knew it meant I would be expanding my territory, as I constantly had dreams about boarding planes.


Attending church this Sunday, I asked for a sign that I was on the right path and God said, "OK" and gave me a loving slap on the face. The service was titled "Celebrate Recovery". Here is one song meant just for me entitled, Sanctuary. Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. With thanks giving I will be a living sanctuary for You.

One is not driven by their purpose, one is led by their purpose. It's like you have a magnet in your heart and as you face different directions, people and places, you will feel a tug as you face your own precious metals. Trust the tug. Let it lead you, like my nose leads me to cooking bacon.

Pass the Buck ~ What the Cluck?

You've heard the expression, Pass the Buck, right? I mean if somebody wanted to pass me an actual buck, hey that would be cool. A few thousand would be really nice. On the contrary, let's take, The Buck Stops Here! Its the kind of statement Presidents and people in a position of power make. I've had the pleasure of knowing a handful of leaders who didn't need to make the statement. Their actions spoke louder than those words ever could.


Well, of course I'm not talking about actual bucks. I'm talking about passing along blame, waste, complacency and responsibility. "I didn't say it was your fault. I said I was going to blame you." I hear my son say to me, "You made me mad, that's why I yelled," Ever heard, "So and so pissed me off." No actually, you just pissed on yourself. Can't you see that? I have to confess that I've dribbled on myself more than once, figuartively and literally.

Let's take the seemingly harmless act of not putting your shopping cart into the tidy chart coral at the local grocery store parking lot. I know this annoys many people, including my husband. I have also become less tolerant of what just seems like laziness.

When I see a lonely cart stranded, I see a person who doesn't think much about themselves. That makes me sad. I wonder if Wal-Mart charts the cost to pay employees to chase down stranded carts. Here's a quick calculation. There are 3700 Wal-Marts nationwide. If each store had 5 carts per day and it took 2 minutes to retrieve each one and that employee made $7 per hour that costs Wal-Mart $1.5 million dollors annually. Hey pass me those bucks any day.

So if you abandon carts we forgive you. It feels good to place your cart neatly into the coral. Its not about being self righteous. Its about feeling good about doing your part. Simple, right? While you're at, let's think about using those reusable shopping bags.


Now onto more serious matters. I follow the Darkness to Light blog. Darkness2Light is the world's leading non-profit working to prevent child sexual abuse. With over 1,800 trained educational instructors in eleven countries, and an award winning media campaign, they're doing their utmost to make the world a safer place for children. Their blog gives us the ability to show you what they're doing on a daily basis to end child sexual abuse.

Recently they posted a calculator that estimated the cost of not preventing childhood sexual abuse.

Being complacent about serious issues that expose vulnerable victims to predators causes one to pause and sometimes act. Most of the time all it takes is gaining some knowledge to make an impact. Education is an emphasis of Darkness to Light.


Within your circle of influence, where could the buck stop with you? And within the realm of your God given talents, what could you contribute and find joy at the same time? So the next time you have been passed a "travel weary buck" for which you have the influence, time and talent to stop, do yourself a big favor. STOP IT! The empowerment will pay you an infinite currency. Heck, you just may be saving major bucks and sweet little clucks. Start small and work your way up from there. You have something great and special to give.

Fuel Your Believe Act Go Traveling Sanctuary

When you create a sanctuary within your heart you can take it with you everywhere. When you travel with the intention of sharing that sanctuary with others, they find the sanctuaries within their hearts. Traveling Sanctuaries(tm) create physical sanctuaries, which fuels the Traveling Sanctuaries(tm). Many times when others observe you're being a Traveling Sanctuary(tm) they think to themselves, "I'm having what she's having." And so goes the glorious cycle. Kind of like the chicken and the egg. If you think about it too hard you get confused. Don't think. Do!

Here's a visual example of what can happen when you fuel your Believe Act Go Traveling Sanctuary and share.



Love you sister! Thank you for sharing your fuel.

"Mom, You're a Dork!" We Have Proof.

This is what I hear from children who have a sick sense about things, "Mom, you're a dork." We should listen to our children more and embrace their wisdom.

Yes, when I embrace my dorkiness I am being led by my purpose. I am the happiest when I'm the Dorky Dancing B*a*g Lady. I do find myself thinking to myself from time to time, "I wish I could be more like this lady or that lady." I do know several amazing ladies. I know they are amazing because they let is show and aren't trying to be some other amazing lady. Let's be inspired and motivated by them to be ourselves, rather than wishing we were them.

Just as we make poor imitations of men, we make poor imitations of other women. Honestly, when I preview my Talking with my Traveling Sanctuary Videos, before posting them, I say to myself, you should have been more yourself, which means I should have been more dorky.
 

Here's proof that I can unleash the dork and a reminder to fuel the dork.

Duh-Um

Close but no Bananas

Fruit Tuity

My daughter doesn't like to admit it, but she's a dork just like her mother. Sometimes we do the most fun kind of Dork Dances together. Not literally a dance, but more of an improvisational dork show. We have our dork voices. I wish she would let me video tape these moments, but I respect her privacy. I will nurture her dork in a non-obvious kind of way.

Be aware of those "Oh Yes" moments and note what you are doing when they happen. Its the YES from inside not the yes from outside forces. Those are YOUR dorky moments. Embrace them and repeat them.

I am woman. I will be a dork!