See March 6th for "The Oscars!"

3/28/06

Wow! 3+ inches of rain in less than half a day~ the dogs are terrified and the puddles are turning into lakes.  On tv we're seeing cars floating away on Shoal Creek!  

Are you prepared for an emergency of this type? Have you updated your coverage with your friendly insurance agent? What would you do if a Katrina-style storm hit YOUR neck of the woods! 

As the boyscouts say: Be Prepared!

3/27/06

Amy's out of ICU and Max is ready to have her home! Hopefully she's going to be well enough to be home soon - we're all keeping her in our thoughts and prayers! 

3/26/06

Too busy to blog? Well, yes - if you have some unexpected time constraints.  Last week, while driving home from the grocery store, I spiked an ambulance & fire-truck in front of an elderly neighbors home.  I ran over and as they took Amy out on a stretcher, I said "I'll take care of the dog! Don't worry!" and off they went. I tracked her down at the hospital and visited: sure enough, she's had a stroke.  It turns out she has no relatives in Austin, so now myself and a few friends are taking care of Max - a precocious little ...well, ball of fur!  He's adorable, but clearly "missing Mom" without Amy.

Are you prepared for an emergency of this type?  Especially - if you live alone!!?  We all can learn from this - a list of "emergency phone numbers" somewhere near the phone so a neighbor or friend can call those who should be called; maybe a list of lawyers and doctors!  You never know - if you're taken away by ambulance, is the person left behind someone who knows you well??

Be prepared!

3/13/06

Survivor

Ask me for one word to introduce myself and I won't choose "speaker" or "author" or even "runner" - even though I run almost every morning!  Even the word community activist is inadequate, even though I do consider myself such. 

I prefer to speak of myself as a survivor.  No one grows up expecting to be a victim - any type of victim, especially of domestic violence.  I can't tell you how many people have asked me - "did you now he was a batterer when your married him"?  Uh, duh. NO!  I wouldn't have married him.  I'm a survivor, because I've lived to tell about it. And tell about it I do!

I've come to realize that being a vocal survivor is somewhat of a calling.  Every day I get up and know that sometime, someplace, I'll have to bear my soul to some strangers, and admit the most embarrassing of things.  I let my husband beat me. For 3 years. Let him, because I didn't walk out at day one.

But, and yet, I am a survivor.  I am alive today because I did have the strength to walk out.  Let's face it, we all know of stories of those who didn't survive.  Nicole Simpson comes to mind of course, and there are countless others: stories we read in our local paper, or see flashed across the bottom of the screen on CNN…nameless, faceless - all victims.  Who didn't have the opportunity to become survivors.  There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people we all come into contact with every day, every year.  How many of them are being abused at home? The statistics are shattering.  If we all can keep your eyes and ears open just a bit more.  Keep an eye out for someone screaming for help who doesn't know how to ASK for help.  Give them a # for a hotline.  Give them an encouraging word.  Give them a bit of yourself!  Help make them into another survivor.

I write and speak about survivorship, of overcoming obstacles, as someone who has done just that.  Survival is something I can't get away form. It's a part of who I am.  It's part of me.  Would it be easier to block out those horrible years of my life? Just not talk about it, pretend it didn't happen?  HECK YES!

But that's not who I am.  I'm Susan Baughman, Survivor.  If you're out there right now struggling, just know it can be done! Get up! Get out! Survive!  We can all survive together.

 3/13/06

Motivate Yourself and Others

Who ever told you that life was fair?  Didn't we learn anything from Mick Jagger: You can't always get what you want!!  This is a factoid of life, ladies and gentleman. 

Yes, life is hard and life is not fair.  But no matter what hand life deals you - play it!!  If life deals you a lemon, make lemonade - or should I say, "make sure it's organic, and THEN make lemonade!"

I'm no different than you - I have known some good times, and I have known some hard times.  Maybe my hard times were harder than yours - but believe me, there are others whose hard times were A LOT worse than mine!! 

1) Try to focus on the good times, rather than the hard times, and you' will find that you have a lot of blessings a lot of tings for which to be thankful.

For example:  I got laid off from my last "real" job.  Now - this was totally unexpected; I was not really prepared for it, I had really JUST paid off my ex-husband's debts and was finally saving money of my own.  Then "pow!" I'm out of there.  Now, there were two choices I could have made: I could have freaked out, laid in bed all morning, maybe hung out at Starbucks if I finally dragged myself out of bed or:  I could make the most of it.  And make the most of it I did: I went on line, and signed up for the Dublin Marathon!!  I had no job, I didn't need to get permission to take vacation time, and I needed a goal to work towards that would get me out of bed.  That was it: non-refundable roundtrip airline tickets and I was set. 

I could NEVER have done that if was working full time!! I didn't have the vacation time to commit to a 10 day vacation.

Now - that's not the only thing I did - at the time, I was working part-time on my own as a speaker.  My agent met with me a few days after my layoff and said "I didn't want to tell you this while you were working full time, in case it made you quit your job: but I think you can make speaking a full time career - if you can buckle down, live frugally to start, and jump in with both feet".  I couldn't believe it - I had never imagined doing this full time - and yet here I am, 3 years later, and that's what I'm doing.  And my goal is this: to never work a "real" job again.

Don't get me wrong - there are certainly benefits you have that I could just salivate over: free medical insurance - my God!!  And stock options!! Amazing! And not having to pay both sides of Social Security - which I do envy you.  But I know for me, having the total freedom to say "yes or no" to a speaking gig or a training class is it for me!  I love that freedom of being able to succeed or fail, totally based on me!

2).  Stop Looking into the Rear View Mirror Stop dragging around past baggage.  Free yourself from the past - know when it's time to let go. 

Let's face it - each of us has a past.  Don't let your past and the baggage it might bring prevent you from reaching your "someday". Remember, sometimes we have to go through the bad times to better appreciate the good times…

We compare ourselves to others.  Steal a great idea that will work for you.
The Secret to success is getting noticed.  Remind them how good you are and what you did for them.

That voice in your head - pack its bags and send it to Timbuktu!!

"I was always looking for brunettes in a sea of blonds. Now, I'm always keeping an eye out for grey hairs!"

I feel like an ambassador for the silent victims of D.V.

"My mother who at the time drove me crazy god bless her I'm so glad she taught me this!!"

"You may not be able to change the direction of the wind, but if you need to you can tack and change the direction of the boat"

Talent - you have it, tap into it, use it

~~~~~~~~

3/6/06

The Oscars! Love 'em or hate 'em, they are a great opportunity to watch people giving speeches - acceptance speeches from the stage, and "it's just an honor to be nominated" speeches from the after parties.

There are some GREAT speaking tid-bits to learn from this years Oscars! Here are a few:

• One - be prepared, even if you don't think you have a snow-ball's chance of winning.  Because if you DO win and you don't have a file card in your pocket, with at least a few prompts - you'll look foolish. "what, he didn't think he was good enough?" is not what you want people mumbling about you later in the week.
• Two - be happy!  The winners of best song were dynamic, excited, thrilled, and just plain memorable! Enthusiasm sells! It sells your records, it sells your books, it sells YOU!
• Three - breathe!  This is your minute to shine - take a deep breath, look around at all your peers, and smile.  You'll look relaxed - even if you aren't! 
• Four - be gracious.  This is not the time to leave important people off the list because you're quarreling over this month's contract negotiation.  You look big if you thank the people who are causing you the most discomfort: believe me, people will know that you're the bigger person.
• Five - don't drink until you get home. Did anyone see the interview with Jack Nicholson? He was obviously tanked, and made a fool of himself.  He might be famous enough that it doesn't matter: are you??
• Six - what you wear, counts.  It's not just the "fashion police" that are critiquing what the attendees, presenters and winners are wearing, it's every single person that lays eyes on them.  Be prepared to look good, so wear something comfortable and that fits your image.  Is being on stage truly the right opportunity to re-recreate your image? No - you might just get lost.  Be very careful - and if you can, have someone take a photograph of you from afar to see how you look.  What looks great in the mirror from 3 feet away may look like a dust cloud (or worse) from 1000 feet away.

Next time you get the chance to see an awards ceremony, step back and listen to the people, as SPEAKERS.  Learn from the good ones - and the bad.

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