On moving…up, over and on

I remember when I was taking my last walk around our beautiful 10 acre property in Kansas, before we moved to Arizona.
It was December 1999. I heard a cardinal call in the distance, and…in my not surprising, but-oh-so-dramatic way…I thought to myself, “Well, that’s it then. The last bird song I’ll hear. They don’t have this in the desert.”
And, sure enough, I haven’t ever seen a cardinal in my back yard in the 12 years we have lived in Phoenix, Arizona. I have watched Road Runners skitter across my path; greeted the arrival of the quail parade each year; listened to owls hoot me to sleep and awakened with the mourning doves. I have never heard a cardinal here.
Each place in our lives, whether literally or figuratively, has its own song.
And now, I’m returning to a strain that is familiar, yet different.
Here’s what has happened in the past three short weeks.
We have gone from thinking I could make a separation from my spouse; a career vault that suddenly had no pommel horse (see What’s … Click here for the rest of the post

I’m Going Off Line

Remember the power of taking the phone off the hook?
Short of someone coming to the door (which happened back then), you had the power to isolate yourself. You could nap. You could let your babies nap. The rest of the outside world might just wonder who you were on the line with for so long, but they were still…outside.
Whether it’s because of all the communication technology at our disposal, or just our frantic need to stay informed, we have lost the art of disconnecting. We are lousy at drawing boundaries. And as a result, we are some frazzled folk.
Here’s the latest scoop…
Remember when I thought it wouldn’t be likely that I’d have any work as a facilitator over the next two months? Well…all that pathetic pity party was misplaced, because I picked up four weeks of substituting that will take me across the lower part of Florida (hello Bill Dorman… Click here for the rest of the post) and eventually to Atlanta (watch for me Laura DeMars!)
I just got back from the first week of travel. It was fun. I love meeting

Watch For It…

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When I wake up each day, I can see the sunrise through a window arch in our bedroom. This morning, the clouds looked as if they’d all had a generous helping of blush applied to their cheeks. They seemed to linger suspended there, as if the sunrise was waiting for my awe before continuing.
I came downstairs to the smell of coffee. (There are a few things I’ve perfected over the years as a working mom…mostly the aroma therapy benefits of coffee brewed via timer in the morning and the promise of something yummy coming from the crock pot when we walk in the door at the end of a long day.)
Next, I started my Pandora station and who should come on to usher me fully into the day but Bob Marley singing these words…
“Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right!”
Rise up this mornin’,
Smiled with the risin’ sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin’

A Man’s Gotta Do What A Man’s Gotta Do

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This morning, my husband left me. He saddled up and headed to Kansas.
He’s starting a new chapter. And while we’re still co-authors of our shared, amazing and abundantly blessed life together, for the next three years, we’ll be crafting our story over a gap of 853 miles.
So, while you all have noted my bravery and moxie for jumping into Life on the Lot and selling cars, I think it takes a lot more courage for one to load up his business suits, leave the comforts of home…even the irritating Wonder Dog…and head off alone to start a new law practice.
These times of recovery we’re experiencing mean many people are in the same boat. Many of you are reinventing yourselves and considering new opportunities as predictable and safe options are eliminated.
It’s always been entertaining to watch John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies with Greg. He recites most of the lines just ahead of their delivery. I hope some of those scripted bits of raw determination come back to him over the next few weeks. All of us

Are You Underemployed?

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No. You’re not. You’re employed.
I don’t mean to say, be grateful for any job because so many other people have none. I don’t want you to justify your experience in life by comparing yourself to others and living the “it could be so much worse” mentality. There’s no power or joy in that kind of thinking.
Instead, how about this. How about considering that where you are is where you are. Maybe not “where you’re meant to be” because, hello, who knows where you’re really supposed to be? Are you God? Just because something feels right doesn’t mean it is right. It just might be more comfortable or more in line with your expectations.
Wherever you are I can guarantee you this, there is something to be learned and there is something good to be done there.
If you go around thinking a job is beneath you or that you are underemployed, not only will you lose the chance to gain what you can from the experience, but you will insult all those around you.
In my second week

Lot Life…Week One

What I’ve learned in week one of selling cars…

I’m not bad at it. I sold five vehicles in seven days and I am a complete and total Green Pea… Click here for the rest of the post.

It’s exhausting work. The hours are incredibly long. There are no scheduled breaks or lunch hours. Days off are rare (six per month). Sales people go home to groceries to buy, kids who have homework and homes to maintain just like everyone else, but they are a much bigger target for condescending attitudes and mistreatment than the average hourly worker.

There is very little profit in new cars…at least in the brand I represent. In my car-buying past, I’ve relished negotiating the purchase price. Now I know I was truly just taking money out of the salesperson’s pocket. The dealership can make up profit selling a bed liner for your new truck or servicing your vehicle. The salesperson can’t.

Did you try to negotiate the price the last time you bought a sofa or coffee table? The mark up on furniture is about 400 times the mark up percentage

You don’t know Diddly, Squat or Shineola

What do you know and how do you know it?
… Click here for the rest of the postFor those of you who have been to my workshops, Ima is a familiar character.
Participants pass Ima around and tell me about her based on what little they know.
As they pass her around the room, I give Ima different labels…Tea Party Member, Alcoholic, CEO, Single Mother, Ridiculously Rich, Homeless, Rhodes Scholar, Liberal, Lesbian, Heroin Addict, Thin, Obese, High School Dropout…
You get the idea.
It’s interesting to watch people’s faces as they hear the labels. Some descriptors even cause participants to hold Ima at arm’s length. And she’s just a rock.
The point of the exercise is, labels tell us nothing. They may associate a person with a group. And that group may have certain common stereotypes. Still, you know nothing about a person because you’ve heard of, read about or previously encountered another individual with similar characteristics. The only way to know someone is to…here it is, big revelation…get to know them!
So…participants in my presentations learn to ask fact-gathering, relationship-building questions until they learn Ima’s true

Was it bad or good? You get to decide.

… Click here for the rest of the postThe warning signs life provides us for personal rough roads may not appear to be this clear, but there are warnings just the same.
I just have trouble heeding them.
The Merediths just experienced the third summer in a row of some really crumby, character-building business news. While the latest setback came as a tremendous shock and a pretty big setback to our sense of forward motion, I can’t really say it came as a surprise. The signs were there…we just failed to heed them.
When your inner voice is telling you not to go into business with someone, you should listen. There is no way to avoid hard work, accountability and sacrifice when you build a business and you should always make sure your business partners are willing to operate from that platform.
Enough said.
Moving On.
One of the exciting things about the new chapter in our lives is that Greg and I are working our way to higher ground together relying only on each other. Well…we’re also relying on God…and the love and support of our families…but