Melissa Rycroft

Why am I writing about a former contestant on the Bachelor?  Because I think she's pretty cool.  Her story is unique and everyone can clearly see she has recovered well from her bachelor days.  For those of you who may not be familiar with the events that happened, I'll do my best to update you as best I can.  It needs to be prefaced that I do not watch television at home.  Purposely, we decided not to have a t.v. because of how easy it is to just plop in front and stay there for hours.  I caught this episode of the bachelor and the follow up episode while I was visiting at a friend's house.  So, from what I know I'll share, which is the jist anyway.

Watch this video for a catch up...




So she gets dumped on national television.  Okay, being dumped is definitely a bad experience...PERIOD.  But let the record stand that being dumped in front of millions of people cannot feel good at all.  Here's the part where it starts to get interesting.

Melissa goes through that emotional trauma, then begins to come to her own.  This is why she's so cool.  She gets invited to be a guest on talk shows and even competed in "Dancing with the Stars".  For New Year's she hosted the Time Square New Year's show with Carson Dayley (and by the way is now happily married to someone other than that bachelor Jason fella).  As we were gathered around watching the New Year's countdown I couldn't help but feel happy for her.  She went through that heavy emotional time in her life but has obviously come out of it so well. 

Surely she's prospering and feeling great about life now.  The funny thing is, that the dump-er Jason is nowhere to be found.  He's just a little insurance salesman with his ego somewhere.  The best thing for Melissa was what happened, and it seems she's faring well because of it. 

I love people who can take a bad situation and make something great out of it.  No matter what it is or how it happened.  She could have easily turned down interviews and such because it "hurt" too much, but instead she bucked it up and made some great things happen in her life.  Hats off to Melissa Rycroft for being one of the cool people!

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Creating a Mission Statement

Having a personal mission statement has been on my list of things to do since for-eva ago!  I have always thought the concept of such a thing was valuable, since having direction and purpose always yields much more lasting and meaningful results.  I have come up with several demos and have thought them to be pretty good, however, never truly felt connected to any of them.

Last week I heard the quote: "A leader makes decisions quickly but changes her mind slowly."  This statement impacted me in regards to developing my mission statement.  I figure it is better to begin somewhere with one and then as I progress through my life I can evaluate how it is performing for me. 

What does a personal mission statement have to have in it in order to serve its purpose effectively?  Well, the deepest requirment I feel is the ability to make you think about the moves you make in life.  If you have a meaningful mission statement for your own life you will always be able to move from where you are to where you want to go because of the phrased you coined to lead your life.

Also, I think it is perfectly okay to borrow another mission statement.  If you hear a statement that rings very true for you then go ahead and use it as your own.  The purpose is that now you have a MISSION!  That you are not just a casualty walking aimlessly through this precious gift of life, but you have direction and purpose. 

Finally, a mission statement shouldn't be more than one or two sentences in length.  If you walk into some businesses you would see that they completely disagree with that.  You'll see some mission statements that are paragraph lengths long and very tediously padded with huge words.  Mission statements need to motivate you toward them, not bore you by sentence number forty four.

So what is my mission statement?  Drum roll please....

"To inspire people to move in the direction of their dreams by constantly moving in the direction of my dreams."

Is it a perfect final draft?  Most likely not.  However, instead of just continuously aiming for who knows what, now I can begin in a solid direction.  I want to inspire people to lead fulfilling lives and help them to feel free and to love life.  The best way I know to do that is by being an example of doing just that for myself.  Have you created a mission statement for your life?  Put one together today and live by it, remember you can always reevaluate and change it later, the important thing is to take action now.

To your dreams!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Holy of holies!  It is now TWO THOUSAND AND TEN!  I had to spell it out because my fingers are still a little slow in typing the 1-0 instead of the 0-9...craziness!  I for one am very excited about this new year!  It is a little strange how we place such a high emotion on a calendar day.  How all of a sudden we're enthusiastic about life just because it's now January 1st.  Poor December, it really gets the butt end of the deal.  I guess that's why Christmas is thrown in there...to make up for the timing!

As my hubby and I put together some goals for this year, one thing we came to realize is that this year is and only can be better than last.  Ever feel that way?  If for no other particular reason, then for the fact that we too have joined the throngs in excitement for this new-ness the new year brings us.  We're fired up about taking ownership to a new level.  Not just in business, but in life!  Ever hear the phrase Own or be Owned?  I believe it wholeheartedly and have committed to invest this coming year wisely.

Our theme for this year is.................

INTEGRITY

Yeppers.  Plain and simple.  I want to be the kind of person who is 100% reliable.  My word is my bond and I have to live and die by my commitments.  As I study successful people, one thing I see in common is the strength in their character.  More than anything I want to be that way.  This goal, above any other, seems the most daunting, so here we go.

What is your goal?  Whether or not you believe in the whole "resolution" thing is up to you, but when you focus on a direction, you're certain to get somewhere desirable.  When you focus on nothing...well, then who knows where you'll end up and what kind of a mess you'll look like when you get there.

Here's to a NEW YEAR...CHEERS TO 2010!

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