Confessions of a Chocoholic

When I was seven years old I saw the movie The Sound of Music. I dreamed of traveling to Switzerland, singing with Julie Andrews and the vonTrapp kids in the fields of wildflowers surrounded by snow-covered mountaintops. I wanted to see the Matterhorn, ride a funicular on the steep train tracks up the side of a mountain and eat chocolate. Wait—did I mention that I wanted to eat chocolate? And lots of it!

My first trip to Europe was to Austria and Germany. I visited St. Peter’s Graveyard in Salzburg, which was the model for the cemetery in the Sound of Music. However, I still dreamed of the Swiss Alps.

The next year my friend, Kathy, invited me to go skiing in Switzerland but I told her that I was not able to go. Three days before she was to leave on her trip, the Today show was doing a feature called Where in the World is Matt Lauer—he was in Switzerland. I emailed Kathy and told her to watch it when she woke up.

She emailed back, “Come with me, come with me.” Again, I told her I couldn’t go. Kathy pleaded with me because her friend was not able to make the trip. Although a frequent flyer ticket at that late date seemed impossible, I told her I would try. To our surprise, I was on the plane three days later travelling to a place I had dreamed of for so long!

After 15 hours of travel, we stepped off of the train in Interlaken, Switzerland. Our first stop was the grocery store. I was in chocolate heaven. The aisles went as far as I could see with three levels of different kinds of chocolate candy. Kathy suggested the 10-pound bag. I said that was too much, but she reasoned that we could give it as gifts to people when we returned home.

Ten days later, as we are packing our suitcases, Kathy said we needed to buy chocolate to give as gifts. I said, “No, remember we bought plenty.” She replied, “Someone ate it!” And that was how our chocoholism was self-diagnosed.

Obviously, sweets and chocolate were an important part of my life. Unfortunately, my father had age onset diabetes. It is hereditary, which means I’m also susceptible.

Today’s gift was a donation to the American Diabetes Association that has a matching gift program until August 15^th. When they find a cure, people like me will be able to enjoy their chocoholic binges without worrying about diabetes.

In Giving,

Robin

No Regrets

Motivational speaker Dan Clark wrote this story in his book, Chicken Soup for the College Soul:

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.”

“If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets." She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose.

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

I love an encouraging story. A Facebook friend posted another inspiring story about a Southern Oregon filmmaker, Gary Lundgren, who is funding his newest movie. Today’s gift was a donation to the movie due out in 2015 called Black Road. You can see a preview here. Just like Rose, Gary will have no regrets because he pursued his dreams.

In Giving,

Robin

The Rose sung by Bette Midler. 

Words to the song The Rose:

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.

Stop That

Maxine, the comic strip character has a lot to say about life:

1.   “After a certain age, if you don’t wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead.”

2.   “Take every birthday with a grain of salt. This works much better if the salt accompanies a large margarita”.

3.   “It’s scary when you start making the same noises as your coffeemaker.”

4.   “My memory’s not as sharp as it used to be. Also my memory’s not as sharp as it used to be”

5.   “To stay relaxed in today’s frantic, stressful world, you have to force yourself to stop & put your feet up. I put mine up just high enough to kick the butt of whoever’s annoying me.”

6.   “ I don’t see the glass as half-empty or half-full. I see it as a glass somebody else has already put their lousy germs on.”

7.   “Real women don’t have hot flashes, they have POWER SURGES!!”

8.   “I’ll carpool when I can find three people who don’t talk, sweat, whistle, or use cologne.”

9.     “I enjoy wallpapering, it gives me a chance to brush up on the swear words I haven’t used in a while.”

10.  “Caffeine is for people who feel they aren’t irritable enough on their own.”

11.  “Sometimes the days just fly by—except for the day when you have to wait for the cable guy.”

12.  “Found something at the swimsuit shop I was really comfortable in. The dressing room.”

13.  “I like to give advice to young parents: but “Muzzle that screamin’ brat!” isn’t very well received.”

14.  “If I had a nickel for every time I’ve misplaced my keys, there’d be a jarful of money that I’d also have to look for.”

15.  “Sometimes work can be stressful. Especially for people that work with me.”

16.  “Aging, like fine wine, means spending a lot of your time on your side, lying down.”

I don’t know if aging is like a fine wine, but people who open a bottle of wine need something to replace the cork to help preserve what is leftover. Today’s gift was to give our friend Mary Liz a hand painted wine stopper. Now, what would Maxine say about stopping that?

In Giving,

Robin 

Changing the World One Community at a Time

Dominic is changing the community that he is so passionate about. Today’s gift was to agree to be on a nonprofit whose mission is to revitalize the Klamath Falls Community. Dominic’s selflessness encourages us all to change our own community for the better.

In Giving,

Robin

Showing the Love

Hundreds of signs printed with the word “Love” are hanging on utility poles in New Orleans crime ridden areas. The artists who are responsible planted the signs using maps from the city’s police department. They will cross-reference the locations with crime statistics to see whether the signs had a positive effect on the area.

The pair of artists, who choose to remain anonymous, say that they just want to spread love. They said that their project is meant to be a “social experiment.” “I believe the power of language and words can transform,” one of the artists told CBS news. "And the more you think it, the more you speak it, the more real it becomes."

The artists, who are both unemployed, said they had received a small inheritance. Instead of spending the money for personal use, they undertook this experiment.

When I found old paint cans in our garage it was tempting just to throw the cans in the garbage can. Instead . . .

Today’s gift was to take our old paint to be recycled. It will be made into concrete. Even though I am not hanging “Love Signs” I am showing the love to Mother Earth. By not discarding things in the landfill that can be used for another product, it will complete the cycle of use and reuse (cradle to cradle).

In Giving,
Robin

How to be Fascinating

Today was the final day of the National Speakers Association convention. My head is filled with new ideas. I listened to the best motivators in the world and I’m ready to get started implementing the new ideas.

One speaker, Sally Hogshead, created a personality assessment called the Fascination Advantage. Other assessments like Meyers Briggs, DiSC, Colors tell you how you see the world. This one, however, describes how the world sees you. I completed it one year ago when I heard her speak for the first time. Today her speech gave me ideas on new ways to use it.

In her presentation she offered a code to take the assessment for free for us to share with our friends—a $37 value. She said that it is a type of pay-it-forward. After my friends take it, they will then receive a code to give to their friends and colleagues.

So, instead of reading any more of my blog, take five minutes and go enjoy today’s gift by taking the assessment. Go to https://portal.howtofascinate.com/you and enter the code BL-SpeakerRobin. 

My archetype is The People's Champion, which is a combination of Passion and Power, but I have a lot of Prestige, too. Tell me about your style and we can be fascinating together!

In Giving,

Robin

You Can See it in the Stars

Living in a rural area means that we have an incredibly beautiful star-filled, nighttime sky. Last weekend, after an enjoyable dinner with friends, we went outside to look at the sky and made a lame attempt to name the constellations and planets. I thought about funny things people have said about stargazing:

• Science teachers at one high school have an annual star party. One of the kids peered through the scope and adjusted the focus knob. Then he asked where the brightness control was because Mars wasn't bright enough.
• An astronomy club hosted a party to watch a lunar eclipse. One of the adults said, "This is a great event, but couldn't you have scheduled it earlier in the evening for kids who have to go to school tomorrow?"
• I’m a Pisces, what is your astronomical sign?
• Good thing that I don’t believe in astronomy.
• There is practically no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television, or radio service inside the United States. T. Craven, FCC commissioner, in 1961

 

None of our comments about the starry sky were quite this ridiculous. Today’s gift was to buy our friends an astronomy book so they will be able to look up and see what is written in the stars.

In Giving,

Robi