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From Tragedy to Triumph: Holocaust Survivor Edith Lucas Pagelson

Edith wrote Against All Odds: A Miracle of Holocaust Survival for her children and grandchildren. She put the unthinkable into words, focusing on the power to persevere and underscoring that even when life looks bleak “you can overcome any challenge that life may present, and know that when there is life there is hope.”

Through a series of what she refers to as “miracles,” Edith and her mother survived the Holocaust, enduring the most horrific challenges imaginable. Transferred from death camp to concentration camp to labor camp, their determination to stay together and stay alive kept these two Holocaust survivors from succumbing to the degrading treatment and conditions they faced for more than three years. Strong-willed and high-spirited, they met every challenge put to them and found themselves benefiting from “miracle” after “miracle.”

Edith has masterfully told her tale of tragedy and triumph. She has drawn the perfect balance between telling enough of her story to draw us in without telling such a devastating story that we turn away – no easy task when recounting the story of being displaced from her home by the Nazis for three years and five months. Her loss was great – the death of her father, the loss of her childhood, separation from family, friends, and home. But her gratitude was equally great – she was with her mother every step of the way for those three years and five months.

Edith and her mother drew strength from one another as they fought for their lives. At one point finding herself face to face with Dr. Josef Mengele, Edith realized the only way to save her mother’s life was to convince him that her mother was strong, healthy, and a good worker. Mission accomplished, and the mother-daughter team remained together and returned to what was left of their homeland together.

Edith’s life continued to be filled with a mix of tragedy and triumph after she and her mother traveled to the United States. She has “rebuilt [her] life surrounded by love” through two wonderful marriages, two children, and ten grandchildren. At 88 years of age Edith lives in Southern Maine close to her daughter and continues to share her story when invited to speak at schools, church groups, and community organizations. The proceeds of her book are donated to the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. While Edith wrote this book for her children and grandchildren, it is a beautiful gift for the rest of us as well.

From Tragedy to Triumph: Holocaust Survivor Edith Lucas Pagelson was last modified: June 2nd, 2015 by Deb Nelson

Do You Know Your Audience(s)? Are You Sure?

When was the last time you confirmed whom you want to reach with your messaging? Has your business focus and audience changed / expanded / contracted over the past year?

Your business is humming along. You’re meeting your sales goals. You’re following your business plan (or at least what you remember of your business plan). Still, you’ve got this nagging feeling you’re missing something – that there may be even more people who could benefit from your products or services.

Take a lesson from Dr. Christiane Northrup and look at those you’ve identified as your target audience(s). Northrup is a leading authority on women’s health and wellness who has “spent [her] my career helping women get healthy and stay healthy through proper diet, exercise, medicine, and a positive attitude about their bodies.” Realizing that younger girls could also benefit from her wisdom, she and Kristina Tracy wrote Beautiful Girl: Celebrating the Wonders of Your Body. It is the authors’ “hope that this book will be a starting point in a much longer conversation between you and your daughter . . . that will lead to a lifetime of vibrant health and happiness.”

By writing this book, Northrup provided a valuable product for a both a new and existing audience that was in sync with her mission. While she could have continued to focus on women’s health and wellness, Northrup was smart and brave enough to look at her work through a different lens. She was the able to see that she could add a new audience to her business and share her wisdom with young girls. The beauty of this book is that it also helps her existing audience – mothers – talk with their daughters.

Can you take a step back, as Northrup did, to ask the tough questions and identify additional audiences that can benefit from your wisdom?

Do You Know Your Audience(s)? Are You Sure? was last modified: May 26th, 2015 by Deb Nelson

Opportunity Knocks: Are You Brave Enough to Open the Door?

Will you venture outside of your comfort zone to take
a chance on change?

One of the most dangerous words in our vocabulary is comfortable. Life is rolling along at a pretty good pace; work is going well; family life is humming along, too. Yes, we’re comfortable. Now what?

Will that comfortable feeling – no tug of war pushing us to adjust our life – also keep us from investigating an opportunity?

Will that comfortable feeling get old quickly and move you to push the envelope?

Wikipedia defines comfort zone as: “a psychological state in which a person feels familiar, at ease, in control, and experiences low anxiety. A person in this state uses a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.”

The way I see it, spending too much time in my comfort zone can lead to a mundane life, leaving me wondering “What if?” all too often. The story of my life will be a dreary one if I fail to exit my cozy little comfort zone. Sometimes you’ve just gotta answer that knock on the door and take a leap of faith.

What about you? Are you listening for opportunity or stuck in the comfort zone?

Opportunity Knocks: Are You Brave Enough to Open the Door? was last modified: May 5th, 2015 by Deb Nelson

Be Different

As we share the stories of our business, we’re encouraged – even pressured – to highlight the differences between our business and that of our competitors. Surprisingly, though, we’re still encouraged – even pressured – to blend into the crowd in our personal lives.

So today, I invite you to join me in taking a pledge to be different:

Be Different

Be Bold

Be Purposeful

Be True to Yourself

As we make this commitment to honoring ourselves, it’s equally important to honor others who are sharing their different selves:

Be Respectful

Be Open

Be Receptive

Be Tolerant

I would love to hear how embracing your different self – in your business and personal lives – works for you.

Be Different was last modified: April 14th, 2015 by Deb Nelson

April Fool’s Challenge: Swim, Bike, or Run Every Day of the Month

Yes, once again I realize that desperate times call for desperate measures. After training for and running a 10-mile race last year, I sprained my ankle. What a great reason excuse to take a break from running. Whoops – it’s now been five months, and I’ve run no more than a dozen times: a far cry from at least three runs a week. Now. . . let the challenge begin.

Goal setting is, indeed, a lovely thing. Goals provide motivation to achieve something important – as long as the goals are challenging, realistic, and meaningful. For me, setting a goal to swim, bike, or run fits the bill on all three counts:

Challenging: I am the perfect example of the theory that objects at rest tend to stay at rest. I can easily park myself down with a good book and just dig deeper into a comfy chair for hours at a time. I’ll also be traveling a bit during the month of April so I’ll have to schedule ahead of time how I’m going to carve out time to get my exercise on. Swimming is not my thing, and I’ve avoided the pool for a couple of years now, so it’ll be back to the water for me! I also generally build in rest days, so this will be a bit different for me.

Realistic: I’ve trained for a 10-mile run and sprint triathlons, so I know I can set a goal around athletic achievements and meet that goal. This challenge also fits perfectly with the SMART goal-setting model. The goals are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Another key to ensuring success is that I’ve also got an accountability partner to make sure I stay on track. Excel spreadsheet documenting progress is ready to go. Game on!

Meaningful: Once I get in the groove for training, I’m soooo much more productive at work and home. I feel better, sleep better, work better, play better.

Planning this April Fool’s Challenge, I realized that I approached it the same way I would approach setting goals for my business. Make the plan. Work the plan. Celebrate the results.

Do you have a different approach for work and personal life goals? Let me know how you motivate yourself to achieve personal and professional goals in the comments below or contact me directly here. Better yet, join me with a challenge of your own in April and keep me posted on your progress!

April Fool’s Challenge: Swim, Bike, or Run Every Day of the Month was last modified: March 30th, 2015 by Deb Nelson

Dreams Do Come True

Yes, these dreams we dream do come true. They don’t come true because we have a thought and throw it out to the universe. These dreams come true because we are moved to action to make sure they do come true.

The first time I thought of writing a book, I was just a kid. I had written a short story for a school assignment – a contest to write the scariest Halloween story. And then the impossible happened: my story won!!

At that moment, my fifth-grade self decided that I would be a writer. It took a mere 40 years for me to act on that decision. Driving home a few years ago, I had an idea for a book. This book would share stories of people who changed their lifestyle following a cancer diagnosis. No, I hadn’t had a cancer diagnosis myself that changed the course of my life. I read a book that included a phrase: “It is impossible for cancer to develop in an alkaline environment.” I folded the page over, did some research, and learned a lot about the power we have when faced with a serious health situation.

This one phrase rekindled a sense of curiosity to find out more about cancer. Was there really more to treatment than surgery, chemo, and radiation? You betcha! Do we really have the ability to influence the ways our genes present? Oh. My. Goodness. Yes we do!

I’ve read more books on cancer than I would have thought possible, gone to conferences filled with inspiring speakers, and talked with cancer conquerors from all parts of the country. The generosity of these cancer survivors to share their stories is overwhelming. As I continue to gather information for my book sharing some of these stories, I decided to release an eBook to lend a hand to those who have been diagnosed with cancer. Download the free eBook, Heal Your Cancer: 12 Bold Questions to Ask on Your Journey to Health, here and share it with anyone you know who might benefit from it.

My fifth-grade dream is becoming a reality – thanks to my action and the support of friends, family, and a group of amazing cancer conquerors. I’d love to hear how you’ve made your dreams come true. Contact me directly, or leave your comment below.

Dreams Do Come True was last modified: December 1st, 2016 by Deb Nelson

Choosing Abundance

We make choices every day. And every day, I choose to live in a world of abundance.

Sometimes it seems that we make our lives more complicated than we need to. How many small treats do we fail to notice / acknowledge when we focus on something larger than life?

Get real. Life is a series of little moments. Make the most of your moments by having some lighthearted fun.

In The Art of Abundance, Candy Paull suggests that we if we actually focus on these small joys, we’ll realize what a world of abundance we have surrounding us:

Abundance is . . . a wiggling tail-wagging puppy.

Abundance is . . . learning how to ride a bike.

Abundance is . . . air-conditioning in a hot climate.

Abundance is . . . a pure white seashell you discover on the beach.

Paull also proposes that we spend entirely too much time “waiting for tomorrow.” Lessons here? Open your eyes, appreciate what’s right in front of you, do not become paralyzed by fear. In this world where we have so many choices, the only wrong choice is making no choice at all.

So…get out there, play while you’re at work, and write the story of your life that suits you best.

Choosing Abundance was last modified: December 1st, 2016 by Deb Nelson

10 Tips to Get More Followers – Courtesy of Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick

If sharing is caring, Kawasaki and Fitzpatrick are the King and Queen of caring.

Hubspot’s Amanda Sibley hosted a webinar featuring Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick a/k/a The Dynamic Duo of Social Media. This was a no-nonsense webinar packed with useful information. Here are the Duo’s 10 Tips to Get More Followers:

Be Valuable
– Inform, assist, and entertain your followers
– Pass the reshare test: create content people want to share with
their followers
– Embrace the NPR model: check their tweets out; you’ll want to be
just like them
Be Clever
– Piggyback onto existing services (Kawasaki’s Alltop.com, for example, where content is ready and waiting)
– Share what’s already popular – in a timely fashion
– Use lists, circles and communities – take advantage of existing groups
Be Gracious
– Show a little social love and share other people’s content
– Give thanks if someone shares your content or provides content you find valuable
– Stay positive or stay silent
Be Organized
– Use the right tool: Buffer, Sprout Social, Hootsuite
– Create a calendar
– Be consistent
Be Dramatic
– Add visuals
– Add text on top of visuals
– Add user-generated content
Be Optimal
– Perfect your profile – your face for profile pic; photo that tells story for cover photo
– Add share buttons: make it easy for your followers to spread your content
– Use optimal visual sizes for each social media forum: use largest photo
size possible to make your photo stand out
Be Bold
– Take a stand on an issue
– Express your personality
– Be topical and timely: jump into the conversation when it’s hot
Be Tough
– Embrace complaints
– Ignore trolls: you’ll come to recognize them soon enough
– Go three rounds: let the conversation go – three responses show that
you paid attention, and engaged your audience
Be Active
– Be calm and post often
– Repeat your tweets – Yes, repeat your tweets – 3x, every eight hours
– Get on Pinterest
Be Curious
– Experiment constantly
– Watch what others do
– Use incognito mode

Over-delivering on their promise of sharing their top 10 tips, Kawasaki and Fitzpatrick also let us in on a few power tips:

You can add up to four pictures with each tweet; one picture will double your engagement.
You can tag photos in your tweets and names tagged will not count as part of your 140 characters.
Upload your video directly to Facebook rather than embedding a YouTube video on Facebook
Promoting posts on Facebook is inexpensive and effective.
In their continuing education, Kawasaki and Fitzpatrick are experimenting with paying to promote on Pinterest.

Put these tips in place, and I suspect your audience will grow and become more engaged. Keep me posted, and let me know about your success.

10 Tips to Get More Followers – Courtesy of Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick was last modified: February 19th, 2015 by Deb Nelson

Wrestling with Your Approach to a Challenge? No Problem. Go Snowshoeing.

Here in the Northeast, we’ve been the recipients of an abundance of snow. It provides a beautiful landscape, opportunity for great recreation, and insight in approaching work challenges.

Yes, that’s right. Snow is offering up assistance to work challenges – and I’m not talking taking the day off because there’s too much of this white fluffy stuff in your driveway. What I mean is that the snow encourages us to get out of our routine, day-to-day activities, open our eyes, and let our mind wander.

Take a look at these two photos to the right; they are pictures of the same pile of snow. From one direction, the snow resembles a cat of the ferocious variety. From another angle, though, this clump of snow looks more like a sea lion or walrus. How many of your challenges at work could benefit from being seen through a different lens? Do a little upfront analysis by:

Having a conversation or two with people from other departments.
Collecting input from current and/or prospective clients.
Gaining insight of advisors who have
been there, done that.

Taking a literal seat on the other side of the table will help you:

See things from others’ prospective / point of view.
Identify opportunities you hadn’t realized existed.
Visualize impact of your actions.
Reduce trial and error.
Minimize unintended consequences.
Eliminate poor choices.
Build a coalition of support within your team / organization.
Map out strategic / purposeful path.
Position yourself to respond to unintended consequences.
Accomplish your goals more efficiently.

Go sit in someone else’s chair, go snowshoeing, have a conversation with a co-worker or colleague; and see how your perspective changes.

Let me know how you make sure you get the input you need to meet a challenge.

Wrestling with Your Approach to a Challenge? No Problem. Go Snowshoeing. was last modified: February 9th, 2015 by Deb Nelson

Lessons Learned From Accepting A Challenge

Winnie Kao dropped the gauntlet. She asked anyone and everyone to join her in blogging every day for a week. Many, including me, accepted her challenge.

Making the commitment to blogging every day for seven days forced me to adjust my work schedule to write every day – weekends included. Yesterday I posted my blog less than 20 minutes before midnight. I could have written two posts today, but that wasn’t the agreement I made with Winnie. So . . . after getting home from my husband’s company party, I wrote a blog post. Not my best work, but a post nonetheless.

Taking the challenge to participate in the Your Turn Challenge helped me see a few things more clearly. Here are some of the lessons I learned from this challenge:

Shipping is better than perfect.
Your word matters.
Habits can be set or broken in a week.
Powerful communities can be formed in a week.
Taking a risk can produce some wild results.

I’ve met some wonderful people this week, and I’ve read some powerful blog posts. Participating in this challenge has been the best decision I’ve made in 2015. Thanks, Winnie, and all of my colleagues who jumped on this challenge.

Lessons Learned From Accepting A Challenge was last modified: January 25th, 2015 by Deb Nelson

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