StartingOverNow.com
Articles
Overcoming Adversity is an Everyday Slice of Life
More than 8% of the population is unemployed and more than
100,000 people have been losing their jobs every month. Seven
million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December
of 2007. It is very sad to say that job loss trends are now so
common that we expect the trend to continue. I am grateful that I have
work and thank God everyday for that blessing. I pray for my friends
and colleagues who do not and all of the people in this country who,
like me, worry if they will ever be able to retire, pay off school loans,
or be able to savor the memories of a big family vacation again. But
are job losses and the economy the only adversity going on in this
country? Of course not. There are a lot of stressors on society. Many
of them are daily stressors. And how we deal with those daily
stressors teaches us how to deal with the bigger ones such as job
loss.
This past fall four children started in four different schools – a “first”
for all of us and a “last” in many ways too. My oldest daughter, Maria,
is taking classes at Community College and living in the city with her
grandparents for a semester of her senior year to save on tuition
before she would return to Carnegie Mellon University for the next
semester. My second daughter, Brianna, is studying her junior year
at Lorenzo de’Medici School in Florence, Italy and returning to Pitt
next year. My youngest daughter, Adnrea, just started Carlow
University as a freshman. And my son, Max, who I wanted to transfer
to Central Catholic as a junior, dismissed my preference and
returned to Fox Chapel High School.
What do kids know about dealing with adversity and stress?
Everything. For they live mostly for today. There is definitely
something to be learned from that. While the U.S Bureau of Labor
and Statistics was tallying data for the last four weeks of August and
the White House staff was holding their breath, kids were picking out
back packs and cool jeans, parents were filling out emergency
contact information cards, and schools were mailing homeroom
assignments letters at the last minute so that parents wouldn’t have
time to sit around the local swimming pool and complain about the
teachers.
In my home, what may have seemed like a smooth end-of-summer
back-to-school transition was more like a train wreck over a giant
chasm of stress. Three kids are in college. (Needs no editorial
comment.) One child needed moved to the dorm. (Where do you put
all this stuff???) One was moving in with grandparents who don’t
know that today’s college students don’t live by the house rules that I
adhered to 28 years ago. (Not that this is a good thing.) One was
preparing for international study, needed a passport, had to drive to
Philly for a visa and was emotionally detaching so that the good-bye
would not be as painful. One, who after the first night of having
moved everything to Oakland for Orientation, needed rushed to the
ER for an emergency appendectomy. And my 16-year-old (going on
26) son, well, let’s just say that if they have a college in
Saskatchewan when he needs to go, I’m all for it.
The week following those moves I could peacefully say that “back-to-
school” is safely “back-AT-school.” I always dreaded the last two
weeks of summer – crickets ushering in fall much too soon, once
lustrous annuals and perennials one month away from compost,
garden herbs going to seed, and the anticipated frenzy of back-to-
school activity. But wait! Kids don’t freak out about back-to-school. To
them it means new clothes, a new backpack, new friends, new bus
drivers, new teachers, new activities, soccer, football games, and
reacquainting with old friends who went their separate ways for the
last three months.
What can be learned here?
Everything. I’ve folded the seats of my minivan into the floor so many
times over the last two weeks for moves that I’m considering
applying for my next job at 1-800-Got-Junk? But in the nuances of
those family moments when we dropped a mattress on the
sidewalk, located a CD that had been missing for months, or texted
back and forth about living with Grammie memories emerged –
memories that bind families together in bonds that are the legacy of
life. A giggle here and a sigh there – sharing life’s transitions with
people we care about is the pulse of what makes us feel alive. It
makes today unlike every other day. It makes overcoming adversity
like a new backpack, a new school, a new pair of jeans and a new
friend. It dices up and plates for you a new start. Pick up the fork and
knife and try a slice. If you don’t like the flavor, that’s only how it tastes
today. Tomorrow there will be something different on the plate. Share
how it tastes with someone close to you. And listen quietly to the
background music as you taste the opportunities for a future that is
limitless. I hear crickets serenading us. Start now!
Email this to a friend who may appreciate the advice. Follow Mary
Lee’s tips on Twitter at StartingOverNow.
For the FREE Worksheets: “Begin With the End in Mind and Sketch
that Vision on Paper” and “SMART Goals” go to Mary Lee's Articles
and Tips Sheets page.
Mary Lee Gannon is a personal turnaround, leadership and
productivity expert who went from being a stay-at-home mother with
four children living a country club life to the reality of a difficult
marriage, divorce, homelessness, and welfare. As a guest speaker,
she demonstrates how she went from an earning capacity of $27,000
to president and CEO. Her book "Starting Over - 25 Rules for When
You've Bottomed Out" is available in bookstores. Email Mary Lee at
info@StartingOverNow.com.
More than 8% of the population is unemployed and more than
100,000 people have been losing their jobs every month. Seven
million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December
of 2007. It is very sad to say that job loss trends are now so
common that we expect the trend to continue. I am grateful that I have
work and thank God everyday for that blessing. I pray for my friends
and colleagues who do not and all of the people in this country who,
like me, worry if they will ever be able to retire, pay off school loans,
or be able to savor the memories of a big family vacation again. But
are job losses and the economy the only adversity going on in this
country? Of course not. There are a lot of stressors on society. Many
of them are daily stressors. And how we deal with those daily
stressors teaches us how to deal with the bigger ones such as job
loss.
This past fall four children started in four different schools – a “first”
for all of us and a “last” in many ways too. My oldest daughter, Maria,
is taking classes at Community College and living in the city with her
grandparents for a semester of her senior year to save on tuition
before she would return to Carnegie Mellon University for the next
semester. My second daughter, Brianna, is studying her junior year
at Lorenzo de’Medici School in Florence, Italy and returning to Pitt
next year. My youngest daughter, Adnrea, just started Carlow
University as a freshman. And my son, Max, who I wanted to transfer
to Central Catholic as a junior, dismissed my preference and
returned to Fox Chapel High School.
What do kids know about dealing with adversity and stress?
Everything. For they live mostly for today. There is definitely
something to be learned from that. While the U.S Bureau of Labor
and Statistics was tallying data for the last four weeks of August and
the White House staff was holding their breath, kids were picking out
back packs and cool jeans, parents were filling out emergency
contact information cards, and schools were mailing homeroom
assignments letters at the last minute so that parents wouldn’t have
time to sit around the local swimming pool and complain about the
teachers.
In my home, what may have seemed like a smooth end-of-summer
back-to-school transition was more like a train wreck over a giant
chasm of stress. Three kids are in college. (Needs no editorial
comment.) One child needed moved to the dorm. (Where do you put
all this stuff???) One was moving in with grandparents who don’t
know that today’s college students don’t live by the house rules that I
adhered to 28 years ago. (Not that this is a good thing.) One was
preparing for international study, needed a passport, had to drive to
Philly for a visa and was emotionally detaching so that the good-bye
would not be as painful. One, who after the first night of having
moved everything to Oakland for Orientation, needed rushed to the
ER for an emergency appendectomy. And my 16-year-old (going on
26) son, well, let’s just say that if they have a college in
Saskatchewan when he needs to go, I’m all for it.
The week following those moves I could peacefully say that “back-to-
school” is safely “back-AT-school.” I always dreaded the last two
weeks of summer – crickets ushering in fall much too soon, once
lustrous annuals and perennials one month away from compost,
garden herbs going to seed, and the anticipated frenzy of back-to-
school activity. But wait! Kids don’t freak out about back-to-school. To
them it means new clothes, a new backpack, new friends, new bus
drivers, new teachers, new activities, soccer, football games, and
reacquainting with old friends who went their separate ways for the
last three months.
What can be learned here?
Everything. I’ve folded the seats of my minivan into the floor so many
times over the last two weeks for moves that I’m considering
applying for my next job at 1-800-Got-Junk? But in the nuances of
those family moments when we dropped a mattress on the
sidewalk, located a CD that had been missing for months, or texted
back and forth about living with Grammie memories emerged –
memories that bind families together in bonds that are the legacy of
life. A giggle here and a sigh there – sharing life’s transitions with
people we care about is the pulse of what makes us feel alive. It
makes today unlike every other day. It makes overcoming adversity
like a new backpack, a new school, a new pair of jeans and a new
friend. It dices up and plates for you a new start. Pick up the fork and
knife and try a slice. If you don’t like the flavor, that’s only how it tastes
today. Tomorrow there will be something different on the plate. Share
how it tastes with someone close to you. And listen quietly to the
background music as you taste the opportunities for a future that is
limitless. I hear crickets serenading us. Start now!
Email this to a friend who may appreciate the advice. Follow Mary
Lee’s tips on Twitter at StartingOverNow.
For the FREE Worksheets: “Begin With the End in Mind and Sketch
that Vision on Paper” and “SMART Goals” go to Mary Lee's Articles
and Tips Sheets page.
Mary Lee Gannon is a personal turnaround, leadership and
productivity expert who went from being a stay-at-home mother with
four children living a country club life to the reality of a difficult
marriage, divorce, homelessness, and welfare. As a guest speaker,
she demonstrates how she went from an earning capacity of $27,000
to president and CEO. Her book "Starting Over - 25 Rules for When
You've Bottomed Out" is available in bookstores. Email Mary Lee at
info@StartingOverNow.com.
StartingOverNow.com
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FREE resources on
this site are:
* Starting over in
their career or
personal life
* Empty nesters
* Entrepreneurs
* Networking
* Job Seekers
* Starting all over
again
* Going through a
divorce
* Looking for career
opportunities
* Seeking FREE
career advice and
education
* Finding mentors
* Setting new life
goals
To chart your road
map to success
click here for FREE
"Worksheets and
Articles."
Turnaround Solutions for People & Organizations
Whether you are an executive who is "stuck," your company needs
better productivity, or you are in a life transition you represent the
people and organizations Executive Leadership Coach Mary Lee has
helped. Learn how to clarify direction, create strategy, upgrade skills,
optimize your environment and wipe out fear and doubt. Make it fun =
get more done!
Mary Lee’s strategies from her book “Starting Over” helped her in her
own transformation from stay-at-home mother with four children living
a country club life to the reality of a difficult marriage, divorce, poverty,
welfare and then on to president and CEO. Eliminate self doubt, under-
performance, money fears, relationships woes, and negative influence
so that you may soar. Then lead others to improve their lives and your
business. Start now! For a FREE introductory coaching session via
phone contact info@startingovernow.com.
Whether you are an executive who is "stuck," your company needs
better productivity, or you are in a life transition you represent the
people and organizations Executive Leadership Coach Mary Lee has
helped. Learn how to clarify direction, create strategy, upgrade skills,
optimize your environment and wipe out fear and doubt. Make it fun =
get more done!
Mary Lee’s strategies from her book “Starting Over” helped her in her
own transformation from stay-at-home mother with four children living
a country club life to the reality of a difficult marriage, divorce, poverty,
welfare and then on to president and CEO. Eliminate self doubt, under-
performance, money fears, relationships woes, and negative influence
so that you may soar. Then lead others to improve their lives and your
business. Start now! For a FREE introductory coaching session via
phone contact info@startingovernow.com.
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FREE Resources
to help you:
1. United States of America's
primary source on career
information:
www.onetcenter.org
2. Wage Estimates
www.salary.com and Bureau of
Labor and Statistics
3. Organize Your Job Search -
Post a Question etc.:
www.cvtips.com
4. Starting Over After Divorce:
www.womansdivorce.com
5. Starting Over for Women:
www.makingbreadmagazine.co
m
6. Self Improvement:
www.selfgrowth.com.
7. Job Postings, Resume
Advice and Resources:
www.careerbuiler.com
8. Templates for: business
plans, competitive analysis,
start up costs and more:
www.score.org/business_toolbox
.html
9. Federal/Sate/Local
Government jobs:
www.USAJOBS.com
10. U.S. Government's Free
online courses, webinars and
podcasts for workforce
development:
www.onetacademy.com.
11. Occupational Outlook
Handbok 2008-09 by Bureau of
Labor and Statistics:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.ht
m
to help you:
1. United States of America's
primary source on career
information:
www.onetcenter.org
2. Wage Estimates
www.salary.com and Bureau of
Labor and Statistics
3. Organize Your Job Search -
Post a Question etc.:
www.cvtips.com
4. Starting Over After Divorce:
www.womansdivorce.com
5. Starting Over for Women:
www.makingbreadmagazine.co
m
6. Self Improvement:
www.selfgrowth.com.
7. Job Postings, Resume
Advice and Resources:
www.careerbuiler.com
8. Templates for: business
plans, competitive analysis,
start up costs and more:
www.score.org/business_toolbox
.html
9. Federal/Sate/Local
Government jobs:
www.USAJOBS.com
10. U.S. Government's Free
online courses, webinars and
podcasts for workforce
development:
www.onetacademy.com.
11. Occupational Outlook
Handbok 2008-09 by Bureau of
Labor and Statistics:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.ht
m
| Mary Lee Gannon is interviewed on Mind Your BIZness |
Listen to Mary
Lee's interview
"From Welfare
to CEO" on the
Renee Bobb
Show on
BlogTalk
Radio.com.
Lee's interview
"From Welfare
to CEO" on the
Renee Bobb
Show on
BlogTalk
Radio.com.
Gannon Group/StartingOverNow.com
Executive Leadership Coaching - Productivity Solutions for People and Organizations
Executive Leadership Coaching - Productivity Solutions for People and Organizations
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Team with Values and Watch
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and the Executive Coaching Newsletter
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Team with Values and Watch
Productivity Grow - A
Manager's Toolbox"
and the Executive Coaching Newsletter
.
Mary Lee Gannon's
Book "Starting Over" is
available in bookstores
everywhere or at
Amazon.com - 5 Stars!
Book "Starting Over" is
available in bookstores
everywhere or at
Amazon.com - 5 Stars!
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