Tag Archives: consequences
Today is writer Virginia Woolf”s birthday. Born in Kensington (a London residential district) 140 years ago, her writing remains as relevant today as it was when she first committed her thoughts to paper. This quote of hers in particular resonates with me as a writer: “If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” ― Virginia Woolf Writers are observers, and while some writing can be classified as nonfiction, all writing that has…..
One of the founders stories I share within my book, Circuit Train Your Brain, is how I faced eviction not once, but twice within the first five years of my moving to Chicago in pursuit of scaling the nonprofit I had established. Part of my next book is unpacking how those experiences happened. Under-earning was one reason; my lack of focus was another. There are many other reasons, and I’m still sifting them out. During a particularly perilous time in…..
“People who speak ‘victim’ can’t understand the language of accountability.” This thought filtered to the top of my awareness one day while I took a walk around the neighborhood. It can get pretty dicey when using the word victim. It tends to activate the defensiveness-factor of others (usually among those who are still healing from physical or mental wounds). When I talk about victim mentality, I sometimes get accused of victim blaming. I can see where some may interpret it…..
Early on, when I first established a nonprofit to provide cars to women in transition, I had an opportunity to explain a central tenet of the organization. One of our first recipients was a single mother of seven children. She was 29 years old. The only reason I mention these statistics (especially as it relates to the quantity of her children) is because these facts about her circumstances were used by some as a cudgel against her and given as…..
Today’s post is a bit political. For me, Memorial Day has always been about honoring the dead. From my childhood, I’ve always associated this day with peonies, paper poppies, trips to cemeteries and patriotism. My childhood was right out of Mayberry, RFD. We had one stoplight in town (which was only turned on when school was either beginning or ending for the day). Especially in summer, my brothers and I roamed the town like feral cats with our friends. We…..
Once upon a time, there lived a little girl named Molly who dwelt in the land of Scarcity and Impatience. Although she lived in a safe and snug brick home, surrounded by tall, leafy trees and had a magical grandmother who was able to produce meals from a seemingly empty refrigerator, Molly was afraid that she would never have enough. She also was compelled to control things, believing that not only did that give her power over outcomes, but that…..