Today, I’m hosting Day 9 of The 10 Commandments of Leadership Blog Tour. For 10 days, 10 blogs are highlighting and discussing each chapter from The 10 Commandments of Leadership written by Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura.
Regardless of if you a leader of a large organization, a small group of peers, or your own family, you are often leading, and they count on you to be effective.
The best leaders are in service of a vision and a mission greater than themselves. When we are following our passion to make a difference that enthusiasm is contagious and will be felt amongst our team, within our companies and in our families. Inspiring others to serve by example is the hallmark of all great leaders.
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” — Max DePree
Read on. Lead on. Choose to be the most effective and respected leader you can be.
EXCERPTED from Chapter 9 of “Strive to Serve Others”
It was a Tuesday morning many years ago. And it’s one we will always remember. On that day, we learned one of the best leadership lessons we have ever received. We had just begun a meeting with the head of a new client organization. After the customary exchange of pleasantries, we noticed something on her office wall. It was a framed poster with a few simple, yet unbelievably profound, words:
A “boss” CONTROLS.
A “leader” SERVES.
Which will I be, today?
Without question, that poster captures the true essence of effective leadership – and the core principle of leadership commandment number nine: SERVICE.
As a leader, your role – your purpose – is to help others, to guide others, to bring out the best in others. Your position exists because people have needs. They need assistance; they need direction; they need resources; they need support; they need inspiration; they need accountabilities … and a whole lot more. Meeting those needs is what your job is all about.
You Serve Others When You …
- Make providing exceptional customer service a performance requirement for everyone on your team.
- Demonstrate respect and empathy for every individual.
- Tell people what they need to hear rather than want to hear.
- Hold team members accountable for doing quality work.
- Contribute to others’ success and well-being.
- Make sure that everyone on the team does his or her share.
- Keep everyone focused on the organization’s mission.
- Maintain a positive, productive, and safe working environment.
- Set the example and tone for everyone to follow.
- Provide resources and information, and remove obstacles.
- Do what’s right … what needs to be done – regardless of how difficult it may be.
- Hire and promote people of quality.
- Help team members learn, develop, grow, and achieve their personal goals.
- Know the way and show the way.
- Commit to being the very best leader you can be.
- Embrace and practice The 10 Commandments of Leadership.
To lead is to guide, to guide is to help, to help is to serve. Remember that. Apply that. Strive to Serve Others.
QUESTIONS for Chapter 9
A Paradox of Leadership is that “The people who work for you are also the people for whom YOU work.” Briefly discuss your feelings about this idea and how it may apply to you.
Now is your chance to win! Here’s how…
1. By 12 midnight (Eastern) tonight: Post your answer to the above question (as a comment) on this blog and your name will be entered into a drawing to receive a FREE copy of The 10 Commandments of Leadership. Your name will be entered into the drawing a second time if you send us a tweet by copying and pasting the following: @Leader_Solution I commented on Day 9 of The 10 Commandments Blog Tour http://bit.ly/10Command
2. By 12 midnight (Eastern) on January 28, 2011: Post your answer to each day’s question (10 comments in total) for a chance to win a $100 Gift Certificate to WalkTheTalk.com.
Be sure to click here to learn more about the book and see the schedule for
The 10 Commandments of Leadership Blog Tour.
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Business 
Leadership, Max DePree, Service, The 10 Commandments of Leadership, Walk The Talk 
3 comments
Years ago as I was trying to figure out what I was going to be when I grew up, I pondered the idea of starting a non-profit organization that gathered clothes for women returning to the work force. Now more than a decade later after founding other businesses and writing many books, in a true full circle moment I had the pleasure of donating my first executive desk, office furniture and more business suits than I can count to the new local chapter of Dress for Success. I am thrilled that someone has started just such a charity!!!
One of the suits I had so much fun donating was the very suit I write about in this excerpt from Dream Big.
“I am often asked to do public speaking, and my beloved daughter Harlie has assigned herself the job of making sure I look right when I do it. Every time I am asked to speak the first thing Harlie asks is what I am going to wear. After all, in her mind if I don’t use these invites as an excuse to get a new outfit, what’s the point!
When the American Marketing Association asked me to speak, Harlie happened to be home for spring break. It was a nice treat to actually have her present in the dressing room instead of on the other end of a cell phone giving styling tips. After trying on a dozen things, we finally settled on a new suit and headed home to make sure the shoes and shirt I had in my closet would match. It was a go.
The next morning, however, the universe had a surprise in store for me. When I went to put on the approved ensemble I noticed a bulge in the jacket. Sticking out of my armpit was a huge white security sensor that the clerk at the store had forgotten to take out. I don’t know why we didn’t notice it sooner (or why we hadn’t set off the alarm as we left the store!), but I did know that I was in a real pickle since I had to speak in about an hour and, as usual, the rest of my “presentable” wardrobe was at the drycleaners.
Cursing myself for not picking up my drycleaning sooner I woke Harlie up to show her my predicament and beg her to race back to the store with the receipt and ask them to remove the sensor before I stood up in front of the AMA crowd looking like a shoplifter.
Being the good sport Harlie is she raced to the mall and stood outside waiting for the store open. What happened next still amazes me. When Harlie went to the counter and showed the clerk the receipt and the jacket and asked for the sensor to be removed, they told her they didn’t have the device to remove it! Didn’t have the device to remove it? What? Why would they be selling jackets at their store with sensors in them if they didn’t have the gadget to remove them?
Suffice to say, Harlie wasn’t exactly pleased. She explained the urgency to the manager on duty, who then began running around the mall to other stores asking if she could please use their security device to remove the tag. Oddly enough there is some rule against sharing these gadgets among stores, so that plan didn’t work.
Next the store manager called her other stores to see if any of them had the jacket in the right size without a security sensor sticking out. No luck. By this time Harlie was starting to steam and she made it clear that her mother was going to have this jacket back, minus sensor, in the next fifteen minutes or there would be hell to pay.
Desperate times must call for desperate measures because the next thing Harlie knew the manager had magically appeared from the back room holding a jacket in my size — sans sensor. Harlie called from her cell phone to let me know she was en route with the jacket.
We did a hand off in the garage and I raced off to give my speech. I arrived a little late and plenty frazzled and decided the only thing to do was to tell the truth. I have always been the type of gal who tells it like it is. So I shared the story of my wild morning with the audience. The women in the crowd laughed till they had tears rolling down their cheeks, the men didn’t quite get it. I guess that to guys once you’ve seen one suit you have seem them all, but for women getting dressed for public appearances can be a monumental task requiring the endurance of a dressing room marathon and the luck of the shopping Goddess to shine upon you—not to mention the pressure we have for that all important good hair day!
Dream Big is available at Amazon in both Kindle and Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Big-Finding-Nightmares-ebook/dp/B002IC01OI/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1292365088&sr=8-4
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Book Writing Business Dream Big Making a Difference Dream Big, Dress For Success, Lisa Hammond no comments
As we head into the holiday season, perhaps the greatest gift we can give each other is compassion.
I have recently had several reminders, just how often as we go about our busy days we fail to consider what circumstances those around us may be dealing with. We just never know if that less than pleasant woman in front of us at the check out counter has just found out she lost her job, or if the grouchy person sitting next to us on the plane is returning home from a funeral, or if the reason you had less than stellar service at dinner last night was because the waiter just received some horrible news.
In the past few months I have been both on the receiving and I am ashamed to say giving end of less than compassionate behavior. The fact is, sometimes we just have no idea what those around us may be going through.
With so many people facing financial crisis and health challenges right now, stress is at an all time high. A smile, patience and a little understanding will go along way.
In an ideal world we would all be brave and at least reach out to those close to us. As my dear friend Cathy Conheim says, “Three of the most powerful words in the English language are: ‘Please help me’.” Until we all learn those words, let’s learn to be more compassionate with each other.
Compassion, it’s the gift that will keep on giving this holiday season…
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Holidays Inspiration Making a Difference asking for help, compassion, holiday season gifts 1 comment
I always wanted to be the best mom in the world – but I’ve rarely been able to live up to that standard. When my daughter Harlie was in fifth grade and my son Bridger was in kindergarten, I gave birth to a new business. I had so much going on – kids, husband, home, and now, a start-up. What I didn’t have was sleep!
It was late October and I was scrambling to get ready for my first serious busy season at work. Bridger’s teacher had scheduled a Halloween party for his class. Since I am not Martha Stewart, rather than sew Bridger’s Halloween costume, I ordered it from a catalog. On the day of the party I got Bridger all dressed up in his tights,
bright orange round pumpkin and matching stem hat. He looked adorable. We raced out the door and I dropped him off at school on my way to the office.
I had only been at work for about five minutes when I received a phone call – it was the school. Bridger was on the phone in tears. “Mom, you had the wrong day!” he sobbed. “The Halloween party is tomorrow!” He was the only child at school in a costume. He had been hiding in the bathroom when his teacher found him. Now I was in tears, too.
I made the “drive of shame” home to get Bridger’s school uniform and then back to the school so he could change. I’ll never forget this angry little boy – dressed like a pumpkin – waiting for me when I got back to the school. The look on his face still haunts me and I cringe when I think about it – a “bad mother” day, for sure!
Excerpt from my new book Oil for Your Lamp, order your copy at www.simpletruths.com
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Balance family Holidays bad mom, bad mom days, Halloween, motherhood, pumpkin costume, trick or treat, worst mother day 1 comment
I have been asked more times than I can count lately why in the world I would ever sell Femail Creations. Having spent the better part of fifteen years building up a business with my heart and soul, how could I ever sell it and move on?
“To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.” – Mother Teresa
My mission and passion haven’t changed—to inspire and make a difference. However, I have learned, as Mother Teresa says, I must keep putting oil in my lamp. In order to teach women how to put oil in their lamps I have to pay attention to my own flashing low oil indicator light.
As excerpted from my new book Oil For Your Lamp…
“Over the last forty years, research studies have shown that women’s overall level of happiness has dropped. This decline in happiness has no connection to whether or not we have kids, how healthy we are, what career we choose, what our income is, how old we are, or whether we are single or divorced. The bottom line is: Women are loosing ground on the happiness scale. I think it’s because we are out of oil.
Over the years as my dream of empowering and inspiring women and girls expanded and grew, and so too did the time and energy required to fulfill that dream. As many entrepreneurs can relate, the “start up years” last far longer than can be imagined. I have joked that owning your own business means you can set your own hours—yep, you get to pick any 18 hours a day you want to work!
Rarely did I ever take a real day off. Even when I took a “vacation” the laptop, cell phone and work came with me. As the owner of the company I was never off duty. After almost a decade like this true exhaustion set in and health challenges were mounting. My body started refusing to comply with this inhumane schedule.
I wish I could report to you that as soon as my body spoke up, I listened. I want to tell you I wised up and started to take better care of myself. But that would be a lie. I am ashamed to admit while I was telling other women to nurture themselves, I was spreading myself far too thin.
The passion to help other women was stronger than the call to help myself and I unwisely started another business. Yet even with the best infrastructure in place and devoting endless hours to the new business it became a financial and emotional bottomless pit. It had finally depleted every once of energy I had left. It was a wake up call for me.
We all have to start with ourselves. It was time to walk my talk. I had to get serious about putting oil into my very depleted lamp. I began a journey of making very difficult decisions. I started removing things from my life that were not filing up my cup and adding things that brought joy back into my life. Some changes were sweeping, other changes were small. I started cooking again and I started writing more books, something I rarely had time for with my old work schedule. I tended to my garden, weeding out the draining things, and planting more of the things that replenished my spirit.
It wasn’t easy for me to admit how far off track I had gotten. After all it was my mission in life to inspire and empower other women, and here I was failing at that for myself. However, the gift of burn out, and a soul crying out for OIL, finally snapped even me out of it.”
To purchase your copy of Oil For Your Lamp visit www.simpletruths.com
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Balance Blog Book Writing Business Mother Teresa, Oil For Your Lamp, Simple Truths, Snap Out of It 1 comment
When I first wrote this, I thought it was a summer fling. Now it seems this has turned into a long term affair. According to what my friends are telling me and from what I am reading in the news this trend is here to stay. Apparently our adult children are descending upon us like locus. Maybe they arrived back home because they could no longer afford rent, maybe they lost their job and had to return to the nest, perhaps they just graduated from college only to discover their degree isn’t going to help land the job they had hoped for in this challenging economy, or maybe they are just home for the summer between semesters? Whatever the reason may be, more and more adult children are living at home these days.
We thought we needed an owner’s manual when they were born! Ha! Where is the guidebook to help navigate this ever-shifting landscape??? What exactly are the rules for this adult child chapter?
One summer when we experienced our own empty nest filling back up, my husband, and the father of these two lovely offspring who descended upon, reached his breaking point. After nagging and painstakingly pointing out that the dishwasher is mere inches from the sink, and that the dishes must actually be loaded into the dishwasher—not just be left in the sink—thus a sign was hung.
We all survived that summer. My advice is lower your expectations. Communicate often. Make sure there is a light at the end of the tunnel – aka move out date. And most importantly keep your sense of humor.
Now we live in our own places and get to look back and laugh.
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
family adult children living at home, dishes, kids, tequila 1 comment
The other day I was searching for a photo for a new picture frame I’d just bought. I sorted through dozens of vacation snapshots—the ones I keep telling myself I will some day put in adorable scrapbooks—but for now they sit in shoe boxes.
As I poured over the pictures I had a few good laughs going down memory lane. The good times, the bad times, and the what-were-you-thinking clothes and haircuts.
Then I found the unthinkable—an old picture of me in a bikini! My husband had managed to snap a full-length shot of me on the beach. I was instantly transported back to that day almost 20 years ago. I vividly remembered changing swimming suits three or four times that morning trying to find one I thought best hid my love handles.
As I thought back about the morning, and how self-conscious I felt about wearing a bikini, I feel really stupid. Because you know what—that mother of two looked just fine. And yet I wasted precious energy and time stressing out over my not perfect body. What an idiot!
Twenty years later I would love to have that body back. That very same body I anguished over back then! It was a real ah-ha moment for me. Twenty years from now I will most likely wish I had the body back that I have today.
The reality is even the women we think have perfect bodies aren’t content. We are ALL spending way too much time on if-only. If only I wasn’t sagging here or there. If only I didn’t have stretch marks. If only I didn’t have these saddle bags.
The moral of the story is… love the body you have RIGHT NOW.
Think of all the energy we waste worrying about wrinkles, cellulite, belly pouch and gray hair. Does it really matter? NO. Never was that more clear than when I stared at that photo from two decades ago and lamented over the time and energy lost worrying about nothing. I vowed right then and there to spend my time appreciating health and well being instead of berating myself over silly things like stretch marks.
Let’s start today loving and accepting ourselves—lumps and all.
I challenge you to give yourself the gift of perspective. Go get out an old photo of yourself. Remember what you worried about back then… Not so bad, huh. So be gentler with the body you have today.
Don’t waste another minute of your precious time worrying about cellulite! That is what self-tanner is for. Ha!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Balance Blog Inspiration body image, love yourself the way you are today, self tanner 1 comment
I believe there are two groups of people; those who like to live with a fire extinguisher on each hip and those who don’t. I fall into the don’t category. I like to avoid those last minute fires whenever possible.
I figure life hands us enough twists and turns that can’t be prevented. I am sure as heck not going to add any fuel to the fire by being unorganized. But lately it seems I have been surrounded by the friggin fire department!
One last minute challenge after another keeps popping up and smoldering, many of which could have been prevented with a bit of organization and communication.
Good thing this don’t has a sense of humor and an extra bucket around just in case.
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Blog Inspiration Playing Around lack of organization, last minute fires, unprepared no comments
I was chatting with a friend yesterday who was at the end of her rope. She said she felt like she was clinging to her last shred of sanity. We have all been there at one point or another. As she was sharing her feelings of exasperation it dawned on me that men never seem to feel like they are going “crazy” when they are overwhelmed? They innately realize what they need is a break, not a break down.
“Over the years, I have often called my dear sister, my lifeline, when I felt like I was crossing the line between sane and crazy—when I thought my own nervous breakdown was imminent. Every time I reached out to her, she reminds me—over and over again—that I can check into a five-star hotel, order room service, and get a massage every day for a week for a helluva lot less money than what it costs to check into a sanitarium. She should know! She is still trying to pay off her medical bills from her a stay in the psych ward and she says she would have been better off at a resort. She jokes that all she got was bad hospital food, scratchy sheets and poor counseling.
So whenever I am so stressed out I feel like I am teetering on the edge of sanity, I call my lifeline—she reminds me there is a reason so many women feel like they are about to have a nervous breakdown: they need a break. And she gives me permission to take one.”
That was an excerpt from my new book, Oh Thank Goodness, It’s Not Just Me. Available www.Simple Truths.com
Women, you are not alone! We share so many of the same feelings and experiences.
A trip to the stress-free beach beats a trip in a straight jacket any day!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Balance Book Writing Oh Thank Goodness feeling crazy, Femail Creations, nervous breakdown, Oh Thank Goodness It's Not Just Me, Simple Truths, Sisters, Stressed out, take a break no comments
Not only is Mother’s Day around the corner, May 2nd was Jordan’s birthday. I feel compelled to remind everyone how precious life is and how important it is live it with passion.
Jordan Chiovarelli was one of those charismatic characters you couldn’t help but love. He was my daughter Harlie’s best friend. She adored him and he looked after her like a big brother. He was like a member of the family.
On Jordan’s last visit to Las Vegas he came to stay with us for a week. One night he and Harlie tried to convince my husband Jeff—who Jordan always called Pops—and I to go out with them. We said we were too old to hang with the twenty-something crowd, said we were too tired, said we had to go to work in the morning…but Jordan was having none of it. He was determined to drag Pops and me out on the town with them. He had a grin you couldn’t resist and a way of coaxing you into anything.
Just like Jordan convinced us to say yes that night, he always said yes to life. He loved to ride motorcycles and planned to open up a shop back in Long Island one day. He was an avid and talented competitive skier who traveled the world in pursuit of the sport that was his passion.
Jordan seemed invincible. And then early one morning the call came. Harlie on the other end of the phone telling me the unimaginable. Jordan had been killed in a motorcycle accident. That was impossible. He was so full of life.
My mind immediately flashed back to that night. I was so grateful he had convinced us to say yes. So grateful I didn’t miss out on creating those memories.
As a mother I can’t imagine anything more painful than having to bury a child. I think about his Mom every day.
In honor of her, please go hug your kids, let them know how much you love them. In honor of Jordan, go hug your Mom and let her know just how much you appreciate her, just like Jordan did. I know how much Jordan loved his Mom, Rita. In fact the last time he and Harlie were talking on the phone, he was cooking dinner for his Mom. That’s the kind of kid Jordan was.
A foundation has been established in Jordan’s honor to support the cause he was most passionate about. www.jordanchiovarellifoundation.org
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Inspiration Jordan Chiovarelli Foundation, life, Mom, Passion, Saying Yes no comments
This is the year I am going to stop fighting nature… I am apparently born to be a bad packer. I have spent a lifetime trying to master the art of packing. I really want to be one of those people who can show up with a small carry-on bag for a 5-day business trip. Alas, valiant efforts and hundreds of thousands of frequent-flier miles later, I am still a bad packer.
So I am surrendering! I am giving in to my bad packing ways. This year I am going to embrace my inner over-packing self. I am going to check in my luggage–filled with too many shoes and too many clothing options, and I am just going to relax and smile when they give me that judgmental look and tell me they need to weigh my bag. I am going to stop stressing out about trying to be a good packer and continue to over-pack—with abandon and joy!
Once I made this life-changing decision, the metaphorical weight of trying to be a good packer was lifted, and the literal weight of my suitcase increased. I am oh-so liberated! Now when I get my bag out to get ready for a trip, I no longer kid myself that this will be the trip I leave with only a carry-on bag. I no longer stress out about it, I simply pack what I want and stop worrying about it. Freedom!
It got me thinking about all of the things we continually try to change about ourselves. I have no doubt I lost months of my life while trying to blow-dry my naturally curly hair as a teenager back when Farah’s straight, smooth locks were all the rage.
What areas of your life could you just release and accept? Perhaps we should stop fighting our quirks and accept them as part of our endearing nature? What are you going to surrender to?
Loving my liberation!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Balance Blog Inspiration baggage, liberation, luggage, over packing, release, surrender 2 comments
Am I the only one with a growing stack of receipts, credit card bills and IRS forms about to smother me? I think April 15th should be a national holiday—so we at least get a day off. Or maybe it should be April 16th so we can recover and lick our wounds!
Have you ever noticed Attorney, Accountant, and Agony all start with A? I am kidding…kidding!
I actually really like my accountant. (Craig, you know I adore you.) Yet, honestly I’d rather have a root canal than look at one more bank statement or fill out one more form!
Calling the IRS hotline feels like a set up, you get a different answer every time. I think I will fill out my tax return in pencil just in case…
Happy paper trails,
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Balance Blog accountants, IRS, paper work, pot of gold, tax returns no comments
The topic of sex came up with a group of friends discussing what was too racy or offensive to put in a gift book. The conversation made me once again grateful that the religion of my youth didn’t “take” and I was not only able to avoid a temple recommend but keep my libido!
It seems many, many women are struggling with the messages of their chaste upbringing and the desire to now have fulfilling sex lives with their husbands.
I had a friend who went to Catholic school and the nuns made sure that impure thoughts were beaten out of them – sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally … with a ruler.
When another friend finally met the man of her dreams and got married, years of chastity training left lasting impressions. She adores her husband, but still finds it difficult to really enjoy sex. Her inhibitions make her anxious and nervous. What is natural to him seems distasteful to her. It’s not easy to transform from being the “good girl’” to the passionate woman.
How on earth are women who are taught to treat their bodies as temples supposed to transform into sex vixens overnight once they cross the threshold of holy matrimony?
“Sex is dirty – save it for someone you love.” That pretty much sums up the mixed messages many girls receive. Talk about confusing! What can Mother’s who are raising daughters now do to make sure they enjoy sex later?
According to Dr. Laura Berman, the talk shouldn’t only be about being moral and STD prevention and pregnancy. It’s also about empowerment—and Dr. Berman says the conversation needs to include pleasure. “You don’t want her to have sex right now. … But you eventually want her to have a fulfilling, happy, loving, intimate sex life,” she says. “When the time comes, she’s that much more likely to make those healthy decisions since she feels good about who she is as a sexual person and not just give away that gift to anybody—the first time or any time.”
As for adults, perhaps its time to leave the mixed messages behind and follow the sentiment of Mae West who famously said, “When I’m good I’m very, very good but when I’m bad I’m better.”
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Book Writing family Inspiration Playing Around chaste, Dr. Laura Berman, libido, Mae West, religion, Sex no comments
Christmas just doesn’t feel the same once the kids are grown.
The magic of watching young children on Christmas morning is something to be treasured.
This year our grand-dog Fiona is providing the laughter and the magic of the season!
Happy Holidays!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
family Holidays Christmas, Fiona, magic of the season, rubber chicken no comments
So many of us are counting down the days until 2009 is over, eager to greet a new year with new hope. If 2009 has you feeling like you’ve been hit by a train, I offer up Hartley’s words of wisdom for us all.
I met Hartley last year while I was on a trip with a group of friends. Early on in the trip, I was at the hotel in the midst of arranging a taxi to pick us all up at a certain time the next morning and trying to find out about a ferry schedule. Okay, I was being my organized type A self when a man named Hartley stepped in. I explained to him I wanted to make sure we arrived at our next destination on time. He just smiled. I tried to clarify that I really needed to know what time we would need to get the taxi to pick us up in order to arrive at the ferry on time. Hartley smiled again and told me not to be in such a rush.
Hartley just kept saying we should fear not. Fear not?
My friends and I ended up talking to Hartley for almost an hour. He gave us quite a lesson in life. A sermon really. Hartley talked to us about the way it is back in his country of Dominica and how much slower and gentler things are. Fear not he preached. It will all work out. Slow down and take time to enjoy life more. Don’t worry so much he said. Learn to fear not.
The rest of the trip was pretty much a series of disastrous events—let’s just say there was plenty to be afraid of on this trip—but we listened to Hartley, feared not and laughed a lot instead!
I have decided with the fresh start of a new year on the horizon I am going to be following the wise words of Hartley the bellman and take this life lesson with me into the New Year. I am going to slow down, take a few breaths, enjoy life more.
Sounds like a great mantra for a new decade, Fear Not.
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Balance Holidays Inspiration Fear Not, new year no comments
This year I was going to deck the halls, hand-write holiday greetings and actually mail them, make sugar cookies from scratch, and finish all of my shopping before Thanksgiving. Ha!
That didn’t happen.
About this time each year I think most women basically have our hair on fire. There is just so much to do! The sense of overwhelm is well…overwhelming. Can you relate?
And by the way what is the deal with Santa Claus getting all the credit? We know darn well that in most cases it’s Madame Claus that is doing most of the work!
It is the season for giving after all, so let’s try giving ourselves a break.
How about this holiday season instead all the “should’s” and “have-to’s” on our list we cut ourselves some slack? Instead of super-sizing our work load this time of year, I dare you to down-size it! Besides the smaller the tree the bigger the presents will look!
The best gift of all is taking it easy on ourselves. Here’s to actually enjoying the holiday season.
Cheers!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Balance Holidays Inspiration Christmas overwhelm, little tree, Madame Claus no comments
This morning as I put on a pair of warm socks to guard against the chilly floors and headed downstairs to my office, I thought about how much I cherish these socks and their origin.
Those of you who have been with me from the start of this journey may remember one of the very first Making a Difference charities we ever featured in the Femail Creations catalog over a decade ago, the Rainbow Socks Project.
The year before I actually began Femail Creations I learned about a woman in Boston named Babbie who collected yarn and knitting needles to send to the women of Bosnia and Croatia so they could knit scarves and mittens and socks to stay warm. Babbie’s project gathered momentum and people from all over the country were sending her yarn and knitting needles. I went out that day and gathered up boxes of yarn and shipped them off.
What I loved about Babbie’s story was that, like so many of us, she saw a news story about women’s lives being torn apart by war, only instead of just being saddened or even angered by the story, she took action.
After Femail Creations got off the ground, I thought about Babbie and wanted to somehow use the catalog to help. I contacted her and asked how we could support the great work she was doing. She said that the women now had all of the mittens and socks they needed, however we could continue to send them supplies so that they could sell their excess socks back to us for sale here in the United States. Babbie’s generous idea, called the Rainbow Socks Project, not only provided clothing and warmth to the women but an income stream to help them rebuild their village, which was destroyed in the war.
I asked Babbie if we could feature the Rainbow Socks as our holiday 1997 charity in the catalog. I knew our customers would love the story and want to buy the socks and mittens and reach out to these women thousands of miles away. Babbie loved the idea and we immediately began working out the logistics of how to get that many socks over here.
Each pair of mittens or socks were knitted by hand, using the patterns these women had been handing down for generations, and each woman would stitch a little piece of paper with her name on it in the mitten or sock. No two were exactly alike but each one was a heartfelt work of art. (I know many of you would love to buy more of them right now, but alas they are no longer available all these many years later.)
Babbie used her personal frequent flier miles to fly over to pick up the socks herself to guarantee that we would get them here in time to sell them in the catalog. And then she did the same thing again when she brought the women their check from Femail Creations.
The women were able to reconstruct their village with the money we sent them from the mittens and socks we sold in the catalog.
When Babbie returned she sent me a gift I truly treasure, a letter and a piece of cloth. The letter explained that the piece of cloth was the first one produced by the loom they bought for the village using the money Femail Creations sent them. Babbie said they all called me the “good woman,” and told her to take this to the “good woman” who helped them rebuild their village.
A few years ago my husband and I were fortunate enough to actually visit Croatia. A very different place than it was over a decade ago. Dubrovnik is now a thriving and beautiful travel destination. It was a real full circle moment for me.
Babbie’s story still inspires me and reminds me just how important it is to take action when something moves us. Whether your family holiday traditions include adopting a less fortunate family, helping stock food pantries or just taking cookies to your neighbors, this season is a great opportunity to reach out and make a difference, lighten someone’s load and brighten someone’s day.
Here’s to embracing life’s full circle moments and the magic of the season!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Femail Creations Holidays Inspiration Making a Difference Babbie Cameron, Charity, Femail Creations, full circle moments, Making a Difference, Rainbow Socks 1 comment
My favorite holiday tradition is getting new pajamas on Christmas Eve. When I was a kid I loved getting the pj’s with feet in them! I looked forward to opening up every Christmas Eve what in our home was called a “zoot suit”.
Last year I thought it would be fun if my family had the pleasure of getting zoot suits on Christmas Eve. I couldn’t stop laughing, but oddly my kids didn’t seem to think pajamas with feet in them were so great! Imagine that, my adult kids not loving these! Oh well, this picture of me and Harlie and our feety pajamas still makes me smile.
I hope your holidays bring you laughter, happy memories, and the magic of the season!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
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Maybe your Thanksgivings tend to go kind of like a lot of mine…not quite like the Norman Rockwell paintings?
Whenever extended family tends to gather with wide ranging political and religious views it seems like we are left with the humdrum pass the salt small talk or the other extreme that ends in a heated argument or as we like to call them a loud discussion.
Maybe this year we could all try something new, just chatting and actually getting to know each other.
Let’s start with this great quote by Nancy Thayer as our talking point. Because I truly believe it is never too late to revise—or learn something new about our friends and family.
Who knows we just might find common ground after all.
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
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I have always been the one to say age is only a number. My birthdays have never mattered to me. I have decided that it isn’t actually my birthday but rather my kid’s birthdays that have started making me feel old.
I had managed, thus far, without much fuss to have several birthdays, crossing the threshold of four decades just fine. However, as my children cross into their second decade, for some reason now the birthdays are starting to hit me—their birthdays!
Well after over two decades of the proverbial kids blaming everything on the parents, I get to blame something on them for a change—it’s their fault I am starting to feel old! Ha!
My Dad always laughs and says; “I don’t understand how I can have kids turning 50 when I am only 49!” His favorite joke is finally starting to make sense to me.
Let them eat cake!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
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I recently received an unexpected but deeply appreciated note. A vendor from Femail Creations took the opportunity to drop me an email after reading my blog to thank me for being in the catalog and to let me know just how much that exposure meant to their company. I happened to read the note at the end of very long day, and the sentiment couldn’t have arrived at a better time. It meant the world to me to be reminded that the work I have been doing for more than a decade matters and has made a difference.
It was a great reminder to me to reach out and let those who have impacted my life know just how grateful I am. I came across this video recently that is a shinning example of just that. Maybe its because my Dad was a teacher for 40 years that this video about appreciation struck such a deep chord with me? Or perhaps it is the season of thankfulness in the air. Whatever moved me so, I wanted to share it with you and I hope you will share it with others. Turn up your volume and enjoy this video!
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Blessings
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
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Maybe it was the email from my sister wondering if I thought she could get the $8,000 tax credit for a bunker instead of a house—such have been her trials and tribulations lately—she wanted to hunker down until it was all over. Maybe it was the sense that so many of us feel like we have gone down the proverbial rabbit hole this year? Whatever the reason, I was inspired by Alice In Wonderland when it came time to dress up for Halloween this year!
So alas that was the theme for this years Spooky Golf foursome costume. As you can see our foursome includes Alice (yours truly), the Mad Hatter, (aka my hubby Jeff) and our friends Linda and Frank as the Queen of Hearts and the Rabbit.
The trick was getting Frank’s giant rabbit head into the golf cart. The treat was winning top prize at the Halloween Party for the third year in a row!
Happy Halloween!!!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
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I don’t golf. But I have learned a trick to playing this devil of a game.
Once a year I join a sort of witness protection program and golf under the cover of darkness—and while wearing a disguise—at the annual Halloween Night Golf Costume Bash.
You see my husband is the club champion. I on the other hand, am only good at chasing down the drink cart. But when Halloween rolls around I treat my husband to my presence on the golf course.
Turns out, along with our friends Linda and Frank, we are a mighty foursome! We have won best costume two years running now. So pressure is on this year!
Last year we went as the Flintstones. Now this is no small feat, when you consider you not only have to dress up, you have to decorate the golf cart too! A shout out to my staff, always willing to help, who came through with flying colors and even whipped up a six foot tall Dino!
I would tell you what we have planned for this year, but surely the competition will find out and try to foil our plans. So stay tuned to find out if we reign supreme again!
Happy Halloween!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
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As many of you know I am a wee bit obsessed with quotes, and one of my very favorites is Margaret Mead’s quote, “Never doubt a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.
Nancy G. Brinker is a beautiful example of that. The Susan G. Komen foundation began as a promise Nancy made to her sister. That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, and world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982.
Thousands of women and men come together, every year each raising money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Then they take their commitment to end breast cancer one step further and walk 60 miles over the course of three days. If you have participated in one of the many 3-Day events around the country send in your pictures or videos so we can post them and applaud you!!!
I am passionate about making a difference! For the entire month of October the Femail Creations catalog will be donating 20% of the proceeds from our specially selected Awareness gift products to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. Visit www.femailcreations.com
Here’s to finding a cure!
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
Making a Difference 3-Day Walk, Breast Cancer, Femail Creations, Margaret Mead, Nancy G. Brinker, Susan G. Komen no comments
I am working on my next book and I want YOU to be in it!
So many of us are running on empty and are in desperate need of a refill.
Some of us have learned how to refuel, but most of us are still in the process of figuring that out.
How did we end up engrained with the message we had to put everyone else first? Have you paid a price for burning the candle at both ends? Share with me how you lost your way, the consequences of spreading yourself too thin, and how you found your way back.
I would love to hear your story!
Email me via the contact page on my blog or at femailfacebook@gmail.com
Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®
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