IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

What do you see?

Do you see the glass half full or the glass half empty?

I believe seeing the glass half full = limitless possibilities in life.

SEEING THE GLASS HALF FULL

Weird; but I keep thinking about the Limbo.

When I was a kid, we used to do the Limbo all the time. It was such a dance craze and so much fun.

As each of us took our turn, the Limbo chant would begin – How low can you go?

I was so little, I could just walk under the pole. I would get very excited that I didn’t knock the pole down. I was a kid. It was cute!

The cool thing about doing the Limbo was even if we knocked down the pole and fell to the ground, we got back up and tried it again.

When the challenges of life knock us down, it can be difficult to get up. It’s easier to see the glass half empty.

With that, can come that feeling of being in limbo. It’s that place where we’re caught between two things and we don’t know what to do next. It can feel like we’re just floating and can’t land.

I know this all too well. It can be very difficult to focus and make decisions.

I was an Assistant Marketing Manager; and I was laid off from my job. I was devastated. I didn’t know where to turn. I kept thinking who’s going to hire me.

I could only focus on the fact that I needed to get a job and earn a living.

Instead of regrouping and figuring out what was right for me at the time, I took the first job that came my way.

I became a Product Manager at the Regina Company. I spent many years in the beauty industry; and now I was going to market vacuum cleaners.

The company was coming out of bankruptcy; and I justified taking the job thinking it would be good to be part of a turnaround.

I wasn’t part of a company turnaround. The experience was traumatic.

I was living in Connecticut and driving 125 miles a day to Rahway, NJ to work in a rundown warehouse across from a maximum-security prison.

Rahway State Prison

Every day at noon the prison would blast a siren. At first, I thought there was a prison break. I had the fear that we would be held as hostages by a crazed killer. It was unnerving.

The company was in deep financial straits. There was no way to bring the company out of bankruptcy. My job lasted all of ten months; and I was out of work again. I was so broken and in that place of limbo. I was afraid to make decisions; and I didn’t know what was next.

I identified with my career; and these two back-to-back layoffs were major knock-out punches. I didn’t realize that things happen for a reason.

Initially, I thought my career was over. Life was hitting me hard.

I saw the glass as half empty.

Like Rocky, I got knocked down; but, thankfully, I got back up again.

I landed on my feet. I was offered a wonderful position as Sr. Marketing Manager at Maybelline; but the catch was that I had to move to Memphis, TN.

A New Yorker in Memphis. OY VEY!

I had to do a lot of adjusting; but I’m grateful for my time working at Maybelline. It was probably the most rewarding corporate career experience I had.

The environment was one of encouragement and focusing on a person’s strengths. It’s what I needed; and I started to see the glass half full.

LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Absolutely! However, I’ve discovered there are many ways to make lemonade; and each one is refreshing.

I’ve learned that each knockout punch opened the door to new possibilities.

The possibilities became even greater when I started to look at myself differently. I needed to do some serious soul searching.

I needed an attitude adjustment. I started to realize…

Looking at myself differently enabled me to see that I wasn’t a victim but a victor. I came through so much, learned from each experience and finally started to come into my own.

Did I get knocked down again? YES!

I left corporate and started my own business. It seemed to make sense; but it didn’t feel right. It was a mistake.

Did I stay down? NO!

I kept putting one foot in front of the other and kept moving forward.

Then, one glorious day, I came face to face with my childhood dream of acting.

It seemed so crazy; but it felt so right. Everything in me lit up. I found my joy!

I went from a corporate marketing career, to business owner, to actress, to playwright to writer.

By opening myself up to limitless possibilities, I can look at each day with a positive attitude and take the good with the bad.

It’s been a journey with a lot of twists and turns. One thing is certain, looking at the glass half full, I’ve embraced myself. I’ve embraced my dreams. I’ve embraced life and see that as the joy of victory!