THE ART OF RESILIENCE: MAKING PEACE WITH CHALLENGING TIMES

Starting a new business at this time - is anything but simple. We're finding that resilience and persistence is key to our current endeavor: Festival of the Wise (www.festivalofthewise.com)

We've garnered amazing support from a host of speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and partners and we're finding that resilience for us has a lot to do with community and like-minded people banding together to create something spectacular.

You can see all of our amazing program on our website, but I really felt like drawing attention today to Carol Orsborne and her talk: The Art of Resilience.

Here's a bit about it:

Resilience is the art of accepting and transcending pain.  The deeper the channels pain carves into your soul, the greater the capacity for joy your soul can contain.

Relying on stores, anecdotes and practice advice drawn from her book “The Art of Resilience” (Three Rivers Press), Dr. Carol Orsborn teaches the 10 stages of resilience.  The first stage is “The Point of Impact,” when the tendency is to avoid suffering at all costs.  Orsborn then guides us all the way to Stage 10, “Beyond Resilience,” at which point participants are summoned to be profoundly changed for the good by the very situations they have resisted.

Dr. Orsborn is a prominent public relations executive who jumped off the fast track to pursue a more fulfilling life.  She now serves as Senior Strategist with VibrantNation.com, a peer-to-peer information-sharing website for successful women 50+.  She draws upon her own life experiences as well as the experiences of the women in Vibrant Nation to show us how to move through and beyond disappointments. Her motivating compendium of anecdotes, Eastern and Western wisdom, and practical advice will make it easier to get through these tough times.

Topics covered include:

• What surprising new sources of strength and wisdom allow us to utilize untapped problem-solving capabilities to address specific issues?

• What is a breakthrough model for optimizing opportunities that can provide guidance and inspiration for both good times and bad?

• What tools and techniques can help you gain on-the-spot clarity and perspective even when under fire?

• What does the latest research teach us about the most important qualities and characteristics of resilient people?

Yoga, Pilates & Tai Chi - the Fitness Sessions

Okay, so I just got back from a run. Well, it wasn't running... it was jogging. Avid joggers would probably call it more of a slow-motion trot. Regardless, it's new to me. I have to admit, running has never really been my thing because it seems so strenuous and well, you sweat. Why have I taken it up? Well, when I have a lot of work on my plate and I've been sitting at my computer for a long period of time it helps to clear my head (I can only focus on the effort) and get outdoors to see my neighbors gardens. I don't actually stop to smell the flowers, just smile at them as I jog by.  

One thing I've always done for my health is yoga and, in the last few years, I added pilates. I have found these to be excellent ways to keep limber, physically toned and mentally centered. I started yoga when I was 20. I fractured my back when I was 17 and the ONLY thing that relieved the chronic pain was yoga. Adding pilates helped to strengthen my core muscles, which support my back even more, especially since I tend to spend copious hours hunched over a keyboard.

If you've never tried yoga, pilates or tai chi... you're in for a treat. We're bringing them to the festival. If you have tried them, you'll be happy to know you can nip out of a conference session and over to a yoga class. Like the music and conference, the fitness classes are included in the price of admission.

You can check them out here: http://www.festivalofthewise.com/features/fitnesssessions.html

September 11th

Today my heart goes out to the victims of September 11th and all the Soldiers who have fought, been injured or lost their lives since America was attacked in 2001.

Like the assassination of JFK and man's first footstep on the moon... September 11th is a day when we will all remember where we were when we heard the news.

At Festival of the Wise we are honoring both Veterans and Memories.

On Sunday there will be a Veterans Tribute recognizing all the sacrifices and efforts that the men and women of our armed forces have made to protect the freedoms of this great country. 

You can read more about it here:

http://www.festivalofthewise.com/features/veteranstribute.html

Throughout the festival we are also have a booth set up called: Words from the Wise where you can record your experiences and stories for posterity. This is a great way to share where you were when a world event happened and how it affected you. 

I asked my father where he was when we landed on the moon and he told me an amazing story about listening to the moon landing while flying a commercial jet. My father was a pilot and it was enriching to hear his first hand account of something I don't remember. No doubt, one day, I will be telling my children where I was when I heard the news of September 11th, 2001.

You can read more about Words from the Wise here:

http://www.festivalofthewise.com/features/wordsfromthewise.html

Happy Grandparents Day!

Grandparent's day was yesterday, September 7th. I was reminded of it when our awesome speaker, Pat Burns, sent me an email. With more than 1/2 the grandparents in America being baby boomers, it's little wonder Pat's written a Grandparenting guide for the Rock and Roll generation. It's called Grandparents Rock! and it was released yesterday. She'll be speaking on this topic in our lifestyle section of our conference.

I miss my grandparents. None of them are with us anymore, but I'm so grateful to have had the experience of knowing two of them, my dad's Mom and my mom's Dad.

Grandparents are amazing. Besides camping trips, Christmas presents and pumpkin pie they also gave me two things that are priceless:

1. Words that will live with me forever.

2. A personal insight into the world over the last century.

For my grandmother I remember her saying things like, "You don't have to worry about that Mary Ellen, she's going to be okay no matter what." Those words have carried me through any tough time I ever had. (fyi - Mary Ellen's my proper name). And one of my favorite things my Opa said was, "You have a no, you can get a yes!" Many, many, many requests I have made in my life have come from that statement. I have been amazed how many times I have gotten a yes.

The world my grandparents knew is not like the world I grew up in. They gave me a window into a world I only knew from the history books. Grandma Isa lived through the depression in Iowa and my Opa (Grandfather in Dutch) was a prisoner of war in World War II and helped build the bridge over the river Kwai. Their stories made history and the world come alive for me.

I'm blessed to have known my grandparents. I still miss them on family holidays and I definitely feel that they are always there watching over me.

Thanks for the reminder, Pat!

You can check out Pat's book here: http://www.grandparentsrock.com/

And see more of our LifeWise sessions here: http://www.festivalofthewise.com/conference/lifewise.html

Let's Go!, Lonely Planet & National Geographic

Okay, so, I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm not a boomer. In fact, I turn 40 on November 21st, right before our first Festival. However, the truth is, I've been following in the footsteps of boomers my whole life and even wearing their hand-me-downs (I'm the youngest of 5 kids with a 10 year age span). 

One of my greatest passions is traveling. At 18 I set off for Europe, at 21 I left Europe for my first trip around the world. Without boomer developed publications, I never would have been able to do it. My first guide book was Let's Go! Europe and as I set off for Nepal, Indonesia and Zimbabwe, I started buying up Lonely Planet guides (I probably should have bought shares in the company!). But, ever since I was born I have been surrounded by a large and growing collection of those fabulous yellow magazines of far-flung places: National Geographic. 

That is why I was SO thrilled to discover Don Mankin, a world adventurer and National Geographic published author was going to speak in our travel conference! I mean, really... This is the guy who wrote: "Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean".  His topic is: The Transformative Power of Adventure Travel.

I know I'm supposed to be working that weekend, but, well, I think you'll know where to find me when Don is speaking!

You can see more about his session here: 

http://www.festivalofthewise.com/conference/travelwise.html

And more about his book here:

http://adventurebook.travel/