Interesting Reflections on Leap Day
Thursday Thoughts, Leap Day Insight, Sharing Moments for Women
It has taken me a few minutes to realize why a frog image is on my search bar. Personally, I have had a deep phobia of this specific gross creature since I was 2 years old. Ask anyone who has heard me scream at TV commercials, films, or outdoor activities, or has seen me totally avoid my pond from April to November. I even used to pay my growing sons a fee if they got any out of our pool or shot them in the pond with a BB gun. Truly, if you wanted to kill me, just send me a frog.
I looked at February 29th as a cool day, once every four years, when you have an entire day to do some “You Only Live Once” adventure to make the day count. Still, today with a snowstorm outside the window, an annual tax appointment already done driving in the blizzard to it, and now disgusting frogs showing up on my screen, I think February 29th is more of a bad day for me.
Luckily, I was never close to giving birth to my two sons at the end of February and had a cousin miss the day by one day. Being a big birthday celebration person, I wouldn’t want anyone I know not able to see their actual birthday on a calendar every year. Or have I been wrong all this time and someone born on 2/29 prizes their special day and overdoes every single birthday celebration that arrives on their actual birth date of 2/29?
All I can tell you is the tax appointment went well, the snow is starting to settle, and my athletic self will relish shoveling the driveway with the best attitude of all….because no frogs are hiding on the path, under the blanket of white, or anywhere nearby. Enjoy your own kind of leap day, friends.
Note: Yes, I did scream at the images I was searching through for this blog since they had many frogs on them! No lie.
Wednesday Wisdom: The Real Bottom Line
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners
| As I try to focus on all the receipts and black-and-white figures I’m reviewing and recording for my annual tax appointment, my eyes blur. I learned a long time ago as a woman entrepreneur with a small, one-person service business, my annual revenue wasn’t going to rival Oprah’s net income, especially during a year when I announced a semi-retirement from doing business events and taking new paying members |
| As I winced at the figure, I turned my head and looked outside my window where a very warm February day was calling me. “No, Tracy, you must stay inside and finish this. Sports can wait,” I said to myself. As I made that statement, my mind flashed to all the risk-taking females who joined me in 2023 on my sports adventures, and suddenly that “bottom line” meant more to me than the final accounting line. Sometimes in business, happy customers, new experiences, and living outside the business plan truly reflect the true “bottom line.” |
| Sure, I could have produced more sporting events to earn more money. Sure, I could have charged more money to make more money. Absolutely I could have tried harder to find monetary sponsors to boost the black and white numbers in my accounting file. But instead, I took a look at my 30-year successful business career and realized it was my choice to decrease my revenue based on some new life decisions. |
| Being a 59-year-old woman with a high level of vitality left hasn’t made it easy to semi-retire from my business. I still feel my value comes from what I earn. It makes sense since from our first professional jobs onward, making a good, and increasing salary is the goal. So, how does a woman refocus her priorities on what really matters most in business? Is it the money or the amazing client experiences? |
| This Wednesday Wisdom will not give you the answer to that question quite yet, and perhaps you have some wisdom to share with me on the topic. All I know is that being around the woman I still love to promote and connect with helps me move forward with or without the desired salary. Have you thought about this yourself? Are you making less money because your mindset or place in life has changed? Do you wish you made more than you do? Is your wish strong enough to make you work harder again once you realize it? Do tell. |
| For me, I’ll contemplate decisions after my tax appointment and running over the Manhattan Bridge and into Times Square on St. Patrick’s Day as I complete the New York City Half Marathon. Until then, I’ll reminisce about the fantastic memories I created in 2023 with fabulous women making me smile no matter what the final bottom line is. |
Wednesday Wisdom: Adapt to New Rituals
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Athletes
| A grey wooden building, with numerous extensions blocking the private back view, greeted us as we arrived in Magog, Quebec for another once-in-a-lifetime experience on my adventure bucket list. The sky was the color of a bluebird, light snow covered the differing-sized pines and birch trees, and a rushing river surrounded the quaint lodge. It was February break and instead of going south to palm trees and warmth, we headed north to our Canadian neighbor. |
| My brother knew I was interested in polar plunging this winter and instead of freezing to death after plunging, he suggested trying a Nordic Station Spa with a thermal cycle built into one’s experience after the icy river. The Nordic Tradition, as the spa called it, is an ancestral ritual originating from Finland – also known as thermotherapy. In this ritual, a person alternates from hot, cold, and relaxation to reach a euphoric sense of wellness. The hot/cold cycle is repeated three times. |
| Trying to temper my excitement to jump in the river first to try this new sport-of-sorts of polar plunging, I was instructed to bake in the sauna, then sit in a hot tub, and then cool off in the river or a cooler pool of water. As I sat in the sauna looking out at the frilly branches of a tree with a dazzling display of silver and white specks on top and falling from them, I relaxed a bit knowing the excitement was coming soon. When I was hot enough, I left the hothouse and headed down the outside stairs to the river. Sure 32-degree water is cold, but I swim in Maine ocean waters, so it wasn’t alarming even though it was 30 degrees cooler. As I dropped my robe uncovered my bathing suit, took off my sandals, walked on the snow, and approached the icy edges of the river, I held onto the rope, dropped down into the current, let out a shrillful glee for 10 seconds, and got back up out of the river bed onto the snow and into my robe exhilarated. |
| Scampering off quickly from the shore with purplish toes, we headed for the hot whirlpool tub. Our bodies warmed and the sun hit our heads. Snow fell lightly from the trees, steam rose above the water and blocked the view of others in the tub, and that euphoric feeling overcame me. Where else would I want to be but here treating myself to both a daring, and relaxing way of Nordic life? |
| Following the thermal cycle, we went from saunas, into the Russian Banya, Steam Crypt, relaxation rooms, outdoor cool pools, hot tubs, and around again, even dunking into the river two more times, before three hours had gone by and we were ready to return our plush robes and head out for some poutine (another first) at Magog’s Winterfest. |
| Today’s Wednesday Wisdom might not seem like it has any business insight into it, but I assure it does. First, it is a reminder to take off once in a while and refresh your heart and soul someplace cool so you can return to your business refreshed. Second, traveling out of state or out of the country even for a couple of days brings excitement to one’s work life. And finally, trying anything new always increases our desire to try something new again and elevates our risk levels in life and work. |
| I wish I owned the Nordic Station Spa just so I could invite you there to experience its tranquil services and surroundings and to have you cannonball into the icy stream; maybe in my next entrepreneurial life, I will. |
Wednesday Wisdom: For the Love Of…
Inspiration, Wisdom for Women Entrepreneurs and Female Business Owners
| Happy Valentine’s Day to all my readers, friends, and members who read my words of love and inspiration every Wednesday. It is because of your positive responses to my writings that have kept me writing and sharing the Wednesday Wisdom for over 18 years. Isn’t that the same as why we are female entrepreneurs too? We love what we do. |
| I came across a wonderful article in Psychology Today entitled, “10 Reasons Why Some People Love What They Do,” written by David DiSalvo. I want you to read the article (find the link below) to inspire you today, but I also wanted to list the headings of the 10 reasons so they spark your interest: |
| * They seldom feel disconnected from the challenge that first engaged their interest. * They are remarkedly well-attuned to the “early years.” * They are “portfolio thinkers.” * They don’t care what you think. * They are born succession planners. * They’ll stay…but they will also leave. * They won’t be stopped. * They draw people to them without even trying. * They live in the now. * They never, ever limit their vision to serve the interests of petty competition. |
| Imagine yourself as one of these people and think of each reason listed and remember when they were true to your entrepreneurial journey or life path. I bet almost all of the reasons match something you’ve done, felt, or experienced. They did for me even reminding me how I wouldn’t be stopped at the beginning of Women TIES when no one understood its mission. |
| What I hope you do today, besides buying valentines, candy, and heart-shaped gifts for those you love, is to look inside and love yourself first – especially if some of the reasons above speak to your heart and career path. We are more than just a beating heart, we are born to do more with our lives than some other people we know. |
| Let today’s Wednesday Wisdom remind you of this and continue to share your unique passion, personality, and mission with the world. |
Wednesday Vibes: Jamming it Up in Roller Derby
Wednesday Vibes, Wednesday Wisdom, Motivation for Women, Women Entrepreneurs, Women in Sports
Had I been in this rink before? If so, it was back in Junior high school in the late 1970s, when roller skating added music, lights, and fun to a teen’s life. If you were lucky, the rink dimmed the overhead lights so strobes and fluorescent lighting illuminated the ground where your quad skates slid across the wooden floor. But today was 2024 and this ole 59’er hadn’t tried roller skating since she was a teen, making this new sport of Roller Derby an interesting prospect.
The thing that happens as you approach your sixth decade of life is your center of weight shifts as your weight increases. Sure, I run half marathons, but that’s easy when your feet hit the pavement and nothing is rolling beneath you. I think my last 8-mile run, which took over an hour, was easier than standing on roller skates for one hour. New experiences give you realistic points of view you wouldn’t gain otherwise.
So, there I was, along with one other 50-year-old woman celebrating her birthday by trying roller derby, and twenty 20- and 30-year-olds, prime for the adventure. The women there were fantastic – friendly, some apprehensive like me, some excellent at the sport already, and accepting of all others in the room. No matter your size, age, gender identification, or skill, every woman was welcome, just like rugby.
The Central New York Roller Derby organization based in my hometown of Rome, NY was well organized and coached. Their leaders made sure we had the essential equipment on – helmet, elbow pads, mouth guards, wrist guards, knee pads, and quad skates. For $50, you get all the rented equipment plus eight weeks of lessons and activity making it a reasonably priced sport to try. They were patient and helpful with the newbies.
Like every sport, we began with warmups. I particularly liked doing pushups and sit-ups with roller skates on. It added some weight to the exercises. Then it was time to stand up and try gliding on the skates. I say this with the hesitation that’s intended. It takes a while to find your center of gravity and fearlessness to push off, glide, and stop without falling down. Okay, I did fall two times until I figured out to lean forward not back in my stance. Like anything in life, you have to adjust to new centers of balance.
Then we got off our skates and learned about the key derby positions of jammers and blockers and did a few activities like getting into positions as blockers to stop the jammers and how to become a pivot blocker if you receive the jammer star/cover when it is handed to you. What I learned only from this small exercise is I need to watch a YouTube video on roller derby to piece it all together so I understand it better the next time I try it. I did this before trying rugby and it helped my comprehension level immediately. Don’t call it necessary due to my age, but rather because I learn best by seeing, and not hearing.
As our two-hour stint came to an end, we gathered for a group photo as buddies who experienced something new and fun for the first time. I vowed to go back next week to try it again since I felt it needed more time to say I tried the sport. I already have a new group of Syracuse roller derby sisters who want to carpool to Rome and a new roller derby name to try out – Pinky Habanero. Every roller derby chick has a nickname. I met Squash, BAM, Dead, Sunshine, Meli, and more.
All I can tell you is if you want to feel young again (in some ways) and old (in other ways), try out roller derby at your local skating rink. Put on those four quads, helmet, and find your center of balance, smile, give yourself a badass name, and get into the rink. I promise you’ll smile, laugh at yourself, and even realize you can be humble, and somewhat graceful while trying something new.
Monday Motivation: Let Magical Moments Inspire You
Monday Motivation, Monday Mood, Inspiration For Women in Sports, Women in Business
Green grass covered my lawn as I left for the latest sports adventure, a year in the making. But as my car crested the hilly landscape an hour from my home, a winter wonderland of tall pines, crystal-falling snowflakes, and frosty-covered rocks appeared magically before my eyes. As one person described it, “Coming into the park was like arriving in Narnia.”
Everyone has heard of yoga, and perhaps even Hot Yoga or Goat Yoga, differing forms of the ancient holistic practice. Still, I was finally trying Snowga (snow yoga) for the first time after being told about it by a woman who heard about it. Growing up as a skier, nature lover, and an all-season sportsgirl, it sounded perfect. But I had to wait one full year to try it since I had just missed the annual event by one day in 2023.
After the cloudiest winter on record, the brilliant robin-blue sky illuminated the forest of tall pines with pure white snow adding the trimmings. Five women were joining me on the adventure taught by the same yoga instructor who taught us Stand Up Paddle Board Yoga on a hot August day. 30 people in total made a circle in a haven of tall pine trees to begin the session. The air was still and the snow sparkling as it lightly drifted down from the pine branches high above us. We were cozy, not cold, and in awe of this pristine setting.
As we moved gently through typical standing yoga poses, we also did some tree poses – so appropriate for our location. At one point, we did what our teacher Lynn called “The Wave” as we moved individually, like dominos, in a circle as the person in front of us or behind us moved their arms and changed positions. Peaceful and in unity, men and women of differing ages and backgrounds moved as one in nature.
Halfway through the one-hour event, we were told to walk silently through the nature center to think about an intention. It wasn’t a few steps into the silent walk, with the sun shining on my face and the “sparkles” from the sun hitting the snowflakes, that I felt my friend Teresa talking to me from heaven. I believe she was actually walking with me since this was something she would have loved to do if she was still alive. It wasn’t a sad walk with her but a joyful one with her smiling and me asking her, “Are you having fun in heaven?
Joining the group again, I shared my memory of walking with her and discovering a “Troll Bridge” covering one of the shimmering streams on the property. The extra touch of childhood glee finding it, made me think of Teresa even more. I could hear us laughing together as we searched for the troll under the bridge. My yoga mates laughed as I told them the story.
Sometimes you find ripples, sparkles, and reminders of people you love when you are in solitude. Other times you discover unity and camaraderie in unexpected places like in a circle of other humans in the pines. And if you are lucky, you get to spend time with the people you cherish, like the women who joined me on this adventure, reminding me that you are never truly alone, even if you are in the forest in February.
Step into the Ring of Action – Say Yes!
Thursday Thoughts, Inspiration, Motivation for Saying YES!
The rusty door opened slowly and inside popped a colorful boxing ring complete with hanging banners, punching bags, boxing gloves, ringside seats, and the smell of stale sweat. I agreed once again to try something new, an adventure of sorts, after seeing a post by my friend Colleen Murphy, a local actress. A mob-inspired boxing match for a local movie was being filmed, and they needed extras in the stands acting as spectators during the boxing fights.
Boxing remains one of the sports I have yet to try officially, and my day was open for some adventure, so I accepted the ringside seats to perform as a spectator while watching a live boxing match in person. The scene being shot was about two pro boxers fighting in an inner city gym while behind the scenes a deal has gone down between one of the fighter’s managers and the mob. The boxers performing the scene are actual boxers and the hits looked real. The mobsters looked like some of my Italian relatives.
I’ve seen Rocky, just like you. I’ve seen mob-like movies where Italians place bets hoping to win big time. I’ve witnessed spectators in crowds booing and cheering. I just never figured I’d be in one. It wasn’t on my list of New Year’s Resolutions for 2024, but there I was excited as a kid in a candy store taking in all the action – even the “rush and wait” mentality behind filming.
My first acting debut was as both an actress and director of my own play in our garage when I was ten years old. I recruited my sister and neighbor to be in it. We used the colorful backdrops from my mom’s productions as a dance teacher for the deaf. I wrote the script. We served Jello and milk to neighbors who came to witness our Oscar Award winning production.
Yesterday, as I took my place on the risers, I sat among fellow extras who had done this numerous times before. Pros, I would say, who shared their experiences and tips for getting more calls to action in the acting world. One of them was a woman entrepreneur, Katrina Lynne, a photographer from Baldwinsville, who when she handed me her promotional materials, had the image of one of my friends on it. The world is small.
Together we cheered, booed, yelled, stood up, picked a winner so our delivery was real, were silent for B-role background sounds, and in between chatted about life. It really wasn’t any different than being at a woman’s business luncheon and getting to know the new women at your table but in a much more colorful setting.
The director Joe Cunningham, who also plays the main character Joe Barnes, was excellent at coordinating the entire production. The movie “The Sentinel” is about a combat veteran who struggles to care for his young son while dealing with severe PTSD. It will be out shortly and I’ll promote it as I always do with things I am involved with.
Next time he needs a female boxer for his movie, maybe he’ll consider allowing an old-timer like me in his ring to give it a shot! A sports girl trying every sport once can only hope. So, please say YES to all the opportunities you are given. By doing so, you’ll expand your world and open up doors with a colorful experience to walk into.
Note: Find out more about The Sentinel at their IMDb link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13180808 or on their Facebook page @The Sentinel-Film.
Wednesday Wisdom: All In
Wednesday Wisdom, Wednesday Morning, Hump Day, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs
An average day doing a familiar activity became less redundant when the voice in my ear was that of Billie Jean King. Winter running – and even – winter surviving in the grey and clouds means finding new stimuli to boost one’s spirit. Today, it was the world-class tennis champion and activist sharing both the highs and lows she faced in an unequal world for females to lift mine.
“All In,” her autobiography playing on Audible in my ears was the second book I have listened to while running, after listening to Kathrine Switzer’s book numerous times and feeling like I needed another feminist experience ringing in my ears. It is amazing how easy running five miles becomes when inspired by a voice in your head and ears. When someone sings the same tune as your soul, it has a way of making a routine attempt, much easier.
Truth be told, I didn’t want to stop running because I didn’t want to stop listening to Billie Jean. Her voice reminded me of meeting her in person in 2018 at the Women’s Sports Foundation annual event where I gave time to share networking tips with up-and-coming amateur female athletes turning professional. I managed to talk to her for a brief second and snap a photo with her.
Because I write as a career, I am not a great reader during off-business hours, unlike most of my friends. So, the idea of running to a book just lights my fire and works perfectly with my daily regimen. My sons commute in and out of the Big Apple listening to books from their industry and hobbies. I’d rather listen to music when I’m driving, but not when I’m running, I’ve found.
If you are a woman entrepreneur with a published book or considering becoming an author, make sure you research and consider the value of turning your written words into vocal ones using your own voice to read to your fans. I know a few women entrepreneurs who have done this so you don’t have to be Billie Jean King or Katherine Switzer with popular names to do it.
This Wednesday Wisdom is to inspire you to look into turning your book into an audiobook or delivering your regular blog post into a vocal post just like you can convert your written text messages into audio ones. What other marketing pieces can you enhance or diversify if you use your voice and not just your pen (or laptop) to create words?
I say be like Billie Jean King and become “all in” to ways to evolve your normal medium of writing or typing into more audible ways.
Oh Barbie, Barbie – It’s the Same Ole Men’s World
In 2010 my 18-year-old son said to me, “Mom, women are equal now. Stop worrying about it!” He knew my profession was uplifting, connecting, and uniting women in business so they would buy from each other and exchange money so we could fight the inequality in the pay gap. I said back to him that night, “Honey, just wait until you are older and are married and your wife doesn’t bring home enough money because the same ole men’s rules continue, then you’ll understand.”
Fast-forward 14 years to everyone’s shock that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie didn’t receive Oscar Nominations for “Barbie” the movie, but the lead actor Ryan Gosling did. I personally thought Ryan was great, but that is not the point. The point is that the people – I’m assuming at least 50% of them men – did not see the value of equally giving women in the movie credit for their roles. Why? Because the same ole men’s rules continue.
Just when we think women are advancing in the case of having a female vice president of the United States or more females in the space program, we get flattened when Roe vs. Wade is reversed and even when the female director and female lead of a blockbuster movie don’t get nominated for an award. Hmmm, could it be that the same old men’s rules continue?
I’m not sure how to fix it because I’ve been very vocal about women’s equality – especially pay equality for 3-decades – and nothing has changed. Perhaps we inched up a percentage or two in what we earn compared to men or how many women are in the C-Suite, but in society and politics where change must take root, nothing has changed, and it’s still the same ole men’s rules.
In 2023, I created a new quote for my company and it is, “The world won’t change for women unless women change the world for women.” It is true. Men’s rules will dominate until enough women believe strongly enough that the time has come for major change and convince not only the men in their life but other women and girls, that we must change the world.
Be vocal. March. Vote. Talk, Converse. Gather. Tell the truth to everyone you know. And then perhaps in another 30 years, we’ll see some sort of change…maybe.
Wednesday Wisdom: Friendraising vs. Fundraising
Wednesday Morning, Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs
The sweetest little boy, accompanied by his mother, approached me during my 4-hour volunteer shift. He was pointing at the small basketball net with a rainbow-colored basketball in his hands. The basket was too tall for him to throw the ball into, so I helped him and his mother adjust it to his height. With twinkling eyes and deep dimples flashing, he excitedly and proudly dunked the ball and then waddled off to find something else to play with awaiting his doctor’s appointment.
When I got home from my shift, I found a donation request from St. Jude’s Hospital in it, with a photo of a similar boy I had helped in person in their promotional flyer. Typically, my mailbox is full of these requests, especially if you give a simple $10 donation for return address labels one time. It is hard to say no to an ill child or a happy one gleaming from ear to ear.
I learned a long time ago, early in my institutional advancement career, to be wise with donations. There are always requests for fundraising dollars. It made asking for money easier if the “friend”-raising part of the equation happened before the ask. Personally becoming acquainted with a person or organization in need of funds is often a way individuals or businesses decide to donate. There needs to be a warm connection.
I loved being in the friend-raising side of institution advancement which meant planning events, meeting and greeting guests (aka clients), asking them personal questions, getting to know them better, sending cards or news clippings, and truly acting as a friend when they requested help from our office. If I did my job right on the alumni relations side of the coin, then the development staff would have an easier time asking for and receiving monetary donations.
As small business owners, we wear both hats – the friend-raiser and the fundraiser – if we are looking for sponsorship, funding, or even angel investors for our companies. A company won’t just hand over money if they don’t know anything about us. They typically support us because they know us, what we stand for, and how we will deliver on any marketing or PR we offer them in exchange for their donations.
This Wednesday Wisdom is to remind you that as a solo woman entrepreneur or one who runs her own company with a small staff, you wear both hats too. You must invite your clients to events, talk to them on the phone, send them information about their businesses or personal lives, and build respect and trust. You need to be invested in them before they invest in you. Then when the time comes when you need a sponsor or special funding, it is easier to reach out to those relationships you’ve cultivated and ask for what you need.
A solo fundraising letter in the mail will not produce half the results you are looking for as face-to-face personal interactions with the people or companies you have shown care and concern about. Instead, do the personal work – the friend-raising part – and mean it before asking for financial support. The secret to fundraising success is showing you care first.
Women TIES 