Inspiration: Writing Prompt
I join a group of writers and movers every Wednesday morning, thanks to my friend Julie B. Hughes of “Run to Write.” She hosts six-week sessions three times a year and some special daily summer sessions. We run or walk for 30 minutes, grab a coffee, and start writing.
Although I am a published author of my book, “Under the Rose-Colored Hat,” with stories in three Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and wrote the “Ask the Entrepreneurs” column in the Post Standard for eleven years, I still get stuck writing sometimes. This group inspires me to begin penning! Even when I miss a session, Julie sends writing prompts to get us going. After we start, we can continue writing on the prompt subject or write our projects, books, articles, etc.
I wanted to share last week’s prompt with you so you can try it and see how easy it is to start writing. Set your timer to 5 minutes. Last week’s prompt was, “Write about the origin of your name. One sentence has to be false.” My writing response was:
According to Wikipedia, my name, Tracy, was popular in 1964 among the top 100 names for American girls between 1960 and 1984. Tracy came from a surname. It has been used as a masculine name in the United States since the 19th century. My first-grade teacher, Mrs. Stubbs, had a son named Tracy. I was confused about my name’s masculine indications when I first heard her mention his name. I asked my mom how her and my dad chose my name and she said because they were movie fans it came from the movie Dick Tracy. I guess I wasn’t too far off the male-focused nature of my name.
This Wednesday, Wisdom inspires you to start writing more often if you haven’t. If you need inspiration, walk or run for 30 minutes, then start compiling your thoughts. Try writing for five minutes about the origin of your name. Then, carry on from there. If you get the bug to keep moving and writing, drop in at one of Julie’s Wednesday morning events until mid-June for $20.
If you need even more motivation to run, write, or move this summer, think about taking a cool glass of lemonade outside and sitting under a tall tree, lakeside, patio, or park bench, and make it a weekly routine. You’ll amaze yourself by summer’s end.
Word of the Day: Flights
#MedalMonday #MondayMotivation
As I answer questions about my recent trip to California, the main word that comes to mind is “flights.” You might think flights mean the airplane flights from the East to the West Coast or the number of flights of beer we tried at unique breweries. Instead, flights refer to the number my watch counted I ran during the Big Sur Marathon’s 11-miler.
The day before the race, I drove from Monterrey to Big Sur to see what it looked like since I wasn’t starting at the beginning but rather 15 miles beyond it. I had heard how beautiful it was, so I had to see it on a clear, blue-sky day. The hills were numerous, and the one near the Bixby Bridge was huge. I knew I was right when I decided to drop to the lower mileage due to my hamstring strain.
As I took a long, winding road from the main thoroughfare to the ocean so I could walk on the beach, my ears popped often. Once at the bottom, I realized my run would be hillier than I thought, but I enjoyed staring at the breaking waves over rocks jutting out from the sea bottom, mesmerized. The thought of running a hilly race didn’t seem necessary, as the ocean captured me.
The next day, I was up early to catch the 5:30 a.m. bus to the 11-miler start location. In the back seat of the bus, my stomach indicated to me the bumpiness of the route. Still, I didn’t worry. I was ready to run no matter what. At 7 a.m. sharp, the horn sounded, and off I ran with others in a rainy, misty, dark atmosphere. The ocean was barely visible, but it could be heard. The sky got lighter as we ran to the finish.
With my hamstring straining, I could run down all the hills but had to walk/run up the inclines. I didn’t care; I was there for the experience, not a PR. After crossing the finish line while waiting for my husband, I was awarded the unique handmade clay medal and stopped my watch. I didn’t notice the time as much as the number of flights I climbed running—76!
After hiking Yosemite trails the following week, the highest number of flights climbed was 40, almost half of the Big Sur Marathon’s 11-miler course. This gives you some indication of the challenging California race, which I suggest you try one day. It was very well organized with breathtaking views, excellent volunteers, music, scenery, and, of course, flights of inclines worth the challenge.
P.S. What are the most “flights” you’ve run before?
Wednesday Wisdom: Cross Training
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs, Females in Sports
It was so windy that my bike felt like it was going sideways. Gusts of changeable Springtime air pushed me and my bike everywhere. I couldn’t let the wind stop me because it was a cross-training day for my upcoming Big Sur Marathon race. Windy or not, I was getting it done.
As I cruised along, my phone beeped. It was a reminder from Duolingo about my Italian lesson. It didn’t want me to lose my 133-day practice streak. I started learning my family’s home language after visiting my grandparents’ Italian hometowns for my 60th birthday. I love learning another language—another cross-training experience.
As America and global life keep changing, starting cross-training for your business or personal life isn’t a bad idea. It’s hard to find time to add something new to our daily agenda, but what if a new online course, another language, or a new technological advancement could positively affect your life by training in these areas? Perhaps your staff could also benefit from cross-training in each other’s positions in case of maternity leave, illness, efficiency, or a need to reduce staff hours.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom inspires you to consider cross-training in several spheres of your life. The training could be in fitness, entrepreneurship, technology, advanced studies in your field, or something you’d love to learn or improve.
As Wikipedia states about physical cross-training, “Cross-training is a versatile approach that involves engaging in various physical activities to improve overall fitness, performance, and reduce the risk of injury.” If you are more interested in cross-training employees, an informative article on the benefits is at this link.
Why not consider what type of new engagement can improve your performance in any area of your overall life?
A vedêse mercoldì che ven, miei amis(See you next Wednesday, my friends – in Italian)
Wednesday Wisdom: Try Substack
Wednesday Morning, Wednesday Wisdom, Motivation, Inspiration
I remember when marketing tools like Constant Contact became popular in the marketplace. It was 2008, three years after I created Women TIES, my second company. At the same time, female entrepreneurship was rising, and I made my second company to inspire, educate, and promote women business owners across our state.
Since 2005, we have hosted educational programs on new social media marketing tools as they entered mainstream, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and WordPress blogs, to help our sister entrepreneurs. Sometimes, I needed personal instruction from more tech-savvy women to show me how to use the latest platforms. Paying attention to what was happening nationally and globally also inspired me.
As politics and social media companies clashed last year and became entangled in poor ways, I turned to new platforms that interested me, like BlueSky and Substack. As of today, more big-name people like Hillary Clinton and national reporters like Jim Acosta have joined and are spreading their news on the medium.
Many have daily video shows with or without guests, write articles about current-day American life, and can get paid by subscribers quickly. Yes, get paid subscribers! They can also record personal shows without needing network television. If they can, you can do it too if you are interested and have a following.
According to Yahoo.com, “Substack is seeing explosive paid subscription growth this year, with the crazy political environment and a strategic push into audio and video helping it do so. Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie states the platform has passed 5 million paid subscriptions. That is up from 4 million just four months ago, and 3 million a year ago.”
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is intended for you to check out Substack, learn more about it, create a marketing plan if you are interested in using it, follow major companies or talents in your industry, and sign up for a free account to test it out. It could be a new income stream once you establish yourself as someone with knowledge and followers. Please find me at this link: Tracy Chamberlain Higginbotham | Substack and see how I use it to post about areas I’m interested in.
I also “restack” articles from people I follow and admire there, which means more marketing for you if I become your follower. It is a new and exciting marketing medium and news outlet, so try it.
Wednesday Wisdom: Good Trouble
Inspiration and Motivation for Women
| I can’t think of any other topic for this week’s Wednesday Wisdom than “Stand Up” since Senator Corey Booker spoke for more than 15 hours yesterday on an agenda to bring attention to what the Trump Administration is doing to injure our country and freedoms and will continue to do to the USA. |
| Public speaking isn’t everyone’s favorite thing to do. I love it, but I’m unsure I could speak for 15 hours. He was inspired by John Lewis’s example and words, “get in good trouble,” to change the USA for the better regarding racial discrimination. If you haven’t watched the movie Selma yet, you should. |
| This Saturday, April 5th, Americans, joined by citizens of other countries, will gather to “stand up” in the “Global Day of Protests: Cities Unite against Trump and Musk.” The Times Weekly explains the protest this way: |
| Tens of thousands of people in the United States and around the world are preparing to take to the streets on Saturday, April 5, which organizers are calling the largest single day of protest since Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term. With more than 600 events planned across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and multiple international cities, the message is unified and urgent: Hands off our rights, our resources, and our democracy. In London, demonstrators will gather in Trafalgar Square from 3 to 5 p.m. BST, joining the movement alongside Americans, Canadians, Brits, and others from around the world. “They’re threatening to invade Canada, Greenland, and Panama—and daring the world to stop them. Well, this is the world saying NO,” organizers said. “This is a crisis, and the time to act is now.” |
| In this Wednesday Wisdom, I encourage you to join me, Senator Booker, and millions of others on Saturday at a local or state area where a protest is happening. In Syracuse, the April 5 “Hands Off” protest promises to be big. You can find out more at the national organization link or locally at this link. |
| Now is not the time for women to shrink away from fighting for their future. We already don’t get paid equally to men, Roe vs. Wade was overturned, and we can’t keep being silent or sitting in our desk chairs and not do something. I hope you join me Saturday and get into good trouble, too, standing up for all that’s good about “our” beautiful America. |
Wednesday Wisdom: Psychotic Optimism
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation
Sitting in the audience at American High in Liverpool celebrating the first anniversary of the Syracuse Actors Studio, an important question was asked from the audience to the man on the screen, Mark Wheeler, a producer of films, joining the conversation from Belfast. The question to him was, “How do you keep going after facing rejection?” The simple reply is, “Psychotic Optimism.”Psychotic optimism is tenacity to finish anything you are so passionate about that you can’t stop. He said, “Admit when you don’t know everything, and learn from complex, interesting people.”
This made perfect sense to me as a long-time woman entrepreneur with a deep passion for changing the financial impact women could make by buying from and hiring other women. I decided to check out the official description of “Psychotic Optimism” online since I thought it was a cool term. Psychology Today said, “Psychotic optimism is not a recognized term in psychology. However, optimism is a positive mindset that anticipates positive circumstances and improved outcomes. It doesn’t mean engaging in wishful or fantastic thinking, but rather a way of looking at the world that gives more agency to the optimist.”
I like it! I think I was living it this weekend, running the Syracuse Half Marathon with bronchitis, imagining I would finish, and not realizing until a day later that I ran this year’s half marathon the fastest I had ever run by 6 seconds. I think somewhere inside myself, I knew I had to be “a psychotic optimist” to even run it being sick.
Looking at your entrepreneurial life, you’ll remember many times when your drive, tenacity, and pure optimism made you succeed. So, today, I hope you retrace some high points in your career where being a psychotic optimist carried you through, got the work done, and eventually made you soar. Perhaps your example gave others reasons to rise, too.
We all glean golden nuggets of inspiration from others, especially when gathered in a crowd listening to wisdom from people in and outside of our career field. The next time you have an opportunity to go somewhere unfamiliar and listen to people not in your career lane, take them up on the offer and go there with psychotic optimism.
Wednesday Wisdom: Test Runs
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs and Female Runners
| The periwinkle sky was yearning to share its hue. The wild wind from the past weekend subsided. The final ounces of snow melted by the March sunshine. With one week to go until the race I was training for, it was time for a test run. |
| The words ‘test run’ instantly conjured up memories, like the beta test for the Women TIES website twenty years ago, ensuring it was ready for the public to use, or the dress rehearsals at Le Moyne College’s annual galas I managed. Anything worth presenting to the community should be tested more than once to ensure it looks, sounds, and works good. |
| If we dedicate weeks, months, and even years into creating something new or improving a system, we shouldn’t send it off without final analysis. Sometimes our own eyes can find areas of improvement, but other times others less involved with a project or goal has useful criticism. We mustn’t shy away from hearing what’s wrong, so we produce the best new version of our work. |
| If you aren’t a race runner, you might not know the value of testing nourishment intake, clothing comfort, split times, and earpad battery life to ensure you are set for the big race. Today, I tested all of these, made notes, and will be prepared for Sunday’s Syracuse Half Marathon. Without testing, I’d be less confident and anxious. |
| Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is to remind you to build in review time, by yourself and others, when working on reforming, redoing, or adding a new service or product to your business. If you are writing a book or launching new webpages, solicit proofreaders or editors to assist or key customers and staff if you want to create a new logo or mission statement. Give yourself enough time, with input from others, to make adjustments to your work before it goes live. |
| Leo Tolstoy said, “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” I’ll take that with me, running 13.1 miles on Sunday if you promise to remember it. |
Wednesday Wisdom: Speak Up & Share
Inspiration and Motivation for Living in Today’s Economy
As I hugged my 23-year-old goddaughter and niece last weekend, I sensed her sadness at having her Master’s Degree at the University of Rhode Island dramatically affected by the current administration’s decisions on NOA. Lexie has been involved with mapping the seafloor since college and got an all-paid Master’s program due to her experience and smarts.
With the funding disappearing, she applied for a highly competitive position near Fuji in the Ocean Exploration Trust, Science and Engineering Internship Program. Through strong student/teacher connections, grades, and attitude, she was accepted in the program where she will continue seafloor mapping in the South Pacific.
She hasn’t been the only one in our circle of family and friends affected by cuts, tariffs, new policy changes, discrimination, etc. I share with you what else has occurred in our circle:
* My husband’s 40-year building materials career became more stressful as tariffs were added and withdrawn from Canada and Mexico. New price increases had to be attached to their inventory, which affected their sales and the average contractor’s sales. Could this happen with your company, too?
* My brother, who got his Ph.D. during COVID-19 and works to place migrants into careers in America, and works on their behalf, only has funding for his job until June. He still owes much money on loans. His livelihood is in peril. Does this sound like someone in your family?
* My oldest son, who is only 2 years away from having his medical college loan dismissed through the government, may have to pay all of it even though he put in the time needed to serve clients. This will affect his ability to get the money to buy his first house. Do you have first-time homebuyers who can’t afford a home?
If this happens in my realm, can you imagine what is happening to everyone else, including your circle?
I know it is uncomfortable to talk about politics; I have a husband who prefers not to be stressed by it, but when we see real examples of our government’s abuse of people we love or work with, it is essential to share our stories and get them out in the public. We need everyone to tell their story so that elected officials now understand the gravity of the American story.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom encourages you to speak up and share what is happening to your business, clients, or family. Real people must share how these wide-sweeping changes impact our American story. Nothing in our history was ever won by silence. Banding together and announcing what is happening helps produce change.
I sincerely hope your life, business, and career aren’t negatively impacted by the changes occurring in our homeland. If it is and I can help you, please let me know. If I can send you to people who can help, I will. We are doing this together, so speak up and share.
P.S. Here is my brother’s bio if anyone is interested in his work:
JACOB P. CHAMBERLAIN is a critical human geographer. He received his PhD in Geography from the Graduate School of Geography, Clark University. He also holds an MA in Postcolonial Culture and Global Policy from Goldsmiths, University of London and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Southern Maine. His work builds on critical theories within geography, migration studies, legal studies, citizenship studies, and political theory. He lives in Winooski, Vermont.
Women Entrepreneurs, Inspiration, Feminism
When I look back on the year 2005, I remember some key events: YouTube, an American online video-sharing and social media platform, was founded; Angela Merkel assumed office as the first female Chancellor of Germany; Rose Marks died of natural causes; 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education; and Women TIES launched on March 3rd.
When I researched 2005 events, I chose the ones that were somehow related to Women TIES, LLC—a first-time female leader of Germany, the death of an iconic activist, the launch of video as a new marketing platform, and the significance of sports, which later became a division of Women TIES.
Of course, I remember filling out the paperwork for Women TIES around 10 a.m. on March 3rd before I headed to Auburn for the annual event “A Room Full of Sisters,” which celebrated women of all colors and races supporting each other. I announced the Women TIES formation in front of 400 women who applauded the concept. It gave me goosebumps.
I purposely chose March, Women’s History Month, for its launch in a sister city to Syracuse, knowing I would travel our state to connect women from other regions online and in person to network, connect, and make strong economic ties to grow women’s revenue. Without a pay equality law, I wanted to even the playing field and help women exchange money with each other first and foremost.
Whether I was in Ithaca, Utica, Skaneateles, Saratoga, Binghamton, Watertown, Oswego, Canandaigua, Rochester, Auburn, Rome, or Albany, I met amazing women who enthusiastically embraced Women TIES’ feminist economic buying mission. They took my idea and made it a successful reality, for which I am incredibly grateful twenty years later.
Through economic ups and downs, inequality, and COVID-19, we survived together in business. We embraced the diversity of our business services and products, shared good and bad lessons learned, united to support women running for political office, participated in sporting events, uplifted female athletes, and gave as much business as possible to other women. Thank you!
This Wednesday, Wisdom, I want to remind you that you have the power daily to make a difference in women’s and entrepreneurs’ lives. When you need to hire someone, hire a woman. When you need to refer someone, could you refer a woman? When you see inequality, speak up for women. When you see young girls trying to succeed, please help them. When you are asked to support a girl’s sporting event, please do it.
It is up to women to change the world for women – no one else. It is something we can do every day of our lives. In sisterhood, we will rise. We will succeed. We will eventually get equality. Until then, please “Think Pink. Live Pink. Buy Pink.”
Wednesday Wisdom: Carpe Diem
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs, Females
| We’ve heard it all our lives: “Seize the Day or Carpe Diem” – with the meaning of making the most of your life at this moment. Like you, this exact moment out my window looks like the tundra with whipping winds and ice remnants flying through the air, crashing into my window, providing an interesting array of musical notes for the day. It is hard to enjoy. |
| As despair tries to set in, I notice advertisements for spring clothes, tulip orders, and fertilizer in my feed. What I would give for planting some tulips with fertilizer while donning spring clothes right now. But the point is, spring is just around the corner if we hang in there mentally and physically. |
| We open our pool exactly two months from today. It seems crazy at the moment that this is possible, but it is. Just like when we closed our pool in early October, thinking there was no way the first snowflake could fall within one month, it did. Time moves fast. |
| Although this Wednesday, Wisdom isn’t about business, it is about our lives and how we get through the tough times. Whether it’s freezing temperatures, blazing hot summers, times of sadness or happiness, we get by, we survive, we live on. So even if the picture outside your window is bleak, you know in a few more tomorrows it will be green, just like the beer flowing on St. Patrick’s Day. |
| Today’s inspiration is to lift your spirits simply. I see and hear from many people who can’t take one more day of brutal cold. I hear you, so this one is for you. I hope you’ll take my lead and not seize the day since it might seize your heart into an attack trying to shovel snow, but rather look forward two months from now when irises bloom, robins look for worms, white turns to green, and our spirits are free to soar again outside. I promise you it will be here before we know it. |
Women TIES 