Archive for September, 2008

I’ve talked with women all over the US about the loss of identity that often occurs when professional women have children. This feeling seems to be common among executive women that I speak to who usually range in ages between 30 to 45.

For example, I once interviewed a woman who was previously a partner in a very large law firm in Washington DC making over $.5 Million per year. Prior to deciding to start a family, she was the major breadwinner for her family. Once she and her husband embarked upon becoming three, they decided her husband’s career would become the focus and hers would take the back seat.

I wanted to pass along a great opportunity to participate in a conference coming up in Orange county on October 16: The Next Generation of Work Flexibility: An Innovative Forum for Employers and The Flexible Work Force.

The goal of the event is to help promote an open dialog about flexibility in the workplace for the many professional mothers and fathers who struggle with work life balance and the employers competing for talent in today’s increasingly demanding work environment. You can read more specifics about the event at their web site but below are a few of the highlights of the conference:

Waiting in the very crowded Bare Lounge at the Mirage Hotel last week during a Blog World Expo party, I was standing next to a guy i didn’t know. Naturally we were talking as there was nothing else to do but wait. It was hot and we were thirsty. He never told me his name but he was nice and funny so I didn’t mind. I ended up seeing him wherever I went the rest of the evening but still didn’t know him. That is, until I walked into my first session the next morning on Monetizing Your Blog. There he sat on the panel. Famous Brian Clark, aka CopyBlogger. Brian’s blog is a Technorati top 10 and he recently won the #1 spot of Top Ten Blogs for Writers for the third consecutive year.

I just returned from an 18 day trip last night. My last stop was Blog World Expo ‘08 in Las Vegas. I went to the conference to enhance my understanding of the New Media industry and to learn how to better serve you, my readers, as a writer/blogger. Little did I know of the almost limitless benefits that this little four day trip would bring me. I’m still digesting everything I learned over the past few days and I know I will be for quite some time. However, the one gem of the conference is this:

I am sitting here in my dad’s kitchen in Florida thinking how I should be writing a post for my blog. Sorry guys, it’s been a few days but I’ve been consumed with family obligations. I want coffee but have no time for driving to Starbucks. Too many things to get done today and not enough time (ahh, the old familiar motto of the Working Mother rears it’s head again…but today for a different reason). My dad has been in the hospital since 9/11 and may be coming home today or tomorrow. I leave early tomorrow morning for Blog World Expo in Las Vegas so today I want to do everything I can to spend every minute with my Dad and to prepare him for his homecoming. I’m dressed for the gym, but am changing my mind, thinking my time is better invested in Dad things today.

Yesterday was a perfect day for winding down our week at the lake. It rained. It didn’t rain a little, it rained a bunch. All day, all night, in buckets. In Southern California, sometimes it doesn’t rain for eight months so I really miss days when you get an excuse to stay inside and do inside things. I also miss sitting on the porch, listening to the rain and letting the sound lull you into a semi-meditative state where you don’t have to work too hard to let your mind wander to what it really wants to think about. I’ve enjoyed the week at this lake and I’ve enjoyed writing about it and sharing my experience with all of you. However, I’ve had my fill and I’m ready to leave. Time to move on the the next phase of my marathon trip.

I purposely didn’t write about 9/11 yesterday. Not that I didn’t want to honor the monumental event that occured seven years ago and to pay respect to the lives lost and the families affected but I wanted to avoid contributing to the negative energy that would inevitably be evoked by remembering. Like most of you, I remember exactly what I was doing that morning. It was three weeks before my wedding day.

Despite my efforts to stay positive, my day yesterday got off to a rocky start. Could the universal energy pool be off this morning? Is everyone’s energy is so negatively charged due to their memories of 9/11? I wonder…

Today, I had the great pleasure of a triathlon day made up of hiking, kayaking and waterskiing in a beautiful fall weather day. If you’ve been following along, you know I’m vacationing in the Adirondacks of New York. It was less than 40 degrees fahrenheit when I woke up today so the fact that it turned into such a great day was a true gift. During my kayaking adventure, I was paddling far ahead of my family enjoying the solitude and taking in the beauty of nature. I wasn’t thinking about work or much of anything at all. (This is unusual for me as I am gifted and tortured with a busy mind). This quiet time wasn’t destined to last and was interupted as I hear my husband talking to my daughter, “Great kayaking is all about great balance”, he says to her. I think, “Isn’t that the truth about everything?”. And it is, isn’t it? The key to almost any great challenge we face in life is moderation and balance. As working mothers, we’re probably the worst offenders to turning our heads to balance for ourselves. However, we must remember that everyone around us is tied to our balance. If we’re off kilter, we cause a domino effect for everyone else. Try to remember that. As a Six Figure Mom, likely a Type A personality, you are very powerful. If you don’t take care of yourself and protect your center, you can cause great waves of anxiety and unhappiness all around you. How great that you are so powerful but what responsibility that comes with. If you think this isn’t true, you’re kidding yourself.

Harvard Business Publications Blogs always have something great to read. I can’t do much more justice in describing this article other than to say to you, working moms, READ IT. The article eloquently delivers a discussion of the differences that still exist for working mothers in today’s modern world regardless of how much progress we’ve made since the days of the first feminist. Bottom line is, issues that would never be discussed if Sarah Palin was a male surface for her everyday of her political career. Whether you are a fan or not of this woman, as another mother, you have to empathize with the fact that she must fight this noise everyday spending her energy on it instead the real issues facing our world.

For several years, I’ve been saddened as the Starbucks, Gaps and Banana Republics of the world take over the mom and pop shops of local neighborhoods. The local charm and personality of every American city has slowly morphed into the same homogenized version so that you can’t really tell whether you’re in Hillcrest or Kansas City. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Starbucks fan right there with the rest of you. (In fact, I really like the book Pour Your Heart Into It, How Starbucks Built a Business One Cup at a Time as one of my favorite quotes about confidence and dealing with uncertainty comes from the author, Howard Shultz, Starbucks founder). However, in general, I’m not a fan of chain restaurants and I’d drive way out of my way on a business trip to experience local personality versus visit the same old Ruth Chris anyday.