Into the Potential Zone

This is the vision board I made during the Friday night session of our writing retreat last weekend. It is one of my new favorite things. And I wonder if it inspired me today. …

One of Barbara Stanny‘s recommendations is to s-t-r-e-t-c-h one’s self every day. That is, to do something a little bit uncomfortable or scary daily. Putting together a well-coordinated sassy outfit-with-accessories like the center image in the vision board above would definitely fall under the category of “stretch” for me. Partner that with my first public speaking engagement and that might just qualify as enough stretch for the entire week!

After years of successfully staying behind-the-scenes with the New Girl Network, it was finally my time to contribute as a speaker. Not my comfort zone. Or, as I am trying to say now, into my potential zone. Creating the power point presentation was the fun part, describing the ‘adventure’ of marketing my book online. Thanks to another blogging and flickr friend, Africankelli, I was able to incorporate wild animal photos as an enhancement to the presentation.

The first ‘stretch’ was the outfit. Since gaining 40 lbs. with middle-age, cute outfits have slipped out of my wardrobe vocabulary. But with the wise guidance of my sister, I showed up in heels, hose, a snappy dress and my own handmade jewelry. And my favorite Parisian red lipstick (bought at the last minute in the Paris airport in ’02).

The second ‘stretch’ was the public speaking. Whew. This personal growth thing is hard! And it sure isn’t comfortable! But being prepared is key and giving the attendees something to look at besides myself I knew would help me to feel more at ease. So with the power point presentation on the laptop, a handout of resources, my heels and red lipstick, I was good to go.

The presentation went well. And I left the meeting with another speaking engagement in ’08 and a thumbs-up for a tv interview, too. … Even the outfit received compliments! Maybe a fashionable winter pocketbook is next – one size fits all, right?