Our five judges are finished and made their picks. The returning judges told me that the essays this year were, overall, even better than 2008. Thank you to all of you who sent contest entries!!
The winners of the 2009 Victorious Woman Essay Contest are:
1st Prize:Amy Sherman
Overcoming Adversity: We're All Winners
2nd Prize: Amalia Starr
Second Chances
3rd Prize: Donna Johnson
Dancing in the Rain
CONGRATULATIONS TO EACH OF YOU!!
The winning essays will be posted online over the next few months. In fact, right now you can read about Amy Sherman’s health challenge, how she dealt with it and what she's doing now at: http://www.victoriouswoman.com/vwmonth.htm
The 2010 Victorious Woman Essay Contest will open up in March of next year. To get on the early-notification list and also receive other Victorious Woman updates and news, sign up for the Victorious Voices newsletter at: http://www.victoriouswoman.com
Make this month a victorious one!
Annmarie
Showing posts with label Victory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victory. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Susan Boyle - More than Britain's Talent
If you didn’t see and hear Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent, check her out on YouTube.
Susan Boyle is a 47-year-old woman who says she’s never been kissed, in fact, she said she’s never even had a date. She still lives in the house in which she grew up and cared for her parents. Before dying, Susan’s mother told Susan to make something of herself. When Simon Cowell asked her why she hadn’t been successful with a singing career until now, Susan said she’d never been given the chance. She hoped the reality show would be her opportunity.
Can you imagine how Susan Boyle felt? Don’t you wonder how she had the guts to get on that stage? Then, after subtle mocking from not only Simon but the whole audience, don't you wonder how she still kept it together enough to sing...magnificently?
Susan Boyle did five things that opened the door for her: She believed in honoring her commitments, she honed her skill, never gave up, didn’t let her age stop her, and she showed up.
“So what?” you say, "What’s that mean to me?"
Maybe everything. Like Susan Boyle, you don't know where life is going to take you. If life hasn’t turned out the way you wanted, you don't pack it in. Instead, you do what Boyle did, you keep doing your best so that when opportunity comes your way, you're ready. Following Boyle's lead, here's how:
- Make a commitment to yourself and be serious about honoring it. It might also help if you commit to someone else, as in an accountability partner
- Keep practicing what you do best. Maybe it’s not singing in the choir. Maybe your talent is organization and the only practice you get is organizing and managing the volunteers at your child’s school. Keep doing it. Recently, I met a woman whose talent is sewing. One day she made a handbag that got so many compliments, she began making and selling them. In one year, her hobby has grown into a business and a nice income.
- NEVER give up. A dream deferred isn’t a dream denied.
- Too old? Nonsense! Sometimes opportunities come your way with the confidence of experience.
- SHOW UP – if you are always turning your back on an opportunity or saying “no, not now”, nothing will ever happen. You have to show up in your life by saying ‘yes’ to opportunities.
No matter where you are in your life, don’t go quietly into some obscure quiet life. Follow the Victorious Woman Model, just as Susan Boyle did, and LIVE OUT LOUD, IN LIVING COLOR.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Poverty to Prosperity for Hispanic Victorious Woman
When little Connie Harryman found the purple gloves in the dumping ground where her family scavenged, she was only dreaming of success. As she grew up, she could easily have gotten sidetracked by life's twists and turns...but she didn't.
Instead, Connie dug down inside and found her victorious self. As a result, she made her dreams come true. How she did it is the reason The Victorious Woman Project honored Connie as its January 2009 Victorious Woman.
Read her story and let me know what you think. Also, check out Connie's website.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Hope and That Little Town of Bethlehem
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” - you probably sang it this season, or at least heard it. Did you know the words were written in 1868, by a minister from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? Isn't it amazing how timeless the sentiment is – “the hopes and fears of all the years” - fitting both a post-Civil War economy and a current-day recession. They are both part of our human experience.
Yet, if you focus on fear, you can make yourself a nervous wreck. Since you're constantly bombarded with negative news, you can worry about the economy, jobs and the state of the world, wondering what’s going to happen next. Maybe you have forgotten what it means to live within your means and, like so many of us, wrap values around the money-made “show” of your life, instead of the value-driven “flow” of it.
Still, in the midst of all the negativity, you can choose to feel hope. I do.
Many economists think that the economy will turn around by next fall. I hope they’re right. However, it’s in women that I have the most hope. It’s in you and me and the other women in my town – and yours. We are leaders in our families, at work, and in our communities. We all have a wonderful opportunity to learn (or maybe relearn) lessons about what we value that has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with meaningful living – or as pastor Rick Warren would describe – a purpose-driven life.
As you think about your life and the future this Christmas Day 2008, and your hopes and fears, what are some of the values you would like to focus on throughout this holiday season and into 2009? Will you refocus your behaviors to be more in line with integrity and honesty? Will your spending habits reflect good sense instead of instant gratification? What about practicing perseverance instead of giving up and focused living instead scattered and imbalanced lifestyles?
What values will be shaping your life over the next year or so? How about sharing them with other readers - you'll never know who you'll be helping!
Yet, if you focus on fear, you can make yourself a nervous wreck. Since you're constantly bombarded with negative news, you can worry about the economy, jobs and the state of the world, wondering what’s going to happen next. Maybe you have forgotten what it means to live within your means and, like so many of us, wrap values around the money-made “show” of your life, instead of the value-driven “flow” of it.
Still, in the midst of all the negativity, you can choose to feel hope. I do.
Many economists think that the economy will turn around by next fall. I hope they’re right. However, it’s in women that I have the most hope. It’s in you and me and the other women in my town – and yours. We are leaders in our families, at work, and in our communities. We all have a wonderful opportunity to learn (or maybe relearn) lessons about what we value that has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with meaningful living – or as pastor Rick Warren would describe – a purpose-driven life.
As you think about your life and the future this Christmas Day 2008, and your hopes and fears, what are some of the values you would like to focus on throughout this holiday season and into 2009? Will you refocus your behaviors to be more in line with integrity and honesty? Will your spending habits reflect good sense instead of instant gratification? What about practicing perseverance instead of giving up and focused living instead scattered and imbalanced lifestyles?
What values will be shaping your life over the next year or so? How about sharing them with other readers - you'll never know who you'll be helping!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Gibson Too Tough on Palin?
So, women, what did you think of Sarah Palin's first interview? Today's buzz is all about whether Charlie Gibson was too tough on her or not. What do the pundits think we're supposed to be, whiny marshmallow chicks who can't hold our own in high positions?
Here's my Victorious Woman perspective - NO!
Sarah Palin is running for the second highest office in the US. Most of us know little about her and want to know who she is. Journalists should ask tough questions, to Palin...and all the candidates. You can't run for the highest offices and expect a pass because of gender...or race.
And therein lies the problem, as I see it. Barack Obama wasn't vetted much more than Palin before he stepped onto the national stage. When people wanted to know more, the press (who we should be able to trust to be unbiased) went crazy. Media coverage became so obviously Obama-d that (1) the Campbell Brown-hosted debate was parodied on Saturday Night Live (check YouTube) and even (2) the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, said the Obama coverage was "embarrassing" and that "certain media outlets were openly partisan, had really bought into Barack Obama as a savior."
Clearly, a real journalist who is doing her/his job, should be asking questions that show us a candidate's character. We all know their canned party line - no matter which party they are. It's the hard questions that show us who the candidate really is.
To all of you who embrace the Victorious Woman in you, and who want the best for all of us, here's my advice for the next two months:
1. Learn everything you can about the candidates. Look at their records. How have they voted and what have they done? Get online and get facts - not some writer's or commentator's opinion. Even if you surf around the political net for just 10-15 minutes a day, you can learn some interesting facts, instead of getting stuck with some cherry-picked soundbites in an ad.
2. Look for the candidate's congruence? In other words, do their current behaviors and history match their past ones?
3. When you hear a candidate speak, listen for their attitudes and beliefs. Find the person behind the words. Why? Because, when elected, that's who you'll see in the White House. When the president and vice-president are in office, they are under extreme stress. When you and I are under stress, we revert to our core values and character. So do they...and that's what you want to watch for in this election.
4. Be wary of preferential treatment, whether it's NBC, ABC, CNN, PBS, FOX, NY Times, Huffington Post, Bill O'Reilly...anyplace. If a journalist only gives a candidate softballs, we simply get to know a bunch of words. We don't get to know them.
To my American readers, when you vote in November - and voting is your sacred right - make sure you are voting for the candidate who most aligns with your values and vision.
In victory,
Annmarie
Here's my Victorious Woman perspective - NO!
Sarah Palin is running for the second highest office in the US. Most of us know little about her and want to know who she is. Journalists should ask tough questions, to Palin...and all the candidates. You can't run for the highest offices and expect a pass because of gender...or race.
And therein lies the problem, as I see it. Barack Obama wasn't vetted much more than Palin before he stepped onto the national stage. When people wanted to know more, the press (who we should be able to trust to be unbiased) went crazy. Media coverage became so obviously Obama-d that (1) the Campbell Brown-hosted debate was parodied on Saturday Night Live (check YouTube) and even (2) the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, said the Obama coverage was "embarrassing" and that "certain media outlets were openly partisan, had really bought into Barack Obama as a savior."
Clearly, a real journalist who is doing her/his job, should be asking questions that show us a candidate's character. We all know their canned party line - no matter which party they are. It's the hard questions that show us who the candidate really is.
To all of you who embrace the Victorious Woman in you, and who want the best for all of us, here's my advice for the next two months:
1. Learn everything you can about the candidates. Look at their records. How have they voted and what have they done? Get online and get facts - not some writer's or commentator's opinion. Even if you surf around the political net for just 10-15 minutes a day, you can learn some interesting facts, instead of getting stuck with some cherry-picked soundbites in an ad.
2. Look for the candidate's congruence? In other words, do their current behaviors and history match their past ones?
3. When you hear a candidate speak, listen for their attitudes and beliefs. Find the person behind the words. Why? Because, when elected, that's who you'll see in the White House. When the president and vice-president are in office, they are under extreme stress. When you and I are under stress, we revert to our core values and character. So do they...and that's what you want to watch for in this election.
4. Be wary of preferential treatment, whether it's NBC, ABC, CNN, PBS, FOX, NY Times, Huffington Post, Bill O'Reilly...anyplace. If a journalist only gives a candidate softballs, we simply get to know a bunch of words. We don't get to know them.
To my American readers, when you vote in November - and voting is your sacred right - make sure you are voting for the candidate who most aligns with your values and vision.
In victory,
Annmarie
Friday, May 30, 2008
May Victorious Woman of the Month
NAFE Director Honored
Robbie Motter, the Western & Mid Atlantic Regional Coordinator for the National Association of Executive Females (NAFE), is well known in NAFE Circles for her tireless networking and support of women around the country. It is with great pleasure that I’m announcing that Robbie Motter is named May 2008 Victorious Woman of the Month.
During May, International Victorious Woman Month, I had the pleasure of speaking to lots of women who were mentored and supported by Robbie. Not at all to my surprise, each one had such affection and respect for her!
Her story of lifelong victories is one not to be missed…so don’t. You can read it, along with Robbie’s tips for living victoriously, at http://www.victoriouswoman.com/vwmonth.htm. It’s also in printer-friendly format, so you can also print or download it to share with friends.
Congratulations, Robbie! You're a great role model for every woman who wants to be successful and happy. Thanks for teaching us to "ASK" and that "SHOWING UP" is the first step.
In victory,
Annmarie
Robbie Motter, the Western & Mid Atlantic Regional Coordinator for the National Association of Executive Females (NAFE), is well known in NAFE Circles for her tireless networking and support of women around the country. It is with great pleasure that I’m announcing that Robbie Motter is named May 2008 Victorious Woman of the Month.
During May, International Victorious Woman Month, I had the pleasure of speaking to lots of women who were mentored and supported by Robbie. Not at all to my surprise, each one had such affection and respect for her!
Her story of lifelong victories is one not to be missed…so don’t. You can read it, along with Robbie’s tips for living victoriously, at http://www.victoriouswoman.com/vwmonth.htm. It’s also in printer-friendly format, so you can also print or download it to share with friends.
Congratulations, Robbie! You're a great role model for every woman who wants to be successful and happy. Thanks for teaching us to "ASK" and that "SHOWING UP" is the first step.
In victory,
Annmarie
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