This book is available as a PDF download RIGHT NOW from Oprah.com – become a member (for free) if you are not already, and GO GET IT! In these financially tough times, being offered free help is awesome!  Here is a clip from the foreword of the book:

“A study of more than five thousand individuals, conducted by Harris Interactive in cooperation with Merrill Lynch, has torn the covers off the four groups of people who make up the new economic strata in America today. They are:

We now know that the people who have achieved both financial comfort and wealth are distinctly different from those who are struggling paycheck to paycheck or sinking further into debt each month.

They are different in their attitudes, behaviors (financial and nonfinancial), personalities, and goals.

The financially comfortable and the wealthy tend to be more passionate about what they do in life, they are more optimistic, and they are more resilient—able to overcome whatever obstacles life throws their way. They are more visionary—able to see things in a slightly different and improved way, if not a new way altogether. They are more connected to others in their professional and personal lives, and they have greater confidence in those relationships, as well as in their lives overall. And they are grateful—incredibly grateful—for the good fortune life has thrown their way.

They are also more likely to come at life with a different mind-set and a different set of skills. They tend to be goal setters who figure out what they want in life and then make a plan to go after it. They are dogged workers (and often need less sleep). The comfortable and wealthy take more risks than the average person, but they listen to their own voices and those of people they trust in order to be as certain as possible that those risks are appropriate for their stage in life or work. And they are always on a quest to learn something new.

you can learn. Although some people are born with, say, more optimism, it—like every other attribute or skill on this list—can be taught.

And that is what The Difference is all about. [The] book is devoted to teaching you how to uncover your nascent talents and develop those abilities. You will discover the latest psychological and academic findings, complete exercises that are easy to incorporate into your everyday life, and read stories of people who’ve done precisely what you want to do. They’ve harnessed the power within and used it to reach the same goals you have: financial comfort and long-lasting wealth.

Go download the book right now!

W-O-W.

Hey ya’ll – listen, you know I’m a HUGE Oprah watcher. I just saw an episode with Ruby – who has a new reality TV show.  Check it out here.

I can’t wait to see this show. There are just a billion shows on TV now-a-days…are you spending your “television time” watching things that don’t “feed” you? Bond Grrl (or “James”!) – listen here. You have SO FEW hours in the day. If you’re going to spend time in front of TV – please PLEASE spend it being inspired.

I love Oprah – what can I tell you. I find folks like Ruby…and you gotta admit that Ruby and Oprah are Bond Grrls, true and through!

If you have seen this show, I want to hear about it!!

A very clever video where two “mechanics” look at Obama’s “country” and give their diagnostics.  Click here.  And thanks to Feisty for finding this one!

You gotta watch this! It will take just under 3 minutes and it will MAKE YOUR DAY. CLICK HERE FOR FEED (I tried to put it in the video box below, but it keeps freezing, so go to the source).

Talk about stopping traffic. The spontaneous reaction of the subway customers is great. This commercial was shot at the Liverpool Street Subway Station in London about 6 weeks ago (Jan 15, 09). Only the dancers knew what was happening; the general public didn’t have a clue what was about to unfold.

Watch this again and again when the day, economy, recession or “whatevah” gets you down. And remember the “Mall Walk” exercise in my book – this is what it’s all about

- Solitaire

P.S.:  Here is the “Making Of” video

This is from the book Motivating Yourself: Recharging the Human Battery, by Mac Anderson. It was forwarded to me by a friend (did I mention in the previous post I’m trying to clear out email?) – and I liked it a lot so I’m sharing with all of you. I think that my granddad would appreciate it too, since it features a ham radio operator (if you have been following my postings re his WWI diary).

++++++++++++++++

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday morning. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:

I turned the dial up into the ‘phone portion’ of the band on my ham radio, in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles.” I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.

“Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It’s too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital,” he continued; “Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.” And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.”

“You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.

“Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I’m getting to the important part.

It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail,” he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be sevent y-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.”

Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There’s nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.

Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.

It was nice to meet you Tom. I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 year old man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.

Inst ead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.”

“What brought this on?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing special, it’s just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”

OK, this one’s long too (can you tell today is “cleaning out the email box day”?), but it was sent to me by Mr. Martini and Behind The Bar Show, and so I knew I had to save it until I could open it. It’s soooo worth it! Take a look.

One of my bffs just sent me this clip – it gives you some great perspective (and made me laugh). Check it out. It takes a little bit to load, but it’s worth waiting for. Then you’re going to laugh at yourself for “having to wait for it to load” as you listen to what Louis CK is on about. It’s great.

Okay, so since I’m now using this as a blog again (smile), I’m writin’ what’s up today.

I was up at 4:00 this morning, because the economic news is not good in this Bond Grrl’s household. My James told me his take-home is being cut by 25% (though he still has a job). We talked about it a lot, and went to bed, and I woke up in a cold sweat at 4:00.  Not very Bond Grrlish of me, is it?

SO, I went downstairs to catch up on my email/bills/etc. from our being away (nothing like returning from an expensive trip and having another on the horizon – already paid for – to make you freak too!). OK and catch up on Criminal Minds, Bones, CSI NY, Oprah…At about 7:00, I got a text from my bff, Domino. She is moving this weekend, had said she didn’t need help, and then realized she DID need help. She asked if I could be there by 9:00, and I said I’d do my best.

Woke my James up with coffee at about 8:30 (VERY early for my handsome husband secret agent!) and told him I really had to (and wanted to) go – Domino has moved me probably 5 times, and somehow I have never reciprocated. He had a bunch of “honey do” stuff for me – mainly going to a local home improvement store that’s going out of business and looking at things we don’t quite need now, but we definitely WILL, since they’re marked down 50%. I wound up with a kitchen sink and a huge outdoor amphora in the back of the SUV – and off I went to Domino’s.

I was about 2 hours later than she wanted me there (I got there at about 10:45) – so I didn’t actually help with packing the moving van as her James and his buds had hoped (or bring them bagels and coffee as they’d hoped!). The boyz were all done, and she was up at the new house when I showed up at the old. Both he and Domino said that there were “just the baby clothes left” in the closet, and could I get them and bring them up?  SURE, I said.

OK, so I swept through that house like the Grinch in Whoville. (I actually texted her at one point “I feel like I need to look for Cindy Lou Who’s lollypop!”) There was a lot of “stuff” that hadn’t been packed – you know, odds and ends – but all over the house. I wound up starting downstairs, and just bringing everything up to their foyer, first – then taking a look at what I actually could pack and bring.

The funniest part was that there weren’t a lot of bags or boxes left – just a few – but as I dove into back closets and the like I wound up finding things like the cover for her massage table (HUGE score for carrying stuff!), old Nordstrom’s bags that suits come in, grocery bags, stuff like that. So I went to tackle their bedroom, last (which was the one place that I was supposed to really clear out - the baby’s closet).

Now, mind you, this baby has more clothes than ~I~ do (she’s like 4 months old). But there was still about 1/4 of Domino’s closet, some still in her James’ closet, a boatload of hangars, and all the baby’s clothes. And the breast pump. And the baby bath. And…oh Lord…all Domino’s bathroom stuff.

INTERVENTION! I started texting her as soon as I opened up those bathroom drawers! She had a bottle of massage oil I had brought her back from Scotland – FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.  (Yes, really.) Oil…goes…bad…hello…I texted her to say “Just Say ‘Throw’!” She had dozens of lipsticks. I’m cleaning out the drawer, there are 3 Chanel of the same color, unopened, behind some QTips…ok yeah I could go on. And so I totally busted her chops. And dozens of jog bras. Sweaters smashed behind sweaters.

Why are they moving? Like all of us, they need to save some dough. They can get a better house by moving farther from the city, and into a more “cookie cutter” neighborhood and rent there for a while, as they save for their own place.

She’s skimmed my book, but I guess it just didn’t “catch.”

Lots of Brands in the clothes and accessories…but Safeway-brand vitamins. 

How many of you are like this? Be serious. Have you really gone through YOUR house? How about taking some of your extra stuff to a Consignment Store? Or eBay? If not there, how’s about doing a Clothing Swap party (I’m having one on Monday!), where you can all get “new clothes” from your friends, and then give the rest to charity! And I can’t stress enough that your “big money” should be spent going into you…not onto you. You never EVER see a Bond Girl in brands…

About 8 years ago, an Auntie of mine (Rosemary Manell) had to be put in an Alzheimer’s Home, and my James and I helped my Mom clean out her house. Holy cow. It was one of “those” situations – books up the stairwells…stuff everywhere – and we are talking GOOD stuff. She was Julie Child’s best friend, and her husband had been Consul General during World War 2, and she had lived an awesome awesome life – so she had GREAT stuff, just a LOT of it. After we worked for weeks on it, all of us wound up cleaning up our stuff, because we realized we just did NOT want to be in that situation later in life! It was just one of those moments. And it was what formed how I explained how to “attack these issues” in the first Chapter of my book!

Well, there I was, facing it again…and I know (because my bff just texted me!) that she thought she was SO GOOD! Woah.

OK, one funny thing – I wound up PACKING my car and I mean PACK-ING it with stuff to bring up to their new house…but the stuff I’d had to get with my James was all still in the back too.  When Domino’s James’s BFF saw it, he said “HEY, look, she’s got everything, and the kitchen sink….SERIOUSLY.” It completely cracked me up.

So, that’s the update. And yeah, I’m goin’ back to the bloggin’ style that got my book written – write stream of consciousness, post.  So there. See ya, maybe not tomorrow, but definitely Monday after my Clothing Swap Party!!

So, this is my “Do Over” post. For what seems like forever, I have been a fairly poor correspondent (and worse podcaster!) I had everything “set” last year – podcasts were going up once a week, blogging often, all that jazz.

What happened? Happy married life? Complacency? A little of both?

So here I sit, 172 pounds (oh lord, I said it – of course, it was 179!), and not “walking my talk.” Again, not sure how it snuck away from me, but part of it definitely has to do with the fact that I have started a new business (SendOutCards – check out sandy-shepard.com if you haven’t already), we travelled a LOT last year (yeah, I know, you’re feeling SO SORRY for me), and, again, well, I just got sorta kinda “fat and happy.”

We just returned from the Big Island of Hawaii (see? I know you feel SO SORRY for me), and during that time I had a “Time Out” and got to thinkin’. We absolutely adore staying at the Four Seasons – a friend of ours has a condo there (I think it cost $2 mil – yes, really), and it’s just “the good life.” Get up, condo is clean and clear, go down to the amazing gym where “cabana boys” hand you towels and water and spritz you with Evian and help you set up your weight routine….lounge in the meditation area…go down and watch the sea turtles in the ocean…

My publisher has wanted me to start thinking about a Workbook to go “with” my book – and what came to me in Hawaii is that perhaps what I need to do is work through my own book – and blog it – getting back to the basics that I myself advocate. (What a concept!) I was going to start right when we got back – but air delays, gate delays, weather, and then laundry, groceries and chores sort of blew that idea. However, the current “plan” is to start kinda today (with this post), and then get out my own dog-eared copy of fEmpowerment and work through it…and let ya’ll know how it’s going.

I plan to podcast it as well – my “James” finally got my upload capabilities working, and re-uploaded all my podcasting software. As I probably blogged, my computer blew up in December and I was without it for 2 weeks – then when I got the big bill (grrrr) and it turned out it could NOT be repaired “after all”, had to buy a new one….which meant my James re-uploading everything out of backups, downloading freeware, the works. The final “bit” of it he did last night. So I have no more excuses.

I have been uploading my Granddad’s diary from WWI – which I think I will finish today – I am not sure if anyone is actually interested, but I’m really excited to have it available. Then, time to just regroup, and Find My Inner Bond Girl and Let Her Out!

Eventually we started again, but alas, in a few miles we turned south missing Paris, the same as we did London. The biggest city was Tours, and we stopped in a suburban station for a few minutes. Continuing on, we finally debarked at Charenton (Cher) almost the exact center of France, where we were billeted in a barn for some three weeks. The Cher river ran through town and we could swim in it. One day Newt Monk started to dive from a rock into the Cher. He was clad, only, in his wristwatch and just as he left the rock someone yelled, “Newt, your watch!” I never saw a more agonized look. I don’t know if the watch was spoiled, but presume it was. I do not remember much about the stay there except went to a traveling movie show once (it was terrible) and once went on a hike to Ainay-le Chateau which is about 7 kms. At Charenton I attained the age of 22 and it seems my birthday was not a French National Holiday (August 23, 1918) so no celebration.

More 40s and 8s and by slow stages we got to Is-Sur-Tille (Cote d’Or) where we stayed in the freight yards several days, finally moving on to Langres from where we hiked to St. Geomes (Haute Marne) and another barn for a few days. A 40 and 8 is a freight car supposed to carry 40 men or 8 horses. As it said “Quarante hommes ou huit chevaux.” Langres was A.P.O. 714 which was Warren’s A.P.O. for a while. [note - not sure who Warren is, but that's a family first name for us so probably kin.] I did not see Warren, but he wrote me a letter from there. I recall washing clothes on the flat stones besides the ladies of the neighborhood. One day we hiked to a cave of Sabinus and saw a little spring that was the source of the Marne.

Next move was to some place near to the front lines, going by truck. I think it was called St. Jean. There we lived in dugouts and for the first time were issued sidearms (45s). The Signal Corps is a non-combatant unit and “is supposed to fire only in self defense.” One of our boys, Quigley, drew a picture of our dugout, #9, and I have a copy of it drawn by Myra’s cousin, Mrs. Burnham of Bristol. [Note: I have this framed, but in a box in the attic.] Our dugout was noted for rats, who would skid on the metal cans of hard candy we had bought from the YMCA in Langres, and land on our faces, then scurry away. One of our boys was Jim Ballantine, whom we called the “Iowa Bearcat.” Once when he was asleep someone lifted up the end of his blanket and pinched his toe. He jumped and I never in my life heard such a yell. One of the pleasant(?) jobs was to go into the rainy woods and roll up the Germans’ rusty barbed wire – the Germans had been driven back. I remember the cook making flapjacks and turning them over with a saw. He would flex the saw, put one end under a pancake and it would go 5 or 6 feet in the air, turn over several times, and land on the uncooked side. I was fascinated by the performance and watched him do it several times without missing once.

Our next move was to Mousson Hill, next to Pont a Mousson. There was a Church standing on top of the hill. It was said that the Germans didn’t knock it down because they wanted to use the steeple to sight on in firing.

Our wireless station was dug out of solid rock on the French side of the hill, and there was only a footpath for access to it, with a sheer drop in front. The first signals we heard when our set was in business was NAD, Charlestown, Mass. navy yard.

There’s a cliche out there that you’re supposed to party hard while you’re in college. What they don’t tell you is a night of partying can often end face-first in a toilet. I’ll lay my cards on the table: I’m not a big drinker and never have been. So, on the one hand, I can’t tell you what it’s like to experience a night of puking into the tub. On the other, I can share my reflections from years of watching the club and bar scene with a sober eye, seeing who gets the guy and who makes a fool of themselves dancing on the bar.

I’m not going to give you all the tips you’ve heard from your roommates and dorm buddies. You know more about hangover cures than I do, I’m sure. (And if you find one that actually works, let me know.) Instead, I’m going to give you three tips to make sure you have a great time, whether or not you’re drinking.

1. How do you want to feel?

Before you go out, think about what you want the evening to be like. Be honest. If you really want to get plastered and don’t mind dealing with the consequences tomorrow morning, go for it! If you want to keep your wits about you and only have a few drinks, figure out how you’re going to manage it beforehand, whether that’s by taking along a non-drinking friend or only putting $20 in your wallet. Thinking through your night for even five minutes before you head out the door will save you a lot of unnecessary problems later.

2. Plan your morning the night before

Pop quiz: if you knew you’d have to go to a morning workout, would you have six drinks the night before? Didn’t think so. Now, I’m not advocating Sunday morning workouts (though you can, of course), but think through what you want to do the next morning BEFORE you go out the night before. That way, you’ve got something to look forward to besides a hangover.

3. There’s more to nightlife than clubbing

Most of the time, when people hear “party,” they immediately think, “going out drinking.” But it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s tons of fun stuff to do that doesn’t involve alcohol at all, like rallies, festivals and cheering on the home team. I had an amazingly active social life in college and didn’t spend too much of it in bars. If you like bars, that’s great. If you don’t, check the posters around campus and see what else is happening.

Attention Bond Grrls “of a certain age”:

For most people, the post-college years feature far fewer “puking into the toilet” nights, and that’s a good thing. You’ve probably passed through the gauntlet and emerged on the other side. Congratulations! Just remember, the tips above are still useful for anyone painting the town red, not just the college crowd.