We have been blessed to take some incredible trips as evidenced by the 4,000 photos I have in the memory cards when we return. There is a reason for calling them memory cards…we capture the moments that our minds can’t always recall.

Our albums are full of the people we touched and were touched by. Each person has a story and so often that story was clearly revealed by their expressions shown. Faces exude expressiveness and extract emotions from us – making us smile, making us laugh, feel afraid, feel compassion for, and wanting to know them better.

Here is an overview of some of the intriguing people caught by the lens and held in our hearts. With one look you know there is a story – I leave their stories to your imagination…

Peggy Noonan recently wrote an article for the WSJ – American’s Crisis of Character.  To quote her “…People in politics talk about the right track/wrong track numbers as an indicator of public mood.  Only 24% of Americans feel we’re on the right track as a nation.  That’s a historic low.  Political professionals tend, understandably, to think it’s all about the economy, unemployment, foreclosures – we’re going in the wrong direction.  I’ve long thought that public dissatisfaction is about more than the economy, that it’s also about our culture, or rather the flat, brute, highly sexualized thing we call our culture.  Now I’d go a step beyond that.  I think more and more people are worried about the American Character – who we are and what kind of adults we are raising.

The story goes on to site all the ways we could view our leaders as questionable role models.  A recent TV interview of three men – one an economist, one a priest and one a political analysis – were deeply concerned about the distrust of Religion, Politics and the Economy.  They finalized their thoughts by agreeing it was not the people as a whole, but the so called Leadership that create the discontent and distrust.  As an example:  We are not happy with a religion- we are disillusioned by the leaders and key evangelists.  We are happy to live in a democracy – we are disillusioned by a polarized political system in which a President owes too much to too many special interest persons/groups that helped them get elected – to truly concentrate on the main street of voters.  We are unhappy to live in a country where so much money is paid to the top executives who have asked their employees to work harder for less money without returned financial recognition for their loyalty when times are better.

Peggy Noonan is right when she says; something seems to be going terribly wrong.  Maybe we have to stop and think about this.

If it’s time to cross over the bridge to becoming a more profitable company or organization…are YOU changing or realigning??? There’s a big difference.

Change:  To make different- to put in place of something else

Realign: To arrange in a straight line – to readjust alliances or working arrangements between or within groups

There seems to be a general assumption that CHANGE is the answer to solving problems.  I would argue that a large percentage of time a great deal of time, effort and dollars can be saved by simply realigning the people, processes and planning you already have.

For instance:  You may want to take a good look at your organization chart before you consider hiring / firing employees.  Organizations of every size have been forced to make tough decisions during the last few years and will continue to consider progressive choices in the future.  Take time to see if you have the right people in the positions necessary to be successful in meeting the expectation of your new goals.  Write a job description for each position that is needed to meet the strategic (Business Plan).  Do you have the right person in that slot?  Could you CHANGE personnel or might you REALIGN by giving that same person more mentoring, training, or software to meet the demands of their new role?

Consider asking yourself what YOU might do to align yourself in an effort to cross the bridge from yesterday to tomorrow’s demands in your business and personal life!

Where have you been in the last year?

Hindsight can serve you well if you are willing to learn from mistakes, forgive the misdeeds of others, and let go of self-sustained bad habits.

Where in the world are you going in 2012?

Forgiveness and willingness to improve can take you in some wonderful new directions. Are you moving forward, or are you still sidelined by the smoke and mirrors of politics, headlines and the economy. Give yourself the gift of having a positive attitude.

What will you be walking into in 2012?

Do you have a plan?   Do you have the discipline you’ll need to implement your goals?  Keep in mind the principal of doing the hardest things first. Eat the frog first thing in the morning, and everything else is much easier to swallow the rest of the day.

P.S.   As you move into the holidays, think about whether you better at giving or receiving.  A USA Today snapshot asks the question…Which is more rewarding? A 5% raise or spending one hour a week volunteering?    46% would take the raise vs 54% who selected volunteering.  Surprised??

What do you have to say about YOUR footprints this last summer?

• Where did you go?
• What did you do?
• Was it worth it?

What do your footprints say about you?

• Did you wear flip flops or go barefoot?
• Did you dress up in your finest big girl/boy shoes?
• Did you don your running shoes?

Did you leave your mark wherever you traveled?

• Were you memorable to the people you met?
• Were you interested in most everything going on within your environment?
• Were you interesting and open to sharing the goodness of life?

I took a girls trip to Nova Scotia with a dear friend.  We spent five glorious days in laughing, learning, meeting people, making our eyes happy by seeing beautiful scenery, sharing stories, exploring and being basically carefree.

One stop took us to huge sand dunes- red & white beaches- rolling waves.  We stayed long enough to take the photo above showing the high heel sitting by a sandcastle being viewed by a newly formed lobster.  I wondered about the ever shifting sands; the power of nature to change and re-arrange miles of terrain;  the fact that soon the waves and the wind would sweep away someone’s creativity and my footprints; and only  there memory and my photo would remain.

What shifts your sand?

The economy, insecurities, obligations, motivations, praise, lack of praise, dreams …..     There is a saying that my husband of fond of quoting, “It is what it is” and I would add, “Until you make it what you want it to be.”

Who will follow in your footprints?

Consider your footprints the beginning of a succession plan – business as well as personal.  Where you go, what you do and how you do it leaves a mark.  You really never know when a close friend or a stranger will discover something in what you have created and capture it in a memory that makes a difference in their lives.  Give note to the sandcastles and footprints you leave behind.

These shoes made the cut!

We have a rule at our “limited space” house; bring in something that’s not perishable  and two items need to go out to make room.  I just purchased three pairs of shoes and was challenged to discard 6 of the well worn pairs.

It was like tossing away good friends. Those heels have traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles with me.  They have bungee jumped, flown on Russian jets, walked in marathons, danced, attended weddings/ funerals/ births/ and other amazing events.  These molded pieces of leather have impressed more people than imaginable with their style and non-sensibility.

They are not just another pair of of shoes- they have history. They’ve been constant companions.  They have put up with being reheeled and resoled; buffed and polished; scuffed and trodden; stepped on and squeezed into.  Would a person go through all that and still be there for you.  Not many…and not gladly.  But, wait a minute… in reflection, maybe the same is true about people?

What about our friends and family?  I mean, do we simply replace them when we introduce new people into our lives? Do we forget the folks who have been there for us through thick and thin?

Maybe it is time to re- SOUL them!  Tell them how much they mean to us and that there is plenty of room for them in our hearts.

What are you waiting for? Call, text, email, hug, and communicate with someone you care about right NOW!

We’ve all heard the phrase…”give until it hurts”. Why should it have to hurt? Why not say instead…”give until it makes you feel good”?

Non-profits have been learning how to function under the mantra of ‘doing more with less’ without sacrificing the quality of their programs. Our strategic alliance, The Non-Profit Roadmap, has worked with a variety of organizations that offer a broad range of services. Ultimately, they all have the same goal, which is to provide with a servant’s heart and raise enough money to fund their programs. The bottom line is that they can’t do it without the open hearts and open wallets offered by each of us.

When people say they are bored, I say, go volunteer for something.

When people ask is this day ever going to be over, I say, tell that to the cancer patient who is praying for one more day.

When people say life is tough, I ask, compared to what?

When people say my shoes hurt, I say, take them off, but be thankful you have them.
Life is for living- even when we are not making the living we’d like to make.

Life is for loving – even when we are not always feeling lovable.

Life is for sharing – especially when it hurts, but it makes a difference to someone else.
So give until it helps. Give until it makes you happy. Give because you make a difference. Give knowing that you may not receive anything in return, but you understand what it might feel like to walk in someone else’s shoes.
Lillie Tomlin once said, “I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that…then I realized that I was someone.” Given a choice, BE SOMEONE!

It’s almost time to think vacation and that’s good….can you afford the time and money to be away? Do you give yourself permission to sail away with a clear conscience? If the answer is no, let’s talk about the quality of your life. You do have a life that you call your own, right?

I wonder how many people I’ve burdened with how very, very busy I am. Far too busy and important to simply enjoy being away and spend time in that present. Is this the role model I want to set for others? Inspiring them to be overachievers and workaholics? Work isn’t work unless there is something you’d rather do, eh?

A recent cruise and time at the beach signaled it was time for reflection. I absolutely am blessed to do what I do. My clients are incredible. I’ve created a new company with a partner and amazing faculty members that is exhilarating. Helping nonprofits do more with less is an honor. Somehow having the opportunity to make a living sharing ideas, options and solutions with others seems plenty darn worthwhile. At the same time, I look at the vastness and power of the ocean and realize how, in the big scheme of things, it’s a great environment to clear the mind and refresh the head, heart and soul.

I highly recommend cruisin’ and snoozin’. Even if it’s just within your imagination. Better still if it is with people you love to love. This is your LIFE – live it in abundance and with balance.

All of my past blogs have featured a photo of where my high-heels have been with the narrative reflecting the visual.  This time what you see is three guys and a girl looking calm and businesslike. What you don’t see are my heels and the gentlemen’s well polished shoes.  What you don’t know is, like the proverbial duck, how fast we all are paddling beneath that calm exterior and how excited we are to introduce an incredible program called Crisis Management – Facing the Vortex.

Crisis comes on all levels and have this in common…they are unexpected and they always have a ripple effect.

The dust has not yet settled on the global tragedies. Our nation and the people living in this amazing country are faced with daily challenges. And in our own lives we acknowledge and react according to our self confidence in knowing what to do and suffer greatly when we don’t know where to begin.

Consult P3 (an alliance of Petey Parker and Associates and partnership with Andy Klausner of AK Advisory Partners) decided to help small and medium sized companies go way beyond the normal crisis management courses and set a new standard of being prepared.  An impressive team, pictured above, was selected from our P3 University and each member addresses a different aspect of crisis management:

Charley Wilson’s experience includes several decades managing communication strategies at American Airlines, Verizon, GTE and, most recently, the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee.  Charley focuses on defining a crisis.

Jeff Brady is a broadcast news veteran with almost 20 years of journalism experience in three states and five separate markets. Jeff provides spokesperson training and helps companies develop their media message.

Andy Klausner, Consult P3 co-founder, oversees the assessment and implementation.

Yours truly helps define the roles leadership should assume in a crisis.

We presented two days of training at a Dallas roofing company that included one soft drill after setting up the Command Center, and one SURPRISE CUSTOMIZED BIGGER THAN LIFE DRILL the second day to see if they ‘got it’.

You might be asking, “Did they get it?” Let’s see what you think.  We presented a full Leadership Bootcamp for the company.  Their leadership committed to meet over a period of several months for intensive training ending with three sessions on crisis management described above.  Just a few weeks later, a real crisis hit.  You probably heard about the ice on the roof of the stadium where Super Bowl XLV was held.  Our clients built that roof and knew exactly how to go into action, what to say and what not to say to the press, and had the confidence to make the best of a bad situation.  The president of that company said they excelled in the situation because their team knew what procedures to follow due to their Vortex training.

So, what’s the point?  We will all have crisis in our lives. Some small and some large – hopefully not devastating.  The trick to surviving them depends on our attitude, our confidence of being prepared, our faith, our concern for others and our ability to be – or at least appear to be, calm even though we are paddling like crazy underneath it all.