MVP City Seminar Chicago Illinois Saturday June 30, 2012

Holiday Inn Chicago SW Countryside Conference Center

6201 Joliet Road  Chicago Illinois   60525

Time:       12:00pm to 4:00pm                   

We are truly enjoying our Book Tour! Thank you, Paul Mitchell The School, Tyson's Corner, VA for allowing me to speak into the lives of your Future Professionals! Beautiful School, wonderful people! 

Excited to speak with my friends in Greenville, SC!!! We had the BEST time! I sold out of books that night so they all agreed to visit me the next day after I received a new shipment - at Panera Bread! Amazing! 

Aa daily bit of inspiration, motivation, information and ACTION! !

When you stop and really look at the dandelion’s little yellow flower, you will discover that it is really quite beautiful. With it's many petals and it's happy yellow color it is really very cheery. And then the thought struck me. There are many things that come into our lives that at first we consider a nuisance. But if we really stop to think about them, often they can become a thing of beauty--teaching lessons and helping us to grow and mature in our lives.  #YOURYEAR

In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions, where a small change at one place in a nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks before.

Although the butterfly effect may appear to be an esoteric and unlikely behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill may roll into any of several valleys fully depending on slight differences in initial position.

The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction when presenting scenarios involving time travel and with hypotheses where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes.

Yes, I do believe that we should live a life of purpose, on purpose - one decision at a time!!!! The butterfly is perfect for my book!!!!

The butterfly is a main character throughout the book for several reasons. First, of course, is my daughter Emma. She loves, loves, loves butterflies! She draws butterflies on every piece of art she has created in her 8 year old experiences, she signs her name and add's a butterfly with a smiley face, and she really wanted me to have a butterfly on the cover! I like butterflies too - who doesn't? The butterfly also represents beauty, new beginnings, new life, and a promise of hope and love. Perfect for a book on living the life of your dreams!

The butterfly on the cover went through many transformations - again, a big thank you to artist, David Trumble for understanding as I changed my mind many times... The butterfly image is from Mary Sanford, who  is responsible for the interior design of the book she created and decided to add the butterflies on every page. It is almost as if the butterfly is happily, gently guiding you along your journey through the year. I really like the way the color on the inside is cheery and warm. We only worried for a few minutes that the book was going to appear "too feminine"... 

If you are reading the book, you know that it is truly for EVERYONE! Women, men, youth, even children! My publisher, Lee Gessner, did ask me who my "target" market is. I shared my vision of I would love to have Mom's & Dad's read the book for themselves, then read with their children and give copies of the book to their teens and young adult children!!! I didn't worry to much about dandelions & butteflies offending anyoneHe shared the statistics that 70% of books are purchased by women, usually if a man has a book, it was purchased by a woman. He also said that very few men will read a book written by a woman - oh my, really????

Why a dandelion? I can remember my childhood in Indiana seeing the cute little yellow flowers in the springtime! However, to the person taking care of the lawn - they are a nuisance poking their little yellow weed-heads right out into the beautiful green grass. My book is one of inspiration, motivation, education, action – I didn’t think my message of encouraging one to live a dream life as a nuisance? But then…

My favorite time was when the yellow flower would mysteriously turn into a white puff ball! As children, we would pick it, make a wish and blow… those little white seed parachutes would float over the lawn just looking for a place to land and grow more little yellow heads in the beautiful grass. When I woke up that morning and “just knew” that the dandelion was the perfect cover, I realized that as children we have so many wishes and dreams for our future – promises really. Sometimes life simply gets in the way. But the wish seeds that land in good, fertile ground and that are nurtured and encouraged to grow are the dreams that eventually become our lives. My prayer is that the reader will be encouraged to pursue their dreams and be given guidance towards achieving a happy life of their dreams… Perfect!

When you stop and really look at the dandelion’s little yellow flower, you will discover that it is really quite beautiful. With it's many petals and it's happy yellow color it is really very cheery. And then the thought struck me. There are many things that come into our lives that at first we consider a nuisance. But if we really stop to think about them, often they can become a thing of beauty--teaching lessons and helping us to grow and mature in our lives. I love the cover of my book! It helps to remind me to stop and see the beauty in all situations, to ask myself what lesson I am to be learning, and how does this situation help me to grow into a better person. What are your dreams, your promises for the future?  I wish all the best for all of you, my friends. as well.