There is a reminder out there every day that we should live our lives in balance. Most of us look at this reminder every day and don’t even realize it.

Every time we pick up a bag of dog food or cat food we are reminded – every time we pick up a Purina product the checkerboard square is there to remind us to strive for a well balanced life. The logo that we take for granted as being just a checkerboard square is actually 4 red squares on a white background. Each square represents aspects of life to keep in balance: Physical, Social, Mental and Spiritual.

William Danforth, founder of Purina, outlined his thoughts for his employees in an amazing book that still holds up today. I DARE YOU!

So, I Dare You today to pick up your own copy and live your best life ever.

Typically, I travel very light. I love getting on a plane with my carry on and my computer bag. Typically, I pull out my old school book printed on paper to read on the plane but will put the computer to good use once I reach my destination.

It has been a very very long time since I have checked a bag. If I know I am going someplace for an extended visit then I prefer to send items ahead via FedEx rather than hassle with checking them at the airport and waiting around for bags once I have landed. When I reach a new destination it is way more fun to just hop off the plane and be on my way.

But today there are bags to check.

One of the things I love doing in the whole world is traveling. And traveling with my kids and my family is absolutely the best. Today I get to travel with a couple of my kids and so that is awesome. I love everything about traveling. Even waiting in line is ok with me because it gives me time to look up at the list of destinations and dream about where I might want to go on my next adventure.

Here are some of my travel tips:

• Do your best to give yourself enough time so that it is never a stressful situation.
• Pack everything (especially delicates – aka undies) in ziplock bags because it makes it easier to pack and these days every bag is inspected and so it provides the most assurance that the contents of my bag will arrive clean and untouched.
• Mix and Match.  Take as few clothes as possible and make sure everything works with every item in your bag.  If one item only works with one outfit then you should consider leaving it at home.
• Get a great scarf.  I have a wonderful big pashmina scarf that I wear on the plane to keep me warm from the AC and I also wrap it over myself during meals – if you are on a flight serving food.  It is Murphy’s Law of flight that if you are wearing clothes on the flight that you also want to wear at your destination that the plane will hit turbulence exactly at the moment that you are about to consume some food or drink something colorful.
• Remember chewing gum.  Chewing gum on take off and landing can help pop your ears and make for a more comfortable ride.  But for the benefit of your fellow flyers get some gum like mint or wintergreen that will not exude offensive gum fumes.  Please leave the bubbleyum bubblegum at home.
• Build-a-Bears make exceptional travel pillows.  You can purchase one of those silly looking U shaped pillows for travelling but I have found the Build-a-Bear not only works way better but also has several advantages over the U pillow.  The Build-a-bear will conform to your neck better, if placed between your stomach and the seatbelt can help a mildly upset tummy, it costs less than the U pillow AND if you get to your destination and need a quick gift you have one in hand.  I have even considered giving my build-a-bear to a screaming child on the plane a couple of times which would have provided me with much better sleep than a U pillow.  But fortunately the parents were able to get the kiddos under control and I was able to keep my bear.
• Try not to get too upset if plans change.  Connections are missed – planes are delayed and cancelled – Things happen.  Most people in the world are reasonable people and will help you along the way.  All other people make for a really good story when you reach your destination.

I’ll let you know how this checked bag thing works out today.  Until tomorrow!  Remember – every moment in your life is a “Once in a lifetime opportunity”.

It is that time of year again

If you love your dog you have to make your way to Toronto Canada – and bring your best friend with you.  This year Woofstock begins June 12 and runs through the weekend.

It is a blast.  It is fun for the dogs and for their humans.  We had the great fortune of being there last year and it was the most amazing thing.  At least eight city blocks of downtown Toronto are closed down to car traffic and is opened up just for our four legged friends and anyone at the other end of their leash.

While we were there we saw thousands of dogs all in close proximity of each other and everyone (even the owners) were very well behaved.  There were no dog fights or scuffles.

There were dogs in outfits and scarves and dogs with beautiful collars and a doggy fashion show but it wasn’t just all about style. It was all about celebrating our dogs. There were community doggy bowls everywhere so they wouldn’t get over-heated and there were samples of all kinds of dog food for them to try ( my doggy seemed to prefer the organic dog food from France – of course – would we have expected anything less from the Queens dog. We have a welsh corgi who really thinks he is the lead dog in all situations).

There were obstacle course demonstrations and all kinds of dog accessories. It was a joyful and super fun event. The only thing is that there may be almost too much to see in one day. After spending the day there on Saturday, our doggy (with his little tiny legs) was exhausted. We asked him if he wanted to go back the next day to see all the booths we missed the day before but he opted to stay in the hotel room (and yes there are doggy friendly hotels within walking distance of the event).

So, if you can, make your way to Toronto for THE dog event of the year. WOOFSTOCK 2010

Kudos to Patience Wheatcroft for a brilliant article and analysis of the “Corporate Gender Report”.  In an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) she starts out

International Women’s Day was celebrated yesterday with the familiar flurry of surveys highlighting the dearth of women in senior business roles. The World Economic Forum, the organization behind the annual Davos gathering, added its voice to the chorus, with a hefty “Corporate Gender Gap Report” that purports to show women aren’t making it to the top in companies around the globe. Internationally, the report found that an average of only 5% of large companies had females at the chief executive officer level, although women made up between a quarter and half of their work force.

The OECD offered a similar thesis. Although 62% of women in OECD countries are in paid work, only about a third of managerial posts are held by females, it explains in its new “Gender Brief.”

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

You really should read the entire article because her analysis of the report is right on.  Many politicians want to get involved to solve this great inequity but is that really answer?

This week my attention has been on the Iraq elections and right now they have a mandated 25% female representation in their government. This initial quota may be a good thing but it was noted that this is more than the United States has in their House of Representatives or Senate.  One woman running interviewed reported with a smile that it is fine that there are these spots for the women but the men still run the committees once elected.  But at least the women are there.

Right now I am old enough that many of my close female friends have leadership roles in companies and we have had some very interesting conversations about the “glass ceiling”.  I have been a Stay at Home Mom for the past 22 years and have worked from home all that time.

I am old enough to remember women burning their bras at protests (although I was not old enough at the time to even own a bra so I didn’t really get the significance at the time).

Yesterday was supposed to be Internation Womans Day but I didn’t hear about it until today.  Have we come far enough in the past 30 to 40 years or do we still have a long way to go?

This is why we have to pay such close attention to the article written by Patience Wheatcroft.  Because she looks at the “research” and doesn’t just shout about the inequalities on International Womans Day, she looks at the process of gathering the data.  Statistics can be helpful but they can also be misleading.  The information gathered for this report was sent out in a voluntary survey style and the data collected was only that from those companies that actually spent the time to assign someone to the task and then send it back in.  So, is the survey is not so much an accurate representation of all companies but of all companies willing to complete the survey.  What provisions were in place to account for the companies that did not submit the survey.  Did the companies primarily run by women decide that filling out this survey perhaps was not something that would improve their bottom line and so it went immediately into the round file?

It seems like the report may be an interesting conversation starter but possibly not the one to use as a basis for setting political policy.

There are so many women in the world today grateful for those women willing to stand there in a huge crowd and toss their bras into a big burning pile.  I applaud those pioneers for what they have done for me.  I think their original intent was to get more women in business and to be able to break through that glass ceiling but what really has happened is a little bit different. Today more women are being able to call the shots and determine how and when they work. ( There are currently alot of people around the world and particularly in the united states who are out of work and they might say they do not have a choice but for the women of the womens rights movement the goal was equality and right now both women and men are being equally laid off).  If a woman goes to school and becomes a laywer, she can decide to take a job at that big law firm and climb the corporate ladder to the partner position.  But she can also decide to job share or work from home or even work a couple of days a week.  No one questions her about this.  The roles have been reversed a little bit here because if a man did the same thing his motives might be questioned and people might wonder what he is up to.  Women doctors are setting up their practice hours to accomodate their lifestyle.  More and more women in the professional world are making their own way.

The women of the women’s right era have allowed me to live in a world where I can work from home and have a friend who is the project manager for a large corporation and who sits on several board of directors, and another friend who has introduced Presidents at fundraiser events as a representative of her companies board of directors.  It is a great start.

Do we still have a long way to go?  Absolutely!  We want to empower more women to become business owners and members of the Board of Directors and world leaders.  But we also want them to be able to do this on their own terms and not always be compared with the vision of the what it means to be successful by male standards.  Waking up before dawn, putting on our business suit, going into the office, doing our stint as the business mogul, returning home late at night to a few hours of relaxation before getting up again and doing it all over again.

The more we try to make the ultimate goal that a woman’s success is only realized when it is compared directly with a man then we do a disservice to not only to ourselves but also to all those men out there too who would like to work in a more creative environment where they can spend time with their kids and still be wildly successful businessmen.

But it all boils down to capabiltiy and competance.  We want to let our kids know that we are results oriented and not just punching the time card of life.  Do what you do and do it well.  Be passionate and strive for excellence.  We want to live life on our own terms and work in a world where your performance is the important thing not just being present.

One of my favorite quotes I saw on the internet (don’t know who said it) is “I’m unique.  Just like everybody else.”  And its the truth.  The only standard we can set for success is capability not quotas.

We want to teach our daughters that they can break through their own glass ceiling. To quote the wise sages the Cheetah Girls “I Don’t want to be no Cinderella, waiting in some dark and dusty cellar. Waiting for somebody to come and set me free. No No No No No – I wan’t to rescue myself”.

We have to reward capability and competance in whatever format it takes and avoid quotas for quotas sake.

Girl Power!

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE BY PATIENCE WHEATCROFT

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