I received a notification on Facebook yesterday that someone “liked” a post that I issued about mom on August 12, 2013.  In my mind I thought, Thank you, mom.  You knew exactly what I needed for myself and for all of us today.  Shout out also to Hilary Fenninger Broadway for responding to the Spirit of mom and guiding my focus today toward her writings as we are all transitioning out of this year on the dawn of the next!

My post on that date simply said:

Not only has my mother become a Life Coach with a niche in the area of life transitions, but also she has contributed three articles in three books that may be purchased on Amazon.com.  So proud of my momma!

Then I inserted the following picture of the three books —

I remember the day mom asked me to take the picture of her books and to post them.  It was leading up to the day when she and close to 40 other female authors would convene for a collaborative book signing in Louisville, KY, through the Professional Woman Network organization, and she was so proud.  I was  immensely proud too in that I had the privilege of being her editor.  As a matter of fact, mom had hired me about 25 years ago as her biographer and editor for all of her projects and later her sermons, so to see her works in print was satisfying for many reasons.  With all the wisdom that woman was storing on the inside of her, these chapters were the result of a long time coming.

I think that being contemplative and reflecting upon our decisions and actions in 2015 will help prepare for our decisions and actions in 2016.  I was personally empowered again when I read through the chapter entitied “Reflections:  The Uniqueness of Women’s Leadership.”  Let me share some excerpts:

“My reflections always begin with the prodigious Blue Ridge Mountains of Brevard, North Carolina. As a child, I often found myself hiking on the trails of Mount Mitchell or taking in the majestic scenery of the austere Grandfather Mountain from my parents’ front porch on brisk mornings. Upon reflection, I am certain that God positioned me geographically where my soon-to-be introspective keenness could be honed.  My natural instinct was to be contemplative, though at the time, I did not realize what that meant.  Contemplation involves one’s willingness to take quiet time seriously and to make it a life-long practice. Thus what God’s appointed geography afforded me in my formative years began a practice of introspection that would sustain me throughout my years in educational and ministerial leadership.

Know Who You Are

Unbeknownst to me at the time I began my daily ritual of introspection, my life would later reveal a strong core of skills in me that singularly propelled and positioned me in leadership roles that I may not have been able to handle nor understand.

My day would begin before sunrise. Even now, the stillness of the hour between 5:00 – 6:00 am holds special meaning, and I was always able to use that time to not only record my reflections but also to ready myself for the day. What was important about that early part of the day was to ponder what was said to me by a former superintendent of the Chicago City Schools: ‘Academic knowledge is important, but knowing behavior is paramount.’ The superintendent’s words echo the renowned Aristotle who understood, ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’  Inherent in those statements is the recognition of behavior as it is a vital characteristic or trait of a leader as she endeavors to succeed despite the odds and to make a difference in her role.

Specifically, getting to know who you are as a leader depends greatly on your pattern of behaviors as it governs the way you manage the vicissitudes of life as they come up on a daily basis. You must have a disciplined set of practices or a mechanism in place by which you may apportion the academic knowledge you have gained that may have landed you in the leadership position you presently hold. Your ability to sustain the position, however, with all its peaks and valleys, relies on how you balance your mind, body, and spirit. That type of balance does not fall out of the sky, so to speak. There is intentional and necessary work involved but I guarantee will be beneficial on the outset.

So exactly what did my morning look like? Because the world is typically still in the morning, possibilities lay on the horizon. Thus I would get up an hour earlier than my family to give myself time to be centered in meditation and visualization, to write out my plans to journaling, and to audibly confirm who I was as a woman of God through affirmations. These are simple practices that have been used, reused, and recycled for centuries as humans’ basic quest has been the same: to find the center of their inner core, to seek balance and peace.”

She goes on to give definitions of and further explanation of the practices aforementioned, then she spends the remaining part of the chapter imparting more wisdom in subsections entitled:

Know What You Believe

Know Your Support System

Know What You Want

Know Your Work

Know What You’re Worth

In the coming weeks I will continue to share from this particular chapter in A View from the Top and then go to other writings from her collection that I believe will inspire and edify us all.

Continue to enjoy each moment of the remaining two days we have in this year and be encouraged. . . greater is coming!

In love and charity,

Giselle