RISK = Results by Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez
Heart of a Woman in Business| No Comments »RISK = Results
September 1, 2008 post
by Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, MSgt USAF Retired
Toastmasters is an international non-profit education organization with local clubs where a person can learn how to speak in front of an audience in a safe and supportive environment. As a member you are given a book with 10 speeches to complete in order to receive your Competent Communicator award. The speeches are timed and an evaluator provides feedback after each speech. A mentor is assigned to each member to help them prepare their speeches and practice outside the club. Public speaking ranks as the number one fear in the minds of most people. It even exceeds the fear of death or disease in most cases! For many, joining a Toastmasters club is a huge risk to undertake. I joined Toastmasters in November of 2006 to improve my speaking skills.
Most Toastmasters know Sheryl Roush. Her story is like many who step out of their comfort zone and take a risk to change their lives. She joined Toastmasters and began to do the speeches in the Competent Communicator manual. She cried through her first 3 speeches but she kept coming back and continued to try. Today she is a highly sought after and amazing international speaker. I met Sheryl at Book Expo America (BEA) in May of this year. She was doing a book signing for her book Heart of a Woman and I was one of the first in line to get a copy. She is an inspiration to me. She is someone who took a risk and used the skills that Toastmasters taught her to live her dream and become a professional speaker. When it was my turn I mentioned I was in Toastmasters too and she recognized me from the District One competition last year. She signed a copy of the book for me and gave me a card with some information about submitting a write-up for her next book “Heart of a Woman in Business.” I had about a month until the deadline for submission. I went home excited about the possibility of submitting something about my experiences in business.
A few days after BEA I started to work on the write-up. It had to be 1200 words or less. I had a rough draft going when I started three weeks of intense coaching certification training and had no time to work on it until the last few days of June. The submission was due 1 July and I worked on it every night those last few days until 30 June. I reviewed it a few times and let it sit for most of the day on 1 July, then reviewed it one more time and made some final adjustments. I was taking a risk just submitting it. I felt like I was basically an unknown and what if it gets turned down? Then I re-framed my thinking and set the intention that it would be accepted and took a deep breath and hit send. I decided taking the risk and stepping out of my comfort zone was a better choice than to not submit anything and always wonder what would have happened if I’d just taken the chance. I have a dream to be a published author, professional speaker and television/movie personality. It’s only a dream unless I take some action to move it forward. I decided to make choices instead of excuses. It’s easy to tell yourself you won’t make it so why try or you don’t want to risk getting rejected but I decided to take the RISK 4 maximum results.
I got confirmation the same day I sent in the submission that it had been received and they would be reviewing it and getting back to me. A couple weeks after that I received an e-mail asking for my website information and the title of my write-up. I got a little excited wondering if it had made the cut. I didn’t hear anything else for over a month. I knew the book was coming out in October so I let it go for the time being. Around mid-August my curiosity was getting the best of me. Did they accept it? I re-read what I wrote and felt confident it sounded book worthy. I sent an e-mail asking if my submission had been accepted. To my delight and utter excitement the answer was YES! My write-up will be published in the Heart of a Woman in Business book to be released on 1 Oct 08! <The book released EARLY on 9 Sept 08>
I am so excited to be a contributor to this wonderful book and that the book is going to be published with my write-up included in it. I took a risk by sending my submission in. I could have made the choice to not submit the write-up so I didn’t have to risk the possibility of rejection. Instead I took that risk and now am glad I did. Not only will my contribution help people who read this book, it also is an example of what can happen if you take a risk in your life and put yourself out there to accomplish your dreams. It also gives me encouragement to take more risks as I manifest my empire of change to make a difference in others lives.
If you’ve taken a risk in your life and gotten some positive results, I’d love for you to share your comments at the end of this post. You can share your experience, strength and hope with others and show them that they too can achieve maximum results if they have the courage to take a risk today.
Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, MSgt USAF Retired
Dynamic Vision Intl, Speaker & RISK 4 Results Coach
Harley Riding Bad Biker Chic, Ex Military, Girlie Girl in PINK!
http://dynamicvisionintl.com
National Authors Day: Celebrated by North County Authors & Poets in San Diego
Speaking Events| 5 Comments »National Authors Day:
Celebrated by North County Authors & Poets in San Diego
National Authors Day was celebrated yesterday in San Diego County’s northern-most area of Oceanside, next to Camp Pendleton’s Marine Corp Base, as the North County Authors and Poets (NCAP) hosted a full-day free event, themed "So You Want to Be An Author!"
Covered in its entirety by local television station KOCT-TV (www.koct.org), The Oceanside Channel, and reporter Faamasani S. Unutoa, the special story will air mid-November. KOCT is a non-profit Corporation that provides public, educational and government access programming and services on Cox Communications Channels 18 and 19, as well as on AT&T.
Open to the public free of charge and hosted at the Oceanside Civic Center Library, the event featured 32 local published authors and poets, reading from their works, sharing tips and offering inspiration for those wanting to become authors and know more about the publishing business. The Community Room was filled to capacity with eager attendees sponging up the information shared.
Library Director Deborah Polich welcomed everyone to the event, and congratulated the NCAP members and guests, adding her thanks for keeping the passion for reading and writing alive and healthy. She was followed by Anna McElroy, Head Librarian, making her welcoming remarks, and introducing the day’s Moderator, Dr. Elizabeth Yahn Williams.
PUBLISHING: Then-and-Now
Keynote presenter was Dr. Robert Goodman, owner of Silvercat, a San Diego based publishing firm. His comments addressed publishing then-and-now, with all the changes that have occurred in the industry, and technology’s part in that. Twenty years ago, some 70,000 books were published each year, whereas in 2007 there were 412,000. "Marketing has become a major challenge…the average shelf-life of a book in stores is three weeks. There are fewer bookstores, replaced by megastores (CostCo, WalMart) which carry books." He also addressed eBooks, On-Demand printing, On-Line Readers (Amazon’s Kindle), On-Line Review Journals, and Virtual Book Clubs. Boldy predicting "The bookstore of the future, in 10-15 years, will be a vending machine," with much of the audience agreeing with him. Goodman is the co-founder and past president of Publishers & Writers of San Diego, co-founder and faculty member of the La Jolla Writers Conference, and a Board Member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), formerly the Publishing Marketing Alliance (PMA).
The morning’s readings were offered by authors and poets: Roger Conlee (Counterclockwise), Jennifer Kise (The Birthday Surprise), L. Curt Erler (Southside Kid & Mantilla Lady); Janie Lancaster (Julie & The Lost Fairy Tale); Teresa Gonzalez-Lee (Love Was Born During The Dance); and Sheryl Roush (Heart Book Series).
Native San Diegan author Sheryl Roush, internationally recognized inspirational speaker, and 12-time published author shared her process for creating her for Heart Book Series (five books in the past two years, featured in Borders). 
The series has also added Music CDs to accompany the titles for Heart of a Mother and Heart of the Holidays. Sheryl is the President of Sparkle Presentations, Inc., and a member of the IBPA. www.SparklePresentations.com
Sheryl invited Dharlene Fahl-Brittian to the stage to read her touching Tea Prayers published in Heart of a Woman in Business and Heart of a Mother. Dharlene, "The Tea Lady," and expert, is also the author of Take Up the Cup, and a line of inspirational laminated Tea Prayer cards.
Sheryl then invited Mary Lenore Quigley read her poems published in the Heart of a Woman in Business and Heart of a Woman, including one dedicated to her retired husband, Patrick, who was delightfully surprised, seated in the audience. Mary is also the author of Indelible Ink: A Memoir.
Dr. Teresa Gonzalez-Lee, Professor at Mira Mesa College, eloquently translated and read in Spanish the opening poem to Corazon de Mujer (Heart of a Woman), "Renacimiento de una mujer" penned by Consuelo Sanchez.
Following the mornings readings, the wealth of knowledge panel included
Poet: Marjorie Stamm Rosenfeld
Collaborative: Composer David Lewis (Director-San Luis Rey Chorale); Author/Poet Dr. Bob Lundy(Partners-In-Rhyme-Hither & Yahn); Author/Editor Rose E. Magyar (Mira Costa College); Artist Marion Wong; Author/Poet Dr. Elizabeth Yahn Williams (Partners-In-Rhyme-Hither & Yahn)
Editor: Lois Winsen (Editor-On-Tap) with "Helpful Do’s and Don’ts for New Writers"
Resources: Author/Teacher Marie Giordano (Mira Costa College)
Translators: Professors Dr. Teresa Gonzalez-Lee (Mira Costa College); and Dr. Edith Jonsson-Devillers (UCSD)
Marketer: Karla Olson (Owner of BookStudio), offered valuable tips and a handout for a Marketing Plan/Proposal Template
Pictured here, KOCT-TV reporting assistant holding some of the BOOKS published by those at the event!
The afternoon’s readings were offered by authors and poets: Carol Ann Lindsay (Songs From a San Diego Morning); Glenn Jacobs (The Samson Process); Marie Giordano (I Love You Like A Tomato); David Valley (The General’s Women); Maggie Chantiloupe (Iraq-The War That Shouldn’t Be-You Decide); Barbara Deming (The Quilt Maker); and Dr. Elizabeth Yahn Williams and Robert T. Lundy (Hither & Yahn).
Faamasani S. Unutoa of KOCT-TV shown here interviewing Moderator Dr. Elizabeth Yahn Williams, regarding the success of the event, and future plans of the North County Authors & Poets.
