My American Dream

Saturday, I spoke at one of the largest, swankiest libraries in the area. The Vancouver Community Library. The place is amazing! It has five floors, totaling 83,000 square feet. On the fifth-floor there's an outdoor terrace with a view of the Columbia River - spectacular!

I arrived early to take it all in, and to set-up: Make sure the microphone was working, add a few more slides to my presentation, get the feel of the room. As I walked around the 2,000 square foot Columbia Room, I was beaming with pride, satisfaction. I am one lucky gal, I thought to myself. I am living the dream. My dream. For a long time, I was chasing The American Dream. The dream of my great-grandparents generation: Go to college, get married, buy a house with a picket-fence, have 2.5 kids, and retire from a company with a pension. That worked pretty well for that generation, but I'm from the new school. A generation who seizes opportunities, creates opportunities.

I decided to pave my own path. I found a niche. I started blogging, and sharing my weight loss story to anyone who would listen. I didn't really know what it would lead to, but so far so good. I've been active in the community: Speaking in venues such as the Vancouver Community Library, hosting cooking classes and sharing my love for good real food at Chuck's Produce & Street Market, having my Simply Unforgettable Tomato Soup sold in the deli at New Seasons Market, and authoring not one, but two cookbooks in less than a year. I've seized opportunities, probably even created a few. I'm grateful, thankful and full of pride and joy. I am living my American Dream. 

The American Dream

Tomorrow, I'll make my motivational speaking debut. I'm super-excited as this is something I've always wanted to do. My girlfriend and I, have long said that I would make a great motivational speaker. We just  never knew what capacity I would motivate folks, but here it is! I'm grateful, proud, and honored. 

The five themes I'll follow:                                 

1. Hard work
2. Making adjustments
3. Staying the course
4. Believing in self
5. Never giving up

Here's a snippet of my speech:


"...This time around I knew the changes I sought would not come without hard work. I know you, can appreciate hard work. The American Dream – your generation is probably the last that believed in and worked for it.  America was built on hard work, companies like: Ford Motor and GE were booming and you were a part of that movement. Hard work comes in all forms and sometimes emotional  and mental hard work can be equally if not more taxing than physical...."


So there it is friends. Tomorrow morning, I'll have the pleasure of sharing my story in a totally different medium - speaking. I so love my life! Maybe this is my version of "The American Dream."