My name is Rachel Roizen. Can you help me with your advice and – if you like what I am doing – a contribution? Your generosity will be listed on our sponsors page!

About Me and The Hot Mommas Project. If you’re a supporter of women and girls – this project will interest you. The Hot Mommas Project produces teachable role models for women and girls. The venture is award-winning and founded by a professor of one of the top women’s entrepreneurial leadership classes in the world (Here’s Her Bio) I know the project has the potential to help millions-that’s why I turned down other job offers to work full-time for Hot Mommas Project- the only problem is that there isn’t any funding for me to have a position.

Why you should invest in me. I want to show young women and girls that ANYTHING is possible. I also want to demonstrate the power of connecting with mentors, and people who care. People who say “yes.” People who believe we are all part of the solution. If you are reading this, you may be one of those people. You may care because you have a daughter, or a niece, who could use a positive mentor. Or because you want to share your own story and gain a support network. No matter what the reason is, I appreciate each and every one of you- and want to help. I want to be a leader, and am starting now. I want to raise my own salary. This will allow any dollars that come in to The Hot Mommas Project to go DIRECTLY to helping women and girls.

I will be tweeting results daily at www.Twitter.com/RachelBethDC

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

I am asking the blogosphere, twittersphere, and everyone in between for donations and advice. Here are some ways you can get involved. Any of your suggestions/comments are more than welcome!

1. Sponsor – Of any denomination, through paypal or tipjoy.

2. Attend – “Because YOU Can-Celebrating Empowering Women”- Hot Mommas Fundraiser on JULY 20th!!! A panel of amazingly successful DC women will share their personal secrets to success and tons of amazing prizes will be raffled!

July 20th

6:30 – 8 pm

2300 Wilson Boulevard

Arlington, VA 22201

RSVP HERE!

More details to come in our next post- Tuesday July 7, 2009- including information about the fun prizes and incredible speakers!

3. Advise – Do you know of a Young Entrepreneur or Fellowship Grant? Again, any ideas on this (or ideas on other ways to fund my position) are greatly appreciated!

I will be tweeting (www.Twitter.com/RachelBethDC) your brilliant ideas and support. Thank you in advance.

After compiling a long list of followers the final results are in! Using a totally random.org generation the winner was chosen ….

Congrats to Andrea who is @AustinAndrea on Twitter!!!

You have won a Swag Bag full of goodies! We will be in touch with you soon to gather all information we need to get the Swag Bag delivered to you.

Look for these tweets in July! www.Twitter.com/chiefhotmomma

7/9 and 7/10 “WEEKEND INSPIRATION:” Ted Leonsis

For more on Ted in the meantime, please click here.

Thanks for your interest, stay tuned, and follow us on Twitter or our Facebook Group to be alerted when this post is live (6:00 am on Fridays). Also - RSS our blog! (See orange button on the top right by “subscribe”).

Kathy and The Hot Mommas Project team

Email us to nominate a role model to tell their story. Here’s why. Here’s a sample nomination.

Be a sponsor! For every $500 we accrue, a role model is able to tell their story and have it permanently archived in our free, online case library at www.HotMommasProject.org. Donate as much or as little as you can. Every bit helps keep our case library free, and the role models stories coming. Questions about giving? Email us or find us on Twitter (we’re always there).

Look for these tweets in July! www.Twitter.com/chiefhotmomma

7/2 WEEKEND INSPIRATION: Susan Apgood “Teachable Role Model” launching tomorrow. Founded US lgst radio PR co http://adjix.com/wrt9 #casewriter

7/3 WEEKEND INSPIRATION:Susan Apgood-Teachable Role Model for this Friday. Mom & CEO of US’s lgst radio PR cohttp://adjix.com/nryg #casewriter

For more on Susan in the meantime, please click here.

Thanks for your interest, stay tuned, and follow us on Twitter or our Facebook Group to be alerted when this post is live (6:00 am on Fridays). Also - RSS our blog! (See orange button on the top right by “subscribe”).

Kathy and The Hot Mommas Project team

Email us to nominate a role model to tell their story. Here’s why. Here’s a sample nomination.

Be a sponsor! For every $500 we accrue, a role model is able to tell their story and have it permanently archived in our free, online case library at www.HotMommasProject.org. Donate as much or as little as you can. Every bit helps keep our case library free, and the role models stories coming. Questions about giving? Email us or find us on Twitter (we’re always there).

What are the major take aways from your book that you want women to grasp?

Two things: First of all, that even though the topic is serious and the stories often heartbreaking, it is not a depressing book or subject! These kids, and their stories, are incredible and awe-inspiring, hopeful and inspirational. In my journeys over the last three years into the orphanages, slums, clinics and streets of India I have become immersed in dozens of children’s lives. Their hope and resilience amazed me time and time again; the ability of their spirits to overcome crippling challenges inspired me. Even in the most deprived circumstances they are still kids – they laugh and play, they develop strong bonds and relationships to create family where none exists; and most of all they have an enormous amount of love to give. The issues are tough, what has happened to a lot of these kids makes you want to cry – but the bottom line of their stories is a very strong, hopeful voice.

Second, just to get involved and do something; to realize that just a little bit can move mountains. Too often, I think the natural inclination of most of us in the face of some of the large problems in the world is to become overwhelmed and throw up our hands in despair. They seem insurmountable. But the truth is, the smallest actions can make the biggest difference in just one person’s life, and if you can affect one person’s life, it is the world to that person. Most of us could never sell all our belongings and go work in the trenches in India, but that doesn’t mean we should think, then, that we can’t do anything at all. Amazing things can be done that aren’t difficult at all. A reader doesn’t even have to come away from my book and do something about India – I think the key is to discover what you are passionate about, what you have genuine feelings and caring about – and then do something about that issue. But just do something.

Since writing this book do you feel that you have a better work-life balance?

I’m not sure how to answer that! I don’t know that it’s any different, really, post-book than before. I’ve always had a pretty good balance, because I know how important that is. One of the reasons I followed my passion of becoming a writer is because I strongly believe in spending the hours and minutes of our lives doing what matters to us. It is simply not in me to go to a job that I hate every day, spend 8 or 10 hours there miserable away from my family, and then spend the rest of my time trying to be happy. For me, there’s not really a separate delineation between “work” and “life” - they are one and the same to me. And that’s not because I’m a workaholic or work is my life. Really it’s sort of the opposite – my life, and who I am, just encompasses my work because I do what I care about and what I’m passionate about. Believe me, there are much better and easier ways for me to earn a much bigger living otherwise.
How did you handle the pressures of writing a book and raising a teenage daughter at the same time?

My biggest challenge has been that which probably affects all working mothers, and that is juggling the things that must be done and having enough time for it all. I am still not sure how it will all happen or where it will lead; I only know, in my heart, the peace that comes from being where I’m meant to be.

Being a mother has also caused things that I have witnessed to affect me in a very profound way. I have looked into the absolutely haunted, vacant eyes of street children or HIV-positive kids and seen the eyes of my own daughter staring back at me. I think it’s perhaps even more soul-rending to see children suffering when you are a mother yourself. I hope that I am teaching my daughter compassion and justice, and not the sense of entitlement that seems so prevalent in our culture. I hope for her not to take for granted the things we are fortunate enough to have and realize that the human experience is a shared one. I believe that taking her to India with me showed her how 80% of the world lives in vastly different circumstances from us, where the same opportunities are not available.

What would your advice be to women who are afraid to follow their passions?

When we come to the end of our lives, I don’t believe it will be the things we did and failed at, or were scared of, or disappointed us, that we will regret. Our regrets will be for those things that we never did.
I believe that the purpose of our entire lives is to do what we are passionate about, what we feel in our hearts is our purpose in life. If we don’t do that, then our lives have much less meaning. Specific advice, I guess, would be that you can start small. If someone’s passion is to sing, they don’t have to chuck their whole life away and pursue becoming a mega-star. You just have to sing! So, maybe for that person, trying out for a local community musical theater or joining a singing group would fulfill her passion. Find a way to do what you love, to incorporate it in your life, even in small doses.

I hope I can be a role model to my daughter for following your passions in life, for doing what you love and loving what you do. Creating a life and work that have meaning is the most rewarding thing I can think of, and the thing that keeps most people from doing that is fear; fear of not following the herd and living life the way everyone else lives it or someone else thinks you should live.

Thank you for reading our Q&A with Shelley Seale and remember to visit her site to learn more about her new book “The Weight of Silence“, and THANK YOU to Shelley for your time!

Learn more by joining The Weight of Silence Facebook Fan Page, following @shelleyseale and @chiefhotmomma and coming back here tomorrow for the featured question & answer session blog post. If you are not currently subsribed to our blog please subscribe today so that you can be among the first to read this Q&A.

Facebook Event Page to RSVP found here.

A bit about the author: Shelley Seale is a freelance writer based out of Austin, Texas, but she vagabonds in any part of the world whenever possible. Shelley has written for the Seattle Times, Washington Magazine, the Austin Business Journal, Intrepid Travel and Andrew Harper Traveler Magazine among others, and is the Sustainable Travel Columnist at The Examiner. Her new book, The Weight of Silence: Invisible Children of India, follows her journeys into the orphanages, streets and slums of India, where for millions of children the life portrayed in Slumdog Millionaire is their reality. Her mantra is “travel with a purpose.”

Wanna win some Swag??!! The Hot Momma’s Project will be giving away a “swag bag” (Chicks Rule swag from David and Goliath, an hour of coaching from Momentum coaching, a stylish mom agenda book, and designer notepads) and all you must do to enter is follow @chiefhotmomma & @shelleyseale between now and June 16th!!!

December 18, 2008

Dear “Janet,”

When we first met, you told me your story about how you came to be at the position you are currently at in your life. It is a inspiring story. I have since volunteered to be on the Host Committee for The Hot Mommas Project. The premise is to develop a database of case studies for educators to use to teach young women and girls about the power that they have within to achieve great things through stories of real life women who have achieved personal and professional success and are true role models. Janet, you are a role model. Your story of entering a male dominated industry with no real background or education in it and through utilizing a philosophy of hard work, strong ethics and good old customer service, you have become a ‘force to be reckoned with’. That is a motivational and inspiration story from which other women could learn.

I chose to do this for two reasons:

1. I have four daughters that I want to see develop into the tremendous women that I know that they can be and seeing “real” women making great strides is a way for me to assure them that it can be done.

2. I believe that every women has a “case study” inside of them. The Hot Mommas Project provides an opportunity for women to be recognized and to give the gift of their “case study” to other women to role model after.  

I know you are an extremely busy woman and this may be something that you don’t have time for. I hope it will be something that you will consider though. You would be surprised how easy it is to write 500-1500 words when you sit down to actually do it!  I would like to officially nominate you as a Hot Momma. Please take it as the compliment it is meant to be! Here’s all the information.  BTW, there is a contest attached to it with some pretty cool prizes. Hope you will think about it. It is a George Washington University project and case studies could be published in text books.

Janet, thanks for sharing your story with me. Have a great holiday! For questions, you can contact Kathy Korman Frey and her team.

Tina Williams

P.S. Here’s the latest Press Release

Here is what to do if you are interested in becoming part of the project and impacting women’s education: NOMINATE a role model (yourself included) by emailing the Hot Mommas Project.

Winners of the case study competition will have the chance to be published in a major Prentice Hall textbook, PINK Magazine, be featured on ComedyCures LaughTalk radio show,  and win thousands of dollars in prizes.  See judging criteria and prizes/winners at www.HotMommasProject.org

The below is from our beta FAQs page.
Q: Where do I start in writing a Hot Mommas Project case?

A: Sign in, go to the case competition page, and browse the links on the right for tutorials and sample cases.

I am not one of the judges.  However, if it were me I would approach it as follows:

1. Browse the steps of the case wizard after signing in and going to the case competition page.

2. See case writer resources in the column.  Print the official tutorial, review the sample case.  There is an audio tutorial and a video tutorial, which is more like a “chat to get started” vs. a tutorial.  Official written is most clear.

3. Brainstorm a time in my life where I had a huge professional challenge, and then do the same for a huge personal challenge.  Think of a specific story to embody those points in time (E.g. Vanessa walked into her office and saw a sea of paper and staff waiting for her….). Background: Then, think back to an “aha” moment where you came into your own.  Go back as far as you can, then move forward showing how the reverb of that aha moment kept surfacing.

4. Write discussion questions to drive readers to really ponder and learn in the areas of your professional and personal challenge (e.g., Vanessa mentions her primary professional challenge is marketing her business. Review the appendix for her thoughts on marketing. Then perform a Google search on “guerilla marketing” and make 3 suggestions for Vanessa).

5. Click “Publish” – You can change your case through January 31 12:00 MIDNIGHT EASTERN TIME (contest conclusion).

Overall Hint: As a wrap up, press rewind back to the time you were a student.  If you were a case in a chapter of a textbook – what chapter would that be?  Then…

a. Include stories, thoughts, and a couple lessons in the text of the case to support a discussion of that “chapter” among readers.  Include some links in your appendix to drive home that focus.

b. If you are tempted to make your case 100% about “here’s what I’ve figured out,” press the pause button.  Hold back, and let the readers figure out some of it.  You can include your “here’s how I did it” in the teaching notes section (a guide to instructors).

Hope this helps! We have phone and email coaching, so, feel free to get online, throw something up there, have fun with it, and then send out a lifeline for help or feedback.

To learn more (see these links and read below):

Here is a sample case: http://hotmommasproject.org/caseview.aspx?id=65

Here is a press link: http://www.1888pressrelease.com/-hot-mommas-project-announces-judging-panel-for-case-study-pr-90609.html

Here is more on our mission and research underpinnings

http://www.hotmommasproject.org/about.aspx

Find case writer links on the column of this page:http://www.hotmommasproject.org/competition.aspx

Questions?
See our FAQs (http://hotmommasprojectfaq.wordpress.com) or email us

Start today at www.HotMommasProject.org. Dynamic women need as much lead time as possible! You can change your case through 12:00 midnight (Eastern time), Saturday, January 1/31.(After that – feel free to write your case – but, it will be entered in our 2010-2011 contest)

See Virtual Coaching post for more like the above (case direction).

Congratulations on your nomination as a role model for girls and women. Thank you, in advance, for your interest in the Hot Mommas Project. This is your official nomination notice. As a Nominee you are authorized to go to  www.HotMommasProject.org and write a case study about your personal and professional experiences. Please find more on the project, below. Here is what to do if you are interested in becoming part of the project and impacting women’s education:

1. Log on at www.HotMommasProject.org
2. Write your 500-1500 word case study using our case study wizard (see, below, what case writers are saying about this reflective process. We project 1 hour to 2.5 hours depending on how fast you write).
3. Click “publish” and become part of our free online library available to women, girls, and educators. (Click publish on or before November 30, and be automatically entered into a drawing for an iPod shuffle. You can change your case up until January 31.).

Congratulations, again. The team and I are here for any of your questions or additional information needs. You will find a variety of case writer resources on the “case competition” section of www.HotMommasProject.org.

Sincerely,

Kathy

Kathy Korman Frey
Founder, The Hot Mommas Project
Adj Professor, Department of Management
Associate Director Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence
The George Washington University

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About the Hot Mommas Project:The Hot Mommas Project is an award-winning leadership project raising self-efficacy of women and girls through exposure to role models. We produce case studies showing the full range of factors influencing a woman’s success. We are housed at the George Washington University School of Business and are the recipient of a 2006 Coleman Foundation National Case Award.

The Case Study Competition and Call to Action
The Hot Mommas Project Case Study Competition is live. The project’s goal is to build the world’s largest free case study database available to professionals, students, thought leaders, and especially educators worldwide. We are starting with women, and are seeking nominations of dynamic women age 18 and older to serve as role models by documenting and sharing their personal and professional lessons and challenges. You are one of these women! The call to action is this:

Write your case at www.HotMommasProject.com
Nominate someone you think would be a good case study atsupport@HotMommasProject.org

Winners have the opportunity to be published in a top Prentice Hall textbook, other media outlets, plus receive thousands of dollars in prizes including SEPHORA gift cards, an Apple TV, a Beijou bag, Morten Fadum art, and David & Goliath “chicks rule” memorabilia.

How do I write a Hot Mommas Project case study?A case study is like a structured story designed to bring out different teaching points. Hot Mommas Project cases are a cross between a typical case study and a blog, and feature a specific person (the case author). Case authors use our case wizard, tutorials, and templates at www.HotMommasProject.org to:
1. Write a 500 to 1500 word case (Introduction, Background, Professional Challenge/Teaching point, Personal Challenge/Teaching point). Student authors can substitute “academic” for “professional” challenge/teaching point.
2. Develop discussion questions and an optional appendix.
3. Fill out additional information (links, etc.), which makes the case “real” for the reader.

The cases should be appropriate for a classroom environment. At the end of the case wizard, you can check a box if you are interested in speaking or mentoring.To learn more (see these links and read below):
Here is a sample case: http://url2it.com/klk
Here is a press link: http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/542493
Here is more on our mission and research underpinningswww.HotMommasProjectInfo.wordpress.com
Find case writer links on the column of this page:http://www.hotmommasproject.org/competition.aspx

Questions?
See our FAQs (http://hotmommasprojectfaq.wordpress.com) or email us

*********************************************************
Here is what case-writers are saying:

“I really enjoyed the process of writing my case It made me reflect.”
“It was fun, the case wizard was clear, and the tutorial and sample cases helped a lot.”
“The case study project on www.hotmommasproject.org is great. Just finished mine. Was therapeutic. Women, check it out.”

“Writing my case made me feel like I mattered and that I have something to offer.”

Here is what influencers in women’s leadership are saying:

“There is great demand both domestically and abroad for practical solutions and models on achieving ‘balance.’ At leadership conferences I have participated in ranging from Harvard Business School to the Middle East, women want to succeed in both their professional and personal/family lives. The case study database resulting from the Hot Mommas Project Case Study competition is a major step in the right direction. Having free and global access to the database will be a great resource of examples on how to balance.”
Karen Kerrigan

President & CEO,Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

Founder, Women Entrepreneurs Inc. (WE Inc.)

“Exposure to role models can contribute to one’s sense of self-efficacy, or the feeling of ‘If she can do that, maybe I can too.’ The Hot Mommas Project approach of providing role models on paper hits the nail on the head by showing real women successfully managing the daily complexities of personal and professional demands. The online, self-directed learning model offers an innovative “just in time” development alternative for busy women.”

Dr. Susan G. Duffy

Assistant Professor

Strategy and Entrepreneurship

Simmons College School of Management

Start today at www.HotMommasProject.org. Dynamic women need as much lead time as possible, don’t we?

Reminder: If you, or someone you know is a role model whose story could help women and girls, and could be taught by educators in classroom,email us and include “nomination” in the subject line.

Your Weekend Inspriation:

Our Featured Inspirational Story. Today we feature the incredible story of LaSara Firefox. I guarantee you’ll take something away that changes your perspective. I first read LaSara’s case when she submitted it for the inaugural Hot Mommas Project case competition, for which she was one of the winners (look for her case in PINK Magazine and Prentice Hall’s Essentials of Small Business Management).  I was humbled by her combination of honesty, intelligence, and vulnerability.  She is a leader not just among women, but in the mental health and entrepreneurial communities as you’ll see below.  She has literally picked herself up by her bootstraps. If she can do it, we can too.

Here’s What To Do.

1. Read the case (pasted below) LaSara Firefox & The Ecstatic Presence Project & Gratitude Games
“Finding Balance in the Extreme: Working With Bipolar Disorder“ 

2. Make a comment

Extra: Podcast with Kathy Korman Frey and intern and GW student, Madison Cooke.

Case themes include: Role models, work-life balance, entrepreneurship, career, work-life balance, focus, priorities, mental health, overcoming challenges.

LaSara Firefox & The Ecstatic Presence Project & Gratitude Games
“Finding Balance in the Extreme: Working With Bipolar Disorder“ 

2nd Runner Up, Hot Mommas Project 2008-2009 Global Case Study Competition.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 5.7 million adults in the US suffer bipolar disorder. I’m one of them.

While I try not to over-identify with my diagnosis, the truth is that my diagnosis is one of the largest reasons I am driven to make the entrepreneurial life work for me. At first glance this may seem paradoxical, especially if you don’t know much about bipolar disorder. With a deeper look at the disorder - and how it manifested in me - it actually makes sense. Consider me an entrepreneur by necessity.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 29 years of age. However, I’d had my suspicions for many years that bipolar disorder could have been at the heart of my wildly tumultuous youth. I’d been both driven, and scattered.

My first career was activism (activism rarely pays), and odd jobs. This didn’t exactly lead to the development of a solid career path.

After years of “fighting the good fight,” I decided I was done fighting, and transitioned my desire to create change to another format - healing from the inside, out. But that’s another story.

I moved around physically a lot, too. In my early 20s, I lived out of my truck for over a year. While that may seem to you like an irresponsible choice, to this day I understand that it was the most responsible choice I could have made given the circumstances.

Bipolar disorder is a serious consideration.

Though I didn’t know exactly the reasons, I knew - with no small amount of shame - that I was unable to hold any job for longer then three months. Three months was all I could take, before the pressure of external expectation broke me down.

The requirement to show up at the same place, at the same time, and do the same thing - regardless of mood, ability, or desire - was truly too much for me. Therefore, rent and bills were an albatross I couldn’t abide by.

Sometimes bipolar disorder shows up on an emotional level. Sometimes it shows up as physical symptoms. Along with the mood swings, periods of deep depression, and then the recurrent inability to sit still, I also suffered migraines, skeletal problems, stress disorders, and chronic pain.

For me, none of this lead to an easy relationship with employment. I simply wasn’t a good candidate to work for anyone — but myself.

I work hard - if you’re an entrepreneur you know; long hours, sometimes less return than you would hope for. Yet it’s still the best choice for me. The upsides are many, but the down-sides are too.

Thinking of Becoming an Entrepreneur by Necessity?

On most days, if you were to ask for my recommendations on building a career, I’d say this; If at all possible…work for someone else. Someone who will be helping you build towards retirement, paying into your medical needs, and guaranteeing you a paycheck every two weeks.

The stability and predictability of that life is something I yearn for often, but will never be able to have. Kind of like a diabetic kid, nose up against the candy-store window.

For those of you who cannot, or will not, heed that sage piece of advice (from someone who didn’t couldn’t wouldn’t heed it herself), here are some benefits to the entrepreneurial endeavor,  some cautionary comments, and some strategies that will help you make working for yourself work for you!

Benefits:

* Working for myself allows me to build a career at my own pace.

* It allows me to focus on the tasks I am up to on any given day (or week, or month, or season) and put the ones I can’t master at the moment off until I am capable.

* It allows me to create my schedule according to how I feel, and to take care of myself by staying within my limits.

* It allows me to have something left for my kids when they come home - not having used up all my “good hours” in a day at the office.

* It allows me to stop working and go for a run when I need to, or do yoga, or sit outside in the sun. Or,  if it’s a really rough day and I just can’t shut down the inner cacophony, watch TV.

Cautionary Comments for the Bipolar Set

* Being a bipolar entrepreneur, sometimes it’s hard to tell difference between good planning and an optimistic outlook, and mania or hypomania.

* Trusted advisers, allies, and friends-in-the-know are a must for keeping feet on the ground, while reaching for the stars.

* Sometimes hypomania manifests as the insistent and driving need to get it done NOW! The stress I put myself under with writing and project deadlines can lead to a serious intensification of my symptoms, and in the past on more than one occasion, has lead to a full-on break down, which then necessitated a long period of recovery.

* Say yes to a project only after you’ve truly weighed its merit. And say no as often as you need to to stay healthy.

* If you experience bipolar disorder, or any other mood disorder, thought disorder, or disability, discuss it thoroughly with those close to you. Help them to help you. Create language that is safe for you and your loved ones so they can let you know when you’re symptomatic.

* Disclose your condition to anyone who is offering business advice, and tell them how they can best help you. Do you need to be assisted in staying focused on immediate goals? Do you need regular reality checks when making plans and setting goals? Do you need help figuring out the steps between where you are now, and where you want to be?

Let your business mentors know - because what might be good advice to someone who doesn’t suffer bipolar disorder (”yeah! take out a loan and invest in growing your business while you have that great idea!”) might end in bankruptcy for someone like me. Ideas come and go, but bipolar disorder and its impact on my ability to follow through is here to stay.

The Answers I Rely On:

The tried and true answers that allow me to live a more or less balanced life are:

1. knowing my limits, and

2. enacting my rituals. And by rituals I mean:

* Eating at the right time - even when I don’t want to. Mania can arrest the appetite, and so can depression, and going without food will intensify either of those states.

* Exercising daily, or semi-daily. In some cases, exercise is as effective as medication in the treatment of depression and anxiety.

* Being dedicated and disciplined in my self care.

* Making time to spend with my husband, and with my kids, where a “no process and no work” rule is in effect. My husband and I have a weekly date night that we hold to religiously, and our family has a family night as well.

* Practicing and celebrating gratitude, especially when it’s a stretch to feel grateful.

* And, saying no, when I know I have reached my limit.

* Knowing when to be on medication, knowing when its safe to be off, and learning more about what helps me to maintain my balance all the time.

* When I get confused, to come back to my center through meditation, prayer, touch (hugging, cuddling, massage, sex), and yoga - of all types.

I believe that these “rituals”, when taken seriously by anyone, will lead to a healthier, happier life.

In closing

As I’ve grown into it, my “fatal flaw” has become my greatest strength. Living with a potentially progressive, occasionally debilitating disorder has lead me to a life that is honest, clear, and directed.

My so-called disorder has taken me to strange heights, and stranger valleys. It’s carried me into amazing moments, and arduous ones. Sometimes it’s felt like this. Sometimes like this.

It has caused me to make lifestyle choices that keep me safe and sane. Made it possible to make peace with childhood memories of my father, who also suffers bipolar disorder.

And when it gets hard to be grateful for the personal cross I bear, I remember the heroes that crazy has brought us. Without a bit of it in the world, Einstein may never have discovered the theory of relativity. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony would never have been composed. And my book would never have been written, either.

There’s always something to be grateful for. Right now, I’m grateful for the choices I have made.

***

Additional links:

• More on LaSara here.
• Full case with teaching notes and links here (login required) “Finding Balance in the Extreme: Working With Bipolar Disorder“
• Hot Mommas Project founder on Twitter
• Hot Mommas Project - Facebook Group
• Email us to nominate a role model to tell their story. Here’s why. Here’s a sample nomination.

Be a sponsor! For every $500 we accrue, a role model is able to tell their story and have it permanently archived in our free, online case library at www.HotMommasProject.org. Donate as much or as little as you can. Every bit helps keep our case library free, and the role models stories coming. Questions about giving? Email us or find us on Twitter (we’re always there).