Sonia Marsh - Gutsy Living

2014 “Gusty Gals Inspire Me®” Nominees and Winners

March 20, 2014 by Sonia Marsh 1 Comment

2 Nominees Fee Johnson and me (Sonia Marsh)

The photo above shows what a wonderful weekend I had at the Gutsy Gals Inspire Me Awards Ceremony. I wish to thank all my social media and other friends who nominated me, and also Fee Johnson, who was nominated, and who wrote a My Gutsy Story®, :How Writing Saved My Life.”

Meet all the “Gutsy Gals Inspire Me” on stage.

“Gusty Gals Inspire Me® aims to inspire girls and women across the world to be courageous, confident and have the desire to drive their own destinies. We do this by sharing stories about positive female role models of the past and present through films, awards and social media.”

Patty DeDominic to the far left is an amazing woman who founded the Santa Barbara Womens’ Festivals and is also a, business coach, author, ex-President of NAWBO, entrepreneur, and Chief Operating Officer of Maui Mastermind.

Debra Hutchinson, founded the “Gusty Gals Inspire Me®” Awards, and she is the fantastic and super enthusiastic lady sitting down.

Winners of Gutsy Gals Inspire Me — Deepa Willingham, Lee Langley, Razia Jan and Debra Hutchinson (Founder)
2014 Winners of the “Gutsy Gals Inspire Me” Awards

The winners of our 2014 Gutsy Gal Awards are (from left to right): Deepa Willingham, who has fought to educate children living in extreme poverty as a means of keeping them out of the hands of sex trade operations; Lee Langley, who had the vision at age 23 to cofound a school for delinquent boys; and Razia Jan, our International honoree who created a school for girls in Afghanistan. Also pictured – Deborah Hutchison – founder of Gutsy Gals Inspire Me®. (copied from website)

RAZIA JAN WINNER

Razia’s Ray of Hope is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of Afghan girls through community-based education at the Zabuli Education Center in Deh’Subz, Afghanistan. The organization and its school were founded in the belief that education is a key to positive, peaceful change for current and future generations–and that we must empower girls and young women through education and resources so they may work toward brighter futures, in their own villages and beyond. See more HERE.

DEEPA WILLINGHAM WINNER

For waging a war against poverty and sex trade
Educated in Calcutta under the stewardship of Mother Teresa, Deepa Willingham is an advocate for the most vulnerable victims, children living in extreme poverty who fall victim to sex trade operations. She believes the solution is through education. She founded PACE Universal and the Piyali Learning Center. Girls are educated instead of being becoming child brides, used for child labor, or sold for sex trade. She hopes her education programs will become models for extreme poverty – See more HERE.

LEE LANGLEY WINNER

Lee Langley had the vision at age 23 to co-found a school for delinquent boys.

The event had amazing speakers, including Mary O’Hara Devereaux.

She made two statements I love:

“We know have a 2nd middle-age which is the 60-80-year-olds”

“60-year-olds today ask ‘who will I become,’ not when will I die.”

Dr. Mary O’Hara-Devereaux’s ability to analyze emerging trends and translate them into profitable business opportunities is legendary. She is a visionary who bases her approach on evidence, research, in-depth analysis, proprietary processes, and unfailing intuition. One of the world’s leading futurists, Mary’s steady eyed forecasts have enabled organizations to face the future with proactive strategies and aggressive innovation finding targets no one else can see.
Mary’s transformative forecasts, leading edge trend analysis, and insightful advice has made her a sought-after speaker and consultant to scores of senior executives and a wide range of blue chip companies, including Apple, BASF, CITIC-Pacific, Chevron, Coca Cola, Disney, Oracle, P&G, and Ericsson, and nonprofit organizations including the Asia Foundation, National Council on Aging, Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, United Way, Kaiser Family Foundation, and the World Bank. (Copied from her website.)

Would you like to submit your “My Gutsy Story®” and get published in our 2nd anthology?

MGS FINAL COVER Small — Click on cover to go to Amazon

Please see guidelines below and contact Sonia Marsh at: sonia@soniamarsh.com for details.

You can find all the information, and our new sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story®” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here

PLEASE SHARE THESE STORIES USING THE LINKS BELOW.

Exploration, Freedom and Being in Control of My Life

March 17, 2014 by Sonia Marsh 10 Comments

Age of Exploration

A “My Gutsy Story®” by Rachael Rifkin

Growing up, summer vacations meant hiking in Mammoth Mountain. After the first couple consecutive years, I was ready to go somewhere else. We used to go other places—Palm Springs, Big Bear, San Francisco, Arizona, Utah. We even went all the way to Disney World when I was seven. So I began looking through the AAA book for some new ideas. Maybe my parents had forgotten what else was out there.

They hadn’t. I’d point out a place and my dad would say, “What are we going to do there?”

“We could do anything! What do we do in Mammoth that’s so fun? We hike.”

“Exactly. Let’s go back to Mammoth.”

And so it went until I graduated from high school. I had been accepted into a couple of Southern California schools so my parents and I went to visit them. Every campus I visited left me with a funny feeling. I was always eager to leave.

I had also been accepted into UC Santa Cruz. My parents did not offer to take a trip up there. That made my decision easier; Santa Cruz it was.

“But it’s so far away and you haven’t even visited the campus,” my parents said. My grandmother sent me a newspaper clipping of an article that talked about the increasing dropout rate among UCSC students due to feelings of isolation. I balked.

If I had visited UC Santa Cruz before I went, I probably wouldn’t have liked it. But it had one thing going for it that the other schools didn’t—it was over 400 miles away from where I grew up. I was ready to be somewhere else.

Santa Cruz was beautiful. The campus was in the middle of a forest, with the occasional deer family wandering about. I loved navigating my way around the campus and city. I walked and took the bus everywhere. I explored.

I didn’t really like UC Santa Cruz though. Turns out, I did feel isolated. There wasn’t a lot to do and I was surrounded by people who went out of their way to appear unique. Instead, it was just a different kind of sameness. By my sophomore year, I was contemplating my escape again. This time I wanted to go somewhere I liked. I wasn’t going to just escape for the sake of escaping anymore.

It didn’t take me too long to figure out where I wanted to go. I had always wanted to go to the Netherlands. I had grown up reading Anne Frank’s diary and knew that she adored her adopted country. The first thing she hoped to do after the war was become a Dutch citizen.

I wanted to go to the Netherlands to see what she saw in the Dutch and walk through the same space that she had shared with her fellow Secret Annex housemates. I just never thought I would go. My parents certainly weren’t going to take me. When I was younger, it never occurred to me that I might eventually be able to go on my own.

I decided to look into studying abroad in the Netherlands. They offered study abroad programs at three colleges, one of which was an international school. I started the process, but it didn’t feel real. I couldn’t believe I might actually go somewhere I really want to.

I collected recommendations and transcripts, wrote essays and mapped out how taking this semester abroad would affect my ability to graduate on time. Every time I handed something in, that little excited feeling would build in my chest.

My parents worried about my safety but they weren’t going to stop me from going. They knew my aversion to paperwork, so I think they were hoping I’d forget something and not be able to go. But by the end of the school year I was all set. I was going to study abroad in the Netherlands from August 31, 2001 through December 15, 2001.

To me, the Netherlands represented exploration, freedom and the fulfillment of a long-held desire. I’d be on my own in a way I never had been before. It meant I had to trust myself to navigate a new country. Even better, it gave me the opportunity to get to know myself anew, without the weight of parents, friends or American culture on my back.

Rachael in the Netherlands — Rachael in Rotterdam is on the far right. She still keeps in contact with the people she met in the Netherlands

For the first time, I felt in control of my life and it inspired me to do other things I wanted to do. As soon as I got home for the summer, I rearranged my room so it had a better flow. I asked my friend to teach me the guitar. I got an internship at a local paper. A high school friend introduced me to the guy who would become my husband.

Over in Holland, I continued to take risks, and the more I took the easier they became. When I had moments of self-doubt, instead of giving in to them, I’d take a deep breath and remind myself that taking a chance was always worth a try.

I enjoyed my classes and how open and direct Dutch people were. I learned how other cultures viewed the U.S. I traveled and made friends that I still have today. I got to know my husband over the phone and fell in love with him. And I finally visited Anne Frank’s house, saw where she hid and what she saw in the Dutch people.

In short, I found a place of my own. Now when I travel, my journey is about discovery, not escape.

RACHAEL RIFKIN was inspired to become a ghostwriter/personal historian by her grandfather, who wrote a memoir about his time serving as a medic in the Korean War. Her blog, Family Resemblance (www.lifestoriestoday.com/blog), features selections of her grandfather’s memoir and stories about the traits we inherit, whether genetically or environmentally, and the qualities we only find in ourselves.

SONIA MARSH SAYS:

You really captures the essence of travel: exploration, freedom, fulfillment, trusting yourself and the opportunity to get to know yourself. I think you are going to help those who feel trapped and want to try new things in life. I like your statement:

“For the first time, I felt in control of my life and it inspired me to do other things I wanted to do.”

Please check out Rachael’s:

Website, and join her on
Twitter: @Letters2Ruthie
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/lifestories2day

Would you like to submit your “My Gutsy Story®” and get published in our 2nd anthology?

Please see guidelines below and contact Sonia Marsh at: sonia@soniamarsh.com for details.

You can find all the information, and our new sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story®” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here

PLEASE VOTE AND SHARE THESE STORIES USING THE LINKS BELOW.

Winner of the February 2014 “My Gutsy Story®”-Susie Mitchell

March 13, 2014 by Sonia Marsh 2 Comments

We had 4 outstanding “My Gutsy Story®” authors in February, and I’d like to congratulate all four authors. Their stories will be included in our 2nd “My Gutsy Story®” Anthology, published in the Fall of 2014.

CONGRATULATIONS to Susie Michell who received the most votes for her “My Gutsy Story®”. Her story is about fulfilling her lifelong dream and becoming a World Champion in track cycling just 4 months after she gave birth.

2nd Place goes to Mariana Williams for her wonderful story called, “Gutsy Girl Power,” about reconnecting with her long-lost childhood friend.

3rd Place goes to Viki Noe. Her story is about “Gutsiness being a choice” and that there are several ways one can be “gutsy.”

In 4th Place, and very close to 3rd, Leanne Dyck writes about her dyslexia and how this did not stop her from becoming a published author.

Thank you to all four authors. Your stories are all WINNERS.

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Do you have a “My Gutsy Story®” you’d like to share?

Would you like to submit your “My Gutsy Story®” and get published in our 2nd anthology?

Please see guidelines below and contact Sonia Marsh at: sonia@soniamarsh.com for details.

You can find all the information, and our new sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story®” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here

Our March 2014 stories have started with Yelena Parker and Rosalie Marsh sharing their “My Gutsy Story®.” Next Monday, March 17th, Rachael Rifkin will share his “My Gutsy Story®.”

Living Life to The Fullest While You Can

March 10, 2014 by Sonia Marsh 10 Comments

Pushing Back the Boundaries

“My Gutsy Story®” by Rosalie Marsh

When invited to submit my ‘Gutsy Story’ I pondered on where to start. Being no spring chicken, I have faced many challenges in my life but the catalyst in changing me was having hearing aids fitted. (This is not something I normally talk about but, being ‘retired’, it doesn’t matter anymore – as long as I can hide them.)

Following a traditional route of school, a nice job in an office (bank), marriage, children, and a stay-at-home Mum forever, I eventually went against the fulfilling years of the latter to work in a sales environment where I found myself. Now, after having a good level of hearing restored, I felt confident of applying for promotion. Previously, I could not fully take part in meetings without saying “pardon”, or “what was that?” as I strove to keep pace. Now, at one such meeting, opportunities to undertake management qualifications were offered. I jumped at the chance, and in complete ignorance eagerly awaited the programme details. I found that this team-building course involved some very hands-on outward-bound activities at a sea and surf centre on the Isle of Anglesey on the North Wales Coast (UK) over two visits. Suffice to say that I am not an outdoor person!

The course was stretching to say the least and pushed me to terrifying limits of endurance as I took part in all sorts of cold and wet activities—abseiling, raft making, trekking, out to sea on a landing craft, boarding a yacht in the Irish Sea and, horror of horrors, a sea level traverse. Twenty years later, I can still re-live the horror and sheer terror of what I call “rock-climbing sideways with the safety of land above and the depths of the pounding sea below.” Stepping off the rock to cross a rocky inlet with only a rope to hang on to really was the moment of truth. You had to have complete confidence that the person at the other side would catch you after you let go of the rock to which you are clinging with fingertips and toes. My confidence increased. Doors of my mind opened and I thought, “I can do this”.

However stretching this experience was, it was to prove to be a grounding for what was to come later as my husband and myself became ‘born-again’ bikers. By now, I had left sales management to work in a further education college, taking learning out into the workplace. At the same time, I too was studying, undertaking a variety of work-related courses and eventually an education degree.

I had unfulfilled dreams and longed to travel. My husband was not keen on touring in a car on the ‘wrong side of the road’. In the midst of study, assignments, families, and grandchildren, he declared that he was hankering after a motorbike following many years bike-less. He had nothing with which to tinker! Eventually the little scooter he pleaded for became a larger one, then a big bike. We had found out lost youth! The world was our oyster! The deal was that if we had a bike, would [he] tour? Could we explore the countries in Europe over which we had flown? Then by chance—serendipity?— I saw a huge, shiny, black beast of a bike in a motorcycle store in North Wales. It was a Honda Gold Wing touring motorbike. Really, a motorised horse if you think about it—at least that is how the Andorrans ride them.[i]

“This is what we need if we are going to travel.” I declared. My husband thought he had died and gone to heaven. A biker’s dreams do not normally come true so easily. He turned and walked out before coming back to me.

“But look at the luggage space!” I went on.

“You had better sign up then.”

Our lives changed forever as I sacrificed well-groomed hair and high heels for a crash helmet and biker boots. I was no longer ‘Miss Prim and Proper’ as my colleagues’ perceptions of me changed professionally.

I was forty-one years old before I went abroad. Never having toured abroad before, in middle age I did not know what even a ferry looked like but we set off to Ireland to test the water so to speak before embarking further afield. I found that my long-lost family was alive and well in County Mayo. During this profoundly emotional time, I wrote everything down and, after showing it to my mother who had been put in touch with a cousin whom she thought was dead, put my account away in a drawer where it lay for ten years. Later this formed the basis of my first book.

Living life to the full, we pushed back the boundaries of our endurance, explored new horizons, and did what we could while we could, so that we would not say “if only”. Some years later, our exploits were dramatically cut short as my husband became ill and we faced other challenges, eventually giving up riding. Using part of my name as a pen name, I decided to write about our story and so a new career was born as I climbed a steep learning curve. Initially publishing with an organisation in the US, I eventually decided to become an Indie Publisher. I had skills and wanted control to explore all distribution outlets.

With more words flowing, my genre range expanded as in retirement I found a new career. Now I continue to wear many hats and push back my boundaries through writing, marketing, formatting, publishing, blogging, tweeting, maintaining three websites, connecting with like-minded people, and generally making a nuisance of myself.

I wait with baited breath for what life has in store as I explore new horizons into the ‘third-age’.

[i] Ned and Rosie’s Gold Wing Discovery. Rosalie Marsh.1st Ed 2009 2nd Ed 2012

SONIA MARSH SAYS: I can visualize the look on your husband’s face when you showed him the big “beast” motorcyle. Having never traveled before, it must have been a huge thrill for you to explore other countries.

Check out and follow Rosalie Marsh (No, we are not related.)

Rosalie’s Website: www.discover-rosalie.com

Blog -Rosalie’s Chatter: www.discover-rosalie.blogspot.com

Just Us Two Travel Series and Lifelong Learning Personal

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ROSALIE MARSH is an award-winning Author, Speaker, Learning & Development Consultant, Grandmother, Blogger, Marketer, Educator, Website Editor, and Indie Publisher. Born in Lancashire and settling in North Wales with her husband and growing family, Marsh followed a varied career in banking, sales management and adult education before ‘retiring’ to concentrate on writing, drawing on her skills and experiences in travel and adult education. The Just Us Two travel writing series is based on biographical travel experiences. The Lifelong Learning: Personal Effectiveness Guides aim to inspire you to push back the boundaries and achieve your goals in life.

Rosalie Marsh Just Us Two - PaperbackCover — Click on cover to purchase on Amazon

Rosalie’s Amazon US Author Page

Just Us Two: Ned and Rosie’s Gold Wing Discovery at Amazon UK

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Book Depository

Waterstones – UK

Please comment and share using the social media buttons below. Rosalie will respond to your comments.

THANK YOU

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VOTE for your favorite one of 4 “My Gutsy Story®” submissions. You have from now until March 12th to vote on the sidebar, (only one vote per person) and the winner will be announced on March 13th, and will select a prize from our generous sponsors.

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story®” you’d like to share?

Would you like to submit your “My Gutsy Story®” and get published in our 2nd anthology?

Please see guidelines below and contact Sonia Marsh at: sonia@soniamarsh.com for details.

You can find all the information, and our new sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story®” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here

VOTING for your favorite February 2014 “My Gutsy Story®,” starts on February 27th, and ends on March 12th. The WINNER will be announced on March 13th.

PLEASE VOTE AND SHARE THESE STORIES USING THE LINKS BELOW.

One “Gutsy Goal” One “Gutsy Winner”

March 6, 2014 by Sonia Marsh 18 Comments

One “GUTSY GOAL”
One “GUTSY WINNER.”

After asking you to respond to the question below

What is your One biggest “Gutsy Goal” for 2014?

one sentence
one photo

The idea of asking others to share their 2014 “Gutsy Goals” came to me when I started working on my own 2014 goals. So before I announce the winner below, I want to quickly share my own 2014 goals.

MY BIGGEST Gutsy Goal for 2014 is to kick my business up a notch.

Here’s what I’m planning, and what I’ve accomplished so far:

Webinars and Workshops on book marketing for authors. 1st one done. (Check it out here.) Sign up for the 2nd Webinar here.)

Gutsy Google+ Interviews. I’ve done 6 so far this year, and plan on more. Check out the most recent exciting videos with the following. Click on links to view them.

Ian Mathie (memoir writer about his 30-years in Africa.)

Alissa Everett about her exciting job as a photojournalist in troubled parts of the world

Film Director and screenwriter, Lance Nielsen about his indie movie based on a true story that deals with love, loss and bereavement.

Volunteering in Spain in May with VaughanVolunteers

Create a BIG EVENT to launch the 2nd My Gutsy Story® Anthology in the Fall of 2014.

Presentations: “Gutsy Living and not postponing your dreams.” REI stores in Orange COunty, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara. (Dates to come.)

Here are the results of the “Gutsy Goal” contest.

1). Sharon Leaf says her “Gutsy Goal for 2014 is:

“To travel through France, Spain, and Italy via train with only a backpack–and my husband.” Sharon’s website:www.sharonleaf.com

2). Mike McLane, says his “Gutsy Goal for 2014 is:

To live by “Lombardi Time.”

If you had an appointment with Coach Vince Lombardi at 11, at 10:45 you were late. In honor of that policy, which came to be known as Lombardi Time, the clock in the tower at the stadium is set 15 minutes fast.

3). Jeffrey Crimmel says his “Gutsy Goal for 2014 is:

“To write a good query letter and find an agent who will find a publisher. Keep sending until I find one.”

4). Shirley Showalter says her “Gutsy Goal for 2014 is:

“To pitch a story to The Moth radio program/live event and get selected.” Her website is: www.shirleyshowalter.com

5). Carol Deshayes says her “Gutsy Goal for 2014 is:

“To become who I am, and be myself, as everyone else is already taken!”

6). Greta Boris says her “Gutsy Goal for 2014 is:

“My goal is to send at least one query letter to a magazine. The reason it’s gutsy is because I think it’s an important step for me and I’ve been procrastinating!! Probably fear but I’ve been blaming business. Check her Amazon page here.

7). Tamara Severin says her “Gutsy Goal for 2014 is:

“To get my book about my Outrageous ordeal with Breast Cancer finished and published.”

Email: trainertam@sbcglobal.net

8). Cynthia Smith says her “Gutsy Goal for 2014 is:

“To create a travel show for people with disabilities.”

I do have a disability! I broke my neck in three places, my back in two, my pelvic and my left femur in a car accident in 1982. I am diagnosed as an “incomplete paraplegic”. It’s a miracle I can even walk!

www.freedomtotravelshow.com