Sonia Marsh - Gutsy Living

Winner of the “My Gutsy Story” December Contest

January 12, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

My Gutsy Story 1st place — Cheryl Stahle

Congratulations to Cheryl Stahle who won first place with 145 votes. As you know, this was a very exciting poll with Cheryl Stahle and Richard Potter switching into first and second place, almost hourly. I also want to congratulate Muriel Demarcus and Ian Miller for their wonderful stories and congratulate you on inspiring us with your stories.

Cheryl Stahle wrote an inspiring story about the courage to do something unique and spectacular for yourself. Cheryl Stahle, memoirist, author and founder ofYour Best Writing Group (www.yourbestwritinggroup.com.

Cheryl gets to pick her prize from our list of sponsors.

My Gutsy Story 2nd place — Richard Potter

Richard Potter 2nd Place

Richard Potter was the first man to be featured on the “My Gutsy Story” contest and he wrote a positive and inspiring story about how in helping others, you overcome your own fears. Richard wrote a comment I wanted to share with you in case you haven’t seen it: “Sonia, I’ve been tracking the votes each day. Then I received this comment (look for Richard’s comment to read the quote) on a social media site, and realized that the contest is not the main thing. The impact the story has on others is the main thing! Thanks for the vehicle to spread these stories and their impact around the world!”

My Gutsy Story 3rd place — Muriel Demarcus 3rd Place

Muriel Demarcus 3rd place

Muriel Demarcus wrote a fabulous story about getting out of her comfort zone and adapting to a new life in the U.K. Not only that, but she started your own company, taught herself English, and started a successful blog French Yummy Mummy.

Ian Miller shared his Gutsy adventure back in the 60′s. As he mentioned, those days in Czechoslovakia influenced him and his writing. We look forward to reading his future novels. Ian Miller’s website, and join him on Facebook.

*****

Thank you so much for submitting your stories and for voting. Please share with others who wish to submit their own “My Gutsy Story.”

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story”?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (NEW VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

*****

PLEASE JUMP OVER TO READ MY GUEST POST ON “BEAUTY QUEEN SHEEN” BLOG

I want to thank Julia Rice from “Beauty Queen Sheen” for asking me to guest post on her blog regarding her research on what beauty means to you at different stages of life. Her research about women and beauty from different cultures is fascinating. I’d love it if you would check out her blog, read my guest post, “What does Beauty Mean to You?” and leave a comment.

“My Gutsy Story” by Dodie Cross

January 9, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

In the 60s, I reluctantly signed up for classes on SCUBA diving. My husband was excited; he thought it would be great for the two of us to dive together. What I didn’t bring up to him, and what had been a deep, dark secret for years, was my fear of sharks and the big deep—the ocean! I’d always been the first to run into the oncoming waves, knowing I’d go no deeper than my midriff, but actually acting as though I’d go out as far as anyone else if need be. I could outswim anyone in a pool, as long as I could see the bottom. Lakes and rivers held some worry for me, but somehow I felt a shark couldn’t make it in those waters. Maybe it’s the fact I can’t see what’s down there around my legs, ready to carry me off to the deep, and then include me in their digestive juices.

But, I shouldered on, joining him in the classes. I was the only female in a group of eight men; two of whom I might add quit when the going got tough. I actually made it all the way to certification—that is until the diving instructor took us out to be certified. We had to snorkel out to the kelp beds, put in our regulator and dive to 50 feet to be certified.

It was a violently stormy day as we made our way to Black’s Beach on the California Coast. The breakers were over ten feet. I donned my suit with shaky hands, then my footies and gloves. Someone, not sure who, helped me on with my weight belt, and off we went. As I was snorkeling out with my husband in front of me, I had the distinct feeling that I was sinking. It was hard to keep afloat. I struggled so hard I began to hyperventilate. Was the fear of the darkness below? Where a shark might be in waiting, licking his chops, causing this hyperventilation? I couldn’t let this happen. I removed my snorkel and yelled to my husband: “I’m sinking! Help me!” The instructor, swimming nearby took one look at me and immediately reached out and flipped open my weight belt. As the belt sank I began to return to the surface. Obviously, someone had given me a weight belt meant for a two hundred pound wrestler. By then I was so exhausted the instructor sent me back to shore. I half crawled up the shoreline, dragging myself over the sea urchins as they tore my booties, gloves and the skin beneath. At the sight of blood I panicked. Got to get out before a shark gets my scent, I thought, as I groped in the sand for handholds to pull me up and out. Sadly, for my husband, that was the end of my diving career.

That was over fifty years ago, and I knew I would never go back into the deep. That is until two weeks ago when a friend and I visited Australia. I reluctantly signed up for a snorkeling outing on the Great Barrier Reef. Now, I knew I wouldn’t do it, but my girlfriend was so excited about the tour, I had to pretend I was excited as well. I figured I’d go along with the farce just long enough to keep her happy. But when it came time to don the gear, I’d amazingly get a headache and have to decline. However, when the instructor began to hand out the masks and snorkels, I had an epiphany: It’s time to quell your fears. You’re not a young woman any longer, and why take a dirt nap without conquering this fear.

I asked the instructor about the Great Whites. Had any been seen in these waters or nearby? “Not for years,” he said, “no problem, mate!” So I suited up. My heart beating so hard I feared it would show through my bra top. I valiantly stepped off the swim board and jumped in. The water was glorious, so clear you could see for miles. I did some rather strange rotating, though, to make sure nothing could sneak up behind me. The longer we were floating out there, the more brave I became. “It’s okay, I said as a mantra: You’ve finally conquered your worst fear.

Then something brushed my leg. Something big! Omygod! I whipped my head around, terrified that I might see a huge shark, and there, staring me right in the mask was the most beautiful fish I’d ever seen. It was over three feet long, and the most vivid turquoise blue. Its lips were the size of tractor tires and it was smiling at me. Our dive instructor told us that this fish always visits the groups in the water, and has been doing this for quite some time.

After my heart quit doing the Macarena, I meekly reached out to pet this beautiful fish. You see, I thought, all those fears all those years, for nothing.

This morning as I worked on my computer and half-listened to the TV news, the anchor interrupted with: “We have breaking news” which normally means a car chase, a stock market plunge or surge, so I paid scant attention. That is until I heard: “A Great White Shark has just killed a man off the Australian coast.

So much for conquering your fears!

*****

Dodie Cross Bio

About the author: Dodie Cross is a freelance writer who has received numerous awards for her writing and poetry, among them the prestigious Southern California Writer’s Conference First Place Award for “Best Nonfiction,” as well as First Place in their inaugural Poetry Award. She has accrued first and second place prizes in her published articles. Dodie has traveled the world, writing about her life in foreign countries such as Iran and Thailand, as well as American locales such as New Orleans, Orange County, California.

Check out Dodie’s website where you will find her next book: A Broad Abroad in Iran: One Strappy-Sandaled Foot Ahead of the Mullahs: An Expat’s Life in Iran Before and During the Revolution.

*****

Thanks Dodie for sharing how you overcame your fear of scuba diving and snorkeling, and just jumped back in. To find out more about Dodie Cross and her humorous writing, please check out her blog: A Broad Abroad. Please share your comments or questions with Dodie who will be over to respond to them.

*****

Want to share your own “My Gutsy Story”?

To submit your, “My Gutsy Story” please go to the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) and Submission guidelines here. You will also find a list of our wonderful sponsors and prizes.

*****

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE DECEMBER “MY GUTSY STORY”

Read their stories here. Winner and the prize they selected will be announced on January 12th.

A Gutsy Project on what beauty means to you?

January 5, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

Julia Rice and her Gutsy project.

Julia Rice lives in Spain, and I had the pleasure of meeting her online about a year ago. Julia is an artist who started a bold project about women and aging, and how our definition of beauty changes with age.

I asked her to share her research on this topic and here’s what she said:

“I began this project on women, beauty and aging last year in San Francisco, USA. I interviewed women 60 and older, recording their recollections of how they viewed beauty in their 20s, their current ideas and how things changed over the years.

During the interviews, I took photographs of the women’s faces, from which I later created oil paintings on disposable surfaces. In the final San Francisco exhibitions, I showed the painted boxes alongside printed text selections from every interview. In my recent artwork, I’ve spent a lot of time with the modern advertising industry. Almost every woman alive today in Western culture has been surrounded to some degree by beauty images and advertising. I wondered on a deeper level how this has shaped us…how women of different generations are affected similarly or quite differently.

Alongside the physical interviews, I started an online blog called Beauty Queen Sheen with interviews from women of all ages and different countries. The blog now has over 60 such stories and interviews. I am currently working on the continuation of this project, interviewing, photographing and painting women around my new surroundings in northern Spain, exploring the depths of human beauty and story from different times and sides of the ocean.”

In one interview Julia wrote about an 88-year-old woman and I was surprised to read, “We all looked alike.” I guess I thought today’s media influenced younger women to look alike, and that this was different in the past.

Here are her three questions which I have answered myself and would encourage you to do too. Please visit Julia’s website and participate in her project. All women like to know what other women think about aging and whether it’s different in other parts of the world or not. What about when we’re 80 or 90? How do we feel about beauty? Julia has answers to that on her blog.

(My brief answers to Julia’s questions)

1. What did beauty mean to you when you were in your 20s (and be sure to include details about fashion of the time, beauty products used, hair styles, advertisements, etc.)? These details make reading your story really interesting!

I remember tanning my face with one of those stupid and dangerous sun lamps and that was about all I did in my 20’s. I grew up in Europe and did not pay attention to manicures, pedicures, waxing, highlighting my hair and all the things girls did in the U.S., until after I moved to the U.S.

2. What does beauty mean to you now?

Now that I live in the U.S., and I’m older, I do pay attention to nutrition, exercise, staying in shape, taking care of my skin with quality products, and getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

3. If different, why have your ideas about beauty changed over the years?

I live in a superficial society (Southern California) where looks are more important than in other parts of the world. I feel sucked into trying to look as young as I can and sometimes wish that I didn’t care, but I do. I prefer to be honest and not pretend (like some women, especially those on TV) that I’ve been blessed with good genes so if/when I decide to have my face lasered or a face lift, I shall let you know about my Gutsy laser, or my Gutsy face lift. Perhaps it’s time for me to move to another remote island where people don’t pay attention to how they look.

I think we should encourage Julia to continue with her fascinating project and since it’s for women of all ages, why not participate by answering the above three questions and checking out how other women have responded on Julia’s blog.

Our very own “My Gutsy Story” writer Cheryl Stahle, has already responded to Julia’s beauty project and you can read it here.

Thanks Julia for sharing your project and I look forward to hearing what you think, as does Julia.

Remember to Vote for your favorite “My Gutsy Story” on the sidebar.

“My Gutsy Story” by Lois Joy Hofmann

January 2, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

Don’t be afraid to go out where the adventure begins!

Lois Joy Hofmann

“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.” Helen Keller

During the 1980s while living in Minnesota, I decided that I wanted to plan my life rather than being thrown about by external events. I had always wanted to retire in San Diego. Why not move there now, avoid the harsh Minnesota winters, and find my soul mate? My business partner lived in Arizona, so he agreed with the move. I began to set up clients in San Diego.

When you set out your goals, be prepared for them to be fulfilled in ways that will surprise you! There are no accidents! You set the mission and objectives, with God’s help, and the strategy will take care of itself as events unfold to propel you toward those goals.

One Sunday, during one of my trips to San Diego, I hired a sailboat captain to take a client out for a day. During a horrible accident, I was thrown against the lifelines; my liver almost split in two. I was rushed into surgery. An internal medicine specialist, on call that night, saved my life. He warned me, however, that my recovery would take two years. He advised me to resign my clients and quit flying all over the country. “You’ll never be in that venture capital business again. Maybe an outdoor job, like being a mail carrier, will give you the fresh air and exercise you’ll need!”

I sold my Minnesota home, resigned my clients there, and moved to San Diego to recover. I hiked the trails and worked out in the gym, chocking up four hours per day of aerobic exercise. That cut my estimated recovery time in half. Meanwhile, I researched the burgeoning biotechnology market. During that process, I met Dr. Günter Hofmann, a physicist and inventor. The rest is history.

I joined Günter’s company, which had been operating out of three townhouses and two garages. I changed the direction of the company from making and selling laboratory research instruments to developing drug and gene delivery systems. Then we raised many rounds of venture capital, finally taking the company public. All went well; the company grew to over one hundred employees and another hundred associates around the world. I had fulfilled one of my life goals, that of becoming the CEO of a publicly held company. We had J & J as a pharmaceutical partner. Clinical trials were looking good. Patients were being helped.

Then another setback occurred. Günter and I were ousted from the very company he had founded in a traumatic coup. We were devastated. Of course, we contacted our attorneys. Our choice, in the end, was to fight or flee. Many advised us to duke it out.

Our decision was radical and unexpected. We decided to sail around the world! Thus began an eight-year odyssey to assuage our anger and hurt, and to fulfill a far different dream. It would be a better life—one in which we would be truly independent and self-sufficient, answering to no one. We would be back in control of our own destiny. We were open to change. We were ready for new beginnings.

We learned many lessons during those eight years of sailing. Our Maiden Voyage, the topic of my first book, was all about control. We were forced by the wind and weather to change schedules and to delay crew. Even though Pacific Bliss was a new boat, equipment broke down. And we faced a Force 10 storm off the pirate coast of Colombia. Force 12 is a hurricane. A 43-foot catamaran cannot survive that! After that voyage, we realized that there is a certain peace in being out of control. It reminds one of how much there is to lose, and how fast one can lose it.

Lois on board Pacific Bliss in the Marquesas Islands

I am a different person now. I have a certain calmness underneath my skin that I didn’t have before. My life has all been worth it. I have no regrets.

Maybe you think it’s too late to pursue your passion, to stretch yourself to that place where adventure begins. Life went on. Age just crept up on you. And somewhere along the way, you lost the plot. Well, I have news for you. Günter retired at 65, the year we ordered our Catana catamaran to be built. I was 58. Günter turned 70 on the Passage from Bali to Singapore, with two years of our circumnavigation yet to come! You’re never too old to live your dream! I encourage you to cast off those dock lines, to pursue your passion, and to live your dream, whatever that may be. To do that, you will need to overcome your fear of the unknown.

*****

Lois Joy Hofmann

Lois Joy Hofmann retired after a 35-year entrepreneurial and management career. Then she completed her circumnavigation with her husband, Gunter. Intrepid adventurers, the couple now embarks on more conventional travel with the goal of understanding countries and cultures that they omitted the first time around. When not traveling, Lois resides in San Diego, California, where she enjoys writing, speaking and photography. She launched her first book in the nautical trilogy “In Search of Adventure and Moments of Bliss: Maiden Voyage” in March, 2011. The book won first place in the San Diego Book Awards, travel category. Lois is currently writing the second book in the series, to be called “Sailing the South Pacific.” Lois also serves on the Board of Directors of UPLIFT a faith-based organization working to improve the well being and quality of life of San Diego’s inner city population. Learn more about Lois on her website and subscribe to her blogs.

*****

Thank you Lois for sharing your amazing story of courage and being Gutsy in life, regardless of age, as you pointed out. Please leave your questions and comments for Lois in the comments section below, and she will be over to respond. Also visit her website for more photos and to learn more about her book.

*****

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story”?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (NEW VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

*****