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BLESSINGS NOW!
Beautiful blessings for Mother’s Day
Do you ever count your blessings? Are you often grateful for what you have in life?
The greatest thing we can have is our health. If we don’t have that, we don’t really have anything. It is priceless. When you are operating at a sub-optimal level, everyone and everything suffers.
For example, recently my husband caught the flu right before our vacation was to start, so we were unable to carry out our plan to drive to a timeshare in South Carolina and soak up the sun. We were disappointed. But he eventually got better, and we did a “staycation”— doing things in and around Boston. The illness was a temporary thing, and we knew that we would have many other vacations in the future.
But as I know all too well, not everyone is so fortunate: some people have life-changing illnesses. My godmother, Aunt Marilyn, suffered from severe MS (multiple sclerosis). From the age of 31, she had it for 45 horrible years. She used to allow bees to sting her arms and legs — just so that she could get some feeling in her nerves. Every day she went through this ordeal. Through it all, she remained a strong mother, wife and grandmother, and never complained. I miss her; she died a year-and-a-half ago. She had great faith, and that is what got her through things.
If you know me, you know that I share this approach to life. Who taught me to be this way? It came from my upbringing. I’ve had several great teachers, including my mother, mother-in-law and godmother. They all have this type of attitude and belief. I have lived my life to emulate this type of caring.
Here’s a thought about blessings I’d like to leave with you: If you want to be able to truly count your blessings, go to the VA hospital and see people who are in bed 24/7. What do they have to be thankful for? Life! They are often the kindest and nicest people. They appreciate life. This will make you feel better because there is always someone worse off than you.
Happy Mother’s Day to Mom Tosi, Mom Sasso, and all other mothers who celebrate the day. Remember to do something special for your mom this weekend (if you are lucky enough to have your mom with you). If you are a mom, do something special for yourself. Count your blessings every day. I am so thankful every day for my family and for having all four of the parents alive and reasonably healthy. Sometimes it’s the little things in life that matter the most.
With gratitude and best wishes,
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com (781) 872-1045
As your trusted adviser, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.
COURAGE NOW!
“Courage is the most important of the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.”
— Maya Angelou
Happy April! The weather is starting to cooperate, and it’s feeling a lot more like spring. After the 3 snowstorms in March, we were wondering when we would be experiencing good weather.
Every month is a good month but April is a little more special to me because it’s my son John Robert’s birthday month. I am dedicating this monthly blog to him. John Robert loves drama, and has already been in 3 musicals in the first 3 months of the year: He started off with a “Misfit Cabaret” performance from the Lion King, then he was the doctor, the salsa dancer and the chef in Matilda, and finally he was Rooster (Mrs. Hanagan’s brother) in Annie Jr., where his performance included acting, singing and dancing (Easy Street).
Yes, he does singing, swimming, dancing, drama, basketball and Boy Scouts, and is an altar boy on Sundays as well. He also just earned his “Arrow of Light” and has officially transitioned into Boy Scouts.
Do you remember how being in elementary school wasn’t always easy? Well, he has had his own challenges. However, just last week, playing kickball at lunchtime he was on base 2 times, and he even got a home run. These little things make life a whole lot better. He always seems to amaze me. He tries to not let the little things get to him. He will be 11 years old this month and he is excited about his birthday. He’s planning his “friends party,” and of course I will have a family party for him as well. We usually have his family party at Easter, but Easter came so early this year.
Our son has courage. From the time he was a baby and well into his childhood, he was having to endure IV’s in his arms and hands. He never complained—just went with the flow. He was a trooper. We love him, and he is loved by many. It is amazing how the warm smile from a kid like him can change your mood from negative to positive. He has a can-do attitude and I, for one, love being around him.
Other noteworthy events that have happened recently and which I’d like to share with you:
- I was on TV! It was the Steven Katsos show, an Arlington Cable TV feature, Episode 249. He interviewed me about my new book, Motivation Now! The show airs locally, nationally and even internationally. If you’d like to watch it, here’s a link:
- We had a great Easter weekend. My cousin, Jim Tosi, was married to his betrothed, Karyn, on Saturday, March 30th. It was a beautiful wedding; we sat with my parents, my brother and my sister-in-law. It was nice to get together for a happy occasion; there have been way too many deaths in the past several years. We also had a great Easter Sunday and the Tosi’s and Sasso’s were again all together to share a delicious Easter meal.
John Robert continues to show courage with his annual appointments at Children’s Hospital and his fearlessness on the stage. I showed courage being on my first TV interview, and my cousin Jim showed courage by writing and saying his own vows. Three great examples of Courage Now!
With gratitude and best wishes,
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com (781) 872-1045
As your trusted adviser, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY LUCK!
“Luck is just being ready when an opportunity presents itself”
— Adrian Locke
It was an early morning for me, up at 6:30 am. Making sure to put on my green for St. Patrick’s Day, I left my house at 7:30 and headed off to the District 31 Toastmasters Conference (4 areas: 11,12,13,15). I had won my local Table Topics contest within my Lakesiders’ branch, but now this was going to the major leagues (the Districts).
It’s difficult to prepare for a Table Topic speech because the kind of questions that one gets asked to speak on can range from “If you were a historical figure…” to a question about an animal, or to a quote or a fictitious character. I would have the chance to listen to the topic twice, and then I would have to instantly spurt out a well-designed, “mini-speech” for the next 2 minutes and 30 seconds— without going over the time limit. We were to be ranked on Speech Development, Effectiveness, Physical Appearance, Voice, Appropriateness and Correctness. As you can imagine, it’s almost impossible to prepare for this particular type of speech, but I wasn’t nervous; I knew that I would do my best.
I was second-to-last in the lineup to present my speech. I’d had a chance earlier to talk to people outside the room. Joe said that he’d done these Table Topics before, and that you can think about your answer, and they don’t start timing your speech until you start talking. But I had never seen that done; at my club, as soon as you go up there the timer starts. There was no time to check on this strategy, so I went with hearing the question twice and jumping right into my speech. I did my best. I liked the question I was thrown, which was:“If you could go back in time and see yourself at age 10, what kind of advice would you share with a 10-year-old you?”
It felt like a coaching question. I was all over it! But I came in 2nd place. Joe won. Yes, Joe, the fellow who told me that they didn’t start counting until you spoke or gestured. I learned a lot from the District contest. The lesson learned was that sometimes you need to prepare an answer extemporaneously, and you need to organize your thoughts. It’s best to take a pause to do that, instead of just blurting out what’s on your mind. It humbled me.
That evening, I went to a St. Patrick’s Day Feast at St. Camillus Church in Arlington. I was with my parents, my brother Bob, the Cauley girls and Chris, Joe and Marianne. The place was packed. It was a sellout. We all bought raffle tickets for the 50/50 and for the goodie baskets. When we attended this event last year, I won the shamrock with lottery tickets—and as luck would have it, I also won this year’s lottery ticket shamrock! And my brother Bob won a basket full of gardening tools and plants, as well as some Irish things. He shared his basket with everybody at our table, and I got a lavender plant, Kathy got a sunflower plant, etc. No, we didn’t win the 50/50, but what was the chance of us both winning a basket prize—there were only 5 baskets.
They say that it’s the luck of the Irish; well, we were Irish for the day and greatly enjoyed the corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots, as well as Irish bread, ice cream and cupcakes. It was truly a feast!
John and John Robert were at a Scout overnight, so they missed both the morning and the evening festivities. I want to thank my brother Bob for again organizing a great table for the event. We had great seats and we could easily watch the Irish Step dancers.
After having a few days to mull over the speech contest, what I realized was that it wasn’t about winning. It was about growing. It wasn’t my turn to win the speech contest, but apparently it was my turn to win the basket. Last year, my green shamrock won $105 and this year it won $44. But I only put $20 into it, so I am still up $22. I was a winner at the St. Patrick’s Feast night because I had a nice dinner with my family and special friends. I hope that you had a happy St. Patrick’s Day. The luck of the Irish was with the Italians in Arlington.
With gratitude and best wishes,
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com (781) 872-1045
As your trusted adviser, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.
ACCOMPLISHMENT NOW!
“The harder you work, the luckier you get”
— Jerry Barber, American Golfer
I held my annual Goal Setting for Success Workshop on 1-31-18. We had a phenomenal crowd (see photo) and we raised $300 for Children’s Hospital. Thanks to all of you who attended and participated.
If you have a copy of my book, you’ll find that the first chapter is on Goals and Resolutions. This month would be a good time to review that chapter as a refresher. Also, Chapter 2 is extremely timely, as it happens to be about setting your theme for the year (it uses last year’s Superbowl (#51) and the Patriots’ come-from-behind win as an example). If you don’t have a copy, my book is still available on Amazon (click here).
On a personal note, I‘m proud to report that my son (far left), John Robert, who’s in Webelos (Cub Scouts), came in first place for his age group at the Pinewood Derby. What’s the Pinewood Derby? It’s a car race with a 5-inch wooden car that the kids design. The cars get cut out and are then put together by the Scouts.
John Robert had come in 2nd place in the last two years’ races, and now, he will go to the district meet in Woburn to compete. We’ll see how that goes. I am so proud of him, and he was proud of himself and his fast car. We all need to acknowledge and praise the little victories of our spouses and children.
So, if you’ve written your goals and set your theme for the year, you’re off to a good start. But do you need someone to help with accountability? I am here for you. I am a great accountability partner and I can also still be your confidant, your cheerleader, your mentor and your coach. I want you to be one of the 9% of people who will actually achieve their goals each year (yes, that is the statistic if you’re wondering).
If you’re interested in learning more about my services, please visit my website (click here), or reach out to me directly to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. Start this new year off with doing something for yourself.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, and the three presentations that I am giving this month, I am offering special prices in February for the Discovery Session, The Career Strategy Session and the Personal Assessment. These three services will all be going up for March 1st so secure your Assessments now.
Finally, I am proud to announce: My Leadership article was featured on Daniel McCarthy’s site “Great Leadership” on Thursday, Feb. 8th. Enjoy! Leadership: Leveraging Your Soft Skills
With gratitude and best wishes,
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com (781) 872-1045
As your trusted adviser, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.