inspiration: What ActiveRain Means To A Newbie Like Me! - By Aura Alex - 04/09/22 06:46 PM
First, I want to thank Debe Maxwell, CRS, and Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, for hosting this month's challenge. I appreciate the opportunity to share my experience with AR from a "newbie" perspective.
Second, I haven't been here long enough to meet any AR members in person, so I do not have pictures of anyone at meetups, snapshots, etc., to share. The main images of the collage represent "what AR means to me" in concept.
While I believe there is the traditional value we all share on ActiveRain, I want to highlight those that, in my mind, stand out. 
Networking
Every day we read and learn … (84 comments)

inspiration: Friday's Food For Thought: You Raised Me Up! - 03/19/22 03:45 PM
Tribute To My Grandmother
April 2022 is the 50th Anniversary of my grandmother's passing.
This post is a tribute to my dear grandmother and her unique role in my life, how she influenced me, and how that has shaped me into who I am today.
Her sacrifices, hard work, and unparallel support to prepare me for the most incredible journey to America made me more determined than ever to fulfill the childhood dreams she helped foster. I must not disappoint my grandmother and my family! 
Grandma was the oldest girl in her family of seven siblings. She couldn't read or write the Thai language. Despite … (42 comments)

inspiration: When Aha! Strikes -- The Eureka Effect for The Rest of Us! - 12/19/21 10:35 PM
"The Eureka Effect (also known as the aha moment or eureka moment) refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept." - Wikipedia
You feel stymied. You worry about the ability to handle complex problems. About finances. About business and how people will perceive you. Suddenly, it all becomes clear what you were meant to do. Your life as a solo entrepreneur is made clear to you. When you suddenly get it -- that's your aha! moment.
A sudden flash of insight doesn't just happen. There is a long history, an interior cauldron of passion, frustration, knowing … (28 comments)

inspiration:  "You Must Strive To Find Your Own Voice....." Seize The Day! Be Inspired! - 10/29/21 06:26 PM
"You must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all….Carpe, carpe. Carpe diem. -- Make your lives extraordinary." – Henry David Thoreau, quoted by the character John Keating (Robin Williams) in the Movie "Dead Poets Society," written by Tom Schulman.
For hundreds of years, these words, "carpe diem," have been the marching orders for everyday heroes aiming to live life to the fullest. The Latin poet, Horace, wrote them in 23 B.C., and they have served as a battle cry in the war against inertia ever since.
In … (12 comments)