{"id":134028,"date":"2009-12-15T13:09:04","date_gmt":"2009-12-15T18:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jungleoflife.com\/?p=3387"},"modified":"2009-12-15T13:09:04","modified_gmt":"2009-12-15T18:09:04","slug":"the-upside-of-life-and-holiday-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/134028","title":{"rendered":"The Upside of Life (And Holiday Celebration!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<div class=\"tweetmeme_button\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/api.tweetmeme.com\/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jungleoflife.com%2F2009%2F12%2F15%2Fthe-upside-of-life-and-holiday-celebration%2F\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/api.tweetmeme.com\/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jungleoflife.com%2F2009%2F12%2F15%2Fthe-upside-of-life-and-holiday-celebration%2F\" height=\"61\" width=\"51\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 2px solid rgb(255, 0, 0); padding: 2px 6px 4px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); background-color: rgb(158, 255, 158);\"><span style=\"color: rgb(178, 34, 34);\"><em><strong>**&nbsp; December 25, 2009:&nbsp; Winners from the Holiday Prize Package Give Away Announced&nbsp; **<\/strong><\/em><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.workhappynow.com\/happy-at-work-action-day\/\" ><br \/>\n\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t<em><strong>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1st Place:&nbsp; <\/strong>Stacey Shipman and Nadia &#8211; Happy Lotus&nbsp; (there was a tie, so two winners were awarded the prize package)<strong><br \/>\n\t&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2nd Place:&nbsp; <\/strong>Sami &#8211; Life, Laughs, and Lemmings<strong><br \/>\n\t&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 3rd Place:&nbsp; <\/strong>Mindful Mimi and Evelyn Lim <\/em><em>(there was a tie, so two winners were awarded the prize package)<\/em><br \/>\n\t<em><strong>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Newsletter Signup Winner:&nbsp; <\/strong>Nadia &#8211; Happy Lotus<\/em> <br \/>\n\t**<br \/>\n\tOn behalf of both Lisa Marie and myself, I would like to extend our thanks to everyone who commented, everyone to signed up for Lisa Marie&#39;s newsletter, and everyone who read these words.&nbsp; Your time here is deeply appreciated.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jungleoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/LisaMarie1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"LisaMarie\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3390\" height=\"489\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jungleoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/LisaMarie1.jpg\" title=\"LisaMarie\" width=\"325\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em><strong>&quot;The degree of health, happiness, success, and meaning in your personal and professional life is a matter of choice, commitment, and discipline, not chance or circumstance. You are Where You Choose to Be. As you stand at the threshold of unparalleled success, remember, a whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Are you where you want to be?&quot; ~ Lisa Marie Platske<br \/>\n\t\t<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Seeing the possibilities in life!&nbsp; Today I have Lisa Marie Platske with us.&nbsp; Lisa Marie runs a leadership development company, <a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/home.html\" >Upside Thinking<\/a>, focused on her speaking engagements, consulting services, and personalized coaching.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/awc.html\" >Lisa Marie<\/a> is someone I &quot;met&quot; online about a year ago.&nbsp; We spoke several times after first connecting, and she was there to give me a real belief in what<em> IS<\/em> possible.&nbsp; Since those first beginnings, I have used Lisa Marie&#39;s <a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/services3.html\" >coaching services<\/a>, and have had the opportunity to connect both personally and professionally with her.<\/p>\n<p>Today, I sit down with Lisa Marie, and we talk about life and where she is at today.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"border: 2px solid rgb(255, 0, 0); padding: 2px 6px 4px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); background-color: rgb(158, 255, 158);\"><span style=\"color: rgb(178, 34, 34);\"><em><strong>Holiday Cheer Prize Package 1<\/strong><\/em><\/span><br \/>\n\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.workhappynow.com\/happy-at-work-action-day\/\" ><br \/>\n\t<\/a>Through a very generous offer from Lisa Marie, there are several prize packages available:<br \/>\n\tPlease answer the following question in the comments:&nbsp; <em><strong>What does &ldquo;designing your destiny&rdquo; mean to you?<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n\t<em><strong>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1st Place<\/strong><\/em>:&nbsp; One ticket to attend Lisa Marie&rsquo;s <a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/\" >Leadership Success Summit<\/a> in January AND one hour of one-on-one coaching with Lisa Marie + a copy of her book &ldquo;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1934379069?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=magicinwords-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1934379069\" >Designing Your Destiny<\/a>&rdquo;<br \/>\n\t<em><strong>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2nd Place:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; Choice of one ticket to attend Lisa Marie&rsquo;s Leadership Success Summit in January OR one hour of one-on-one coaching with Lisa Marie + a copy of her book &ldquo;Designing Your Destiny&rdquo;<br \/>\n\t<em><strong>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 3rd Place:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; One copy of Lisa Marie&rsquo;s book &ldquo;Designing Your Destiny&rdquo;<br \/>\n\t**<br \/>\n\t<em><strong>NOTE:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; Winners to be chosen based answers in the comments section &#8211; by Jo Della Penna, small business expert at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebusinessofyou.com\/\" >The Business of You<\/a>, and Lisa Marie.<br \/>\n\t**<br \/>\n\tWinners to be chosen from all received entries on Saturday, December 19th, 2009.<\/p>\n<p style=\"border: 2px solid rgb(255, 0, 0); padding: 2px 6px 4px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); background-color: rgb(158, 255, 158);\"><span style=\"color: rgb(178, 34, 34);\"><em><strong>Holiday Cheer Prize Package 2<\/strong><\/em><\/span><br \/>\n\t&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br \/>\n\tAs well, for anyone who <a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/home.html\" >signs up<\/a> for Lisa Marie&rsquo;s newsletter, one random winner will be chosen, receiving all of the following:<br \/>\n\t&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One ticket to attend Lisa Marie&rsquo;s Leadership Success Summit in January OR one hour of one-on-one coaching with Lisa Marie<br \/>\n\t&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One copy of her book &ldquo;Designing Your Destiny&rdquo;<br \/>\n\t&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One Starbucks giftcard valued at $20<br \/>\n\t**<br \/>\n\t<em><strong>NOTE:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em> The sign up for the newsletter can be found at the bottom portion of the<a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/home.html\" > Upside Thinking<\/a> website.&nbsp; Winner chosen from all entries through Saturday, December 19th, 2009.<\/p>\n<p>Please join me in welcoming Lisa Marie here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Tell us a little bit about who &ldquo;you&rdquo; are (family, career, any special life experiences you&rsquo;d like to share, etc.)<\/strong><br \/>\n\tI&rsquo;m happily married to a supportive and loving man who brings out the best in me. We were both working as Federal law enforcement officers when we met and I resigned 2 months before we married. (On a side not, we met sitting next to each other in a leadership training class as my maiden name was &ldquo;Palansky&rdquo;. After we married, if I would&rsquo;ve hyphenated, I&rsquo;d be Lisa Marie Palansky-Platske. LOL ~ Say that fast, 3 times in row.)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; That IS a tongue twister!&nbsp; And having had the opportunity to meet both you and your husband, I know how much you both deeply support and love each other.&nbsp; What a great life connection you two have!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t<strong>2. How long have you had your business, Upside Thinking?&nbsp; And what led you to go in this direction?<\/strong><br \/>\n\tI formed<a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/home.html\" > Upside Thinking, Inc.<\/a> after getting married. I remember sitting at my desk 6 months into the venture and thinking, &ldquo;Lisa Marie, you just moved to a new state, 3000 miles away from any family or friends to support you, and you&rsquo;ve opened a business. What do you know about business? You don&rsquo;t have a business degree or business background. What were you thinking?!?&rdquo; But here I am, almost five years later, looking back and realizing it was one of the best decisions of my life. As I tell my clients, &ldquo;A journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step.&rdquo; Most people, however, are afraid to take the first step.<br \/>\n\tInterestingly, I never had a desire to start my own business. I formed Upside Thinking, Inc. because as I looked at my unique talents, skills, and abilities in developing leaders through my work in the Federal government, combined with my desire for the freedom to spend time with the people I love, it seemed like starting a business made the most sense. Ultimately, I decided to take a leap and trust that a net would appear. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, otherwise I may not have taken the first step. And, I think it is also why I&rsquo;m passionate about helping aspiring and developing entrepreneurs become savvy in their businesses.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; Lao-Tzu really was onto something with that quote!&nbsp; It&#39;s taking that first step that is going to get us moving in the direction of our dreams.&nbsp; Without the steps, our dreams remain just that &#8211; dreams.&nbsp; And Lisa Marie, I know you support others in deeply loving ways, myself included.&nbsp; That passion for seeing others achieve their dreams shines through so brightly in all you do!<\/span><br \/>\n\t<strong><br \/>\n\t3.&nbsp; I&rsquo;ve had the wonderful opportunity to use your coaching services you offer through Upside Thinking (they&rsquo;re great!).&nbsp; Tell us a little about this service, and is there anything else you offer?<\/strong><br \/>\n\tGosh, Lance, you&rsquo;re making me blush. Thank you.<br \/>\n\tWhile I am an inspirational speaker, write a killer newsletter &#8211; the Upside Thinker, and am the author of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1934379069?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=magicinwords-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1934379069\" >Designing Your Destiny<\/a>, I also offer group and one-on-one leadership coaching services. <br \/>\n\tThere are tens of thousands of coaches out there. What makes me different is that I truly do care about the well-being and success of my clients sometimes even more than they do. Therefore, I only accept work from up to 10 incredibly committed individuals per year. <br \/>\n\tWhen I work with a client, we enter a partnership that enables them to make profound shifts in their thought processes which in turn produce measurable results in their personal and professional lives. I teach my clients how to clarify their vision, beliefs, and values, as well as identify and overcome the internal and external obstacles that have kept them from reaching their full potential, so they can benefit from a larger sphere of influence, spend more time with their loved ones, and increase their wealth building capacity.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em> Your words spoken here are words that I have been personally touched by.&nbsp; Your care and love shine through, Lisa Marie.&nbsp; I think back to our first few telephone calls&#8230;conversations that you offered out of the deep goodness of your heart.&nbsp; I still go back to those days, now a year ago, and how your belief in me was so touching.&nbsp; And from that we have forged not only a professional connection, but also a very meaningful personal connection as well.&nbsp; I am honored to know you, and to call you friend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t<strong>4. You have a conference you host in January.&nbsp; Could you tell us a little bit about that that&rsquo;s all about?<\/strong><br \/>\n\tOh, this is my baby so forgive me&hellip;and stop me&hellip;.if I ramble. I LOVE this event for so many reasons and I created this event for those same reasons. <br \/>\n\tThe annual <a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/\" >Leadership Success Summit<\/a>: Getting Results in Changing Times is for savvy, entrepreneurial women in business or strong businessmen who understand the value of collaborating with smart businesswomen.<\/p>\n<p>\tThe two-day event is complete with INSPIRATIONAL speakers who will share their SECRETS of success. This year the line-up includes:<br \/>\n\t&bull; Rene Reyes, International Poet Laureate, Legal Practitioner, Author and Radio Host<br \/>\n\t&bull; Eve Yen, Founder of Multi-Million Dollar Venture, Diamond Wipes International<br \/>\n\t&bull; Nancy Marmolejo, One of the Top 50 Most Influential and Powerful Women in Social Media<br \/>\n\t&bull; Lisa Marie Platske, Award-winning Entrepreneur and Leadership Expert<br \/>\n\t&bull; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebusinessofyou.com\/\" >Jo Della Penna<\/a>, Small Business Coach and Life Balance Expert<br \/>\n\t&bull; Lauren Solomon, Image Expert for Career TV and the Reality Makeover TV show, ReMake My Life<br \/>\n\t&bull; Chellie Campbell, Author of The Wealthy Spirit and Zero to Zillionaire<br \/>\n\t&bull; Mary Cantando, Mentored thousands of Women in Business to Reach the Million Dollar Level<br \/>\n\t&bull; And more&hellip;&hellip;.<\/p>\n<p>\tWhat&rsquo;s different is that this event brings business building tools, connection opportunities, and empowerment strategies together.&nbsp; And, the speakers actually hang around to connect with the attendees rather than sharing and bolting like many of the conferences I&rsquo;ve attended.<\/p>\n<p>\tIn a day in which we face unprecedented changes &#8211; locally, nationally and globally &#8211; far too many leaders are standing in the shadows. This is YOUR opportunity to LEAD!<\/p>\n<p>\t<em><strong>Here&#39;s some of what you&#39;ll learn by attending &#8211;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\t* The &quot;Missing Element&quot; that most entrepreneurs FAIL TO EMPLOY in their businesses!<\/p>\n<p>\t* EASILY get amazing results in selling your products and services in a way that feels fun for you and the prospect!<\/p>\n<p>\t* Learn the SECRETS to experience massive success in starting or expanding your business using universal principles that get results!<\/p>\n<p>\t* IGNITE a powerful process to MAGNETIZE the resources or people you want to better leverage your time!<\/p>\n<p>\t* Need cash FAST? Learn how to CREATE a Wealthy Spirit that will turn you into a creative money generator!<\/p>\n<p>\t* FEEL a greater sense of peace about finances and learn how to navigate the economic bumps so you can attract those that want what you have and will PAY you gladly for it!<\/p>\n<p>\t* LEARN the concept of energy management and how it can help you get more done in less time and have more fun in the process!<\/p>\n<p>\t* Find out how vibrational output can SOLVE any business or personal problem fast! Learn a process that takes less than 5 minutes a day to implement and you will see and feel the changes in one week!<\/p>\n<p>\tThis event will not only transform and uplift attendees, but will provide incredible new ideas and connections. Most people leave with a new friend, lots of contacts, and words of wisdom, encouragement and enlightenment that motivate action. Attendees should come open to transformation both personally and professionally. <\/p>\n<p>\tOhhhhhhh&#8230;..and right now I have a 50% off HOLIDAY SPECIAL&#8230;&#8230;Only $297 or save $100 and bring a client or a friend &#8211; 2 tickets for only $497!!!! (Offer expires December 30, 2010.)<\/p>\n<p>\tFor more information and to SIGN UP TODAY, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/\" >www.UpsideThinking.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\t<strong>5.&nbsp; You&rsquo;ve recently moved across the country &ndash; from one side of the United States, to the other.&nbsp; Touch upon what the challenges and joys in this have been.<\/strong><br \/>\n\tI&rsquo;ve moved a few times in my life and so this wasn&rsquo;t new to me. I find the biggest challenge to any move is leaving the circle of supportive friends that you have. However, the biggest joy has come from leaving that circle of friends as every move forces you out of your comfort zone. In my case, this move allowed me to continue creating a bigger version of myself and my business.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em> I love this thought, and how it really applies to all of us &#8211; and not only to physical moves, but also to moving through all phases of our life.&nbsp; When we are doing this with a connection to something greater, that really is about creating a bigger version of ourselves.&nbsp; And that&#39;s pretty great all around!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t<strong>6. Tell us one unexpected thing that has happened to you in the last year.<\/strong><br \/>\n\tThat&rsquo;s a tough one. Life is full of surprises and I think my whole life is one &ldquo;unexpected&rdquo; adventure. For example, over the past few months, I won contracts I didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d get and lost contracts I thought were a sure thing. I was featured as an expert on a television show (never thought that would happen) and then the following month the programmers permanently deleted the file of my interview (major bummer). I traveled to Argentina in September but didn&rsquo;t take a trip back to PA in October for the first time in 20 years. One unexpected thing? Heck, from my perspective, my list is never ending as every day brings the unexpected .<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; The truth is, we never know exactly what is going to happen in the moments of our life.&nbsp; We can plan, but still there are moments that will waver in both directions from what we have planned and expect.&nbsp; Lisa Marie, I very much appreciate your honesty with this answer.&nbsp; Things don&#39;t always go as planned, for any of us &#8211; some of it&#39;s in a very good way, and some not so good.&nbsp; Or maybe&#8230;it&#39;s our perspective on this too.&nbsp; When things don&#39;t go as planned, this is really another opportunity for us to grow and challenge ourselves.&nbsp; You do!&nbsp; Always&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t<strong>7. If you had to pick one thing as your greatest achievement, what would it be (and why)?<\/strong><br \/>\n\tBecoming an upside thinker. Because I didn&rsquo;t always see the best in others or myself, this transformation has created real and tangible results in my life. Upside isn&rsquo;t the same as positive. Upside is about seeing, and acting upon the unlimited possibilities in your life. It&rsquo;s about taking responsibility for your choices and having the commitment and discipline to create a life full of happiness, success, and meaning. It&rsquo;s also about realizing that whether or not it is clear to you, everything in the Universe is unfolding as it should.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; I love your definition of &quot;upside&quot;!&nbsp; Kind of gives new meaning to the term &quot;upside down&quot;!!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t<strong>8. Let&rsquo;s say you&rsquo;re visiting Wisconsin, and get stranded because of a major snowstorm (it happens!).&nbsp; There&rsquo;s no television and no phones.&nbsp; What do you do while you wait out the storm?<\/strong><br \/>\n\tWell, I don&rsquo;t have a television at home so that wouldn&rsquo;t be any different. And, while I do love my cell phone, I also appreciate life-long learning. I imagine I&rsquo;d seize the opportunity to read a good book or two and, since I&rsquo;m incredibly social, I&rsquo;d make a friend or two. <br \/>\n\tI&rsquo;ve been stranded at an airport before so that isn&rsquo;t a stressor. However, being physically stranded in the snowstorm brings visions of the movie New in Town to my thoughts ~ LOL!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; In a day and age where televisions are as prominent as they are, I applaud you on choosing to skip this.&nbsp; There are a myriad of others ways to actually engage our minds, and I know you ARE doing this!&nbsp; And the movie &quot;New In Town&quot; sure does seem to fit here!!&nbsp; Might I also suggest snow angels and sledding?&nbsp; Lots of fun!<\/span><br \/>\n\t<strong><br \/>\n\t9.&nbsp; Define love &ndash; what does that mean to you? <\/strong><br \/>\n\tWell, this question sure caught me off guard as it has baffled philosophers for centuries. To me, love is as love does. People who love each other are capable of bringing out the best in one another. Choosing love and choosing to love are decisions. I also know that you need to love yourself wholly and completely before choosing to love another.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; So, what I&#39;m reading here is that love is a verb!&nbsp; I love that!&nbsp; It&#39;s more than just paying lip service to the word &quot;love&quot;, it&#39;s acts that we do with love behind them that really IS love.&nbsp; Wow!!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t<strong>10.&nbsp; Deep down, what makes you uniquely &ldquo;you&rdquo;?&nbsp; <\/strong><br \/>\n\tMy compassion, upsidedness, and energy are the three things that make me uniquely, &ldquo;me&rdquo;. I have experienced my share of heartache, disappointment, and pain and through it all have developed a compassionate heart for people. I&rsquo;ve also learned how to live an incredibly upside life as I mentioned earlier. And, my energy enables me to change the feel in a room just by my presence. I don&rsquo;t know how or why, I just know that I&rsquo;ve been told that again and again throughout my life.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Lance&#39;s Commentary:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; Lisa Marie, I have personally been the recipient of that compassion from you, and so I know what a gift this is that you have.&nbsp; Your heart is so big, and you give so deeply when you connect.&nbsp; What a light you are unto the world!&nbsp; What a light you have been in MY world!<br \/>\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\"><em><strong>Closing Comments:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; It&#39;s been great having you here today Lisa Marie!&nbsp; Just like all of our emails, phone calls, and meeting in person &#8211; every time we connect, I&#39;m drawn into the amazing love you give of yourself.&nbsp; Today is no exception, and it is an honor to have you here. All that you say here, I know to be YOU.&nbsp; You have opened your home to my family and I, you have been our tour guides (the sun dial still amazes me!), you coach from your heart, and you care deeply about those you know.&nbsp; That&#39;s a recipe for a beautiful life!<br \/>\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 128, 128);\">Lisa Marie, your presence and generosity here today are deeply appreciated.&nbsp; More than that, though, knowing you are there, always, as a friend, is a real gift!&nbsp; As you go forth, know that I wish you only the best as you continue down this amazing path you are on!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"border: 2px solid rgb(255, 0, 0); padding: 2px 6px 4px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); background-color: rgb(158, 255, 158);\"><em><strong>What does &ldquo;designing your destiny&rdquo; mean to you?<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.workhappynow.com\/happy-at-work-action-day\/\" ><br \/>\n\t<\/a>Answer this question in the comments, and sign up for Lisa Marie&#39;s newsletter <a href=\"http:\/\/upsidethinking.com\/home.html\" >here<\/a> &#8211; for entry into some wonderful gifts (see above).<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jungleoflife.com\/?ak_action=api_record_view&#038;id=3387&#038;type=feed\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/JungleOfLife?a=ZEjQBz0aEMg:L6EXkcHs6Yc:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/JungleOfLife?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/JungleOfLife?a=ZEjQBz0aEMg:L6EXkcHs6Yc:D7DqB2pKExk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/JungleOfLife?i=ZEjQBz0aEMg:L6EXkcHs6Yc:D7DqB2pKExk\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/JungleOfLife?a=ZEjQBz0aEMg:L6EXkcHs6Yc:V_sGLiPBpWU\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/JungleOfLife?i=ZEjQBz0aEMg:L6EXkcHs6Yc:V_sGLiPBpWU\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/JungleOfLife?a=ZEjQBz0aEMg:L6EXkcHs6Yc:gIN9vFwOqvQ\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/JungleOfLife?i=ZEjQBz0aEMg:L6EXkcHs6Yc:gIN9vFwOqvQ\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/JungleOfLife\/~4\/ZEjQBz0aEMg\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**&nbsp; December 25, 2009:&nbsp; Winners from the Holiday Prize Package Give Away Announced&nbsp; ** &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1st Place:&nbsp; Stacey Shipman and Nadia &#8211; Happy Lotus&nbsp; (there was a tie, so two winners were awarded the prize package) &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2nd Place:&nbsp; Sami &#8211; Life, Laughs, and Lemmings &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 3rd Place:&nbsp; Mindful Mimi and Evelyn Lim (there was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1672,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1672"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134028\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}