Be the Change - A New Beginning

How could a networking event totally change the way you see the world, how you conduct your business, and how you live your life? Well, I'll tell you.

The event was sponsored by the marketing and PR firm Warschawski. It was held at Luckie's Tavern in Baltimore. The guest speaker was PR and social media expert, Peter Shankman.

It was during the meet and greet when I met Angelique Rewers, owner and president of the communications firm, BonMotComms.

She told me what she does, and I told her what I do, and like most people, as soon as I mentioned the Stress Free Revolution, she said, "Sign me up!"

I laughed and said, "Everyone says that!," and then I confided that while everyone tells me that they WANT to change, rarely does anyone actually do it.

Angelique pondered my comment for a moment and said, "Hmm...well, thinking about what just popped into my own mind, maybe it's because it seems like a 'Holy Grail' of sorts--you know, something that's kind of out there as a dream, but people don't really believe it's possible, so they don't even try." Wow. What insight. I could totally see where she was coming from.

The program began, and we listened to Peter talk about this new world that we live in--a world where anything you say or do can be instantly communicated to millions of people. "Social media," Peter said, "is really just a way to screw up a lot faster and in front of a lot more people."

He talked about how corporations (and people) can no longer live in secret, and how the generation growing up in this environment expects honesty and transparency in everyone--from casual acquaintances to businesses to politicians.

This is kind of a scary notion to us old folks, who are used to being able to talk one thing and walk another, but the generation that follows us is used to it, embraces it, and expects it.

As I drove the hour and half home, I reflected on what I had learned. I thought about Angelique's comment and wondered how I could make this notion of Stress Free Living accessible and believable, and I realized that Peter had given me the answer.

"Be the change you want to see in the world," Gandhi taught us.

The only way for me to show the world that a stress free life is possible is to live it myself and let others in on exactly how I'm doing it. Modern technology provides the means, all I have to do is use it.

That realization was at once frightening and exciting. I am, after all, one of the old folks for whom opening up one's life like that is a scary concept. Writing a book, giving advice on a Talkcast, being a guest on a radio show--all those things allow me to be in the spotlight for a moment and then retreat to my normal life, where I can choose whether or not to follow my own advice.

And yet it's exciting, because revealing my day-to-day life forces me to live up to my own standards and could be THE thing that provides people with real motivation to change. And it is, after all, my real heart's desire to see people say goodbye to stress in droves and wake up to the wonderful, miraculous, joyful, fantastic life that is theirs just for the asking.

So today I start a new chapter in my life. Today I begin letting the world in on exactly what it means to live stress-free. Today I begin demonstrating and recording it. Today it becomes real. And as of today, there will be no excuses left.

What is a stress-free life really like? Start following me on Twitter and find out: www.Twitter.com/stressfreemama