Once A Beginnier

In order to be an expert in something, you must first begin. A triathlete didn’t become one over night. A famous musician took time to start in music. An actress at some point was taking her first head shot and having her first audition. In order to excel in something, the first step is to BEGIN.

When I ventured back to school, the mom of 5 kids who at that time were ages 3 months to 9 years, most people thought I was crazy. “I” often wondered if I was crazy! The journey to becoming a doctor was a long, hard one. Along the way I wanted to quit so many times that my husband quit keeping count. I struggled through classes, retaking several, and constantly compared myself to my peers. But I kept going. As Lance Armstrong is racing in the hills of France, it has to cross his mind at some point to give up and quit. Surely people would have understood if he decided that the current race was just too much for him. But he continued to ride, muscles aching and fatigued. He too, once rode a tricycle and then had training wheels. He didn’t go from learning to crawl to riding in a Tour de France. He once was the small, shaky child learning to ride his bike without training wheels, who fell and skinned his knee just like everyone of us did. But he kept going. Just think what would have happened if in that moment he decided the struggle was just too hard, that he wasn’t good enough to ride a bike and that he needed to quit? He’d not have won 7 back to back races and become world famous and a hero to many.

When I went back to school, it was out of desperation. My husband had lost several jobs in that year and I had just had baby #5. We knew that in order to survive as a family, we had to do something drastic. Within weeks we had applied to school, packed up our house and moved everything from Michigan to Georgia. The challenges on the way were mind blowing. To start totally over with no support system, no friends, no family often left me feeling sad and alone. We were living off of nothing but student loans as they encourage you not to try to hold down a job while going through medical school. We eventually had to give in and go on food stamps and state aid, which was devastating to me as someone who had always been anti ‘government handouts’. No one ever said it would be easy, but I was assured that I could have the desires of my heart, with the right amount of work.  In today’s society, we often find ourselves playing a victim role. It’s the president’s fault that the economy stinks and a job was lost. It’s our parents or spouses fault that we suffer with anxiety or depression. It’s McDonald’s fault that we are overweight as a nation. It’s not until we see ourselves in a new light, not of victim but of victor, that we can see that we are powerful, strong and determined! We are WOMAN!

Dr. Seuss once said “I start drawing, and eventually the characters involve themselves in a situation.” The key was that he started! He put his pen to the paper, having no clue what was going to show up on the page, and amazing stories and tales ensued.  And Dr. Suess said it best in “Oh the Places You’ll Go” when he said “ Congratulations! Today is your Day.

You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the (gal) who’ll decide where to go.”

As you look at your situation and see the things you’ve always wanted to start, whether going back to school, starting a new business, or something smaller like  learning to cook, sew, knit or paint, remember that you are a strong, beautiful capable woman who has the ability to accomplish GREAT things! When you look at your children and want the best for them, remind yourself that you deserve the same things you want them to have and set off to find a way to accomplish it. In order to achieve it, you must begin it. And if you don’t know what you’d like accomplish, do as Lucielle Ball once said “It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.” It’s a GREAT place to start! Find what makes you smile, start being the best YOU and go from there.


(Since I originally wrote this a year ago, we all know that Lance Armstrong has been stripped of all his medals. I still believe he is one of the greatest athletes to ever live and that he simply got tired of fighting the battle and surrendered to something that may or may not have actually taken place. I still believe that he is a great example of pursuing excellence, overcoming obstacles and achieving great success.)