Leadership Choices, 2nd of 2
Leadership has a harder job to do than just choose sides. It must bring sides together. ~ Jesse Jackson Part 1 of Succeed and Soar’s Leadership series listed Harvard Business Review’s least effective administrators, the Diplomat who avoids conflict and Opportunist who wants to win any way possible. The self-oriented Opportunist manipulates and believes “might makes right.” This “psychologically damaged,” tyrant would also bully. As former Disney CEO Michael Eisner asked of the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show suspension, “Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up …” The Harvard Business Review’s “Seven Transformations of Leadership” found the two most effective leaders are the Strategist who “generates organizational and personal transformation” and the Alchemist who “integrates material, spiritual, and societal transformation. For over fifty years, the Center for Creative Leadership has conducted programs in 100 countries and helped over one million alumni. Their list, “12 Qualities of Effective Leadership” includes: Self Awareness, meaning this trustee understands their “personality traits, behaviors, anxieties and emotions. While this is a more inwardly focused trait, self-awareness and humility are paramount qualities of leadership.” Learning Agility, knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do. Anybody can foster and increase learning agility through practice and effort. Integrity, to be consistently honest, moral and trustworthy. Gratitude, sincere thankfulness can lead to higher self-esteem, reduced depression and anxiety, and better sleep. Resilience, bouncing back from obstacles and setbacks. Responding well to challenges. See seven more Keep in mind, The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. ~ Ralph Nader The goal of an effective leader is to recondition your team to be solution focused rather than problem focused. ~ Jim Rohn Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better. ~ Bill Bradley Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. COMMENT.
Authors Speak: Belief
You may have tangible wealth untold: Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be I had a Mother who read to me. ~ Strickland Gillilan Authors Speak This Succeed and Soar series invites writers to answer questions about their artforms and special inspirations. Welcome Lori Jakiela Lori, what phrase inspires your writing and life? Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you’ve got a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies: God damn it, you’ve got to be kind. – Kurt Vonnegut Lori, share how these words helped your writing, your life. I love Kurt Vonnegut. As a prisoner of war during World War II, he survived the bombing of Dresden by hiding in a meat locker. He saw the terrible, nearly unimaginable things humans do to one another, and yet his focus, in these lines, is on kindness. Kurt Vonnegut, who had every reason to despair, chose hope and humor in the midst of tragedy. It’s not easy hope—he’s sensible, of course. But it’s there stitched between the sorrow. He is a great teacher of empathy—that essential element that makes writing and living possible. Belief Sample Text: When my real mother dies, I go looking for another one. The Catholic Charities Counselor’s word for this other mother I want after decades to find is biological. Illegitimate is another word for people who end up like me. It’s what I feel now, unlawful, unauthorized, unwarranted here in this office that smells like antiseptic and rubber gloves, hot teeth drilled down to bone. Review I’ve been having a hard time writing about Lori Jakiela’s beautiful new memoir Belief is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe. I think I love it too much. I think it hit too hard. As with the best art, I needed to chew on it and keep it to myself for a while until I found the proper words to express just how much the work matters to me. … About Lori Jakiela Lori Jakiela is the author of eight books, most recently the essay collection, ALL SKATE (Roadside Press). She received the Saroyan Prize for International Literature from Stanford University for her adoption memoir, BELIEF IS ITS OWN KIND OF TRUTH, MAYBE (Autumn House Press), has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Pittsburgh Magazine, and more. She directs the undergraduate writing program at The University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg and teaches in the doctoral creative writing program at The Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Web Site Keep in mind, Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary. – Jim Rohn Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. COMMENT. Beautiful and inspiring Succeed & Soar art can be purchased as posters, framed, metal and canvas. Art also available as puzzles, totes, blankets, mugs, greeting cards, notebooks, phone cases, pillows, towels, clothing and more. Shop All Art HERE. Collections change. Visit often. Thanks for your support!
Authors Speak, COMBEE
The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. – Gustav Flaubert Post Updated 2025, July 12 Congratulations Dr. Edda Fields-Black for receiving the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for in History for COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War. This Succeed and Soar series invites writers to answer questions about their artforms and special inspirations. Welcome Edda Fields-Black Photo Credit: Sandra Gould Ford Visit Sandra’s Fine Art America Collections Edda, what phrase inspires your writing and life? Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity. ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Edda, how have Adichie’s words helped your writing, your life? Answer: I write to restore the humanity of my enslaved ancestors, which has been denied by enslavers and plantation records. How these words inspired Edda Field-Black’s COMBEE. The story in this book has taken us from the forested wetlands of Maryland’s Eastern Shore to forested wetlands of the lower Combahee River, from tobacco farms to tidal rice fields, and from the “prison-house of bondage” to the delirium of freedom. A story of triumph, it is also one of broken promises and fractured pasts, one I have tried to tell not just in terms of its greater events, as part of the momentous upheaval of the Civil War, but also in the details of human life— in the slave transactions through which enslavers bought, sold, bequeathed, and gifted their property, separating husbands from wives and parents from children, and in the land transactions through which after the war freed people in coastal South Carolina bought land, tried to hold on to it and pass it down, and often lost it. In the end it is a story about transformation: African Americans who had been held in bondage on lower Combahee rice plantations identified themselves in freedom as “Combee” through the end of the nineteenth century. Over time, they became part of a broader community and forged common institutions, which flowered and caught the attention of outsiders who called it Gullah in popular media in the 1920s and 1930s. Lastly, this story ties in with and chronicles the least-known chapter of the life of one of America’s best- known patriots, Harriet Tubman, while simultaneously featuring the stories of heretofore nameless and faceless enslaved people who joined her in fighting for freedom. STARRED REVIEW in Booklist, COMBEE named one of the “Top 10 History Books: 2024”! Purchase COMBEE at Bookshop.org. About Edda Fields-Black Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black is a direct descendant of a formerly enslaved man who liberated himself after the Battle of Port Royal, joined the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers (34th Regiment USCT), and fought in the Combahee River Raid in Colleton County, SC. Since an early age, she has been curious about her grandparents “peculiar” speech patterns. Her mother’s historical and genealogical research was her first inkling of Gullah as both a rich language and culture. Fields-Black is a specialist in the transnational history of West Africa rice, peasant farmers in the pre-colonial Upper Guinea coast and enslaved laborers on antebellum Lowcountry South Carolina and Georgia rice plantations. She is author of Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora and executive producer of “Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice.” Fields-Black has worked as a consultant at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the International African American Museum, and the Senator John Heinz History Center. Web Site: https://eddafieldsblack.com * Keep in mind, Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary. – Jim Rohn Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. Radiant Tree Books Catalogue Includes: 12 Paths to Joy Wise Ways Beyond the Sky’s Limits Steel Genesis Sketch Journals Shop the Growing Selections
Authors Speak & Daughters of the Stone
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. ~ Frederick Douglass Authors Speak This Succeed and Soar series invites writers to answer questions about their artforms and special inspirations. Welcome Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. Photograph [c] 2017 LaToya Ruby Frazier Sandra at Homewood Branch, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Ms. Llanos-Figueroa, what phrase inspires your writing and life? “Write what should not be forgotten.” Isabel Allende How have Allende’s words helped your writing, your life? I write historical fiction about 19th century plantation society in Puerto Rico because I could never find myself in the stories I was given to read. I wanted to give the people in my life faces and voices that were denied to them in this society. I wanted to substitute authenticity and truth for the stereotype and caricature that were projected in the media. Silence and erasure are forms of genocide. I hope that my work opens the door and presents a clear and present image of the diversity that is the fabric of America. How these words inspired Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s book Daughters of the Stone. Daughters of the Stone, the first book in the series, follows the lives of enslaved Africans from the perspective of five generations of Afro-Puerto Rican women. Their journey begins with capture in West Africa, to life in plantation society Puerto Rico, to immigration to urban America. Sample Text: These are the stories. My stories, their stories — just as they were told to my mother and her mother and hers. They were given to me for safekeeping and now I give them to you. Amazon Review Daughters of the Stone is available at Bookshop.org , local independent bookstores and major online book retailers. Meet the Author Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa writes historical fiction about the Afro-Puerto Rican experience from capture in West Africa to life in 19th century plantation society in Puerto Rico to urban New York City. Daughters of the Stone and A Woman of Endurance are her first two published novels.. Web Site: www.dahlmallanosfigueroa.com Follow on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest @DahlmaLlanosFigueroa Twitter @writer1949 https://www.facebook.com/DaughtersoftheStone/ Photo Credit: Matvey Zabbi Photography Keep in mind, Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary. – Jim Rohn COMMENT. This Month, Warm Body, Mind and Spirit with Coffee Mugs from Succeed & Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” Collection. Visit the Eleanor’s Insights posts. Mugs are: Ceramic Dishwasher and microwave safe Available in two sizes [11 ounce and 15 ounce] See All Mugs Shop All Art and Collections HERE. Thanks for your support!
Scrabble Winning Sounds
CONSIDER Vocabulary enables us to interpret and to express. If you have a limited vocabulary, you will also have a limited vision and a limited future. – Jim Rohn For writers, readers, Scrabble, crossword and word gamers like me, Succeed and Soar’s “Word Witty” posts offer little puzzles that strengthen a precious tool: Vocabulary. Please enjoy. Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. COMMENT. Word Match Here are five ‘sound’ words that can now score points in Scrabble games. Match words to their definitions. Answers below. Ew or Eew 1. An expression of frustration Tsk or Tsktsk 2. An expression of joy or excitement often associated with cowboys Yeehaw 3. Expression of disgust Yeesh 4. An expression of approval, excitement or enthusiasm Yowza 5. Expressing disapproval or annoyance Be sure to see a film adaptation of “The Gold Bug” below. Also hear Vincent Price read the story that inspired Scrabble. Write. Let me know if you’d like to join a Tournament Scrabble Club. [We have several in Pittsburgh!] Shop Sandra’s Succeed and Soar Art on Weekender Totes As well as beach towels, tee shirts, journals, puzzles, phone cases, ornaments, face masks, towels, blankets, cups, pillows, shower curtains and more These chic weekender bags are 24” x 16” Soft spun polyester fabric Have double-stitched seams One-inch thick, white cotton handles Can spot clean or dry cleanhone styles. Either slim or tough case styles available. Price: $43.25 CUSTOMIZE. Use tools with item to: Enlarge, reduce size of art Change placement of art and text Choose background colors Shop Weekender Totes Visit Gallery Thanks for supporting! Thanks for shopping! Click here to view a young Anthony Michael Hall starring in this ABC Saturday Special adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Gold Bug.” [45 minutes] * Listen to Vincent Price read Edgar Allen Poe’s classic mystery about a man bitten by a golden beetle” HERE Word Witty Scrabble Answers Ew or Eew Expression of disgust Tsk or Tsktsk Expressing disapproval or annoyance Yeehaw An expression of joy or excitement often associated with cowboys Yeesh An expression of frustration Yowza An expression of approval, excitement or enthusiasm
2nd Path to Joy 2023, Financial Health
They key to understanding if something is truly precious is to ask if we can hold it, for things truly precious cannot be held. Craig D. Lounsbrough All “Illustrated Wisdoms” in this 2023 Paths to Joy were created by splattering viscous Dylusions shimmer spray on 11×14, 98 pound, Canson mixed media paper, then spritzing with water to see how the colors would run and gather. When dry, the above quote was evoked by “feathering” with water washes and tempera paints, meant to suggest the power of the oceans and of music. The final work was creating the darkness in upper right corner so that the stars could be seen and the universe’s vastness suggested. How Louisbrough’s quote was interpreted: When the paper dried, upright, a ruler was used to draw the two-tone [green and gold] rectangular shape with water soluble ink pencils [Derwent]. The lines were softened with light water spritzes, suggesting the ephemeral and ethereal eternal. What do you see? Write me. PS Art is available with and without the quote. Shop Sandra’s Galleries. Paths to Joy 2023 updates and enhances a series first presented in 2020. It was adapted from The Treasure Chest, published by National Religious Press, which no longer exists. The 2nd Path to Joy encouraged financial prudence and care for material resources. Have you heard the saying that money is the root of all evil? Author Mark Twain’s response was, “The lack of money is the root of all evil.” With that belief, Life Onyx lists six “Fantastic Benefits of Being Wealthy,” which include, Access to the best levels of care and medical resources. The wealthy access expensive, higher quality food, some not always available to the public. During disasters, the wealthy can leave quickly. They also access elite classes of insurance that provide secure evacuations and recovery of luxury items. Read more To become rich, Life Hack suggests, Think about what people need, or things that could improve society, which could become a trending product in the future. Cut expenses Do one thing better than anyone. Work on it, train it, learn it, practice, evaluate and refine it. Read more Eric Kim’s 35 tips for becoming wealthy include, Never be an early adopter Only own one of each thing Anchor your mind to lower prices Don’t become a slave to money. Let money become your slave. Read more Hold onto your money! Several months ago, this note arrived from retirementinvestments.com: I spent a couple of hours checking out your site, [SuccedandSoar.com] and honestly, it’s great. You have fantastic content, and that’s why I want to reach out to you. I was originally researching for my article, Personal Finance 101: How To Manage Your Money Effectively. Here’s the thoughtful article about investing for retirement. BTW, through May, 202, SucceedandSoar.com. contained over 100 posts. I’m now updating the blog so that — in the next few weeks — the nearly 200 arts inspirations E-Mailed since October 31,2019 can be viewed online. [Six were added today!] While planning this post, I was thrilled about sharing Jim Rohn’s video, “Why You Must Be Rich. Wealth Is A Power.” Today, I discovered it’s no longer available. Darn! It was so inspiring. Fortunately, these three reasons to become financially independent were noted: Money is no longer a time-consuming consideration The ability to help others from a position of strength is tremendously increased More resources are available to develop the person you must become In the video, Rohn also stated, “The millions are not important. what you do and how you become wealthy is most important.” View the above “CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS” VIDEO HERE [2 minutes, 49 seconds] Answer: Yes! This 12-minute video explains the science of HOW TO BUY HAPPINESS WITH MONEY. Also check out comedian [and new Shark Tank investor] Kevin Hart talking to Joe Rogan about learning “The Importance of Financial Freedom” VIEW HERE [12 minutes] Contains Adult Language. This Month, Shop Sandra’s Art on Onesies As well as tote bags, tee shirts, journals, puzzles, phone cases, ornaments, face masks, towels, blankets, cups, pillows, shower curtains and more The high quality and unique Onesies produced by Fine Art America: Come in four sizes [6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months] Are 100% pre-shrunk cotton Offer choice of 12 colors [including white, gold, pink, red, Kelly green and more] Are machine washable Price: $26 CUSTOMIZE. Use tools with item to: Enlarge, reduce size of art Change placement of art and text Choose from twelve, onesie colors Purchase this onesie [choose from 4 sizes] Shop All Art and Collections HERE. Depending on Browser, Puzzles may be a stand-alone category or listed in Lifestyle Section. Thanks for shopping!
Boomers, X, Millennials, Z, Alpha & Beyond
Each generation supposes that the world was simpler for the one before it. — Eleanor Roosevelt In the United States, the Builders born between 1901 and 1924 experienced the mass migration from country to city life, the switch from horse-drawn to motor vehicles and Spanish flu that killed over 50 million people. They used outhouses, grew up without electricity and raised the Silent generation. Those born between 1924 and 1945 were influenced by the Great Depression and World War II. They experienced air travel, labor unions and expected lifetime jobs with one employer. They and the Builders created the Baby Boomers’ world. Those born from 1946 to 1964 grew up with interstate highways, the Civil Rights struggle, television, the assassinations of President John Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Their world included credit cards and conglomerates. Unlike before, Generation X [born 1965 to 1980] understood the phrases, “what’s in it for me,” ‘latch-key children” and MTV. Next came Millennials [1981-1995/6], raised in a 24/7, non-stop, fast-paced world of iPhones, Google, Facebook and Amazon. They’re followed by Generation Z, children of the 21st century who are shaping the world for Generation Alpha. This week, I caught “The Neutral Zone,” the May 16, 1988 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. There, three cryogenically-frozen people are revived from a derelict, 20th century Earth vessel. When one man mourns the loss of his wealth and status, starship Enterprise captain smiles indulgently and says, “This is the 24th century. Material needs no longer exist.” Shocked, the gentleman asks, “Then, what’s the challenge?” Picard answers, “The challenge, Mr. Offenhouse, is to improve yourself. To enrich yourself. Enjoy it.” In creating conditions from which future generations will grow, consider Jonas Salk’s question, Are we being good ancestors? Also consider: All good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine. ― Jim Rohn Each day we choose to live the legacy we want to leave. – Pam Farrel Succeed and Soar! Sources for Generation Dates & Names FourHooks Wikipedia Support Succeed and Soar this Month. Keep these insights and inspirations glowing and growing. Shopping at Sandra’s Gifts and/or Sandra’s Galleries also helps. Invest Here. Thanks! Mark your calendar Let’s chat first Thursday, 7pm Pittsburgh [Eastern US] time. Goal: Build community by sharing uplifting, enlightening Succeed and Soar conversations, including the novel Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig. Good Reads Review Subscribe to receive notifications. See you December 2nd! Eleanor’s Insights Collection Succeed and Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” series is illustrated with photographs of ‘wild places.’ My art is available as prints, framed and on canvas as well as on journals, greeting cards, weekender bags, shower curtains, puzzles and much more. Shop Here
Einstein 16: Your Miracles
There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can life as if everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein When an eleven year old’s handmade harp was stolen, the police searched. A CBS TV news story aired. Nothing worked until an odd conversation effected the girl’s mother so much that Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer, a psychoanalyst and UC-Berkeley professor, wrote Extraordinary Knowing. The book shares stories of people who knew things they shouldn’t have and scientific support for paranormal phenomena like telepathy, clairvoyance and the power of prayer. See “6 Stories To Make You Believe in Miracles.” Have you experienced unusual, improbable events that helped, a/k/a miracles? What if you can make your own? Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success opened me to the idea that intentions create destiny. Napoleon Hill proposed the same in Think and Grow Rich and Louise Hay in Heal Your Body. Nine hundred years ago, Rumi said, “Live as though life is rigged in your favor.” [Here are five more of Arianna Huffington’s favorite quotes from Thrive. I really like the Cherokee grandfather story.] What if expectations can shape fate? Jim Rohn said, “A piece of the miracle process has been reserved for each of us.” If so, how can we claim our pieces? See: Make Your Own Miracles in Seven Steps How to create more miracles in your life Blessings & best wishes! ***** Mother’s Day Sunday, May 9, 2021 According to MountainTrek.com, the word ‘mother’ can be a verb [‘to mother’]. So, Mother’s Day can also be a time to remember to nurture and nourish ourselves. First, through playfulness. Here are more tips. Clean Your Room Day Monday, May 10, 2021 Here’s another way to do some self mothering, and here are 13 Bedroom Cleaning Hacks, beginning starting at the top of the room. Ever wonder how rainbows happen? Why rainbows are curved? What’s at the end of rainbows? Here are the answers. * Shop “Rose Bouquet,” this week’s Featured Art .
Life Well Lived #6: Selecting Memory
What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. – Helen Keller Every time folks new to Pittsburgh visit, I offer tours. They always include Mount Washington [see gorgeous picture] then the dancing fountains below. One night as Ron from Georgia watched the leaping sprays, he asked why I was smiling, for no apparent reason. My answer: I was remembering a fun visit with my grandson and his cousin. In Jim Rohn’s must-read The Art of Exceptional Living, this guide for making your life a masterpiece reminds to take tons of pictures, especially of uplifting experiences. They’re memory prompts, which are important because … Sometimes my brain produces parades of could’a, should’a done regrets. Ugh! After enough brow beatings, I’ve learned to ask for feel-good memories which is why creating Paths to Joy helps. Once such places are found, they’re easier to visit again. As stated by Becky Aligata in the “Autumn Treasures” post “Memories are like treasures locked deep within the storehouse of our souls; to keep our hearts warm.” Keep good ones. Beat The Heat! 15 Ways to Stay Cool in Hot Weather as well as how to handle emergencies like heat stroke, heat edema and more. This Week’s Special Offer This week’s Featured Art is offered at 25% off [plus any discounts offered by my Galleries]. Shop here. Thank you for visiting my galleries and for your purchases. They support Succeed and Soar.