It’s a joy to continue our Sisterhood of Significance series with Amy’s nominee, Kristine. Amy nominated Kristine for the Sisterhood because “she’s amazing, incredible, lives a life of spontaneity, and started a nonprofit in Guatemala that operates libraries for children.” It’s clear that Kristine is living a life of significance, whether she knows it or not, whether she believes it or not. With that, it’s my sincerest pleasure to introduce you to our next member of the Sisterhood of Significance. Welcome, Kristine! It’s an honor to call you sister.

At just 16 years of age, Kristine had goals and visions for her future. She was bored academically and a lot of her friends were older. So she opted for Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO), which allows 11th and 12th graders to take college courses and earn college credits on the campus of a postsecondary institution. By the time she was 18 years old, Kristine had all of her generals completed for college!

While at Inver Hills Community College for PSEO, Kristine took a course on Mayan Studies. She’d wanted to study abroad, but her parents didn’t approve because of her age and general safety concerns. So she decided to do a 3-week January Term in Guatemala instead. Kristine didn’t speak Spanish, but she did speak French and Italian which have similarities to Spanish. Given her love of language and eagerness to jump into the experience, it’s no surprise that Kristine picked up Spanish readily during her J-Term. “I fell in love with everything Guatemalan,” recalls Kristine enthusiastically of that first trip to Guatemala in 2006.

After her J-Term in Guatemala, Kristine returned to the United States and attended the University of Minnesota. She triple majored in Mass Communications, Cultural Studies and Cinema. Mass Communications because she dreamed of becoming a sports reporter. Cultural Studies for her love of Guatemala and different cultures. And Cinema because she’d taken a film class in high school and loved shooting videos and editing them together to tell a story. Kristine went to school year round, graduating from college with a triple major at 20 years old.

When Kristine was 17 years old and still enrolled in PSEO, she started working at Best Buy. Two years later, when she was just 19 years of age, Best Buy offered Kristine a position at their corporate office. In February 2011, Best Buy sponsored and organized a vision team to go down to Guatemala. Kristine knew it was time to return! While on the vision trip, she and the team were able to build a house for a family. She also began sponsoring a little boy named Gabino through Common Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting “hope and opportunity in Guatemala.” Kristine’s sponsorship provides Gabino access to education, medical and dental care, and a clean, safe living environment.

Since that trip with the Best Buy vision team in 2011, Kristine has been to Guatemala an additional SEVEN times. On April 29th, Kristine will be taking another trip to Guatemala. (And don’t forget her J-Term visit!) So this will be her 10th trip to Guatemala!

Two years ago in October 2014, Kristine brought her mom, Cheryl, to Guatemala. Cheryl is a school teacher and doesn’t travel much. She didn’t understand Kristine’s love for Guatemala until she went down there and absolutely fell in LOVE! Cheryl did, however, wonder where the libraries were. She nudged Kristine, “We need to start a foundation. We need to get books down here!”

Kristine had parties at her house to collect books and funds for a library. Three months later, in February 2015, Kristine filled 10-12 suitcases with 350 books and hand-delivered them to Guatemala!

To be honest, there wasn’t a good place for all those books, so Kristine reached out to Common Hope about purchasing land or securing space somewhere for a library. Common Hope agreed to add the library onto a school. They painted the library, carpeted it with foam puzzle pieces, and hired locals to build bookshelves, all with funds Kristine gathered from the house parties she’d hosted back at home.

Yes, they called it the “Rutoski Family Library!” The library was a miracle, really. A dream come true for Kristine and her mom, but even more so for the children in Guatemala. The books made an immediate impact. On a later trip, one boy told Kristine he’d read all the books in the library. Now he wanted English books so he could start learning English.

August 2015 marked the official opening of the library. All the kids were invited, and the school principal dedicated the space. In March of 2016, Kristine’s mom flew down and saw the library for the first time.

The original 350 books are now split between two libraries, the original location in San Rafael, and another in Antigua. Kristine wants to expand and build another library in New Hope, but there’s been car theft and armed robberies in the area, so when it’s safer, they will begin working on that project.

Since Kristine brought that first batch of 350 books down in February 2015, she’s continued working with Common Hope to organize and operate the libraries. But now that the libraries have been open for two years, Kristine is working to secure 501(c)(3) status for “Stock the Suitcases,” which will allow it to become an official nonprofit organization. If all goes well, the 501(c)(3) will be finalized by this summer sometime.

But the story doesn’t stop there!

In 2011, when Kristine went down to Guatemala with the Best Buy vision team, she met Felix. Felix works with Common Hope as a construction manager, and helps when vision teams come down from the United States. Felix is also a coffee farmer. He buys small plots of land, and sells coffee to small cafés in Antigua. He gets up at 3:00 am, works the fields, works for Common Hope, then works the fields again until late at night. The land is much cheaper on the top of the mountains because of the long trek up. For a while, Felix had a truck to transport him to the top of the mountain so he could work the coffee fields, but it was an old truck from the 70s and has since failed. So now Felix and his friends are walking up to the coffee fields every day which is a 10-mile journey one way.

Kristine and her mom decided to raise money for Felix so he could get a new truck to drive to the coffee fields up in the mountains. So tomorrow, April 22, 2017, Kristine is having a party to raise funds for Felix’s truck! They’ve already raised $3,600. Their goal is to raise a total of $5,400.

When Kristine returns to Guatemala next week, she and Felix will purchase a new truck with the funds. She’ll also be bringing more books for the libraries and shoes for the children. It’s worth mentioning that Kristine will be bringing her boyfriend, Zach, on this trip. She met him at work, and he just so happens to have been adopted from Guatemala when he was three months old! Zach made his FIRST trip to Guatemala with Kristine in August 2015; this will be his second trip.

When I asked Kristine to share her long-term vision for Guatemala, she responded without hesitation. “I want to move there.” At the very least, she would like to get a place of her own so she can keep some of her belongings there and not have to bring stuff back and forth all the time. Her dad is a pilot, so Kristine is confident it would be easy to get down to Guatemala regularly.

Kristine’s long-term vision for her work in Guatemala led to deeper conversation. During our interview, it became evident that Kristine possesses a rare grit, determination and confidence, that she lives life with little to no fear. I wanted to know whether Kristine was born that way, or whether she learned it along the way.

From her dad, an airline pilot who tackles endless projects at home, Kristine learned to keep trying, to never be afraid, to be persistent and constantly try new things without fear of failure. From her mom, a teacher, Kristine inherited her kind and generous heart.

“I’m never really afraid of failing because I always have my family,” and there’s always “try try again.” Before she starts a new adventure or executes a fresh vision, Kristine plays through worst-case scenarios. “It ALWAYS works out” in the end, she declares with quiet confidence.

Tomorrow, Kristine will host a party to raise funds for Felix’s new truck. Next week, she and her boyfriend, Zach, will travel to Guatemala and purchase that truck with Felix. Those books and shoes? They’re heading straight down in suitcases for the kiddos. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit status for Stock the Suitcases? It’s certain to be signed, sealed and delivered by the end of the summer.

If there’s one thing we can learn from Kristine, it’s to trust the vision God’s entrusted to you. Work it. Live it. Love it well.

Welcome, Kristine. Welcome to the Sisterhood of Significance. See the significance of your story.

 

 

 

On January 6, 2017, I woke with a crystal clear vision for the Sisterhood of Significance. I shared my story of significance on March 8, 2017, then passed the torch and nominated Amy as the next member of the Sisterhood of Significance. Amy nominated Kristine, and in another two to three weeks, I’ll be meeting with Kristine’s nominee, Chris. Chris will share her story of significance, I’ll take notes and photographs, and will feature her story on the site. Chris will pass the torch by nominating someone who’s living a life of significance, whether they know it or not, whether they believe it or not. And that woman will join the Sisterhood! So goes the chain, on and on, until we have hundreds of women in the Sisterhood of Significance. Follow the hashtags #theSOS and #SisterhoodofSignificance, and CLICK HERE to learn more about the Sisterhood of Significance!

In all honesty, I don’t remember dying Easter eggs with grandma Ginny at the kitchen table that April 1984. After all, I was only 7 years old.

Here’s what I do remember. Two years and three months later, grandma passed away. I turned 10 two weeks prior to her passing.

Memories of grandma Ginny are few and far between. Grandma sitting in the corner chair by her music box curio. Grandma’s voice. Grandma’s laugh. Grandma sitting politely and patiently at the kitchen table. Grandma’s sister talking to soap opera characters on the television when we celebrated Christmas in California. Grandma at the piano. Grandma inviting me to play duets. Grandma looking through a JCPenney catalog with me at the kitchen table; ordering a baby blue sweater, pants and a striped blouse I swore I’d keep forever in her memory. Grandma rocking in the chair, watching me and my sister play piano before Christmas dinner. Grandma in head-to-toe pink velvet. Grandma’s house. Grandma’s snow white, tangerine orange and cherry red kitchen curtains. Grandma sick in bed while people rotated in and out of her room. Getting news of grandma’s passing when mom and dad picked us up from the Steffan’s house. “It’s okay to feel sad,” I recall hearing as I bent low in the back seat.

This summer will mark 31 years since grandma Ginny passed away.

It’s no surprise that of all four of my grandparents, I have the most longing, the most wishing that I would’ve had more time with grandma Ginny. She passed away when I was so young, years and years before my other grandparents. I never had that grandma when I was a junior higher, high schooler or college student. She never heard about my first job. She never met my boyfriends, nor did she witness me walk the aisle in white. She never knew I was pregnant, nor did she get to meet any of her great grandchildren.

Yeah…for a few years now, I wish I could just sit down and have cookies and tea with grandma. That’s what I long for most. That’s the grandma I wish for this Easter.

Can we just talk about the world, grandma? Can you tell me who you are, and tell me who I am? Can I do anything for you, grandma? Can you play me a song, grandma?

Who are you missing this Easter? Who won’t be there this weekend?

Maybe it’s grandma. Maybe it’s grandpa. Maybe it’s your husband or wife. Maybe it’s mom, dad, sister or brother. Maybe it’s baby you never birthed, baby you still birthed, baby whose grave you’ve visited every year since. Maybe it’s an auntie, uncle, mentor or friend. Maybe it’s a loved one who’s living at a distance. Maybe it’s someone dear who’s no longer in your life. Maybe it’s someone deployed or hospitalized. I don’t know who you’re missing, but everybody misses somebody.

It’s okay to remember. It’s okay to grieve. It’s okay to long for days that happened and never happened.

It’s okay to look back with fondness at the days we were gifted. It’s okay to say their name out loud. It’s okay to reminisce when the ham and eggs pass.

It’s okay to acknowledge all the feelings, all the memories, both bad and good, brutal and beautiful, vague or filled with detail.

But then, yes then, let’s revel in the here and now.

Sit. Be present. Stand up and acknowledge someone’s significance. Give a hug, a high five. Serve. Receive. Delight. Dive in deep. Be overjoyed, surprised, amazed. Listen when people tell you their story. Listen when people show you who they are. Keep your eyes open for memories that mean the most. And be sure to take photos, lots of photos. For none of us know how long we’ll have with loved ones near and dear. Someday down the road, that photo might mean the world to someone, that photo might fill the gap between now and eternity for someone.

Who are you missing this Easter?

This is a story about mental health and self-care written by my younger sister, Tiffany, who has a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. Tiffany has shared regular stories on my site since February 2015. The purpose of her writing is to raise awareness of what it’s like to live with mental illness. I’m hoping her stories will help readers recognize that we all have hopes, dreams, challenges and mountains to climb regardless of our mental health status. If you’d like to read the stories I’ve written about Tiffany’s journey and all the stories she’s shared on the site, check out Tiffany’s Story. Without further ado, here’s Tiffany.

My weight has fluctuated over the years. People have said that I’ve gone from too skinny years ago, to a healthy size now. The truth is that I’m not completely happy with my current weight and the way I feel. I need to start eating better, exercising more and improving my overall well being. I feel strongly that being in good physical health helps with one’s mental health!

When I first lived in Los Angeles in my early to mid 20s, I was told that I was at an unhealthy weight. I never weighed myself during those times, but I’m guessing I weighed around 115-120? I ate Clif bars for almost every meal and spent the day drinking Gatorade. I was getting the necessary calories I needed to survive the day. I lived in Venice Beach, so I’d walk up and down the beach and around different zip codes all day, including Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Culver City. I may have looked alright, but my mental health was slipping down during that stage in my life. I was not feeling good mentally at all. I remember a couple times I went to parties with models. A few of the girls attempted to get me to fly to other countries to do modeling. I was in no place mentally to take that venture. I had opportunities, but I figured out a way to destroy them all. As you can tell in the pictures from Los Angeles, I did not have a sparkle in my eyes like I sometimes do. I was also sucking in my cheeks because I did not feel skinny enough. During the “skinny” time in my life, I would look in the mirror and see an overweight girl. I saw myself as a girl who was not good enough. I was a girl who needed to lose more weight so I was like the other girls. Yes, I compared myself to them.

There were times when I chose to live on the streets. I could not sleep, so why not be outside? I was slipping. I had prescriptions for anti-psychotic medications, but I was not taking them the prescribed way. I was medicating my body in unhealthy ways. Trips back and forth from Minnesota to Los Angeles ultimately landed me back in Minnesota with the proper self-care I needed and was looking for. I was not treating my body as a temple. I was not only polluting my body but also my soul.

As I previously stated, my body weight has fluctuated over the years. When I was in high school, a few of my friends had eating disorders. Those girls were some of the most beautiful girls in my high school class. But shhh, it’s not okay to be sick. That’s what our society tells us. To be honest with you, I often took on some of the responsibility for their disorders. I did not want to be one of the girls whom they were comparing themselves to. I felt an extreme guilt during high school because I did not know how to help my friends. I’ve never had an eating disorder, but I was struggling during that time too. I have compared myself to the “skinny” girls. When people share about how much weight they have lost, it’s hard not to compare. It wasn’t until my early 20s that I realized why. I, along with them, was trying to look NOT SICK in a SICK world. Everyone is hurting in some way. We are all at different stages of acceptance, but we have to accept who we are today.

When I started to be more concerned with my mental health, I was on a cocktail of different medications. Many of those medications caused bloating and weight gain. A couple years ago, I was at my ideal weight of around 132 pounds. The fact is that I was not mentally stable at that time. My dad was getting sicker and sicker every day, and I was grieving over a boyfriend who was dealing with his own issues. I felt pretty good physically, but I was torn apart inside.

Currently, I look in the mirror and see a body that I do not want to accept. I see a woman who needs to feel better about her current size. Lately, I’ve weighed between 140-145. I work in the child care area at a health club and receive a free membership for the work I do. My dream is to start working out a few times a week and to definitely watch what I am eating. To burn off calories takes time and effort.

My prayer is to be happy with my overall physical and mental health. I’ll let you know when I am! I have found that no matter what your size, confidence is everything. We need to find a way to be comfortable with our body size, no matter what that may be. A lot of this may sound trivial in comparison to more important problems that we face in life. It is, but we have to feel good about ourselves in order to communicate properly with the people we surround ourselves with. You’ve got to like and love yourself before you can like and love others! For me, I have to take care of myself in order to be a better parent to my two kids.

It’s an absolute honor and delight to kick off our Sisterhood of Significance series with my college friend, Amy. I asked Amy to be the first member of the Sisterhood of Significance because intuition told me there was an incredibly powerful story behind Amy’s new day spa long before I knew any details about how it came to be. Amy and I have much in common. We were both sweethearts of our future husband’s fraternity. We both married fraternity brothers. We both have daughters named Maisie! We both went through significant, life-changing experiences that altered the trajectory of our life. We both left long-time careers in order to follow our dreams. And we both understand what it’s like to simultaneously be pursuing the best and worst idea of your life on any given day. I’m telling you, I’m not a spa girl, but I’ve had a facial and a couple’s massage at Woodhouse Day Spa, and Amy’s made me a believer. It’s clear that Amy is living a life of significance, whether she knows it or not, whether she believes it or not. With that, it’s my sincerest pleasure to introduce you to our first member of the Sisterhood of Significance. Welcome, Amy! It’s an honor to call you sister.

For 20 years, Amy worked faithfully and whole-heartedly for advertising, marketing and content marketing agencies, as well as a marketing to women consultancy. In October 2006, Amy’s husband, Marc, was transferred from Minnesota to North Carolina for work. Amy, Marc and their two children lived in North Carolina until 2014 when they moved back to Minnesota.

At the time of their move, Amy was working for PACE, an agency in Greensboro, North Carolina. At first, the transition from North Carolina to Minnesota was easy because PACE allowed Amy to keep her position and work remotely from Minnesota. Amy traveled lot during that first year back. She flew all over the place to clients, and to PACE’s home office in North Carolina. Typically, she traveled at least twice a month (usually full weeks) or would take a few shorter trips. Eventually, the travel and time away started taking a toll on Amy’s health.

In October 2014, Amy found herself in the emergency room with horrible pain and a terrible ear infection. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and told Amy she couldn’t fly, but the brutal and unfortunate truth was that she was in San Francisco and really needed to get back home. The hotel graciously packed up Amy’s belongings, and Amy took a cab to the airport. On the plane ride from San Francisco to Minnesota, Amy’s eardrum broke and exploded everywhere, which was immediately followed by Amy throwing up everywhere. Right there. Right on the plane. Right in front of everyone within eyesight and earshot.

Thankfully, Amy made it home. She called the doctor with updates, and was told she should continue taking antibiotics.

Amy was deathly sick for five days straight, landing her back at the doctor’s office. She was sent for a CT scan which revealed a MASSIVE mastoid infection. The ear infection had spread into Amy’s skull; the only way to remove the diseased cells was through surgery.

In December 2014, Amy underwent a surgical procedure called a mastoidectomy, in which the surgeon drills a hole in your sinus and clears out the mastoid. Your mastoid sits behind your ear in your skull and is typically filled with a honeycomb of cells. The fluid from Amy’s ear had gotten in that space and become infected. So the surgeon went into Amy’s skull and basically hollowed and cleared out that whole space.

Amy had been so seriously ill and was so concerned about the situation that she was fearful she might not make it through surgery. She promised herself that if she made it through surgery, she’d make a major life change and do something different for work.

For a while after her surgery, Amy went back to work and kept at it. She’d been put on a 3-month flying restraint, so she wasn’t able to keep up the travel schedule she’d maintained prior to surgery. Work just wasn’t the same.

Amy remembered the promise she’d made to herself – that if she made it through surgery, she’d make a major life change and do something different for work.

Years prior, Amy and her husband, Marc, had been dreaming and spent time online searching for business ideas they might be interested in pursuing in the future. One business in particular, Woodhouse Day Spa, captured and kept their attention all those years. Yes, that online search never escaped Amy’s mind. She knew she was happiest when she was working face-to-face with people. A spa seemed like a fit with her personality and professional experience. So when the three-month flying restraint lifted, Amy and Marc planned a visit to Woodhouse Day Spa in Texas, which ultimately had to be canceled due to issues at home and work.

While it was certainly disappointing that Amy and Marc had to cancel their first trip to Woodhouse Day Spa, Amy received crazy confirmation she was on the right track with the spa idea! On Valentine’s Day 2015 – while Woodhouse was still a dream, before they’d visited Woodhouse in Texas – Marc purchased Amy a spa day in Minneapolis. After an incredible day at the spa, Amy stopped at Kowalski’s, a local grocery store, to purchase Valentine’s gifts for her children. When she was perusing through MadLibs and other activity books for her children, she found an envelope tied in yarn with “OPEN ME!” penned in caps on the front.

On the inside it read…

“Hi friend! Thank you for picking this up, because I am about to make your day! You have found this because you need to be reminded that you are an amazing, beautiful, and lovable human being! Thank yourself for finding this and giving yourself the chance to put YOU first, and to let yourself shine your light! Be the light that you are, and share your gifts, because there is only ONE of you, and nobody else can be you, but you! You are not a mistake or a left-over; you are Divine! You are magnificent! Ask yourself whether you are truly living for you – and if you’re not, well…do it. Have no fear, because the universe WILL support you. Stay strong, because you are on the right path! Love, Your Earth Angel.”

Amy looked all over Kowalski’s to see if that Earth Angel had left cards all over the place. But NO. There was only ONE letter in Kowalski’s that day. The ONE Amy found.

That spring of 2015, Amy and Marc made their long-awaited trip to Woodhouse Day Spa in Texas. After the visit, it took them two weeks to sign an agreement to open a Woodhouse Day Spa in Minnesota. Amy admits that her husband, Marc, was “blindly supportive” of her business adventure. “I had to make a decision quickly because I knew my head would overrule my instinct,” said Amy. “If I don’t do it now, when will I do it?”

In August 2015, Amy gave her official notice at work.

When she made the news public, a lot of people weren’t sure what to make of her decision to leave agency life to open Woodhouse Day Spa, saying things like “Woah. You’re taking a big risk.” Amy has learned that you “Can’t listen to people who doubt you. You have to choose who to listen to.”

Plans moved forward.

Amy and Marc selected a location for their soon-to-be Woodhouse Day Spa.

Construction began!

“Every day it was the best and the worst decision I ever made,” noted Amy.

On August 13 & 14, 2016, Woodhouse Day Spa opened for family and friends only.

August 15, 2016, marked the first day Woodhouse was open to the public.

October 15, 2016, was the Grand Opening of Woodhouse Day Spa at The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The Grand Opening was a reminder to Amy that this was REAL, this was actually happening, this dream had come to life! Amy remembers her husband, Marc, leaning over during the Grand Opening and telling her “You should be so proud of yourself.” How many people get to fulfill and live out their dreams in such a big, tangible and visible way?

Since opening Woodhouse Day Spa, Amy has “learned more in the last six months than [she had] in 10 years.”

“I still feel like the boss is going to show up,” admitted Amy. “I hope I can make someone’s day better. We need to fill them back up today. What can we do to anticipate needs?”

More often than not, guests come to the spa to celebrate a special occasion such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or girls’ day out. But there are other, more sobering moments in life in which the spa can soothe a guest’s soul, including illnesses, miscarriages and major life transitions.

Amy and the providers at Woodhouse draw out their guests’ needs and familiarize themselves with what brings guests in for services. When they know the guest’s favorite color, favorite coffee, favorite sweet treat, current challenges and issues, they’re best able to serve them. Amy appreciates specificity. If guests tell her what they’re looking for, she’s willing to accommodate. “We are palms up. We wait with baited breath as they check out hoping they had an amazing experience,” says Amy about her approach to customer service. “But things don’t always go perfectly,” admits Amy. If the guest did not have an amazing experience, they “make it right.” If, for any reason, an employee feels like their client didn’t have a great service, Amy works to resolve the situation and meet the needs of the guest.

Amy has 24 providers on payroll at Woodhouse. She is committed to a thorough interview process for employees, hiring “extremely talented and trained therapists to set us up for having excellent service results.” Amy prides herself on paying employees a living wage, and loves hearing stories of how employees have connected with guests. “We are all about long-term relationships and making a positive impact on our guests’ wellness and happiness. This happens by developing a relationship [built] on trust.”

“The big question is AM I DOING ENOUGH?” said Amy.

Now that the spa has been open for seven months, Amy is committed to continue bringing in new guests while retaining guests who have been in for services.

Amy and the providers at Woodhouse Day Spa go above and beyond, anticipating and meeting the needs of every guest. “There’s nothing I’ve put in this business that I’m going to take away,” proclaimed Amy with a sense of assuredness.

“We always ask who we can thank,” noted Amy. Who can they thank for calling? Who can they thank for walking in? Who can they thank for referrals?

Woodhouse always has fresh flowers at the spa. They bring in guest favorites – special sodas, sweet treats, anything that will make their day. The night before, they create a personalized welcome sign, and lay out the proper robe and shoe size by the guest’s locker in the changing area. This month, they’re leaving spring treats by each guest’s welcome sign. After guests have changed into their robe and sandals, they’re escorted to a luxurious waiting area filled with plush chairs, cozy blankets and reading material where they can rest and rejuvenate in peace and quiet. Guests are offered the gracious gift of a warm neck wrap, are pointed to treats and snacks on the side table, and are promptly delivered water or a warm beverage of choice. Once the guest is on the table, providers have permission to use any product needed to provide top-notch service. When the spa service is complete, Woodhouse leaves a box for each guest with a note from the provider, a complimentary gift, and products used during the service in case they wish to purchase anything for use at home. Amy is intentional about communication, sending each guest a hand-written thank you after their service.

Recently, Amy traveled to Texas for a marketing meeting. Four Woodhouse Day Spa owners were selected to work with the home office to design the Woodhouse Day Spa brand story. “Ultimately, it was an incredible opportunity to speak with very experienced owners about some of the challenges I have as a new owner. We discussed guest experience more than anything. I was reenergized as an owner, and ready to take my business to the next level of guest experience,” Amy reported enthusiastically.

Opening the spa was “stepping way out of the box” for Amy. Business ownership triggered a healthy fear in her. Without a doubt, those of us who have taken risks and made life-changing decisions to follow our dreams know that stepping way out of the box is certain to trigger fear. Perhaps the founder of Woodhouse Day Spa said it best when she encouraged Amy with these words of wisdom at the marketing meeting: “There comes a time when you replace FEAR with FAITH.”

With that, Amy was reminded of the day she sent her sister through the spa to provide impressions from a guest perspective. After a splendid and relaxing day at Woodhouse Day Spa, Amy’s sister encouraged her with this truth. “All the things you’re worried about are invisible to your guests.”

Fear or Faith?

“How do you want to live the rest of your life?,” Amy says poignantly as she reflects on the weeks, months, days and years that brought her to this moment at Woodhouse Day Spa.

Welcome, Amy. Welcome to the Sisterhood of Significance. See the significance of your story.

On January 6, 2017, I woke with a crystal clear vision for the Sisterhood of Significance. I shared my story of significance on March 8, 2017, then passed the torch and nominated Amy as the next member of the Sisterhood of Significance. I’m excited to announce that Amy has nominated Kristine who will ALSO become a member of the Sisterhood of Significance! Soon, I’ll be meeting with Kristine. She’ll share her story of significance, I’ll take notes and photographs, and will feature her story on the site. Kristine will pass the torch and nominate someone who’s living a life of significance, whether they know it or not, whether they believe it or not. And that woman will join the Sisterhood! So goes the chain, on and on, until we have hundreds of women in the Sisterhood of Significance. Follow the hashtags #theSOS and #SisterhoodofSignificance, and CLICK HERE to learn more about the Sisterhood of Significance!

 

When you have a vision and nobody’s home to play, make it happen anyway.

When you knock and knock and knock on doors, yet nobody seems to answer, make it happen anyway.

When nobody wants to join you in the fun, make it happen anyway.

When nobody’s there to make angels out of white space, make it happen anyway.

When nobody’s there to laugh and cheer when you try something new, make it happen anyway.

When you’re simply not sure, when you bend low to check things out, when nobody’s there to problem solve this or that dilemma, make it happen anyway.

When nobody’s yells “YEAH! Go do that thing you need to do!,” make it happen anyway.

When you’re sliding downhill, simultaneously thrilled and scared beyond belief, and nobody’s there to catch you at the bottom, make it happen anyway.

When you’re climbing back up to do it all over again and nobody’s waiting for you at the top, make it happen anyway.

When you fall off the sled, trying every which way to get back on and down that hill, and nobody’s there to lend you a helping hand, make it happen anyway.

You did it. You finally did it.

Whether they saw your vision, or not. Whether they joined you, or not. Whether they could see the thing you’re trying to make out of nothing, or not. Whether they laughed and cheered you on, or not. Whether they went and bent low with you, or not. Whether they encouraged you to GO and DO, or not. Whether they caught you at the bottom, or not. Whether they waited for you at the top, or not. Whether they gave you a helping hand, or not.

You did it. You finally did it.

You made it happen anyway.