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| A Funny Thing Happened . . . | April 8, 2004 |
For Your Well Being
Barbara Christenson, Speaker Services, Publisher
mailto:barbarac@easystreet.com
http://www.SpeakingForYourWellBeing.com
Published every other Thursday
April 8, 2004, Vol. II Issue 8
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A FUNNY THING HAPPENED . . .
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Dear Friends,
Are funny people just funny or do more funny things happen to them than
so-called normal people? What do you think? I think they’re having
their own experience of the same situation (funny) because they look
for the humor, plus they’re willing to look silly and laugh at
themselves.
I often hear from meeting planners, “We’ve heard enough about
mammograms and body parts for the day. We just want our audience to
have fun.” We hear you loud and clear.
Humor breaks down barriers and fosters connecting with one another at a
deeper level. April is National Humor Month, so let’s celebrate our
funnybones and those who hone theirs regularly so we can laugh with
them.
Yours truly,
Barbara
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A Funny Thing Happened . . .
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Deb Gauldin, RN, PMS, is a very funny lady, and that extends from the
stage to her home life and back again, as you’ll see later in this
story. She is another of my guitar-wielding entertainer-speaker
friends. She earned a lot of her laughlines as an obstetric nurse and
childbirth educator. The others came with stretchmarks! Hence, the
title of one of her most popular talks, “From Stretchmarks to
Laughlines, A Woman’s Journey.”
Deb rolls with the punches in life. You’ll hear it in the lyrics of her
songs, which she calls “Hormone-affirming music for women.” With song
titles like “PMS Blues,” “I’m in Love with a Bald-Headed Man” and “Big
Legged Woman,” you get the idea.
What women get from her programs is the ability to laugh at things in
their lives that may otherwise be causing them distress, like PMS,
stretchmarks, laundry, car pooling, etc. She says she comes up with
most of her lyrics while folding clothes and vacuuming.
“I think people connect with me because I let them know that I’m
imperfect, just like them,” Deb says. “My central message is to
encourage women to love and accept themselves just as they are.”
After her luncheon keynote for the Women’s Health Issues and Management
Symposium in St. Joseph, Missouri recently, Deb was preparing for her
closing song and the ceremonious presentation of, “The Wings Women
Deserve.” She was following a speaker who had used a new high tech
surface where any item placed across it is projected onto a screen
covering the entire back of the auditorium. Unwittingly, Deb placed her
prop, a Kotex to which she had sewn gold lame' wings, on the podium. As
the tittering audience broke into waves of laughter at the sight of a
gargantuan sanitary napkin on the wall, Deb joined in the fun. Can’t
you just see it? And the best was yet to come.
As providence would have it, the event coincided with a special
celebration of her husband's extended family in a nearby town. Deb’s
intent, to be quiet and low profile with the very proper in-laws, was
quickly foiled when one of the cousins arrived in the social room of
the Second Baptist Church with newspaper in hand. There was Deb,
featured on the front page of the St. Joseph News-Press with a giant
Kotex floating over her head. In no time the room was filled with
laughter and no doubt some interesting commentary. I mean, really, how
do you explain that one?
Once again, Deb was reminded of her own message, not to take herself
too seriously and to celebrate rather than deny her fun-loving nature.
In addition to women’s programs, Deb’s talents are perfectly matched
with nurses appreciation events (in which she includes the guys!) and
any healthcare gathering where the goal is to replenish the
overextended and undervalued! The magic of music and laughter brings
people together and helps them absorb information as well as release
tension, and that’s a winning combination in any meeting planner’s
book!
In another timely coincidence, Deb and another favorite funny speaker
of mine, Sue Kirby, just recently met each other at an Erma Bomback
Writing Workshop. Here were two very talented funny women honing their
funnybones. I like that in a speaker! Sue is the author of “Men’s
Secret Camp,” and a comedy queen of stories about family foibles, work
and the American lifestyle scene. We’ll share more about Sue in a
future issue.
Learn more about Deb and her programs at http://www.debgauldin.com
AOL users click here
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In the Headlines: Pocket-sized Mindful Motivation
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Have you heard about the latest diet aid? It’s not a book. It doesn’t
come in a can. It’s not even edible. In fact, it’s hard, yellow and
plastic, and it does come in various sizes. It’s mypetfatTM. You read
that right. My Pet Fat, like My Pet Rock.
It first caught my eye on a television news report. Then I saw it the
newspaper. At first I laughed, then I shook my head and then I went to
the website and checked it out.
Now, first let me preface this by saying that this is not an unfamiliar
concept to me. I’ve seen Zonya use a five-pound fat blob in her
presentations. That size is an impressive visual aid, especially when
related to the proverbial five pounds I’m always trying to lose!
What lifestyle author Jay Jacobs is promoting, is a small, 1 oz.
pocket-sized piece of fake fat that you carry around to remind you of
your goal. He says its presence helped him lose 115 pounds.
Actually, there’s more to it than that, if you do a little
investigation on the website, and that’s what I found intriguing: “More
than a piece of fat, mypetfatTM will help you with the one and only
thing that creates immediate, life-changing results…your thinking.”
Now, that I have to agree with. Jay continues, “I’ve come to learn and
apply one simple truth that’s indisputable…all actions are preceded by
a thought…and all thoughts acted upon produce an outcome. Therefore if
I was ever going to produce and maintain the results I desired I had to
first realize that, ‘Fat, it’s all in MY head.’”
“You see, we believe what we tell ourselves,” he continues. “The most
influential voice in your life, is your own! Before you can make any
progress at anything, you must first believe that you can! Get your
head right and your body will follow.”
Now, back to the blob. Jay says that the 1 oz mypetfatTM fat replica
works like tying a string around your finger to remind you to THINK
before you eat. Hold it in your hand when making food choices and it
will make you conscious of the fat you want to get off of your body and
the fat that you want to avoid putting on your body. The trick is to
keep it by your side, handle it often, pet it, love it, you get the
picture?
Whatever it takes . . .
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The fee categories listed on this website are intended to serve as guidelines. Fees vary based on many factors and may change without notice. The exact fee for your event may be above or below the stated range. Fees are generally for keynote speeches up to 90 minutes in the Continental U.S. and are exclusive of travel expenses. Read more...
The fee categories listed on this website are intended to serve as guidelines. Fees vary based on many factors and may change without notice. The exact fee for your event may be above or below the stated range. Fees are generally for keynote speeches up to 90 minutes in the Continental U.S. and are exclusive of travel expenses. Read more...