Margery Miller's portfolio

Last week I stood next to a very dear friend whose brother had died suddenly, and unexpectedly, at the young age of 64.  In a few weeks I'll be 64.  Really made me think about a lot of things.... First, how important it is to simply be there when our friends need us.  There is nothing for us to particularly do, just showing up is what really matters. Second, how important it is to keep living fully, here and now, and make sure that the people we care about know that we love them, and that they matter to us. She told me they had spent time with him in the hospital when they thought he was simply under observation and would be going home soon.  Their whole family had gathered and sat around his bed talking and laughing with him.  The...

My friend Maddie might be the youngest Life Entrepreneur I have written about.  She's 3 1/2 years old, and quite busily carving out the life she wants to live.  Almost every Sunday she goes swimming with my friend Lida, her grandmother, who is very committed to making sure she swims well enough to stay safe in the pool. After they swim each week, Grandma gives Maddie a quarter to buy a Popsicle treat, but a couple of weeks ago, Grandma looked in her bag and realized she had no money, no quarter, nothing. She explained to Maddie that this week, there would be no Popsicle. Maddie looked at the concession stand, and fervently exclaimed that THEY had quarters, and THEY had Popsicles over THERE!  And they just needed to go over there and g...

My son Noah calls me every day as he leaves work to sort of download the day, get things off his chest, tell me about work problems, talk things over.  The salient part of that experience for me is to see how important it is to him that he does a good job.  He really cares about that.  To him, his job is more than just work, it is a vital part of his very existence and to not do it well is anathema to him! Where did that come from?  He has often been asked why he understands so much about management, since he is a chef--and some of them are much more cooking oriented than management oriented.  He tells them that he grew up watching his mom run a business, watching his dad work really hard as a salesman, watching his grandparents work r...

Deciding moments come along many times in our lives, and each one gives us an opportunity to turn one way or another--which then informs and shapes our lives from that moment on. It fascinates me to see people on TV in what are called Reality Shows. I think part of the public's addiction to those is it gives us a window to observe how people deal with those moments--and the consequences they bring. Last night I watched a woman who had come across as a fighter, a resilient contender just give up and walk away when she could have turned around and shown us another part of herself. Maybe she had more going on in her life than we could see--and maybe she really is a "Quitter" as she was called on the show. I know there have been times in ...

As I am in my early 60s, it makes sense that I would see clients at least up to my age and sometimes a little older.  I am very inspired when someone who is well-seasoned in life comes to see me to make a major shift in how he/she sees things and manages his/her life. I watch my mother at 86 change sometimes daily.  She has one of those indomitable spirits--I'm sure this is where I got, if not the phrase, at least the meaning of something I say quite often, "I will not be daunted!"  My mom is so willing to look at things in new ways, take in new ideas, be flexible.  And she is also really good at knowing what does and doesn't work for her--and once she sees that, she sticks to it!  An admirable quality. One of the great things abou...

I have determined that any woman in the business world would benefit from some form of coaching.  In over twenty-six years of working with mostly women, I have found there are key reasons why seeking outside help is so beneficial.  Here are the main ones: 10.  Many businesswomen are addicted to being right. What this really means is that they are afraid they will be “wrong”--and someone will find out about it.  They second guess themselves, worry over decisions, hesitate to make decisions and rely on too much feedback from others.  How does coaching help?  It allows you to get an objective view of situations, and have a sounding board that is totally removed from your daily routine.  By broadening your perspective, you begin to see t...

I ironed my pillowcases today.  They were probably fine not ironed, I just wanted to do it.  I bought new sheets and a new spread for my bed recently and now the pillows show more, and I wanted them to be smooth and lovely. Seems sort of inconsequential to write about this, but it is a bigger subject than pillowcases.  I am living the life of a homemaker, and the person I am lovingly, contentedly making a home for is....MYSELF! When I had the "big crisis" a couple of years ago and changed my life drastically, I changed how I live on a daily basis.  I've written before about re-learning to do my own laundry, having my housekeeper only come on half day every other week, taking care of the things I used to delegate to others.  I raised ...

I had drinks with Charlie Rose last night.  I didn't even remember it until I was on the floor doing my Pilates while last night's taping of his nightly interview show was playing and I looked up and saw his face and it was exactly the same expression I saw in my dream. I don't know exactly what my attraction to him is, but I tape his shows every week night and many times go to sleep watching them.  And when I wake up at 5:30 am and don't want to stay awake, I find one of his shows with men talking and it lulls me back to sleep. Charlie is a comfort to me.  He is also inspiring to me.  He does such extensive research, is so apparently knowledgeable about the topics his guests talk about, that I am in awe of the time and energy it ta...

Note:  I originally wrote this in May, 2010, and hadn't posted it on Copperstrings.  Since I wrote another post on a similar subject, I went back and decided to add this one to my Journals. Today I learned that Hollis Burns, a guy I knew in high school who was sixty-three years old died yesterday.  He had apparently played golf Sunday afternoon and gone home, and was found sitting in a chair holding a newspaper.  This guy looked healthy the last time I saw him.  He was only a year older than I.  It made me think about how little control we actually have over our lives.  We think we control things, we think we make things happen.  But do we really? How much of what we experience is beyond our influence?  Did Hollis have a fear of d...

I've been thinking about dying lately.  People in Japan are facing death as I write this.  One woman talked about her father being employed at a nuclear power plant, and he was staying to try to minimize the damage because he already knew he wasn't going to get out of there alive. Ten years ago, people in the towers in New York faced death with no recourse, and from all accounts, they bravely did everything they could. And I have clients come to me so depressed, so distraught with how things are going in their lives that they wish they could just die. I've felt that way myself.  A couple of years ago, facing my worst financial disaster, part of me just wanted to die so I wouldn't have to feel so much shame and pain. And we watch ...