Here in the U.S., we just passed the Spring Equinox, when day and night are equal in length, and we're moving toward longer and longer daylight hours. It’s time to come out of hibernation, literally or figuratively. Much of the country "springs back" with daylight savings time. While that ’loss’ of a hour sets me back for awhile, the longer hours of daylight into each evening seem to give me more energy. It’s like being revived, rejuvenated. It is one of the blessings of the season, and as sage wisdom goes, "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven ... (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, with thanks to Pete Seeger who added the tune you may be humming right now).

What is it your time to do? What is it you long to do, or even more expansively think you came to the planet to do in this lifetime? As a spirit having this human experience, is it all you want it to be? What would your "full life legacy plan" include? What is "enough" or sufficient for you - when is your cup full to running over — in terms of health, finances, leisure, family, friends, personal development, community service and vocation? This is all a part of designing your legacy — so much more than money, assets and the "stuff" others will inherit.  Do you know (and have) everything you want in all these areas ... so you can be fully self-expressed in the world? Or is your life one of striving for ever more, with no clear destination in mind?  

This begins the season for "spring cleaning." What do you need to clear out in order to make room for the new? How would you like to live and work differently, in a way that feeds your heart and soul as well as your purse? We’d love to know your stories, questions, concerns. Feel free to reply to this very email and jot down your thoughts. We’d enjoy hearing them! 

Cheers, Dolly


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Choose Spring Every Day
By Eliza Crouch

I look forward to all the seasons, but especially Spring! The light green of new growth is evident on the darker evergreen trees. In the Northwest U.S., the crocus and primrose have disappeared — the daffodils and tulips are popping up in the neighborhood gardens.  Camellias, azaleas, flowering magnolia and fruit trees are in full bloom. Even the moss that is embedded in the backyard grass is greener and the days are growing longer!

Spring is both comforting and energizing ... it’s a time of renewal, freshness and opportunity. And sometimes it takes my breath away with its unpredictable weather, like the recent windstorm that caused a seven hour power outage. The turbulence rattled me a bit. It made me think about the many times and the many things I‘ve taken for granted, including my chronologic age. Let’s just say I’m ever-so-slightly over forty, healthy and very active! And I frequently hear folks talking about ‘acting your age’ and settling into boring, predictable activities.

This is significant because chronological age doesn’t always affect how you truly feel inside or even dictate your physical abilities, let alone your aspirations. Sometimes young people feel older — and sometimes older people just feel younger. Who’s to say what you must do or how you must act at certain times in your life? Maybe a better way is to spring into life everyday.

With more and more hours of daylight, nature invites us to join the annual celebration of renewal.  What a gift at any age! Take this opportunity to use your imagination, to play, to learn, to discover, to create ... and anchor that feeling for use at other times in life.  Move through each day, each moment, in someone else’s definition or your own — as the ‘sage elder’ or acting absolutely as young as you feel.  Deeply appreciate your strong foundations and experience while being open to discovery, learning and personal growth.  You can make all these choices in both attitude and activities!

So, in this season of rejuvenation, what are you called to start anew? How will you begin to play a bigger game and consciously design the legacy your want your life to be? Will you play on a swing set, climb the monkey bars or eat that favorite cookie you haven’t had since you were a kid?! Don't worry about acting your age — get out and feel peppy! Look around you and breathe in a fresh point of view that inspires you to take action, to consciously create your story, your life’s movie, give the gifts unique to you, and create something enduring and beneficial for the world that only you can. What might that be?

And if any one says, "act your age", you can say with all sincerity — "I am acting my age because this life is my playground!"

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Youth May Be Wasted On The Young, But CSR Is Not Lost On Them!

If you’ve never heard the phrase “youth is wasted on the young” think about it the next time you see an exhausted young parent out in public with a toddler on hyper-drive.  Makes you wonder why the youngster gets all the energy, when the oldster needs a lot more of it. Having all that vitality with nothing to apply it to, other than a soccer field or 100 trips up and down the slide at the park, is just one of those things that make you go “huh?”

When youthful vigor and stamina is combined with a little life experience and understanding about how things work in the world — particularly from a business and marketing standpoint — without loss of idealism and generosity, something powerful can happen. And that powerful combination can happen at any age, should you choose wherever you are in life, to re-kindle those attributes ... and act on them. Here’s a simple example to inspire you.

Emily Matson and Julianne Goldmark — Emi and Jay — were eighth graders in Los Angeles, California when they came into their own fashion sense. They were particularly taken with hair accessories, and like natural entrepreneurs first noticed what they disliked about the ones on the market and thought they could do a better job. They knew their market — themselves and other girls like them — and wanted something that was simple, in great colors, classic, affordable, oh, and versatile. When it’s not in your hair and you put it on your wrist, wouldn’t it be great if it could double as a cute bracelet — and if when worn in your hair it wouldn’t leave a dent? OMG!

Well, they couldn’t find that product, so they decided to create their own. And since they were going into business, they decided to structure their enterprise to incorporate some corporate social responsibility right from the start.

With their ideal product in mind, Emily and Julianne put their training at summer art camps and from art and design classes to the task. They searched fabric stores, flea markets, vintage shops, and other sources for the perfect materials. They’ve created a line of hair accessories incorporating gems, ribbons, crystals, feathers and even vintage jewelry. But basic to the line are hair ties and hairbands that are hand tied and hand died in both classic colors and those that match the current fashion season. (Oh, and they don’t dent your hair and they double as bracelets).  

Basic to the Emi-Jay business is a commitment to donate a portion of all proceeds to Locks of Love, an organization that helps disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair loss. Their organization of choice to support is a perfect match for their own business mission.  This approach, part of a concept known as corporate social responsibility, is not lost on young people and neither is entrepreneurism. It seems loss of this youthful outlook often comes with fear and ideas of scarcity.  

Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is a model for self-regulated business operation that incorporates not only adherence to law and ethical behavior, but goes beyond that. It includes taking responsibility for the impact of business activities on the environment, consumers, employees, vendors and similar stakeholders, communities and possibly some designated segment of the public. It is a conscious and deliberate inclusion of public interest or greater social good into operational decisionmaking to honor a triple bottom line: people, planet and profit.

Think back to your own youthful aspirations to be creative and help make a positive difference in the world. As a would-be entrepreneur, what did you think was wanted and needed — that would be worth doing and also enjoyable? What do you think about that now? What social benefit organization could you connect it to, to champion? Alternatively, what could you do through your current existing business or professional practice?

The answer to those questions might allow an interesting legacy project to spring forth! We’d love to hear your ideas ...

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Send us an email about someone you know who is living or building a legacy. We’d love to feature their story. Maybe it’s you?!