Chick in Charge of her Nerves!

Ok, ok, I know I was supposed to write this week about time management, BUT...... the Indigo Girls just taught me a lesson.

Actually, I had to RE-learn a lesson and thought I'd pass it along in case you need a tune-up, like I did. Here's what happened, my producer on Mary in the Morning informs me that I'll be interviewing the Indigo Girls. Just like that. Its true that we interview very famous important people, and I should be behaving like a professional at this point in my broadcasting career (Ha!). Truth is, I still feel like I've been plunked down into a dream and when these big interviews pop up, they tend to happen very fast, maybe an hour ahead of time you get an e-mail that the celebrity is available and you either take it or lose it.

Understand, I am a huge fan of the Indigo Girls, their music got me through a rough patch in another life. But I know NOTHING about interviewing musicians. I'm comfy discussing marketing efforts and municipal budgets, not gigs and riffs.

Here's the lesson I RE-learned. Prepare as best you can and confess your nerves. Emily Saliers (the blond) calls my studio and casually says, "Hi Mary, this is Emily. You ready?". Keep in mind that I am still learning all the knobs and buttons over here and now I have an idol on the phone with me ready for her interview.

I wanted so badly to present myself as a seasoned pro. As soon as I heard her voice I bailed on that. "Hi Emily, I have to let you know that I don't get many chances to speak with rock stars and I'm more than a bit nervous. So, I'm going to do my best here, but anything you can do to help me out would be greatly appreciated..."

... Long pause of beastly silence.

"Hey, no problem, I've done thousands of interviews, we'll be fine", Emily graciously says with a casual tone. We chatted for a few moments and got to work. She was great and in the end said some very nice things to me off air. Whew!

The lesson is that I don't always need to be the Chick in Charge. If I'm going to learn new things, grow, expand, I need to accept the possibility that I might look completely inexperienced, because guess what???? We all are when we are learning.

Check out Indigo Girls at Interlochen on June 23rd!

What is a Chick in Charge? Part 2

As I put forth in my previous post, I consider a Chick in Charge to be a woman who takes personal responsibility for her entire life.

"But that's not fair!" you may feel. "There are other forces in charge of my boat!". Here's what I say to that: Only if you put them there. You can't always be in control of every aspect of your life, of course not. But when you grant that control to other people or institutions, you should do it with what I call Reasoned Grace.

For instance, perhaps you can't put 100% effort into advancing your career right now because you have 3 children who need daily bathing, a husband who you adore making dinner for, and a German Shepard that likes to sit on your feet while you watch Two and a Half Men on Monday nights instead of attending City Commission meetings. The problem is when you start complaining about watching Jane at the office get promoted past you because you are a mom. If being home, really home, after 5:30 is your reward at the end of the day, hooray for you!

If you've made a decision with Reasoned Grace, you accept responsibility for the consequences of YOUR DECISION to have different priorities. A Chick in Charge makes deliberate choices and decisions about her life and doesn't feel the need complain or explain because the only place to go is the bathroom mirror. She gives herself the power to frame AND responsibility for her lot in life.

This is not easy. Women who achieve this have a crystal clear sense of their core values. You lose your confidence when those values become murky. What is really important to you right now? This is why transitions in women's lives are so tough. In one decade, your children are first on your list, a few decades later your aging parents make an appearance at the top. Where did my yoga go????

Your Chick in Charginess is reflected primarily in two ways that you can measure: money and time. Where do you spend your money? Where do you spend your time? If you have a clear sense of priorities, decisons of time and money become so much easier!

Next week we will explore Chicks in Charge of their money...