“It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small, and the fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all”. Any Disney fan will recognize that quote from the movie Frozen when the character Elsa finally unleashes her powers she had kept secret for years and walks into the unknown creating her future out of thin air. Temporarily living in another country with my business partners has been the best thing for my businesses in the United States. First of all, the time change makes working very easy… since mostly everyone we work with is 6-8 hours behind, at the end of your working day theirs is just beginning, so you literally feel an entire day ahead! I also need very little sleep, so on days when we weren’t doing anything in particular, I would work throughout the night, getting some time when folks are working as well! But more than the time change is the isolation and time to think and see things at a distance. There have been several projects and business challenges that seemed impossible while in them, but now that we’ve all taken the time to get some distance and talk about them with a clear mind they are so VERY possible. EVERYTHING truly is possible. One of my favorite days in Italy so far has been bathing “under the Tuscan sun” at the natural baths in Tuscany. We went with some amazing friends, Lucy and Esteban, and the entire day was spent relaxing and talking about life in the hot and therapeutic mineral waters. The springs have been used for their curative properties since the time of the Romans, who believed that the Sulphur water came from Hades, God of the underworld. I can say it did smell like it was from the underworld! But blend of magnesium, calcium and Sulphur bicarbonate is so healing to your skin… there’s no way these natural wonders could come from hell. :) When I returned to the apartment I had a new sense of clarity and renewed energy with a completely different perspective to all my challenges… which in fact weren’t challenges at all and are all sorted out now. So, when you feel overwhelmed with life or behind in your work, the best thing you can do is to go against every instinct in your soul to keep working as hard as you can…. and step away. Not so long that you’ll not have time to finish your project on time or make your deadline, but long enough so you can get some distance…. to see clearly.
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I was completely unaware of how beautiful olive oil is until living in Italy. Last week, we had one of the most amazing experiences that a world traveler could ever dream of. Lisa’s friend of many years, Esteban who is a world-class sommelier picked us up in Perugia along with his colleague Matteo, and they gave us the true Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio EXPERIENCE! The Italian countryside was beautiful that morning. We were in the Umbria region, which is famous for being green all year long. The culture is that of tradition, beauty and quality of life… and there are rolling hills with churches and castles on the hills that truly make it breathtaking. Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio is proud to use only self-sustaining energy… we would call it “green” in America, but they truly take it to the next level. Their “360 Green Revolution” project is aimed at tackling the environmental impacts of the company and increasing the quality of life of the people working on their farm. Not only do they create all their own energy, but they have completely reduced their greenhouse gas emissions, AND they even provide bicycles and electric vehicles to their employees and guests. We arrived at Monte Vibano and first visited the Olive trees located in the hills surrounding their castle. There are over 12,000 trees on the property, and some of them are over 1000 years old and still producing strong! The production varies from harvest to harvest every year, and only the best is developed. If it doesn’t match up to their quality standards… well they just don’t make as much that year. Not only that, but each process in making the oil is done BY HAND, so there truly is no room for mechanical error, and an amazing product is produced without fail every single batch. The part of the olive that isn’t used to make the delicious high-quality extra virgin oil goes into their cosmetics and beauty creams. The creams represent a new standard in antioxidants for the skin and are rich in polyphenols. We took a walk to the beautiful Lorenzo vineyard, named after the CEO of the company, Lorenzo Fasola Bologna. The family still lives in the castle, and if you’re invited, there is an extremely exclusive wine club where you can purchase your very own private vine that a personalized wine is made from. Stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro are part of this club that is for true wine lovers, and is one of a kind in the world. Each year, Monte Vibano grows eight different grape varieties, creating a wine that Bacchus, (the Roman God of wine) can truly smile upon. Like the olive oil, the process for making their exclusive wines is also done completely by hand. Upon a wine tasting, we discovered that the results were outstanding! Some of the softest and most delectable wine I have ever tasted. The entire team at the vineyard was truly special and you could tell there was a passion for working there. The day ended up with an outstanding meal with a panoramic view of the hills and castles in the region. The good things in life are worth waiting for. Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio will always create a quality product… or no product at all. Other companies might cut corners or make excuses to allow their quality to suffer like not keeping up with production, but Monte Vibiano doesn’t put money first…they put quality first each and every time. And because of this, the success they have achieved is beyond the family’s wildest expectations. As you’re making choices this week in your own lives and businesses, try to adopt the policy of “quality or nothing” and hold yourself to a higher standard. After all… you’re worth it. :)
Myself and my business partners have been living and working in Italy since the beginning of the year, and so far, every day has included a different unexpected and wonderful experience. This is my first time to the “boot” of the world, and when our friend Kyla came to visit this week, we decided to take a trip to Florence overnight. We left our apartment in Perugia and took the mini-metro (an adorable space-like looking car that takes passengers down the mountain) and arrived at the train station. When we were waiting for our train at the bottom of the mountain, we had an interesting incident with two young men who followed us from the station café through the station, to the broken down ATM, across the street and around the grocery store, but thankfully we separated and lost them before getting on the train. Two hours later, we arrived in Florence which is one of the most gorgeous cities I have ever seen in my entire lifetime. We checked into our Air B&B which was lovely and walked through the door to the city (yes, an ACTUAL door that leads to the city!) and arrived at Gusta Pizza where we had a beautiful bottle of local wine and THE most incredible pizza. It was so good in fact, we went back to that very same restaurant for the very same thing the next day. The first thing we thought we saw was the Duomo, but it was actually the Santa Maria Del Carmine. Once we noticed the difference we were in AWE. We made it to the Duomo just before sunset and our jaws dropped as we marveled at the beauty, size and detail of the cathedral. The Santa Maria Del Carmine is lovely, but goodness…. There’s NOTHING like the Duomo. I feel like that’s the way much of life is… looking at one marvel thinking it is the most incredible only to look in the other direction to witness something even more stunning. We enjoyed drinks at a rooftop that overlooked the dome at sunset. There were so many amazing sights to take in… we strolled along the lovely Arno River and across the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, window shopped down Via de’ Tornabuoni, and enjoyed gelato and cappuccino in a small café in the city. Traveling with Kyla was lovely, especially since we had both never seen the city before and wanted to check out everything. It was a bit chilly, so we got some lovely scarves in the San Lorenzo Market that kept us toasty as we explored. I was surprised at the number of dogs that just jaunted down the street by themselves as if they were hurrying off to their work or families. As we were walking just after dark down a quiet street, we saw a garden on the opposite side of the small road, and decided to peek in. The second I stepped into the street, I heard an incredibly loud scream and turned my head just in time to see a giant head of curly brown hair and a woman going at full speed on her bike CRASH right into me! The entire left side of my body was throbbing and her face was full of rage at this tourist who just walked in front of her on her way home. But then as I looked in her eyes she immediately looked at me and smiled, held my hand and we asked each other if we were ok for what seemed like 5 minutes, wished each other well and she rode off. The bruises on my arm will fade soon, but the look of that Italian woman crashing into me will always remain and make me laugh out loud each time I think of it! We walked to the Gate of St Nicholas, and then to the incredible Piazza della Signoria where we saw amazing beautiful statues and sculptures, including Michalangelo’s David! Though it wasn’t the real one as we found out later. We had the most incredible experience eating dinner at Il Cantastorie, with a view of the Imbrattata statue di Fischer and the new Gucci museum. We indulged on amazing bruschetta, mouthwatering pasta and enjoyed a bottle of Modus, a beautiful deep Tuscan wine. We met some new friends who took us to The Red Garter, a karaoke bar that was definitely not my usual kind of hangout. I went onstage to sing, and the room that had started up just a loud party changed completely…. The balcony was filled with young men who were screaming and reaching out, the entire crowd was staring at me, singing along and screaming and taking pictures… one guy even reached up to the stage holding out his fingers and got so excited when I bent down to touch his hand. When I got off the stage, Kyla took a picture of me with some random Italians who wanted one…little did I know I was being mistaken for the famous Dianna Argon! So I just owned it, made everyone a little happier, and it was a BLAST. We walked through the gardens all the way to the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo where we saw the most beautiful panoramic view of Florence. We also thought once again that we saw the real David, but it was just a larger, greener one. We also had delectable Gnocchi at a quiet restaurant made of glass overlooking the Piazza della Repubblica and on the way out, we made a grand exit as Kyla set off her personal alarm system! Outside the Leonardo da Vinci museum, there was a stunning statue of Leonardo sitting on the steps of the museum. As I went to take a selfie with the statue, I put my hand on it and it moved and looked at me! I had NO idea it was a living statue and screamed at the top of my little lungs. So far, public restrooms have been my only personal challenge in Italy. With rare exceptions, they range from inadequate to disgusting. In one ladies restroom in Florence, there was a two-way mirror with a man watching on the other side! But the worst thing of all is that in many of the public restrooms there are NO toilet seats. There’s also generally no soap and broken hand-dryers as well. The reason for this is that apparently, Italian people stand on top of the public toilet seats and break them. It reminded me how important it is to appreciate everything in your life, even the little things. I can tell you that this American woman will never take another toilet seat for granted. xo
When First in Flight Entertainment was first starting as a business, I was eager to grow our database of performers, and literally auditioned thousands of acts of all kinds…. dancers, singers, impersonators, hula hoop artists, clowns, storytellers, magicians, fire eaters… you name it, I saw it! One of the most unique and amazing talents I ever saw (and have ever seen to this date) is a young man who has become my friend over the past 11 years, Erik Dobell. Erik is a mentalist… and what that means is that he uses his unique skills to give the illusion of mind reading and psychokinesis to awe-struck audiences. It’s no surprise that Erik has achieved incredible success. Our family went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee this year for Christmas, and one of the highlights of our trip was going to see Erik’s standing show, “Impossibilities” at the Iris Theatre. It’s not every day that you get to experience comedy, drama and feats of mentalism all in one place! With so many other acts out there, what is it that makes Erik such a success? If I had to choose one thing, I would say it’s his amazing ability to come up with his own material over and over and over again. I’ve seen Erik preform for years, and just when I think the show can’t get any better, Erik comes up with something new and completely original that knocks my socks off. As an artist, I am constantly striving to find the “unique” in my performances, even though my primary art form is paying tribute to the artists of USO in the past. It is simply amazing that we live in a world with hundreds of thousands of singers, dancers, magicians, artists… even a handful of mentalists… and yet each voice- each act- each personality is so different that one could never see all of the beauty and art out there in a single lifespan. I am constantly in awe of humanity, and of naturally brilliant performers like Erik. Today, onstage or offstage, I encourage you to find what makes you unique, and touch others as only you can. AND as a treat to your unique self… if you’re anywhere near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, go check out Erik Dobell and Impossibilities at the Iris Theatre (Click HERE for their website)!
I LOVE new years. January 1st is an opportunity for everyone to hit the “reset” button, to reflect on the past year, to better themselves and to strive to be more awesome than last year. It’s the perfect time to be grateful for all you’ve done, and to write down everything you want to do. I’ve had several folks ask me to share my goal setting “process” for the year, so here goes! I first suggest taking some time to go through your memories for 2017. Look at your pictures from the year, review your calendar and remember get-togethers or vacations, be thankful for milestones and think about the relationships you have and how they’ve changed. I love writing a short summary of the year in my journal and seeing just how far things have progressed. THEN the real fun begins…. The goal setting! I challenge each and every one of you to take a notebook and give some serious thought to where you want to be next year at this time… What do you want to change about your life? What do you want to change about yourself? How do you want to help other people? How can you make the world a better place? Write it down in great detail…it doesn’t have to be long but do make sure it’s specific so you will know just when you’ve reached your goal. One of our amazing performers, Tiffany Ashton just headlined at our Big Night Nashville event with her band in Tennessee, and the morning of the event, she did a television interview. While they were live, the anchor asked her what her resolution was, and Tiffany answered that it was to just take everything in her life to the next level….. personally, in her career and also with her relationships. And I must say, though I have a list of several goals I’ve written out, I believe Tiffany has the right idea. First, make sure you are on track for what you truly want, and once you are, just keep at it… and be more awesome than last year. For everyone who is reading this, I truly wish you THE VERY BEST. Leave all of the negative that might have happened in 2017 and recognize ALL of the good that happened in the year. Choose your happiness and change the world. Love and peace. xoxo
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