*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.
Q and A with Lorie, Cincinnati, Ohio
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I think of myself as a cheerleader with the core message that life is difficult but doable. I am passionate about sharing this message with my various audiences. I have worked as a motivational speaker, as a syndicated columnist, as a published author, and now as a blogger. In all cases, my method of operation has been to tell the stories of my life hoping other people will glean life lessons from them. By the way, I am also a professional quilter and even the quilts I make have words and symbols pieced into the design as they, too, tell stories with life lessons. Here are two examples:
This quilt addresses my professional life where there is a mountain after mountain to climb in order to find BIG success. Sometimes, it seems like the sky is falling, as the sky-blue background fabric does on the bottom of the quilt. But instead of quitting, I persistently climb one mountain after another, planning someday to be an “overnight success,” though it may take 20 years to get there.
On this quilt, I address the issue that I have always felt odd in life. When my girlfriends giggled over boys in high school, I made appointments with my rabbi to discuss existentialism. When my friends were celebrating a decade or two of marriage, I was getting divorced. Thus, on this quilt, I am the green bird when everyone else is red. And I’m headed west as opposed to the eastward heading flock. But guess what? I am perfect just the way I am, and I am proud to be a strange bird!
NOTE: My quilt designs–printed out on quality giftware–are available on Etsy.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I grew up in a tight-knit family where love abounded. I was always neat, sweet, and in my seat, because there were so many loved ones who cared. I couldn’t step off the straight and narrow because I would have disappointed them all.
Throughout my life, people have always come to me with their problems, needing me to cheer them on. As a teenager, I often got off the phone in tears after talking to friends who needed help. My dad told me that if I couldn’t talk on the phone without getting so upset, then I couldn’t talk on the phone! I think his words sent me in the direction of my motivational speaking, my writing, and my quilt art. All of these allow me to reach a lot of people without getting personally involved with each one.
I don’t mean to sound like a woman who thinks she has all the answers. Instead, this is a quote that defines me and my work: We tend to teach best that which we most need to learn. So, the things I talk about in my creative work are things I need to learn myself. This recent blog will attest to that. Try as I might, I just can’t learn that good enough is good enough! Hopefully, my readers will catch on even if I never do!
By the way, I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri with a degree in Elementary Education, but I have never had a classroom. Instead, I have had lecture audiences and book/blog/column readers.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: As I said earlier, I think life is difficult but doable. I even have a very simple recipe for personal and professional success: You need to take one step a day–even if it is a teeny tiny one–in the direction of your goal. You have to do this day after day after day.
For the last two years, I have been spreading this message via social media posts. Below you will find some examples of my “keep on keeping on” philosophy. There are 800 posts like these on my social media accounts: on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Please note that it is easiest to see them all in a row on the Instagram account.
Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: Women are every bit as capable as men; therefore, women should get equal pay, equal respect, etc. Also, for every glass ceiling women shatter, the world will be a better place.
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: At the moment, I am focusing on my writing and on promoting it. To further this goal, I ask your help in two ways:
- Please consider reading my newest book, Love, Loss, and Moving On. If you’ve ever reinvented yourself after the loss of a loved one, this book’s for you. Did you go a bit crazy in the process? Yep! Me too. The book is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook formats.
- I hope you will also subscribe to my blog/newsletter. When you do, you will receive a FREE downloadable booklet with a dozen motivational images/messages entitled, “Some Do’s and Don’ts in Life.”
And don’t forget to visit my website: https://www.loriekleinereckert.com!
I’d love to connect with you!
Thoughts, questions, or comments?
Comment below! 🙂
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