Jul

7

Summer Solstice

Filed Under Girls Fight Back!, Peace & Happiness | 1 Comment

Well it’s July, and I couldn’t be happier about it. If you’ve been following my posts in June, you know it’s always a rough month for me. Every June I’m coming down after a crazy spring semester of speaking, plus it’s emotionally heavy being the death anniversary of Shannon, and also her birthday. But you gotta love the universe, because it gives you what you need to hear. Today I met a woman named Mia, who is a gorgeous, successful entrepreneur here in Denver. We were talking about my difficulties in June and she told me that June 21st was the summer solstice, and is apparently the longest day of the year and widely celebrated around the globe. It’s also Shannon’s birthday. I researched it on the internet, and many religions celebrate June 21st as the “wedding of Heaven and Earth” resulting in the present day belief of a “lucky” wedding in June. I find this so interesting, because Girls Fight Back has always been a merging of heaven and earth, and I’ve often referred to Shannon as my boss, crackin’ the whip from above…

I think it’s okay for us to sometimes just walk away for a bit, fall apart for awhile if need be, and come back stronger and smarter and more determined than ever to live an incredible life. That’s where I’m at today, and I have arrived here largely through gratitude. I’ve been thinking about the incredible people, opportunities and experiences I’ve been given in my life. My family, for starters…really, I couldn’t be more blessed on that front. To have people who have believed in me and propped me up, especially my husband Peter Lacis @peterlacis. In general, I marvel at the incredible men that have graced my 32 years on this earth. Health is our greatest gift as humans, and it’s something that my family and I have enjoyed. (I send strong vibes to many friends of mine who are dealing with health challenges right now, or who have lost a loved one.) And children! How grateful I am for my 10-month-old son Miles. He’s given me the gift of seeing the world through an entirely new set of eyes. Miles laughs insanely at my pug’s face sometimes. And then you look at the pug and realize, “My God, you’re right! She’s the funniest looking creature in the world!” And I laugh with him.

I am also so grateful for my team @girlsfightback. The past 12 months of growth and expansion have been the most terrifying and most inspiring times…sometimes I feel both in the same day. Recently I looked around and realized Girls Fight Back has become what it was intended…to be much bigger than Shannon and WAY bigger than me. We are celebrating this fact by launching a new website soon. And guess what? If you’ve never seen the Girls Fight Back program, soon you can watch it. For free. Online. All 100 minutes of it. Then hopefully you’ll send the link to all your friends. Some of my business comrades think I’m nuts to “give it away” but isn’t that why we are here?  To help each other?  Why withhold that? (I’m grateful to my friend David Meerman Scott @dmscott for inspiring this.) I hope watching the program online energizes someone to be strong when they feel weak, to stand up when they just want to shrink, or to change the world when it would be so much easier just to stick with the status quo.

My friends, life is good. We are here for a reason. You are loved.

Thank you for your support and may every day be your solstice.

Feb

26

World Wide Rave

Filed Under Girls Fight Back!, Random | 1 Comment


Above is a video done by bestselling author, David Meerman Scott, about his new book, World Wide Rave.  David interviewed me for his book, about some of the fun things we’ve done using cell phones during GFB seminars to promote self-defense to young women.  So what IS a world wide rave, exactly?  From the book’s website:  “A World Wide Rave is when people around the world are talking about you, your company, and your products. Whether you’re located in San Francisco, Dubai, or Reykjavík, it’s when global communities eagerly link to your stuff on the Web. It’s when online buzz drives buyers to your virtual doorstep. And it’s when tons of fans visit your Web site and your blog because they genuinely want to be there.”

We strive to create a global rave such as this with Girls Fight Back, by making our work to end violence against women accessible on the web.  We have some big plans in the coming year for sprucing up the GFB website with a ton of personal safety and self-defense info that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere in the world, for free.  We’re hoping this will continue the buzz that women are worth fighting for…and it’s time for each of us to have the skills to do so.

A big thanks to David for believing in our mission, and we wish him the best of luck with the release of his book!  You can buy it here.  Watch the video above to see a pretty hilarious cameo, by yours truly.  You can’t miss it.

May

22

David Meerman Scott

Filed Under Random | Leave a Comment

Yesterday was such an insane day, filled with back-to-back meetings and media interviews. It was a great day actually, since I made a new author friend, David Meerman Scott. He’s a popular speaker, award winning author and former corporate guy turned entrepreneurial internet guru. Forward-thinking businesses who want to use the net as a marketing tool should check out his blog, or buy his book. David interviewed me for his newest book about viral marketing, and some of the crazy ways GFB spreads women’s safety and self-defense info. In particular, when I ask audiences who attend the Girls Fight Back seminar to take out their cell phones and shooting video of the Palm-Knee-Knee combination…only to later be posted on the web (view here). What better way to circulate self-defense info to the masses…for free!