In observing Labor Day recently I thought about how blessed I am to love the work associated with my communications career. While writing a book about reinvention I am evaluating my previously published articles and reviewing favorite books to create another draft of my manuscript titled “Risking It All For Reinvention.”

Currently I am re-reading two books “Brilliance, Unleash the Power of Your Authentic Core,” written by Amber Grady, and “Release Your Brilliance: The 4 Steps to Transforming Your Life and Revealing Your Genius to the World” by Simon T. Bailey. Grady calls herself a spiritual teacher and healer, and Bailey is well known as a motivational business speaker.

Both authors agree that the key to happiness is drawing upon our unique ability…discovering our innate brilliance and incorporating it in every aspect of our personal and professional lives. These experts have helped thousands of individuals get in touch with their core brilliance and in turn excel in their careers and enhance their lives.

Grady’s book attracted my attention because the back cover states: “Discover a new and empowered way of living. Create the brilliant life you’ve always wanted, a life that flows with an ease and serenity you never thought possible. The secret? Unlock the infinite power of your authentic core. You hold the key – now learn to use it.”

Before the book’s preface there is a penetrating poem by Sharon Serkin:

I once was held prisoner
and I was the guard.
I kept myself locked
in my own back yard.
Never did I know it,
but now I see
Always in my pocket
I held the key.

Grady says if you want to experience a brilliant life “you need to know something: you are not broken. You do not need to be ‘fixed.’ To live a happier, richer, more fulfilling life you simply need to rediscover, or uncover, the real you – your authentic core.”

Bailey’s book “Release Your Brilliance” and his programs show people how to transform their hidden genius into passion, purpose, and productivity. His goal is to help readers and audiences discover how to be brilliant in the New Normal, which involves constant reassessment and reinvention due to business uncertainty and economic turmoil.

Bailey says, “Just as a raw uncut diamond carries its brilliance below the surface; we all carry a spark of brilliance within us to create the destiny we want. All it takes to sparkle is knowing how to shine in the midst of change.”

I think Bailey’s most powerful quote is “Brilliance is released when you delete negative spam from your heart drive.” Anyone who uses e-mail knows how troublesome spam is, and I love the idea of eliminating unconstructive energy from our operating system. In fact, our minds and bodies can be compared to a computer in the sense that we allow energetic messages into our lives. We are the gatekeepers in terms of choosing whether we respond to energetic input either by computer, phone calls, personal visits, professional meetings, etc. and how we handle incoming information.

Each of us possess a unique talent that is the radiance at the heart of an exquisite jewel. Grady says this “incandescent light seems to emanate with brilliance from its every stunning feature. Each of us – without exception – has within us an equal center of brilliance, an authentic core.”

Somehow, even when we are totally surrounded by issues related to survival, we must take time each day to mine our gems, to do something we love to do regularly, even if not for pay, and discover our soul’s purpose. As we feed a burning desire to express our brilliance we unleash the power of our own inner glow that will eventually help us soar to greater heights.

Copyright © 2012, AlexSandra Lett

(NOTE: In honor of the upcoming Blue Moon on Friday, August 31, 2012,at 9:58 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, AlexSandra is sharing this excerpt from her book “Coming Home to my Country Heart, Timeless Reflections about Work, Family, Health, and Spirit.”)

Folks used to say that once in a blue moon Daddy (Bud Lett) would stand at the stove and cook. Mama (Ruby) would ask Daddy when was he going to fix some meals like he did while serving in the U.S. Army, and Daddy would respond, “the next blue moon.”

The blue moon is the second full moon in a month, which rarely happens.The Farmer’s Almanac states that the blue moon occurs an average of every 33 months. When a month had two full moons country folks surely noticed.

When growing up I heard kinfolks use various phrases related to the moon. Daddy loved to “shoot the moon” while playing cards and liked saying a similar phrase, to “shoot for the moon,” which meant going for the goal or being very ambitious. Often I would ask Daddy about some subject he didn’t know much about and he would respond: “I know as much about it as the man in the moon” instead of just saying “I don’t know.”

While writing my book, Timeless Moons, Seasons of the Fields and Matters of the Heart, I included ideas about sayings related to the moon. I noticed that the next blue moon was on Saturday, July 31, 2004 so I decided to host a launch party and community gathering at my house on that date. I asked various restaurants and companies to donate enough food and beverages for about 300 people. A banker agreed to pay for ads in The Sanford Herald, and I sent out news releases to various publications.

Before “once in a blue moon” was just a popular phrase indicating a rare occurrence. Now it holds a new meaning for me. Once in a blue moon a daughter was in the middle of preparing for a big celebration at her house when her father drew his last breath in her nearby childhood home. Once in a blue moon a funeral home director was driving out of the yard after donating a tent and chairs for a party when the phone rang with the message for the hostess: “Your Daddy just died.”

Minutes later the daughter called the owner of the funeral home to say his services were needed again: to pick up a cold body lying lifeless in her parents’ farmhouse.

Ironically, the same tent that was set up for the party would be used two days later to cover Bud Lett’s grave.

At the farmhouse this “baby girl” hugged Daddy for the last time and wept like a tiny child. As I touched his familiar face I remembered his dramatic expressions, his captivating smile, and most of all, his twinkling eyes. Someone remarked “I was with him when he drew his last breath.” I knew that Daddy had left us days ago.

The week before he had lost his voice but I knew the words he was saying were simply “I love you.” I told him over and over again how much I loved him…that I valued the lessons he had taught me…and urged him to let go of his worn-out body.

What are the chances of Daddy releasing his body on the same day as my annual community gathering? Some may say it was coincidental but God is greater than that: He orchestrated the timing so that I would have the opportunity to honor my family’s heritage rather than grieve my Daddy’s death. I showcased my new book, Timeless Moons, featuring my Daddy on the cover, surrounded by watermelons under the old pecan tree, and shared emotional stories about him.

Now, knowing the wisdom of God and the will of my human father, I could believe that only through Daddy’s soaring into spirit could he pass by and laugh at my Blue Moon celebration…

As a child I did not understand the passion in my Daddy’s face as he walked the fields, bragged about crop yields, and took the tobacco to market. I could not comprehend the pride in my Mama’s smile when she showed off a cake straight from the oven or displayed jars of freshly canned green beans.

Back then I did not share the excitement Grandpa felt when crates of “dranks,” cartons of cigarettes, and boxes of staples arrived regularly at his country store across the road. I took for granted the sparkle in Aunt Gladys’ eyes as she pointed out the many fabrics in her various quilt designs.

During my childhood I did not know that I was surrounded by artists who naturally created masterpieces and by entrepreneurs who constantly celebrated their wares. I wanted to write, sing, dance, dramatize, and take my talents a long way from the family farm. I yearned to create and perform as far away as possible from Buckhorn community near Sanford in rural North Carolina.

I left home seeking fame and fortune, pursued academic achievement, chased financial triumphs, and longed for worldly success.

For almost three decades I gained communications expertise through newspapers, magazines, television, public relations, marketing, and speaking. I liked being in the limelight and found pleasure in the “citified” lifestyle. Eventually I realized that creativity does not require glamorous settings or demand big bucks to thrive. An aching in my soul drew me back to the country where I focused on creating columns, articles, and books and finding a unique voice as a writer.

Ultimately I discovered that expressing oneself authentically is a spiritual high. Creative self-expression is a pleasurable prize. Joyful work is the richest reward. In “The Prophet,” Kahlil Gibran states: “To love life through labor is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.”

My Daddy, my Mama, my Grandpa, and Aunt Gladys did not care about such fancy phrases but their lives demonstrated that they understood this secret. These four role models, who were very different in talent and temperament, had one thing in common: each chose the work best suited for their skills and dispositions and performed their tasks with love.

In honor of Labor Day I started a blog about our Work in the world on the internet, filed under www.inside919.com, later to be linked with my websitewww.AlexSandraLett. com.

Work is spelled with a capital W because our Work is how we give to the World, whether as a parent, a homemaker, an entrepreneur, a farmer, a carpenter, or a company executive.

When we focus on loving labor, labor loves us and brings us bliss. Through writing I am feeling in tune with life’s innermost secret.

What about you?

Growing up on the Lett family farm near Sanford I learned from Mama and Daddy (Ruby and Bud Lett) that work was considered a top priority. I was prone to day-dreaming so I resisted the daily chores and hard labor required to raise animals, grow produce, and harvest crops.

When I took breaks during tasks like planting tobacco, pulling weeds, pickin’ peas, or gathering corn I learned to banter with the folks who taunted me about being lazy. As a teenager I’d quip: “I ain’t lazy…I just ain’t found a suitable occupation yet.”

While enticed with the idea that if we could get the tobacco out of the field and in the barn by noon, we could gorge on a big meal, take a nap, and watch “The Guiding Light,” I would work my fingers to the bone. Musings of such rewards inspired me to help accomplish the family’s morning goals on the farm.

As the summer heat lost its fire in late afternoon Mama, Daddy, and we “young’uns” headed for the garden or fields to continue our chores. Before dark sometimes we moved cured tobacco out of the barn to the pack house for later grading, tying and preparing for market.

Daddy especially enjoyed raising tobacco, nurturing it from the seeds he placed in the plant bed in January to the golden leaves he took to market in late summer and early fall. When Daddy dug his fingers deep into the soil he seemed to gather energy and power from Mother Earth. Like a prince on the palace grounds Daddy admired the fields plush with rows of green. Daddy’s love of the land nourished his soul. On the Lett farm Bud Lett found his kingdom.

The fruits of Daddy’s labor provided blessings for many people. His watermelon crop was a spiritual ministry…nothing delighted him more than filling my car with red and yellow varieties for me to distribute to friends. Daddy planted apple, peach, pear, and pecan trees and blueberry bushes so he could relish their growth and yield and have more treasures to share with others. He found pleasure in growing vegetables and fruits, treating each bean from the garden, fruit from a tree, or berry from a bush like a gem from a mine.

Meanwhile, Mama perfected her culinary concoctions by standing over a hot stove daily so that Daddy, family, and friends could relish the many delicious delights from her kitchen. Just as the tobacco crop peaked so did the garden, and the whole family pitched in to pick tomatoes, shell peas, snap beans, shuck corn, and help Mama with canning and freezing fruits and vegetables.

When Mama cooked in the kitchen she reigned like a queen of dining. In what everyone called Ruby’s Restaurant, she was the chef, the hostess, and the waitress. She excitedly fed her guests joy and contentment as well as favorite foods, and they constantly praised her cookin’.   In her kitchen Mama felt passion and pride.

Mama’s food fixin’s and Daddy’s garden pickin’s were always greeted with appreciation because they featured a flavor and an aroma that went beyond all expectations. Through their love of labor Mama and Daddy experienced life’s most powerful secret. I feel fortunate from being around them, each working to his or her heart’s content.

Like Daddy, like Mama I am honoring my heart and feel fervor for my work. To love labor is life’s greatest blessing.

In today’s spinning society even the most secure are feeling dizzy with confusing chaos surrounding us. All of us are forced to deal with economic challenges, cultural changes, natural disasters, and/or unforeseen circumstances that seem beyond our control. We are constantly seeking new ways to manage the buildup of pressures associated with stressful living during these so-called tough times.

More than ever before we are realizing that we must develop unique approaches to survive, and expectantly thrive, and therefore learn coping mechanisms and develop better strategies to feel successful at home, at work, and in the community. It is obvious that we must always maintain a positive attitude and take constructive actions towards achieving our objectives, but attitude and action are not enough.

We must be resilient – we cannot let adversity take over their lives but rather focus on finding solutions and rising above difficulties.

I define resilience as the ability

* to accept ambiguity…to live in the mystery,
* to have faith in a better tomorrow,
* to draw upon an inner strength, and
* to recover quickly from setbacks.

While some people have an innate ability to bounce back, others must cultivate resilience because this attribute is necessary for living with increasing levels of constant change.

Resilient people

These individuals not only survive the storm but they accept the pouring rain as an element necessary to wash away the toxins and create a balance in the organism, whether it be human or nature.

Resilient people may be abused, threatened, even harmed, but they stop blaming others for their problems and take responsibility for healing the past, accepting the present, and expecting a brighter future. Being resilient involves handling life’s stresses by avoiding feelings of helplessness and instead being proactive and confident in moving forward.

Resiliency is a consciousness-changing idea because it causes us to think differently and therefore affects our behaviors, modifies our actions, and influences everything in our environment. When we transforms everything else changes, and others are compelled to shift too.

When confronted with challenges we eventually realize that difficult situations force us to grow in wisdom so we can ultimately move to a higher level of living. Through resiliency we can enjoy taking risks, opening up to innovative possibilities, and experiencing unique opportunities.

AlexSandra Lett is currently writing Going Crazy…Getting Sane, a book about reinventing ourselves personally and professionally.

When our ancestors were studying at home or going to school, reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic were sufficient. With these three r’s they could function efficiently in a simple society. Back then families and neighbors worked together closely to build a barn on the farm or erect a store in town, to grow and distribute food and crops, to raise and sell animals, and share their wares with others and eventually in the marketplace. The formation of businesses that offered the exchange of goods and services led to the creation of capitalism.

Through the decades the economy has shifted tremendously, and news articles and personal stories in the United States and other countries indicate a financial breakdown throughout most of the world. When coping with constant changes in today’s world we must focus on adapting a new set of r’s to move from just surviving to thriving.

Here are my top three r’s for starting my re-creation process:

Reassessment

Examine everyone and everything in your life and consider whether these people and activities support your growth as an individual and/or your development in your career. If a person is critical of you or talks negative all the time you need to create a different relationship with that person or release him or her from your life.

If any activity like hating your work, watching too much TV, eating too much, or playing too much golf are keeping you from attaining your goals in other areas, you must be willing to let go of the old to make room for the new.

Look positively at who you are and what you have to offer the world. Focus on the things you have done right and recall the activities that have given you a sense of pride and purpose. Then figure out how you can draw upon your natural abilities, your acquired skills, and your current interests to be of service, either with a volunteer project that helps the community or through a job that benefits society and earns income.

This soul-searching may even lead to development of a new business. Re-align yourself with your divine mission and expect miracles!

Take time to rejuvenate body, mind, and spirit through nourishing foods, exercise, fresh air, hobbies, inspirational literature, educational classes, additional training, etc. By fueling the physical, motivating the mental, arousing the spiritual, and stimulating the intellectual, you enhance clarity and boost energy, therefore improving attitude, increasing productivity, and promoting harmony in work and home environments.

Release old patterns and discover new ideas! Recharge, research, retrain….do whatever necessary to encourage lasting fulfillment and promote peak performance in every area of your life.

Now I ask you, how are you reinventing yourself?

What are the strategies that you are implementing to promote inner satisfaction and lasting success?

©2012, AlexSandra Lett

AlexSandra Lett is currently writing Going Crazy…Getting Sane, a book about reinventing ourselves personally and professionally.

“Am I going crazy or getting sane?”

This is the question I first asked myself many times in the late-1990s when I doubted the career choices I had made in the pursuit of worldly success. In recent months, this same inquiry has come back to force me to undergo another major reinvention.

In a former ego-driven vocation I provided writing, editing, marketing, publicity, and media relations services for companies and individuals to help them achieve their goals for greater name recognition. Using my initials for AlexSandra L. Lett, I had founded ALL Communications in Raleigh and coordinated all types of activities for promoting people and businesses in the marketplace. To make money and gain prestige I became all things to all people and eventually sacrificed my soul’s purpose in the process.

An uneasy feeling in my gut indicated that something was wrong with how I was living. Personally and professionally I was very unfulfilled…I longed for something more.

My desire for dramatic changes in my life increased, and I wrote about my experiences in a journal, and eventually a book title evolved: Going Crazy…Getting Sane. To respond to my soul’s promptings about writing the book I had to give up my old way of earning an income. As I released clients I didn’t know if I was going totally out of orbit or if I was finally getting in control of my life.

Back then I embarked on a powerful pilgrimage, the road less taken, the path of most resistance, without a compass, without a map, without even a marketing plan. Many business associates and even some close friends thought I was confused and perhaps even crazy as I courageously sought sanity and serenity. I knew I had to answer to the calling that stirred deep inside me and had to trust the Holy Spirit to direct my amazing journey to creative self-expression and authentic living.

Focusing on writing that book for two years was the most fulfilling endeavor of my life and I got in touch with my mission as a writer. Even though I did not publish the manuscript, the process of writing three drafts provided healing that would have cost me thousands of dollars and years of therapy.

From 2000 until recently I have focused on work had fed my spirit, have published several books, and have spoken to numerous audiences on diverse topics. However, lately in my misguided efforts to belong to social groups and business organizations, I have realized that again I am making the mistake of losing my authentic self.

So this summer 2012 I have withdrawn from the world again. I have been reading old versions of Going Crazy…Getting Sane and reviewing many articles I have written about personal and professional development. And, yes, I am committing to REINVENTION again.

Recently I wrote a series of columns for a publication discussing strategies for reinvention, and each one started with r. In this blog I will write about the r’s that I have embraced in reinventing myself, including

As I reflect and reassess about my book, my work,and my life I seek TOTAL TRANSFORMATION that involves creative excitement and inner fulfillment.

Will you join me?

AlexSandra Lett is currently writing Going Crazy…Getting Sane, a book about reinventing ourselves personally and professionally.

Reflections by AlexSandra  Lett

My focus on reinvention started even before I knew what the word meant.  My career in communications began when I did not understand there was such a profession.  As a child growing up in Buckhorn community near Sanford, North Carolina, my calling revealed itself at a young age when I wrote poetry by the pond on the Lett farm and was applauded by teachers for my essays.

During my 12 years at Broadway School I fell in love with reading and writing and eventually edited the newspaper. Since I had written a regular column for two years for The Sanford Herald, after graduation I was hired as a full-time reporter and discovered the power of journalism. When the papers rolled off the press each afternoon I would go downstairs and eagerly pick up a copy and read through the pages. My hands would be covered with black ink but my heart would be bursting with joy. I was a paid published writer!

Reinvention #1 – Education

Eventually I realized I was Eliza Dolittle, and if I wanted to become My Fair Lady, I needed to experience the big world out there. While reporting on events at Sandhills Community College I decided to start taking classes and worked part-time for The Pilot in Southern Pines where I got to know publisher, editor, and poet Sam Ragan. I received a journalism scholarship to transfer to the UNC Journalism School in Chapel Hill where I loved writing articles and edited a magazine SHE.

Reinvention #2 – Media

While visiting my family in 1980 I accepted an unexpected job offer as lifestyles editor of The Sanford Herald and thrived for several years while writing about health, arts, and anything that related to society and business. A date with destiny attracted me to Chapel Hill where I worked at UNC Public TV and learned about broadcast journalism and focused on promoting programs to the media.

Reinvention # 3 – Marketing

My communications career continued to expand, and I started a company focused on providing writing, editing, marketing, and public relations services. The promotion of clients took over my business, but as I helped them pursue fame and fortune, I felt my inner riches dwindling. By now I understood about worldly success as measured by working hard and making money. However, I wanted something more…a greater sense of meaning and mission in my life and career.

Reinvention # 4 – Writing

A deep desire for more creative self-expression led me to a cabin in the woods where I longed to find my authentic self. That search for sanity prompted writing columns that surfed the Buckhorn, Broadway, and Sanford channels in my mind, and I found a new voice as a nostalgia writer. Eventually that interest brought me back to Buckhorn where books continued to flow and understanding of my family increased.

©2012, AlexSandra Lett

AlexSandra Lett is currently writing Going Crazy…Getting Sane, a book about reinventing ourselves personally and professionally.