My dad was fond of reminding each of his ten children that the world didn't really revolve around us.  He'd sit back, smile, and so lovingly say, "When you’re all wrapped up in yourself, you make a damn small package."

Have you ever noticed how so many people seem to pursue happiness? They work tirelessly to achieve something that seems just barely beyond their grasp, thinking to themselves, "If only I can reach this goal or make this amount of money or lose ten pounds......I will have happiness."

As they task and toil, working themselves past fatigue, people often rationalize that their efforts are the necessary requirements to finally reach the state of happiness. Silly people.

I don’t know about you, but I have yet to see a road sign that points me directly to Happiness.  I've never seen it on a map, nor do I expect to input any certain coordinates into my GPS and hope that the wonders of technology will lead me to this desired destination.  (But I've come close:  Go to Maui and turn left!) 

My question remains, then: How do you find the road leading to happiness? I regret to inform you that there is no road, no path. You just can’t take off to find a place when you are already there.

Yes, you are already there. Open up your eyes and wake up your heart. Happiness has always been inside of you.  You won’t find it outwardly. You can only look inwardly. It’s been there all along. Perhaps it has been dormant for some time, crowded out by life's complexities and stressors.  But it’s there, just begging to get back to work for you and create a more meaningful, productive, abundant life.

Happiness is not a place just beyond the next horizon, or somewhere over the rainbow.  It doesn't exist in the future, it exists now.  It is a state of internal being, and one that you can tap into 24/7. Once you understand that you can exist in the ambiance of such a positive and uplifting feeling, happiness becomes your essence. YOU are happiness.  Look in the mirror. I guarantee that when you listen to your heart and open up your mind, you will realize that happiness has been staring back at you all along.

Your responsibility, however, is to recognize it, live it and share it with others. Here's to finding yours!

Wisdom that Works

Typically when a writer begins to take pen to paper, or, in this case, fingers to keyboard, inspiration is not only delivered to a potential audience, but it is delivered unto ourselves, from a deeper place within that we knew existed, but into which we rarely tapped.

Inspiration is also drawn from those with whom we have shared our story, and it is those connections I have made in my journey since publishing “Lunchmeat & Life Lessons,” that have become the catalyst behind this post and my next book.

While I fully anticipated that my life would most likely take on some interesting changes after publishing “Lunchmeat”, I really did not understand the depth of those changes and how they would dramatically alter the landscape of my life.

The wit and wisdom my father dispensed to me all of my life has helped shape and define who I am, and what a gift that has been. However, those same words… those same philosophies… are now reaching countless individuals who have been the unexpected, yet fully appreciated, beneficiaries of an undying legacy.

I am eternally grateful to those of you who have shared with me ways that you have applied Dad's wisdom as well as sharing your own personal stories of wisdom that works. Wisdom that you may have learned from a beloved relative or mentor, wisdom that inspires you to be the best you can be.

It is through my writing today that I aspire to relay those stories and my personal journey that has subsequently evolved. It is through my writing today that I hope to share stories of more WISDOM THAT WORKS.

Stay tuned as I look forward to sharing this next chapter with all of you!

Mary

It's not just time for a new calendar in my life....it's time for a new compass heading as well. For the past five years, I've been sharing the wit and wisdom I learned from my father, the Butcher, with each of you. In fact, it's during that time that many of us became friends. You've supported me by reading my book, listening to me at keynote speeches, inviting me to book clubs and workplace events, following me on all our social media sites, even sharing emails and phone calls with me as a result of the impact my father's guidance had on your own lives.

But now my journey takes a turn. I'm shifting my direction a bit......getting a new compass heading. And it's all because of your requests for additional insight, for real time examples, for more depth and content.

In 2012, I'm dedicating my writing time to developing a new message series called "Wisdom That Works." I'm taking my father's wit and wisdom - the stories and guidance you're all familiar with -- and translating it to today's real life challenges. You might say I'm trading in Dad's well worn roadmap for a digital GPS, but the destination remains the same: the pursuit of life's happiness and success.

As you might have guessed, I have finally figured out where I am headed with regards to my next book. Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts as to how you have applied Dad’s wisdom (and to all of you who show me the way by the way you lead and live your lives each day) my new book is now in the works. Stay tuned because this year I'll be sharing excerpts regularly with you right here on my blog.

Until next time, I wish you an inspired New Year!

Woke up this morning a bit melancholy as I am thinking of the many happy memories from our past Bichelmeyer Christmas gatherings.

Memories of Christmas Eve at Mom & Dad’s celebrating Jimbo’s birthday and our name drawing gift exchange with the inevitable “OVER THE LIMIT” shout outs.

Watching the “Christmas Play” each year with the same script but different children playing the part of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus as well as all the three wise “men” and all the Sheppard’s in their costume of towels (that I knew I would be washing and folding later).

The “Do You Hear What I Hear” moment I waited for all night when all of your beautiful voices came together in that perfect moment in song.

Memories during my early teenage years of wrapping Cindy’s many gifts from Jerry after his last minute dash to the mall on Christmas Eve dreaming of the day I would have a boyfriend who loved me as much as Jerry loved Cindy and thinking that Jerry actually had excellent taste in women’s clothing.

Memories of waking up on Christmas morning and rushing out to find my “pile” of presents all unwrapped and on display from “Santa” knowing Mom did not get a wink of sleep the night before yet that turkey dinner would be ready with all the fixins later in the day and it would not be until everyone else was content and settled post gifts and feast that she would find some time to nap on the sofa with her favorite afghan wrapped around her later that day. It was then (if I was lucky) that I would get the coveted spot on the couch by her side and we would just be still after all the merriment of the holiday.

These are the memories that wash over me as I wait for Scott and my boys to wake up this Christmas morning and the festivities to begin at the Lucas household.

I hope and pray that years from now as Chase & Nick look back at our holiday traditions and memories that they feel as much love and warmth and comfort from their childhood Christmas memories as I do from mine.

Thank you all for your part in my story.

I love you more than words can tell and hope to see each of you at the Bichelmeyer Family Christmas Gathering on January 1.

In the meantime wishing you a Merry Christmas Day with your special families and the joy of making your own memories.

Cheers!

Mary

Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Joyeux Noel and Merry Christmas to one and all!




Everyone loves to receive an invitation, and the Christmas season is full of them. Open house invitations in our neighborhood, dinner invitations with long time friends, and festive party invitations to celebrate the season....with my favorite red dress and a champagne cocktail.

This year, I've been lucky enough to have many invitations come my way as a result of my book, Lunchmeat & Life Lessons: Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom. Here's a peek at 2011 in review:

• Kansas City area speaking opps: Our hometown community continues to invite The Butcher's Wisdom into their lives, and I met several new friends as a result of my presentations to area schools, professional associations, local businesses and networking groups. A very special thank you to Barnett Helzberg for welcoming me to the Helzberg mentoring (HEMP) organization.

• Keynote addresses to national associations and high profile organizations: Speaking engagements across the country found me in Chicago for the American Heart Association's annual meeting, in New Orleans for the American Staffing Association's national conference, and even in Washington, DC to address the Federal Reserve with my father's wit and wisdom.

• Funds in support of the American Heart Association tribute center created in honor of my parents have now reached $18,000. I invite you to click on the Hearts We Leave Behind site to find out more and to consider donating generously.

• Career shift: After a five year sabbatical from full time work in the corporate world, I was asked to join the Staffmark organization as Chief Resource Officer this past summer. Staffmark is the undisputed staffing industry dynamo with over 300 offices in 32 states. I am now part of their executive leadership team and love every minute of it. To learn more, visit www.Staffmark.com

• One of the largest publishing houses in the country invited me to sign with them to give my book more "ooomph." After careful consideration, I declined, opting instead to make an impact with my father's life lessons the only way he knew how.....one person at a time. While I'm grateful for that opportunity, I know I made the right decision for the book, for its readers and for me.

• And to end the year on a high note -- and a British accent -- an invitation from across the pond in 2012. That's right. The Butcher's Wisdom will be presented in London next May, as I address the Recruitment and Employment Confederation World Employment Conference, the professional body representing the UK's international recruitment industry. Bangers and mash, anyone?

Exhausting, exhilarating, exciting all at once.

All of these events lead me to consider life's other invitations. Things we receive throughout the day, throughout the year, throughout our entire lives that we may not recognize as being special invitations. Yet indeed they are!

When we begin to view life's little "asks" as an engraved, gilt-edged invitation to throw open life's doors, behind them you'll find opportunity, abundance and gratification. Look closely to recognize these important invitations.....and say "I accept" whenever possible. These invitations represent life's daily possibilities to create new relationships and share new experiences. They are invitations to live life to the max.

As for me? That's easy. I invite each of you to enjoy time with those you love, a good book and champagne cocktail this Christmas season.

Cheers!

Mary

Greetings from 35,000 feet altitude!

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Ferris Bueller famously said that in the 1986 blockbuster comedy.....one of my favorites.

It's certainly moving fast for me right now. As I write this, my life is zooming along at exactly 450 mph high above the clouds in a Boeing 737. That's a good metaphor for the flurry of activity that surrounds me at present: Kids off to college, our annual Bichelmeyer family picnic, amazing new work assignments, friends and family struggling with health issues, increased travel, fighting to get eight hours sleep each nite.....and of course, new horizons presented because of my book, Lunchmeat & Life Lessons: Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom.

Let me share a few of those recent milestones with you here:

• The American Heart Association Heart.org/plannedgiving is now distributing the book to all those who are planning to include this wonderful organization in their estate planning. They honor me and my family in doing so, since both my parents died of heart disease. I've been very involved in the AHA in recent years, and they have been so supportive of me every step of the way. I'm honored that Lunchmeat & Life Lessons is impacting so many generous people willing to donate in an effort to end heart disease, the leading cause of death in the US today.

Click here to check out the Bichelmeyer Family Tribute Site www.heartsweleavebehind.com

• YouTube.com Update: We've really gotten noticed on our YouTube channel in recent months because we've uploaded several new clips from my own speaking engagements around the country to press interviews with mom and dad at our family home. Just last month, I was overwhelmed by the "six degrees of separation" idea when the book got a moving shout out on the national TV show, Dr. Drew.
Click Here to see Lunchmeat & Life Lessons mention on Dr. Drew

• Did you know that Lunchmeat & Life Lessons: Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom is now available as an audio book? Well, it is and here's the link to listen to an excerpt and to place an order:

Lunchmeat & Life Lessons: Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom Audio Book Lunchmeat Audio Book

What does all of this add up to? Much joy, much gratitude, and much more yet to accomplish. But for the next 90 minutes until we land in Cincinnati, I don't intend to do anything at all. I'm going to mentally, physically, psychologically slow down -- and as my father John Bichelmeyer, the Butcher would say -- "enjoy the ride."

I encourage each of you to do the same. Living life at lightning speed robs us of being present in the moment. From time to time you've got to put the brakes on, take a good look around, breathe. Only when we are fully ourselves, fully here and now, can we appreciate what's really important. And trust me, you don't want to miss it.

Til next time, here's to life in the slow lane!

My best,

Mary