Mission Statement

Mission Statement

Before we launched TYJ we thought it would be appropriate to have a mission statement that would serve as the foundation of our journey. We discussed it for months among ourselves, our marketing company and our dear friends. The TYJ mission statement is:

“To inspire women everywhere to honor their inner strength and celebrate their personal path through life.”—Trust Your Journey (2006- )

There are three key words for me in the mission statement: inspire, honor and celebrate. “Inspire”, which means to encourage somebody to greater effort, enthusiasm, or creativity, was very important to us. We wanted to be among your biggest cheerleaders in meeting the challenges of everyday life. We’re here if you ever need us. “Honor” had a natural pairing with inner strength. This part of the mission statement was meant to be a reminder to “know thyself” and to recognize and use all the power available within you. Follow your heart; it will never mislead you. Lastly, your personal path through life is shared by many through similar experiences, but is truly unique and duplicated by no one. Now that’s something to “celebrate.”

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Symphony

Symphony

In my coaching years there was always a need to understand a variety of personalities so that I could assist them in basketball or even along life’s path. Of the 14 players on a team, there are only five on the floor at one time, and it’s obvious that many of the 14 will see only part-time action or none at all. My favorite metaphor at the start of a season was to compare the team to a symphony orchestra that has three violin sections. Whether you played 1st violin or 2nd or 3rd, your part was as important to the sound and harmony of the piece as the others. The performance wouldn’t have sounded near as beautiful if one of those three sections was missing. In fact, each individual violin makes a unique contribution to the whole effort.

It was that way with my team as well. Even though some of the girls played very little, if at all, their contribution to the whole team made a difference. Our overall success was due to each girl playing her role as best she could.

Life works in a similar fashion. We’re all important to the whole, and it is vital that we understand our roles in this world. It matters not if you’re in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd violin section. What counts most is that you realize you’re a valuable part of a much bigger picture that’s trying to bring harmony to our world. You matter!

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No Pain, No Gain

No Pain, No Gain

Those four words seemed to be constantly ringing in my years when I was young. There were many times when I thought that my coaches, teachers, parents, and other authority figures were in my life to constantly drum that phrase into me. As I grew older, I realized that pain could come in a form that was tangible (broken finger) or intangible (broken heart), and that the gain could be an actual move forward or could masquerade as a setback.

As a result of many life experiences, I’ve come to the conclusion that, often enough, something has to “pain” us before we make a move to improve some aspect of our lives, be it a relationship, our health or a career path. One current example is the price of gas, which pained us all. Since the record high cost per gallon, we’ve decreased our consumption and found alternative means of transportation. There’s a much more concentrated effort by larger well-funded groups to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by exploring and exploiting alternative energy sources found here in America that are far more eco-friendly. Even though there’s still a lot of work to do, I believe the pain at the pump created a gain that’ll benefit the whole human race. Life seems to work that way and, if we choose to look beyond the immediate, we’ll usually see the gain that’ll come from the pain.

“I don’t accept the maxim ‘there’s no gain without pain’, physical or emotional. I believe it is possible to develop and grow with joy rather than grief. However, when the pain comes my way, I try to get the most growth out of it.” –Alexa Mclaughlin

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Trust

Trust

I woke up this morning with the word “trust” on my heart. In talking with friends about work, or listening to news about the economy and an upcoming presidential election, we seem to run into this profound and meaningful word daily. Whether it’s a presidential candidate, the CEO of a powerful public company, or a manager trying to convince an employee about job security, they all want us to trust them.

I love that word “trust,” and I don’t use it casually. It was the key word that led to the Trust Your Journey epiphany I had almost 4 years ago. Trust means:

1. Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person (you) or thing; confidence.
2. To rely upon or place confidence in someone or something: to trust in another’s honesty.
3. To have confidence; hope: Things work out if one only trusts.

The one revelation that the cancer path produced was that I needed to trust myself. I now fervently believe that the most important “trust” is the ability to trust yourself, and the second most important is for others to be able to place confidence in you. I also believe that trust is a word that adds so much meaning to our lives that we should always return to its serious core meaning before using it. Based on my life experience so far, I can tell you that everything happens for a purpose. Trust me.

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Breast Cancer Awareness

Breast Cancer Awareness

It’s hard to believe that October is here and, as you may already know, October is breast cancer awareness month. Trust Your Journey is truly about life, but breast cancer was a major factor that led to TYJ’s creation.

A few days ago I celebrated my 4th year anniversary as a breast cancer survivor. In some ways the memories are so vivid that it feels like it all happened yesterday. I’m grateful that the experience produced Trust Your Journey , three everyday words that now offer support and encouragement to women whose lives are facing daily challenges in many forms.

I honor all the breast cancer victors out there, and I encourage those of you still on the tough road to wellness to take heart from our stories and to Trust Your Journey. You are not alone. All of your loved ones are in this with you, and the TYJ family is here to offer hope, understanding, and the very special “energy” you need to get through this trial. Especially during October, we look forward to celebrating your own personal victory over this disease.

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