Baseball legend, Tommy Lasorda said, “There are three kinds of people in this world: people who make it happen, people who watch what happens and people who wonder what happened.”
I am grateful for the trials, challenges and triumphs that make up who I am. I am grateful for my family, friends and acquaintances that support, encourage and teach me to be better and do better. I am grateful for goals met and goals yet to fulfill. I am grateful for….
Making Things Happen!
I’ve had the pleasure of working for and with Kevin Hall and Chad Hymas, members of the National Speakers Association (NSA), but to actually BECOME a MEMBER of the NSA and to ATTEND and SPEAK at the Perform 2014 NSA Convention in San Diego is a DREAM come true.
YES, that’s me and Scott on the stage in the Seaport Ballroom of the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego! BUT don’t be fooled. YES we attended, YES we are members, YES we stood on the stage, YES we spoke, BUT only to the staff who were setting up the room for an evening of comedy and entertainment by Jason Hewlett! But that’s okay! I’m sure the room would have been packed had anyone known! (Big Smiley Face)
…….AND BY-THE-WAY WE WERE AMAZING! We gave a heck-of-an-inspiring and motivational speech AND wish you could have been there!
It begins with a THOUGHT, a BELIEF and a DESIRE, then it takes ACTION – the “Getting your hands dirty to get things done” in order to REACH your Goal! AND that’s where we are NOW…
Taking ACTION!
How about YOU? Where are you on your journey to achieving your goals? And how can Scott and I best serve you to take ACTION?
With an emphasis on strengtheningrelationships Scott and I speak, train and coach audiences to:
1. Put the FUN, PASSION and EXCITEMENT back into life!
2. Turn obstacles into incredible opportunities.
3. Harness the power of CHANGE and rise above to progress.
4. Learn to COMMUNICATE effectively: The KEY to connecting.
5. Tap into unseen personal POWER and inner POTENTIAL to become an influencial LEADER in your home and workplace.
Please don’t hesitate to let us know how we can best serve you!
Click below to watch a short video recap of our experience at convention!
If you follow my blog or follow me on Facebook, Pintrest or Twitter you know I’m pretty much an open book and I’m comfortable talking about REAL life challenges. What I’ve discovered by being REAL and AUTHENTIC is that others who are going through the same or similar challenges know they are not alone.
I understand it can be scary to be vulnerable, my stomach ached for days before I pushed the publish button to share my story of having a gay son and my motherly plea to the world to reinvest in kindness. Even though my son and I felt it was time and the right thing to do – I was still fearful of how the public would react to my son’s vulnerability. To our surprise we were inundated with positive emails, messages and phone calls along with a long stream of comments beneath the many social media shares. It has been a wonderful experience connecting with people around the world because of that ONE post. It opened the door to being invited to speak at several large LGBT conferences – hundreds have thanked us for helping them see things in a different perspective. It has been rewarding to see hearts healing, families reuniting and lives being saved.
What I have experienced and seen is that when people are real and authentic about their fears and challenges it helps others know they are not alone.
I’m not a blogger that targets a certain audience or has a certain theme. I’m kind of all over the place just as my blog title states,”Becky Mack’s Blog of Mild Chaos” I post about Family, Fun, Travels, Teens and DrEaMs! …..CHAOTIC just like REAL life!
If you follow me you have been exposed to my travels to India, the ups and downs of career changes, my love for God and family, the JOYS and CHALLENGES of parenting, my love for people of all nationalities and religions, the surprise of GOING VIRAL and everything from battling depression, to meeting incredibly inspiring people, to becoming an author and member of the NSA (National Speakers Association) and now SPEAKING. And last, but certainly not least, the wonderful journey of having a gay son and all THAT has taught me about people, compassion, love, empathy, tolerance and intolerance.
I don’t post, follow or support people or organizations who seem to thrive on being rude, bash political or religious beliefs or who pretty much have a NEGATIVE attitude about life. Life is challenging enough on it’s own without having others bring you down.
Life is too fragile and too short to wallow in misery.
I like to look for the rose amidst the thorns, and one thing I’m certain about is that we ALL experience thorns …everyone has challenges! CHEERS to those who in spite of their challenges focus on the ROSE, and CHEERS to those who rally around and support one another, boost one another and love one another. That’s what life is really about… Serving others.
Life’s a roller coaster – CHOOSE to be HaPpY!
Becky Mack’s Life Lesson: Attitude is everything. Be REAL. Be AUTHENTIC and you just may discover that the friend you thought had the perfect life has challenges too.
“It’s my birthday and I’ll cry if I want to – cry if I want to – cry if I want to”. Yes, I know the real lyrics are “It’s my PARTY and I’ll cry if I want to …” If you have no idea what I am talking about – that’s proof I AM old!
Truthfully, if I cry today for turning another year older, it’s tears of JOY, GRATITUDE and APPRECIATION for life’s experiences.
At 51 years “young” I don’t feel much older than I did in high school, it’s only when I pass a mirror that I am reminded of my age. I decided to make a list of all the things I have been fortunate to experience throughout the past half-a-century as a reminder how precious life truly is ….
Born on ranch in Montana to the best family ever!
Rode horses everyday…. okay not everyday, but a lot
Met my future husband at age 8
My mother saw that I was kept busy so I didn’t have time to get into trouble; Dance, Piano, Guitar, Voice Lessons, Gymnastics and played in the Band – alto saxophone
Grew up with 6 living grandparents
Kept busy in High School: Senior Class President, Vice-President of Ski Club, Gymnastics team-Captain, Seminary Council, Choir Secretary – these roles landed me a Leadership Scholarship to BYU!
Skier – favorite resort: Alta
Loved the College life – BYU and BYU-Hawaii
Learned to Surf and Snorkel. (hate snorkeling – claustrophobic)
Married my secret High School crush – Scott Mackintosh
Mother of 7 AMAZING kids
Natural childbirth
One C-Section
Milked goats for 12 years
Community Service “Door Knocker” Award
4H Horsemanship Leader – 17 years
England and Scotland – Twice
I’m a Cruise-a-holic – 8 Cruises
Para-Sailing- Twice (hated it – scared to death of heights)
India – Twice (loved, loved, loved my experience in India and the priceless friendships made)
Dubai
Rode a Camel and an Elephant
Camping with my family – love roasting marshmellows around a camp fire
Worked for two AMAZING Speaker/Authors: Kevin Hall and Chad Hymas which led to meeting….
Inspiring people: Immaculée Ilibagiza, Emmanuel Kelly, Rolanda Watts, Sean Stevenson, Dave Winfield, Mark Sandborn, Bridget Cook, Rebecca Musser, Lisa Nichols, Allison Byrd, Thurl Bailey, Mark Eaton, Jason Hewlett and the master of words Arthur Watkins. ….and so many others through the National Speakers Association.
Wrote a book “My Husband Wears The Short Shorts In THIS Family!”
Met and conversed with the LDS Prophet Thomas S. Monson for 20 minutes – a highlight of my life!
and the BESTEST of all ….I am a GRANDMA!
I am truly indebted to God, my Heavenly Father, who has deeply blessed me, carried me through dark times when I wanted to give up, wiped away my tears when my heart was breaking, allowed me to experience and grow through trials and challenges and has not let a day go by that God didn’t tell me or show me how much He loves me. I see it in my children’s faces, in my husband’s hug, in the flowers, the birds and the many wonderful friends that contribute to who I am. I am a child of God, a wife, mother and friend, what more could a person ask for? I can’t think of a dang thing, except for perhaps a big piece of strawberry short cake. HaPpY Birthday to me!
I’d like to share a story that took place in 2011 that will live in my heart forever – it’s a story of gratitude from a four year old.
My heart grew larger as I walked the streets that Mother Teresa walked in Kolkata, India. I went to India with the intention of changing the lives of others, only to discover it was my own life that was forever changed.
Never before had I seen such poverty – heart wrenching poverty. But what surprised me the most were the big smiles and the genuine love that oozed from their faces spite their obvious hardships.
It is estimated that over 100,000 children live on the streets of Kolkata. There is an organization in Kolkata that is trying to make a difference – The Towards Life Foundation. This charitable organization has built 8 one-roomed schools called “centers” throughout the slums of Kolkata to provide the street children the opportunity to go to school. Some were lucky enough to have desks, other were not – all were happy just to be in school whatever the conditions.
I was part of the Global LifeVision-Inda team; consisting of 8 women and 1 man. We were eager to volunteer at these centers to help in anyway possible. We arrived prior to the country’s biggest holiday – Diwali. The children at the centers are given new clothes in celebration of the Diwali festival, much like our Christmas – they exchange “sweets”, decorate the streets and dwellings with lights, and parade around in their new clothes.
On this occasion the teachers thought it would be more memorable if the visiting Americans distributed the new clothes to the students. The boys would get a new shirt and new pair of underwear, and the girls a new dress and new pair of underwear.
An unexpected surprise.
On our last day helping at the centers, a big box was delivered with the new clothes. Each item was wrapped in a clear cellophane package with a child’s name printed on it. The clothes were placed on a table in front of the classroom in two piles. The teacher would call out the name written on the package and hand it to one of us to give to the child. Without hesitation the child would say “Namasté ma’am”, and some would bow down to kiss our feet – the ultimate sign of respect and gratitude.
As I was watching this take place and the excitement of each child as they received their new clothes. I noticed a little boy in the middle of the room inching his way to the front and jabbering in his native language, getting louder and louder while tears filled his eyes – he stayed fixated on the table displaying the clothes. I looked at the table to see what could possibly be troubling him and saw there were only a few shirts left, I thought; “He is worried they are not going to call his name.” When the second to last name was called – he lunged forward grabbing his shirt and hugging it tight, then quickly he put it into his backpack and skipped around the room one happy boy.
As I was observing this priceless moment of gratitude for a new shirt, my colleague was observing the youngest girl of the class, over in the far corner of the room. This adorable little 4 year old had removed her new dress from the cellophane wrap and very gently unfolding it, once opened she slowly slid her hands from the top of the dress to the bottom. Then she folded it back up, slid it back into the cellophane and held it to her chest rocking back and forth in delight. As my friend shared what she had just observed my eyes filled with tears. We had witnessed gratitude in it’s purest form.
My perspective changed, leaving me never to be the same. I returned home with a deeper appreciation for the things I often take for granted; my family, my health, and all our basic needs: clothes, shelter, food, and most of all the simple beauty of …everything.
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