Author Archive

It’s My Birthday, And I Risk…

Martha Carnahan | August 19, 2010 | 8 Comments

It’s my birthday today, and I risk… Embracing my age, the last year I can say my age begins with a “4″ Embracing my youth, seeing a long road ahead of me with so many possibilities Receiving — right into my heart — the warmth and love of those who care about me Receiving — [...]

Hot Cold Calls

Martha Carnahan | July 19, 2010 | 2 Comments

Rule-breaker that I am… today, I’m actually going to follow the concept that Laura (our wonderful Risk Guide) is teaching us about the power of taking risks. As she says, they don’t have to be huge risks. (This morning I risked letting myself sleep in very late, even though I have a lot to do. [...]

The Silent “R” of Risk

Martha Carnahan | June 19, 2010 | 3 Comments

Okay, before you wonder… I do know that the “r” in risk is not silent. But there is another “r” in risk. And I’ve been noticing that it’s been quite silent for me. That second “r” is: Reward. In Laura’s new Be You Out Loud class, she puts an emphasis on the reward part of [...]

Letting Go (again… and again…)

Martha Carnahan | April 19, 2010 | 7 Comments

Oh oh letting go There’s nothing in the way now, Oh letting go, there’s room enough to fly… ~ Suzy Bogguss* The heart wrenching song, “Letting Go,” by Suzy Bogguss has been wafting through my mind all day.  The song is about a mother-daughter transition, but I’ve been putting a different spin on the song today as [...]

Tiny Risks Count

Martha Carnahan | March 19, 2010 | 5 Comments

I have heard our Risk a Day leader, Laura, say many times that it’s the small, seemingly insignificant, risks we take intentionally that build our courage muscles. Just like going to the gym and starting with a 2-pound weight… we can eventually build up to the heavy lifting. I took a tiny risk a few days ago. [...]

For Crying Out Loud

Martha Carnahan | February 26, 2010 | 11 Comments

When Olympic skater Evan Lysacek won gold in men’s figure skating last week, he cried with joy. His coach, however, was embarrassed by such an outward show of emotion. Coach Frank Carroll was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “I kept wanting to say, ‘Stop it, just stop it.’ I’m very stoic in a [...]

Expelling my Rules

Martha Carnahan | January 19, 2010 | 5 Comments

Ex-pert [n., v., adj. ek-spurt, ik-spurt] Possessing special skill or knowledge; trained by practice; skillful or skilled. I am a marketing communications expert. I have a degree and decades of experience to prove it. And clients who pay me for said expertise. The trouble with being a so-called ”expert” in something is that there are other [...]

Daring to Desire

Martha Carnahan | December 28, 2009 | 4 Comments

I have been aware for a good bit that my wants are often muffled. The more this awareness grows, the more painful the question,”What do you want?” becomes. Today I shall risk turning up the volume on my wants. Just to feel them. Just to experiment. Just to see if I can. I risk… wanting [...]

At the Risk of being Reverent

Martha Carnahan | December 19, 2009 | 6 Comments

This is one of my favorite photos of myself – there I am, gleefully sticking my tongue out while marching in my community’s Fourth of July parade, decked out in my Girl Scout uniform, complete with white gloves (and, ummmm, lacking achievement badges of any kind). I didn’t mean to disrespect Uncle Sam or the [...]

Let Them Throw Tomatoes!

Martha Carnahan | November 19, 2009 | 8 Comments

Back in the 19th century, it was common tradition to throw rotten tomatoes at bad performers on stage. Today, the notion of “throwing tomatoes,” is just a metaphor we reference when the audience disagrees with any pronouncement from a stage. Did you know that the Dutch Socialist party adopted the tomato as their logo, symbolizing [...]