Last week we told you about the launch of our book, Repotting:  10 Steps for Redesigning Your Life, in paperback.  With Mother’s Day coming, we know a lot of women will be looking for gifts for their own mother’s, sisters, as well as for friends.  We just had a call from a friend who asked us to send a signed copy of our book with some “Repotting Collection” products to her friend who was uncertain on how to proceed now that her last child will be going off to college. 

 We’d love to hear from you regarding your favorite women’s websites, so that we can spread our repotting message as widely as possible.  Please send any and all website addresses to info@repotting.com.

 In the meantime, watch this space announcing our new “Mother’s Day” repotting product special - just in time for gift giving!

Happy spring!

Diana and Ginger

As spring approaches, we are delighted to announce that Repotting: 10 Steps for Redesigning Your Life, is now available in paperback for $13.95.   You can purchase the hardback or paperback on www.amazon.com , www.barnesandnoble.com , or from our publisher, www.hayhouse.com.   Of course, the book,  workbook and the exciting collection of repotting products are always available on our website, www.repotting.com.  The launch of the paperback enables us to reach an expanded audience at home and abroad with our repotting message.

Through our company, Repotting LLC, we’ve been reaching a wide variety of audiences to help “repotters in training” create strategies to bring more meaning into their lives.  January found us speaking at Marriott International’s Conference on “Excellence in Leadership and Diversity” for over 700 corporate executives and regional managers in Washington, D.C.  We launched another “repotters book club” with a group of women active in volunteer work.  In early March we will be speaking in Vero Beach, Florida about “Repot, don’t retire!” for a group of retirees.

Our media outreach included a radio interview on “The Heather Taylor Show” as part of an author event at Olsson’s Books and Records in Washington, D.C.  We were also featured on a one-hour online talk show, “It’s All About You” (www.blogtalktrradio.com/itsallaboutyou) with Darien Marshall and Darius Jones.   

Now what?  Calling all men!  As we’ve noted before, the groundswell of interest in repotting goes beyond women.  So many men have asked us to address their needs and concerns that we are planning a series of articles and presentations geared specifically to the male audience.  If you have a story to tell — PLEASE SHARE IT HERE or go to info@repotting.com. We just heard from a partner in a law firm who left his practice to start a documentary film company geared toward important spiritual stories. This is a trend!

Now is the time to do a survey of both your garden and your life landscape to determine what you need:  Is it more light, space, air, or fertilizer?  Start planning now on ways to improve your personal garden! 

Wishing you luck in creating fertile beds for growth in your life,

Diana and Ginger

Many repotters have told us that one of their primary motivations in undertaking their repotting journey was their strong desire to give back. And since the concept of giving is also at the forefront of many people’s goals during the holidays, we’d like to offer a few suggestions—whether it’s a cash donation, goods or services, or your time—that may make this season more meaningful for you and your family. Here are a few suggestions:

-Toys for Tots—why not make a family effort to collect toys for this long-established cause sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps, nationwide, and the Salvation Army in Washington, D.C.

-Local Food Banks—Safeway and other grocery chains operate food banks during the holidays for the needy or homeless. Check with your local grocer to find a program that suits you.

-Donating Your Time—Check with Meals on Wheels and other charities that offer opportunities for families to cook and distribute food to those in need during the holidays. Or, take your family to a home for senior citizens, a children’s hospital, local nursing facility, or homeless center to spend time reading, chatting, or sharing good cheer with people in need.

-Global Giving—There are many worthwhile organizations engaged in helping refugees, families and children in distressed areas throughout the world. Whether your interest is in Darfur, Sierra Leone, or Bangladesh, your contribution can make a difference. If you want help in getting started, go to either: www.globalgiving.org, or www.refugeesinternational.org.

During the holidays many of the time management issues that we grapple with on a day-to-day basis loom even larger, as “to do” lists grow but our time bank does not keep pace. For those who are caring for an aging parent or ill relative, the stress of managing holiday festivities and traditions can be even more overwhelming. So we want to offer a list of resources from a recent Wall Street Journal article to help caregivers during this holiday season: www.thefamilycaregiver.org; www.caregiving.org; www.caregiver.org; www.Respite.org; and www.aarp.org/families/caregiving/.

We are looking forward to our presentations at Canyon Ranch, in Lenox, Massachusetts on December 14th and 15th as part of Canyon Ranch’s “Celebrate You” weekend for young, professional women. As we said earlier, “repotting” and spas go hand in hand!

We hope you’ll find time this month to reflect on those things that are fulfilling and meaningful to you. We wish you a successful repotting journey in 2008!

Diana & Ginger

We’re back from Orlando—where we were the Hay House featured authors at the ISPA conference. We know that the repotting message is central to the spa experience—and this conference, the premier annual gathering for over 3,000 spa owners and managers across America—confirmed our views. As one spa owner said, “A visit to a spa provides the perfect time and setting for reflecting on values, priorities and your life landscape.” Everyone we met showed interest in bringing the repotting message to their spa via their bookstores or seminar programs.

One growing trend in the spa market is the increase in the number of male spa-goers. As noted in a recent New York Times article, in planning corporate meetings, “There’s definitely a change of more men not golfing and doing more spa instead.” (11-2-07) We have heard this view in our travels—many men have told us that they are seeking a time oasis to reflect on their own repotting goals.

And many men are repotting, too! Recently, the newly named CEO of Hilton Hotels, Chris Nassetta was quoted in a recent Washington Post article, saying that, “He was receptive when Blackstone called offering the chance to ‘repot’ himself.” Another friend left his lucrative practice as a partner in a prestigious law firm to start his own documentary film company to make films about issues that mattered to him. Indeed, Lynda Carter’s husband has “repotted” from the legal profession to found and lead a new video game company.

Speaking of Lynda Carter (who wrote the forward to our book), she has now returned to her original passion, singing, and has been on a national tour, most recently in New York City. Wherever she travels, Lynda talks about her repotting process and mentions our book. Thank you Lynda! You’re the prototype of a core repotter, and we wish you success on your repotting journey!

Thanks to all of you who’ve shared your inspiring repotting stories—we hope to hear more from women AND men. You can click here to tell us your repotting story.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Diana and Ginger

Last spring, we planted the seeds for the repotting movement when we launched our book, Repotting: 10 Steps for Redesigning Your Life. Now, as we give speeches throughout the country, we are harvesting what we sowed. Repotters approach us in every venue–from soccer fields to conference rooms–to tell us how grateful they are for this guidebook to help them in their journey of transformation.

This week, for instance, we were in Baltimore at the National Association of Independent Booksellers conference. Our book was featured at the Hay House booth, and we were overwhelmed by the interest and personal stories we heard during our special author book signing. There is just something about repotting–people who are contemplating or engaged in this process look, feel and act energized!

Now, it’s on to a more corporate venue–Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business–and their executive women’s conference, “Advancing Women Together,” this Friday in Atlanta. For this group, we’ll be applying the repotting philosophy to working women to help them “blossom where they’re planted,” or to be more productive and creative in their current jobs.

One of the main factors motivating repotters is the need to give back. Join us in supporting Community in Schools (CIS), a non-profit organization, founded by Bill Milliken, that seeks to halt the high drop out rate among high school students (30% do not graduate). Milliken’s recently published book, The Last Dropout-Stop the Epidemic!, tells you how you can make a difference. The Founder and Chairman of Hay House, Inc., Louise Hay, has adopted this charity, and we hope you’ll support it as well. Click on the following link to learn more about it:

Bill Milliken: The Last Dropout

As you go about your fall activities, keep in mind that friends and acquaintances may be repotters. Don’t hesitate to start a repotting conversation, whether it’s in your next book club meeting, in the coffee ship, or at a child’s soccer game…..you never know what you’ll learn that will help you, or someone else, on this journey.

Diana and Ginger

Summer is officially over, but we’re still enjoying summer weather here in Washington, D.C. We hope you’ve enjoyed your summer, and had a chance to consider how repotting might fit into your life in the coming months. In our summer travels, it was clear to us that many women, and men, were embracing this lifestyle trend. In our appearances in Nantucket, on the Retirement Living Channel and on Beverly Burkes’ XMI Satellite radio program, we heard new stories from women, who wanted to share their experiences, and now call themselves “repotters.” We’re continuing our dialogue with all of you repotters in the events/media/seminars listed on our homepage calendar.

One recurring concern we’ve heard relates to the importance of consulting your family or network before undertaking any form of repotting – big or small. This means getting buy-in from either your spouse and family, significant other, network, or anyone affected by the changes you are contemplating. Several of our repotters are now facing the problems that emerge when their circle of support isn’t on board with the plan. Drafting a family constitution may seem burdensome or silly, but it serves the purpose of flushing out concerns and details before they can cause problems. It also provides a useful basis for ongoing dialogue.

Everyone tells us that the fall tempo is making them breathless —whether it’s school schedules, a packed work agenda, the flurry of social engagements, or just the fall “start-up” mentality. Fall is a time for new beginnings, whether it’s planting bulbs in your garden for spring blooms, or finding new horizons in your own life. Is this fall the time to begin the repotting process, especially if you’re a new and empty-nester?

When we launched our Repotting book last spring, we started a public conversation about repotting. Now it’s time for us to move beyond our book in several new directions. We’ll be running repotting seminars, lectures, and workshops, and continuing to appear on television and radio to spread the message about repotting to an even wider audience.

Our newest venture is a line of repotting products that will provide a visual reminder of the repotting philosophy for repotters everywhere. A
Among the products we plan to offer on our website are mugs, tote bags, aprons, pillows, cards, and our book and workbook in special gift package. WATCH FOR THE LAUNCH IN THE NEAR FUTURE!

Diana and Ginger

On June 2nd, over 45,000 runners showed their support for breast cancer education and research at the National RACE for the CURE, sponsored by The Susan G. Komen for the Cure in Washington, D.C.   We have interviewed many breast cancer survivors who have used that changepoint in their lives as a launch pad to repot!  As a RACE founder, Ginger spoke with many breast cancer survivors who were using the book as a guide to sow seeds to jumpstart their lives.  Some of them said that Repotting:  10 Steps for Redesigning Your Life, was going to be the book of choice for their summer reading.

We’ve also been speaking to groups and on radio about ”repotting your spirit.”  Recently, on The Beverly Burke Show, “For Heaven Sake,” on XM Satellite Radio, we discussed ways for repotters to use our book as a guide for bringing more meaning through spirituality into their lives.  We’ll be back with Beverly in August to explore this topic further.

Even the fashion world is interested  in the subject of repotting.  We spoke recently at the annual meeting of the Washington chapter of Fashion Group International and signed books for interested fashionistas.  In addition, we spoke at the eWomennetwork luncheon for women business owners and our book was sold at the eWomennetwork annual meeting in Dallas.  Our book is also featured in their new corporate brochure. 

We have seen our message about “pushing the pause button” on overscheduled lives appearing in various media recently. We know that people are hungry for reflection time and especially for time with family.  The coming summer months can offer repotters the perfect opportunity to do some serious pruning and take an inventory of their life landscape.  There’s never been a better time than now to start to develop your new life landscape plan!

Wishing you a summer of light and space,

Diana and Ginger 

BLOSSOM BLOG

For us, spring break has been filled with blossoms—holidays with our families, long walks with our pets outside—watching flowers unfold and buds on trees grow.

Our book tour continues to blossom as well. We spoke to a large group of professional women—mostly attorneys—about how to use the repotting mindset to make their work day more productive. The focus was how to take a different approach to these women professionals already proficient time management skills. With daily schedules so packed, these women admitted that they often get to the end of the day and can’t remember what they accomplished. Our advice: you don’t have to quit to get more satisfaction and meaning from your day. Instead, blossom where you’re planted! Prune the daily tasks which are performed out of habit, but which have no real value at this time. Deadhead other non-essentials from the daily list to leave time and space for reflection and growth.

Last week, we attended the AARP Women’s Leadership Conference and spoke on a panel called, “What’s in a Number? Creating New Language for Aging.” Every woman there embraced a positive outlook toward aging, whether they were an entrepreneur, part of an ethnic community, or a member of the boomer generation. Some of the ideas that emerged from this session included: the importance of self-development; entrepreneurism as the connection between pursuit and passion; developing your inner athlete as a way to ensure vitality and strength; and life-long learning to add blossoms in your life’s garden. Everyone agreed that chronological age is irrelevant, it’s your mindset that matters! Repot! Repot! Repot!

Diana and Ginger

Over the past two weeks we’ve heard from hundreds of women (and men!) on both coasts at book signing events and on media tours. They all said the same thing: Repotting is the right book at the right time. Why? Because repotting has universal appeal. Everyone wants to cultivate their life, plant some seeds and grow new blossoms.

One woman in California is in the process of repotting from being a full-time lawyer into a part-time lawyer and part-time entrepreneur as the owner of a floral design business. She is changing her life-long love of flowers from a hobby to a full-time business pursuit. By starting this venture on a part-time basis, she is planting a sample bed to try this out and see if she can turn it into her life’ s work. Along the way, she is grappling with the same issues that face many women who want to move into a larger pot: resistance from family, financial concerns, and change of professional status. She hopes this partial repotting will allow her a trial and error period where she can experiment with bringing her true passion to the forefront of her life. In the meantime, she loves what she is doing in her life’s garden.

This is not just a coastal phenomenon. During our nationwide radio tour, women in Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa and many other central states have called in to share their excitement with the idea of repotting, and asked us specifics about the steps we developed in our book. One woman in the communications field was feeling very overwhelmed by the time requirements of her job, but needed the paycheck to help with the family budget. At the same time, she had an inkling that she was missing out on things that were really important to her, like sailing. She asked us how she might work what she loved — sailing — into her daily life. We suggested that, as a first step, she start sowing some seeds by devoting her vacation time to sailing. This approach will allow her to investigate creating a career out of her passion: will doing this on a daily basis really satisfy her; does she have the skills required to manage a sailing company; and what are the financial implications of making this change?

Wherever we go, we meet women who are part of this grassroots repotting movement. Our book has become the guidebook for women who want to repot and grow! If you are a repotter, or are thinking of repotting, please go to the “share your story” section of our website and tell us about yourself!

Diana and Ginger

We knew Repotting had touched a chord when Today Show anchor Ann Curry dug into the fertilizer at the end of our segment.  As we told Natalie Morales, anyone can repot–bring more meaning and add more blossoms into their life. But remember, you do need to do the spade work to make it happen!

Here are our tips:

-Weed your life’s garden – prune your schedule to get rid of the non-essentials in your life;

- Fertilize your life landscape — stimulate yourself with life-long learning;

- Plant a sample bed — experiment, don’t be afraid of trial and error.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to bring our book, Repotting, and our philosophy to a national audience through the Today Show.

We look forward to hearing from you about our appearance Today, Fox5 News, NBC4, or any of the radio programs you have heard.  Now is the time to repot, repot, repot! 

Diana and Ginger