Recently posted by Rhonda Frazier

            I am sure that we all have discussed the heck out of the housing slump, bank, and investment company failures and how the very institutions that caused the problem have inappropriately used bailout money. So, now that your 401k is substantially less than what it was a year ago, what are you gonna do? What can you do? Did/do you have a plan B? Plan C for plan B?  Alternatively, have you decided to work until you are 70yo not for the love and passion of what you do but because "I work therefore I eat."

            "Begin with the end in mind," says Stephen Covey in his book," The Seven Habits of Successful Living." Those who have created a successful business know it does not happen without planning, hard work, and a little luck. Yet most have no exit plan for leaving their business. The truth is that most business relationships do not have happy endings. To have a successful business, you must plan for all four D's of a business exit strategy.

The idea that your business will provide you with income after you are no longer there may not be a reality. You have to depend on yourself. Take the time to look at the four D's of a business exit strategy: death, disability, divorce, and departing. To have a successful business, you must plan for all four D's. [Taken from the World Wide Web; 05/02/09; http://sbinformation.about.com/od/buyingorselling/a/ucexitplan.htm] Another 'D' needs to be added to the list, downsizing.

 When downsizing happens to you or your position get shipped overseas, take the time to explore your passion and interest. Explore and reconsider if you were happy in that position or company? At the end of the day did you feel fulfilled and that you made a difference somehow, somewhere? If not consider a career change. Start out be "Who moved my cheese?" by Spencer Johnson, MD. There are also versions for kids and teens. If you want to see a summary of the book before you buy it, click on the link below. http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mayank.sabharwal-143095-moved-cheese-864859-22196-education-ppt-powerpoint/

Explore and take those seminars and classes that you always said you wanted to take but never did because work, family, and life responsibilities got in the way. In other words, take time for yourself and give yourself time to heal, to rest, to dream and live again.

 "Free your mind and your a--will follow" (song title and words by George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Ray Davis of the Funkadelics, from the album title of the same name, 1970, Bridgeport Music).

When I was accepted and decided to attend Simmons College, I was filled with excitement, anticipation and I had high expectations for myself and the knowledge that would be bestowed upon me. The four years I spent at Simmons went by so quickly and I learned that I had more skills and talents than I knew what to do with. I typed papers, sewed clothes and sold jeans and tops to the student population for pocket money.
            I knew that with my diploma in hand that I would master just about  any challenge that was presented to me. I grew up thinking that hard work, diplomacy and being a life-long learner was the key to success. I have worked with fortune 500 companies as well as small privately owned companies and I always performed to the best of my ability, asked for constructive feedback, was a team player, kept my skills up to date, and received merit increases for my efforts.

            After working for a software company for 16 years, I decided to get off the road doing consulting and application development and set my sights on obtaining my graduate degree in adult education and moving over to training and teaching adults on a full-time basis. Unfortunately, two weeks before I was due to graduate, I was laid off. Not so bad, it just didn't happen on my schedule. I saw the layoff as an opportunity to explore other avenues especially entrepreneurship.

            A year and a half later, I accepted a position with a big insurance company in New Jersey and I was able to work from home in Georgia. Sweet! I immediately started getting busy with starting a business that I could do part-time and finding a mentor to help me along the way as well as partner with someone who was like-minded.

At the age of 50 years, I saw myself working until I was 65, being able to live off my 401K account, collecting SSI and working my business for additional income and then, the bottom fell out and everyone lost thousands of dollars from their retirement accounts overnight! The script got flipped on us, the baby boomers!  

...At least not while on vacation and not in Vegas.

I recently returned from a week's vacation in Las Vegas. As I unpacked my suitcase and transferred my never worn "party clothes" to their padded hangers I smiled to myself and realized I was 'old school' when it came to vacation planning and packing. I took my bejeweled dancing shoes and complimenting beaded clutch from their felted pouches and returned them to their respective storage cases on the top shelf of my closet.

I looked down at Rudy, (my 10lb. Chihuahua and Poodle mix BFF) and lamented that I did not get the opportunity to get dressed up. I remembered listing the activities, restaurants and shows I wanted to see and of course, the casinos I wanted to visit. I had planned and laid out outfits for day and evening.

Even though I was staying at a resort about a mile from 'The Strip' I knew I was going to stop at  Bellagio, Caesar's Palace and The Wynn if only to drop a few quarters in a slot machine, order a dirty martini, and people watch. And without a doubt, I was going to wear a different cocktail dress for at least four of the seven nights I was in Vegas.

Well, it didn't quite turn out that way. During the day children, teens, adults including seniors, wore jeans with either a tee or polo shirt and sneakers...ah excuse me athletic shoes, as they meandered up and down Las Vegas Boulevard, weaving their way in and out adjacent casinos.  In the evenings instead of east coast glitz and glamour, the laid back style of the west coast prevailed amongst the patrons of the casinos and nightclubs. I call it "California Cool"

The shoes to live for each and every day, Jimmy Choo, Stuart Weitzman and Christian Laboutin and with their distinctive red soles flashing as someone sauntered by; each was a unique and exceptional work of art. Beautiful little blouses and jackets by Michael Kors, Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs topped off jeans by Diesel, Juicy Couture and my personal favorite Calvin Klein.

"Oh boy" I thought "I have definitely been working too hard and have not taken enough weekend jaunts to keep me current in what is happening and what is not!" My cocktail dress seemed over-the-top and screamed "first time in Vegas" and "trying too hard" as I stood at a slot machine dropping quarters and sipping Chardonnay.

Luckily I over-packed and after a short shopping trip to the outlets of Las Vegas, I transformed my vacation wardrobe into "California Cool". What else is a girl to do when she sees the error or her ways but, to do some shopping and go with the flow.

I spent my last night in the casinos and clubs of Caesar's Palace. The crowd was lively, looked well rested and unconcerned about state of the financial markets. I  crossed my legs as I sat down at a slot machine and raised a glass of champagne to my lips. "Life is good" I thought to myself and "when in Rome do as the Romans do." The slot machine seemed to ring in agreement as its bells rang signaling a winner and paid me $100.00. 

When asked as to why I wanted to be a part of this project, my initial response was "it sounds like fun," then I decided to give it a bit more thought and review my relationship with Simmons.

     As I think back on my four years at Simmons College, I realized that I had several jobs on campus through work-study. I sat bells at various dorms and Hillel House, I worked in Bartol Hall scraping and stacking dishes for the washer and wiping down tables. I was a student advisor my sophomore year, and worked in the admissions office giving tours to perspective students and accompanying admissions counselors to local college fairs.

          After I graduated, I attended some of the alumnae events given in New York City and represented Simmons at my high school's college fair. I attended my 10^th year reunion and even stayed in the same dorm and room from freshman year, Simmons Hall, room 233. Most recently, I attended an event in Atlanta this past spring for Simmons Alumnae, where we talked shared experiences and started new friendships.  

          I met my best friends the first week of school freshman year and I am God-mother/auntie to their children. Even though we have moved around and the priorities in our lives changed, we always kept in touch and reminded each other that we are Simmons women. We still remark about how going to Simmons College was one of the best decisions that we made in our lives.

So here, I am contributing to the Simmons Reconnect blog making my involvement with Simmons come full-circle. I am hoping to rekindle friendships with classmates, share ideas, offer help where ever I can and of course have fun!