The Friendship Stone Blog » the friendship stone team

The Friendship Stone Story from Copenhagen, Denmark

shari — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 11:38:00 +0000

Guest Blogger : Lori Webb

As I prepared to interview Danish entrepreneur, Liselotte Østerby, founder of the newly launched website, http://www.thefairpages.com, I hadn’t even thought about the significance our time together would bring.

Liselotte and I had been connected through a mutual friend, fellow American Expat, Bryan Traum and owner of Denmark’s first eco-lifestyle store, http://www.ecoego.dk Bryan had been working with Liselotte on the final elements of The Fair Pages and recommended (wisely) that I consider interviewing her for my forthcoming international book series, Entrepreneurial Profiles (link: http://www.entrepreneurialprofiles.com). The more I heard about the project, the more interested in it, I became.

One amazingly beautiful, summer day, Liselotte and I, were able to meet and decided to do our interview in The Royal Danish Botanical Gardens. As we walk among the lovely flowers, shared stories about ourselves, our businesses and our aspirations to impact the world, we began to connect.

As I completed the interview with Liselotte, her passion, conviction and dedication to her newly launched endeavor led her to make a statement that hit me so hard at my core that tears began streaming down my face. As she spoke about the increased need for sustainability, social responsibility and mind shifting for a better tomorrow, she made the concluding statement, “It’s not about how to make the first million (dollars) but, how to save the first million (people)!”

Much like my own project, Liselotte, has invested years towards fulfilling her dream to bring the fair pages to life. Now, it is launched and time for the next phase. It is an intense and scary period and when you have spent so much time creating something in virtual isolation it is a challenge to truly let it go and dare to let it flourish on its own merit. It is invigorating and at times lonely.

As we began to wrap up our conversation, I found myself reaching into my bag for a friendship stone to give her. A little startled, yet, clearly happy with the prospect of an unexpected gift from a new friend, she began opening the small package. As she admired the stones beauty, she held it up to the sun and more closely examined its patterns and how it changed in the light. I explained the background of the stone and how I wanted her to have it as an anchor that she could carry with her to give her strength on those inevitable difficult days that we, as entrepreneurs, often face.

By giving her the stone, I wanted to empower her with the knowledge that she mattered and that what she had done “already” touched at least one person- me. It was my way of saying I see her vision, I connect with her aspirations and that I would now be one of those in her corner rooting for her in good times and bad. I wanted her to know that I appreciated her for her audacity to try to change the world. Giving her the friendship was simply my way of saying thanks.

About Lori

I am Lori Webb and I am the founder of Indspark! I started Indspark! to combine my various professional and personal background to help entrepreneurs with a special focus on women and early phase business endeavors. I have worked in branding, fashion, media, retail management, customer service, design, communication and education. I hold a Master of Science in Information Technology (Design, Communication & Media) and a B.A. in Theatre and English. As an infomaniac, I am a dedicated lifelong learner and have a range of addition certifications from baby signing to creative thinking to natural heritage interpretation.

My diverse background provides you with a unique and thorough look at your brand (think: multi-sensory) as well as providing you with new perspectives (think: technology & trends) on how to create or improve its experiential reach.

I am also currently completing my first book, Entrepreneurial Profiles, which will also provide international “indspark” for entrepreneurial spirits worldwide. The book is a diverse and global look at 21st century entrepreneurship. There are now over 110 entrepreneurs connected to the project from around the world. The first book of the series will be out Fall 2010.

Join the Facebook fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/entrepreneurialprofiles

Friendship, Travel and Summer Fun Blog Fest

shari — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:20:12 +0000

Summer is Here!

We have been talking about Friendships, reunions and reconnecting with friends this summer so as you know we decided to have a Summer Blog Fest. We have invited some of our favorite bloggers and friends to participate by blogging for us.

We have a great line up!

We asked our guest bloggers to write about Friendship, Travels and Summer fun. We have blogs planned about family reunions, traveling with children, meeting new people and making friends, girlfriend trips, running a business while on vacation, meeting with Virtual Friends for the first time, high school reunions and more. Believe me I can not wait to read the blogs!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Guest Bloggers for taking the time (which in the summer is hard to find) and sharing with us their experiences, thoughts, advise and wisdom!

Thank you!

Now I have started my summer with a mini reunion !

Summer Reunions, Families and Friends , WOW what a blast!

I am embarking on both kinds of reunions this summer, one thanks to Facebook and the other thanks to my in laws turning 80 and 85!

I want to talk about school reunions however here.

I just had lunch with a friend after he attended a reunion of his elementary school and we talked about what they did, and what they talked about.

Some interesting things came up.

First of all, when one sees someone after 30-40 years for the first time….

What do you talk about?
What do you do?
What are the thoughts running through your head

This is what he told me

1. He said no one brought spouses, as it was obvious to everyone that spouses just did not belong at that kind of a happening, it would not “speak to them.” It freed everyone up to focus on the people there and not spend the entire evening on “small talk”.
Many people brought photos from their time together, which was a lot of fun seeing “the way we were”.
They actually had a moderator come to help initiate interesting discussions.
They had different activities to help everyone really talk to each other.

When he was talking about it afterwards with his son, they talked about how he “saw” people when we were younger, and how he saw them today.

My friend felt like he was an outsider. He was dyslectic, and was therefore not a great student. he never felt he fit in. No matter what realm of measurement in today’s world, you would call him a success. No one would have expected that of him then, based on grades or social skills at the time.

We use to label people.

There were the “popular kids” verses the “losers”, "the jokesters", "the nerds", "the Good girls" and "the Bad girls"… etc..

What became of us?

Did we fulfill our potential?
Could anyone have known in grade school or high school what our potential would be?
Did we go out into the world to prove them wrong or to prove them right?

What is success and how do you measure it? A lot of interesting questions. Are they happy in their life today?

Did the “smart” kids succeed more than the “losers”?
Did they build something in their life time?
Did they contribute to the community they live in?

I’d love to hear from you what you think a successful life means.

Thanks for the discussion….

The “Swingers”

shari — Sun, 02 May 2010 08:27:35 +0000

The “Swingers”, a group that swings together, stays together…

I am talking about a real swing, the type of swing that you drop 210 feet and then swing out over trees tops. Now that was scary and thrilling at the same. The scariest part was the fact that I actually had to release myself for the drop. I was thinking as I was pulling the pin out that was holding me up; maybe this is really just a bit crazy? But after I did it, Wow, what a thrill. I screamed like crazy, (that was fun too) and then started to enjoy the swinging.

The reason I think friends that swing together stay together is connected to my good friend from Mexico. She was absolutely terrified to go on this swing. I convinced her it would be fun , not really realizing what was involved.

Swinging with Friends

Once we got there and saw what it was, she did not think she could do it. With a bit of encouragement, she made the decision she was going for it. She had opted out of a bungee jump the day before and was determined not to let fear stop her this time.

Amazing View

The guy that straps you in at the top of the swing liked to scare you as he was connecting you, by telling you how the swing was so much scarier than the bungee jump. I went first and let him know to not even go there with my friend, as I was sure she would back out if he started telling her how scary the swing was. He took me seriously and just helped her out, no stories.

Here I Go!

Screaming - Fear or Fun?

I will Swing with you anytime my friend!

The feeling of “I DID IT” is so amazing afterwards, that your connections to the people around you that encouraged you to take that swing, are strengthened 10 fold. The group that all took the swing together, encouraging each other towards that moment of pulling the pin out, were empowered and forever connected.

Huge thanks from me to all my swingers out there!!

Friends, Friendship, You, Me, And Us

shari — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:39:01 +0000

I recently have been thinking about some of my favorite songs about friendship, and so many of them have hit the nail on the head. “People who need People are the luckiest people in the world” or You gotta have friends”, or Winter, Spring, Summer Or Fall, all you got to do is call, you’ve got a friend. Now these writers really knew what they were singing about.

What is our life about and what meaning do we have in it without those that surround us, the people, the friends that are there with us, for us and for us to be there for them? It would be pretty lonely for me if I did not have the daily or weekly contact with my friends. Some times neither of us actually have time to spend an hour catching up, but a quick “Hi, I was thinking of you”, really can be a great pick me up as well.

My Best Friend

My husband is my best friend. As I heard his message on my voice mail

“Hi, I have a 2 min break and just wanted to say Hi”,

I felt those chills run up and down my back and felt warm and loved all over. Love was pouring out of me as well, just knowing that he still takes the time to think about me, pick up the phone and say a quick “Hi, you are on my mind, I just wanted to hear your voice.” I consider that a wonderful friendship gift, the gift of his presence. The gift of appreciation, appreciation of me, of “US”.

I know that I am an “I”, and he is a “You”, but our “Us” is so much better!

Celebrating my Best Ex’s Birthday

shari — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:15:28 +0000

Last week I had a wonderful day celebrating my Best Ex’s birthday. It has turned into a tradition, one that she actually started a few years back, on my birthday.

My Best Ex!

A few years ago she invited me to her favorite restaurant for my birthday, since I had never been there before. Of course daughter #1 was invited too. We had a great time. The next year when her birthday rolled around I returned the gesture, and again we had a great time. Now I am happy to say it has turned into a tradition. This year we extended it however to a longer day than just lunch.

Celebrating Birthdays together

We decided to hit a few birds with one stone. Because we live in the same neighborhood, and we both had a few errands to run, we did it together, first mine, then hers, then a nice cup of coffee, then mine again. It was a lot more fun doing it together than alone.

Best Friends Celebrating Life Together

This year I chose a restaurant, Carmela B’Nachala that is right next to the open arts and crafts market. The market is up on Tuesday and Fridays on Nachalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv and I thought it would be great to combine lunch together with a stroll to see the local arts and crafts. The sun was shinning and we had a great day. Daughter #1 joined us for lunch and a wonderful tradition continues.

#1 Daughter #1 Best Ex and Me!

Hello from Singapore

shari — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:49:22 +0000

Although I am still in beautiful Singapore with my Daughter “the Gymnast” and “My Rock”, I thought I should communicate with you prior to my return.

First, Singapore is beautiful and we are having an amazing time. I am so blessed that I can travel and take my children with me. We have decided that we will take each child on their own trip– so this was Gymnasts trip. My other two children also had their “on their own trips” It is a whole other world spending quality time with one child when you are used to spending it with three. As I put my daughter to sleep last night and she told me “that there is nothing more that she could ever ask for in a Mother” I knew this trip will remain in our memories for a lifetime!

For all of you who are arriving to my new blog and site for the first time, I thought that I should introduce to you the Friendship Stone Team, you can read their full bios on the site but this is more of a personal note.

Jill – She is my best friend – and my sister – what is better than that! She is an amazingly talented woman, a professional culinary stylist, a fabulous mom and great to work with. She deals with the company’s entire PR, content, and lots more! She truly is the Gift Specialist.

Laure – We met in Art School in CA, many years ago and have remained soul sisters and best of friends. Laure is an amazing photographer, and expert quilter (oy you should see her stuff) an amazing mom and of course fun to work with. Laure takes care of all of our logistics, shipping and inventory!

Shari – she came into our circle of friends through the smallest of Job Ads in the world – I was looking for a personal assistant! (Didn’t realize the scope of the business when we first started). Shari is a multi-tasker extraordinaire, a great mom and a wonderful friend. Shari is our web producer – she makes sure that you can read this blog and runs all three of our company sites!

A few months ago Jill, Laure and I met up in Florida for the Big Brothers Big Sisters National Conference. Our partnership with BBBS was announced there. What an honor to be involved with such an important mentoring organization. As we live in different cities – different continents – being together at this event was very fulfilling.

I turned 50 this year – and one of the best birthday gifts was to spend time with Laure and Jill in Thailand together! Just having fun in the sun – Three best girlfriends!

So I will be back in a few days – and I will let you in on the tales from Singapore – the people I met, the places that we visited and the friends that we made!

Have an amazing day

Cathy