Maria Shriver and I are not on the same political …

Maria Shriver and I are not on the same political page but I expect that I would enjoy meeting with her and talking to her. I do recommend, however, her book entitled 10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Went Out Into The Real World. It is based on a commencement address that she delivered and it includes important information for people of all ages – not just those on their first trips out into the world.

I first read it several years ago after her seeing her interviewed on The Oprah Wynfrey show. Obviously, she is well-spoken, but, in that interview, she talked about so many things that I related to and they sounded like some of the things I learned while growing up.

There are lots of wonderful lessons to be learned from her words, but this is my favorite. It is actually something that her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, told her. It is the kind of advice that I have to remind myself of again and again. Here it is in Maria’s words…

“But as my mother taught me, LIFE IS A MARATHON. It’s an endurance event played out over time. Once I was freaking out to my mother about not being good enough in any area of my life. She said, ‘Maria, you can have and be all the things you want to be. Just do it over a lifetime. Don’t try to do them all at once, because you can’t. If you try to, everyone around you will suffer – mostly you.’”

I am in the middle of my marathon and these miles are the most important so far!


Copyright, RPL Communications, 2006