I loved getting this email from a skipper named Jenny. It's good to know I'm not the only one who likes to skip in stores....

I have many skipping stories, but this one is the best. I was skipping through Best Buy (yes I know what you're thinking) and a salesman saw me and told me, "ma'am, skipping is not allowed in the store." I could not believe it and I got mad at that guy. He did not know who he was messing with. He later told me he was just kidding and followed me around the store asking if I needed help with the Cd's. geez! He annoyed me but it was pretty funny.

Skip on Jenny! One of my favorite places to skip is at the grocery store. There's something incredibly free and a little rebellious for me about skipping there especially. If you aren't a skipper, this might sound a little strange. But don't knock it until you try it. It's a great rush...and while people might give you a bit of a hard time...As long as you are skipping with the right intention, it's hard for them to take it all too seriously. Skip on!

Back when I was focusing on the skipping movement full time, there were 70+ skippers where there was an official "head skipper" who was helping to spread the skipping message in their home town! When I went back to working in the book publishing biz, those people hopefully kept skipping, but head skippers were no longer an active part of iskip.com.

Just last week, I completed a proposal for a book that I hope to write about the benefits of skipping to the beat of your own drummer. If all goes well, the book could potentially be out in Fall of 2006. My plan is to start collecting the names and email addresses of skippers around the world who are interested in organizing skipping events and groups in conjunction with the book's release.

I recently got this great email from a skipping couple asking how they can get more involved in the skipping movement....

Hi there, I found this website a few days ago and just love it. I have been skipping for three years. I just started one day during my walking activity and alternated for awhile. Now I just can't get enough of it. My wife is skipping also during her 4 mile walks. We live in Arkansas, so you can imagine the looks we receive. During deer season, we have to be extreeeeemly careful. Hunters think we are deer bounding about as we do. I am 51 years old, a custodian, part time music teacher, full time kid. My wife is 53, a teacher, and part time kid. Let me know how we can become more actively involved.

I love getting emails like this...and if you are someone who loves to skip, I invite you to please email me at kimskips@peoplepc.com to introduce yourself. I am starting a new email list of people who are interested in being "head skippers" and would love to add you to the list. Skip on!

As a proud promoter of positive energy, I am a huge fan of the smiley face! So much so that I carry a smiley face backpack everywhere I go. I also recently painted smiley faces on the hub caps of my 1990 Acura Legend...and have an entire smiley face shrine in my cozy San Francisco studio apartment.

Because I love the smiley so much, I was saddened to read about Kentucky's negative reaction to their Mr. Smiley license plate that was decorated with a smiling sun. Apparently, Mr. Smiley was just too cheery for some drivers...and he is being replaced with a new campaign called "The Unbridled Spirit".

The unbridled spirit...Wow! If Mr. Smiley has to go, I'm happy that they came up with such an inspiring replacement concept! The unbridled spirit makes me want to get out there and skip! It also inspires me not to let some people's negative feelings about the smiley face deter me from sharing the smiley face love wherever I go!

Last night I went to San Francisco's famous Great American Music Hall to see the Chicago Blues Reunion Band. It had been a while since I'd been to a larger venue to see live music and I had forgotten how much I love it!

Early in the evening, I met two brothers who were going to be swimming the Alcatraz Sharkfest race from Alcatraz to San Francisco this morning. They were born and raised in San Francisco and both told me how they love to skip and have been doing it for years.

People who are natural born skippers who have been skipping their entire lives often have an interesting reaction to the skipping movement. These guys were a perfect case in point.

They said they loved to skip, but when I told them about my website they said, "I don't need to go there. I skip just fine on my own!" Other natural born skippers have an attitude that says, "I have been skipping for over twenty years. What do you think, that you invented skipping or something?!"

I guess I can understand where they are coming from...But the thing that they don't realize is that there are a lot of us out there..Me included...Who might have been blessed with a spirit that loves to skip...But who have a lot of cultural programming to get over in order to be able to skip freely down the street.

A huge part of the reason I created iskip.com is because I have a magical vision in my head of what would happen if all of the skippers of the world started skipping a lot more often...If skipping groups and individuals started being sighted in cities and towns throughout the country...What a fun and easily recognizable way to celebrate freedom and make a statement for positive energy.

If you are a natural born skipper, I encourage you to skip more often and more intentionally! If you are like I was, and have a lot of fear and a tough inner critic to get past before you skip, just do it! The joy and freedom on the other side of your fear is beyond worth it.

I believe with all of my heart that our world will be a happier place with more skippers on the streets! Skip on!

It's great fun when skippers (and non-skippers) leave comments for me after my entries. It really makes my day! (Hint, hint!)

Here's the latest. This one from someone named Dave B. in Portland...

It is so good to hear such positive stories about skipping. I myself am a skipper and I find it difficult for my co-workers to accept me. I hear there coments questioning my sexuality but I won't let it stop me. I've explained to them it's fun and healthy. I reused to be ashamed and let my co workers abuse me and the strength I receive from your stories help me through my day. So I will continue to skip and be happy no matter what they say or do.

I just love knowing that there are so many kindred spirits out there who are skipping through life! Thanks, David for the reminder about the joy that is the reward for being free enough to skip!

As you might notice, I have been skipping the blogging for over a week now..which isn't exactly the kind of skipping I advocate.

I went back to my hometown of Indianapolis over the fourth of July, and my blog habit seemingly fell to the wayside...It's amazing how hard it can be start a new habit and to stick with it! Oh well, I'm here writing now and that's what really matters.

My trip home was really special. We celebrated my amazing Grandmother's 85th birthday and had a quintessential Midwestern fourth of July.

My aunt is a Superintendent of a local school system, so she drives her yellow VW bug convertible in the parade every year. This year, I got the honor of sitting on the back of the car with my niece Maggie (4) and nephew CJ (9). I wore my red, white and blue Betsy Ross dress...and we threw candy at the hundreds of kids waving flags that lined the street.The high school marching band was right behind us...and the whole experience felt delightfully surreal! It was some down home Indiana fun. That's for sure!

There are a lot of things about America that I don't like right now..But my trip home reminded me about what is great about this country. It was a big slice of some pretty great things Family, community, celebration, fireworks, fun, and freedom!

Now that I'm back, my intention is to keep up with this blog! So skip back soon now ya hear?!

Skip on!

I got another email from a kindred skipping spirit that I wanted to share...

I heard about iskip a couple of years ago, I think in a Costco magazine. At the time I had just started walking every day and I would burst out skipping and then of course giggling. It was a rather spontaneous thing but now I try to do it fairly often. I also make sure anyone who walks with me makes a skipping attempt if they are able. What a joyful thing to bring to people! Thanks for the smiles! -Skipperdoodle Nancy

Skipperdoodle.....Right on! Thanks for the reminder that skipping is a great way to spice up your walking routine. Keep in mind that skipping burns twice as many calories as walking, so for every skip you step you get a double bang for your caloric buck!

For those of you who are nervous about skipping in public, my advice is to start slowly. Try skipping just 10 steps at a time the next time you go on a walk. Ignore your inner critic when it tells you that people will think you are crazy....and let your childlike spirit freely express itself! You won't be sorry. Skip on!

I am sitting here at my office admiring a picture that is bringing back an amazing skipping memory.

As some of you already know, I am a book publicist who helps get authors and their books mentioned in the media. I work for an amazing company called New World Library that publishes books that are changing the world for the better. I have been in my current position since March and am extremely grateful to have found a job that I love as much as this one.

About a month ago, I went on a business trip to Illinois to work at a trade show for religious booksellers. While New World Library's books aren't exclusively religious, we do publish some amazing books in that area.

The trade show itself was pretty standard and uneventful...Except for one magical skipping experience. In a booth nearby where I was working, I met a nun whose positive, radiant energy lit up the room. I talked to her several times throughout the trade show...and really enjoyed her company.

At the very end of the show, right before we were packing up to go home, I told her about iskip.com and my quest to make the world a happier place through skipping. Her face lit up and she said, "Skipping!?!? I skip all the time!"

Before I knew it, the sister and I were skipping up and down the aisles. People who saw us just smiled and wondered what we were up to! One woman said she loved to skip too and joined in the fun! It was a truly magical moment...and a reminder to me that the joy of skipping is for people from all walks of life!

The sister's superiors asked that I not post our skipping picture on my website, so it is for my eyes only...But every time I look at it, it brings me such joy to know that my new nun friend could be out there skipping right now! Skip on Sister!

Last night I was lucky enough to get to work at a Marianne Williamson event in San Francisco. She is the author of A RETURN TO LOVE and one of my favorite authors of all time.

I was the microphone runner during the question and answer section of her talk....and was moved to tears several times. She talked about how important it is for us to live our dreams...To pay attention to our hearts and where they are guiding us..To not be afraid to let our lights shine bright....and how it takes time and patience for our dreams to unfold.. It was an awesome presenatation. She reassured me that I am on the right path....and that we can't go wrong as long as we listen to our hearts.

At the end of the evening, after she had signed her book for tons of people, she signed one for me. I told her about the skipping movement and gave her one of my iskip.com stickers. Her face lit up as I told her about it and she said, "I don't know if I even remember how to skip!" She took off her high heels and the two of us started skipping around the room! She skipped inbetween the empty chairs and we smiled and laughed. Wow! What an honor!

I LOVE skipping moments like that one. I LOVE watching people skip for the first time in years...What an honor to get to skip with one of the most inspirational authors and speakers I know! Right on, Marianne Williamson! Skip on! :-)

I love getting emails like this one from a 76-year-old who recently started skipping for fitness...

My son came by for Dad's day. He is fit as fiddle - does triatholones etc...I gave him 8 pounds of weight (two dumbells for his hands) and had him skip my very long driveway...He came back and said it was a much more strenuous workout thatn he thought it would be.

It's true that skipping is a great workout. Prevention Magazine reports that it burns twice as many calories as walking...and it has less impact on the joints than running does.

If you are just starting out skipping, try alternating skipping and walking for a while. Also, keep in mind that you will be able to go for longer distances if you stay low to the ground and keep the bounce in your step to a minimum!

Quite often adults who are just starting to skip again are very exuberant in their skipping...But you'll quickly see that it isn't as effortless as when you were a kid! Stick with a lower impact skip and you'll be able to go for miles!

Skip on!

Last night I went to visit two old friends who I hadn't seen for five years! I believe it is a sign of true friendship when you can see someone after so much time has passed and feel like you never skipped a beat.

Charles and Curtis used to live in my apartment building, but bought their own place in 2000. At the time, I was so caught up in the skipping whirlwind that we didn't stay in touch when they first moved...and before we knew it five years had passed.

It was great to be able to catch them up on all that has happened in my life and the skipping adventure. It helped me get perspective on all that I have been through and all that I have learned along the way. We reminisced about the iskip glory days...about how it was a quite a phenomenon back in the dot com hay day ...about how the path hasn't ended up looking anything like I first expected it to....and about how I am proud to still be skipping through it all!

Charles was one of my first friends when I moved to San Francisco from Indiana ...and he is definitely not a Skipper type. Last night I got some insight into why that might be. He told me his skipping story for the first time.

When he was in second grade, his Mom got called into the school office because he was having a hard time mastering skipping and galloping. So after that, he and his Mom started practicing skipping together until he got it down. When I asked him if it felt great when he finally mastered it, he said it felt great to not be the only one who couldn't skip anymore!

I've met several people throughout the skipping adventure with stories similar to Charles'. People who were singled out in Kindergarten or elementary school for not being able to skip. Usually those people want nothing to do with skipping as adults, and I can understand why!! Since skipping is such a joyful thing, it makes me sad that little kids have to feel less than if they are slow on the skipping uptake!

There was a time when the skipping movement first started that I thought that everyone should love skipping as much as I do...But I quickly learned that skipping isn't for everyone. Back when we did group skips through the streets of San Francisco, I used to carry a meagphone to explain to people why we were skipping. What I said did a good job of sharing my realization that skipping isn't for everyone...and what I feel my big picture skipping mission is.....

"We are skipping activists who believe the world will be a much better place when skipping becomes an acceptable thing for adults to do. We don't ask that you skip, just that you are supportive of those of us who love to. Thank you and Skip on!"

There was a comment posted on one of my recent entries from someone named The Angry Republican. He said...

I tried some of that skipping.. A couple of guys looked at me funny so I had to stop. Do you have some kind of signs people can put on their backs to explain why we are skipping….AR

Mr. Republican...I think you might be onto something. Perhaps we should design t-shirts with an explanation on the back. The only question is what would your tshirt say? I skip to celebrate freedom!? I skip for joy!? I skip to make the world a happier place!? Skipping is great exercise! Skipping is fun!?

The fact that there are people out there who might look at me funny for joyfully skipping down the street is a big part of the reason I do it. I believe our world needs as much positive energy as it can get these days...and in my opinion, people who might look at me sideways for skipping are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

Given the state of our world today....which is crazier? Expressing your joy by skipping down the street....or doing something that would inhibit that expression of joy by someone else? I don't know about you, but I am tried of letting negativity and the fear of judgement from others rule my life.

Why not try skipping on despite a funny look here and there? You won't believe how energizing and liberating doing so can be. Skip on!

Since today is Father's Day I feel inspired to give a shout out to dear ole' Dad.

When I first announced to my family that I was going to start a national skipping movement, my Dad likes to say that he thought I lost all of my marbles. But then, he tried skipping himself, and he loved it! I'm not surprised given the fact that he raised me with a philosophy that said life is a lot better when you lose a few marbles. It is short and is supposed to be fun.

Shortly after I graduated from college my Dad wrote and self-published a great book called The Edge Resume and Job Search Strategy. When I saw the book, I fell in love with it and convinced him to hire me to sell it for him. The project did quite well...and thus began my career in the book publishing industry.

Lately my Dad's passion has been fiction writing. He has written four novels and his energy and excitement for his craft are truly inspiring. You can read synopsis of his novels on his website at http://www.billcorbin.com. He also recently started a blog about his writing pursuits. Skip on over to http://billcorbin.blogspot.com/ to check it out.

I feel extremely blessed that I got Bill Corbin as my Dad! He's one of my best friends in the whole world...and I know that he believes in me with all of his heart. I feel the same way about him. What a gift!

Happy Father's Day Dad...I love you! Skip on!

Back when the skipping movement was at its height, there were 70+ cities where someone had volunteered to the be the "head skipper" in their community.

Some head skippers organized weekly skipping/walking groups...Others did one big fundraising skip like a woman in Atlanta who skipped 100 miles to raise awareness for the animal sanctuary where she volunteered. Some head skippers passed out iskip postcards to spread the word...and others just skipped by example and told people about the website when they asked why they were skipping.

As you might imagine, keeping in touch with the goings on of so many skippers became a full time job...So much so that I quit my publishing job back then to focus on it full time. I naively assumed that if I leapt the financial net would eventually follow. I was wrong.

After a couple of years of recovering financially from that fact, I'm back in the saddle as far as writing a book about the benefits of skipping to the beat of your own drummer. The skip is back in my step and I believe the world needs skipping energy now even more than it did back in 1999/2000 when this whole adventure began.

If you are someone who loves to skip, I would like to invite you to play a part in the resurgance of the skipping movement. I have just recently started collecting email addresses for people around the world who want to help the cause...So far we have someone in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida...Oklahoma...and Australia!!

Being a head skipper is a fun, unique, and easy way to make a positive difference in our world that can use as much positive energy as it can get these days! And the only requirement is that you love to skip and explain why when others ask!

If this sounds at all intriguing to you, please send me an email at kimskips@peoplepc.com and I'll add you to the list to receive information as the skipping movement continues to move forward! Skip on!

I decided to answer this email on my blog because this skipper asks some great questions....

This 76 year old kid skips now and then in his driveway. Question(s): regular running shoes ok for skipping? Do they wear out fast because of skipping (in running, it was the heels of course than worn down). ok to skip with light weights (3 lbs)? any ideas on how far "your people"--skippers tend to go (distance) for a decent workout? thanks. skippy

Dear Skippy, Yes, I've found regular running shoes work best for skipping..I try to find extra thick soles though...The balls of your feet will wear out faster than normal if you skip a lot....That is, of course, until we convince a shoe company to support the skipping cause by designing us our own shoes. :-)

As far as how long you need to skip to get a good workout...it really varies. Some people primarly walk and then incorporate skipping bursts for variety and to get their heart rate up...Others walk a block, skip a block, run a block, walk a block.....Skipping on the treadmill at the gym is also fun...I ususally set the pace at a brisk walking speed (4.2 or so) and ease into skipping a mile or two. Sometimes I skip a minute, walk a minute, skip a minute walk a minute.

Then there are the hard core skippers of the world! Ashirta Furman is training to set a Guiness World Record for skipping the fastest marathon. He skips for 15-20 miles at a time when he is training. He even had to create a plastic toe piece to go over his shoes because he was skipping so much and going through them so fast!

As far as skipping with light weights, I can't imagine that would be a problem..But if you are at all concerned about it, I'd check with a physical trainer or your doctor to be sure that will work for you.

I would love to hear more about how you are incorporating skipping into your life...and also would love to post your picture and a skipping quote from you on the website if you are interested! If I don't hear back from you, skip on!!! :-) kimskip@peoplepc.com

I am feeling really good right now! It's been quite a day.

After a really busy and productive day at work, I went to the Red Room Writer's Society (http://www.red-room.com) and made good progress on the book I am writing. On the drive back, I thought about how great it would be to go for a quick skip when I got home since I've been wanting to get my skipping groove back for quite some time.

When I got home I started doing what I've done for the past several months when it comes to exercise. I sat on the couch and thought about all the reasons I should to out skipping. I thought about how great it would make me feel to do it...I just sat on the couch and thought. Before I knew it half an hour had gone by and I hadn't moved a muscle!!

The difference between tonight and multiple others before it is that after about 45 minutes, I actually put my shoes on and went out the door! I put Queen's Fat Bottom Girls on my ipod and was off and skipping. I skipped down the huge hill that is near my house...and went for about five blocks. Then I turned around and climbed back up the hill....I skipped a few steps at a time on the way up, but in general uphill skipping isn't my favorite!

It felt great to go out and skip for no reason...Last night I went skipping, but there was somewhere I had to be. Tonight, I skipped because I love to skip...and it felt great! Skip on!

Since I created the iskip.com website, I'm often asked how much I skip....Back when I was in top skipping shape the answer would have been at least a mile three times a week for exercise..and a little bit here and little bit there whenever the feeling struck.

My skipping quota these days has been far less...I still skip here and there...But my routine of skipping on a regular basis got lost along the way somewhere. It amazes me to know that someone can go from being called a fitness guru by People Magazine to not being able to motivate herself to workout!

I'm happy to report that I just recently broke through my wall of inactivity and have been starting to go out for longer distance skips again. My intention is to keep it up!

I live on a steep hill in San Francisco and love downhill skipping! So tonight I skipped all the way down a huge hill and through the financial district. I was able to go much farther than I thought I would....and when I came out of my skipping zone enough to notice was pleasantly surprised by the smiles I received from passers by.

Skipping is pure magic! It puts me in the most amazing, positive energy place. I wonder why it has been so challenging for me to get back in the habit of skipping on a daily basis. Why do we humans resist the things that makes us feel the best?

Oh well, at least I am finally over the hump.....I'm going to keep at it because I KNOW how amazing and magical my life becomes when I skip on a regular basis...I'm ready to let that magic in again.

I recently read this quote from Abraham Lincoln in Jon Gordon's Weekly Energy Addict newsletter. It really resonated with me and reminded me that all I can ever do is my very best...."I am not bound to win. I am bound to be true. I am not bound to suceed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have."

Abe's quote is a great reminder for me that I can't control the outcome about whether or not the book I am writing (or this blog for that matter) will be well received...All I (or any of us) can do right now, in this moment, is focus on letting my light shine and enjoying the process as much as possible. Reviving my writing voice...that was so strong back when I created the iskip.com website in 1999...is what I am being called to do right now. Abe helped me see how that is what I need to be focusing on....instead of wasting mental energy worrying about whether my story will be published one day.

Back when the national media was telling the skipping story, people used to tell me how much they admired my courage for so fully putting myself out there. I never understood that because it didn't feel like I was being brave...I felt incredibly blessed and lucky! Now that I have skipped around the block a few times...and encountered incredible set backs and challenges, I know what they meant about it taking courage!

Somewhere along the way, I lost Faith in myself and my dream...and I have been searching high and low for it ever since...The past couple of months, the magic has started to come back into my heart and life...and as a result, my willingness to put myself out there...to skip boldly through my life...is coming back. It feels great.

What a long strange skip it continues to be! It feels great to be enjoying the ride again. Onward and upward!

My bloggin' brother tells me that for these things to work, I need to be writing in it all the time! Starting that new habit seems to be taking a while! Oh well, all in good time I suppose.

I received this email from a skipper named Adam and wanted to share it. He speaks the truth...Skip on!

I haven't seen iskip.com before and yet I assure you, as a 18 year-old male A-level student, I have been skipping for years in many many places. In fact one of my fondest memories of my marvy girlfriend Helena is of, before we were going out, skipping in-time down the corridors of school. I also have wonderful memories of us skipping together in HMV, down country roads, in the cinema and alongside a cycle path.

This is never planned, we just tend to sporadically burst into skipping. Before that, I have often encouraged members of my drama society to skip. We take a break half way through our 3 hour session to go to the local co-op. Almost every time I skip and I have managed to get up to five people to join me. Yeah!

Skipping is snazzily fantastic and it a great, fun and surprisingly fast way to get around. Honestly, people should have no reservations about skipping. None what-so-ever.

It feels so good to be connecting with my writing voice again. Back when the skipping movement first started, I wrote all of the time. I was in the creative flow and life was grand. But when my dream of finding a way to fund my skipping project shattered, I eventually stopped writing completely. This blog is great because it is exercise for my creative voice....and it also is inspiring me to get out there and skip more often too! What a gift! Blogs rule.

My favorite online astroger Jonathan Cainer (http://www.cainer.com) published a note I sent him about skipping as the thought of the day on his website yesterday! I got this email from a skipper in the UK that really made me smile......

Hi Kim, I found your website through the Jonathan Cainer astrology site today and you have brought me many happy memories which I'd completely forgotten about! (...and I'm only 40! Lol!)

When my friend and I were at our girls High School in Kent, England, UK, we had a long walk from the train station which we used to use to memorize our Latin words for tests when we were 13. We soon found that skipping in time as we chanted helped us get home quicker by speeding our journey and also helped to memorize the phrases far better!

We used to fly past shoppers in the town centre and especially in the winter, wrapped up in our duffle coats, woolen hats and scarves we used to get so warm that there would soon be coats unbuttoned, scarves trailing behind and rosy cheeks by the time we got to school. People used to smile as we whizzed by and we were far happier than we would have otherwise been.

My best friend who I used to skip to school with every day died 12 years ago this year and I treasure my memories of her - I hadn't remembered that we used to skip to school and home again - thank you so very much for helping me rediscover this and smile :)

With love and thanks,

Karen Elkins

Skipping in the News

In yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle in the "Public Eavesdropping" section of Leah Garchik's column it said:

"Dad, do you like to skip?" "I think skipping is great." --Small boy and father discussing the important issues, overheard in the parking lot of Diamond Heights Safeway by Ken Higgins.

Mystery

Last night I attended a meditation workshop where we did a sitting meditation and then listened to a dharma talk. The theme of the night had to do with the mystery of life.

The instructor had us break into groups to share stories of a time in our life when something mysterious and magial happened. A woman in my group told of meeting a man who had just gotten into a fight. She was at the right place at the right time and prevented the fight from escalating. He was sure she was an angel who helped him out of a potentially dangerous situation.

When it was my turn, I told about the first time that I skipped as an adult, and how I had a complete vision of me starting a national skipping movement. At the time, I ignored the call. But two years later, inspiration struck again...and that was when I created iskip.com.

Within a couple of months, the national media was telling the story and thousands of skippers were a part of the movement! All because of unexpected vision and inspiration....I still wonder where it came from!

After I told my story, the woman who had been the angel to the man in the fight was smiling from ear to ear. She said there was something about her story that she had left out. After she intervened in the fight and the two of them were walking away together, the man took her hand and said, "let's skip!" The two of them went skipping down the street together in a moment of joy!

What a "coincidence" that skipping was part of her story too! I love magically mysterious moments....When I'm able to skip through life, they happen a lot more frequently....Stay tuned and I have no doubt that this blog will be full of accounts of such moments in no time. Skip on!

My 36th birthday was Monday January 17th...which also happened to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year! I celebrated by taking part in a march (I skipped too, of course) through the streets of San Francisco that celebrated his life, his vision, and the relentless pursuit of his dream.

It was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday, especially since my intention for 2005 is to stay true to my dream of writing a book about the benefits of skipping through life. During the march, I overheard a woman behind me talking about Martin. She said, "They say that he had a spiritual dream....a dream that God had given him...They say he wouldn't let go of his dream no matter what."

As I listened to her, I thought about my own skipping dream that started six years ago...I remembered how it felt to be skipping on the mountaintop...Getting national media attention...Having absolute Faith that I had found my life calling and was being Divinely guided...I remembered the brazen courage I used to quit my corporate job and how convinced I was that because I was doing what I loved...and what God wanted me to do...that the money would undoubtedly follow.

Then I thought about the valley that came on the other side of that mountaintop. The rejection letters that came from publishers instead of my hoped-for large advance....Trying to stay positive as I got another"real job" which ultimately resulted in the shock of being fired...The hard, cold, financial reality and bankruptcy that ensued...and the intense doubt and fear that eventually overshadowed my hope and faith.

Luckily, that's not where the story ends...The past year has been all about picking up the pieces of my shattered dream and putting them back together...My time in the valley lasted several years...and I'm still not all the way back on top of the mountain, but the skip has returned to my step....and a sense of hope has come back to my heart. I am once again excited to see what the future will bring!

The birthday gift I received from Martin Luther King Jr.'s example was the realization that the incredible journey that I have been on...with all of its ups AND downs...is what following a dream is all about...It is one thing to skip when the national media is singing your praises...and another all together when it feels like your hopes and dreams are broken all around you. My time in the valley put my "skip through life" philosophy to the test....and I am extremely grateful tosay that I'm still here....and I'm still skipping!

I truly believe that deep in each of our hearts is a dream waiting to berealized....When I think about the time that I spent trying to skip through the darkness, I wonder how many people give up and let go of their dreams during those challenging times....and if they realize howthe tests they are going through are a normal part of the process. Myhope is that this year, 2005, will be the year that more people thanever start believing in their dreams again! That is my birthday wish forme....and for you as well!! Skip on!!!