Jul 17, 2014
SITE: http://www.courtneyanderson.com/swca-episode-148-myth-warriors-series-you-get-no-more-out-of-life-than-you-demand---edythe-heslip.html
SHOW NOTES: In the MYTH WARRIORS™ series we are targeting ideas to begin to assess whether they are credible or not. We are warriors fighting to establish clarity between what is accurate and what is simply a myth (or falsehood) in life. All of this is in furtherance of our mission to surpass our goals! In this episode we delve into the somewhat deceptively simple concept of, You Get No More Out of Life Than You Demand.” - Edythe Heslip
Full disclosure, Ms. Edythe Heslip (née Edythe Eulalia Boyd, Anderson Heslip, June 25, 1924 - March 3, 2010) was my paternal grandmother and an incredibly powerful person. She was a businesswoman who took over a prosperous family funeral home that she inherited from her uncle. She managed that business for several more decades (my uncle was the mortician). She was also an educator, teaching elementary school for decades in public school and teaching in Head Start programs after she retired from full time teaching.
She taught me about small business ownership including using SBA loans, real estate investing, and the importance of having a "private banker" (who you would have a relationship at the bank to ensure efficient service and loans when needed). She was one of the most forceful personalities I have ever encountered and she lived vividly, vibrantly and entirely her way. There was not a joke left untold, a dance left uncompleted or a good time missed in her life. I miss her terribly and she shaped much of my perspective and tenacity in life. She always said, "Go for it Girl!" with such certainty that you never doubted what was possible. I used to call her right after every national and international television show I did (she loved to watch me on CNN, MSNBC and FOX News) from the limo and she was the best critic and fan. She insisted that I get in as many big smiles as possible and not yield to anyone else (to let them drown me out). She died several years ago and suffered from Alzheimer's at the end of her time here.
She was stubborn in the best sense of the word and was someone whose zest for life and personal power ensured her the best possible life (although she faced intense racism, sexism and societal forces that tried their best to deny her what she wanted). She demanded to be treated with respect and she was. Don't take my word for it. Please read this interview with her in the archives at Baylor University at http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/ref/collection/buioh/id/2616. My grandmother and her sister, my Great-Aunt Marjorie Pryor (who was another phenomenal human being that I share about in other programs), were truly originals.
She always said, "You Get No More Out Of Life Than You Demand." She meant it. She did it. You can to.