Category: DTBF Blog

As of today, eleven people have died climbing Everest in 2019, making this one of the deadliest climbing seasons in Everest’s history. Previously, a high number of deaths in one season was because of weather or onetime incidents, but the deaths this season are being associated with overcrowding, a lack of strict regulations and management by Nepalese authorities, and the increase of inexperienced climbers.

You may have seen an image on the news showing Everest climbers lined up like a long colorful centipede along the ridge of the mountain, back-to-back-to-back-to-back. I’m an “outdoorsy” person (as non-outdoorsy people tend to call us), and I love to hike and camp and backpack, but this kind of feat, on this kind of crowded terrain, has never been on my personal To Do List.

A friend of mine, Lisa, climbed Kilimanjaro last year. She trained for that hike for many months, but she ended up stopping her climb just shy of the peak because of breathing difficulties. She had medical oversight and took all the necessary precautions; she was more than fine with not making it to the top. After stopping, she stayed in place, waiting for her climbing companions to descend from the peak.

It was before dawn. When Lisa saw her first climbing buddy making her way back from the peak, she expected to witness great excitement. Her friend took another careful step down the icy slope and looked up into Lisa’s headlamp. “This sucks!” she winced, “All these people are throwing up, my body is hurting all over, and it’s f—ing freezing!” Not exactly what Lisa expected to hear. They had a good laugh about it later.

Perspective, right?

This brings me to DTBF’s featured story from Alison Levine titled “On the Edge”. It’s a perfect time to highlight her story again.

Alison Levine wrote a New York Times bestselling book about her own experience climbing Everest and has since become a sought-after keynote speaker. This includes her popular TED Talk on leading teams in extreme environments.

After the latest Everest deaths this past weekend, Alison posted a note on LinkedIn, which she permitted for me to share here:

The headlines this week about the crowds and deaths on #Everest are frightening to be sure.
Nine years ago TODAY I stood on the summit of that mountain. There were not many people climbing that day because the weather was terrible and visibility was poor. But in less than ideal conditions, we made it.
Was it one of the greatest days of my life? NO!
What was great was coming back to the people who are important to me.

For those of you who love “all things Everest” — I OF COURSE share your passion! But please remember that standing on top of a mountain does not change the world.

*WANNA KNOW WHAT DOES CHANGE THE WORLD?*

1. Raising kind, compassionate children who will contribute to their communities (and you don’t have to have your own kids to be part of this — you can do this by being a good aunt/uncle/brother/sister/grandparent/godparent/step-parent/mentor/friend, etc).
2. Technology/innovation
3. Being there when people need you! A few kind words to someone who is hurting/struggling can literally change their life.

Not everyone can climb Everest. But everyone can be a part of one of the above, and that has much more impact than standing on the top of a mountain.

My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones on the mountain this season. May their souls rest in peace.

Read Alison’s story, “Over the Edge.”

DTBF!

Johanna

Wendy Tokuda worked as a primetime anchor in local television news for almost 40 years. She anchored the news in Seattle, Los Angeles, and for the majority of her career, in San Francisco. She was also the first Asian American to anchor a weekday primetime newscast in San Francisco.

With that history, you might assume that Wendy is naturally outgoing, extroverted, or unafraid to speak up. Well, that is not the case. At least it wasn’t for a very long time.

In our newly featured DTBF story, Wendy shares her personal experience of overcoming extreme shyness, and how she carved a path to become an Emmy Award-winning journalist and one of the most popular TV news anchors in the Bay Area.

Read “A Shy TV Anchor” by Wendy Tokuda

Fear may hold us back, but courage and determination can get us far. Wendy’s story offers a wonderful example of that.

May the spirit of Dare to be Fabulous set the tone for your day.

Greetings! It’s been a while. How is everyone? Are you daring to be fabulous? I hope so.

I wanted to let you know that the Dare to be Fabulous website is back! Check out the Stories page to peruse through the roster of 40+ stories and contributors.

Contributors range from Gloria Steinem to Alcoholic Anonymous, and include Doris “Granny D” Haddock, Renel Brooks-Moon, Wendy Tokuda, Terri Lyne Carrington, Julia “Butterfly” Hill, Jill Robinson, Pema Chödrön, Dianne Reeves, and many more.

I feel strongly that these wonderful stories need to be back in the light, where they can inspire, uplift, and entertain. I also welcome new story submissions for website consideration. Check out the submission guidelines for more information.

DTBF!

Johanna

* I want to express my deep appreciation for two fabulous women who helped me with editorial suggestions and feedback during the past year: Ellen Fagan and Donna Henderson-King. Thank you!

Have you read Caroline Paul’s DTBF story, “Where there’s Smoke, there’s Fire”? In this story, Paul shares what it was like to be one of the first female firefighters in the San Francisco Fire Department. (She was the 15th woman in a department of 1,500 men.) Her story is an excerpt from her New York Times best-selling book Gutsy Girls. The book is written for pre-teen readers, but her message resounds for men and women of all ages.

Caroline has also given a TED Talk titled, “To raise brave girls, encourage adventure.”  To which we reply, YES! (Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!)

Here is the video of her TED Talk:

As many of you know, in addition to being the editor of Dare to be Fabulous, I am also the editor of my mother’s newly published memoir, Six Car Lengths Behind an Elephant: Undercover & Overwhelmed as a CIA Wife and Mother by Lillian McCloy. My mother wrote the manuscript over 20 years ago. She is now 91-years-old, proving that it’s never too late to become a published author or to see your dreams come true! The book is available from Amazon, as well as book stores and ebook retailers.

This Saturday, January 21, from 2:00 – 3:00pm, there will be a book event and reading for Six Car Lengths Behind an Elephant in Alameda, CA. The event will be hosted by Ben Hess of the podcast Story Geometry. My mother Lillian will be in attendance and I will read from the book, along with my sister Kristin, who is an acclaimed novelist. Books Inc Alameda will have the book available for purchase at the event.

If you’d like to attend this event, please link to the event page for more information and to RSVP Click “REGISTER” and submit your # of attendees. The organizer will need RSVPs to estimate attendance.

DTBF!

Johanna

Dare to be Fabulous has posted a new featured story for your reading enjoyment! This one comes from Ali Rushfield, who shares her personal experience of working in the writers’ rooms of several top-rated TV comedy series.  An excerpt:

Have you ever sat with eight to ten of the funniest people you’ve ever met, said something you thought was one of the most hilarious things your brain has ever managed to conjure up, and suddenly felt invisible?

Before I link to her story, I shall indulge in a little personal background. I met Ali Rushfield when she was around five years old and I was 12. Our families were neighbors in Tokyo for a couple of years and our mothers became fast friends. Even at such a young age, my family considered Ali to be a sharp, sarcastic and hilarious person.

Ali, me, her father Len and her brother Richard , in our Tokyo neighborhood

Fast forward to 2016, when Ali found out about my mother’s newly published memoir, read it, and immediately contacted me, sharing her amusement at being referenced as our neighbor’s “small child” in one of my mother’s stories. I was not surprised to find out that Ali is a TV comedy writer, and a great one at that. She’s been a writer on two TV series created by Judd Apatow, and other notable shows, but I’ll defer to her DTBF story for more about that.

Ali, all grown up

Daring to be Fabulous can happen in all kinds of environments and circumstances. No one is immune to the experience of feeling uncertain, or insecure, or sincerely humbled. Success, and that includes personal triumphs as well as professional ones, includes a lot of facing up to one’s own fears and an awful lot of daring. Ali’s story is no exception.

Read A COMEDY WRITER’S STORY by Ali Rushfield

DTBF!

Johanna