Upcoming Books/Rich Stories, Tools & Insights Ready to Share

Think Infinite–Win. Deb entered a profession with three strikes against her - a member of the first class with women at West Point (est. 1802), a career in the male-dominated military called the US Army, and commands in the male-dominated world of engineering. Deb learned to thrive, however, and recommends that others also face challenges early and often. During the Duty, Honor, America Tour (dutyhonoramerica.com) she met another special Deb - Deb Boelkes, who faced similarly tough challenges in an entirely different profession - the business world. With like-hearted philosophies and situations, they came together to document what they had learned so they could share it with others. Working closely together over five months, they created the foundation for principles that became known as 'infinite–win.'  Three imperatives of Care, Collaborate, and Create describe this mindset that transforms commonly accepted win – lose scenarios into ones where everybody benefits. For example, how can a job vacancy competition between two people be anything but win-lose? We share this story and others in our upcoming book. Find out more by requesting a workshop tailored to your specific organizational or leadership needs. Learn to Think Infinite–Win... and change your focus, change your life.

Grab Your Bull by the Tail.  Despite the plethora of special training and good intentions, there are still many reasons to be upset or angry on any given day. What inspired this book for Deb was something her husband Doug said. When they were moving into their dream home in Hawaii, their finances were going into the red because they were unable to sell their former residence. They purchased a used car to save money. After two expensive car repairs, they were picking up daughter Emily at the airport on her first visit. While in the airport parking lot, the car stalled again and suddenly an engine fire consumed the vehicle. The car fire and resulting communications with the repair shop triggered an angry response from Deb and she took action. Deb's "interception strategy" made a bad situation worse. Before going "nuclear" on the repair shop, Deb asked Doug's advice. A single question was able to help Deb clearly see how to transform her anger into a highly productive outcome and she did so within the week. No matter how difficult the current situation, there is always a better way to achieve more of what we want instead of exactly what we don't want.

Duty, Honor, America Tour. Sometimes big dreams simply won't go away. After inspiration (and a new bike), Doug cycled 18K miles through 50 states in one year to support veterans, military and their families. Deb ultimately decided to join Doug.  With no prior experience, she drove their newly purchased RV, towing a car, over 26K miles. At least two books are in the works which share Deb and Doug's journey of challenge and life-affirming stories of veterans and the very special people they met along the way. Deb collected over 15K photos and created daily audio blogs. Many followers are eagerly awaiting these books.

Ongoing Projects/Activities.

Coalition in Support of Big Island Veterans. Given the broken state of veterans services, there is great potential in bringing diverse groups together for this common cause. Deb is working with island leaders and is also Chair (Doug is Secretary) of the Hawaii Island Veterans Day Parade (www.HIvetparade.org) to be held 5 November 2016 at 10 a.m. in downtown Hilo, Hawaii.

Charter Member Hawaii Island Women's Leadership Forum.  Deb has joined this fabulous group with a purpose to inspire and instruct women and others on how to improve the lives of women, help them achieve their goals and make an even bigger impact in their communities and the world.  Help grow strong and passionate women leaders.  She is currently planning, coordinating and helping others conduct the second women's leadership summit on 26 August, 2016.

South Hilo Rotary.  This well known international service organization has 1.2 million members in over 34,000 clubs.  Doug is a local Past President and heads up their largest annual fundraiser, The Hilo Huli.

Boys and Girls Club of the Big Island.  Doug is a Board Member of this non-profit youth development organization.