My childhood memories of the holidays are fond ones. My mother always filled the house with Christmas decorations. We had a small silver tree in the den that had a color light wheel that changed the tree to green, blue and red as it spun. It was mesmerizing to my younger self, as I would lie on the couch and get totally lost in the wonderment of the holidays, while staring at that tree.

The brilliant work of great minds has shaped and molded the world into today’s advanced 2.0 version. People such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Winston Churchill, Madame Curie, Albert Einstein, Warren Buffet and Steve Jobs come to mind all as movers and shakers who made a difference in the world with their brilliance. Peoples’ genius brought us philosophies and inventions that were never thought possible like the airplane, helicopter, solar power, nuclear power, fax machines and the Internet. (I’m still amazed by the fax machine even though newer technology has made it almost obsolete.) Brilliance is also responsible for putting man on the moon, discovering medicines that cure deathly illnesses and building robotics that perform pinpoint accurate surgeries.

Every year as the holidays approach, my heart longs for meaning, connection and peace. For me, the holidays are usually a series of chores, hurriedly getting done in between deadlines and commitments. With my task driven head overruling my longing for joy heart, the holidays, quite frankly, never live up to the expectation of “it’s a wonderful life.”

When I set out to start my publishing company, which now consists of Pink, Paisley and LIZ magazines, I was unsure, unknowing and downright scared. However, I was also excited and filled with dreams. In fact, my mantra was “Don’t let anyone steal your dreams.” I was adamant about it. These were my fighting words, my strategy and my anchor. Whenever I was the keynote speaker at events, my entire talk was usually centered around, “Don’t let anyone steal your dreams.”

As a former fat woman, I am still mad about how limited my options were to finding cool, stylish clothing when I was a size 20. One of the best things about being 67 pounds lighter is the endless options for clothing choices. But, that is only because I have gotten myself well below a size 14. Did you know there are certain brands, which I won’t call by name, that only make clothing up to a size 12? If you are bigger than that, I suppose they would prefer you not defile their style.