The quote above was taken from a TED talk one of my cheerleaders sent me.  Though it seems counterintuitive, I feel like making the decision to have this surgery is getting "into partnership with" my body.  

One of my coaches told me that Friday is my birthday and I should act accordingly and urged me to commemorate this 24 days with a soundtrack of my own making.  So, wow, this is turning out to not only be inspirational but fun!

Another coach shared her story of going through the same surgical procedure that I am facing. NOTHING is more helpful and reassuring than knowing other people have gone through and survived what you've gone through.  

A new cheerleader told her story of battling uterine cancer – surgery, chemo, radiation, the whole nine. An amazing woman that I'm just having the pleasure of meeting and getting to know, in some ways, because of THIS project!

A cheerleader reminded me that the weather is gorgeous right now in Michigan.  Never a topic to be forgotten or taken lightly.

A teammate reminded me that just stopping to talk to your neighbors without worrying about the time is expressing kindness -- to everyone involved!

A fan and I reconnected after years of working together without giving ourselves time to be the friends that we so naturally are. 

Several members of Team QueenPrincess shared MoJo’s Kitchen on their own facebook pages which makes me feel… I don’t know… like I’m finally doing something right?  Or like they love me too much to tell me I'm really not.  haha!

Some teammates only exercised today because they knew they had to post about it! Word.

One teammate decided it was time to stop body-shaming herself.  Amen! & Hallelujah! To THAT!

One teammate took time to tell her daughter how smart and beautiful she is.  And I bet she's strong as hell too, considering her strong mother!

One teammate gave himself permission to suck while he was writing today.  That’s the ultimate gift for a writer!  

You wouldn’t believe all the Mojo that’s flying around MoJo’s Kitchen these days!

Keep.  It.  Coming.  It’ll all come right back at you when you need it most.

Go Team QueenPrincess!

Giving Mojo freely, with love
Namaste

I have just been re-reading and organizing all of the many responses I have received to my call for participants in Project:  Team QueenPrincess.  In short, I have the most amazing family and friends anyone has the right to ask for.  

In less than 24 hours since I launched this crazy mojo-seeking campaign, I have FOUR coaches, EIGHT teammates, EIGHT cheerleaders, and TWO fans.  Wow.  Wow.  Wow.  Not sure what I expected, but not this!

No one officially signed up to be a “Booster” but… if you sent me a word of encouragement without noting your level of involvement, I made you a Booster.  This just means you support Team QueenPrincess but don’t necessarily assume additional responsibility for future posting.  So, no pressure.  I hope it’s okay that I just assumed I could make you a booster.  I wanted to acknowledge your awesomeness!

If anyone feels like they’ve been placed on Team QueenPrincess in error, please let me know and I’ll get your name taken off the list.  I will continue adding to the list (which is right there in the blog sidebar on the right of the screen…see it?) through the next 24 days, as more people jump on board.

I have just posted a shot of encouragement on each of my teammates’ walls.  The deal with teammates is that they share with me (usually privately but some have decided to share publicly) one of their own personal goals over the next 24 days.  They engage in the happy practices with me and post about it and my job, as their teammate, is to coach them and send some Mojo back their way.  Each message I sent out to my teammates, I need to send right back to myself.  Human beings are funny that way.  We depend on each other to remind us of all the most fundamental truths.  We matter.  We do the best we can.  We can be what we want to be.  We won’t feel this way forever.  We only have this moment.  Already this project is reassuring me of these fundamentals, by giving me the chance to reassure others.

One of my coaches – John Tuttle – wrote this to me today:  “There are mojo stealing, good time killing, happiness altering individuals we have to deal with each and everyday. 
Don't let these killjoys affect you. Put on that smile, stay upbeat no matter the situation and be a love producing, happy thought shouting machine.”  This immediately reminded me of my brother, Mitch’s “Positive Mental Attitude” mantra.  Our minds are so enormously powerful and, just like our bodies, we get to decide what gets into them and what we can keep out.  And with as much Mojo as y’all have sent me today, there’s not going to be room for anything but pure light and love in my mind.  

My first day of happy practices went very well.  The only thing I missed was meditation.  Meditation is a big one.  I’m lazy about taking time for it.  Ha!  I even lead one of my classes through some meditation today but didn’t take the time to do my own.  And, of course, meditation is probably the one happy practice I need to cultivate the most.  Like exercise, I feel the effects of meditation almost immediately.  I’m calmer.  Definitely more present.  And we all need to be more present.  So, tomorrow the meditation comes FIRST.  

For now, a decent night of sleep needs to be had (fell asleep, as usual, with my Luberry, and woke back up to take care of Team QueenPrincess stuff! – and that’s okay because this stuff is feeding my soul big time right now!).  I will check in with my cheerleaders and fans later on this week.  Keep that Mojo coming!  And keep cooking, eating, facebooking, emailing, reading, gardening, driving, dancing, smiling, job-hunting, parenting, training, and whatever else y’all are doing out there WITH LOVE.  

Namaste

Vaya Con Dios!

The following campaign is modeled after a Kickstarter campaign (google it if you still don't know...) but instead of asking for your money, I'm asking for your MoJo.  Now, I've piqued your curiosity and you simply must know.  Am I right?  right?  Huh??

What's a QueenPrincess?:  QueenPrincessGypsyMoJo is my Facebook site for all things MoJo's Kitchen.  I am the QueenPrincess. 

Project:  Team QueenPrincess is an experiment in health and healing.  To prepare for the major surgery that will take place on June 25th, I am attempting to create a “happiness advantage” in my life over the next 24 days that will help me prepare both my body and mind for the surgery itself and for post-surgery recovery. 

The goal of Project:  Team QueenPrincess is to build the support network/ community to make this attempt to create a happiness advantage in my life actually work.  To build this community, I need your involvement.  There are five different levels of involvement and each comes with its own rewards.  Please see below for details. 

The author of The Happiness Advantage and Positive Psychologist, Shawn Achor, tells us that creating a happiness advantage in our lives can increase our effectiveness and productivity in almost any endeavor.  I believe that surgery is no exception to this rule. I am going to go into this surgery so hopped up on dopamine and full of crazy happiness that my body will recover as if it were filled with the light of the sun.  Right?  Right.   I have adapted Achor’s suggested list of ways to create a happiness advantage into “The Happy Practices” below, incorporating suggestions from both his book and his TED talk. 


The currency I am seeking:  Mojo.  What is it?  How will I use it?:

Instead of money (as in a kickstarter campaign), I am asking for your Mojo.  Your Mojo is that je ne sais quoi quality that separates you from every other person on the planet.  It is your magic.  It is your soul-essence.  It is your fire.  It is the unique configuration of your DNA.  However you want to conceive of it, your Mojo is that part of you that burns when you desire something, that droops and sometimes even drops out completely when you are hurting, and that drifts sweetly afloat among the clouds when you are falling in love. 

It occurs to me as I’m writing this that Mojo is a far more valuable commodity than money.  Yet, we give it away all the time.  We spend it as unwisely as we do money sometimes.  We give it then have it thrown back in our faces sometimes.  And sometimes, we give it and change the shape of someone’s life or grieving or dreams.  We give away our Mojo all day long in many different ways.  I am asking you to consider spending a little bit of your Mojo on Team QueenPrincess over the next 24 days. 

Team QueenPrincess will use whatever Mojo you choose to give to create a happiness advantage for the QueenPrincess (a.k.a., JodiAnn Stevenson, a.k.a., me).  This happiness advantage will carry me through the scary anticipation of the next 24 days, help strengthen my physical body to create a favorable outcome in both my surgery and my recovery, and keep my spirits up post-surgery. 


The Happy Practices – these are the practices I will be completing each day.  You will only be asked to engage in some of these practices, if you choose the role of Teammate. 

One Good Thing:  I will post a quick explanation of one positive experience I have had in the last 24 hours. 

3 Gratitudes:  I will post a list of three things I am grateful for.

Exercise:  I will move my body at least 30 minutes then post details.  

Meditation:  I will meditate for at least 10 minutes then post a brief reflection on how it went. 

Intentional Kindness for Others:  I will intentionally commit an act of kindness for someone else then post about it (probably not telling what I did so much as how it felt to commit the act).

Intentional Kindness for Self:  I will intentionally commit an act of kindness for myself then post about it.

Looking Forward:  I will post a brief explanation of something I am looking forward to in the next 24 hours. 


Team QueenPrincess Rolebook & Rewards --  choose your role according to how much time and energy you want to give to Team QueenPrincess.  How much time and energy you want to give to Team QueenPrincess will probably depend on many factors, including:  how much you believe in the cause; how much you want to get back from your involvement; what your special talents are, and how intrigued you are by this whole bizarre project. 

Booster – you give 1-5% of your Mojo.  Your name is on the list of people who support Team QueenPrincess but, aside from that declaration of support, there are no rules regulating your involvement.  Once you’ve declared your support, give or don’t give your Mojo, as you wish.  

Booster Reward:  I will give my boosters regular updates and shout-outs on the QueenPrincess facebook site, once each week.  I will also send you a real-life Team QueenPrincess booster badge in the real mail, for real. 

Fan – you give 6-10% of your Mojo.  Your name is on the list of people who support Team QueenPrincess and at least once each week, you need to send QueenPrincess a fan message expressing your support.

Fan Reward:  I will give my fans regular updates and shout-outs on the QueenPrincess facebook site as well as sending you or posting to your facebook an ego-boosting meme of love each week. I will also send you a real-life Team QueenPrincess fan badge in the real mail, for real. 

Cheerleader – you give 11-25% of your Mojo.  Your name is on the list of people who support Team QueenPrincess and at least 5 times each week, you need to post a message of encouragement to the QueenPrincess facebook page. 

Cheerleader Reward:  I will post back ego-boosting encouragement and love to you, at least three times each week.  I will also send you a real-life Team QueenPrincess cheerleader badge and a cute set of pom-pons in the real mail, for real. 

Coach – you give 26-50% of your Mojo.  Your name is on the list of people who support Team QueenPrincess and at least once everyday, you need to send QueenPrincess a message of advice.

Coach Reward:  I will give my coaches regular updates and shout-outs every single day.  I will blog every single day about how I can integrate their advice into my life.  I will also send you a real-life Team QueenPrincess coach badge and a loud, bossy coach whistle in the real mail, for real. 

Teammate –  you give 51-100% of your Mojo.  Your name is on the list of people who support Team QueenPrincess and you actively engage in at least three happy practices each day then post about your happy practices on the QueenPrincess facebook page.

Teammate Reward:  I will be a coach on your team! Send me an explanation of your current big challenge – or post it on the QueenPrincess facebook page if you aren’t shy about sharing it with everyone.  I will fulfill the role of “coach,” as outlined above, for you by sending you a message of advice (or posting it on your facebook page) each day.  I will also send you a real-life Team QueenPrincess teammate badge and a Team QueenPrincess t-shirt in the real mail, for real. 

To sign-up for Team QueenPrincess, please do ONE of the following things: 

1)   Send a personal message to my inbox on either my personal facebook account or on the QueenPrincessGypsyMoJo facebook page or…

2)   send me an email at [email protected]

Your sign-up message should include the following:

1)   your name (doesn’t have to be real or even a full name)

2)   your level of involvement (or “role”)

3)   your mailing address (unless you want to forgo your awesome gifts)

4)   a quick explanation of whether you will be connecting to Team QueenPrincess via facebook, the MoJo’s Kitchen blog, or email.  

5) if you are a teammate, what's your current big challenge/ something you want to work on over the next 24 days?



Besides the Silly (I mean, er... awesome) Rewards, What's in it for you?


Did you know that helping others allows you to feel a part of something larger than yourself and when you feel that you are a part of something larger than yourself, you increase the happiness hormones in your brain which turn on all the learning centers in your brain -- increasing your effectiveness in all areas of your life?  So, that's the first thing.


The second thing is by helping me create a community of support for this one surgery, you are also creating a community of support for yourself. Who knows how long this community of support might last or who you'll meet along the way.  


Creating a happiness advantage is something all of us can benefit from doing.  And, even if you only involve yourself at the level of "Booster" -- just tossing your support out there into the universe, creates a sense of having done something meaningful in you which will lead to at least a little temporary bliss.  The more involved you get, the larger the happiness advantage.  



Thanks for taking the time to read! And thank your for considering lending your involvement to this project.  At the very least, you will truly help make my surgery and recovery better.  At the most, we might start something positively contagious here.  Instead of running campaigns for trying to get people's money, everyone will be sharing each other's Mojo!  Let's see what happens!


In the meantime,
cook, eat, run, walk, bike, down dog, swim, dance, and whatever else you do to make it happen WITH LOVE!


Namaste
-Your QueenPrincess