“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as who you become by achieving your goals.”  — Zig Ziglar

20 years! It’s hard to believe 20 years has passed since I hesitantly turned in my two-weeks notice at the last corporate job I ever held to start my own company—Millen Publishing Group, LLC. Pink was born at my home in Hilton Head Plantation in a small room beside the kitchen that I converted into an office. I had no idea what to expect, and I really had no solid game plan on how to get the idea out of my head, onto paper, and into the hearts of women across Beaufort County. I believe the thing I had going most for me is I didn’t overthink it. I just did it, in no particular order, and nonetheless, the first issue of Pink Magazine came out on April 1, 2004. It was exciting, and before I knew it, its momentum was rolling, and we were on our way.

 The A’s have it when it comes to the two most overused words in America—amazing and awesome. It’s interesting that both are positive words used to describe things that are outstanding and incredible. Before I rant, let me confess to being one of the over users.

I say awesome more than amazing, probably because I am a child of the ‘80s, and awesome began being overused in the early ’80s, when Spicoli, the always high, cool surfer dude from Fast Times at Ridgemont High used the word to describe nearly everything. Instead of identifying that Spicoli was so high his brain couldn’t conjure up more than one word, teens viewed him as superbly cool and began to emulate his stunted vocabulary to describe anything and everything.

It’s funny, too, that people overuse this term to praise both good and
bad things.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
—Albert Einstein—

Although I spent a great deal of time outdoors playing when I was growing up, I never considered myself outdoorsy. In fact, if I had a choice to either clean the house or do yard work, I always chose housework. The yard was not my thing. I was terrified of lizards and despised bugs. Plus, growing up in the inferno of the South, Columbia (SC), I had no desire to pick up pinecones in the summer heat, even if I was getting paid a penny a piece.

When I hear about women who adore nature and the great outdoors, I usually think of hikers, campers, climbers, kayakers, naturalists, master gardeners—and a vast amount of khaki. Perhaps, I confuse adventurous with outdoorsy. Nonetheless, I have learned we are all nature girls, which includes even the most frou-frou among us, (no khaki required) because we are all at the mercy of the sun and moon to give us life.

The other night, as I was sitting in bed reading,
something caught my attention.
It stirred emotion deep within me, bringing back special memories.
It was merely a sound, one I have heard thousands of times.
The sound was simply the quiet rustle of the page as
I turned it to read on.

I had been reading almost 20 minutes when this sound aroused my senses. I’m still not sure what it was about this particular turn of the page that interrupted my focus and turned my attention to the book itself. For a brief moment, I relished the book I was holding in my hands, and without another thought, continued reading.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
—1 Corinthians 13:13

The Bible states very clearly what love is and what love isn’t. If you ever get confused, simply refer to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Regardless of your religion, spiritual journey, or lack of belief, we can all agree that the Bible’s comprehensive definition of love is spot on.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”