A Scramble of Updates

First of all, today’s the first official day of… unemployment.  That’s right, I’m no longer a Sales Manager for ZVRS, a job that I’ve held the last two and half years.  I’ll dearly miss the Z Team, but with my Z-20, I can stay in touch with everyone.  And speaking of the Z-20, I just gotta say that the VCO really rocks on it!  It comes with a phone as well as the headset option.  I just got off the phone with a gal from a major corporation and she had to ask me, “Karen, I know you’re deaf– how is it possible for you to be talking to me right now?”  Technology and top-notch interpreters– gotta love it!

I just got back from Gallaudet University, where I gave a presentation on “Unwrapping Your Passion” at the Global Deaf Women retreat.  I had the honor of giving away a copy of my ultimate favorite book, “Aspire: Discovering Your Purpose Through the Power of Words,” by Kevin Hall.   Kevin kindly sent me a signed copy of his book and I thought long and hard about who I wanted to share it with– I knew that the Global Deaf Women retreat was just the place for it.  Cindi Molloy was the proud recipient of the book and I can’t wait to see what she learns from it.

Before I left for D.C., I met Stephen Hopson for lunch and then we took off for the Drake Hotel for the Social Media Chicago event.  Stephen is the author of Obstacle Illusions, another book that I highly recommend to everyone.  Stay tuned for a post on Stephen and some insight into his book!  Stephen and I met online several years back and we connected at an SOBCon Conference in 2008.  He has become one of my dearest friends and my fake husband (yes, the real life hubby knows!).   Stephen was in town to speak at Debra Poneman’s Yes to Success workshop where he received a standing ovation.  Before we took off for our respective speaking gigs, we enjoyed a night of connecting with the SOBCon gang, including Liz Strauss, Chris Brogan, Wendy Piersall, Becky McCray, Sheila Scarborough, Chris Garrett, and Lorelle VanFossen.

Coming up on PBS and Create TV is a show called Growing Bolder, featuring a segment on my return to barefoot water skiing.  You can see the teaser paragraph on this month’s issue of the Growing Bolder Insider.  Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll see a picture of me barefooting (sort of… I’m on shoes!) backward.  I’m proud to say that since it was filmed, I actually did learn to barefoot backwards on my feet.

In the next Insider: What do you do when the one thing you love most is the one thing everyone tells you not to do? As a teen, Karen Putz lost her hearing while barefoot waterskiing. More than 25 years passed, but her desire to get back on her feet kept burning within her, until she finally decided to try to barefoot again.

No Skis, No Sound, No Problem!

When I arrived home, I thumbed through The Waterskier magazine and sat down to read “Legends Collide,” an article that I wrote featuring two-time World Barefoot Champion Keith St. Onge and Glen Plake, who was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.  It never gets old to read stuff in print!

Everyone has been asking, “What’s next?’  I’m focusing on finishing the books I’ve started and booking more speaking engagements.  Joe and I have also teamed up with Send Out Cards, a company that I also use as a marketing tool: Appreciation Marketing Goes A Long Way.  For every card you send, a percentage goes toward barefoot training and competitions. You are welcomed to try it– send a card for free.  If you’re interested in joining my team at Send Out Cards, shoot me an email at karen (at) karenputz ( dot) com.

To wrap up, I wanted to share a quote by William Hutchinson Murray that can be found at the beginning of Chapter Two in Aspire:

The moment one definitely commits oneself then Providence moves too.  All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred… unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.