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My Forsyth_March 2021

Sit back and read the latest edition of your community magazine. The law firm of Patterson Moore Butler introduce their partners and lawyers, while our intern Ava Clavijo shares a few thoughts about school during extraordinary times. Check out how Irrational Kindness can make a difference in your live and the importance of knowing what to do before losing self-sufficiency. Food, health, wellness, home, life and faith are a few of the topics in this issue of My Forsyth magazine. Happy reading! Stay well

Sit back and read the latest edition of your community magazine. The law firm of Patterson Moore Butler introduce their partners and lawyers, while our intern Ava Clavijo shares a few thoughts about school during extraordinary times. Check out how Irrational Kindness can make a difference in your live and the importance of knowing what to do before losing self-sufficiency. Food, health, wellness, home, life and faith are a few of the topics in this issue of My Forsyth magazine. Happy reading! Stay well

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5 Things<br />

I’ve Learned<br />

By Debra Stipe<br />

<strong>My</strong> 90-year old mother passed away earlier this year. I regret not asking her this great question:<br />

‘What are five things you’ve learned?’ But I would certainly echo her sentiments in saying that<br />

‘surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life.’ Psalm 23.<br />

I have always loved<br />

alliteration so here it goes!<br />

I believe the following ‘5<br />

things I’ve learned’ sum<br />

up well the heartbeat<br />

of my philosophy and<br />

mindset on life and love.<br />

PASSION: FIND YOUR<br />

LANE.<br />

Your heartbeat. What you are good at and what<br />

fires you up.<br />

“The only way to be truly satisfied is to do<br />

what you believe is great work. And the only way<br />

to do great work is to do what you love. If you<br />

haven’t found it yet keep looking.” Steve Jobs<br />

Find your great work and stay there. I<br />

literally had a nightmare once—that I had been<br />

assigned to be a bookkeeper. Now that is a<br />

nightmare.<br />

When asked as a 13-year old girl what I<br />

wanted to be when I grew up, I quickly responded,<br />

‘a mix of Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett’. The<br />

hardwiring does not change that much.<br />

Strive to stay in your lane.<br />

PREPARATION:<br />

EXCITEMENT HAPPENS<br />

WHEN PREPARATION<br />

MEETS OPPORTUNITY.<br />

Put in the work. Be Ready. Yes, I had some raw<br />

talent as a young girl, but it was the training<br />

and years of time on the stage and in lessons<br />

and rehearsals that opened the doors for me in<br />

Los Angeles. Do not forsake the work; when the<br />

time is right, the right doors will open.<br />

If you love your work, keep the training going<br />

for a lifetime.<br />

PEOPLE: RESIST THE<br />

TEMPTATION TO PURSUE<br />

100 PENNIES OVER FOUR<br />

QUARTERS.<br />

The masses are tempting—especially for the<br />

performer in me. The allure of the audiences. But<br />

I have lived long enough to know that it is the ‘4<br />

quarters’, those closest to you, that know you on<br />

your worst day, that love you enough to tell you<br />

the truth, and who you need closest beside you on<br />

life’s journey.<br />

They will be there to pick you up on the<br />

darkest of nights. Value them. They are priceless.<br />

PRESENCE: THE POWER<br />

OF PRESENCE.<br />

I am always on the go—if not physically at least<br />

mentally. But the value of being simply present in<br />

your current environment, blooming right where<br />

you are planted, giving people the gift of your<br />

presence and genuine listening ear is an invaluable<br />

thing to offer people. I know when I am on the<br />

receiving end of this, it's a life-giving gift. Real<br />

connection happens here.<br />

Listen. Doors have opened for me because I<br />

was interested, I was listening; I asked the question.<br />

PRINCIPLES: WE ALL<br />

HAVE THEM: WHAT ARE<br />

YOURS?<br />

We all live by them, whether we acknowledge it<br />

or not. Define yours.<br />

Personally, I believe that there is a God and<br />

‘His ways work’. His ways are for our good and<br />

for our protection and for our joy. I believe no<br />

one has my absolute best interest at heart more<br />

than my Creator.<br />

Remember, if we do not stand for something,<br />

we are apt to fall for anything. His ways have<br />

carried me, and I have found Him to be worthy<br />

of my complete trust.<br />

Debra Stipe is an actress, writer, and acting coach. She owns Stipe Studio and is the co-owner of Airbnb<br />

Stay Dahlonega. She may be reached at debrastipe@gmail.com. @staydahlonega<br />

24 MYFORSYTHMAG.COM VOLUME XI | ISSUE 1

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