Annette Petrick

Introducing Connection Messenger Annette Petrick, writer and narrator of the popular radio show Consider This. 

Don’t you just love people who embrace life and live it to its fullest, regardless of their age or their circumstances? With few exceptions, these folks have a positive attitude, an appreciation for the good things around them, and a natural tendency to want to share those good things with others. They also have a lot to teach us if we’ll only listen.

Annette Petrick is such a person. Business woman, speaker, community leader, wife, mother, grandmother, and lover of life, Annette is a friend here in the Shenandoah Valley, and she is the creator of a wonderful radio show called Consider This. It consists of daily 90-second broadcasts in which she presents stories, life experiences, and tidbits of wisdom that are dished up in just the right portion sizes for most of us with busy schedules. Sometimes they inspire, encourage, or motivate me. Invariably they make me smile or warm my heart. Here are a couple of audio samples:

Friendship

Accept Compliments 

Happily Annette has recently created a collection of these wonderful shows on her Consider This CD – Vol. I : A Heartwarming Collection About Life and Love. We’ve made it available here at Heartspoken, either from this page or among our “Gifts That Inspire.” I’ve also categorized this post among those in the Our Wisdom Spoken Project, because I believe these shows contain a treasure trove of life wisdom. 

The CD contains more than two dozen tracks with messages and lessons in short (less than two minutes long), easy-listening format. Track themes include Mothers, Friends, Coping with Life, Women, Spectrums of Love, Opportunity, and Lessons from Life. Whether you purchase the CD in its beautiful booklet case or in a deluxe boxed gift set, you’ll get the code to download a free 28-page bonus book with expanded writings on themes on the CD, photos, and the author’s personal story of life and love.

The CONSIDER THIS CD – VOL. 1 is the Perfect Gift:

• to celebrate
• to encourage
• to comfort
• to enjoy
• to reward yourself
• to show SOMEONE SPECIAL how much you care

Consider This CD Vol. I

 0007 Consider This CD – Vol. I – $14.95 ($3.00 shipping for up to five.)

Call 540-436-3969 or email Elizabeth at e…@heartspoken.com if you need more than five)

CD in lovely booklet-style jacket and enclosed secret code to download free Bonus PDF Book

Consider This CD Vol. I in Deluxe Boxed Gift Set

0008 Consider This CD – Vol. I in Deluxe Gift Box –  $16.95 ($3.00 shipping for up to five)

Call 540-436-3969 or email Elizabeth at e…@heartspoken.com if you need more than five)

CD and its jacket nestled inside a deluxe red gift box, ribbon tie, with a personalized gift card and enclosed secret code to download the free Bonus PDF Book

This wonderful CD is the perfect stocking stuffer, teacher gift and gift swap gift. Order today and order in quantity.

If you have any ordering issues, email Elizabeth at e…@heartspoken.com or call her at 540-436-3969. Ask us about special quantity pricing.

Annette enjoys your comments on her Consider This Online Facebook Page, and we always are happy to have you join the conversation on Heartspoken’s Facebook Page.

If you could pass on your most treasured or meaningful wisdom or advice to someone you love, what would it be? 

About the Project

How often have you learned things (often the hard way) that you wish you could teach others? Or perhaps you’ve had an experience that resulted in a life-changing insight. Maybe you’ve just been around long enough to have something important to pass on. Or perhaps you’ve wished there was somewhere to go to find things that others have deemed to be their best wisdom or advice.

The goal of Heartspoken’s Our Wisdom Spoken Project is to collect and share wisdom and advice that is worthy of imparting to others.

Share YOUR Wisdom or Advice

If you have some wisdom or advice to share, we offer a simple one-question online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/wisdomspoken. If you’d prefer to download it and mail it in, you can do so by clicking your chosen format below. You can even submit your response by posting it on Heartspoken’s Facebook Page. Scroll down for Frequently Asked Questions. Whichever method you choose, we are looking for your answer to the following question:

If you could pass on your most treasured or meaningful wisdom or advice to someone you love, what would it be? 

Our Wisdom Spoken Questionnaire in PDF format

Our Wisdom Spoken Questionnaire in MS Word format

Our Wisdom Spoken Blog Posts

CLICK HERE to find all the blog posts that reference or reflect the contributions from Our Wisdom Spoken Project. You can also use the sidebar search box to look for specific topics. (Note: there will be very few at first, but this content will grow as we receive responses to our questionnaire.)

Photo Credit: “Orb of Light” by Gavin Mills, Toronto, ON

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Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) about Our Wisdom Spoken Project

Disclaimer: Any submission to the Our Wisdom Spoken Project may be used by RiverwoodWriter, LLC and Heartspoken.com in any future digital or printed publications. While it is our intention to honor the integrity of every submission, we reserve the right not to use every submission and the right to edit any submission as needed for clarity and appropriate language.

Q: Do I have to include the demographic information requested in the questionnaire/survey?

A: No, but we hope you will. The demographic information (name, state, country, age and email) is optional, but we respectfully request that you include as much of it as you can or are willing. Having this information will allow us to draw interesting conclusions if we find patterns when sorted by geography or age. By sharing your name, we can be more personal when we connect with you.

Q: Why should I include my email address?

A: By sharing your email, you allow us to offer you occasional updates and our free Heartspoken e-newsletter, which will include much of the wisdom and advice shared by project participants. We will also let you know if the project submissions are ever published.

Q: Is there a limit to how long my submission can be?

A: The survey program we use has a maximum capacity for lines and words, but you may submit any additional information by email (eliz…@heartspoken.com - this is a live, clickable link but letters are omitted for security reasons) or postal service (P.O. Box 81, Maurertown, VA 22644)

Q: Is there a limit to the number of submissions I may make?

A: No. We expect that some participants will have wisdom or advice to share about different aspects of their lives, and we welcome that. Please submit each one on a separate sheet of paper (or with a separate online survey response), but they can be mailed at the same time.

Q: May I submit a video or audio response instead of written?

A: Absolutely, we’d love to have your video or audio files emailed or mailed to the addresses given below.

Q; Will my submission be published?

A: Heartspoken and its parent company, RiverwoodWriter, LLC, reserve the right to publish your submissions in print or electronic form in the future, but no specific plans have been made at this time. By giving us your email, we can let you know if a publication results from this project.

Q: How will you use the submissions people submit?

A: Many submissions will be developed into articles and published through the Heartspoken.com blog. To find these, go to http://Heartspoken.com/categories/our-wisdom-spoken. Until we start receiving responses, this page will be empty, but future posts will appear as soon as they are published.

Q: If I go to the trouble to submit something, will you use it?

A: It will be saved and catalogued, but since there are likely to be a lot of duplications, we cannot guarantee that we will use every single entry. It’s important for you to share your wisdom or advice, however, because the more often a single idea is submitted, the more we will all realize that it is an important piece of wisdom or advice.

Q: Why would you change or edit my submission?

A: We want everyone to submit the things that have been meaningful to them with the assurance that even if they are not articulate or good at writing, we will edit their submission to make sure it is shared in the best possible way. We also would make changes to protect readers from the potential of any vulgar or inappropriate submissions.

Q: Is there a deadline for taking the survey or submitting the questionnaire?

A: No. We are planning for this to be an ongoing project, and we welcome submissions any time. We hope you’ll tell your friends and family about it. If we ever decide to publish a book, we’ll have to establish a deadline for items to be included in the book, but we will continue to accept submissions afterwards too.

If you could pass on your most treasured or meaningful wisdom or advice to someone you love, what would it be? 

Send your answer to this question right now:

• Online survey
• Heartspoken’s Facebook Page
• Email
• Postal Service: OWS Project, P.O. Box 81, Maurertown, VA 22644

Tell your friends about this exciting project by using the social media buttons below.

Heartspoken is an attitude…a frame of mind…an inclination of the spirit. I’ve found that when I can be Heartspoken in the essential connections of my life…Connection with Self, Connection with Others (personal and professional), Connection with Nature, and Connection with God…these connections are nurtured, sweetened, and strengthened.

It’s not always easy; it doesn’t always come naturally; but after a lifetime of observing what seems to make people successful, happy, and lead meaningful lives, I have come to believe that this Heartspoken attitude—and the authenticity that always accompanies it—are vital ingredients.

Through these blog posts and pages, Heartspoken.com will be a journey to discover how anyone can be more Heartspoken and get better at making these connections. Be sure to use the two forms on the right to sign up now so you’ll be notified whenever there’s new content and to subscribe to our monthly newsletter. Along the way, with the help of resources and other Connection Messengers ¹, I’ll explore ways we can all more fully appreciate and strengthen our own essential connections.

So ditch the regrets, the guilt, the “Tyranny of Shoulds.”² Start fresh today and travel light.

For Yesterday is but a Dream
And Tomorrow is only a Vision;
But Today, well-lived,
Makes every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well, therefore, to this Day.

Excerpt from “Exhortation of the Dawn,” author unknown
Cited in Sir William Osler’s A Way of Life.

Jim Herbert, Sr., in front of the P51 D plane he flew over Europe during WWII

As the daughter of a WWII fighter pilot, I grew up in the 1950s, steeped in the stories of a war supported by a nation filled with patriotic fervor and fought by brave men and women with a clear enemy and worthy goals. As a young adult in the 1970s, many of my friends either signed up or were drafted to go to Vietnam. Here at home, Kent State, demonstrations, and moratoriums were the manifestations of a nation confused by the war and the reasons we were fighting it, but our soldiers fought for their country anyway, and endured too little respect for their efforts. Today, among my favorite desktop publishing customers are veterans of the 7th Infantry Regiment, whose quarterly newsletter I help produce. Their support of fellow soldiers now deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — my own children’s generation –  is inspiring.

I am so grateful to those who have fought — and those who have died — in these three generations. Their courage and their sacrifice have secured the freedom and privilege that I have enjoyed my entire life. Thank you, Dad, and thank you all, each and every one.

Jim Herbert Sr. at Osh Kosh Air Show, 2000, in front of a P51 D Mustang like the one he flew in WWII. Photo credit: Bruce T. Herbert

On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation!~ Thomas William Parsons

The brave die never, though they sleep in dust:
Their courage nerves a thousand living men.
~Minot J. Savage

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

Hot and cold characterizes my reaction to The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss…I’ll hit the downside first, but there’s lots to appreciate here too. I found this author’s voice extremely annoying and cocky, and I don’t think there are many people manic enough to completely do what he says he did in terms of simplifying his life, cutting out unnecessary distractions, and putting his business on autopilot. He comes across as someone who would do whatever it took to get what he wanted, to hell with what others think. Okay fine…I don’t have to like his attitude to learn from him.

What I found extremely valuable were tips on how to manage information overload, unrealistic demands and expectations, and the tyranny of “shoulds.” His two pages on how to increase your reading speed were worth the price of the book, and I have absolutely started using it effectively. I’m also going to go to his website to see what he says about speed-learning a foreign language. He has some interesting insights on outsourcing and leveraging your own effort: work smarter, not harder.

Also valuable, I felt, were his travel tips and very specific resources (books, websites) for getting great travel deals, spending extended periods of time in other countries, and much more.

If you really do have wanderlust and are young and energetic enough to want to break free and spend months at a time in other countries, there is valuable information here. Just be prepared to pick and choose what might be helpful to you.

CLICK HERE to order this book from Amazon.