As Sydney sweltered yesterday, I sat inside where it was cooler, propped up behind my laptop ready to tune-into Beverly Mahone’s; “PASSIONS” programme- This week’s special guest, none other than our latest boomer-diva and friend, the incredible Flylady!!
“Who/what is the Flylady?” I hear you ask….well after taking my own Flylady notes, thought the next best thing to do would be BLOG THEM!!
Bev welcomes her audience, as always, sweet voice and a welcome message….Today,Bev was feeling ‘Sunshine in her heart’ [nice touch], and no wonder, for the woman Bev was preparing to introduce us to, already weaved her words of inspiration throughout Bev’s soul! Here’s an example, of something you might hear the Flylady say: “I learned, if I get up and get dressed, put my shoes on, ANYTHING is possible!” That simple, yet really quite effective. Meanwhile, someone’s in the background, clearing their throat??? “Who could THAT be”I pondered….thinking perhaps it was the Flylady, getting ready to speak. Turned out to be another ‘eager-beaver’ online, as wherever the Flylady goes, seems she attracts a HUGE following! But back to the interview…..Bev asks FL, to take us back to where & how this phenomenon all began…..
Marla aka FL, grew up in West Tennessee,her father owned a farm somewhere in Kentucky [further north/west of State of Tennessee] When he passed away, Marla took over-She then moved to Alabama, followed by North Carolina[THEN hubby's idea]…and as FL so aptly describes hubby’s ‘vanishing act’,”He was gone”…”Gone GONE!” lol So here she was, all alone and with no other friends than that of her land-lady-But FL, stepped out in faith, awaiting for a ‘God-breeze’ so that she knew ‘why’ she was meant to be where she was….FL decided to stay-put, and see where God would guide her. It wasn’t long before things began to change…..A coffee shop was where she met her husband-to-be; Robert. When asked by Bev:”Was this love at first sight?” The FL responds with hubby’s words, “Love at first smile!” It was 1996, and through another contact, a discussion arose between the pair about editing….
We suddenly hear another little noise lol………..
FL goes on to tell us how she knew Robert’s wife[through work], “I house-sat for your wife” she says…..Robert replies, “My ex-wife”, and then proceeds to ask about his dog! lol The following night, FL plans a night-out to hear some ‘Blue grass’……Robert asks what she’s doing on the Friday? Their first date! Throw in a game of scrabble,discussion about ‘trees’[FL's quite the authority here] along with a trek to local library to research a particular tree, then being caught smack-bang in a storm! They grabbed an ice-cream,and FL asks if she can cook a meal for Robert. A quick trip to the markets and they choose some scallops, couple bottles of wine and head back to his place be that its closer….Now, FL’s NOT a ‘drinker’, and she amuses us as she explains how the pair consumed a bottle of wine together, then realise HER car’s still parked back at the market, so she winds up spending the night on his couch, which she shared with Robert’s cat! lol Long story short, after an invitation to go hiking, another night out at a German restaurant, their FIRST date,lasted 3 days! It was then our Marla, KNEW this was the man she would spend the rest of her life with….that was 13 years ago!The pair combined both their properties, their 2-storey home had integrated BOTH so THIS, would ultimately lead to God stepping-in once more…you see folks, FL’s home with Robert, had become quite cluttered, a collection of boxes [two TRUCK loads] of things accumulated throughout their lives, including auctions! Then FL opts to jump-in and lend a hand at Robert’s workplace; originally with the idea of volunteering her services to assist his ‘campaign work’….you know, offering the public assistance with their voting details etc etc….well, this didn’t happen according-to-plan, and FL soon found herself involved with politics! lol But hold on…FL had other concerns… not about the campaign, she was scared to death that people might find out she wasn’t big on cleaning-house! lol She needed to de-clutter the home,and so began her journey….one task at a time! Robert’s beautiful sentiment, of “Wanting her to be his life-partner”, really hit home! And so FL began by having her ’shiny sink’ 
Who would have thought such an informal-task, to become the fundamental groundwork for her future?! Getting things “done”, step, by step!
Today, thanks to her decision to ‘hop-online’, FL set about sharing her own philosophies, and began with one lady…as she says “If you can help somebody along the way, you can make a difference!”….and she’s proved this by empowering others, everywhere! What started out as her OWN goals, soon became a new-found-friend, which the FL shared with more willing to listen…. I loved the simplicity behind her ideas, they are all so obvious yet so many women fail to recognise….As FL says, “She never realised she’d established a habit…..started by a ’shiny kitchen sink, then another…if the kitchen got clean, you don’t mind cooking!” How true. Some may be astonished to know, during FL’s ‘de-cluttering’, she removed 54 items per day, everyday, until she freed up space, her bedroom, now her studio! She happliy adds how she looks out of her bay-windows, and sees a white squirrel climbing up a tree. And as Bev said, the FL has been passing all this information on, paying it forward! Bev: “She’s doing it for me!” Bev goes on: “And so, all of a sudden, the lady YOU helped[online], went back & told another, and so on…..” Indeed, 100 people a month were chatting with the Flylady…she was actually spending 16 hours just answering emails, individually! Bev: “So what’s the message you think folks are taking, that’s keeping you connected to other people?” “Why are people following?”
FL: “Been there, done that!” “I found my calling in life-What God wanted, the ‘clutter’!” ……”In my head and life….my life was cluttered! Evil forces were keeping me from my destiny!” And as FL spoke THESE words, she’d struck a chord within me! My own life HAD been cluttered…..too many debts, way too many things that simply were NOT needed, to make me happy! Slowly, de-clutter and LET GO! I’ve actually been doing this, for awhile, since facing loss-
As Flylady says: “That ripple effect, keeps going….find YOUR passion!” And as the switchboard at Blogtalkradio continues to become heavily congested with callers…. “I just want people to get off their butts,for fifteen minutes a day-you’ll feel better!” And I guess if 542,000 people continue to follow this inspiring lady, we’ll see more sets of wings being created as we fly too!
Look for the FLYLADY LOGO here at Dorothy Down Under to see her cool video!!
Read more of this wonderful interview, right here: http://www.talk2bev.blogspot.com A FlyLady Chat
