Hi gals…

Just a quick note to say that I’m completely swamped on a deadline and I don’t think I’ll be able to get a Smart Girls Know affirmation out this week.

My manuscript for my upcoming book, CHILL: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Peaceful, Balanced You (coming from Simon Pulse in April 2008), is due in a week and a half, and I’m doing everything I can to not be stressed out while writing about how to de-stress. So, I’m following my own advice by taking a few things off my plate this week. Perhaps my next SGK Affirmation should be “Smart girls know how to say NO when things get too busy!”

But more on that later…

I hope you’re all having a great week and are enjoying some lovely summer solstice weather! I’ll write more soon.

Peace & Love,

Debbie

Congratulations to 12-year-old golfer Alexis Thompson! Alexis became the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open this week.

Golf, which used to be seen as a sport for men, has been growing in popularity for girls in leaps and bounds. According to an article by Ellen Crowley Fullerton of the Columbia News Service:

There are approximately 775,000 girls age 12 to 17 playing golf today, compared with 328,000 in 1998, according to the National Golf Foundation. Of these, approximately 165,000 are considered “core” golfers who play more than eight rounds of golf a year. While girls make up only 17 percent of all core junior golfers, the numbers keep rising each year.

There has also been a notable increase in the number of girls playing at the elite level. According to the American Junior Golf Association, 966 girls age 12 to 18 qualified to play in its national tournaments in 2005, compared with 691 girls in 1996. Nearly every year, the number of girls participating in the tournaments has increased, and at a faster pace than for boys.

Since smart girls know that playing sports has incredible benefits, including increased self-esteem and self-confidence, better grades, and more positive body images, this influx of girls playing golf can only be a good thing!

The U.S. Women’s Open will be held on June 28-July 1 at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. Good luck, Alexis!

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Are you a girl golfer or are interested in being one? Check out new mag Golfer Girl Magazine – it’s full of features, news and even fashion tips for the golfer in you.

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I interviewed former pro golfer and now LPGA Ginn Open Tournament Director Linda Chen for my book In Their Shoes. Linda shared what it’s really lke to be a hectic golf tournament director, and talked about how her background in professional golf applies to her every day life.

We all know that teens are natural risk-takers. Unfortunately, much of this risk-taking involves negative stuff, like drinking, doing drugs, or making poor choices when it comes to sex.

So would it surprise you to know that taking risks can actually be an incredibly positive thing for teen girls to do?

According to a study by Teens Today, teenagers who challenge themselves to take positive risks:

* are 20% more likely than teens who don’t take positive risks to avoid alcohol and drugs
* are 42% more likely to avoid drinking because of concerns about academic performance
* consider themselves to be more responsible, confident, successful and optimistic than their non-risk taking peers
* think through the potential negative outcomes of destructive behavior before engaging in it

For teen girls, the news is even better. According to Girls Inc., “A girl thrives when she knows what she wants, takes risks to go after it, and believes in her ability and her right to enjoy all her successes.”

Positive risk taking can lead to a tremendous boost in self-esteem and self-confidence…two qualities that are often in scarce supply for many girls. With higher self-esteem and confidence, girls make smarter choices, are empowered to speak out, feel more able to pursue their dreams, and are much less likely to let someone treat them badly.

The bigger the risk, the bigger the rewards.

There’s nothing like taking a risk that rocks you to your core to get a new perspective on just how strong, worthy, capable, and powerful you are. If you’ve ever watched someone do a rope challenge course (or maybe you’ve done one yourself), then you’ve seen the impact that taking a risk and moving beyond the comfort zone can have.

The good news is, you don’t have to walk on a tightrope suspended between two poles thirty feet off the ground to reap the positive side effects of risk taking.

Want to take a walk on the wild side? Try out one of these positive risks and see what happens:

• join a new sports team
• audition for a play
• run for class officer
• sign up for the debate team
• go to a wilderness camp
• go rock climbing
• raise your hand more in class
• do a ropes course
• defy the fashion trends and be a style noncomformist
• participate in an Outward Bound excursion
• replace the words “I can’t” with “I’ll try” in your vocabulary
• volunteer with an organization
• reach out and make a new friend outside your circle
• join an after school adventure club

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Need some more inspiration? Read (Free Spirit Publishing), by Tina Schwager, Michelle Schuerger, and Elizabeth Verdick.

Happy Monday morning! I wanted to give a quick shout out to Girls on the Run, an organization that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. In a twelve week program, girls in third through fifth grade get to explore all aspects of their development – physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual well-being – and finish off the season by running their first 5K.

I’m a volunteer coach with this awesome organization, and our girls ran their 5K yesterday. It was such a wonderful thing to see…watching these amazing girls push themselves to accomplish something so empowering made me proud, a little weepy, and very excited to see how they take this experience and use it in their own lives.

For more information on Girls On The Run and to find out if there’s a chapter near you, visit the website for the GOTR International Headquarters.

Here’s a pic from the big day…that’s me in the middle with the pink bandana around my neck, flanked by fellow coaches Dawn (L) and Cara (R).

Did you know there are thousands of marketing companies out there whose sole purpose on earth is to find new, creative ways to reach YOU so businesses can tap into all of your spending power? And considering that your generation has more money to spend than any generation before, you’re a pretty attractive target.

Marketers and researchers are continually trying to figure out “who you are” so they can figure out how to sell their products to you. What do you like? What will you buy? What appeals to you?

The “Urban Hustler”

Alloy Media + Marketing just released the results from new research giving a new name and definition for a significant percentage of 12 – 34 year olds… the “Urban Hustler” – today’s trendsetters when it comes to music, fashion and technology. From the press release:

No longer confined to a demographic living in inner-city zip codes, the Urban Hustler has come to represent a specific mindset born out of the unique energy, creativity and diversity of America’s urban centers – closely connected to hip-hop, ethnically diverse with aspirations to succeed and a shared set of passions.

Here are some more traits of the Urban Hustler, which Alloy says makes up 20% of 12-34 year olds. Urban Hustlers:

• are driven by a need to succeed
• expect to earn a certain status among their peers
• are self-proclaimed trendsetters, especially with fashion, sneakers, accessories, music
• take their entertainment seriously, and spend a lot of money on movies, clubs, concerts
• name Bill Gates (Microsoft founder and mogul) as their top choice of who they want to be like

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Are you an Urban Hustler? What do you think of this latest marketing research…does this represent your generation? Share your thoughts!

Listen to an interview with The N’s Amy Friedman!

Do you love all the drama on Degrassi? Does Beyond the Break make you wannabe a surfer? Do you set your TIVO for new episodes of South of Nowhere? If so, you know there’s no better place for teen television than The N. That’s why I interviewed one of the creative executives behind the network for my book, In Their Shoes.

Amy Friedman, SVP/Creative Director of The N, has the inside scoop on how The N creates such great shows and what living the life of a big network exec is really like. My interview with Amy is the new featured podcast on my author website. Download the audio interview to your iPod and sit in on our conversation!

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Interview with yours truly on Teens Read Too

Teens Read Too, a great website featuring book reviews, contests, recommended reads and more, just posted an interview with me. Read it to find out what inspires me to write my books, which cartoon character is most like me, and where I’d “beam myself up to” if I had a chance!

Listen to an interview with The N’s Amy Friedman!

Do you love all the drama on Degrassi? Does Beyond the Break make you wannabe a surfer? Do you set your TIVO for new episodes of South of Nowhere? If so, you know there’s no better place for teen television than The N. That’s why I interviewed one of the creative executives behind the network for my book, In Their Shoes.

Amy Friedman, SVP/Creative Director of The N, has the inside scoop on how The N creates such great shows and what living the life of a big network exec is really like. My interview with Amy is the new featured podcast on my author website. Download the audio interview to your iPod and sit in on our conversation!

* * * * *

Interview with yours truly on Teens Read Too

Teens Read Too, a great website featuring book reviews, contests, recommended reads and more, just posted an interview with me. Read it to find out what inspires me to write my books, which cartoon character is most like me, and where I’d “beam myself up to” if I had a chance!

In today’s world of reality show this and that, being famous just for the sake of it has become a top “career choice” for many girls.

Thousands of girls aspire to be a “celebrity” so they can live the glammed up lifestyle we see portrayed in the media…red-carpet premieres, Hollywood parties, the latest in fashion, entourages, invitations, wealth.

But fame as a career goal? Something’s just not right.

Sure…some of it sounds pretty cool. Who wouldn’t want to be at the same party as Johnny Depp and Gwen Steffani or get to drive around in a shiny, new Porsche? But just like everything in life, things aren’t always what they appear. The truth is, being a celebrity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Don’t believe me? How would you like it if…

• there were photographers camping out outside of your house 24 hours a day?
• every little thing you did (the good stuff and the bad stuff) was gossiped about on TV and magazines
• the word “privacy” was no longer a part of your vocabularly
• people wanted to be your friend for all the wrong reasons
• you constantly had to beware of people trying to steal your money and take advantage of you
• your physical appearance – from your hair color and shoes to your weight and complexion – was constantly being scrutinized
• one wrong career move could mean the end of your lifestyle as you know it
• people expect you to be a perfect role model, when really, you’re only human

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard enough time dealing with my own insecurities and bad-hair days without reading about them in US Weekly.

Pursuing a life of fame and celebrity in the hopes of achieving a lifestyle that we see on MTV Movie Awards pre-show is kind of like chasing a phantom. Because the life that we see from the outside doesn’t exist.

My recommendation? Don’t think about your career goals in terms of what you want to have. Think of them in terms of what you want to learn…how you want to grow…what kind of a positive impact you want to make in the world. If you can reach these goals, then you really will have it all.

* * * * *

There’s obviously been a ton of news lately about young celebrities making big-time mistakes. Between Lindsay’s second stint in rehab (now in progress) and Paris going to jail yesterday to serve her sentence stemming from a DUI and other traffic violations, being a celebrity right now definitely doesn’t look so glamorous.

Check out my friend Jessica Weiner’s latest post on her blog, Bad Girls, where she shares a very thoughtful perspective on the negative news stemming from young Hollywood today.

In today’s world of reality show this and that, being famous just for the sake of it has become a top “career choice” for many girls.

Thousands of girls aspire to be a “celebrity” so they can live the glammed up lifestyle we see portrayed in the media…red-carpet premieres, Hollywood parties, the latest in fashion, entourages, invitations, wealth.

But fame as a career goal? Something’s just not right.

Sure…some of it sounds pretty cool. Who wouldn’t want to be at the same party as Johnny Depp and Gwen Steffani or get to drive around in a shiny, new Porsche? But just like everything in life, things aren’t always what they appear. The truth is, being a celebrity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Don’t believe me? How would you like it if…

• there were photographers camping out outside of your house 24 hours a day?
• every little thing you did (the good stuff and the bad stuff) was gossiped about on TV and magazines
• the word “privacy” was no longer a part of your vocabularly
• people wanted to be your friend for all the wrong reasons
• you constantly had to beware of people trying to steal your money and take advantage of you
• your physical appearance – from your hair color and shoes to your weight and complexion – was constantly being scrutinized
• one wrong career move could mean the end of your lifestyle as you know it
• people expect you to be a perfect role model, when really, you’re only human

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard enough time dealing with my own insecurities and bad-hair days without reading about them in US Weekly.

Pursuing a life of fame and celebrity in the hopes of achieving a lifestyle that we see on MTV Movie Awards pre-show is kind of like chasing a phantom. Because the life that we see from the outside doesn’t exist.

My recommendation? Don’t think about your career goals in terms of what you want to have. Think of them in terms of what you want to learn…how you want to grow…what kind of a positive impact you want to make in the world. If you can reach these goals, then you really will have it all.

* * * * *

There’s obviously been a ton of news lately about young celebrities making big-time mistakes. Between Lindsay’s second stint in rehab (now in progress) and Paris going to jail yesterday to serve her sentence stemming from a DUI and other traffic violations, being a celebrity right now definitely doesn’t look so glamorous.

Check out my friend Jessica Weiner’s latest post on her blog, Bad Girls, where she shares a very thoughtful perspective on the negative news stemming from young Hollywood today.