Archive of ‘Inspiring Stories’ category

Being bold is the best payoff

Being bold is what gets you noticed. But you know what? It's hard to step out, stand up and get noticed. It's easier to take the road of the less resistance and just sit back in the cut for things to happen. But "sitting back'' is the lazy way out. Nothing happens. Things remain the same. Action is what brings about change. So, if you've been thinking about doing something to bri

Being bold is what gets you noticed. But you know what? It’s hard to take that first step to get to your next, especially if you are shy. It’s much easier to just sit back in the cut for things to happen. But “sitting back” is not an option. Nothing happens. And when nothing happens, your drive remains dormant and will eventually die. Action is what brings about change. So, if you’ve been thinking about doing something, anything, just do it. Be bold and go for it. The worse that can happen is that someone tells you no or you fail. But that’s OK. You just get up and keep going until someone says, “Yes.” Because, one day, someone will. 

Waiting is for winners

How many times have you wanted something so badly, but you didn't have the patience to wait? You jumped the gun and later regretted your decision. Waiting is powerful. When there's a big decision you have to make and you are torn at what to do, just wait. The answer will come - eventually.

How many times have you wanted something so badly, but you didn’t have the patience to wait? You jumped the gun and later regretted your decision. Waiting is powerful. When there’s a big decision you have to make and you are torn at what to do, just wait. The answer will come – eventually.

National Lipstick day is made for makeup mavens like Jestina Howard

Aware Cosmetics founder Jestina Howard believes in beautiful faces and healthy bodies. She started her Birmingham, Ala.-based company in 2003. A portion of her sales go to help the American Lung Association. (Photo by Liesa Cole.)

Aware Cosmetics founder Jestina Howard believes in beautiful faces and healthy bodies. She started her Birmingham, Ala.-based company in 2003. Check out her line on July 29, National Lipstick Day and every day. Her products are free of paraben, talc and gluten. (Photo by Liesa Cole.)

 

By Chanda Temple 

For years, I wore Desire, a plum lip color from MAC. It was my signature shade.

Little did I know I was only supposed to wear it in the colder months. (It took my aunt to break the news to me when she saw me on TV one morning. She said it was too dark and not the best look for spring.)

I lightened up on the lip color the next day.

But I want to also credit Birmingham, Ala. makeup maven Jestina Howard for challenging me to step outside my makeup comfort zone. In 2013, I contacted her to buy my favorite plum color from her line, Aware Cosmetics. (Hey, let’s just say I’m addicted to plum.) Anyway, Jestina said that color no longer existed in her line. Then, she encouraged me to try a bright red.

Ummm, excuse me. Bright red?!! Oh no, I thought. That’s not me. (more…)

There’s power in your potential

If you have the drive today, use it today. Don't put it on a shelf and "save'' it for another day. Pick it up and go. Slackers are not allowed around here.

If you have the drive today, use it today. Don’t put it on a shelf and “save” it for another day. Pick it up and go while you have the desire to do better. it could lead to the next big thing.

 

By Chanda Temple

A friend texted me today, saying he wanted to work out but it was raining where he lived.

He knows I’m a big supporter of fitness, so I encouraged him to go for it. He texted back: “But I’m tired and sleepy. Plus, I left my headphones at work.”

I saw this exchange was gonna require some tough love. I texted back: “Did you have your headphones when you were downing that meal at P.F. Chang’s?”

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Motivation Monday: Just Start

Stuck on start? Get your engines going and just begin. Know this: It will be a beautiful journey because you are in the driver's seat.

Stuck on start? Get your engines going and just begin. Know this: It will be a beautiful journey because you are in the driver’s seat.

 

By Chanda Temple 

I ran into a friend at a coffee shop this morning and she said something that got me to thinking.

She talked about life and then expressed how she really wanted to write. She said she liked to write poetry and maybe write even a book. I had no idea she loved to write, so her words intrigued me.

When I asked her why she had not started, she said, “It’s not that I’m scared. I’m just worried no one will like it.”

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Write your own story

Write your own story.

Write your own story

 

By Chanda Temple 

What makes you smile? Do yourself a favor and do it.

Silly? Maybe. But it’s your first step to getting to your happy.

Stop letting others set your agenda. You are in charge, so take the lead.

By the end of the day, you’ll be glad you did.

Chanda Temple is a veteran reporter now working in public relations. She blogs at  http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chandatemple.

 

I’m here because of them

 

fourlittlegirlsstatue
In honor of the four girls killed in the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, I look back at how a Birmingham memorial in their honor became a reality in 2013. Located at the edge of Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham are statues in honor of Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and Cynthia Wesley, all Birmingham City Schools students at the time of their deaths. 
 
This story looks at how Mountain Brook native Elizabeth MacQueen, the Four Spirits Inc. and the City of Birmingham worked to see the memorial completed.  All photos by Chanda Temple
By Chanda Temple
In 2012, a Birmingham organization known as Four Spirits Inc. launched a national competition in search of entries for a memorial to honor the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Baptist Church.
There were five entries from men. Elizabeth MacQueen was the only female.
When MacQueen’s design was selected in April 2013, she halted a project she was working on in Thailand so she could dedicate all of her time to the Four Spirits memorial.

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Condoleezza Rice: Find something you are passionate about

Dr. Condi with students at Regions

Dr. Condoleeza Rice speaks to students in Birmingham, Ala. at Regions bank. Photo by Chanda Temple.

By Chanda Temple

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice always thought she’d be a concert pianist.

She could play the piano and read music before she could read. But by the end of her sophomore year in college, she attended a prestigious music festival and school where music prodigies at the age of 12 had put her piano playing skills to shame.

Hmm, she thought, maybe piano is not for me.

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Remembering mom this Mother’s Day

NOTE: This tribute to my mother appears in the May 2015 issue of Birmingham Magazine. Happy Mother’s Day!

Mothers Day 2015-1 web.jpg
Chanda Temple holding a photo of her late mother, Ann Temple. Chanda Temple is a former journalist now working as the executive assistant to the superintendent and school board for Birmingham City Schools. (Photo by Major Colbert)

 

By Chanda Temple 

Sitting on my desk is one of my favorite photos of my mother.

In it, she’s wearing a pressed dress suit, perfectly coiffed hair and a high-wattage smile — some of my favorite things about her.

My younger sister and I are standing by her side after the two of us appeared in a children’s fashion show  —  a norm in our young lives during the 1970s in Huntsville. As we walked out of the venue, my mother slipped off her heels, took hold of our little hands and started to escort us down a pair of concrete stairs.

Something about that image must have struck my father because he snapped the photo.

“Cheese!”

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