Never Say Never

With a career spanning three decades and transitioning seamlessly between the fields of sports, entertainment, and politics, Phyllis George has had a lifetime of risk-taking, pioneering and successes. She has distilled these experiences into ten essential lessons around which she has organized her book. 1. Dream Big Dreams: However impossible it might have seemed from for a small town girl who had already lost the Miss Texas competition once, Ms. George never gave up her dream of becoming Miss America. Aiming high served Ms. George throughout her career as she refused to see anything as out of reach. 2. Be a Risk-Taker: Stepping up to the plate in the very men's oriented world of sportscasting required a lot of courage. Her pioneering efforts, in addition to the doors they opened for her, have paved the way for other women to enter the world of sports television. 3. Find a Void and Fill It: Entrepreneurship can start small - the secret is finding the niche where you can really make a difference. Chicken by George! started in Ms. George's own kitchen, but by identifying a hole in the market, the business took on a life of it's own, eventually getting bought by Hormel. 4.
Keep Your Options Open: There are countless reasons behind change - personal growth, an unpredictable world, a new discovery, to name but a few. By pursuing a variety of goals, Ms. George demonstrates the value of "fallbacks," as well as the very real possibility that they might become primary interests or pursuits one day. 5. Lend a Helping Hand: Twenty years of work with Save the Children has provided Ms. George with a wealth of examples of the ways in which helping others can provide new insights into the self. 6. Trust Your Own Instincts: Don't allow a lack of support to discourage you! When Ms. George proposed the sale of Kentucky crafts in major New York department stores, salespeople were skeptical, to say the least. Her persistence led to the opening of the "Oh, Kentucky" boutiques within Bloomingdale's which became an instant success, despite everyone's doubts. 7. Keep the Faith: Sometimes, no matter how hard we have worked, things just don't work out and you must try something else. In those times, the belief that a larger force is at work and perhaps that force has other plans for you can be a tremendous source of support. When the time came for Ms.
George to admit that she and "CBS Morning News" wasn't going to be a successful coupling, to know that her future must lie elsewhere helped give her the strength to walk away from a long sought after position. 8. Feel the Power of Being Nice: For all of her ambition and subsequent successes, no one would accuse Ms. George of stepping on people to get to the top. This chapter offers the lesson that you can be nice and still get ahead, and that you can often get ahead by being nice. 9. Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously: The ability to laugh at yourself can sometimes be the key to maintaining your sanity (and the quality of life for those around you) as you strive to achieve your goals. 10. Never Say Never!: Don't let anyone else tell you what you are capable of, don't underestimate the power of positive thinking, and don't give up. If Ms. George can show us anything, these three lessons shine through in her public life.