Following My Dreams and Creating Planetary Nations LLC

Planetary Nations is a company that is dedicated to assisting artisans and consumers throughout the world connect with one another through eco-friendly practices. In 2011, I established the company after my husband and I took a rv trip throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains. We had planned a trip to fly into Las Vegas rent an rv and drive it to Lake Tahoe, California to see a good friend. Our trip took us into several beautiful cites and through mountain ranges like we had never seen before. It was an amazing trip and it resulted in a life altering change.

Four years ago I had undergone a kidney transplant and the dreams of living my life as a teacher had ended. The medications that I have to take suppress my immune system and due to this I often got sick from being around so many peoples germs. Therefore, I changed career paths into educational leadership but as teachers came under more and more scrutiny and are being forced to teach 30 + students I could not lead them with a true heart any longer. I knew that I had to change my career path. For me the road trip that we went on was partially for me to clear my head and decide what direction my life take as the stress of my current job was quickly running me into the ground. 

After a few days I began to become more open and really started thinking about the possibilities of a new career. Nothing was coming to mind and I struggled with finding my self once again. Then along our trip we came across an artists house in Mammoth Mountain that was abandoned. The cottage was off of the main road and had a rickety artists sign swinging in front of it. Since this was the first time I had seen a artists sign I wanted to stop and look around. Purchasing art from local artisans has always been a hobby mine. However, as we prepared to get out of the rv we realized that the cottage was up for sale and had a foreclosure sign in front of it. Another, American dream ended due to foreclosure. This saddened me because it appeared that someone had built the cottage as their dream home but eventually the dream led to a dead end. After going down a similar path of losing my dream job I related with whomever it was that once lived there. 

Throughout the rest of my trip and after I got home this experience couldn’t leave me. I kept wondering about the family that once lived there, the lost dreams and if there  was some way that I could have helped them. I also began to think about struggling artists throughout America and the world. I really wanted to figure out a way to assist them by getting their items to market. I wondered how I would first find these artisans and then reach out them. Since some of my favorite stores have always been Fair Trade stores I realized that I could reach out by establishing a retail fair trade store. 

Now, two months later I am almost ready to open my doors to my e-commerce store and begin selling the goods that artists from throughout the world have created. I believe that this business will revolutionize my world by bringing immense happiness and positive energy into my heart and the hearts of others. The products that I have collected are beautiful and so many of the wholesale companies that I have purchased them from disclose how they assist the artisans by providing them not only with fair wages but also with health care, electricity,and education. It is amazing how a little cottage in the mountains has taught me so much about life and has allowed me to fulfill my dream and that is assist others throughout the world.

New Beginnings - Self Reflections

Yes, as the saying goes "life is what you make it." But in order to make it what you want you have to know what it is that you want. I believe that like myself, many people struggle with this notion. As life goes on it catches up with you and eventually you lose yourself in the perpetual motion of it. Some continue to stay true to themselves and others can't remember who they once were. I am one of the people that lost myself-identity and am on the way to recovering it.
Out of the depths of our souls, deep beneath the political bull shit, the consistent nagging of the media and the noise that surrounds us there is a stillness. A quietness that if you just allow yourself to listen you may be surprised at what you find. After leading a group of teachers in a professional development session I found myself truly unhappy. Not because they were coming back from vacation and I had worked 40 + hours over the summer developing curriculum, but because I had lost the root cause of why education is so meaningful to me. Throughout the past few years education has become so much about everything and anything but the children. We hear all the time about these teachers lost their pensions; states are having to retain poor teachers due to unionized teacher contracts; charter schools performing better traditional schools and vice versa. On and on it goes. But, when do we as educators really stop the noise and take a look at ourselves and think what is really going on here? Why did I get into this profession in the first place? What I can do to help the children? What do I know works and how can I share this with others?
After the conundrum you feel lost, depleted with nothing left to give. That is why my path began to veer away from education and began to focus upon the people of this world (our planet earth). We are all united. We all have the same bone structure, cell structure and physical attributes. We are all here trying to make this world a better place. A place in which we can live and make it better for future generations. We, people of all nationalities, are here on earth to serve one purpose - to live our lives the way we want and to contribute to making our planet a place that is safe, comfortable and sustainable.
Since I didn't feel as if my deeds were leading me towards my goals in life I decided to reach out to all humanity and begin this life journey with a small store called Planetary Nations. My dream is to unite people so that together we can make a difference in each others lives. I want a positive energy to flow through all of us so that we can create a better place for all humanity. I decided to work with Fair Trade Federation producers and wholesalers so that all of the goods I sell are able to assist people all over the world that are working to improve their lives through equitable and fair working conditions. In return their goods are then sold to people that can embrace the beauty and uniqueness of the item and positive energy can begin to flourish throughout the world.