If I Can Do It, You Can Too!

By Francine Miller

This inspiring memoir tells the story of Francine Miller. Francine’s story is both inspirational and uplifting. Not only does she provide hope to people everywhere, she does so in a charming way, providing funny, heartwarming and, at times, heart wrenching stories and anecdotes of her life. Her story shows that dreams can come true and that people should never give up on their dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Francine Miller
• Release date: Feb 14, 2011

Francine Miller

Francine Miller is an author, as well as television personality, host and producer. She currently resides in Boca Raton, FL with her husband Bill, a.k.a. "The Original Water Doctor." She has 2 beautiful daughters and eight wonderful grandchildren. Francine is the author of the book "If I Can Do It, You Can Too! Her personal interests include yoga, exercise, traveling, and reading. Throughout her life, she's worn the hat of realtor, esthetician, mystery shopper, dog trainer, and many other unique jobs and hobbies.

Book preview

If I Can Do It, You Can Too!

My triumph over fear, shyness and poor self-esteem:

a memoir

by

Francine Miller

Smashwords Edition

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Published on Smashwords by:

Francine Miller

If I Can Do It, You Can Too!

Copyright 2011 by Francine Miller

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

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Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

The Moment That Changed My Life: My First Turning Point

Understanding My Heritage

Reflections Of My Childhood

My Amazing Family

My Major Turning Point: A Journey To Success

My Experiences With The Kabbalah Center

Presidential Encounters

Changing My Destiny

Messages From A Higher Place: Have A Little Faith

My Wonderful Grandchildren: My Living Legacy

My Travels

Little Known Facts

Lessons To Live By

Full Circle

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Dedication

I dedicate this book to my mother. If I hadn’t gone through the struggles that I did in my life, I would not be who I am today. I am a stronger person because of my experiences.

I dedicate this book to my husband, my children and my grandchildren, who I love more than words can say. They’ve showed me the meaning of unconditional love and support. Always move forward and never give up, no matter what.

Finally, I dedicate this book to anyone reading this who is shy, introverted or has low self-esteem. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re not as good as them. You don’t need to be paralyzed by fear—you can prevail. If I can do it, you can too!

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Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank my incredible family. I thank G-d everyday for your love, support and friendship. To my daughters—you are my best friends and you mean the world to me.

To my husband Bill Miller—You helped get me out of my shell. Your mere presence and how you are able to keep a room full of people captivated and mesmerized has always fascinated me. You inspire me.

To my friends who have provided support and love to me, I thank you all so very much. True friends are like precious gems and I treasure those friendships.

To Gayle and Jay Denney, who led me in the right direction and helped me focus my thoughts of the past into something I’m very proud of.

There are so many other people to whom I am grateful. I’d like to thank the people who believed in me and took a chance on me. I’d like to thank the hundreds of people who I have learned so much from over the years—from doctors to hypnotists to psychics to speaking coaches to assertiveness teachers. By sharing your knowledge and skills with me, you have helped shape who I am today.

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Foreword

We all have just one life to live. It may sound a bit bleak at first, but it’s really a call to action. If you have one life to live; what will you do with it?

It took my dear friend Francine Miller almost half of her life to answer that question, but the point is—she answered it. Francine’s story is extraordinary because it demonstrates how it is never, ever too late to do the things you’ve always wanted to do with your life. It is never too late to change. It is never too late to overcome obstacles. It is never too late to live your dream.

There are dozens of reasons and excuses for why we put off our dreams or, worse, fail to acknowledge them: I’m too busy; I don’t have enough money; I could never really do that; I’m too old. There will always be a reason to not do something.

As you will discover in reading Francine Miller’s memoirs, her reason was uncomplicated: simply stated, she was afraid. Fear is the number one factor in holding people back from achieving their dreams. In fact, the fear of public speaking (which terrified Francine) ranks even above fear of death. But what are we really afraid of? Very simply, most of us are afraid to fail.

Francine learned a hard lesson as a child when she was rejected by her mother, following a particularly devastating—yet unfortunately quite common—bout of stage fright. What she learned was that you can’t always count on other people to make you feel better, instill you with confidence, encourage you and comfort you. Though it is wonderful to have such a support system in your family and friends, it cannot be relied upon wholeheartedly. This is why I focus my work and my message on learning to be your own best friend; your own life coach; your own support system. I also emphasize the importance of instilling confidence and providing unconditional support to children, which is a message that Francine also conveys in her book.

Francine’s story is a fantastic example of such self-reliance. She absorbed the hurt of her mother’s rebuke and let it consume her. From the time she was seven years old to the day she turned 40, Francine allowed other people to define her. All the while, a little voice kept piping up inside her saying, I know who you really are, Francine. You’re strong—you can do it!

Francine’s turning point came when she finally listened to that little voice, and with each new experience, each step toward her goal of hosting her own television program and overcoming her fear of speaking in public, the voice became louder and louder. We all have that voice inside. The challenge is to hear it.

Francine’s story is both inspirational and uplifting. Not only does she provide hope to people everywhere, she does so in a charming way, providing funny, heartwarming and, at times, heart wrenching stories and anecdotes of her life. Her story gives hope to anyone who finds themselves in a job they hate, or a relationship they’re unhappy with. Her story shows that dreams can come true and that people should never give up on their dreams. Francine exemplifies the sentiment that you only have one life to live—live it the way you truly want to live it. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how busy you are, how many obstacles you face or how much you’re afraid; it is never too late to make your dreams come true. Francine did it; so can you.

—Sharon Fried Buchalter, Ph.D,

Clinical psychologist,

marriage and family therapist,

hypnotherapist and author of

Children Are People Too and

New Parents Are People Too

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THE MOMENT THAT CHANGED MY LIFE: MY FIRST TURNING POINT

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt

I REMEMBER EVERY DETAIL AS IF IT WAS YESTERDAY. The event that changed me occurred when I was just seven years old, and it has carried with me throughout my entire life. I started out as a pretty outgoing kid with aspirations of becoming an actress someday. In second grade, I was given the chance to make my big debut in a school play the students were putting on for parents and the PTA.

Originally I was behind the scenes in the play. I dutifully decorated the set and helped with costumes, but what I yearned for was to be practicing lines. I wanted to be on stage; not backstage. As luck would have it, one of the girls in the show became sick and could not make it to the performance, my teacher asked me to fill in. I was so excited—I knew this would be my chance to show the world what I could do!

The night of the play, my father stayed home to watch my baby sister, Elisa. My mother took me up the school and just before we walked in, my mother said, Speak slowly, clearly, distinctly and articulately so people can understand you. Though her words were kind and encouraging, the look she gave me was not. When my mother said something, she meant it; she had always been like that. If I would speak to someone, she would stand behind the other person so he couldn’t see and then she would give me a piercing, intimidating stare, as if I shouldn’t speak because I was embarrassing her. She could literally stop me dead in my tracks.

Until that moment that evening, I was quite calm and excited to be in the play. All of that changed once I got the look and the speech from my mother. Instead of feeling like my mother was there to support me and be there for me in my glory, I began worrying that I would mess up my line. She placed a terrible fear of failure in me. I was so worried what my mother’s reaction would be if I didn’t do well.

The warm and stuffy auditorium at P.S. 135 was filled with parents. The other students were backstage, peeking through the thick and dusty red curtain to see if they could spot their parents in the audience. By this time, I was so nervous, the thought of making eye contact with my mother in the audience gave me the chills. My teacher wrote down on a piece of paper the one line I was supposed to say. It was the last line of the play, so all eyes in the huge auditorium would be on me. I considered it to be an incredible honor.

As the play began, I stood waiting to go on stage, practicing my line over and over. I could see that the play was going very well; all of the kids were saying their lines perfectly, which made me even more nervous. When my time came, my teacher tapped me on the shoulder and I walked out onto the stage. Finally! My chance to shine!

I went to open my mouth and say my line when all of a sudden, my body completely froze. Not a single word would come out of my mouth. It was like a spell had been placed over me that prevented me from uttering one word. There was complete silence in the audience—you could hear a pin drop. Though I’m sure the silence lasted only moments, it felt like a lifetime to me. My heart began to beat faster and faster and I knew I had to do something; I couldn’t just stand there. The adrenaline in me took over and I was finally able to make a sound; but all I could muster up were the words, Blah, blah, blah. Today, I can’t remember what my line was, but I know it wasn’t that. Everyone in the audience found it funny and laughed; I ran off of the stage crying.

Backstage, my teacher was waiting for me, lovingly consoling me. She told me it was not that important and certainly nothing to cry about.