The Power of the Ripple Effect

How one life and one choice can change the world.

By Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Cheryl Nordyke

There isn’t a person alive who would not like to think that their life has made a difference in someone else’s life. We all hope to positively impact our friends, families and maybe even our neighbors and co-workers. The truth is that many of us will never know the full extent or the lasting impression that our smallest actions may have on others.

On July 4th, 2008, I was on the bank of the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts along with more than 500,000 people celebrating this country’s birthday. This was also the 35th birthday of the Boston Pop’s Fireworks Spectacular and, performing live at the event, were the Boston Pops and Rascal Flatts. As I sat there and listened to music piped through speakers along the Charles, I could not help but wonder, “What would the Founding Fathers think today if they knew what the signing of the Declaration of Independence had accomplished?” More than 200 years later and this country is so much more than it was on that day when nine out of 13 colonies voted in favor of this new democracy. Then I wondered if anyone thought that the Boston Pop’s Spectacular would become this big of an event when it was first held in 1974, attracting not only a large live audience but also the millions of people who tune in via telecast.

It became very clear to me at that moment how much one ripple, even an action as small as a smile, can continue to grow into a wave of change. Who knows where we would be as a country or what our impact on the world would be if those men had not created the Declaration of Independence. Not only did they craft it, but they willingly signed their names and took action toward creating the life they wanted to live. That act has given us a lifestyle that people from around the world want to experience and be a part of.

The purpose of the first 4th of July concert held on the Charles River was to revitalize the concerts at the Esplanade. Today, it is nationally recognized as an iconic event; Arthur Fiedler’s brainchild has turned into a full-scale production that at least one person from each state in the U.S. attends every year. This Independence Day, the band Rascal Flatts was the featured musical guest. Rascal Flatts started out as three guys doing simply what they love – playing music in bars and clubs. There were times, they said, where there were only two people besides themselves at their gigs. Then in the early 2000s, with the release of two albums, their lives changed forever. They are now multi-platinum recording artists who live their dream everyday and recognize that the life they live is possible because of the fans who support them and their music. The fans, in turn, are impacted through their music and lyrics in ways that the band may never know.

You and I may not play as significant of a role to such a large population of people as those who have become famous. However, it is possible for us to do so if we take action. Each person who has made a strong impression had a dream first and then took steps to realize it. The Founding Fathers decided that we could live in a country with freedom of choice and Rascal Flatts thought that other people would feel something from the music they loved to write and perform. These people started out the same as you and I – with an idea and a dream. The difference is that they took that idea and that dream and made it come to life. We can have the same influence and legacy when we become an agent for change. Be the ripple and stop simply riding the waves created by others.

Today the economy is in the worst shape that it has been in decades. There is an increase in unemployment, gas prices are exorbitant and companies are cutting back. Regardless, there are still people out there reminding us that we can have and become more. Rhonda Byrne’s “The Secret,” Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” and books and lectures by Wayne Dyer all strive to inspire us to live the life we choose. There are companies that have started in dorm rooms and are now making millions, and there are more people who are able to work from home and dedicate more time to family and friends. Yet most of us, while inspired by the stories we read about and see on television, are still living today the same as we did the day before and the day before that.

So how did they do it? What is their secret? I don’t know for certain that anyone can answer those questions because each person has a different path and different challenges to overcome in achieving their dreams. The one thing I do know is that they stopped waiting for next big wave to come along; they stopped depending on someone else to make their dreams come true. They became the ripple and started their own wave that in turn, made more waves and inspired others.

How do you become the ripple? For Mark Zuckerberg, the student-genius behind Facebook, it was turning the idea of students wanting to share information with others into an online business. He stayed focused and worked on making his dream a reality. For Burt and John Jacobs, the guys behind the Life is Good t-shirt company, a few obstacles stood in the way of their goals, but they did not give up. They came up with a winning concept – a character named Jake – and before you know it their dreams were reality.

Is there is a risk in making your own ripple? Of course there is a risk. That holds true for all great things in life. Yet, there is also risk in riding others’ success. That risk may not be as great and we may not even notice it, yet, it does exist. We do not have any control over how the owner of the company that employs us may change. The owner may sell the company or decide that cutbacks are needed. Therefore, there is always a risk.

I am no stranger to creating a ripple, and I am sure that there are many others who have started their own ripples whose impact is yet to be seen. When I was taken from riding a wave that I had been quite successful on to crashing off of it, I realized that I never wanted to jump on someone else’s wave again. My friends and I began rewriting our book and looking for something to inspire us and to remind us to be grateful.

Our quest led us to the idea of creating jewelry that we could purchase for ourselves and our friends, employees or loved ones to say, “Thank you. I am grateful.” We knew that there were people who had read, seen or heard something that had inspired them to pursue and realize their dreams. They would want something to remind them to be grateful for what they have and thank the people who have positively impacted their lives. There, right in front of us, was an opportunity to take action.

Teaming with Jessica Fields, a talented, up-and-coming jewelry designer, we created a line of jewelry called Waves of Gratitude™. The collection includes six individual pendants that represent the many different movements of the ocean. By layering these pendants, which may be worn a bracelet or necklace, we have created a unique and fresh style while holding on to the message of gratitude. We also have a pendant called the Branches of Hope to remind us of where we have been and where we can go. The purpose of the line is to create a tangible symbol of the key elements needed to become a ripple in society. It is a reminder to be grateful, acknowledge that we are not alone, and symbolize that we have done great things and can accomplish our current goals.

There are so many teachers available to us and with today’s diverse media outlets we can access them all very easily. By leveraging these resources, we can become the people we were meant to be. Be the ripple. Create a wave of change for yourself, the people immediately surrounding you and perhaps the world.

About the Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Program

The Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Program is where Cambridge Who’s Who experts share their valuable knowledge on a wide range of subjects.

If you are interested in sharing your expertise and enhancing your online exposure just as Cambridge Who’s Who Author Cheryl Nordyke has done, visit the Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Program page to learn more about this exclusive benefit. Do not miss out on this extraordinary opportunity to establish yourself as an important resource in your industry and profession.

For more information on our member executives and professionals, go to www.CambridgeWhosWho.com.

Leaping into Entrepreneurship

About the Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Program

The Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Program is where Cambridge Who’s Who experts share their valuable knowledge on a wide range of subjects.

If you are interested in sharing your expertise and enhancing your online exposure just as Cambridge Who’s Who Author Cheryl Nordyke has done, visit the Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Program page to learn more about this exclusive benefit. Do not miss out on this extraordinary opportunity to establish yourself as an important resource in your industry and profession.

For more information on our member executives and professionals, go to www.CambridgeWhosWho.com.

How Three Women Took the Chance of a Lifetime

By Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Cheryl Nordyke

Cheryl Nordyke is no stranger to adventure when it comes to finding employment. Nearly 10 years ago, after going through a divorce and losing the grandmother who raised her, she and her 5-year-old daughter packed a moving van and made the trek from southern California to New England to start a new job and a new life.

She was recruited for the job and, since she had been a customer of the Massachusetts-based software company for four years already, she knew the product and knew that she could sell it. So, with a cut in pay, but the promise of big earnings if she worked hard, she decided on a fresh start.

It didn’t take long for Cheryl to reap the benefits of what she sowed. She was the top producer during her first year at the company. For the next nine years she continued to be the top producer and brought in more than $15 million in upfront sales revenue in addition to a high percentage of ongoing revenue in monthly support fees, add-ons and the like. So when her employer eliminated her position as New Business Development Director, it came as a total shock to her. For the first time since she started working at the age of 17, Cheryl was unemployed.

During the last 20 years, unemployment rates have gone up and down as this country watched the dot-com era boom and then fall to recession before it slowly recovered, only to see a country wage a war it could not afford. During all of this, Cheryl and others just like her have had to adjust. But adjusting and coping was not enough for Cheryl. What made her successful in sales was her different outlook and approach to problem-solving, and it is what has turned her unemployed status to that of entrepreneur.

During her time at the company, Cheryl was able to help long-time friend, Carrin Torres from California, obtain consulting work at the same software company in the finance department. When that ended, Carrin went back to being a stay-at-home mom and when her struggling marriage ended, Carrin needed to look for work again. The work turned out to be much less than she needed to support four children; not only the future looked bleak, but so did everyday life. The issue of underemployment is as much of a financial shock to families as unemployment.

Faced with a search that could take months to land her a job at her previous six-figure salary, Cheryl took a chance. She put all of her life savings and retirement account on the line and decided that if she could make a good living for someone else, then she could certainly do the same for herself.

Teaming Up

While working at the software company, Cheryl met Kim Wierman. Kim was re-entering the workforce full time after spending 12 years at home raising three sons. Her husband’s health issues, plus the high cost of his health insurance, had Kim looking for a job with good benefits and time to spend with her family. She thought she had found the ideal situation when a marketing job presented itself. She was able to cross-train for several weeks to build her skills and confidence since she had been far removed from corporate life for more than a decade. The marketing job turned out to be more than she expected, but Kim welcomed the opportunity and worked hard to reach the goals set by the company. Ultimately her hard work did not pay off and her job was also eliminated. A managerial position was created in its place with the same description. Kim was not offered the new position or any other at the company and became involuntarily unemployed. Three weeks later, Kim’s husband died suddenly of a heart attack, and she was faced with being the sole provider for her family.

The expression, “Success is when preparation meets opportunity,” rang true with this trio. In the years before moving East, Cheryl and Carrin had dreamed of becoming writers and had started a book of reflections on everyday situations. Cheryl was able to introduce Kim and Carrin to each other, and the three of them went on to finish the book.

In the search for a reminder to be grateful, Cheryl, Carrin and Kim decided to wear a bracelet representing gratitude. “We were off on our quest to find the perfect piece of jewelry, but nothing out there spoke to us,” said Cheryl. Kim knew of someone that might be able to make them a bracelet and doors that they never imagined began to open.

“We met two women and worked with them for over four months and had nothing physically to show for our efforts. In the middle of working with them, another door opened and someone offered to introduce us to a jewelry designer named Jessica Fields. When our first road came to an end, we decided maybe the other road we had been offered might be worth pursuing. Jessica was exactly what we were looking for. We shared our vision and our story. We wanted jewelry that was beautiful and something you actually would want to wear and give as a gift. However, we also wanted something that would have meaning; one that would say to a recipient, ‘we are grateful for what you do’ and for the wearer it would say, ‘remember to be grateful.’”

A new business, Wavelet Productions, LLC, was born out of this search for the perfect reminder and with it Waves of Gratitude jewelry, apparel and an online community were launched. The entrepreneurial spirit with which these women approached unemployment is a mind-set that some people do not dare choose when faced with job loss, divorce, or any other new or unforeseen situation.

“We are flooded daily with negative information from our employers, the media, rude drivers and other unhappy, angry people,” comments Cheryl. “The jewelry, and the whole business we’ve created, is meant to remind us that we have a choice to not react in the same way when in a similar situation. We can choose to be grateful and not experience whatever it is that is making others so unhappy.”

The company was founded on the premise that there is something to be grateful for in every situation and in each day.

Giving Back

Waves of Gratitude will be giving a percentage of all sales to carefully chosen charities and causes. “We are going to be giving a percentage of our profits for 2008 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure (a charity focused on breast cancer),” said Kim. “However, our cause will be wellness. We may be focused on cancer, but we will represent the positive statistics related to breast cancer survival.”

In the future, the Wavelet women plan to celebrate other causes, including the recognition of heroes – firefighters, soldiers, policeman and other everyday heroes. They hope to raise enough profits to give to quarterly causes. This includes showing their gratitude for all they have and what the future holds by supporting the environment, underprivileged children and education.
One of the jewelry pieces created is called “Branches of Hope,” and it is meant to symbolize survival. “Every woman has survived something,” Cheryl says.

“It could be an illness, loss of a loved one, divorce, or a move – and sometimes all of those at once! For anyone who has displayed courage or strength this is a great gift to say, ‘I am proud of you; you made it.’ For you, it is a reminder that as the seasons sometimes weather a tree, it is those same seasons that bring out its true strength and inner beauty. It says that, no matter how life has been, there is hope for how life can be. The seeds of hope lie within us the same way they were in the tree before it became the symbol of strength it is today.”

Wavesofgratitude.com will also have a blogging section and forum serving as a social network where visitors can write their own gratitude stories, send pictures of the people to whom they have given jewelry and share pictures of themselves wearing it and what it is that has them feeling grateful. Giving hope to the other millions of people who will find themselves unemployed or underemployed this year, the Waves of Gratitude founders hope to reach 6 million people by June of 2009 and send a message that their focus on gratitude can shift not only their own lives but the lives of those around us. “We cannot control the world, but we can control how we choose to live our own lives. We chose to live in gratitude.”

About the Owners

Cheryl Nordyke is a native of Arizona who relocated from California to New Hampshire in 1998. Cheryl has been writing since the age of 10, consistently recording her thoughts and ideas about different situations along life’s path. She is the co-author of But What Do We Know and has written several children’s books. Cheryl is the mother of one daughter.

Carrin Torres resides in Southern California. Carrin’s background is in motivational training and personal coaching in the business arena. As a mother of four and also the co-author of But What Do We Know, she has been able to contribute many examples to the different approaches one can take in raising a family in today’s world.

Kim Wierman was raised on the North Shore in Boxford, Massachusetts and makes her home now in Derry, New Hampshire. Kim has worked as a professional writer and editor since 1986, having published work as a ghostwriter for more than 10 eBooks and printed books. She too has contributed to the book, But What Do We Know. Kim is the mother of three boys.

Biography

Cheryl Nordyke has been a member of Cambridge Who’s Who since April 2008. She is the co-owner of Wavelet Productions dba Waves of Gratitude. Waves of Gratitude is an online retail store that sells inspirational jewelry incorporating two or more wave designs from the wave collection into a versatile pendant. The waves were created by fashion designer Jessica Fields to represent gratitude, a sentiment which is given and received just as the waves of the ocean constantly flow to and from the shore. Cheryl’s expertise is in business development, sales, marketing, customer relations and business planning.

After facing several trials and tribulations, including unemployment, Cheryl moved from California to New England to begin a new life for herself and her daughter. She decided to become an entrepreneur and start her own business. She founded Waves of Gratitude with Carrin Torres and Kim Wierman, two women who had also endured life-changing experiences and shared her positive attitude and entrepreneurial spirit. They decided that they would produce a product that embodies the phrase “thank you” and serves as a long-lasting symbol of gratitude. For more information about Waves of Gratitude and how they got started, please read “Over 40 and Redefining Unemployment through Entrepreneurship”.

Cheryl is a member of the New Hampshire Retail Association and received a certification through the Dale Carnegie Program. She has received the Human Relationships Award from Colonial Ford, National City, CA and currently supports Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Jimmy Fund and the American Heart Association. In addition to being an entrepreneur, Cheryl has been writing since the age of 10 and has been consistently recording her thoughts and ideas about different situations along life’s path. She is the co-author of But What Do We Know, a compilation of insights on how to approach daily situations in a positive way. The book provides three different points of view into different aspects of life such as friends, family and parenting. In addition, Cheryl has written several children’s books.

Cheryl attributes her success to her hard work and determination as well as to receiving continuous support from her mentors. She enjoys building and maintaining relationships with customers and within five years she plans to invest in small business ventures and share her business knowledge with other aspiring entrepreneurs.

Articles by Cheryl Nordyke

• Over 40 and Redefining Unemployment through Entrepreneurship
• Leaping into Entrepreneurship
• The Power of the Ripple Effect New!

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Learn about established Cambridge Who’s Who^® contributing authors, and read their articles and testimonials: 

Cambridge Who’s Who^® Contributing Authors

• Bruce Deitrick Price
• Cheryl Nordyke
• Chinonyerem (Chi Chi) Okezie
• Claire Power Murphy
• Douglas Hyer
• Harold Kestenbaum
• Ines A. Hatch
• Jenny Mackay
• Jo DeMarco
• Kerri Duncan
• Lisa Parker
• Mark Kass
• Nadia Farooq
• Philip B. Righter
• Shirley Patterson
• Susan Gosine

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• How Your Personal Brand Makes an Impact
• Sassy, Brassy, Direct and to the Point
• The Art of Establishing Your Personal Business Brand
• When Branding is All about Appeal

Career Advancement

• The Strategy Behind Bold 

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• Grow Yourself As You Grow Your Business
• Leaping into Entrepreneurship
• Over 40 and Redefining Unemployment through Entrepreneurship
• The Benefits of Freelance Writing
• The Business of Hiring Freelancers
• The Power of the Ripple Effect
• The Small Business Evolution: Adapting to the Global Economy New!

• Autism and Communication 
• Dyslexia 
• Exploring the Education Enigma

• Tips for Maintaining Healthy Relationships in an Unhealthy Economy 
• Understanding Corporate Financial Planning^©

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• Benefitting From Deregulation New!
• Overcoming Adversity to Find Strength

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• The Clash of Titans: The Emerging Rivalry between India and China New!

Networking 

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• Growing Your Business through Online Networking
• Networking Starts and Ends with You
• Why Entrepreneurs Should Invest in Online Networking

Positioning Yourself as an Expert 

• An Expert Lesson From Dad
• An Introduction to Franchising
• The Best Experts Get Involved

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Chinonyerem (Chi Chi) Okezie
Owner, Founder
SIMPLEnetworking LLC
Jonesboro, GA

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