Mastering The Art Of Success

(^) Ginny Baldridge
GINNY BALDRIDGE (BALDRIDGE)
Well, thank you, David. It is my utmost p leasure to be here.
WRIGHT
What is the one driving motivation that helped you become the
success you are today?
BALDRIDGE
I credit my success to the influence of my mom. Because of her life,
it became clear to me that b eauty starts from the inside out. I grew up
in a small Southern town where today many of the women still reflect
the charm and the grace of times gone by. Care is taken with their
dr ess, makeup, hair, and accessories. Many women still use that
unwritten code of conduct in their behavior and manners.
After my mom gave birth to her sixth child she became very weak
and bedridden. After many years, she was eventually diagnosed at Mayo
Clinic with a disease called myasthen ia grav is. At that time, the only
option had been to place a rubber tube in her stomach in order to pour
water and blended food as she could not even swallow her own
saliva. I never heard her complain or speak unkindly of anyone as she
endured all this suffering without protest. She bore her illness with
dignity and grace, and she exemplified a beautiful and loving woman of
faith.
When she was able to leave her bed, she dr essed like Jackie Kennedy
and when she was in bed, which was most of the time, she wore lace
chiffon bed jackets and took care of her hair and applied her lipstick
with care. She taught me an indispensable attitude that can transform
and inspire individuals and that attitude was courag e, hope, and
perseverance.
Two years before her death she developed breast cancer and h ad
two radical mastectomies along with grueling radiation treatments. As a
young girl, I would rub baby oil on her chest as the raw, dead skin
came off in my hands. She died at age forty-two, and I had just turned
thirteen. At this early age, her death had a profound effect on me in
dealing with tragedy. As an adult, I grew to understand that her “sense
of style” was, in essence, the life of a saintly woman.