Thanks to the regionally-famous self-help guru, Shandy Pantin, Mondays have never been more manic in Maynard Park.
Author of the book, "If You Can't Do It, I'll Do It For You", and co-founder of the prankster-mime dance troupe, "Up With Everything", Shandy is turning frowns upside down through a neighborhood program called "Motivational Mondays."
Instead of crowding into a lecture hall or listening to a tape or reading a book, Shandy's motivation comes to you right on the street corners of Maynard Park. A band of volunteers calling themselves the “Shandy Sparks” gathers at key intersections, welcoming morning commuters (on foot and in cars) with prolonged shouting of inspiring messages of encouragement and validation.
The initial cacophony from the often simultaneous screams of hope can be a bit daunting at times. "You can be all you can be if you'll only take the risk to stop your limiting thinking and consider the core value of your authentic self and share your gifts with the others in your life who need those gifts..." But, some of it does sink in, and if nothing else, it demands your attention.
For Shandy, giving back to the community is a life-long mission. Says Shandy, “Many years ago, I was a highly successful ice dancer, when one day I completely forgot my routine during a performance of A Few Good Men on Ice.” Shandy never performed again, but the experience inspired the self-help book series, “Frozen on the Ice: Shandy Remembers.”
If you find yourself feeling like someone left your cake out in the rain, consider passing through Seattle's Maynard Park Neighborhood (and Shandy’s renamed "Smile Avenue") on your way to work on Monday, and put a little sunshine back in your life.
As Shandy says, "When life gives me lemonade, I drink it!"
