September 2010

The first attorney I consulted with as a legal nurse consultant was serendipity. Everything I did was perfectly in sync with him. We hit it off like best friends – it was as though we had known each other in another lifetime. With my goal to turn my legal nurse consulting business from my part-time venture into a full-time business, I concluded, “I’ve got it all figured out. I know exactly what attorneys want and this is going to be easy.” Boy, I could not have been more wrong.

When Andy went to his partner Jim (who literally wrote the book in Texas on medical malpractice) and said “Jim, you have to start using Vickie,” use me Jim did. He rode me like my twin brother, Vince rides a thoroughbred horse – hard and fast. Jim was the smartest attorney I’ve ever met and he turned out to be my most challenging attorney-client. In contrast, Andy was fun, respectful and treated me like a lady, while Jim was 100% good-ole-boy and thought women had their place and should stay exactly where that place was (and it wasn’t a good place).

When I moved to Texas from New Orleans for nursing school, I steered clear of the good-ole-boys. The one and only time I went country-western dancing with my friends, some urban cowboy clamped his hand around the back of my neck to lead me like a horse onto the dance floor. I was like, “That’s it! I’m out of here.” I never went country-western dancing again and to this day I don’t like pickup trucks and men in cowboy hats. Country-western music still gives me a pain in my neck. Apologies to all country-western fans – please don’t let my opinion stop you from reading the rest of this blog.

Working with Jim was like being right back in that cowboy dance hall again. After a particularly difficult Jim encounter, I figured if I could survive growing up with my twin brother Vince (who bucked me up at an early age), I could survive this attorney. Understand, Jim is one of the best attorneys I’ve ever met and at the time, I knew I could learn a lot from him, that is if I could keep from killing him or bashing him on the head with one of his big cigars. I haven’t mentioned the cigars and the way he’d smoke them everywhere he went. He figured that when your name is the first one on the door, you do what you want – and he did.

Andy was a gentle giant. In deposition he was vicious but in a way that was downright gentlemanly. Outside the legal arena, he was a teddy bear. This “Odd Couple” (like Brooks and Dunn) were amazingly effective together. Jim was the courtroom showboat and Andy was the street fighter, slugging it out in depositions and motions. Together they created an enviable record and legend.

The experience with Andy and Jim taught me that attorneys come in all shapes and sizes and if I was going to build something big, which was my intention for my legal nurse consulting business, I would have to respond accordingly and get in sync instead of going insane. Jim set the bar very high and expected everyone to leap over it, and we all did – his partners, associates and legal assistants – all rose to his challenge.

So, I bucked up and Jim and I did our dance, through clouds of cigar smoke, glasses of whisky, dirty boots up on his desk during brainstorms and along the way he taught me more about medical malpractice than 95% of other attorneys will ever know. The learning wasn’t just one way though. In my buck-up style, I taught him women professionals didn’t need to be led around by the neck. We reached a truce and our own level of understanding. He made me a better legal nurse consultant. I like to think he’d admit that my work product made him a better attorney, but I don’t think he ever would.

It wasn’t serendipity with Jim, not at first and not ever. But, here’s the real surprise. Like Andy, Jim will always be one of my favorite attorney-clients. But hey, maybe that’s not so surprising, after all, I always LOVE a challenge…as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, don’t you?

Success Is Inside!

I’d like to offer special congratulations to one of my staff members, Evie Baron-Hernandez, who recently walked the stage to receive her college diploma. Many of you know Evie and she’s a model of commitment, both to Vickie Milazzo Institute for 13 years and to getting her degree.

Evie obtained her degree online while juggling a career, a beautiful 6-year-old son, her extended family and her wonderful husband. Many people’s lives and Vickie Milazzo Institute would not be the same without her. I was so pleased to be able to celebrate her success with her and her family at not just one but two fun graduation parties. Here’s a quick video of how Evie did it and what she wants you to know about launching and growing your CLNC^® business.

Just about every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant owns a cell phone and some lucky CLNC^® consultants even own iPhones^® or Droid^® phones. More and more of you are purchasing laptop computers for your legal nurse consulting businesses and I’ve even run into a few Certified Legal Nurse Consultants traveling with an iPad^®. What’s the common thread here? At one time or another, one of these fellow CLNC^® travelers will put down their precious device and walk away from it. It’s not a matter of “if,” it’s a matter of “when.” It may be at an airport security checkpoint, on an airplane, at a legal conference or even in a restroom.

Other than buying a leash, tether or lanyard for your phone or laptop, what can you do? Easy, get yourself a Brother Home and Office Labeler. At just under $20, this will allow you to print labels of varying sizes. Simply put your name and phone number (Not your mobile number if it’s on your mobile phone – Duh!), maybe your office address (never your home) plus the phrase “Reward for Safe Return” on a label. Put the label on the top of the laptop or back of the iPod. Put a label on the inside too, near the laptop’s keyboard. For your cell phone, put the label on the back or on the inside of the battery cover.

This won’t guarantee that you’ll get your device back, but if you leave it at the airport or somewhere else, there’s a chance that a good Samaritan will call you to return it to you or even turn it in to “lost and found.”

For any CLNC^® consultants who don’t want to use their own name on the label, you can use a service like StuffBak™. They will provide you with customized, hard-to-remove aluminum property tags marked not just with the eye-catching word REWARD, but with StuffBak’s phone number and your owner’s assigned serial number. The labels are hard to remove (put more than one on larger items) and “found” lost items can be reported 24/7. With this service you’ll get your items back pretty quickly – if they’re turned in. StuffBak offers a $20 reward per returned item and you can supplement the reward yourself if an item is important enough to you. Again, this won’t guarantee that you’ll get your treasure back but it surely increases your chances.

In today’s mobile world, labeling your legal nurse consulting business’s tools are the best way to help keep those tools from going too mobile on their own. As an added bonus, I’ve found my Brother labeler to be handy in the office and at home. I’ve labeled computer cabling, stereo and TV connections and even Vickie’s precious orchids. You’ll find all sorts of business uses. It’s a tool that keeps on giving and the labeling fun never ends!

Keep on techin,
Tom

As a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, you will frequently give attorney-clients verbal opinions on medical-related cases, but you will also render written opinions on cases. When it’s time to sit down and compose your written report, you want to do so fast and you want that report to be the best it can be.

I love writing reports. Let me qualify that statement. Once I’m writing, I love writing. Sometimes I’m challenged to get into the writing and I will find all kinds of excuses to avoid getting into the writing process – urgent emails, seminar preparation, the toilets need cleaning…you get the idea.

Here is a five-step writing process for composing reports of all lengths from brief to comprehensive. These five steps will help you jump in fast and never again choose a toilet over a report.

Step 1 – Start with a Preset Pattern

The pattern-seeking logical brain likes to know the order of things, so start with a preset pattern for the result you want to achieve. Picture the result. Define the result. Walk through the result mentally. Look at one of the Institute’s sample reports to use as a template. If you have a model, image or pattern in mind, it’s easier to get started.

Step 2 – Stuff Your Brain

Stuff your brain with all the information you can get on the subject. Research relevant standards and scientific literature. Talk to essential players such as the attorney, a CLNC^® subcontractor, a plaintiff or defendant. Don’t focus on formulating opinions; just take it all in until your brain feels thoroughly saturated. The more information you take in and the more you absorb, the more likely you are to reach the correct conclusions.

Step 3 – Buzz Off

Take a break. Sleep on it, when possible. At least take a walk. Incubation is an essential step in any creative process. During this time, think about anything except what you’re working on. Likewise, capture those brilliant thoughts you have when you’re not supposed to be thinking about the case report. I find that I reach my best analysis after sleeping on a case or situation overnight (not at my desk). Sometimes I’ll reach my “eureka” moment in the shower or while cleaning that toilet.

Step 4 – Pour It Out

This is a no-wrong-answers brainstorming dump. Let the creative right brain take over to synthesize the material and develop a raw first draft. Suspend judgment. Don’t get it right, get it written.

• Put on slow (60 beats a minute), low-volume music. This will stimulate your mind without the overstimulation of Lady Gaga-esque dance music.
• Turn off the phones, children, spouses and other interruptions (no email either).
• Spill the beans. Dump everything out of your brain without editing, simply write, type or talk into a recorder.
• Don’t think about what you’re doing; ignore misspelled words and incomplete sentences. They’ll only move you from productive to editing mode. If you catch your left brain trying to muscle in to add logic, push it away and keep pouring out the raw material.
• Go until you’re empty. Spend 20-50 minutes, or until your brain feels drained and the ideas dwindle to nothing (it may happen sooner).

Repeat this brain dump as many times as needed with breaks in between. If you do take a break, make sure it supports the creative process. For example – grabbing a bite to eat, taking a walk or stretching, all support your goal by keeping the creative process free (unless you’re making a Dagwood sandwich). Interruptive processes like checking email and voicemail have the potential of disrupting your goal big time by focusing you on other issues or problems.

Step 5 – Structure and polish

Go back and assess your work product to see whether you agree with the content of what you’ve written. Ask yourself, have you said all you need to say? Is your opinion the same? If not, make the necessary change. When you’re done, move to structure and polish. Now it’s time to haul out the left brain and set it loose to create the stellar report you want to produce.

• Select the ideas that work.
• Arrange them in a logical order that fits the pattern your left brain thinks will work best.
• When you’re 90% satisfied, lay it aside (overnight, if possible). Let that “mulling” process think it over once more.
• Return to your report later for a final polish.
• Finally, proof a printed copy of the report.

Even when you have only an hour for the entire job, this process works (just take shorter breaks). Encourage both sides of your brain to do their best work, and the result is a fresh, creative approach presented in a pattern that makes sense – to you and to others.

Success Is Inside!

Tammie Clarke-Heller RN, BSN, CLNC dropped by our CLNC^® Certification Program for the post-exam reception in Philly to share her success story with me and the new Certified Legal Nurse Consultant graduates.

In this video she shares how saying “Yes!” to a single opportunity jumpstarted her CLNC^® business.

Google^® this, Google that, Google, Google, Google. Do CLNC^® consultants ever get tired of hearing about Google? I know I do, but hey, as they say in Nepal “Kay garne” (if you don’t know what that means, Google it). No matter what you think, Google is here to stay.

A lot of good things have come from Google. I think one of the best is the Chrome web browser for PC or Mac. Anyone who reads my blog knows my Firefox^® browsing preferences – well that’s about to change. I downloaded and installed the Chrome browser.

Installation was fast and simple. It gave me the option to import bookmarks and passwords from Internet Explorer^® 8 or Firefox so I chose Firefox. The transition was smooth. All my bookmarks, favorites and (this is scary) even my saved passwords (which I thought were encrypted) were imported into Chrome.

When I opened Chrome, my bookmarks bar (love it) and all my drop-down bookmarks were in place. I was able to seamlessly browse from site to site. Logins were just as I had set them up in Firefox. Chrome even looks more modern than Firefox. It’s minimalist and streamlined – kind of like a Maserati GranTurismo compared to Firefox’s retro-Honda Element. You can download and install different themes. It even pulled in all my RSS feeds from my customized Yahoo!^® and Google homepages.

I like this feature and I know Certified Legal Nurse Consultants will too because it saves lots of time in re-building or re-loading those newsfeeds. You won’t miss a minute of important news for your legal nurse consulting business.

Plus, if you look closely at the top of the image above, you’ll see that the top of the browser isn’t taken up with useless toolbars like IE. I do not like losing the top inch of my screen to bars I don’t use, can’t organize or get rid of, and Chrome seems to respect this by making the browsing screen as large as possible. As a busy legal nurse consultant trying to research online, you’ll appreciate the amount of text that you can see on a webpage at one time.

Chrome supports tabbed browsing and, get this, you can move the tabs around to organize them! This is terrific if you do a lot of research online and are constantly opening new tabs. Chrome’s improvement allows you to move relevant tabs to one side to group them for quick reference. There’s a little [+] tab that visually shows your most visited pages much like iTunes and Safari. This helps you quickly find pages you recognize without sorting through a long list of abbreviated bookmark descriptions.

If you think I can’t say enough about Chrome for your legal nurse consulting business, you’re wrong. One more thing I like in terms of security, Chrome “sandboxes” each open tab to protect you from miscreants. This terrific feature is supposed to keep malware from getting into your computer from a poisoned website. Anyone worried about their legal nurse consulting business or personal computer will love this.

Finally, like Firefox, Chrome supports all sorts of extensions. I’m sure that the number and variations of extensions will increase. Web of Trust and my 1-ClickWeather extensions installed flawlessly. There’s even an IE extension that lets you see a webpage as if you’re using Internet Explorer – this is terrifically handy for pages that aren’t cross-browser designed.

If you’re looking for a worthy and safe web browser – Google Chrome can’t be beat. You go Google!

Keep on techin,
Tom

Unlike most legal nurse consultants, I’m on the road about 20 weeks a year and that means that I’m on a minimum of 40 flights a year – and it’s usually a lot more counting short hops, vacations, family visits and our CLNC^® 6-Day Certification Seminars across the country. Yes, I do have Gold frequent flyer status on Continental, but all that guarantees me is early boarding and sitting near the front of the plane behind the Platinum and Million-Mile members. I’m close enough to see them up in first class sipping champagne, eating lobster thermidor and generally cavorting about in a carefree manner, at least until the flight attendant pulls the velvet curtain that separates “us” from “them.” I don’t get upgraded to first class as often as I’d like to.

Lately Continental has been stingier with their upgrades and as I write this, I’m sitting in 9C. On this 757-300 (it’s scary that I can tell the aircraft type by the restroom configuration), this means an aisle seat in coach for me. Tom’s in 9A, a window seat, hunkered-down in his favorite don’t-bother-me-please position. Thanks to fewer, more crowded flights, Continental has sentenced us to 3½ hours of false imprisonment (look it up – the only exit is by parachute). Tom’s laptop barely fits on his lap so he’s claiming it’s impossible to type (I think he just wants to read my copy of Outlander). To drown him and everything else out I’ve put on my Bose headset and cranked up “Novacaine” by Green Day on my iPod (thank you Steve Jobs) and, in the words of the song, “For now I won’t feel a thing.”

Of course this will end. Soon they’ll close the cabin door and if I’m lucky, the person who ends up in the middle seat won’t hack up a lung or kidney or won’t be a professional wrestler, like on our last flight (Tom swapped him for the window seat to sit next to me but then Tom was scared to ask the guy to take his huge bald head off his shoulder when he fell asleep). For now I had to listen to the woman in the row in front of me with the cell-phone voice tell her friend about her frightening medical condition (and they worry about nurses and HIPAA) or I can rock out with my iPod and people-watch during the boarding process.

It’s sort of fascinating in the way that it’s fascinating to watch a train wreck. People getting on have all different looks. There are the business people in suits who furtively glance toward first class to see if it’s really full. They next get that look of despair (that I share) after realizing they’re really in the back and that their Double-Platinum Premium card won’t be any help at all. Then come couples of all ages, usually going on vacation. They look happy, in love and it brightens my heart to see them. Like Tom and me, they get to share the experience and tell each other “that which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” I see the singles who avoid the checked-bag fee by rolling bags the size of a small car onto the aircraft, bouncing them down the aisle and then wrenching their back and shoulders trying to unsuccessfully stuff them into the already full overhead compartment.

Soon families start boarding – they often end up sitting near the back for some reason. You can hear the small children asking, “Is this our seat? Is this our seat? Is this our seat?” until they get all the way back to 96F (by the restroom). Personally, I like to see the children who, unlike the parents, are thrilled and looking forward to the experience of flying (they’ll learn). They still have joy associated with new adventures and will get to experience their parents undivided attention (at least until the in-flight movie begins).

As I watched the parade, Tom was so wrapped up in typing a fresh, new Tech Tip that no less than two surly flight attendants came by to tell him, in no uncertain terms, that he was threatening the safety of not only all the other passengers, but possibly the destiny of the free world. This was because he still had his headset, Blackberry^® and laptop on and, if he didn’t want to say hello to the business end of the air marshal’s Sig-Sauer pistol, it was time to shut things down. As luck would have it, at that exact moment, my own cell phone rang with a call from the one person I really needed to talk to so I answered it. This put me, but not Tom, on the watch list for the next three hours. As a consequence, not only did I not get my four ounces of TSA-approved fluids but I did get special “inattention.” In other words, the flight crew overtly watched me, but assiduously avoided making eye contact in case I needed something.

I can deal with that. I’m a nurse, I’m self-sufficient. I travel with teapot, table and tent. I’ve got water, snacks, my own sanitized pillow and freshly-washed blanket. (Okay, just kidding on the last two, but it’s actually not a bad idea!) But what I really want is – quiet. Once we’re in the air, I have about three hours to work on whatever I want – blogs, my NACLNC^® Conference speech (overdue) or creating a new product for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. At least until the person in front of me reclines their seat back onto my lap forcing me to do Sudoku (Just joking, what is Sudoku anyway?) until we land in foggy San Francisco.

That’s the point behind this blog. If you have to work on a plane, be sure you have the right equipment. Bose noise-reducing headphones and fresh batteries are a must. Check. My fully-charged iPod loaded with all my favorite music, a trash book and plenty of magazines. Check. Laptop computer and spare battery. Check – sort of.

Tom the techie loves his super powerful laptop with its 17” screen (he could probably fly the plane with it). But I love my small netbook with its 10” screen. When it comes to laptops, size doesn’t matter (laptops I said). I took Tom’s advice and purchased a netbook for functionality, not form. It’s not as powerful as Tom’s, but to his chagrin, I can work on it just about everywhere and it will even fit in one of my larger purses. It’s got a built-in Verizon wireless card so I can connect to the office from anywhere. I’m sure he’s jealous (especially right now) but would never admit it to me.

In my Houston office, I’ve got a regular desktop computer but at home, my laptop fits into a docking station and sits there ready to go wherever I want to go. Tom recommends laptops for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants on the go and I agree. Just be sure that you buy one that fits what you do. If your legal nurse consulting business is fairly stationary, a cost-effective desktop might be right for you.

If you think you’ll want the convenience of working from different locations, you’ll want a laptop. Just buy one that fits your business needs and your personal needs. Buy smart and you’ll only have to buy once. Be sure to check out Tom’s technical recommendations in the NACLNC^® Community first.

When we were shopping for my laptop, Tom showed me lots of them. What seemed to separate them the most were the different screen sizes. We knew I’d plug it into a dock with external monitors at home, so screen size didn’t matter. What I really wanted was something portable that wasn’t too heavy to carry around. That’s why I ended up with a powerful netbook (Tom says that’s an oxymoron but he’s just jealous.). It’s not the fastest, envy-inspiring laptop in the world, but, while Tom’s having to hold his up to his chest like a large accordion and type sideways, I’ve got mine on the tray table and I’m working away. The keyboard fits my fingers, the battery lasts a long time, it doesn’t weigh much and I’ve loaded it with photos of my great niece Reese.

In the meantime, once I’m done with this blog, I’m going to retrieve a bottle of water and have a healthy snack out of my carry-on bag to refresh my energy level before I start the next project. I work better when I’ve refueled and it helps me cope with all the cry-babies on the flight – especially the adults with laptops that are too big. Hey, I’ve got the tools I need to be successful and hopefully now so do you.

Success Is Inside!

Last week I took a 79-year-young friend to Alcatraz – the old federal prison that once held the likes of Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly and Alvin Karpis. Unlike the more famous inmates, we were just going for a short visit. When we attempted to board an earlier ferry than the one we had reservations for, we were firmly, but politely, turned away. Watch this video to hear the lesson I learned from this experience.

Success Is Inside!

Out of all the web browsers, Internet Explorer^® (IE) and Firefox^® lead the pack in number of users. Tech-types and cool Certified Legal Nurse Consultants play with Google^®’s Chrome^® browser and a few use Apple^®’s Safari^®. Just like opinions, everyone has one – a favorite browser that is.

I’m a Firefox fan because Internet Explorer is too riddled with security issues. I’ve toyed with Chrome and find it easy to use, stable but terribly invasive. Safari for Windows^® seems underdeveloped so I’ve given up on that one and prefer to play with the big three (Chrome, Firefox and IE8). I have downloaded the Web of Trust add-on for all three browsers to help me avoid websites with bad reputations. I recommend that you do the same to protect your legal nurse consulting business’s computer. Web browsers are prime points of entry for malware and Web of Trust can help Certified Legal Nurse Consultants avoid trouble.

But the purpose of today’s blog is how to get more out of your favorite web browser – that is if it’s IE8, Firefox 3 or Chrome. For the websites that you visit on a regular basis, you probably have them bookmarked so that you can quickly start a browsing session. Wouldn’t you like to open your top three or even five or more sites all at once? To quote Alec Baldwin’s character in It’s Complicated, “I like it” and I’m sure you will too.

Web browsers now have the ability to open many different webpages or different websites in what are called “tabs.” You can have multiple “tabs” that look like old-fashioned file folder tabs running along the top of your web browser and each tab can be a different webpage. If you use tabs when you first open your browser, it can load all the pages you want at one time. Then you simply switch back and forth between tabs.

Here’s how you do it for IE8, Firefox 3.5+ and even Chrome 5.0+:

Starting with Internet Explorer, open IE and click Tools then Internet Options. Next make sure the General tab is selected. You’ll see this screen:

Simply type in the URLs of the websites you want to open each time you start IE8 on a separate line and in the order you want them to open. Then click Apply.

Next click the Settings button under Tabs (it’s a little lower on that same screen). Make sure to check the boxes as checked in the screen shot below. Some people might want to check the box, “Warn me when closing multiple tabs.” This will alert you that you have multiple tabs open and will keep you from losing all your open tabs when you attempt to close one tab in your browser. This is a common mistake people make when first adapting to tabbed browsing.

Click OK, then on the next screen click OK again. You may need to restart your IE8 browser, but it will be worth it.

If you’re a Firefox user, it’s a little more difficult yet easier at the same time. In Firefox 3.6 (it should work with earlier versions but 3.6 is the version I’m on so I can’t tell you) you simply start Firefox, click Tools, Options and then General. In the Home Page box, type in the URLs of the websites you want to open when Firefox opens in the order you want to see them. Separate each one with the “|” character, usually found on the “\” key above the “Enter” key on your keyboard.

Next click Tabs at the top of the Options page and make sure the boxes shown below are checked:

Click OK and restart your Firefox browser. Your pages should open right up. If it’s your Facebook or another page that needs a login and password, you can store them in your browser.

If you’re one of those high-tech-tipping Certified Legal Nurse Consultants who uses anything Google because it’s cooler than anything else (except CLNC^® Apple-product users) start your Chrome browser and click the monkey-wrench-looking Tools icon, then Options. Next, on the Basics tab, click the radio button beside “Open the following pages.” Then click the Add button. You can either type in the URLs of the pages you want or select them from your history or bookmarks. When you’ve selected the one you want (or typed it in), click Add and you’re ready to add in the next URL. Click Close when done.

Safari users are out of luck – unless someone can give me a tech tip on how to enable this feature in Safari. The browser supports tabs, I’m just not sure how to make it open multiple tabs at once.

One more tip for legal nurse consultants that comes from a previous Tech Tip, set your browser (or even tweak your Google settings) to open links in a new tab and you’ll never lose your original search results again. You can also mine that Tech Tip for more browser tips.

Now my CLNC^® amigos, you’ll work smarter, not harder when you open your favorite pages all at once, you’ll save time searching through your bookmark bar for those pages. Using this Tech Tip, you can quickly scan your prime sites and then get on with your day. As a SysAdmin, I use one browser to make sure all the Vickie Milazzo Institute websites are up and running and another browser to hold my sites of interest.

Keep on Techin with Tabs!
Tom

One of my passions is dance. I love dance in all of its variations, modern dance, ballet, jazz, tap and even interpretational movement. I admire the strength, athleticism and the ability of the dancers to contort their bodies into all kinds of impossible positions. If you’ve ever thought those male ballet dancers don’t measure up to other testosterone-laden male athletes, just ask your husband to lift you over your head and dance across your living room. My husband, Tom, is still recovering from that move.

If, like Shirley MacLaine, I’m coming back for another spin, it will be as a dancer. After college (never as a child) I took countless hours of dance classes and, yes, there is a reason I found my niche in legal nurse consulting. I’ve gone to great lengths to see some of the greatest dancers in history perform, Alicia Alonso, Nureyev, Baryshnikov, Godunov and even one you might not have heard of, Li Cuxin.

Fortunately you can meet him in my favorite movie of the summer “Mao’s Last Dancer” (sorry Tom, The Expendables is out). This is not a mainstream movie so you won’t find it at your local gazzilion-plex. It’s probably going to be found at your local “art-house” theatre – you know the one full of people in Birkenstocks, turtlenecks and dirty denim skirts (and that’s just the men).

Even though this is an art film, the director is hardly an unknown. Bruce Berensford directed the films Tender Mercies with Robert Duval and Driving Miss Daisy with Morgan Freeman and the late Jessica Tandy. Like those films, there are no special effects, no big explosions, car chases, aliens or gunfights. Instead this is a human story.

SPOILER ALERT: It’s the true story of Li Cuxin who came from China to Houston, and the Houston Ballet as an exchange student for three months and chose to defect and stay for a lifetime. He did so at the cost of his freedom (he was kidnapped inside the Chinese embassy in Houston) and the threat of never being able to return to China or to see and communicate with his family ever again.

Li was the sixth son in a large family in rural China. In the mid-1970s Communist Chinese officials randomly plucked him from his family and meager school house and sent him on an unimaginable journey to Beijing and ballet school. He was then trained, in an almost militaristic manner, to dance. Bullied and verbally abused by one particular teacher due to his lack of strength, he showed his determination to succeed by becoming one of the strongest dancers in his school. He soon showed an aptitude for something he’d never heard or, much less desired to become involved with – ballet.

During a visit to his Chinese ballet school by Ben Stevenson, artistic director of the Houston Ballet, Li stood out from the other dancers because he alone showed passion and emotion for what he was doing. The other dancers had the technical prowess but, as Ben observed were more athletes than dancers. Ben invited Li to come to Houston as an exchange student and the Houston audiences fell in love with him. In an unprecedented move, this ballet student performed roles that are normally reserved for tenured soloists. He soon met and fell in love with an American dancer. When his exchange period expired, the Chinese government denied him an extension and ordered him to return home to China.

Think about this, I thought it was tough to leave my family and childhood home of New Orleans when I came to Houston for nursing school. The first night I was in my Houston dorm room, I cried myself to sleep like a baby.  I didn’t dare share this with my twin brother, Vince – he would have just told me to “buck-up.” Growing up in New Orleans kids were always hanging out at our house, but when it was time to go to sleep my parents believed kids should sleep in their own beds, not someone else’s. So other than staying at our grandparents for a couple of weeks every summer, this was the first time I was ever away from home.

Unlike Li, I’d get to see my family again any time I chose. When Li chose to stay in Houston, he was forced to defect and was not only banned from ever returning to China, but suffered nightmares of his family being executed as traitors (remember the time period) or being imprisoned for life for the “crime” of their son.

The movie is a beautiful story of courage and determination and will inspire anyone who sees it, to go for what they want – despite the unknown and no matter the cost. Li’s defection cost him in so many ways, yet he ventured into the unknown not even knowing if he would ever get a job – dancing or otherwise. He was soon asked to return to the Houston Ballet as a soloist – something unheard of for a novice dancer.

Li prospered and became one of the greatest dancers of the Houston Ballet’s company. I’ve seen Li and his wife dance many times and always remember his graceful power and passion.

Although I knew Li’s story and I knew how this movie would end, it still grabbed me in a way no other movie has this summer.

If you want to see a powerful movie about human courage, drive and desire, go see Mao’s Last Dancer. After you see it, you can’t help but be moved to succeed in your legal nurse consulting business or anything of your choosing.

Success Is Inside!