As a girl growing up in the 50’s, the Girl Scouts and I have history. At that time, I started out as a Brownie in second grade, flew up to Intermediate at age 10 and was a Senior when in High School. The number of levels has increased over the years to where there are now six.

I loved the Girl Scouts. Then again, my mother was the leader for most of my Brownie and Intermediate years. While she followed the guidelines offered by headquarters, she was probably one of the most creative leaders in the area. During that time, I earned so many merit badges that my sash was absolutely full.

Then there were the Girl Scout Cookies. Because of where my mom and my dad worked, I was always one of the top sellers every year. Our house was always the pick-up spot for the other members of the troop, and it was filled to the rafters with boxes of cookies. I also did my school because none of the members of my troop went to it.

There were only 3 varieties at the time: Peanut Butter Sandwich, Shortbread and the very pop ular Chocolate Mints (now known as Thin Mints). Today, there are up to eight varieties. It all gets so confusing.

Girl Scout camp was another activity that I just loved. We made it a troop event and stayed in the same tents. As you might have guessed, I was so advanced in swimming that I actually taught the younger girls. I did learn a lot about a canoe and how to navigate the waterways.

As a Senior, I was on a competitive horse drill team for a year. We did very well even though some of the horses, including mine, were not English trained but used to Western tack and reining. That was very interesting to say the least.

Wouldn’t you imagine that my daughters would follow the Girl Scout tradition? Well, that was not to be. Only Jen, my first daughter, actually was involved in a troop and by the time she joined, she was in 4th grade. The troop was made up of her friends from a private school and there were only 3 or 4 at a time. Because I was out of town a fair amount during this time, I was not the Troop Leader. However, her dad did take the group on a camping trip to earn outdoor badges.

The energy and enthusiasm for the Girl Scouts, other than selling and eating the Cookies, waned very quickly and the troop disbanded. Allyce, my youngest, never even found a troop of her peers. Dance was their activity.

With the Girl Scouts, I thought the girls would love it. That was not to be as dance and horses were their loves. I am glad they lived their passion rather than struggling through things about which they were not enthusiastic. How about you – do you agree?

Something else I have learned as a business woman is to ask for what you want. If you loved what you just read, this content is not for free. As a form of payment, I am asking you simply to comment or share this on Facebook or tweet about it on Twitter.

Linda Patten, MBA, BSN, RN has over 30 years of experience leading women to success in building and achieving their dreams. She turns networking marketing women from product sellers to leaders of highly functioning teams. To learn more about her innovative programs, click on Contact Us.