So reach out to alumni groups, professional organizations, etc. all of which can be accesed through sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. A friend went as far as to post "seeking freelance and permanent job opportunities..." no room for guessing and at times like these getting to the point is just fine.

As many of you know, I manage MCAE during my off time from my full time job. Recently I was given a wonderful opportunity to join the marketing team as Brand Manager. Though I truly enjoyed my role as editor I saw this as an opportunity to build on my career path and return to the world I know and love. As a result of this move I am now heading up my companie's Hispanic efforts and working many hours, traveling around 50% of the time and even on weekends. The whole live/work balance has gone out the window and for now I've taken that word out of my vocabulary.

On the upside, I'm having a ton of fun. The positive note here is that although we are in a recession, companies are not just about downsizing but rather being smart with the resources they have. Replace the fear of being let go with an enthusiasm to be productive and contribute to the bottom line.

Despite my recent neglect of MCAE traffic to this site continues to grow steadily so "GRACIAS" to all those readers and I promise to bring some new Mujeres Chat interviews soon.

Lately I discovered I'm hooked on a new thing, this time it's my Blackberry Bold. I check it, and re-check it, granted, I need to be connected to critical projects I'm managing but now, when I think of my survival kit I must add this to the Altoids, toothbrush and Colgate Total toothpaste that I, until now, thought I could not go without. (I promise, this is not a product plug).

I do promote a healthy work-life balance and proper separation but, how is that possible now? It's like the tracking device celebrity fellons get put on their ankle. In any case, I can now relate to Obama's determination to keep his.

As for me, I’m juggling several things at once, traveling a lot more and loving every minute of it because what I love most in my work is a good challenge. My new position is giving me that and it also connects me back to the world I know: Marketing.

March of Dimes (Chicago Chap. - 11.22.08) from Orange Video Production on Vimeo.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

On my last day in Mexico City I stumbled upon the installation of a photography exhibition by Polish photographer Mikolaj Grynberg. The project is called "Muchas Mujeres" and through his lens he captures a moment in the lives of women from Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Poland among others.

The photographs freeze beautiful moments in a woman's life: a mother's kiss, a old woman resting or laughter between friends become touching reminders of the fragility of life. The women are strong, gorgeous, vulnerable, happy, sad and the pictures are worth a thousand words.

Visit Mikolaj's website to view all the pieces.

 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilLima, Peru

I´ll be back to bringing you new interviews in just 5 more days!

Gran canal at the Venetian

Here in Vegas it's blue sky and plenty of sun. This city amazes me for it's ability to disconnect you from reality, it's staged layout takes you from the canal's in Venice to a pirate's ship in a matter of a couple blocks. But the real world is coming through on CNN and sadly the job market is still very weak. I will do my best to bring topics to MCAE readers that  relate to job search strategies in addition to how to manage your small business in a tight economy.

I recently read about Monica Smiley, an entrepreneurial woman who is founder of Enterprising Women Magazine. She recetly launched her publication online which brings valuable resources to entreprenurial women. I'm working on scheduling an interview with Monica in the upcoming week. As always, reader questions are welcome if there's any question Monica can answer to help you on your own venture. I have a few question of my own as I'm sure I can learn a lot from her.

Well, I'm trying to keep a healthy balance of work/life so I'm going to head to the gym now and then stop by the spa. Have a great weekend and send me your questions to mcaminoalexito@gmail.com.

It was so wonderful to meet you today! As soon as I came home I started reading MCAE and I haven't taken a break since--except to grab some tea. As I stand at the crossroads of a new stage in my life, I am energized by reading about the successful women on MCAE. Congratulations on a fantastic endeavor!

I appreciate the emphasis on "paths of success" because, as you mentioned, we are all works in progress. Success is in the journey precisely because no two destinations are the same. For that reason, we don't need "luck". My mother always was weary of wishing me "luck"; she always would say, "te deseo EXITO, porque no necesitas la suerte". Of course, we all get lucky at some point (hopefully more than once!) in our journey, but it's not what defines our SUCCESS.

As a translator -- mainly by default rather than by choice -- I find pleasure in playing with words. Bear with me as I have some fun:
Remove the 'o' from EXITO and you have EXIT. On any path, there are exits. And, if success is a path, then those exits are integral parts of the experience. I've taken several exits to pursue success in the arts, academia, professional development, and personal growth. The beauty that I have come to appreciate is that I can return to one of those stops or I can forge ahead to new ones, all the while knowing that the path is what ties all the exits together into a harmonious, complete, universal "O"--exitO. [The zen in me is coming out.]

Every now and again I am reminded of Baz Luhrmann's lyrics in "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)" (1999):
"Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't."
After reading MCAE today, I was driven back to this song and realized that I know all the exits I want to take-- some I've taken, some I've skipped perhaps never to return to, some I'm heading towards, and some I'll just crash into. Most importantly, though, I belong to the breed that enjoys finding success by letting oneself get a little lost along the way and that's Okay. For me, GPS means "Go Pursue Success" -- not a system that helps me find my position in the world!

Yours truly,

Aleza Moore, MA

Irene and Susana pose pretty with the March of Dimes peluches

This Saturday we Celebrated la Mujer Latina with the 9th annual event. It was a HUGE success and probably our best one yet - and last year was hard to top!

Mabel Iam was Awesome presenting the session on "Los 4 Secretos para Amar y Ser Amada", not surprising the first secret is all about loving ourselves first.

I had the privilege of moderating the last session which focused on fashion but not in the traditional superficial way, but rather on how to use image in terms of dressing for success.

Here are some photos and there's more to come and video!

 Mabel and I go over the intro for her session

 Celebrando a la Mujer Latina