A compelling story of disappointment, then ingenuity, and now promise: How lemonade's made from lemons.

A special blend of business savvy and soul.

Simply put, I'm impressed by the spirit and business savvy--to say nothing of the equanimity of Lisa Golde.  Her story is an inspiring one, one that will make you appreciate the notion that the world is made up not just of dissolute celebrities or dopey sports figures who dissipate millions of dollars in short order.  Instead, Ms. Golde will help you come to understand that there are also strong, grounded, resourceful people around who know how to make the best of a bad situation.  

Let me tell you her sour-to-sweet story and how she's in the process of turning a bad deal into a good one.  The story starts with the need for her to cancel her wedding plans, which were specifically picked to occur on what she thought was a very special date, 11/11/11.  With cancellation of her marriage, she came the realization that she was sure to lose her $15,000 deposit on the Grand Ballroom at The Westin Hotel in downtown Providence, RI.  

What to do with a big ballroom?

What she decided to do next with the heartache makes all the difference in the outcome--and makes the story very special.  Instead of feeling sorry for herself--and incurring the loss of the ballroom deposit, she decided to make the best of a bad situation:  As the owner of a business called the The Body Kneads Yoga in Cranston, RI, Ms. Golde decided to sponsor the Namaste Rhode Island Yoga Ball and make it a fundraising event for the Women's Shelter at Crossroad Rhode Island.  

You've likely already guessed when she planning to hold the party:  on 11/11/11!  Yes, in the Westin Ballroom she presently holds a deposit for!  So, instead of feeling sorry for herself and taking a costly $15,000 loss for her bad luck--she's going to make it a positive event just the same.  Here's what Pamela Reinsel Cotter wrote in her recent story in the Providence Journal:  

It's a perfect opportunity to meet and greet other yoga practitioners, teachers and retailers," says Bryna Piorier-Rene Golde's friend and co-worker at Body Kneads.  

The day starts at 4pm, with a two-hour non-heated afternoon [yoga] practice...[followed later on by] a cocktail hour and silent auction.  There will be dinner and dancing.... Tickets are $35 for yoga, $50 for cocktail hour/dinner/auction, and $75 for the whole night.

So the break-even is 200 people and beyond that, it turns into a terrific benefit for the Women's Shelter!  State-wide yoga instructors and even business "competitors" are helping to promote this occasion and to make this what very well might be an enormous success.  

“Of course I could have just walked away and licked my wounds,” Golde says of her own experience. “But my inner voice and some wonderful friends in my life said I might turn this around into something positive,” Golde says. “Now I’m doing great. I’ve never organized something this large,” she says, adding that “some of my friends are concerned that this might have been too much for me. And at times I have felt like it might be.”

"I considered letting it go, more than once, but I keep thinking that I made myself a promise to never ever give up. Before I became so involved in my yoga practice I likely would  have given up. But not now. Not when some good can come out of the resources already allocated,” Golde says.

The fact that friends have chipped in to help “changed the whole dynamic for the event,” Golde says.

It's sappy to say, but rightful to note.

What a great story!  When news in the media is so frequently replete with stories about millionaire athletes who squander obscene amounts of money, here's a smart, thoughtful, ambitious woman who's resourceful enough to turn a personal disappointment--and financial loss--into something that's constructive and positive, both for herself and others--in the process.  

I'm happily married, but if I weren't, Lisa Golde seems like just the kind of special person I'd think very much worth meeting and getting to know--to my way of seeing things, she seems pretty special.   

[Photo credit: The Providence Journal/Mary Murphy.]
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Follow Keith's biz blog on Twitter for updates and see more of what he's reading about on his Facebook Page. If you are inclined, you can write him at kmurray@bryant.edu.