I have a new friend because of Social Media. Meet him...

As we get ready to fly from Miami to Lima tonight I wanted to thank and acknowledge my new friend Richard Levy for the gift we have received of 10 MILLION Miles from American Airlines – we received this because of his tenacity and generosity.Read our first article about the American Airlines sponsorship here.This will be the first time flying for 6 of our 11 girls!I go up and down and back and forth with the role of social media in both my business and personal life. I appreciate the visual inspiration, personal stories of triumph, access to global causes and keeping up with friends adventuring the world; yet I struggle with the incessant nature of round-the-clock communication and keeping up with, linking, liking, posting, sharing and showing up everyday to a glowing screen (side note: my eyes burn). I say this and still feel compelled to show up nonetheless.Facebook is the necessary evil of business as is every other online pipeline of social proof and significance. That you must have this online presence to be successful is certainly a sign of our times. I don't express all this begrudgingly or even self-righteously, simply a musing of our current social and professional communication template.  Presenting ourselves online is a full-time business, an art and clearly an obsession for some.I am somewhere in the middle and often capricious with my sharing and engagement. Let's say I communicate enough to make some decent connections, however fall short on any consistent and punctual basis and often miss trends.Who else feels like they will miss out on something super great if they aren't plugged into the omni-source flow of info?Goes back to my life-long affliction: FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).You know what motivates me to keep with the "Joneses" so-to-speak, the reason I keep one eye on the screen illuminati? When opportunities like the one with my new dear friend (who I have yet to meet), Richard Levy turn into the incredible opportunity of sponsorship for our Wellfit Girls Challenge Project.The amazing sponsorship that Richard procured for us from American Airlines is an incredible and generous gift, yet even more important is the connection and friendship that has grown since my first "meeting" Richard on the air.You can listen to our interview from February 2014 here.Richard is up to amazing things, including motivational speaking events, meaningful blogs, positive messages and in his spare time, flying around the world for American Airlines! I know our paths will cross someday soon and I look forward to giving him a big thankful hug of appreciation!In loving-kindness,Jill  http://wellfitinstitute.com/press/