Ginger Hodge, Author & Motivational Speaker

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Born the youngest of five children in the small town of Sumter, South Carolina, Ginger Hodge was a bit shy as a child.  With the love and support of her 3^rd Grade teacher, Ginger found the confidence to embrace her imagination and create unique ways to entertain herself and those around her.  Those who know her best love that she always seems to have a new song, game, joke or story to share.

Ginger landed her first job performing singing-balloon-a-grams while attending the College of Charleston. After graduation, she struggled to find her own way by dabbling with a few restaurant, real estate, and ad agency jobs. When she finally found her niche, in the movie industry, she was able to use her unique passion for entertaining others to market family-friendly films. But Ginger’s true passion for living wasn’t fully ignited until she published her first children’s book: When Donkeys Fly.

What Will Your Epithet Say?

Looking back at how it all began, Ginger recalls waking up one morning after attending her uncle’s funeral worried that even if she were the very best at her job in the film industry, her epithet would read: Best B Movie Buyer in the Business – and that just wasn’t enough. As a senior “blurbologist” (her own unique term), she wrote the copy on the back of DVD/videos, scouted new producers, and licensed family films to be sold at retail.

After learning of all of the wonderful ways her uncle gave back to the community during his lifetime, Ginger decided then and there that she wanted to make a difference in the world and began indulging her true passion – writing.  She wrote When Donkey’s Fly, left her six figure career in what she called the “… gloom and doom entertainment industry”, and embarked on a mission to lead, and encourage others to lead, an extraordinary life.

When Donkeys Fly is an inspirational book for all ages that encourages people to believe in themselves despite any obstacles. When Donkeys Fly won the Mom’s Choice Award ® for “Most Inspirational/Motivational” new book and this is the message she is on a quest to share with anyone who will listen.

Ginger and her faithful flying donkey travel to schools, churches, colleges, and women’s groups all over the country to read the book, sing a song, and encourage other donkeys to fly.

Flying Without a Net

In the spirit of the book, Ginger and a friend started a band called “Cosmo and the Flying Donkeys” to encourage other music lovers to follow their own passions. But how does one walk away from a financially secure job and start a new career as a first-time author or musician and make ends meet?

This new author took advantage of the growing self-publishing movement and borrowed against the equity in her home to finance the book and launch her new career.

This leap of faith was incredibly scary but also invigorating for Ginger who, for the first time, was flying without the proverbial safety net. The ability to shed corporate policy for personal satisfaction was very liberating for Ginger who is now relieved to be able to speak her own truth.

She recalls being on pins and needles in the film industry – much of the time living and working in a stress-based environment. Now, as her own boss, she can spend the afternoon playing with her niece, walking the beach or taking her Dad to the doctor because she is in charge of her own time.

Quality of Life

Even though she can’t count on a regular paycheck every Friday, Ginger believes that her lifestyle has changed for the better. For the first time in years, she can literally taste and enjoy the food she eats and not have to wolf down meals to make the next meeting or deadline.  Ginger has embraced a life of “living in the moment” and appreciates the simple pleasures more than ever.

“I knew that I made the right decision when I had my first massage after leaving the entertainment industry. After a few minutes of massage, my magical masseuse was surprised to find that the “stress knots” she routinely battled in my back were gone. Who knows how many years I have added to my life by choosing to follow my heart instead of my wallet.”

Ginger reports that financially things are going well and although she is not making what she did in the film industry (yet!) she is happy because she is living her values and following her passion and you can’t put a price tag on that.  She encourages others to follow their hearts and that is the premise of her book.

In addition to the book, donkeys are flying through classrooms with the help of Ginger’s techno savvy sister who developed a series of activities and resources for collaborative technology & literacy integration projects. Using Skype and Voicethread, kids can instantly connect with the characters and the events in the story. Students enjoy the rhythm of the text and the captivating illustrations and can even connect with Ginger directly through www.skypeanauthor.com. Ginger is thrilled to be able to find new ways to share the positive message of the book with children all over the world and maintains a blog– Friends of the Flying Donkey – where she shares moving stories of her adventures in the classroom and beyond.

Here is a letter that was forwarded from a First Grade teacher after one of Ginger’s school presentations:

“I think Ms. Hodge did a wonderful job!    One child in my class had struggled drawing a picture of herself yesterday so I asked her to finish it today.  She did a wonderful job and as I bragged on her, she stated, “I just let my donkey fly.”

The Mission

Ginger is on a personal mission to improve self esteem and literacy in schools. For younger students, she reads her book, sings her song and walks kids through the publishing process with a message that will boost self confidence and creativity. For high school students, she adapts the message to focus on career development with practical tips to follow their dreams to the job market.

Ginger’s Flying Donkey team also has plans to further promote literacy by recruiting college and semi-pro athletics to go to schools, read the book and share stories of how their own donkeys learned how to fly.

According to Ginger:

“It has been statistically shown that students whose reading scores are below the national average in 3rd grade rarely ever catch back up, so our goal is to share the positive message of ”When Donkeys Fly” with every 3rd grade student.  And South Carolina is only the beginning…

For students to learn to read, they first have to believe it is possible, right?  Our goal is to take literacy to a higher level by encouraging kids to believe that they can do anything,  including excel at reading despite their own circumstances or previous test rankings.

To date, we have a commitment from The Carolina Gamecocks, interest from The Citadel Bulldogs, The Charleston RiverDogs, The Florence RedWolves, and yes even a few Roller Derby teams… and this is only the beginning!”

Donkey Power

The charming book assures girls and boys everywhere that their dreams can come true. Several scenarios describe how people scoff at the heroine’s hopes to play baseball, to own a big boat, to be President of the United States, etc. by saying “You’ll do that….when donkeys fly.” Then one day she spots a flying donkey and realizes that all things are possible.

The book has an added challenge of hunting for the hidden donkey in the illustration on each page.  And the “Note From the Author” in the back of the book reveals the deeper, more spiritual, message of the hidden donkey with those who wish to find it.

Although When Donkeys Fly is a child-friendly book, it can also be the perfect gift for graduation, birthday, or any holiday for the special people in your circle of friends and family.

After growing up in the direct-to-retail world of the film industry, Ginger’s transferable skills and experience were very applicable when the time came to market her book.  She attends national conferences and speaks to groups from kindergarten classes to national professional organizations.

In fact, When Donkeys Fly was chosen by Executive Women International (EWI) as the book featured at their National Reading Rally. When asked about her finest hour as an author, Ginger recalls the looks on the faces of the students chosen from Louisville, Kentucky to be honored guests of EWI. As they entered the convention center, pages of the book were blown up bigger than life, animated donkeys flew across 30 ft screens, and over 600 executives gave a rousing standing ovation as the music played from a special rendition of “I Believe I Can Fly”.  Anyone could tell, simply from their expressions, that these students from one of the most poverty-stricken schools in the state believed that anything was possible… when donkeys fly.

Everything Happens for a Reason

Ginger doesn’t take full credit for writing the book and believes that the book was simply a gift that was meant to be shared. The day the ideas came to her, Ginger literally pulled her car over to the side of the road and remembers the words coming to her faster than she could write. She wrote the entire book in less than seven minutes, but feels that the ideas for it must have been “baking” in her mind for years.

Once written, Ginger sent an email to all of her friends from college who now have children, to get their reactions to the story.  Soon after the email, her friend C.B. Markham answered and said “I love the story so much I am going to illustrate this book… just for me.” Long story short, Ginger loved her illustrations and the power of seek and you will find was confirmed.

Ginger has plans in the works for her own publishing company, Donkey Fly Press and has two other books in the pipeline: When I Get a Dog and When Pigs Fly. She has taken stock of what is important in her life and made sacrifices to follow her passion. After the initial shock of job separation, she is now at peace with her decision and has made it her mission to help children and adults overcome obstacles, achieve empowerment, embrace their self confidence and follow their own flying donkeys.

Ginger still lives in South Carolina with her faithful Labrador, Sadie and her boat “Mr. Right”.

Ginger’s Advice and Action Steps:

• Set your intentions.
• Follow your passions.
• Savor every moment.
• Don’t let money drive your decisions.
• Strive to be peaceful and productive.
• Help those who help others.
• Remember that everything happens in divine time.

Quotes:

“Take a moral inventory of what success means to you – really think about it!” – Ginger Hodge

“Everyone can sing, you’ve just got to find your song”. – Ginger Hodge

Resources:

When Donkeys Fly www.whendonkeysflybook.com