How to Leave a Lasting Legacy with Barbara Hemphill

Vision Accelerator: Leave a Legacy that Matters!

FWM: We’re so happy to catch up with you! Please introduce yourself to our audience.

BH: I’m Barbara Hemphill, frequently called the “Paper Tiger Lady” because of my best-selling book Taming the Paper Tiger, and recently named “Vision Accelerator” because I have a passion for helping leaders uncover and execute their vision to leave a legacy that counts. Founder of Productive Environment Institute, I have been an entrepreneur for 40+ years and the word “retire” is not in my vocabulary! I recently saw a sign that read, “I’m not retired. I’m just getting started.”  That’s my sentiment exactly!

I am the author of several books, including Less Clutter More Life, which reveals that both physical and digital clutter are symptoms of emotional and spiritual clutter, and Walking with Barbara: 30 Emails from God. The 20th Anniversary Edition of Love it Or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever will be released in 2023.

Barbara in the news

I have been featured on national media platforms including Good Morning America, Today Show and CNN Nightly News. I have been showcased in publications including USA Today, New York Times, Fast Company, Reader’s Digest, Real Simple and was featured on the cover of Guideposts. I was the recipient of the Founder’s Award and a two-time recipient of the President’s Award from National Association of Productivity and Organizing Consultants. Additionally, I was named a member of “Women to Know in North Carolina,” and “100 Women to Know in America.”

Today, I live in Raleigh, NC with my husband Alfred Taylor to whom I have been married for 36 years. I have three adopted children, two stepchildren, and four grandchildren.

FWM: What circumstances led you to your industry?

BH: I lived in India for nearly five years and adopted three orphan children whom we brought to New York City.  I needed to contribute income to our family, but I wanted my children’s needs to be my priority, which didn’t seem feasible as an employee, so I decided to find a problem I could solve for which people would pay me! I started listening to conversations on the playground, and my entrepreneurial search began. As I listened, I soon realized that not everyone was blessed with a family like mine.

I grew up in three rooms on the top floor of a two-story farmhouse. The living room couch by day became two beds for my brother and me by night. We learned many lessons through living in tight quarters. I learned how to overcome the obstacles presented by my unique learning disabilities. I had to find my way while learning as much as I could from the ideas of others at every opportunity — and I watched as my mother and father did an impressive job of creating a productive home and work environment, which serves as a role model for me to this day!

How it all began

My career in the organizing industry began with a $7 ad in a New York newspaper.

To promote my business, I spoke wherever I could find a platform – PTAs, church groups, garden clubs.  I quickly realized that paper was the most overwhelming organizing challenge. Clients always had questions about how long to keep bank statements, expired insurance policies, tax papers, and how to organize recipes, memorabilia, and photographs.

I didn’t always know the answers to questions such as “How long do you keep bank statements?” so I went to the library to find a book with the answer. I didn’t find one. I did find this surprising, since it didn’t matter whether you made $18,000/yr or $800,000/yr, you still needed to know the answer to that question. I decided to write one! So “Taming the Paper Tiger” was born! With that, I became known as The Paper Tiger Lady.

 Over the decades, I developed world-class expertise in transforming a workspace, to be delivered virtually by a team of Certified Productive Environment Specialists, helping individuals and organizations tame the chaos and clutter that keep them from being effective, calm, and ultimately free.

FWM: How did you decide to make it your own?

BH: When I first started in the industry, I focused on physical clutter (thus The Paper Tiger Lady), but as the digital world advanced, I backed away from the moniker because I didn’t want to appear old-fashioned. Also, as a company we were helping people with both their paper and their digital information.

Over the years I was led to the conclusion that the main challenge clients face in getting rid of their clutter is that the clutter, whether physical or digital, is a symptom of emotional clutter, and that the emotional clutter is a symptom of spiritual clutter.

Organizing in and of itself has no value. It is a skill to help you accomplish your work and enjoy your life.

Clutter and the generations

Clutter is not a new problem. The Old Testament tells the story of Samuel trying to find Saul to crown him King of Israel. In the King James version, we read, “And behold the Lord said, ‘he is hid beneath his stuff.'”

The need for “clutter elimination” on a personal and professional level continues to grow as our society becomes more complicated, and as the current generation has little to no interest in inheriting what my generation saved as a “legacy.”

FWM: What has been your greatest challenge in your industry? Why?

BH: Like many entrepreneurs, I have faced two big challenges:  mindset and cashflow.  Ironically, I’ve discovered, they are very much related. Not having the right mindset results in not having enough cashflow. Also, like most successful entrepreneurs, I have more entrepreneurial ideas than I can execute, so I continually have the opportunity to use my own principles to eliminate the clutter of ideas!

Who influenced Barbara

FWM: Who else has helped you evolve into the person you are today?

BH: The biggest influence in my life is Jesus.  When I first began residential organizing, I sat in my car and prayed that my clients would feel his love whether or not I ever mentioned his name, which I rarely did because I was so afraid of offending people. Today, I have come full circle, concluding that the most important decision anyone can make is deciding “Who is Jesus?” and I love sharing about Him whenever I have the opportunity.

Through the years I have been blessed by the wisdom of dozens of professional and personal coaches who continue to influence me today.

FWM: Can you share a time that forces were working against you? How did you overcome the challenge? 

BH: My first book Taming the Paper Tiger was published in 1988 and was immediately excerpted in Reader’s Digest worldwide.  Unfortunately, the publisher declared bankruptcy.  The book became unavailable, and I had to borrow money to purchase back my own manuscript from the publisher. 

About her expertise

 FWM: What sets you apart and makes you/ your gift truly special?

 BH: If you do a Google search on “Clutter is postponed decisions,” you will discover that people who quote it add a disclaimer to the phrase – “just postponed decisions,” “simply postponed decisions,” or even more negatively impactful, “nothing more than postponed decisions.”  The result? Those people who struggle with clutter feel even worse!

 If you look up the definition of “paper tiger” in Wikipedia, you will find this definition:

 “Paper tiger” is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zhi lao hu (纸老虎／紙老虎). The term refers to something or someone that claims or appears to be powerful and/or threatening, but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge.

 Productive Environment Institute believes clutter is a “paper tiger.” The first step to “taming your paper tiger” – eliminating your clutter in any form, whether it is physical, digital, emotional, or spiritual – is to identify your “why.” Organizing in and of itself has no value. It is a skill to help you accomplish your work and enjoy your life.

 In Proverbs, we read “Without a vision, the people perish.” When an individual – or an organization – is clear about its purpose, clearing the clutter becomes significantly less painful. If you are not clear about your purpose, clearing the physical, digital, emotional or spiritual clutter is a great way to begin figuring it out. When using our proprietary Productive Environment Process, and implementing the systems we offer, clutter is a “paper tiger.”

Asking the right questions

Organizing is an art form without a “right” or “wrong” way to do it. People often ask us, “What should I do?”  That’s the wrong question.  Instead, ask “What WILL I do?”  If your vision for what your life could be like without the clutter is strong enough, there is always a way to get there.   The longer you wait, the longer it will take, and the more it will cost in lost opportunities. Why wait?

 In 2020, I initiated a compassion project in India called Shepherds House Ministry which will be a home for a family of six, a Bible-teaching center for the people they serve, and a forum to teach and encourage entrepreneurship.

My life goal is to live every day joyfully while giving hope to others! My license plate reads HOPEFOOL.  When people ask “Why?” I reply, “I am a fool for Jesus and H.O.P.E stands for Help Others Pursue Entrepreneurship, which is my continuing passion!

FWM: How can others work with you?

BH:
Email: barbara@barbarahemphill.com
www.BarbaraHemphill.com

FWM Contributing Authors

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