Fear Factor

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face… You must do the thing you think you cannot do.   Eleanor Roosevelt

What fear is holding you back from living the life you have imagined?

• Fear of Change and the Unknown
• Fear of Making Wrong Decisions
• Fear of Not Being Accepted and Loved
• Fear of the Past
• Fear of the Future
• Fear of Failure
• Fear of Success

Most doubt and indecision comes from either living in the past or the future. But Read more

Burning Questions

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark,
in the hopeless swamps of the approximate,
the not quite, the not yet, the not at all.

Do not let the hero in your soul perish,
in lonely frustration for the life you deserved,
but have never been able to reach.

Check your road and the nature of your battle.
The world you desired can be won.
It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.

Ayn Rand

Are you a woman on fire with passion for life?

Or are you just burned out?

Time to ignite your future with a compelling vision for the life you dream of living.  Time to pull out your boxed in dreams and bring them into the light. Re-examine them. Do these dreams of yours remain important? If so, why do these dreams remain in the caverns of your mind?

Just like an unlit candle, collecting dust, your dreams have wonderful potential for touching the senses and lighting up your life.

What small step can you take today that will bring you joy?

Stop thinking. Start doing. You will feel so much better.

Need a mental boost to get you going?  Join other savvy women at The Swan Network, a life planning resource center for savvy women who are ready to own their future. Be sure to sign up for our free newsletter to stay inspired and informed.

Attitude ~ The Key to Success

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams. Og Mandino

What timeless principle of the Circle of Wisdom reinforces this guidance?

Believe in yourself and your goals. The choices you make today create tomorrow’s history.

• Set goals.
• Establish new habits so they become second nature.
• Trust in yourself. Know that each small step today, however difficult, is bringing you closer to fulfilling your dreams.

Persevere.

The new WOW workshops begin in January. Inspiration, motivation, and accountability to help you be Great in 08!

Trust the Truth

Trust the truth. You are overwhelmed for a reason. Now the question is: What are you going to do about it?

You’ll be blown away when you watch the video. Watch it anyway. I’ll meet you below. Read more

Life is Precious ~ Live Each Day

Do not resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege.
Author Unknown

Anticipating the joy of starting their own family, Ellen and her husband purchased and moved into the home where she was raised. They were looking forward to the joy of watching their future children play in a home full of her childhood memories.  Ellen’s youthful handprints were still visible in the cement drive. Her playhouse was still in the backyard.

Then the unthinkable happened. Within a few months of moving into their new home, Ellen received crushing news. In her words: Read more

Ladder of Success

Stephen Covey, internationally respected leader and author of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote,

“Many people are climbing the ladder of success every day, only to find that it is leaning against the wrong wall!”

Unfortunately that “aha” moment often arrives when the ladder has just been pulled out from under you in a blinding moment of clarity. You are exchanging your life’s energy for a life you don’t want to live.

Overwhelmed and living a life of quiet desperation, you realize you have spent years building a life that doesn’t work. Getting out of bed to go to work each day has become a chore.  Exhaustion has transformed previous pleasures into another item on the dreaded to-do-list. You would rather just cocoon at home, licking your wounds from the previous week. It doesn’t have to be this way!

Life is too precious and too short to waste another minute. You can take control today and create a life you love. It begins with the awareness and understanding of your personal definition of success.

Imagine … You are living a life that feeds your soul. If you had all the money, time and energy to create a life you love, what would success look like for you? Who would you spend time with? What would you be doing? Where would you live?  Describe your perfect work environment. Don’t underestimate the power of this exercise. Make this description come alive and be so real you can feel it.

Climbing your personal ladder of success is an exercise in empowerment and brings you closer to what really matters. Don’t wait until the ladder is pulled out from under you by circumstances you cannot control.  Small choices, made daily, will shape your future. Align your values to your life.

You have the power of choice. Your future begins today.

Resources:

Blink audio book: Blink is an eye-opening book about how we think without really thinking … about choices that seem to be made in an instant – in the blink of an eye – that aren’t as simple as they seem.

Masks

Understand one very important concept and it will set you free.

We are all afraid ~ of something.

We fear rejection, embarrassment, disappointment, or not being accepted.

We are afraid of change and what the future holds. We are afraid of making the wrong decision.

Maybe we are afraid someone will find out who we actually are. An imposter. Hiding behind a mask of perfection protects us from the vulnerability of being rejected and hurt. Or does it?

There is a high price to pay for not being honest with others.

It is the lack of intimacy. If we aren’t truthful with ourselves or others as to who we really are, what we stand for, and what we believe in, we are not free to live authentically. Fraudulent relationships are created. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a community of women who, having learned to accept and trust themselves, can reach out to help other women? And ask for help when we need it?

Supportive relationships create an environment where each of us can come out from behind the mask. Share hopes, dreams, progress and success. And the valleys, the self-doubt, the pain of transitions? True wealth from the inside out.

A poem written in 1966 by Charles Finn expresses it well. Click here to read Please Hear What I’m Not Saying Click below to listen. The poem expresses a universal self-limiting belief system that stands between the life we are living and life we dream of.

MP3 File

What’s love got to do with money? Everything Part III

What’s love got to with money? Everything – Part III Making the Complex Simple (or not)

MP3 File

Bob and Karen, both having both been married before, were thrilled to find one another, full of hope for a promising future together. In spite of the love they shared, Karen was a smart and practical woman in her early 40’s who had seen the mistakes her girlfriends had made. She was determined that wouldn’t happen to her.

Bob and Karen wisely discussed money long before they ever married to make sure they shared common beliefs about how they would handle money. Karen made sure she and her new husband went to an attorney to draw up a will naming each other as beneficiaries of their estates. Bob and Karen specifically planned for Bob’s children by setting up a trust and funding it with life insurance.

After fifteen years of marriage, Bob unexpectedly died.

And Karen was shocked by what she learned. Read more

What’s love got to do with money? Part II

Let’s continue our discussion from What’s Love Got to Do With Money Part I about the written, meaningful words of love that are the true gifts to and from our loved ones. Doing what is right … for the benefit of others. Your legacy.

Before we continue Part II of our discussion about love and money, here is a short article I thought you might enjoy about the origin of Valentine’s Day, compliments of an email I received from The System Seminar Founder, Ken McCarthy.

Valentine’s Day: “In a time long ago and a land far away, in the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II, things were not going well for the empire. Claudius had launched so many bloody wars that he was running out of soldiers and no one wanted to volunteer for his latest adventurers. In a stroke of madness, Claudius decided that the solution to his problem was to ban all engagements and marriages. This way, he reasoned, young men would not be ‘tied down’ to their families and would be more inclined to sign up and ship out. Obviously, folks who wanted to get married were not happy with the new law.

Valentine to the Rescue. One clergyman, a man named VALENTINE, thought the law was nuts and unjust and took to secretly marrying couples. It worked great…until he was caught. While in jail waiting for execution – it was a capital offense to oppose the Emperor – young people threw flowers and notes of appreciation to the man who stood up to a power-mad government on their behalf. Valentine knew he had done the right thing and, thanks to the support and love and received from so many, kept his spirits high to the very end. For the ‘crime’ of marrying people who loved each other, Valentine was executed on February 14. And thus the origin of today’s holiday. ” Legend also says that a jailed St. Valentine sent a letter to his beloved, the jailor’s daughter, signed “Your Valentine.” Now you know!

Straight from the Heart So St. Valentine’s Day is really all about honoring someone for doing what he knew in his heart was right … for others! Valentine’s Day is the third most celebrated holiday, surpassed only by Christmas and Easter. The average Valentine’s Day consumer is spending $113. We spend $2.3 Billion (with a “B”) on greeting cards and $1.7 Billion (another “B”) on candy! $4 BILLION in one day. To tell someone we love them.

I can think of a better way.

Words of Love

In the true spirit of of St. Valentine, let’s continue our discussion from Part I: the written, meaningful words of love that are true gifts to the people who mean the most to us.

Read more

What’s love got to do with money? Part I

February is the month for celebrating love. So it is with a heartfelt celebration of my father’s life that I share his legacy of love. Love of family. Love of knowledge.

I’d like to share some ideas that will provide you with answers to questions you may not have even thought to ask. I hope these tips help you as you make plans to pass on your personal legacy of love.

There are many forms of wealth, only one of which is financial.

However, money is a powerful and emotionally complex tool which impacts every facet of our life. Money provides us with a sense of power and control; security and independence. How we spend, save, and exchange our life energy for money reflects how we value ourselves and others.

So why don’t we talk about money? Money is the last taboo.

We are secretive about money because we don’t know who or what to trust. Indifference and not taking control of our finances destroys true inner wealth. When you are on an emotional roller-coaster, you can’t possibly learn all you need to know about money. Often times, it’s even too late.

The one thing constant in life is change.

None of us has a crystal ball to know when a life-changing event will transform our lives. Transitions are often accompanied by feelings of overwhelm and the fear of what ifs. Decisions must be made and action steps taken. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew you were making the right choices? For you? By anticipating and preparing for the unthinkable … our own mortality … we are telling our loved ones that we care; that we have purposely chosen to simplify their lives. Thousands of dollars and our most precious asset, time, can be saved just by becoming aware of the issues.

Understand Six Simple Steps to Security

Read more

Next Page »