Within that cycle, of course, variations exist—a dry winter or a mild fall—but we always can rely on the rhythm. One season follows the other. It’s a comfortable predictability in a world that often seems to be wildly unpredictable.

Luckily, it is possible to tap into that natural cycle, to bring into both our personal and professional lives a greater sense of flow and order.

It’s time for one of my favorite seasons. Is spring one of yours? In spring, everything is glistening, green and new. There is a feeling of expansion and a sense of renewal and reawakening. Seeds start to grow. People get outside more, becoming reacquainted with their gardens. We take on spring-cleaning projects and clear out clutter.

Have you considered how this season of new beginnings will impact you? Are you ready to reap what you sow? Here are some ideas to consider for both your personal and professional growth.

A few personal activities that align with spring:

What have you always longed to do? Perhaps you want to write a book or teach a class or foster a child. Let this be the year you take action on your dream! Find out what is keeping you from moving forward. Allow the rebirth of spring to inspire you to achieve your dreams and passions!

Is this the time to start developing a healthier lifestyle? We see our neighbors out walking dogs, jogging down the sidewalk or even playing an adult softball game. Challenge yourself to move from inspiration to action! Best of all, you’ll be able to leverage your new, invigorated burst of energy as you work toward meeting your other goals.

Notice, as well, if the seeds you’ve already planted are starting to sprout. Tend to them carefully, giving them ample time to grow. Perhaps this is a personal relationship. Have you noticed a positive change? Remember, it doesn’t have to be the BIG one. Are you curious about where this could lead? Take a risk and see where it takes you!

As a parent we are always looking for those sprouts of change. Celebrate the opportunity to cultivate the crops of our future! Recently I attended a Broadway History Class with my dramatic daughter and a Bible study class with my very intuitive daughter. You can imagine the conversation that followed each session! However, you can have unexpected quality time during a ride home from a practice, at the dinner table or even when you are planting a garden together. Spring is a perfect season for exploring these opportunities.

A few professional activities that align with spring:

Plant your own seeds by designing one or two new products or services for your organization. It’s a gift to allow you to dream. Always imagine how your success will look and feel. We often miss our own successes. What may seem crazy in the beginning could be the start of a really positive idea. So, give yourself lots of time for brainstorming and collaboration before honing your ideas. Sometimes it even helps to conceive the idea, walk away from it, and then edit your creation. Fine-tuning is the key!

When you’re ready, create a detailed launch plan with action steps and a timeline. Have you ever seen a brilliant idea die because the implementation seemed overwhelming? As we coaches suggest, break it down into manageable parts. Maybe even “storyboard” the process using simple post-its to organize (and re-organize) your tasks and timelines. However, as a special mentor of mine always reminded me, you eventually you have to “shoot.” You simply can’t wait for the ultimate perfection.

By tailoring some of what you do to the natural rhythms that allow, sustain and renew all life on earth, you might just find that your life and work are likewise supported, as they deepen, grow and prosper.

Ask yourself what other seeds you would like to sow—and what others already are starting to sprout. I encourage you to post your stories on the P3 Power Blast blog. You may be the one to plant the right seed and harvest an opportunity for another powerful, passionate and purposeful woman!

Jeannette Rudy Fitzwater, CEO and Founder of JR Fitzwater and Associates, is a Registered Corporate Coach who assists individuals and organizations transition through key changes. For additional information we invite you to visit www.jrfitzwater.com.

The Power of Closure by Lisa Thomas
©Copyright 2010..

The Power of Closure is important and critical when you’re creating a new. They say “out with the old and in with the new”, but what happens when you don’t say goodbye to the old?

In reflecting on the close of 2010 while embracing the newness of 2011, I asked myself how to bring a complete close to a wonderful year so that I can begin painting on a clean canvas for 2011? It is a great question for everyone finishing up something old and preparing for something new.

Can you imagine trying to paint a new picture on an old used canvas? Often we do that when we make New Year’s resolutions. The resolutions from 2010 are still lingering – incomplete and unfulfilled, yet we try to start new ones as though they will magically manifest.

Every three years I do a deep introspective, but this year something seemed different. We’re about to embark on the year 2011 and I thought wow, for me this is the beginning of a new decade.  Others began last year, but for me it begins this year.

So, in my deep retrospect this time around, I reviewed my 10 year list. I had accomplished a lot and felt some enormous successes, met some incredible people and had many exciting times.  I’d also been met with some of life’s greatest challenges, let some people go in the process and felt some of the most disappointing and saddest of times. But more importantly, within the last 10 years, I found my purpose and my voice.

I felt the intense desire to include what I’ve called the “P3 Cleanse” in my process of closure.  Most hear the word cleanse and immediately think detox. Yes, to some degree it is a detox. However, cleansing for me is all about mind, body, spirit. It is indeed a spiritual, emotional and physical cleanse. I start with all things informing my intellect of information to distract my cause.   I cleanse my body of those things which conflict with the pureness of healthy living and I mentally cleanse all self imposing thoughts that plague my ability to achieve the greatness I deserve.

I’d engaged in this triple cleanse last year and this year I was ready to take it to another level.  I usually give myself three months to bring closure to all that has happened good or bad. I believe that to fully open up to the process of closure, there is preparation and a good P3 cleanse system provides that opening.

The P3 Cleansing system includes the following steps:

Step 1. Stop watching TV and engaging in other information technology to cleanse your mind and spirit.  You will have to encourage your family to support your efforts by including them in your cleansing process or asking them to respect your process by allowing you to fully implement your cleanse system.

Step 2. Remove all self imposing thoughts and comments from others who plague your ability to think clearly to promote cleansing of your emotions.  This means you will deliberately “stop” all negative, limited thinking. To succeed, you should journal your thoughts and issue a cancellation notice to your mind. The cancellation notice forces you to acknowledge the self imposing thoughts as such. So, the cancellation notice is an imperative part of the system.

Step 3. Eliminate all foods that do not foster energy, good health and vibrant living to cleanse your physical body. First research and exercise a good detox program so you begin your food eliminations with ease. After the detox, usually 7 to 10 days, simply notice your energy levels and keep a journal of all foods consumed. Eliminate those that seem to slow you down or zap your energy.

I suggest you do this for three months. However, you can implement the cleansing system at any time. Cleansing the mind, body, and spirit opens you up to new found energy, problem solving, thought process and effective decision making.

All occurrences have emotions attached to them whether we choose to process them at the time they happen or push them back to process later. To go forward effectively and embrace the future, we have to completely process them all.  And because you’re now in the space of answering three sets of very pointed questions, you can fully and completely navigate through the closure process:

What do I really want?
Where am I unbalanced?
What are my happiest moments in life?
Where is my heart pulling me?
In what direction do I know within my soul am I being led or pulled?
Where am I agitated in life?
Where am I fulfilled?
Where am I unfulfilled?

I follow those with the big questions:

Why am I unfulfilled?
Why am I agitated?
What elements make up the happiest moments in my life?

And lastly, four important and paramount questions come to mind:

What responsibility do I play in it?
What, if anything, am I willing or going to do about it?
How can I make my life line up with what I want it to be?
How do I put myself in the driver’s seat of my own life?

Most of us make New Year’s resolutions without first bringing closure to what has happened. Often we decide we want a different result without first identifying old habits and cycles that continue to lead to our demise.  When we fail to produce, we can easily become cynical and resigned to simply settling for whatever we can get.

I think it’s critical to honor and acknowledge the following:

What have I accomplished and what have I not accomplished?
What is my honest assessment of my accomplishment pros and cons?
How do I make improvements and adjustments for the future?

As you answer these questions, please be cautioned that guilt may arise. Make sure you are in a place to embrace the answers and to become empowered by them. Feelings of guilt or chastisement do not bring closure but, rather deepening in-completion. It is also critical to acknowledge in authentic truth what you will change and what you are not yet willing to change. Also, what you can and cannot commit to; really owning the whole enchilada.

Keep the process going until you feel whole inside and a sense of completion. When you feel a sense of completion, you are settled and at peace in your state of mind and being.

This closure process cleanses out all of the impurities of your life. It brings about the truest most authentic you and creates a clean slate to work from. When you finally make a decision to have something in your life for the New Year, you actually do it with integrity and power attached to it rather than adding it to a pile of words that never manifest. Cleansing actually starts to wipe away all of the old paint and gives rise to a new canvas ready for a new creation.

I am excited about what the days of 2011 will bring now after the closure process is complete. I’ve vowed to make closure a part of everyday living. The daily question becomes “what masterpiece will I create today?”.

Let’s create the absolute best year ever, shall we?

Lisa Thomas provides Life Coaching For Women. Her mission is empowering women worldwide.

Lisa is a Expert Success and Leadership Support Coach, Visionary for Women and  Inspirational Speaker. Featured on NBC’s My Carolina Today , Charlotte Today, World Puja Network, Dr. Pat Show and Conscious Talk Radio. For more information about navigating through the closure process contact Lisa at 910 221 9294 or 704 909 7663. Visit the website at http://www.TheP3Group.com

There are so many ways to network and so many places to network. But the most common complaints I hear from people about networking are:

• You can’t possibly join that many associations – it’s too costly.
• I don’t get any business from that networking group, so I am dropping out.
• I don’t like that group.

I was very lucky to work with a marketing coach early on who advised me to do several things to avoid the above pitfalls. However, I do believe there is a lot of hard work involved, which can result in a lot of busy work if you don’t stay focused. Busy work does not produce revenue, business work does.

Here are my suggestions for purposeful networking:

1.       Identify your target clients. This sounds easy, but take some time to work with someone who can help you know your market. Be specific. For example, if you ran an in-home non-medical caregiver business, your ideal target client profile would be: A working mom in her 50s who has the responsibility for an aging parent. We’ll call that target client Kathy, and we’ll use Kathy as our example for the balance of this article. (Details matter when describing your target audience.)

2.       Where do your target clients hang out? Or to use another term, who are your market makers? Market makers are an entity or person who hangs out with your target clients. For example, Kathy likes to hang out in her professional associations and garden clubs. So join the places where Kathy hangs out. Here are some samples of market makers:

a.       Business trade associations. i.e. NAWBO, eWomen, WPO.

b.      Fortune 500 companies.  i.e. Bank of America, Duke energy, Mecklenburg County School system.

c.       Non-profit organizations. i.e. Goodwill, CharlotteSave (or AmericanSave), United way.

d.      Hobby clubs. Rose and garden clubs, poker clubs, bird watching clubs, running clubs.

e.      Strategic Alliances partners. Hospital, nursing homes, CPA’s, financial advisors.

f.        Religious groups. Church, Bible study group, Buddha study group.

g.       Form your own group. i.e. Heart Link network.

It really depends on who your target clients are. Choose your market makers wisely, because you’ll invest a lot of time, energy, and money into the group. Some may not turn out as well as expected.

3.       Examine why you are doing what you’re doing. People don’t care about WHAT you’re selling. They want to know you and why are you doing what you’re doing. I find this is most difficult for people to define, including myself; work with a coach to form your answer. If you can articulate a story, it’s an instant connection for people. For example, Roberta Franum, owner of the HomeInstead Franchise, provides non-medical in-home care. She tells people that her 92-year-old mother-in-law Eleanor lives with them. She started her business because they had an aging parent to care for and didn’t have a solution. Today, Eleanor has been cared for by HomeInstead for over 10 years.

4.       Clarify your 1-minute commercial with benefits first. Tell people the benefits of working with you. For example, benefits for Kathy; it will give Kathy more time to do what she wants and must do without the worry of taking care of her parent 24/7.

5.       Create connections to Kathy. You’re not going to meet Kathy in your networking meetings. But you’ll meet lots of people who know Kathy. Your job is to make connections.

6.       Get involved in active groups. And since you have to be there on regular basis for networking purposes, you might just get involved or even serve on the board or on a committee. Be your personal walking brand and showcase your capabilities through volunteering.

7.       Follow up within 48 hours after any networking event. People have a very short memory of whom they meet, so follow-up within 48 hours from your event. You can follow-up with a call or email – which ever works best for your business.

8.       Be consistent in showing up. Once you decide who your market makers are, be consistent and show up with intention. Your intention is not just to build awareness of your service, but also to form valuable connections. And don’t just show up at the meetings, but stay in front of the group with updates on your business and valuable tips that may help theirs.

After so many years of networking within my defined market markers, I’ve personally found the most effective way of networking is to be involved with a non-profit organization that I’m passionate about.  If you follow that passion, you may find yourself on a committee working on projects which showcase your capabilities and who you are. Everyone involved in a non-profit organization shares the same reason to be there – passion about what the non-profit is doing.

Be purposeful in your networking. Your time is priceless, so use it wisely.

Chia-Li Chien, CFP®, CRPC, PMP; helps women entrepreneurs to convert their business into meaningful personal wealth.  She is the author of Show Me The Money and columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com & Fox Business online.   She is available for consulting, speaking engagements and workshops.  She can be reached at www.chialichien.com or jolly@chialichien.com.

A biblical message of love says

Love is patient
Love is kind
It does not envy
It does not boast
It’s not proud,

And I’d add
Love isn’t a matter of convenience but one of conviction…
Love is loyal, selfless and attentive

Love creates, penetrates, permeates, integrates and initiates
Love finds, defines and sometimes combines
and aligns but never confines …

Love is a commitment, a dedication, a realization, a medication for all illnesses.
Love is unlimited communication, not separation but a combination – it’s one..
Love is open, it frees and honors..

I’d found love in my life – it soothed me, appeased and pleased me..
Left me on a high, high enough to fly.
It inspired me, freed me, I did things I never thought could be
I believed and I could conceive all my dreams.

And now I know – love is big, massive, explosive, and organic…and can be selective..
It has wings like an eagle,
it honors, it frees and can work like a seagull…
It’s strong
with an unbreakable bond
it travels far and wide
to the other side
of the world,
It’s authentic, it’s true and never lies…
It finds, defines and sometimes combines
And aligns but never confines…
It forgives but never makes the same mistake twice..
Love is a walk not a talk
It’s a deep commitment, dedication, a realization of all things .
It has integrity, unlimited communication, never a separation but a combination – it IS ONE!!
It’s not always convenient but intentional.
It is open, it honors and never brags or boast
But gives a toast
It expresses never suppresses,,
For it IS……if you let it…

I’m excited I found love as it’s truth as it’s supposed to be

It is …
I am…
I will….
It shall come to
with and for me
as its suppose to be…

When I was working for an $8 billion publicly traded company as a Director of Information Systems (IS) years ago, I reported to a Vice President of the IS. He was a great guy to work for, but I felt like I wasn’t learning much from him. In addition to that, there was a very slim chance be promoted to the next higher level, let alone to CIO (Chief Information Officer). I knew there must be something I could do and learn regardless of my next corporate career move.

So, I did the unthinkable. I called my boss’s boss, Barbara, the CIO. We met and I expressed that I needed some help. Although, I did not know what I needed help with, I asked Barbara point blank, “Would you be my mentor?” Barbara said, “YES.”

She opened up many doors for me, but not from a promotion stand point. She helped me connect with outside industry mentors and nominated me to be a member of the Society of Information Management (SIM). She also enrolled me in the Regional Leadership Forum (RLF), a 9-month long leadership forum with industry peers. During that 9-month RLF program, I read 35 books and presented as well as facilitated many discussions. Most importantly, I gained peer support as well as great mentors nationwide. The entire experience helped me clarify my goals, and shortly after my graduation from the RLF, I restarted my business.

“Surround yourself with helpful people” is my motto. We can’t do things alone. We need plenty of helpful people to help us along the journey.

I’ve used many coaches, consultants, advisors and mentors throughout my career in corporate America and in my business. Some people who identify themselves as mentors when they are actually a coach, or a consultant who claims to be a coach do often confuse me. I’ve created this “helpful people locator” to help me decide who will be of most help to me at any particular time and place along in my journey.

You’ll see the “Technical skills or Knowledge” on the vertical axis and “Leadership skills or Knowledge” on the horizontal axis.

• Consultant: Someone who has high technical skills or knowledge with low leadership skills or knowledge. They are so technical that you can expect the work they do for you to be delivered in a tactical nature. For example, I have an I.S. consultant working for me today, Akhilesh knows exactly what to do when it comes to our website programming. But he gets direction from me, and provides consulting in a tactical nature.
• Advisor: Someone who has high technical skills or knowledge with high leadership skills or knowledge. They can do work for you as well as provide strategic thinking. For example, I have a CPA firm as an advisor who advises me on any company finance decision. Ed doesn’t get into my detailed accounting, but certainly has provided me great strategic advice over the years in matters such as licensing, pricing structure, etc.

• Coach: Someone who has low technical skills or knowledge and low leadership skills or knowledge. (This is from my personal experience with no reflection regarding how or if the coach has been certified.) A Coach is someone who helps YOU get the answer out of YOU, often tactical in nature. They believe you already have the answers and strive to get them out of you and put them in application. For example, I worked with my marketing coach Ravel for two years. He helped me create a solid branding message, taught me how networking plays a part and showed me how to put together my 1-minute commercial. All the answers are from me, but he was so good at getting them out of me. Today, I work with entirely different marketing coach, who focuses on external communication with proper tension.
• Mentor: Someone who has low technical skills or knowledge and high leadership skills or knowledge. A mentor has “been there and done that” and knows what the path is. Barbara, my CIO example, is a mentor. Today, I have two business owner mentors who have been successful not only in their field, but also successful in the sale of many of their businesses.  Our conversation is on a strategic level. Most importantly, my mentors are great connections to other industry top guns.

No matter who you decide to surround yourself with, take some time to determine what you actually need before you decide who to work with. You might want to consider the following:

1.       Have one or two mentors any time during your career. They’re your sounding board and your connectors.

2.       Mentor one or two people and pay it forward. The more you teach, the more you learn.

3.       Work with a coach to help obtain your vision and clarify your goals, but remember they are not your therapists. I agree with a coach’s approach in that you do have all the answers within you. You need a coach to help you sort that through. They’re great for personal development.

Surround yourself with helpful people! Why do it alone?

Chia-Li Chien, CFP®, CRPC, PMP; helps women entrepreneurs to convert their business into meaningful personal wealth.  She is the author of Show Me The Money and columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com & Fox Business online.   She is available for consulting, speaking engagements and workshops.  She can be reached at http://www.chialichien.com or jolly@chialichien.com.

Financial independence means different things to everyone

by Chia-Li Chien

During my 2^nd quarter SRI Business Retreat meeting recently, I talked with forty-six business owners about history. I used as an example the fine economists who also play the role of historian by reporting our economic situation on a monthly basis. They do a great job of telling us what is going on in the economy. For example, the Federal Reserve System provides a great deal of historical data about our overall economy. You can even download local data from your Federal Reserve branch. My branch is the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, which covers North Carolina.

Why do you need to know about economic reports? Because these economic reports typically talk about the unemployment rates, interest rates and consumer spending that will have an impact on your business both now and in the future. Your response to the data in the reports means you play an intricate part in the overall economy. According to a recent article, 6 Things Missing From the Recovery from U.S. News & World Report, L.P., small businesses account for 65% of new jobs created in our economy. So yes, we all play a key role in the overall economy. But yet, the U.S. unemployment rate was 9.9 % in April 2010. The Wall Street Journal Economic Forecasting Survey of May 2010 predicts that unemployment will be down to 9.7% in June 2010.

Our world is changing, and changing fast. Perhaps your big business (Fortune 500 or Global 1000) is not creating new domestic jobs up to pace compared to the past. You may see outsourcing come and go without being really certain which direction your business is going. But there is one thing for certain –not all of us will live forever. And not all of you will work in the corporate world forever, either.

Financial independence means different things to different people. But answer this question for me, ”What’s next for you?” As a mother, daughter, wife, daughter-in-law, business owner, boss, vendor, advisor, etc., my life reflects how we all have different roles to play. I did not find my true passion until I got very sick while working in a Fortune 500 company as Director of IT, with a $5 million overhead budget plus an average $10 million project budget annually. It was a wakeup call for me of sorts, when I became so sick that I slept seven days straight. I also thought I was paralyzed from my right shoulder up to my head. I awakened to realize that I had really never listened to my own voice. I knew something had to change, but I wasn’t sure what that was.

After two years in various different treatments, I finally went through comprehensive financial planning and happily came to the conclusion that I could afford to take a different journey. So I did. I resumed, or restarted, my consulting business in late 2003 and today, I love what I do! I am passionate about enabling women business owners to increase their business in value so they can enjoy financial independence. I am on a mission to innovate, to reposition and to capture value growth for women in business.

Take a look at other examples of those who followed their passions:

• Judge Shirley Fulton, is a recently retired Superior Court Judge from Mecklenburg County, NC.  She is the owner of The Wadsworth House, a meeting place for corporate, civic and social events, and she co-founded Charlotte Law School (the first for-profit law school in Charlotte).
• Cathy Maday, was in a corporate role as a Project Manager. Today, she is the owner of Wingspan Coaching, which provides management and executive coaching services for Fortune 500 firms. She and her team were recently featured on The Learning Channel (TLC).
• Patricia Golden, was a Marketing Executive. Today, she is the owner of a ten-year-old company called My Team of Experts, Inc., a premier public relations company that helps small businesses.

Perhaps your path is different when it comes to financial independence. But no matter what you choose to do, whether owning/running a business or a civic/non-profit organization, or something else entirely, what you do will depend on what your passion/purpose is calling you to fulfill.

Consider the following:

• Find your passion/purpose and listen to the universe. No one can tell you what to do; only you can. The answer is already here if you listen carefully. Most importantly, you already hold the key to success in whatever you desire to do.
• Seek a career coach for advice. Reference my previously published article, Secrets of a Successful Exit, in which I identify ten variables to consider. The first six variables can help you decide if you want to start a business.
• Carefully analyze your situation and seek financial planning advice. But remember, your goal is not to get an approval from your CFP for retirement. The goal is to test the waters to see if you are financially ready take on a huge investment and risk such as owning a business.

The truth is that no one can predict what will happen in the future – especially in the uncertain economic environment of today. But wouldn’t you prefer to be part of the statistical history that shows an upswing, or making history brighter now for a brighter future? Begin now to visualize your future, and you’ll be the one writing your own history.

Chia-Li Chien, CFP®, CRPC, PMP; helps women entrepreneurs to convert their business into meaningful personal wealth. She is the author of Show Me The Money and columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com & Fox Business online. She is available for consulting, speaking engagements and workshops. She can be reached at www.chialichien.com or jolly@chialichien.com.

By Rev. Lady Dannia Baty Copyright 2010

I won’t argue the fact that there are some big changes happening on our world but the fact is changes have been happening for a long time now and this is nothing new. While the wheels are turning, we don’t notice much until the wheels stop turning. Remember any long car trip and at some point the driver slows down to exit somewhere. We may be fast asleep but when the car stops, we wake up most of the time. Some where in our brain is registered the fact that something has changed and we need to come out of our dozing state and pay attention.

It is a similar situation when someone falls asleep in front of the television. We walk in and notice that you are asleep and when it is turned off, you wake up! Everyone is waking up because the wheels have slowed or stopped turning for a while but only for a while. All I hear is how bad everything is. Where have all the positive people gone? What is needed now are conversations that spread hope and love. If you are nearby when the conversation turns to how awful things are the best thing to do is move on or change the subject. Don’t join in!

We have reached a state of what is called critical mass. The way we have lived our lives in relative spiritual unconsciousness has slowed down the wheels of the bus. It is time to take in the scenery of your creations.

If you are having issues and troubles right now then what is going on in your life is in your face in such a big way that can no longer be ignored. The tiger is no longer in the bushes. It is right in front of you and growling and baring its teeth.
Across the board this is true for almost everyone alive right now.

The fact of the matter is spiritually speaking, you are being prodded and pushed to make some changes. You are not alone. You know this to be true and some of us just don’t know how to move forward. You are like a deer in the headlights frozen and not knowing what to do. We all know what happens to most deer when this happens.

Sadly, being in denial or ignoring any suffering you may be experiencing is an option many of you take. To quote Dr. Phil, “ How is that working for you? ”
It is not working at all and you know it. If you have lived this way for a long time then you have adapted yourself to your current way of thinking and living your life.
One of the ways you have adapted is to constantly feed yourself negativity. It is time to take stock of what media you are watching and reading and how much. Let’s not kid each other. Most of the media is negative, frightening and if you believed all of it, you would be jumping off a bridge.
The surge toward spirituality is stronger now than ever before as the seekers are many who want to understand themselves, the universe and God.

We’ve lost ourselves. We’ve lost the truth of who we are as spiritual beings. We have dumbed down our connection to God. We’ve turned our power over to negative thought forms and beliefs put into place thousands of years ago. These negative thought forms and beliefs were created with a single purpose in mind—to control our thoughts, actions and behaviors to the benefit of those who would wield power over us. We have all seen it and experienced it but have turned a blind eye to it. We have shook our heads at our dwindling resources but as long as it didn’t affect us personally we didn’t make any changes. Well now, it is affecting you personally as a person, a nation and a planet.

It is time that we took our power back! It is a social imperative that we all share the responsibility for. Do you truly want to be happy, joyous, abundant and free? Do you want to see peace reign in the world? Do you want to see our dwindling environmental resources begin to replenish and flourish? Do you want to have the power to manifest abundance in your life?

There is a way, as a collective humanity to co-create sustainable abundance in every area of our lives. It requires a Quantum Shift in perspective and a desire and willingness to frame our beliefs about who we inherently are as spiritual beings. It saddens me greatly when I repeatedly and continuously hear the following from the beautiful, radiantly talented people that cross my path:

• As human beings we are imperfect, flawed and weak
• No pain, no gain
• One cannot transcend or grow without suffering
• I don’t know what it would take for me to be happy. I have everything and I feel confused and alone.
• I feel like I am a prisoner in my own life and I don’t know how to undo it
• If only I had the right woman/man in my life, I’d feel okay
• If only I had money, I’d be free.
• I feel like I’m being punished for who I am
• If only I had a house, I’d be secure.

With great sadness in my heart I write to you to implore you to begin anew. To wipe the slate clean and to create a new reality and imprint upon it that which is truly your birthright and destiny as a human being! You are a bundle of pure divinity. You are a perfect, precious creation of unlimited intelligence, creativity and divine power to be the alchemist mixing and creating precious energies, thoughts, forms and materials into divine material form. You are God’s perfect creation. You were given such incredible gifts of free will and to power to create anew in every moment.

Every one of us is a teacher and a leader but we are not using it. You are a teacher and a leader within your own life experience.

Now is the time for change…Now!
The true disease of our humanity causing the dwindling resources of our environment, increasingly aggressive warring among political and religious factions and early death due to diseases born out of our own behaviors, is our belief that we are flawed, imperfect and victims of our circumstances. The other disease is apathy.

My divine fellow brothers and sisters, where, when and why did we decide to buy into the very belief that is causing the deconstruction and destruction of everything that we hold dear in life! Whatever happens anywhere in this world affects every one of us.

Not until we REMEMBER and EMBRACE the truth of our divinity and LET GO of someone’s self-motivated spin that continues to dominate and control us, will we begin to be free. As we begin to embrace the truth of our wholeness, we will begin to feel the rise of a new era, a rise in health, wealth and well-being in our hearts, homes, communities and the world we live and breathe in.

The spin of human form as broken, flawed and in need of being saved is what perpetuates living from a place of fear. The belief that as human beings we are a stain on the fabric of the world is truly tragic and commits us to a barren future. The belief that only through pain, we rise, is yet another negative thought form which has as its’ goal to behavior modify us into a malleable controllable collective. It keeps us immobilized where institutions can lead us into arenas that only serve their thirst for power, dominance and control.

Fear breeds more fear and increased fear in the world gives rise to those who want to capitalize on our fears. They control our minds, actions, behaviors and pocketbooks! Conquer and divide is the dish of the day if we continue to buy into the belief that our greatest strength as a human being is our weakness!

Living from fear allows us to be controlled. It controls what we are able to accomplish in the world. We strive to create security and success from a place of fear and when security and success is built on a foundation of fear, it is at risk of collapse and destruction. The only way to create SUSTAINABLE abundance is through living from a place of our own power and divinity. We must understand that as human beings we ARE PERFECT and we hold the power to the expansion of not only our lives, but the world around us.

When we begin to feel the rightness, beauty and brilliance of who we are, fear begins to slip away and we begin to feel a new surge of the divine running through our hearts, souls, and spirits. We begin to see life through a new lens. Everything comes vibrantly alive and a new energy moves through us giving birth to our own unique creative intelligence. We begin to live in flow and trust and not in fear. We begin to manifest a new reality of our own choosing! An abundant Universe where supply far exceeds demand! Just envision that for a moment. What would the World become having all the supply that we could ever need to meet demand? I know you know the answer. War, famine, disease, ego and fear would become ancient history! Humanity would rise to a new consciousness where abundance would be allowed to expand and flourish and we would become the generation of a new era of enlightenment!

We, the people, ARE the mass consciousness that have the power to create permanent quantum shift for a new tomorrow. Believe it, embrace it and manifest it now!

We’ve also bought into the belief that change is a painful process. When we even think of the word “change” it evokes a feeling of dread and fear. We, again, become immobilized and choose to stay stuck rather than facing the supposedly inevitable trauma of change. This is a belief that we have to shift and let go of in order to become proactive participants in the creation of a new abundant landscape of life.

Change is invigorating, energizing, exciting, and expansive and creates innovation and genius when you are the one instituting and creating the change.

The reason why most of us see change as a threat rather than the opportunity for expansion is because most of us let change happen to us rather than being the proactive person promoting the shift. It is the difference between being the victim of circumstances or the victor of circumstances. Which will you choose going forward? To be the person who allows change to be thrust upon them or the person who creates positive change?

Again, it is a matter of living in faith of yourself as a creator and not as a fear-based person who is being manipulated and controlled by those who would seek power over you.

True and right use of power comes from within with a purity of intention to manifest abundance for the greater good of the whole. It starts in your heart, soul and home and trickles out into the world. Change brings about incredible transformation. God is always there to guide and assist.

As you believe, others believe. As you live your divinity, others will live their divinity. As you radiate the new reality of our divine humanity, others see it, feel it and move into it. You have the power to change your mind, thoughts, beliefs, deeds, actions and reactions. You have the power to manifest a new reality that sustains your existence in the highest, most abundant form imaginable.

As the world changes and our consciousness shifts into a higher state of being, we will all come to know God as never before in the history of the world. God is patiently waiting for his children to know and feel with absolute clarity that we all have the power to affect change and create. If you have been waiting for signs and omens, they are all around us so what are you waiting for? This is just something to think about.

Have you ever experienced a rough day where things didn’t go quite the way you planned and it was a total disaster?

You wonder what you may have done to deserve such awful treatment or such a crappy experience. You may even begin to entertain the question “why is this happening to me or why am I here having to deal with this?”

These are the kind of questions you might ask yourself when life throws you a curve ball, right? The answers can be powerful answers if you have powerful questions, so it’s imperative that you ask the right questions.

The real question is what’s your purpose for being in the situation?

An even more powerful question is what’s your vision and purpose for life in general. Within the answers to these questions, you’ll discover freedom and choice when facing any situation rather than obligation and suffering through it.

So this sounds easy enough, right? I’ve had some of my clients say “yes, it’s simple maybe, but easy, not so much.”

Let’s take the case that you are stuck wondering ”why”. To give you access to a more powerful place, we’re going to call your “why” – vision and purpose.

Here’s a 6 part exercise that will show you exactly how to figure out your “why” or better said your purpose and vision.

First Step:

Be Still – Literally be still. Find a sacred space of solitude and serenity where you experience a sense of peace and take a chill pill, relax, take a load off and become motionless. You should sit so you can focus. It could be a spot out in nature or in a quiet room in your home or office.

Second Step:

Listen to your inner voice: Your inner voice is the voice of your essence, your spirit. It is the purest part of you. The following questions can be used to activate your inner voice.

What does my heart long for?

What’s truly important to me?

What dreams have I given up on?

What am I truly passionate about?

What am I engaged in when I lose track of time?

Third Step:

Journal your responses. Once you’ve taken yourself away from the space of solitude and serenity, write down your responses to the questions in the second step.

Fourth Step:

Repeat the process. Give yourself five days to repeat the process. Remember to do the above mentioned steps exactly as they are outlined. Do not deviate from the process.

Fifth Step:

Pay attention to common themes. As you journal your responses, you’ll find common themes and glaring interests.

Sixth Step:

Create a vision statement. Review your journal of five entries and create a vision statement. Your vision statement is a compilation of your journal in one or two lines. Within the vision statement is also your purpose. You’ll notice it as you read it over and over.

Once you’ve completed the exercise, you’re ready to tackle any situation life throws at you. Your vision  statement will now act as a foundation for decision making. Quite simply, it is your integrity meter.

Whenever you’re faced with the question “why”, simply check your vision statement and see how life begins to unfold.

Have fun with the exercise and allow life to take you exactly where you’re suppose to be.

Lisa Thomas is a Expert Success and Leadership  Coach, Visionary for Women and Inspirational Speaker. Featured on NBC’s My Carolina Today, NBC’s Charlotte Today, NPR Affiliate WFDD, Dr. Pat Show, Conscious Talk Radio, World Pudja Network and Fox 8 News. Please contact her at 910 221 9294 or 704 909 7663. Visit the website at http://www.TheP3Group.com.

Feel free to contact her directly for your P3 Power Session where you will begin the journey of discovery. It will be the best 60 minutes of your life. Remember, power, purpose and vision begins within the spirit of who you are.

I internalize a lot of things that makes me a hardcore thinker. As a writer I do a lot of reflecting and believe that the holiday season is the best time to do this specifically New Year’s. I didn’t expect to be in the city throughout the entire season, but life happens and it goes on.

2010 was an absolute rollercoaster of changes, discoveries, and growing pains. I’m thankful for what I’ve learned and understand the importance of making myself happy. I’m nervous about this new year, but whatever is will build character and turn me into the woman I want to be.

I started this month’s entry on the brink of a break through and it‘s only fitting that I share it with you.

Some time last week

As of last night I’ve uncovered another flaw of myself. For the longest time I used to be afraid of the real me mainly because I knew I wasn’t the greatest person I‘ve fooled myself to be . I stopped being afraid and started facing myself head on. There were some things that desperately needed to be fixed so I could function as an adult in the world. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is how to be alone, but what I also learned is that I don’t do well when I’m alone. Instead of going off the deep end I have found ways to deal with it and every now and then I forget how, but managed to get back on the wagon.

Here’s the breakthrough I’ve discovered why my relationships fail, I’m selfish. In a conversation with a friend who isn’t afraid to be honest with me told me that there are two types of people selfish and selfless. It’s amazing how concepts are easily forgotten. Apparently they both are givers, but selfish people expect something back. I’ll go back to myself for a moment, I honestly thought (and kind still do) things are given evenly in a relationship. What my friend told me was that sometimes the perception of even is skewed. If the relationship works then there’s balance and there is always someone giving more.

I’ll gladly say I want to find the one, spend years enjoying each others company then having my twins and drink sweet tea on my porch. Don’t get me wrong my happiness isn’t defined in another person, learned that the hard way. I guess it all goes back to me in this alone factor. I’m still having a hard time maintaining a close circle of friends. I blame conflicting schedules, but if the friendship works then it’s balanced. Everyone has to put in some work, but I can only make the call of how much I want to put in.

Now that I’ve found the source of failed relationships now I have to decided if I want to change it. I do.

This is my life and I chose to be a better person….the things I want in life are depending on it.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of witnessing my aunt and uncle as they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. My cousins planned a surprise anniversary party and it was absolutely amazing!

They were indeed surprised. My aunt, not knowing what was on the other side the door, stopped in her tracks as she entered the room and starting praising God when she saw all of her guest there! And when she saw her daughter and grandson from out of town, boy did she let out the joy; I mean those tears of joy just rolled down her face. We were all moved by the mere site of her bliss!

The evening was filled with acknowledgment and praise of the couples tenacity and strength to forge ahead during what could’ve been trying times over their 50 year marriage. They stood the test of time and they made the best of every moment.

My cousin who delivered the speech said, THIS is MY mother and THAT is MY father. Proudly she stood wearing the essence of two great parents delivering a message for all us about family.

Then my uncle charmingly performed the ceremony they never had. They were remarried formerly by a pastor and witnesses with the exchanging of rings and a song.

What a way to celebrate 50 years – with family, friends and love ones.

The evening filled my heart with appreciation and love!!!

 Jonn and I were inspired to go for another 37 years to bring ourselves to such bliss as well!

I also realized that saying I love you is important and “thank you” is a must, not just to your spouse but to everyone whom you love.

What was so wonderful and moving about this special day is each of my aunt and uncles children stood to acknowledge, thank and praise their parents now while they are still alive.

It was important to the children that their parents heard the words from their lip.

So often we don’t say things of the heart in the moment because of many reasons; we’re often simply caught up in our day to day routine. Then unfortunately when and if something tragic happens, we desperately want to say I love you and I appreciate you or we wish we had.

Once is never enough, twice is just the beginning. Saying and showing your love must be paramount, I believe.

That picture of my aunt and uncle embracing each acknowledgement has stayed with me and I am present to love. All I have is this moment because who knows what the next one will bring.

All there is, is this moment.
Love emerges from the shadows
Flowing, floating in the wind,
In the moment, it is created.

Like a gush of wind forms from the unknown swirling,
births a dancing funnel across the lands,
love is born from a gush of your own creation.

From an unknown place within your hearts belonging,
it forms, slowly evolving.

Out of nowhere, it is there.
As quickly as it forms,
It’s gone disappearing in thin air.

Only in this very moment is it created.
As your mind dreams life’s romances,
in the shadows of passionate desires,
IT, ahhhhhhh, sweet innocence,

LOVE IS made real.

For a P3 Power Session on Relationships, Business, Leadership and Life, contact Lisa Thomas. www.TheP3group.com