Recently I tuned in to an interview with Kim Kiyosaki which got my attention. Kim said there was a recent article in The Economist which stated that the next big economic boom is not China, India or the Internet. Instead it’s Empowering Women because in times of economic crisis it’s the women who rise up and take action…

It led me to reflect on the recent changes to the self growth industry. In 2006, Rhonda Byrnes birthed The Secret and the personal development field was changed forever in terms of those bringing us the information.

Suddenly, almost overnight, we were exposed to leaders in the fields of personal growth and self development who reflected us… Here was Loral Langemeier, then a single mother AND business tycoon, and Lisa Nichols, a black woman who talked about how she overcame internalized racism.

Watching The Secret allowed us to ask ourselves some deep questions.

You see, the Secret was the beginning of a New Day, both in media, and more importantly on our planet! Women are coming into their power, and as we do, we lift our families, our communities, and our nations higher!

Think about it: if a society of mothers and grandmothers was running the planet, do you think we may have experienced more peace, prosperity and stability as a group these past few hundred years?

I think so!  Women are nurturers by nature. They build relationships and foster growth and development.

Can you see how women of all nations reclaiming their power is good for the planet?

I think so!

This is a new time for the planet, and it’s a time for women to rise! So whether you are a woman, or you’ve always envisioned a society that allows women to be empowered, NOW IS YOUR TIME~

We’ve got an 11-Woman Empowerment panel covering 11 sessions on 11 different topics. That’s 11 Life Changing Moments!

And we welcome men to get involved. In fact, as a man by participating in this event, you will be opening yourself to a positive future for all of the women in your life, and for yourself.

Now is your chance to advance. And if you join us ,you will look back on this day years later, and be thankful that you made this choice. To rise, stand in your power and to fully step into your greatness!

Register for The EMPOWERED WOMEN TELERETREAT today!http://mpowerurself.com/the-empowered-women-teleretreat-series It runs January 31 to February 9 2011!
Lorna Blake is a thought leader who specializes in empowering women. She has personally interviewed some of the top women leaders in many areas of personal growth and self-development. From financial empowerment and investment, to parenting, health and wellness, relationships to business, personal empowerment and mindset mastery.

She’s  partnered with Catrice Jackson, International Empowerment Speaker, to create a platform, open up a sacred forum and bring  a life-changing series starting January 31, 2011.

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Join me for an international telesummit with 10 of the most empowering women in the world. Topics will include, “How to Position Yourself as an Expert,” “Fun as a Spiritual Practice,” “Empowerment Through Self-Discovery,” “How to Communicate for Success in All Your Relationships,” and “How to Parent Your Child/Children to Greatness in Just Five Minutes a Day!”

Expert panel includes internationally recognized business and life coaches, motivational speakers, educators, entrepreneurs, business owners, humanitarians and even a New York Times best-selling author.

This is a can’t miss opportunity. Hear how life-changing decisions move others to incredible levels of success and from feeling like victims to finding their voice.

Telesummit runs from June 22 – 30, 2010. See a complete schedule here.

Register now!

Be empowered today. Don’t wait.

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According to Dr. Joe Rubino, the world’s leading authority on self-esteem optimization, many times as children we were told that we weren’t good enough. We may have gotten the message that we were not worthy of the best things in life and we accepted and absorbed these negative ideas.

This could have come from parents, grandparents, whomever. Regardless of who it was we believed them. And now we have a voice inside our heads that takes on this person’s words to remind us of our inferiority.

Whether this negative chatter started with your misinterpretations or with someone else’s misguided words you have the ability to recognize that these thoughts are not true. More critically, they do not support your happiness and You have the power to stop your inner critic every time she speaks against you.

This voice may tell you that life isn’t bad if you live it quietly. She may tell you it’s too stressful to try to accomplish great things. Maybe you think your life is okay. But isn’t it true that your life lacks the passion and power you might experience by playing at a higher level? Are you genuinely happy continuing to live a lack-lustre life?

By developing higher self-esteem you can reclaim your greatness and create lots of possibilities for living your best life! Yes, it’s true that you may experience some level of stress by getting out of your comfort zone but there are greater levels of joy and fulfillment awaiting you on the other side.

Here’s an exercise to shift things:

For the next week as you go about your day notice each time your inner critic puts you down and keeps you playing small. Write down each negative thought you have about yourself. Start observing the difference between your inner critic’s voice and your intuition-the voice of wisdom.

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I was watching an episode of BraveHeart View recently and this was the topic being discussed.

Ellie Drake, the founder of Brave Heart Women, talked about how painful it was for her when she arrived in America (from Iran) and was judged because she had one eyebrow.  All the women including Ellie had a laugh about it but I can imagine the pain of that experience lasting a long time. For some of us it may be traumatic enough to even last a life time.

We need to be careful about stereotyping people based on their differentness from us. Sometimes it’s their skin colour, ability and age. Things aren’t always what they appear to be. People aren’t always who they seem.

Do you remember how Susan Boyle was treated when she first auditioned on “Britain’s Got Talent”? I remember people made the assumption that she couldn’t sing because she didn’t seem to fit the stereotype of what singers look and dress like as in younger, thinner… Many people took one look at her, sized her up and wrote her off thinking that she was really going to make a fool of herself on stage.

And then she opened her mouth singing “I dreamed a dream” and she immediately shut down the naysayers and won the hearts of millions around the world.  I was happy for her from the very beginning because I love to root for the underdog. But that doesn’t mean I’m not critical of others. I’m working on not judging.

How can we move past this issue that robs us of treating people with respect without them having to prove themselves? 

• - Look beyond the outer package: weight, skin colour, clothes, ability, gender, sexual orientation etc.
• - Remember how painful it is or was for you when you are/were judged and show understanding.
• - Accept that underneath it all is a person who needs acceptance just like you.
• - Refuse to participate in conversations that bash people and cut them down.
• - Recognize that when you speak badly of others it reflects badly on you.

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I was watching a BraveHeart View episode where they were discussing daily rituals. The question is, what do you do on a daily basis to bring yourself a sense of peace and get your day going?

For most of us we wake up in the morning and as we come to awareness we start thinking about what we don’t have, don’t want and can’t get. If we don’t ground ourselves in some rituals we become very stressed out as we go through our day. And we find ourselves reacting to every situation instead of responding.

Ellie Drake, the founder of BraveHeart Women, said if you don’t consciously choose things that make you feel good you’ll unconsciously create feelings that aren’t good like anxiety, frustration, sadness. So choose consciously.

I suggest starting with gratitude. Write down 10 things you’re grateful for in your life. Recognize that you’re important and you deserve to have a great day. Give yourself some “me time”.

Take out a picture that brings back pleasant memories for you and go there in your mind. Yes, experience the feelings of joy, pride, freedom that this picture brings. Project those feelings into your day.

Think of three things that say “I love myself” and do them.

One of the best ways to wake up with a sense of peace is going to bed with a sense of peace. So as you wind down your day, take time to express gratitude for things that went well during your day. Visualize yourself having a good night’s rest and waking up refreshed and rejuvenated. Prayer, meditation or some form of relaxation helps.

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One of the most important skills we need to develop in order to be happy is how to ask for what we want. Yet most of us never learn.

Others think they’ll lose the things that are important to them – friendships, relationships, job etc.

Still, nothing seems to create more frustration and stress internally than feeling powerless to ask for what you want. So it’s really important to know how to do it.

You may be asking why do we need this skill. The reason is we live in a world where there is an imbalance where our rights are concerned. Some people don’t know they have rights, some who know are afraid to speak up for their rights and the third group seems to trample on the rights of others to make themselves look good.

That’s why it’s critical for you to understand that you have rights and to know what they are. It’s a long list so I wont bore you with them all but here are some of them.

You have the right to: ask for what you want, express your own opinion, say no, decide for yourself what’s best for you, think about what you’re being asked before you respond…

Next, respect yourself. In other words don’t say yes when deep down you really mean no. It will create stress, frustration and anxiety deep down inside you. And you’ll be mad at yourself, may even beat up on yourself and hate or dislike yourself.

Be consistent. People respect those who are consistent. When you take on a responsibility and you turn down other people’s offers for help, commit to follow through and get it done without complaining. Your saying yes and rejecting help sends a message that you can handle the task at hand. So if you suddenly feel upset (in the midst of carrying out this particular responsibility) and decide to blow off steam because your needs aren’t being met, those who bear the brunt of your anger may perceive you as being insincere. That you can’t even make up your mind what you really want. And guess what?  They’re not likely to take you seriously.

So here are some steps to stop this vicious cycle or even to untangle yourself from it.

• 1. Stop. Get clear on what you need by asking yourself: “What do I need from this person, in this situation or at this time?”
• 2. Say no to things you don’t want to do.
• 3. Accept help when it’s being offered.
• 4. Write down what’s bothering you before you have “that talk” with the other person.
• 5. Have regular conversations when you bring up your wants and needs in a non-threatening way.
• 6. Practice what you’re going to say and how to say it using “I” statements.

 Don’t wait until you’ve had it up to your neck before you have a talk about what’s bothering you.

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“Smile. Your smile lights up a room.” It was more than 20 years ago and I had been going through a difficult time. The stress was starting to show on my face. One of my mentors took me aside and she said: ” Smile, your smile could charm a ratbat!”

Even though I had never encountered a ‘ratbat’ it made me smile immediately to know that my smile was so powerful… I have taken this lesson to heart and have never forgotten these words. I smile regularly and teach others to do the same.

I have traveled to countries in Asia where I was told people don’t normally interact with ‘foreigners’. Yet I made friends simply by walking down the street wearing a smile on my face.

Several of my Asian friends later told me they had never approached a westerner on the street before meeting me. They felt intimidated to do so but somehow I seemed friendly because of my smile. And my smile put them at ease.

As a  former teacher to International students I often heard from my students that my smile made them feel comfortable. But the secret I never shared with them that I’m sharing with you is I came to learn that my smile makes me better looking. 

Here’s a secret for women: if you wear a smile more often you may find you don’t need as much make-up. You may even appear younger than your age. How is that for a fountain of youth tip?

Here are some exercises to get you smiling…

-Before you get out of bed in the morning visualize a pleasant memory.

Hold something in your mind that puts a smile on your face. Keep that memory in front of you as you go through your day.

-Make eye contact with yourself in the mirror then smile. Smile at yourself in the mirror every chance you get. Smile with people you never smiled at before. Smile with those you interact with in your daily encounters.

-If visualizing doesn’t work for you, place a picture of something fun on your night table. In the morning, as you prepare to get out of bed to start your day take a look at that picture and smile.

- Keep a picture that holds fond memories in your wallet and at

intervals during your day take it out, look at it and smile.

Try these exercise every day for at least 90 days! Observe the difference they make to your life.

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