It has been said that love is, above all else, the gift of oneself. I am feeling very fulfilled and happy with my choices in life today. I am grateful for all of the good women friends who have been so supportive and grateful for the chance to laugh and cry with them.

I am also grateful for the man who came into my life 21 years ago, my soulmate, friend, and lover, and now, my husband. We celebrated our marriage on June 26, 2010 and it was the culmination and celebration of a deep and lasting relationship and a dream that became my life.

So, today I acknowledge all the goddesses in my life, and especially want to thank 2 friends who came into my life in times that seemed to answer my prayers, Nan for her words of wisdom, and Suzanna for helping me put together the wedding day, making me feel like a goddess.

So, remember what a grand thing it is to be loved what a grander thing still, to love!

When we have Passion we have the energy to create and achieve our dreams and goals in life.

In order to make change happen in our lives passion is the energy and source that will guide us to our journey and invite change to occur for growth. But where does that passion come from? Does it come from within our souls? Or is it something we have to become more aware of and use to our advantage? Or could it be something that occurs once we let go of unwanted baggage and non useful actions that keep us stunted in our growth?

I think it can be all of the above. Passion is something that sleeps within us all. When we take care of ourselves physically and mentally and open our hearts to change and creation and we become inquisitive in life and we start to feel the passion awakening within us. We then can accept change and new ideas that create the ongoing flow of life.

So how do we find that energy, that passion within us?

1. Respect and care for your body. Fuel your body with the right foods. Keep up a regular exercise program. Cut back on alcohol consumption and other things that is not that good for your body. Get a massage or health or spa treatment every so often. Keep up good grooming and hygiene habits.

2. Respect and care for your mind. Practice a form of meditation on a daily basis. Practice manifesting your desires for further creation in your life. Believe and practice positive thinking. Care for yourself; don’t worry so much about others that you forget about yourself.

3. Respect and care for your spirit. Be good to yourself on a daily basis. Believe in the infinite possibility of abundance in life. Let that positive flow fill your world and share it with others. Teach yourself something about you each day. Question who you are. Question what your purpose in life is.

Passion is the spark that ignites our dreams…What is your passion?

How does our self-esteem affect us in our lives? Well, the answer is that it affects our lives in so many ways. If you suffer from lack of self-esteem it can limit your potential for a satisfying and fulfilling life. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you have faith in yourself? Do you believe that you are capable of accomplishing whatever it is that you decide to do? Or do you dwell on the negative and think that you could never do something someone else has accomplished.

2. Are you accepting of yourself as you are right now in the present? Or do you feel that you cannot accept yourself and like yourself until you change something about yourself?

3. Do you defend yourself and your views? Or, do you let people intimidate you and try to force you into things you don’t want? Do you feel secure enough to say no?

4. Do you respect yourself? Or do you look to others to make your decisions or tell you what to do?

5. Do you take responsibility for yourself and your actions? Or, do you chronically blame others for conditions or situations, (or lack of), in your life?

6. Are you living in the here and now, the present? Or do you constantly think about changing things in the future or how things will be better tomorrow?

If you answered YES to the above first question in each point then you probably have pretty good self-esteem, However, if you answered No to some or all then you deserve to feel better about yourself and learn to love and respect yourself.

You can change how you feel about yourself. Stay tuned for my upcoming e-book, which is about loving and respecting you.

Reflect on how you feel about money and your finances. Have you followed in the beliefs of your parents; have you gotten yourself into a debt rut? Realize how your thoughts influence your spending and saving. Do you buy things when you are upset? Do you refuse to think about the future and how you will survive financially?

Start by changing your thinking. See money as a wonderful way to achieve your dream life and help you to accomplish the things you want and to help you feel self-confident and secure. Money problems or lack of it can cause us stress, limit our choices in life and contribute to feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.

1. Start by balancing your check book each month, follow the back of your statement if you don’t know how to or use a computer program like Quicken. It is important to know where you stand as far as how much money you have.

2 .Make a list, and keep an accurate account of where your money goes each month. Do you spend more than you have because you use credit cards, or do you lose track of where the cash goes from those ATM runs?  Try to track all of your money so you know where it’s going.

3. Pay your bills on time. With credit card interest rates the way they are now you could be paying interest on a credit card forever especially if you are paying late. Many late charges add up, such as bank fees, credit card late fees, mortgage payments, car payments etc.

4 .Where can you decrease your spending? Can you cut back somewhere in your life until you have more financial stability? Do you seem to go through the cash you have quickly and can’t account for it?

5. Are you having financial problems? This can really affect your whole life. If you cannot manage then consider a debt or credit counselor. More on that and more on a Financial Freedom Plan in my next blog.

Because the creation of our outer world is initiated from our inner world our self image of our self will determine what success we can achieve. The life you create mirrors what you feel within yourself.

If your self-esteem is low many of your inner thoughts can be negative or destructive, thereby creating negative or destructive patterns in your life, both personally and professionally. Conversely, if you have high self-esteem your inner thoughts will be positive and constructive, creating positive outcomes in your life.

So, if you accept the above as a fact, then you will understand that if you suffer from low self-esteem your endeavors in life will be more difficult, goals will come harder and achieving much success will be minimal. So, how do you increase your level of self-esteem if it is low? Read the following steps:

1. Stop judging yourself and being critical of mistakes you have made. Realize that everyone makes mistakes and life is about facing obstacles and challenges. None of us are perfect and many times the most successful people have worked the hardest at something. Mistakes can be beneficial; they can turn out to be the greatest form of education for us.

2. Don’t dwell on factors about yourself that you consider to be negative. Instead, focus on the positive traits you have, and on accomplishments you have achieved.

3. Don’t allow others to find fault or to be critical of your endeavors. It is common that a person with low self-esteem will let other’s thoughts and views override yours. Don’t allow this to happen anymore.

4. Do not think that others have better smarts, better ideas or better anything. Everyone is different and has different things to bring to the plate. This is what makes our world what it is.

5. Accept recognition and thanks for things you have accomplished. It’s ok to feel good about something you have done and the more you feel good about yourself, the better your self-esteem will be.

Empowering one’s self and your thoughts, goals and visions are a fabulous way of achieving what you desire in life, be it business, personal, health or a creative interest. If you are considering a business based on the web, selling information, or you are just starting your business, believe me when I tell you it will be far more successful if you feel empowered to achieve success.

What exactly do I mean by empowered? Simply stated, it is you giving yourself power in your life because you believe in yourself. You believe in your dreams, goals, and aspirations and have the freedom of thought to pursue your goals. You do not allow others to sway your vision and see obstacles as a challenge that can be conquered.

Take care of your body and your health. Everyone sometimes experiences times when we are starting a new project it’s common to abuse our bodies or health. We don’t get enough sleep, eat unhealthy, do not take the time to exercise or smoke too much or drink too much because we are stressed. Don’t allow this to happen. You will be empowering yourself and business by taking in solid nutrition, exercising regularly and keeping your health at a premium.

Financial Freedom

If you want to have the life you dream of you must incorporate financial health into your life. Financial health means that you feel good about your finances, problems from finances don’t keep you awake at night, and you are in control of what comes into your life and what goes out, in terms of money.
Many clients come to me with financial problems which affect their lives.
Debt and lack of financial reserve can affect every area of your life. It can also represent a decrease in self-esteem and confidence.

Ask yourself these questions;

1. Do you balance your check book at least weekly?
2. Do you always pay your bills on time?
3. Do you have and contribute to a savings plan routinely?
4. Do you pay your credit cards in full most of the time?

If you answered no to some or all of these questions, here are some suggestions for you to consider;

1. Start to develop a new attitude towards money. Develop a respect and appreciation for it. Keep the money in your wallet orderly, keep your money in all areas organized and learn to care for it. Ask yourself if your financial problems are due to decreased self-esteem and question what you can do about this.

2. Get comfortable with the thought of having more money and having financial freedom to live the life you want and deserve. Feel gratitude for the money you have.

3. Learn where your money goes each month and start thinking about what your budget should be.

If we have respect for ourselves and believe that we can have what we want, it can happen…
Think about some of the above and my next post will be some action plans.

As I am writing my new e-book, “Learn to Respect and Love Yourself” I am thinking about how important it is to organize your life.

1. In order to embrace change or to rearrange priorities in our lives we must first unclutter our lives in many different areas. We will look at 3 areas today…

2. One area to start with is any storage places we may have. Why hold on to old furniture, clothes or misc items that you will never use again. If there are mementos that you want to keep, that’s fine but make a place for them. Give the old stuff away in a yard sale, to a thrift store or a charity organization. Only hold on to the things you will put to use today.
By doing this task you will be able to have more of an open uncluttered mind for new thoughts rather than the past and old thoughts.

3. Next organizing place is the desk! Start this task by going through old files, papers etc. Throw away the old stuff that you will never need again. Organize the paperwork you will keep by some sort of system and try to put most things in files on your computer. Rearrange your office to make it inviting and neat. This will help you to focus on new work, finances and be more focused and accomplish more.

4. The third spot I will mention is the kitchen. Do you have old food in the pantry? Give it away if you will not need it. Same applies to dishes or cookware. Try to maintain the kitchen in an orderly fashion, and keep only the healthy food! This will help you to plan and use the contents in your cupboards more wisely and maintain a more healthy focus on diet.

Have a good and organized week!

Do you often feel that others are pushing you around?
Well then, it’s time to learn how to be assertive. Being assertive doesn’t mean imposing your views on others. It doesn’t mean being a bully; nor does it mean always being right.
However, what it does mean is that being assertive means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, while taking into consideration your own needs and opinions at the same time.
When you find yourself feeling as though you have to choose between someone else’s needs and your own, try following these steps:
1.Practice active listening. Really listen to the other person and try to understand the feelings underlying his or her words. Concentrate on what the person is saying instead of thinking about how you’ll respond. Take a moment to reflect on what’s been said before you respond.
2.Build a bridge. Begin by restating what you think the other person has just said, in an effort to show the person that you have heard the message and understand the feelings behind it. For example, “I understand that you feel frustrated that I set the alarm earlier than what you’re used to so I can exercise in the morning.” You might also try rephrasing what you think the other person is saying as a question. “Do I hear you’re feeling frustrated with being woken up earlier?”
3.Cross the bridge. State your own opinion or need. For example, “I want to be able to get up early because that’s the best time for me to exercise, and getting regular exercise is important to me.” Focus on your thoughts and feelings, and avoid making absolute, defensive, or accusatory statements.
4.Make requests and set limits. Once you and the other person understand each other, you can turn the discussion toward resolving the problem. Talk through the issue and be willing to come up with a compromise that meets both your needs. Perhaps you will discover some middle ground. For example, “Would you feel more comfortable with the alarm going off early if we both made an effort to go to bed earlier?”
It takes time to practice and put these steps into action. Remember that communication is key, addressing your needs while acknowledging others as well.

Are you envious of people that seem to march through life

accomplishing endless goals? The people who seem to

succeed in everything they attempt?

Wouldn’t you love to be as accomplished, as successful, as

determined as these others seem to be?

Well, you can be! You can have anything you want in life. But you

have to understand how to go about it.

Believe that you deserve all the abundance life has to offer. You deserve love, passion, success at your goals and a life that is fulfilled and peaceful as well. Don’t “talk yourself down”. If you have to, look in the mirror every day and tell yourself that you are a great being and that you have a great vision for the world and in return a wish for a fulfilling life.

Make room for new thoughts, get rid of the negative ones that hang around and cause you to be misguided. Only bring those positive thoughts into your inner world.

Would you like to learn empowering steps for the New Year?

Visit www.thegoddesswoman.com to purchase “30 Days of Empowering Steps”… Start 2010 out empowering yourself!!