Dreams Really Do Come True!

This past week, I had the honor of being in New York City among elite Latino authors and publishers at the 14^th annual International Latino Book Awards.  I must admit I was a little awe struck by the talent and distinguished presence of those who attended.  And then it happened...My book “In Memory of A Saint Lessons From My Mother I Didn’t Pay Attention to Until She Died” received an Honorable Mention in Best Women’s Book- English.  All I can say is WOW!!!http://tinyurl.com/InMemoryofASaint

The dream to write and publish a book started when I was a child.  As a voracious reader, I would often imagine that if I had written the tale, it would have ended differently.  I would tell people that when I grow up I would write a book.  Out of the mouth of babes... I spoke a dream into reality.  I took action and actually turned my Mañana into Today and accomplished a lifelong goal.

I learned a shocking statistic that 81% of people want to write a book and yet so few accomplish their dream.  So do you have a dream that you are planning on working on tomorrow?  Why not start today.  Every baby step you take will put you that much closer to your dream.  Turn your Someday into Today.  Come on I Dare you!!!

Words of the Year

Today I learned that pragmatic was the word of the year as determined by Miriam Webster. I thought nope...That is certainly not the word of the year for citizens from the land of Positivity.

Florence Scovel Shinn wrote the book "Your Word is Your Wand." She spoke about how our words are filled with magic and power.

Thus, I conjured the seven words that positively describe this year and how they can propel us in 2012.

7) Believable! Whether it was a moment of synchronicity, a time when the Universe winked at you- It was not unbelievable but Believable- Good things can and do happen.

6) Angels- The angels that walked through our lives… some we knew and more often than not the anonymous ones that just do good on this earth. They’re all around and have helped us all this year.

5) Dreams- Just by have the ability to dream, to have goals and a wondrous plan is what gives us hope to go on in this topsy-turvy world.

4) Action- The song Put One Foot in Front of the Other, inspired this thought. As long as we keep moving in a positive direction and take action, we live to dream another day.

3) Transformation- This year has been all about change and for every constant there is change. The time to change is now. If you want, create a new reality. Dare to be the person that you want to be… Today!

2) Gratitude- The ability to be grateful for taking a breath and a brand new day is essential to a positive attitude. We often assume our abundance is reelected by our monetary status. Our abundance is so much more- and it multiplies when we say thank you

1)Love- Love yourself enough to be brave. Make a difference in your own life and others. When you see the world through Love colored eyes the world reflects love right back at you.

Asking for Help

One of the biggest lessons I have learned this year is that it is okay to ask for help. I know that I am not alone in having that particular fear of reaching out and asking for help when in need.

I, like so many have an aversion of hearing the word no. The word no has been a painful word for me. In the past it would cut me to the quick until I realized that no won't make you bleed. What the word does do for you is to look around for other options and to ask again.

If you have a particular need, I urge you to ask and keep asking until you get the help that you seek. After all what is the best that could happen, that person may just say YES!

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matthew 7:7)

Dreaming into Action 2010

I wish you all the best to make 2010 an amazing year. The first of the year is filled with so much promise. I ask you to make this promise to yourself…. to take action on your dreams. This is the year to achieve your goals.

I encourage you to move in a positive direction, and dare to be the person that you want to be. The slate is clean. Make the commitment today to take action on your dreams. There is no obstacle in your path but you. Let the history of your past be your motivation for your future. Many of us start the year with New Year’s resolutions and then forget about them. Don’t do that this year.

Your future is bright. Your dreams that are shimmering in the distance are waiting for you to grab them, Go for It!

“Reach high, for the stars lie hidden in your
soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.” Pamela Vaull Starr

Childhood Dreams into Inspiring Reality

This morning as I watched the Today Show the video below wowed me that it is never too soon to start on your dreams. Ten-year-old Amiya Alexander had a dream to start a business. The amazing part of this story is that her mother encouraged her to follow her vision. This young entrepreneur has patented her bus, created an interesting business model, and at a young age learned the most important lesson of all to turn your ideas into action. We should all be motivated to go for it!

Faith is Free

I was chatting with a client who was absolutely terrified on taking a step, and scared to utter words that would empower her. Her comment to me was, “I can’t do that. What will they think of me?” My response was they would think that you are fearless, self-confident and that you have your act together.

She sighed….I sighed with her. For you see her lack of self-confidence showed fear. I told her to have faith in the process, to have faith in who she is, to have faith in her abilities, simply put have faith. Because guess what…..Faith is free.

Fear has a cost. When we are fearful, our anxiety level goes up. We are paralyzed body, mind, and soul. We become powerless in thought and in our actions. Fear creates stress, more worries and ultimately puts you no closer to your goal. So why spend the energy in fear? Spend your energy wisely in faith. Faith is free. Faith is the abundance of hope.

Fear and Faith
cannot coexist at the same time. Choose One!

Book of Love ~ Kathleen McGowan

Choose Faith. It is Free!

Hunger’s Hope Is You!

In these challenging economic times, there are so many of our neighbors who may be going hungry, in order to pay their bills, keep a roof over their head, while striving to provide for their families.

Today, I ask that you do your part to help those in need. There are simple ways to do it. You can volunteer at your local food pantry or donate several food items to a local food bank.

Want to make a greater impact? Be a silent angel and find someone in your community who may be in need and give a gift card to a grocery store or a bag of groceries anonymously.

Count your blessings for what you have, for even if to you it may seem little…. to others you may have much. For within your ability to do your part, you have given hope to those in need.
Peace!

If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” Mother Teresa

Reflections

As we get ready to ring in the New Year, this is a perfect time to be reflective. How was your year? Did you manifest all your hopes and dreams? Or, were some of your dreams deferred?

The strength of your dreams is that there isn’t a time limit. You have the power of the universe behind you of unlimited time and space to turn your dreams into reality.

Whatever happened this year, make use of the life lessons you learned and get a jumpstart on the New Year. Use the power of the past to propel your actions for next year. I urge you to live your best year yet!

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland

Say No to Complaining

I recently had the pleasure of reading “The No Complaining Rule” by Jon Gordon. What a fun story. It is great tale of how complaining and negativity in the workplace not only ruins our attitude at work but spills over to our personal lives.

Yes once again, this blog post is reeking of a Pollyanna moment but hey. I loved the premise of this book. I thought about how all of us can apply these simple concepts in our topsy-turvy world. In the No Complaining Rule, Gordon gives us five things we can do right now instead of complaining.

1) Practice Gratitude

2) Praise Others

3) Focus on Success

4) Let Go

5) Pray and Meditate.

If you do nothing else today but follow rule #1) and have an attitude of gratitude, your world will be a much brighter place. As the books says, Positive or Negative the choice is yours.

Hint! Choose Positive!

Celebrate Your Independence!

This holiday weekend celebrates the independence of the United States of America. So today celebrate your independence. Be independent in your thoughts, deeds, and actions. Be free to choose the life that you want to live. Give yourself the freedom of thought to soar into new heights. What does that mean exactly? It means, if there is something that you have thought about doing, but said, yeah maybe tomorrow. Do it NOW! Let your spirit be free.

March in your own parade and watch your dreams explode!

Facing the Tiger

When we are struggling, whether it is an issue, a person, or a problem the path to resolving our struggles brings up all of our fears. The fear in front of us gets in the way of thinking clearly about how to overcome the obstacle. This fear triggers the fight or flight syndrome that happens when fear bubbles up with in us. Our impulse is to either run way from the situation (flight) or try to fight it some how.

Today is the day to stare the tiger down. Face the tiger- name your fear- and work through it. It might take a little effort on your part but the rewards are great. Face the tiger- the roar is not so loud when you are on the other side......

Victorious!!!

Who will you be in five years?

You know for most of us that question seems incredibly far-fetched. As adults we are caught up in the trappings of time, money, family commitments, and thus are dreams are often on hold. If I said to you, what would you do if could be or do anything in five years.

Would you be able to answer that? Suppose I asked that same question and added, if money was not an obstacle and you could be or do anything in 5 years. Would your answer change?

For most of us the answer is resounding yes. Our dreams are only limited by the box that we keep them in …our minds. Open up your box and let your dreams soar into the imagination of the infinity.

Dare To Be The Person You Want To Be.

Set your goals as high and as unlimited as the stars.

Dream…………………..

New Year's Resolutions

Did you make a New Year's Resolution? We are two weeks into the New Year and statistics show that most of us have already given up the ghost. Our resolve is weakening as to the lofty goals and dreams we had on New Years Eve.

The reason that New Year’s Resolutions often fail is that we don’t visualize the goal that we have in mind. Do you want to lose weight? Rather than feeling tortured about that new gym membership you have, did you visualize what your ideal weight is? Do you want a new career or new job? Have you visualized your new office, what your coworkers look like or even more important who is your boss and who do you supervise?

You see the power of creative visualization is a blueprint to our innermost goals. When you are able to clearly see the end result and experience the feeling in your mind of what that outcome is you will inspire action and you have a greater chance of achieving your dreams.

Thoughts ► Feelings ► Visualization ► Actions ►Dreams ►Goals

"The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, and this you will become." - -- James Lane Allen, As A Man Thinketh

Healing the Broken Spirit

You know when we have been hurt by others or have been victimized in a situation; it is often so hard to rebound. First off, breathe! Whatever the situation, in this great world that we live in, you are not alone. Right now on the planet there are approximately 6,628,238,381inhabitants. Trust me, you are not in this universe alone, and your situation, no matter, what you may think is not unique. Somewhere, someone has had similar experience

People ask all the time, how you get through. There is really no easy answer. My sister would often tell me that we have tears that are unshed stuffed all the way down to our kneecaps. Hmm…

They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Yeah that might sound fine but how do you get through the rough patch. For me, prayer is the answer, for others, meditation, and for some pure anger. The point is not to run away from the feeling but to feel it intensely and then work through it. Yeah, I know, it sounds easier said than done. But get angry, cry the messy tears, talk it out… just do something. When we take action, it moves us through a situation. Don’t stop to analyze whether the action is right or wrong.
Take action and remember that in every situation there is a lesson to be learned.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30:5)