BREAST CANCER…two words that almost everyone reading this has been affected by in some way. Your mother, aunt, sister, friend, or sadly, even yourself. I lost my warrior…my mother, Velma Gordon-Kelly to this cancer back in 2006. She battled breast cancer for over eight years like a true shero and I admired how strong she was throughout it all. Throughout the chemotherapy, radiation, numerous drugs and their side-effects, she fought it out with a smile. She never wanted people to feel sorry for her and was determined to keep doing the same things as usual. The one thing my mom did that shocked a lot of people was keep it a secret, which many people were in shock and even upset at her funeral. I think it’s just because she was old fashion and didn’t want people to start worrying about her. However, what I think it good is to let people know so that you have more people praying for you and sending you good energy. You may also inspire others and help young women to prevent it to happening to them!
Today, I’d like to showcase three warriors who are a dear friends and members of the Own Your Power Community. They are truly OWNING THEIR POWER and are examples of strong individuals we should all strive to be. Please check out what they are doing, give them a ‘virtual’ high-five of encouragement and if you can be so generous, even a donation to their cause.
It’s time to Pay it Forward….
Angela Darling, founder of Love Your Breasts.
I met Angela over 8 years ago while waiting in line for a women’s event and we have been friends ever since. Instantly, I connected with her and when I found out what she did, I was even more intrigued. Helping breast cancer survivors is her mission and at the time I met her, my mother was still with us and battling breast cancer. She began to offer free advice and great health information to my mother. I saw first-hand how she helps women in the community and vowed to support her business even more. Please take a look at what Angela Darling is doing to empower others and learn why she loves what she does! Her website is: http://www.lybi.org/
Carol Dunlop, founder of www.optimumbodysculpting.com and staff member for Own Your Power Communications, Inc.
She is one of our very own fitness experts who coaches “Diet Victims” to lose weight and keep it off by learning how to create a healthy and nutritious diet, following a consistent workout plan and implementing positive lifestyle changes that really work!
Recently diagnosed with breast cancer, she is one of the strongest people I know and is taking her experience and sharing it to empower others. She is currently in need of donations for her treatments. Read on and see if you can help!
“Man, I long for the days when I could go weeks, even months without seeing even one doctor. I’ve been healthy all my life and can almost count the number of times on my two hands that I’ve seen doctors for any reason. But now, all that has changed. Actually, everything changed on July 7, 2011. That’s the day that I found out that I have Breast Cancer. That was the day that changed my life, challenged my thoughts and put everything that I’ve worked for into a fog. How could I have breast cancer? There was NEVER any cancer of any sort in my family history and I’ve always worked very hard through exercise, eating right and affirming good health all my life. So how could this be?...”
Rhonda Smith founder of Breast Cancer Partner
Breast Cancer Partner is a sanctuary for breast cancer survivors who are nearing the end of treatment or who are on their journey to recovery. We strive to support, inspire and empower survivors to live strong and healthy lives after treatment ends.
Our goal is to help shepherd survivors through the recovery process by providing information, resources, guidance and tools to effectively deal with life post-treatment. We recognize that in some cases life after treatment ends may be more challenging and difficult than while undergoing treatment. We want to ensure that survivors don’t struggle unnecessarily through the recovery process.
Join her site and please forward to other survivors!
You Can’t Lose Weight Because… by Carol Dunlop
Losing weight isn’t easy, but it shouldn’t be a lesson in frustration either. Just because you decide to lose weight doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, there can be factors that come into play that you may not have considered. Knowing what you’re up against can give you the ammunition you need to win the war on weight loss. Check out these 10 scenarios that could be sabotaging your weight loss plans.
Drinking Too Much Wine
Drinking one glass of wine can help your heart and only adds about 150 calories to your intake, but drinking 2 or more glasses can have a detrimental effect on your waistline and your body. At this point, it reaches over into the over indulgent side, adds 300-500 calories to your daily intake and puts you at risk for serious diseases and conditions like Stroke and Diabetes.
Eating Mindlessly
Do you “snack” on supper while you’re preparing it or “grab a little” while fixing the kids’ lunch or snack? These mindless eating activities can add hundreds of “forgotten about” calories to your daily intake. So when you’re thinking you are on track, you’re really missing the mark. Be aware of everything you put into your mouth because it ALL adds up.
You’re NOT Moving
If you are relying solely on your diet to help you lose weight, you’ve got a wake-up call coming. Yes, you can lose weight through diet alone, but the catch is you will lose fat, muscle and water. And once your diet is finished, the weight will come back (sometimes in as little as two years) and it may be more weight than before. Why? Studies have shown that eating a nutritious diet along with strength training and cardiovascular exercise not only helps you to lose more weight, it keeps it from coming back. Most importantly, the weight you do lose is fat, your muscle stays intact, which helps keep the weight from piling back on.
You’re NOT Moving Enough
OK, so you started an exercise program to go along with your new diet, great! But are you really doing enough? Once or twice a week is not enough to help you lose enough body fat to make a difference. Yes, you will lose, but it will be so slow and incremental that you will most likely become frustrated and stop the whole program all together. Real, sustainable weight loss requires dedicated actions. You have to perform at least five (5) cardio sessions per week with each one lasting at least 30 minutes in order to see and maintain real change. In addition, you need to perform strength training exercises at a minimum of 2 times per week. Anything else is like swimming in quicksand, going nowhere.
You are Cheating Yourself On Sleep
Good shut-eye helps you lose weight. Studies have shown that people who sleep 6 or more hours per night are more likely to maintain a healthier weight than their sleep-deprived counterparts. Getting 8-10 hours of sleep per night is crucial to allowing your body time to complete all the functions it needs to do at night such as repairing and rebuilding muscle tissue. Your body uses fat to fuel its efforts, so if you cut the shut-eye short you’re really cutting down on the amount of excess fat your body is able to burn while you are sleeping.
Check Your Meds
Certain conditions like Diabetes, High Cholesterol, Depression and Heart Disease (there are more) are controlled by medications that can cause your body to put on weight or make it more difficult for you to take the weight off. Discuss the side-effects of any medication that you are currently taking with your doctor to decide on the right course of action for your individual case.
You are Not Eating Enough
Just as over-eating can lead your body to store excess calories as fat, under-eating or starving your body can cause you to store fat also. Most people mistakenly think that if they eat way less than before they went on their diet their body will lose more fat. Unfortunately this type of thinking leads your body to go into starvation mode. This means your body is now on survival alert status and begins to slow down all its processes in order to conserve (save) energy (fat) so that it can get through this perceived starvation period. So instead of turning your body into a fat burning machine, you’ve created the ultimate fat-storing machine.
Follow the tips listed above to make sure your weight loss plan is on track. For help with getting your weight loss program started the right way, check out Lee Haney’s 7 Day Systemic Cleansing Detox. On Sale NOW!
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GET CLIENTS NOW…is one of my favorite marketing books EVER! The author, C.J. Hayden shares more knowledge here in this article below.
Enjoy!
Simone
Have you ever found yourself knowing exactly what you need to do about marketing your business… and then not doing it? You are not alone. Many self-employed professionals find that the hardest part of marketing isn’t figuring out what to do. What’s hard is actually doing it.
Marketing yourself can be a confronting process. Making phone calls to strangers, writing marketing letters, and talking about yourself and your accomplishments can bring up fear of rejection, harsh commentary from your inner critic, feelings of incompetence, and the discomfort of performing unfamiliar activities. If you let them, these inner saboteurs can stop you dead in your tracks.
The good news is that you don’t have to completely eliminate these internal roadblocks in order to move forward in marketing. It is possible to feel afraid or uncomfortable and still take useful action despite the presence of these feelings. Here are ten ways to quickly break through internal barriers and get your marketing unstuck.
1. Recreate your vision. When you’re feeling blocked from moving forward, remember why you wanted to go there in the first place. What was your original vision of the business you are trying to build? Who will your work benefit? What fulfillment or satisfaction will it provide you? Write down your vision of a successful business, or if you’ve written it down before, pull it out and re-read it. Allow your own words to re-inspire you to do the necessary hard work.
2. Design a reward. Sometimes your vision may seem a bit too far off, and you need some more immediate gratification. Choosing to reward yourself for a job well done can provide you with a positive near-term benefit for effort that might not pay off for a while. Promise yourself simple rewards for completing difficult marketing chores like making follow-up calls or writing web site copy.
The prospect of a special dinner, a movie with your significant other, or a new gadget for your favorite hobby can help you to push past the blocks and get things done. Rewards don’t even have to cost money. Sometimes the promise of a bubble bath, walk in the park, or an hour reading a good book is all the incentive you need to take on a tough marketing challenge.
3. Tame the inner critic. Often when you’re feeling stuck, what’s going on in your head is a conversation with your inner critic, who seems to have a lot to say about sales and marketing. It’s difficult to work on promoting yourself when you are hearing a constant stream of comments like: “You’re not good enough,” “They won’t like you,” or “Who do you think you are?”
It can help to remember that the inner critic often says things that simply aren’t true. One way to counter this negative dialogue is to respond with the objective truth. For example: “Clients tell me I’m good at what I do,” “Many people say they like me quite a bit,” or “I’m a competent professional, thank you very much.” When you answer confidently with statements of fact, messages from the inner critic often begin to lose their power.
4. Face your fear. One of the most common obstacles to being successful at marketing is fear. Marketing activities may evoke fears of rejection, disapproval, embarrassment, and a host of other catastrophes. Instead of pretending the fear isn’t there, or attempting to ignore it, you may find it more effective to confront the fear directly.
Try to identify exactly what you are afraid of. What do you fear will happen if you make that call or go to that meeting? If you can identify the specific fear that is blocking you, it may be possible to soothe it by providing reassuring information or positive experience. For example, fear of rejection can often be lessened by setting up practice selling sessions where a role-playing partner responds with “yes” to every suggestion you make.
5. Get a pep talk. When you become discouraged, don’t be afraid to ask for outside help to cheer up and start feeling positive again. Ask a friend, colleague, networking group member, or your coach to give you some words of encouragement. Sometimes all you need to hear is: “It was tough for me in the beginning too… Eventually my efforts paid off… You’re doing all the right things… I know you can do it!”
6. Complain and clear. Feeling frustrated and negative can sometimes immobilize you. One method of clearing negative thoughts is to voice what you are experiencing to a caring person. Spend a full five minutes complaining about everything that’s going wrong with your marketing, making sure to say exactly how it makes you feel. Then ask your listener to reflect your feelings back to you. Knowing that someone else hears and understands you may be all you need to let go of a negative attitude and get back to work.
7. Read your fan mail. In the regular course of serving your clients, you’ve probably received thank-you notes, grateful voice mail messages, and other evidence that you’re doing a good job. Make a habit of saving these in a “fan mail” folder, and when you are feeling low, revisit all the nice things people have said about you. Remembering what a good job you do when you are working can encourage you to do the necessary marketing to get more work.
8. Quit; then start fresh. There may be days when you feel discouraged enough to just throw in the towel. Maybe you should do it. The act of quitting can be very cathartic. Proclaim: “I quit!” Perhaps even write yourself a resignation letter. Then take off the rest of the day, and don’t even think about work. It’s a good bet that after you have a chance to blow off some steam, you’ll be ready to come back the following day re-energized.
9. Change the scene. Marketing can feel difficult and lonely when you’re always slaving away by yourself in your home office. Try carrying out some of your challenging marketing tasks from a different location or with some company. Make cold calls from the patio, write a marketing letter in a busy coffee shop, or take turns with a colleague helping each other set up a good contact management system. Seeing a different view or enjoying companionship while you work may help you to complete tasks you have been avoiding.
10. Act as if. Whenever you feel incompetent about some area of marketing, you may be able to tackle those activities anyway if you simply try to act as if you were competent. Try playing the role of someone you admire. For example, what if you were Lauren Bacall? How would she make a follow-up call? Or how about if you were Martin Luther King? How would he introduce himself in front of a group? A short time pretending to be someone you think of as confident and capable can make those qualities rub off on you.
The next time your marketing feels stuck, try one of these methods to help you get back into action quickly. Marketing tasks are really only as hard as you think they are, so if you can find an easy way out, why not take it?
Copyright © 2005, C.J. Hayden
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