Life By Design Weekly News
September 24, 2008
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News this week:

~ My New Certification
~ The Courage to Change
~ Mom’s Coffee Break Chats Resume
~ Quote of the Week

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My New Certification

I am happy to announce that this week I completed my certification as a Family Manager™ Coach.  The Family Manager™ system was developed by Kathy Peel and I am so excited to use it to help families become closer, happier, and healthier.  I will be offering Family Makeovers, Workshops, coaching, and community presentations.

Most mothers assume the role of Family Manager in the family, the problem is that unlike a manager of a business, mom feels she has to do everything herself.  A family is a team and through learning how to motivate your “team”, but by working together a family can become a support system for each member in the family, which will foster the personal growth of EVERYONE in your family.

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The Courage to Change

Imagine that you are living a life that makes you feel like an outsider, yet is all that you have ever know.  Somewhere within yourself you find the courage to leave your family and the only way of life that you have ever known in search of a life that will allow you to finally define yourself.

To start not only a new life, but to have to learn a whole other way of living is a scary thought, but that is exactly what this week’s guest did.

Anna Dee Olson has lived a life most have only seen in the movies. Having grown up in an Amish community where she lived a life of strictness and rigidity, where she was forbidden to use even the most common technologies that most Americans take for granted on a daily basis, she was taught that life was meant to be a struggle and that her difficulties were God’s way of punishing her for her sins.

Anna has faced difficulties that most will never experience, and now, she speaks about these experiences and uses the example of her life to inspire and motivate others to reach for their dreams and to believe in God’s love.

In less than a year after leaving the Amish lifestyle behind Anna passed the test to get her High School Equivalence diploma.  Fall of 1993 Anna’s dream of going to college became real.  In 1995 Anna graduated the first time and in 2005 Anna graduated with an Associate of Applied Science Degree.  During the past 16 years Anna was involved in Student Senate, Relay for Life, Madhatters Drama club, Women of Today organization, and Toastmasters International.

Today Anna’s motto is: “True forgiveness is a choice we all have.” Anna is a successful published Author and Public Speaker.   Anna strongly believes in helping people through volunteering, sharing her experiences to help others, and help the world understand the secretive life of the Amish culture.

Join me Thursday September 25th to listen Anna’s inspiring story! Listen LIVE to a special evening Journey to Self at 5pm pst / 6pm mnt / 7pm cst / 8pm est on http://blogtalkradio.com/journeytoself.

You can join the chat room during the show, use the “click to talk” feature, or call in (347) 215-8942 with your comments or questions.

If you can’t listen live, read the show notes and listen to the show here on the Journey to Self ~ http://journeytoself.info.

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Mom’s Coffee Break Chats Resume

I am happy to announce the return of Mom’s Coffee Break Chats in October!  MCB will be offering chats the first Friday of the month at 10am cst / 11am est and the third Wednesday of the month at 7pm cst / 8pm est.

All chats will be held in the MCB audio/video conference room http://tinyurl.com/36yklx.

MCB will be striving to bring to helpful information that will support working mother’s personal and professional growth.  We are always looking for speakers, partners, and members that can be a resource, support, and inspiration to each working mother.

Support MCB and let us support you!!

http://momcoffeebreak.com

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Quote of the Week

I have three treasures. Guard and keep them: The first is deep love, the second is frugality, and the third is not to dare to be ahead of the world.  Because of deep love, one is courageous.  Because of frugality, one is generous.  Because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of the world.”

~ Lao-tzu

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If you would like to get LBD’s Weekly News and monthly Empowering You! Ezine delivered to your e-mail, sign up for Life By Design’s Mailing list.

Life By Design Weekly News
September 18, 2008
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News this week:

~ Empowering You! News
~ Women,Romance, and Al Cole on JTS this Week!
~ “Let’s Talk About…”
~ Quote of the Week

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Empowering You! News

In order to continue to bring you sound and quality information I have decided to for the time being change Empowering You! to every other month ezine.  I will continue to send LBD’s Weekly News.

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Women, Romance, and Al Cole on JTS!

I am so excited to have author, radio personality/DJ, and musician Al Cole on the show this week! His powerful book Romance for Women is based on the philosophy that a big part of romance is treating women with the dignity that they deserve.  Al feels that romance is an essential part of relationships and his insights are great for both men and women.

Join me Thursday September 18th as I talk with Al Cole (which has one of the sultriest voices I have every heard with the heart of a true poet) as we talk about women, men, relationships and romance! Listen live at 10am pst / 11am mnt / 12pm cst / 1pm est on Blog Talk Radio ~ http://blogtalkradio.com/journeytoself.

You can join the chat room during the show, use the “click to talk” feature, or call in (347) 215-8942 with your comments or questions.

If you can’t listen live, read the show notes and listen to the show on the Journey to Self Website ~ http://journeytoself.info.

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“Let’s Talk About…”

Women & HOPE is excited to launch its “Let’s Talk About” monthly educational discussion series on October 22, 2008 at 8 p.m. EST in the Women & HOPE conference room at http://tinyurl.com/6jzyfl. Each month Certified Life Coach Tonya Ramsey, in collaboration with Dr. Deitra C. Payne, Ph.D., will lead the group as they explore different topics aimed at helping participants improve in all areas of life and offering the support that participants need to realize their power and to propel to excellence.

The first in the “Let’s Talk About…” series of educational discussions led by Coach Tonya Ramsey, will focus on YOU. This will include the importance of taking care of yourself, how you can change your guilt into self-nurturing, and how strengthening your foundation of self can lead to success in all the other areas of your life.

Let’s Talk About YOU! October 22nd @ 7pm cst/ 8pm est in the Women & HOPE conference Room http://tinyurl.com/6jzyfj.

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Quote of the Week

“I fight on, I fight to win.” ~ Margaret Thatcher

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If you would like to get LBD’s Weekly News and monthly Empowering You! Ezine delivered to your e-mail, sign up for Life By Design’s Mailing list.

Life By Design Weekly News
September 10, 2008
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News this week:

~ Another School Year Begins
~ Take an Inner Vacation on JTS this week
~ Mom’s Coffee Break chats starting back up in October!
~ Quote of the Week

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Another School Year Begins

Another school year is here and that means homework, projects, conferences, PTA, and don’t forget the chauffeuring kids to and from practices and meetings. And although the unstructured summer can be challenging, life always seems to speed up during the school year. Whether it is you or your children or both that are in school this year there are ways that you can approach your busy schedule that will help you feel less rushed and stressed.

Keep a master family schedule. Put the schedule somewhere so every member of your family can see it. Incorporate everyone’s schedule, along with family events, and no school or work days. Assign each member in your family a color and use different color for family events. As you are putting together your family schedule you can evaluate overlaps, transportation needs, and schedule family outings/events. A family schedule will also help you plan ahead which will alleviate the stress of having to deal with scheduling conflicts that you did not realize.

Enforce family meal time. Although your schedules might take your family in different directions, make a point to sit down together for at least one meal of the day. Exchange stories, check in with each other, and share a laugh. This is a great way to have family time when it seems like everyone is going in different directions and allows you all to take an interest in what is going on in each other’s lives. We have a rule at our house that no one is excused until everyone is done eating. This will prevent eating and rushing off and gives us time to unwind and enjoy just being together. Planning meals a day or two in advance can help you avoid rushing around to get dinner on the table and helps in creating nutritious meals instead of ordering out at the last minute.

Develop daily routines. Having a morning and evening routine will create less stress and will help you feel in control of your time and day. By having established bedtimes, wake up times, meal times, homework time, etc. You will be managing your time so that all the needs of your family and yourself can be meet.

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Take an Inner Vacation on JTS this week

Take a break with an “inner vacation.” No travel agents or delays at the airport are involved. You don’t even need to pack a bag. There are no restrictions, black-out dates, or expenses. Just make the commitment to mindfully unwind with a five-minute respite a few times a day in order to nurture your focus, clarity, and wellness. With purposeful attention, plug in your battery charger, boost your vital inner-energy source, and experience every day on a full charge.”

~ Excerpt from Take a Break: Book an inner vacation to better health and well-being by Dale Weinert, Canvas Magazine August 2008.

Dale Weinert provides a foundation of inner awareness tools that create stress management and balance in your life. She is a very strong advocate of the healing power of the mind-body connection and has applied it in her practice as a Physical Therapist for the past 28 years and in her own recovery as a surgical patient and a cancer survivor. Dale is committed to sharing her knowledge and experience to help empower other individuals to take charge of their own health and well-being.

In response to this mission, Dale founded Inner Vacations Tool Kits with gift boxes of helpful tools that promote relaxation, wellness and inner peace to compliment her mind-body lectures and wellness classes.

Join me Thursday September 11th as I talk with Dale Weinert about Inner Vacations, surviving cancer, and how individuals can take control of their own health and healing.

Listen live at 10am pst / 11am mnt / 12pm cst / 1pm est on Blog Talk Radio ~ http://blogtalkradio.com/journeytoself.

You can join the chat room during the show, use the “click to talk” feature, or call in (347) 215-8942 with your comments or questions.

If you can’t listen live, read the show notes and listen to the show on the Journey to Self Website ~ http://journeytoself.info.

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Mom’s Coffee Break chats starting back up in October!

I am happy to announce that Mom’s Coffee Break Chats will be returning in October. To accommodate working mother’s busy schedules I will be offering chats the first Friday of the Month @ 10am cst/ 11am est and at 7pm cst/ 8pm est on the third Wednesday of the Month. More details coming soon!

MCB is looking for women in business that wants to speak, sponsor, or become a premier partner. Put your business in the spotlight while helping other mothers. Visit http://momcoffeebreak.com/partnerwithmcb/ to learn how to partner with MCB.

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Quote of the Week

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up.  Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

~ Michael Jordan

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If you would like to get LBD’s Weekly News and monthly Empowering You! Ezine delivered to your e-mail, sign up for Life By Design’s Mailing list.

Starting Over

The two important things I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first decision.”

~ Robyn Davidson

These words were written by a woman who learned to handle camels and traveled alone with them across the Australian Outback. Somehow the intensity of the circumstances under which she gathered these learnings makes them even more profound. What if each of us believed that we are “as powerful and strong” as we allow ourselves to be? What if we quit trying to be accepted by everyone and gave up trying not to alienate anyone and just let ourselves be as strong and powerful as we are?  Nothing extraordinary, mind you, just as wonderfully powerful as we naturally are.

And, what if we let ourself take that first step towards what you really want? Nothing big…no fanfares…just do it!

REMEMBER today really is the first day of the rest of your life.

From “Meditations For Women Who Do Too Much” by Anne Wilson Schaef

During my show with the amazing Dr. Jeffrey Gurian he read this very powerful poem about fear and I want to post it.

Our Deepest Fear
by Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?”

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

From: A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles by Marianne Williamson (Harper Collins, 1992) (from Chapter 7, Section 3)

Life By Design Weekly News
September 3, 2008
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News this week:

~ An AMAZING guest this week on Journey to Self
~ Quote of the Week

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This week on Journey to Self

Last week I talked with renaissance woman Dr. Sally Witt, this week I am fortunate to have renaissance man Dr. Jeffery Gurian as my guest.

Dr. Gurian is a comedian and comedy writer, he has written for the Friars Club and well know comedians and actors such as Joan Rivers, Richard Belzer, Gilber Gottfried, Robin Williams, Milton Berle (who is also his sponsor in The Friars Club), Bruce Willis, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, news anchor Chuck Scarborough, news anchor Ernie Anastos, celebrity attorney Jay Goldberg, David N. Dinkins, the ex-Mayor of New York City, and the father of comedy clubs, Budd Friedman of the Improv, just to name some. He is also a writer, producer, and a director of three films.

In addition he is the creator of GNN (Gurian News Network) where he finds the strangest and most unique stories on the planet and shares them with the public. GNN stories are also available to be syndicated on radio stations throughout the country.

Those projects took place while Gurian was still a nationally known Cosmetic Dentist, lecturer, and consultant to several major dental companies. He is the Assistant Clinical Professor in the Oral Medicine/Oro-Facial Pain Department at N.Y.U. College Of Dentistry.

When Jeffrey was just 7 or 8 years old, he was given the gift of being able to take away pain with his hands, often known as “Healing Thru Touch.” Of course, at that tender age, he did not realize what he was actually doing, but he knew he could take away pain from himself and from his sister. Jeffrey is the founder of The Happiness Center Institute(tm)for the treatment of stress related physical and emotional illness, and related Depression, more often than not related to a TMJ (Tempero-Mandibular Joint Dysfunction). It is predicated on his theory that everyone deserves to be Happy.

He uses a technique he created called “STAR” Therapy, which is an acronym that stands for Spiritual, Transformational, Affirmative, Resonance Therapy. It is a very gentle energy-based system of Healing Thru Touch which combines the modalities of Shiatsu, Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Applied Kinesiology, Chakra Balancing, and Intuitive Healing.

“I want my life to be about service, healing, spirituality, and comedy, and somehow, I found a way to make them all go together. What nicer thing can you do for people than to make them laugh, and take away their pain?” ~ Dr. Jeffery Gurian

Join me Thursday September 4th for what I am sure will be one of my most unforgettable guest ever! Listen live at 10am pst / 11am mnt / 12pm cst / 1pm est on Blog Talk Radio ~ http://blogtalkradio.com/journeytoself.

You can join the chat room during the show, use the “click to talk” feature, or call in (347) 215-8942 with your comments or questions.

If you can’t listen live, read the show notes and listen to the show on the Journey to Self Website ~ http://journeytoself.info.

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Quote of the Week

Too many people overvalue what they’re not and undervalue what they are.”
~ Malcolm Forbes

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If you would like to get LBD’s Weekly News and monthly Empowering You! Ezine delivered to your e-mail, sign up for Life By Design’s Mailing list.

The Secret of Wellington’s Map
By Mollie Kehl Penrod

Review by Tonya Ramsey

The Secret of Wellington’s Map is a skillfully written book for youths and adults alike. The story takes place in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma where tweens Jamie and her best friend Nicole discover a strange map from an antique locked chest. The book combines both historical facts with science fiction to create a mysterious adventure taking readers along for the ride. Readers are set on the edge of their seats as the plot takes unexpected twists and turns through the vivid world painted by the author.

This is a great book to share with your 12-14 years old children, and then form your own family book club. I gave this book to my nephew and nieces to read. They were so excited to talk about the different reveals in the plot. Each chapter of the book is another piece in the puzzle that Jamie and Nicole are trying to put together.

Penrod is a masterful storyteller pulling the readers into the mystery. The book was fast paced and I could hardly put it down. My nephew, nieces and I can hardly wait for the next book in the series.

Mollie Penrod was on Journey to Self internet radio show on August 7th (click to read show notes and listen to the show).