12 Bodacious Things Worth Repeating
September 13, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 2 Comments
12 Bodacious Things Worth Repeating
Too much of a good thing is always worth doing! It’s easy to fall into a cycle of resisting all that we don’t want. We can sometimes forget to do more of the things that make us feel great (and, strangely enough, we do this on purpose). As women, I believe we could all benefit from filling up our souls with things that serve our purpose and make us feel like we’re about to soar!
If you’re ready to be energized and full of life, I suggest you do this list over and over again!
1. Live bolder and bigger
Let’s face it – staying in the shadows of others, being quiet and a smaller version of you, really doesn’t bring your dreams to reality or create meaningful sustainability in your life.
Where could you be a little more bolder and play a little more bigger in your life?
2. Tell your truth always
Our truth always sets us free! Start speaking your truth now and always. This is one of the most liberating and empowering things a woman can do for herself and the people in her life.
In what area of your life do you need to own your truth?
3. Invest in you
Invest in you in big and small ways. It could be as simple as going to bed earlier, taking time for self-care, reading one book a month to advance your personal growth or career, exercising more, spending more time with friends, investing in support to help you create the life you desire, or upgrading your wardrobe. Women who value themselves and their happiness invest without excuses.
Where, in your life, could you invest a little more?
4. Live on purpose
Define what your purpose is and live it without hesitation. If you are having trouble finding your purpose, seek out a coach who can help you. You are worth it and your happiness depends on it.
Clearly define your purpose. What is it?
5. Own your brilliance
Own your excellence and spend the majority of your time here. You will instantly feel happier and connect to your soul. Eliminate the things that are completely draining your energy.
What are you brilliant at and why aren’t you doing this more?
6. Treat yourself with respect
Having respect for yourself and your actions will ultimately boost the amount of love that you express towards yourself and others. When we consistently respect ourselves, regardless of our mistakes, our life changes in the most forward-moving way.
Are there areas in your life where you’re not respecting yourself?
7. Express gratitude
Expressing gratitude on a daily basis is a very positive and fulfilling practice. You instantly begin to see all the ways your life is truly blessed. Ways to express gratitude on a daily basis include: giving thanks for your life, your family, opportunity, abundance, healthy food, and most importantly, you.
What are you grateful for? Start your list.
8. Make yourself happy
Happiness is an inside job! No one can do it for you or take it away from you. Do yourself a favor right now by making a BIG list of everything that makes you happy in life and start acting on your listed items. Feeling and experiencing happiness in your life creates more happiness.
What makes you happy? Create you BIG happiness list.
9. Act on your desires
Take action as soon as you feel that first spark of desire! If you wait to take action, self doubt and fear will set in. Before you know it, you will have talked yourself right out of the idea and be turned off from it.
Where are you stopping yourself? Choose to no longer suppress your desires – act on them!
10. Stand up strong when you have fallen down
Sometimes things don’t go the way we planned, but it does NOT mean you’re doomed for failure (nor should you curl up in fetal position). See it as an opportunity to succeed in a big, rockin’ way! Put it this way: If everything came easy, we would seriously get bored. When you fall down, connect with the people who will reflect your real truth back to you and get right back up. Stand up, strong for the woman you are, and do what you believe in.
Have you fallen down in any area of your life lately? Make the decision to pick yourself up and move forward!
11. Dance, laugh, love, and move your body
When you move your body you instantly connect to your soul and creative life force. Moving your body releases energy that is blocking you. Moving allows new insight and creative ideas to naturally come to you. Moving your body connects you to your natural rhythm so you can move through life to the beat of your own drum.
How could you dance, laugh, love, and move your body more?
12. Spend more time with yourself
Spend more time with and really get to know yourself. Knowing who you are and what you desire is a powerful step to transforming your life. When you are clear about what you want, you can take meaningful action in that direction. Take time to get to know what you like or dislike. Spend time with yourself and laugh. Positively enhance your own life by creating quiet time for you to mediate, journal, reflect, and openly tell yourself how much you love you. After all, you’re the coolest woman on the planet.
Where could you spend more time alone? Get to know you and understand all the fills you up. 
Your Truth Will Always Set You Free!
August 30, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 3 Comments
Afraid To Speak Your Truth?
One of the greatest ways I have seen women sabotage their life is by not listening to their inner truth. You see, it is really, really true that “the truth will always sets you free” even if, at first, it scares your panties right off you!
When you choose to honor your truth, you change your life in a powerful way. You honor your authentic-ness fully. When you speak your truth there is no more hiding out in a life that you really don’t want.
When you honor your truth, every word you speak and action you take only serves your big dreams and goals. The truth has a remarkable way of empowering us and instantly moving us to the next highest level in our life.
By listening to your truth you get profound clarity, increase your self-confidence, feel a whole lot better, and get a solid sense of what to do next. You become free to create the most amazing results in your life, relationships, well-being, and career.
So, how do you get connected to your truth, to listen to and honor it, and live as a BOLD TRUTHFUL WOMEN? Here are some special tips.
Make peace and tell yourself the truth. Stop elling yourself little white lies such as:
- “What you really want doesn’t really matter or could never even happen.”
- “It’s selfish to put your needs first.”
- “Your job is pretty good.”
- “It doesn’t make sense to leave your career and start your own business.”
- “You really want hot, passionate love but tell yourself you have no time for it or the relationship your in is better than none.”
Practice by listening to all your whisper of truth small and big.
Look in the mirror and tell your truth aloud. Write it on the mirror…all over it!
Tell yourself the truth when you exercise, draw, shop, get dressed, or feel uncertain & fearful.
Connect to a tribe of people who live by their truth.
Journal your truth and read it often.
Draw and color your truth on paper or even on a wall in your house.
Go Truth CRAZY!
Start to tell people your truth. (No, not your inner secrets) Start small like when you really don’t want to eat their food they offer you and say “no thank you” or when you just don’t want to do whatever it is they’re asking you. Honor your truth and speak it.
You may be saying, “Karen, I really don’t know how to connect with my truth. Where do I start?”
First, let go of looking everywhere for your truth. You already have it inside. It’s time to claim it! Begin to notice where you hold back. For example, when you want to say something and don’t, or when you want to go for it and don’t – why are you holding back? You most likely feel a negative sensation in your body. Your throat, heart, and stomach may hurt or feel tensed. Breathe into the restriction in your body. Then, ask yourself what do the restrictions have to tell you? Listen your truth will appear.
EMPOWER yourself today and let your truth be told!
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:
Empowerment Expert , and Master Certified Coach Karen Fagan publishes her “Live in Your Brilliance” weekly ezine. If you want special tips to live bold, brilliant and rich in your life and business, you can sign up for a FREE subscription to Live in Your Brilliance at www.karenfagan.com. Want to see more secret tips? see Karen’s blog at Karen http://www.karenfagan.com/blog/
Top 7 Things That Hold Women Back From Taking The Big Leap
August 16, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 1 Comment
Do you have a big vision for your life and lots of ideas that you would like act upon, but your stuck in rut wondering when life will shift for once and for all?
I have the honor of coaching some of the most amazing women on this planet. What I have realized is that most women have a few things in common: They are brilliant, desire a really succulent life, have a really big vision (that often scares them right out of their panties), and have AMAZING ideas. However, these same women are almost always fearful, unsure and full of self-doubt. Their ideas never really get implemented because they are stuck, overwhelmed, frustrated and unclear. I really relate to this because I used to be the same exact way!
All of these brilliant women have a strong desire to make a difference in this lifetime. They want to leave a legacy behind and help others by doing what they love. What is really interesting is when one of my clients gets really clear and connects to her heart’s desire, she becomes aware that if she were living her desire FULLY, she would be so happy, unstoppable, fearless and feel a complete sense of freedom. Can you resonate with this?
If we have brilliant ideas and heart-felt desires, why do we struggle with creating a life on purpose? Where’s the disconnect? I am giving you the Top 7 things that Hold Women Back from Taking the Big Leap: Indecision, Procrastination, Self Doubt, Worry, Fear, Waiting and Negative Body Image.
Here’s the deal: These 7 things are very easy to overcome with the right mindset and support. This is easier than you think, though it may not presently feel this way.
Below are the top 7 Things that Hold Women Back from Taking the Big Leap. Read through them to see where you may stopping yourself then commit to live your purpose FULL OUT NOW. If you need support, for heaven’s sake, just allow yourself to have it! The only person holding you back is you. What’s perfect about this is you can change it by doing the exact thing your soul keeps telling you to do. It’s the very thing you keep ignoring.
1. Indecision:
Indecision means putting off making decisions or not making a decision at all. Successful women reach decisions promptly and hardly change them, if at all, slowly. They have deep trust and feel confident they change course at any given time.
Making quick decisions will liberate you.
People who are stuck and aren’t living the life they truly want are wishy-washy and change their mind frequently. They say yes/no/maybe over and over again. Ultimately they never come to any decision, so their life does not change – which leads to number two (see below).
2. Procrastination:
Which we all know procrastination is putting off what needed to be done yesterday until tomorrow. Your life is now and is waiting for you to fully show up in the present moment.
Get to understand and become aware of why you are procrastinating, instead of being unconscious to this behavior.
If you have a big dream, but you procrastinate, there is huge incongruency. It is worth your time to invest and understand why you are putting off the exact things you say you desire. Please stop fooling yourself that you will do it tomorrow. Tomorrow never happens. You have today to LIVE FULLY. Make it count!
3. Self Doubt:
Self doubt is a big cover up! It shows up in the form of feeling blah, making excuses or justifications for the reason why it won’t work out right now. It is disguised as envy, jealously, and criticizing yourself or others.
Waiting for the perfect time or perfect whatever (body size or right amount of money) to commit to something is really just you doubting your abilities.
If you are filled with self doubt, you need more clarity. You will also benefit with the support of another to champion you and help you develop the self confidence you need. When you end self doubt, you can move forward and take action on your dreams.
There is no need to doubt yourself. If your mind can conceive it, then you absolutely can achieve it!
4. Worry;
Worry is one the biggest forms of distraction I know. It takes you out of the present moment and takes you into the future – the unknown – which is scary for most. However, in my experience the future is filled with wonder and delight. This is achieved by letting go of worry and getting present with your self, your life and dreams.
Worry is a form of fear and is just an illusion about something that may happen in the future. It a form of “trying” to control an outcome.
What if you let go of worry and allowed something amazing to happen?
5. Fear:
Fear is not real (period). It is an illusion created in the mind by the ego. The ego’s primary role is keeping you from growing and expanding. It wants to keep you small, but you were born to big.
6. Waiting – What the heck are you waiting for?
You want it now – right? So why are you waiting to go for it? Get clear about this.
Most often – women wait for the right time, the right amount of money, etc. I learned how to completely love myself through choosing not to wait – to go after what I want – especially when things aren’t perfect. Waiting is stagnant energy that only creates more stagnant energy – it shows up in painful thoughts, self-sabotage, emotional eating, etc. – fueling more fire to any belief that you can’t do it. And honestly, waiting does not feel good. When you decide and take action NOW it fuels fire to the belief that you have everything you need to rock your life and body!
7. Negative Body Image:
Last week I spoke with a woman who shared her struggle of her own body image. She told me she often isolates in her house. When it comes to going out to events, she gets nervous about who will be there and how they will judge her, and this often stops her from going – or if she does go she immediately starts comparing herself to other women.
Body image and self-perception matter deeply when we give them the power to alter our behavior in a way that does not feel good. In our personal and professional lives, a negative body image blocks us from having more deeper intimacy, wonderful experiences, making more money – it just plain stops us from creating the ultimate life, health, body, and even financial status, we deeply desire.
Love and fear can’t exist at the same time.
Successful women have big fears but they understand what fear is and what it is not. They face their fear and do it anyway. They connect to self -love and value, belief, trust, and faith. Developing self confidence diminishes fear so you can move forward and create your life on your terms.
Please do yourself a big, big favor and commit to move beyond these 7 things that keep you stuck. Stop waiting for the perfect time, let go of the need for complete certainty, the fear of scarcity, the struggle with your body weight and waiting for the right amount of money. If you don’t, you will be waiting a long, long time. Your time to shine is NOW!
Please share with me how you will allow yourself to shine by posting your comments here on my blog!
6 Tips to Confidence and Calm
July 26, 2011 by Karen Fagan · Leave A Comment
6 Tips to Confidence and Calm
Part of being a confident, strong, successful woman is living from a place of calm and fully connecting to your inner rhythm. Doing away with drama, chaos, worry, self-criticism and such behaviors will allow you to instantly feel a sense of calm in your life.
Being free from everything that is not authentic to you will give you a sense of calm so you can get clear and take action on the things you’ve been secretly dreaming about.
1. Confident women have no interest in interpreting the actions of others (big energy zapper).
Let go of the need to worry, especially about what others think or meant when they did this or said that. Release the need to ruminate on what happened, what you did or didn’t say or what others did or didn’t do. Completely release worrying from your life and about what others think. Worry doesn’t bring happiness.
The truth of the matter is we have no idea of and we have no control over what others think. When we spend time interpreting the actions of others, it depletes us and distracts us from our life; these distractions usually leads to self-sabotaging behaviors. Let go today of the habit of interpreting others’ actions and put this energy into living out your desires and creating the most meaningful life.
Make a sacred commitment today to free yourself for good from analyzing the actions of others. Replace this energy with dreaming BIG – you will instantly feel better!
2. Confident women choose a life free from worry.
Worrying about the things from the past, future and things we can’t control, never provides a helpful solution or contributes productively to our goals and dreams. Worry is a big distraction, holding us back and keeping us from taking consciousness and meaningful action in our lives.
Make a list of all the things you worry about on a daily basis and replace this worry with something that positively and powerfully fills your soul instead. You will feel so much better and feel more alive.
3. Confident women enjoy every moment in life – even the difficult ones.
Confident women know how to savor every morsel of life. They believe themselves to be strong, resourceful and creative, even in when things become challenging. They know that through challenge, there is growth.
Allow your self to move in the flow of things and let go of resistance. This is key even when things are most challenging. Staying connected to your good flowing energy, even in the most challenging moments in life, means looking for positive and creative solutions. You must let go of critical or negative thoughts so you are able to find the perfect opportunity in the challenging moment.
4. Confident women feel connected to themselves, others and nature.
The more you love yourself and the more connected you feel to yourself and with others, the more you give and receive.
Spend time each day whether it’ s journaling, taking a walk in nature, meditating or drinking a cup of tea, in quiet and begin to connect with yourself again. Dig deep into your soul and connect with you dreams and desires. Get to know yourself well, so you can begin to create the life you want and share your best self with the people in your world.
5. A confident woman smiles with her mouth, heart and eyes.
Your eyes are the pathway to your heart and soul – smile with them. Really practice this right now go to the mirror and smile at yourself with your eyes. Smiling brings feel-good energy and is very contagious. Smiling is a reflection of inner happiness and is a gift you can share with the world wherever you are.
6. Confident women act spontaneously and are not paralyzed by fear.
Please don’t let fear from the past, or fear of what could happen, stop you from being authentic and real right now. The past is the past, and we all have things from the past we would rather forget. The future hasn’t happened so fearing what could happen really isn’t the best way to engage in your life. If you allow yourself to give your power to the past or the future, this will hold you back. Allow your self to learn and grow, so you move on from the past and live in the present.
5 Irresistible Reasons to STOP Diminishing Yourself
February 22, 2011 by Karen Fagan · Leave A Comment
Over the last week I have coached several women who continuously diminish themselves. They all have three big things in common:
- They are fully aware they are doing it.
- They are painfully unhappy.
- They are desperately afraid that if they keep diminishing themselves, they will miss amazing opportunities.
In order to help these women and others like them understand how to stop the pain and start fully experiencing their lives, I created 5 Irresistible Reasons to STOP Diminishing Yourself.
1. It’s hard to live BIG when you’re diminishing yourself.
Living BIG is about openness and the expansion of your soul’s desires. When you diminish yourself you constrict, get really small, and most often find yourself in a place of isolation. Simply said, when you diminish, you hide. How are you hiding from yourself and avoiding your fullest potential.
You were born to live on purpose! Say YES to your heart’s desires.
2. When we diminish ourselves we create CHAOS.
Diminishing yourself is a complete distraction from what you really want and it stops you from taking productive action. That’s CHAOS. When we diminish ourselves, we are in a state of constant worry about what others are thinking, and a state of panic about trying to be perfect. We judge others and ourselves.
Creating chaos instantly disempowers us from living authentically and taking authentic action.
3. Diminishing yourself distorts your perspective.
When you are in a diminished state of being you disconnect from your inner guidance and your perspective drastically changes. When you go to that small place, your view is distorted. You begin to think that people are lying when they give you positive feedback like saying that you’re a great writer, pointing out how nice you look or saying that they’d like to collaborate with you. Diminishing yourself makes you think that when others compliment you, there is something is wrong with them.
Diminishing yourself creates a perspective that only sees and hears all that you don’t want, making you unable to receive.
4. Refusing your greatness is a big energy drainer.
When we feel “less than” and refuse our greatness, our emotional energy becomes drained. Our energy levels become depleted from being constricted, living in chaos, constantly worrying about what others think, and judging ourselves.
This energy drain cuts off your creative life force.
5. Diminishing yourself makes you painfully unhappy.
Not once have I ever met a woman who is happy about diminishing herself. It is very much the opposite. A woman who diminishes herself is afraid to stay in a small place because she fears she will miss amazing opportunities for love, travel, career and personal growth.
When we deny who we really are, we suffer.
ASSIGNMENT:
This Week’s Exercise:
Move Beyond Diminished
- Identify how you diminish and dismiss yourself. List the ways that you do this.
- Make a list of what you get out of diminished living.
- What would your life be like if you empowered yourself and stepped into the biggest version of you?
- How would you feel?
- Who would support you?
- Why wouldn’t you want to live like this?
Start today to expand and embrace your best self from the most loving place. Give yourself compliments and accept positive praise from the people who see your greatness, even when you struggle to see it yourself. Make a sacred contract with yourself to allow your beautiful inner light shine no matter what!
Are You Wishing or Deciding?
February 15, 2011 by Karen Fagan · Leave A Comment
When it comes to creating the life and business you want, you think positively, right? You wish for your finances to flourish, your love life to blossom and your dreams to manifest. You hope for all things good to come into your life in the most beneficial way for everyone involved and you know what?
Wishing is different than deciding.
You’re on the right track with thinking positively. Rather than focusing on your lack, you turn your attention to good things you want in your life. The problem is, wishing is actually quite disempowering. When you wish for something . . . “I wish I were financially independent”. . . you express your wants to the universe but there is no conviction in your message. Wishing shows that you have the desire for something without actually believing it will happen.
I’m putting “wishing” on my list of disempowering words right next to “trying.” If you’re familiar with my empowerment principles, you know exactly what I mean. If you’re new to my Live Your Brilliance eZine, I encourage you to download my free eBook. In it you’ll learn 5 Steps to Kick Start Your Success, including my principles of empowerment, ways to fuel your motivation to make change and how to take your position as the creator of your life.
Take a look at the differences between the following sentences:
I wish I could finish writing my book by the end of the year.
I have decided to finish writing my book by the end of the year.
The differences seem subtle but when it comes to manifesting our dreams, it is vitally important to clearly align our intentions with deliberate actions to make them a reality. Deciding rather than wishing is the key to making all of your dreams come true.
When we consciously decide, we influence the outcome. Deciding says, “I deserve this, I am worthy of it, and I am going to achieve it.” There are no longer questions about how things are going to turn out, so your focus can shift to taking action to make it happen. Instead of wishing the book would be completed, you’ll find yourself actually sitting down and writing. When you decide, you let the universe know you’re ready and it opens up the path to your success and shows you the way to achieve it.
EMPOWERMENT ASSIGNMENT:
Below I have written a list of wishes. As you read through them, check in with your body. Do the sentiments make you feel empowered or disempowered?
Wishful Thinking:
- I wish someone would fix this problem for me.
- I wish my business were successful.
- I wish I could lose weight.
- I wish I had more money.
- I wish I could meet someone special.
Now, take a look at this list of decisions. Note that the sentiments are similar but the intentions are vastly different. Read through them and check in with your body again. How does the difference in intention change your reaction?
Deliberately Deciding:
- I am going to have this problem fixed.
- I will make my business successful.
- I am going to lose weight.
- I am going to make more money.
- I will meet someone special.
This week, be aware of your intentions. Take note if you find yourself wishing or hoping rather than deciding. When you find that you’re not deliberately setting yourself up for success, take a moment to edit your words or thoughts.
If you find yourself thinking:
- I wish I had what it takes.
- I wish they would approve of and love me.
- I wish I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
Stop for a second and change those thoughts to personal empowerment:
- I have what it takes and I am going to make this happen.
- I have all the support I need to accomplish my goals.
- I am the creator of my destiny and what I believe, I will achieve.
It takes a little practice at first but before you know it, you’ll have trained your brain to make decisions rather than wishes. In no time you’ll see changes take place and experience progress like never before!
Here are some examples to get you started:
- I decide to fully approve of me and give myself the love I need to flourish.
- I will be an active participant in the discovery of the answer to my million-dollar question: What do I want to do with my life?
- I am the president of my life and business; I make decisions from this place.
- I will make contact with more people on a weekly basis.
- I am open to love and will allow myself to connect with the perfect partner.
I would love to hear from you – please share with us how you will change your wishes into decisions by posting a comment here on my blog.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
February 7, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 3 Comments
I always tell my clients, "For change to happen you must be willing to get comfortable with being uncomfortable." And why do I tell them that? Because it is 100% true.
Now, for most people, we’ll do just about anything to not feel uncomfortable. We resist, push back, avoid, and procrastinate. We become moody, we sleep too much, eat too much, drink too much . . . the list just goes on and on. But what are these actions doing to service our growth and ourselves? Absolutely nothing.
Let’s face it: change is uncomfortable. Feeling comfortable comes from knowing what to expect, maintaining a status quo and staying within our same old boundaries. In order to make a change, we have to tear down those walls, climb beyond our self-imposed barriers and allow the Big Breakdown to happen.
The Big Breakdown is the uncomfortable period where the change starts to take place. It comes through painful thoughts like, "Who the heck are you to do that?" Systems go haywire, like computers crashing and dropped conference call recordings. At times there are physical manifestations in our bodies like headaches, heartaches, and bellyaches. We feel angry, frustrated and scared so we participate in actions like avoidance when we know, deep down, that it would serve us best to be facing our fears and discomfort head on.
And you know what? All this discomfort is a good thing! Just beyond the Big Breakdown is the Big Breakthrough where you’ll find everything you want and need to grow and succeed. Isn’t this cool? Actually, everything we need and want is right under our noses; the Big Breakdown is the Universe’s way of getting us to step back and see it. Our initial reaction to the Big Breakdown is to shut it off and run away. I’ve been there and I totally get it. However, I’ve taught myself to be comfortable with the uncomfortable, knowing that right past the Big Breakdown is the Big Breakthrough. . . and that’s where the magic happens.
Here are some tips to bust through your own Big Breakdown to reap the benefits of your Big Breakthrough!
- Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Learn to master this one and your progress will skyrocket, and you’ll experience ongoing growth and success. When it comes to accepting the changes in your life, feel your fear . . . and then release it. Once you release your negative, scary thoughts, you allow new opportunities to come into your life. The longer you avoid feeling your feelings, the longer it takes to eventually release them which only delays what you’re really looking for… The Big Breakthrough.Change is going to happen. And there’s one thing I know for sure: good things always come from change . . . even if we can’t see it right away. Learn to trust in the process. Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable and get ready to fly!
- Create a "feel good" state of being.
Your emotional state is a big key to what you are attracting to your life. If you want to attract more, you must release old paradigms and false beliefs about yourself. When we are confronted with change, our minds automatically think about what we’re giving up, not what we’re gaining. That mindset keeps us in a place of lack rather than moving us into a place of abundance.Create a "feel good" state of being to move into abundance and attract all that the Universe has to offer you. Instead of focusing on what you may not have right now, focus on what you want. Take a moment to visualize yourself as being enveloped in goodness and well-being. Close your eyes and breathe deeply while focusing on all that you want to attract to your life.
Here’s a list to help you get started:
- Love
- Trust
- Faith
- Joy
- Passion
- Enthusiasm
- Contentment
- Love
Imagine that you have all of these things, and more. Allow yourself to believe in and expect positive results from the change in your life. Trust that what you really seek will appear.
Are You Willing?
Ask and answer the following questions for yourself:
- Are you willing to trade short-term discomfort for long-term success?
- How badly do you want your ideal business and delicious lifestyle?
- Are you willing to find another way when presented with a road-block?
Just because your bridge telephone line disconnects during your live conference call, you completely spill paint all over a great piece of your artwork, or your important meeting gets canceled, don’t take it as a sign that you’re no good at your chosen path, that you’re not meant to do it or that you’re doomed.
When things like this happen, remind yourself of your answers to the above questions. See these minor disruptions as opportunities to improve your systems. Perhaps you would benefit from delegating tasks, asking for help or simply taking a break. It’s all up to you! You get to determine what your Big Breakdown means and how you are going respond to it. Will you use it to become empowered or disempowered? (Hint: Pick empowered!)
Embrace the Big Breakdown to get to your Big Breakthrough, release resistance and allow the Universe to work its magic! I promise, it will be worth it!
I would love to hear from you – please share with us how you are getting comfortable with being uncomfortable by posting a comment here on my blog.
Owning Your Personal Power NOW
January 31, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 1 Comment
Owning your personal power is the essence to living and creating the richest life possible. When I speak of personal power, I don’t mean physical power. I mean stepping into a place where your time is spent living from your heart and being connected to your creative energy, speaking your truth, making high value choices and taking actions towards your goals. I completely encourage you to make a shift out of the old paradigm that states, "It’s bad for a woman to be confident, assertive, decisive and completely happy." Shift into a new way to be, live and lead your life. Imagine how you might feel by fully embracing your unique gifts, and how making this shift will bring better results to your life and business.
I’d like you to answer this question: Are you consciously aware of your personal power? If so, do you embrace it or push it away?
How many times has someone told you that you are amazing, that they love your artwork, or your teachings? That your sales numbers are on track? How often do you push them away saying, "Who me?" "No. I’m really not." "Sales could be a lot better." And you think, "If they only knew the real truth"
My client Jill is a great example of someone who pushes her personal power away. She used to think her six-figure success was just a mistake, like she stumbled into it or she was just in the right place at the right time. She didn’t claim she created it by her dedication, effort and her own brilliance. She pushed her personal power away and thought her success was something outside herself. Being in this place of disempowerment inhibited her ability to fully absorb, to fully taste her success. She would spend a lot of time thinking she wasn’t doing enough. She watched everyone else doing things she should be doing, instead of fully engaging in the results she had created. Here she was, having achieved exactly what she had wanted but believing she wasn’t good enough for the job and acting like her success was some fluke.
Another client I coached named Susan pushed all compliments away in regards to the awards she received for her outstanding performance. When someone would walk into her office and comment on her achievement plaques hanging on the wall, instead of saying thank you and fully feeling her success, she would think, "If they only knew the real truth." This place of disempowerment kept her playing small. She focused on what she didn’t have versus what she had already created. Because she was disempowered, Susan struggled to complete the daily tasks that would have allowed her to move forward. Rather, she distracted herself to avoid the progress that would propel her toward success for fear that someone may "find her out".
One of my favorite lines from Marianne Williamson is, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."
What Jill and Susan didn’t know was that living your life and running your business comes from the same power source: you, because they are made up of you. We bring ourselves to everything we do: disempowered or empowered.
Are you ready to boldly go to an area you may not have considered? Imagine stepping into your personal power. What would your life look like from this view? What choices would you make?
I would like you to create a New Healthy Vision of Your Personal Power. The first step is to take note of the areas where you are disempowered.
Examples of disempowerment:
- I don’t acknowledge my areas of success.
- I help other people to avoid looking at my life and creating my own personal success.
- I say yes when I mean no.
- I hide behind my truth.
- I stay in a place of overwhelm.
Then create a list with a new vision to step into your personal power:
- I acknowledge my areas of success.
- I look directly at the areas of my life that overwhelm me and find the resources I need to accomplish my goals.
- I say, "Yes" to only the people and things I want to say, "yes" to, and I say, "No" when I mean, "no".
- I empower myself to move beyond my place of overwhelm.
Start to adjust your thinking and your lifestyle to your new vision of personal power. You’ll be amazed at the impact it will have on your life and your success!
I would love to hear from you – please share with us how your are embracing your personal power by posting a comment on my blog.
Go Guilt & Regret FR*EE Now!
January 24, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 1 Comment
I often hear from clients that what most keeps them in a disempowered place is the feeling of guilt over something they did, or living with regret over something they did not do. Either of these can deplete energy and block one’s ability to make clear decisions and take massive action. Both can hold us back from what we want most.
I believe in filling our souls up with so much feel good energy that we simply live empowered, unstoppable in our ability to take action, while living FR*EE from joy-robbing guilt and regret! Imagine being in full alignment with positive thoughts every day; feeling empowered, taking meaningful action toward your goals – what you most desire – without negative thoughts. It is possible to live completely FR*EE of the guilt, regret, and all the “could have’s”, “might have’s”, and “should have’s”. All that is necessary is that you give yourself permission to do it.
You deserve an abundance of clean and feel good energy. This is the exact energy that will build your self-confidence, FR*EE you from second-guessing, and spark the clarity and action needed to accomplish your goals. So, give yourself permission, today, to begin to practice living your life guilt and regret FR*EE!
9 Things You Can Do to Practice Living Life Guilt-FR*EE With No Regrets:
- See Opportunity – Not Mistakes. When things fall apart or don’t turn out the way you had hoped, don’t spend time beating yourself up. Look for the opportunity to learn, instead. There is always opportunity – quite often, what appears as the worst situation, is the biggest opportunity in disguise. Don’t allow the situation to defeat you – overcome the situation by making good use of the opportunity it presents.
- Follow Your Own Path. This is the direct route to happiness. Decide today to get off the path that is depleting you, leaving you frustrated and unhappy. When we give up what we desire and “try” to walk on someone else’s path it never works! Instead, we will only find ourselves living with guilt and regret. However, when you claim your inner truth and live your life on your own path, you will find yourself giving and sharing out of your abundance – empowered and productive!
- Make FUN a Sacred Ritual. Put the FUN back in your life and do it like you brush your teeth, daily and with diligence. Connect yourself with laughter – not once in awhile – but on a daily basis. Simply start by smiling more and see what a huge, positive impact this has in your life. You’ll be amazed at how often you receive a smile in return for one of yours, and the way it can immediately energize you.
- Relax & Get Into Your Flow. Breathe more fully and deeply. Recall a time in your life when you were in your “Sweet Spot” and return to this place today. What were you doing? What felt so great? Identify the answers to these two questions. Let go of resistance and move into your flow. You will instantly feel better. You will know you are in your flow, because it will feel, and taste, better than anything in the world!
- Be Adventurous. See life as an adventure, not just something you must deal with. Create little and big adventures in your life. A little adventure could be driving a different route to work or the grocery store, trying a new taste of drink or food. This will open your mind and your senses to experiencing things you have never felt, seen, or even noticed before. Enroll in a yoga class – or any type of class in which you have always wanted to participate. Create more adventure today – in a small, or big, way.
- Be Bold. Face your fear and take action to create the life you truly desire. Start doing this today. Get the support needed via a mentor or coach. You deserve support in your life and having it will save you a lot of time and energy. Make decisions instead of waiting for the right time and perfect conditions – end procrastination. Take yourself to the next level sooner, because you deserve it – NOW!
- LOVE Your Work. If you do not currently love what you do, it is time to get fully honest with yourself and take the steps to do the work you LOVE. Maybe you love your work, but there are elements of it that you don’t love – that’s okay – there is a way to align yourself to live in a space where 95% of the time you are doing what you love.
- Self-Care is How We Bold Women Roll. When we don’t take care of our need to feel GREAT, we are disempowered and exhausted. Get clear on what your particular needs are for self-care – morning, noon, and night – and put this into place starting TODAY. You will not only feel amazing, but you will also FR*EE yourself of feeling awful – for good!
- FUEL Your Body. Begin today to re-fuel with positive thoughts and gratitude, along with clean nutrition. Simply put, when we eat crap, we feel like crap – leaving us vulnerable to guilt and regret. When the body is fueled with too much sugar, it creates chaos and anxiety, completely disconnecting us from our essential self. A poor diet, high in sugar, impairs our ability to think positively. Put in the good stuff and get great results. A guilt FR*EE diet is one more positive way to live life with no regrets!
I would love to hear from you – If you have special tips, which you successfully use to Live Life Guilt-FR*EE With No Regrets, please share them by posting a comment here on my blog.
Hello Desire, Bye-Bye Procrastination!
January 17, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 2 Comments
Having a laser focus on what one is trying to accomplish is the major force behind what propels some people to take action toward their heart’s desires. It is exhilarating to achieve, to finally arrive at a longed for goal. Let’s be honest, nothing great ever comes from procrastination. It carries the feeling of defeat, and you deserve better than that!
What happens when you think about realizing your heart’s desires? Do you often neglect to put into motion the actions that are sure to take you to the reward of reaching your destination? Perhaps you are easily distracted. Simply ‘forgetting where your focus is’ can actually be the biggest road-block to reaching your goal.
I want to encourage you to focus on what you desire – and stay focused – no matter what happens! You will be amazed by the immediate results of this one simple, but crucial, action. Like many other women I’ve coached, who have discovered the power of acting on their heart’s desire, instead of procrastinating, you’ll wonder why you ever put it off in the first place. To help you begin to do TODAY, what should never be put off until tomorrow, I’ve included the following 5 easy steps!
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Connect to Your Desires – Most people procrastinate when disconnected from
what they most desire. It is important to reconnect with your heart desires every day. Take time now to reconnect. Close your eyes, take a deep breath in, and really connect to what you desire most. Imagine yourself living out your desires (really create the picture in your mind). How would you feel and what actions would you take? -
Be Focused – If, while taking action toward your desires, you find yourself answering your phone, checking email, wasting a big bunch of hours on face book or online, texting, or doing laundry – it’s time to get focused! There is a time and place for everything. What I know for sure is that going on facebook and comparing yourself to others is NOT going to manifest your desires. Be focused on one item at a time to increase your success. Remaining focused allows you to be present in what you are doing. Set a timer during a task and start to build your endurance for focus. My sense is that you want to be present in all that you do – whether it is work or play. By focusing when working, you will be able to fully play when you are playing, because you will not be thinking about what you haven’t done yet.
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You Create the Mood – People who procrastinate, often do so because they tell themselves they just don’t feel like doing whatever it is that needs to get done. This is a sure sign that they are out of alignment with what they desire most. For example, if you desire to lose weight, but tell yourself you don’t feel like exercising, you are working against yourself. You will begin to find all the justification needed for not exercising, instead of doing the exact thing that will make you feel good and help you achieve your goal. We are the creator of our moods. Yes, some days our mood will be better than other days. However, when your mood is the problem, the key is to take full responsibility, change your attitude, and create the mood that will allow you to take positive action, moving you closer to your ultimate desires. Do yourself a big, wonderful favor – stop waiting for the mood and create it today!
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This is the right time – Remind yourself that NOW is the right time. Why? Because, your life is NOW – not later. Many clients say “they are waiting for the right time to start,” but I have often found the truth to be that some sort of fear is preventing them from moving ahead. If you find yourself waiting for the fear to go away – chances are, you’ll be waiting a long time. Instead, get curious – and real – about what fears you may have. Understanding just why you are procrastinating will empower you, enabling you to put an end to it and get back on track.
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Define Your top priorities for the day – I often hear clients say they procrastinate because they don’t know exactly how to start or what to do. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting clear on your top priorities and aligning your energy. The truth is you have everything you need to get your life done. Take action and be productive, rather than procrastinate. When I coach clients and help them to reconnect with their heart desires – they can instantly get clarity, define their priorities, and move right out of procrastination. When you truly align with what you desire you will be amazed at how resourceful you become.
Big Question – Are you doing what you hate?
I really encourage you to answer this question, honestly. Many people procrastinate because they are doing something they hate to do. In a job they don’t like, they create a business model they think they will like – only to find themselves unsuccessful in changing the fact that they hate what they are doing. To waste time in procrastination only makes you feel worse than you desire to feel or deserve to feel. To love what you do – you must do what you love!
Perhaps cleaning your house is something you absolutely dread. Instead of procrastinating and allowing your energy to be depleted, hire someone to clean house for you. This one decision will considerably free up your energy and allow you to create more love, joy, and money in your life. Perhaps outsourcing isn’t an option for you. If you must do the dreaded job yourself, then reward yourself for a job well done. Pick a reward that makes you feel absolutely great – and give it to yourself after the task is completed. It doesn’t have to cost you a thing.
The key is to spend more time in a feel good place, rather than beating yourself up for not getting things done – and wasting your precious time and energy in procrastination.
I would love to hear from you – If you have special tips, which you successfully use to end procrastination in your own life, please share them by posting a comment here on my blog.
