4 Tips to Keep Your Dreams Moving Forward
January 17, 2012 by Karen Fagen · Leave A Comment
I know sometimes we just feel like giving up! It seems like we are not making progress as we had hoped for the New Year and often it feels like “making progress” is taking forever. When we reach this point, we start to question if we made the right decision (or even if there is something wrong with us) and maybe that is why we are not as successful as everyone else seems to be. You may find yourself working so hard – and the results are nowhere in sight.
I want to reassure you, if you feel this way; – you are exactly where you are supposed to be! The very important thing to remember is “Now is not the time to give up!”
Often when we are working too hard, and pushing too much not seeing the results we desire – we become exhausted and begin to question ourselves – and we simply feel like giving up.
But now is not the time to give up! You have come way too far and to turn back now! Below are four simple tips that will help you create forward momentum, much better results, increase your level of happiness and put the bounce back into your step!
1. Give Yourself Permission
One reason that we get stuck, overwhelmed, and frustrated is because we suffer burn out and fatigue from trying so hard. I have a private client who has doubled her success by practicing my coaching instruction to simply give herself permission to rest and stop pushing. If you are like me, you want results yesterday! However, I have learned (and coach many women) to slow down when struggle sets in. Don’t push.
When we are pushing and tired our reality gets distorted. Instead of pushing and beating yourself up for what you have not yet accomplished, give yourself permission to take a break when you’re tired and everything feels like you’re going against the current. Fatigue is one of the number one causes for burnout. It causes second-guessing of oneself — one of the biggest reasons people quit! When you feel like you are spinning your wheels – allow yourself to step away – regain clarity – and get your prospective back. By allowing yourself to rest and connect with joy, you’ll be happier and more successful. Creativity flows and you will be more productive. Commit today to giving yourself permission to rest.
2. Let Go
When we are pushing rather than in an effortless flow – we just need to let go. When you become blocked and stuck, it’s time to check in with how attached you are to the outcome. You will know when you are really attached to the outcome because you will feel exhausted and ready to give up.
I have seen private clients attract more clients, land speaking gigs, land a great job, and find the perfect match – just by releasing their attachment to the outcome. Once you let go, you will find yourself being more resourceful, thinking out of the box, and seeing new opportunities. Your happiness level will sky rocket and you will achieve the exact results you desire – if not better.
3. Push Through the Dip
You may feel like you have hit a low, but really it’s the transformational point leading you to success. You may feel like giving up even though you’re doing all the right things. You are doing all the right things – just not seeing the results. Seth Godin wrote an amazing book called “The Dip” — the plateau that separates the average from the best in the world. Knowing what to do when you hit the dip is so important. If you have hit the dip and you can honestly say that going forward is the best decision, then you continue to move boldly ahead until you reach the other side. It might feel like the hardest you have ever worked, but once you make it, the results will be tremendous.
4. Give Yourself the Gift of Support
Support and (accountability) is everything! Sometimes, we can’t see our own blind spots and this often slows us way down, frustrates us, and we end up working even harder. When you are doing things in your life and business that you have never done before, having support makes all the difference in the world!
Working with a coach will not only support you and give you accountability, it will push you out of your comfort zone. All my private clients are so amazed that prior to investing in coaching with me, they thought they either didn’t really need a coach – or felt guilty about choosing to invest in coaching. Now, after being coached they are committed to always having this type of support in their life. Why? Because, left to our own devices we don’t do what we should or could. When we work with a coach, we make more progress and do it more rapidly. I personally know this – not just from coaching hundreds of women – but from investing in myself and having MY OWN private coach.
5 Simple Ways to Create a New Holiday Experience
December 13, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 1 Comment
What special experience would you like to create this season? Imagine creating the ultimate experience to enjoy your holidays and release all that drains you. You have the power to choose not to do the things you really don’t want to do, be with the people you really don’t want to be with or feel like there is never enough time to get it all done.
It’s easy to be seduced by the false belief that there isn’t enough time. Believing this myth will make you feel as though you have no choice about how you spend your time and precious energy this holiday season. Truthfully, there is more than enough time. It’s really about letting go of the need for more time and easing into the wonderful sensation you would like to create. Gaining clarity and deciding what experience you really desire for yourself and the people you love is really important to the joy you experience. Experience is about fully emerging all five senses into whatever it is you decide for yourself through the holidays and fully owning it.
Imagine the Ultimate Experience: Close your eyes and breathe into the holiday season. What experience would you like to create for yourself – one of calm, peace, love and laughter? Take time now to imagine your best possible holiday experience. What would you like to create? Maybe you’d like to slow down and spend more time in front of the fireplace reading and with your loved ones creating new memories, enjoying the present moment. Close your eyes and fully go into the sensation of the experience you’d like to create for the upcoming weeks and let your answer emerge from your soul’s desires.
Let Go: To receive want you desire you must let go of everything that is blocking your ultimate experience. Usually when we don’t have what we desire we either are not clear on what it is we actually desire, or there is something blocking us. Sometimes letting go means doing away with a behavior that is no longer serving us, no longer engaging in a relationship that depletes us, or letting the go of the need to please everyone. Perhaps it’s letting go of rules about how the holidays should go that no longer align with you. Do you need to create a new, joyous holiday experience this season?
Allow yourself to gain clarity. Do you need to say no in order to say yes to yourself and the holiday experience you’d like to create? You deserve the best experience. Take a moment and be very clear about how you want this season to be enjoyed and what you must do to make it so. Your life is now.
Amazing Self Care: Be gentle with yourself and take time to connect with your soul. Fully nourish your soul and body with quiet time, getting in touch with yourself, eating high quality foods, breathing in fresh air, seeing the sunlight, resting and exercising. Bringing amazing self care into your life will only bring you more good energy and joy. Self care is also about having FUN and bringing laugher to your life. Where in your life would you like to have more fun? Grab you calendar and block out more YOU time – do this now.
Savor the Moments: Where could you savor the moment instead of comparing, judging or beating yourself up? Instead of worrying about getting the perfect gift, feeling overwhelmed by time or identifying the next way to grow your business, begin to savor your good experiences.
Here are 5 ways you can savor the holidays:
- Replace all the negative energy in your life with savory, good thoughts. You will instantly feel more light hearted.
- Make a cup of hot chocolate and sit with your children, lover or best friend. Fully savor the moment and learn more about their life what sparks their fire.
- Take a break from the “hurry” and create a memorable experience. Begin to gain clarity from shifting your focus from stressful to savory. This will make all the difference in creating a better holiday experience.
- Take Time Off – Yes you! Allow yourself a day off to replenish and revitalize. The more you give to yourself the more you have to give to others.
- Recharge your “batteries”. When we recharge we vibrate out to the world confidence and feel-good energy. This is contagious.
Many of the people I coach are go-getters and highly motivated, which is fabulous, but it also makes it difficult for my clients to take time off and enjoy all that they have achieved. There is always going to be a ton to do, so allow yourself time off and fully enjoy it. This means not thinking about what has to be done, but rather allowing yourself much deserved time off and a new experience.
I invite you to share how you plan to create (or have created) a new holiday experience this year by posting a comment here on my blog.
3 Ways to Get Some Feel Good in Your Life
September 27, 2011 by Karen Fagan · 3 Comments
My life is so full and rich. I live every moment with love and gratitude in my heart. Now, I haven’t always been like this. My authentic story is that I spent a majority of my life feeling less than great. Sure, from time to time I’d feel awesome. But it would only last a short while, and would eventually lead me back to being in a funk. Needless to say, it was a less-than-desirable way to live.
I struggled through this emotional rollercoaster, never understanding what the problem was or why I couldn’t find a way to simply be happy. Then, one day it hit me. I had been living in this place of “not feeling good” simply because it was familiar to me. I knew how to “not feel good” so well that in a sense, it had become comfortable. My realization that I no longer wanted to be comfortable with feeling bad led to an empowering epiphany: Live bad, feel bad. Live good, feel good! Finally, I understood that I could choose to feel good. It was in my power to take action to make myself feel better; and, that’s just what I did.
I recognized that I had been living badly. I didn’t take care of myself the way I should and I didn’t offer myself love and kindness. When I realized all of this, I made a decision. I made, “Live good, feel good!” my mantra for life. In order to start living good and feeling good, I created a Feel Good Formula for my life. I taught myself how to live good so I could feel good, and make that my new familiar place. Your Feel Good Formula is unique to you. It is composed of the “live good” elements that empower you and support you in feeling good all the time. For example, my Feel Good Formula is Self-love + Exercise + Clean Nutrition = Feel Good.
The secret is, when you feel good, you’re happy! It’s a great place to be. The happier you are, the more you have to give to your family, friends, and business. When you feel good, your entire life changes for the BEST. Find your Feel Good Formula and live by it. The elements in the formula will reflect the things that YOU need to feel good and the results will astonish you. Let’s find out what your Feel Good Formula is!
Here are tips for creating your own Feel Good Formula:
- Make a list of all the things that make you feel good. List things that fuel your mind, your soul and creative energy. Think of “live good” things that make your energy level come alive, that make you feel GOOD. Write down as many as you can think of.Here are some examples:
• Journaling
• Eating nutritious food
• Exercise
• Mediation
• A quiet cup of tea
• Kissing and making love
• Alone time
• Connecting with others - Take your list and prioritize the elements. What are the things that energize you the most, inspire you to achieve, and really get your Feel Good mojo going? Take your top two or three and fill them into the format: (Blank) + (Blank) = Feel Good.
- Live your formula every day.
That’s it. Three easy steps! Once you have your Feel Good Formula, write it on your vision board, put a Post-It on your fridge, leave yourself a voice mail . . . do whatever it takes to learn and LIVE your Feel Good Formula. No matter what your formula is – “Yoga + Journaling = Feel Good” or “Travel + Hugging + Long Walks = Feel Good” – live it every day. As I said, the components of your formula are completely up to you. Just make sure that you choose elements that are based in self-love and well being. For me eating nutritious foods and taking the time to journal are the things that make my soul soar. What are the things that inspire you? What actions can you take to find your self-love?
Find your Feel Good Formula. Access it and apply it to your life every day! You’ll experience wonderful growth and you’ll find that feeling good is a lot easier than feeling bad!
How to Rock Your Life Out Authentically
September 6, 2011 by Karen Fagen · 3 Comments
Taking the time to get to know your wants and desires can take many women years and years. Do you have difficulty allowing yourself to become your true self? Programs like my Rock Your Body, Soul and Finances Program really allow you to stretch yourself to your limits, find your dreams and desires to become a strong and beautiful woman. By becoming this woman that is hiding inside of you, you can free your body, mind and spirit and get the control back into your life that has been hidden or is missing. By simply opening yourself up to the process you are allowing yourself to be free of the ties that bind and hold you back. Let’s get out from behind the rock, open up and be who you are meant to be!
There was a time in my life I was really disconnected to my own self. I didn’t even know what I liked, what pleased me, not to mention, what I wanted to do with my precious life. But the one thing I did know, I was not living the life I desired. I felt this in my soul. It’s not something I had to know – it was a feeling deep down inside me.
Once I figured out who I was as a woman, I was so afraid to reveal this to the world. I was afraid to dress the way I truly wanted, even as far as being afraid to wear too big of earrings in case people talked about me. I was afraid to tell people that, once, I really wanted to take my own life. I was afraid to eat super healthy food in front of people who weren’t eating the same way or who were unhealthy themselves. I thought people will think I am crazy; too much – too demanding – too into living a higher quality life.
So, I just kept myself a very small version of me in hopes I wouldn’t rock the boat. In order to not get people mad, I kept myself safe and small so others would like me and wouldn’t judge me for living a happy and healthy life.
Has something like this ever happened to you?
Many of my private clients used to be scared silly to express who they are as a woman and what their place is in this world. They stay quiet; stay in the wrong place in their lives or careers; carry extra weight and have depleted energy and bank accounts. Sound familiar?
Take an honest look at what your life is right now. When it comes to your body, your relationships, your personal life, your career – Are you a woman who is rocking it authentically, or are you hiding behind the rock? Playing small, playing safe and hiding behind a rock – doesn’t work EVER! I know!!
I lived behind the rock for a long time. Why? Because nothing was ever allowed to feel good … I never allowed myself the pleasure of a job well done; the pleasure of living a good and healthy life; of having quality relationships. Living behind the rock keeps you completely out of alignment with who you really are; who you are meant to be and it will never bring you any closer to your heart desires.
How do you step into who you really are as a women and be who you are meant to be?
Take a look at this list and see what you can change and start working on today.
Women Who Rock Out Life Authentically …
1. Never apologizes for who she is, what she wears, what she desires and for what she does or what she doesn’t like.
2. Says what she means even if it pisses people off.
3. Lives her life with compassion but doesn’t sacrifice her happiness for others.
4. Has very clear boundaries
5. Is very clear with when she says YES and when she says NO
6. Lives free from guilt, self-criticism, and gossip
7. Asks for what she needs – without hesitation.
8. Brings her best self forward even when she doesn’t feel like it.
9. Knows that if she is at a restaurant and her meal comes not to her standard, she can graciously ask for it to be returned, corrected or ask for something else – without feeling like she’s been needy or a b%$#@.
10. Knows how to please herself and knows how to ask others to please her.
11. Is surrounded by friends that support and challenge her to be her best.
12. Wears larger than life earrings when she feels like (My private clients did this – it felt so good to her to wear what she truly desired)
13. Rests and replenishes because she craves it.
14. Makes decisions without the need to justify them.
15. Knows when she indulges in spa treatments or shopping, she doesn’t have to hide it from her loved ones.
16. Spends quality time with her children and loved ones, free from distraction.
17. Thrives on contribution.
18. Knows exactly when she needs rest.
19. Flosses her teeth, feeds her body with high quality food.
20. Seeks all things wonderful.
21. Doesn’t waste time in drama and chaos
22. Has decided to no longer waste time with body image issue; rather set her life up to love her body and support it.
23. Invests in herself and life without hesitation or guilt.
24. Continuously adds more color in to her life.
25. Allows herself to connect to her sensual energy as women.
26. Lives in love not in fear.
27. No longer pretends everything is o.k. when it’s not. She stopped pretending and telling herself it will get better. She finally gives herself the gift of a powerful coach.
28. Allows dreams; she is curious; she desires the best for herself, family, animals and community
So tell me… how will you authentically start Rocking Your Life Out? Start today by posting your comments on how you will start. I would love to hear them!! Together we can do this!
16 Powerful Ways to Feel Comfortable in Your Own Skin
August 9, 2011 by Karen Fagen · 2 Comments
I have coached hundreds of women over the years that have struggled – or are currently struggling and in pain with body image issues – feeling uncomfortable in their body. The truth is, they are not living the life they really want to live. It’s really holding them back from living a life with passion blocking them from going after what they want and keeping it!
I completely feel their pain. I really understand it, as I hid for many years behind my body image issues that left me feeling so uncomfortable in my own skin.
It took me a long, long time to fully understand that the struggle with my body image was keeping me from growing and expanding my entire life. I realized, in the process of struggling with my body image issues, I was just distracted in the un-truth and disconnected from my personal power.
If I had been connected to my truth and personal power, I would not have been critical of myself and my body at all. I would have honored myself and only noticed my beauty and wonder. I would have taken action like nobodys business to create my most yummy life.
Instead, I stayed in pain and missed opportunities for fun, love, and adventure.
My BIG turning point was when I realized my body images issues were nothing but a BIG DISTRACTION keeping me in hiding, preventing me from taking risk and living the life I really wanted to live. My body image issues thoughts, feelings, and actions –were creating the exact things I didn’t want in my life.
I deeply began to understand that obsessing about my body was a big decoy, because what I was really afraid of were the following:
- Not being enough
- Failing
- Not measuring up
- My ability to receive love
- My life change… and so on, and so on.
I NOW know how to live a life Free from struggling with body image issues, and I want to help you find this Freedom, too. Its very empowering and life changing to feel vibrant and amazing in your skin.
I learned a huge reason why we struggle. Struggling only keeps us in the same place. Struggling keeps us from expanding our life, health and business. Body image issues constrict us (at every level) and deplete and drain us, and keep us imprisoned. It blocks true intimacy with life, keeping us from savoring or experiencing it fully.
When we obsess about our body, it is a huge indication that something is out of alignment within our heart, mind and life. It shows us we are disconnected from our truth and personal power and are hiding from what we are really afraid of.
Many women I have worked with have struggled with their body image. It breaks my heart, because I know these women really desire a full and bodacious life with complete emotional and financial Fr*eedom.
Body image issues are a big distraction, keeping you confined from taking action and fully creating the life you want. Think about this for a moment – Who would you be and what would do if you werent struggling with body image issues? Would you be confident, happy, blissful, and really successful?
Here are ways to Free yourself and move away from body image issues and into full Fr*eedom. Where you love your body, have sweet love for you and allow much bigger success to come to you:
1. Your body is completely beautiful allow yourself to own this and stop denying it. It may not be where you want it to be, but you have the power to change this. For now, see your beauty.
2. Your body is brilliant and takes care of all things for you. Honor it. Respect it. Fuel it and listen to it.
3. Create a list of all the wonderful things your body lets you do. Read it and add to it often. Example: I love my legs because they take me great places and I get to see so many wonderful places with them.
4. Make peace and be Free. Your body is a beautiful vessel that carries your soul.
5. When you obsess about your body image, ask yourself this question: “What is it that I really want in my life that I do not yet have and why am I holding myself back?”
6. Visualize feeling amazing in your body and skin. Fully connect to it. This will instantly empower you to make better choices for you.
7. Re-focus on something that you really love about your body (you will find it if you are willing to look with love). If love seems too much – then start with what you like.
8. Reflect on all the things you really want to accomplish in your life and business. Realize that if you shift your focus away from negative thoughts about your body, you’ll move into beautiful thoughts of achieving your true dreams and desires. This shift will instantly make you feel better and motivate you to take action to go after what you want.
9. Make a list of the things you have put off due to body image issues, then go and take action on one item. Notice how fantastic this feels.
10. Write a Sacred Contract letter to your body with your commitment for honoring it starting today and include a thank you for all its wonder and beauty.
11. Rest and nourish your body like royalty. Rest, replenish, stretch, massage, hydrate, and moisturize it. Stop pushing so hard rest.
12. Exercise because it makes you feel better, connects you with your personal power, and makes your body healthy, strong, and shapely.
13. Think back to a time in your life when you felt good about your body and connect to this feeling again. You will take inspired action from this feeling state.
14. Write a list of at least 10 positive things about yourself and add to this list daily.
15. When you find yourself being harsh on your body, get curious and find out what you’re really afraid of.
16. Please, release attachment to the way your body used to be. Meet yourself where you are today – so you can be Free of struggle and this will empower you to take the action you need for the changes you desire.
Doing even one of these action items will shift your energy, have you feeling much better in your own skin, connect you with your beautiful body, and move you into a place that allows more abundance in your life.
7 Ways to Sky Rocket Your Energy
June 28, 2011 by Karen Fagen · Leave A Comment
1. Understand Your Body’s Natural Energy Flow
Understand your natural ebb and flow of energy throughout the day so that you feel a sense of peace, calm and overall 
‘feel good’. Doing this, and aligning life with your natural energy flow, will increase your energy level on a daily basis.
Perhaps you are full of energy first thing in the morning, or maybe your energy level increases in the evening. Knowing when your energy peaks is helpful when planning to do the things that you normally resist, or put off doing. Scheduling these when your energy is higher is going to make a huge difference in your productivity, happiness, self-confidence, and joy.
Once you understand your natural, daily energy rhythm, you can work on the important tasks during your peak hours, and avoid “trying” to do these tasks when your energy level is too low.
2. Organize Your World
A scattered world leads to a scattered life – which depletes our energy level and only leaves us feeling less than productive. Let’s face it, when our lives our scattered we end up procrastinating and turning our back on the very things that need our attention.
You can organize your world in big and small ways. A small way would be to create an intentional plan for how you will use your time each day. Create this plan first thing in the a.m. A big way to organize your world may be to rid the clutter that drives you nuts! This could be achieved by scheduling time on your calendar to finally organize your home or office.
You deserve to live a non-chaotic life. There is nothing that feels better, or raises your energy level quicker, than the organization of your world. When your world is organized, you don’t have to expend mental energy to keep track of “a million things”.
Make a decision now about what top three things you need to organize in your life, and then complete the process, so you can have more energy each day.
3. Move Gym Time to the Morning
I know, firsthand, the power of exercising first thing in the a.m. And, I have committed to doing this, not only for the amazing energy it gives me, but because I give more to everything I do and to the people in my world, family friends, clients, when I work out early. This one step will transform your entire life, if you do it and do it with consistency.
A lot of people go to the gym after work, and this is often because it is something they dread and end up blowing off. Instead, allow yourself to experience all of the amazing benefits of exercising first thing in the morning. This is YOUR time. A time for you and you ONLY. When you start your day off like this – your energy will soar!
Exercising in the morning gives energy that lasts all day – PLUS it increases your level of self-confidence and overall ‘feel good’ energy.
Sure, you will have to wake up an hour or two earlier, but I guarantee you are so worth it! After you create this new morning ritual, it will simply become something you just do –
like brushing your teeth.
4. Do Away With Low-Value “Things & Tasks”
To live a Bold, Brilliant and Rich Life (and get these kinds of results in your life) you must do away with anything that is low in value. Move your energy, thoughts, and actions toward the things that bring the highest level of value to your life.
This means doing away with participating in, or spending time on, anything of a lower nature. How do you know if it is of lower nature? The answer is, you will feel it in your body. Your energy level will be low. It’s that simple!
Some steps to eliminating low value things in your life can include:
- Stop eating low value foods that you know do not serve your body, but rather deplete your energy
- Refuse to participate in someone else’s drama. Remember, even listening to it can drain your energy.
- Do away with low value tasks. Be fully aware of which activities are bringing you the highest return in your life – and spend more time doing them.
If you have a ridiculously long to-do-list that is simply impossible to get all the way through, and you feel tired just thinking about doing those items, here are some tips that are sure to turn your to-do-list (and energy level) around:(I highly recommend that you look at each item on your to-do-list and ask yourself the following questions):
- 1. Is doing and completing this item going to add to the value of my life?
If you answered YES, go to question number two. If you answered NO, free yourself of the struggle by knocking it off your list right now! Just be done with it.
- 2. If doing this item is going to add value to your life, ask yourself this: Are you the only person that can complete the task, or is there someone you can delegate this task to?
(When we delegate we free our energy both mentally and physically so we can put into more of the things we love.)
Next, add the following to your to-do-list.
5. Schedule a massage & take an Epsom’s Salts bath.
Add this to your to-do-list. A to-do-list should always include personal care items, like a massage and special bath time. Both will help you let go of any stress you are holding in your body that is zapping your energy. It is a wonderful way to nurture your body, mind, and soul and regain an increased sense of well- being and clarity.
Decide to make getting massage a normal part of your life so you do this regularly. It may seem like it’s too much of a luxury at first, and you will probably tell yourself why you “shouldn’t “ do it, but once you allow yourself to experience all of the wonderful benefits a massage offers, such as more energy in your life, you will want to do it regularly.
Adding a weekly Epsom’s salts bath to your routine is an inexpensive luxury! I do this at night – and I can tell you that the nights I do this are the nights I sleep so well, and awake so refreshed the next morning.
This is what happens when we take impeccable care of ourselves! We have more energy, feel more gratitude and abundance, and have so much more to offer the world.
6. Empowerment Dressing is incredibly energizing.
When we put beautiful clothes on our bodies we feel better, and our energy levels go up! You don’t need to spend a fortune on clothes to look and feel like a million, either.
If you are in a rut – wearing a lot black – begin to throw some brighter colors into your outfits – this is a natural energy lifter.
Dressing up naturally makes you feel better about yourself. It has a magical way of giving you more energy and connects you to your feminine sensual energy.
When you wear clothes that are so/so, you end up feeling so/ so, and honestly your self-confidence and what you accomplish ends up being so/so, as well. Make a commitment to wear clothes that uplift you and make you feel good.
–Put on some make up. A little lip-gloss can make the difference between feeling like a rock star and feeling like a frump. Putting on body lotion that invigorates your senses and soul will stir your internal energy. Do this and you will be amazed at how empowered you feel.
7. Plan to fuel your body with high quality fuel foods.
I often talk to women who tell me that their energy level is so low. Sure enough, they come to find out that their nutritional intake is way too low and they are not drinking enough water. They just aren’t eating enough to fuel their body!
Consistently eating 5-7 small meals of lean protein, good carbohydrates, vegetables, fruit, and good fats will make a huge impact on your energy level and physique.
Decide today to eliminate all food that is of a lower nature and depletes your energy. Instead, choose foods of a higher quality to fuel your energy. If you do this, you are going to feel so amazing and empowered. There is nothing that tastes better than eating well!
June 7, 2011 by Karen Fagen · Leave A Comment
This Week’s Question:
Hi Karen,
I really love your energy and reading your face book and Twitter posts. Just reading them motivates me. Can you please share some tips on how you have this energy so I can get some of it in my life. I think it would help me make some changes in my life.
Thank you.
Jennifer, LA
Karen’s Answer:
1. Wake up early – I know most people want more sleep, but if you read and practice my other tips below, you will have more energy to wake up earlier. When you wake up earlier, create a morning ritual for yourself and only do things for YOU during this time.
2. Create a Ritual & Go to Local Farmers – Obtain a list of local farmers and local Farmer’s Markets in your area – preferably the organic farms. Plan a day to visit and do your shopping for greens, vegetables, fresh herbs, and meats. Make it an adventure and try a different fruit, vegetable, or other product. I have created a Saturday morning ritual and part of it includes visiting my Local Farmer’s market after an amazing workout. It truly is a satisfying and fulfilling experience to nurture my body, mind, and spirit – but it is also great to celebrate the local farmers and all their dedication and hard work (they are the best entrepreneurs!)
3. Power Up with a Green Smoothie: Green smoothies are my FAVORITE! Explore the power of greens! Making green smoothies is fun and will add a glow to your skin and vibrancy to your step…not to mention the improved mental clarity and focus! I can tell you from my own personal experience that there is so much power in drinking Green Smoothies – it’s a sure way to get your juju back – and instantly!
4. Drink lots of clean, purified water. You will be amazed at the difference in the way you feel when you are well hydrated. I replenish my body with a gallon of clean water a day and will never go back to less than this, because of the huge difference in how I feel – and I am all about feeling good! I know a gallon may seem like a lot, so start off with a ½ gallon of clean water and work your way up. Allow yourself the experience of feeling true hydration. The benefits are so wonderful – glowing skin, no more sugar or salt cravings, detoxification, and much more energy.
5. Good Fats: Good fats keep your metabolism on fire…burning – and this is good for your brain! It helps you feel satisfied. Be sure to include good fats each day. To do this, try Udo’s oil, avocado, or raw cod liver oil. Nuts are also a great source of good fat, however trade in the processed nuts and eat raw only – you will notice you will not overeat them, your digestive system will digest them with ease, and the flavor of raw nuts is very robust.
6. Refined sugars and processed starches are the devil – dump them like a bad freaking habit. Give yourself five days to eliminate them completely and you are going to feel a huge difference in your body and a zest for life – guaranteed! When you do this, you will wake up ready for the day instead of hitting the snooze button. You’ll feel calm, and even begin to have more passion! Learn about the impact of refined sugar and processed foods on your health, acid/alkaline balance, and intestinal health. Add raw organic veggies, sprouts, green drinks, green smoothies, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals to your diet.
7. Move Your Gorgeous Body! Work up a sweat! You will release feel good endorphins and get your lymph system moving, which carries away the waste and toxins! Walk, Jump Rope, Yoga, Run, Trampoline, Bike Ride, take a dance class, or swim. Try something new – or reconnect to a form of exercise you once loved. Just do it!
8. Turn up the “Feel Good”! Find, and regularly commit to activities that help you feel good and renewed. Some ideas: meditation, gratitude journaling, guided relaxation or visualization CD’s, nature, bubble baths followed by lathering your skin in your favorite body lotion. The point is to renew, add more you time, and just de-stress. Often we hold more stress in our bodies than we realize.
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.
8 Ways to Be the Ultimate Sleeping Beauty
December 20, 2010 by Karen Fagan · Leave A Comment
Imagine the difference a good night’s sleep would make in your life? Feeling better, more productive and confident come as a result of sleeping well. Check in with yourself about the number of hours you sleep. If you are lacking in the sleep department, decide right now what’s necessary to restore this self care habit, and take action to put yourself first.
Here are 8 tips to replenish your soul with sleep:
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Make your bedroom a sanctuary. Be sure it’s comfortable and soul-nurturing for rest. Does your bedroom make you feel calm and relaxed? If not, remove any clutter, put soft light bulbs to create lighting that is relaxed and soothing, and check your shades to ensure they are blocking the light out. Add an eye mask if needed.
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Add soothing scents and music to your room; like the sound of the ocean or nature music. This will allow you to get into a state of relaxation, making it easier to fall asleep. Put on soothing lotion before bed and warm up a botanical body wrap to relax your muscles.
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Don’t settle for anything less than a super comfortable bed. Upgrade your sheets, pillow and comforter if needed. Check in with your mattress: How long have you had it? If you haven’t changed your mattress in 7 years, it’s time to get a new one. You will go into a deeper sleep and for longer periods of time by upgrading your bedding. This will leave you feeling more energized when you awake.
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Change your bedding more frequently. Although this might sound strange, you will be surprised at what a difference this will make and how your body will respond to new fresh sheets. Give yourself the gift of high thread cottons sheets, silk or soft cozy flannel. Think warm, comfort, and more comfort.
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Remove anything that is over-stimulating like your computer, phone or TV (anything electronic).
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Take a bath with Epsom’s salt before bed. I do this at least twice a week, and it makes such a huge difference. Epsom’s salt relaxes your muscles and soothes tension.
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Create a nighttime ritual. Choose your bed time and become consistent with this time. Allow yourself a nighttime ritual. Some women struggle to wash their face and brush their teeth at night because they don’t have a consistent bed time and end up falling asleep on the couch. Decide the right time for you and plan your evening so you are in bed by this time. Keep a Gratitude journal by your bed and write four things you are grateful for every evening.
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Avoid caffeine, sugar and anything stimulating several hours before going to bed. Have a warm cup of caffeine free herbal tea instead.
You deserve the best night’s sleep. Enjoy the process of creating your bedroom in a way to make it feel most comfortable and relaxing to you. Sleep well sleeping beauty!
I invite you to share how you have created your ultimate sleeping experience by posting a comment here on my blog.
