Are You In The Game?

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”― Theodore Roosevelt

I heard this quote Sunday on Super Soul Sunday (OWN)…and I did the happy dance! This is to all of you women who are out there trying to do your best to fulfill your purpose and are coming under fire from those who ridicule, accuse, criticize, blame or bully you. While you may not always get it right or do it perfectly, at least you are in the game. So D.T.I.P. (Don’t Take It Personally) when your critics start running their mouths!!

Oh by the way..Oprah’s guest said “If you’re not in the arena getting your butt kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.“…OMG! I agree totally with that statement and I just love it! 

It doesn’t matter how evolved you are, there are times when you are wrongly accused and blamed by others, especially those you’ve tried to help, that it doesn’t feel good deep within. What your accusers don’t know is that it takes a lot of courage and a whole lot of moxy to not to just get in the game, but to stay in the game. 

Each time you submit a blog, stand in front of a crowd to speak or sing, release a new a book,  coach or serve a client, create a new product, launch a new program, you run the risk of being ridiculed, bullied, blamed, and even mocked. And yet, you still remain in the game. Why? Because it’s who you are and it’s because you are passionate about what you do.  And the real reason? Because you care and you do give a darn!

It’s not about the money…and it never has been. If it was about the money, I am sure you can find easy ways to earn money. It’s because you have an unquencheable fire in your belly to do what you do. It’s because you know somewhere deep inside you that this is what you were born to do. That’s why you endure the naysayers. This is why you stay the course when others speak ill of you and try to say how you could be doing it better. And of course you know you could be doing it better. We call can do it better and one day we all will. But until now, we will do what we can and that is enough because at least we are in the game.

Beautiful woman, hold you head of up high, square your shoulders back and swing those curvy hips just a little bit more. So what you don’t have degrees behind your name?  So what you have not had as much training and skill as the other woman? So what your website is not as extravagant and your business cards are plain? Stop comparing, because your heart is as big as the sky and you are on fire! People will travel miles to watch you burn!! And at least you are in the game…so just keep playing!!

If you happen to be one of the critics who tend to put others down for not doing as great of a job as you feel they should, stop it right now. Atone for it. Don’t blame yourself, just be aware of this behavior and change it. Ask for where you maybe able to offer help and then get in the game and be willing to take the risks and the hits in order to make a difference. That’s what real leaders do. Because at the end of the day, we all want the same thing. A world filled with love, joy, unity, abundance and peace! And it’s our job to make sure it happens. Isn’t it?

It's Inevitable!

Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.”–Glenda Cloud

Women are starting to notice somethings about their lives. They are beginning to pay attention to what’s showing up in their lives, to who’s showing up and why.

I truly believe this awakening among us is happening because we are starting to believe that somewhere within each of us is a powerful, magnificent, fabulous creative being that’s capable of so much more than we’ve allowed ourselves to experience. We are coming to know that we do have the power to change our lives and we now have the intense desire to go along with it.

Before now, we have been deceived into believing that we couldn’t have it all. We couldn’t be loving wives, wonderful mothers and a successful career women all at the same time. We’ve somehow held the belief that something would have to suffer if we attempted it all and for many women something did suffer. Or shall I say someone? And that someone was us.

In our pursuit to be the “I’m Every Woman”, we’ve forgotten about ourselves…until now. After experiencing feelings of isolation, loneliness, a sense of loss, feeling invisible and even feelings of being used…used up until empty, we are now declaring our truths.

We are ready to rewrite our scripts and this time on our own terms with intention, truth, purpose, clarity and love. Love for ourselves first because we now recognize that we start solving our problems when we start loving ourselves.  

We’re taking risks that we would have never taken before. We are joining tribes and communities of other like minded women, when in past times we allowed ourselves to be isolated and disconnected. 

We are moving in the directions of our passions and our dreams. Doing what expands us, what inspires us and what liberates us and makes our hearts leap with joy! 

Can you feel this movement taking place among us women? We’re becoming more engaged in our communities because we realize that we are the ones who will save them. We understand the power we have when we stand together, when we collaborate, when we hold each other up, when we cooperate instead of compete and when we include instead of exclude. I love what’s happening among women. I am excited and I am thrilled! 

Yet, I also know there are many of our sisters out there feeling this yearning, but have not taken the first step.  They can’t seem to find the courage to move forward. And much of this is because they are still afraid and they don’t know how…they simply don’t know where to begin.

They want to so badly to move from where they are and they want so badly to experience something different in their lives. For many, they just don’t know what that “something” is. They haven’t been able to dream for a long time. Yet, these women are ready once and for all to release what’s holding them back and to welcome fulfilling and meaningful experiences into their lives.

If this is you my dear sister, here’s what I would say to you…It’s YOUR TIME!! So jump…take the leap…and grow your wings on the way. 

George Shinn said, “Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.”

You’ve got to be willing take some risk and do something new. Something like reach out and get a mentor/coach, someone you trust and is skilled enough to show you the way. Someone who will see you can you can be and someone who believe in you when you can’t believe in yourself.  I want to be that person for you. The one who will stand with you and for you when you can’t stand for yourself. Connect with me today.

The next step is to get engage in a tribe or community of women who are moving in the same direction. When you are engaged in such a community, it opens and expands you to what’s possible for your life. It offers you a safe space to simply be. The Love Story Women Circle is that such place. My diamond members will hold your hand, walk the path with you and help you to be all that you can be…

Remember, if you play it safe in life, you’ve decided that you don’t want to grow any more. That’s not who or where you are today. 

If you’re ready and open to change and discovering your authentic self, do something TODAY that reinforces this intention. Then get ready to experience new levels of awareness and insights to what’s possible for you and your life. Your life can be as you’ve dreamed it could be…it’s inevitable!