Courageously Moving Into 2011
I welcomed in 2011 with a quiet dinner and contemplation.
Perhaps it was the 43C (109F) evening that was the deciding factor between heading into the city to join in the celebrations and festivities (read beer and more beer, wine and spirits) with the usual suspects or staying home in the cool Adelaide Hills.
As is my custom and habit I use the first week of January to set the course for the coming 12 months.
This comes in the form of writing down on a sheet of unlined paper five important goals I want to achieve, covering all aspects including career, personal relationships and finances, health and spirituality. I sign and date this document that I like to call my memorandum of understanding. I then put this in my pocket book that I have with me every day.
However, this will be unlike previous years in that I stopped in my tracks when I sat down to put fountain pen (there is something magical about writing the old fashioned way) to paper.
I examined the underlying reason(s) for wanting to achieve each goal and I must say, took the time to squarely look at the why for listing it. These are very important personal goals and there is only so much room at the inn.
So, some honest appraisal and self interrogation ensued and the realizations that dawned on me were that my goals:
1) Are a reflection of my current state of being
2) Can be driven either by FEAR (False Expectation Appearing Real) or courage
The nerdy kid in me has always had a fascination for etymology (the study of the origins and history of words) so a quick on line search found how the word “courage” came into being.
Courage: from Old French corage, from couer or heart
Noun
1. the power or quality of dealing with or facing danger, fear, pain, etc
2. the courage of one’s convictions the confidence to act in accordance with one’s beliefs
3. take one’s courage in both hands to nerve oneself to perform an action
Courage is an acknowledgement of goals that emanate from my heart and are accompanied by a deep sense of conviction that they are in keeping with my highest purpose.
Courage means that these goals require wholehearted commitment to see them come to fruition.
Courage means experiencing a feeling of peace that the decision to set into motion a course of action is aligned with my heart.
May 2011 be the year you found your heart (courage).
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
The Power of Why
Today we examine that all important aspect of “WHY”
If you were asked why you would want to be wealthy, do you have an answer that goes beyond the usual responses of “I want to provide for myself and family” or “I want to never have to worry about paying my bills”?
If you do not have a good enough reason, all your efforts at building your business may not be sustainable.
May I suggest that the extra something that powers you along your wealth creation journey needs to be bigger than just you.
What more can you as a wife and mother do to help, heal and protect those who are defenseless and not in the position yet to take care of themselves?
Challenge this statement if you wish but would you agree that women are nurturers and protectors of the weak and less capable.
So how can you make a difference, create an impact that will be felt for generations to come.
Consider the power of philanthropy and use your fabulous wealth to make a change for the better for those around you.
In 2006 Professor Mohammad Yunus, known as the “Banker to the Poor” was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for championing the concept of microcredit lending to the poor of Bangladesh.
Traditional banks shunned and classified these borrowers who were predominantly women as credit risks. He saw first hand how they were forced to use the services of loan sharks to run their businesses and therefore be forever trapped in the vicious poverty cycle.
He was that someone who believed in these entrepreneurs, and offered them near zero interest loans through Grameen Bank. Interestingly enough the default rates were next to negligible. In a moving interview, he describes how these women had tears in their eyes when receiving their money, because for the first time in their lives, some one believed in them.
President Barack Obama honored Professor Yunus with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 for his work as “an agent of change”.
I recently watched a Youtube clip of Barbara Stanny, the author of “Prince Charming isn’t Coming” who said, “Columbus may have discovered America but the expedition was financed by a woman (Queen Isabella of Spain)”
Do not underestimate the power of “WHY”