Transform Your Emotional DNA “Understanding The Blueprint Of Your Life”
People create their own reality. Sadly, many fail to create a reality that truly fulfills personal needs or can live up to their dreams or expectations. Limiting belief systems and identities are deeply rooted, and when they no longer serve a purpose in life, it becomes time to eliminate and replace them with new beliefs that will create new experiences. Every now and then, a book comes out that is a trailblazing effort on a timely subject. “Transform Your Emotional DNA” by Theresa Dale, Ph.D., is a stand out in its category. In an era when mind-body interaction and its relationship to health is a primary concern, this work clearly and vividly explains how to take control of the “blueprint of your life.“
Expanding on research done by pioneers such as Dr. Reinholdt Voll in Germany, Dr. Dale explains how emotions maintain different energy patterns in the body. If these are overloaded and disturbed, they cause disease. Further, she explains how the DNA code itself contains patterns that may lead to everything from heart disease to cancer.
Dr. Dale’s message is one of hope. “The good news is that you can change disease patterns and life conditions if you act on your desire to change.” That is the essential belief that Dr. Dale feels everyone can adopt, and in doing so, turn their life around. In her book she shows us how to go about doing this.
Click Here: Theresa Dale’s Guide To Change
Dr. Dale also explains how resistance to feeling deeply embedded personal emotions can lead to illness. She believes, first and foremost, that an individual who is in touch with their own emotions is truly taking responsibility towards having a better life.
It is the accomplishment of this remarkable work that Dr. Dale de-mystifies a subject as weighty as DNA. She vividly describes, and as the reader literally comes to feel, that Deoxyribonucleic Acid — or DNA, as it is popularly known — is something within reach to understand and change. After all, DNA is life itself and as individuals are daily constructing life events, DNA is the blueprint on which everything is built.
A common expression often heard is “I’m sick and tired.” Those who say it most likely are, or will come to be. Usually when people statements such as these, they are focusing on the negative and experiencing some kind of stress or emotional aggravation. Heightened emotional states, especially the negative ones, create a perfect breeding ground for illness. It was through Dr. Dale’s practice that she began to note the increasingly obvious relationship between resistance to experiencing feelings and emotions, and the state of disease.
“Transform Your Emotional DNA” is a self-help book like no other. The exercises quiet the mind and allow space where there was merely chatter. In just minutes, the reader can learn practical ways for releasing lingering emotions. For example, practicing certain conscious breathing exercises such as The Bliss Exercise can help bring balance and refreshment. This is only a glimpse at what this knowledge will bring to you.
Click Here: Get Theresa Dale’s Life Changing Work
What Women Want
Women are sexual beings, yes, this is a truth we already know. But another truth is the double standard in our society and the ease with which ‘man’ can essentially do as he pleases. Meanwhile, women are left to struggle beneath the magnifying glass as men are glorified for their sexual conquests. The question is then, where do these double standards come from? And the answer lies within history. From the beginning of time women have been portrayed as the docile sex. We are demure, sensitive and highly emotional, often being accused of irrationality. Then we are described as being left to fight the uncontrollable sexual desires and advances of men. So this is how we are categorized… and then placed neatly at our spot in the home or at the reception desk.
Thankfully though, over the years in a tough battlefield women have been able to rectify their spot in society and contribute to our constantly growing culture. We are almost seen as equal. There is one unfortunate aspect that is still at the forefront, and that’s the struggle to be recognized as highly sexual beings. A very important issue is that most women are unsure of their own sexuality and feed into the societal norms of female sexuality. We let men dominate with their self-proclaimed sexual energy and insatiable desire to ‘fuck her.’
Journalist Daniel Bergner has just released his second book on female sexuality and opens the discussion to hopefully paint a true picture of whatfemale sexuality actually is: sordid, ravenous and animalistic. Bergner’s book, “What Do Women Want?” is a collection of scientific findings, interviews and observations that really re-examine women as sexual beings. He unearths information through science, history and scrutiny to debunk the unnatural assumption that men are ‘hardwired’ to be more sexual than women. According to Bergner, women are NOT more docile and may actually be less committed to monogamy, while also being harder to satisfy.
So why is it now that people are just beginning to figure out this nonsense and why hasn’t anyone ever noticed that we are wildly diverse? It’s because men are scared of what women may achieve if our true Eros is ever unleashed. In many interviews, Bergner made mention of a few male friends who had read his book and felt deeply ‘concerned’, while other male friends mentioned it ‘scared the bejesus out of him.’ A lot can be taken from these reactions, as well as from the normal Western Judeo/Christian views on female sexuality that have barely budged.
Men have been dictating on our behalf what our desires should be, how we should react to certain situations, how we should feel and what we should do with our sexuality. If they are concerned now then it is us who should be feeling empowered. As teenagers and young 20-somethings, a lot of us have been told that women don’t like sex; we do it as sort of a trade off. If we wanta loving, monogamous husband and beautiful children then we must submit sexually. Our desires are not important and we really should not be acting upon them. It’s also been noted in history that men tried to dampen and constrain women’s sexual energy by discouraging fantasy, which they rely on to keep the energy high.
Within the book, Bergner also discusses a lot of social constructs and uses them as an excuse for women’s lack of sexuality in their everyday life. He says social structures can blind us to reality, with monogamy being one of the major culture cages that distorts our of understanding female desire. Now, there is nothing wrong with monogamy and there are plenty of happy and successful relationships that are based on it, but to say that women only strive for a relationship with a one man as their end-all-be-all is completely incorrect.
Monogamy can even be blamed for the flagging sex drive in women over 40. According to Bergner, even the hormonal decrease of menopause can be entirely overridden by the appearance of a new sexual partner. He mentions psychologist Kim Wallen’s discovery of the “thought that monogamy was, forwomen, a cultural cage — one of many cultural cages — [that] distorts libido.”
These findings are only the beginning to a long journey of sexual exploration. Pick up the book and encourage other women to read it too. This information is powerful and can help women reach complete equality. As for enhancing your libido now, why not try a few of this tips…
· Watch Porn – Just like men, we love anything visually appealing and what’s hotter than watching someone else get it on… or someone else enact the fantasies we most want ourselves? Watching porn can get our blood pumping and open our eyes to the variety of sex out there. Porn can help us discoverwhat we didn’t already know and may even introduce us to a fantasy we never knew we had. Our sexuality is constantly changing and constantly progressing.
· Be a Flirt – Even if you’re attached, try flirting with the hot bartender on your girl’s night. It will be thrilling and can spark a passion within you that has been itching to ignite. If you aren’t attached, go as far as getting his number. You aren’t that shy and you aren’t that docile. Break out of the shell society has placed you in and explore your sexuality. You may find a sultry new side…
· Try Swinging – If you are with a partner suggest a swinger’s club. There are no expectations and everyone stays true to their comfort zone. It could be an eye-opening experience for you and your partner, and who knows, perhaps you will both learn something new. If you’re single, don’t feel bad about giving your number out to that guy, or exchanging a kiss with a stranger. Don’t be afraid of the labels of ‘whore’ or ‘slut.’ They are merely categories constructed by fearful people. You are a woman, you are strong and you are empowered.
· Act Out All Your Fantasies- Don’t be ashamed of something you want to try. There is nothing wrong with sexual fantasies as they are the life energy force that keeps our sexuality going. Just remember that there is no fantasy that is deviant or gross. Exploring our sexual side is completely natural and actually quite necessary. So next time you want to be tied up, or you want to do the tying up, don’t hesitate to bring it up to your partner.
· Back Off From Oral Contraceptives – There is considerable new research that shows negative side effects from the contraceptive pill, and one of them happens to be a lower libido. Women who take the pill will have lower testosterone, which regulates our sex drive.
Now that you’ve learned ways to get that libido up and running we suggest you put that sexy body to good use and go give them a try! Put your inner prude away and let the animal inside you come out. Meow!
A Being Beyond Your Body
In previous issues we have talked about the fabulous Victoria’s Secret Angels — their careers, their confidence, their fun spirit. These beautiful and graceful Angels are who many women want to be like, afterall sexy confidence sells. With exotic backgrounds, they have exciting careers traveling around the globe to exotic shoots while being spokeswomen for their brand. However, the question can be asked if these size zero women are actually inspiring or deflating to the average woman? I believe the answer can be both at times. These successful Angels are inspiring women. However, looking beautiful is their job and what they spend hours doing. That being said, you as a normal woman most likely have different responsibilities. You have a demanding job, maybe a significant other, and maybe a family that all need your attention while trying to remember to save a little time for yourself. When you start to compare yourself to airbrushed models, we may run into some problems.
In a TEDTalk given by Cameron Russell titled “Image is Powerful”, this Victoria’s Secret model talks about image and models. She considers herself lucky because models are models simply because they won “the genetic lottery” and fit the mold or “legacy” that society has set in place.
In her short talk Cameron says “image is superficial” because the pictures we see in magazines and advertisements are not portraying the models themselves but rather “constructions” by photographers, makeup artists, and hair stylists building a certain image. After showing several photos of her from past shoots she says “that is not me” because it was an image created of her rather than a real portrayal of herself. Cameron contrasts pictures of her on the day of the photoshoot with what she was transformed into the day of the photoshoot. Her photo shoots produced images of a much older and more sexualized woman than the young woman she actually was at the time. So next time you start comparing yourself to anyone else, remember Cameron’s words about these created images: photos can play to our fantasies rather than our realities.
Weeks ago Victoria’s Secret released their re-engineered “Body” line, a part of their cotton underwear line meant for all shapes and sizes. The tag line was “You have never seen ‘Body’s’ like this”. However, while showing a diversity of skin tone, Victoria’s Secret did not show a diversity of body size.
Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, which has been an ongoing effort for the past few years, can be contrasted with Victoria’s Secret’s approach. Dove can be thought of as the champion of the beauty of real women of all sizes. Their campaign picked up on a lack of self-esteem and a lack of positive body image among women. Understanding that there are naturally thin women out there, there are also naturally curvy women too. Instead of strictly size zero, Dove ads showed size four, six, and size twelve women.
However, dress sizes are all just numbers. You are more than a number that a retailer puts on you. The key lies in remembering to look beyond your body.As humans, we all HAVE a body but we ARE a soul. Your job is to foster your soul and spirit rather than solely the body. This really hit home to Janine Shepherd, an Australian Olympic-hopeful cross country skier. During a five hour training bike ride, she was hit by a truck and suffered life threatening wounds, broken bones, and a partially crushed spinal cord. In her TEDTalk, Janine talks about her recovery story. It was a battle between her mind and her body. Paralyzed from the waist down, the doctors surgically repaired her spinal cord but told her that she really would never walk again. As an athlete her body was everything to her. She asked herself if her life would ever have value again because she had lost all that had been of value to her. Sitting at home one day she was inspired by a plane flying overhead to become a pilot. Janine told herself, “If I can’t walk I might as well fly”. It was her inner drive and her unfailing spirit that drove her recovery and her new dream of being a pilot. Janine said, “My real strength never came from my body and although my physical capabilities have changed, who I am inside of me never changed“. She eventually regained mobility and passed her pilot’s test! After hearing her talk, I understood that there was no getting in her way and no stopping her lively spirit. Janine is such an inspiration to us all! In the time since her accident, Janine has come to understand the strength of her spirit, which she uses to empower others.
So just remember this for me: You are real. You are not a photographers “construction”. You are more than your dress size. You and your body have been through real challenges. You are a being with a special purpose. And lastly, you have great worth!
20 Minutes to Feeling Like You’re 20 Again
What if I told you that there is a way to not only exercise quickly but way more effectively AND that you would be releasing a “youth hormone” at the same time? Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn’t it?
I recently read about the Sprint 8 method of exercise in an interview with Dr. Mercola, of health and wellness fame, and Phil Campbell, a fitness expert with over 35 years experience in training professional athletes. It opened my eyes to a new and more effective way to get fit, with a commitment of 3 days a week for only 20 minutes. As a woman who runs it all and has very little free time, how could that not appeal to me?
Why you need to try this It turns out that the way many of us have been approaching cardio workouts isn’t going to necessarily give us the health benefits that we need. Here’s why:
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Your body has 3 kinds of muscle fiber: slow (red muscle which contains more oxygen), fast (white muscle), and super-fast (also white muscle). If you’re not working all 3, you are not working out your heart muscle completely.
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Your heart needs both aerobic and anaerobic exercise but if you are doing long, slow cardio exercises, you are not getting the anaerobic work-out that your heart needs – long distance running, long times on the elliptical machine or stationary bike etc. are just not going to get you there because they only work the slow muscle fibers.
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If you do not work your fast and super-fast muscle fibers, not surprisingly, they will atrophy ,which is a huge detriment to your overall health and fitness.
The fountain of youth Aside from the obvious cardiovascular benefits, the Sprint 8 method releases the human growth hormone (HGH) – something we produce in abundance in our youth, but which declines as we age. HGH can increase bone density, increase muscle mass, decrease body fat, and increase exercise capacity (MayoClinic.com). Doing Sprint 8 exercising can cause as much as a 530% increase in this growth hormone in your system, which actually mimics the effects of taking these hormones by injection.
Burn fat longer and better Working your fast and super-fast muscles and releasing all of that HGH causes it to stay in your blood stream and means that you continue to burn fat up to2 HOURS after you have finished exercising. Your body simply does not produce HGH after long, slow exercise.
Even doctors are convinced I know that none of us have time in our busy lives to fuss around with fad diets and exercise routines, which is why this final tidbit really got my attention. Both the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine are now recommending moderate intensive cardio 5 days a week for 30 minutes or vigorously intensive cardio for 20 minutes 3 days a week. It would seem that Mr. Campbell is really on to something. After all, as he points out in the interview with Dr. Mercola, which type of athlete looks healthier overall, the sprinter or the marathon runner? The physical differences are quite pronounced.
What you need to do Whether it’s an elliptical machine, treadmill, recumbent bike or any other method of exercise you choose, follow these same guidelines.
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Warm up for three minutes.
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Exercise as hard and fast as you can (sprint) for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn’t possibly go on another few seconds.
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Recover for 90 seconds.
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Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times.
Here are the positive signs you need to look for after your sprint time:
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Relative difficulty breathing or talking after your sprint because you are in oxygen debt.
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Profuse sweating, typically beginning in the second or third repetition.
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Rise in body temperature.
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Muscle “burn” caused by increase in lactic acid.
If you are out of shape or have any health concerns at all, please speak with your doctor before undertaking any new fitness routines. Dr. Mercola recommends starting with only 2 or 3 repetitions and working your way up to 8 gradually.
Once you’ve tried the Sprint 8 method you won’t look back. Well, maybe you will, but it will only be at your old photographs to help you see how youthful this method is making you look!
Age Proof Your Body
Healthy aging: Is there such a thing you ask?
We used to accept the aging process as inevitable and attributed those who seemed to age “better” as being lucky with genetics. Scientists have long tried to explain why some people outlive everyone else, while maintaining good health, even into very old age. They credit genes, exercise and diet, but never a clear answer. As a society today, it is NOT enough to have the technology to keep us alive longer – we demand to live healthy and vital lives! Yet, many of us do not. Often the diseases we associate with aging catch up with the best of us, despite our efforts; arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers of all sorts. Not to mention grey hair (or no hair!), wrinkles… OK I will stop!
Healthy aging is a relatively new term evolved from the concept of “anti-aging”. We are certain now we not only want to live longer, but live better! One significant scientific clue to achieving this is finally within sight – it lies in the tiny bits of DNA that cap the ends of our chromosomes, called telomeres. I have become fascinated with this discovery and how important it is to MY feeling and looking great – for longer!
Why do we age?
Aging begins with a vicious cycle of several factors – exposure to toxins, poor diet, chronic stress, inadequate sleep, inflammation, and so forth – that create a tremendous load of free radicals that damage our cells and DNA. We used to think our bodies kind of “wore out” while now, science has discovered that aging is a mix of this free radical cycle and genetic programming that drives a “clock” that ticks inside every single living cell in our bodies! This discovery has been thanks to a series of scientists beginning with Hermann Muller in the 30’s, Alexey Olovnikov in the early 1970’s, Bill Andrews of Sierra Sciences, and Elizabeth Blackburn (U of CA). Leonard Hayflick is responsible for determining there is a limit to how many times a cell can divide forming the idea of the “aging clock”.
This “aging clock” is telomere shortening. When telomeres get shorter, bad things happen…
The Quick Lowdown on How Telomeres and Aging are Linked:
Telomeres are the region of DNA at the end of each of our chromosomes. Similar to the plastic tip on the end of shoelaces, telomeres protect the DNA strand from becoming frayed and unravelling, which would create cellular dysfunction and lead to overall poor health. Our cells cannot replicate the telomere tips of our chromosomes, which get shorter and shorter every time our cells divide. When a cell’s telomeres get TOO short, its DNA become unstable, mutations occur and the cell is no longer able to divide. Ultimately, this leads to poor diminished health and acceleration of the symptoms we associate with aging.
Scientists discovered that our telomeres are protected by a powerful anti-aging enzyme produced by our own cells called “telomerase”; this enzyme rebuilds telomeres and more importantly, protects them from wearing down in the first place. [This discovery was made in 2009 by a team of scientists lead by Nobel laureate, Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California who has been studying telomeres and currently is behind a brand new longevity testing measuring the length of our telomeres to determine how old we really are and how many healthy years do we have ahead of us.] For my money I want to know more about what I CAN DO to keep my telomeres longer, for longer!
What Factors Shorten Telomeres and What will Protect Them?
Scientists are becoming more clear that telomere length is shortened by several factors: oxidative stress, weak immune system, chronic stress (cortisol), poor nutrition, and fatigue.
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Oxidative Stress : A huge factor in North American culture! This refers to the cumulative load on our body from toxicity which is pervasive from our food and water that we consume, the air we breathe…did you know that the average North American drinks over one gallon of pesticide a year? Yikes, that is horrifying to me who strives to be a “clean” eater in most ways! Solution: Choose organic whenever possible (google the “dirty dozen” and “the clean thirteen”); drink purified water; use whole body nutritional cleansing as a regular lifestyle choice to remove toxins; avoid chemicals; do not smoke (I know, enough said, you get it!).
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Fatigue: The average person requires 7-8 hours of restful sleep nightly; however, most of us get a fitful 5-6 hours. This chronic fatigue shortens our Telomeres. The hours of sleep we get between 10 PM and 2 AM also help us produce our own Human Growth Hormone (HGH) which is essential to healthy aging. This hormone begins to decrease at age 35! Solution: Try going to bed earlier and getting up at 6 AM to use those hours for productive organization and boost your HGH at the same time. Find a good sleep spray containing Melatonin and 5 HTP, both which will contribute to a deeper, more restful sleep. According to many researchers (Colgan Institute), many of us cease to produce adequate amount of our sleep hormone, Melatonin, after age 35. Manage stress (see below) since spiking Cortisol at 3-4 AM may cause pressure on your adrenal glands which push on your bladder waking you up.
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Chronic Stress: We were never meant to live in the lifestyle conditions that most of us do today with constant stress and the subsequent elevated levels of Cortisol associated with this. There are numerous studies that demonstrate that when we have cortisol surging chronically we damage our immune system’s ability to ward off disease and illness, we cannot lose body fat, in particular, the dangerous visceral fat around our organs. In my work as a trainer at women’s events on Balanced Living (I teach Nutrition, Hormones & Sexuality), I have observed that many women are in a perpetual state of “overwhelm”. The stresses do not go away and our coping mechanisms are often non-existent. Our Telomeres get shorter more quickly with this chronic, unmanaged stress load, according to studies by Blackburn and Psychologist Elissa Epel. Solution: While our daily stress may not disappear we are able to cope more effectively so that our cortisol does not spike. MEDITATION does help! I so understand that you hear this over and over and say, “when will I fit in 20 minutes a day of sitting with an empty mind? Like never”! I ask that you take just 5 minutes in the early morning and again at bedtime to simply sit comfortably, eyes open or shut and purposely quiet the mind chatter. This will help. Exercise will assist you in dealing with stress and also may contribute to longer Telomeres. Strive for 30 minutes, 5 times a week and incorporate resistance training. This is manageable and the effects are noticeable. Find a good adrenal support (adaptagens) to assist our hard working adrenal glands.
Where do we stand now?
Activating the Telomerase enzyme appears to be the healthy aging industry’s “Holy Grail”, according to a recent Maclean’s magazine article (May 27, 2013). Scientists are hot on the discovery trail of what compounds will increase this enzyme and subsequently support our telomeres in staying longer, for longer.
Right now there are 2 products that I am aware of on the market claiming to support Telomeres in retaining their length by activating the enzyme Telomerase. One is called TA 65 (TA Sciences) and is purported to have 1 active ingredient (Astragalus) that gives a “hit” on the telomerase. It costs approximately $600.00 for a month supply. The other is Product B (Isagenix) and they claim to have 6 active botanical ingredients that give a “hit” on the Telomerase enzyme. It costs ~$77.00 a month. Both have ingredients to boost the immune system. Until researchers provide some hard-core clinical data testing Telomere length “before and after”, the jury is out on whether these products do what they claim. As someone who researches nutrition thoroughly though, I opt for the Isagenix Product B because the ingredients support overall health and for $77.00 a month I am willing to hedge my bets on keeping my Telomeres longer, for longer!Commit to managing the key factors within your control to minimize the shortening of your telomeres. Optimal nutrition, exercise and managing high stress are the top three and I also use natural botanical compounds to improve immune system and assist the body in supporting telomere health. Add in a supplementation for activating your Telomeraze enzyme and you are covering your bases on healthy aging!
Stay tuned for what is next in the realm of healthy aging breakthroughs!
The Missing Pieces of YOUR Success Picture
Suzanne Evans is a force to be reckoned with!
She is a coach and consultant who teaches over 30,000 women in her wealth and business building program (https://womenwhorunit.com/HellYeahMarketing), she transformed herself from a secretary who was $100,000 in debt to “multi-millionairess” – surpassing the 7 figure mark in only 3 years! Her company was ranked by INC. as #225 of the 500 fastest growing companies of 2012 and again this year in 2013. She is an entrepreneur, a role model, a businesswoman, a performer, a loving partner, a lover of the finer things in life (including Manolo Blahniks), and… she can swear like a trucker (in other words, she’s my kind of woman!). She is truly a woman who runs it, which is why I was thrilled to get her to talk leadership, mentorship, and some of her surprising keys to achieving business success.
What came out of our conversation were a few expletives, a good laugh or two, and some of what I consider to be several of the most important questions any woman in business should ask herself and therefore I asked of Suzanne:
“Do you recognize a mentor when you see one?”
Not a ridiculous question when you consider how some women view mentorship in business today. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg spoke in her book ‘Lean In’ about younger women, building their careers, who seem to be under the illusion that finding a mentor will be the key to their own success and who go about aggressively pursuing those who they feel can fill that role for them. Suzanne felt that was a “forced, misguided approach and that mentorship comes about in a much more organic way.”
Suzanne embodies those sentiments in her own life, feeling that women need to realize that mentors come in all forms and are of all ages. Recognizing those who have truly mentored you comes with age and maturity. Suzanne not only attributes her own hard-working entrepreneurial parents for teaching her to persevere and achieve, but recognizes mentors from throughout her life – from a famous basketball coach she admired when she was 8, to a manager she worked under in her teens who taught her to be a great and motivational leader, to a college professor who taught her how to be a person that other people truly wanted to be around.
Some of Suzanne’s current mentors include those she has never met; authors she has studied, even those whose own core ideas may seem diametrically opposed to her own. She attributes keeping an open mind and employing a good filter in order to “take what is useful to you and your business from those who you may have otherwise dismissed”. If you can be open to mentorship coming from new and unexpected sources, you can be opening yourself up to a world of knowledge and experience.
“Do you believe that hard work equals rewards?”
Again, a question whose answer may seem self-evident but it can be easy to confuse “do what you love” with “work less, be a success.” After all, our society is all about taking the easy road and the quick path. The brutal truth is that there is still no replacement for good, old fashioned hard work. Suzanne attributes her own unprecedented work ethic to her entrepreneurial parents who always committed to doing whatever it took to achieve their goals, believing that with hard work, you will always get what you need when you most need it. Suzanne herself feels that you do not need to be the smartest person in business, the most talented or skilled, but you do need to ‘outwork’ everyone around you. She quotes actor Will Smith (again, a mentor in an unlikely place) who said “The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked, period… You’re getting off first, or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple, right?”
“How do you deal with pressure?”
The fact is that if you are looking for success in the corporate world or as an entrepreneur, you are at times going to be put under a lot of pressure. Do you perform under pressure or does it paralyze you? Are you a slow and steady person or do you thrive under deadlines and crunches?
Suzanne describes herself as a “pressure perform” personality, to the point where she admits that for her “nothing good comes out of planning.” For all the great plans and long-term forecasts, when it comes to crunch time, she will always go with the flow because she believes that her best results come from spontaneity. But – and this is crucial, no matter your style – the key for Suzanne has been to learn her boundaries and her tipping point, where she knows that she needs to step away from a situation. If you have been working on adrenaline, if you are making that sprint to the finish line, know when it is time to bow out and have a beer!
“Are you a dreamer or a realist?”
If you think there is just one answer to this, you would be wrong. Suzanne makes a strong point for being both. Realism means knowing the financials, managing your staff, knowing how to run a business, working hard. But it is the innovators, the dreamers and the creators who truly make things happen. She again quoted Will Smith, who says “Being realistic is the fastest path to mediocrity.” (as she said – it must be Will Smith day). Letting your dreams seep through the cracks of reality, that’s where the magic happens.
Suzanne spoke about reading Suze Orman’s book Women and Money, specifically a chapter on how to know when to give up on your business. She laughed and told me she was grateful she hadn’t read the book 5 years previously because she may have very well given up based on Orman’s advice. But, the dream was too big to let go. Suzanne persevered, and look where it has taken her. Dreamers and innovators she believes, change the world – and these are two things at which women, in particular, excel!
Be Proud of Your Body, No Matter What
What is a healthy body image? There is a contrast in today’s culture that doesn’t give a clear answer to this age-old question. If you pay attention to popular culture you’ll already know that there are so many mixed messages about beauty for women. There’s a surge of companies with campaigns for “normal” women, the most well-known being Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, as well as movements for body peace. On the flip side, actresses still have thin bodies, advertisements feature beautiful “perfect” looking women and working out to look fantastic in a bikini is a prominent feature of women’s magazines.
There is so much contradiction out there that it’s hard for women to learn to love their bodies the way they are. Why would we be okay being on the curvy side when all of the sexiest women in the world look like Anna Kournikova? Men drool over pinup pictures of skinny women in bikinis and fantasize about spending a day at the Playboy mansion. It’s no wonder, then, that women are constantly trying to look skinnier and need a bit of reassurance from body peace campaigns.
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Mainstream “Fat Shaming”
In a world where obesity is considered a national epidemic and there are countless campaigns targeting obesity, it’s hard to feel comfortable being more curvy or bigger boned. Everyone is on the anti-obesity bandwagon, pushing for healthier diets everywhere and more active lifestyles. Even fast food restaurants, notorious for contributing to obesity, have begun to make small changes like putting calorie counts on their menus. This, of course, is a good thing because obesity is a serious health risk.
The problem with this lies in the classification of obese. Many people who are bigger are seen to be obese, even if they aren’t overweight at all. Just because someone isn’t skinny doesn’t mean she’s overweight, and that’s what people don’t realize because we’ve always been told that anyone who isn’t skinny is ugly or fat. This is definitely not the case. Just because someone is plus sized does not mean that they’re fat.
Mainstream media doesn’t help lessen the “fat shaming” at all. How many movies have you seen that have a lead female character that isn’t skinny? Even if you can think of one, think of how she was portrayed and what the media said about her. Melissa McCarthy was recently called a “hippo” and “tractor sized” by film critic Rex Reed regarding her role in the movie “Identity Thief.” Even though she is a successful actress, she is still being called out on her body size instead of her acting talent. This is why the body peace campaigns will not work until everyone in the media is on board.
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Dove Versus Victoria’s Secret: the Body Image Showdown
Recently a photo went viral of Dove’s “Real Beauty Campaign” where underneath was a photo of Victoria’s Secret “Love my Body Campaign.” There is a noticeable difference in these pictures, particularly the body type of the women featured. In Dove’s picture the women are full-figured and curvy, while the Victoria’s Secret women are noticeably slimmer. Is it really fair to compare these ads, though?
The debate surrounding this viral image is that women are being pitted against each other. Curvy women are hating on skinnier women, and vice versa. Both of these brands produce products that will make you feel beautiful no matter what your body type is. Making your skin glow with Dove products and wearing a sexy nightgown from Victoria’s Secret have the same effect on your self-image, just in different ways. There is no right answer when it comes to this debate.
This also goes for the sayings like, “real women have curves” that are found all over the Internet. This is essentially propaganda for this war between skinny and curvy women. Saying this is feeding the fire for women of different body types to be against each other, when in reality women should be working together to stop these attitudes. The idea of “real” women being more curvy or voluptuous is offensive to women who are naturally thin. All women are “real” women and should be celebrated.
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Skinny Women Have Body Image Issues Too
There’s a common stereotype out there that thin women are snobby and full of themselves, and curvier women are self conscious and over-friendly. This is so wrong ladies! Tall, thin women have their own share of body image worries, just like some curvier women don’t have a problem with their bodies at all. When people comment on too-thin women saying they are “just skin and bones” or “disgustingly thin” it is just as hurtful as fat shaming.
In fact, thin women are often more likely to have an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s a young girl’s disease, either, because at least 10 percent of women over the age of 40 have an eating disorder. In fact, one of the main causes of eating disorders for women in their 30’s and older is due to a poor body image that stems from trying to maintain the standards set out by today’s culture. When you look at Hollywood celebrities who are in this age group it’s hard not to be concerned, but people often forget how much work has gone into making Cindy Crawford look fabulous at age 47.
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“Healthy” is Not a Certain Body Type
If you ask someone what their preferred body type for a woman is, the majority of people will not say “skinny.” They’ll say “healthy.” In fact, women with a little more meat on their bones aren’t unhealthy at all, despite what popular culture might have you believe. Some women have bigger bones and larger body frames, and there’s nothing they can do to change that. As long as you’re eating healthy and exercising, you are healthy and beautiful the way you are.
If a man is only attracted to skinny, “perfect” looking bodies then he’s shallow and not worth your time! So don’t waste time worrying about what your body looks like to your significant other. All that matters is that you’re happy and confident with yourself. The right person will love you for who you are, and will be attracted to you no matter what your body looks like.
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Moving Forward With a Healthy Body Image
Credit does have to be given to some of the game changers out there. The previously mentioned Melissa McCarthy is among some successful actresses who have plus sized body types and are proud of it. While there’s still a long way to go, these ladies are paving the way for progress.
Women’s magazines that include fashion sections all have a “dress for your body type” attitude. They showcase different clothes for different body types, allowing all kinds of readers to find what works for them. The only problem is that sometimes they don’t include all of the possible body types or allow for a combination of body types. For example, if you’re curvy and petite like me, you’re going to have an awful time trying to find out which clothing works for both aspects. However, it’s still a step in the right direction when it comes to incorporating all body types. Plus sized clothing is also more stylish than ever, which is a huge bonus!
So don’t be jealous of other women who you think might have a more perfect body than yours, because they probably don’t even think that about their own body. In fact, they might even be jealous of you! There is no definition of a perfect body because everyone is different and what’s perfect to someone might not be the same to someone else. Your loved ones and the people who matter the most truly don’t care what your body looks like because they love you for who you are.
Not everyone looks like a Victoria’s Secret Angel, and that’s okay. You are still beautiful, strong and powerful the way you are. You don’t have to have a perfect body to be fabulous! You’re fabulous already!
Magazines And Your Mental Health!
Every day standing in the checkout line or walking by a newsstand we encounter magazines. The glossy pages promise us solutions to problems we may not even know we had (yet are eager to fix such gaffes). Much contained between the cover pages is actually some form of advertising. Photoshopped celebrities line these covers offering us glamorous distortions of reality. But what is all of this doing to your mental health? Check out the link below to see what we uncovered!
Just Click on the PNG image below or Click here for Magazines And Your Mental Health! – PDF. Share it with your friends and remember confidence is the new sexy!
5 Reasons To MOOC
Mid-life career challenges or career change often calls for developing new skills, discovering career fields that resonate with you, or sharpening your learning curve. One opportunity that is easy to overlook: Take a free MOOC course.
If you’ve been anywhere on the planet recently, you probably know about MOOCs. MOOC stands for Massive Online Open Courses (Source: Wikipedia). Professors from top universities have been offering courses online through ventures such as edX and Coursera. Some have started offering certificates to people who complete the requirements, take exams and follow specific procedures to document participation.
MOOCs are delivered as a combo of video and audio: a professor lectures into the camera and you hear the sound via computer (I prefer headphones myself).
Besides video lectures, you get a host of materials: access to background reading (sometimes at no cost except download and printing), quizzes to keep on track, exams, and discussion forums. The quality of the forums varies widely and all the tests and quizzes are optional. You can commit seriously to a course or two or dabble in half a dozen.
MOOCs can become addictive, if you’re the kind of person who always wanted to be a permanent student. Many people find they’re turning to MOOCs instead of their formerly favorite television program.
MOOCs are not for everyone. If you’re a totally visual learner, you learn by reading. In that case you can take notes and refer to your notes afterward. If you’re an auditory learner, you’re in luck.
All that aside, here are 5 reasons to MOOC:
1) Learn a marketable skill. If you’re disciplined and motivated you can get free training in programing as well as other skills. Coursera has offered Python programing. Udemy offers a wide variety of online courses at moderate investments on topics like Adobe Photoshop, web development and social media for startups.
2) Fire up your brain. We rarely engage in conceptual thinking or get out of our intellectual comfort zone after finishing school (lawyers and some other fields excepted). After a few online courses, don’t be surprised to find you’re thinking differently and asking new questions. You might find your grasping new material more easily and confidently (especially if you choose challenging courses).
3) Expand your creativity. Creativity thrives on change and novelty.When I study a topic that’s far removed from marketing and business, I get more ideas for my business.
4) Prepare for a degree or certificate program. Are you thinking of signing up for a degree program? Getting an industry certificate? If you’ve been out of school awhile, you might be a little concerned about getting back into the study groove. MOOCs are risk-free: you’ll get used to digesting new material and responding to test questions (if you choose to take the quizzes and tests).
5) Recognize your true interests and aptitudes. Do you find yourself drawn to courses in literature, social sciences, or science? Even if you’re an omnivorous course taker, you’ll find you tend to read certain material faster and do the assignments in some courses more readily than in others.
Of course responding to a course isn’t necessarily a predictor of satisfaction for careers in that field. I know many people who hated their professional training but loved their careers afterward.
Still, you’ll realize that your brain naturally grooves in some courses and not others.
For instance, programming requires a strong attention to detail and high frustration tolerance. Much as I’d love to be a techie, I suspect it’s just not in the cards for me. Social sciences – understanding how people act and why they make choices – remains my true niche.
Angels Have the Most Fun
It’s been said many times that bad girls have all the fun. Those leather wearing, hard partying, rock n’ roll ladies may have fun, but we’re sure it can really wear a woman out. We think the true path is the one of the angel. The angel has long been seen as a boring cherub who follows all those silly rules that society has laid out for them but think about another kind of angel, the Victoria’s Secret Angel. These sexy, gorgeous and infectiously fun ladies are who we want to be and we’ll show you why you will find yourself thinking the same!
To begin with, the beautiful Angels are representatives for one of the most amazing companies! Victoria`s Secret began when Roy Raymond found himself embarrassed to buy beautiful lingerie in department stores for his wife. In 1977 he decided to open up his own store in Stanford, California and so, Victoria`s Secret was born. It blossomed into a mail order catalogue and three more stores before being sold to its current owners, Limited Brands. Since Limited Brands has taken over, Victoria’s Secret has become the super brand we know it as today. Thanks to its new owners we’ve seen the birth of the Angels, the first fashion shows, the expansion of the line and Victoria’s Secret’s launch into super stardom.
Since its inception Victoria’s Secret has expanded in many, many ways. It went from being a strictly bra and panties line, to one that includes sleepwear, beauty products, shoes and bathing suits. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion show is one of the year’s biggest anticipated shows and never fails to stun and amaze. The show is responsible for 5 billion dollars in sales for Victoria’s Secret each year. This multi-billion dollar company has even branched into products for the younger crowd with their PINK line. This brand covers all the bases and makes you feel sexy while doing it!
The most impressive thing that Victoria’s Secret has birthed? The beautiful Angels of course! In 1998 when the first angel wings appeared on the runway we could never have guessed that it would have created the phenomena that we know of today. These gorgeous ladies are people that we want to be and we think you’ll want to be just like them too. Let us tell you why! 1. These ladies don’t hold back their sexuality
The Victoria’s Secret Angels aren’t afraid to be sexy. They may be good girls but they also don’t try to hide the fact that they are indeed, women. They wear those beautiful outfits with confidence and a huge smile on their faces. They’re saying “Yeah I’m hot, yeah I’m half naked and guess what, it’s fun!” They keep it classy and fun by blowing kisses at the end of the runway and dancing around the performers on their way to strike a pose. We wish we could be stomping around up there with them while they show off those gorgeous bods. 2. They’re fun!
Don’t you just want to be friends with Miranda Kerr? Or Candice Swanepeol? Or any of those gorgeous ladies bouncing their way down the runway? So often we see models as boring stick figures with monotone facial expressions as they make their way to the end of the runway. The Angels aren’t having any of that. They smile, wave, pose and laugh their way down the catwalk. These ladies aren’t just human clothing hangers, they are half the show! 3. They are amazing career women
The Angels are the original supermodels. They become household names and are able to gracefully glide from one career move to the next. Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks were both able to create and host successful shows afterwards. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley stunned in the third Transformers movie and other models have beautifully graced the covers of Vogue and the like. Besides this, they spend time jet-setting all over the world to promote their brand. Boy they must be tired! 4. They’re great role models
The modeling industry is one that has been known for promoting unhealthy body images. Now, let’s be honest, I’m sure very few of us were born with Behati Prinsloo’s body or even have the ability to achieve it. These women are basically beautiful freaks of nature but it’s not something that they don’t work for. The Victoria’s Secret Angels are frequent gym-goers. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Miranda Kerr and Adriana Lima are just a couple of the ladies who you can frequently find sweating it out inside of a gym. 5. They know that they can have it all!
These ladies do not let their busy careers hold them back from having everything that they want. Adriana Lima, Miranda Kerr and Heidi Klum are amazing mothers who quickly found themselves back on the runway after having their babies. Besides their amazing ability to get back into runway shape, you constantly see the Angels who are mothers toting their tots around happily. They all seem like very hands-on mothers. Besides their beautiful babies, these ladies sure know how to catch a stud. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is currently dating super-hunk Jason Statham, Miranda Kerr is married to Orlando Bloom and hotties Adam Levine and Leonardo DiCaprio have dated a handful of Angels between them. These girls are every man’s dream!
So now that we’ve convinced you of how seriously amazing being an Angel is, we want to help you become one! As part of our Ultimate Sweepstakes from Women Who Run it we’re giving away an amazing Victoria’s Secret Prize pack. You get the Modal PJ Set, The AfterHours Satin Pajama Set and the Victoria’s Secret Signature Graphic Sleepshirt. You’ll be climbing into bed looking like your favorite Angel.
TO ENTER CLICK HERE:
Bad girls definitely don’t have all the fun! Angels are sexy, fun, fierce and complete alpha females. We think you’ll find yourself wanting to get into the good books now too!