Success Isn't for the Weak

Whether you have owned a business for years, just starting one, or a leader in some way, we all have strengths and weaknesses.  As I described in my book, Max Out I Want It All, strengths are the traits that help you excel in your talents and weaknesses are the traits that hinder your progress with your talents. One way in planning for success in the gifted area you lead is getting to know you. Until you are real with yourself, you are unable to help and lead others. When you can identify your weaknesses you will no longer be blind to the things that hinder you from your business goals. The reason these traits are so important with identifying yourself as a person and a leader is because are key elements in the outlook of your success.

Two ways you can minimize your weaknesses are:

1. Act on your Gift - How do you act on your talent? Acting on your gifts with your strengths is what will bring you the desired success. Operating through your weaknesses is a door opener for a weight to hold you back. Weaknesses build obstacles that keep you from your potential! Acting with your strengths will make the process to a maxed out life less tedious.

2. Set Goals - Setting goals is so important because that is a great way to act on your gift! Doing this, you are able to see the areas where you are weak. What is that is keeping you from maxing out your life? Are you great at what you do, but find yourself having trouble getting customers because you are advertising? Everyone specializes in something! This will help you identify what you are spending so much time in that it is actually keeping you from reaching your goals.

Your time is so precious. People are waiting for YOU to change their lives! You will not be heard if you are letting your weaknesses waste your time. Focusing on your strengths will keep you positive and confident. Your weaknesses are signs of struggle that open a gate for fear. So, use your strengths as stepping stones to MaxOUT your life! This is your season to go BIG! I would love to help you Maxout your life and business!

Author: Zenovia is a highly sought after Speaker, Author, Business Development Strategist and TV/Radio Personality.  She is the Founder and CEO of Max Out, Inc., a successful company committed to empowering, and revitalize women to discover their purpose and walk in their divine destiny in Life while radically “Maxing Out” their unparalleled potential regardless of the obstacles or challenges in their way. Zenovia will be joining us as a presenter for the 2014 Unlimited U Conference, April 12, 2014.

5 Proven Strategies to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

Do you know what 40% of Americans DREAD about the holidays?

Gift shopping? Nope.

Traveling? Nope.

Seeing certain relatives? Well, maybe, but that’s not it either.

What 40% of Americans dread most about the holidays: WEIGHT GAIN.

Why? Because the weight gained during the holidays often becomes the unwanted, un-returnable gift that unfortunately kept on giving! Not losing the weight gained each holiday season and post-holiday period could result in steady weight gain year after year.

And I know that feeling of dread! A few years ago I gained 20 pounds because binged and ate to my heart’s content. I filled myself with too much eggnog, pies, cakes, nuts, and other calorie rich holiday foods.

Since then, I’ve learned to be a more mindful holiday eater.

Here are 5 simple, but proven, tips to help you avoid holiday weight gain:

Tip 1: Be Conscious of Calories. Compared to other times of the year, the amount of calories consumed during the winter holidays increases dramatically. Make no mistake about it, calories can add up unsuspectingly fast. Be mindful of what you drink too. There are lots of calories in eggnog and alcoholic drinks. Think about whether you would prefer to eat or drink your calories.

Tip 2: Plan and Scan at Holiday Parties. Be picky, picky, picky. Scan the buffet and fill your plate with foods that are simply prepared. If possible, sit down and take the time to taste and savor every bite. Resist the urge to go back for more by waiting at least 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are comfortably full. If you are still hungry, eat more vegetables and drink water.
If you must have dessert, practice the three-bite rule to keep your sweet tooth in check. Take a first taste, a satisfying middle one, and then a lingering third bite.

Tip 3: Manage Stress. You may find aspects of the holiday season hectic and stressful for any number of reasons. If someone is stressing you out, remove yourself from that individual and take deep breaths. Also, this may sound simple, but be sure to get 8 hours of sleep each night.

Tip 4: Keep Your Body Moving. Do not abandon your regular exercise routine during the holidays. Concentrate on consistently doing simple workouts. So what if you can’t get to your favorite yoga class or find time for the treadmill? Even just 15 minutes can help you maintain your fitness level and/or fight the extra indulgent treats you enjoyed. For example, jumping rope for 15 minutes torches about 190 calories and a quick yoga sequence at home can help you stay flexible.

Tip 5: Eat More Veggies & Fruits Everyday. Play with your food and look for ways to incorporate more veggies into your breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals! Eating low-energy dense foods such as veggies and fruit during the holidays (and beyond) will help create a sense of fullness, so you consume less calorie rich foods.

Research shows the feeling of fullness people experience after eating is more a function of the amount or volume of food consumed rather than the number of calories or grams of fat, carbohydrate or protein consumed. So you could eat a volume of calorie rich foods that don’t make you feel full, whereas eating a large volume of nutrient rich whole foods would make you feel satisfied. That is why you should use veggies and fruit to create a feeling of fullness or satiety at holiday parties.
This season you will ward off unwanted, unhealthy, un-returnable weight gain using these proven strategies. And, if you do splurge, don’t beat yourself up…just get right back to normal eating and exercising, and do a better job at the next party. Keep these tips in mind to make it through the holidays with ease.

About the Author:
Despite excelling professionally, Tosh struggled with being overweight and  was nearly 300 pounds. She is now know as The Healthinista, not because she's a size 4, but because she has lost 70 pounds and continues to strive forward. In addition to speaking engagements, Tosh facilitates corporate wellness workshops, business retreats, and individual coaching. Learn more about +Tosh Patterson at www.toshpatterson.com. Tosh will be joining us as a presenter for the 2014 Whole Woman Expo, April 13, 2014.

Don't Wait for the New Year

Can you believe it’s already November which means 2014 is right around the corner! This is often the time of year we begin to think about doing things “anew”. Many are preparing for the launch of the New Year. We're thinking about the resolutions that we might make, let alone keep. Whenever, I think about the start of a new season, I reflect on the meaning that season will have in my life. Who should I meet? What new endeavors should I take on or let go of….

Recently, I was having a conversation with a good friend who selected a name for her soon to be born baby girl. She selected a name that she loves! The name honors both maternal and paternal grandmothers (much to their delight) but is also has an amazing meaning. In essence the name means “With grace and highly favored by God.” WOW! Powerful and truly a beautiful name. Of course, it made me reflect on the meaning of names. With a name like “Mothyna”, I’m constantly asked…what does that mean? Well, while I have never seen it anywhere else, which means I’ve never found a meaning for my name, I tell folks all the time that I’d like to think it means something akin to “the one whom God has blessed to bless others.” J I’m striving. Ok, so yes the point is that I don’t know… it could mean that or something not so flattering. However, going through this experience with my sister-friend made me think, what is the true meaning of a name? How do we go forward to realize that meaning or can we?

How many times have we met some beautiful lady with a name like Grace yet she is an overly judgmental person or a man named Malik and he is certainly anything but king like? I’m a huge fan of names with GREAT meaning. I believe when selecting a name for a child or person, a name should inspire that person to stretch their potential, but isn’t that only the starting point? The true meaning of a name will be known when that person establishes a legacy through the way that they live. No one looks up the “meaning” of Jada Pickett Smith’s name or Albert Einstein’s and then says this is who they are? Rather we look to their actions, their contributions to the society and the world in general. Quite frankly, it appears those who will tell the “meaning” of your name are those you have touched. Here at HWHN we continually share the meaning of Mrs. Vivian Ryan. To us her name means far more than “lively”. It means the realization of a dream, faith in the potential of the young, quiet elegance and strength. Why? Because if it were not for Mrs. Vivian Ryan and the faith she had in a young 22 year old, HWHN as you know it, would not be here today. For women like Mrs. Ryan, who have nurtured the true meaning within women like us we are forever grateful.

Our actions are as much our definition as the words we may strive to live up to. Thus, the true meaning of ones name lives in the amazing potential for greatness that exists within them. Whether you “hate” your name or love it, its true value grows from within- that essential part of you. So what does your name mean? Are you just living up to your potential or blowing that concept out of the water knowing that your potential is boundless? Are you getting rid of the people, places and things that are limiting your growth? Don’t wait until the New Year, to begin anew, rather each day, brings a new season. Each day is an opportunity to define the meaning of your name. Today is anew…

About the Author: 

Sister Mothyna James-Brightful is a self proclaimed “Self Love Revolutionary”. She has spent the last decade empowering women and girls to live authentic lives. Sister Mothyna is the Visionary Director and Co-founder of Heal a Woman to Heal a Nation. Sister Mothyna is co-author of Because I am a Queen...100 Affirmations for Daily Living. Stay connected www.hwhn.org: Twitter @mothyna

What's in a Name

I am amazed at the number of people I come across who are unaware of the meaning of their names!  Why would you not want to know what people are calling you every day?  I mean sure, you’ve heard it all of your life, but like any other word that has ever been sent or received, your name is spoken with purpose.  There is so much substance that can be discovered about who you are and what you’ve come here to do, just by knowing your name. 

This afternoon I was at the supermarket, and I started to go to the self -checkout lanes where no one was, but for me that isn’t always such an exciting or advantageous thing.  That’s because I enjoy connecting with people and experiencing their presence, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.  Miracles happen in the moments, and I was led to reroute my direction into the nearest check lane with a live person.  The woman working the register barely looked up to greet me, but I noticed her.  Her aloofness was attractive; people with closed doors inspire me to inquire within, they get me curious. 

My eyes were suddenly drawn to her name tag.  I smiled at our commonality, and said, “That’s my middle name, Nicole.”  She responded, “Yeah, it’s common.”  I proceeded to ask her if she knew what it meant, and that it meant “Victory.”  Suddenly she perked up a bit, seeming a little more interested in what for her was just another mundane moment on the job.  I went on to explain that someone once further edified me that it specifically meant “Victory for the People.”  She said she knew it meant “something” about “the people,” but not the “Victory” part.  I could tell right there that the smiles we wore mirrored a sense of pride.  As I gathered my bags, her demeanor was changed, and as I prepared to continue my day’s journey, she said, “Ok, have a good night and thanks for telling me that!”  Smiling still. 

It’s so exhilarating for me as a Restorative Life Coach to witness people shift into their higher selves.  In that brief but poignant interaction, an exchange was made in our words spoken, and I’m sure that conversation served a purpose.  I marveled at the possibilities catalyzed in the exchange.  Could her knowing inspire her to think differently about herself and her circumstances like it did for me?  Could it have given her greater insight on how she’s being called to serve in the earth?  I mean sure, Nicole is a common name.  She’s right.  But when you think of it, victory is often won with an army, even if that army is of one, the victory comes with a strength beyond your own which some would identify as the Spirit of God.  So though Nicole is a name often heard, it’s power is far from mediocre. 

Coming to truly know my name gave my sense of purpose depth.  Once I found out its meaning, it resonated with me and helps to make sense and give confirmation of what I feel in my belly that I am being called to do.  Even if you have an uncommon name, you can feel out the meaning by trying to find its root, or make up your own meaning by creating an acrostic poem which is when you take the letters of a word and attach your own representation.

For example, it was hard for me to find the meaning of Jonae, but I did find that its root is “John” which means “one especially loved by God.”  …I’ll take it!  J  I also did an acrostic poem for “Jonae”:

J-  Joyful

O- Overcomer

N- Negating the impossible

A-     All together

E- Excellent!

See?  Even if you can’t find or don’t like the meaning of your name, you have the power to give it meaning! 

Don’t stop there!  This can be a really empowering and fun exercise.  Make it speak to your spirit and embody who you already know who you are at your core.  I invite you to journey into your last name as well.  This is where you may really discover some interesting things, like your ancestry.  I don’t know the ancestral roots of the “Potter’s,” but I know that God is beheld as “The Potter.”  So, for that I envisioned and embodied me being shaped and molded into a beautiful vessel by the God of my understanding.  Now when I researched “Gill,” a surname inherited from my father who’s Trinidadian, that’s where it got really interesting for me because I for a long time didn’t know my family from his side.  I found that the “Gill’s” were an ancient Indian Jaat Punjabi tribe of warriors in India, somewhere I’m longing to go for some reason I’ve yet to discover.  But knowing my name, I mean really knowing, has helped me to take back my power and walk with a stride of strength in knowing because I made myself aware on divine Purpose!

Still don’t buy it?  Well what is the purpose of a fish “gill?” The gills of a fish allow it to breath, or experience respiratory exchange, under water…that’s what I do!  My chief calling is to breathe into spirits under water in need of life giving oxygen exchange so that together we can work to catalyze the manifestation of your optimal potential! 

Remember, I am here to serve you with triumphant encouragement so that you too may experience “VICTORY” in your life!

Author: Jonae N. Potter-Gill is a Restorative Life Coach and prolific Inspirational Communicator.   In addition to her profession as a nurse, she works with individuals as a spiritual midwife, nurturing them through the process of giving birth to their personal healing and transformation using a holistic touch and approach.  She is passionate about helping women and communities as a whole become empowered and achieve overall wellness through vision, creativity, and love! You can visit her blog at www.victoriousexhortations.wordpress.com to experience more of her messages of inspiration and encouragement.