Dear JRose,

I’ve learned so much about myself over the years, but one key lesson I want you to know is to internalize your true value and worth.  The poem below titled “You.Are.Amazing” summarizes the lessons I learned that I don’t want you to forget:

You.Are.Amazing.

As. you. are.

Stronger than you know.

More beautiful than you think.

Worthier than you believe.

More loved than you can ever imagine.

Passionate about making a difference.

Fiery when protecting those you love.

Learning. Growing. Not alone.

Warm. Giving. Generous.

Quirky. Sexy. Funny. Smart.

Flawed. Whole. Scared. Brave.

And so, so, so.much.more.

Be Strong. Be Confident. Be You.

-Author Unknown

So many women– young and seasoned– struggle with their self-esteem.  Your intrinsic value comes from being a child of God.  Live like one. Love like one. Represent him in all you do.  Live for him and not someone else’s goals and dreams for your life. You and the world will be better for it.

I believe in your future. I believe in you.

_____

What did you write to yourself?  Will you share your letter with your son? daughter? sister? brother? mentee?

Here’s life’s well-earned lessons,

J. Rose

I’m a guest blogger on Beryl’s site.  I’m re-posting an upcoming post on my site: maidforwellness.wordpress.com

Join us in the challenge.  I want to hear your thoughts.  Enjoy!

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Today, I’m challenging you.  Spend a few days to think about all the life lessons you’ve learned since you were 18, 21, 30, or whatever age you choose.  There are tons of lessons I’m sure.  Things you want to tell your sons and daughters, share with friends, and mistakes you hope not to repeat. There’s pain you don’t want these folks to experience.  We know these experiences have shaped you and made you the wiser person you are today.  Spend a few days mediating. Jot a few thoughts down.

So here’s the challenge: write a letter to your younger self based on these thoughts.  I’m going to do the same thing. I’ll come back in a week or so and will share my thoughts and/or excerpts from my letter.

Then, if you feel led, share the letter with your sons, daughters and other friends who are younger so they learn from these lessons or mistakes.   Help others heal and grow from your life.  Your experiences and wisdom make it worth while!

Happy writing!

J. Rose

Much Like Trayvon Martin.

They are 17, 16,and 15 years of age.  They are honor students from a Catholic school background.

My boys like to wear sneakers-white, black, red and white and blue. They wear blue jeans and hoodies too.

My boys talk and text on their cell phones fairly oblivious to anything else as they walk and talk.

     I am an attorney,  practicing malpractice defense, family law and criminal defense.  In fact right here in Central Florida.

 Fifteen  miles or so from where Trayvon Martin , the African American boy, 17 years of age, on the cell phone, talking with a girl, going home with candy in his pocket was shot and killed.

As a criminal defense attorney, I am trying to understand the reason it was initially determined that no crime was committed.  There was a dead person.  A  dead child without a weapon and 

not committing a crime.

A child walking home to his father’s house.  Being where he’s suppose to be.

Trayvon was reported as being suspicious because he was an African American -male walking with blue jeans, white tennis shoes and a hoodie.  I am trying to figure out what made him suspicious. 

Was being black young and male?  Was it the hoodie?  Was it the blue jeans or the white sneakers. 

The Moms of Black teenager sons need to know.  What should my sons not wear so they won’t be profiled as suspicious and shot to death. 

My sons can change every article of clothing but, they can’t change the color of their skin.

Certainly, had he been white, Trayvon’s fate would not have been the same. This Mom and Dad would still have their son.

Now Where is justice? Is it hiding in color of Zimmerman’s skin.  

 Is it hiding in the State Attorney’s Office or even maybe the Sheriff’s Department? 

Why wasn’t Zimmerman tested for drugs or alcohol?  Why wasn’t the teenage girlfriend of Trayvon

contacted and questioned?  She was the last one to speak to the child.  Why was there delay in releasing the 911 tapes?

Zimmerman violated the neighborhood watch rules .  Never to carry a weapon.  Never confront a suspect. 

Let’s not even talk about killing an allege suspect  coming from the store with candy in his pocket.

The bigger question is why Mr. Zimmerman was not immediately arrested and charged with at least Aggravated Manslaughter.

I am a citizen of the SA.  I am an Attorney  a defender of the the people. I am a Mom and a parent and my heart hurts for the parents of Trayvon Martin.

What a fine son!  What a handsome Black boy to be proud of!

On the other hand,  What an opportunity for justice to be done.  What an opportunity for justice to not have a profile of color.

Racism. Profiling. Cover up.  Without a doubt. 

But, there will be justice for Trayvon Martin.

Love and Peace to the Family of Trayvon,

                And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.
Jim Rohn

       Before you can get anywhere, you need to know where you are going. It sounds simple, but when it comes to life goals or dreams, it’s not so clear.

      We think, “I want my business to be a success,” or “I want to be happy.” But ask 100 different people to define success, or to say what makes them happy, and you’re going to get 100  

  different answers.

      That’s why when it comes to getting what you want, the first step is to decide – specifically – what you want in your life. Not in generalities, but in specifics. For instance:

       NOT: “I want to be skinny,” but, “I want to wear a size 10 and have my BMI, blood pressure, and cholesterol in healthy ranges.”

       NOT: “I want to be financially secure,” but, “I want to be debt-free and have $100,000 in the bank by the time I’m 50.”

       NOT: “I want a new job,” but, “I want a job that allows me to work flexible hours from home, making $20 an hour, using my skills in word processing and business management.”

Specificity is critical in goal-setting for several reasons:

      1.  If you only have a general idea of what you want, you can only get a general idea of how to achieve it. It’s like driving: If you know you want to drive from Portland to Philadelphia,

you have  a general idea of how to get there – and you may end up in the Schuykill River or on the wrong side of the tracks. But if you want to see the “Rocky” statue in front of the art museum,

you can fine-tune your approach to get yourself exactly to the point you want.

    2.  Being specific saves time. You will intuitively be able to sort through opportunities that are presented to you and know immediately whether they are in line with your goals or not.
    3.  Being specific helps your mind create a vivid picture of what you want. Once your mind can picture it, it’s much easier to achieve it.

         If you’re having trouble specifying your dreams, here are some questions to ask yourself:

        • What does it look like?
        • How will you know when you’ve made it?
        • When do you want to achieve this goal?
        • What does it feel like, taste like, smell like?
        • What would a day in your dream life be like, from the time you get up until the time you go to bed?

   Write these answers down and revisit them frequently to see if they’re still true, and to remind yourself of what you’re working towards.

To your success,

True success in life can only come by not settling for mediocrity, we should always strive to achieve and get the most out of life that we possibly can, it is only when we push ourselves and give it all we’ve got can we then give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well done. Success in life depends on self-discipline and not giving in at the first hurdle you come across or going into a project only half heartedly, by pushing yourself that little bit further you will be surprised at what you are capable of achieving, this is what separates the winners from the losers or the successful from the unsuccessful.

All people say that they want to succeed in life at whatever they do but very few are willing to actually push themselves them little bit further in order to achieve their goals, and this is why some of us succeed in life and others fail. How well you succeed is all about how bad you want the success, what it means to you, are you willing to succeed a little or are you willing to go the whole way and beyond to achieve a higher status and be outstanding?

We all start out with the best of intentions when racing towards the goals we have set, we shoot out of the starting gate and run down the straight but many of us fall back at the first hurdle, we don’t push, we run out of steam when the going gets tough and don’t pause to catch our second wind but come to a halt and give up, or stumble on half heartedly and cross the line in second or third place at best.

Those who do have the winning streak in them, who know that with a little extra push and a pause to catch their breath and then a final sprint down the home straight and past the winning post a head in front of their competitors are the ones that end up with the glory and true success in life.

Of course all those who are successful don’t just rely on pushing themselves, all winners have a strategy and are willing to be flexible on their way to success because life has a way of throwing many different spanners into the works along the way. We have to be able to adapt to these unexpected happenings when they occur and not get bogged down, we have to take them in our stride, skip around them and continue in the race.

Never settle for anything less than giving it you’re all

Here are some tips to help you remember never to settle for anything but your best no matter what the project is

• It doesn’t matter how big or small the project put your all into getting it completed
• If you think you have given it your best shot, pause and ask yourself “could I improve”

• Plan our your project but always be willing to make changes and work your way around the unexpected
• It’s ok to pause but get back into the race and carry on until you pass the winning post.

To your success,

 
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I don’t know about you but, this Thanksgiving I am so Thankful.  When I look back at where I’ve come from as the old people say, I am just thankful …you’ve been so good.  Now I got this video of Rachelle Ferrell singing  Thank you Lord impromptu.
If I could sing like this, heaven and every one would move.
I just felt like hearing a jazz artist express my sincere gratitude.

What I love about her is her heartfelt gratitude. So often we are missing the for real gratefulness and start expecting an entitlement of the gifts of life.

This day I hope you name 29 things to which you are grateful I’ll start. I am grateful that i have eyes to see, I am grateful for great health , nose to smell, feet to walk on, I am grateful that I live n America and that I lived to see the 1st African American resident, The Honorable President Obama, I am grateful for my husband and my children and blended family children. I am thankful for my sisters and yes my still aggravating brother, I am grateful for my home, my work my clients, this new day. I am grateful for my little spoiled dog- Peaches. I am grateful for good friends, I am grateful for knowing my everlasting Father. I am grateful for my parents . I am so grateful that the God of the Heaven chose me to be their daughter.
I am grateful that I can bring benefit to others. I am grateful for my smoking SUV vehicle. I am thankful for the good people that mentor my children. I am grateful these last few years to care for my children and not have to go to work but, the option to work from home. I am thankful for new education from Kiyosaki and Jim Rohn. I am grateful that life i not a pie but great and vast. I am so glad I don’t have to rush to get my piece of the pie or life. I am so grateful that life is abundant and never runs out of good things.

I m grateful for every kind word spoken to me. I am grateful to speak kindly to someone and grateful that I can pray form you and know my God answers prayers.
I am grateful for Steve Jobs that I have an I Pod that I can downloadmp3 and remember how grateful I am for all of the things and people and love ones in my life.

I am grateful to you dear reader. Let me know what you are grateful for. I learned that even the very rich
Be continuously grateful.

Balancing Social Networking Accounts
One of the key ways to market anything today is by using social sites.

Whether you are marketing a personality, business, service or product, properly used profiles on social sites will get what you are selling out there — there meaning the world. The days of personal success being limited by location are gone. Today, success is only limited by level of motivation. If you are motivated and know how to use the tools at your disposal, you can be in control of your business or personal development.

Social sites offer you a means to get a brand out there, whether it is a personal brand or a business brand. Using as many of them as possible means reaching all kinds of audiences.

There are business, personal, employment and universal networking sites out there. Use all of them and you have the potential to reach tens of thousands or even millions of people.

The trick is balancing your business or personal growth with your online marketing. If you cannot keep up with all of your social sites, your message is dead in the water. People want frequently updated, informative and useful social profiles.

The first step to balancing social sites is to develop strong pages as soon as you open social accounts. Set aside several hours to open up accounts with all of the best social networking sites, such as twitter, facebook and linked in. Put in as much information as these profiles allow. Provide links to business and personal websites. Make the purpose of the social site clear.

Use professional looking photos and/or logos and do not use any “fluff” filler.

Once you have all of your profiles looking professional and up-to-date, begin updating “statuses” and “tweets” on a regular basis. Put up personal, industry and business news — depending on the goals of your online marketing campaign.

Try to update with useful information, not fluff. If it is too much work to update every site individually, use a service like socialoomph to let you post one update that automatically updates all of your social networking sites at one time. Make sure to update the profiles whenever something changes, such as contact information, services rendered, etc.

Keeping up with social sites is less of a daunting task than it sounds like. With just an hour a week, several sites can be up-to-date, informative and appealing to the target audience.

Keeping it real,

We feel like there isn’t enough time for everything.  Now you tell me to do one more thing..

Do I need more than one social media site?

One common problem that many new business owners face is not having enough time to devote to various marketing methods. Because of this, business owners must make hard decisions about what type of marketing methods they are going to spend most of their time focusing on.

However, one marketing method that business owners should never forsake is social media marketing. Even still, they may only have enough time to focus on one site. I still get asked by business owners, do I need more than one social site to successfully marketing my business? The answer is not just a simple yes or no. Let me explain an important concept to help you find the answer yourself.

Social is something you are; not something you do.

Most business owners make the common mistake that they must social media when in fact, they social media — let me explain. You can have a million social media accounts, but if you are not a social person, the social media spectrum will be of no use to you.

You need to engage your customers — make them feel like they know you. Only then will they trust you enough to buy your product or service. Do you need more than one site to engage with your customers? That depends. First, who is your audience? Are they teenagers? Are they young adults? Are they middle-aged? Teenagers spend most of their time on Facebook and Twitter. Middle-aged professionals will more likely focus on LinkedIn. Young adults mostly use Facebook, but not Twitter.

Perhaps you can market to all of your customers on just one site, or maybe you have to promote your business on various sites to maximize your exposure to all of your potential customers.

How much marketing do you plan on doing?

If you just have something simple to say, you may be able to just use Twitter for your social media needs. Connect your Twitter account with your blog or website to help you keep your loyal customers informed. However, if you have something more to say, you should consider creating a Facebook and LinkedIn page for your business. You can also use Facebook to promote contests, though there are special rules and guidelines for Facebook contests.

Are you focusing on the wrong marketing methods?
Most business owners don’t have enough time to manage more than one social site because they are too busy managing other marketing channels. However, studies show that social media marketing is a very effective marketing method. There is a good chance that you can increase your revenue by focusing more on social media, rather than methods like article marketing.

Take these principles to heart when answering this question for yourself. You may discover that you have more time than you think you do. Whether or not you need more than one social site is something you must determine.

Good Luck,

Personal growth often means doing things that are uncomfortable, at least initially.

It is truly incredible that the brain’s need to protect its ego often is in direct contrast to the actions that will allow us to adapt and grow.

This is the truth behind true motivation – the ability to shut down a present self for a future self. Personal success is dependent upon our ability to do this.

One of the main hurdles of personal development is our ability to communicate effectively with others.

Today, the newest and most effective form of communication is the social media site.

Those who are new to social media sites may wonder which site is best for them to start on. The answer? Begin on all of them!

Truthfully, the social media site that you want to begin with, even though you will eventually choose to be on “all of them” depends on your needs – if they are personal or business oriented, making new friends or doing some online marketing.

For personal use , I recommend starting with Facebook.

Facebook is the 800 pound gorilla of social media sites, with the most effective and organized system for social networking.

Privacy is strictly enforced there, so you do not have to worry about dealing with people that will make you feel uncomfortable. Once you get used to Facebook, I have what some might consider a leap – join a dating social network.

I recommend Match.com, even if you are currently in a relationship.

The practice you get in emailing strangers back and forth is absolutely priceless in developing the social skills that you will need for personal growth. If you are already in a relationship, you don’t have to go out with anyone. Plenty of people join dating sites for “networking purposes.”

If you are doing this for business purposes, I would still start with Facebook.

Unless you are in the know, you would think of Facebook as a wholly consumer oriented web site, and nothing could be further from the truth. Facebook has developed into a wildly popular business hub where businesses of all sizes come to make B2B and B2C connections.

After you familiarize yourself with the business aspects of Facebook, you can try Mashable.

This is a business oriented site which also doubles as one of the top hubs for business articles on the Web. If you are not in the know, Mashable is like the small business’ Wall Street Journal.

Just a few sites for you  to check out.  Remember just keep moving!

               Social media has changed the way people communicate with each other and the way businesses market their products and services to their customers.  Because of this, getting involved in social media is not

just about using technology to connect with family and friends, but also about finding new ways to create opportunities for your personal success.

The two most prominent social mediums are Facebook and Twitter. Many social media users have become entrepreneurs by creating business ventures through these mediums.

Realizing that you have the ability to grow your business through social networking and that you have the perseverance that it takes to keep going when you want to give up, will ultimately lead to your personal development.

Getting involved with social media also allows you to stay relevant in a fast-paced world of rapid change. Whether or not you run a business, it’s good to become aware of, and take part in, new avenues of communication.

Over the past few years, social media users have been the first ones to hear breaking news or major announcements from celebrities, politicians and other high-profiled individuals who choose to post their information

on their Facebook page or post a “tweet,” (a text message) on Twitter. It was reported that social media played a role in the recent civil uprisings in Middle Eastern countries.
Another reason to get involved with social media is simply because it’s something fun to do. Social media gives you the ability to post your latest photos or videos and tell your friends and family

what you are doing right when you are doing it. Friends and family can also respond to you just as quickly with their posts to your site.

Besides individuals, businesses have also gotten involved with social media. On-line marketing opens the door to advertising to thousands of potential customers.

Companies can sponsor paid advertising on social media pages and make special promotional offers only to those who follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Watching their sales increase gives them the motivation to continue promoting their products and services to social media users.

          It’s been proven that getting involved in social media has helped companies with its sales and has also resulted in the personal growth of those who have a willingness to step out and try something new.

So It’s time for you to venture out and be apart of  the new process called Social Media!

The best to you,