What is "everyday living"?

If you ask me to define "everyday living" I'd say it is "everday giving"

- these quotes put it a bit differently...with the same end point.

Sally Koch said:

Great opportunities to help others seldom come,

but small ones surround us every day.

 

I expect to pass through life but once. 

If therefore, there be any kindness I can show,

or any good thing I can do to any fellow being,

let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again. 

~William Penn

Everyday, each of us has several opportunities to empower and encourage others...
As we start the 2nd half of this leap year, live each day to the fullest...give gladly.

Balanced success

I like numbers...especially big ones with the "$" or other currency sign on it. Well, before I go off track, that's not what this post is about - although it may creep in from time to time. Let's get back to the point...

You may not have been counting...Today is the 183rd day of this 366-day year.

So we've come halfway in this year...what a good time to assess our level of success in all areas of life?

A few months ago, Joyce Meyer shared an interesting definition: "Balanced means to do enough of everything and never too much of anything." It got me thinking about my life. We all know the buzz term "work-life balance" and how hard we all work to get some balance in our lives (pun intended). I've come to the conclusion that it's all a choice - of what to do or not do.
3 John 2 expounds on the need for balance in all areas of life: Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers. (Amplified) God not only desires that we prosper in every area of life, He actually delights in our prosperity (Ps 35:27)

Zig Ziglar said: I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can't truly be considered successful in your business if your home life is in shambles.

On health, Michelle Obama advises: "Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we're scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don't have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own 'to-do' list."

Maxwell Maltz said: "Man maintains his balance, poise and sense of security only as he is moving forward."

I enourage you as you continue to move forward (& upward) remember to take care of yourself...that is the only way you'll be alive and well enough to earn and enjoy the big numbers with currency signs that I mentioned earlier in the post.

As you take charge, take care...

Well said...

"Women do not have to sacrifice personhood if they are mothers.

They do not have to sacrifice motherhood in order to be persons.

Liberation was meant to expand women's opportunities, not to limit them.

The self-esteem that has been found in new pursuits

can also be found in mothering."

~ Elaine Heffner

On the flip and more important side:

"If you bungle raising your children,

I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."

~  Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

I couldn't agree with both of them more...

I've said, and will continue to say, that becoming a mother is not "end" in itself - there is no reason why women cannot aspire beyond motherhood. I believe it is a bump (literally too) on the road to accomplishing what God has called you to.

In the same breath, accomplishing all God has called you to and "losing" your children on the way (or in the maze, as it sometimes is)  to your goal is =

mission unaccomplished

In being a Career woman (discussed recently*), ensure that you do not fail in your ultimate "profession" as a mother.

The rewards of excelling in this profession are eternal...and the best legacy.

Reference:

http://empowered-women-excel.blogspot.ca/2012/06/career-woman.html

Career Woman

Recently self-assessing, I had to ask myself: "Are you a career woman?"
The answer to that question was very important to me because one thing I had always purposed, even before I got married, was to never let my job/career get in the way of my marriage or family. For this singular reason, I remember saying: "I don't want to be a 'career woman.'" Well, guess what I've found out - some decades later? Yes - I am a career woman and surprisingly, I'm very happy with that "discovery." I actually accepted that simply because the word "Career" starts off with "Care." When the Lord opened my eyes to that, I better understood why He let me become a CARE-er woman.

 

C - He wants me to come up higher; climb the corporate and other ladders and not forget to help others up too. Climbing takes an effort and focus. For too long, the concept of being a "Career woman" has had a negative connotation - so it's up to us to demonstrate the value of being a career woman. Climb and shine to God's glory.

 

A - God blesses and "promotes" us so we can assist others. There are so many ways to lend a helping hand to others. It is sad that some people climb the ladder and take the ladder with them. If your predecessor took the ladder with them, what would you climb? I've found that there are so many opportunities for us to assist others. A wise person said: Being good is commendable, but only when it is combined with doing good is it useful.  I like to tell people that they are free to ask me any questions they have and that if I don't have the answers, together we'll find someone or somewhere that has them. Think about it, we all know someone who knows someone who knows someone...I could go on but would rather move on to "R."

R - yes, it stands for Relatable. When you think about it, if a tree doesn't stay "related" to the soil, it will not survive let alone thrive. The popular saying: "no man is an island*" is just as true as the fact that "one tree doesn't make a forest."

Just as a forest starts with a tree and more, we all need each other.  Being relatable is about looking out for the other person's best interest and in doing that God takes care of you too. 

E - I know "E" stands for "end" but more importantly, in this post, it stands for "Effective." At the end of everything we do - at home, work, & elsewhere - we need to be effective. This essentially means that we produce results - not reasons or excuses of "why not." John Wooden advised that we must "never mistake activity with achievement."

A CAREer Woman should be a lighthouse -

standing tall and shining to God's glory

and that is my aspiration.

Sources:
*John Donne

Are you Accountable?

 “Accountable” and “Accountability” are two words that have become somewhat popular. Believe it or not, we can all be accountable; it's not difficult - once we set our minds to it. Last year, I found a nice article* on "Accountability." I like the AB&C - acronym-base and content - of the article so here's an excerpt to help us (italics and green font mine): 

A -   ACTION:  “No action creates no results. Facing the fear of inactivity is not easy.” Neither is facing the fear of failure. The way I see it, if you are inactive or take no action, you have failed already. 

C -   With action, comes COMMITTMENT and more questions. If you are not committed to the action, you will not follow through and soon enough fall back into the state of “no action.” What does commitment look like to you? Is your commitment like the occasional spring breezes or is it constant like the changing of the seasons? Are you truly committed to doing what it takes to reach beyond that next level of excellence?  

About attitudes

Here are 10 quotes about attitudes:

You cannot control what happens to you,

but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you,

and in that,
you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.
~ Brian Tracy

 The problem is not the problem;

the problem is your attitude about the problem.

~ Author Unknown

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. ~Winston Churchill

Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?

~Dennis and Wendy Mannering

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather,

always bring your own sunshine. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo

 

Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently,

but life itself would come to be different. ~Katherine Mansfield

Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us.

~ John N. Mitchell

Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force. ~ Irving Berlin
 

Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can't be done. ~ Bo Bennett
 

The only disability in life is a bad attitude. ~ Scott Hamilton

You can also check out:

http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.com/2012/04/about-attitude.html

The Eagle's Attitudes...

Eagles come in all shapes and sizes,

but you will recognize them chiefly by their attitudes.

E. F. Schumacher

Likewise, each of us is unique.

You cannot be like any other person...

You are you - period.

You are not anyone else. No matter how hard you try, you will only be second to the person you're trying to be like - a copy not an original. 

"Today you are You, that is truer than true.

There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

~ Dr Seuss 

So you need to have the right attitude(s) to attain high altitudes,

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."

~ Winston Churchill

Do you have an eagle's attitudes? One of the eagle's attitudes is flying in the eye of the storm. An Empowered Woman is an Enlightened Woman. Sir Francis Bacon said: "knowledge is power" and you can only apply what you know not what you don't - so I encourage you to look up other eagle attitudes and cultivate them.

When you do, you will find out and agree with Zig Ziglar that:

"Your attitude not your aptitude determines your altitude."