5 Steps to Turn Your Dreams to Reality

Do you have a big, juicy, audacious dream?

Something that makes you tingle from your head to the tips of your toes?

Something so fabulous that your inner mean girl says, “no freaking way!" ?

Well ladybug, no dream is too big!

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If it couldn’t happen, you wouldn’t be able to think about it. It means that if you can see it, it already exists somewhere in the cosmos. Shit, nobody ever told me that when I was growing up!

Let me give you some examples. When I was kid, I had a problem reading. I had to take special remedial reading classes. When I decided to write a book in 2009, I could see it, I could feel it.

However, based on my previous challenges, I was probably a long shot. I held the vision and in 2012, Alpha Chick was released and became an Amazon Best Seller with six literary awards.

Since my first book, I have connected with women from all over the globe who've shared my passion to serve women in a meaningful and empowering way. I have to be honest, I never thought I would be emailing and personally interviewing them for my podcast! This is just another example of holding a powerful vision.

In my last email, I suggested taking pictures of your dreams and putting them in a folder.

Now I am challenging you to take action on those dreams.

Here are 5 Steps to Turn Your Dreams to Reality

Who do you need to help you with your dream/vision? Think big again, don’t be shy!
What do you need to do to start the process? Creating a mind map or good outline are excellent places to start.
What are the first three steps you can take to start creating it?
How long do you need to make this happen? Create a time table for yourself. Put dates in your calendar for accountability.
What resources or research do you need?

My own bursts of inspiration have come from going through incredible challenges and difficult things that have knocked me to my knees. I’m suggesting you start manifesting before life throws you an unexpected curveball.

What's a dream you've been dreaming but haven't yet taken action?

Comment below and tell me 3 steps you'll take to make it a reality!

Courage – My Favorite Word to Describe What I Do!

I was having a conversation with Sonja, my TEDx buddy about key words to describe what we do in our work with clients. Her word was connection. She teaches her clients communications. At first I thought my word was inspire but then it hit me, it’s COURAGE.

I think of myself as a midlife transition coach who helps women get back up when life has unexpectedly knocked you down.

I now recognize that courage has served me well. I have used it to get back up many times when life has hit me with a huge challenge. Getting honest about my alcohol addiction years ago took courage. Surviving the death of my precious niece took courage. Getting up again after my divorce took more courage! My public speaking takes courage. I am always scared when I first start. I still remember kids laughing at me when I was small, making fun of me when I spoke up.

Courage is something we all have, it just needs to be nurtured. It is also a split second decision.

How do you muster up your courage?

Understand that fear is something you create with your thoughts.

Taking one small step at a time. Allow yourself to feel your fear, breathe deeply into it and count to five. Sit with it and let it settle. When fear first hits you, it can feel like your body is in a huge vice being squeezed. After a few minutes the sensation settles down and your mind quiets down. If you try to take action while consumed with fear, you usually make very emotional decisions. If you let the feeling of fear soften slightly, you will make more courageous choices.

I have watched people in scary situations run right into more trouble because they were consumed with fear and didn’t allow themselves to feel the fear before reacting.

Sometimes fear can be mistaken for excitement. The sensations feel identical in the body.

Courage can feel like excitement as well.

Courage is just overcoming your feelings of fear. I am sure you have heard “feel the fear and do it anyway”.

There is probably nothing you can’t deal with if you just give yourself a few moments to center yourself, acknowledge your fearful thoughts and then step right into your courage.

Start your Day Right with a Morning Practice

Wouldn’t it be great to start the day feeling peaceful, focused, and inspired? Every day I start my morning feeling centered and at peace. My secret is having a morning practice. Having a daily set of rituals helps you feel grounded in your body, mind, and soul. Taking time to renew helps you be more creative, productive and energized throughout the day.

I have a meditation tray with all my favorite things that make me feel centered. It has photographs of people I love, a statue of Buddha, a rosary, and other treasured items. I am diligent of meditating every day. I created a special meditation room in my home. Sometimes I light a candle before I begin. There I can pray, meditate, and find my focus for the day.

Here’s some ideas for things to include in your morning practice.

1) Start the day with coffee, tea, or water

2) Exercise – This can be some stretches, yoga, or a morning walk with the dog.

3) Journal – Writing a few notes in your journal is a way to capture what’s on your mind. You can start with a journal prompt, writing about the day to come, what you discovered in prayer, meditation, a daily focus… whatever comes to mind. There are no rules.

4) Prayer/Meditation – Slow down and breath. Take time to reconnect to the Divine within you. Listen to the quiet whispers of your soul. Ask for guidance. You will be surprised how centered and focused you can be with just a few minutes of morning prayer to ground you.

5) Personal Development – Dedicate yourself to be a lifelong learner. Read a chapter from your favorite book. Listen to a podcast. Do a daily devotional. Read a newsletter from industry experts. I have a Library of Love I look to for daily growth. In it are titles like “Simple Abundance” abd “Finding your Own North Star”.

6) Get inspired – Uplift your soul. This can be reading an affirmation like “I am happy, healthy, and free”. It may be a word like “courage” that you want to embrace for the day. Perhaps you found an inspirational quote that sparked your interest. I like to spend 10 minutes internalizing my daily affirmation.

7) Be Grateful – The more your count your blessings, the more blessings you have to count. Take time to recognize what’s wonderful in your world. When you appreciate and take joy in what you have, the universe sends you more.

8) Dream and Visualize your Day – What would you like to have, be do? Take a few moments to close your eyes. Imagine what you’d like to see happen. Feel it in your heart. When you feel excited and focus on what you want, it will attract it. What you think about, you bring about. Create a dream map on the wall. Have a dream chest with items and pictures that inspire you. Start a dream folder with pictures about what you’d like to attract into your life.

9) Make a plan – What three things if you did them would make the biggest impact for you? Tackle the biggest task first while you are sharp and full of energy.

So instead of turning on the computer, hopping into your email, and letting the day control you, setup a morning practice. It gives you a beautiful, centered time just for yourself. By easing into your day, you’ll find more joy and stamina to tackle the day.

Resolutions or Intentions? Don’t set yourself up for failure!

Every New Year we set resolutions to diet, to stop a bad behavior, break up with a jerk boyfriend or some other action we think is necessary to be successful or happy.

But wait a minute; three days into the New Year, the resolutions get kicked to the curb. What’s with that?

Why do we fail miserably at keeping our promises to ourselves? Are the resolutions we make realistic for where we are at today? Is there too much dramatic change required to ever get the ball rolling?

‘Resolution’ means finding a solution to a problem or, something settled or resolved. Being 20 pounds overweight or drinking a pitcher of stingers when you are out is far from resolved to me – as is hanging out with that criticizing toad of a boyfriend because you are afraid to be alone.

So should you set resolutions or intentions to create change and stop bad habits? ‘Intention’ is an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions.

I don’t know about you but that sounds a whole lot better to me, when creating change in your life. Especially the part about planned actions. How many times have you anticipated something happening and then it just happened? Voila!

So what planned actions have you decided on to help you accomplish your goals or resolutions for this year? Up to now you probably didn’t have any.

To create change in your life you must set an intention, you are sending out a desire, energetically, so that the Universe can respond by manifesting what you wish. A goal is more like a wish written on a piece of paper.

So how do you set intentions for 2014?

First forget your resolutions if you haven’t already.
Decide what your top 3 intentions to create desired change are for the New Year. Don’t make so many you can’t live up to them. Write them down.
For each intention, write a detailed description of what it looks like. (E.g.: I want to lose 15 pounds and drop 2 pant sizes by 6/30/2014). Be specific about what you want, with a measurable result and a date of completion. Completion dates are instrumental.

Now make 5 action steps for each intention that will support you in achieving your desired outcome (E.g.: Have just one piece of toast at breakfast, no bread at lunch, instead eat protein or vegetables, have an afternoon snack of fruit or yogurt, have dinner portions the size of your fist, do 30 minutes of cardio 4 times a week.

Make sure you read your action steps every day to reinforce your success.

By using this simple process, you will be the action hero of your own life instead of feeling like a failure for not keeping your resolutions.

I would love to hear how you do! I encourage you to set up a discovery session to review your intentions and implementation.

Live Faithfully,

Mal

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Mal Duane is a Best Selling Author and Personal Life and Recovery Coach who has overcome life challenges using the steps in the Alpha Chick Process. Her personal mission is to help women excel in all areas of their lives from business to personal relationships. Mal has been featured with Fox 25 Boston Morning Show, CBS Radio, Aspire Magazine, Healthy Living and Metrowest Daily News. She has also been a featured guest on over one hundred Blogtalk Radio shows discussing recovery and personal transformation.

Mal’s book, Alpha Chick, Five Steps for Moving from Pain to Power, is a best selling book and is available on Amazon.com.

Praise and Celebrate Life

The more you praise and celebrate life, the more there is in life to celebrate.
-Oprah Winfrey

In light of Oprah’s show coming to an end this week, I felt it appropriate to use a quote by this magnificent woman. I personally cannot think of another woman who overcame so much in their personal lives. I listened to her last week speaking of when she was a small child forced to sleep on a porch because her relative that was supposed to care for her did not like her. She has spoken openly of her abuse, her troublesome teen years, failed relationships and constant battle with her weight.

As she matured, she obviously developed a vision of how she wanted her life to be. It is apparent she never lost sight of it. Through incredible hard work, focus and determination, she created a media empire, second to none. When a woman taps into their divine will, never discouraged determination and a burning desire to help others, they become unstoppable. We are all born with divine will; we just need to take the time to find it.

Thank you Oprah for all you have done in the past twenty five years to help women worldwide. I know you have inspired me personally to do more, give more and live life to the fullest.

You are an Alpha Chick Queen.

Action Step: What vision do you have for your life that you are willing to work on with unstoppable determination? Please share with us on AlphaChick.com and Facebook.

Mal Duane
Alpha Chick