It’s Independence Day in the US…

An important day to thank and appreciate all military personnel and people who help us stay free and safe. As a 1st generation American from parents who came from a country where things are not as easy… I know we are SO blessed to live in this amazing country where we can pretty much do whatever we want AND decide to reinvent ourselves whenever we choose.

Is there something you can choose to free yourself from today?

• Maybe a past experience or “failure”
• A low self-image or pattern of self-talk
• Someone in your life who doesn’t believe in your dreams and works hard to make sure you doubt yourself and your abilities (I affectionately call these types of people “dreamkillers” – Jeff & I both were able to free ourselves of people like this in our past)
• A self-imposed, self-destructive pattern (maybe eating fast food, not exercising, or procrastination)

These are all things you can CHOOSE to FREE yourself from… right now. Granted, some of them may take time to really change, but it doesn’t have to take that long… You do have a choice.

Whatever you decide to change and free yourself from… write it down clearly, keep it somewhere where you see it EVERY day (and sometimes you’ll want to change whatever sign you put up… because you’ll get acclimated to it and get “used” to it until you don’t “see” it anymore!) Whenever you find yourself falling back into old, self-destructive patterns, choose again… and again… and again…

Keep a journal of appreciation (not a negative diary!) chronicaling your small victories and celebrating your progress…

Change does not have to be difficult once you are aware of what you want to be free of…

A few things I’m SO happy and appreciative of freeing myself from:

• panic attacks
• friends and family who became dreamkillers in my life (I kept the supportive ones & made new wonderful friends)
• self-imposed limitations on what I could achieve

So celebrate today by giving yourself the best Independence Day gift and freeing yourself from something keeping you from a joyous Life, emotional, financial and mental Liberty and so you can continue your Pursuit of Happiness.

This is a GREAT video…

How Many Time Did You Try…?

17 different chances to fail and learn!
I find this to be true… and exactly why I tell entrepreneurs I’m coaching to brand themselves and not be attached to their first idea….
Only 1% have the courage…

I love using other people’s stories to help me get over my fears and failures and moving forward towards more success and learning from the failure and or fear…

Though this is a promo for Honda, I really like the way they show that failures can make you keep moving forward in a better direction…

I love this video about finding Hope in all kinds of people, places and things… Where can you find Hope today or help someone else find it for themselves…?

And on Memorial Day in the US, I think it’s appropriate because that’s what our veterans help us to have everyday… Thank you!

The Top 3 Signs You Might Be Going Through an Important Transformation in Your Life…

Have you been going through a “tough time” lately..? Do you know you are meant to do more and fulfill a larger purpose? This year has been a year full of massive change for me. Last year I lived in Texas, now Im bistatal, living in both Texas and Atlanta, last year I had no kids, this year I have two wonderful boys whose lives I am helping guide into self-empowerment! So much change… so little time! Though it’s been great in many ways, it’s also been difficult and a bit overwhelming for me! The great thing is, I know all this was placed before me to help me grow and step up to fulfilling my purpose in a bigger and better way than before… so, since I’m going through what I believe is a full-fledged Transformation, I wanted to pose this question to you (and give you some of my answers!):

How can you tell if it’s just a rough patch or you are really undergoing a Transformation?

1) It Sucks Sometimes.

Ay chihuahua! Think about the little caterpiller… stuck in a cocoon, think about the birthing process… There are periods of expansion when things seem to be going smoothly and you’re moving forward, then there are periods of contraction when things seem stuck, unpleasant, annoying and uncomfortable at the very least. And you may even feel yourself moving BACKWARDS sometimes!
It can really suck. And that’s ok… It’s always darkest before the dawn… just be sure to Hold On!

2) Are You Getting Pushback?

Are you getting some pushback from people around you? Even from yourself maybe? Could it be because you are threatening to heal or complete or grow or become more empowered in some way? Listen, when you make the decision to grow and become more, to live a life of joy and fulfillment, you’ll get a lot of unhappy people around you. I guarantee it.
You’ve probably heard this said before… you cannot stay unhealthy/sick/poor enough to heal or help another person. Be aware and be compassionate when the people around you get upset that you are going through a transformation. It’s scary to them and can remind them of the growth they might not be doing in their lives. Send them blessings and keep moving forward with your growth.

3) Are You Growing From It?

Listen to your intuition. This is your inner wisdom and it’s always leading you in the right direction for you. Trust Yourself. The thing is, many times we get caught up in our own “stuff” and can’t see or hear ourselves clearly!
When that happens, It’s helpful if you can find a coach or mentor to help you grow though these periods of change. I’m heading to Martha’s Vineyard the second week of June to do just that with a 2 day Vision Weekend to get clear on my own vision and path for my life during this time of growth… I’ll come back with details on how it helped me during my current Transformation!

So be aware and awake to see the opportunities for growth during these times so you can emerge bigger, better, brighter! And when you do, there are people around you who you’ll inspire to live their best life too! (Hopefully, like my two soon-to-be-step-sons!)

I’m grouchy.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Mastermind meeting with some incredibly successful entrepreneurs making millions a year… The very last person who shared told us all a very different story. Instead of focusing on ONE business and becoming successful at that, he had been trying to branch out to 5 different business niches over tha past couple of years. It was no surprise that he was making absolutely no money.

In fact, he was in a really bad place.

We all gave him tons of advice and asked him to please email us with what he promised he was going to do with the advice. (Million-Dollar advice from all of us, I might add)

We haven’t heard from him.

These are my thoughts about chasing too many businesses at once. Jeff filmed this at our Beach House on the balcony, so it’s pretty darn loud (and actually inspired me to begin using the Kodak Zi8 with a lavolier mic – which works incredibly – so please excuse the windy-ness)

We were just talking about this and it made me so angry and sad and so Jeff said “Let me just tape you on your rant…”

I suggested he begin with ONE niche, one way to add value, one product… ONE and then use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Ezine Articles (They’re all FREE!!!)  to drive traffic to the site wherever his optin page (and offer) are… AND to stop thinking it will be INSTANT. Everyone thinks you can just slap up a page with an offer and (theme music to “Field of Dreams”) they will come… and if they come… they will buy…

Not so much.

They probably won’t buy at first, so you must Look at what’s really happening (Google Analytics can help you with that), see where the breakdown is happening & TEST.

* Are they coming to your site and not signing up? Change the optin offer to a more compelling & juicy one.

* Are they not buying, once they’re in your list community? Talk more about the benefits… Really do your homework on this one. Find some case studies so people can see the results.

* Are you doing any live online events so people can get to know you? Use a free teleseminar line or try the free trial of a webinar service (and be sure to press “record” to have something you can use over and over…) and do your presentation over and over until you nail it.

* Play the theme song to Rocky (or whatever moves you) to get pumped up each morning and keep moving forward with focus and faith.

Have you had failures…?

C’MON… it’s time to get over it and do whatever it takes to move forward. We all have. The most successful people have also had the most failures.

During that Mastermind, I got out of my chair several times, my arms swinging wildly, my voice getting louder trying to get him to see that he’s been chasing too many things at once… no wonder he’s not getting ANYWHERE.

Your past failures (and even your wild successes!) do NOT define you. The only thing that defines you is what you choose to do NOW.

This is a fabulous video to watch when you’re acting like Eeyore (which we all do sometimes!) Some tips from this great video when Dr Pausch appeared on the Oprah show:

1. Always be dreaming… never lose that spirit. “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted”
2. The brick walls that are in our way are there for a reason, to let us prove how badly we want things.
3. Remember the importance of People vs. Things
4. Decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eeyore. Never underestimate the power of having fun.
5. Work & Play well with others.
6. Show gratitude.
7. Don’t complain, just work harder…

If you lead your life the right way… the dreams will come to you.

Wow! I’m in the middle of creating a video series with Jeff Herring about how business has transformed over the last 12 months… and I came across this video from last Fall… I am completely bowled over by the difference in video quality compared to the high definition videos I’m now producing!

The content of this video still applies though, it’s theTop Ten Ways People Disempower themselves (personally & professionally)!

When you;re done watching the video, I’d love to ask you to fill out a quick survey to help Jeff & I with our upcoming (high-definition, schmanty, information-packed and fun) video series…

Click Here to Take The Short Survey!

Thank You in advance!

I LOVE this movie so much… It was created by a friend of mine Scott Stratten (a genius!) who has recently created a movie out of some of my writing that will be released soon to over 1.5 million viewers! Very Exciting…

Can’t wait to share it with you and I thought I would share this spectacular video with you today…

We ALL sometimes feel like giving up… NO ONE is immune to that feeling…

Don’t ever give up…

You may be right on the verge…

Look for the open door…

Go the extra degree today…

There are only 90 days left in the year. Make them count!
Love,
Maritza