Does it roll off your tongue easily and with conviction or …

Does it sort of get stuck and you feel kind of small or in some way it just doesn’t feel right to you?

If you are one of the many women who is living your life fully empowered, I applaud you!  What I am about to share could still impact your life.  However, I woke up very early this morning with a message on my heart for so many of the women I know (many followers of The Wonder Woman Challenge) who do NOT feel empowered or could at least live from a more empowered place.  In either case, read on.

“I am empowered!”

If you are not living empowered you are living power-less.  As women we so often give our power away leaving us in a very stuck place in life, which in the end leaves us with not as many options as we would like and often need.

It is very uncomfortable and down right depressing to wake up one day realizing that, as a woman, you have no choices in life or at best very few.

On the surface The Wonder Woman Challenge can look like a fun and fluff program, but in reality it is a program to teach us about who we really are, to love ourselves, becoming more authentic, finding our joy, AND living empowered.

Say it again, “I am empowered!”

Are you really?  Do you want to be?  Have you had enough living without the choices in life that you desire and need?  Have you had enough living power-less?

Have you had enough sitting in the backseat of YOUR life?  Yes?  Then you are ONE decision away from hopping in the front seat of your life to live more empowered.

What do I mean?

I am taking my own personal Wonder Woman Challenge to a whole new never before level, a bootcamp per se and I’m opening it up to you, my readers, to join me.

With God as my pilot and me as the co-pilot, I am stepping up (within my own authenticity) into courage to say, “I have had enough sitting in the backseat of my life living a power-less existence!”

“I AM empowered!”

The Wonder Woman Challenge Bootcamp will dramatically change our lives, yours and mine.  Along with creating more love and joy in our lives, we are going to:

• improve our health – what would that look like for you? Weight loss? A  more fit body?  Less dis-ease?

• improve our finances – what would that look like for you? If you don’t already, what would it be like to have your own money to do with as you please? What if you could impact your food budget?  What if you could have affordable maybe even free transportation?  What if you could save money?  What if you could lessen your family’s financial burden even in a small way?  And for some, what if you could put food on the table for your children?!  (There are lots of single mom’s out there super struggling having to “shop” at food banks.)

I am saying, yes, to truly living an empowered life The Wonder Woman Challenge way from a place of self-love, self-care, self-nurture! And as I am impacting my life, I will be impacting the lives of others and you can too!

The Wonder Woman Challenge Bootcamp – “I am empowered”!

I know but I know that this message resonates with a certain group of women who are hand picked for this kind of bootcamp.  Let’s find out if you are part of that group.  I sure hope so!  Email me at:

wonderwoman@shileennixon.com (subject line: TWWC Bootcamp)

Letting love flow,

Shileen

In Part 1 of this series, Know Your Truth: Think, Speak, Live , we discussed how living out our truth takes courage, it is a process, and that we need to be careful to not get stuck in the process. In today’s article we are discussing how to step up in courage to get the think/know and speak part of knowing your truth moving.  Trust me!  Putting these things into practice will get your heart pumping with excitement (even if it is a bit scary)!

“It takes courage to speak our truth. Speaking our truth allows what is deep inside of us to come out – our hopes, dreams, desires, beliefs, who we are. Many of us let life’s not so fun circumstances run amuck, which swallows up our truth eventually leaving us lost and depressed. Oh my, how I know that all too well. There comes a point in time, though, when enough is enough.” ~ Speak Your Truth & Soar!

It does take courage to speak our truth!

Sometimes it even takes courage, a ton of courage, to admit our truth in thought much less speak it. And sometimes it takes a ton of courage to think our truth, to speak our truth, AND then to LIVE our truth.

Think, speak, live!

Whatever your circumstances you CAN rise above it! It starts with your thoughts. What are you thinking? Are you stuck in the negative spiraling journey into defeat and failure? If so, it’s time to do something about it.

It’s time to have an honest moment with yourself. Get quiet, no distractions … no TV, no music, phone, people, etc. Go for a walk, go to your favorite spot in the house, or wherever you need to go to hear the honesty in your spirit about you. All you have to do is to listen without judgement. Let it bubble up and just hold it in a safe place in your heart.

From your thoughts allow your speech to affirm what you are holding in your heart. Declare your truth … yes! … out loud! C’mon say it right now! Even better, go to the mirror, look yourself square in the eye and declare your truth, out loud! Say it again, but this time say it like you really mean it with conviction! How does that feel? Don’t judge what you feel just acknowledge it and move on saying it again and again. At this point you may want to journal whatever comes up.

Continue to hold your truth in that safe place in your heart, continue saying it out loud to yourself, and continue journalling about it. At some point when you are ready begin sharing your truth with safe people. Be selective especially early on with whom you speak your truth to because this is a delicate time. As you grow more confident you can shout it from the roof tops.  Actually, for that matter, you may be ready from the git go to shout it from the roof tops. If that is you? Then go girlfriend!!

Are you excited, scared, depressed, still feeling numbed out?  Do you feel something bubbling up inside that makes you feel like you know but you know?  I love hearing from you so please do share whether in the comment section or shooting me an email!!

We think/know our truth, we speak our truth, and now it’s time to put it all into action. Many people get stuck here when it comes to living out our truth, our authenticity.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of Knowing Your Truth: Think, Speak, Live as we dive into the nuts and bolts of living out our truth.

Photo credits:  Intuitive Development

“It takes courage to speak our truth. Speaking our truth allows what is deep inside of us to come out – our hopes, dreams, desires, beliefs, who we are. Many of us let life’s not so fun circumstances run amuck, which swallows up our truth eventually leaving us lost and depressed. Oh my, how I know that all too well. There comes a point in time, though, when enough is enough.” ~ Speak Your Truth & Soar, TWWC article 2009

Talk about resonating! This excerpt from Speak Your Truth & Soar grabbed my heart today because in recent months I have found myself in that exact spot of being in not so fun circumstances running amuck in my life.  The result?  You got it!  Feeling lost and depressed and might I add fragile.

Last month I wrote about my being on that crazy merry-go-round kind of life knowing that the only way to get off would mean making some tough decisions.  Enough became enough when finally, I stepped up into courage and made some changes and now I am in the process of adjusting to what that means, and it is good.  You will be seeing the results of this in the next few coming weeks!

Discovering and living out our truth is a process.  Over the next while I will be posting about this because discovering is not enough!  We have to do something with what we discover!  And then we have to be careful to not get stuck in the process or we will never truly shine … or put another way, we will never fully bloom into who we were created to be.

Do you know your truth?

Do you speak your truth?

Do you live your truth?

If this brief article is causing something deep within you to stir, take heart!  This is a very good thing because you are in the right place at the right time.

Stay tuned for more on Knowing Your Truth: Think, Speak, Live.

Share in the comment section below if there is a stirring and/or what it means for you.

Today I am busting out of my comfort zone.  My thoughts this month have been on “my truth”, meaning who I am, my authenticity  … who I am truly created to be, and stepping into more of my truth/authenticity.  To do that we have to set aside our fears or better yet face our fears and move through them.

Having said that, I have been wanting to create videos for over a year but I have let fear stop me.  Today I am facing that fear (oh boy!) and moving through it.  I am busting out of my comfort zone!

Today I give you my very first video that is a simple (and awkward) greeting.  My desire is to give you so much through video including encouragement, how to’s, and examples of my own self-nurture practice.  I trust that it will get easier with each video.

I leave you with this question.  What can you do today to step out of your comfort zone and into more of your own truth?

With no further ado …

Please subscribe to my You Tube channel here ==> Wonder Woman Challenge Videos

Shileen & Georgie

I was way out of my comfort zone.  To so many it was no big deal, but to me?  It was a very big deal.  Leading up to what I considered the big event, I consoled myself by telling myself that I would not die from it … that is, the part that created the most fear in me.

I knew that the trip was crucial in my journey but I did not know why.  I was venturing out to do something new … on my own … totally alone!  The last time I did anything like this alone was 27 plus years ago.  Yeah!  Along time ago!!  My traveling legs were a little wobbly to say the least.

Authenticity is speaking.  We all have things that cause us to want to withdraw into our safety zones … to play it safe and then we rationalize it with all kinds of crazy ideas that can really sound convincing.  But if you and I check our inner guidance system (IGS … cute!) and have a moment of truth with ourselves, we will know that it is fear holding us back.

I could not allow fear to hold me back from traveling across country to LA to meet the woman who taught me about my inner guidance system and how to read it, care for it, and nurture it.  I could not allow fear to hold me back from learning about the most beautiful company that has crossed my path to date.

God ordained this trip.  I knew that.  And if I said no I would be saying no to God and I knew that that would put a real kink in my journey.

First of all, let me just say that the trip … the airport and flying part … WAS NO BIG DEAL! Ha!  I now know I can fly anywhere alone and I will be ok.  Yay!

Secondly, oh my goodness!!  Georgie Holbrook and I got to meet for the very first time and it was so awesome.  She is my personal Emotional Wellness Coach of about seven years. It was so much fun and such a blessing for us to spend time together.  She and I have a lot of work to do professionally and we are both excited to see how it all unfolds.

And third … let me set up like this …

Saturday I received a text message from my spiritual director telling me that he believed that God would speak to me that day.  I could feel it to be true as my inner guidance system was on overdrive!  The day was chalked full of fabulous speakers and oh so much information about a beautiful liquid collagen product called Jusuru.

It was the very end of the night when they were wrapping things up after a great awards ceremony.  I don’t remember who was speaking or what was being said but in an instant I heard God’s still small voice.  “There are people in your circle of influence and who will be in your circle of influence that will need what’s inside this bottle in order for them to experience a miracle.  You are the person to make that delivery.”

My immediate response:  And there it is.  There is the message my spiritual director was referring to and one my own inner guidance system was expecting.

Oh but what a responsibility!  I don’t know how it will all play out … I just know that I am to be a vessel in which Jusuru is shared.  It won’t be for everyone, but it will be the miracle some are waiting for.

Is it for you?  I haven’t a clue and I will not pretend to know either.  My job is simply to present.  The rest, my dear reader, is up to you.  I just ask that you check in with your inner guidance system on this one!  It could be one of those God things for you that you won’t want to pass by.

What a fabulous trip I had!  Honoring your inner guidance system, which I believe God uses to guide us, can take us outside of our safety zones … our little box.  Sometimes we have to step up and out in courage that will take us to the next step or level in our journeys leading to higher heights!  =)

Have you checked in with your inner guidance system lately?  Where might it be leading you?  Would you like to know?  Maybe you do know but you need a little encouraging support.  Do you need some help?  I’m just an email and a phone call away!

Liquid collagen for healthy joints & skin!

I had no idea what brought me joy so I began to explore the world around me in little baby steps.  Never underestimate those tiny gestures like buying yourself a flower, allowing yourself a little time to read for pleasure and/or work on a hobby, sneaking a few minutes away at your favorite cafe, a bubble bath, exercising, etc. … while all at the same time being aware in the moment relishing the time and appreciating yourself.

As I did those things I learned about myself, I tapped into myself, and began to explore bigger things like the Internet.  And, I dared to believe that I could make a difference some how online.  It wasn’t always easy because sometimes my own fear would want to stop me but I persevered as I wanted more in my life and I knew that I was destined for greater things.

Twitter came along as did facebook.  My world continued to open up.  The next thing I knew I started The Wonder Woman Challenge.  And in the middle of all of that (and less than a year ago) I connected with a pastor from Nigeria who quickly became my pastor, my mentor, and my friend.  And just so you understand he actually lives in Nigeria and I’m in the US.  Pretty crazy!

Our hearts resonated and we began to work on projects together.  One thing lead to another and just this past August WD Favour took his first trip off the continent of Africa and visited all of us here in Pittsburgh laying a strong foundation for further work to impact the world.  And here is the kicker!  I’m a part of this world impacting work as are my best girlfriends!!

How can this be??  You could say it’s the law of attraction or the law of agreement and you wouldn’t be wrong.  But it’s my personal belief that the bond we share goes way beyond the natural laws of this world and into the spiritual realm that only God Himself could orchestrate.  Words cannot express the awesomeness of this experience and even what’s to come in the very near future.

Let me take this back around.  When I was dead I had to start some place to lead me out of that position of being a depressed victim.  I had no idea where those initial baby steps would lead me.  I’m sure that if someone had told me that a few years later I would be working with a pastor from Nigeria impacting the world I would have said that they were crazy.  Now that I’m here, I can’t tell you how excited and alive I feel.  I know but I know that greater and bigger things lie ahead of us and I just can’t wait for it to all unfold.

As WD, my pastor and mentor told me long ago and reminded me just a couple of weeks ago … I’ve been waiting my entire life for this experience.  He is so right.  I was created for such a time as this.  It’s a thrill to be alive!

Do you know what you were created for?  Are you ready to come alive in a way that you’ve never experienced before? All you have to do is take the next step that’s right in front of you.  Do you know what that next step is?

For WD’s latest post concerning the impact of his trip click here:  http://wdfavour.com/the-pain-of-parting

I love The Wonder Woman Challenge website.  It represents me pretty well.  It’s cute, girly, feminine, fun, etc.  Does that mean it’s not relevant?  No, not at all.  It is quite relevant and where it looks like it’s all fun and games, it is far from that.

I keep hearing over and over stories of women who have lost themselves in taking care of their families and responsibilities.  And/or in pleasing everyone but themselves putting everybody else’s needs above their own.  The outcome is always sickness, depression, and unhappiness.  Time and time again I hear a version of this story.

Realize that this does not have to be a way of life for you.  You always, always have choices.

Have you ever considered what you’re designed to be?  Who you are designed to be?  Do you know what makes your heart sing?  What brings you absolute joy in a soulful way?

Stepping into your God-give unique design is a simple decision that will look different for you depending upon where you are on the journey.

1. If you have no idea what your unique design is then your decision is to choose to take the path to discover it.  This requires playful exploration along with personal coaching.  The Wonder Woman Challenge provides both of these elements.

1. If you already know what your God-given unique design is but are not living it out then your decision is to step out in courage and into your design.  This, too, can require coaching and continued self-care strategies to keep you in tune with your needs, desires, and dreams.

Either way, you are one decision away from discovering who are you, which means living a joy-filled life.

If it’s that simple why does it take courage?  Because you are daring to believe that you can be something different than you are right now regardless of your current circumstances.

I can guarantee that you are a beautiful, brilliant, passionate woman waiting to be recognized as such.  It’s all within you.  Take the simple step that’s right in front of you to know, be, and live your God-given unique design.

Which simple decision do you need to make today that will take you to what you were designed to be?  Do you need to begin the discovery journey or are you ready to step into your design and live it?

I would love for you to share where you are on this journey.  Leave a comment below, and as always, please let me know how I might help.

Do you ever experience that?  How do you react to your inspired ideas?  Are they met with resistance and judgment or with an open heart and courage?

An inspired idea can become an inspired reality when we embrace the idea with courage taking the next step in front of us.  It doesn’t mean that it has to be a long drawn out process as we can move as fast as we’re willing to go.  But sometimes we get stuck in resistance and fear for lots of different reasons that I’ll not cover right now as that can be a post all in itself.  So the best way to conquer fear and/or resistance is to act in courage by taking the next step in front of you.

Maybe you’re thinking that you don’t have any inspired ideas or dreams.  Many women have spent years taking care of every one and everything to the point they are numbed out and their dreams have become buried.  This also means that inspired ideas are rare.  Is that you?  Then I suggest you start playing immediately to create joy in your life!

The more we consistently nurture ourselves the more inspired ideas we receive, and also the more in touch we’ll be with our joys and dreams.  This also means that you will begin to move away from depression if this is something that grips you.

Speaking of depression.  I’m acting on an inspired idea and taking the next step in front of me to achieve it.  I’m compiling stories of how women have overcome depression.  The stories will more than likely be put together in an e-book although that’s not totally determined yet.  This is a “women helping women” project for the purpose of giving hope and encouragement for so many who struggle with depression.

If you have a story or know someone who has a story please email me at wonderwoman@shileennixon.com for information on how to participate.

We have discussed that:

1.    Self-care sets the stage for inspired ideas and fulfilled dreams.
2.    When the ideas come you must embrace those ideas. Take courage and act on them quickly before they die out.
3.    Embracing these two concepts will help to move you away from depression and towards your joy.

Are you practicing self-care?  Are you receiving inspired ideas?  Are you courageously acting on them?  When was the last time you allowed yourself to dream?

Please leave a comment with your thoughts.

It takes courage to speak our truth. Speaking our truth allows what is deep inside of us to come out – our hopes, dreams, desires, beliefs, who we are. Many of us let life’s not so fun circumstances run amuck, which swallows up our truth eventually leaving us lost and depressed. Oh my, how I know that all too well. There comes a point in time, though, when enough is enough.

Enough IS enough! That’s what I am hearing, in so many words, from my clients. Who they are deep inside is screaming to get out. I’ve been there and I know what that feels like.

What holds us back? What holds you back? Boil it all down and the answer is fear. There’s a lot of good advice out there about facing your fears. I just heard a little phrase yesterday – “feeling the fear and doing it anyway”. Not bad … but the bottom line is this. “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” or “What we think about comes about.”

Understanding what we’re afraid of can be helpful, but by all means, stop focusing on it! You’ll just keep getting more of the same. Thanks, but no thanks!!

Today, right now let your focus be on courage, whatever the situation, and speak your truth! Don’t let those thoughts of fear keep you from speaking and living your truth. That fear may have been true for you once upon a time, but it no longer is your truth today.

Focus on courage! Focus on your truth! Speak it! Believe it and watch your spirit soar!!

“Be strong and courageous …” Joshua 1:6