People in Our Lives by Chelle Cordero

“No one can cross the path that is your life without
leaving some footprints behind” ~ Chelle Cordero

It is my belief that every person we encounter in our life changes us, sometimes significantly and sometimes barely. We have conversations where we can learn, we bump shoulders and get attitudes, we share a special smile and their cologne lingers. Later we smell the cologne and automatically smile, we see someone frown and we think of our annoyance, or we suddenly have an answer to someone’s query and can’t remember where we learned it.

There are strange friendships formed with random people. We find ourselves enjoying discussions and look forward to our next chance meeting. What is the reason these people are placed in our paths? Is there a higher power controlling these encounters? Or is it just plain simple chance? Whatever the reason for these acquaintances it helps us to grow and learn, and we should be grateful for these experiences. When we listen as well as talk we open our minds, we learn, and we think. We engage in conversations that interest us and these are the opportunities where we can immerse ourselves in topics that might not normally be part of our everyday existence.

While I do not like the vitriol that often accompanies political arguments before elections, I do enjoy the well-informed sharing of ideas. For the most part I admit that there has been no FaceBook discussion that has changed my mind about who to vote for, but when these cyber friends are willing to share researched and verified facts I like to absorb the information, and it is especially welcomed when they are willing to listen to other verified facts, even those that present another view; for me I have more clarity and confidence in my perspective and decisions.
And while you may ask how we both present true facts and yet still disagree on our chosen candidate, we each have priorities and what may be important to me is not necessarily the most important to someone else. In Junior High School I had a teacher who taught us how to debate by arguing the side we did not believe in; he said that it taught us how to see things from other viewpoints and it certainly did.

Of course the people I believe have had the most influence in my life are my immediate family members: my parents, my sister, my husband and my children. These are the people who have taught me how to love unconditionally and still feel entitled to my own opinions. My parents, now long gone, left me lessons that help me work out problems and challenges even now, many years later. My family has shown me that true love means seeing someone’s faults and Laurels and still knowing how deeply you need and love that person.

My daughter once countered me during a disagreement by saying that we had only ourselves to blame for raising our children to think “for themselves”, something which, to be perfectly honest, I greatly respect them for. I learn from each member by hearing and seeing things through their ears and eyes. So as they have thought for themselves and married people just as headstrong, they have easily shared their opinions and given us lots of “food for thought”.

Value every person that you cross paths with. Every person adds something to your life even if it was just a momentary contact. Treasure the good experiences and rely on those memories when you need encouragement — and, while I hope they are few and far between, use the negative moments to help you make decisions which will avoid the disappointments in the future.

Women in Charge

Who’s The Boss? More Women
Decide They Are
Business Woman Offers Advice To Others Ready
To Take The Entrepreneurial Plunge

The number of American women who own their own businesses is on the rise.

It’s estimated that more than 9.1 million women now lead their own enterprises. What’s more, from 1997 to 2014, when the number of businesses in the United States grew by 47 percent, those owned by women grew by 68 percent, according to a report published by American Express OPEN.

One woman who is part of that trend – and is helping other women become their own bosses, too – says those statistics may not be that surprising.

“I think many women are willing to branch out on their own because they decide that the benefits outweigh the risks,” says Dr. Diana Hoppe, founder of Amazing Over 40 Inc. (www.amazingover40.com), a health coaching certification program for women.

“We live in a time when people often re-invent themselves because job opportunities are limited or they are looking for new challenges.”

Hoppe says that when you do that, it’s important to study the market to see where the opportunities are going to be and find a good fit for yourself.

“The women I work with who are going into health coaching, for instance, understand that having a health coach is a major trend in fitness,” she says. “So look at the trends. Where will the opportunities be?”

Dr. Diana Hoppe says there are plenty of advantages to starting a business. Among them:

• Be Your Own Boss. When you own your own business, you can discover what it’s like to be fully independent, dictating your own path without anyone looking over your shoulder. You’re the boss and the decisions are yours.

• Set Your Own Schedule. Maybe you want to work a full 40-hour week, or maybe you are seeking a part-time schedule. When you are setting up your own business, you have more flexibility about when, where and how you work.

• Find Work That Fulfills You. Those who start a business can create a career for themselves that provides fulfillment. Hoppe says she has seen that in action with women who decided to become health coaches. They can personally change the lives of the clients they work with, helping them take charge of their health and discover their best selves. “I think it’s always important – whether you are launching a business or building a career working for someone else – that you find something you consider rewarding,” she says.

But it’s also critical to have a strong business plan so that you understand the market, have specific goals and know how to achieve those goals.

“If you don’t focus on building a strong foundation for your business at the beginning, it is likely to fail or not grow as fast as it can,” Hoppe says.

Among the factors to consider is that some businesses require more overhead than others. For example, if you are working from home, you don’t need to worry about leasing commercial space. Regardless, it’s crucial to make sure you have the necessary capital for whatever business you launch.

That’s been challenging at times for women, according to the National Women’s Business Council. Research shows that businesses owned by women start with about half the amount of capital as men, the council reports.

But don’t think you need millions of dollars, Hoppe says. Many successful businesses have been started with a relatively small amount of money.

“One of the most frequent questions I get asked involves what the start-up costs are for becoming a health coach,” she says. “This is a good example of one of the less costly businesses to start. Mainly, you just need business cards, a cell phone, a computer and transportation. Of course, not every business is quite that simple.”

Once a business is in full swing, one goal is to continue to grow the business while keeping current clients or customers happy, Hoppe says.

“One thing you can do for your customers is develop a relationship with them by engaging them on social media or by keeping them interested with email content,” she says. “Customer service is a critical part of any business because once someone begins to use your product or service, you want them to keep coming back.”

About Dr. Diana Hoppe

Dr. Diana Hoppe, an obstetrician and gynecologist, is the founder of Amazing Over 40 Inc. (www.amazingover40.com), a health coaching certification program for women.

She also is an author and speaker who has been featured on a number of TV shows, including “Dr. Oz.”

Book Promo: The Jetstream of Success

5 Rules for Becoming an Intellectual Maverick

Life Requires More Than a Whisper of Wisdom
Says Venture Capitalist

No matter how well our lives may be going, many of us seem to be at our wit’s end when it comes to attaining that next level of success, but there is a solution to this challenge, says world-traveling entrepreneur Julian Pencilliah.

Whether we want to improve our relationships, spiritual development, emotional well-being, health or monetary ambitions, we so often find that we’re our own greatest enemies, says Pencilliah, author of “The Jetstream of Success,” (www.thejetstreamofsuccess.com).

“You see it time and time again – individuals rise out of the most devastating circumstances and transform their lives into greatness,” he says. “If you’re in a place where you feel that life’s closing in on you, and you have a pressing urgency to transform your misfortune into a positive opportunity, then you must embrace the fact that realizing your potential is a process.”

How does one start this process? Become a student of your own history and become an intellectual maverick, says Pencilliah, who reviews the attributes that must be developed to make progress possible.

•  Irrevocably change your world. Piece together an ever-fuller understanding of yourself with the intention of reinventing yourself a thousand-fold. We should always aim toward exponential achievements, with the wisdom of knowing that we are not chasing the achievement, but rather chasing the consciousness of who we need to become in order to materialize our success.

•  Think with sophistication. This is your capacity to become more strategic in your approach to life. This simply means that you need to become more process-oriented, rather than goal-oriented. Intelligence is knowing what’s required of you.Sophisticated thinking is the process of making successful decisions over a lifetime.

•  Exceed probability amplitudes. Achieving success in any arena of your life is framed within your ability to eliminate innate weaknesses and biases. History tells us that not all greats have off-the-chart IQs, nor are they born with limitless freedom. In fact, it’s the triumph over less-than-favorable circumstances and a determination to achieve that often builds the character necessary for success. Great individuals set out to achieve outstanding results, and make their decisions within intellectual criteria. All the greats have engaged a higher impulse, a higher bandwidth, and an inherent strength.

•  Smile with radiance. Life is beauty in every direction, but we are often unable to see it if we are too consumed with our lives. The simple truth is that you can touch more of the beauty of life only by touching your own beauty. If you look through the lens of love, gratitude and contribution, then you will be able to see and touch more of the infinite beauty that makes life on Earth a heaven. Learn to smile like sunshine every day and brighten up your world.

•  Get lucky. “I would love to tell you that your destiny is written in the stars, but it is actually written within the confines of your interpretation of life,” Pencilliah says. “Luck has more to do with self-engagement than any random twist of fate. Be bold and champion your life to exceed the probability amplitude of any statistic of luck.”

We are all endowed with the ability to achieve success in any facet of our lives; success is framed within the definition of the analytical tools and emotional disciplines necessary to champion your life forward, he says.

“Above all, I live by three simple words: compassion, love and gratitude,” Pencilliah says. “We need to act on these three words daily. Doing so will irrevocably change your world.”

About Julian Pencilliah

Julian Pencilliah, (www.julianpencilliah.com), is the author of the new book, The Jetstream of Success, (www.thejetstreamofsuccess.com), which is an Amazon Top 10 e-book best sellers in the self-help category. As a venture capitalist, he has taken a bold approach to life, which includes 20 years of accomplished business acumen. Whether it’s going face-to-face on a dive with great white sharks in the depths of the Atlantic, racing Formula One cars throughout the world or being on a game drive with Virgin billionaire Sir Richard Branson, Pencilliah’s lifestyle has served as a platform for him to draw analogies to connect with readers. This allows the reader to stitch together an ever-fuller understanding of their self, enabling progress toward their ambitions.