You are remarkable

Being vulnerable is not weakness, it is actually our strength. 

I know it’s not common wisdom and as women, so often when we reveal ourselves, we end up giving away our power. Yet it is our ability to deeply connect with each other that creates community,  support and collaboration. 

It is a rare thing in the business world to feel that someone has taken the time to truly see you, and moreso to allow ourselves to be seen. 

This week  I met with three men on three separate occasions. I was bowled over by the way that they approached me.  All numbers, vomiting their resume over the phone or on the table as if to prove that they had the chops to be in business. 

It struck me that that men may experience what women do - the feeling of being not good enough and not worthy. I always thought that men LIKED the competition, the hard push of things and proving that they were more worthy than the other guy. 

I was open and vulnerable with  them about my work in feminine leadership.  It was a stretch because most of the time I'm met with blank stares or men saying  "That sounds a bit obtuse".   I am no longer able?  willing?  to not speak about the importance of women empowering themselves to leadership. 

It was interesting that all three men softened as we talked and we experienced a profound and meaningful discussion that led to a change in attitude and understanding. 

It’s why the upward rising of feminine leadership is so important. 

 The fully grounded presence of feminine leaders changes the paradigm of what leadership can be about while at the same time making space for the healing of all who come in contact with her. 

You are so necessary right now. Your presence and brilliant mind is vital to the conversation. 

Don’t forget. You. Are. Remarkable. 

 XO Dawn

Stop The Positivity!

Okay, I want you STOP thinking so optimistically.

I know this is counter-intuitive for feminine leaders, especially women who are conscious and aware.

Is it time to stop hoping everything will work out and take action?    Do you ever feel that way?   Sometimes you've got to just take an assessment of what’s working and what’s not, and get on with making it better.

Remember, every good thing that has ever happened to you came because something changed.  It is the heart  of transformation.

Change is good, but the precursor to change is surrender.  And sometimes surrender feels like giving up the fight.  Maybe you are looking at a situation, knowing action has to happen and hesitating.

You know what you need to do.  What one tough decision have you put off making?  How much is it costing you to keep putting this off?  

We've all done it.   Procrastinated because it was, well, a tough call.  The more you fight against something, the stronger it becomes in your life.

Fighting is not always the way to success, sometimes letting go is.

It might feel like surrender.  When you read the word "surrender," you probably relate it to "defeat" but the two are entirely different.  Defeat means you've lost the battle; it denotes weakness.   Surrender means you've chosen not to fight and struggle anymore, and this decision comes from a place of POWER.  

The power comes from taking ownership of where you are today and knowing that you can create something better in the future - not by fighting and struggling but rather by looking for the next opportunity for you  to move forward.  

Successful entrepreneurs know that sometimes you have to cut the line and try something different. If you’ve got a chance to let go of what is less than perfect for you, and embrace what is really working, I hope you take it.  

You’ve only got two hands, and if both of  them are full with less than ideal situations you can’t reach out for what’s next.  To new, better, bigger opportunities and deeper  transformation!

Creating Intentional Joy

Let’s get on the right track today and talk about your everyday sources of positive thinking. It really is easy to start thinking in this manner. Pleasant thoughts are easily absorbed into your mind and make you feel better quickly.

The Mayo Clinic has actually done research on the results of positive thinking. By changing your mindset you can relieve depression, live a longer life, relieve stress and have the ability to fight any illness better.

Use the tips below to start thinking in a positive manner today:

Think nice thoughts – this is an easy step which so many people just don’t put into practice often enough. Aim to think pleasant thoughts about yourself and others several times a day.

Set Goals – it is great to set goals but they should be ones that are achievable and realistic. If your goal is out of reach you will give up and start treating it negatively instead of in a positive way.

Your Perspective – everyone faces challenges each and every day. You need to take all of this and put it into perspective. Learn how to deal with those small issues quickly and decide if they are worth bothering with at all. Don’t let small things get you down, instead focus on the larger issues and get them taken care of quickly.

Face Your Challenges – don’t let any challenge become a huge obstacle. It’s just like learning to ride a bike, you don’t give up, you learn how to master the challenge.

Be Grateful – this is a huge step in always being in a positive mind frame. Be grateful for all of the things you do have, don’t dwell on what you don’t or can’t have. This way when life gets in the way you can face the problem head on and resolve it.

If your health is suffering or you are feeling depressed and down it is time to take a good look at your life. Put things into perspective by being grateful for everything and everyone which you have around you.

Start off each morning by feeling grateful and feeling the positivity soak into your body.

It can help It can help to write down your daily goals along with a daily quote or affirmation and as a and then you can stay motivated and happy all day long.

The Joy of Life

I started this blog because I wanted a place to write about the things that really make me happy,  that create such an upsurge of energy that I can't help but feel good.

It seems life is so hectic that we seldom remember to simply be in the moment and feel happy.

I was walking down the street a few days ago looking for a particular store.  I looked on the marquee that showed the location of all of the stores in the outside mall I was at.

It was a beautiful day, Colorado at its finest.  And yet I was obsessed with thinking – and thinking about things that had no relation at all to being at the mall shopping.

Work, my website, an upcoming presentation.

My kids, a baby shower and what food needed to be made.

My grands and the new baby on the way.


My parents and their upcoming birthdays.

Then I saw the map.  YOU ARE HERE ↓

I had a huge aha!  moment -  and I stopped in my  tracks.

I realized in that moment that I was NOT here – only in body.  My mind was so busy jumping around that not only was in rooted in the past, I was jumping to the future with no real idea of what the future was even about.

YOU ARE HERE – when I read those words I took a deep breath and stopped – and took in the beauty of the day, the awesome weather, the fact that I was there – healthy, free, awake, and grateful.  I became the moment, and all of time stood still.

YOU ARE HERE instantly changed my biology from closed to open as I realized that I could let go of thinking about things that I have no control over – and instead focus on what is right in front of me.  My point of power and intention is always in the right now.

I can live in the past, try to predict the future, or I can stay here and experience the NOW.

Could you stop what you’re doing – just for a minute, take a breath and say to yourself – YOU ARE HERE.

Have a great day -

The Feminine Way of Manifesting

More and more, women are being tapped for prominent positions in politics, government and business.  In the last six months,  GM appointed their first female CEO,  following the lead of PepsiCo,  IBM, HP,  and DuPont, who all have women at the helm as CEO.    And of course the appointment of Janet Helm as first female chair of Federal Reserve leaves no choice but to

acknowledge that the energy of feminine leadership is rising.

  

We’ve come a long way and there’s still a lot of distance to cover – especially as we raise a new generation of strong and powerful young women to embody their own empowerment.

A recent survey of over 66,000 people worldwide concluded two thirds feel the world would be a better place if men thought more like women. This marks a global trend away from the winner-takes-all, masculine approach to getting things done. 

It seems that women are tired of the masculine, overachieving model of pushing, making it happen and of never being satisfied with what’s been accomplished, and that dissatisfaction is global.   

I know it doesn’t always feel like you’re that beautiful, creative, deeply connected woman that you really are.  It’s easy to forget what that feels like, and to be  swayed by what other people think is right for us.   I’ve totally been there. 

I got caught up in believing I had to perform using male energy; pushing, forcing, and “making it happen.” But the more I did those things, the less I manifested and the unhappier I became.

Over the last year or so, I’ve been  on a deep journey.  I was so tired of doing things the hard way.  I longed to rest in the ease and flow, and really learn how women create from that state of surrender.   Out of that I reconnected with the way that women manifest.   See,   I didn’t truly understand the power of female energy.   Somewhere along the way I was brainwashed into believing that the other way was better. I thought if I just tried harder and worked more, then IT would happen. I would be happier, richer, and more joyful if I could just get THERE. 

I knew that I was powerful but I didn’t know how to allow it to flow and deeply rely on my intuition.

Current business climate does NOT support using our gifts,  or show us how to use our gifts, but once you tap into them, NOTHING will stop you. Your life will move and flow with ease and more bliss..  

Once I embraced my feminine gifts and embodied them,  my work and my life felt like it was more on course; synchronicities appeared, opportunities came along, and it was easy.

And more importantly, this feminine way of creating is exactly the process that is used in decision making.  It’s the map of HOW leaders can make collaborative,  inclusive decisions that express  flexibility, empathy and cooperativeness.  (Traits that are listed as feminine leadership traits in the above mentioned study)

That’s the beauty of the feminine – ease and flow.  In my opinion, there are two ways to manifest or bring something into fruition.   One is through a descending flow of energy, and one is an ascending flow of energy. 

Men manifest using a descending flow,  from the 7th chakra down to the first.   This is also what most of the “intentional” and “think about it and create it” work is based on.   It goes like this: You have an idea, and you speak it out loud.  You write your affirmations and make sure you feel aligned with them – they resonate.  Then you take an inspired action and (in a perfect world,  given no unresolved blocks)  you create something.  It’s a descending flow of energy from the top down,  and it works.   I’ve done it many times, but what I noticed is that I always had to keep priming the pump to sustain the results.   Maintaining the experience relied heavily on the investment of my personal energy. 

The feminine manifests in an ascending flow of energy – from the first chakra up.  You know how this feels – you have a feeling  that something needs to change or that you’d like to create something.   It starts in the lower body area, the second chakra/hara/womb/lower dantien  - whatever  you call it based on your way of looking at things.   As you evaluate the idea,  you decide if you have enough personal energy to embrace it now,  and decide if you can really put your heart into it.  Then  you may have a conversation with a friend, a mentor or a coach and during that conversation the vision and inspired action becomes crystal clear.

It’s a lot like walking across a stream of water on stepping stones in a fog. We can only see directly in front of ourselves to see the next step.   For those of us who love to be in control this way of being can be not only frightening but downright terrifying.   It requires surrender without allowing the mind to be in control.

In a way, it calls for being “out of your mind”  and  not allowing the past to dictate what the future will hold.

Accessing that deep intuition is easy  - it’s our own internal guidance system.  It has three basic positions - 1. YES - deeply satisfying, nourishing,  2.  NOT SURE - maybe,  need more information,  unclear,  not YES, not NO and    3. NO WAY NO HOW - every part says absolutely not.  

Body sensation calibrates this GPS, and to really know what a YES feels like, we need to live there 60% of the time.   It requires a YES ratio  of 3:1.   Take a minute to identify times in your life that you’ve really felt the difference between YES, NOT SURE and NO.   What happened when you listened to it and what happened when you didn’t?     Now think of some decision you’ve been struggling with.  Staying centered in your body,  when you think of this how do you feel?   Is it a YES,  a not sure, or NO WAY? 

The feminine is not about tips, tricks and inside secrets.   It’s about creating from fullness who you are Being  rather than what you DO.   Who you are is creating what you are experiencing – let that be your expression of feminine leadership.  The world needs MORE women who are willing to walk powerfully, intuitively and live their feminine intention.