Women in the LEAD

The Law Of Abundance

“All normal people are seeking an increase in food, clothes, better homes, more beauty, knowledge, leisure, pleasure, luxury, more satisfaction in their work, more increase of good in everything.  And rightly so, for it is a divine desire.  Thus, the normal desire for increased good should not be condemned or suppressed.  It is divine, and can be lifted to divine levels or expression through the spiritual laws of prosperous thinking.”

“The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity” by Catherine Ponder

It is perfectly normal as a human being to hold many desires in our lives.  As we look around the world, sometimes a feeling of guilt can set in as we see the inequity.  The truth is there are plenty to go around for all, and the more that we limit our thinking to scarcity, the more scarcity we create.

One more complex issue that we need to address in the world is the need for equity between the “haves” and the ‘have nots”.  How can those on the planet who have little to nothing, be brought more in to the fold of economic equity.  How can those that have very little be more involved in the virtual information exchange that is now, for most, openly available on this planet?  How can Catherine Ponder’s quote about the divine desires that we as humans hold become common place and totally available to all?  Does this mean some have to give up what they have worked hard to achieve?  I don’t believe so. 

Evaluate your life and chose three places where you could easily give to another in the next month.  In some cases this giving would involve no sacrifice.  In others it may.  In all cases, it would move our world more towards the divine levels of compassion and expression that we are all capable.

Maureen Simon

When Your Work Becomes Your Calling

“…when you are intimate with life’s secret, your work becomes your calling.  The word vocation comes from the Latin, meaning, “I call.”  Begin to think of your work as a calling.  The creative process is calling, singing its song in you and as you…the work becomes easy and fulfilling, and you become prosperous and successful in it. There is no pressure, for “the affluence of heaven and earth streams into you.”

From “Spiritual Economics: The Principles and Process of True Prosperity”, Eric Butterworth

This excerpt from Spiritual Economics, when one reads it through, seems so simple, so obvious.   It reminds me of John O’Donohue’s words –here is a unique destiny for each person.  Each one of us has something to do here that can be done by no one else.” 

These two strong writers have played a major influence in my life.  Many years ago I consciously decided to see the interweaving between my life’s work and my day to day life.   Today I am honored to work with women leaders from around the world as they develop powerful, successful, meaningful businesses and life work.  Not a day goes past that we do not address in one way or another, the above principles.  Women who are moving toward the top of our world are very aware that this weaving and integration must exist in our lives.  They are also becoming aware that they hold a unique role that they now must step in to as they lead incorporating feminine principles.

Where in your life are you being called?  To what?  Have you stopped to listen?

Maureen Simon

Declare Yourself To A Contribution

Unless our life holds the potential and possibility for us to contribute to something bigger than and outside of ourselves, we can lose the excitement for living.  Each of us holds a unique gift that the world is now waiting for.  Take a moment to notice where your life lights up, what topics and subjects in the news catch your eye and where your heart increases its beat.  These are the very places where we need to place more intention.

Some might say – “But where is that?  I can’t feel it.  I can’t find it.”  I would respond – “Listen – listen deeply”.  Like anything else in life, where we place our attention, information and energy follows.  Once we have made a simple commitment to listen, doors will open; new opportunities will come our way.  In most cases, we need to do little more than stay tuned – and listen.

Declare yourself to a contribution.  This is one way to begin the journey of advanced self awareness regarding our highest potential in this world.  Just the very act of contributing in an area of life or on an area of interest, will inevitably open many doors.  Take the first step.  Listen and move towards an area of interest that holds contribution, and then stay tuned.

Maureen Simon

Another Vision of the Media

Picture a world where the media’s primary purpose is to support the community.  Picture a media that ceases to force sex and violence consistently on the screen.  Picture a media that finds light – great stories of potential and possibility – and shares them with us in the early morning news.  Picture a media that shares world views and encourages the bridging of nations, communication and difference.

I recently attended an event in San Francisco and met a woman journalist/producer with a very prominent career who has decided to shift the focus of her life’s work to addressing children and the way the media markets and presents to them.  She is concerned that the subtle forced sales of items and ways of being are damaging our youth.  She is meeting with prominent people – celebrities and the like – to get their support in speaking to the world about the dark side that the media is presenting to children.

• What are we taking in on a daily basis in news, commercials and talk shows that is creating fear and negativity?
  
• What are the children being sold that in the long run is not supportive to their well being? 
  
• How can things be different?

Maureen Simon

Today's Thoughts Are Tomorrow's Reality

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday and our present thoughts build our life tomorrow:  our life is the creation of our mind.”

The Buddha

If we are wise enough to know that the thoughts of yesterday are building our life tomorrow, can we be wise enough to create thoughts of light, promise, generosity, hope and fulfillment.

• What thoughts did you create yesterday that you are now living the result of today?
• What thoughts today are you now choosing that will guide the direction of your life to come tomorrow? 

Be careful.  There is a direct correlation.  Make a conscious choice.

Maureen Simon

Creating An Amazing Salon For Women's Voices

This weekend I will be co-facilitating with my colleague, Camille Maurine, a Salon for Women of Influence.  Why the title?  Why this type of event focusing on women of influence?

Well, I must admit the time is now for women.  As we stand at a pivotal point in history, a time of quickening and challenge, where women’s voices need to be heard now more than ever.  The environment is crying out for care and protection and over 30 violent wars are raging on the planet.  Women know that crisis is also opportunity and that it is time for feminine attributes and gifts to come forward in the world.  We know that women now want to make a difference, a contribution.  We also know that women in circle form a powerful vehicle for change. 

Debbe Kennedy, my co-author of this blog, and I are equally committed to the role that women now must play in the world.  Speak your voice.  What do you now as a woman need to contribute to the state that our world is now in?  Take one action.

Maureen Simon

The Children Will Lead The Way

Over the past six months, I have had the rare and fantastic opportunity of befriending a number of young (age eleven to thirteen) foster children in my community.  My eyes have been opened to a higher level of trust than I personally have ever experienced in my life.  The children have had extremely challenging lives, some of their experiences are too difficult to repeat. Some live under the direct care of the State of California. Others have been fortunate enough to find extraordinary foster homes.  These children, without the care of parents, and often without any family, have had to in many ways fend for themselves. They hear the news and watch the state of our world from very different eyes.

As I watch these children and speak to them about their deep feelings, I am learning that they have had to truly surrender their fears to a place where they know that things will come out well.  I have seen and heard more optimism from these children – the survivors of some of life’s harshest experiences – than I have almost any where else in my life.  They have seen it all.  Yet something in their heart tells them to hang on, to believe that there is light sometimes in the darkest corners of the world.  When I speak to them, I am often uplifted and given an entire new view on deep, deep trust.

Maureen Simon

LEADERSHIP: International Women's Day

Today is our day to celebrate how far we've come as WOMEN and the amazing contributions we are making throughout the world.

In Dr. Helen Fisher's book, THE FIRST SEX: The Natural Talents of Women and How They Are Changing the World, she reminds us that we learning how powerful our "friendly pressures" can be on changing things for good. "As [women] use their innate talents to unite behind common causes, they are becoming a political force." She goes on to note just a few achievements she had noted:

• Women of Serbian, Bosnian,and Croatian background, self-named The Women in Black,lay down together in a square in Belgrade every Wednesday for several months to call for peace in 1997.
• In the Middle East, Palestinian and Israeli women have joined to rebuild safe areas for children.
• The Green Belt movement in Kenya has led more than 50,000 women to plant trees in their yards to combat desertification.
• In Ukraine, women are fighting nuclear pollution.
• Muslim women have worked together to write a manual, "Claiming Our Rights".

GREEN PICKING UP STEAM
This powerful movement of women's leadership has been on the move and picking up steam. One BRIGHT SPOT is women across the world leading the way for GREEN. One clear front-runner is a remarkable woman, Melinda Kramer, co-founder of the Women's Global Green Action Network.  In a San Francisco article by Gregory Dicum [SFGate.com], she inspires us all. 

"Women are inextricably linked to issues of environmental sustainability," Melinda Kramer explains, "as mothers, as caretakers, as food producers, as consumers and as nurturers." Kramer, who had been working with women leaders in Africa, China and Siberia, founded the organization to provide training and resources to female grassroots environmental advocates around the world.

"In order to ensure their own health, and that of their family and communities, women really need to manage and influence environmental policies," she says. "For a lot of women, environmentalism is too narrow a term for their work -- social justice and human rights have a lot to do with women's everyday responsibilities."

Women in the Lead at the Global Dialogue Center will be launching a new podcast interview with Melinda Kramer later this month. In this personal interview, she will inspire you and give you a whole new perspective on following one's heart and dream. Keep a lookout!

Remember as you celebrate our accomplishments one and all...

Welcome the unexpected.
Look for the uncharted path that bears your name.
Lead the way!

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
Home of Women in the Lead

Working Together: To innovate and influence

Growing a business takes a willingness to see when things aren't working and to make changes. Many of us have big dreams about being an entrepreneur---being free, in-charge and in-control. It truly can be all of these things, but it takes a lot of hard work and an openness to learn from your mistakes. Some years back, I interviewed a successful women entrepreneur in the printing business for a series of books I was writing. We had become friends and she really seemed to have the magic of growing a business down to a science. I loved the story she shared, which put things in perspective.

"We started our business with two women who wanted to find balance---between home life and work life. It was practically impossible. Customers don't want to work with people who want to work two days here and three days there. We also had a lot more to learn about the process that we had not anticipated in order to serve customers. This took time. The first few years were a struggle. I found several good people to work with. My idea was to have a company that would be completely women owned and operated---women running the presses, doing pre-press work, answering the phones, estimating and selling. I found this tremendously difficult. Not only was it difficult to find women to do these kinds of work, especially in skilled areas, but I found there was a very different dynamic when there were all women working together. In this particular situation, the work environment was anything but harmonious. This early experience taught me my first important lesson: People have to work well in teams for a business to succeed.

Ultimately, Lotus Printing became an organization with a diverse group of people from all over the world. "I've learned that diversity brings a vibrancy to our business. As I have turned the reins over to other people, I have had to work with those managers to make sure that suddenly everybody doesn't become all the same kind again."

Growing a business is just another example that proves that a diversity of thought, perspectives, skills and people drive creativity, innovation, teamwork and ultimately success. To grow a successful business, you need the best of many talents.

WOMEN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
Recently, I told this story again to point out that especially at this time in history, we have to come together ---- men and women ---- people of many differences to create new levels of innovation. I invite you to visit the Global Dialogue Center to LISTEN to a complementary recorded version of WORKING TOGETHER ... to innovate, influence and win webinar, sponsored by Microsoft Office Live Meeting and attended by over 400 men and women from around the world. The session includes learning about four critical skills that will help YOU transcend all kinds of change. You will find a free supporting PDF covering the main points of the presentation. Also, you can TRY OUT a my new WORKING TOGETHER audio podcast series that published monthly. 

What are your strengths in innovating, influencing and winning in your own right?
Build skills that will help you transcend change ... learn how www.globaldialoguecenter.com/workingtogether

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
Home of Women in the Lead

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/women

The Power of Now

Rather than wanting to hold to the past longer, and slow things down, and stop the aging process — just revel in the power of now! You can't stop time, and you won't stop the recycling process that is taking place upon this planet, nor would you want to — but you do not have to suffer the moving through time. Every moment can be more wonderful than the moment before.
Quote selected by Jerry and Esther Hicks
From the work of -Abraham

How do you relate to time? Do you need more?

Knowing that time is moving at it's natural pace and rhythm...how could you have a better relationship with time. Name one way. Begin it now.

Maureen Simon