You Can Love Your Life Now!

Lovin’ Life Now! Newsletter

Volume I, Issue 4: Try a Little Kindness: What Ever Happened to the Golden Rule!?

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In this Issue:

1. Welcome!

2. Try A Little Kindness: What Ever Happened to the Golden Rule!? (Featured Article)

3. Announcements/Offers

4. About Lovin’ Life Now Weekly Newsletter

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1) Welcome to this issue of our Lovin’ Life Now! Weekly newsletter. A special hello to you if you are receiving this for the first time. Feel free to pass this on to anyone you think might be interested in it.

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2) Try A Little Kindness: What Ever Happened to the Golden Rule!? (Featured Article)

By Charlene M Brown

I often take walks in my neighborhood. Sometimes I am thinking, sometimes I am people watching, sometimes, I am just grateful for my surroundings.

One thing I notice fairly regularly, however, is that people always seem to be so angry at one another. Especially drivers.

Drivers are quick to impatiently honk their horn at another driver, often for things that are neither of their faults: If a pedestrian is crossing the street with small children, do you really want the car in front of you to mow them down!? I don’t so.

I am from a major city whose drivers (and pedestrians) are not known for their niceties. In fact, we have a reputation for being quite rude. And driving in this city can frustrate even the best drivers.

Just a few of these examples include the one-way streets that stop and start throughout the city, but going in the opposite direction each time; and whole neighborhoods that are numbered separately from the rest of the city and where the East-West split is a diagonal street.

So I understand people’s frustration.

Road Rage is very prevalent here. But people, as a whole, are just so angry all the time. What ever happened to “doing unto others and we want done to us?!” What ever happened to putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve also observed that most people are stuck in their own little bubble and think they are the only one on the road. They do things like suddenly slow down in steady traffic, make left turns from the far right lane, make u-turns (and Philly drivers know how to make u-turns!) without really enough time or space to do so. Believe me, I understand all of this.

But I still think we are missing compassion from our lives, not only driving, but everywhere we go.

In the United States, I would venture that most people don’t like their jobs. They feel like they are doing what they have to do to make ends meet. Customer service reps are rude (kind of ironic for a country that supposedly prides itself on having excellent customer service), and often don’t answer your concerns.

People are ill-tempered and short with you when you talk to them. Everyone is always complaining. Employees don’t like their bosses and bosses can’t get the employees to work. People work three jobs and still can barely support their families. People are underpaid and overworked and having to take on responsibilities that never should have belonged to them in the first place.

It is quite understandable that people are angry. Life Happens!

But what if each of us tried to show a little compassion in our daily interactions with others; tried to be a little patient with other people on a daily basis. Instead of holding onto grudges and vowing vengeance, what if we tried to see the other person’s viewpoint and work it out like compassionate human beings.

What if we stopped teaching war and hate and instead started teaching peace and tolerance as viable means of communication? What would our world and our streets and our neighborhoods look like then!? What if we celebrated our common thread of humanity instead of raging on in senseless wars over our differences? What if we did, in fact, treat each other as if we are all part of the same Divine Entity (Divin-ity), As if we are all beloved parts of the same Whole!?

I bet we would eliminate the need for car horns!

Try that in your interactions today. Try to remember the compassion!

A Big HUG To You!

~Charli

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3) FREE Stuff! Are you looking for True Happiness? Or perhaps you want to be “Well” all of the time? Or maybe even learning to really Know yourself. We think these are so important too! So we want to give you these FRE.E gifts to help you get there! We have Two FREE E-books! The first, Knowing Yourself Like the Back of Your Hand, you can get to by clicking here. See #4 for our True Happiness E-book! That’s a $20 value absolutely FREE!

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4) About The Lovin’ Life Now! Newsletter

To SUBSCRIBE, go to our website www.YouCanLoveYourLifeNow.com and enter your name and primary email in the box on the right. You will also get our daily Lovin’ Life Now! Tips and our great FREE download, “True Happiness in the NOW: The 11 Steps to Get You There!

Please forward this newsletter to anyone you know who is looking to get their life back on track (or who may have an interest in any of our information).

You Can View Past Issues of our newsletter here: http://www.youcanloveyourlifenow.com/category/newsletters/

Want this article for your own website or e-zine? Feel free to use it as long as you include this paragraph.

Using an intuitive approach, Charlene Brown started You Can Love Your Life Now!.com to assist women to find and live their BEST Lives! Go to www.YouCanLoveYourLifeNow.com for more information and to download her FREE e-book True Happiness by 35: The 11 Steps to Get You There!

© 2009 You Can Love Your Life Now!

By Charlene M. Brown

When I Google the term “renaissance women” I get quite a mixed bag of results that range from medieval to angry and militaristic. There are doctor’s offices as well as the ladies of the Harlem Renaissance. All of these were good information, but not quite what I searching for.

Read the rest of this entry »

Charlene M Brown

I have a creative streak! Sometimes I keep her hidden. But when I do that for too long, she gets angry with me and bursts out, demanding to be heard. She took over me last night. This fun little activity was the result:

I was writing affirmations in bold Crayola Markers! My colored pencils got jealous and jumped out of the box, forcing me to do something with them.

Take a few pieces of paper (I was using the scraps from my affirmations) and cut or tear them into fun shapes and sizes. Any kind of paper will do, colored or white, construction or typing; you can even use scraps like I did!

Once you have a few different shapes, take each one and write something positive or encouraging on it. Write at least ten of these. I had 24 jealous colored pencils to appease, so I did 24, one for each color.

Then make all of the shapes of paper about the same size. This may require some folding for some or all of them, depending on how large you have made them. Do what you feel!

Now get some sort of container to put them in. It can be a tin from cookies or tea, it can be a special box, it can be a paper or plastic bag. You can decorate this too if you like! Put all the positive and encouraging words into this container.

Place this somewhere you have easy access to it.

Whenever you get frustrated or off task or just need something to brighten your day, take a dip into your Magic 8 Ball container and pull out one of those sayings! If you need to pull out more, do it—pull Magic 8-ball sayings to your hearts content.

Viola! There you have it, simple as that! This is an easy way to brighten your day. Heck, make this an office project, sit it on the water cooler and brighten everyone’s day!

There are no limits on how you do this. It’s fun, it doesn’t take too much time and it’s an easy and cheap way to brighten your day.

Do You Love Your Life Now!? I Do!

By Charlene M Brown’

When I was 14, I was fiercely independent! This hasn’t changed a whole lot since then, but I have calmed down a great deal—now I am calm and fiercely independent, instead of the angry little girl that I once was. (That’s relative too!)

Recently, I took my mother to the zoo. She brought snacks, just as if we were little kids on a class trip to the zoo! My sister-in-law was there too and we both got a kick out of my mom’s snacks!

Let me backtrack a moment: When I was in high school, my mom was the “team mom” and after every game she had treats for us, no matter if we won or lost! And if she couldn’t make the game, she would send the bag with me so my team would know she was there in spirit!

I used to hate when my mother did this.

Now I realize that small things like that bring my mother a great amount of joy.

It delights my mother if she can bring me an unexpected Reese’s Cup because she knows it’s my favorite.

My mom takes great delight in simply mothering—it’s just what she does!

So instead of always getting annoyed that my mother smothered me, I have learned to be grateful for a few things from the experience: 1 that I have a mother; 2 that I have a mother who cares; and 3, most importantly, that in appreciating such a small gesture from my mother and saying thank you for it, I can bring my mom lots of delight.

People are giving by nature. Mothers tend to be really good at this. Part of their joy comes from giving, especially to their children (no matter how old—and wait ‘til the grandbabies start coming!). I was being selfish and narrow-minded by not appreciating this gesture. So now I try to appreciate it and others like it.

People take delight in giving. Let’s honor them by receiving with an open heart and spirit.

So thank you Mom, for bringing us snacks on our recent adventure to the zoo! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Do You Love Your Mom Now!? Yeeeaaaahhhh!

By Charlene M Brown

Having a Positive Attitude is all about your frame of mind.

It is also about how you spend your time.

And who you spend it with.

Think about this—when you spend your time with people who encourage and support you, you tend to feel really good about yourself, like you’re on top of the world and can do anything at all. (Psst, you can!)

But flip the coin—how do you feel when you are around people who always tell you that you “can’t”. They never support you and they always tell you how hard everything is going to be. They take a nice shiny pin and stick it right in the balloon of your dreams. They really bring you down.

There are a few reasons for this, one of which is that they believe in the concept of “lack.”

Now, most of us do, but we don’t really realize it. We have been taught to believe this all of our lives. The concept of lack says that there is a limited amount of “stuff” in the Universe and only a few people can have that “stuff” (money, power, wealth, etc.).

I can guarantee you the people who poke holes in your dreams believe in this. They say things like, “Oh, why don’t you stay in this career because it’s safe and secure.” Or when you are trying to take time for yourself, they always find some other emergency that you HAVE to help out with.

I’m here to tell you that this perception of Lack is untrue! In fact, the Universe is governed by just the opposite rule, that of Abundance, of “asking and you shall receive.”

This is called the Law of Attraction. This basically boils down to you getting what you think about.

Why then, are there so many “bad” things in the world if we get what we think about?

Very good question: there is certainly no shortage on crime and poverty in the world. But this is the result of all of the people who are constantly thinking about them.

Have you ever watched the 6-o-clock news? It’s full of stories of all the things going wrong with the world. Rarely do you see things going right. If you watch this regularly, you are only becoming an expert on war, crime, scandal and murder.

The people who are always dashing your dreams have the same effect. By listening to them, you become an expert on all the things you can’t do and learn to focus on them.

With that said, if you are ready to stop complaining and DO SOMETHING about this, there are a few steps you can take:

1. Find positive, self-affirming stuff to do—things you enjoy, and things that make you feel uplifted. This might be hanging out with some positive friends or with a new group of positive folks, or reading a good positive thinking book like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

2. Limit your time and exposure to the news

3. Limit your exposure to those toxic people who always tell you that you can’t

4. Spend some quality time with yourself

5. Find “positive thinking” affirmations and activities (there is a wealth of resources online or at your local library or bookstore)

6. Try one of my E-Courses on Creating Harmony or Enjoying the Journey. Both can be found here.

There are, of course lots of other wonderful ideas that you can come up with that suit you best. Let us know about them by leaving a comment or sending us feedback through our “Contact” page.

The important thing to know is that you CAN change your life from a constantly toxic one to a healthy supportive one, but YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO CHANGE!

Do You Love Your Life Now!? I Do! (Because I limit my interaction with toxic people and situations!)

Lovin’ Life Now! Newsletter

Volume I, Issue 3: To Know Yourself is to Love Your Self!

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In this Issue:

1. Welcome!

2. To Know Yourself is to Love Your Self! (Featured Article)

3. Announcements/Offers

4. About Lovin’ Life Now Weekly Newsletter

———~

1) Welcome to this issue of our Lovin’ Life Now! Weekly newsletter. A special hello to you if you are receiving this for the first time. Feel free to pass this on to anyone you think might be interested in it.

———~

2) To Know Yourself is to Love Your Self! (Featured Article)

By Charlene M Brown

Most people spend the majority of their time hiding their true selves!

This is not always because they don’t like themselves, but more because they want to be “liked” by others.

So think about this: If the majority of your time is spent hiding yourself, how do you ever get to know yourself? More importantly, who are you hiding from? And when do you stop hiding?

Most of us are insecure on some level or another and we take this insecurity and pass it on to the people we spend time with. I don’t mean we literally give it to them, but this insecure face is the face that we show them!

But when we are by ourselves, who are we really!? And who are we fooling?

I have written a lot about this lately as I am working towards breaking through a new plateau in my own life. We all can put on the show, but when it boils down to taking action to break that glass ceiling, that’s where you find out what you’re made of!

What I am coming to fully understand is what other people think you are and what you really are, are often two (or 20) very different things.

My friend, Candace, in Washington, DC, says to switch the saying around: To truly LOVE Yourself is to truly KNOW Yourself. “Love propels you to do the deep, transformative work where knowledge resides no matter how difficult, joyful or painful.”

Painful is the key here. When things are going great, it’s easy to say you love yourself—your life is working!

But it’s when we look at ourselves and don’t like what we see that loving ourselves becomes difficult! The constant barrage of negative messages certainly doesn’t help—no wonder we don’t want to spend any time with this unknown entity of ourselves, we are so mean and nagging to it!

“To Know Yourself is to Love Your Self.”

Janice from Dallas, Texas, adds, “That is so true! I spent a long time not really liking myself, but then I got to know myself better and found out I’m a really great person!”

I found the same thing—that once I really got to know myself, I really like who I am.

Taking this look for the very first time can be terrifying! But it is worth the terror. Once you see things as they are (without berating yourself for how or why you got there), you can make the decision to change them.

That’s the really great part about looking at yourself full-on: you have now brought it to a conscious level—now that you can see it you can choose to do something about it if you want!

I think Candace of DC is right in this case, it works both ways: to KNOW Yourself is to Love Your Self, yet to love Your Self, you must Know who you’re Loving!

Michelle McAllister, author of the Fabulous! book, 22 Life Principles for the Ultimate Woman, says, “Every day is a chance for change.” Don’t worry about how you got here; just know that you are here. It’s time to take a good look at where “here” is and decide if you like yourself here? If not, you can change it! Every day!

Let’s get all fired up about looking within!

A Big HUG To You!

~Charli

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3) Are you looking for alternatives to chaos? Or perhaps you are looking to enjoy your life a little more. Or maybe even taking your communication skills from wimpy to WOW! We can help! Take a look through our E-book and E-course offerings here.

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4) About The Lovin’ Life Now! Newsletter

To SUBSCRIBE, enter your name and primary email in the box on the right. You will also get our daily Lovin’ Life Now! Tips and our great FREE download, “True Happiness by 35: The 11 Steps to Get You There!

Please forward this newsletter to anyone you know who is looking to get their life back on track (or who may have an interest in any of our information).

You Can View Past Issues of our newsletter here: http://www.youcanloveyourlifenow.com/category/newsletters/

Want this article for your own website or e-zine? Feel free to use it as long as you include this paragraph.

Using an intuitive approach, Charlene Brown started You Can Love Your Life Now!.com to assist women to find and live their BEST Lives! Go to www.YouCanLoveYourLifeNow.com for more information and to download her FREE e-book True Happiness by 35: The 11 Steps to Get You There!

© 2009 You Can Love Your Life Now!

By Charlene M Brown

Are you looking for your Direction in Life? Trying to Figure out your True Passion!? I had a revelation today while talking to my sister: Finding your Direction has more to do with who you really are than with who you’re trying to be!

Read the rest of this entry »

By Charlene M Brown

Every single action you take is to get attention!

Now hear me out on this one:

Whether it is coloring your hair or wearing those infamous skinny jeans or wearing bright blue eye shadow, every single thing we do is to grab attention.

Working from home, I make it a point to leave my house at least once a day. Often, when I don’t have business to conduct, this is taking a walk around my neighborhood.

Today, I was people watching and taking notice of all the things they did to get attention. Some had tattoos, some had sassy denim skirts, some dyed their hair blonde, or brown, or shocking pink. I was noticing all the little details, from the mundane, to the extravagant.

Of course we all notice the guy with the shocking pink Mohawk! That is clearly the intent, whether conscious (“I really want people to notice me”) or subconscious (“I’m just doing Me”).

But all of the subtler things that we do, whether it is wearing a pin in support of breast cancer, or lining our eyes with our favorite “Smoke” colored liner, these are to get attention too, perhaps in a different way.

Smokers are trying to draw the attention of other smokers (“Can I get a light?”). Bikers—whether riding Hogs or earth-friendly cyclists—are trying to draw the attention of other bikers.

And so it goes.

But what’s really so wrong with this? We all want to be noticed, right!?

Right! But like any good marketing scheme, it’s all in the packaging!

Ladies (I know Fellas, some of you read this too), we do so many little things to get someone else’s attention, whether it is that hot guy who lives across the hall or your parents who are always making little remarks about this or that, we are always trying to “fix” ourselves.

Guess What!!!!? YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE FIXED!

That’s right, “You are a brilliant piece of architecture whole unto yourself, and you Do Not Need To Be Fixed!” (~Debbie Ford, The Right Questions)

Don’t worry about dying your hair (you’re literally killing it as the name implies), focus on making your natural color healthy.

Don’t worry about what color eyeliner to wear, focus on eating foods that make your eyes the picture of health.

Stop worrying about the clothes that make you feel funky, put your efforts into being funky in your clothes. And in your own skin!

Just imagine all of the companies that would go out of business if we weren’t always trying to “fix” ourselves! Cosmetic companies, clothing companies, plastic surgery offices, silicone companies, the list goes on!

So YES! Absolutely! We are all trying to get attention in one way or another. But what about trying to get attention for just being your wonderful, natural self? Why put on the airs and make the fuss pretending to be something you’re not!?

Why not just be your wonderful, natural great, perfect SELF! (Safely Encouraging to Love Me First!)

Happy SELF to You!

Do You Love Your Life Now!? I DO!! (Because I love My S.E.L.F.!)

By Charlene M Brown

I don’t know about you, but when I was in college, I was under the false impression that based on the education I was supposedly receiving, I would have job offers flying off the table when I was done!

This was not the case at all when I finished college!

College doesn’t tell you what it’s like trying to get a job in a tough economy. College doesn’t teach you to fend for yourself when you are not the golden child!

As I neared the end of my college career, I had a few interviews, but none that I wanted to take. But I was lucky to even have those!

A young woman I met this past weekend and one of the young women I mentor are both facing a similar situation as they prepare to complete their university degrees: neither of them knows exactly what she wants to do with her self and her life.

And this is a situation many of our young college graduates face as they prepare for the next phase of their lives—they don’t know what they are supposed to be preparing for.

For me, I went to a reputable institution and got a degree that has top-tier accreditation attached to it. Yet I was not the Golden Child of my class. The one thing I knew with certainty when I graduated from college was that I didn’t want to do what my school was pushing me to do!

I was torn!

And on top of that, I had the expectation that if I put in the work, somebody would offer me a job! As it turned out, I didn’t have a single job offer after coming out of a prestigious institution with Honors! I was utterly confused!

I did what they asked me to do: I played the game, I got the grades they told me I was supposed to get, I had the internships I was supposed to have, I had the “mold-able, good head on my shoulders” like I was supposed to. Why on Earth, did I not have any job offers!?

I’d been duped!

The REALITY was that getting a job was no piece of cake. It took me some time to navigate the waters and figure out some of the things I might possibly want to do. My list of things I didn’t (don’t!) want to do gets longer and longer by the year.

Any of this sound familiar!?

But guess what!?

There is hope!

We are all better at some things than others. Very often we find that it is not what we went to school for. There are various reasons for this and whatever yours is, it’s okay! Going to college doesn’t necessarily speak to the things we are most passionate about!

However, college is a great time of your life to explore some of these things. They may be extracurricular activities like dance or music or politics. Or maybe it’s a class that you enjoyed so much, it prompted you to change your major!

My point is: DO THINGS THAT SPEAK TO YOUR PASSION! Let college remain behind you and be fully present in the Now!

I have a girlfriend who graduated with a degree in Finance! When she got out of college, she got her teaching certificate and taught high school Spanish for a few years stemming from spending a semester abroad in Spain! Now she is in culinary school! None of this has anything to do with her Finance degree. But she is living in the moment. She is flexible enough to decide to change directions and take the steps necessary to do it!

I genuinely admire this about her. But what I love most is her carefree spirit about all the shifts in her Life’s Direction.

This is what I am encouraging you to do: Go, be free. Follow Your Passion!

Don’t worry about what college did or did not teach you. You can learn along the way! Live Your Life To The Fullest, no matter where you are in that Life!

Do You Love Your Life Now!? I Do! (Because I am learning as I go, and it has nothing to do with my degree!)