All About Women | Women

The final Grace Card for the week is DEVOTION: Stay connected to the Divine. Pray, express your gratitude, or ask for help out loud. Make the practice of devotion a daily habit.

I am eternally grateful for Cheryl Richardson for creating these Grace Cards. In all my gatherings including my women’s circles and my BWP Meetups, I open with the Grace Cards. They are so beautifully illustrated and everyone gets the card that call to their hearts; not their heads but their hearts. I always tell the women to let the card pick them instead of them picking the card. And it works!

At the Elizabeth Seton Women’s Center here in NYC where we hold our gatherings, the cards are generously displayed in a glass bowl for our use. The directors, Arlie and Karen, even gave me my own deck for a birthday gift!

So, for this weekend, begin making the practice of devotion a daily habit. Express gratitude. Pray. Ask for help – out loud! And stay connected to the Divine.

In loving devotion,
Coach Carolyn

Hey incredible people of passion and purpose!

I have been doing a lot of "noticing" lately and my findings are quite astounding. It seems that everyone is plagued by one fear or another. Is that not remarkable news? So I have launched two fearless communities on Meetup.

The first is the Fearless Living Spiritual Book Club. Beginning with the book by Rhonda Britten, we will discuss those fears that stop us from living passionate and purposeful lives. We will continue using other personal and spiritual development books and materials. Our first gathering was a brunch and we talked books, fears and dreams. It was a great time and I enjoyed meeting new fearless friends.

The second community is the Fearless Entrepreneur. This group is for aspiring or new entrepreneurs and anyone who has a dream and plagued or sabotaged by fears. This group will be a series of seminars, workshops, and networking events that deal with living with fears. The first seminar is scheduled for Thursday, June 26th @ 6pm.

If you are in the New York area and are dealing with fears, do not deal alone ~ come join one or more of our events.

Stay tuned for more future fearbusting events.

Live your passions fearlessly!
Coach Carolyn

For those women and men who already know their purpose and it involves other people, Bootstrapper has come up with 100 Tiny Tips to Create and Maintain Loyal Customers.

Of all the things I love about my life and work is the opportunity to meet amazing and dynamic women. Coaching women to guide them to discover their passion and create a life of purpose and prosperity is the most rewarding thing I could do in life. Watching the women discover inner awarenesses, aha moments, and spiritual breakthroughs is a life altering experience for me. I was again privileged to witness this at our last Becoming a Woman of Purpose gathering in January.

The workshop, entitled “How to Create Your 2008,” brought together a group of ten women who were strangers when they walked into the room to a group of women who were sharing tears (luckily I have tissues at these events), laughter, hugs and breakthroughs. Though there were some tough issues to confront and work through, the energy in the room was electrifying. These women were on fire!

We began with a clearing ritual that brought up lots of nasty baggage for several of the women. Working through the baggage, the women were coaches to one another. Our youngest member of the evening was a twenty-year-old who began the tissue chase. Yet all the women agreed that she had such wisdom for someone so young. She was so in touch with her “shadow side” and she minced no words. She also realized that she needed to be among other women on the journey.

To watch the women take charge and care for one another is truly a gift. We were all sisters separated at birth!

One of the questions I left the women with is one I will post here for your discernment: “What are you excited about in this moment?”

Remember, you are a Divine expression – one of our gals had a tough time with that realization, and the other women were quick to show her her own greatness and divinity. You have the power to create your life – a life of passion, purpose and peace, yielding you amazing prosperity in all areas of your life.

Week of Positive Blogging Day 3: Post about some good news that has taken place in your city, community, etc. that has happened in the last 3 months?

Good news? In New York City? As if!

Okay seriously though, I must admit this post did give me a bit of trouble. Not because this is New York City and nothing good ever happens. But because I have conditioned my life to only see the good. I have fasted from mainstream news for the past ten years, so I do not pollute my brain with the barrage of media crap. I have exorcised most of the negative people out of my life, including the boyfriend. Oh well. Yes, there will always be some negativity, but I can magically make it go away with my winning smile! Okay, seriously again! At least, I try.

This is not that I turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the social injustices that are going on. Absolutely not. It is because I can live in a positive space that I can bring awareness to social injustices, being an advocate for peace and justice in our world.

So, on to the good news. I would have to say that when I live my passion and purpose, nothing but good news can come from it. I am empowering women and men to live their passion and purpose. I am in the midst of teaching a course called A Spirituality of Purpose and I am absolutely in love with the class! The students give of their time to come and listen to me carry on for an hour. How cool is that?

The Becoming a Woman of Purpose Meetup Group is simply divine. I meet wonderful purposeful women each moth who come to share and give and receive support on their journey to a live of passion and purpose. There is wonderful discussions and I come away knowing that I have made a small difference in the lives of these women. This is what I was put on this planet to accomplish.

Our monthly Women in Transition Group is such a blessing. It is amazing to be a witness to women going from loss to abundance. The women have bonded so beautifully and when new women join they are embraced, validated and loved into newness of life. I am so honored to be a part of this process.

So in living out my divine assignment, I find a daily dose of good news in that. As long as I stay on the path of my purpose, accomplishing it with passion and peace, what better news could you hope for?

For good news, live passionately on purpose,
Coach Carolyn

Our Becoming a Woman of Purpose Blog was listed among other women blogs on the Virtual Woman’s Day Blog List of inspiring women blogs. Rockin’! A passionate thank you to Heidi Richards for the love link.

Also, the W Magical List is still alive and growing. I get emails daily from women wanting to add their blogs to the wiki. If you are a woman blogger and have not joined the wiki, then join the wiki!

Becoming a Woman of Purpose was also featured as the Facebook W List Weekly Meet n Greet Blog. If you are on Facebook, look me up and hook up!

If anyone wants to subscribe to this blog’s feeds, fill in the box on the sidebar. If anyone wants to subscribe to the BWP ezine, then shoot me an email. I am stopping the print edition and only doing a online version. Saves paper and trees.

Other stirrings: I am putting the finishing touches on my ebooks, and am praying about Internet talk radio. The Spirit is moving and sending whatever is necessary my way. Just too much to ignore. Will keep you posted on that.

But do connect with me, shoot me an email, Facebook me, link up on LinkedIn – I am easy to get to, except by phone! Lord, do I loathe the phone! Let me know what’s working for you and what you need.

Living passionately and on purpose is a collective journey and I am here to be your Spirit Woman guide. Thanks for visiting.

In August at the Becoming a Woman of Purpose Meetup, I will be facilitating a 3-part discussion series called Blocks to Living with Passion. They will take place on three consecutive Saturday afternoons and we will discuss three things that hinder living a life of passion and purpose.

This month's Becoming a Woman of Purpose Meetup gathering focused on discovering our passions. The women were amazing, as usual. In addition to passion and purpose, we talked about negative thoughts, limiting beliefs, and staying focused on our goals. Nothing discourages passion faster than negativity and fears. As women, we have the tendency to beat ourselves up because we feel we are not doing or being something we think we should do and be. But I tell all women that when you beat yourself up, please use a feather.

One of the women, Sherri, shared a wonderful tip that I just had to pass on to all the Purposeful Divas. She said to create a "Self Care Menu." Like a regular menu in a restaurant, put items on that are about caring and pampering oneself. Because, as Nina shared, when we are in that yucky space, we cannot think clearly, so having this is on hand is a great way to take care of oneself. And Sherri says make it pretty, so be creative.

So what kind of items can go on your menu?

• A day at a spa
• A walk on the beach
• Reading a chapter of a favorite novel
• Taking a bubble bath
• Listening to favorite music
• A manicure/pedicure
• Seeing a movie -- alone or with a friend

The list is endless. And the list is yours. Place items in your menu that you are passionate about. When you create those passion moments, more moments will gravitate towards you. Like begets like. Passion begets more passion.

Also, one of my all time favorite things is a gratitude journal. Every evening, I write down three to five things that I am grateful for that day. I end my day on a positive note and I keep the negativity away. We tend to beat ourselves up at the end of the day about the things we should have done or should have said. Stop shoulding all over yourself!

Learn to practice random acts of self care. Create that menu and start that gratitude journal. Learn to take the time to listen to your inner child. What is she telling you? What is she asking you for? Would you deny her?

Taking time out to discover your passion creates a life of purpose and peace. And if you have lots of things that you are passionate about, do a little sifting. The wheat will separate from the chaff. Your true passion will remain when all others have faded away.

So I am off to create my menu. I am so excited about that! Thank you, Sherri for a fabulous creative tip. And thanks to all the women who shared their hearts, passions and light today.

I recently had an interesting conversation with a young man frustrated by his efforts to meet and date women. His approach was with the end in mind; which in some respects would be fine. However, there was no beginning. He was in for the kill and forget about the formalities. Now, I know that we live in a drive-thru, fast-food, want-it-yesterday society. I am not oblivious to this fact. Yet, when it comes to dating, I think we should take things just a little bit slower.

Hey Purposeful and Passionate People!

Our June Becoming a Woman of Purpose was awesome! We had some amazing sharing, insights, and revelations. It truly amazes me when I hear women say that they don't know what their purpose is. Or even, they cannot tell you what they are passionate about. This is not because we don't know. This is because we operate in a perpetual motion and doing, that we have not stopped to take the time to ask the questions. We don't take the time to just sit and be and find out whose life am I really living? Mine or someone else's?

One of the lessons at this gathering had to do with women who, because they have no children, does that mean they are not maternal or have that "maternal instinct"? It doesn't matter if a woman has given birth to one child, to several children, or to no children at all. We all have that innate knowing. During every woman's lifetime, she will have nurtured and cared for someone; be it a parent in old age, a family member, or a sick friend. That maternal instinct does kick in. This, like purpose, is part of a woman's DNA, if you will.

As I posted previously, we are operating out of our limiting belief system. To know that we are more than enough is difficult for some women to wrap their minds around. We are our own worse critics. One way to combat this is to cultivate the spirit of gratitude. When we are truly grateful, we only focus on our truths, not our fears or false beliefs. Being a woman of purpose means being grateful for all the joys of life. It also means being able to see the lessons learned in the sorrows, which also brings us to a place of gratefulness. And so it is.

Stay in a spirit of gratitude and your purpose will find you!

Coach Carolyn

Greeting of peace, Purposeful People!

I was privileged to be invited to the Meetup Headquarters in SOHO to have lunch (quite delicious, I might add) and chat and share with the Meetup Staff and other organizers about our meetup experiences. It was a wonderful experience. And, yeah, it's a REAL business. The offices are quite nice and inviting.

Of course, I got to chat with CEO Scott Heiferman again. Then the brainstorming began! For those of you who don't know me, I am an avid dreamer and brainstorming is just dreaming out loud with other people! Rock on!

Anyway, Scott loves our meetup model, the fact that it has purpose; and wants to "spawn" it. So he hooked me up with Maya, and well, more to come on this later.

I want to thank Linda, Katie and Derrick, my meetup hosts, for their fabulous hospitality. Also, a wonderful shout out to the entire Meetup Staff for their warmth, encouragement and the cool eats! Keep up the great work guys!

And to my Becoming a Woman of Purpose members -- doesn't all this just give you more passion to come and share? I know it does me. So hope to see more of you ladies at the June meetup.

Peace, passion, and purpose!
Coach Carolyn

The May Becoming a Woman of Purpose meetup was wonderful and very insightful for the women. During our sharing one of the women stated that her real life is so far from her dreams. How true that is for most of us. Unfortunately, we are not living the life we dream of or, at least even remotely. Most of us tend to live a life that someone else has scripted and laid out for us -- we are following the family script, the economic script, the cultural script, the gender script, and the list goes on.

So at our May meetup, we started looking at what some of those dreams were using our positive characteristics and the actions we take to live that out. Some surprises, some confirmations, and some plans for immediate action steps.

The Becoming a Woman of Purpose meetup is also about accountability and support. It is so easy to get caught up and even lost in the daily grind that we forget why we have been summoned to this planet. We each have a unique assignment here that no one else can complete. Life is about living out that unique assignment. When this is done fully, with joy, then we know a life of inner peace, passion, and purpose.

Until next time, live passionately!
Coach Carolyn

Hey My Purposeful Sisters!

Last evening I attended the NYC Meetup Organizers Meetup which is for Meetup organizers. Duh! Our host organizer, David Greene, was gracious and awesome as usual. We were joined by Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman and two of his team members. We all introduced ourselves and our individual meetups along with any questions and concerns we were experiencing. It was a wonderful and informative evening.

Later that evening Scott approached me with the "Meetup Bag." What's the Meetup Bag? Well, I'm so glad you asked! It was a red bag with meetup goodies inside but also inside was an invitation to the Meetup offices in SOHO to have lunch and discuss our meetup! Well, how cool is that? If you check out the Organizers Meetup page, you can see a pix of me chatting with Scott. So, next week I will be absolutely bragging about all of us on purpose women!

Stay tuned purposeful sisters...
Coach Carolyn