Creating Personal Power

Jacqueline Cornaby was our motivating Sterling Bank Women's Business Initiative speaker in Dallas this week.  It's easy to understand why many of Jacqueline's coaching clients have relied on her for years.  She is able to direct our thinking to allow us to understand why we want what we want.  She emphasized that we get what we think about and focus on, whether it is positive or negative. 

Jacqueline's tools for creating personal power include:

• internal rather than external motivation
• choice of words - eliminating "try, supposed to, should, must, have to"; and using "intend to, will, get to, yes I can"
• recognizing and addressing our sophisticated excuses
• employing an abundant, thankful mindset rather one focused on lack
• ask four important questions of ourselves - Why do I not yet have something that I want personally or professionally? Why do I want it? What must I do to get it? How will I feel when I have it?
• accepting that stress is a buzzword for fear and worry is a misuse of our powerful imagination

Jacqueline challenged us to dream big, think positively and establish clarity about our goals.

Anything's Possible after Trial by Fire

Carla Powers delivered a remarkable presentation for Sterling Bank's Women's Business Initiative on Wednesday.  Hers is an amazing story of courage, survival, strength, resilience, achievement, motivation and acceptance. She's beautifully captured her story in her book, Matches in the Gas Tank: Trial by Fire in the Armstrong Cult. 

Though Carla would have every reason to remain bitter and angry about being controlled, deprived, isolated and abused by the Armstrong Cult and her alcoholic father, she's embraced this tragic experience as a gift.  Her anger fueled her ambition and success.  She graduated from law school at 22, became a trial lawyer, adjunct law professor and chief counsel at one of the world's largest energy firms.

She colorfully captioned her life in the cult as her cesspool experience.  When you're in a cesspool, you can either drown in the sewer or shovel  and fertilize a garden.  She vividly illustrates that anything’s possible when we’re willing and able to passionately, intelligently pursue a life of acceptance, learning and growth.  The first step is learning to love ourselves.  Only then can we can be open to giving and receiving love. 

By surviving her trial by fire, Carla has created a wildfire of inspiration.