CREATIVE SUCCESS NEWSLETTER, NUMBER 26 - September 15, 2002

CREATIVE SUCCESS NEWSLETTER
Gail McMeekin, LICSW
Career/Creativity Coach and Author
Mailto:gail@creativesuccess.com
http://www.CreativeSuccess.com
NUMBER 26- September 15, 2002

The Positive Choices Series: E IS FOR EMPATHIZING

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Welcome to all of our new subscribers. You are now well over 10,000
people in total. I hope you all enjoyed this glorious and warm summer. I
know I enjoyed many precious hours on the beach, which was healing and
relaxing after a hectic year. The Power of Positive Choices was just
translated into Chinese with a beautiful red cover and each of my two
books were highlighted this summer in Shape and Redbook.

I am also delighted to be featured in a new fantastic guidebook for
women called The Kali Guide: A Directory of Resources for Women
($29.95). The Kali Guide is a beautifully illustrated directory with
contact information for over 1,300 organizations and covers topics such
as creativity, culture, life work, health, spirituality, sexuality,
travel and leisure. It includes poetry, artwork, photographs, quotes,
recommended books and articles by myself and my good friend Lynn
Robinson. It also includes recommended reading by Margot Anand, Louise
Barrie, Sylvia Browne, Sonia Choquette, Gayle Delaney, Delilah, Marcia
Emery, Evelyn Hannon, Louise Hay, Colleen Heavey Berg, Jami Lin, Wendy
Maltz, Camille Maurine, Caroline Myss, Judith Orloff, Anne Shulenberger,
Marilyn Sewell, and Doreen Virtue. The Guide is the creation of Stelli
Munnis, Partner in ZenPrint, Inc. Stelli is a dynamo and we look forward
to new creations from her in the future.

The Kali Guide will be available next month in my Webstore at
www.creativesuccess.com . You can order it now and get free shipping by
using this special code, set up especially for my newsletter
subscribers: 7767. You can order by phone at 650-326-5588 or you can get
an order form by going to www.kaliguide/orderform.com. Enjoy this bounty
of talented and inspiring women!

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POSITIVE CHOICES STEP FOURTEEN: E IS FOR EMPATHIZING
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In the wake of the anniversary of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, we
are reminded of the heart-warming acts of compassion and empathy that
this tragedy birthed. These stories of man’s humanity towards one
another inspire faith and the courage to remember the potential for
goodness in the wake of such evil actions. We are reminded that we can
drop our judgments of one another and support each other in our
humanness and vulnerability. Empathy is about human connection and
caring, for ourselves as well as others.

This is a time to resolve to be as kind to yourself as your best self is
to others. It is an opportunity to purify our relationships to spirit,
fellow human beings, and our own psyche. We are invited to look at the
role of hate in our own lives­hate towards others as well as our inner
critic’s attacks on our personal weaknesses and limitations.

Where and how does your empathy for self and others need bolstering? Are
you operating from a perfectionist, critical perspective that alienates
others or stifles your own creative self-expression? Are you holding
judgements about others that need to advance to a process of forgiveness
and letting go? Is your own self-abuse holding you back from your
dreams? Do you need to offer your services and compassion to another to
heal yourself or reconnect with the human spirit?

You have a right to make balanced choices about the people and places
that you include in your life and protect yourself from pain and
suffering. 911 has heightened people’s awareness of the fragility of
life and the preciousness of time and fulfillment. Be gentle with
yourself and empathic for all of us engaged in the human struggle Yet,
stake a claim on the life you truly want and begin it today. There is no
time to waste.

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CHALLENGE
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1) Make a list of the judgments you are holding about yourself, people
you love, and humankind in general.

2) Which judgments need to be healed and which ones serve as guides for
discernment? You do have the right to “filter” who and what comes into
your life when you can.

3) Choose one self-nurturing activity to add to your life this month and
one activity to support another person who needs some empathy and an act
of kindness. If you are overly empathic towards others at your own
expense, then do two self-nurturing activities for yourself and take a
break from care-taking for a change.

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RESOURCES
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A ROOM OF HER OWN: A Foundation for women writers and artists

Following our theme of empathy and support this month, when I was
putting the final words to my book The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative
Women, I struggled to add a section about my wish to create a foundation
for creative women. After checking into regulations and guidelines, I
felt overwhelmed and realized it was not yet time. I also struggled with
my own beliefs about prosperity and how to merge them with simply giving
money away. The truth was that my true intention was to create a vehicle
that coached women into creative success, as my business is named.
Recently, I connected with Darlene Chandler Bassett who had a similar
dream to mine and founded A Room of Her Own Foundation. Her group gives
women large grants of up to $50K­instead of the measly $2-3,000 that
most grant programs offer. A great concept to my way of thinking which
is why I agreed to be on the Advisory Council.

Darlene worked in OD for 20 years and has great experience in building
consensus and non-profit management. She has 3 houses, loves to
entertain, and teaches landscape design. Her foundation includes a
mentoring program for grant recipients and I am currently coaching a
talented young woman in the program, which is a joy. Darlene is bright,
savvy, and committed to using her talents to help creative women. I am
delighted to have found her (thank you Jan Phillips!). To make a tax
deductible contribution to this organization, send a check to: A Room of
Her Own Foundation, P.O. Box 778, Placitas, NM 87043. Check out their
website at http://www.aroomofherownfoundation.org for further
information about the Foundation, including applying for a grant. We
will keep you posted on their good works! They will also be sponsoring a
writer’s retreat at Ghost Ranch next August, which I hope to attend, and
we will keep you informed about that as well!

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NEW BOOK FROM C. DIANE EALY
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Many of you remember C. Diane Ealy as one of the women I profiled in The
12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. Diane wrote her own book on women
and creativity called The Woman’s Book of Creativity. Diane has a brand
new book out to help you retain your sanity and spirituality in the
workplace of today called The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Spirituality in
the Workplace. In this book, Diane shares her wisdom about how to:

*Build your own business based on spirituality

*Conduct a spiritual job search

*Develop spiritual connections with your co-workers

*Nurture confidence in yourself and others

*Express your anger spiritually

Great advice we can all use! Check out her new website at
www.cdianeealy.com

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GET WELL WISHES FOR JAN PHILLIPS
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For those of you who have not heard, fellow creativity expert Jan
Phillips, author of Marry Your Muse, was in a terrible car accident
which was followed by surgery. We send her much healing light and wishes
for a complete recovery. You can send Jan your own get well wishes to:
Jan Phillips, 5187 Arlene Place, San Diego, CA 92117.

IF YOU ARE RUNNING A 12 SECRETS GROUP OR A POSITIVE CHOICES GROUP, LET
US KNOW SO WE CAN HELP YOU PROMOTE IT!

COMMITMENTS ARE POSITIVE CHOICES!

Creatively yours,
Gail McMeekin