Personal Development

Powerful Leadership – 5 Crucial Skills Required to Become a Great Leader!

Powerful Leadership – 5 Crucial Skills Required to Become a Great Leader!

Great Leaders Commit to Developing Key Skills

Great Leaders Develop Crucial SkillsPowerful leadership requires a commitment

to developing key personal skills and abilities.

Great leaders must have a driving desire

to make things happen.

If you want to be the head and not the tail,

then you must fine tune key leadership skills in order to become effective so that others will want to follow.

Some people are born with natural talents that lend themselves to becoming a great leader. But despite the fact that you might have been born with some of these talents, it still takes continual enthusiasm, drive, and experience for true development as a leader to occur.

5 Crucial Skills Needed to Become a Great Leader

1. Vision

Leaders need to know the vision of their group or organization. They must have a clear sense of purpose. Knowing the organization’s goals and objectives, how the organization works, and being able to communicate the vision to others, helps put everyone on the same page.

Leaders need to help others catch a personal vision of the big picture, so that everyone is moving in the same direction on the road to success.

2. Encouragement

Leadership is not about using harassment or fear as a driving force to get others to take action. Great leaders encourage others to accomplish the goals of the group. Encouragement is contagious and it benefits everyone when it is flowing freely.

3. Trust

Trustworthiness is vital to great leadership. Your followers must have trust and confidence in you. And if they do, they will go to great lengths for you and the group.

Strong relationships, trustworthiness, and high ethics build trust and confidence. Leaders that deal with people in a positive way, lay a foundation of strength for the group. Stronger relationships equal a stronger measure of trust and confidence in the capabilities of the leader.

4. Communication

Communication is crucial skill of a leader. You must be able to clearly communicate the goals and objectives that you are all about to undertake as an organization. A leader’s vision and plan must be clearly communicated to others in order to keep everyone on the same page.

5. Judgment

Great leaders have great judgment. If you want to grow as a leader, you must continue to improve and develop your judgment and decision making skills.

Leaders need to make wise decisions in a variety of situations. Your followers will come to rely on your judgment. Good, wise decision making is crucial to the success of a leader and the organization.

Keep in mind: In life we all eventually find ourselves in a leadership role, in some shape or form, big or small. And the Lord wants to see His children become strong leaders and He gives them instructions and tells them how they can be.

“And the LORD shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if that you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God…to observe and to do them.”
— Deuteronomy 28:13

Conclusion: Leaders lead. Leaders have followers and you’re not much of a leader if no one is following. Being a great leader is about constantly growing, developing, and setting an example, because you are a reflection of what your followers must be. Develop these five crucial skills and demonstrate powerful leadership.

May you develop your skills to grow into a powerful, effective leader and experience much growing prosperity!

Soar higher in Him,
Brenda

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Successful Leadership – The Power of Teamwork and 4 Keys to Creating a Winning Team!

Successful Leadership – The Power of Teamwork and 4 Keys to Creating a Winning Team!

Successfully Lead a Winning Team and Together Achieve Incredible Things

Successful Leadership and Winning TeamsSuccessful leaders have discovered

the power of teamwork.

Much can be accomplished when

working together with others.

However, it is not just a numbers game;

the key here is working together.

Getting the job done requires a winning team.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” 
— John C Maxwell

Teams come in all shapes and sizes; from married couples, or small business partnerships, to large organizations of all sorts. A team not only provides companionship but it helps accomplish goals.

Every team requires a leader, and a successful leader knows that there is power in creating a winning team. However, simply having a team of people can be useless.

On the other hand, developing a winning team multiplies a leader’s value and makes them better than they would be on their own. It enables them to do what they do best and tap into the resources that those on the team do best. Then, incredible things happen and everyone on the team wins.

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow…And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” 
— Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

4 Keys to Creating a Winning Team:

1. Develop a Winning Attitude in Team Members

A winning attitude is a positive attitude and must be prevalent. A winning attitude is developed in team members and they believe in their leader, themselves, their teammates, and the vision to be accomplished. Negative thinking is not allowed to creep in and hinder the task at hand.

2. Teach the Value of Personal Development and Character Building

Each team member as an individual must keep improving. Why? Because the highest reward for their efforts isn’t what they get from it, but the person they become because of it. And without personal growth they become a weak individual and a weak link on the team.

3. Empower Teammates

Winners are encouragers and empower each other to be more and do more. They strive to make their teammates more successful. Empowered teammates maintain a thriving atmosphere with an expectancy to win.

4. Instill the Importance of Playing to Win

A successful team plays to win. They know the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose is often the difference between excellence and average. They don’t play to ‘give it a try’, they play to reach their goal; they play to win.

Bottom line: A successful leader understands the power of teamwork and the importance of creating a winning team. They know that by doing so, incredible things happen and everyone wins as they grow and develop individually and as a team.

May you successfully lead a winning team and together achieve much and experience an abundance of growing prosperity!

Soar higher,
Brenda

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Self-Growth – Uncovering the Great Power of Possibilities Within! Part 2 of 2

Self-Growth – Uncovering the Great Power of Possibilities Within! Part 2 of 2

Self-discovery by Finding the Presence of God Within!

Finding the Presence of God WithinThe following are words of wisdom and encouragement,

from Orison Swett Marden.

They are excerpts from chapter 7 “How to Find Oneself”

from the book “How to Get What You Want.” 

Although written back in 1917,

these words still hold great insight and the ability to stir us up and check our current progress in life.

This is part 2 of 2 for men and women who strive to make the most of their lives and never stop growing on their journey through life.

Excerpts from “How to Find Oneself” by Orison Swett Marden:

Self-discovery is simply a question of finding the presence of God within ourselves.

When we become conscious that the kingdom of God is within us it becomes a great self-illuminator, because it takes us back to our source, connects us with infinite life, with the great cosmic heart of the universe. It is a trolley pole which connects us with the mighty current of infinite power, and then our life problems seem easy because we are not pushing our car ourselves. God does that.

Many people had never really met themselves until they became acquainted with the reality of their connection to the Creator. That is, they had never up to that time found the best part of themselves.

They had previously been getting their living by their weak faculties instead of their strong ones. They had been in the position of people living in poverty on a little corner of their vast estate, ignorant that there were great deposits of undiscovered, unmined wealth.

The possibilities of mental expansion, enlargement of vision, quickening of the mental faculties, increasing the efficiency,—in other words, the possibilities of self-discovery are almost unbelievable.

We find ourselves in very different ways. Struggling with difficulties, disappointments, failures, great responsibilities, has been the means of recalling many human beings to themselves.

The greatest of their latent possibilities lies so deep in some natures that it takes the impact of a tremendous emergency, a great life, or national crisis to call it out. Any ordinary event, the easy way of prosperity, will not do it; it must be something which shakes them to the very center of their being and knocks out from under them every support.

They must feel that they have nothing to lean upon but the creative power within—only the God who made them.

So long as there is no supreme call made on the great within of them they never know their own resources. On the other hand the structure of many a divine success has risen out of the ashes of a burned fortune or apparently ruined hopes.

Like the plants which must be crushed before they will reveal their sweetest fragrance, or their beneficent properties, many people never reveal the sweetest thing in them until they are crushed by some great sorrow.

They go through half a life or more unconscious of the richness which lies buried within them, when suddenly some great grief, some overwhelming misfortune reveals a wealth of personality, and of power which not even those who knew them best dreamed they possessed.

Many people pass their fiftieth, even their sixtieth milestone, before they find themselves, before something happens which unlocks a new door in the great within of themselves and reveals new powers, new resources, of which they had never before been conscious.

Then in a few years after their discovery they have redeemed half a lifetime of ineffectiveness.

We often hear men and women who have found themselves tell of the particular things which awakened their ambition; the accident, the sorrow, the emergency, the book, the suggestion, the encouraging friend, which first gave them a glimpse of their own possibilities, uncovered powers which they never before dreamed they possessed.

If all of the people who have done things worthwhile in the world would only give an account of how they were awakened, tell of the things that had aroused their ambition,—the incident, the circumstance, the book, the lecture, the sermon, the advice, or the catastrophe, the failures, the crisis, the emergency, the afflictions, the losses in their lives, what a wonderful help it would be to the strugglers who are conscious that they have locked up within them forces which have not been aroused and which theycannot seem to get hold of.

The man who can write a book that will enable people to discover their unused assets will do an incalculable service to humanity.

“Great masters are they who help you to find yourself, the others simply find you.”
— Dr. Frank Crane

There are a multitude of things which assist our self-discovery. Keeping our minds in a positive, creative condition; keeping ourselves physically at the top of our condition, in perfect health; maintaining mental poise, a cheerful, happy mental attitude, by keeping our minds free from fear and worry and anxiety,—all of these things are great aids to self-discovery.

And there is no secret about any of these things.

Self-confidence is a potent self-discoverer. Distrust, self-depreciation closes the doors to the locked-up potencies and powers within. Faith opens the door and releases them.

Seek every possible experience which seems to open up your nature and release new force.

For instance, great lovers of music after listening to a wonderful voice, or going to an opera, feel something inside of them released, something which had been locked up before, something which they never really knew they possessed until then.

If you would get at your hidden resources, stimulate your growth and your power, you must be continually improving yourself somewhere; increasing your intelligence by closer and keener observation, by the constant study of men and things, the broadening of your mental and spiritual outlook, the getting away from self and the enlarging of your sphere of service and helpfulness.

We are all in a continuous process of development, and, as yet, strangers to the immense possibilities that sleep in the great within of ourselves. Uncovering these possibilities, finding our resources, should be the great object of every human being.

“Know thyself!” This is really the chief business of man—to learn to know himself, to realize the power that is his through his inseparable union with his Creator.

The end of part 2 of 2.

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“‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”
— Jeremiah 29:11

God bless you and be blessed to be a blessing!

Soar higher in Him,
Brenda

P.S. Image credit thanks go to Billy Alexander

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Self-Growth – Uncovering the Great Power of Possibilities Within! Part 1 of 2

Self-Growth – Uncovering the Great Power of Possibilities Within! Part 1 of 2

The Great Secret the Creator Put in Our Hands at Birth!

Secret, Sealed message from The CreatorFall is in the air and children are heading back to school.

This is a great time of year to remind all of us,

young and old, in school or out of school,

that men and women who are trying to

make the most of their lives,

never stop growing on their journey through life.

The following are words of wisdom and encouragement from Orison Swett Marden. They are excerpts from chapter 7 “How to Find Oneself” from the book “How to Get What You Want.”  Although written back in 1917, these words still hold great insight and the ability to stir us up and check our current progress in life.

Excerpts from “How to Find Oneself” by Orison Swett Marden:

One of the most difficult things in the world is to get people to realize the extent of their latent powers, to believe in their own bigness, in their own possibilities.

The reason is that they see only a part of themselves, because they have only partially discovered themselves.

“Each of us has resources of which he does not dream.”
— Professor William James

If we could only turn a spiritual X-ray on ourselves most of us would find powers and potencies in the great within of us which may not have gotten even to their germinating stage.

There is probably not a living being who would not be amazed if he could see unfolded in panorama all of the potentialities within him, if he could only glimpse the man he might be.

He would say, “These remarkable success qualities belong to someone who has achieved distinction, not to an unknown person like me.”

What you are actually doing may be a dwarfed thing compared with the giant achievement you are capable of. It is not what you have done, but what you long to do, what you feel capable of doing that will, if you struggle to express your ideal, count most.

Up to this time you may have been seriously hampered or dwarfed in your development. All sorts of things may have happened to the possible man, or the possible woman in you, to limit its growth, to restrict it, to impoverish it.

But it is that superb thing that is possible to you, the thing which the Creator sent you here to do that you must strive to express.

In the great within of yourself there may be vast powers which you have never called out. What masterfulness, what vast reserves of helpfulness, inspiration, and encouragement may still lie uncovered within you!

You doubt that there is anything of the kind? But you do not know.

Many a man has carried locked up within himself for more than half a century the germs of a mighty genius without even guessing at it. There are multitudes of men and women all over the world who are as ignorant of their possibilities, of their hidden success assets.

“Few men find themselves before they die.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many carry with them to their graves undiscovered continents of ability. The great majority die without developing their possible efficiency of hand, or tongue, or of brain; without developing any of the special gifts locked up in the great within of themselves.

Most of us die with the great secret, with the sealed message which the Creator put in our hands at birth, still unread, because we have never learned how to open or how to read it.

How can you be sure that you have not a lot of this ability you long for locked up in yourself?

If you have not tried your strength, how do you know what you may be able to do? You may have more ability slumbering within you than you dream of.

Why waste your precious time thinking about other people’s genius? Why not unlock your own, see what you have, bring it out into the light and develop it?

When we know that even the great majority of men whom we call successful use only a comparatively small part of their ability because they never find all of themselves, why should any of us put a narrow limit to our possibilities, remain paupers in achievement when we might be princes?

We set our own limitations.

There are enough powers, enough resources in the minds of the people in the great failure army today to revolutionize the world if their sleeping potencies could be aroused; if they could only be made to believe in themselves.

If they could only learn how to enter into the secret depths of their nature, to get hold of themselves, to arouse latent qualities and powers, they could do marvelous things. The great problem is to know how to get at the force in the great within of ourselves and to put it to work to the best advantage.

For whether life shall be a success or a failure depends upon the call we make on our resources, the extent to which we develop all our possibilities.

We don’t know what we can do until we try, and unused faculties never grow or strengthen.

Everywhere we see starved, stunted lives, people who have discovered but little bits of themselves, little patches cleared up here and there in the great wilderness of their possibilities. They couldn’t believe in their inherent greatness.

They couldn’t realize that they were born into this world to do a certain work; and that to do that work they would need every bit of power they could develop.

The average youth starting out in life has no means of knowing what his total assets are.

He sees only the assets that lie on the surface, and if he is not instructed how to find those that are deep down below the surface, if he does not get into the right environment, if he does not make a call on the divinity within him, he may never develop the man it is possible for him to be.

The end of part 1 of 2…

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“‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”
— Jeremiah 29:11

Be blessed to be a blessing!

God bless you –
Cheers,
Brenda

P.S. Image credit thanks go to Billy Alexander

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Powerful Leadership – A Positive Attitude in Leaders Produces Results in More Ways Than One!

Powerful Leadership – A Positive Attitude in Leaders Produces Results in More Ways Than One!

A Valuable Leadership Skill Worth Improving!

Leadership skills are valuable and always worth improving.

As a leader grows and develops, it not only helps improve their life, but the lives of those around them.

A key skill to develop and maintain is a positive attitude.

Why?

Men and women rise and fall everyday because of their attitude.

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
— Thomas Jefferson

Positive Attitude – The Critical Factor in Leadership

If you really want to go anywhere as a leader, you have to examine your attitude! Whatever attitude you accept at this time is a critical factor in determining the success or failure of your future.

Too often people never come to a place of leadership where God wants them. Or they don’t produce the results that are expected, because of a negative attitude.  A leader may want God to use them, but He is saying “No” because of their sour, nasty attitude. A negative attitude will hinder a leaders potential.

And don’t be one that points the finger of blame at others, especially as a leader. Each persons attitude is their own responsibility.

Often times, people with bad attitudes don’t know that they have one. But if you are a leader and find yourself pointing the finger of blame at others regularly, that may be a great reason to examine the condition of your own thoughts and heart.

Positive Attitude – Helping Leaders Produce Positive Results

Understand that the attitude a leader has toward how they view and handle things, will determine the results they produce. As long as a leader is viewing things negatively, they are going to get negative results.

Leaders should not let other people govern their production and outcome. Leaders must have an “I can” attitude. Many people miss opportunities and promotions that God has for them, because they let someone else determine their attitude.

Of course as a leader, challenges are always going to come and attempt to get you to accept a bad or negative attitude. But remember it is a critical factor to have a positive, ‘I can’ attitude about what you are doing in order to produce positive results.

The results not only show up in the life of the leader, but in the life of those being led. This is the case whether it is a leadership role in a family, ministry, or business. You can make a difference.

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked rule, the people mourn.” 
— Proverbs 29:2

Bottom line: A leaders attitude will create results. It is up to the leader to choose the attitude they will put on for the results they desire. A leadership role should require a positive attitude and one that produces positive results.

May you be a leader that maintains a positive attitude and a life of growing prosperity!

God bless you –

Cheers,
Brenda

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Future Hope – Top 10 Inspiring Reasons to Believe Your Future Is Bright!

Future Hope – Top 10 Inspiring Reasons to Believe Your Future Is Bright!

A Future Filled with Hope and Success

Hope for the future is available…

but it can sometimes seem hard to come by.

It is often said we have our whole life ahead of us.

Yet, many people go through difficult seasons in life and question what there is to look forward to.

No matter where you are, hope for the future is available for you to grab onto.

10 Inspiring Reasons to Believe Your Future is Bright:

1. Mistakes in Life Do Not Have the Final Say

If you make mistakes, you can start over. Mistakes are a part of the growing process and learning curve of life. As we start putting our mistakes in the past, our future begins to look bright.

2. You are a Work in Progress

God has promised to keep on working in you and with you. Growing and developing takes time and we should expect continued personal growth in our future.

3. Never Too Young or Old

You are never too young or old to fill your days with meaning and purpose. Consider Moses: He was 80 years old when God called him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt!

4. Every Day is a New Day

Each day is new and fresh. You can make the most of each one. If we’ve fallen short today, we can look forward to a new day tomorrow. Thank God that His grace and mercy is new every day. (Lamentations 3:21-23)

5. You are Never Alone

God said He would never leave you or abandon you. (Hebrews 13:5) People may leave us, but God will not. The future is bright knowing God is in it.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.” — Romans 15:13

6. God Loves You

God loves you unconditionally! God loves you just the way you are. But like the saying goes, He also loves you too much to leave you the way you are.

7. You Have a Purpose in Life

God created you with a purpose and you can discover it. We have all been given unique gifts and talents that help us fulfill our purpose. Discovering our purpose and living it makes the future bright not only for us, but also those around us.

8. God Shall Supply All Your Needs

God will take care of your needs as you seek and obey His Word. (Philippians 4:19) “The Lord is my portion, says my soul: therefore will I hope in Him.” – Lamentations 3:24

9. Mansions in Heaven

God has created a wondrous place in heaven for His children. We have hope that after our life on earth we graduate to eternal life in heaven. “In My Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you.” – John 14:2

10. Guidance from the Most High God

If we trust, rely on, and acknowledge God, He will direct our life. The God that created the universe is available to help guide our life. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:6

Hope for the future may have faded for you. You may feel like you are in a prison and have no future. But no matter where you are, God has promised to bless you with a future filled with hope and success, not suffering. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Do yourself a favor: Have hope and believe your future is bright. Let the truth of God’s love set you free. God is a miracle-working God. He does not punish us all our life for our mistakes.  He wants us to look forward and not backward. Put your hope and trust in God and allow Him to be an active part of your life.

May your hope be strong, your future bright, and your life full of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

P.S. Feel free to share your thoughts… and thanks to Billy Alexander for this fun image – you can view more of his creative images here.

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Christian Leadership: How Can a Spirit of Excellence in Leaders Bring Growing Prosperity?

Christian Leadership: How Can a Spirit of Excellence in Leaders Bring Growing Prosperity?

Powerful Leaders Choose a Spirit of Excellence!

Leadership Spirit of ExcellenceLeaders should continually strive for a spirit of excellence, especially Christians.

As leaders, we must pursue excellence all along our journey of life and not think of it as a destination.

Maintaining a spirit of excellence creates positive results and growing prosperity.

We serve a God of excellence and we should desire to have excellence come out of us.

“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!” 
— Psalm 8:1

A Lack of Excellence Equals a Lack of Prosperity

Not everyone has had the privilege of being raised in an environment that operated in a spirit of excellence. Too often chaos and confusion are the norm. A lack of excellence in an environment tends to create a victim’s mentality in people.

How on earth can progress be made when the conduct of a leader or group is lazy, slothful and non-committed?

Where there is no commitment to excellence, there is no promotion or growing prosperity. People may seek excellence and prosperity in life, but nothing is going to happen until the excuses and victim mentality stops.

People, whether they know it or not, are looking for excellence, and it should be required in leaders.

A Spirit of Excellence Brings Promotion

Excellence always takes us to another level and causes things to happen. If we want more, we have to be determined to shake off a slothful spirit and put on an excellent spirit; in order to bring out our full potential.

Excellence often requires doing something we have never done before. It requires us to stretch in all areas of our personal growth. This does not go unnoticed to others or God. Leaders that have a spirit of excellence will get God’s attention and allow Him to take them to another level.

We see examples of this all throughout the Bible and throughout history. Take a look at how Daniel was promoted because of an excellent spirit.

“Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” 
— Daniel 6:3

Excellence is something leaders must continually work on and strive to improve and develop in themselves. Keep in mind; none of us are perfect and have it all together. This area of life, like all others, requires that we seek God daily for His help.

Believe me. As a leader, there might be areas in your life that other people don’t think you excel at, but once you start working and striving towards a life of excellence others will take notice. You will grow as a leader, and just like Daniel, you will find that a powerful spirit of excellence puts you in position for promotion!

May you continually pursue a spirit of excellence and experience a life of growing prosperity.

God bless you –

Cheers,
Brenda

P.S. Has there been a time in your life you experienced a promotion because you were operating with a spirit of excellence? If so, feel free to share and encourage others…

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Personal Growth – How to Take a Look Outward and Ramp Up Your Growth Inward!

Personal Growth – How to Take a Look Outward and Ramp Up Your Growth Inward!

A Personal Investment Guaranteed to Bring Returns

Personal GrowthPersonal development is a lifelong investment.

It provides returns in the future…

and it also provides benefits for today.

Would you like to invest in something that can ramp up returns to your personal growth…

and at the same time bring value to the lives of those around you?

“Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” – James Matthew Barrie

A Successful Investment

Look outward and invest in the success of others. Why? Because when we help others overcome their hurdles and make it through their troubles, we see the same help manifest in our lives. And soon we will discover we are close to our own success.

The good things we make come to pass for others, God will make come to pass for us.

“Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man does, the same shall he receive of the Lord.” — Ephesians 6:8

Giving Ramps Up Personal Growth

Practice helping others regularly. Help them see the bright side of their troubles. Stir up and draw out their gifts and callings.

Give to others with your words. Speak words of praise and encouragement to them. A few kind words can go a long way in lifting a person’s spirits; especially in these days of being bombarded constantly with negative messages.

The person that refreshes others will be refreshed themselves. (Proverbs 11:25)

When we look outward to help others, we create more room to grow on the inside. We grow spiritually to the extent we give out.

Bottom line: Take time to help others grow and help them see the potential person they can be. A great exercise for the heart is reaching out and lifting someone else up. So what are you still doing here? Go now and find someone to help and at the same time ramp up your own personal growth.

May you have a heart to help others and a life of growing prosperity!

Soar higher –

Cheers,
Brenda

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