Your Own Brand Makeover

Your Own Brand Makeover

BE the brand and OWN your thought leadership.

Most of us struggle with the occasional (or frequent) identity crisis in our brand. It’s only natural. Think about it… At the end of the day, who are you really? A successful, powerful brand is when your work aligns with your calling, your mission and your passion. All of those go together.

And even though getting very clear on your brand isn’t easy, it is worth it—and it does get easier. Because when you are aligned, you are more YOU. And remember, I don’t want to change who you are, I want to change what you DO, so that you can be MORE of who you are.

Branding is ALL about identity. It’s about knowing yourself in order to be yourself. In my book, SKIRTS in the Boardroom, I wrote about women who are synonymous with their brand—they are themselves through and through: Oprah, Suze Orman, Ellen. They have packaged up their talents, their personalities, their values, and their struggles as part of their brand.

When I started my company Communication Counts! (way back when…), I packaged up my talent and experience as a speaker and sold it as a professional service for high-end clients. Today, speaking is a huge part of my brand. A brand is a living thing–it’s not something copied or something that stays the same forever. It evolves with you, and is a visual, purposeful and personal representation of who you are inside.

So…. even if you think you don’t have a brand, you DO! And you’re working on it every day… like it or not. Here’s how to get at it:

Describe your current brand. Ask a few friends or colleagues to describe you, your style, you way of operating in the world. Look in the mirror and write down what you see.

Describe your ideal brand. Think about what it is you’d like to portray. I’m all for describing myself with words like “demanding,” “bossy,” “perfectionistic,” “challenging,” but maybe you’re not so comfortable with that. Don’t think about who you would be if you could be somebody else, but what you want people to know about you when they see you.

Define your brand. Build your brand around your talent. What do you do that no one else can? What do you stand for that makes you unique? Think of the values you hold dear.

If you had to define your brand in four words or less, what would they be?

Develop your brand. You have to define your brand so that you can develop it, because if you build it without knowing what it is, you’re going to end up traveling in circles rather than in a straight line. For instance, if your ideal brand includes “being decisive” and your current brand includes being indecisive, you need to start BEING decisive, making decisions and sticking to them. Master the elements of your brand.

What is an element of your brand you need to BE more often?

Deliver your brand. Your brand can’t exist only within your head; you can’t just will it into existence because you think you’re decisive, clear, fair, etc. You actually have to BE decisive, clear and fair—in public and in private—for people to attribute those traits to you. Make your brand real for others. Make people experience whatever it is you’re trying to become. Live your brand every day.

How are you at delivering your brand? Where do you need work?

Defend your brand. The best way to know if your brand is really working is to get to the point where you can be yourself—even when you think nobody’s watching. It’s what you eventually start doing on a subconscious level. This is why branding comes from within.

In what ways are you really living your brand, even subconsciously?

Once you’ve mastered these steps, it gets easier and easier to brand yourself clearly and powerfully.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article: Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

3 Ways to Get Inside Your Ideal Client’s Head-and Heart

3 Ways to Get Inside Your Ideal Client’s Head-and Heart

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,give careful attention to your herds.
–Proverbs 27:23

Getting to know your ideal client inside and out is one of the most important things you’ll do as a business owner and marketplace messenger. What that person wants is going to be the key to your messaging and branding and it will shape how you offer your products and services.

Over the years, I’ve found that most people build their brands around what they think people need. While this is noble and sounds like the right approach, it’s actually not very effective.

Here’s why:

People buy what they want,
not what they need.

We make emotional decisions first and then rationalize them later. When you’re clear about your ideal client, you’ll be clear on how to give them exactly what they want (and get paid very well for it).

So, how do you figure out what they want?

First things first.  Start by filling in this blank:

My ideal client is_______________________________. (Be specific!)

If your picture is still a little fuzzy, these 3 rock-solid steps I use with my coaching clients will get it crystal-clear.

1.  Refocus: Get really specific about who your client is and where they are in their journey. If you’re a weight-loss coach, for instance, you don’t want to work with people who have no interest in losing weight. People won’t fix what they haven’t first faced. Pray about who you’re served to call.

2. Reflect:  Think about the transformation you provide. You’re in the business of transformation, after all. Where will your client be after he or she works with you? A financial adviser who says she’s an experienced money manager is a lot less fascinating than one who says she’ll move you from worry to wealth.

3. Relate. What are their aches, pains, problems, obstacles, and frustrations? What strategies have they tried that have failed? Look back at where you used to be. How did you feel? What kept you up at night? What did you pray about? When you communicate clearly about the obstacles and pain you’ve overcome, your ideal clients can tell you relate to them. That’s how you begin to build a relationship.

Your ideal client is already looking for you.

They may not know about you just yet, which is why you need to build your brand presence and visibility. You must put yourself in a position to be found and heard.  Your message and mission are that important.

Ultimately, you’ve been called to serve others in a unique way. Your ideal clients are those who are waiting and ready to receive what you have to offer.

Who is your ideal client? Tell ME below. I’d love to give you my feedback.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article: Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

How to Profit in the Information Economy

How to Profit in the Information Economy

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another,
as good stewards of God’s varied grace.
—1 Peter 4:10

I believe we’ve shifted into a new economy here in the U.S. And, no, I’m not talking about a Depression or Recession… Not at all!

I consider ours the Information Economy. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry in which people seek and invest in quality information–in order to transform and improve their lives. And the incredible thing about it is that it’s open to all those who make a decision. A decision to raise their hand and learn how to play in this space.

So, what do you have to have to succeed in this economy? Well, it’s simple. You just have to have something to share. Something to teach.

Maybe you think you don’t have anything to share. But I guarantee that if you have stories, experiences, successes, struggles or setbacks, you know something that somebody else does not know. And if you didn’t, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. I believe that you’ve been called and the thing that is tugging at you is simply a voice inside of you that is waiting to be heard

Your VOICE is what can change your entire life. When you showcase your voice in a way that’s unique to the purpose you’ve been called to—this begins to become your profit center. I don’t believe that God put us here to be dependent upon other people. I believe that He’s given everybody the gifting and ability to be able to provide for themselves.

And I believe the ultimate way to do this is by stepping up into this new dimension of purpose and being an influencer or messenger. For those of you who are already influencers and speakers or messengers, this is the best time for you to learn how to share your story more effectively. It’s all about sharing information, because the information economy is recession-proof.

I like to say that I’ve heard about the recession, but I chose not to participate. I encourage my clients not to participate either, because it’s amazing what you can see when you choose what NOT to look at. There are millionaires being born every day. You have to say YES and say that is for me. Every good thing that ever was is designed for me. But the world is not designed to tell me that. The media is designed to spark fear that this is the worst time to start anything.

If the enemy makes you fearful of starting, then he’s not afraid of you anymore.  Of course, he wouldn’t want you to do anything that would elevate your income and have peace and joy and enable you to do more things for your family and love living.

Benefiting from the information economy is a reality that my clients are experiencing—they have more income in their lives and more joy, more creativity and enhanced ability to give and serve more and feel even more alive.

This is the best economy and right time for you to launch because the information economy is a multi-billion-dollar industry.

You need simply one thing to tap into this marketplace: You need new wisdom that will take you to a new place so that you can live a new reality.

The secret to living your new destiny is found in how you learn to elevate your voice. Once you can be seen and heard, everything changes.  When your brilliance becomes more visible, it elevates your bank account.  The more visible you are, the more profitable you end up being.

Because being VISIBLE is what makes being PROFITABLE possible.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article: Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

6 Powerful Ways to Defeat Distraction

6 Powerful Ways to Defeat Distraction

What is standing between you and your dreams?

Distraction.

In other words, all the little stuff that grabs at your attention every day and keeps you from focusing on where you really want to go.

The problem with distraction is that it comes dressed in very clever disguises. It puts a dazzling display of our life on a small screen when we could have our lives playing out more brilliantly on a bigger, more significant screen.

Distraction is only interested in keeping you entertained long enough to miss the real picture – the big picture. When you focus on the seemingly good thing in front of you (changing the colors for your website, taking a call from a friend in need or binge-watching Netflix), you’re not looking in the direction that God is telling you to look.

Here are 6 things I do on a regular basis to defeat distraction and maintain my focus:

1. Get Started

Sometimes what’s most distracting is the unfinished tasks surrounding you. You can spend much more time worrying and being anxious about a project than it would take to actually complete it. Remember, what you focus on you magnify. Focusing on the potential problems will make it bigger than it really is. Focusing instead on getting started is a big secret to getting ahead.

 

2. Clear the Clutter

Anything around you that is not either inspiring, beautiful or useful is an energy drain. I like to say delete whatever is depleting you. And I’m not talking just the in-box that makes you cringe or bills on the table, it’s also the mental clutter. As miraculous, beautiful and wonderfully complex as the mind is, you can easily clutter your mind with more than it can handle.  When you remove the overwhelm in your mind (click here to learn how you can conquer being overwhelmed), then you actually have a clearer path to hear your own voice. And, clean up your physical environment while you’re at it. Studies show that this can almost instantly create inner harmony and clarity.

 

3. Get Still

Many distractions can be eliminated simply by proactively creating some quiet time for yourself. Turn off the TV, take a bath instead of a shower, or set aside 15 minutes of prayer and reflection time each day. Make room for God’s voice to come for a visit—better yet, a nice, long stay. Pause to see what God is already sending (click here to learn how you can get still with God). Remember, God is a supplier and provider. The key is to have eyes to see and ears to hear. Instead of reacting today, I urge you to respond with Heaven’s heart to all that comes your way. Ask God to give you HIS glasses!

 

4. Wait for Confirmation

No matter how confusing or clear things might appear, resist the temptation to act prematurely.  The Bible says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). Once you present your petition, pause and wait for permission. And learn the beauty of knowing when to say YES (click here to learn how saying “yes” to everything is dangerous). Never board an unconfirmed trip—the destiny attached to your destination is too important.

 

5. Look for the Value Proposition

When you are evaluating your next step, relationship, or business move, prayerfully reflect upon the value the situation provides. Be sure to look at the present and future value of taking this step, not just the past value (enjoyment, escape, temporary relief) you have received from it.

 

6. Be Patient

God says, “Trust me, not the clock.” God matures you before He moves you into your next season. So when the going gets tough, remember that God’s appointment has no expiration date. Taking the right actions and knowing when to wait for more information requires your patience, strength and wisdom.

 

Here’s the thing: Distractions are easy; they are no-brainers. Your destiny is so important… and it takes time. Breathe and draw strength from keeping the focus on it.

What are the main distractions keeping you away from your destiny?

Now… what is that person, task, opportunity, or situation adding to your life or business?

What is it subtracting? If something is truly costing you, let discernment tell you whether or not it is worth it.

I’d love to hear what you discover—let me know below in the comments.

If you found this blog post helpful, comment below! Or share with a friend or anyone
you think could use some inspiration and motivation.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article: Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

Turn a Bad Breakup Into a Purpose-Filled Breakthrough

Turn a Bad Breakup Into a Purpose-Filled Breakthrough

The sufferings of this present time are not worthy

to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

 

–Romans 8:18

Maybe you’re going through a nasty breakup right now—or, if you are like most people who’ve lived a few years, you can recall a time you went through one.

When you go through the kind of excruciating heartbreak (as most of us have) that brings you to your knees, you have a couple of choices. You can jump back right into your little black dress and into someone new’s arms—blotting out the pain and skipping the healing part completely.  Or…. You can hit the pause button and become aware that God is present in every single anguishing moment of it— the anger, the blame, the confusion, the forgiveness. There’s a reason for all of it.

Believe me, we are all human… I can see why taking refuge in shiny, new relationships, is tempting. Healing is not for the weak. Purpose is not for the lazy.

When I went through a difficult breakup a few years ago I decided to stop, get still and listen. I knew I needed to recenter & R.E.S.T. And by that, I mean Release Every Sabotaging Thought.

So I took a whole year to be still.   I invested inward.  I listened. I listened to messages from Heaven, I read about a dozen books on personal and spiritual development.  I got clear about my goals and I focused forward.  I didn’t rush it – I committed to work through it.

So how can you turn your break-up into purpose-filled breakthrough?

(1) CHOOSE HEALING

The bravest thing you can do is CHOOSE to heal and to make that a proactive process.  You choose to allow BAD to stand for Broken Angry & Defeated … or you can embrace your breakthrough and see yourself as Blessed And Determined.  It’s a choice.

(2) SHIFT YOUR FOCUS

A break-up, like most experiences is about something much bigger than you anyway.  God is probably trying to usher you into a new place and allow you to help more people. Yes, you!  What can you learn from you circumstances that will help you and help others?

There is purpose waiting to emerge from a place of pain.  Pain is never intended to be permanent.

(3) ASK GOD THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Stop asking the small question: “God, what do you want me to DO?”  He rarely answers that question.  Instead start asking the big one: “God, who do want me to BECOME?”  That one takes courage and will require ACTION and spiritual maturity.  The calling I ended up discovering was a lot bigger than anything I could have dreamed up. I never would have gotten it if I hadn’t paused and shifted the focus from self to divine service.

So what do bad breakups and divine purpose have in common?

People rush through both—they don’t stop and listen for God. And, BELIEVE me, if you’re in a messed up situation and you don’t deal with it, you’re only going to mess up the next situation. When you rush into the next relationship, you’re actually saying to God, “I can’t be used for your highest purpose because I’m not willing to go thru the process. I want what’s easy—not what’s divine.  What’s divine takes time.”

So… if you are in that post-breakup place, know that everything you’re going through did not happen to you….it happened for you.  For your purpose. So stop. Listen. REST. And, focus forward by focusing on your purpose.

And remember that in this season, A-L-L things are possible.  You have been called for such a time as this. Does this story resonate for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to cleave a comment below.

 

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article: Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

3 Ways to Handle Negative People

3 Ways to Handle Negative People

It happens to the best of us. You’re going along pretty well, feeling pretty happy, minding your own business, all is hunky-dory…  then someone says something or does something and ZING! You’re triggered.

Maybe it’s a veiled insult, an off-color joke, or just a little passive-aggressive dig. Your mood plummets. Your patience evaporates. You start rehearsing the stinging comebacks you wish you could deliver. You can’t wait to gossip about this to a girlfriend. You know what I’m talking about.

So, much of the time, I advise simply letting of the relationships that are draining, depleting and discouraging you. But what if this is  your boss, your in-law or, even, your child we’re talking about?

If the negative person in your life is NOT that easily let go of, here’s a few ways to navigate that relationship.

 

1. Pray.

What would Jesus do with that challenging sister-in-law, boss or stepson of yours?  You’ve been called to love selflessly and ceaselessly. That doesn’t mean burying all your feelings and pasting on a smile. Before and during an encounter with your button-pusher, pray for patience, strength and compassion. Use your prayer time to read your Bible—after all, it’s jam-packed with practical advice about how to interact with people. Pray for discernment around what to work through and what to let go of— what to lovingly confront and what to drop. . Pray to recognize that this person is just a child of God who is struggling. This will help you to open your heart and embrace a challenging person in a much deeper way—without reacting.

 

2.Don’t Take it Personally.

I’m not going to pretend this one is easy! I’ve been there and sometimes words spoken can feel like a deliberate personal attack. Try to remember that what this person is saying and how they are behaving is about THEM; it’s not about you. Whew, right? The most important thing is never, ever to let someone else’s negativity ruin your good mood or peaceful mind. You probably know by now that whenever you take a negative person’s words or behaviors personally, it’s not going to end well. You go on the defensive and just end up adding more fuel to the fire. When you decide not to take it personally you de-escalate potential conflict. So take a breath, step away for a moment, and remember that it’s not about you.

3. Use the Situation for your Growth.

This is for all my spiritual warriors out there. *Smile* Navigating with negative people can really challenge your faith, but by responding to triggers reflectively, instead of reactively, you might even help those relationships grow deeper. And then there is the amazing opportunity to learn more about yourself. Remember, every relationship you have is a mirror of your inner world. (I told you this wasn’t necessarily easy! )  The qualities in another that upset you are often those aspects of yourself that you don’t quite want to see. Instead of seeing someone as a nemesis, what if you could see this person as an ally in your own growth? When you’re dealing with someone challenging, ask yourself, “What could I learn from this encounter?”

And always bear in mind that every one (yes, even the most challenging ones) is doing the best they can.

So tell me, how do you handle the negative people in yourlife?

I’d love to hear your thoughts—please share below in the comments.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article: Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

How to Stop Holding Yourself Back

How to Stop Holding Yourself Back

Finding your voice is so crucial to stepping into your destiny… and if you can’t hone in on it, it will feel like you’re holding yourself back.

Do you feel like you’re missing out on knowing your voice?

Like something’s standing in your way?

Or that you can’t feel, hear or see what you need to know your voice?

Believe me, you are not alone.

Here are 5 of the most frequent factors that I’ve seen holding back my clients and causing them to lose the battle for the single most important thing they have… their voice.

1. Stop paying attention to your competition.

God does not compete. Sometimes you simply have way too many things competing for your attention and because you jump from one to the other, and you don’t spend time focusing on your purpose. You need to simplify. You can’t make sense of what to do next or find out what you need to say and share because there are just too many other voices and things and stuff and decisions going on in. Stop paying attention to your competition. It is a distraction. Focus on YOUR mission.

2. Clear the clutter.

As miraculous, beautiful and wonderfully complex as the mind is, you may have cluttered it with more than it can handle. Also, what’s around you is a byproduct of what is going on inside of you.

Feeling very cluttered inside often creates a cluttered environment around you—it’s almost like your voice is cramped in this space.  The clutter might be…

  • junk
  • toxic people
  • the past
  • your thoughts
  • your physical environment and space

Take a look around you and your life. What feels cluttered and needs clearing out? After all, clutter creates confusion. In order for clarity to move in, you have got to remove the clutter.

3. Start making decisions.

The unmade choices that are inside of you and around you easily can start overwhelming you. Sometimes having to make choices as a leader can clutter your mind because you are responsible for so much. One of the things I recommend is to simplify what you are deciding.

Make some decisions; take what does not need to be thought about now off the table. Simplify what’s on your mind and all around you, so that you can actually have a clearer path to be able to hear your own voice.

4. Avoid staying TOO busy.

When we take on too much, we often tend to “major in the minor”. What that means is that instead of taking on the one big thing that God gives us, we’ll take on a gazillion little things, and our hands become unnecessarily full. Our lives fill with putting out small fires and missing out on our big mission.

This is where I find that most people bury their voice—behind and underneath busyness and all of the other things that “have to” get done and “have to” be done. In that process, doing begins to overtake the process of being. Busyness is simply a distraction.

Distractions have a specific goal in mind:  Distractions take you out of your destiny. When you are trying to live your life with all of the above going on, feeling overwhelmed is a pretty natural by-product. And overwhelm is a surefire way to submerge your voice. It is impossible to be clear, divinely-inspired, or powerful when you are overwhelmed.

5. Don’t let your broken confidence keep you broken.

Broken confidence comes from people, experiences, and lack of clarity — it shows up in feelings of doubt, worry, and anxiety. It often comes from the words of other people that seep in and become these little tape recorders whispering to you what you can’t do, who you are not, what won’t work, and what you shouldn’t try. Those whispers, more than you realize, become the core of your identity. The Bible says, “As a man thinketh, so is he.”

We’ve all done it in one way or another, not even realizing that we are doing it. And we start to believe that the core essence, the divine thing, the beautiful thing that’s always been in your heart is not good enough– or we even forget what it was because it’s been buried so deep.

Remember: The battle is not for your talent, or for your beauty, or for your brilliance. The battle is really for your voice.

Thinking about your challenges, your distractions and your busyness is a disguised way of taking you outside of your destined place.

Whether it’s busyness, clutter, fear or procrastination competing for your attention, the battle is always, always, always for your voice.

I pray you begin to become aware of these things and that this message helps you prioritize your day, make better choices, and step beautifully into sharing your voice.

If you found this blog post helpful, comment below! Or share with a friend or anyone
you think could use some inspiration and motivation.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article: Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

3 Steps to TRUSTing God More

3 Steps to TRUSTing God More

I love taking action. I preach taking action. I believe in taking action.

God is a God of Action.

But when I listen to what God has to say to me, he doesn’t ever talk to me about DOING more.

He talks to me about TRUSTING more.
About listening, truly hearing and responding.

Admittedly, I often respond like…
“God! Are you talking to me?”

Because I’m a BIG truster…or at least I think I am.
But time and again, I hear it.
The message is clear.

It’s time to trust at an entirely new level.
At the next level. The trust that got you here is not the level of trust that will get you there.

As a coach and catalyst who often helps move people into the ACTION side of faith, I have gotten really used to doing, creating, and producing.

And, Heaven has generously blessed the fruit of my labor and works of my hands.

Yet still – there are three stages of trusting God–and many of us don’t venture beyond the first one.

What do I mean?

 

Stage 1 is Seeing.

To have the courage to see what God has for you and to understand who you are in His eyes requires that you trust God’s divine design for your life. Instead of seeing, most people look too long when God is asking them to leap! They end up turning seeing into staring. This is what most people do when it comes to entering their calling.

They are content to know that they could be more, but are unwilling to take the steps necessary to actually become that person fully. It’s much easier to look at (and keep looking at) what’s possible versus leaping into God’s plan. Staring doesn’t take much faith or trust.  Visionary living and seeing what God is sending is at the core of living with faith and trust in action.

 

Stage 2 is Stepping.

This is the type of trust needed when God is asking you to proactively step out into a new territory.It’s usually pretty scary because you are not always sure where you’re going or how you’re going to get there. But, you feel the tug…you feel the call…and you know it’s time to take a leap of faith. You know it’s time to answer. In this stage, you trust that God knows what He is doing. He knows where He is taking you and that His ways are bigger than your ways. So, you take a step…even without seeing the entire staircase.

I have to jump in here and let you know that I’ve come to realize that I’m really pretty darn good at these first two stages of trust. I see and trust God’s plans for me. I’ve seen Him show up time and time again. And I’ve always landed on solid ground when He’s asked me to leap.

So, as a leader and visionary I tend to live in this “Stepping” stage! I love to launch. I love to start and embark upon a new faith adventure. I also love to share how God shows out when we step up and show up. Heck, that’s what I do for a living now. I help believers and dreamers around the world elevate their faith by “starting” and stepping out of their comfort zone to enter into the glory zone of their divine calling.

What I’m not so hot at is the next stage of trust.

 

Stage 3 is Surrendering.

Surrender requires that you be willing to abandon your way, your training, your full-proof plans, and whatever else you’re holding onto as your roadmap to the next level. And I admit… to be fully transparent like this is not my favorite thing.

I love wisdom. I love knowledge. Lord knows I love to learn how to do things with excellence. But, anything that serves as a louder GPS for your life (or my life) than God’s voice becomes an idol — one that can cause us to exit our anointing… not strengthen it.

Truth be told, real surrender is scary.

And, that’s where I’m at.

My vision continues to grow. It’s global. It’s big… really big.

On one hand it’s exciting to see new horizons. But on the other hand, even as a coach, expert & strategist, there are some things I just cannot figure out.

I don’t know how God is going to bring some parts of this vision to fruition.

I don’t know where the support is going to come from.

I don’t know where the resources are going to come from.

And, I don’t know how I’m going to balance it all.

But when I look back over my life, I realize that I really never knew what I was doing anyway! Even when I thought I did, it was all God’s doing. He keeps the training wheels on us and just lets us think that we’re pedaling on our own.

So, today I’m not an expert – not when it comes to surrender.

But, I’m working on it.

The only thing I can tell you right now is what God has shown me: Surrender is a fundamental ingredient in having a healthy, real relationship with God.

And, I don’t know about you, but I that’s what I desire.

An ever-growing relationship with God in which each day, the “big” faith & trust I had yesterday pales in comparison to how much I trust Him today.

What about you?

Where do you struggle when it comes to trust?

In what areas is God asking you to surrender?

To trust Him more?

I look forward to hearing from you… Please feel free to leave your responses below.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article:
Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

4 Steps to Rebuild Your Confidence

4 Steps to Rebuild Your Confidence

Knowing how to rebuild your confidence is a vital skill because confidence is tied to everything you do. And as you step into your big vision and live your divine dream, it’s important not only to rebuild your confidence but also to protect it.

Because here’s the thing… If you don’t believe in who you are and what you offer the world, the world is not going to believe  in you. It’s that simple. Part of having faith is having faith in yourself because of the God within you. And all Godfidence is is using the power within you to produce the life God intended for you.

Click to watch the video and learn the four steps I use to rebuild and protect my confidence.

 

How do you rebuild your confidence when you need to?
Which of the four steps most resonates with you?
Please respond below… I’d love to hear your thoughts!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please feel free to do so. Just include this complete blurb with today’s article: Marshawn Evans Daniels is a Global Mentor and Catalyst for Women looking to Launch Their Dreams and Live Their Purpose. She equips others to AMPLIFY their lives, their leadership and their legacy by teaching the principles of influence, branding, and divine purpose. Her weekly eZine goes out to thousands of subscribers. Are you ready to unleash your brilliance and align with your REAL destiny? Sign up for a FREE subscription at http://marshawnevans.com.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

How To Enter Divine Significance

How To Enter Divine Significance

Weekly Affirmation:

“The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but on significance – and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” – Oprah Winfrey

Weekly Wisdom

Success vs. Signficance
Each day, we entertain long-distance conversations with success while significance calls on the other line. Which do you put on hold? Which do you answer? Answering the call to significance is at the crux of your life calling.

Many people ask, “How do I know my calling?” Most people miss it because it doesn’t come in the manner in which they are expecting.

Your calling is NOT like this once-in-a-lifetime-now-I-have-hit-the-jackpot, prize-winning announcement that changes everything in an instant. Your calling is not something you receive at a certain point in your life. Your calling is already within you. It is an integral part of you, a part of your DNA – Destiny Now Activated. You do not get it, you grow it. The challenge is not acquiring it, the key is accessing it.

If you can begin to see your calling as something you grow, you create a new appreciation for the life you are designed to live out as opposed to look for. You already have it. It is time to harness it.

While we each have a unique calling, each of us has the same mandate – to have an impact within our circle of influence.

In today’s world, we look at achieving status as the ultimate benchmark of success. We end up equating status with success. That is the wrong way to look at significance. In the process of seeking to accomplish more, we often end up making more money, but see far less meaning. I would submit to you that you can easily make money, live in a mansion, and still miss the mandate of living a life of meaning.

Your calling is not as complicated as you might think. It is not intended to be a mystery to you. Calling is pretty simple. Calling is that thing within you that pulls the best out of you to unleash the best around you. Read that again. That is a definition I challenge you to reflect upon this week.

What you do is less important than who you are. HOW you do what you do is more important that WHAT you do. God is more concerned with your character than your career. Everything that you do should reflect the integrity of who you are. We develop a depth in our calling based upon how we act in the smallest of small areas of our lives – in how we see, speak to and treat others. Your ability to SHOWCASE a life of significance is a direct reflection of the relationship you SEEK and the time you SPEND in the Presence of God.

Cultivating significance is a matter of perspective, awareness, sensitivity and choice – choices that can start today! It is about how you respond and react to what you receive. You can reap real rewards when you reflect the fullness of your calling. The key is to seek significance, not success.

KEEP ME FOCUSED: Quick References for the Week:

  • An honorable life is one that honors God.
  • Calling is that thing within you that pulls the best out of you to unleash the best around you.
  • You are significant to God. A life of significance requires that you understand the depth of your significance to the Kingdom.
  • Everything God asks you to do is significant.
  • Sizable significance is shown in taking small steps.
  • What you do is less important than who you are. Character really does count.
  • Obedience is more significant that sacrifice.
  • Your ability to SHOWCASE a life of significance is a direct reflection of the relationship you SEEK and time you SPEND in the Presence of God.
  • Acting with significance improves the things, people and circumstances around you

SUGGESTED SCRIPTURAL REFLECTIONS:

Ephesians 2:10
Proverbs 25:17
Luke 14:11
Colossians 3:17
Romans 12:1
John 12:26
2 Timothy 2:4

If you’re ready to step into your divine significance now, don’t miss tonight’s global telecall: Quantum Leap! Launch Your Speaking Dreams in 2013. There’s still time to register. Join nearly 1000 messengers who are ready to learn–step-by-step–how to share their voice and their inspirational story. Click here to register right now.

Join the Conversation + Share Your Comments

Believe Bigger! Live Bolder.

Join our community of 100,000+ extraordinary women (‘n some smart men, too!) and receive weekly motivation on how to manifest your full potential, influence and income.

STEP 1: Complete this form to Apply for Private Coaching + Mentorship

This is step 1 of 2

STEP 1: Complete this form to Apply for A VIP DAY Assessment

This is step 1 of 2

STEP 1: Complete this form to Apply for A Power Hour Strategy Session with Marshawn

THIS IS STEP 1 of 2

 

GET THE FREE BELIEVE BIGGER AUDIOBOOK INTRODUCTION TODAY!

Pin It on Pinterest