by desing | Faith & Purpose, Tools
The other day I was listening to someone have a conversation with a friend about upcoming plans for the fall in regards to moving into a new apartment.
“All I can really afford is maybe a studio apartment, I don’t think I’ll be able to even afford a one bedroom.” He stated and continued on with this –
“All I can really save is…”
I was mortified because I wanted to grab the phone out of his hand and force his mouth shut! All I kept thinking was that he we was speaking death and lack over his own life.
Our words create our world and they are influenced by our thoughts. The words you speak have MAJOR power and they have the power to either speak life, abundance and success or lack, death and negativity.
This stems from the ancient Proverb that there is death and life in the power of your tongue. Oftentimes our circumstances are a result of thoughts we mediated on and more importantly words that we have spoken.
As you have heard me say before, just because you feel it does not mean that you have to speak it. Our emotions can run ramped and drive us crazy if we allow them to and until you learn to manage your thoughts, emotions and the words that you choose to speak then you will never be able to experience the full promises of achieving your dreams and embracing your success.
I do not care what it may look like in your life; I want you to start seeing circumstances with the eyes of faith and not fear. It’s time for you to choose to speak life and not death.
If you keep saying that “All you can afford is a studio apartment” then guess what will happen? All you will be able to afford is a studio apartment. If you keep saying that you’ll never find a good man then guess what? You will keep running into men who are not good for you.
God spoke the world into existence and He spoke it out of nowhere. Many of the miracles portrayed in the Bible are God speaking His Word. Jesus simply spoke miracles into existence which including raising the dead! He literally spoke life over the dead – how incredible is that?
You may not believe in God or in Jesus Christ and I am in no way trying to force my beliefs on you but this universal law has proved that what you speak has the power to change your circumstance. An abundance of extremely successful people have applied this principle to see their success manifest including Jim Carrey, Bruce Lee, Jack Canfield, Oprah Winfrey, and Jim Rohn – just to name a few.
I encourage you to watch the words you speak and make a commitment to speak life over yourself, your family, your finances, your health, your career, your businesses, your relationships and your future. If you want to know where you will be in the next five years, then take a good look at the words you are speaking.
God responds to your faith. God can do what you cannot and He can do it an instant. You are not alone and He wants to see you win and prosper but He wants you to go past what you can see and trust Him. Start focus on what He can do and not what you can do in your own strength – trust God as your source and not your bank account.
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
by desing | Faith & Purpose
It has been said that those who do not have a vision for their future will eventually return to their past. I know how scary it can be to dream big. When we have big dreams, trying to find out where to start can be so overwhelming and intimidating that we may choose to not even start at all.
This is actually the natural reaction as it is human nature to seek the path of least resistance.
However, there is a key to unlock the secrets of not only starting to work towards your dreams but also to actually finishing what you start.
The secret is to have goals!
I cannot stress how necessary it is to have goals. In my years of researching successful people and success principles, I have notice several common denominators and one of those is that every successful person has goals that are written down.
I know you’re probably thinking, “So all I need to do to start birthing my vision is to have some goals?”
In a nutshell is yes, but you have to know how to make your goals work for you so that you actually achieve your goals.
The first thing is that you have to take the time to think about what it is that you want and get specific about it. If you want financial increase, then I suggest that you get specific on the exact number that you want. A financial increase can mean $5 more on your paycheck if you are not specific, so I want you to start getting specific about what you want to achieve. Remember that vague goals produce vague results.
After you have taken the time to think about it, I want you to set your goals for the month of June. Today is the top of the month and I HIGHLY suggest that you set your goals for this month. Ask yourself what you will achieve this month towards the specific vision that you have and write them down with a pen and paper. I believe there is power when we actually write something down as opposed to typing it on a device.
When writing your goals, make sure that you begin each statement with the words “I will.” One of my goals for the month is “I will work out five times a week every week this month.” Using “I will” gives it power and makes it a declarative statement instead of some sort of wish list. I could have written “Get in shape” but how can I measure that? Goals help us measure our progress so that is why I stress that your goals be both specific and measurable.
Once you have written your goals for the month, I want you to think of all the resources that you have access to help you achieve your goals and make your plans to pursue those resources. If your goal for the month is to lose 5 lbs then maybe you can set up a few sessions with your colleague who is also a personal trainer. If your goal is to find a new job, then maybe you can set up a meeting with someone in your network who can help you.
Make sure that every week you are working towards your goals by writing down your action steps for the week which is what you will do this week to help you achieve your goals. I suggest writing down your action steps every Sunday because it is the top of the week and you can enter your week prepared.
Finally, every morning that you wake up read and declare your goals out loud and thank God in advance for doing what you cannot do. Be grateful for every step that you take forward, I don’t care how small or how large it is because it is one step closer to realizing your dreams.
I pray that this could be a blessing to you and I am deliberately sending this today because it’s the first of the month and although that usually means bills, bills and more bills you have the power to switch your thinking and live in anticipation for what this month will hold for you – it’s time to live on purpose and with intention!
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
by desing | Faith & Purpose, Tools
If you and I were having a conversation about life and all that comes with it and I asked you, “Are you happy?” What would your response be?
Will it be a resounding “Yes”?
Or will the answer be “I’ll be happy when…”
The infamous lie of “I’ll be happy when…” is a trap that intertwines and deceives us to believe that we will finally obtain that happiness that we’ve been looking for when that something we’ve been desiring finally happens.
That something that we are hoping for varies for each of us. For someone it may be finally meeting “the one” and getting married, for someone else it may be finally getting that promotion into the corner office, for another it may be winning the lottery or moving into their dream home. For me, it’s been everything from “I’ll be happy when I leave this job” to “I’ll be happy when I get a book publisher.”
Until I figured out this little secret that I want to share with you.
You will be just as happy as you are now as when you receive whatever it is that you are striving towards. Your happiness is a choice that you can make. You will be just as happy as you are now as you are when you get that new job, new contract or new man. Happiness is ultimately a choice. When you wake up in the morning, you can choose to be miserable and feel sorry for yourself or you can choose to be happy in spite of what your current circumstances may be.
If you are waiting for something to make you happy or better yet, waiting on someone else to make you happy then that something or someone also has the power to make you unhappy.
That is simply too much power to give away when the power actually lies within yourself.
Oh, and please know this very fact…
There will always be something else that you are going to be striving for even after you’ve reached your current “I’ll be happen when…” mark. So you may be telling yourself that you will finally be happy when you marry the one, well the next thing may be that you will finally be happy when you have children. You have the children and the next thing is that you will finally be happy when they leave for college.
That is a long time to wait on being happy.
You might currently be yearning for that promotion at your job. Let’s say that in a year you receive the promotion and the hefty raise you’ve been hoping for. Well after you get the promotion, you have a ton of new responsibilities that are overwhelming you and the position is not what you anticipated it to be. You convince yourself that you will be happy when you move onto a new company within another year.
Again, a long while until you can finally be happy. And I’m almost certain that when you get to that new company, sooner or later there will be something else to strive towards.
Take back the power of happiness that lies within you. If you are not happy now, then I want you to find out why and make a decision that no matter what is happening or not happening in your life that you will choose to be happy instead of waiting to be happy when…
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
P.S. Pre-orders of my book, Take the Limits Off Your Legacy: A Woman’s Guide to Unlock Purpose and Vision are now available. Pre-order your copy here.
![EVENT RECAP: Our “No More Limits” Brunch & Soiree!]()
by desing | Events, Our Legacy
Embrace Her Legacy founder, women’s leadership advocate and social entrepreneur, Maria I. Melendez’ first published book Take the Limits Off Your Legacy: A Woman’s Guide to Unlock Purpose and Vision was released with a nationwide and international launch on June 16th, 2015!
In celebration of the book release, Embrace Her Legacy invited success-oriented, driven women to join an event dedicated to removing self-imposed limits in their mind’s, future, dreams and God’s power in order to realize their dreams, lead a purpose-driven life and embrace living a limitless legacy.
We launched our #NoMoreLimits viral/social media campaign at the event where we are empowering women and girls to make a declaration of what perceived limit you are going to say “No more!” to. Check out some of the pictures below and how you can be a part of the campaign here.
Along with being in an environment with women who are birthing their dreams, guests participated in a riveting Q&A about the book, removing self-imposed limits, achieving your vision, conquering fear and self-doubt, and attracting your success with Embrace Her Legacy founder, Maria I. Melendez which was hosted by on-air host, Dana Johnson of ESSENCE Live.
There was even a special acoustic performance from poet and musician, Laroque!
Guest also enjoyed cool gifts and giveaways from our gift bag sponsors: Deva Curl, nuNAAT, and Ecoco Inc!
Check out some the photos below or check out the entire album here.
Here is more about the book and Embrace Her Legacy founder, Maria I. Melendez
About Take the Limits Off Your Legacy: A Woman’s Guide to Unlock Purpose and Vision
Take the Limits Off Your Legacy: A Woman’s Guide to Unlock Purpose and Vision was created to evoke confidence in women and girls to embrace the power in their story and live a limitless legacy. It’s a journey of becoming who you have been called to be to honor what you have been called to do to so that you can fearlessly unlock the limitless opportunities of your life’s purpose and vision. Maria provides several keys to remove the limits off not only your mind but also the vision you have for your life and the power of God which will ultimately take the limits off of your legacy. Her narrative and framework provokes readers to strive for a lasting impact on the lives of others by boldly deciding to birth their dreams. Incorporating a sincere account of transformation, Maria uses her story of conquering several personal challenges as the foundation to provide a guide to inspire women and girls all over the world to confidently live out their dreams and embrace a limitless future. Maria shares effective tools to empower you to honor your story, conquer fears and self-doubt, discover your purpose, give birth to your vision, and live a limitless legacy to create an optimal life with confidence, poise and intention! Order your copy here: http://bitly.com/1H47FzA
About the Author
Deemed the “the midwife to your legacy,” this social entrepreneur, motivational speaker, author, executive producer, and women’s leadership advocate – Maria I. Melendez has embraced her mission of empowering others to live a life that embraces a limitless legacy. After leaving her high-profile career in the music business to pursue her purpose of empowering women to live life in purpose, give birth to their dreams and define their legacy, Maria has proven that she is the essence of living a legacy-driven life in order to inspire others to follow suit. Featured in ESSENCE magazine and recipient of several notable accolades, she is an influential leader whose faith, zealous drive, experience, framework, story and influence are key to the leadership development in women and girls around the world.
by desing | Faith & Purpose, Tools
We all hear it and most of us have probably uttered it. “I have a calling on my life…” or “I’ve been called to do great things.” Yes, you do have a calling on your life, but not to burst your bubble, we all do.
However, there are those of us who are called and those of us who are chosen. Here’s the difference:
Everyone is called because we each have unique gifts, talents and abilities that we are to use to serve the needs of others.
Nevertheless, few are chosen because the chosen ones actually answer their call. We each have a distinct purpose for our lives and if you are still breathing then God has you here for a reason. You have been called to live in your purpose; you have been called to use those gifts.
How do you live in your purpose?
You are living in your purpose when you are using your natural gifts, talents and abilities to serve a human need.
Follow your gifts and you will discover your purpose. Do you realize that someone can be suffering because you’ve decided to sit on your gift? Our gifts are not for us, they are for the benefit of others.
You may have been called to use your gift of communication to speak life and motivation to someone but that person is somewhere about to give up because you’re sitting on your gift. You may have been called to use your gift of management to save a failing business but that business has shut down because you took too long. You may have the gift of make-up artistry to make women feel beautiful but because you’ve allow fear to paralyze you, there is a bride somewhere whose wedding day has been ruined because she has to walk down the aisle in “drag queenesque” make-up.
Whatever it is that is keeping you in the “called” category then it is time for you to realize that in order to be chosen you must answer your call.
There is someone who is waiting on you, yes you, to use your unique gifts. You were specifically designed for your purpose. It’s up to you to answer that call and become chosen or allow fear (especially when it’s disguised as practicality) to hinder you from your chosen destiny.
Which will you choose?
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
Founder, Embrace Her Legacy
@embraceherlegacy
