by desing | Faith & Purpose
So the Holiday’s have come to a close and now it’s time to get back into the swing of things. 2017 has arrived and you may be excited filled with anticipation or you might be going back to business as usual.
I don’t know about you but there is NO way the I’m tolerating a repeat of 2016. Although I experienced the most trying year of my life, I believe that everything happened for me to be molded into a warrior. You have to change how you see yourself before you can change any of your circumstances.
This is the year where it’s time for you to apply the wisdom that your trials, challenges and hours of listening to sermons, podcasts, inspirational videos and everything else that you have done to become a better you has taught you.
You are a warrior and the only thing that can limit what you see happen to you this year is you. You can choose to limit your faith and expectations or you can choose to believe for exactly what you want – not what your mind tells you to settle for.
This is the year for all your promises to be released but you have to be willing to do something different and start believing that you will receive all that your heart desires for 2017.
You may not be totally clear on what your heart desires for 2017 are or perhaps the reason why you may not want to believe for a powerful 2017 is because you’ve experienced so much delay and disappointment that you have been deceived into believing that things will never change.
But that’s a lie and I want you to get your faith back!
Let’s fast forward to December 31st, 2017. Picture yourself that day saying this, “2017 was the best year of my life!”
What would have had to happen from now to December 31st, 2017 in order for that to be true?
Would your business have made 6-figures in sales? Would you have gotten married? Would you have taken that vacation to Italy? Would you have quit your job and now you’re working as a full-time entrepreneur? Would you have gotten a new job in your desired field making a $70,000 salary? Would you have got accepted to your dream school? Would you weigh your ideal weight? Would you have conquered fear and started your coaching business?
As you answer this question, the desires of your heart are being revealed. You don’t have to limit your answer to one thing either, you can have a list of desires that you would like to see happen to you in 2017.
Now that you recognize the desires of your heart, you can begin to set goals and an action plan to hit your December 31st mark.
This is NOT the year to limit God because I wholeheartedly believe that this is a year of miracles and God showing all the way off in your life – if you only would believe.
You have to faith that takes hold of what is yours and you do this by starting to declare with your words what you want to see happen. Use your words to begin to call forth those desires of your heart and believe it.
Create a list of what you want to see happen in 2017 and start to call them forth into your life every morning. Thank God in advance that it’s already done. Develop this habit of declaring what you want, calling it forth in your life and watch what happens.
As you stand believing, then start preparing. I’m not telling you this to make you feel good, I am convinced that I’ve been sent as messenger from God to tell you to get your hopes up, open your mouth and start calling your desires into your life. You’ve cried enough, you’ve hurt enough, you’ve waited long enough and now it’s time to see your redemption.
This is a year of release, so open your hands and receive what’s already yours. What you declare in faith, you will receive.
I have something very special coming where I’m going to be teaching you how to combine your faith with your goals to conquer this year so that you will say on December 31st, 2017 – this was the best year of my life! Stay tuned!
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
by desing | Faith & Purpose
I’m not going to hold you too long, I just wanted to send my love your way and let you know how much I appreciate you, your support and your dreams! It’s been one crazy year for me and in my dark moments where I literally felt like throwing in the towel, I knew that I had to keep fighting because of you. If I don’t answer my call, no one else will.
Although you may not always feel like it, but somebody somewhere is depending on you to do what God has called you to do. Does that mean that it will be easy? Nope! But it does mean that only YOU can do it, only you can fulfill the assignment and only your experiences, gifts, talents and skills were given to you in order to live out your purpose.
This year may have been a home run for you or perhaps it’s was a strikeout but it was all happening for you and not to you. Take a moment to express gratitude for your blessings and make a decision to no longer allow your past to steal your future.
This is your time for breakthroughs and I just wanted you to know that I’m thankful for you…wherever you are. I’m committed to walk in love, as perfect love casts out all fear. Walk in your calling, walk in gratitude, walk in your destiny, walk in your prosperity and walk in your victory!
Thank you for being you and I hope you are overwhelmed with love this season!
I hope that you have a truly blessed and Happy Holiday!!
P.S. Don’t forget that I’m restructuring things for 2017 and many of my classes, e-courses and audio lessons will no longer be available, including Goal-Getting Success Bootcamp E-Course series so make sure you download it before it’s too late.
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
Embraceherlegacy.com
by desing | Faith & Purpose
This morning, I was watching a spiritual leader that I admire, Joyce Meyer. I was having one of those mornings where my thoughts were trying to steal my joy, hope and faith. I was feeling worried and anxious about a certain circumstance but as I listened to Joyce Meyer, I realized that I needed to get my hopes up.
One thing I don’t believe in is coincidences, I knew that the message was just what I needed to hear as she encouraged me to choose hope.
Sometimes circumstances can try to steal your hope. And when you lose hope, you are in danger of losing everything else.
But what exactly is hope? Hope is the confident expectation that something good is going to happen to you. Hope is a decision that you must make instead of allowing your feelings or trials to steal hope from you.
So I’m encouraging you to get your hopes up! This is a time for miracles and believe that the best is yet to come.
You may have had one of the toughest years of your life or maybe right now, you’re experiencing some disappointment, betrayal, failure, trial, setback or storm.
And although you can’t always control what happens to you, you can choose how to respond to what’s happening. If you keep waiting until you feel better or circumstances to change to choose hope then you’re giving the victory to your circumstances instead of taking victory for yourself.
In the season where we celebrate the impossible, miracles, peace and joy, make a commitment to choose hope and make a decision right now to believe with a confident expectation that something good is going to come out of what you’ve been through. Decide to have a positive expectation for your future, 2017 and even for the last days of 2016.
Believe that today, tomorrow or next week your breakthrough can happen. Make a decision to choose hope and believing for the impossible for nothing is impossible with God.
This is the season for miracles so why not choose to believe that this is your season to experience your miracle.
Get your hopes up!
I also wanted to give you a heads up that I’m going to be restructuring so many things for 2017 and many of my e-courses, audio lessons and worksheets will no longer be available (at least not at the same price), one of the being my Goal Getting Success Bootcamp E-Course series which has been such a favorite. This is such an ideal time take the course now to get you set for 2017. Once you download the course, you’ll receive four audio lessons with corresponding action step worksheets.
If you want to look through all the other classes, you can look through here. As an extra bonus, use promotional code: save20 at checkout on all classes!
I truly believe that something good is going to happen to you in this season! Believe and receive!
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
Embraceherlegacy.com
by desing | Faith & Purpose
There’s a silent killer that’s holding you back from experiencing the best that life has to offer you. It’s also delaying your dreams and blocking you from receiving the answers to some of your most fervent prayers.
You’ve probably been acquainted with this killer for some time now but you may not have known it. Or you do know it and like most of us, you’ve chosen to ignore it, sweep it under the rug and act like it doesn’t exist.
The name of this silent killer is unforgiveness.
Harboring unforgiveness in your soul is like having a cancerous tumor in your body and if you don’t kill it at its root it will spread like wildfire into every other area in your life. Unforgiveness is deceiving because you’ll think that you’re fine but little do you know that the unresolved offense that you’re carrying has slowly started to manifest into anger, bitterness, resentment, fear, anxiety, unhealthy behavior, toxic thinking or a slew of other things that are just all the way bad for you.
The goal of unforgiveness is to keep you in bondage and trapped to your past. As you hold onto your past hurts, you are limiting your future. You don’t have to let your past steal the opportunities, restoration, healing, relationships, and dreams.
Is the offense worth it? It’s time to go into immediate “surgery” and give the precious gift of forgiveness this Holiday season.
Forgiveness is for you not for the other person. It frees you from bondage and it releases the offender from stealing what’s yours. Faith cannot work in an unforgiving heart. If you’re waiting for the person to ask for or deserve your forgiveness then that’s not forgiveness. You give it to them even if they don’t deserve it to set yourself free.
God wants to do new things for you, great things that you’ve never seen before but in order for you to receive that you’ve got to let go of the past. You’ve got to let go of your pain. Give it to God and He’ll take what was meant for your harm and turn that trial into your triumph.
Begin by making the decision to forgive. You may not feel anything at first and that’s fine. A decision to forgive an offense may start as a decision that you make in faith first before you actually experience true forgiveness. You may have to choose to forgive every time the thought of the offense comes creeping in your thoughts.
Which brings me to my next point. Stop replaying the hurt in your thoughts. When you’re tempted to start replaying the movie of everything that’s hurt you, choose to cast those thoughts down with your words. If you say to yourself under your breath, “I am forgetting this former pain, I’m choosing to release that pain to God. I trust God to vindicate me and I forgive (insert person’s name).”
Keep saying it in faith!
You might be carrying a whole bunch of offenses in your soul. I was too so you’re not alone. I wrote down each and every offense on a few pages of paper as I poured out my tears in release and literally gave them all to God. I didn’t want it any of it anymore so I gave it away. I felt lighter, happier and experienced a new sense of joy. So maybe you may have to write it all down, pour it all on the page and let it go.
Another thing that helped me with forgiving others was praying for them. It’s really hard to stay angry at someone and pray for them. Instead of hate, prayer solicits love, peace, hope, unity. Again, it releases them and breaks the bondage off of you.
This might be a faith battle for you because you don’t feel like you’ve forgiven but faith is not a feeling. You can download my audio lesson on Faith 101 here to help you build your faith here.
Invest into prospering your soul and everything else will follow. Give someone the gift of forgiveness this season.
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
Embraceherlegacy.com
by desing | Faith & Purpose
Have you ever come to a point in your life when you’re just tired and over it all? You’re tired of being broke, you’re tired of going to a job you hate, you’re tired of your business not growing, you’re tired of living in that toxic environment and you’re tired of seeing everyone else win but you.
I totally feel you! Instead of being mad at your circumstances, be thankful. Why? Because sometimes God will allow things to get to that painful point in order for you to make a decision to change. As my mentor so eloquently put it, “Pain births the desire for change.”
I had such an epiphany the other day. I’m working on a few, new goals to best serve you and of course, I’ve been meeting opposition. Well, I decided to win no matter what and get the job done as this is my assignment. I know I’ve been created to prosper in EVERYTHING!
So were you!
In order for you to make changes in your life, you have to make the decision and wholeheartedly believe that you will win. When you make the decision to win, you will attract the resources, relationships, favor, money and miracles that you’ll need to succeed. You have to make the decision to win, no matter what. You will go back to school, you will become a millionaire, you will get your dream job, you will lose that weight, you will get out of debt, you will buy that house or you will build that build that business.
How?
I learned from speaker, Tony Robbins that the first step is to raise your standards. What that means is to change your “shoulds” into “musts”. When you know you “should” do or change something then more than likely, you won’t. You know that you should stop smoking or you should save money or you should wake up earlier or you should start exercising but it’s not something that you believe you must do. When you change what you should do to what you must do then you raise the standard of what you will and will not accept in your life.
What “must” will you require of yourself?
If your landlord were to raise the rent by $100, you would find that extra $100 to make your rent payment because having the money to pay your rent is a must. Well it’s time to raise the “rent” or the standard in your life.
Think of the areas in your life where you need to go from “I should do this” to “I must do this.” I know it can be intimidating but this is where you have to change how you see yourself in order to produce desired change.
I heard Bill Winston put it like this. We all know that a lion is the king of the jungle, right? But if you think about it, a lion is not the biggest because an elephant is. Nor is the lion the fastest, a cheetah is. Nor does the lion have the toughest skin, but what makes the lion the ferocious predator that he is, is that the lion believes he is the strongest, toughest and the fastest.
In order for you to win, you have to see yourself as a winner. You have to believe that you’re who you desire to be, even if you don’t see it yet. You may have a desire to stop smoking but if you still see yourself as a smoker then even though you may quit for a while, you’ll eventually go back to it because you identify yourself as a smoker.
See yourself as wealthy, healthy, capable, smart or that entrepreneur, speaker, real estate agent, singer or doctor. Tap into your inner lion and remove the limitations from how you see yourself.
Don’t wait until a date on the calendar of a new year to create change and win. 2017 is not “your year” because every year is your year. Your life is not limited to only being blessed for a certain year, but every day that you wake up is another day to boldly and fabulously fulfill your life’s assignment.
And you know I always got you covered! If you’re serious about changing and don’t know where to start or need a little bit direction on how to accomplish those goals, then here’s my audio teaching on Goal Slaying 101. I will teach you seven easy steps to help you create and stick to a plan for you to win in your money, career, business, relationship or health goals.
You might even struggle with confidence in asking for more as one of your goals may be for a promotion, or to make more money or raise your rate for new business clients. Download my Negotiation 101 audio lesson to help you build your confidence up!
You made the decision and here are the resources to inspire, educate and empower you. It’s your time to win!
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
Embraceherlegacy.com
by desing | Faith & Purpose
One of the biggest excuses that we use when it comes to realizing our goals is, “I don’t have time.”
I understand. Between your job, school, family, meetings, snapping and chatting, Netflix, volunteering, Instagram, sleeping and eating then that it may seem pretty difficult to work on that goal of starting your business, working out or writing your book.
But I beg to differ. Check out what I learned in the audiobook, The Magic of Thinking Big. There are 168 hours in a week and according to a study done, this is how we spend our time on an average weekly basis:
- 50 hours a week at work (counting commute)
- 50 hours a week sleeping
- 15 hours a week eating
- 24 hours a week relaxing, eating, playing with kids, exercising, making love, etc.
- 4 hours a week for church or to watch a game (extracurriculars)
I know it may not be exactly how you spend your time, but if you do the math then this adds up to only 144 hours. You still have another 24 hours unaccounted for after you’ve worked, ate, slept, cooked, exercised, took a few selfies, volunteered and binged on a few episodes of Insecure.
This isn’t a matter of not having enough time but of making the most of the time that you do have. You’ve probably heard me say this before but if your boss asked you to come in an hour earlier or stay an hour later for the next week, then more than likely you would comply and surround your schedule around your job. If you can give more time to your job then why can’t you give more time to your dreams? Like Jim Rohn said, “If you work hard on your job, you’ll making a living. If you work hard on yourself, you can make a fortune.”
Fortune sounds good to me, how about you?
I ready another study that said that people spend on average 6 hours a day watching TV and 3 hours a day on social media! We are going into a new year and it’s time to start doing things differently in order to see the results you want.
The first step to finding time to work on your goals is to take a snapshot of where you are now. Look at how you spend your time daily and get real with what you want to change.
Now, identify where you can incorporate some of your goals into your daily schedule. For example, let’s say that you want to get closer to God or strengthen your faith. Well, perhaps you can use your time in the morning while you get ready to listen to some faith encouraging messages. Or on your commute to work you can listen to a podcast (mine launches this month), or an audio CD or use that time to just talk to God instead of listening to the radio.
Start to think of yourself as a “5 to 9er.” You might work for someone else from “9 to 5” but what are you doing when you get off of work? You can work full-time for someone else and part-time on your dreams. When you get of off work, you can go to work on your dreams by using this time to work on your goals.
Use your “off hours” to work on writing that book, go on dinner meetings, publish posts for your blog, create your business plan, or take that culinary class. I used to do this all of the time when I used to work full-time at Atlantic Records before I could work full-time on my dreams. I would meet with my web designer, schedule social media posts, research business incorporation and work on my business plan after work, on the weekend and oftentimes while at work if things weren’t busy. I’m a proud student of “Google University” LOL!!! I learned too much by just Googling things at work.
Another and perhaps the most overlooked strategy to find time to work on your goals is to wake up early. Did you know that on average, wealthy people wake up 3 hours before work? In order to wake up earlier, then go to sleep earlier. Turn off the TV and social media at a certain time and go to sleep so you can wake up well-rested.
Use an additional hour in the morning to exercise if one of your goals is to weigh your ideal weight. Take some time to pack your lunch so that you can hit that goal of saving 15% of your income this month.
When you become excellent, you will attract excellence into your life. Often, we want to wait until circumstances change in order for us to be our best and work on our dreams. But perhaps those circumstances are there to help YOU change and squeeze greatness out of you.
So if you need to find time to work on your goals then I highly suggest you download my class, Create Your Daily Success Routine as I’ll show you more details (including time-management techniques) about how to maximize the 24 hours that you have and it’s only $7!!!
If you need help discovering where to start with your goals and you’d like an step-by-step plan to help you achieve your career, business, financial, health or personal goals then download my Goal Slaying 101 audio lesson here. It’s only $15, which is worth the investment into birthing your vision!
You have as many hours in a day as Beyonce girl, don’t waste it.
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
Founder, Embrace Her Legacy
@embraceherlegacy
Embraceherlegacy.com
