Get Out of Your Feelings and Into Your Destiny

Have you ever had this happen to you? You wake up in the morning, it’s a raining and cold outside. You have the cloud of gloom over your head feeling all “blah” and thoughts come telling you things like, “Today isn’t going to be a good day. I just want to stay in my bed. I don’t want to go to work.”

Well, what usually happens after that? You decide to stay in bed a few extra minutes, you then get caught in traffic or if you’re like me in New York City, your train gets delayed, someone tries to argue with you over a seat and when you get to work your boss decides to get on your nerves really early.

It’s almost as if you predicted that it wouldn’t be a good day.

Of course it won’t be.

See what happened is that you allowed your feelings to decide for you early in the morning what type of day you would have. Feelings are temporary and if you allow your feelings to decide for you or you only follow what you feel then you will never get to fully experience what God has for you.

If you allow your feelings to be the deciding factor for what you do or don’t do then accomplishing your goals and birthing your dreams is going to be one uphill battle where you are fighting no one but yourself.

What will you do when you don’t feel like getting up at 5am to get to the gym to meet that fitness goal? What will you do when you don’t feel like staying on a budget in order to hit that savings goal or get out of debt? What will you do when you don’t feel like writing that book you promised to finish this year?

Motivation, inspiration and empowerment are feelings but discipline, faith, courage and strengths are decisions.

Your feelings can steal your future if you allow them to because you can’t always trust what you feel. I know that sometimes there are “gut feelings” which I like to consider divine intuition. However, I’m referring to allowing your feelings to rule your daily action and reactions.

As you choose to build anything good, there are going to be seasons where you are going to have to walk in nothing but faith – not trusting what you see or feel because if you do, you won’t make it to the finish line.

Five years ago I was in such a miserable state while working a high-profile job in the music industry. So I followed my “feelings” and I started looking for another job but for “some reason” (which I now know was God), I could not find a new job for the life of me. My feelings only grew worse so in full misery, I began drinking heavily and smoking weed daily just to make myself “feel” better. I thought I was doing what was right by following what I feel, but I was in bondage to my feelings until it all came crashing down one night where I made a complete fool out of myself drunk at a restaurant.

Being disgusted with myself and behavior, and after the worst hangover in my life, I made a decision to give God all of me. It was during that time that God put it on my heart to resign from my job and serve him through this project I was working on called, Embrace Her Legacy.

I pleaded with God to give me another plan because my feelings told me all the reasons why I could not do what God was asking me to do. But He didn’t budge, so I put in my resignation.

If I had followed what I felt, you would not be reading this email right now. In the last 5 years, if I would have followed my feelings, Embrace Her Legacy would no longer exist.

Trust me when I say that I know the amount of tenacity, patience, faith, discipline and courage it takes to birth a dream and fulfill your life’s assignment when everything around you is telling you to quit or better yet, to not even start.

You can choose to serve your faith or your feelings. Anything that you cannot say “no” to you’re a slave to. Your emotions may be real, but that doesn’t mean they’re right.

Your emotions are a part of your soul and want to rule your decision making but allowing your emotions to rule is like giving the keys to a new car to a 4-year old.

If there is something – a goal, a vision, a dream, an idea, a business, a house, a organization, a church, a ministry, a family – whatever it is that you know is buried inside of you and you’ve allowed your feelings to tell you to wait, it won’t work, you’re crazy if you think you can do it, it will be too hard, you should be practical, its going to cost too much money or you’re going to lose money or this could never work for you….

I’m here to tell you to tell your feelings to get in check with your destiny. Destiny is rooted in the decisions that you make, don’t let your feelings steal your destiny any further. Your time is now. I believe I’ve been sent as a messenger to tell you to get out of your feelings and get into faith to believe the exact opposite of what your “feelings” are telling you to do.

One thing I’ve observed about people who follow only what they feel is that they are constantly attracting drama and negativity while lacking the discipline to achieve or maintain any good thing that like may offer them. It’s only a matter of time before they do or say something to sabotage that good thing.

What are you working towards but your feelings are telling you to quit? What dream is inside of your heart but you feel like it’s going to be too hard? What investment should you be making into yourself but your thoughts are telling you that it’s not worth it?

I know the frustration and pain of falling victim to your feelings. I wish I could go in more detail on how I would have totally missed the perfect, divine plan for my life and would not be fulfilling my destiny if I followed my feelings.

You can’t decide how you feel but you can choose how to respond to your feelings. I would hate to see your feelings steal your future dreams from you and later this week, I’m going to be sharing something super special with you to get you out of your feelings and into your faith to bring about that goal, dream, vision and desire in your heart. 

Take courage, you will succeed in everything that you do. Believe it!

XOXO,

Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy

Why Most People Don’t Achieve Their New Year Goals

So 2017 is in full throttle as we’re in the second week of the New Year. Like most people, you probably set a list of new goals or better yet you may have some New Year’s Resolutions that last week you were pumped about.

You may still be filled with excitement or maybe not.

I heard about a study that said that 25% of people abandon their New Year’s Resolution within the first week and 60% percent in the first 6 months.

According to another study, about 93% of New Year’s goals go unfulfilled and the average person makes the game resolution 10 times without success.

Whoa! Scary, right? What’s this madness about?

Well, I’ve noticed that many of us fall for some common mistakes that deceive us into failing at our goals.

First, many of us don’t set goals but we make “wishes” rather. These wishes usually sound something like “be smart,” “be healthy”, “make more money”, “work out more”, “be happy”, “get closer to God”. I can tell you now that none of these “goals” will be achieve because they lack specificity, clarity and deadlines.

Deadlines hold you accountable and help you kick procrastination in the butt. Did you know that the most productive day of work is usually the day before vacation? Why? Because you have a deadline!

Having a “goal” of “being healthy” is not specific and is not measurable. You won’t be able to tell whether you’ve achieved it or not. Because it lacks specifics, it’s going to be almost impossible to achieve because you don’t know what your target is. When your goals lack specificity, it’s like getting all dressed up with no where to go. Like I heard someone say, “vague goals bring vague results.”

This introduces us to the key to setting goals. They must be SMART definitive Statements. SMART stands for an acronym of Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Specific.

Second, we don’t write goals down. Studies shows that written down goals are five times more likely to be achieved. I read about a Harvard study that was done where graduate students were asked, “Do you have clear written-down goals?” Only 3% had goals and plans written down, 13% had some goals but they weren’t written down, and 84% had no goals. Ten years later that same class was interviewed again and the 3% that had the goals written goals were earning on 20x more than the rest of the class combined!

Coincidence, I think not!

Don’t be lazy and think that you can remember all of your goals and not write them down. Writing your dreams and goals will give you clarity of vision and help you witness and measure your progress. Writing down your dreams and goals will keep you focused and that’s one the main ingredients of success that we often bypass.

Lastly, we don’t take time to determine the plan needed to achieve our goals. Setting a goal is one thing but the next step is setting action steps and develop a strategy to achieve that goal. Sometimes a goal may seem so overwhelming that you don’t know where to start so you don’t start at all.

This is exactly why I created a free 3-day email course to help you overcome fear and procrastination to achieve and slay your 2017 goal in faith! Each day you’ll learn how not to be in that 93% of people who leave their New Year goals unfulfilled.

  • Day 1 will cover asking yourself the most important question to make 2017 your best year yet. Trust me, get ready to be motivated and once you answer that question and visualize the response, you’ll be too inspired not to get to work. I’ve even included worksheets and downloadable videos to keep you motivated for each class.
  • Day 2 will cover how to identify and effectively set your top goals for the year. We’ll also go over common goal-setting mistakes, SMART goals, how to use the correct tense and structure to make your goals, clear and specific statements – not wishes.
  • Day 3 will cover a step-by-step guide with several, simple but highly effective techniques to help you actually create a plan to achieve your goals and conquer procrastination. You’ll learn how you can begin working on your goals immediately, like today! I’ll show you how to implement your goals into your weekly routine, how to identify the purpose of your goals to help you create a plan of action and how to break down big, intimidating goals.

I will teach you a specific format to write your goals, how to find time to work on your goals and how to gain clarity on what you really want. Learn more or sign-up here! 

Make 2017 your most memorable year yet!

XOXO,

Maria I. Melendez
Founder & CEO
Embrace Her Legacy

Your Vision Hasn’t Birthed Yet?

So you’re scrolling through your Instagram or Facebook feed and that familiar feeling is rising up in your soul again. You know what I’m talking about. Those thoughts that are telling you that everyone else is winning, moving, progressing and all you want to know is why it’s taking sooooooo long for you to see your dreams unfold right before your eyes.

Not to mention, you’ve been working your tail off and doing everything you know is right. You have faith but there are days where you feel defeated. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably said these very words, “When God? When?” or “Why God? Why?”

You know that I like to consider myself a “midwife” – but not a literal midwife because I don’t think I was built to see that intimate side of you LOL! What I mean is that I know part of my purpose is to help you and millions of others to birth their dreams through inspiration, education and empowerment.

I like to think that we’re all pregnant with dreams and the process of birthing any vision comes with it’s joys, challenges and of course labor pains.

But just as a premature baby who is born before full term is more susceptible to all sorts of infections and illnesses because he or she may not have developed the immune system needed, so is your vision susceptible to all sorts of failures, infections and unnecessary pain if it’s birthed too soon.

I don’t know any mother who will purposefully want to go into labor prematurely because she understands the dangers that it may entail. If it does happen, it’s usually an abnormal or emergency situation.

Just like any loving mother doesn’t want her baby to be delivered before time, God who is a loving Father, doesn’t want you to give birth to a premature vision.

Although you may be focused on getting the vision manifested, God is more concerned with who you are becoming on the journey and preparing you to be able to maintain that vision.

Not only are you building your character as you continue to wait patiently, your story is also unfolding and nothing is more powerful than a story of redemption because people will be inspired, motivated and encouraged by your story.

See, this is where we can go wrong and miss out on the beauty of life. We love to compare our stories to each other’s but your story is exactly what will attract people towards you, not only your success. People want to know how you got there and what you had to overcome in order to get there.

That’s where the inspiration comes from.

If you only knew all the nights that I have cried myself to sleep because of the pain I experienced in the last five years simply because I chose to say “yes” to God and live in my purpose. When I was working at Atlantic Records, alongside artists like Trey Songz, Jay-Z and Toni Braxton…I never ever had to deal with what it takes to birth a dream. Life was “easy” even though I was miserable. Everything came easy and life was easy, breezy, beautiful…CoverGirl for me. I never had to fight for anything until the last few years.

I would plead with God to just make things easier for me but He was making me better, sharper, wiser and most importantly a warrior. It was a few months ago that I realized that the reason I had to endure so much in the last five years was because I was being taught how to fight, how to have and use my faith, how to be the powerful woman of God that I was created to be.

And honestly, I’m glad He didn’t answer those prayers.

It’s just now that I’m seeing some of wildest dreams come true but I know that anytime before now would have been premature and I would not have been ready. As a matter of fact, I would have messed it up. I am applying everything that I’ve learned in my “season of wilderness” to realize the vision in my heart.

There’s too much hidden power in your story. The very areas that you have been disgraced, delayed, or ostracized will the very place in your story that will be the catalyst to make you attractive and a force to be reckoned with.

Like my pastor, Dr. AR Bernard, taught us, “your significance is in your difference.” Your story is what makes you different and that’s where your significance will be. That’s where the essence of your legacy will unfold which is exactly why one of the first episodes I released on the Embrace Her Legacy Podcast is all about embracing the power in your story which you can listen to here. I encourage you to listen and be empowered to start taking back the power in your story.

I’m telling you from experience and speaking from the depths of my heart when I tell you not to worry about “when” your vision will unfold. It will happen, that’s a fact!

The beauty of you is more than your vision, it’s who you’re becoming along the way. There’s nothing more beautiful than a woman who is comfortable with her story and I know that you are that woman!

Embrace the power in your story girl!

XOXO,

Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
embraceherlegacy.com

P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Embrace Her Legacy podcast so you can be first to know when a new episode is available 🙂

Free Email Course: Overcome Fear & Procrastination to Slay 2017 Goals

We live in a world that makes us think that we always have more time. “I’ll get to it tomorrow” or “I’ll go back to school next semester” or “I’ll start that business someday.” Then tomorrow, next semester, next year comes and we may still find ourselves in the very situation we vowed to change.

Remember that “someday” isn’t a day of the week. I know what it feels like to be paralyzed by fear and procrastination as I’ve been there and done that.

Five years ago, I knew I needed to leave my corporate job at a major record label (Atlantic Records) to pursue my call of educating and inspiring others to live in a purpose-driven legacy but I waited years to make a move because truth is that I was paralyzed by fear of rejection and failure. I’ve actually experience both and I’m living proof that you’ll be fine 🙂

Fear, lack of clarity and doubt conquer our minds as the days turn into weeks then into years that passes us by. Its 2017 and enough of that! Enough of allowing fear, limited thinking, doubt, unbelief to steal the promises that God has for you!

I’m a believer so I’m going to share proven success principles as well as promises from the Word of God to help encourage your faith and destroy fear once and for all. Fear is NOT from God and darling, you’re too fabulous to have a repeat of 2016.

Remember that all things are possible with God but it’s up to you to believe that.

Fear loves to lie to you, keep you in bondage and definitely comes disguised as being practical. You have a purpose, your life is an assignment and all that fear (which is a tool used by our adversary) does is steal your future – not anymore!

You are living in your purpose when you are using your natural gifts, talents and abilities to serve a human need, therefore, other’s people lives are counting on you to do what God has called you to do and achieve your goals.

Someone may be suffering because you’re sitting on your gift.

You have a legacy to leave and your legacy is the sum total of your contributions while you are here and their impact after you are long gone. Your legacy will outlive you and you are making the decision every day on how you want to be remembered.

So I ask, how exactly do you want to be remembered? When you are breathing your last breath, what do you want to have accomplished? What do you want your legacy to be? Do you want to get there and think, I’m glad I paid all my bills and played it safe all of my life – I don’t think so.

I heard a story about a woman who worked at a hospice. She started documenting the regrets people had and the #1 common regret was that people wished they would have lived true to themselves and go after what they really wanted instead of being a slaves to fear. What you cannot say “no” to, you’re a slave to.

Time waits for no one. We each have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I’m a firm believer that you find time to do what you want and one of the most important aspects to making 2017 your dopest year yet will be DISCIPLINE. Once you embrace discipline, you will begin to see dramatic changes in your life.

If you want to be successful and reap the benefits of that success, then you must embrace the cost it takes to be extraordinary. Like I heard Jim Rohn say, you can either experience the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The pain of discipline weighs ounces but the pain of regrets weighs tons.

This is the year to see God’s power move mightily on your behalf but it begins with your faith to believe it’s possible.

Take each lesson seriously and do the action steps – it won’t take much of your time either so don’t think you have to write a new book of notes. Put aside about 15-20 minutes for each course or take more time if you’d like.

Day 1 will cover asking yourself the most important question to make 2017 your dopest year yet. Trust me, get ready to be motivated and once you answer that question and visualize the response, you’ll be too inspired not to get to work. I’ve even included worksheets and downloadable videos to keep you motivated for each class.

Day 2 will cover how to identify and effectively set your top goals for the year. We’ll also go over common goal-setting mistakes, SMART goals, how to use the correct tense and structure to make your goals, clear and specific statements – not wishes.

Day 3 will cover a step-by-step guide with several, simple but highly effective techniques to help you actually create a plan to achieve your goals and conquer procrastination. You’ll learn how you can begin working on your goals immediately, like today! I’ll show you how to implement your goals into your weekly routine, how to identify the purpose of your goals to help you create a plan of action and how to break down big, intimidating goals.

Oh and you never know what other freebies may pop up in your email so get ready to kick fear to curb and get ready to say, 2017 was the best year of my life. I’ll teach you how 🙂

Enroll below 🙂

XOXO,

Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
embraceherlegacy.com

One Question to Make 2017 Your Dopest Year

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

A Very Happy Holiday to You

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

Get Your Hopes Up

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

Give the Gift of Forgiveness

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

2 Ways to Change Your Life Now

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