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Character and Courage
October 2006
A Moment For You
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Dear Beth,

[editor’s note: this is the fourth in a series.]
Click here for the newsletter archives.

We've been talking about what it takes to succeed. Many of us are realizing “having it all” isn’t necessarily a good thing, or the best thing. ‘More’ doesn’t equal a better quality of life. You can have your kind of success without losing your health, your mind, or your loved ones.

In the last few issues we said you need self knowledge and an understanding of your path. It is also important to be creative in solving your obstacles while getting where you need to go.

mountain climbing
Courage is not a lack of fear - it's pressing on in spite of fear. Discouragement means "to take away courage." We discourage ourselves and others on a daily basis. In order to find success, we need to respond not only to our fears, but also to our willingness to live in and with dis-couragement.

The next “C” in S.U.C.C.E.S.S. stands for Character and Courage.
My dad always used to say, “Beth, I told you to have character, not be one!” I think you can do both. Being a ‘character’ is mustering the courage to be yourself. Having character is about staying true to your core beliefs and your core sensibilities. Neither is easy to do because you being yourself may threaten someone else’s sense of themselves.

We are living in a cookie-cutter age. We are told what we ‘must’ wear to remain relevant. We are told that we need to weigh only this much, look a certain age, have our hair 'updated,' our car has to be new. Even though societies have always dictated fashion and style, it has never been as overpowering as it is now with an ever-present media filling the airwaves with the rules.

Are you brave enough to step away from the crowd and take a different road? If you aren't happy, maybe those choices to think like the crowd aren't working for you. M. Scott Peck calls that journey apart from the crowd " The Road Less Traveled."

Are you brave enough to become the amazing ‘you’ that is hiding inside?

It takes courage and character to tell yourself the truth; even more to follow your heart. It takes a willingness to listen to that uncomfortable place in you that says the ‘rules’ just ain’t it for me; this pressure from outside doesn’t feel right; this isn’t filling my heart and soul with peace. And it takes courage to understand your heart’s path, your soul’s wish for you. Most of all, it takes courage to follow that wish, even when the road is steep, the hours long, and the commitment required is grueling.

There will always be people who tell you what you want to do is impossible, that it is hard, it is not ‘normal’ – don’t listen to them. They aren’t talking to you anyway, they are talking to themselves. If people give you advice designed to block you from your path, smile sweetly and realize that it is they who are scared and unwilling to go there. You don’t need to tell them that: that is their journey. Just know it isn’t about you.

Instead, find those who will support you and lift you up. Make small commitments for change in the direction of your dreams and go there. Focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t. Create little miracles for yourself each day; little wins; until you find yourself courageous enough to go for a big win.

Keep believing in yourself, and don’t be afraid to be different. I’ve always been a little different and a little weird to some, but it works for me. How about you?

Take care of yourself,
All the best on your journey,
Beth
Mark Twain
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

“It is not best that we should all think alike; it is a difference of opinion that makes horse races.”

“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.”

“A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
1. Know someone that should hear Beth speak? Send them here Beth's Virtual Press Kit

2. Beth is collecting stories for her next book “Finding Success Through Balance” – if you have a story about overcoming an obstacle; or about finding balance after a rough time, balance@betht erry.com

3. Beth will be in Tampa, South Carolina, and Hawaii in October. beth@bethterry.com

4. Phoenix! Here's your opportunity to hear Beth speak! You have four chances in the next month. bethinfo@bethterry.com for more information.

  • November 7: lunchtime- Getting Out of Overwhelm, (on Shea)
  • November 16: evening- Holiday Stress (at Arrowhead)
  • November 17: lunchtime - Management Skills (Squaw Peak)
  • November 19: lunchtime - Soroptimist Fashion Show (Biltmore)
5. Welcome to our newest members of our community, especially those new friends we made at the Bridgeway Users Conference in Hilton Head, SC. a few weeks ago!
US Flag
Want to know why getting enough sleep may save your life and make you look years younger? Sleep Article

Getting ready for your holiday trips? Before you buy a plane ticket, check out this website: Compare Air Fares

Vote 2006: Are you struggling with all the noise on TV and the radio, trying hard to distinguish truth from mud? This is a vital election year. Find out how your candidate thinks by looking at his/her record: How did they vote?

This one gives comprehensive information on the issues: US Politics

For details about your own state’s issues go to your search engine and type in your state’s name and “2006 ballot propositions” – read both sides to each ballot measure. If America is going to heal, we need to listen to each other. Remember, even a stopped clock is right twice a day!
Xena 200
Greetings! I think I have courage – after all, I protect Beth from all manner of threats, at least when she’s home. I worry about her traveling so much, since I can’t be there to protect her all the time. I try to hide in her suitcase when she packs, but she always finds me and makes me get out. She says she is leaving to get food, but I’m not so sure. She doesn’t always bring food home when she leaves the house, and why does it take so long? I don’t think she is telling me everything.

But back to courage. Sometimes you just gotta believe in yourself. Sometimes you need to look at why you’re afraid. What is stopping you? Get over it! Stand on your hind feet and howl at the moon – or bark really loud! That’ll scare away whatever’s makin’ you nuts and get you energized again! (I remember when the kids used to get scared, Beth would take them in the car. She’d say, “Looks like we need to play I Scream!” She’d let them scream at the top of their lungs while they drove down the highway with the windows closed. Everyone would end up giggling and then they’d go get ice cream!)

Anyway, barking works for me most of the time. Sometimes other dog barks back really really loud, and then I hide. But most of the time I’m pretty brave. So you can be, too.

To courage!
Hugs, Xena
"Beth, you were truly a wonderful addition to the conference. Thank you so much for being you, wonderful you. I’m glad to have found you and feel that through your talents, we truly accomplished the goal of giving our clients a “gift” they’ll remember long after the conference has ended.
I look forward to seeing you again real soon!
With many, many thanks,
Toni"

Thanks for taking this moment for you. You deserve a little "me" time once in awhile, and we are honored that you would spend some of it with us.
Take care of yourself,
Beth

© 2006 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc., Phoenix, AZ USA
Beth Terry
Beth Terry Seminars

phone: 877-672-5008

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