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ShowNotes for Episode 012:

My own story is one of struggle, perseverance, and the complete transformation it has created in my life as I have searched for my life purpose and dreams of making a difference in the world, both with the work I do and in the lives of the women I encounter. I have always had big, God-inspired dreams, but for some reason I came to a point where things were just not happening as quickly as I wanted them to, and I realized that there were some stumbling blocks to my purpose that I kept falling over on, again and again.

I discovered there were areas in my life that needed a little refining and renewing before I could move forward with my life purpose. I realized, over time, that God cared more about the quality of my character than He did about my strategic life plan. For a girl who likes to plan her day, her wardrobe, her meals, and her sleep schedule, that was a difficult concept for me to fully embrace. Here are 8 of the most common stumbling blocks that keep many women from fully living out their life purpose.

1. Pride: The problem of being 'ME' centered as you devalue yourself and others. Before you discount this stumbling block for yourself, take a look at these 4 ways you might tend to act prideful if you are out of balance in any area of your life: exalting yourself; belittling yourself; verbally attacking others; ignoring others. You may also be undervaluing the input of others by being too proud to receive ideas and constructive criticism. Not being teachable, and always being the advice giver is a way of undervaluing others as a form of pride. Also, remaining stuck in your past instead of realizing you can chose to stay the same or chose to change your behavior is a form of pride. You overcome Pride by discovering the inner beauty of true humility, not false humility.
2. Insecurity: Sometimes your self-esteem is based on what you believe the most important person in your life thinks about you, and your confidence suffers when that message has been negative. Examples of insecurity are feeling stuck when problems arise, or seeing your mistakes as embarrassing and trying to hide them because you believe failure is proof that you're unworthy or unlovable. You may then fear failure and avoid risk, or be driven by what you think will make others happy. You may also conform in order to be accepted, or feel out of control, incapable, or inadequate in an area of your life. These feelings of insecurity can manifest as perfectionism, control, or even depression in some cases. You overcome Insecurity by discovering the inner beauty of Confidence.
3. Fear: Fears can keep you trapped and powerless. Who or what do you allow to have power over you? Fear blocks creativity, productivity, and relationships. It can also lead to health issues or psychological problems in extreme cases. Fear can manifest as worry, anxiety, or even lying. Worry happens when you rehearse your fear about a past or future event, and you eventually become strangled emotionally. Anxiety is worry without boundaries, or a constant sense of uneasiness. Lies can cover up something you're afraid of, but will have a snowball effect as they get out of control. You may be afraid of ridicule, criticism, abandonment, rejection, embarrassment, attention, failure, and the list goes on. Remember, God did not give you a spirit of fear, but He has given you a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind. You overcome Fear by discovering the inner beauty of Courage.
4. Stress: Stress involves uncontrolled emotions and a need to gain your own self-confidence, maybe even gain control of your own schedule. Most of the time this is an area where women need to set up boundaries and stick to them. Boundaries are meant to protect you. If you are experiencing constant stress it may show up as fatigue, frustration, or feelings of rejection or embarrassment. If you're stressed, out of balance, and running on empty, you may tend to lash out at those closest to you, at home and at work. We all have emotional triggers, and when we are tired, hurt, and feeling rejected, we can sometimes react to situations in anger. You overcome Stress by discovering the inner beauty of Self-control.
5. Impatience: Jumping the gun and being impulsive. You can easily become impatient while waiting to fulfill a vision, waiting to start a business, waiting to be rescued, waiting for a health issue to be resolved, and the list goes on. You may start feeling impatient with the people around you. You may also be easily frustrated by pet peeves, or things that are beyond your control, and frankly not worth getting worked up about, like losing your keys, rush-hour traffic, a child's messy bedroom, etc. Sometimes you just have to let go of your preferences and expectations. In the end, all you do is make yourself miserable. You overcome Impatience by discovering the inner beauty of Patience.
6. Envy: The trap of being jealous, discontent, and living without peace and joy. This is where you might be letting your circumstances dictate your emotions. Happiness is an emotion, whereas joy is a state of being. If you are feeling envious, you may be caught up in a cycle of dissatisfaction, and not feeing like your work has worth or value. You may not be enjoying the journey and never fully able to enjoy the present if you are always focusing on the 'if only' of life. You overcome Envy by discovering the inner beauty of Contentment.
7. Greed: Living with a scarcity mentality and impure motives toward helping others. God gives extravagantly and from a position of abundance. When you struggle with greed, of your time, talents, and possessions, you are really telling God and the universe that He won't have enough for you. Greed can be a craving for more, but it can also show up in the form of hoarding both your things and your time. Are you too busy to spare the time to serve others? Are you so over-protective of your agenda that you resent interruptions, which may actually be divine appointments? Greed steals your peace, is ego driven, and is always pursuing more of something that will never leave you satisfied with what you have. You overcome Greed by discovering the inner beauty of Generosity.
8. Quitting: Giving up too soon and allowing your dream to die. God is the ultimate Dream Giver and he doesn't want you to quit. Has God given you an idea, a dream, an inspiration, a heart's burning desire? He has designed a dream custom made for you, and no one is going to be in competition for your dream because it's your dream, not someone else's. So don't give up, because you have work still to do on this earth. Perfect your dream and don't ever quit. You overcome Quitting by discovering the inner beauty of Perseverance.

Building your inner beauty character quality is something we all need to work on every day, going from success to success, and co-partnering with God to do that work. Start to build a Christ-centered, principled system to help you overcome self-sabotage and well worn patterns of defeat woundedness, insecurity, unworthiness and self-centeredness that keeps you from carrying out God's best intentions for your life. Learn to identify and erase old mindsets and attitudes that no longer serve you by learning the truth about your divine design and becoming your best. As you fulfill your purpose you will be helping others with your unique set of gifts and talents. The world is waiting for your gifts. You have the answer to someone's problem.

It's time for the real, authentic, women of God to be bold, step up, and make a positive change in their lives as they discover their own unique calling and Life Purpose, leaving a legacy of hope, success, and empowerment for generations to come. Will you be one of them?

Book Resource: Character Makeover: 40 Days with a Life Coach to Create the Best You http://amzn.to/2gvTelu