Blog Posts by Diva Toolbox

Maureen Campaiola

The other day I was talking with my mother's doctor about the upcoming Super Bowl game. I was telling him about a party I would be attending at a friend's home. My friend lives in what some might call a mansion. It's a beautiful home with the most breathtaking landscaping.

At one point he said, "Doesn't it make you wonder what you did wrong?" I commented, "Yes, I guess I could marry rich though."

When I got home and started to think about it, I realized my comment was so off base for me and said in haste in an effort to end the discussion and get my mom home.

I'm not an under earner and I'm not a victim! I make plenty of money and my business and income continues to increase each year. Only under earners or those who see themselves as victims would view someone else's wealth in this manner.

Do you find yourself wishing for something different? Do you wish you could turn your financial situation around? Here are my three best tips to help you increase your income,

Valencia Ray

Self-love gets a bum rap. Why? It's because of the way we define it as a culture, and since "perception is reality," we start to believe that this is "just the way life is." I looked up the definition of "self-love" on Dictionary.com, and it is defined as:

1. the instinct by which one's actions are directed to the promotion of one's own welfare or well being, especially an excessive regard for one's own advantage.

2. conceit; vanity.

3. narcissism

I'm not sure who is behind determining this definition. I can say that when I think about what I was taught and what is today a prevailing way of thinking about "self-love," it is the norm. Yet, when you become self-aware enough, you will begin to see how faulty this kind of thinking really is.

Narcissism and conceit come from a place of judgment, lack thinking, and small mindedness. Only looking out for one's own advantage is not only petty and greedy, it is based in fear and competition. This is not self-love.

As

Rita RockerThe strongest message can be diluted by an inappropriate choice of words. Your message may not be perceived as confident or business-oriented as you really are. Remember, your message is three-fold: body signals (do they match what you're saying?), tone of voice and choice of words.

Business language is different from social conversation.

• Avoid using "empty" modifiers such as thanking a sales representative "so very much," or referring to a job applicant as a "lovely person." A better choice of words would include bright, intelligent, quick wit, etc.

Instead of saying, "That was great!" try "I felt you gave an excellent and thorough presentation. It will be very helpful to us."
Exclude "tentative" words such as "I was kind of wondering if" or "I think we could try." Eliminate "well," "sort of," "kind of" and "maybe" from your business vocabulary. These phrases all show uncertainty.
Leave out cold and dictatorial commands. Use "please," "when you can," and "what do

Meredith Liepelt

If you are a speaker or want to position yourself as a speaker, one simple yet highly effective tool to have at the ready is a speaker's one-sheet. A one-sheet is a snapshot of your expertise and why an organization should book you as their speaker. It's called a one-sheet because it fits on one piece of paper, usually front and back.

When event planners book speakers, they are thinking of questions such as: "What do you speak about?" or "How do you help organizations?" or "Who else have you spoken for?" or "Will our audience be receptive to what you have to say and how you say it?"

Your one-sheet provides a concise way to answer these critical questions and more. Here is what you need to include on your speaker's one-sheet:

1. Topics/Programs
2. Target audience
3. Benefits of booking you
4. Bio
5. Partial client list
6. Testimonials
7. Contact Info
8. Personality photos of you or photos of you speaking
9. Link to a samples of you speaking
10. Your brand

Ande Lyons

Gals, do you have days when you need a universal translator to communicate with your man? They don't teach Man 101 in school, so please allow me to pass along four essential man-tips and other instructions in the gentle care and feeding of your Y chromosomes that can quickly make your life better… a lot better - and yes, I'm talking about your sex life!

Last week I hosted the fabulous Mimi Donaldson on my radio show Bring Back Desire After Dark, and Mimi explained what we need to know and do… to get our men to make us very, very happy. After all, that's one of the most important ways in which our men are so wonderfully helpful, isn't it?

As Mimi explained, men are not just a hairy version of women. Their brains are not wired like our beautiful, intricate, superior female brains. The male brain is hard-wired to instantly recognize what is binary and simple. As a result, what those boys lack in subtlety they gain in the ability to attain narrow and sustained focus despite

joanne white

Laugh at Yourself:

Parents often ask me what a good coping strategy is to help them and their children get through challenging moments. As simple as it may seem, the use of humor and the ability to laugh at ourselves rank high. Laughing at ourselves is very different from poking fun at someone else's expense. It takes the edge off of living and puts everything in true perspective.

Release Perfection:

Humor and not taking ourselves so seriously are certainly ways to handle that driving need for perfectionism that can rattle you and your children time and again. You need to teach your kids to strive to be their best, but not to get hung up on being perfect. It can be an emotional blow when your child strives to be perfect and abysmally fails! Instead, make sure they know that you appreciate them as well as all their trials and successes. Encourage them to push ahead with determination and confidence without making themselves sick by not be able to be 100% perfect all

Jackie Woodside

If everything is energy, including you, then being mindful of the energies you are exposed to and consume can only serve to enhance your experience as an energetic being. When one begins to understand the intricacies of human consciousness, or energy, then it becomes increasingly obvious that living in and consuming large amounts of low consciousness, low energy media is as destructive to our spiritual well being as smoking is to our physical well being. That may seem like a strong claim, but there is substantial information available to back it up.

The field of consciousness research is exploding with information about ascending levels of human consciousness. Writers such as Dr. Bruce Schneider and Dr. David Hawkins have demonstrated that consciousness can be measured, and one can elevate consciousness in order to improve not only the quality of one's own life, but the quality of life on this planet.

The work of Schneider and Hawkins demonstrates that mainstream culture is

Yvonne Phillips

Pets benefit from Feng Shui while increasing your positive chi! Since the times of ancient China, it's been long accepted that having pets increases positive chi and is channels through Feng Shui principals. However, many have wondered how to increase the flow of positive chi to their pets. A pet's inherent nature is to want to be with us; it's a natural synergy between people, pets, chi, and traditional Feng Shui principals that harmonize in our coexistence.

Avoiding clutter is key. Pets adore, welcome, and appreciate a clean open space. Chi will flow evenly to your pet and maintain the desire to share its space and energy with you. Avoid blocking sunlight. Pets flourish from sunlight and desire its uninterrupted flow of energy. In the case of cloudy or rainy days, a salt lamp can serve as a desirable substitute. With this in mind, it is an excellent idea to always incorporate a bowl of salt crystals into your pet's living space to aid in complementing the room's energy. If