October’s Book To Live By

This month’s Books To Live By selection highlights the featured guest and theme for our October monthly members’ Club package: Behind-the-Scenes of a Successful Writer’s Life with Sheila Weller.

From journalist and New York Times best-selling author Sheila Wellercomes an inside look at three of the best-known women in TV news and how they navigated and shaped the front lines of broadcast journalism.

Our October selection is….

 

The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour — and the (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News by Sheila Weller.

Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with people closest to the three newscasters, author Sheila Weller has pieced together enthralling profiles of these media trailblazers and how they came to pave the way for women in TV news for years to come.

Inside these pages, you’ll get an exclusive and intimate look at the extraordinary odds, prejudices and personalities that these women were up against, on and off the screen.

Each woman’s journey captures so much of what many of us have gone through in our careers, no matter what the industry.

Sheila is the ultimate storyteller and The News Sorority reveals Diane, Katie and Christiane as you’ve never seen them before.  You’ll find many of the strategies they used in going for their dreams applicable to your own life.

We loved Sheila’s last best-selling book Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell,  Carly Simon — And the Journey of a Generation.

The News Sorority is equally as powerful and fascinating. Enjoy reading and let me know what you think!

Love,

Debbie Signature

P.S. Are you in our Women on Fire monthly members’ club? If not, I invite you to join us today!  You will automatically be entered to win a signed copy of The News Sorority during our inspiring live video coaching call and chat for members-only on Tuesday, October 14.

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Members’ Club October 2014 Sneak Peek

Each month, our founder, Debbie Phillips, interviews an inspiring expert for monthly members. If you’re not yet a member, please be our guest and listen in today for free to a clip of Debbie’s upcoming candid interview with journalist and New York Times bestselling author, Sheila Weller.

Sheila is a brilliant writer whose work has been published in some of today’s major magazines including Vanity Fair, New York magazine, Rolling Stone, and many more. She has authored seven books, including her latest, The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour — and the (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News. And she’s giving Women on Fire members the inside scoop on what she discovered about these amazing women!

Simply press PLAY on the image below to listen to a brief audio clip (2:50) of this exciting and juicy interview.

In the full interview package, you’ll discover key insights inspired by Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Christiane Amanpour:

  • Turning your pain into your purpose
  • Strategies to help you stand up for what’s right in the face of authority
  • The No. 1 way to stay grounded during chaotic times
  • Embracing your personality without apologizing for it

All that plus an intimate look at some of the most beloved women in news!

If you are already a monthly member, enjoy this sneak preview. You’ll receive the full interview package in your mailbox in early October.

If you aren’t yet a member and would like to receive the full interview with Sheila Weller, I invite you to join us TODAY! You will also receive:

  • An invitation to our popular monthly live video coaching call/chat with Debbie Phillips, in which you have a chance to receive personalized coaching on whatever you are struggling with
  • Access to our private, members-only Facebook group, where you can connect and feel the support of our amazing community
  • Personalized coaching materials each month
  • Plus many more benefits!

Click here to register to receive October’s monthly membership package.  Registration to receive the interview with Sheila Weller ends on Saturday, September 27, 2014. You have only 48 hours left!

Don’t miss out on this entertaining interview that will absolutely capture your heart!

P.S. Register by Saturday, September 27, and you will receive a FREE, red leather Women on Fire journal to keep your dreams in!

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5 strategies that helped Jaycee Dugard to survive

Sometimes a story comes along that is so captivating in both its horror and courage that we can hardly stop thinking about it.

Jaycee Dugard is on my mind a lot these days, and maybe yours, too.

Today she is the 31-year-old survivor who was snatched by a pedophile when she was 11 years old and forced to live in depravity and squalor for 18 years.

After watching Diane Sawyer’s interview with Jaycee last week, I immediately downloaded Jaycee’s memoir A Stolen Life and read it in two days.

Jaycee’s resilience to survive unimaginable and deplorable conditions, verbal and sexual abuse (resulting in the birth of two children) and nearly two decades of brainwashing left me humbled that I should EVER complain about anything or allow obstacles to stand in the way of my dreams.

When Diane Sawyer questioned how she could have possibly endured her “stolen life,” an incredibly warm, poised and grateful-to-be-alive Jayceesaid, “I can’t imagine how someone could be beaten to death.”

Jaycee pointed out that in the battle between good and evil, “good wins.”  The man and his wife who kidnapped her may have stolen her youth, but they did not take her soul.

What struck me about this poignant young woman – and a great reminder of what is true in creating success — were at least five strategies Jaycee used to keep herself sane, hopeful and moving forward.

How she even knew to do this because she was so young when she was kidnapped is beyond me.

Her strength and resolve in using these strategies, even though she had very little control over her life in captivity, points the way to how powerful and life-saving these seemingly simple strategies truly are:

1)    Journaling — She kept journals to explore who she was, to express her heartache and pain and to honor her pets.  She even had the insight to realize that journaling about her feelings lessened her pain. (Studies prove this to be true.)

2)    Finding inspiration in nature and animals – At times she took comfort in the moon because it reminded her of her Mom.  Her captors gave her pets (and then often unexpectedly took them away from her), but still she gave and received love from many cats and animals in her care through the years.  She even found comfort in the presence of a spider she namedBianca.

3)    Keeping a positive attitude – Craziness and negativity were the hallmarks of her environment, but she created a list of affirmations “to counteract the negative feelings I have inside.”
Some of her affirmations included: “I make every day a positive day.” “Every day I work toward my goals.” “It’s easy for me to eat healthy.” “It’s easy for me to get up every day and exercise.” “I am a creative, positive, successful and happy person.”

4)    Exercising – Even though confined to a backyard, Jaycee had a walking path through the maze of tents, sheds and trash to give herself a physical work-out.

5)    Setting goals — Jaycee wrote down her goals, which is key to achieving them!
When she felt little hope she’d be found (we all have difficulty sometimes believing our big goals will come true), she wrote down her goals  anyway, years before she was rescued. Here were some of them:

  • See Mom
  • Ride in a hot-air balloon
  • Learn to drive
  • Touch a whale
  • Take a train ride
  • Learn something new
  • See all the people I care about
  • Learn two different languages
  • Travel around the world
  • Horseback ride on the beach every day
  • Write a best seller

Congratulations to you, Jaycee. Thank you for being brave enough to turn your sorrow into triumph and point the way for the rest of us. I have a feeling every single one of your dreams is coming true!

I hope Jaycee’s journey inspires you as it did me to work through any obstacle and to be free to live the life of your dreams.

For this week, my goal is to focus on my favorite of Jaycee’s affirmations:
Every day I become the person I want to be.

Wishing that for you, too.

I would love to hear if you have any thoughts about Jaycee and her story. Please join the discussion in the comments section below.