This blog gives me the chance to invite you to a big event coming up November 5-6 in West Des Moines. Along with a team of other speaking and publishing professionals, we’re offering Success Secrets for Speakers and Authors, designed to help you get paid for sharing your message.

I’m honored to work with some of the best people I know: Richard Rowe, who is an extraordinary speaker on leadership and human behavior and does an incredible job of mentoring other speakers. Justin Smith, owner of a video company and one of the most creative videographers I’ve ever met. Sal Salgado, an image expert and makeover magician (I remember watching him many moons ago when he did New You makeovers on local TV). And Sherill Whisenand, who has worked with master communicator Tony Robbins.

We’re especially thrilled to have Angela Cox-Weston join us. As the president of Midwest Speakers Bureau, Angela books speakers for all kinds of events, and she does it with grace and integrity. She’ll be on a roundtable panel discussing insights from the pros.

While Saturday the 5th is dedicated to speaking, Sunday is all about book publishing. In the morning, we’ll demystify the publishing process and show some powerful ways to make it work for you. The afternoon will be a workshop format, devoted to moving your book project forward, whether it’s in its infancy or almost finished.

For all the details, click here. We’re excited to launch this program, which is close to all our hearts. One of my favorite quotes is from Arnold Patent: “If you genuinely have something to say, there’s someone who genuinely needs to hear it.”

This weekend will show you how. Hope to see you there!

My stepdaughter and I attended an Energy 101 workshop last weekend, hosted by a man who has always had the gift of clairvoyance. Spirits from beyond our three-dimensional world are part of his life, and he easily sees and communicates with them.

My stepdaughter has this ability, too. But as so often happens in the world, she shut down that part of herself for years because she didn’t understand it, was afraid of it and didn’t want to let others know. Attending the workshop gave her the opportunity to understand and claim her true nature.

She experienced some big ah-ha moments, including one that happened after the workshop was over. We stopped at a convenience store and, when we left, she told me the woman in line ahead of us was accompanied by two spirits. As we talked about it, she realized that this is the reason she’s always been reluctant to be around people….because she’s subject not just to the people all of us can see, but to the spirits who are tagging along.

This may sound strange, but it’s completely real for the people who have her gift. And it has a definite downside. My stepdaughter’s life has been like one continuous visit to the state fair. She’s constantly in a crowd—and not a crowd of her choosing.

For the first time, she understood the “problem” and could focus on a solution. How can she work with the spirit world as a partner? How can she use her gift in a way that uplifts her life rather than draining her energy? How can she embrace this part of her nature and manage it so it doesn’t control or overwhelm her? And maybe most important, how can she claim this important part of herself without judging or being afraid of the judgment of others?

No matter what particular gift we have, the journey to accepting ourselves and our own nature is very much the same. Afraid to name it, look at it and claim it, we suppress it for years. But when we finally open up to what makes us unique, we cast off a lifetime of burdens and find ways to work with our light rather than trying to hide it. From that point on, our true nature can be a source of adventure, joy, excitement and true service to the world. Thanks to my stepdaughter’s gift, she has the potential to impact this world and the one beyond.

I was reading A Course in Miracles this morning, which always feels like coming home. The topic was honesty. And true to form, the explanation in the Course differed from what we generally believe.

Ask someone what it means to be honest, and they’ll likely say, “Telling the truth.” But the Course says that honesty is consistency. It means being absolutely consistent in your words, actions and thoughts. In other words, being honest with yourself.

• If I say that I believe in good health, for instance, but I eat a bag of Cheetos, I’m not being honest.
• If I say I believe in world peace but I’m at my husband for leaving his clothes on the floor (and don’t say anything about it), I’m not being honest.
• If I say I have a dream but I don’t take steps to accomplish it, I’m not being honest.
• If I say that everybody deserves love, but my thoughts are filled with negative self-talk, I’m not being honest.

It may seem implausible to be totally consistent. Even if we can change our words and actions, can we really corral our thoughts? Absolutely. Like anything, we can take a step or two toward it each day. And the reward is great, knowing you can count on yourself and Spirit, no matter what.

• If I say that I believe in good health and I pass up the Cheetos for some fresh fruit, I’m being honest.
• If I say I believe in world peace and I respectfully ask my husband to hang up his clothes, I’m being honest
• If I say I have a dream and I take a step toward it every day, I’m being honest.
• If I say that everybody deserves love and I train my thoughts to be loving toward myself, I’m being honest.

Here’s a challenge: Just for today, identify one belief that you hold, then go through the day paying attention to whether you think, speak, and act in a way that’s consistent with that belief. As you become aware, you can make a different, deliberate choice to be honest in the Miracles sense of the word.

That’s what you can create for yourself by being in alignment with your true nature. Have an honest day!