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 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.

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!

You deserve to be happy.

Not just in a rock concert, birthday-candle sort of way. Not like a temporary worker who shows up now and then, but always wearing a different uniform, a different pair of glasses.

We’re talking real joy, the lasting kind that makes you throw back the covers when you wake up in the morning and start the day with wonder rather than dread. The kind that doesn’t always look happy, but is there somewhere under the surface even when your spouse backs into the basketball hoop pole or your dog eats a whole bowl of chocolate Easter candies. Or when you find out on the same day that you’re not getting a raise and your child needs braces. Or even when—and we realize these events can shroud joy in an invisibility cloak for a long, long time—you go through a divorce or a loved one dies.

This truth is so powerful, so radical, that we want you to say it out loud:

“I deserve to be happy.”

Scary, isn’t it? Did you feel your throat constrict? Did you feel a little tug in your abdomen?

Hopefully there’s a piece of you that’s saying, “Yes, that’s right. I do deserve to be happy.” That message may be loud and clear, or it may be meek and muffled, like it’s been held hostage in a James Bond movie your whole life. Either way, this blog is about remembering the truth: You deserve to be happy.

This may be in direct conflict with what you’ve been taught, and you may not even know it. We’re bombarded every day with fear-based messages that support suffering and sacrifice. Even well-meaning messages can be insidious, such as…

“You’d better start saving for retirement now, or you’ll never have enough.”

“Who do you think you are?”

“You’re probably going to get Alzheimer’s.”

“Sure, being a musician may be what you want to do, but you can’t make any money at it.”

“You’re wearing that?”

Or, one of my favorites, from my long-distant past. In the morning, when I was putting on makeup, my ex-husband used to say, “It won’t help.”

The fact that he’s my ex-husband reveals that even when I felt the least attractive, the least powerful, the least lovable and worthwhile, something in me still remembered the truth: I deserved to be happy.

That’s what this blog is about: To help you remember that truth and feed it like you’re stoking a fire. The spark of joy, of creativity and passion and desire, never goes out, no matter what you’ve been through in your life. And it’s the key to your success, your peace, your abundance. Because—and here’s another radical truth—joy is not only what you deserve, it’s the essence of who you are. That’s your True Nature—staying true to yourself no matter what the world says you should do, say, or be.

Being true to yourself starts with paying attention:

• Notice what you’re doing as you go through the day.Which activities reflect your desires and beliefs? Which ones are you doing because someone said you should, you have to pay the bills, you’ve always done it this way, or it was on your calendar?Make a mental note or jot down when you feel most alive today. This is the beginning…a great place to start in rediscovering your true nature.