She Leads Confidently

How you view it determines your inner power. Many years ago when I was in the US Air Force as a medic I learned a lesson that ‘stuck’ to me. Working in the ICU one evening a general’s wife was brought into the unit. She had no reason to be there other than, in my opinion, to hide her. She was severely dehydrated, had sores all over her body and fecal matter impacted in her skin, and weighed 98 pounds.  She was an alcoholic. No judgment here. But her husband would make fun of her (she told us that while healing) and his poker buddies would throw things at her while she lay on the couch. Of course, at the ripe age of 20, I was indeed judgmental and thought why don’t you stand up to him. Yup, naïve as well.   Then I got mad. I went to our charge nurse, who was a full bird colonel, one step from becoming a general, and asked him to do something. His response was what??? The general outranked probable all but one person on the whole base. I was shocked. Disappointed but the way the General would parade around demanding to be waited on.   He eventually took his wife home and life went on.  BUT it haunted me. During that episode, I learned ‘Rank has Privileged.’ Didn’t matter how powerful you thought you were, or are, there is always someone more powerful. If you have trauma in your life, as I do, I walked away with people with authority who can do whatever they want.   Until recently I had a lifelong battle with authority and power. An interesting combination when you consider I am a CEO. If someone talked aggressively (at least how I defined aggression) I would fold like a cheap suit.  I had to reconnect to that memory, recreate a new version with an empowered ending, and reclaim power as I chose to define it. It continues to amaze me how an event in our lives will be carried for a lifetime. That if left unhealed, I would never have the confidence I have. The life I have. The Business I have. When you seem stuck and have no idea why…look backward to propel yourself forward. 

Mind your business What people think about you is none of your business. Way too many of us worry about what others say think or act towards us. It took me years to understand it's not my business. Caring about what others think about me bothers me and in turn, undermines my mindset. When you worry about what others are thinking it erodes your confidence. Make you hesitate from moving forward with your dreams. The reason why it's truly none of your business is you can not control another view of their world. And your role in that world. Each person has a worldview filled with beliefs, judgments, and prejudices. One person may view you in one light while another in a totally different way. I know this sounds offbeat, nonsensical, but flipping your thinking to support you is the key to personal happiness...and success,

The secret to a happy and fulfilling life. Far too many women are waiting for permission before they move forward. Especially women over 55. You found over the course of your life following the rules had a much better, kinder impact than not.  Throughout school, people placed a lot of expectations on you. As you got older you were stuck. You had spent your whole life making others happy. Doing whatever you need to do for everyone around you be happy. If there is any trauma in your life, asking for permission is on overdrive. It’s how you have earned to survive. Asking for permission. If you’re like me, you are shaking your head saying nope not me. I thought the same thing. Then I thought of all my coaching clients and thought about the different ways they Ask Permission? I heard phrases like, I'm too old for this, right? Why won’t anyone help me? What will _____ think about me or my idea? My friend won’t accept me. It’s too hard. Does this sound familiar? If so, Stop Asking for permission from an outside source. Start trusting yourself. Know that you are an extremely capable woman.  Be fearlessly confident and step into the person you were meant to be.  Start living your best life, now.

Reach Your Full Potential and Success will be Yours. Welcome to #73 Next Level Confidence Podcast These two words could determine your success or failure. What? Self-Belief. It's how you perceive yourself and the interconnected world around you. Self-belief is the mindset that no matter what happens, you will prevail.  I had a strong belief from childhood that I would prevail. Through the abuse, trauma, motorcycle accident, closed head injury, homeless to CEO of an organization. I knew all would be well. When I was six years old, I explained to my mother that I would be moving out west at 18. And I did.  I barely made it out of high school, so my parents passed on paying for college. Based on the information they had, they were right. But they never saw my soul. I joined the US Air Force and received the GI Bill. Full ride to college.  I knew I could do it.   Stop waiting for others to validate you, to tell you that you’re smart enough or good enough. Know in your heart, in your soul. I picture the bandshell in my hometown and hosting a workshop about the five steps to Next Level Confidence and discussing my book, a #1 bestseller, teaching women that with confidence and self-belief, they are unstoppable. SELF BELIEF. With it, you will have Next Level Confidence. You will own your world. Without it, well, look around. What do you think? Stop standing in the way of your success. Reach your potential and bring your dreams to life. Interested in receiving my 8 Proven Traits of a KICKA$$ Confident Women PDF?  https://bit.ly/36zYIb6

Does your story support or hold you back? The stories from our past can either support us or hinder us. Women far too often get lost, stuck in the negative part of their story. Perhaps she has had many successes, but that one situation or trauma dominates her memory. Instead of a great empowered story she had developed, she always talks about that bad outcome. I can relate. Even though I was abused as a child, I didn’t get stuck there. I went on to have many successes except for a bad accident and a huge hospital bill. The hospital bill plus my boss at Radio Shack stealing my page check created a big hole in my finances. Then between the depression and drinking, I ended up losing everything. I found myself homeless. Fast forward many years later, I am a CEO who helped start and grow assisted living in Arizona.   Do I tell the story of starting a new industry? The ups and downs lobbying locally and in DC, raising money, traveling the state building a network, becoming the voice of assisted living?  Nope, I fixed on the fact that I was homeless. That was the story I told myself. Not that I was resilient as heck to overcome that and achieve other things. Nope, that I was homeless. Over the years, I learned to reconnect to this core story, recreate it, and reclaim my power. The story I now tell is one the Everything is Overcomeable.  I have coached over a hundred women 1:1, and we always start with the story they tell themselves. Once we heal that story, their confidence goes to the next level! If you are ready to Reconnect, Recreate and Reclaim your Power, let's get to work. https://karenbarno.com/vip-confidence-coaching/ Want to chat? Message me over on my Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/confidencereclaimed

Be Ready to Take Action Do you want to make a change in your life, but find yourself hesitant and unsure of what steps to take? Learn how to recognize the signs when an opportunity presents itself. Opportunity will knock on your door once. If you choose not to open the door or pass thinking it will return, it will not. Opportunity sometimes knocks so softly you hear it as a whisper or see it in a dream. Or times, it’s a scream. Or a bad outcome. Regardless of how it shows up, please do not ignore it. Trust that the Universe will always align in your favor if you show you are ready. When ready, it’s like the universe conspires to help you achieve your goals. Ask, and you shall receive, however, the key is… you must believe.

Words have power. Text Words have power. Words spoken whether out loud or to yourself have power. The spoken voice has an energy, a vibration, that moves into the universe. This vibration signals the Universe on what to deliver to people. Positive vibration is like a charge on a battery. Positive gives positive back and negative gives negative. It’s a law of nature and therefore will play out the same each time.  If people are speaking negative words, words that disempower the result is negative in return. Negative comments can be seemingly trivial as I always make stupid mistakes. What you’re telling the Universe is to bring on more stupid. Or everything I eat turns to fat…guess what? That’s right you start gaining and/or holding onto your current weight regardless of how hard you try. Remember words spoken put action into motion. Have you wondered why some people seem to have it all? While others don’t. You can put two people next to one another and the more positive will see great things flow into their lives. Positive people have learned how to manage the power of the Universe. Positive vibrations are located in the ‘in-between.’ What’s the in-between? It’s the thin layer in the universe where things are able to pass back and forth. Take time and listen to how they talk. Positive people typically receive positive in return. If you don’t like what you are receiving…listen to how you talk within and to other people. Begin to monitor how you speak. What words do you use, how is your energy, are you happier. Or the opposite. Hey if you are looking for advice or guidance let’s talk. When you lift up your vocabulary your life up your life and accomplish your dreams.

Take Back Your Personal Power Stop blaming others for your life. Your failures or foibles. Taking back your personal power starts with accepting you. Understanding who you are deep with, at your soul’s level. Frequent visits to your past, evaluating and trying to understand, just keep you stuck there. Keeps you looking backward instead of forward. Sometimes the reasons for the past are not for people to see, until a different time and place.  Looking back keeps from seeing the path laid out for them to walk. Release the past is accomplished by stopping to blamer others. Accept that God, spirit, the Universe, placed you in that situation for a reason. It will be revealed when you are prepared to hear or see it. Stop giving your power away to others around you. Stop allowing them to be a piece of your inner work. Cut the cord. Walk your path! The path laid out for you. But until that time believe in yourself.  Once people accept that greatness is locked within their soul, they will know their only purpose is to find the key.  Unlock the door fearlessly, have the faith and courage to walk in and BE YOU.

Know Thyself Who am I, Now? Take time to know whyself. Setting down to do my yearly goal setting January 3 as I do every year. The first question is ask is who am I. I learned well rather admitted to myself I hate sharing personal info. I will share about trauma, overcoming obstacles, and raging failures but there are other areas that will not. In my day job, I do extremely well. But in my side hustle, I never seem to gain traction. Now I’m an extremely confident woman so WTF. Why am I holding myself? I kept asking myself that question over and over until I had a vision. The vision was of me sitting on an island. Alone. Pacing. Pacing back and other. Because on the other island was a large group of people having a blast. Celebrating, toasting each other, laughing, and complete joy. Occasionally they would look over at me and wave me over Screaming come on, come over. But I can’t. Why? There is a rope bridge that I must cross. The bridge is unstable over shark-infested water. Yup, I was letting fear win. My goal, my desire was not bigger than my fear. I also realized I wasn’t being truthful with my folks. However, I want them to tell me their issues, their weakness while I wasn’t sharing. I wasn’t showing up in a way that I demand of myself. In 2022 I am committing I will show up I a major way. I will show you my success along with my failures. Where I fall down but I promise I will always get back up. And if you fall, I will help YOU GET BACK up and keep moving forward. My commitment to you is that if you do the work, I will do my best to help you get to where you desire. Let’s cross the bridge together.

Your Burning Desire! It is very hard to get up at 4:30 am to exercise, work on your book, coach an overseas client or just start your day. If you don’t know your reason for accomplishing all you want to accomplish it most likely will not happen. It’s so important to know what your fall on the sword moment is. The place your mind goes to motivate you when you are exhausted, hungry and just done with it. When you have your reason, it is easier to flip that mental switch. The switch that will help you keep going. People say successful people are different. Sure, they are made different because they discovered the importance of knowing their reason. Why. What does the end game look like for them? Successful people have this burning desire. They MUST accomplish their dreams. They are able to push themselves because they see the finish line. Now that line maybe is 50, 60, 80 years down the line but they know exactly what it looks like for them. Most likely they have their goals are written down, affirmations at the ready. They can tell you to the smallest of detail what the end game looks like, smells like, who will be with them. They know because that is what fuels them. Drives them to keep going. It is harder than it looks to post in 5 different places, do videos across different platforms, launch programs, converse with the team and customers, attend meetings into the late evening, tape podcasts, and the list goes on. But they do it. Why? Ask them. But be prepared for the very specific answer. The obvious next question is What is Your Burning Desire? If you are interested in developing your Next Level Confidence check out my 90-day coaching program.