Three things happy people do

Spiritual leader Deepak Chopra was one of the "trailblazer'' speakers at Oprah Winfrey's Life You Want Weekend earlier this fall. Photo by: Sonya Boatwright

Spiritual leader Deepak Chopra was one of the “trailblazer” speakers at Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend earlier this fall. Photo by: Sonya Boatwright

Note: I attended Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend Tour earlier this fall. I’m blogging every day this week about main messages from the event. Today is Day 4.

By Chanda Temple

Want to be happier in life? Try doing these three things spiritual leader Deepak Chopra suggested when he was a presenter at Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend Tour in Atlanta in September.

1) See opportunities when others see problems

Think of life as a gift and not as a challenge. Live in gratitude.

2) Have purpose and meaning in life

Realize that true success is the ability to love, to have compassion and the ability to get in touch with the creative center inside you.

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The Day I Meditated with Deepak Chopra

Note: I attended Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend Tour earlier this fall. I’m blogging every day this week about main messages from the event. Today is Day 4.

By Chanda Temple

Oprah Winfrey opened the second day of her Life You Want Weekend with a group meditation with spiritual leader Deepak Chopra.

For nearly 10 minutes, we sat in a darkened Philips Arena with our eyes closed, breathing deeply and listening to Chopra. The video in this blog post is the entire meditation.

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Wednesday’s Word

How many times have you asked others if you should do this or buy that? Stop it. They are not you. What's for you is for you.

How many times have you asked others if you should do this or buy that?  Stop it. They are not you. What’s for you is for you.

Note: I attended Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend Tour earlier this fall. I’m blogging every day this week about main messages from the event. Today is Day 3.

By Chanda Temple

Earlier this year, a colleague shared something that made me really think: “You can’t tell everyone your dreams.”

She was so right. There are some people unable to understand what you want to do and others unwilling to understand. When you seek their advice, it may leave you worse off than before you asked them. You start to doubt your dreams, and that’s never good.

So how do you handle the questions stirring within you? Do nothing. Be still. And wait. That was part of Oprah Winfrey’s message during her Life You Want Weekend Tour earlier this fall in Atlanta, Ga. When you are still, the answer will come.

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Oprah Winfrey: Learn to listen to the whispers

Things come in whispers in life. Are you listening? Photo by Kevin Shorter via Flickr/Creative Commons.

Things come in whispers in life. Are you listening?
Photo by Kevin Shorter via Flickr/Creative Commons.

Note: I attended Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend Tour in September 2014 in Atlanta, Ga.. I’m blogging every day this week about the main messages from the event. Today is Day 2. 

By Chanda Temple

During Oprah Winfrey’s recent Life You Want Weekend tour in Atlanta, she told the audience that things come in whispers and we need to learn to listen to them.

A whisper tells us if something is not right or does not make sense. If we don’t listen to that whisper, God will still work to get our attention. He may hit us with a pebble, a little thump up side the head to the point where we say, “Hmm, that’s odd.” It’s supposed to get our attention.

If we don’t pay attention to the pebble, we then get a brick. When the brick comes, we are in crisis and that crisis is supposed to get our attention, Winfrey said.

If we don’t pay attention to the brick, we will face a brick wall, which means there’s now a disaster to get our attention.

“Life is always speaking to you, especially in our greatest trials,” Winfrey said. So the question is: Will you listen to the whispers?

When Oprah Winfrey was growing up in Mississippi, her grandmother would wash clothes for other people and then hang them to dry in the backyard. She told Winfrey to pay attention to how she did it because Winfrey would one day have to it, too. At that moment, Oprah knew she wouldn't be doing that. The message came to her in a whisper. Photo by: Sonya Boatwright

When Oprah Winfrey was growing up in Mississippi, her grandmother would wash clothes for other people and then hang the clothes to dry in the backyard. She told Winfrey to pay attention to how she did it because Winfrey would one day have to it, too. At that moment, Winfrey knew she wouldn’t be doing that. The message came to her in a whisper.
Photo by: Sonya Boatwright

Chanda Temple worked as a reporter for 20 years before becoming a public relations professional. She blogs about being better in business and more at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chandatemple. 

 

Motivation Monday: Oprah Winfrey’s tips on how to live your best life

Oprah Winfrey's "The Life You Want Tour" is the life you want. Photo credit: Sonya Boatwright

During Oprah Winfrey’s “The Life You Want Weekend” tour in Atlanta, the media mogul said that her fundamental belief is that for every action, there’s a reaction. So if you are putting out jealousy, envy, hate or love, that will come back to you. What are you doing to change that? 
Photo credit: Sonya Boatwright

Note: I attended Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend Tour in September 2014 in Atlanta, Ga. I’ll be blogging every day this week about the main messages from the event. Today is Day 1. 

By Chanda Temple

In September 2014, I attended Oprah Winfrey’s “The Life You Want Weekend” tour in Atlanta, where Winfrey dropped nuggets of empowerment and encouragement into folks’ souls, just like farmers drop seeds into the ground during planting season. With a little sunshine, rain and prayer, those seeds are bound to yield a mighty harvest. I can’t wait to see what develops for my own crop.

If the thousands in the audience at Philips Arena wondered what to expect for the weekend, Winfrey announced it soon after stepping onto the stage: “I’m here to help you turn up the volume in your life,” and to help you figure out your purpose, your passion and your vision in life. And once you realize all of this, what will happen next? You’ll be that much closer to the life you want, she said.

As the audience went wild with applause that first night, I went wild with my note taking. I learned a lot and wanted to share it.

Atlanta's Philips Arena was packed during the weekend tour with Oprah in early September 2014. Photo credit: Chanda Temple

Everyone attending Oprah Winfrey’s weekend tour at Atlanta’s Philips Arena received electronic bracelets that lit up during certain moments of the program. The arena looked like it was full of dancing fireflies.
Photo credit: Chanda Temple

For the next couple of days, I’ll be blogging about the messages from that weekend, which also featured inspiring words from guest speakers “Eat Pray Love” best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert, life coach Iyanla Vanzant, pastor Rob Bell and spiritual leader Dr. Deepak Chopra. Today’s message looks at how positivity helps you live your best life.

To get us rolling with today’s theme, I recalled Winfrey’s challenge of transformation from the first night: Write a new story for yourself and intentionally create the life you want and live your life on purpose.

Here are four of her tips to get you started:

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10 tips to get you blogging

Blog what will interest your audience. Image by Flickr via Creative Content.

Blog what will interest your ideal reader.
Photo by Christian Schnettelker via Flickr/Creative Content.

By Chanda Temple

Birmingham, Ala. blogging expert and See Jane Write Birmingham founder Javacia Harris Bowser recently held a blogging workshop to get bloggers and would-be bloggers blogging. She had a lot to say. Here are her are top 10 tips.

1) Write a mission statement for your blog

What message are you trying to convey with your blog? Have you identified your target audience? Include that in your mission statement. Write it. Live it. Love it.

2) Create a strong “About” page

Besides the look of your website and the content, your “About Me” page sets the tone of your blog. Be sure it clearly explains the topics you cover in your blog and offers background on you. Make the writing interesting and fun. Include images and links to of your favorite posts, too.

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It’s time to Blog Like Crazy

Birmingham blogger Javacia Harris Bowser encouraging Birmingham bloggers to "blog like crazy'' in November.

Birmingham blogger Javacia Harris Bowser encouraging Birmingham bloggers to “blog like crazy” in November 2014.

 

By Chanda Temple

Today kicks off Blog Like Crazy, a national initiative to push folks to blog for 30 days straight in November.

Tough challenge, but I’m up for it.

As I write my first entry for November, I’m sitting in the Church Street Coffee & Books shop with nine other women determined to do the same thing. We are all inspired by Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of Birmingham’s See Jane Write. She issued the challenge during a workshop today to encourage us to be bold and go for it.

“Blogging is hard. Even though everyone does it, not everyone does it well,” says Bowser. “It takes a lot of work and you need inspiration to keep going.”

For 45 minutes, Bowser shares tips on how to become a better blogger. She then tells us to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We have three hours to bang out what we can as we start our #bloglikecrazy journey. The women here are ready and explain why they’re here.

Says Jennifer Dome King of http://www.stellarfashionandfitness.com: “I guess I wanted to feel like I was rededicating myself to my blog and the goals that I have for it. So I felt like it was a good time for me to give myself permission to focus on my blog,” .

Says Darlene Millender of http://www.thebirminghambuff.com: “This is a kick start to focus on blogging again. I haven’t written articles since the spring. I think this is what I needed. I’ve gotten some great tips.”

Here are some of Bowser’s tips.

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Motivation Monday: Quotes to keep you going

When in doubt, keep going. Victory is coming. Photo by Steven Depolo via Flickr/Creative Commons.

When in doubt, keep going. Victory is coming.
Photo by Steven Depolo via Flickr/Creative Commons.

By Chanda Temple

When I worked as a reporter, I always listened for quotes that sounded like music. They were words that blended so well together that they stayed with you well after the person stopped talking. Such motivational messages fed my soul and I figured they’d do the same for readers. It’s a practice I continue to do to this day.

Whenever someone makes a memorable comment, I write it down or punch it into my smartphone. I sometimes post them on social media or share them when I talk to students. They are a constant reminder to keep going after goals 

Here are some of my favorites. I hope they inspire you today and always.    

  • “The best motivation is self-motivation. The guy says, ‘I wish someone would come by and turn me on.’ What if they don’t show up? You’ve got to have a better plan for your life.” – Jim Rohn

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Motivation Monday: Author Fights Cancer to Write Children’s Book About the Magic City Classic

Tuscumbia, Ala. native Sherri Graves Smith wrote "Magic City Classic Game Day Rules.'' She'll be in Birmingham on Oct. 24 - 26 to sell and sign books. (Image: Mascot Books)

Tuscumbia, Ala. native Sherri Graves Smith wrote “Magic City Classic Game Day Rules.” She’ll be in Birmingham on Oct. 23 – 26 to sell and sign books. (Image: Mascot Books)

By Chanda Temple 

On Saturday, Oct. 25, Birmingham, Ala. will welcome the 73rd Magic City Classic, the annual football showdown between Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University in Birmingham, Ala.

Thousands will pour into the city for the rivalry and reunions at Legion Field, where everyone from celebrities and fashionistas to alumni and grill masters will gather. If you’ve never been, consider putting it on your calendar.

For me, this year’s Magic City Classic comes with something special – the release of “The Magic City Classic Game Day Rules,” a children’s book that highlights the long football tradition.

Written by Tuscumbia, Ala. native Sherri Graves Smith, the book stresses the importance of manners when it comes to attending the game and other Magic City Classic festivities. The bands, the teams and the fans are featured in cute illustrations by Damon Danielson.

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