Lately I’ve been going through some major changes in my business and personal life. In the end, I’ve come away with a deeper, more poignant understanding that what really matters most is our relationship with the Lord — our ability to ask, receive answers and act upon inspiration as it comes.

When we have the ability to seek, hear and act upon the Spirit, we have everything we need. Markets may change, economies may falter, marriages may crumble, businesses may suffer setbacks, but if we have this lifeline to God and to His infinite wisdom, we have everything we need.

This is one reason why I’m wholeheartedly focusing all my “eggs into one basket” — helping faith-based entrepreneurs ignite their light, life, love and faith in a lifestyle business. Yesterday I re-launched my IgnitePoint.com site around this focus, and I’d like to invite you to take a look at it. If you like what you see, please subscribe to our daily updates there. I’ll be posting business and inspirational tips (called IgnitePoints) on the site 5 days a week and introducing you to some wonderful people who will inspire, teach, and help you succeed.

Each weekday the home page changes and reveals a new piece of inspiration or instruction. If you provide your name and email on the site, you’ll be able to receive these “IgnitePoints” in your email — http://www.IgnitePoint.com.

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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I often ask my clients to pretend for a moment that they only have a day to live and someone has handed them a megaphone to share any message with the world. What would that message be?

Throughout my life, the answer to that question has changed several times. But if someone were to ask it of me today, this is the message I would share…

You are the creator of your own life and if you choose to co-create with God anything is possible.

You may feel trapped and afraid when you think of what your heart truly desires, but you are still free to choose and create your life. Many times we give away our creative power to other people or things. To the extent we do that, we are living in bondage.

The Savior came to set you free. Come to Him with every fear, worry or thing that stands in your way. Give it to Him and watch what He can make of it. Watch Him transform anything and everything for your good … until anything that ensnares or diminishes you is gone, and you are free to BE the resplendent being of light He created you to BE.

Life is less about what you do and more about who you have become.

Ok, now it’s your turn… what would your message be?

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Jesus’ disciples are on a boat. He’s been praying on the shore and sets out, strolling across the boisterous sea. When the men see Jesus approaching, they are scared because they think he’s a spirit.

Lord, Save Me by Simon Dewey

Peter replies, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.”

Jesus does and Peter climbs out of the boat and begins to walk on water. As long as Peter keeps His eyes on Christ, he can walk on water. When he becomes fearful and distracted by the winds and the waves, he begins to sink. (Matthew 14:22-33)

There are so many wonderful lessons in this story. It’s a great reminder to keep our eyes on the Master, not getting distracted, and stay focused. It’s also a powerful illustration of Christ’s mastery over any situation and His ability to create miracles in our lives.

This morning this story has been reminding me that the things that look the very worst coming toward us are often for our greatest good. Lately I’ve seen something coming toward me that frightened me. The Lord has called out to me so many times, “Be of good cheer; it is I. Be not afraid.” I listen to Him for a while and take some steps, and then like Peter I’ve been rattled by the winds and the waves and started to sink. He always pulls me up … just like He did Peter.

This morning on the way to the gym, I began to see things from a completely new perspective. As the morning progressed, greater levels of clarity emerged. Every difficult thing I’ve encountered in the last six months has been calculated for my benefit. Everything I thought was “bad” or “hard” was neither. I was seeing the situation through the perspective of the men on the boat. I wasn’t seeing it from Jesus’ perspective. The men were afraid. I’ve been afraid. Jesus saw an amazing opportunity that Peter would talk about for the rest of his life. Jesus is creating a golden opportunity for me as well.

Now, as I look at this situation through God’s eyes, I see that not a single thing has been bad. It has all been clearly calculated and orchestrated for my benefit. It is taking me to a wonderful place that God has already shown me exists.

Sometimes we set a lofty goal and don’t realize that in order to attain it, something’s got to change. That change may be in our thinking, how we view the world, or in our circumstances. The road to great things is never easy. If we were capable of obtaining the goal when we set it, we’d already have it. We wouldn’t need the goal! Why are we so befuddled when the deck has to shuffle before we can be dealt a new hand?

I love what Kirk Duncan teaches in his Order to Chaos CD. He talks about organizing your garage. If you want to take it to a higher level of order, there’s got to be some chaos first. Chaos is all part of creation. Instead of seeing the chaos in my life as “wind and waves” or a “ghost” or some other bad thing, I’m starting to see it all as a blessing, all for my good.

This clarity is giving me the ability to trust at a deeper level and to praise God ahead of time. Now I understand that the promised good is on its way to me – even if present circumstances look chaotic.

As I rejoice in this place of praise, this song has been on my lips. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

If this post resonates with you, you might want to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process. You may take my Light Bearer Assessment here. It’s fast and free!

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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Are you doubting what you know? Perhaps everything you’ve been teaching? Are the things that used to work for you not working anymore? Do you feel like life changed the rules and nobody sent you the memo?

There’s a time in every Light Bearer’s life when she is tested on the very thing she’s teaching. It’s the “Transparency” phase of the 6-step Light-Bearer process I cover in Light the World: How Your Brilliance Can Shift the Planet. This phase is about removing “black blobs” clinging to your glowing ball of light. It’s about burning away impurities so you’re ready for the next phase — shining.

Transparency humbles you enough to submit to the touch of the Master’s hand so He can transform you into a clean, clear, conduit of His love and light to the world.

It can be one of the most excruciatingly painful places to be. Should you stop teaching? Are you a fraud? Should you just go get a j.o.b.? Bottom line, you realize you have a whole lot more to learn.

This is your chance to dig back in, work through your own processes, find the missing pieces and elaborate more on things you either couldn’t remember or hadn’t yet experienced.

As you do this, you become increasingly aware of your “black blogs.” Ironically, you’ll discover that your weaknesses lie in the exact areas of your strengths. For example, I teach women to value themselves, but I wasn’t valuing myself. I see the gifts and greatness in others, but I wasn’t seeing them in myself. I’m all about synergistic relationships and collaboration, yet in major areas of my life I was going it alone, trying to do it all by myself.

When you come to this place of being tested on the very things you’ve been teaching (or feel called to teach), you have three choices, as I see it:

1) Pull back, lick your wounds and wait until you have your “act together” to put yourself out there again.

Sometimes this is necessary. You do need to regroup and take a much needed rest. During these times, I recommend journaling so you document your process.

2) Pretend everything is all right and fake it until you make it.

This route takes an immense amount of energy as it requires effort to pretend everything is fine when it’s going horribly wrong. What’s more, it grates on your soul because you feel out of alignment.

3) Be transparent with those around you, document your process and keep on going with faith. Know that your “shining” phase is just around the bend.

This route requires a shift in the way you view yourself. You may have seen yourself as the leader, expert or guru. All of these might make you feel like you have to “be perfect” and always have your act together. Heaven forbid you make a mistake!

In reality you may be none of those. You may simply be a person who is farther out along the path. Others are watching your tail lights, learning from your mistakes and your successes. They’re grateful to have the opportunity to observe – not because they expect you to be perfect – but because now they have some knowledge of the road ahead.

They won’t trip over a log on the path, because you just stumbled and warned, “Watch your step!” They will know where to find fresh water because you just yelled, “There’s a spring over here!” When you care enough about others to share what you’re learning during your difficult times, they are grateful for what you can share.

You may come to realize you have more people following you in the dark than you ever did in the light.

As a friend pointed out to me yesterday, “Your light is shining brighter than you think. The symbol of the lighthouse is so perfect, the purpose of its light is not to shine in day or light, but to shine in darkness and fog.” (Liz Bradley)

There’s a quote from Eat, Pray, Love that describes this 3rd way of being:

In the end, I’ve come to believe in something I call “The Physics of the Quest.” A force in nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity. The rule of Quest Physics goes something like this: If you’re brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you.” – Liz Gilbert

I love this because I’m realizing I’m surrounded by teachers. I don’t have to be “the perfect teacher” or “the perfect leader.” We’re all in this together and everywhere I look, I find teachers, guides and friends — fellow travelers on the journey.

If this post resonates with you, you might be in the Transparency phase of the Light Bearer Process. Find out by taking my Light Bearer Assessment here. It’s fast and free!

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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I woke with my chest tight and my heart fluttering this morning. I know that feeling well. It’s been my companion since closing IdeaMarketers in October. While my business is doing well in its new direction, it always takes time to rebuild from the ground up. I miss the free-flowing, consistent 5-figure-per-month revenue I used to make. This flying without a net gets the better of me at times, and there are many mornings — and many dead-of-night-moments — when I awake with that anxious fluttering and pressure in my chest.

The only thing I know to do is pray and listen to soothing music. This morning I was conversing with the Lord in my mind, yet no matter how He assured me, I could not seem to quiet the doubting thoughts or soothe the pain in my chest.

“Why?” He asked me. “Why don’t you believe me when I tell you that I have this covered. I will see you through to a better place. Why don’t you believe me? You’ve been in this difficult spot before, and I helped you through. Do you think me incapable of doing it again?”

“I know… I know… I should have the faith. I’ve been in worse places than this,” I responded. I thought for a moment upon His question and the answer hit me. In the past, I had IdeaMarketers. I knew that site had potential. I could fiddle with it and generate the revenue when I needed it. I could tweak something, create a new product or service with it, and there would be the cash that I needed. It was my “sandbox” to play in and create things.

But now, it’s gone. There’s nothing to build castles with anymore. Nothing that I can count on as a revenue creation source. For the first time, it occurred to me that maybe all that faith I thought I had in God, wasn’t faith in God, but faith in IdeaMarketers. I had faith God could help me make money from IdeaMarketers. It wasn’t faith in myself. I’ve spent much of the last 6 months finding faith in myself again. It’s an even more humbling thing to realize that it wasn’t faith in God either.

I’m reminded of something CS Lewis wrote in A Grief Observed. The book is about how his faith was shaken by the death of his wife. He realized by the devastation her death caused that what he thought was faith was really a house of cards.

You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth of falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?” ― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Upon shutting down IdeaMarketers — which I felt incredibly led to do — I bulldozed an orchard that fed my family on a consistent basis. Little did I know when I made that bold move, I left myself with only the rope of faith in God to carry me through. I’m learning now that my rope is not as sturdy as I once thought it to be.

I believe God is taking me to a place where I lean less on what I’ve built and more on Him. I’m certainly not as Job. I still have my friends (thank heavens)! I still have my family and home. If God helped Job rebuild from absolutely nothing, He can help me rebuild now.

There is a song that has been a lifeline for me over the last six months. It’s called “Be Still My Soul.” Recently I found this version by David Archuleta. I absolutely love this rendition. The piano is lovely, and Archuleta captures the emotions I feel in my heart — the hope I long for but often have such trouble locating. This song gives me that hope … to hang on … to keep looking up. To keep believing that better days lie ahead.

Be still my soul. The Lord is on thy side. With patience bear, thy cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide. In every change, He faithful will remain. Be still my soul. Thy best thy heavenly Friend, through thorny ways, leads to a joyful end.

Be still my soul. Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as he has the past. Thy hope thy confidence let nothing shake. All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still my soul. The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still my soul. The hour is hastening on when we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, loves purest joys restored. Be still my soul, when change and tears are past, all safe and blessed, we shall meet at last.”

If this post resonates with you, you might want to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process. You may take my Light Bearer Assessment here. It’s fast and free!

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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One of the most fascinating excuses I hear from people about why they don’t want to collaborate is that they don’t trust other people. They are afraid to go into collaborative arrangements for fear of being hurt. Often the people who tell me this are Potentials (in Lisa Rae Preston’s STEP Core Passion Assessment). Primary Potentials are highly creative visionaries who are wired to inspire. We comprise only about 10% of the population. Thus, we are different than the norm. We tend to be pioneers and march to the beat of our own drummers. Few people really “get us.” (You can take the STEP Core Passion Assessment for free here.)

“Fitting in,” isn’t likely to occur unless we happen to be surrounded by other Potentials. For example, the majority of the world is comprised of Services (the do-ers) and their brain patterning is the direct opposite of Potentials. Most Potentials spend their lives being told by the rest of humanity what they “should” or “should not” do. For example, they might hear, “You should buckle down, get a steady job and let go of your pipe dreams.” Nothing grates on a Potential’s nerves quite like being “should upon.”

This alienation and inevitable wedge sends us into our own little worlds. And we do have quite the imaginations! We can entertain ourselves there, but in this place there isn’t as much human interaction as we crave.

Another aspect of the Potential mind is that it is wired to spot patterns and see connections. Potentials who have a secondary brain patterning of Truth, tend to see patterns and connections in things and ideas. Potentials who have a secondary brain patterning of Empathy, tend to see patterns and connections with people.

Potential-Empathies, in particular, crave human interaction. We need people. We are born collaborators. So, if we’ve been alienated and wounded to isolate ourselves, we often end up depressed, lonely and afraid.

But for those who can push past their fears, and reach out to others, great rewards await. Simon Sinek talks about how Mother Nature has wired us to help one another. We actually release a feel-good hormone in our bodies (Oxytocin) when we spend time and energy helping another person. In order to survive as a species we must learn to help one another, and so it’s hard-coded into us to feel fulfilled when we do.

This could be another reason why Potentials who feel alienated and then withdraw, suffer from depression, anxiety or other disorders. Their fear of alienation prevents them from engaging in relationships fully, and thus they produce less Oxytocin (also referred to as the “love and bonding hormone”) which then results in fewer moments of happiness.

“Oxytocin is a hormone that helps relax and reduce blood pressure and cortisol levels. It increases pain thresholds, has anti anxiety effects, and stimulates various types of positive social interaction. In addition, it promotes growth and healing.” (Oxytocin hormone benefits and side effects by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Here’s an illustration of the power of this naturally occurring drug.

My son Joshua was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 13. It’s an auto-immune, inflammatory bowel disease. Since getting married in December 2012, he has been doing much better. He says he’s healed. My family was joking around on Easter about how his wife, Elise, is healing him with her love.

Here’s something fascinating I found while investigating Oxytocin, which is released when people are in love or during social bonding of any kind. Look at this fascinating footnote from Wikipedia:

“Social behavior and wound healing: Oxytocin is also thought to modulate inflammation by decreasing certain cytokines. Thus, the increased release in oxytocin following positive social interactions has the potential to improve wound healing. A study by Marazziti and colleagues used heterosexual couples to address this possibility. They found increases in plasma oxytocin following a social interaction were correlated with faster wound healing. They hypothesized this was due to oxytocin reducing inflammation, thus allowing the wound to heal faster. This study provides preliminary evidence that positive social interactions may directly impact aspects of health.”

Elise IS healing Joshua! Or perhaps his love for her is healing him!

So here’s what I’m thinking for those who have been wounded so deeply they are afraid to collaborate… Perhaps you don’t trust everyone, but is there even one person you trust? Reach out and serve that person. Better yet, find someone to serve without any expectation of return. No need for trust then. Expend your time and energy to help that person in some way. Use your gifts and your imagination! This will make you feel better – literally releasing Oxytocin in your brain.

Do this enough, and you will begin to heal. Then you will start to attract more people you can trust into your life. And then you can serve them too, and they will serve you in return. Gradually, over time, you will collect your own tribe of people who believe what you believe and whom you can trust. THEN, you can start tapping into the power of collaboration – which is accessing infinite possibilities and resources.

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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When I was little my dad would ask, “Would you rather be the prettiest girl in the class or the smartest?” I knew he thought I was smart, and I liked the attention I got for it. I always answered, “The smartest.” For most of my life I’ve never thought I was pretty or beautiful. I was born with crossed eyes which were repaired in an operation at 9 months, but had a lazy eye for years. I had horribly buck teeth. My mom got me braces. My brother made fun of my legs and compared them to a “metal bar” – as in formless and straight.

So when I met my future husband, and he thought I was so beautiful and liked my legs, I never quite believed him. I chalked it up to “love is blind.” He was seeing what he wanted to see.

It wasn’t until I was in my forties that I began to be interested in feeling beautiful. I got in shape, took Carol Tuttle’s Dressing Your Truth course, and people began to comment about my attractiveness. A back-of-mind vanity warning fired occasionally, but overall I’m enjoying myself. I feel great when I’m in shape, and I enjoy looking nice. I don’t do it for others. I dress, fix my hair and put on makeup most days because it makes me feel good. I do it for me.

Marnie with her parents, Jack and Betty Morton

As time progressed, I began noticing in my meditations with the Lord, He would tell me that I am beautiful. My husband will occasionally ask, “Why are you so beautiful?” Still, I wasn’t owning it. I figured, I’m a 46-year-old woman who’s in shape, maybe that makes me stand out or something. Besides, I know beauty fades with time. We all can’t stay young and beautiful. But I look at my mother who is 80, and to me she is the most beautiful woman in the world. She has always been beautiful, but she improves with age because the beauty comes from within her. It radiates from her soul, through her eyes, and a warm glow surrounds her.

She walks into a room and love enters with her. That’s the kind of beauty that endures.

Yesterday I was on my Create a WOW Book Mentoring call, and prepped to do some energy shifting around money mindset. I had my list of affirmations handy and was ready to shift that energy for the folks on the call – using the method in which I’ve been certified.

I’d written a blog that morning, “Yep, I’ve Been Terrified to Share My Message Too” and sent it to my mentoring group earlier in the day. I began the call by asking them if they’d read it and what, if anything, stood out to them.

This started a conversation about scarcity (which would lead very well into the money mindset material I intended to cover). But the conversation was so great, that for the full hour we discussed two main themes – scarcity and what to do with outer/inner criticism. I never covered the material I had on my lap. The participants shared their brilliant insights. Many of them are energy-shifters themselves and discussed their modalities, their ideas. People were opening up and sharing brilliant ideas and epiphanies. The hour passed seamlessly.  Behind the scenes, I quietly cleared blocks I saw coming up for the group.

I directed the conversation a few times, chimed in with a few of my thoughts here and there. But for the most part, the call was a beautiful example of Quantum Collaboration and co-creation. Yet why was I so unsettled at the end of the call? I felt as if I’d done something “wrong.”

This morning I decided to meditate, ponder, and pray a bit about this. Why had the call made me feel uneasy?  I think it boiled down to the fact that I felt like I didn’t “do” anything. It wasn’t me being the wise one imparting knowledge or the energy shifter making things happen. Would my mentoring group realize I hadn’t “done” anything and go away?

Yet, I had played an important role. If I hadn’t, none of it would have happened. I set the stage, offered insightful talking points, and chimed in when I felt like I should. This is what I do:

1) I attract good-hearted, amazingly brilliant people.

2) I bring them together in ways that they can interact with each other in a safe loving environment where they are valued.

3) I am able to reduce or eliminate judgment and criticism.

4) I share a bit of wisdom, set talking points, get out of the way and let the infinite flow through the group.

Result: Quantum collaboration happens and the sum is far greater than the parts.

There’s an analogy I love that portrays the power of unconscious collaboration:

“Honeybees are driven to pollinate, gather nectar, and condense the nectar into honey. It is their magnificent obsession imprinted into their genetic makeup by our Creator. It is estimated that to produce just one pound (0.45 kg) of honey, the average hive of 20,000 to 60,000 bees must collectively visit millions of flowers and travel the equivalent of two times around the world. Over its short lifetime of just a few weeks to four months, a single honeybee’s contribution of honey to its hive is a mere one-twelfth of one teaspoon.

Though seemingly insignificant when compared to the total, each bee’s one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey is vital to the life of the hive. The bees depend on each other. Work that would be overwhelming for a few bees to do becomes lighter because all of the bees faithfully do their part.” (M. Russel Ballard, “Be Anxiously Engaged,” Ensign, November 2012)

Pondering upon the honeybee reveals that we are all going about our lives, engaged in our own “magnificent obsessions,” oblivious to the collective impact we’re making on the world. The honeybee certainly doesn’t know he’s creating honey that will be drizzled on your biscuit one morning. He is clueless to the rippling impact of his actions. And so are we!

Studying this analogy, I realized I’ve been measuring my value as if I’m a honeybee – busily working to gather pollen and make a tangible product – honey. But I am NOT the honeybee in this analogy. I am the flower. It’s my job to be beautiful, to attract beautiful people, and to set the stage. My pollen is talking points, bits of wisdom. As my friend Phil Davis says, it’s my “Marnie-ness.” My job is simply to be beautiful, to be me!

What an amazing paradigm shift for me!  This word, “beauty” (that I never knew what to do with) is who I was born to be. Those compliments of “you’re beautiful” that I continuously deflected are truly what I am and why I am here. From now on I’m “owning it.” It’s not about vanity. It’s about being who God created me to be – a flower who attracts beautiful people and sets the stage for magnificent obsessions to play out in quantum collaboration. Rippling impacts for good result in the world when I show up and be me. WOW! I love it!

If this post resonates with you, you might want to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process. You may take my Light Bearer Assessment here. It’s fast and free!

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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I’ve worked with people for years, encouraging them to share their messages. I’ve promoted so many wonderful people  and seen the greatness in so many. Yet, I also noticed that a lot of people will do anything and everything but share their messages.

I had a fair idea of why they weren’t sharing — fear, self-doubt, and overwhelm. Yet, this paralyzation had me stumped. Of course, it was easy for me to be stumped because I didn’t have a burning message to share in those days. I thought my message was that YOU have a message. That’s a safe position to be — telling other people what to do when you haven’t really done it yourself.

Then everything changed when I realized I had my own message. Eight months after discovering it, life kicked me out of the nest and gave me the impetus to fully commit to this new path. As I’ve taken this flying leap, I now know WHY people are paralyzed! It’s downright terrifying!

Ironic, it’s a main phase of the Light Bearer process that I’ve been teaching for the last 3 years — you will come to the point where you’re tested on the very thing you’re teaching. 

I’m realizing that the paralyzation comes from mad, scrambling, short-circuiting thought patterns. Some days I’m getting a handle on my message and how to share it, and the next it’s slipped like sand through my fingers. Doubts and fears have taken its place. One step forward, two steps back. It’s crazy the things that go through your head when you set out to share the message you’re here to share. Here’s some of the nonsense that’s been running through my mind…

- If I start sharing, then I’m giving my good stuff away and then what will I have to share? What if I don’t have more to share later? What if this is all there is? What if I share it, that’s all I have to say and I’m done and I gave it all away? Now what?

- What if that’s all there is to me? I put it out, I’ve said it, and I’m done, and I have no other purpose in life. I’m just done.

- What if I share it and people don’t respond to it. I’m here to share a message that no one cares about. Of course, then, that means they don’t care about me. It becomes personal –  because my message doesn’t matter, I don’t matter.

- If I pour my heart and soul into this – give it my all and really do it and it falls flat, then what is there left to me? A J.O.B. doing something that bores me for the rest of my life. As long as I’m “working toward” sharing my message, then I have hope and something to look forward to. But if I actually do it, share it, give it my all, and it falls flat, then I am the ultimate failure.

- It’s safer to hold back some because then you have an excuse for why you didn’t succeed – it’s not about you and your message anymore then.

- What if my message is so complicated no one gets it? What if it’s too hard to explain, to quantify; and the learning curve takes so long that I go down in financial ruins waiting for people to “get it.”

- What if I throw myself 100% into this and it’s all a mistake. I’ve burned my bridges, now what?

- What if this is all pride and I’m being arrogant to think I have a message that is this important, but really it’s all just a lie.

- Pride goes before a fall. To think I have this big message is just me being full of myself. Risking everything for it is just pride, and I’m going to splat onto the concrete.

- What if I succeed? There’s a lot of responsibility with that, and I’m not ready to take on that responsibility.

- If I succeed, I give up the freedom to hide and play small. And it’s feels safe to play small.

After getting all those crazy thoughts out of my head and down in written form, I decided to work through each one and craft truth statements to counteract them. I’ve installed these in myself. If they apply to you, let’s install them for you too!

- I let go of scarcity thinking around my message. I have a lifetime of wisdom to share about it.

- The more I share about my message, the more comes and the richer and deeper it becomes.

- I’m here to share a message that people will respond to, be transformed by. I let go of the false belief that God would send me to this planet to share a message that is irrelevant.

- I let go of connecting my value to my message. I let go of connecting my value to other people’s opinions.

- The fact that I exist makes me priceless and of infinite value.

- I make money from my message. All of creation supports me as I live on purpose. I tap into the greatest levels of abundance as I live true to myself and what I’m here to do on the earth.

- I let go of fear of failure. I let go of the need to hold a part of myself back.

- All of creation is conspiring to help me share my message in a way that resonates with people and they are drawn to it.

- All of creation is orchestrating my success.

- My message can be conveyed with clarity and simplicity, yet with a depth and richness that I can study and expound upon for a lifetime.

- It’s in my highest good to fully commit to my message.

- It’s safe to give it my all.

- I let go of the need to play small. It is safer for me to play full out and live large.

- I let go of the fear of pride. I release the notion that I would have a great desire to share a message that would cause my demise.

- I trust that I will be comfortable with any responsibilities associated with success.

- I trust that I will be prepared and strengthened for everything I’m called upon to do as I live my purpose.

- I trust that this is a joyous journey and that I enjoy the responsibilities and activities associated with success in living my purpose and sharing my message.

I hope these affirmations are helpful for you and that you can internalize them for yourself. They’re true for you too! Accept them, you have something to do that only you can. We need you. The world needs you. Rise to your calling and let your light shine!

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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My dad has said on more than one occasion, “If you want to make an enemy, send someone a check for $50 every month for no reason. Then after a few years of that, just stop sending him the check. He’ll be livid.”

I’ve come to realize that there is a lot of truth in this statement. I see it playing out in my own family. We’ve had a good stretch of abundance, and my family members have come to expect things to just flow. “Mom will figure it out. Mom will give me the money for that.” But, lately, I’ve had to be a bit smarter with my money. Some people become very upset when Mom has to say “No.”

At times I let this get to me, start doubting myself and my choices, But, then I remember you can’t plow under a garden and expect green beans to grow tomorrow. I’ve taken a major rebranding leap in my business, letting my flagship site (IdeaMarketers) go because it was doing more damage than it was good. Some people don’t really understand why this was necessary. But, I did what I felt was right. Google was penalizing people with articles on the site, and I couldn’t in good conscious keep promoting something that could harm people. I took it as a sign that the time was right to follow my own passion and message and created IgnitePoint.com as a way to do that.

Some people who had articles on IdeaMarketers write me, very angry or hurt. They believe I’ve done them a great wrong by closing the site. Funny, the ones who gripe are never the ones who contributed monetarily to the site. The ones who complain are the ones who got a service free for over a decade. Now, that I’ve had to shut the site down, they believe I’ve done them a great wrong.

I’m learning a big lesson in life. You cannot invest in someone else if they will not invest in themselves. In fact, the more I do for free for people, the less likely they are to do the work, and the less likely they are to reap results. People only value what they pay for. When you enable people, you end up with those who do not respect you, who use you, and who blame you when you can’t deliver the free goods anymore.

For any success in life, there is a sacrifice required. There are dues that must be paid. You can’t grow a plant full of green beans unless you sacrifice a bean to the ground. I’m learning that I can’t pay other people’s dues for them.

I can’t keep giving things away for free thinking that I’m doing some great service to the world. I’m not. I’m actually performing a disservice because I’m making folks believe that they’ll magically be successful without any effort on their part. People must sacrifice for their own dreams. If a person isn’t willing to invest in their success, they will never reap it. That investment might look like money, time, energy, or resources. But the investment must be made by the person who wants the reward.

Once an investment is made, then other people can invest in you, but not until you’re willing to invest in yourself.

This principle has been driven home for me lately by witnessing those in my mentoring programs (that I started offering at the end of last year). The people who pay to be in them get far better results than any of the people I gave my services away to for free over the years. I thought that since I had a good flow of money coming in from my flagship site that I should use my spare time to help people with their businesses and not make them pay – that it was my way of giving back. But it didn’t work. I believed in them more than they believed in themselves. Had they invested in their own businesses, they would be much farther along now.

People who are investing in my programs are getting books done. They’re stepping into their messages more fully; they’re forming joint ventures and improving their bottom lines. Had I offered these mentoring programs for free, I guarantee you there would be no such results.

Lesson learned: From now on I won’t be investing in anyone who doesn’t invest in themselves first. It’s for their highest good and mine.

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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I’m a Fringe fan. If you haven’t watched it, you’re really missing something. An eccentric professor, his son and a few FBI agents form the Fringe team who together investigate fringe science cases. In the 4th season there is a bridge between our universe and an alternate one that allows the Fringe team members to meet their doppelgangers (alternate universe twins) on the “other side.”

Invariably there are differences in the doppelgangers. Variations in the people they encountered in their lives as well as their environments, choices, and opportunities all play a role in forming who these team members become.

For example, in one episode a side-character in our universe is a successful university professor, but in the alternate universe he’s a serial killer. The difference? As a young boy, the university professor met a woman who taught him how to control his thoughts and emotions. In the alternate universe, the woman never entered his life.

In season 4, episode 17 (“Everything in Its Right Place”) Agent Lincoln Lee travels to the alternate universe and meets his doppelganger — Captain Lee. In our universe, Agent Lee is a bit of a nerd — reserved, a nice guy, but definitely not his confident charismatic twin in the alternate universe.

The two Lee’s begin to compare their lives looking for how they could be so different. Everything appears to be the same. Our Agent Lee can’t figure out where the two characters diverged. His doppelganger points out that some things come down to CHOICE. One version of Lincoln Lee chose to embrace life and step outside his comfort zone; the other didn’t proceed as confidently.

Agent Lincoln Lee and Captain Lincoln Lee

After watching this episode last night, I woke up this morning thinking of a line from the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The Founders felt it was “self-evident” (meaning there was no need for proof or argument) that all men are created equal. Our Creator views us all the same when we enter this world. This doesn’t mean that we all come to equal places, with equal bodies, or even equal opportunities. Nor does it mean that an outside force should come along and level the playing field. It does mean we hold equal value in our Creator’s eyes.

It also means we arrive packaged with certain “unalienable rights.” The word unalienable means they can’t be taken away or given away by the possessor. The Declaration lists three things that should never be taken away from an individual (nor can individuals successfully transfer these to anyone else). These are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Our lives are sacred – EVERY life is sacred. Our liberty (or our freedom to choose) and our quest for happiness are integral to the purpose for which we were created.

The signers of the Declaration of Independence asserted that the very reason governments are formed is “to secure these rights,” Safeguarding these rights is the very reason “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” In other words, we’re delegating to government the ability to protect these three things and really nothing more. Certainly, we are never delegating to it the right to take these three things away!

You might wonder how I went from an episode of Fringe to the Declaration of Independence. Let me see if I can tie these two together. Both Agent Lee and Captain Lee came into their worlds equal. Unlike some of the other characters in the show who encountered points of divergence that took them on different paths, the two Lee’s had very similar lives – indistinguishable but for one thing – CHOICE and how they decided to PURSUE HAPPINESS.

Our agent Lee did not step up and make the more confident and challenging choices. His doppelganger chose to proactively create his life and pursue happiness. One waited for happiness to find him. The other reached out and chose it.

Given that the two men lived in free-enough societies that protected their lives, their ability to choose and their pursuit of happiness, it came down to their own choices.

It’s become abundantly clear to me that not choosing is a choice. Settling for less is a choice. Being less than you could be is the result of many small choices you make every day of your life. How many of us settle – never actively choosing to pursue happiness? Are we consistently stepping up and making the small courageous choices?

In any situation, no matter how insignificant it seems, there is usually one choice that is slightly better than the other. What if we paused to ask ourselves which choice is the more courageous one? Which one leads to more life, more liberty and happiness for ourselves and others? If we pause to assess and then step into the courageous choice, we will find that eventually we have created a vibrant, abundant and happy life.

Ultimately what God has given us is the freedom to create our own lives! From our small daily choices, great things are brought to pass.

So, if there is an alternate universe somewhere where you’re making the courageous choices, what would your doppelganger’s life be like? And how could you be a little bit more like him or her?

Are you a Light Bearer? Take the FREE Light Bearer Assessment. It's a quick and easy way to find out where you are in the Light Bearer Process... Marnie Pehrson is a best-selling author, speaker, certified SimplyHealedTM practitioner, platform builder and publishing coach who shows you how to ignite the WOW-Factor in your life and business through the power of synergistic relationships and collaboration. Find out how you can work with Marnie here.

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