If you've been reading my blog lately, you'll know that I've been on a book kick now that school is out and I actually have time to read something other than student papers! The latest addition to my bookshelves is an interesting one. Successful model, turned alcoholic, turned real estate superstar, turned women's life recovery and empowerment coach Mal Duane tells her story in the award-winning, Amazon bestseller Alpha Chick: Five Steps for Moving From Pain to Power. In it, Mal Duane outlines the five steps she followed to heal her alcoholism and get her life back on track.
Her first step, Focus, is in many ways like the law of attraction -- specifically, Duane says if you focus on your connection with your own inner guidance or intuition (the divine within you), you will be able to more effectively let go of what no longer serves you. So, for example, by focusing on your inner guidance, you can let go of the victim mentality.
The second phase involves Acceptance, the idea being that you have to accept what happened to you in the past so that you can move on with a positive Attitude. So if you used to be an alcoholic, you stop berating yourself for that fact -- accept it and move on knowing that you are in complete control of your attitude and your relationships right now.
Albert Einstein once said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Duane utilizes this principle in step three, Identification and Intention. It starts with a list: a list of everything in your life that is no longer serving you (or maybe never served you) and things that cause you pain. Then going back to step one, once you Identify what is no longer working, you can Focus on attracting what you do want and set an Intention to do just that.
To follow up on your new Intentions, you have to change your Thoughts (step four). When you find yourself engaging in negative self-talk (I can't do this, I'll never succeed, etc.), first examine why this old belief pattern has cropped up and then change your Focus to a more positive one (perhaps you envision what your life will be like once you've overcome this struggle, for example).
Finally, once you have Healed, your job is to Help others do the same. This last step truly resonated with where I am in my life right. I am in the process of Healing and plan to write books and give talks to Help others overcome similar struggles. I agree with Duane's philosophy that we were put on earth to be of service, but we may have to overcome a few hurdles along the way before we can do this effectively.
For more information on Mal Duane, you can visit her website: www.alphachick.com. Happy reading!