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21st Century Sister: The ESSENCE 5 Keys to Successgives you the practical self-empowerment advice you need to become successful through discovering your own inner peace and happiness. Using five essential keys to success, 21st Century Sister offers you a road map for personal, career, and financial development. It's the essential personal guidebook for every sister. Put these five essential keys to work for you:Adopt a winning attitude through loving, self-affirming speech and thought. Manage your time and your self by setting goals, prioritizing, and organizing your busy life. Find and prepare for your ideal career. Become financially savvy by budgeting, saving, establishing good credit, and planning for the future. Support other sisters and brothers by being an active participant in your community. During the past thirty years, ECI has grown into a vital business of diverse media properties and communications systems that include ESSENCE, its flagship magazine, launched in 1970.

Patricia Mignon Hinds, writer, editor, and educator, is the director of Essence Books. She is the editor of The ESSENCE Total Makeover: Body, Beauty, Spirit and ESSENCE: 25 Years Celebrating Black Women, and is the author of nine children's books. She lives in New York City.

Preface

9

(2)

Patricia Mignon Hinds

Introduction

11

(10)

lyanla Vanzant

On Your Mark: A Winning Attitude

21

(26)

Get Set: Time Management, Self Management

47

(36)

Go for It!: Career Planning

83

(52)

The Payoff: Growing Your Money Tree

135

(62)

Keeping It Real: Supporting Other Sisters And Brothers

197

(28)

Resource Guide

225

(9)

Acknowledgments

234

(1)

Index

235

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Today is your opportunity to start fresh, renew, and take charge. What if we turn inward, find our best parts, and reinvent ourselves as new women -- sisters fully acknowledging the past and wholeheartedly ready for the future?

What a gift it is to be blessed with an active mind and strong body as we step into an exciting new day and age. Since you were born, you've been learning about the world around you and your place in it. By now, you are probably familiar with the signals your body sends when it needs rest, nourishment, or exercise, when it is performing at its peak, or when it is in need of a little tender, loving care.

Yet if you're like most people, you're not all that certain how your mind functions. We all know that the mind is the guardian of our thoughts and ideas. But too many of us stop there. We don't make the connection between thought, word, and action. Unfortunately, we cannot grow and succeed in life without understanding the fundamental truths about the ways in which the mind works to shape our individual realities. If you are committed to personal growth, you must pay close attention to your thoughts.

We've been hearing in recent years a very similar message from the scientific community, where researchers are constantly discovering new evidence of the mind/body connection. Many studies support the idea that we largely determine our reality by what we think and what we believe. Just look around you. The proof of the power of thought is everywhere. The beauty of our families, the businesses we create, the art and music that enrich our lives, and our capacity to lend a helping hand to those in need are all the result of individual beliefs and dreams that got their start as mere ideas.

There may be obstacles in your way, and some of us will have more than our fair share. But if you believe it is possible to get ahead despite these challenges, you will succeed in this world. When you know that honesty and love are part of the natural order of things, you will experience situations that validate your trust and belief in other people. Your positive beliefs will attract positive experiences, just as the energy that you project -- through your thoughts, words, and actions -- forms your world and experiences. The distance you travel in life is determined by your attitude. That is why you must keep your mind focused on what you really want out of life. Hold fast to your dreams and believe that you can achieve them.

Having the kind of attitude that expects good things to happen actually helps shape your future by keeping you open, prepared, and ever ready to accept the many wonderful opportunities coming your way. These are not extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime events like winning the lottery, but rather those more understated yet precious moments when the right situation and the right circumstances come together to make things "work." Do you want a more meaningful life? Are you seeking to make changes that will help bring you closer to your goals? The place to start is right where you are now -- with yourself. Take that first step by developing a winning attitude. Your mind is a powerful force from which your actions are born. The many small and large everyday expressions of love in our lives flow naturally and spontaneously from positive beliefs.

CHANGING YOUR MIND

Do you feel that your life is on track and in order? Are you happy with the way you live? Are you working toward fulfilling your dreams and goals? Are you pursuing that hobby you've always talked about or taking that class that will boost your professional skills? Is your life rich with healthy, loving relationships? Do you find ways to express your creativity, take care of yourself, and live according to your rules? If you were to rate your life on a scale of one to ten -- ten being the best and one being not so hot -- what would your score be?

If your number is hovering near the low end, don't look for explanations outside of yourself. Instead, look inward. What's lacking in your life is not a better job, a better relationship, or a better financial situation; it is a better attitude. All individual success begins with having a winning attitude. When you center your thoughts on discovering what's right for you and how you can achieve it, like a magnet you attract the conditions and opportunities to make it happen.

How do you bring about the changes in your mind that are necessary to cultivate a winning attitude? The first thing to do is believe it can be done. No matter what age you are, no matter how convinced you are about the fixed nature of your personality (This is just how I am -- I can't change), you must have faith and think like a winner. You can develop this faith in the same way you develop any skill -- practice, practice, practice.

One of the best ways to begin your practice is to use a tool that has sustained you throughout your life -- your breath. Several times throughout the day, pause and take a moment to breathe deeply. Let the air flow slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth. As you release your breath, feel your mind opening up to all of life's possibilities. Believe that you can change any programming or core beliefs that have kept you from maintaining a positive outlook. Believe that you have an inner light that glows and attracts all the blessings and opportunities you deserve.

Excerpted from 21st Century Sister: The Essence Five Keys to Success by Essence Magazine Editors
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.