Feminine Power
The online newsletter dedicated to helping you integrate feminine and masculine power for sustainable success.

In this issue:
Just Try Harder?: 3 pages
Reading time: Approximately 6 minutes

Upcoming Events Women Succeed With Ease Training™ Never Enough Time: A Woman’s Way to Overcome Procrastination and Achieve More with Ease Do you find yourself putting off certain tasks or feeling crunched for time? Does it seem like only a deadline brings out your best work? Busy professional women often find ourselves under time pressure, and we label ourselves as “procrastinators.” This training will help you understand the true cause of procrastination. We’ll laugh together at our self-defeating strategies for putting things off (and for getting things done!) and you’ll leave with surprising, sassy new tools for attaining your ambitions with ease. Tuesday, AUGUST 15, 7-9 a.m. Click here to learn more. The One-Day Power Makeover™ You’re working as hard as you can, but you still want more. The Power Makeover™ is a one-day assess-and-address program that will pinpoint with surgical precision where and how you’re undermining your success in four key areas with the ineffective approaches we call Distortions of Power™. With a limited number of other business owners and professional women, you’ll learn, laugh, and connect around the challenges we all face and the integrated masculine/feminine way we can handle them with ease. Friday, September 15, 4 p.m. Click here to learn more. (This one isn’t ours, but DANG these women are amazing!) Creativity Day Spa: Bringing Spirit into Form - Creativity as Visual Prayer Facilitated by our friends Jennifer Louden and Noelle Remington. This is the perfect Saturday spa immersion for you if you: Are curious about where your creativity and spirituality intersect. Want to tap into the divine to aid and deepen your creative insights. Feel drawn to the idea of bringing spirit into form. Are ready to explore your creativity as a spiritual practice. Saturday, September 16th, 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Click here to learn more and register. Elements of Power Intensive Have you been bitten by the Elements of Power bug? Do you love what you've heard from us and want to master the ins and outs of the six pairs of elements? We are happy to announce the first ever Elements Intensive. In this 8-week tele-program, you will study all of the Elements of Power – and their distortions – one pair at a time. Click here for information and to register Elements of Feminine Power Retreat Trust us on this – make this retreat your next vacation! If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired...if you are starved for close female friendships...if you are ready to completely change the way you work and live for more success with greater ease...the Elements of Feminine Power Retreat is the best money you will spend this year. “This is the single best investment I have ever made in myself, next to my Lucky jeans!” – Lisa J., Seattle WA Our next delicious, life-changing Elements of Feminine Power retreat at Alderbrook Lodge has just 2 spaces left. Reserve your space today with a deposit. October 13-15. Click here to learn more and register.

This morning, things got a little ugly. Yep...you know how it goes! You’ve got a lot to do, and you’re all revved up to get it done. There are deadlines to meet, but lots more on your list you want to get done, too.

The two of us got together this morning, with just such a list. We were both anxious about our upcoming Power Makeover™ and about getting this month’s Feminine Power e-zine out to you, and we have a thousand other things we’re moving forward on.

So Sara walked into Michele’s (new!) kitchen and we both just dove into that list. Workin’ workin’ workin’! Busy gals! Pacing. Typing a mile a minute. ANXIOUS as all get-out. And – we gotta confess – not getting a whole lot done.

Somehow, it occurred to us that we weren’t having very much fun. We’ve learned that if it’s not fun, if it’s not feeling easeful (you know – not “without effort” but definitely “without struggle”) we’re not on the right track. And it was feeling hard and not so fun. So we said, “We need to reboot!”

We stopped what we were doing. Michele made some tea. Sara put some “Buena Vista Social Club” on the iPod. Aaaah... That’s better!

But what would you have done? We know that in the past, we had a whole other approach to those stressed, too-much-to-do times. We’d just push harder. We’d say, “I just need to get more organized!” Or “I’m stressed because I need to get stuff done...That’s what’s going to make me feel better.”

Do you say those things to yourself? Or how about these:

• “I’m not hitting my sales targets. It’s time to just amp it up and make twice as many calls.”
• “I’ve got to-dos scribbled everywhere and I’m getting very little done. I need a new organizing system and to just really get focused on my priorities.”
• “My assistant isn’t doing things the way I need her to do them. I’ve got to get clearer with her.” (Sometimes, the translation for this is “Okay! I’m going to ask her again...LOUDER this time.” Ouch!)

Here’s what most of us have been taught about success at work (and in life): Whatever we’ve been doing, if it hasn’t done the trick so far, then we need to do MORE of it to be successful. Everywhere we turn, the conventional wisdom about productivity, leadership, time management, and success all says the same thing over and over (despite the fact that it’s not fully working for many people!):

“Push harder. This tool would work, if you just used it right. You just need to focus more, drive harder, be more pragmatic, and strengthen your self-reliance.”

This prevailing approach tells us that MORE of those masculine qualities are going to get us what we want. But the bottom line is that if you’re already really good at driving and focus and pragmatism and self-reliance, and you’re still not getting what you want, MORE OF THE SAME WILL NOT HELP.

You need to learn to integrate the other half of your toolkit. The real secret to doubling your effectiveness as a professional woman is to turn up the volume on your feminine power...which you may have muted entirely.

We’re not perfect at this ourselves: it took a little bit of struggle this morning before we woke up and added some feminine productivity tools to our day. But we have a few tips to share with you in the “Practices” section below. And we’re learning that our masculine power just gets stronger the more we integrate the feminine, too. Turns out, today, we’ve kicked butt on all the urgent AND not-urgent-but-important items on our list, because we took the time to integrate our power. We hope you’re inspired to learn to do the same.

Here’s the bottom line when it comes to increasing our power and productivity: More of the same isn’t helping. If you’re already really strong in your masculine, your next level of professional development will come from integrating your feminine power.

For direct mentoring from us on exactly how you’re using your power now and how you can double your effectiveness and cut your stress in half, join us at the Power Makeover™ coming up September 15th. Details are in the next section.

Practices For (Not!) Just Trying Harder

The following practices have helped us and our clients find more productivity with less stress, even when we were tempted to just push harder. We hope they help you find ease and accomplishment, too.  E-mail us at support@elementsoffemininepower.com and let us know your experiences with them.

- When in doubt, reboot: If your breathing is shallow and your gut is tight, you’re not going to do your best work. As soon as you notice the absence of ease, stop. Ask, “What would make this easier?”

- Soothe your senses: Have a cup of tea or water. Turn on some soothing music. Rub your shoulders or scalp a little. Take a quick walk outside. Remember that so much of your power comes from feeling good.

- Look for the counter-logical alternative: So much about integrating the feminine is counter-logical (not counter-intuitive; it’s highly intuitive!). Look for the alternative path forward – the one that integrates the opposite of what you’ve been doing, without stopping what has already been working – and if it sounds a little crazy, you’re probably on the right path. Examples: Not getting enough done? Take a break and get a massage. Customers not “pulling the trigger?” Make your meetings about connecting, rather than closing. Feeling disorganized? Stop, take a breath, and ask “If I knew I could trust my intuition to guide me to the best next action, what would I do next?”

Just a final reminder: Work and life are supposed to be easeful. When they’re not, that’s not a sign you’re supposed to work harder. It’s a sign you need to integrate your feminine and masculine power.

Until next time,
Here's to your uniquely feminine power!

Your Wildest Fantasies...in The Kitchen? Ever dream of having a personal chef? Of not having to cook? Of eating delicious gourmet food AT HOME... Oh, and having it be ORGANIC and HEALTHY (without tasting like rabbit food?). Yeah, those were our fantasies, too... Until they became our reality! Randi Carter and her amazing team at Delicious Planet gourmet meal delivery have changed our lives. With a new baby at Sara’s house and no kitchen (till this week!) at Michele’s, we’ve needed the help. But you know what? We’ve realized that everyone deserves this delicious support, so we’re keeping it up, even though Logan’s getting bigger and Michele does have a gourmet kitchen now. Try it yourself: www.delicious-planet.com Tell ‘em Sara and Michele sent you. You’ll be so glad you treated yourself! And if you come to the Success with Ease Training this month, you’ll get a sampling of Randi’s delicious wares as well as a chance to win a $50 gift certificate for gourmet, organic meals delivered to your door. Register now at www.womensucceedwithease.com

Printable version | Subscribe to Feminine Power ©2006 Sara Harvey Yao, Michele Lisenbury Christensen, and Sheila Delaney Duke. All rights reserved. Feel free to forward or re-publish, with the following copyright and contact information attached: "By Sara Harvey Yao, MA, Michele Lisenbury Christensen, MA, PCC, and Sheila Delaney Duke, JD. Please visit www.elementsoffemininepower.com to read more about the twelve elements of feminine and masculine power, learn about their events, and request a free audio CD introducing the elements." To make subscription changes, please don't e-mail us; click the link at the very bottom. You can make your change or end your sub- scription in just a few seconds. Challenged? E-mail support@elementsoffemininepower.com. Thanks! PRIVACY and Spam Policy: You'll never get an e-mail from a stranger as a result of this list, since I never sell, rent, or give away my subscription list. All privacy, no spam! TO SUBSCRIBE FREE: Visit www.elementsoffemininepower.com/subscribe.html Takes about 20 seconds. You'll receive our audio introduction to the Elements of Feminine Power and every month we'll send you fresh ways to activate your power for sustainable success.