New Year, New You Women’s Empowerment Conference
The acronym of L.I.L.A. - Ladies of Integrity, Leading and Achieving is a declaration of our core character. We know our members are among the few that have focus, commitment, and strength to follow through on their goals. Our members represent a network of women extending a hand for the next woman to become successful. We know through our courage in the face of adversity, we are not only making a difference for ourselves but for the whole world. Our mission is to make a global difference, changing the world one woman at a time! As our network continues to grow, we will focus on giving you powerful tools and strategies to reach your goals as we empower, inspire, and promote your achievements.
Table of Contents: Letter from the Editor
Page 11
Quotes of the month
Page13
“Mysterious Female� Energy
Page 14
Year End Tax Preparation
Page 18
Being Healthy From the Inside and Out
Page 20
Girls Find Their Voice
Page 22
After Work Attire That Works
Page 24
To advertise in this magazine, please contact JRivera LLC, info.jriverallc@gmail.com or (321) 972-3759. Members of L.I.L.A. Network receive a 20% discount on Full Page and Half Page Ads.
Quotes of the Month If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you’ll never have enough. ~ Oprah Winfrey ~ Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. ~ Anais Nin ~ Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. ~ Margaret Young ~ Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen. ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~ Your own words are the bricks and mortar of the dreams you want to realize. Your words are the greatest power you have. The words you choose and their use establish the life you experience. ~ Sonia Croquette ~
Excerpt from Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life by Dr. Wayne Dyer 6th verse.
“The spirit that never dies is called the mysterious feminine. Although she becomes the whole universe, her immaculate purity is never lost. Although she assumes countless forms, her true identity remains intact. The mysterious female is called the root of creation. Listen to her voice, hear it echo through creation. Without fail, she reveals her presence. Without fail, she brings us to our own perfection. Although it is invisible, it endures; it will never end.” ~ Lao-tzu Lao-tzu refers to an eternal and indescribable force of creation that continuously gives birth to new life. He tells us that this “mysterious female” energy continually reveals itself in perfection, and he invites us to an awareness of that voice of creation echoing throughout life in myriad ways. “Living creatively” is of how I describe existing with a conscious awareness of the presence of this feminine principle. This mysterious female is always birthing, and the Tao Te Ching speaks of the gateway to her as the “root of creation”. It’s telling us that we have the ability to tap into this unlimited field and co-create, or as I’ve (Dr. Dyer) said, live creatively through the Tao. The never dying formative energy is both our heritage and our destiny, functioning whether we’re conscious of it or not. What awareness accomplishes, through practicing the Tao, is to let us participate in the process- which in turn leads us toward the wholeness that is our ultimate earthbound task. Although his writing’s are almost 3,000 years old, Lao-tzu is offering 21 century advice here, with a message that’s timeless and never ending as the Tao itself. Words may change, but be assured that the feminine energy can and will bring you to your own perfection. If you choose to be aware of the inherent creativity that resonates deep within you, where the invisible Tao sings the loudest, you’ll assist the birthing of new ideas, new accomplishments, new projects, and new ways of understanding your life. Excerpt from pages 28- 30 of the #1 New York Times best selling author of Inspiration Dr. Wayne W. Dyer. “Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life”.
In a nutshell, we need to embrace our uniqueness, all the aspects that make us “us”. The special touches you put on a project, the small details you’ve perfected, and/or your ability to see the beauty in the face of disaster; these are the things that bring out our inner “mysterious female”. Living your life in a state of appreciation for all the phases you have endured in your youth, present, and in the future will lead you to an inner awakening and peace. The urges you have to be creative or to venture into a new project needs to be acknowledged, first. It is the “feminine energy” in your being prompting you to move onto to the next phase in your journey of life. It is not limited to your career, family, or inner peace; but rather your whole universe. The people that you come into contact with, they too are affected by the energy force and as you will notice, they too will be prompted to make a change or accept a new phase in their lives. Take a moment and ask yourself: Who am I? When I was 5, I wanted to be? When I was 10, I wanted to do? When I was 15, I swore I would…? When I was 20, I knew I’d do…? Write down a list of your accomplishments, do any of them match your youthful desires, if not embrace your inner creative spirit and follow through on what you truly want past, present and future. It’s time you paid-it-forward to yourself! ¨ JRivera
Year End Tax Preparation Strategies to Meet the Records Requirements Strategy 1: Build a documentation system. Three distinct records: Regardless of how you conduct your business, whether as a corporation or as a sole proprietorship, you need three separate and distinct tax records: § Permanent files § Regular files § A daily diary Permanent files: Include your prior years’ tax returns, stock purchases and sales, equipment purchases and sales, and similar entries. Generally, you want to keep any record that relates to more than one tax year in your permanent file. If you purchase property, your permanent files should include the purchase documents, closing statements, deeds, and other expenses related to the purchase. Regular files: Include time sheets for part-time help, receipts, invoices, canceled checks, and other corroborative evidence. Daily diary: Your daily diary – which can be your appointment book – is the focal point of your documentation system. This is especially true if you operate a personal service business. The smaller your business, the more important this documentation becomes. Your daily diary should include: § All of your appointments § Where and when you travel § Where you go by automobile § where and when you entertain your business contacts Strategy 2: Three part checks
Keep a separate business checkbook: use three part checks. Regardless of your business form, whether a corporation or sole proprietorship, the three part check is necessary to build good, easy-to-use records in your regular files. § Send part one, the original check, to the vendor. § Staple supportive evidence such as receipts or invoices to the yellow copy (part two) of the check and file alphabetically in the vendor file. § Put part three in a numerical file for later viewing by IRS and reference by you. Strategy 3: Join the pack-rat brigade and pay less tax. Save every receipt, whether personal or business, for all money spent. It’s virtually impossible for you to know all of the receipts you are required to keep. Since you don’t know what’s important and what’s not, it’s safest to save everything for at least three years. Remember, you carry the burden of proof. It’s rare that you can establish proof retroactively. Strategy 4: Use a business credit card. To keep your record keeping burden to a minimum, use a separate charge card for all your business expenditures. The charge card copy acts as a receipt for your travel, entertainment, and gas and oil purchases. It also eliminates the need to make an audit trail for the deductible interest. By using one or more credit cards solely for business, you can deduct the finance charges on the business cards as well as the annual fees on all cards used solely for business. ¨ JRivera
Being healthy from the inside and out! Being healthy is so much more than eating fruits and vegetables. Eating healthy is only half the battle, your conscious mind has to have the power to overcome your subconscious urges to sabotage. Emotional hurdles in our lives trigger most of us into grabbing our favorite snack, alcohol, or worse. (Name changed for the story.)
Unintentionally we sabotage our healthy living. Joanne a single mother of four between the ages of 5 – 11; recently got divorced and didn’t take the breakup well. The past four months have been unbearable for her and food comforted her. She thought she was eating healthy, choosing whole wheat and multi-grain snacks over the heavily processed alternatives. Opting for “nutritional cereal bars” over chocolate bars, but the truth is they have as much sugar if not more. Her daily routine changed, her once cheerful demeanor was replaced with sadness, and the weight packed on. Her weight gain became significant to her when her oldest daughter asked her if she was going to “grow up and be fat, too”. Heart broken, depressed, and now “fat”, she was at her low point and decided she had enough wallowing in self pity and got up. Her first move was seeking a therapist, whom she could release all her built up emotions. Granted the first therapist wasn’t her cup of tea, but with over 200 in a 25 mile radius she just moved on to a new therapist. This is not uncommon, were all human, if you don’t like the vibe of your doctor, move your business to another doctor. Joanne’s next step was the stairs; she walked up and down her staircase at least 20 times before work. She started incorporating after-homework one hour walks with her children, not only providing her family with a needed outdoor activity but also a healthy way of spending quality time together. Each child receives ten minutes to talk uninterrupted, and then they share in a discussion about nature or a current events topic.
Since starting these changes, not only has Joanne found balance in her life, but her health was back on track. She continues to go to therapy twice a month, her self esteem has returned with a healthy boost of confidence she never had, and her children are happier and healthier. Joanne has lost 37lbs and loves the way she looks now; although she gained a total of 62lbs, the rest of the weight that remains has given her curves she swears never existed before. “I always wanted a rounder bottom, and now I have curves that make me look like a sexy woman. My son told me I was a “hot mom” and that he’d never seen me look like this. I am a different person now. I thank god for the journey I traveled to get to where I am today.” I share her story with you because we have all experienced something similar. When life hits us hard, we must persevere and reinvent ourselves. How we deal with life’s low blows, the emotional hurdles we encounter, this determines our ability to succeed. If we get knocked down, we must get back up, the sooner the better. There comes a time when we have to listen to that inner voice saying “enough is enough”. We also need to recognize our emotional hurdles impact others, our children. They cannot determine who’s to blame for your sadness, how you became depressed and withdrawn. All they know is “mommy’s not happy with me” and think it’s their job to make you happy again. Pay attention to their change, for it is more damaging at their age. We must remind ourselves daily that there is no way to happiness; rather, happiness is the way. I wish you all success as you continue on your individual paths to healthy living. It’s not an easy road ahead, but the rewards are so much more worth it when we’ve put in hard work. ¨ JRivera
Across the world, girls are finding their voices. If we listen to them, we can do something amazing. We can end global poverty – forever. International Day of the Girl brings inspirational things happening for girls. The UN will call for an end to child marriage. Everyone from global leaders to girl champions spread the word that the time has come to listen to the girl, believe in her and invest in her – now. This is just the start. As the conversations grow, her voice grows. She will be heard. She will change the world. Be a part of the girl effect! There are 1.2 billion adolescents aged 10 to 19, today’s youth generation is the largest in history and half of them are girls. While children aged 0 to 5 have received great focus from the international community for decades and women have gained increasingly strong attention on the global development agenda, a “girl gap” persists over the period of adolescence. Development assistance has historically by-passed adolescent girls by grouping them with women or children, but not as a category of their own. Programming that targets adolescents as a broad category generally fails to reach girls. Research shows that participants and beneficiaries of “youth” programs are primarily male, sometimes by as much as 80-90 percent. When programming does target adolescent girls, often it is only those already in positions of privilege that are able to take part. The most vulnerable girls, such as those who are married, indigenous, or live in rural areas, are the hardest to reach. Adolescence is a critical period, when a girl’s future potential and opportunities can flourish through education, economic opportunities, and psychosocial support. Or, that potential can be stunted and stifled by the irreversible effects of child marriage, early pregnancy, HIV, and other preventable hardships. Fulfilling the rights of adolescent girls-to health, education, and protection from violence and abuse-ensures they have the chance to achieve their physical, emotional, and social potential, and can go on to become empowered women who can support their families, communities, and countries. Less than two cents of every development dollar goes to programs specifically for adolescent girls, but they are the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. We need to fill that gap in development assistance through concerted, innovative efforts to drive support towards millions of adolescent girls in the poorest communities. It is a population that is hard to reach, has been low on the scale of international priorities, and has enormous unmet needs, but we must find solutions. ¨ JRivera