Tag Archives: Leadership Speaker

Calming Your Mind – Easy to Do Meditation Tips

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Calming Your Mind – Easy To Do Meditation Tips

A wonderful way to clear the mind of the stresses and worries of the day is via Meditation. Some people have preconceived notions of meditation being difficult and think “How in the world do I have time to sit and MEDITATE every day?”. However, with some practice and intentionality, you will find that taking time to meditate is not hard at all.

Tips on how to start your meditative practice

What’s one of the hardest parts about developing a meditative practice? Hint: I mentioned it in the paragraph above – Intentionality! In fact, the hardest part has nothing at all to do with actually meditating.

The key is to JUST. GET. STARTED. Once you start to see the power in meditating and the results it brings you, it becomes habit. You will begin to intentionally carve out time to meditate regularly. Starting out may be tough because forming a new habit can be, but remember to get started and stay consistent. It takes 21 days to form a new habit!

Set a goal of meditating daily for at least 4 weeks- remember, it takes 21 days to form a new habit, but I suggest you push yourself a bit further and go for 4 weeks! Once you get to the end of the 4 weeks, evaluate the process and whether the meditation has made a difference for you

Try these meditation tips below:

1.    Decide on a consistent time every day to meditate. Start with small time periods – 15 min in the beginning. As the weeks move on, shoot for 20-30 min daily. Many people find that setting aside this time right as they wake up in the morning or before they go to bed at night works for them. I like to close my eyes and meditate at my desk during lunch. Whatever time you choose, make it a priority.

2.    Mediate in a chair or if you choose the floor, that’s fine too. I would personally refrain from lying down to meditate. Lying down signals “sleep” to our bodies. Try not to slouch, either. Rest your hands in your lap and pay attention to the feeling of the chair, floor, etc you are sitting in or on. 

3.    Direct your attention to your breath. Focus on your breathing in and out….in and out……in and out. Really pay attention to your breathing. One thing I always do with my patients when I’m administering injections or performing any procedures that may be painful is to have the patient focus on their breathing…”Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.” Imagine breathing IN good energy and breathing OUT the bad energy with each cycle. Focus on making those breaths long, deep breaths

4.    Your mind will likely wander and that’s ok. Allow those thoughts and then let them fade away. As well as you can, refocus your attention on your breathing.

5.    Meditation should definitely relax you  – too relaxed and you will likely fall asleep. Resist the urge to sleep. Fight the urge to sleep. Maintaining that good posture helps. 

6.    Stay consistent. Set an alarm to remind you to meditate or write it in your daily planner or on a sticky note. Once mediating becomes a habit, it will likely not feel like a chore. There will certainly be days that get so hectic that you may skip meditating in a formal sense, but consistency will allow it to become second nature. When I get overwhelmed looking at a full email inbox daily, I literally take my hands off my keyboard, close my eyes and breathe deeply in what I like to think of as “mini meditation sessions”.

Meditation helps us focus, brings a peaceful perspective to our life and relieves stress. It is used to energize as well as relax, motivate and bring calm. Our brains take in A LOT of information daily – treat it to a break and be rewarded with the benefits meditation brings!

Dr. Carmen April

Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur, community leader, and living enthusiast. For over 20 years, Dr. April has been leading teams and empowering others to design their lives with intention. She’s been recognized as a 2021 Junior League of Nashville Outstanding Active of the Year Paragon Award recipient, 2020 Nashville Business Journal Women of Influence Award Recipient, Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient, is a Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter, Young Leaders Council (YLC) Leadership Institute and is a Nashville Power Moves Award Winner. She is a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville area. She’s a Reiki Master, a Law of Attraction Practitioner, and an advocate for the power of positive thinking. Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals and is the creator of the “Design Your Story” Women’s Empowerment Series.

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Cheers to Six Years in Private Practice!

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Cheers to Six Years in Private Practice!

6-years-private-practice

          A little over 6.5 years ago I had a dream, a vision, a plan to start my own practice from scratch in the city of Nashville where I could count the number of people I knew here on one hand! It seemed like a daunting task to some, but I can honestly say that from the moment that idea planted itself in my mind, I fully believed I could do it, never doubted myself and never looked back! Statistics show that most small businesses fail within the first 5 years. In fact, more than 90% of them do. However, It’s been exactly 6 years since I opened my doors on Jan. 10th, 2011 with just 2 patients on a cold snowy, icy day and I’ve been rocking and rolling ever since! I thank God for it all, even the times I wanted to throw in the towel because I’ve grown from the experience. The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center is not a side hustle or an extra job in addition to another. It’s my full time, 24-7, 365 days per year, even in the middle of the night when I get an emergency call, and even when I’m on “vacation”, baby!

It began with nothing more than a vision in my mind, God’s direction and provision, the support of my family, and has grown because of my dedicated work, the trust of medical colleagues referring their patients to me, friends and sorority sisters who are my “unofficial” marketing team and are always sending patients my way, and the support of the thousands of patients who have trusted me to care for them ! I’m #Grateful

Dr Carmen April Speaker          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful For Breakfast In Bed

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Grateful For Breakfast In Bed

Gratitude

          I believe that the “little things” in life are really in fact the “big things” that matter the most. I’m on the go a lot and so when I have an opportunity to hang out in the bed with my crisp sheets, comfortable comforter and cushy pillows on a Saturday morning or Sunday morning, I do so……..or at least as long as I can before I start to get a tension headache from laying in the bed too long lol! Does that happen to anyone else out there?

          My husband gets up and starts moving around much earlier than I do and in particular, he likes to get up and cook breakfast! I’m so grateful for those random breakfast-in-bed moments that he surprises me with from time to time. Prior to getting married I NEVER ate in my bedroom……that was totally breaking the rules and off limits lol! But, there is no way I’m turning down my husband bringing in a wonderfully prepared breakfast to me out of love. Some rules are meant to be be broken, right?!?!?!??!

Dr Carmen April Speaker          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Entrepreneurship and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful for Lazy Saturday Mornings

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Grateful For Lazy Saturday Mornings

Coffee ad love pillows

          I’ve talked here on the blog in the past about how I used to be a “busy bee” until I made a conscious decision to STOP THE GLORIFICATION OF BUSY! Someone could come up to me and say, “Hey Carmen, how’s your day going?” and my response would always be, “It’s great, but super busy!” My response was the absolute truth 99% of the time! I always had something on the calendar, something to do, and somewhere to go in addition to work and personal obligations.

          I will admit, the “busy” stage served it’s purpose during a point in my life and career where I was trying to network and meet as many people as possible after I first moved to Nashville and was growing my business. Howwwwwwww-ever, over committing and overworking myself became exhausting.

          Fast forward a couple of years later to the current time and I am so very GRATEFUL for lazy Saturday mornings when I can get out of bed when I decide to, grab some coffee or tea, head out for a leisurely walk in the park and just relax. I have a better understanding, since slowing things down a bit, that life is meant to be enjoyed, not rushed through.

Dr Carmen April SpeakerDr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful for 5.5+ Years of Entrepreneurship

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Grateful for 5.5+ Years of Entrepreneurship

Dr Carmen April Professional Photo

          As those of you who regularly read my blog know, in addition to being a blogger I have a career…..the one that actually pays the bills and for which I studied and toiled and stayed in school and residency for what seemed like FOREVER to achieve lol! As “Dr. Carmen April” I am an entrepreneur and owner of my medical practice, The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center, PC for the past 5 years. When I was first getting started in my medical practice, I heard over and over and OVER again that most small businesses fail within their first couple of years of operation. In fact, that statistic is more specifically around 90% of small businesses FAILING in their first couple of years. Making it to 5 years is definitely something to be celebrated and I certainly have! I thank God every SINGLE day for the success of my business!

          There have been times, especially in the beginning where I grew weary because the money coming into the business seemed to be at a snail’s pace compared to the money going out! There have been many times where I have been frustrated with dealing with health insurance companies lowering reimbursements year after year when the cost of doing business continues to increase. There are many things that I, along with any other entrepreneur COULD complain about and have complained about as it pertains to our businesses, BUT the day I started to express more GRATITUDE than I did complain about everything that was wrong in the medical industry, a SHIFT happened! It was as if expressing Gratitude un-clogged a pipe and allowed an abundance of good things to flow into my medical practice! Opportunities for financial increase came my way and I was in position to take full advantage of it.

           Some entrepreneurs are afraid to openly talk about “money” especially in fields that service people and the community, such as in medicine. My main job as a doctor is to diagnose and treat my patients with the best medical care possible and I’m confident I do that. However, if the money is not available to run the business properly, that does not happen. Entrepreneurs have to get comfortable talking about money! When it comes to the finances of my business, My small business is no different from the big hospitals and health centers, no different from your every day restaurant or clothing store. They all require positive cash flow, great report with patients/clients and the community, marketing, advertising, good money management, etc to make them successful.

           It’s been 6+ years since I first nurtured the idea of starting my own practice and it’s still amazing to think back on every storm I weathered to get to this very point. A couple THOUSAND patients later from the first day I hung my shingle and opened the doors to my practice, I have a renewed strength and tenacity to see it grow even more! God is great and I give Him all the glory and honor for the success of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center, PC!

          My prayer for my business: “Lord, I thank you for giving me the idea and the courage to pursue my dream of starting my own medical practice. The opportunity came before I thought I was ready to take the leap, but you had already equipped me with everything I needed to get it done! Every bit of any amount of success I have experienced in this business is because of you and for that I say Thank You. During the trials, and doubts, and hard times, you were also there and didn’t let me fall. You didn’t let me quit. I continue to pray for every single patient who walks through the doors of this practice. Bless them Lord and bless me to use my knowledge, skills and intuition to medically treat them to the best of my ability. Bless my employees that they continue to find satisfaction in their work with me and this business and allow them to be a blessing to the patients as well. I know that these accomplishments you’ve allowed me to have at such a young age, inspire others and for that I am Grateful! There have been many people along the way who I have looked to for inspiration and I’m glad that I’m now able to pay it forward. Lord, continue to allow me to uplift, encourage and inspire other people through the work of my mind and my hands. I pray that all my endeavors are prosperous and are used to serve you and uplift your kingdom! In your son Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.” –Carmen

Gratitude

Dr Carmen April Speaker        Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful For Balance

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Grateful For Balance

Gratitude

          At this very moment I can say I’m Grateful for Balance. This has not always been the case (ie.- those years during med school, residency, first couple of years starting my medical practice) and will not always be the case, but…………….. for right now, it’s how I feel and I am grateful for it.

          We hear a lot about “work-life balance” and what that’s supposed to look like. I’m asked that question often when I’m out on various speaking engagements, especially by young professional women and college students. My best answer is for everyone, on a individual bases, figuring out what your activity limits are as it relates to pouring out too much of yourself into others without investing back into yourself.

          Instead of “Work-life balance”, I prefer to use the term “Life Integration” because to me that is more of a long time approach to this concept. Life occurs in stages so there will be times when we feel totally balanced like I do at this point in my life, but there are also times when things don’t feel balanced, and that’s OK too. As long as you are working to integrate work priorities with family obligations, community service, etc in a manner that works for you, no matter what it looks like for someone else, do THAT!

          Just up until about a year ago, I was THAT person who was on the go ALL the time! If I wasn’t in my office seeing patients and running the business side of my practice, I was at some meeting for one of the 3 Board of Directors I was on at the time, at a sorority meeting, doing community service with my sorority chapter or out blogging about something, somewhere! It was all cool and exciting until I just got tired. Point blank and THE period —-> I. Was. Tired.

          All that I was involved in looked really good on paper, but it wore me down and I felt that I had no time to myself. Even my Dinner With Nerds Food Blog, that I designed to be a creative outlet, began to get stressful. When I was doing full features on particular restaurants by interviewing the owners & chefs and coming in with my camera to photograph all the food, the owners and managers always wanted to know when I would be publishing the feature which then put me on a deadline, which then made it start to feel more like work and less like fun 😦

          My balance was off because I wasn’t integrating the various aspects of my life in a way that satisfied me. At the end of the day, if I’m not taking care of me……extensions of me begin to suffer (ie., my business, my health, my attitude toward things).

          When I began to say NO to some things, NO to people requesting my attention, rolled off a couple of the Board of Directors I was on and realized that my contributions to my community , to my work and to the people I love were already more than sufficient without having to add anything more, slowly but surely I began to feel more like myself again – less stressed and happier! I always feel honored when I’m approached to serve the community in some capacity or to offer my expertise in certain areas, but I have learned that I only have so much so give before I start feeling off-balanced. With time and age comes wisdom and with wisdom comes knowing your limits. I’ll choose this feeling over being over-committed and over-worked any day of the week!

Dr Carmen April Speaker              Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful For Time Spent in My “Me” Place

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Grateful For Time Spent in My “Me” Space

Gratitude

          I looooooove my “me” time, but I’ll be honest and say that it’s taken some practice for me to establish specific, set-aside time just for me to meditate and be with my happy thoughts! When I began carving out time to sit with my thoughts and mediate on the things in life that I’m grateful for, I began to notice a SHIFT in my way of thinking. My dominating thoughts have become those of GRATITUDE, love, faith, peace and of moving myself in the direction of “greater”!

          Spending alone time with God and my thoughts has allowed me to change the narrative of my life. I have a strong belief that, no matter what, life is on my side and is always pushing me to be a greater version of myself each and every day. I know that my dominating thoughts become my reality so I’m very intentional about concentrating on GRATITUDE, love, faith and expecting the best out of life! When I take the time daily to elevate my vibrations to a higher level of happiness, peace, love and GRATITUDE, all of those things return to me in immeasurable ways!

Here are a couple of things I do to get into my happy place during my “me” time:

  • Listen to calming spa-type music while laying awake in bed or on my couch and meditating
  • Tapping into one of my favorite iPhone apps, Calm,  that allows me to listen to sounds of the ocean and the beach while daydreaming about all that I appreciate, love and desire in life
  • Heading out to one of my favorite parks to walk/jog, listen to nature, and perform one of my walking meditation exercises where I thank God/Universe for all I see that is beautiful and makes me happy 🙂
  • Logging onto Instagram and following hashtags that lead me to awesome feeds of food, landscapes, beautiful homes, luxury hotels, luxury spas and inspirational quotes! I loooooove photography so seeing beautiful photos that raise my vibration into a happy place always do the trick and leave me feeling happy, at peace and serene 🙂

          Sometimes folks find it difficult to carve out “me” time, especially since we are in an age when the glorification of “busy” seems to be an “it” thing. However, I’ve learned that it’s detrimental not to do it. The “me” time does NOT have to be during the same time every day. Schedules vary, work and family demands vary and it’s ok to cut yourself some slack and be flexible with your personal time as well. Some days it may be better to spend time in the morning with this exercise and on other days the evenings may be better. Either way, we all owe it to ourselves to steal away and take some time to relax. Not only is it good for your psyche and mental health, but periods of relaxation and meditation have other health benefits such as lowering blood pressure & resting heart rate and lowering levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in our bodies.

          Lastly, as a Law of Attraction Practitioner, I encourage relaxation and meditation during “me” time as essential to elevating yourself to a higher vibration and attracting those things, experiences and opportunities into your life that you desire. Your dominating thoughts mixed with the positive emotions they create within you, bring them into your reality! It’s all about faith!

Dr Carmen April SpeakerDr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful For The Little Things

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Grateful For The Little Things

Gratitude

          I’m Grateful for the little things because the little things are actually the Big things! From the individual encouraging words I’ve always heard from my parents my entire life, to the way my sister and brother still look up to me as their big sister even though we’re all adults now, the sweet hugs and kisses from my nieces and them affectionately calling me “TT Carmen” a hundred times a day, to the countless times my wonderful husband tells me, “I love you baby and I thank God for you every day”

          I get so tickled when our Malti-poo fur-baby, Bella, literally spins around in circles of happiness because she’s so excited to see us come home from work every day

          I don’t take for granted the many luxuries I am blessed to enjoy every day and all the moving parts involved in making those things happen. I don’t have to go out and pick all of my fruits and vegetables from a garden or orchard because there are people who have done that for me and I’m GRATEFUL. I don’t have to go out and kill a chicken in order to have meat to eat.

          I’m so super serious about that chicken example. One of the amazing matriarchs of my family, at 93 years old, recently walked me through the steps she would take to slaughter a chicken and have it sitting on the dinner table a couple of hours later. Back in her younger days, if she or her husband didn’t kill a chicken themselves, there was no chicken to be had for dinner that night! I thank God I don’t have to grab a chicken, wring its neck, let it run around in a large barrel until it died, then put it in a pot of boiling water, pluck the feathers……you get the point! THAT is a true story and one I’m glad to have had passed down to me by oral history vs. actual experience lol!

          I don’t have to go out and draw water from a well to bathe, clean or drink because there are many other moving parts at play that allow me to have clean, running water coming straight into my home and for that I’m GRATEFUL. I don’t have to “foot-it” to work because I have a beautiful, safe vehicle to get me to work and back every day and for that I’m GRATEFUL! I don’t have to read by candlelight at home because I have lights and electricity that provide that luxury instead and I’m GRATEFUL. These are things that may seem like “basic necessities” and “expected” for us to have, but if you’ve ever known people who live without these basic necessities you will realize that they are in fact “luxuries”.

          The little moments matter and make up the spice of life. Don’t overlook them for the traditionally dramatic, shocking and spectacular. The little moments can be those things too…..just packaged a bit differently 🙂

Dr Carmen April SpeakerDr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

My Gratitude Box

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My Gratitude Box

Gratitude Box

          My Theme/Word for 2016 is GRATITUDE! I’m Grateful for Life, Love, following Christ and for living a life with more experiences, opportunities, and wonderful people than I deserve. Life is so very precious and I don’t, for a second, take that for granted. Every day that I wake up and step foot out of my bed with a sound mind, is another opportunity to be thankful and express my Gratitude for it all!

          A practice that I’ve been doing for a couple of years now involves using a Gratitude Box to hold my notes of Gratitude to God/Universe. Point blank……..you find less to complain about when you focus on all you have to be Grateful for!! That’s not to say that I don’t have my human moments throughout the day when things tick me off OR have a mini “spazz-out” session or two, because I do lol! However, when the dust settles, as the old gospel song we sing in church says, “And I think things over…..all of my good days, outweigh my bad days, and I won’t complain!” #Hallelujah!

          One of the reasons I use a Gratitude Box such as the one above more often than a Gratitude Journal is because I physically add small trinkets that represent things I’m grateful for to the box in addition to the notes and Gratitude cards I place there. Once that box that sits on my night stand is “full of Gratitude” (I Love how that sounds!!!), I empty it into a bigger box that sits in my closet and start filling up the smaller box on my nightstand again.

Thank You cardsGratitude Cards I fill out and add to my Gratitude Box on a regular basis

Interesting Note: These photos of me were taken last year before I was married…..or engaged for that matter….and it’s a bit “strange” to see my left hand without my engagement ring and wedding band on it lol! The interesting thing about my Gratitude practice is that one of the things I repeatedly wrote a Gratitude/Thank You note to God for was this ———> My Husband….BEFORE I ever had one OR even knew who he would be!!! I have plenty of Gratitude notes in my Gratitude Box thanking God IN ADVANCE for my husband! #TrueStory

Thank you cards

           I physically write out the things I’m grateful for in greeting/thank you cards then place them in my Gratitude Box because the Bible says “Write the Vision and Make it plain” (Habakukk 2:2) There is power in writing down your desires, requests, praise and words of GRATITUDE! P.S. = I kind of have a small obsession with all things paper and beautiful greeting cards so this method of using pretty cards and fancy letterhead to fill the box also feeds that obsession of mine 🙂

Gratitude Journal

          Gratitude Journal – Another way to perform this practice is to write your words of Gratitude directly into a Gratitude Journal. This works well because it keeps everything in one compact journal, keeps the entries in chronological order and can be taken with you when you travel, etc. Once again, you are activating that special power that comes from physically writing down the words!

Gratitude Journal

          My Gratitude Expressions include everything under the sun and the Heavens above  – Literally! I include expressions of Gratitude for the love I have for my family to an appreciation of my favorite color, green, simply because it makes me happy! I express Gratitude for the food that I am blessed to eat everyday and for the farmers who grew that food in their fields, to the truck drivers who delivered it to the grocery store and the cashier who rung it up for me when I bought it! There is an unlimited abundance of life experiences to be grateful if we just take the time to sit down and really concentrate on them 🙂

          Choose the method that works for you, but my all means…..DO IT! Express your Gratitude!! The more you express Gratitude to God/ The Universe for the things you are ALREADY blessed with, the more the Universe will open up it’s channels to pour out MORE blessings and MORE things and MORE opportunities and MORE experiences and the right people in your life to be Grateful for!

Dr Carmen April Speaker          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful to Be of Service

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Grateful to Be of Service

          As I discussed in my first blog post for 2016, My Theme for the year is GRATITUDE! I am so grateful for all that I am and blessed to experience. I am grateful for beautiful things seen and things not seen in my life.

Gratitude is an emotion that expresses appreciation for what one has as opposed to focusing on what one wants.

            Expressing gratitude is a great multiplier because the more we are GRATEFUL for what we already have, the more the Universe gives us to be GRATEFUL for! Expressing gratitude has been shown to increase happiness, optimism, and empathy. Gratitude can allow you to see the sunshine through the rain and can offer peace in the midst of a storm.

          This morning I visited Renewal House , a safe haven in Nashville for women working to overcome drug and alcohol addiction. I’ve visited Renewal House many times taking donations of clothes, housewares, food and snacks, etc. Two weeks ago I also visited Renewal House with my Sorority chapter for Martin Luther King Day of Service and spent the morning with the women who are going through the program. I gave a short presentation, “Secrets of Success” that apply to everyone, no matter where they are in life. I always feel a strong sense of gratitude every time I visit that I’m able to donate things that have brought me joy and share them with others. Last week I also enjoyed sharing that bit of motivation with the women

Renewal House volunteering

❒ This morning, however, in addition to feeling gratitude for all that I have, I also felt gratitude for the women and their children who have come to Renewal House to recover and keep their families together.

❒ I’m grateful that Renewal House exists to provide a safe haven and recovery program for women who really need it

❒ I’m grateful for everyone who works with these women and their families on a daily basis

❒ I’m grateful for the two caring souls who started Renewal House 20 yrs ago

❒ I’m grateful to those who give of their time and talents on the Board of Directors

❒ I’m grateful for the strong spirits of the women in the treatment program who desire a better life for themselves and their children

❒ I’m grateful that lives are being changed and restored through this program because of the love, generosity and dedication of individuals with big hearts!

❒ I’m grateful that the clothes, kitchen appliances, wall hangings and housewares that have brought me happiness in my home can now be used to bring happiness to other women

❒ I’m grateful that I’m able to offer what I have to give to help make another woman’s journey a bit sweeter 🙂

          So you see, this practice of GRATITUDE opened my eyes today to not only appreciate what I have to give, but also to be GRATEFUL for everyone else that my gifts will touch and for the program that is allowing them the opportunity to do that.

What are you GRATEFUL for today?

Dr Carmen April Speaker          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Entrepreneurship and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.