Who's RAD? L. Diane Wolfe!

Warm welcome to Ms. L. Diane Wolfe, author of The Circle of Friends series, a set of books about love, friendship, and finding a way to succeed.

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Random Q&A:

If you won one million bucks, how would you spend it?
Taxes would take 40% immediately, but as for the rest- I would tithe 10%, take 10% or so to pay off house and cars, spend 5% on family & friends, and invest/save the rest.

What's one thing you don't like about yourself but can laugh about?
I’m only 5’3’ and rather petite, which makes clothes shopping difficult – it’s tough being so small! My husband and I joke that one day I’ll design a line of clothing and call it “Elfin.”

Describe yourself in 3 words.
Spunky, energetic redhead!

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the guest blog:

The Five Keys to Achieving Dreams!

Living life to the fullest requires determination. We must possess purpose and drive. We need to set goals and maintain a positive attitude. Fear must be conquered. Leadership traits and people skills are vital. To live a life filled with enrichment and satisfaction, we need some spunk!

I was aware of the elements of success but had no working formula. To break out of mediocrity, I devised the five keys of overcoming. These keys work in conjunction with one another to unlock the secrets of personal success. However, all five elements need to be mastered if the formula is to work properly. There is no one key to true success! We must become proficient in all areas if we hope to achieve our dreams.

Life is full of uncertainty. There are few things in life we can truly control. We can’t control our environment or the challenges we may face. We certainly can’t control other people and what they may say or do. However, there is one thing we can control- our attitude. This is the first key to success – developing a positive mental attitude. How we respond to situations and people is the only thing we can truly master. Almost every outcome and end result will be determined by our attitude. A negative attitude will only hold us hostage, but our chances for success and happiness increase with a positive attitude. For me, optimism made all the difference! To transform our world, we must adopt this outlook on life.

The most important trait we can develop is skill with people, which is the second key. The great Andrew Carnegie claimed he valued an employee who worked well with others over all else. If a billionaire believed people skills were that essential, then perhaps we should work on fine-tuning those skills! I was fortunate to receive training, but what we learn occurs mostly through trial and error. Many never even grasp the concept. If we want to succeed in life, though, we must be able to properly interact with other human beings. We need to understand basic human truths, develop conversational skills, and learn to truly appreciate others. If we close ourselves off to people, we lose access to so many great ideas and benefits.

A healthy self-image is the third key to success. I struggled with this for a long time. Our self-esteem is basically how we view ourselves. This inner opinion affects everything from our relationships to our accomplishments. It controls our confidence or lack thereof. We are either set free or held hostage by our self-image, and we can never grow beyond its level. A poor self-esteem is evident in our speech, mannerisms, and actions, and unfortunately, most people accept us at our own self-appraisal. We need to break this cycle of pessimistic defeat. If we are to achieve more and live life fully, we must raise this personal opinion of ourselves.

The greatest obstacle facing success is fear. No other single force prevents us from accomplishing our goals as effectively as this negative emotion. It controls and binds as if we were prisoners. Most fear stems from past experiences of failure, and I can testify this is true! To conquer this great demoralizer, we must recognize and understand all facets of fear and eventually gain the strength to overcome. Overcoming our fear is the fourth key to success. The only way to conquer fear is to take action. Pushing through our fears is ultimately less frightening than living with them, too. If we are to achieve our full potential, we must be willing to take risks despite our fears.

This leads us to the final key- setting goals. Goals are what give us purpose in life. Equipped with a target and a plan, our existence holds meaning. Without dreams and aspirations, we simply drift through this world like a leaf on a river. Many times our dreams become lost in the daily shuffle, and my author dream lay dormant for years. To reinvigorate our purpose, we must redefine our goals and keep them in front of us at all times. We need to create stepping-stones of success by setting short and long-range goals. This gives us the opportunity to build upon our accomplishments and make adjustments if necessary. Armed with a vision, we can accomplish anything in this world.

Success is not by chance- it is by choice. To realize our dreams, we must focus on these five keys- a positive attitude, people skills, raising self-esteem, overcoming fear, and setting goals. They will ignite our passion and prepare us for success. The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire and I am ready to burn!

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Wow, talk about an inspirational blog! It definitely gets me pumped up and excited for the future, whatever may lie there.

Visit L. Diane Wolfe online at her websites: http://www.spunkonastick.net/ and http://www.thecircleoffriends.net/