At 57 years old, I count
my blessings every day and feel really blessed on how my life has turned out -
so far. I have had a lot of successes in my life such as two daughters
graduating with Master's Degrees and are now business owners; I helped protect
black women international travelers from my co-workers when I became a federal whistleblower; I won my discrimination lawsuit
against my job and retired at the age of 48; I started my own empowerment and
publishing company in 2005 and now have 20 books released and offer some of the best
self-improvement seminars and workshops in the country; and now -- I spent one
year on the road traveling, building my company and living my dreams - just to name
a few. Can it really get better than this?
Change brings about
happiness in your life, but why are so many people afraid of change? Last
year in December 2012, I decided to purge my life of things which I realized
would allow me more energy to focus more on what really mattered in my
life.
I realized the reason I
had been so successful in my life, so far, was that I was never materialistic.
So purging my life of things was easy for me and it allowed me to move
even closer to my dreams.
Some people need things
to validate their lives (beautiful homes, beautiful cars, beautiful clothes,
etc.) and they rather spend valuable money to get these things while they
ignore the one and the most important thing in their lives - THEIR HEALTH.
Many people live their
lives eating bad foods -- feeling sick, sluggish and run-down. They are
surrounded with beautiful things that they can't really enjoy because they
ignore their health. Many are empty inside because they have nothing of
value to offer the world and I never wanted that to be my story.
After my daughter's car
was stolen from in front of my place when she visited me and after I
experienced two attempted car thiefs in my area, I realized my neighborhood
wasn't what it use to be and it was time for me to move on or out of that area.
When neighborhoods go bad, it's just time to move on. I had never
lived around crime and I was not about to start now - not during my golden
years!
Not only did I move out
of the area, I decided to move out of the city totally. What I was
preparing to do with my life was bigger than Atlanta and it needed to be shared
with the world. And because of this decision I was able to manifest more
joy and happiness into my life by moving even closer to my dreams.
Traveling has always
been a dream of mine. After all that's why I had joined the military
years ago. Because I was in my 50s, I realized I still had 40% of my
productive life left ahead of me so I realized it was time to take the steps
necessary to find even more happiness in my life.
Because of purging my
life of things and concentrating on what I really needed and wanted for my
life, I was able to make the following dreams come true:
- I was able to see the country by creating a
humanitarian tour "Cathy Harris Humanitarian Tour" and traveled
by car to 15 states.
- I was able to meet some of the people that I had been
networking with on the internet for 15 years.
- I was able to build my business, AngelsPress.com, by building my audience
with my empowerment lectures, seminars and workshops.
- I was able to release a line of empowerment non-fiction
easy-to-read e-books and paperback books for the entire family which can
be read by 12 year olds and above.
To purge my life and get
on the road -- it really wasn't that hard. To get on the road as a
Speaker and Author, you have to be healthy; eat healthy foods along the way;
get regular exercise along the way; have a good running car; have a GPS; figure
out where you will stay (family, friends, extended stay hotels, etc); and set
up events.
I had dreamed 5 years
earlier about getting on the road. I visualized it but there was a lot of
obstacles in my way. I had these terrific friends that I could not leave.
My mom was elderly and I knew if I left Georgia, I probably would not see her
again - plus I was also unhealthy.
After becoming
housebound and bedridden in 2007, and self-educating
myself on how the human body works, I became a Health and Wellness Expert and
launched the National Non-GMO Health Movement and wrote
books about my experience.
Once I got healthy and
after my friends and mom had passed on, it was just time for me to do what I
truly wanted to do with my life. However, had I gotten on the road 5
years earlier, I would not have had access to all the great information that my
company now offers especially the health seminars and the line of empowerment
products.
What was really one of
my determining factors that made me realize now was the time to make my
life-long dream come true of getting on the road was -- after reading the
book "Eat Right 4 Your Type."
Once I read the book and
implemented the changes and started eating foods for my blood type, within a
matter of days, I had a major surge of energy. Because I was eating good
food, not only did I get a surge in energy but my brain even worked better
which allowed me to come up with my own plan of action to make my dreams come
true.
Next I sat down and
compiled a list of every city that I wanted to visit and the
people that I had been networking with over the years on the internet that I
just had to meet.
I then looked at my
living arrangements and since I
had a relative in the Detroit area, I
decided to go there first because of all the cities in the U.S., the city of Detroit had major issues but I knew my
company could make a difference with our line of empowerment lectures, seminars
and workshops.
So on Jan. 2, 2013, I
sat out on my journey to make my life-long dreams come true of being a Speaker,
Author, and Trainer on the road and because of this -- I loved every minute of
it.
The scenery was
absolutely beautiful along the way especially from Youngstown, OH to New York.
The green trees looked like the trees in the movie "Gorillas in the
Mist." Sometimes the horizon
ahead was so blue it looked like you were driving into an ocean but it was just
the sky meeting the ground.
And what about the color
of the trees around Halloween and Thanksgiving - the bright red, orange and
yellow colors. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
All of it made me think of my home in Georgia and I thought about how
lucky I was to have spent the first 17 years of my life as a homesteader -
working the land.
Even though the city of
Detroit was extremely cold and it looked like a wasteland, in my neighborhood
outside of Detroit, the view of the snow looked like a beautiful postcard.
You just have to learn to see the beauty in everything.
I was raised in Georgia
in the south, 2 hours outside of Atlanta, and had never in my life lived in
snowy cold weather except when I was in Germany in the military in the 80s.
I had never driven a car in snow so I had prepared to stop at a hotel if
the weather got bad on my trip.
But all the way from
Atlanta to Detroit, it was easy sailing. Even though there was snow on
the sides of the roads, I had missed all the major snow storms. It was
like I was being guided by a force to live my dreams.
It was as if someone had
made everything easy for me because when you step out on your faith to change
your life and the people around you, everything will fall into place.
Everything was happening to me in divine order.
I could have exited any
of those exits in my one year travels on the road and set up my home. If
you have a car and money coming in, you can actually move anywhere. Some
people might not be able to get their lives together because they might be in
the wrong city. Your family is not just
your family. Your family could be the people you have met in your lives
that have touched your hearts.
I love meeting people
and don't know if I will ever get off the road. The biggest joy that I
have experienced along the way on this tour is during my seminars and
workshops, when I see the light go on in my audience eyes especially young
people when they realized they could indeed change their lives.
Now that I made my
life-long dream come true of being on the road in 2013 by launching "Cathy
Harris Humanitarian Tour," I can't wait to see what 2014 will
bring but I have a good idea because again, I have already visualized it "Cathy Harris Empowerment Tour."
What I am saying to all
of you is if you want your dreams to come true in 2014, keep walking in the
directions of your dreams everyday but come up with a plan of action to make
them come true -- but don't forget to put your health first. Embrace change
and in return -- it will embrace you with joy, peace and happiness...and I am
living proof of that...Good luck!
