Take Your Life from Now to WOW

“If I would just get out of my own way, there is something so much greater out there for me.” Peter J. Gomes, renowned theologian, paused in mid sermon with his deep baritone voice trembling to confess that “I am tired of my own excuses and of my own small mindedness. I know there is something so much greater for me if I would just get out of my own way.”

Where are you in your life right now? Are you living up to your potential or settling for what is currently at hand? Why settle?

Individuals come to my workshops or speeches every week lamenting the woeful state of their life. When asked “What are you passionate about doing? What is really important to you?” All too frequently, the answer is either “I don’t know” or on the rare occasion that they do know, they are not doing anything even close to their passion. A litany of excuses pours forth about why they can not or are not even toe testing their passion. (Toe testing is when you go to the beach or swimming pool and gently touch your toe to the water to test the temperature.) They do not have a success plan or even know how to create one. Let’s face it; there is virtually zero risk in toe testing. Find your passion, form a success plan and at least start toe testing it.

Have you heard the expression that time is money? Well it isn’t. Time is time and money is money. Have you ever made a mistake and lost some money? Certainly, everyone has lost money on a purchase at one time in life. Was it fatal? No, probably not. If it was a small amount, you worked a few extra hours and made the money back. When money is lost, it can be regained. Yes, even in this economy. You will always be your most productive, most profitable and most emotionally peaceful when you are doing something you love.

Time is another issue. When time is gone, it is gone. Time can not be recovered. How many people do you think have reached the end of their life and said “I wish I had spent more time at the office and away from my family?” Few if any. How many people look back on their life and regret not spending more time at their kids’ school activities or just spending time with their family? That number is undoubtedly much higher. Time is not equal to money. Time, because it is unrecoverable, becomes far more precious.  

How long do you choose to wait to finally begin at least toe testing your passion? Time is slipping away; in some cases, time is rushing away at the speed of light.

Steve Jobs, noted icon of Apple Computers, said it best. “You will spend a great deal of your life at work. The only way to be totally fulfilled is to do really great work. The only way you will do really great work is to do something you love. If you don’t love it, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

I have had more than one very successful career: teaching, Candy Mountain Culinary Creations, Mountain Castles Property Management and financial education. Even though I enjoyed each one and was very successful, it was not until the world of public speaking and coaching burst into my life that I discovered my true passion and purpose in life. Once the realization enveloped me, I immediately formed a success plan and started implementing the plan.

You will know when you fall in to your stride. Suddenly what you are doing comes easily to you and you know you are doing what you are destined to do.

Last Wednesday evening after speaking to a delightful audience, a wave of satisfaction enveloped me. There was such a beautiful feeling of gratitude and accomplishment because the ladies told me I had inspired and empowered them. When the feeling totally settles into your soul and you know you would do that again even if you were not paid, then you know you are in your element.

Reach for your dream, your passion, and your unique niche in life. Time ticks away every day. At the very least, toe test your dream. Everyone has a special talent or niche in life, find yours. Stuff the excuses in a closet. Dust off your dreams and bring them out of the closet. It is all about what you feel and do. If you don’t love what you are doing now, keep looking. Don’t settle. It is your life. Reach for what totally fulfills your soul.

Having questions finding your true passion and niche in life? Let me help. Join me at www.Elaine4Success.com or www.ElaineSpeaks.net. Hire Elaine Love as your coach and as the keynote speaker or workshop leader for your next event. Whether you are seeking to improve your career situation, gain more expertise as a public speaker or be more effective persuading your kids, hiring a coach will assist you. Time is slipping away, find your niche and life the life you are destined to live.

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Today I am speaking on a topic near and dear to my heart, and I hope to your heart as well. “Possibilities” otherwise known as opportunities exist for all of us. Mel Robbins, author, syndicated radio host, and executive producer reminded us in her Success magazine cd interview for September 2011 that over one third of the people in America are dissatisfied with their lives.

Jim Collins echoed this theme in his book, “Good is the Enemy of Great.” It is easier in the short term to make excuses and settle for “what is” at the present time rather than reach for “what can be” in the future.

What gives me the right to encourage you to reach for your dreams?

I’ve experienced enough Emotional Ice Water to cause the second world-wide flood. At age3, my father told me “Neither your mother or I wanted you. We wanted a boy who would be worth something. You’re nothing but a ____ girl.”

He refused to sign my college scholarship for the same reason; “You’re nothing but a ____ girl. You don’t deserve an education.”

The easy path would have been to say, “That is the end of all opportunity for me. Nothing is possible for me in this situation. I just have to accept it.” On the contrary, those incidents were just the start. Have you heard the old expression, ”If it is to be, it is up to me.”

Create your own success plan and work it. Listen for the opportunities. Expect possibilities and then find a way to create positive results. Possibilities exist for everyone. It is a matter of listening for them, sorting out the best and taking action on those opportunities.

It was decision time. Stay in that toxic atmosphere and give up on life or find a rope to climb out. My coach and mentor told me “Get to climbin’ baby.” The next few decades are history and testimony to climbing up to self respect and achievement.

My success plan included a college degree: mission accomplished at age 21 (It costs the same amount for a dorm room with an enrollment of 10 credit hours as it does with an enrollment of 18 credit hours. Food costs about the same per day regardless of enrollment. Studying for 18 credit hours certainly keeps the mind on books rather than booze; not enough time to waste any of it.)

Part two of the success plan was acquiring an excellent job. Graduating earlier meant earning a full time income sooner.

Possibilities exist for the under achiever and the over achiever. The ambitious person earns more rewards and earns them sooner; ambitious people have a success plan. You do not have to be the smartest, the fastest or even the most attractive person. Unless you inherit money or have it given to you in the lottery (or other such non-earned manner), plan on working for your income. FAME AND FORTUNE DO NOT GO TO THE LAZY.

The under achiever may get and perhaps hold a low paying job and squeak by an existence. Is that what you truly want? I don’t think so or you would not be reading this right now.

Look seriously at your life and determine if you are an under achiever or an average person who is getting by but not doing great. Opportunities exist for all of us The ambitious recognize the opportunity and take action. The average person analyzes and thinks about it and does nothing. The under achiever may not even bother to think about the opportunity.

Leadership speaking opportunities flash through our lives frequently. Are your ears tuned to hear, recognize and take action? Have you turned a deaf ear to the voice of opportunity because it is just too much trouble to take action? Do you have a success plan? Are you on track or is the plan in a closet gathering dust?

Possibilities exist for all of us. The difference between the successful and the “just getting by” individuals is who is listening and taking action. Unless you are on target and moving forward, you may not be living the life you are destined to live.

Join me at www.Elaine4Success.com or www.ElaineSpeaks.net. Hire Elaine Love as your coach and as the keynote or workshop speaker for your next event. Whether you are seeking to grow as a speaker to improve your employment situation, gain more expertise as a public speaker or be more effective persuading your kids, hiring a coach will assist you. Take control of your possibilities.

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When your Message is Concise and Convincing,
You Attract Your Ideal Customer to You

Design – Structure, focus, key points
Your - Unique, original, passion for your subject
Message – Benefit to the audience
Concise – Specific with clear examples
Convincing – Audience: Do, think, feel

How?

Coaching – One to one – Assisting you in discovering your
passion, expertise and most effective delivery

Workshops – Group – Specific interactive topics:
30 second intro, follow up, structure, content,
Delivery, keys to enhance your attraction to
Your ideal market

Keynotes – Customized presentations for each individual
audience, within my niche subject expertise, to provide
maximum value to your audience

Who?

Professional speakers (or those desiring to be professional speakers), management, sales. Trainers, and new speakers. Enhance your presentation skills and you will increase your value and thus your income.

You are either attracting others to you or chasing them away with your presentation skills.

Discover the keys to connecting not just communicating.

Are you ready to develop the keys to success?

Enter your information for the free self-assessment quiz on your presentation skills.

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Just as Ed Tate, 2000 World Champion, reminded us that speaking requires a “debrief.” Toastmasters contests require a “debrief” as well.

What if:
1. Your chief judge does not arrive. No notice, no excuse, just no show.
2. Your Sergeant of Arms and 3 judges arrive 15 minutes or more late.
3. You have a combined area contest and you have zero paperwork from the contestants in one area.
4. The stand in for one area governor does not arrive until 20 minutes late and does not bring any of the forms with him.
5. There is a protest against one of the speakers and against one of the judges.
6. A car dealership meeting room was selected for the contest. The public address announcements are quite annoying and distracting. Even though the dealership did their best to turn the sound off in the meeting room, it was still quite obvious.

Oh NO. What if all of these things happen in one evening?

Background of preparations before the contest.
1. Toastmaster, table topics, food, timer, vote counters, judges, contest chairs all received multiple emails throughout the weeks preceding the contest with detailed instructions including the contest location and time to arrive.
2. Contestant names were all verified and listed in the program accurately.
3. Certificates of participation were beautifully printed and ready in advance.

Contest day – what went right. . .
1. All contestant paperwork was completed prior to the contest and neatly arranged by area and category.
2. Trophies as well as second and third place certificates were completed and ready for the winners names.
3. The contest room was prepared and arranged in advance in an appropriate manner.
4. Dignitaries were properly acknowledged.
5. The contest team was absolutely amazing about picking up pieces and banding together to assist in making it as smooth and “stress free” as possible for the contestants.
6. Judges, contestants and supporting team roles were all briefed on their duties.
7. Food and beverages all arrived on time and in sufficient quantity.
8. Last second adjustments were made and all roles were filled with qualified personnel.
9. Timing lights and back up cards arrived and were operating.
10. Proper paperwork for judges, counters and timers was available and distributed in advance. Judges certification was verified and documented.
11. Room was filled to capacity and sufficient programs were available.
12. Contestants were not seated by judges and everyone was able to see and hear.

By all logical standards, every possible preparation was completed in advance. So what went wrong? How could the chaos have been prevented?

Instead of emailing the key volunteers, phone calls could have been made until the volunteer was actually spoken to directly a week in advance of the contest. Apparently some people do not open their emails or if they do, they do not read them. Go over the location, arrival time and importance of arriving on time; receive a verbal commitment that the volunteer will in fact arrive on time.

Read the entire rulebook word for word and ask a top district officer if there were any possible questions. Perhaps even hold a face to face meeting with each key volunteer a week prior to the contest. Does this seem like overkill and treating mature adults as children? Perhaps. Who knows where the fine line is drawn on delegation of responsibility. My error was expecting volunteers and contestants to open and read emails and not giving sufficient follow up for confirmation.

All paperwork for the other area could have been requested more insistently in advance and personally physically obtained in advance if necessary.

Extra judges could have been recruited and available on a “just in case” basis. The judge disqualification was handled smoothly prior to the contest without any mention of names or personalities. The contestant disqualification followed the Toastmasters rule book to the letter, thanks to a detailed last minute chief judge.

An additional tip which was received the night of the contest was to prepare clear plastic strips with the names of all contestants pre-printed. The appropriate labels could then be affixed to the certificates for the second and third place winners and affixed to the bottom of the trophies for the winners. Regardless of how attractive the handwriting of the contest chair, area governor or division governor, this would give an attractive professional representation of the winner’s names. The suitability of this suggestion depends on the quality of the pre-printed label.

Good news. The contest appeared much smoother to the audience than it did to the area governor in charge. The contest was completed in its entirety with an equal playing field for the presentations.

Oh yes, it was a learning experience for myself as the presiding area governor. What to do, what not to do and what could have been done differently or better has been duly noted and internalized Learn, grow and do better next time.

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Life is an attitude. Choose to have a good one. Attitude is always important but even more so right now. When the economy is going south, sometimes a positive mental attitude is one more challenge. Establishing and maintaining a positive mindset may not feel easy when the word on the street feels like Chicken Little “The sky is falling.”

Despite all of the media doom and glom and the talking heads predicting economic calamity, the one thing you can absolutely control is your positive mental attitude. Others can expound upon their opinions but they can not force you to think and feel negative vibrations. You are in total control of your thoughts and feelings.

How do you have a positive attitude when you feel like your life is crumbling all around you? A positive mental attitude is your only choice if you plan on having your life improve. You will always receive more of whatever you give your time, energy and focus. If you desire a better life, focus on things you really choose to create.

We all face difficult situations in our life. It’s not what happens to us but how we decide to deal with a situation which counts. In As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, he states “Circumstances do not define a man, they reveal him.” What are your circumstances revealing in your life?

Life has dealt me some extremely challenging situations. The way I not only survived but thrived, was by not giving life any choice except a positive outcome.

Put a smile on your face and a glow in your spirit. Your thoughts become your words – your words become your actions. Actions determine your results. Maintaining a positive mental attitude comes from the inside out. It all starts with a decision. Make a decision to focus on positive thoughts, words and actions. Follow through with conscious action all day every day.

As you examine the tools in your mental toolbox, you attitude is totally within your control. Emotional ice water will flow into your life. Whether the negativity flows from friends, co-workers or relatives (sometimes the worst emotional ice water comes from our relatives) or even worse, from ourselves, it will occur. Guaranteed! Someone or something will happen to throw a bucket of emotional ice water on your life. You can control a degree of that by limiting the time you spend with the negative people in your life.

You have 100% control of how you choose to react to the icy blasts. No, I did not say it was easy but your mental and emotional health requires you to take control of your thoughts, feelings and positive mental attitude.

Hire Elaine Love to speak at you next conference. Hire Elaine Love as your personal coach and mentor. Join me at www.ElaineSpeaks.net or www.Elaine4Success.com.

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You have less than 90 seconds to capture the attention of a reader to your web page. No, I’m not advocating flashing text, wild colors and provocative pictures. The mere thought of those will cause me to race to the back button. I would never even open the page. No need for the delete button; I would not even consider opening the site.

What would inspire you to click on the site? Yes, an ad which appeals to your interests would be one factor. If you are searching for a great home based business, you would type words into the search bar which indicated the type of business which matched your interests and talents. If you were interested in health, you might type the word “nutrition” or “eating healthy foods.” If you were seeking the perfect home based business, you might type “making money working from home” or “work from home business ideas.” If you were seeking financial freedom, you might type in the words “wealth accelerator” or “vertical research advisory” or even ”self made millionaire.”

When the ads appeared on your screen, you would see the top 10 choices matching those keywords on page one. You would pick an ad whose words resonated with you and click on that link. When the image on your screen shifted to the page in questions, you expect the message on the page to match the words in the ad. In the early days of the internet, that was not always the case. Thanks to the strict guidelines of Google, the ad message is much more likely to match the web page message now than it did five or six years ago.

Your colors, banner headline and opening sentences must be appealing and consistent with the ad or your viewer will be gone faster than you can say “internet scam.” Today’s internet surfers are very savvy. Since there is a plethora of information and sites available, they will not hesitate more than a millisecond at a bad site.

What makes a good site besides the page message matching the ad message? Learn which colors match your product and personality. Refer to the article “Psychology of Colors” for more in-depth color analysis. Your banner headline should be captivating but not so large as to take up too much space. The most valuable internet real estate is what appears on the screen when the page first opens. That area is termed “above the fold.” It is the information shown without requiring the viewer to scroll down on the page. Be certain it is appealing enough that the viewer desires to remain on the page. Adding a short video helps.

Darren LaCroix, 2001 Toastmasters World Champion Speaker, recommends less than 90 second videos. Most videos, including mine before I read this information, were closer to 4 minutes. Now I have work to do to re-record all of my web page videos.

Content is king; however, presentation is queen. Ask any man and you will probably hear, “If mama isn’t happy, no one is happy.” Make the presentation at least as important as the content. If the presentation is not attractive, they will never stay to read the content.

Hire Elaine Love to speak at you next conference. Hire Elaine Love as your personal coach and mentor. Join me at www.ElaineSpeaks.net or www.Elaine4Success.com.

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That magic six inches is your mindset. Yes, I am speaking about the diameter of your head. Your thoughts control your feelings. Your feelings control your words and your words control your actions. Could it really be that simple? Yes. Change your mindset and you change your results. Adopt a millionaire mindset and maintain that mindset; I guarantee you will continue to get closer and closer to your goal.

You ever think some people are just lucky? All the good things just seem to gravitate to them. Did it ever occur to you that they expect good things to happen and therefore good things do happen to them? Have you ever noticed that once the good events start flowing into someone’s life that more and more good events follow closely behind? It is really quite simple.

Look at your own life, when something good happens to you, how do you react? If you are like most people, you smile, feel happier and are more optimistic. The more you project a happy attitude, the more people are attracted to you. The more good happy people who are attracted to you, the more good events flow into your life extending and enhancing that positive attitude. A millionaire mindset means you expect good things in your life. The only difference between Donald Trump and the homeless person on the street are a couple of skills and a couple of good decisions. Start with the first decision of choosing a positive mindset.

It is like a Colorado snowball; I’m a Colorado lady so I am quite familiar with Colorado snow, the more you pack the snow on the ball and keep rolling, the bigger the snowball. Anyone who has ever made a snowman as a child knows the snowball principle. Your emotions work on the same principle. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right.” When you feel good you are more likely to think you can and thus you actually can do more.

If you adopt the Debbie or David Downer attitude and choose to be a grump expecting misfortune at every turn, that is exactly what you are likely to find. What is the magic difference? Your attitude. Your mindset is the only difference. Who controls your mind? You do.

Back to that magic six inches. Your mind is totally in your control. You have the freedom to choose a millionaire mindset and continually get closer to your goal or a defeated attitude and continue to go farther from your goal.

What do you have to lose by making a simple decision to expect good events to flow into your life? You choose a happy positive outlook or a grumpy defeated attitude. You control the majority of your future through your attitude.

I remember someone asking me once if I was wealthy. At that moment in my life I probably did not have $100 to my name. I answered “yes, I am wealthy in the love of my sons, my friends and my health. I adopted a mental millionaire mindset even though the bank account did not reflect 7 digits at that time. I speak from experience. That positive attitude gradually brought me closer and closer to my goal.

You control the magic six inches. Those six inches determine your future.

Hire Elaine Love as the speaker for your next event. Hire Elaine Love as your personal coach and mentor. Success can be yours in any economy. Let me prove it to you. Go to www.Elaine4Success.com, www.ElaineSpeaks.com or www.ElaineSpeaks.net.

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What kind of legacy will you leave to the world?

In a speech several months ago, Dave Garrison held up a card “Believe the Best” or “Assume the Worst.” This card sat on top of my roll top desk for months now.

The sayings have had an impact on many decisions in my daily life. The most poignant example relates to a frail petite red headed girl named Kim Brazelton. Kim was the single mother of an 11 year old daughter. Kim and her sister applied for housekeeping positions with Mt. Castles Property Management. They quickly established a reputation for excellent cleaning abilities and attention to detail. Even though these were probably the finest homes they had ever entered in their lives, they learned quickly how to care for the homes and please the owners, renters and the head housekeeper. Kim had an especially positive mental attitude. She was a very reliable lady.

Kim worked for me for several years and eventually rose to the status of head housekeeper. Her positive mental attitude at work shifted to a bit of a positive play attitude on her own time. Kim was a bit of a wild one during her “off duty” hours. She or her sister frequently entertained the staff with tales of risqué parties and wild four wheeling rides through the woods. It did not come as a surprise to any of us that Kim lived a bit over the edge of pay check to pay check. It seemed as if she either asked me for an advance on her pay check or was borrowing gas money or lunch from someone on the staff on a very regular basis

She called in one morning relating a tale of woe about her car not starting. Without a car, she could not drive the 40 miles from Craig, CO to Steamboat, CO. Her sister did not have a car because her husband drove their car to his work.

Purchasing another car was totally out of the question. Actually, paying to repair her current car would cost almost as much as purchasing another equal value clunker. At that point, 1993, we did not have President Obama’s “cash for clunkers” program.

Walking 40 miles each way was absolutely out of the question; however, Steamboat Ski Resort did furnish a bus to travel from Craig to Steamboat twice a day. The times were not ideal and the pick up and drop off location was over a mile from Kim’s house. Kim needed the job and the income, so she made the effort to adjust to the bus schedule.

One winter day she asked if there was anything I could do to help her. I don’t know the number for Kim’s credit rating but suffice it to say that she probably did not qualify to purchase the down payment on a free lunch. Knowing she did not have any assets other than a few cleaning supplies, a few personal items and maybe a few household items, collateral was not a possibility. No credit rating and no collateral meant she more than qualified for the term “high risk.”

When the chips are down and the odds are against you, do you reach out to believe the best about someone or assume the worst? What is more important, protecting yourself or giving someone else a fresh start?

Against the advice of everyone around me, I went to the bank with Kim. I sold her my housekeeping S-10 pickup with camper shell. It was well maintained and not a gas guzzler. We agreed on a price of $1,500. I purchased a certificate of deposit for $1500 and placed it on deposit with the bank as well as leaving the title to the truck in my name and leaving it on deposit with the bank.

Kim agreed to make regular monthly payments to the bank. This would establish at least one credible payment record to begin the process of re-establishing her credit rating.

The bank promised to call me if a payment was late. Yes, there were numerous times when Kim’s payment was late. Throughout her struggle to complete the payments, I assured her that I believed in her. She maintained her positive attitude and her promise to complete the agreement. To her credit, she eventually made all of the payments. The title to the truck was transferred to her name.

Believe the best in someone and act as if they deserve a second chance and the odd greatly increase that they will delight both you and themselves with the result.

Kim came back to me years after I sold Mt. Castles and asked for another loan. Once again I helped her. She said she would pay it back in 3 months. She didn’t quite make the 3 month deadline, but she did repay the loan in full.

The tears in her eyes as she thanked me for believing in her when no one else did. . . . As the master change commercial says, “Priceless.”

Hire Elaine Love for inspiration and positive mental attitude boosts for your group. Hire Elaine Love as your personal coach and mentor. Contact Elaine Love at www.ElaineSpeaks.net or www.Elaine4Success.com.

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Take heart. Unlike the talking heads who are spouting verbal “doom and gloom,” there is good news. No you can not go into retrograde and put the money back in your house, if you used your house as an ATM. You probably already spent that money. Nor can you go back and reverse the maxed out credit cards. You can start making wise decisions going forward.

There is a marvelous piece of software called the “Wealth Accelerator” which allows you to get a grip on your finances. Even if your financial foundation is built on shifting sand, it can start taking a firmer hold.

Start by taking an honest look at all of your income, expenses and Oh no, credit card accounts. Now before you go into a deep depression and start fearing financial doom and gloom, create a success plan. Create a success plan you will actually follow through to the goal of being debt free.

If you are an instant gratification person, as many of us are, you will probably want to start with a small bill. For example we will choose a credit card where you only owe $100. It may not be the highest interest credit card, but it is the smallest balance. Paying off that card allows you to check one off the list. It is like losing weight, seeing progress encourages you to keep going with the success plan.

Another school of thought is to start paying down the credit card with the highest interest rate. Paying off the card with the highest rate sounds like an excellent idea; however, if it is a large balance it may take months to accomplish the goal. Far too many become discouraged and quit when the process drags on and on.

Take the example of weight again. If you look at the scales and say you need to lose 100 pounds, the number seems overwhelming and you give up before you start. If you set a goal of losing 10 pounds in 30 days or a pound every 3 days, the number seems manageable. When you lose the pound in 2 days, you are elated at being ahead of schedule and even more pumped to continue on your success plan.

Another technique which helps is to carry a small notebook and write down absolutely every penny you spend. You will probably find yourself passing on some expenditures just to avoid having to take out that notebook and write it down.

A third technique is to ask yourself every time you are ready to spend “do I really NEED this or do I just WANT it.” (Actually that works as well for food intake as it does for spending money.) This technique exposes habits of spending which could possibly be eliminated. Caution: this is not intended to drive you into an “I can’t afford that expense” mode as much as “Do I really need to make that purchase” mode. A feeling of lack creates more lack where a feeling of choice creates more positives choices.

In tough economic times such as these for the nation, the state or our individual change purse, taking a fresh look at habits and purchases can prove beneficial.

Hire Elaine Love as the speaker for your group and as your personal business coach. Ask about the Wealth Accelerator as a financial management tool. Let Elaine help you put yourself back on a firm financial foundation. Go to www.Elaine4Success.com or www.ElaineSpeaks.net to receive more information or to book Elaine Love.

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