As some of you know, Doug and I started having children at the young age of 17 years old.

At such young age, we couldn’t say anything but apologize to our parents for our behavior.

After everyone in our families found out, we started getting scolded from both sides of the family by all “The grown ups”.

Our Elders thought they were doing something good by scolding us but never stopped to ask us how we were handling the whole situation.

I know we didn’t behave properly, but at that moment is when we needed someone to guide us and to help us spiritually and emotionally.

So I say to everyone, if you know someone who is a teenage parent or is going to be soon. Don’t scold them, don’t criticize them, don’t put them down nor scare them with things that might happen to them for being very young parents.

Specially DO NOT SAY they are throwing their lives away!

Instead, encourage them, build them up, help them achieve their goals in life so they won’t feel like they made a HUGE MISTAKE, because a child is never a mistake.

Do for them what your parents didn’t do for you.. and in love accept them for who they are and guide them spiritually and emotionally.

Love,

Carmen

this is a picture of my first born son, Guillermo.

There was a time in our life where we use to set goals, at least we thought we were doing it right, but never met our goals. We (Douglas and I) tried really hard to do things our way, thinking it was enough, but never thought of asking for help. Of course we kept on trying but we couldn’t really understand the point nor the process of setting a goal and actually achieving it. Every Monday was a new start, but on Wednesday we would forget.

Then one day, we heard about this awesome workshop where not only you learn how to set goals, but also how to step by step achieve them.

So of course Douglas and I decided to sign up and attended the workshop. To our surprise we were not the only ones trying to set up goals and trying to achieve them; I was so happy and didn’t feel like a failure.

Douglas and I are very thankful to Edward Paz and his vision for DYBYE to help everyone learn how to set Goals and have the BEST YEAR EVER!

If you want to know more about this non-profit and the next workshop, check out the website and sign up for the newsletter. http://designingyourbestyearever.com

Remember to Design Your Best NEW Year Ever!

Love,

Carmen

As Thanksgiving approaches, I hear a lot of people talking about what they are grateful for.

The sad thing about this is that I only hear it once a year.

Why have we become such robots? Why do we only celebrate it on a specific day?

Thanksgiving should be celebrated every day.

We should always count our blessings before start nagging about how bad we have it.

Giving thanks every day, helps you realize the opportunities that you have in front of you in order to do something great with your life.

Giving thanks every day, helps you love your spouse more each day no matter what.

Giving thanks every day, helps you start an awesome and productive day.

Giving thanks every day (no matter how bad things are going) gives hope to others around you.

Celebrate Thanksgiving every day; make it a habit and part of your life.
Be a positive energy to those around you, you never know who’s watching; you never know whose life you are going to touch.

Love,

Carmen

As I was cooking my favorite grain, Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah), it dawned on me how many people don’t know about this amazing food just like they don’t know about W. Clement Stone.

While preparing this awesome grain, I thought of other dishes I can make with Quinoa. I also started comparing how people don’t know about W. Clement Stone just like they don’t know about Quinoa and its health benefits.

Here are some comparisons that I thought of:

-Quinoa has been around for many years

-W. Clement Stone has also been around for many years

-Only if you are into healthy foods, you will know about Quinoa

-Only if you are into Personal Development you will know who W. Clement Stone is

-Quinoa’s health benefits: high in protein, calcium and iron, a good source of vitamin E, among other benefits.

-W. Clement Stone’s program benefits: Motivation, success, personal development, a positive mental attitude, among other benefits.

W. Clement Stone developed his lifelong philosophy of Positive Mental Attitude (PMA), which he viewed as the cornerstone of his success. He believed in the power of optimism and that even in adversity lay seeds of success.

W. Clement Stone shared his belief in the power of optimism in three books that continue to be read today: Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude (co-authored with Napoleon Hill), The Success System That Never Fails, and The Other Side of the Mind (co-authored with Norma Lee Browning).

Mr. Stone’s inspirational self-help books, which have reached a world-wide audience, reinforce the conviction that anyone can become successful “no matter how poor his start in life.”

Now you know why I titled this article “W. Clement Stone, the Quinoa of Personal Development”

Love,

Carmen

November is a special month in everyone’s home here in the United States of America. November is when we take one day out of 365 days to give thanks.

One day out of 365!

I just can’t believe how easily we forget the other days when we should be thankful EVERYDAY!!

After not giving it much thought I decided to compile a list of things we should be thankful for EVERY DAY.

Give thanks for the air you breathe everyday (even if it’s polluted) give thanks that you are able to breathe without the need of a machine. Breathe slowly, inhale and exhale, by doing this you’ll feel more energy and also will help clear your mind.

Give thanks for the ability to see with your eyes. You are given the ability to see the beautiful colors of this world. Be thankful for the opportunity to see the faces of your dearest family, especially when your children smile at you. You are given the opportunity to admire beautiful pieces of art, to see the wonderful colors of flowers, and the way your spouse face looks when you say “I love you”.

Give thanks for the ability to learn new things. Be thankful for the ability to read and write in one or more languages. Be thankful that you were able to get an education, and that your children are also able to get one too. Be thankful for your curious and outstanding IMAGINATION.

Give thanks for the ability to move and walk to and from places by yourself. Be thankful that you can run, climb, swim, drive, throw a ball, push your kids in the swing, wave hello/good bye, that you can type and surf the internet and comment on people’s walls on Facebook.

Give thanks when you hear birds chirping outside your window. Because if it wasn’t for your ability to hear you wouldn’t be able to enjoy music, the sound of the waves hitting the rocks, the wind in the trees, the song of a blue bird, classical music, opera, or hear the laughter of your loved ones.

We have to be thankful NOW and EVERY DAY, not just on Thanksgiving.

Love,

Carmen