Courage: Overcoming Fear and Igniting Self-Confidence (15 page)

Or pamper yourself in some other way that feels outlandish.

4.
Reflections of courage and confidence:
Let yourself see what your inner courageous warrior looks like. Create an image of her that you can easily see several times a day in order to affirm and draw forward this profound power within you. Connect with this image at least once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once at night.

5.
Turn up the music:
Create a soundtrack for this next extraordinary chapter in your life by making a playlist of songs. Choose songs that remind you of your strength, your power, your courage, and your confidence. Choose songs that turn on your self-love light! Visit debbieford.com/courage for suggestions.

6.
Your mantra of courage:
Allow yourself to discover your own unique power statement that you can use as a mantra to bask in the essence of the courageous warrior and stay connected to your warrior of love. Keep it to one short sentence, knowing that it will be a power source for you for years to come.

7.
Letting supreme beauty take you further than you ever imagined:
Take on the exciting challenge of being unrecognizable to yourself and those around you. Choose one area of your life to focus on, and then do something far outside your comfort zone related to that area, something you never believed you could or would do. Be bold.

Courage Activator

It’s time to be divinely hot! Buy sexy lingerie or some other accessory that makes you feel hot but that you would never wear because you think it’s too over-the-top sexy. Then wear it. (Unless, of course, you’re already a harlot. Then find something that you would never wear and go for it.)

Confidence Builder

Go out in public looking like a complete mess and pretend that you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. Allow your whole body to be radiantly alive and vibrating with divine confidence. Add in the challenge of imagining that you are naked when you go out. (Of course, you aren’t.) Studies show that you walk with more poise, have better posture, hold your stomach in, stand taller, and are overall more aware of your body when you imagine this. You’re going to have a fabulous time doing this, I promise! The next day, go full-out beauty!

Courage and Confidence Bonus

Interview five different people to find out what they love about you, and write down the qualities they see in you.

LOVE YOUR FEARS

It is time to love your fears more than anything you have ever loved before, knowing that these fears are where the door to enlightenment lives.

Thank your fears for always bringing you into the presence of the limited human mind.

Thank your fears for making you look at your life.

Thank your fears for reminding you that you have a small child inside that is in desperate need of your love and attention. Thank your soul for dispensing these fears to you to help you find your way back home to God—the energy of pure love, the energy that trumps fear.

Love your fears like you have loved no other part of you—bless them, honor them, and use them as the holy reminders that they are . . . reminding you always to come home to your whole self.

LOVE YOUR CONFIDENCE

It is time to see your confidence as the divine gift that will literally change your life forever.

Love your confidence for always showing you your true value, for owning up to your gifts, for speaking your truth even when you’re scared, for wanting you to be more.

Thank your confidence for seeing a version of yourself beyond your own imagination and for inviting you into a holy dance of full self-expression.

Love your confidence for being a constant companion that always wants to come out from behind the curtain, even in the face of life’s challenges.

Thank your confidence for rewarding you with the ability to reinterpret your life and to bring yourself powerful and empowering messages.

Love your confidence for allowing you to fake it until you make it.

LOVE YOUR COURAGE

It is time to love your courage like it is the most precious gold that you’ve ever been given.

Bless your courage. Thank it before you go to bed at night, when you wake up in the morning, and every time you take one courageous step that fills your body with hope and strength.

Thank your courage for always being there even when you ignored it for years or pretended that you didn’t have it.

Love your courage for holding the vision of you as a courageous warrior.

Thank your courage for allowing you to grow as big and strong as you’ve ever wanted to be and for giving you the strength to speak your truth and be your authentic self in ways you’ve never imagined.

Love your courage for always being there, whispering in your ear, “There is a higher choice to be made, and you have the strength to choose it.”

LOVE YOURSELF

At the end of our journey, we come back to love. Ultimately, when we love all parts of ourselves, when we bless all of ourselves, when we honor all of our history and all of our insecurities, doubts, worries, and fears, we become the women that we always wanted to be. The greatest act of courage is to bring love where there is none. And the greatest act of love is to bring courage where there has been none and to bring confidence where we feel insecure. That is the love that we’ve all been waiting for. And that is the love that is you.

Now is time for you to take the Vow of the Courageous Warrior. Sign your name below. (If you don’t want to write in your book, you can download the Vow at debbieford.com/courage.)

THE VOW OF THE COURAGEOUS WARRIOR

I,________________________________________, will
no longer
be bound by the slavery of my fear.

I will
never
again give my power away to my insecurities, my doubts, or my resentments.

I will
stop
allowing my past to define who I am, and I will
stand
for my highest integrity.

I will
stop
being a people pleaser and will honor my authentic truth.

I will
stop
listening to the voice of my critical, fearful, arrogant, know-it-all self, and I
will
listen to the voice of my most courageous and confident self.

I will
break free
from the strangulating grip of my self-defeating behaviors and will each moment
choose
powerfully to make choices that leave me feeling strong, powerful, and ready to take on the world and move from fear to faith.

I take this vow
now
as a positive stand for my soul’s highest expression and for every man, woman, and child on this planet today.

As I set myself free, I am freeing all those around me to be their courageous, confident, authentic selves.

And now, as I close my eyes, I ask all the powers that be to support me in living this vow each moment of each day.

So it is. And so it shall be.

________________________________________

(Your signature)

I’ve always been inspired by the people who have helped me become who I am today. I could write a whole book on all those who support me, but I want you to know whether you’re named or not, if you’re in my life or in my programs, you have helped me embrace my most courageous self.

I’d like to personally thank:

My sister, Arielle Ford, and my brother-in-law, Brian Hilliard, for being my agents and always supporting me in making the highest choice.

My relentless, genius editor, Gideon Weil, and the entire fabulous team at HarperOne for being the best publisher I could have ever asked for.

Julie Stroud, my manager and executive assistant, who worked next to me all year to make this book possible, for all her brilliance and dedication. You inspire me.

The remarkable executives of the Ford Institute—Jeff Malone, Kelley Kosow, and Pernille Melsted—who every day allow my body of work to touch and transform lives through the programs the Institute delivers and the coaches it trains.

My courage supporters for all the love and care they send my way—Suzanne Todd; Rob Lee; Sherry Davis; Joyce Ostin; my brother, Mike Ford; his wife, Anne; and their wonderful family, Ashley, Eve, Sarah, Tyler, and Logan; Rachel Levy; Dr. Marin Xavier; Dr. Daniel Vicario; Michael Gerrish; Greg Zelonka; Mary Herndon; Amy McGrath; and Daniel Bressler.

The Integrative Coaches I trained who participated in my weekly Courage group for sharing their experiences, breakthroughs, and strength so I could share their stories with the world: Alisha Schwartz, Manfred Laube, Frances Fusco, Rochelle Schwartz, Angela Lambert, Cate LaBarre, Elizabeth ter Poorten, Eve Blaustein, Kalyn Block, Patricia Menaul, Raye Marske, Debora Bradley, Heather Passant, Debbie Moran, Desy Campbell, Karen Lanser, Marisa Harris, Mary Cunningham, Pia Christensen, Julie Brady, Patrice McKinley, Bette Schubert, Dwight Brown, Anne Porter, Sue Goodwin, Jean Lin, Lorraine Brock, Bonnie Lundrigan, Martina Caviezel, Tessa Brock, Claire Rall, Danielle Eidson, Lulu Mahaini, Christy Lee, Gitte Andersen, Connie Viveros, Katie Carlone, and Stacie Schmidt.

My dear friends Cynthia Kersey of the Unstoppable Foundation and Marjorie Morrison, author of
The Inside Battle,
for their inspired visions.

Nancy Levin, the author of
Writing for My Life: Reclaiming the Lost Pieces of Me,
for her words and poetry that so inspire me.

The exceptional Wayne Dyer for his inspiration and support and for being an extraordinary example of courage to us all.

Reid Tracy, Margarete Nielsen, and the sensational team at Hay House for giving me an incredible platform from which to get my work out in the world.

Geeta Singh and Talent Exchange for courageously booking me to lead seminars and speak around the world.

Scott Blum, Madisyn Taylor, and the DailyOM for providing a great home for the Overcoming Fear online course.

Oprah Winfrey, Corny Koehl, Jill Barancik, Lisa Weiss, and the OWN staff for giving me the opportunity to take a courageous leap out of denial and into authentic and vulnerable freedom.

My good friend Cheryl Richardson for affirming me into the courageous woman I am today.

My incredible mother, Sheila Fuerst, whose courage has been an inspiration to me always.

My amazing son, Beau, whose courage always inspires me to take another risk.

Debbie Ford is a
New York Times
bestselling author of nine books and an internationally acclaimed teacher, speaker, transformational coach, filmmaker, and expert in the field of personal transformation. She has guided tens of thousands of extraordinary people to learn to love, trust, and embrace all of who they are. Debbie is a pioneering force in incorporating the study and integration of the human shadow into modern psychological and spiritual practices. She is the executive producer of
The Shadow Effect
movie, an emotionally gripping, visually compelling transformational documentary featuring Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, and other provocative thinkers and beloved teachers.

Debbie is the founder of the Ford Institute for Transformational Training, the renowned personal and professional training organization that offers emotional and spiritual education based on her body of work to individuals and organizations around the world. She is also the creator and leader of the Shadow Process Retreat.

Connect with Debbie on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DebbieFordFanPage, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Debbie_Ford, or on www.hayhouseradio.com.

If you want to continue to cultivate your courage and confidence, step out of your fear and into your greatness, and manifest greater love, abundance, health, and happiness, join Debbie, her staff, and her community of Integrative Coaches for life-changing workshops, online courses, trainings, and private coaching, or, as a first step, take the online course Overcoming Fear.

To learn more, visit

www.DebbieFord.com

www.TheFordInstitute.com

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www.AuthorTracker.com
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T
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IDE OF THE
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IVORCE

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ECRET OF THE
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Throughout this book, I have used stories and examples designed to help the reader better understand the process. The stories are composites and some names have been changed to protect identities and to ensure confidentiality.

COURAGE:
Overcoming Fear and Igniting Self-Confidence.
Copyright © 2012 by Debbie Ford. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ford, Debbie.

Courage : overcoming fear and igniting self-confidence / Debbie Ford. — First edition.

p. cm.

ISBN
978–0–06–206892–7

1. Self-confidence. 2. Self-esteem. 3. Fear. 4. Courage. I. Title.

BF575.S39F67 20102

179’.6—dc23   2012002088

EPub Edition © MARCH 2012 ISBN: 9780062068996