Debbie Ford and I have something in common. We’re both cancer survivors and, for me, cancer has been a cleansing lesson in self-care and self-love. A few years ago, I read Ford’s book, The Right Questions: Ten Essential Questions To Guide You To An Extraordinary Life, and became a fan of her integrative and transformational work. I’ve referenced Ford’s work before and enthusiastically recommend her books. I felt honored when Harper One asked if I’d review her latest book Courage: Overcoming Fear and Igniting Self-Confidence.

As soon as I was asked to read and write the review, I knew it was going to be my next top pick for every stepmom I know and don’t know. I knew this before reading the book. What I didn’t know was how much Ford’s words would directly speak to me and in an area of my life where I continue to struggle almost on a daily basis: my career.

The Courageous Warrior

Who is this courageous warrior Ford speaks of? What does she look like? How does she think? How can we each become the courageous warrior we dream to be? What stops us from overcoming fear and igniting self-confidence?

There is no magic fairy dust that suddenly awakens us to life’s greatest epiphanies. How I wish it were that easy (and if it were, I’d sprinkle magic fairy dust on every stepmom I know and don’t know!) For those who are willing to lead with their heart instead of their head, transformation is the process of a daily commitment to consistent effort to face your fears, deal with them, make peace with them, and move forward with the glorious life your wish to live.

I’ve often written about negative self-talk and the lies we tell ourselves on a 24/7 basis. The voice inside your head is loud and obnoxious and all to often drowns out the wisdom and the truth of your heart. Transformation begins when you are willing to look beneath your thoughts and beliefs, “exposing the underbelly of your behavior.”

Regardless of where you are struggling – relationships, career, finances, family – are you ready to expose the underbelly of your behavior and shine the light into your deepest, darkest corners? Are you ready to take responsibility for your circumstances, your choices, and who are are at his very moment in time? Are you ready to shed your story and stop dragging your past around?

Ford shares her wisdom, personal transformational experience, and practical guidance on how each of us can reclaim our self-confident selves. Ford shows us a path that leads us from our shadow selves into our magnificent authentic selves.

Are you ready to release your self-imposed limitations, which are created in the “spook house of your unresolved past?” If you are, Ford’s book is for you. As far as I’m concerned, Courage: Overcoming Fear and Igniting Self-Confidence is a book every stepmom, every woman, needs at her fingertips because I believe we should no longer sit on the sidelines of life, allowing the thoughts and expectations of others to reign supreme.

You’ll be reading more in the coming weeks how Ford’s path to reclaiming self-confidence is helping yours truly. I hope you will pick up your own copy and begin your own transformation.

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