The Fearless Factor by Jacqueline Wales

We’ve all heard the saying that life is a jungle and that idea is a big part of The Fearless Factor by Jacqueline Wales.  She shares her story of what happened in her life, the trials and addictions that she went through and how she ultimately faced her fears and created the life that she wanted. This information is good for anyone facing  fears, but for women or men who want to own their own business – the content of this book can be invaluable in their journey to success personally and in business.

The Fear less Factor: Overcome the Fears, Doubts and Anxiety That Stop You From Being Your Best Self Now by Jacqueline Wales is for anyone who is facing any fear and obstacles in their life. Do you know anyone who needs to deal with fear or obstacles in their life? Maybe you need to deal with some fears. There are so many things that people need to handle in their lives and those are the people who need to read The Fearless Factor.

The Section Headers in the Fearless Factor set the stage for the content –

Part 1 – Enter the Jungle

Part 2 – Choose the Right Path

Part 3 – Arrive at the Clearing

Part 4 – Master the Jungle

In Part 1, Jacqueline Wales discussed identifying what fear is, why do we ignore fear, how much pain are you in, what are you willing to give up, what is your commitment to change, where do you want to go, what do you want to achieve, do you think change is easy, determine what you are grateful for, keep smiling, age and attitude and much more.  Part 1 sets the stage and lets you evaluate what you need to deal with and to begin evaluating yourself. Another element is – are you ready to make a change? That may sound funny, but not everyone is ready to make the commitment to make a real change.

When you’re ready to move to Part 2, you need to learn how to choose the right path. Jacqueline Wales hits on many points that are important and that will likely be hard to face. But, to move forward through the jungle of life – you must face these concerns and be honest with yourself. She starts by asking what stories you tell yourself. Then you evaluate when opinions and expectations influence your life. Are you avoiding issues? She tells you to stop second guessing yourself and to be honest about whether you are all right. Chapter 8 starts by asking are you ready to change your life. You must develop compassion and forgive yourself. She wants you to answer the lies you tell yourself and what motives you to do this. Part 2 is not light reading, but a very integral part of your journey.

Appropriately Part 3 is titles Arrive at the Clearing. After considering the elements of Part 2 – you will indeed reach a clearing mentally and emotionally. This is the time to start identifying your values, skills and experience. These will help you define who you are. Mistakes and failure are the next topics – and she wants you to understand the positive elements of “failure”. Its time to get rid of the negativity and to learn to love yourself. An entire chapter is dedicated to risks – where to take risks and where to avoid risks.

This has been a powerful journey and Jacqueline Wales says it is time to move onto a bigger game – so you need to understand what is holding you back. Evaluate where you give up the control in your life and get rid of the distractions. Chapter 18 helps you to define, refine and accept your dreams. Isn’t it amazing how a person can go from not understanding fear and then being able to realize their dreams? This is a huge step for many people and the trek that Jacqueline Wales lays out  in her book will enable you or someone you love to make this sort of change in your life.

I can tell you from personal experience that facing you r fears, learning to love yourself, understand your skills and values, understand its all right to fail sometimes and many of the other things that Wales talks about in The Fearless Factor – are wonderful steps to making great changes in your life. These are some of the things I did several years ago that helped me to lead a much happier, more fulfilling and successful life. I didn’t say it is easy, but I wish I’d had this guide to help me through my personal struggles. It is available for you – and the principles in this book can make a major difference in your life – to make it better.

For More Information –

Jacqueline Wales is known the world over as The Black Belt Millionaire. Her unique programs have helped women around the globe develop strong personal success, confident communication and clear visions of their goals. She is the author of five books including The Fearless Factor. The Fearless Factor. For information on how to get YOUR copy of The Fearless Factor visit http://www.thefearlessfactorbook.com/

Time Management in an Instant by Karen Leland and Keith Bailey

Time is a rare commodity for most business people, entrepreneurs, working moms, authors and many others. So, learning to manage time better is something that most people need to do. This book is a quick read (which will save you time) and is packed with 60 time management techniques. Which tips will be right for you? If you are a business owner – how much could you save in payroll costs if your employees learned to manage their time better?

We all know there are only 60 minutes in every hour and 24 hours in a day – so why do some people accomplish so much more with their 24 hours? That’s because they have learned to manage their time better. That’s why I’m sharing my review for Time Management in an Instant by Karen Leland and Keith Bailey. Look ago I learned that my jobs keep me very busy, so learning to manage my time was a necessity. I could get half my work done, or I could learn to get organized and get all the work done.

This book shares 60 Ways to Make the Most of Your Day – below are some of the topics.

• Assess Your Time Management Skills.
• Get Out of Time Denial.
• Achieve Your Goals Every Day.
• Beware the Stop-Goal.
• Set Solid and Stretch Goals.
• Plan Your Daily To-Do’s.
• Cultivate Time-Efficient Conversations.
• Break the Rules That Hold You Back.
• Determine What to Delegate.
• Give Yourself A Procrastination Inoculation.
• Take a Real Vacation.
• Clean Out Your File Drawer.
• Reorganize Your Filing System.
• Manage Incoming Calls.
• Streamline Your Email.
• Save Time For Your Personal Life.

These are just a sample of the tips in this book. Did you notice how many of these things require time? Some people may feel that using tips that take time would be wasting time. But, to manage your time, you need to change the way you work, how you file, how you manage your email and phone calls and much more. These tips will let you get organized and that helps you work smarter – not harder.

For example, if you don’t use an organized filing system, how long does it take you to find a specific memo for Mr Jones? Once you organize your file cabinet and put all correspondence for Mr Jones in one folder – you will be able to find that memo much faster. Filing doesn’t take much time and it allows you to find items much quicker. This is just one simple example of how organize is part of managing your time.

You will find a wide variety of tips, suggestions, questionnaires, and much more in this time management book. I highly recommend this for any busy person that needs to organize their personal and business life in order to manage their time and their life.

Baby Be Mine by Diane Fanning

I’ve been a fan of true crime books for many years and have several favorites that I read. However, in March of 2006, I met Diane Fanning when I moderated a panel she was on at the Festival of the Book. To prepare for our panel discussion, I read two of her books and I was hooked. She takes the true crime book to a new level that I appreciate.

She doesn’t just give the well publicized facts of the case, but she digs deeper. In Baby Be Mine, she gave a lot of information which some may consider to be unnecessary and I was a little confused at first. However, as I continued to read, I realized she was giving us information about the collateral damage that was caused by this act of violence. The repercussions were felt by many people in many areas and not just the immediate family of the victim.

I found the information she wove into the book about similar crimes to be very enlightening and it gave more depth to the Bobbie Jo Stinnett murder. For this case, murder does not seem like a sufficient description of the crime perpetrated on her. I appreciated the additional information that was included in the book and feel it made the content even more compelling. I have two other books of Diane’s in my to be read pile and hope to read them soon.

Review By Nikki Leigh – www.nikkileigh.com

Cape Cod by William Martin

This is a wonderful version of the settling of Cape Cod. The story begins before the boats arrive in the New World and follows a family’s struggle through the present time. The history is interwoven with his fictional town. I read this after I visited Cape Cod for the first time and loaned my copy to a friend from the area. It didn’t find its way home and I bought another copy. Highly recommended. The flashback chapters which are worked into the story and the present day chapters may be confusing, but stick with it, this is a great book. My novels are set just north of Cape Cod on the Cape Ann coast and I’d love to read his take on Cape Ann.

review by Nikki Leigh – www.nikkileigh.com

Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass

I read this book because I will moderate a panel discussion with Dr Bass and Mr. Jefferson at the Virginia Festival of the Book in March 2006. I real a lot of true crime, thrillers and mysteries and thoroughly enjoyed this book. The details are incredible and the descriptions make you feel like you are bumping along the road with the doc. I’m glad to say that I didn’t know “who did it” before the end. The characters are vivid and blend well with the setting for the story. The personal touches to show the expert is human were a great touch. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a well written thriller. Can’t wait to meet you both in March

UPDATE – I just met Dr Bass and Jon Jefferson and they were great. It was a joy to be there when they talked to potential readers about their books. Its also amazing the number of questions I knew the answer to, because I’d read Carved in Bone and Death’s Acre. Looking forward to the next fiction and non fiction. My parents attended the programs with me and are now interested in forensics for the first time. Great job guys

Dr Barbara Holstein Shares "The Truth"

I recently got a chance to read Dr Barbara Holstein’s book “THE TRUTH: I’m Ten, I’m Smart and I Know Everything!”

This book is centered around a ten year old girl who has some important information to share with you. Do you remember what you thought of life when you were ten? What did you expect to happen in your life? Now that you’ve grown up, did you reach the dreams that you had when you were ten? If not, why not?

Dr Barbara starts off in the Introduction and reminds us of how many woman are leading unfulfilling lives and who feel they have lost the feeling that they have any control over their lives. Many woman have forgotten how to laugh and are feeling depressed and discouraged with the way their life ended up.

Its never too late to take control and try to take back your life. Do you have creativity that is untapped? This could be the time to find a creative outlet. Let the young heroine of this book transport you back to the time when you were time. She will remind you of how innocent life was at that time and all the promise that was before you. It can be productive and therapeutic to go back in time to a simpler and more interesting time. Come along as our young friend tells you about her “first love”, “balloons” in her father’s nightstand, betrayal by her best friend and the feeling in the pit of her stomach every time her parents fight.

Dr Barbara’s Contact Information
Visit her website at www.enchantedself.com/ or her blog at www.enchantedself.typepad.com/.

Review by Nikki Leigh – www.nikkileigh.com

Past Imperfect by Nora Peterson

Nora Peterson introduces us to Casey McCloud. She is a thirty something woman who is on a mission. A young woman hired a private investigation office to find out some mysteries from her past. That sounds simple enough, but the young woman dies under questionable circumstances a couple of days later. Casey realizes that something is not as it seems and decides to solve the mystery, even though the client is dead. Her quest sends her to Boston a week before Christmas. The Boston atmosphere will make you dig out your gloves and hat as you make your way through the streets with Casey as she pieces together the clues to solve the mystery. Nora Peterson will also take you from the world of high society and into the world of the homeless as a harsh winter storm heads toward Boston. I love a good mystery and Past Imperfect kept my attention and even distracted me for an entire morning while I kept reading to find out “who done it”.

Killraven by Arline Chase

Intrigue and Romance on the Chesapeake Bay in the 1890′s,

I know Arline Chase and I think she’s a wonderful woman and publisher. But, I’d never read any of her writing until we were in a chat together.

I love books set in places I know little about and set in the past, so Killraven was the perfect choice. It’s set along the Chesapeake Bay in the late 1890′s. I was hooked from the first pages and had a hard time putting it down.

From the beginning, I felt like I was walking along the docks and riding along the oyster shell roads with Hope and DeCoursey. These two couldn’t be more different, but we all know that opposites attract. She had a strict religious upbringing and DeCoursey is a scoundrel. The question is whether he’s as bad as the rumors the local gossips spread about him.

My favorite books make you feel that you’re part of the story and that the characters are your friends. I had that feeling right away and I worried about Hope who had left her family and community. Even with the rumors about Coursey, I wanted him to find peace with his past and possibly to find love.

Arline Chase’s book simply oozes with atmosphere and drew me in from the beginning. She weaves a variety of interesting and memorable characters into the story and gives us vivid details of their home, their community and their lives. Killraven had humor, dread, fear, suspense, murder, robbery, love, friendship and so much more. I would recommend this book and especially to people who enjoy a historic mystery with a bit of romance.

For more information, visit -
http://www.amazon.com/Killraven-Arline-Chase/dp/1594311374/nikkileighaut-20

Saratoga Summer by Dorice Nelson

Dorice Nelson brings a dramatic time period vividly to life in her book, Saratoga Summer: 1863. The characters are vivid and colorful, whether it is an independent spirit or fiery red hair. We learn about New York during a very turbulent time in American history and the horse industry in beautiful Saratoga. Mrs. Nelson’s love and knowledge of horses will jump off the pages and adds a wonderful dimension to the story. The tension and attraction between Sinead and Con are obvious and the reader feels their struggle. They were married on paper to save a young boy. Sinead is in New York and Con is in Ireland at the time. Once they meet in 1860′s New York, the fireworks begin. The young “newlyweds” try to get to know one another while the Draft Riots erupt all around them. Fire, violence and destruction push in on all sides. At this point, the family head to horse country. Sinead must face her terrible fear of horses which was caused by a tragic accident when she was a child. Will these young people be able to make a life together? I could tell you, but I don’t want to rob your chance to experience this wonderful story for yourself.