Cathy Harris

Speaker, Author, Trainer  

www.CathyHarrisSpeaks.com

My Year on the Road: How I Found True Happiness by Living My Dreams

(Book Excerpt)

By Cathy Harris

This is my new blog post and an excerpt for an upcoming book entitled "My Year on the Road: How I Found True Happiness by Living My Dreams."

At 57 years old, I count my blessings every day and feel really blessed on how my life has turned out - so far.  I have had a lot of successes in my life such as two daughters graduating with Master's Degrees and are now business owners; I helped protect black women international travelers from my co-workers when I became a federal whistleblower; I won my discrimination lawsuit against my job and retired at the age of 48; I started my own empowerment and publishing company in 2005 and now have 20 books released and offer some of the best self-improvement seminars and workshops in the country; and now -- I spent one year on the road traveling, building my company and living my dreams - just to name a few.  Can it really get better than this?

Change brings about happiness in your life, but why are so many people afraid of change?  Last year in December 2013, I decided to purge my life of things which I realized would allow me more energy to focus more on what really mattered in my life.  

I realized the reason I had been so successful in my life, so far, was that I was never materialistic.  So purging my life of things was easy for me and it allowed me to move even closer to my dreams.

Some people need things to validate their lives (beautiful homes, beautiful cars, beautiful clothes, etc.) and they rather spend valuable money to get these things while they ignore the one and the most important thing in their lives - THEIR HEALTH.  

Many people live their lives eating bad foods -- feeling sick, sluggish and run-down.  They are surrounded with beautiful things that they can't really enjoy because they ignore their health.  Many are empty inside because they have nothing of value to offer the world and I never wanted that to be my story.

After my daughter's car was stolen from in front of my place when she visited me and after I experienced two attempted car thiefs in my area, I realized my neighborhood wasn't what it use to be and it was time for me to move on or out of that area.  When neighborhoods go bad, it's just time to move on.  I had never lived around crime and I was not about to start now - not during my golden years!

Not only did I move out of the area, I decided to move out of the city totally.  What I was preparing to do with my life was bigger than Atlanta and it needed to be shared with the world.  And because of this decision I was able to manifest more joy and happiness into my life by moving even closer to my dreams.

Traveling has always been a dream of mine.  After all that's why I had joined the military years ago.  Because I was in my 50s, I realized I still had 40% of my productive life left ahead of me so I realized it was time to take the steps necessary to find even more happiness in my life.  

Because of purging my life of things and concentrating on what I really needed and wanted for my life, I was able to make the following dreams come true: 

• I was able to see the country by creating a humanitarian tour "Cathy Harris Humanitarian Tour" and traveled by car to 15 states.
• I was able to meet some of the people that I had been networking with on the internet for 15 years.
• I was able to build my business, AngelsPress.com, by building my audience with my empowerment lectures, seminars and workshops.
• I was able to release a line of empowerment non-fiction easy-to-read e-books and paperback books for the entire family which can be read by 12 year olds and above. 

To purge my life and get on the road -- it really wasn't that hard.  To get on the road as a Speaker and Author, you have to be healthy; eat healthy foods along the way; get regular exercise along the way; have a good running car; have a GPS; figure out where you will stay (family, friends, extended stay hotels, etc); and set up events.

I had dreamed 5 years earlier about getting on the road.  I visualized it but there was a lot of obstacles in my way.  I had these terrific friends that I could not leave.  My mom was elderly and I knew if I left Georgia, I probably would not see her again - plus I was also unhealthy.

After becoming housebound and bedridden in 2007, and self-educating myself on how the human body works, I became a Health and Wellness Expert and launched the National Non-GMO Health Movement and wrote books about my experience.  

Once I got healthy and after my friends and mom had passed on, it was just time for me to do what I truly wanted to do with my life.  However, had I gotten on the road 5 years earlier, I would not have had access to all the great information that my company now offers especially the health seminars and the line of empowerment products. 

What was really one of my determining factors that made me realize now was the time to make my life-long dream come true of getting on the road was  -- after reading the book "Eat Right 4 Your Type."  

The book was the icing on the cake for me and it helped me reach my maximum level of health and I eventually came up with my own wellness program "Cathy Harris 12 Steps to Wellness Program."

Once I read the book and implemented the changes and started eating foods for my blood type, within a matter of days, I had a major surge in energy.  Because I was eating good food, not only did I get a surge in energy but my brain even worked better which allowed me to come up with my own plan of action to make my dreams come true.

Next I sat down and compiled a list of every city that I wanted to visit and the people that I had been networking with over the years on the internet that I just had to meet.  

I then looked at my living arrangements and since I had a relative in the Detroit area, I decided to go there first because of all the cities in the U.S., the city of Detroit had major issues but I knew my company could make a difference with our line of empowerment lectures, seminars and workshops.

So on Jan. 2, 2013, I sat out on my journey to make my life-long dreams come true of being a Speaker, Author, and Trainer on the road and because of this -- I loved every minute of it.  

The scenery was absolutely beautiful along the way especially from Youngstown, OH to New York.  The green trees looked like the trees in the movie "Gorillas in the Mist."  Sometimes the horizon ahead was so blue it looked like you were driving into an ocean but it was just the sky meeting the ground.   

And what about the color of the trees around Halloween and Thanksgiving - the bright red, orange and yellow colors.  I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life.  All of it made me think of my home in Georgia and I thought about how lucky I was to have spent the first 17 years of my life as a homesteader - working the land.  

Even though the city of Detroit was extremely cold and it looked like a wasteland, in my neighborhood outside of Detroit, the view of the snow looked like a beautiful postcard.  You just have to learn to see the beauty in everything.  

I was raised in Georgia in the south, 2 hours outside of Atlanta, and had never in my life lived in snowy cold weather except when I was in Germany in the military in the 80s.  I had never driven a car in snow so I had prepared to stop at a hotel if the weather got bad on my trip.  

But all the way from Atlanta to Detroit, it was easy selling.  Even though there was snow on the sides of the roads, I had missed all the major snow storms.  It was like I was being guided by a force to live my dreams.  

It was as if someone had made everything easy for me because when you step out on your faith to change your life and the people around you, everything will fall into place.  Everything was happening to me in divine order.  

I could have exited any of those exits in my one year travels on the road and set up my home.  If you have a car and money coming in, you can actually move anywhere.  Some people might not be able to get their lives together because they might be in the wrong city.  

Your family is not just your family.  Your family could be the people you have met in your lives that have touched your hearts.

I love meeting people and don't know if I will ever get off the road.  The biggest joy that I have experienced along the way on this tour is during my seminars and workshops, when I see the light go on in my audience eyes especially young people when they realized they could indeed change their lives.  

Now that I made my life-long dream come true of being on the road in 2013 by launching "Cathy Harris Humanitarian Tour," I can't wait to see what 2014 will bring but I have a good idea because again, I have already visualized it "Cathy Harris Empowerment Tour." 

What I am saying to all of you is if you want your dreams to come true in 2014, keep walking in the directions of your dreams everyday but come up with a plan of action to make them come true -- but don't forget to put your health first.  Embrace change and in return -- it will embrace you with joy, peace and happiness...and I am living proof of that...Good luck!

 

Making Dreams Come True - 

Reinventing Yourself

What will you do to change your life in 2014? Reinventing yourself is not rocket science. You just have to be dedicated and committed to the outcome. You need to be a self-starter, have self-discipline, will power and have a good understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. 

And most of all you will need to be a leader but remember that most leaders started out as followers, but in order to reinvent yourself, it will be imperative for you to be a leader.

In 2005, I reinvented myself from a retired federal employee and became a Speaker, Author, and Coach and built my own empowerment company, AngelsPress.com. Angels Press is an empowerment company that provides motivational life changing tools to take control of your own life.

The company specializes in the training and development of individuals and groups through our lectures, seminars and workshops while providing our line of products which are e-books (19), paperback books (10), articles, newsletters, teleseminars, and the internet radio show "The Cathy Harris Show."

In 2014 we will present webinars, CDs, DVDs, and Cathy Harris TV.

 When it comes to reinventing yourself -- look at the possible careers you could be in if you were not in your current career.

MAKE A LIST OF PRIOR TALENTS

These are the businesses I could have stepped into if I wasn't a Speaker, Author, Coach. 

• Pocketbook Empire: When I was a young girl I use to crochet purses and sell them. Little did I know that I was a business owner but I had no adult in my life to push me to keep doing this. Today I am the only business owner out of my 8 siblings.
• Seamstress: In high school I took home economics and for my sewing project, I made a man's tuxedo. But I regret never teaching my two daughters to sew.
• Photographer: For years before I fell in love with writing, I was an avid photographer. I always had some type of camera with me everywhere I went and even collected pictures frames. I also took a couple of classes at one time and was really looking at landscape photography. This is why I enjoy nature today.
• Greeting Card Designer: For years I would disappear in the greeting card section in grocery stores and other stores because of my love for greeting cards. My co-workers would always laugh at me because I always had a stack of greeting cards on hand to hand out in time of joy and grief. They even nick-named me "Ms. Hallmark."
• Firearms Coach: When I was in the military and when I worked for Customs and Border Protection for over 20 years, I was an expert shot so I could easily become a firearms coach. However, I have always disliked cleaning weapons.
• Public Relations Expert: When I became a business owner, I read every book in America on Business, Marketing and Public Relations so I could easily become a PR, Marketing or Media Expert but instead -- I just use these skills in my current business.

MAKE A LIST OF PRIOR TITLES

In deciding how to reinvent yourself or which career to launch write down all the past titles that you have held in your lifetime. 

Somewhere in those titles is a new potential 

new business or career.

Here are my titles:

Entrepreneur, Small Business Owner, Business Coach/Consultant, Minority Business Developer, Small Business Specialist, CEO of Angels Press, President of Angels Press, Publisher of Angels Press, Empowerment Speaker, Motivational Speaker, Non-GMO Health and Wellness Expert, Health Coach/Consultant, Whistleblower, Truth-Teller, Former U.S. Customs Inspector, Former U.S. Customs & Border Protection Officer, International Travel Consultant, Author, Freelance Writer, Syndicated Columnist, Discrimination Coach/Consultant, Workplace Coach/Consultant, Copywriter, Editor, Proofreader, Typesetter, Book Critic, Multi-Level Marketing Fraud Expert, Veteran, Photographer, Expert Witness, Political Consultant, Public Relations/Marketing/Media Expert, Investigative Reporter, Panelist, Facilitator, Moderator, Internet Radio Host, Broadcaster, Radio Announcer, Manager, Supervisor, Teacher, Educator, Professional Advisor, Arbitrator, Spokesperson, Visionary, Leader, Community Organizer, Human Rights Advocate, Mentor, Youth Organizer, Child Advocate, Woman Advocate, Activist, Advocate for Justice, Freedom Fighter, Warrior, Nubian Queen, Mother, Sister, Aunt, Cousin, Black Woman, Former Black Teenager, Former Black Child 

Choose Businesses You Are Passionate About

Once you go through your list of titles and list at least 3 things that you are good at - then list 3 things that you enjoy doing.  Remember just because you are good at something doesn't mean you need to start a business around that area.

You start a business around the area which you are MOST PASSIONATE about.  Remember you will probably end up working 12 or more hours a day sometimes in your business and if you are not passionate about it, you will not want to do it.  Having passion will drive you into your true purpose.

Next write down your strengths and weaknesses. 

Here are my strengths:

• Has passion for people
• Has passion for business
• Has good customer service skills (always return phone calls, emails, etc.)
• Has professional web presence (websites, blogs, facebook.com, twitter.com, linkedin.com, etc.)
• Has good business slogans
• Is a good speaker
• Is a good writer with good content
• Has creditable and reputable history of integrity
• Has national and international presence since 1999
• Retired at the age of 48 now 57 and in good health
• Very mobile as a speaker and author

"How To Take Control of Your Own Life: A Self-Help Guide to Becoming Healthier Over the Next 30 Days."

Available as e-book on:

Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Control-Self-Help-Guide-Starting-Business-ebook/dp/B006N0LQ1S/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387559480&sr=1-9&keywords=Cathy+Harris

BarnesandNoble.com

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-take-control-of-your-own-life-cathy-harris/1113883048?ean=2940015811407

Smashwords.com

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/262934

Available as Paperback:

 https://www.createspace.com/4241727

 

Are You an Expert?   

What is an expert? An expert is a person that has some type of expertise in a particular area. Are you coming from a specialized industry such as banking, financial, mortgage, law enforcement, car industry, etc. -- an industry that very few people have knowledge of? 

Then you can set yourself up as an expert and become a Speaker, Coach, Consultant, Trainer, etc. or offer your own line of books, CDs, DVDs, Special Reports, Seminars and Workshops, etc.

If you would like to use the services of a business coach or consultant, remember only you can really determine whether you need a consultant's help. But don't get caught in the trap of thinking you can do it all. Bringing a product from the idea state to the marketplace is a complicated difficult process. 

Stop for a minute and make a list of the issues you are tackling. When the going gets tough, consultants provides the expertise you need. At some point in business, it might become necessary to seek out an expert for advice and counsel. 

Consultants or coaches are primarily hired to give you advice and counsel. They don't make guarantees that their input will be effective. If you have areas that need your attention and you can't afford to make too many mistakes with your capital (writing a book, becoming healthier, etc.), then you're the perfect candidate for a consultant or coach. 

Remember all consultants or coaches do the same thing. They bring good and correct information to their clients and customers. Sometimes they set themselves up to give lectures, seminars and workshops on various topics but many times they only provide consultations. Some of these consultations are "in-home" consultations. 

Remember if you keep doing things the same way, then chances are you will continue to get the same results, so it might be time for you to bring in the experts in 2014.

Once you publish a book, especially a non-fiction book, you will be considered an expert in the eyes of many. If you write a non-fiction book, you can charge:

• $20.00 for book
• $80 for a set of CDs and DVDs
• $200 an hour for private consultations
• $300 or more for seminars (two types of seminars include public that you do with others or the ones you plan yourself)

Are you afraid to refer to yourself as an expert? Did you know that many people who call themselves experts -- are really not experts -- but others who are experts are afraid to call themselves experts?  And most of all don't forget that you do not need a degree to be an expert, you just have to have done the work.

Make 2014, the year you come out and 

launch your new title with pride and joy.  

HEALTH CORNER

New Health Book Release

by Cathy Harris

African Americans...

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

Chapter 1: What is Diabetes?

Chapter 2: How is Diabetes Diagnosed?

Chapter 3: Who Gets Type II Diabetes?

Chapter 4: Avoid Harmful Ways While Living With Diabetes

Chapter 5: Diabetes Long-Term Complications

Chapter 6: The Real Diabetes Healers

 PREFACE - A NOTE TO THE READER

This book will educate you on why there are so many people in this country dying, going blind or losing limbs to diabetes?

Diabetes is a lifelong manageable disease that can be controlled and the goal is not to let it control you. 

Diabetes is not and should not be a death sentence for anyone, however, due to the lack of information and education, many people do die from the disease.

It is after all the third largest killer in the U.S. and the NUMBER ONE killer of African Americans!

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC.gov), over 40% of people today or millions of people are walking around with diabetes already ravaging their bodies.

Many people are misdiagnosed with diabetes because again it is one of the diseases that is extremely hard to recognize or diagnose.

Diabetes is sometimes not detected until something terrible happens such as a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. Not only is it extremely hard to diagnosis, but the symptoms of diabetes mimics many other diseases.

So finding out if you have diabetes will be key to living with the disease and managing it correctly. Good luck!

Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Diabetes-101-3rd-Largest-Killer-ebook/dp/B00HGLGATQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388165707&sr=1-5&keywords=Cathy+Harris

BarnesandNoble.com

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/diabetes-101-cathy-harris/1116121968?ean=2940148911739

Smashwords.com

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/390858

Available as Paperback 

https://www.createspace.com/4519623  

Should You Give Up Your

Drinking Buddies in 2014?

The Day I Gave Up Alcohol

One of the number one New Year's Resolutions that I should have included on my list of resolutions is to cut down or stop drinking alcohol altogether.  

Sure I use to party in my 20s, 30s, and 40s which is probably also one of the reasons my body shut down on me at 50 -- because alcohol is a toxin.  But I can remember when I totally gave up alcohol, however, I will still have a beer or two every few months but that's it because I am too focused on my dreams.

I have never been a big drinker because growing up my father was a functional alcoholic so I had to warn my daughters that it runs in the family.  

The day I gave up alcohol was like yesterday.  Basically the way I was able to cut out alcohol from my life was I told myself I would only drink on weekends so once I gave it up during the week, it was easy to get away from this habit totally.  

Remember it takes 2 to 3 weeks to form new habits and life is about having self-discipline and will power.  After giving it up during the week, my next goal was to stop it all together so I did.  I still would drink socially but rarely would I put myself in a position where I had to drink.

For instance, I started looking at the people that I was hanging out with when I dranked alcohol -- then I looked at their lives.  Then I realized that all the friends that I was drinking socially with, wasn't really productive in their own lives.

I wanted to start a business and realized if I was going to start a business then I needed to get away from these friends because none of my friends were business owners.

I then realized that to be a successful business owner, I needed to get around other successful business owners because success breeds success.  Like the old saying says "If you are the smartest person in your group -- then you need to get another group" -- so I was ready to move on.

Don't get me wrong I still loved my friends but unlike them I was looking for something different and I knew if I kept doing things the same way, then I would continue to get the same results -- so I knew I had to break away from my friends and give my focus to my dream of becoming a successful business owner.

Once I started putting my focus and energy into my business and stopped my partying ways, I was able to really get a hold of my life.  My goal was to get out of bed and move in the direction of my dreams everyday - so I did.  Sure it took self-discipline and will power but when I gave up the alcohol which made me lazy and brain-fog headed for days (at least 4), I became a self-starter too.

A self-starter is simply realizing what needed to be done and when it needed to be done and doing it.  I eventually realized that you are what you think about all day long and once you change your thoughts, you could actually change your life.

SENIOR CORNER

Do You Have an Elderly Person in Your Family?

This book "Golden Years: How To Age Gracefully and Take Care of Seniors" is a must-read for everyone in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s...I wrote this book to alleviate the stress and trauma that all families will go through once an elderly person in their family come down with any type of illness.

When my mom turned 82 she had Alzheimers, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. and she became extremely sick going in and out of the hospital.  My father had passed on 20 years earlier but had left 35 acres of land in her name.  My 8 siblings and I had no idea of the amount of work we needed to do so she could transition this world in dignified manner.

Even though she recognized everyone and was talking to everyone in the hospital, a hospital representative kept asking us to sign documents to send her to the hospice ward so they could put her to sleep (to death).

I have been told by many employees who work in hospitals, if you are in your 60s, 70s, or 80s (even 40s or 50s) there is a good chance that doctors will not do anything for you but send you to the hospice ward to die.  

So it should be your goal to never end up in the hospital and remember every hospital no matter how small or big has a hospice ward.  Sometimes it might be just a small corner in the hospital where they put you on morphine and watch you die... (and don't forget the Angels of Death...the nurses).

Hospitals have to make sure they have free hospital beds so they can make money from patients with insurance so they can perform these UNNECESSARY operations especially on senior citizens.  

Think about it, have you ever seen patients in hallways in beds because of the lack of rooms at hospitals?  Think about it...someone is doing their homework...or should I say "doing their math."

The mistakes my family made:

• After my mom's death my sister wasted valuable funds paying off all her bills only to be told -- they would have waived the bills because of her deceased status.
• My 4 brothers that were taking care of my mom as she aged were feeding her hamburgers everyday - so she suffered from chronic constipation and other ailments because she wasn't eating good food and she constantly complained about being in pain.  My 4 brothers still today refuse to grow any type of food on this land (35 acres) even though we grew up eating everything from the land.
• We had no idea that we should have removed my mom's name off the land at least 5 years before she came down with any type of illness in order to receive help from the state.
• Like most of you have heard about families fighting over land...my entire family (all 9 of us) were in the lawyer's office arguing over the land because we failed to take care of this before her death. One of my brothers stated that since the 4 of them stay on the land, that it should be put in his name because he was the only one living on the land with the most sense.  This was the type of non-sense we had to deal with.
• Even though my mom had left a will saying the land should be split 9 ways between the children upon her death, because of the arguing at the lawyer's office, we finally had to put the land in the names of the next generation (my kids and the children of my sisters and brothers) because the government would only allow us to split it 5 ways instead of 9.  This is what the government (city and state) do to keep black families from doing anything productive with their piece of the land.  
• Three out of 4 of my brothers are sick from eating grocery store foods (Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)).  As the only business owner in the family, my family did not want to listen to me when I suggested we start growing nutritious crops again or at least a garden.  Growing up we ate everything from the land.  We had several apple and pear trees, fields and crops of corn, beans, peas, several gardens, pigs, chickens, mules, cows, bulls, etc.  But today's black families rather buy  Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) from grocery stores than grow their own foods and because of this - this will continue to be the FIRST GENERATION that will not outlive their parents.

"Golden Years: How To Age Gracefully and 

Take Care of Seniors" 

 Available as E-book:

Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GSC95H8

BarnesandNoble.com

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/golden-years-cathy-harris/1117557987?ean=2940045455022

Smashwords.com

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/380329

Available As Paperback

https://www.createspace.com/4499787

Monsanto owns 90% of all seeds in the U.S. which are Genetically Modified seeds which grows toxic food. They own 40% of all the crops in the U.S.  Join the National Non-GMO Health Movement.

The Cathy Harris Show 

presents 2-part 30 Mini Health Seminar

• Food Supply System and GMOs - Part 1
• Food Supply System and GMOs - Part 2 

Health Articles by Cathy Harris

• Are You Ready for a Nation of Sick People Especially Children?
• Connecting the Dots to GMOs and Your Current Health Condition

Support the 

Cathy Harris Empowerment Tour 

now setting up Health, Business and Self- Publishing Seminars and Workshops  

in the state of Florida 

(click here)

  and is the author of 20 non-fiction books which covers topics on family and community empowerment, health, youth and adult entrepreneurship, writing/publishing, workplace discrimination (sexism, sexual harassment, sex and race discrimination), whistleblowing, law enforcement, government, domestic and international traveling, politics, media, beauty, car buying and selling for women, aging/retirement - just to name a few.  Her books and articles are full of content-rich material to help anyone get back into the driver's seat and are available at

http://www.AngelsPress.com.