Empower Your Image Project!

 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.”

-Marianne Williamson

You truly never know how God will use you to inspire and empower others.  What started out as theme for my empowerment birthday party last month has now inspired other women to think about how they are leaving their mark on women's history!  After sharing pictures from my Women's History themed party last month we began getting requests from women who wanted to also see themselves amongst powerful women both past and present.  There is real power in visualization and that we are no different than the amazing women that we admire on a day to day basis!  I was so thrilled with how my party came out (see blog post for more details) and to now partner with Kustom Kreation Photography & Celebration Decor to offer these collages as inspiration to amazing women making a difference everyday blows me away!!!

I am also sooooooo excited that a portion of the proceeds from each collage will go to our non-profit Empower Her, Inc!.   We plan to take the proceeds that are raised from this empowerment project and provide a woman with a Empower Her Grant (my 1st of many)  to help them with the launch of their dream business or help a woman in the trenches trying to build her vision. Often times it is just the little things like getting business cards, marketing materials, buying a domain name for their business or even application fees to return or start college that can help get a person's dream off the ground or the boost to keep going!  Whoohooo..I so love the 'gift of empowerment'... if you can't already tell!

We are also running a mother's day special which is a great gift idea for the moms and women in our lives!   For more information about this Empower Your Image Project please click here or visit us on the web: http://empoweryourimage.webs.com/ and email empoweringherinc@yahoo.com! 

Big Thank You to Elisha Akram, the creative founder of Kustom Kreation Photography & Celebration Decor for helping to make my vision a reality and using your special gifts and talents on this project! You are truly leaving your mark on history!

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to our Empower Her Grant fund that will empower a woman or girl please donate by using the secure paypal link on our webpage!

Click To Donate!

  Thank you for support, prayers and encouragement!! Let's get our EMPOWERMENT ON!!

Empower Her, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization http://www.empowerherinc.com/

Keep Going!



What a perfect end to a great week! I am happy to report that being a sponsor and one of the photographers for the Design Your Destiny Atlanta Event was AMAZING!!!!! Being able to stand in front of my sign for Empower Her, Inc. was an experience that I can not put into words.  The event was so powerful and the tips that were provided were truly life changing and helped me realize that what I have to offer the world has extreme worth and  incredible value!  I am truly excited to walk in this new area of my destiny.  To view some of my pictures from the event  Click Here.

Founder of Empower Her, Inc. Kara Norman at DYD Atlanta 2012

As I always say this road is not easy juggling  your dreams, passions, work, family, and all the other things that life deals to you.  I left the event over the weekend feeling excited but overwhelmed on how to truly kick things up to the next level.  I have all of these wonderful ideas during the day and then when I get home after a long day, and put on my mommy and wife hat, just getting to any of those things seem impossible and I get frustrated that things are not happening fast enough.  So just when I felt myself slipping into a pity party yesterday (I seem to have those moments often..huh..lol), I came across the story of a powerful lady by the name of Shawn Brown, the creative vision behind the Georgia based company CheeseCaked.  Her story of a near death experience, tragedies that included being pronounced dead twice after being hit by a drunk driver, losing her 10 week old son in the same accident, then years later losing the father of her young children and countless other obstacles, made me realize that I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT AND NO EXCUSES). 

Ms. Brown's story had me crying (I seem to do that a lot too) as she described what it was like to almost die, lose loved ones, recover from all of her injuries and build a business. Yet she continued to pursue her passion and created a successful business despite everything!  

Shana Brown, Founder of CheeseCaked

Photo of the car that Shana was in after the accident-(From Shana Brown's photo collection)

Shana Brown with her son, Jakori after his birth. He was killed in the car accident

(Photo Credit: Shana Brown's photo collection)

Her journey hit me like a ton of bricks and I feel that her perseverance will forever be in my thoughts especially at times when I feel that things are too hard.  We MUST keep going no matter what, even if we have to take small steps one at a time.  I am reminded of the saying based on two scriptures that states that "The race is not given to the swift or to the strong but to the one that ENDURES until the end".  We must endure many things when we pursue our dreams or just when we go through life in general, but the key is to keep going! 

Please take a moment to read Shawn Brown's story it truly is amazing (Click Here)!  Thank you Shawn for having the courage to keep going!

I also heard this song, "Hold On" the other day and had to share...let's keep it moving!!

Start Building YOUR Dream!

Yesterday I was casually going through my facebook feeds and this post came up on my screen and 'virtually' slapped me in my face! The words.."If You Don't Build Your Dream... Someone Will Hire You To Help Build Theirs." seemed to be screaming at me.  I am in the early stages of building this new vision for myself and this post reminded me that as I strive to be a 'corporate mom dropout' (shout out to Lucinda Cross for initiating this mom movement), I AM building MY dream and no one elses!  What an empowering moment to realize that I am ahead of the building game and already laying my foundation, one brick at a time.  Although I want everything yesterday and it gets frustrating I have to stop and celebrate each step no matter how small.


This week I am preparing to be a sponsor/vendor at Tierra Destiny Reid's Design Your Destiny event that is kicking off in Atlanta this weekend.  I have been following Tierra for a few years now and have watched her turn her layoff from corporate America and into a thriving empire.   She is where I want to be... a wonderful mother, wife, motivator, strategist and thriving business owner.  I am trying to surround myself with people who are doing BIG things as I feel that God has called me to empower women and girls in many ways.  I missed her event last year and when she launched this new tour, I signed up as soon as she shared the news..as a matter of fact I think I was one of the first registrants..LOL! 

I am determined to make 2012 my year..no longer sitting around and waiting..I want to learn from the best!  She reached out to me a few weeks ago about being a sponsor (see Empower Her, Inc. listed as a sponsor..whohoo)  and being one of the photographers that would also cover the event.  I was blown away that she was impressed with my passion, something that I enjoy as a hobby.  She also loved my "Leaving My Mark On Women's History" empowerment party. You truly never know who is watching you and what opportunities can come when you step out and start building your dream. 


So I not only get to learn how to design MY destiny, I also get to highlight empowering moments during the event through photography, and share my passion to empower with other women striving for more...seriously whose life is this??? Today I came across a picture of me at one of the trade shows for my current company in San Francisco a few years ago. I have been so blessed to travel to many cities representing my company and promoting our business.

Picture of Me At One of Our Trade shows :-)

It hit me today as I was preparing items to be a sponsor/vendor at the Design Your Destiny event that I will be representing MY company..MY dream this weekend! Sharing my vision for Empower Her, Inc. and the services that I will be providing to girls and women through empowerment workshops, programs and celebrations.  I pulled out my banner that I ordered six months ago, and as I put it together on the stand, I remembered all the times I put together booths for my company.  I never imagined that one day I would be doing my own. 

My Banner That I Will Be Proudly Standing By This Weekend :-)

Such an emotional and powerful moment to truly realize that I am building my dream instead of someone else's! I am super duper nervous but excited about what is to come this weekend through this amazing event as it will be my chance to get true feedback about what I plan to offer through my empowerment agency and my other talents and gifts.  I encourage you all to start building your dreams today or continue to take steps towards making your dreams your reality.  Surround yourself with positive people who are where you want to go and celebrate every milestone... no matter how small!


Big thanks to Tierra for believing in me and letting me be a part of this special event, I am very grateful, God is so awesome..whohoo!!!


More info about this weekend's event and Tierra's mission to help women Design Their Destiny!


Additional Link and Information: TDR Event

Let's finish this week strong and continue to build!!!

Unprecedented Favor!



A Little Spiritual Empowerment To Start The Week!

So I was home on Sunday and happened to catch this broadcasts on TV, and the title and message of the sermon was about "Unprecedented Favor".   I literally shot up in my bed when I saw those words especially the word...unprecedented!  I just kept repeating that word, over and over again..it just has such a powerful meaning and tone (definition: without previous instance; never before known or experienced; unexampled or unparalleled: an unprecedented event)!   I have experienced God's favor in sooooo many ways during my life, things that I just can't explain, doors that seemed impossible were opened!  So to think of receiving unprecedented favor..just blew me away and got my faith wheels spinning!! 

Right before I saw this broadcast I was thumbing through pictures on my phone and came across this picture, which was another document that I created last fall and put on my mirror (see my previous blog post about visualization).  I looked at the top of the picture and noticed that I had created a mock donation check ( like the ones that you get when you win the lottery..I might need to make a big one like this and take a picture holding it..hmmmm)  for $10 million dollars to be used for my empowerment center for women and girls (one of my big dreams!) 

Here's the picture..

I had forgotten that I added that paper to my items that I planned to visualize everyday.  I had moved these after I received my non-profit status letter (that matched my real letter by the way) and somehow this one got shuffled around and misplaced. So to see this letter only minutes before hearing this broadcast, I started dreaming and remembering that nothing is impossible with God and His special favor..I am a testimony to this for sure!

I had actually started calling around a few weeks ago to get information about vacant spaces that I would come across on the way home as a step of faith and got frustrated when people gave me the prices/etc or asked what it was for and when it was not retail they rushed me off the phone. One guy was like "is this for a battered women's shelter because we don't want that in our space".  I'm like no dude I am empowering women and girls, I didn't say anything about a shelter..argh!!). I hung up after that call and began to question how I thought that this could come together to actually have my own space.  My dream is to have state of the art resource center for girls and women to get empowerment, experience workshops, programs and a event space that can be shared in the community.  So when Joel Osteen read this scripture during the message..I knew it was on once again!!

Exodus 34:10, “I will perform great wonders that I have not done anywhere before in all the earth. People will see what great things I can do because I am going to do an awesome thing for you.”

He also said to thank Him in advance for receiving unprecedented favor, and boy do I need some unprecedented favor when it comes to this dream!  I was blown away that I received my status in the same time that I claimed on my vision statement last month and I guess this is no different. I looked back at the 'mock donation check' and noticed that there is no exact date on this one but it does have 2012 on it so we have a full 9 months for this to happen!  For all of us out there that want to see things that have NEVER been done before in our lives when it comes to our dreams..let's believe together that we are about to experience something remarkable, astounding, extraordinary, overwhelming and breathtaking!

Please watch this message when you have a moment and let's step out there on those things that seem impossible or too big and EXPECT to see some unprecedented favor in the next hour... week...month and year! Let's get our visualization ON..and put some action behind it!!

P.S. Please contact me if you have space or resources that you would like to provide for this cause or if you have the check that is in my vision or know someone that does..lol (again doesn't hurt to put it out there :-)  )!!

Make it a great day empowered peeps!!

Celebrating Life Everyday,

Kara
http://www.empowerherinc.com/