Posted on

Happy New Year! Welcome 2017!

As we welcome 2017, know that a new year brings with it new possibilities, energies and opportunities. Whether you had a successful or challenging 2016, know that nothing in life is stagnant and the only constant is change. Evolution is our constant companion. Therefore for 2017, build on your successes from 2016 and gain wisdom from your challenges. Learn to be the creator of your life’s experiences rather than a passive spectator. Forge forward in 2017 with love, action, boldness, integrity and compassion to make your dreams a reality!

A Winning Attitude

Best wishes to you and your family for a happy, healthy, prosperous and successful new year!

Blessings,

Deborah Austin

Posted on

Develop Your Signature Speech Workshop

Develop Your Signature Speech Workshop: Learn to attract new clients, expand your network and leverage opportunities! (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)

Are you a small business owner, entrepreneur or professional who is looking to connect with your ideal clients and grow your network? Speaking engagements are an excellent way to connect with potential clients and expand your professional network. A signature speech is a presentation that outlines your key area of expertise when you are invited to speak at events. Developing your signature speech can help you to leverage your speaking engagements to connect with potential clients, maximize sales and other opportunities.

Developing your signature speech ensures that you are ready to speak on your area of expertise at a moment’s notice and attract potential clients and opportunities to you. In this hour long introductory workshop, you will learn tips, techniques and strategies on how to develop your signature speech.

In the workshop you will learn:

• An overview of the fundamentals of public speaking.

• The elements that you need to develop your signature speech.

• Develop the components of your signature speech.

• How to research your ideal target audience.

• What you can do before your presentation to ensure that you maximize your speaking engagement.

• What you can do during your presentation to connect with potential clients and your audience.

• What you can do after your presentation in order to collect leads, maximize opportunities for sales and develop your network.

This is an introductory 1 hour workshop conducted on behalf of the Pink Portfolio Group on December 7th, 2016. In the new year Deborah will conduct a more in depth workshop on How To Develop Your Signature Speech. She is also available for 1:1 customized presentation skills coaching and can assist with presentation design and development of your signature speech.

To register for the introductory workshop you can register here.
Signature Speech Workshop

To contact Deborah for personalized coaching and consulting services please call 416-546-3390 or email deb@deborahangelaustin.com

Posted on

The Art of Empowerment: Set Goals to Achieve Your Dreams!

Many people feel motivated to pursue their goals with tenacity at the start of a new calendar year in January. These goals could range anywhere from losing weight, getting in shape, quitting smoking, reducing debt and starting a new relationship. When the end of the year rolls around, it is unfortunate that many people who set goals at the beginning of the year have not stayed the course when it comes to achieving their goals.

The truth of the matter is we don’t need the beginning of the year to set goals or create new possibilities for ourselves. We are creative beings who can create numerous possibilities for ourselves at any time we choose. Each of us is capable of not just going through the motions of life. We are capable of building a life that we truly love that includes our dreams. Here are three tips that can help you achieve your goals.

The first tip is learn to establish good habits. The reason that many people don’t achieve their goals is because they have bad habits that don’t set them up for success. When you have bad habits, it’s difficult to achieve goals. Work on developing positive habits that support the type of person that you want to be.

The second tip that can help you achieve your goals is the accountability factor. Ultimately we are responsible and accountable for our lives. In a perfect world, each of us would be able to set goals effectively, break them down into smaller steps and then take the necessary action steps towards our goals. In other words, we would be highly accountable. Most people though need help in this area. It is an excellent idea if you can get an accountability partner or coach who can help you stay on track with your goals.

The third tip to help you achieve your goals is to understand your big why of why you want to achieve your goals. Understanding the underlying reasons of why your goals are important to you can help you achieve your goals, especially in challenging times. Find a way to make your goals meaningful enough to you so that you understand the consequences of not achieving your goals.

None of us wants to live a life of regret. Part of being fulfilled in life involves the feeling of satisfaction and success that is associated with achieving your goals. Achieving your goals involves developing excellent habits, being accountable and understanding the big why of the importance of your goals. By taking action towards your goals you can live the life of your dreams!

As published in Sibyl Magazine: For the Spirit and Soul of a Woman (November 2016 issue)

Posted on

Insights from Visionary Leader Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Mohammad Yunus

Here is a flashback to one of my most popular posts.

The world needs visionary leaders more than ever. One visionary leader who has changed the world through microfinance is Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Dr. Yunus from Bangladesh is a banker, economist, social entrepreneur and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Winner. He is the author of several books including, Banker to the Poor.

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Yunus speak as part of a panel at a microfinance and microcredit summit. Dr. Yunus founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in the 1980s. Grameen means village bank. Since that time the Grameen Bank has loaned out over 1.5 billion (USD) in microloans mainly to women who are 97 percent of the loan recipients.

In Bangladesh, these microloans are often between $30.00 (USD) to $35.00 (USD) and have helped women start microenterprises. These loans enable women in Bangladesh to change their entire life’s trajectory. When they start businesses, the women who are loan recipients are able to pay for their children’s education and give back to their local community. Entire villages are improved because of these microloans. The loans also have a high repayment rate of 97 percent.

Since the Grameen Bank started in Bangladesh more than 9 million women have received microloans. These loans have in turn impacted between 40 – 45 million people which includes the women’s families and local communities which is remarkable. The Grameen Bank model is now operating outside of Bangladesh in several cities, including New York City. In the various locations, the model is similar in providing microloans to the poor and people who traditionally would not be able to qualify for a loan to start a business.

There were several major takeaways from the summit. Dr. Yunus spoke about the “three zeros,” which are the targets that the world should be aiming for in order to improve the quality of life for everyone. They include: zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emissions. Now these targets may seem like an impossible dream. If we work together as a global community on initiatives to improve the quality of life for every human on the planet who is to say that one day these targets might come true. That is what true visionaries do. They envision possibility for a better world despite what currently exists. Visionaries also take action to make their visions a reality. For the zero poverty target, we all know that there are more than enough resources to go around world wide for everyone. According to Dr. Yunus, people don’t choose to be poor. It is the prevailing economic systems that keep people in poverty even when they are willing, have the skills and want to work. That is why entrepreneurship is so powerful. Starting a business can help lift people out of poverty through their own ingenuity, skills and talents.

One of the major takeaways from the summit was that entrepreneurship is not the purview or the domain of a select few. Another target the world should be aiming for is zero unemployment. Again this is linked back to entrepreneurship. According to Dr. Yunus, “human beings by birth are entrepreneurs.” There is a prevailing myth that only certain people can be entrepreneurs. Dr. Yunus believes that each one of us has the capacity to use our skills and talents to create a business.

In other words, we were not designed for drudgery in a job or career that we don’t love or are not passionate about where we can’t make a difference. In Bangladesh, when women were advanced loans they were able to start businesses with no or minimal business training. They used their creativity, ingenuity, skills and leveraged their village network in order to create profitable microbusinesses. In addition to zero poverty and zero unemployment, zero carbon emissions was also a target discussed in order to make our planet a healthier place to live.

The panel was excellent and included leaders from the Aboriginal Community who reinforced the fact that there are so many talented and skilled Aboriginal people, especially youth who are doing amazing things in the community. Microcredit will continue to help revolutionize the developing world and help marginalized people in the developed world. By providing access to smaller amounts of capital, the poor and marginalized communities can start businesses to elevate their circumstances. It was an excellent summit and a true honour to listen to Dr. Yunus and other visionary leaders who are helping to change the world.

Posted on

Interviewed on the Silver Linings Storycast

I was recently interviewed by Debbie Horovitch who is the Publisher and Editor of The Silver Linings Storybook series. The interview was for the Silver Linings Storycast podcast. In the interview we talk about business, the creative struggle, making an impact in the community and everything in between! The interview is for the Toronto edition of The Silver Linings Storybook series in which I will be a featured contributor. It is a very exciting project as the proceeds will benefit a local charity or non-profit organization. You can listen to the podcast interview here! Silver Linings Storycast Interview

Posted on

The Art of Empowerment: Practice Compassion

The world needs more compassion. A bold statement indeed, yet I’m sure that many of you would agree with that statement. Empathy is the ability to feel what another person is feeling and compassion takes it one step further through action to help alleviate suffering. When I was a child, my first major lesson involving compassion occurred when two homeless teenage girls came to live with my family.

To complicate the situation, one of the teens was pregnant. It was my mother who encountered the teens and had learned about their plight. She invited them for dinner and through circumstances they ended up living with my family for well over a month. They stayed with my family until they could get permanent help. They teens eventually with my mother’s help found an apartment and the pregnant girl had a beautiful healthy baby.

I believe that having that experience early in my life permeated my consciousness and left a deep imprint. It informed some of the volunteer work that I do as I believe that it’s important to give back to the community. The experience helped me to realize even at a young age that on some level, call it the spiritual level, we are all connected. If we’re connected, then it makes sense to reach out to our fellow human beings in times of need.

We can perform compassionate acts, yet compassion really is a practice. Just as we can have an exercise routine or a meditation practice, the same applies to compassion. The more that we exercise our “compassion muscle,” the easier it will be for us to be compassionate. I believe that compassion can teach us several life lessons. The first one is that compassion involves a willingness to be open to see pain or suffering in our midst. Helping someone may not be as dramatic as helping two homeless teens get off the street. It could be in our homes, workplaces or among our circle of friends where compassion is needed. It is easy to get insular and not be concerned about people who may be going through a difficult time.

Another lesson that compassion teaches us is to be nonjudgmental with the people that we are reaching out to or trying to help. When we act compassionately we do the best that we can in the situation and then as much as possible detach from the outcome. Lastly, being compassionate teaches us to operate from our hearts and not the rational mind. You may encounter a situation where it does not seem rational to act yet your heart is compelling you to move in that direction. I invite you to look for those moments in your life where you can be compassionate because you never know the life changing impact that you can have in another person’s life.

As published in Sibyl Magazine: For the Spirit and Soul of a Woman (October 2016 issue)

Posted on

The Art of Empowerment: Your Imagination is Powerful

Do you remember what it was like to be a child? You had the freedom to play, to explore, to just BE. On a summer’s day or on the weekend, you could play for hours with your friends. The day would go on like it would never end. As a child, your imagination ran wild and you used your imagination to dream. You enacted the scenes that you saw in your imagination. You could play “make believe,” where you were your favourite superhero, singer, sports figure or whoever you imagined yourself to be. Remember what fun and joy that was! Your dreams felt limitless.

As adults we often forget the joy that comes with letting our imaginations run wild. After all, it is our imaginations that help to fuel our dreams. It is our imaginations that conjure up the possibilities that can occur in our lives. Every invention that has ever existed was once in someone’s imagination. It was a dream that hadn’t manifested yet. Once the imagination was activated and the dream took hold, the person did the work required to bring that dream to fruition. Indeed, humankind has been propelled forward by both biology and the power of imagination. How else would we have been able to explore the depths of the ocean, the vastness of space or the intricacies that make up the human brain without the power of imagination?

What about you? Do you let your imagination run wild with the possibilities that can occur in your life? Or do you shut down the minute you start to think of something new that you want to bring forth into your life? Do your dreams that have yet to manifest, fill you with excitement every day? Or do you think of every conceivable way that your dreams can’t happen? Some of us become so conditioned by society to conform that we reign in our imaginations and therefore limit our capacity to dream. Take heart, we can never lose our ability to use our imaginations. The ability to imagine and dream are spiritual gifts that we can never lose and we can always increase our ability to use them anytime we choose.

Visionaries are people who understand the power of the imagination while doing the required work to bring their visions to reality. Imagining that your dreams are even possible is an important initial step in manifesting your dreams. I encourage you to dedicate some time daily to using your imagination to power your dreams. As a visionary, you know that just thinking about your dreams is not enough and that success involves taking committed action. Always remember that along with Divine Guidance and your commitment to take action, your imagination is always there to help propel your life to new heights.

As published in Sibyl Magazine: For the Spirit and Soul of a Woman (September 2016 issue)

Posted on

The Art of Empowerment: Communicate Your Message

Creating a life that you love requires that you step into your authentic power as a leader. As a visionary leader, the ability to communicate effectively in front of audience will help to get your transformational message out into the world. When you make the decision to invest in yourself, it will pay more dividends that you could ever imagine. Learning how to speak effectively in public is a skill that is essential to your success.

Being able to speak effectively in front of an audience ensures that you can capitalize on opportunities. If you have not been taking your speaking development seriously, now is the time to start doing so. The first place to start is to do an assessment of your communication skills, in terms of your strengths and challenges. Every time you deliver a presentation you need to capitalize on your strengths. One of the most effective ways that you can get a sense of what your strengths are is to compile data through feedback and by recording yourself on video to determine how you present.

On the opposite side of knowing your strengths, you also need to examine your communication challenges. Feedback from people that you know and trust can help you in identifying your strengths and the areas that you need to improve. Once you identify the areas that you need to work on, obtaining a mentor or a coach can help you improve your communication skills. Also investing in a program like Toastmasters, a self-directed communication and leadership training program can help.

If you want to learn to speak effectively in front of a group, learning the fundamentals of public speaking is important. Some of the fundamentals include: knowing your speech purpose, knowing your audience, learning to develop great content, using your nonverbal language effectively and being conscious of your language usage. When you know the purpose of your speech you are able to connect with an audience. Doing demographic research helps you to identify who your audience members are and craft your presentation to meet their needs. When you learn to develop great content, you can connect with your audience with storytelling techniques and relevant research. When you organize your speech effectively you take your audience on a journey. Learning to use your nonverbal communication like body language, gestures and facial expressions effectively all play a role in connecting with your audience. In terms of your language usage, use powerful words as they do influence the audience’s perception of you.

As a visionary leader, you have gifts, talents and skills that the world needs. Learning to become a powerful speaker can help you to get your life changing message out into the world to help transform lives!

As published in Sibyl Magazine: For the Spirit and Soul of a Woman (August 2016 issue)

Posted on

The Art of Empowerment: Be Audacious!

Say it out loud the word audacity! It feels good, doesn’t it? The general definition of audacity is boldness. I would say that is it boldness taken up a notch. Are you an audacious person? Do you have the audacity to be seen, to be heard, for who you truly are? Can you own your brilliance? In other words, can you embody that boldness that is required to start a business? Or be vulnerable? Or to step outside of your comfort zone to speak in front of an audience to demonstrate your talents and expertise.

People are scared of stepping outside of their comfort zone and trying something new. They are fearful of being ridiculed or of being judged. Public speaking and communicating effectively are essential skills you will need to learn in order to get your message out into the world. If you don’t learn to be audacious, you’ll miss out on many of life’s opportunities.

In life, I believe in being respectful and treating people with dignity. Sometimes in life though being a little edgy in a good way can help you move towards your goals. If the circumstances in your life have prevented you from pursuing your goals or you feel stuck perhaps it is time to bring boldness or audacity back into your life. Many of us are people pleasers who look to others to approve of the choices and the decisions that we make in our lives. If you want to live a life that you truly love realize that it is only you who needs to approve of the decisions and the choices in your life. We conform by seeking approval because we want to be accepted. Learn to accept and approve of yourself. You don’t need anyone to determine your worth. You were made by the Divine. Breaking the bonds of conformity and being truly who you are requires audacity. You are being audacious when you stand in your authentic truth.

Be audacious and commit to owning your power. Owning your power means taking the full responsibility for the choices and results in your life. Conformity is not your friend. When you listen to Divine Guidance you will know what steps to take to make the life of your dreams come true. Listening to Divine Guidance will allow you to be that audacious person who stands fully in your power. When you are audacious enough to fully own your power, you know that you have the power of choice to make your goals and dreams come true. Know that you are worthy to pursue your dreams. In other words, it’s time to start owning your brilliance and the value that you bring to the world. Be audacious and let the love and gifts you bring to the world shine in all their glory!

As published in Sibyl Magazine: For the Spirit and Soul of a Woman (July 2016 issue)