March is a very special month for me. First of all, it's my birth month (my birthday is coming up next week) and the beginning of Spring. So it symbolizes rebirth and renewal for me. In addition, March is Women's History Month. Although I do not label myself as a feminist, I AM passionate about empowering and nurturing women. I believe in the power of women. By supporting and nurturing one another, we uplift, empower and heal the entire world.

One of the many ways I support and empower women (besides my coaching, writing and speaking), is my role as the co-facilitator of Powerful You! Women's Network Denville NJ Chapter. Powerful You! is a national women's business networking and empowerment network. I love it because it's not only for business networking but also emphasizes heavily on personal and spiritual growth. I feel grateful and privileged to be a facilitator of this organization.

That is why I am excited to share with you this news --

Daily Record (New Jersey's largest newspaper) featured Denville NJ Chapter of Powerful You! Women's Network as the cover story in its 3/18/09 Wednesday special edition. The title of the cover story is Women's network's Denville chapter can help find your inner 'You!'

When I saw the newspaper, I was blown away by the generous coverage of our story. On the front page is a HUGE picture of my co-facilitator (and dear friend) Christina Santiago. On the inside 2-page spread, there are several great pictures and quotes from our members. It's heartwarming and affirming to see that the media recognizes and cares about an organization that empowers women.

I think this news article really captures the essence of Powerful You! and our Denville chapter. Many women share why they attend Powerful You! meetings. It's worth reading. Here is the link to the article on Daily Record website.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903180314

I believe, after reading this article, you'll be convinced that this is an amazing group for growing your business and nurturing YOU! If you're in NJ/NY/PA area, I invite you to join us for our monthly meetings! We meet on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 12:00 EST. Great food, great company, every month there is a speaker presentation, monthly discussion, gratitude & success share, etc. For more information visit

http://powerfulyou.com/Network_Meetings/Denville.htm

If you live in other states in the U.S. you can check out other Powerful You! chapters in your area.

Oh, by the way, it's for women only. Sorry guys! Please pass this invite to your female friends, coworkers and family.

Here's the other invitation, and this one is for both men and women. This Saturday, March 21, The Life Coaching Center is hosting Women/Men Embracing Our Greatness International Conference, in Sumerville, New Jersey. There's a great lineup of speakers, holistic educators & practitioners. I'll be speaking as well. Hope you can join us!

http://www.lifecoachingctr.org/internationalconference.html

By the way, if you have not read my March E-zine, you can read it online:


Please pass it to your friends, family, colleagues and anyone who can benefit from this message. What's what good friends do. :-)

Happy Spring!

Labels: empowerment, getting support, gratitude, Hueina Su, New Year Resolutions, personal development

Most people think as people get older, they gradually lose their memories, and it's just inevitable fate. Or is it?

Brain research has shown that our brains have the ability to continue to develop and grow new neuro-pathways or connections. It's called brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity. It's not limited by our age.

Keeping yourself mentally sharp is part of Intensive Self-Care, so I think it's important to learn more about this. I found this post at SharpBrains with a fascinating interview with Dr. Michael Merzenich, a co-founder of Posit Science, Inc. and one of the first neuroscientists to embrace the concepts of neuroplasticity. He was convinced of the real-world application of neuroplasticity, because of his experience with the invention of the cochlear implant. The quality of the signal provided by a cochlear implant is rather poor compared to that produced in normal hearing, but over a period of months, implant recipients are able to progress to the point of being able to discern speech that sounds "almost normal." This is a practical example of brain plasticity.

As for the belief that older people have less efficient memory, Dr. Merzenich's research indicates that as people get older their ability to comprehend rapid speech goes down. His key idea is that if you can improve hearing comprehension, memory improves. This is because of the well-known fact that richer signals leave stronger memories.

Same goes to vision. He found that as people get older, they tend to focus their vision directly in front of themselves (think tunnel vision), but not paying so much attention to their surroundings as younger people do. This means they are seeing less of their surroundings, so they are remembering less. So at Posit Science, Inc. they are training seniors to regain the habit of frequently scanning their periphery, in the hope of improving their memory.

It's fascinating, isn't it? I didn't know the correlation between memory and the quality of hearing or vision. But it does make sense.

When asked how to improve cognitive fitness, Dr. Merzenich advised embracing lifestyle that enhances brain neuroplasticity. He emphasized the importance of physical activity and the importance of "remaining engaged in life." If you want your brain to stay sharp you have to keep challenging it. Avoid the temptation to take the easy way out by intentionally trying things you aren't already good at.

Sounds like commonsense, but now there's real science to back it up. If you think "I am too old to learn ..." think again! It is no longer a valid excuse!

Keep challenging yourself and keep on learning. Otherwise, your brain might end up looking like Homer's...

Labels: health, Intensive Self-Care, mental fitness, personal development

The Carnival of Healing #180 is up at Create a Thriving Business. As usual, there are lots of great submissions to this wonderful carnival. Go & check them out.

Labels: Blog Carnivals, Carnival of Healing, healing, health

Owners urged to reduce stress levels

Microsoft Small Business Centre

Wed, 04 Mar 2009

Small business owners must ensure they consider their health and wellbeing when taking on work-related tasks, one business expert has claimed.

Business coach and author Hueina Su says that during periods of recession, small company owners and entrepreneurs are particularly prone to stress and burnout.

She claims that as they often work alone, or with few employees, owners often take total responsibility for establishing and servicing relationships between suppliers, vendors, customers and clients.

As a result, she proposes the risks of chronic stress increase, heightening the need to create a work-life balance and practice self-care of health.

Ms Su says clarity, commitment, action, perseverance and support can help achieve this simple goal, which can help business owners to work free of psychological burdens and lead to increased overall productivity.

She suggests that business coaches may be of use to some company owners who wish to nurture themselves physically and mentally.

Last month, Ron Sturgeon, author of How To Salvage More Millions from Your Small Business, claimed business owners could benefit from closer collaboration with their peers.

He proposed that by consulting with others in a similar position, company owners can form increasingly sophisticated and successful business plans.

Note: This is a reprint from Microsoft Small Business Centre. The original article can be read here.

P.S. Check out The Coaching Oasis -- the ultimate solution to help small business owners fast-track their success while maintaining work-life balance and keeping stress at bay.

Labels: coaching, getting support, Hueina Su, Intensive Self-Care, Resources, stress management, success, work life balance

Gregg Braden's new book "Fractal Time: The Secret of 2012 and a New World Age" sounds like a very interesting one, if you know anything about the Mayan calendar and the significance of 2012.

Labels: awareness, inspiration, spirituality

Is it just me, or did February seem to fly by in a blink of the eye? Just when I thought the worst of the winter was over, we had the biggest snow storm of the year yesterday! And it’s not just New Jersey, the entire East Coast all the way down to the South were affected. This morning, the sun came out, so bright and beautiful, as if the snow storm was merely a dream.

We are officially in the 3rd month of 2009, or, the last month of the first quarter. How are YOU on target to achieve your goals? Sometimes it might seem like you’ve made some headway, and then BOOM, you got pushed back, just like the huge snow storm that seemed to come from nowhere. If that’s the case, don’t get discouraged. Just hang in there, and be patient with yourself. As long as you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve, and know how you can get there, you will eventually succeed if you take consistent action.

The other day, I got an email from my best friend from high school, sharing her exciting news that she was selected as a Fulbright New Century Scholar. Only 30 grantees are selected worldwide, with 10 from the United States. She is a college professor who lives in Taiwan. You can imagine how competitive and difficult it is for her to win this honor. She told me that she didn't know how competitive it was when she decided to apply. She seemed to imply that if she knew, she might not have applied for the grant.

I congratulated her for such an amazing achievement, and for giving herself a chance! Instead of assuming she had a very slim chance of winning and not applying for the grant, she gave herself a chance and applied anyway. She totally deserves this honor!

I know how hard she has worked over the years, and how many barriers she has had to break through, to get to where she is now. My dear friend has come a very long way indeed. I remember back in high school, she had some difficulty academically. Our homeroom teacher assigned students who are good at math and science to tutor others who did not do so well. Believe it or not, I was actually good at math back then, and was assigned to help my friend. That's how we became good friends. She tried her best in high school and got into a good college, and later came to U.S. for graduate studies. Over the years, she has had to work extra hard in the academia, competing with male colleagues, enduring tremendous stress and prejudice against female professors. She is now a full professor at a very good college AND a Fulbright New Century Scholar. I'm so thrilled for her and so proud to be her friend!

The road to success is not always a smooth one. It takes commitment, consistent efforts, and tremendous perseverance. What I witness often, as a life coach, is that most people give up way too early. In fact, many people give up after just the first try. What's worse, they give up before even giving it a try. They just assume that they are not good enough, or, it's just too difficult, so why bother? Does it sound familiar?

How do you expect to succeed, if you don't even give yourself a chance?

Sometimes, when it looks like there's no chance to succeed, you have to create your own opportunity. Perhaps you need to change your plan, reaffirm your commitment, or hiring help. Perhaps you need to change your mindset and beliefs. Perhaps you need to align yourself with a mentor, coach, or a mastermind group.

Success is not an event, it is a journey. It requires learning outer strategies and skills, as well as changing the inner mindset and beliefs. Working with a life or business coach can be extremely effective in helping you break through your barriers (both external and internal), so you can achieve your goals. Yes, there is an investment involved, but, it's an investment in yourself, your business and your life. As the legendary investor Warren Buffett emphasized, in the economic downturn, the best investment you can make is to invest in yourself. In this trying time, it's even more important to make sure you have all the up-to-date knowledge, skills and tools to succeed in your field, and know how to adjust quickly to any change that comes your way. If you have tried over and over by yourself, without the desired result, isn't it time to try a different approach?

Give yourself a chance. Invest in yourself and your business. Your future depends on it.

P.S. Are you ready to work with a coach? Let me be your guide on your journey to success this year! Check out my Coaching Oasis program.

Labels: attitude, coaching, commitment, empowerment, goal-setting, mastermind, success

I got some people asking me about the U Smile Radio show I was on a couple weeks ago. Did you miss it too?

I was interviewed by Lesly Federici, The Green RN. Lesly and I talked about my personal journey as a doctor's daughter who grew up in Taiwan, became a registered nurse, moved to the U.S. barely speaking English and not knowing anyone, the challenges I had to overcome to transform myself to a successful coach, keynote speaker, wife and mom of two. We talked about the lessons I learned along the way, including my personal experience with stress and burnout as a nurse and a mom, how I learned the importance of Intensive Self-Care, which became the basis of my life coaching practice and my upcoming new book Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul: 7 Keys to Nurture Yourself While Caring for Others. Of course, I shared the 7 keys for creating more joy, peace and balance as discussed in my book.

You can listen to this interview on the player below. If the player does not work, you can listen to the show online at U Smile Radio, and download the MP3 to your iPod. Here's the link to the U Smile Radio site. My interview was originally aired on 2/11/2009.

Labels: coaching, Hueina Su, Intensive Self-Care, Resources, self love, stress management, work life balance