If you're not happy with parts of your life, your career isn't quite on target, your home life isn't all you'd hoped, your goals feel fuzzy, life isn't as much fun as you thought it would be --- Now Is My Time can help. Read on to find out how.

Are You Living the Life You Want?
Some women know exactly what they would like in life, if only they had the time and know-how to accomplish it. Now Is My Time can provide them the tools and tactics to get there.

For other women (and I was in this group for a long time) just finding the insight into what they really want can be the challenge. Lots of ideas. No ideas. Lots of energy. No energy. The only "givens" seem to be confusion and frustration. Plus, envy of all those fabulous women who seem to have it all together.

In my experience, women do "kind of know" what they want, but for one reason or another, aren't realizing it and aren't getting there. I knew I really wanted to be fit and healthy, yet for years I carried around the same extra pounds and had zero upper body strength. Sure, I knew how to get lean: more exercise (all right, SOME exercise), eating smaller portions, hiding the Snickers bars. But, it wasn't just weighing in at Jenny Craig; something else was holding me back.

I've been writing for publication since I was seven, yet I was over 40 before I referred to myself out loud as a "writer." I designed gardens as gifts for friends, yet never considered myself a real gardener, or took time to enjoy my hours in the yard. What took me so long? And how did I finally get there? I'd like to share my secrets.

Who's the Boss?
Feel like everyone else is controlling your life? That you're often a bouncing ball, doing first what one person needs, then another, then another? And surprise, surprise -- there's never any time left for you! By the time you've met all your responsibilities -- spouse, kids, pets, work, and friends -- you're beat. There's hardly enough time to even sleep.

Now Is My Time will tell you how to get back on track -- how to retrieve your own life and manage your own time -- without running away from home, quitting your job, disowning your kids, or putting the dog up for adoption.

My First Clue
Ten years ago, all I knew was that some parts of my old life just didn't work any more. That proved to be my first big step: the knowledge of what I didn't want. During the workshop, you'll learn how to use what you don't want in your life as a way to discover what you do want.

The activities you've started avoiding or procrastinating about offer clear and accurate clues to your real passions. Bored with your job or career? Tired of volunteer commitments? Want a different life focus? Want some fun for a change?

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, 62% of us live lives fraught with regret. What do you regret not doing? Remember the poem about the old woman who wished she'd worn purple and run a stick along a picket fence? Wear purple while you can -- and don't let life's opportunities pass you by.

These are the kinds of issues we address in Now Is My Time. We all have our doubts and complaints. Now is YOUR chance to turn them into positive goals and concrete action with the help of other women like you.

Is This You?
A Now Is My Time participant shared this story: "The day my last child went off to college, I found myself in the grocery store, standing in the center of an aisle with an empty shopping cart. I knew what my kids liked to eat. I knew my husband's preferences. It had been so long since I'd thought of myself that I had no idea what I really liked. That's how out of touch I'd gotten with myself."

Have you been living everyone else's life for so long that you don't know what YOU want anymore? Now Is My Time is your chance to get to know somebody you've been wanting to meet for years — yourself.

What Makes You Happy?
Many women honestly don't know, yet we're all on a quest for happiness! How can you get there if you don't even know where "there" is? And if you think "more money" is the answer, you're in for quite a surprise.

While some of us would like a white knight to ride in, sweep us off our feet and make our lives perfect, down deep we all know that the only person who can really make us happy is ourself. In reality, we'd complain that the white knight's horseshoes dirtied the carpet. Or that the knight spent more time with his horse than with us. It isn't the knight we're after. It's the fairy tale.

As a preview, ask yourself: "What is the 'white knight' in my life?" Is it other people you're expecting to make you happy, like a spouse or appreciative kids? (Some consider that last one an oxymoron.) Is it a situation, such as when you have a higher income, better job, bigger house, smaller waist?

So, what would really make you happy?

Self-Esteem
The killer word. How do you get it? How do you regain it when you've lost it? We watch our daughters start life with a healthy dose, and then lose it as early as grade school. How can you regain yours and help your daughters maintain theirs?

Intellectually, we all know how we'd like to feel: that scale-mountains, slay-tigers, meet-any-obstacle-with-confidence feeling. Healthy self-esteem comes from feeling good about yourself, realistically recognizing your strengths and reveling in them. Yeah, yeah, we all know that: why aren't we there?

Every time you learn a new skill, you increase your self-esteem. Now Is My Time is about identifying and claiming your strengths and building on them. It's about learning how to quit beating yourself up over your perceived shortcomings and get on with your life in a positive way.

What if self-esteem were Häagen-Dazs rocky road ice cream and we could down giant scoops on a daily basis? Hold that thought.

Ever Eaten Cotton Candy?
Remember cotton candy when you were a kid? It looked good and tasted great -- but only for a minute, and then the thrill disappeared when you realized that it was mostly air. In researching the best materials and formats for Now Is My Time, I've sat through a lot of seminars and read a lot of books that reminded me of cotton candy: a lot of froth but little substance. By the time I'd gotten home and back into my daily routine, I was no better prepared or motivated to make changes than before.

This is one of the ways Now Is My Time is unique. It' s about solid planning for concrete results. Once you've identified your goals, you will build an action plan that includes how you or others might sabotage the process or results, on purpose or not. Then, still within the workshop, your classmates and I help you design tactics to counteract any resistance you might anticipate.

When you get home, you will have a complete roadmap to get you to your goals: shortcuts, major milestones, alternate routes, and even emergency detours. And your classmates' help doesn't stop there, for everyone continues to be an ongoing resource through phone calls, emails, and annual reunions.

We've All Read the Same Books
I used to joke that I had the largest personal growth, self-help library on the West Coast. However, after reading the first 30-40 of even the best books, they all started saying the same thing, and I kept reading and re-reading the same information.

You've probably read a few yourself. Yet have you done what they recommend? And did it make a long-term difference? It didn't for me. I'd just buy another book! I kept reading as a way of not acting, of not making any changes. I fooled myself into believing that if I just read one more (or another half dozen books), it would take the place of actually doing the work.

So, as the cliché goes, where does the rubber meet the road? When do you stop complaining, whining, procrastinating, and self-justifying -- and finally start doing what you say you want to do with your life?

The Best of the Best
What I have learned from all these years of reading and attending seminars are the best ways to get what you want. There are lots of methods out there; some work better than others. Some don't work at all. I've researched the literature for you and condensed what I feel are the real kernels of wisdom so you can jump-start your own path to success.

I've also studied a lot of motivational research to find out why and how people learn. As a result, the workshop includes activities for right- and left-brain thinking, auditory exercises, and kinesthetic lessons for those who learn by touch and movement. We each have different ways of "getting it," and I've left no one out. (Just wait until I tell you about the research on which ear you should talk into if you want to influence someone.)

Why Only Women?
Women repeatedly tell me their husbands and significant others want to come to Now Is My Time, too. Other men ask if there's a "men's only" group. They'd like time for themselves, too! They also want to learn about increased self-esteem, renewed direction, self-empowerment, and time management. Who wouldn't?

The reason this is a "women's only" course is that the dynamic of an all-female group is unique. As women, we nurture and support each other easily. It's in our DNA. We have common female experiences and can thus provide useful insights for each other. The sharing of our stories is a rich and integral component of the course. Plus, women bond quickly and easily, building a trusting atmosphere from the start. We've only a short time together and want to make the most of it.

An underlying premise of the course is that we're all different, special, and unique. And we spend our time buoying each other up, never tearing down. In this course, there is no whining or criticizing. Also, this clearly isn't therapy. There's no inner child work or reviling your mother. It's a safe, positive opportunity to help each other -- and laugh about chocolate, menopause, and great shoes.

What's Your Favorite Memory?
Can you recall a time when you were especially pleased with yourself? Maybe it was when you got rave reviews for an important work project, or the time you stood up to the bully at a committee meeting, or when you witnessed your child excel at a difficult task.

Remember that feeling? You knew you could conquer the world. You felt light yet powerful and playful -- all at once. You were exhilarated. That's the kind of feeling you can regain -- and keep, once you make a commitment to get your life back in balance. Being in control of your own destiny is incredibly empowering.

That's the feeling you'll recapture from participating in Now Is My Time -- that feeling that you can do anything.

How Often Do You Laugh?
A lot, I hope. But if you've noticed that your laugh quotient is down lately, you might want to ask yourself, "Do I like living my life like this?" Your laugh meter is a good indicator of your overall frame of mind.

During a workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, several of us took a salsa dance lesson. Our instructor was a drop-dead gorgeous 35-years-old with hips narrow enough to thread through a needle, and spoke only Spanish. As the music got faster and the steps more complicated, we started knocking into each other, twirling into the chairs, and bouncing against the walls.

The next day in our workshop, a woman told the group that she couldn't remember when she had laughed so hard. She said the salsa class was her wake-up call that the cost of not taking better care of herself had become too high. Her goal was to put more laughter in her life to rediscover the former fun loving, light-hearted self she missed.

Isn't All This Fun Selfish?
A time out just for you -- isn't that self-indulgent? You wouldn't be a woman if you didn't ask that question. We are taught as children not only to put the needs of others first, but also to believe our own needs are unimportant. Selfish, no. Self-indulgent, of course. And you are worth it! If you don't take care of yourself, who will do it for you?

Whose Life is This?
A Now Is My Time participant shared the following: "Telling my story to a group of supportive women was so revealing in such an obvious way that I wondered why I'd never seen it before. Now I understand why storytelling is so therapeutic.

"Travel is one of my passions, but I'd been living my life through other people's itineraries. I had what Lucy said author and management guru Tom Peters calls a 'blinding glimpse of the obvious.' I had let my love of travel dictate my life's direction. But it was other people's travel! I finally understood why vacationing in places other people envied, I often felt sad and alone."

The discussions and exercises in Now Is My Time often produce new insights and surprising moments of self-awareness. That's just one of the many values.

Learning About Yourself
Now Is My Time vacation trips are a purposeful combination of travel and learning, for travel expands your horizons in ways that lead to self-discovery. When we're out of our daily routine, we are much more susceptible to learning new things about ourselves.

How do you interact with strangers? Can you read a map? What's your tolerance for risk? What do you gravitate toward -- and away from? Travel helps women see in themselves new skills and interests, giving them further tools for self-growth.

You Can't Dust on Vacation
Getting away is just that. You temporarily leave your daily life, and there are no kids, cats, work, or neighbors for a solid, blessed week. If you aren't there to see the laundry, you can't feel guilty about not doing it. The same is true about calling committee members, or coordinating the next work project. For a full week you can concentrate on yourself. Doesn't that sound like heaven?

Please Peel My Grapes
Now Is My Time locations incorporate self-indulgence.. massage.. alfresco meals...quiet reading time... luxuriating in the sun...amazing food...art and theater and shopping -- all at your own speed. Whatever your choices, they not only will leave you feeling rested and pampered, but also represent gifts to yourself. A key message from Now Is My Time is "You Are Worth It!" We constantly give gifts to others. Why not to ourselves?

Holding Your Breath
Ask yourself: If you aren't all you can be, how can you really help others you care about and who rely on you? Think about flying and the safety instructions about the oxygen masks. You're told to put your own mask on first, then to help others. You can't be much help to them if you can't breathe. How many of you are just "waiting to exhale"?

What Would You Do If You Knew You Couldn't Fail?
What would you do if there were no rules in your life? If you always felt great? If your kids were self-sufficient? If you started a new career? If you were your own boss? If you lived in a different house? If you won the lottery? If all your clothes fit? You'll find your answers at Now Is My Time.