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Articles by Valencia Ray

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127 articles by Valencia Ray · showing 50

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By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

What You Give to Yourself You Get From Others

Empowering behaviors and beliefs can seem paradoxical to us because for the most part, what we have been taught is actually contrary to leading a truly confident and empowered life. What we learn is not only contrary; it's often outright backwards. We think that how we think about ourselves is independent of how others think of us. In fact, we think that what others think about us is more significant than what we think about ourselves.

Primary topic: Empowerment

748 views3/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

The Real Root of All Evil

The real root of all evil is not money; it’s lack of self-acceptance. By the way, even the Bible doesn’t say it’s money. There it says the “love of money” and love as used in the proper translation would be “lust” or attachment – in other words, greed. This is where lack of self-acceptance comes into the conversation.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,172 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Career Transition and Change: Who Do You Think You Are?

Career and business success depends on this question: Who do you think you are? Often this question is asked with an attitude, as in “you must think you’re somebody”. Well, yes, I do, and you should too. Not only are you “somebody” you are unique, special and it’s time to stop playing small and letting the world around you define you. Since the default setting for the mindset of the world is so constricted, and limited, focused far more on lack than on abundance, if you plug into this viewpoint – you are bound for lack and struggle right out the gate.

Primary topic: Empowerment

745 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Visioning by Design: What’s the Difference Between Thinking and Believing?

Law of Attraction is tied to what I call “visioning by design.” Visioning by design is applicable to your business or to your personal life. As an eye surgeon, vision has always been near and dear to my heart in the literal sense, and as someone who has always had an interest in personal growth and living with purpose and personal power, “life vision” is also top of mind. Belief is what will bring the experience of your vision to your life, not just “thinking about it.”

Primary topic: Empowerment

999 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

3 Steps to Deal with that Perfectionistic Inner Critic

Perfectionism will reduce your personal power and effectiveness. I used to take pride in saying I was a “perfectionist” until I started to realize WHY I was a perfectionist. Truth was, I felt insecure and “making a mistake” pushed my “not good enough” button that I was doing my best to conceal. I was great at putting on a mask that appeared by most people’s account as smart, successful and competent.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,159 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Mindset Matters: Are You Producing Results or Just Doing Too Much?

Results matter to your life’s bottom line. Accomplishment vs Doing: They are not the same thing. You can accomplish more by doing less if you have clarity and focus, which comes from a quiet and clear mind.

Primary topic: Empowerment

885 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Innovation: Why We Need It, Want It, and Fear It

Innovation is a hot topic right now. The search is on for the next new thing, the new business frontier. We certainly do need to innovate, as our infrastructure appears to be falling apart. We need to make changes in how we “think life is,” for one thing. Survival of the fittest is only a paradigm, a way of society that we have all created. Human beings are creative enough to create a whole new way of life once they unite their mind with their hearts and get committed. The challenge is being self-aware enough to “get committed.”

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,253 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Self Esteem: The Secret to Uncovering Hidden Personal Power Is the Ego Shadow

Self-esteem is essential to living free of exte al "busy bodies" that want to tell you have to live. It is very important to love and accept yourself if you want freedom of expression and to live out a high level of your potential gifts and talents. As long as you are "looking for love in all the wrong places" you will not find it. You must first begin within and then you will see it "with out" - out there in the world. Now ego gets a bad rap and a lot of people who are seeking spiritual principles are inclined to think that they need to get rid of it.

Primary topic: Empowerment

850 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Empower Up - Perception Rules Your Reality

It's empowering to know that I can change my reality based on my perception. Perception is subjective of course, so therefore reality is also subjective. I have truly found that my reality may often not be my friend's reality. Interesting. "To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds" ~William James

Primary topic: Empowerment

900 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Empower Up and Win From the Inside Out!

Confidence from my point of view is about letting go of the stories that block the light and power that you already are. It is about, as Robert Browning said: "There is an inmost center in us all, where truth abides in fullness;....and, to know, rather consists in opening out a way where the imprisoned splendor may escape, then in effecting entry for a light supposed to be without."

Primary topic: Empowerment

968 views5/5 (2)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Is Your Mindset Causing You to Disintegrate (Dis-Integrate)?

Understanding mindset as the root of what causes your outcomes in life can be a tricky thing as its operation is often out of our awareness. One of the reasons it is so easy to overlook the connection between how we think and feel and the results that we get in life is because we are so not “integrated” in the way that we think and live our lives.

Primary topic: Empowerment

995 views5/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Self Esteem and Confidence - Why Self Acceptance Accelerates Personal Growth

Core confidence, coming from an inner place of authenticity by default will cultivate a healthy sense of self-esteem. Let's get clear here: self-esteem as I define it is not narcissism and is essential to personal power and a secure self-image. If you buy into the idea that putting yourself down is "humble" or that what others say about you defines who you are and determines your level of confidence, you cannot live an empowered life.

Primary topic: Empowerment

775 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Self Esteem and Confidence: Why Self Acceptance Accelerates Personal Growth

Core confidence, coming from an inner place of authenticity by default will cultivate a healthy sense of self-esteem. Let’s get clear here: self-esteem as I define it is not narcissism and is essential to personal power and a secure self-image. If you buy into the idea that putting yourself down is “humble” or that what others say about you defines who you are and determines your level of confidence, you cannot live an empowered life.

Primary topic: Empowerment

903 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Empower Up and Win From The Inside Out

Confidence from my point of view is about letting go of the stories that block the light and power that you already are. It is about, as Robert Browning said: "There is an inmost center in us all, where truth abides in fullness....and, to know, rather consists in opening out a way where the imprisoned splendor may escape, then in effecting entry for a light supposed to be without."

Primary topic: Empowerment

690 views3/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

The Paradox of Declining Happiness in Women

I came across a study by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers in the American Economic journal: the link is at the end of this post. The conclusion was essentially that women are not happier despite educational gains, social status and higher levels of economic power; in fact maybe they are less happy.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,009 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Creativity: The Creative Force of Words

The creative process is advanced in the direction we desire - or not - by the power of our words. Words energize our thoughts. Words are our thoughts spoken out loud; they set the trajectory for our thoughts. They are one step closer to determining the actions we take. Guard your thoughts; they lead to words. Words breathe life or limitation into your experiences. They can inspire or they can destroy. So here's a question: What is your internal conversation?

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,286 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Emotional Intelligence: From Quiet Desperation to Real Happiness

Emotional Intelligence is the mind of the heart, the right-brain in metaphoric terms. Realize that language has its limitations, and speaking in terms of the English language subtleties can be lost - such as having only one word for 'love'. When culture moved away from communicating with images, we also moved away from an appreciation of what the right-brain has to offer us as a human civilization. This is unfortunate, as our feelings are powerful influencers over the quality of our lives.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,155 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Mindfulness Meditation: Live in Peace, Not Pieces

Inner peace is closer than you realize. You don't have to do any thing. In fact, it is your tendency to need to do something that is driving peace of mind out of reach. We have been taught to separate our self into pieces. Be one way at home and one way at office. One way at church or temple and one way with our friends.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,402 views1/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Optimism Optimizes Your Performance

Understanding optimism is important to elevating your performance. Finally, the power of feelings and emotions are beginning to be openly discussed within the context of science, business, and leadership. Historically, the term "touchy feely" has been used to dismiss important aspects of ourselves that we were not comfortable dealing with. We perform at our best when we approach performance from a holistic perspective.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,229 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Storytelling: Directing Your Life on Purpose, with Purpose

We love storytelling; this love affair begins in childhood and we never outgrow it. Our brain is a "storytelling" organ, made perfectly for creating storyline. Life is not as objective as it appears on the surface. Via our perceptions of how we interpret the facts and experiences of our lives, we see the world through our own unique lens. We set the stage of our lives based on these perceptions. When we become more self-aware by learning how our brain operates optimally, we can start to direct our life story on purpose, with purpose. You see, we can change our 'story'.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,219 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Change Management: From Survival to Thrival

Managing change effectively involves managing mindset. Where your mind is set determines if change is scary and 'hard' or exciting and 'easier'. I don't want to imply that change will be without discomfort, but it doesn't have to be downright painful. How you see it - perception - matters. 'Survival of the fittest' is a pervasive perception that drives us into our survival brain. I don't think there is anything primitive about our amazing brain, yet there are evolutionary levels of engagement that impact our behaviors in everyday life.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,496 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Clarity Takes Courage

Clarity is powerful and is a primary ingredient to performing at your best. It is poorly understood and generally not a feature of most people's strategies. Why? Because we are too busy being busy. We take pride in taking "massive action."

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,188 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Innovation: Two Brains are Better tha One

Innovation and creativity optimization requires mental agility. When we can flexibly move between and integrate our two hemispheres, we can tap our 'two brains'. They work best together, collaboratively. We have a right and left-brain for good reason… good reasoning.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,357 views2.7/5 (3)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Authentic Leadership: The Eye of the Heart Sees Everything

Is it 'eye' or 'I'? That is the question. It is interesting that they are pronounced the same. The physical eye allows you to see the physical world. The 'I'-who you think you are-determines the clarity of your perception: how you see the world and your life experience. Authentic leadership engages the head and the heart. The heart is the feeling nature and can either follow the lead of your ego ('I' in Latin, by the way) or your True, Authentic Self, the real 'I'.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,165 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Personal Development: What's the 'Self' in Self-Actualization?

I was listening to a video by an author where he defined 'self-actualization' in terms of ego or selfish individualism - a type of narcissism. This goes to show the limitations of language and how meaning can be confused. The 'self' in self-actualization, in my mind, is just the opposite. It is the freedom from the mental constructs of the ego-self. And it's an ancient concept.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,725 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Emotional Intelligence: The Heart of Great Leadership

Emotion and feeling have been given a bum rap. Emotion and feeling powerfully impact our behavior, decision-making, health, quality of relationships and life experience. To ignore them is to attempt to ignore half of our human nature. Navigating them intelligently has a definite leadership and life advantage. I know for sure that to deny this reality is a clear sign of lack of real self-awareness. It will be a giant step forward for humanity to reconcile our fear of feeling and emotion, which is really simply rooted in perception.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,215 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

The Eye of Leadership Performance

Leadership, as do people, evolves. Seeing through the eye of the leader has taken on a whole new level of meaning in light of recent advances in cognitive neuroscience. When a leader realizes that how she or he perceives their self, their team members, and the organization powerfully matters to outcomes, there is potentially even more motivation to bring clarity to their vision.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,370 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Neuroscience of Leadership: Making Change Easier

Change is the theme of our times. We can either embrace it and proactively create the change we want to see or allow it to randomly come upon us. Either way, change will continue to be a part of our lives. Neuroscience can help us as leaders to learn how to optimally operate our truly amazing brain. Change is an art as much as it is a science. We need to integrate our whole brain and mind. Both hemispheres are involved in the creative process. We have been repressing and leaving out our 'art' side - the right brain.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,088 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Self-Awareness: The Great and Powerful Oz

Self-awareness helps us wake up to aspects that are already present within us - we just don't see them. The blind spots of our society's conditioning over time can cause us to focus on what is allegedly 'wrong with us'. Sure, we all have shortcomings that challenge us to grow.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,166 views3/5 (2)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Productivity and Performance: The Myth of Hard Work

Does success require stress and hard work as a means to reach your goal? I say no, and there is even objective neuroscience to support my belief and experience. "Hard work and stress" is a type of paradigm or mindset. I have had conversations with several people over time regarding whether obtaining peace of mind was a hazard to ambition. I have read articles that argue that if we become peaceful we will become complacent. It is this type of belief that drives hard work as a social construct.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,316 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Emotional Intelligence: Mind Has Heart

Emotional intelligence helps us to be smarter about our emotion. Emotion is a part of our mind-body connection. It is another expression of our intelligence. Feelings are the effect of our emotional perception. They add color to our lives. I say "perception" because how we look at a situation determines the meaning we assign. Let's keep this simple; there are only two classes of emotion - love or fear.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,071 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

3 Reasons Why Sleep Makes You a Better Leader

Sleep is apparently a little known secret to good leadership that is critical to high performance and well-being. It is not just for beauty rest; there are plenty of leadership and health reasons for getting a good night's sleep.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,169 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Neuroscience: Closing the Gap Between Intellect and Heart

Having a neuroscience background and having owned and operated a surgical and medical practice for many years prepared me for the new next level expression of my life purpose – to restore vision. It’s obvious how an eye surgeon restores vision. Then there’s expanding the vision for one’s life – that’s where my gift is focused now. Helping people to be themselves ‘Magnificently’ by closing the gap between their own intellect and heart is the new visio I have. Each and every one of us is unique and can make our own unique impact – if we learn to get out of our own way.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,519 views2.3/5 (3)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Fear of Conflict in Team-Building — What’s So Scary?

Team dysfunction is at the heart of much organizational dysfunction. After all, people comprise teams and teams create organizations. Or, let’s work backwards: if we want to improve organizations, we need to develop individual people. Notice I said, “develop,” not “fix” or “improve.” Our view of personal growth historically also comes from a paradigm of lack or negativity—something must be wrong if you don’t know it all—which is why so many leaders pretend they already know everything.

Primary topic: Empowerment

2,972 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Leadership Beyond Gender

Leadership development is another area of personal and professional growth that is, not surprisingly, undergoing change. What we historically attribute to leadership style is no longer working as we move further and further away from a one-size-fits-all workplace to a more collaborative culture of innovation. Historically, the ‘command-control’ leader who intimidated people into motivation was the macho style that was ‘traditional’.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,321 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Personal Development: The Value of Meaning and Passion

Knowing your life purpose makes life more meaningful and fulfilling. It gives you the “why” to look forward to in your day, in your work, and in your life overall. Knowing your true values can point you in the direction of your purpose; they underpin meaning. Otherwise, you may find yourself in the nightmare of the “routine”: Wake up, go to work, come home, eat, take care of “stuff”, and go to sleep… repeat. How dull. How painful! Life is meant to be an adventure of growth and learning. It’s not about clinging to a mediocre life, and then you die. How sad.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,218 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Self-Awareness: Life Is a Hero’s Journey

We human beings love stories. One of the all-time favorite themes is ‘The Hero’s Journey’. Adventure stories and lessons from fairy tales were, and still are, at the top of my list of favorite movies, books, and conversations. This is why movies like “The Hobbit,” “Lord of the Rings,” and even more contemporary movie settings in the ‘adventure’ genre are so popular. Too often we only live vicariously through the movies and lives of others. We see this journey in others, yet remain blind to our own personal hero or ‘shero’ journey.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,652 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Leadership, Personal Growth and Maslow – Beyond Theory

I’ve noticed leadership and personal development being associated with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a framework in online and offline conversations these days. Maslow was obviously a thought leader, especially ahead of his time. I see an interesting twist, however, that deviates from the typical line of thinking.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,258 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Olympic Leadership for 21st Century Clarity and Confidence

Leadership is evolving, and it needs to. A one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach is no longer working, and for good reason. The immense change we are facing is requiring leaders to be authentic and vulnerable, which means “less fear,” not weak, and in touch with their own individual strengths and gaps. This requires courage, something I’ve also witnessed in the leadership of the Olympic athletes recently in London.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,187 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Making Innovation Easier by Retraining Your Brain

Innovation has become more respected as a concept within the scope of business. “Business as usual” is no longer supporting competitive advantage. We are now looking for ways to change the status quo. This is quite a change from the recent past—at least on the surface. We say we want innovation but our behavior does not align with this. The “way we think” changes very slowly, historically.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,220 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Personal Power Increases with a Purpose Filter

Personal power and a sense of purpose are at the foundation of real productivity. Having a sense of purpose that is compelling for you fuels personal power and passion. Personal power is not about ‘power over’ others. It is not even about always ‘being in control’ over the environment. Haven’t you noticed? We cannot always control the environment or what happens to us, so we surely cannot really control other people.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,162 views2.5/5 (2)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Corporate Team Productivity Lessons from a Cow Farmer

High-level productivity is a product of happiness—even in cows. There’s a lot of talk on the airwaves about innovation, productivity, employee engagement, and team building”…lots of talk. It’s really time for more action. I will say that I am seeing signs that people are finally realizing that we are “not in Kansas anymore,” as Dorothy said in the movie “The Wizard of Oz” when her house landed on the witch.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,155 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Leadership: The Courage to Actually Lead

Real leadership is about having the courage to inspire change and engage the heart of others to take action. Not just action for the sake of action; there also needs to be clarity of ‘why’ you are choosing a given course of action. What are you as a leader doing that is different than you did two years ago to be more effective? The environment has changed in two years. Have you course corrected? Or is your rational mind stuck in the past?

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,220 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Life Purpose: A Little Known Secret to Tap Your True Potential

Your true potential is an existing possibility that needs to be cultivated and nurtured. We all have a purpose for being born. You are not a random accident. Yet, many people do not realize that how we see our self is a huge determinant of whether or not we pursue a higher vision for our life. One of the greatest impediments to reaching your true potential is a lack of self-compassion.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,173 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Mindset Matters: Is the Heart Always Right?

Mindset is like a thermostat. Where your mind is set, like a thermostat. The setting holds the temperature—temperament, as in mindset—in place. Mindset settings have two basic ingredients: thoughts and feelings. Belief is formed from emotionalized thought that has an assigned meaning. Brain research shows that we are assigning the meaning to what happens to us; it is not objective, in general. Your perception of life is different from mine.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,267 views1.5/5 (2)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Leadership Development Means Business

Leadership development when valued in the organizational culture can mean more business, more employee engagement, and more fulfillment at work. Another word for leadership development is “personal development.” Leadership development done “on purpose” can lead to teams that have a sense of purpose. This is the heart of ownership and alignment: humanity’s search for meaning.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,076 views2/5 (2)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

A Fragile Self-Image Makes Happiness Elusive

Happiness will be elusive as long as a man or woman builds their self-image or worth based on what they do and how much money they make. I read an article this weekend in The New York Times Magazine bemoaning the fact that many men are losing their self-worth because their “macho” jobs are going away and their wives are making more money than they are. Mind you, it’s not that they can’t find work; they just don’t want to do service jobs that they consider “women’s work,” such as teaching.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,425 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Be YOU, Magnificently – Is that Arrogant?

Leaders, and people in general, are searching for new answers. New answers – innovation – require an open mind. I hear and read much about innovation. Much is being said about ‘cutting edge’ and ‘embracing change’ and leaders leading. Still, many people cling to what they know.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,211 views2/5 (1)

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Is Your MindSET for Productivity with Greater Ease?

Productivity does not need to be hard. Hard work does not define success, nor real productivity. Success as we tend to define it does not often equal happiness, either. Perhaps if we stop implying that hard work and success are required before we can be happy, we can be happy as we work and become successful, and we can do it with more ease.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,294 views

By Valencia RayRecently published1 topic

Why Optimally Operating Your Brain Matters So Much

Productivity and performance matter, and unde eath this is how we think. We load up on ‘what to do?’ but the deeper question is ‘how do we think about it?’. If we think that work and life are hard and that to be successful we have to feel pressure or stress, we are likely to dampen our level of productivity and performance. It takes more energy to push against ‘hard’ than to enjoy ‘easy’. This is about our perception—a subjective matter. You see, it is not so much what we do as it is the mindset we hold about what we do, and how we focus our brain as we do it.

Primary topic: Empowerment

1,189 views

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