Our Greatest Fear by Marianne Williamson

After I attended The Breakthrough Seminar with John Demartini in June last year, I received the part of a speech in the mail.

From the first time I read it, I loved it! I laminated it an pinned it up in my bathroom, where I have read it several times a day since.

And although I read it so often, I never really FELT what it meant until now.

My point is, there is a difference between reading something and truly feeling something. There's a saying that goes "To know and not to do is not yet to know."

I have always known what this speech means to say, I cognitively processed the words and I understood what they meant. But only know do I really FEEL what this speech means, because I practice what it preaches. I know do, therefore I know.

Here is the speech, as delivered by Nelson Mandela at his inauguration in 1994, originally written by author Marianne Williamson in 1992.

Our Greatest Fear

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

My Journey - One Year on...

Pretty much one year ago, I began to see glimpses of where my life could go; what I could achieve, how much happier I and fulfilled I could be.

They were only glimpses, little pieces of the picture which I would be able to see if I was in the right frame of mind: inspired, creative, open to possibilities.

AsI set to exploring the paths personal development has to offer, I began learning. Learning about human psychology and behaviour, society and myself. And so, as I surrounded myself with more people who were on the same journey as I, the glimpses started to form a whole picture.

The picture was blurry, bits and pieces kept changing as I was exploring what I wanted out of my life. But it was one picture - a whole picture/. Bits and pieces, passions and interests were coming together.

At times I was frustrated, so impatient to get there, to achieve my goals, without even knowing what they were.

Today I am calm and serene - yet excited at the same time.

Because now, one year after starting my journey, I have a vision. It is grand. Its is unrealistic. It is exciting.

I know now, deep within myself, that life has something in store for me. That I was born to achieve great things, and help others do the same.

It may take years to achieve this grand goal of mine - yet in my mind, I am already there.

In the endm it truly is about the journey, what we learn and how we develop along the way.

And I am looking forward to many more years of enjoying this journey called life.


Even if you can't understand the lyrics of the song, enjoy it! It sums up how much more there is to life, even if the journey is difficult at times.

My recent publications

You may think that I have become lazy again and am neglecting my blog. Not true!

Quite the opposite, in fact! I have been busy writing online articles for some German Websites. Great practice for writing, keeping my German skills up and getting feedback from awesome editors!

Even if you can't read German, marvel at some of my stories below:
Background story on the Victorian Bushfires
Shark attack at Bondi Beach
Divers survive seven hour ordeal on Great Barrier Reef
Floods in North Queensland (Wombat Magazin)
Floods in North Queensland (Klima Magazin)
First Australian Solar Institute founded

So, there you go! They're mostly news stories, but with my participation in the Sydney Writer's Centre feature writing workshop, more features aren't too far away!

Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed

As you know, I am currently reading Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed by Dale Beaumont and Shaun Stenning. The book was given to me at the Smart Online Profits Systems Workshop I attended last weekend, and is part of the Secrets Exposed series by Dale Beaumont. Each book of the series focuses on a different topic and collates the knowledge of a variety of experts into one book.



I have to admit, I haven't finished the book yet, but I already wanted to share some thoughts with you.

Firstly, I am totally blown away by the concept of the Secrets Exposed series. As a writer, and someone whose dream has always been to publish a book, I marvel at this 'outside the box thinking' that allowed Dale to publish 15 books in the last few years!!

You may think "Well, if he published that many books in such a short time, they can't be very good". I disagree. If you have a look at the books, you will see they are very good. What has allowed Dale to publish this many books, is a new and innovative way of creating content.

Instead of writing the whole book himself, he finds a variety of experts on the topic, offers some incentives to be part of the whole series (for example cross-marketing opportunities), and lets them write the content. Their contribution is guided by the questions he provides and, of course, the book is edited as a whole to make it flow nicely.

I haven't read any other books of the series yet, but what I like about Secrets of Internet Entrepreneurs Exposed, is that it includes such a wide range of people who have succeeded on the internet in a variety of ways. Entrepreneurs in the book vary from marketing experts and software creators, to eBay and eBook sellers. Their background varies just as much: from internet geek to initial technophobe.

And this is exactly the point Dale and Shaun are making with the book: No matter who you are, no matter what your knowledge and experience, if you decide to make money on the internet, there is a way that will suit you. This makes the book really encouraging for those of us who are looking for opportunities to take action.

I will share my favourite stories in a few days when I have finished the book.

Sydney Writers Centre - Feature Writing Workshop

Sydney Writers Centre - my mission of learning continues!

When I saw the feature writing course at the Sydney Writers Centre, I knew I had to attend! As luck would have it, the course that ran in November was already full when I came across it. I was still overseas when the two-day intensive course ran in January. And last night MY course finally started! You can imagine how excited I was after waiting for 3 months!

And my expectations were definitely rewarded! The 2 hours went by way too quickly and I can't wait for next week! Judy Skatssoon, the presenter, is great! She is energetic and knowledgeable and makes everyone feel like they have something to offer.

We talked about everything from news and feature article characteristics, to the history of New Journalism, and market characteristics. But what impressed me most were the article ideas we came up with, simply by brainstorming some of the newspapers and thinking outside the box. I love seeing how an individual's knowledge, experience and background influence the way they interpret an article and come up with new angles!

Well, the course will be running once a week for the next 5 weeks and cover topics such as finding ideas, interviewing, writing and structuring, pitching and selling, and maintaining contacts and much more.

Iam off working on my article ideas! Will keep you posted on my progress.

Smart Online Profit Systems

The Smart Online Profit Systems workshop came to an end on Sunday night. I must say, this was one of the most worthwhile seminars / workshops I have attended in a long time!

Initially, I came to this seminar because I had some spare time and I wanted to learn about search engine optimisation (SEO). I can tell you, I learnt a lot more than that!

The two days were absolutely packed with Shaun's and Sean's expertise, teaching us everything they know about the internet: SEO, email marketing, social media and of course their SMART system for online business (S= Selecting your passion; M= Market research, A= Affiliate Marketing, R= Results, T= Taking it to Market)!

Although I had never seriously thought about online business before, now I am changing my mind. What I learned in such a short time frame this weekend, makes me believe that it is far from impossible to keep up with internet developments! There are so many possibilities out there and they are increasing every minute!

What I found most intriguing about the workshop were the presenters: Shaun Stenning and Sean Rasmussen. They surprised me with their ethics and integrity in every aspect - their respective businesses, the workshop, dealing with workshop participants and clients.

It turns out, Internet Marketing is not the dog-eat-dog world I had always imagined it to be! Well, I have decided to find out more about it! My first step will be the book Secrets of Internet Entrpreneurs exposed by Dale Beaumont. Expect a review soon!

Internet Marketing Seminar in Sydney

I have been inspired to post again - this weekend I am attending a fantastic Internet Marketing Seminar in Sydney: Smart Online Profit Systems.

And let me tell you what: those guys (Shaun Stenning and Sean Rasmussen), can really motivate you to get off you bum and make something happen! Even if it's just the first blog post after a few months!

It's Saturday night and we are only half way through the seminar. Yet I really felt like telling you about this energising, adventure-packed seminar!

Unlike many other events I have been to, this one is purely professional. Shaun and Sean are both successful - and wealthy - internet marketers. They have teamed up for this great seminar series 'from Aussies for Aussies' to teach the tools of the internet trade to anyone who is interested and committed.

And they have certainly proven themselves today. Sean was being challenged to build a new webpage on his blog and rank it as high as possible on Google. And guess what? He smashed all expectations by getting his page to a number one Google ranking for the key phrase Internet Marketing Workshop Sydney - in less than one hour! 55 minutes to be exact.

Well, Sean has had a lot of time to learn! He has made his fortune with affiliate marketing online and has had an amazing journey! He quitt his full-time job in 2005, after learning the ins and outs of Internet Marketing for 2 years whilst also working 12 hour shifts as an electrician. Now that is commitment! If you are interested in reading more about his amazing journey and how he now makes over $100,00 online per month, check out his eBook Year of the Affiliate. I know I will!