Gail McMeekin - The 12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women: A Portable Life Coach for Creative Women

Gail McMeekin is such a gift. Her 12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women gets right to the loving heart of how women are redefining success and building lives that are wildly creative and creatively successful! I'll be recommending this book for many years to come.

SARK, author of Succulent Wild Woman, PlanetSARK.com

Reading The 12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women, you gradually discover the one real secret of a successful life: it is yoursand yours alone. You get to find and define it. You get to create it. You get to fall in love with it. And you get to live it on your own terms. That's exciting, yes, but daunting, too. Be not afraid. Between these covers, Gail McMeekin has distilled a rich array of wisdom from thirty brilliant and successful women and her thirty years of coaching experience into 12 essential ingredients. Take them, sift them, stir them into your own brilliant and successful life.

Janet Conner, author of Writing Down Your Soul

What looks like a practical guidebook quickly reveals itself to be a fireworks display of inspiration and encouragement. In The 12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women, Gail McMeekin not only gives women a map toward clearer success for themselves, she also offers the wisdom of other women to reinforce her message that success hinges on heeding the voice of inspiration. She's let the cat out of the bag in her latest book: creativity is not only a part of success... it's the heart of success. Whatever part of the journey you're on, McMeekin's book will help you tune in, turn on, let go, and shine brighter in order to create the life that defines success for YOU.

Mary Beth Maziarz, songwriter and author of Kick-Ass Creativity: An Energy Makeover for Artists, Explorers, and Creative Professionals

Gail has done it again. What a powerhouse of practical, inspiring stories. I have flagged, underlined, and highlighted many, many passages. You will be dipping into this wisdom for years to come. Buy it for yourself and for all your friends who wonder, How does she do it?

Jennifer Louden, author of The Woman's Comfort Book and The Life Organizer

Gail McMeekin's new book on success secrets for creative women is even better than her first (which I loved)! She shares real stories of successful womennot just the glory but the details of how they got up from the falls, got past the slams and insults, and got through the fear. This book is a toolkit for the kind of success that comes straight from the soul.

Barbara Sher, New York Times bestselling author of I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was

This book weds access to meaningful work and heart-based action with practical, actionable steps toward business fulfillment and success. With precision Gail calls out the chronic undermining elements in a woman's career and elevates the models for satisfaction and reward. She extracts the very best gems from her generous successful guides. It's a treasure box: open it.

Mary Anne Radmacher, author of Lean Forward into Your Life

The 12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women is a book for anyone who values the feminine perspective as an agent of change and healing upon the planet. Gail's creative inspiration to give voice to women, whose leadership is needed now more than ever, is pure genius.

Brenda Michaels, radio talk show host, Conscious Talk

Because it draws from the lives of successful women and because it identifies the strategies that any woman can employ to become more successful, Gail McMeekin's The Twelve Secrets of Highly Successful Women is a must read!

Eric Maisel, author of Coaching the Artist Within

Gail McMeekin is a trustworthy and experienced guide for any woman wanting to cultivate her highest creative potential. She writes with warmth, wit, and wisdom. She draws to her women who are seasoned on the path of making their dreams come true. Gail knows what questions to ask, how to get to the heart of anyone's true desire, and how to guide them toward fulfillment.

Lucia Capacchione, PhD, Visioning Coach and bestselling author of Recovery of Your Inner Child and Visioning: Ten Steps to Designing the Life of Your Dreams

First published in 2011 by Conari Press, an imprint of

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

665 Third Street, Suite 400

San Francisco, CA 94107

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2011 by Gail McMeekin

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-57324-493-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McMeekin, Gail.

The 12 secrets of highly successful women : a portable life coach for creative women / Gail McMeekin.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-57324-493-0 (alk. paper)

1. WomenPsychology. 2. Creative abilityCase studies. 3. SuccessCase studies. I. Title.

HQ1206.M3697 2011

646.70082dc23

2011017722

Cover design by Barb Fisher

Cover art Yulia Grigoryeva (smilewithjul)

Interior by Dutton & Sherman Design

Typeset in Warnock Pro text and Argenta and Nexus Sans display

Printed in Canada

TCP

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992 (R1997).

To my husband, Russ Street; I thank him for his unconditional love and supportthese are priceless gifts.

To my parents, Elizabeth and Herbert McMeekin; I am blessed that they taught and modeled for me a life of integrity, good works, tenacity, optimism, a strong love for family and friends, and dedication to community.

To women everywhere; claim your creativity, be your true self in the world, and trust.

Express Your Creative Gifts and Life Purpose

Sift Through Your Ideas to Get Heart-Focused

Heal Your Self-Esteem and Your Fears

Learn New Mindsets for Courage and Success

Design Action Strategies That Work

Commit to Your Muse and Your Intuition

Crafting a Business Plan That Helps you to Grow Personally, Generates Prosperity, and Enhances Your Lifestyle

Short-Circuit Self-Sabotage, Obstacles, and Failures

Learn to Let Go and LeapEmbrace Transition and Being Unnerved

Avoid the Female Burnout Traps

Build Effective Mind/Body/Heart/Spirit Strategies to Nurture Your Success and Well Being

Initiate Transformation for You and Your Team

Hello!

You are about to embark on a journey of self-discovery and learn the wisdom of success. I suggest that you invest in a compact, beautiful journal that you can carry with you long after you read this book for the first time. Throughout the book, you will find many special Challenges exercises to complete to make this experience more meaningful for you. Use your journal to record your responses to these Challenges.

Then, after you have finished your first reading of this book, carry your journal with you and note down your own secrets to success and your stretch goals for a happy and prosperous future of heartfelt success and a life of fulfillment. It all begins with loving yourself and extending that love to others by being the person that you aspire to be. Do creative work that nourishes you, other people and creatures, and the planet. You are meant to be here. Take advantage of it.