Verna Cornelia Price - Change Your Life in 30 Days: A Personal Power Change Guide

Verna Cornelia Price, Ph.D.

Best-selling author of The Power of People: Four Kinds of People Who Can Change Your Life

change your life in days: a personal power change guide

2010 by Verna Cornelia Price

Published by JCAMA Publishers

Editor: Mary Sturm

Original Cover Art Work: Tee Simmons

Cover Design: Maytho Tsering

Graphic Design: Maytho Tsering

Printer: Nystrom Publishing

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrival system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Inquiries should be addressed to:

JCAMA Publishers

Robbinsdale, MN 55422

www.jcama.com

jcameron@jcama.com

Price, Verna Cornelia

change your life in days: a personal power change guide

ISBN: 978-0-9717765-6-2

Printed in U.S.A on acid-free paper

Distributed by JCAMA Publishers

January 20, 2009

This book was inspired by the election and inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, and the first African American to hold the highest office of this nation. I remember as if it were yesterday that I stood with my husband, Shane Martin Price and oldest son, Justice Cameron (15 years old) in the cold on the mall of the Nations Capitol in Washington D.C. for five hours waiting to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama.

I remember the feeling that came over me when 2 million people standing outside for hours in the cold came to complete attention and silence as our soon to be new president stood with his hand raised to take the oath of office. You could literally hear a pin drop. No one spoke, babies did not cry, even the dogs did not bark. At that moment, we summoned our whole being to be fully present. We gave our full attention to the huge screens strategically placed across the mall and it was as if we all held our breath in unison because we knew that something amazing was about to happen. We knew in our bones, our souls, that in that moment, we would all be CHANGED forever. We held our breath as Barack Obama took the oath of office and then we celebrated as if we had all just heard some of the best news of our lives! We yelled, shouted, screamed, praised God, hugged each other and cried. Why? Because we knew that a CHANGE had come!

I left Washington D.C. with more hope than ever before, with more commitment to work harder than ever before, and with an even greater passion to be excellent and to empower people to excellence. I left more determined than ever before to challenge myself and teach others to change their life by moving beyond just existing to truly living. I left changed.

January 1, 2010

Yes, change had come to America but were we really ready for it? Overnight, it seemed like everything changed, all at once. Banks failed, the economy plummeted, companies started downsizing, people started losing their jobs in massive numbers, families lost their homes to foreclosure at dramatic rates, and change became evident in every arena of our lives. Everywhere I turned, people were stressed out about the changes happening to them and most of them were terrified. Why? Because the many changes in our environment demanded that we create change in our lives. Then the reality hit me, the average person is afraid of change! And here we were in the midst of some of the most drastic changes that many of us had ever faced.

It is well researched that people have a very difficult time dealing with change. In the article Change or Die, it is clearly noted than even when given the fact that they were going to die from heart disease, people would still continue engaging in risk behaviors and habits (i.e. smoking) that would eventually kill them! According to this article, conventional wisdom says that crisis is a powerful motivator for change. But severe heart disease is among the most serious of personal crises, and it doesnt motivate -- at least not nearly enough. Nor does giving people accurate analysis and factual information about their situations. What works? Why, in general, is change so incredibly difficult for people? What is it about how our brains are wired that resists change so tenaciously? Why do we fight even what we know to be in our own vital interests? John Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor hit on a crucial insight, Behavior change happens mostly by speaking to peoples feelings, he says. In highly successful change efforts, people find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought.

Why, because change is hard. It is almost counterintuitive to how our brains work and it demands that we confront and deal with our whole self.

Change must occur at every level in our being, our intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and physical self. Change is not one dimensional. Even though, I have studied the research on change and understand the level of resistance that people have to change, I kept thinking to myself, if people only knew HOW to go about creating the change, they would work to create more changes in their lives. I thought, if only the average person had a simple guide to lead them through the change process, then they would create needed and necessary changes in their lives. What I love about the change process is that everyone has something they can change and no change is too big or small. Change is change and when it happens, it will alter your life. My hope is that as you take this guide and make it an integral part of your life and that you will not only find the courage to change your life but also have a process to see that change become a reality. Why is this possible? Because I believe that you have the power to change your life so why not do it? And what better day to start than today!

This book which I will call your Personal Power Change Guide is designed to give you a step by step process for creating change in your life. Your change can be big (i.e. career, marriage, children, business, friends) or small (i.e. exercise, hairstyle, weight loss, attitude, car). Change is change and it doesnt happen until you change. Change requires intentionality. What does that mean? Intentionality is a powerful force which quietly moves your vision from obscurity into reality . You have to want to change. You must want to make your life different. Just the other day, one of my team members came to tell me that I needed to help her sister change because she was making many mistakes with her life. Unfortunately, I had to tell my team member that until her sister wants to change, no one, not even God, could change her life! Why? Only you can change you, because change must be intentional and it requires your choice and your will.

The reality however, is that you will never change until you are challenged. Why? Because, we are socialized to stay in our comfort zones. We want to be comfortable even if it means staying in a dysfunctional, negative, and sad life. Our fear of the unknown keeps us from saying Yes to change. This book is designed to challenge who you are, how you think, why you think the way you do, and what you want out of life. At times you will feel as though you are totally frustrated and confused! This is called chaos, an integral part of the change process. Change demands that you examine and re-examine who are and what you want. Chaos creates tension in your life and there will be times when you simply want to give up and walk away. Refuse to let go of that tension. Change cannot happen without a challenge. Challenge cannot be confronted without chaos. Renew your commitment to the change process and dare yourself to stay with the tension!