All About Kelly

New book on the way, and the title is.... "Still Beautiful"

2012-05-01T20:41:14Z

Yep, it's time to get my third book on the way, Still Beautiful. For the last six months or so, I've been called to do something more for teenagers. Every time I pull my angel cards, it tells me that I need to start a new project and that I'm a helper for children. Every time I would get those cards, I would just read them and put them aside because I didn't know what to do. Other things would happen that would also lead me to wanting to do more with teenagers, like the conversation I had with my daughter.

A couple weeks ago, my daughter said to me, "Mom, the girls in my school are taking pictures of themselves with no make-up on and putting them on Facebook and saying, I'm natural and beautiful." And I said to her "Are you sure it's because of me?" And she said, "Yes, it's obvious." I had the honour of being able to talk to all the grade 7, 8 and 9 kids in her school about my story of how I got burnt and how I overcame some of the challenges in my life and how I feel still beautiful. When I speak, I just do it, not realizing what kind of impact I have with people. Speaking is very humbling for me.

I put this conversation on Facebook and I really didn't think it would go as crazy as it did, but this status went wild! I had 150 comments and likes to this conversation, the most ever. I was amazed at how powerful people thought this conversation was that I had with my daughter. It was so powerful that a friend emailed me and said that he wanted to write about it in his new book and then another friend emailed me to tell me that she submitted this story to a local television station.

So then I went to a charity concert and ended up talking to Mr. I - he is a fantastic teacher that all the kids love. When you see him at the school, you can just feel the love the kids have for him. Every kid wants to give him a hi-5, they knock on his window outside the school just to wave to him, hugs and secret handshakes for everyone. He is definitely a teacher full of passion. His other passion is to write music and sing, plus he plays in a band.

After the concert, we talked a little bit about an idea I had brewing for a new book called "Still Beautiful" and he said that he would love to write a song based on the topic and what did I think of that idea. I of course jumped on the idea because just the day before, my other friend Kelly Walton also approached me about an idea she had to work with teens and to help them feel beautiful with photos. She's a photographer and is just dying to make a difference in this world and so we talked about collaborating on a photo/video project for teens.

So when Mr. I asked me if he could write a song for my new book (which at that time hadn't been started yet), I jumped at the idea and said "Hey, we need to collaborate with my friend Kelly and let's make a song and video out of it and get the kids involved." And so, that's what's happening...

I phoned Kelly and told her about Mr. I's idea of writing a song and producing a video and then I said, "Hey, I guess I better get writing the book, eh?"

I got my kick in the hot ass and started writing the book that night. So now we're well on our way to getting this new book and music video on the way. Very excited about it and already got a letter from a 15-yr-old boy with his ideas of beauty and how girls try to cover up their beauty with make-up which they don't need to do.

The teenagers are going to be involved in the video plus they're also being encouraged to write letters for the book. Very excited about seeing teenagers helping other teenagers to feel greater than great.

If you or anyone you know is interested in either writing a letter for the book or being a sponsor of the book, please let me know. I have room for people who want to place either a half page or full page ad in my new book.

Going to do a photo shoot this weekend with Kelly and get the cover designed. Stay tuned for more updates about this awesome project and let me know if you want to be involved.

Kelly

What Makes You Beautiful...

2012-03-05T18:19:04Z

YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL, by the band One Direction

Last night my daughter said, "Hey Mom, this song is the most popular one right now, you have to use this when you speak." When she tells me that, I listen to her because I know she loves her music and she knows what kind of messages I'm sharing with my tribe. So, this morning, I looked for the song on Youtube with the lyrics because I believe it's the lyrics that make the song powerful, not all the crazy dancing. And I have to admit I was blown away by this song!!!

YOU DON'T NEED MAKE UP

TO COVER UP

One of the other things I love about this song is how it talks about not needing make-up to cover up and that "being the way that you are is enough". About two weeks ago, a professional make-up artist put make-up on me for a fashion show that I was helping a friend produce. When I was done, people were telling me how beautiful I looked.

When I heard that, I said "Oh really?" and then I thought to my self, how come I don't feel beautiful with make-up on? And then I ended up in the bathroom crying. I ended up texting my x-husband and said, "Apparently I'm beautiful now" and I texted him the picture of me with the make-up on. He said "Yikes, how come everyone tries to cover up your scars? Why do you let people do this to you? You know how make-up makes you feel and it never changes no matter what they do."

WOW FACTOR

And he was right, make-up doesn't give me the "wow" factor that it gives a lot of other women. I guess I keep hoping that the right make-up artist will come along and be able to make me feel wow. But you know what? I do feel WOW - I feel wow without make-up and that's the way it's going to stay. I love my scars, I love me and how I look and why shouldn't I feel wow without make-up?

YOU DON'T KNOW THAT YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL

AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL

This song will have a tremendous impact on our youth today. We really are beautiful and we don't know it and a lot of times don't want to admit it. More people can see our beauty than we do ourselves, other people see that we truly are "good enough" or "beautiful enough". We spend so much time picking on ourselves and comparing ourselves to others and finding reasons why we aren't good enough. We don't allow ourselves to feel beautiful and we need to give ourselves permission to feel beautiful no matter what others think.

Overall, this song is very empowering and I can't wait to show it when I speak. This song had me dancing and singing all day and now my Facebook friends are mad at me because they can't get any work done because the song is stuck in their heads too! hehehe. I almost have all the words memorized and that says a lot because I have a hard time memorizing anything.

The worst part is, my kids don't like to hear me singing - apparently the incredible voice I'm hearing inside my head is not the voice my kids are hearing.... lmao (laughing my ass off)

Have a great day and just because you aren't perfect, it doesn't mean you aren't beautiful!

Kelly

ps - tune in to The Kelly Falardeau show at: http://ctrhotspot.com/profile/TheKellyFalardeauShow every first, third and fifth Mon of the month at 12 pm MST.

Dear Kelly Column

2011-09-12T21:04:04Z

Something new that I'm starting is my "Dear Kelly" column. Every day I get emails from people looking for advice and so I thought I would share this story about a young lady, a freshman in College who got burnt on her legs and feels ugly.

...

Mirror Mirror on the Wall....

2011-08-30T18:32:49Z

Yesterday, I decided to step into my daughter's room and look for some bottles of "stuff" that I could use for a video that I want to do to promote my new book 'Self Esteem Doesn't Come in a Bottle.' Although I couldn't see the floor because it was covered with her other "stuff", I ended up stopping when I saw her mirror.

I was shocked and nearly brought to tears when I saw it. Her mirror had yellow stickies all over it and in the middle it said "I AM ME" in big huge letters.
There's stickies that say bubbly, crazy, pretty, beautiful, wonderful, perfect, amazing and other great empowering words. The one that hit me the most was when I saw the sticky that said "Greater than Great" which is a term that I made up and have been using for the past year.

The reason her mirror had such an effect on me is because for the longest time I didn't want kids. I didn't think it would be fair to bring a kid into this cruel world and was worried that they would be exposed to the harsh realities of how cruel and mean kids can be and then have to spend years rebuilding their self esteem.

I didn't want my kids to have to go through what I did and have to endure years of teasing and staring and wondering if I'd ever be pretty enough or good enough. I grew up believing that I was the ugly scar-faced girl. I could never be considered pretty or beautiful and if I got told I was, it was by an aunt or my mom or grandma. I wanted a "guy" to call me beautiful, not a family member. I knew they would think I was beautiful no matter what I looked like. I wanted an outsider to call me beautiful.

The other reason this is profound for me is because my mom and I had a very challenging few years when I was a teenager and believe me, if my daughter ever talks to me the way I did to my mom, she's going to be in trouble! And one of the concerns both Max and I had was the relationship I would have with our daughter. We've been expecting her and I to butt heads, but so far, life with my daughter has been great.

She has taught me some wicked lessons in life. I know she's watched me succeed and fail many times. She's seen me take a concept and make it become a reality, only to be shattered because I couldn't get through an obstacle no matter how hard I tried. She's seen me with my head down and crying my eyes out because her brother had bugged me one more time to go buy him a toy he had to have, but we didn't have money for. She dragged me out of bed when she was 2 years old and I had just lost our stillborn baby at 28-weeks, Aleisha. She kept me alive at that point. If it hadn't of been for her, I don't think I'd be alive.

When I lost my baby girl, all I wanted to do was sleep and cry and blame myself for her death. She was inside me, of course it had to be my fault. Alex was only 2 at the time, Max had gone to work and she wanted to be fed, so she pulled my arm and dragged me out of bed so I could get up and look after her. I remember my mom calling me and saying how upset she was that she hadn't seen her granddaughter in a few days and that I was being selfish by not letting her see her. When my baby died, I cut myself off from my whole family including my mom. I couldn't let anyone see me grieve, only two friends and my dad got through to me at that time.

I finally phoned my mom and told her, "I'm not keeping her away from you, I am grieving, I'm not being selfish, and she is the only thing that is keeping me alive right now." And truly, that was the truth. She was the one physically dragging me out of bed in the morning.

At the time, I also didn't understand that my mom was grieving the loss of a granddaughter, but I couldn't handle her grief. I couldn't handle my own, never mind hers too and that's why I couldn't be with her, she would cry and then I would cry and I just wanted the crying to stop. Eventually we got through the pain and I realized that my baby dying was a "gift." She was a gift to my family in heaven who now have a granddaughter to spoil and a gift to us here on earth - we ended up having a set of identical twin boys, Cody and Parker. We never would have had more kids if she had been born, we would have stopped at two girls.

So, here's what I believe - moms and daughters need to spend more time bonding and finding things they like to do together. When I had my mobile scrapbook store, Alex watched me take it from concept to completion and would come with me as much as she could. Then when I sold that business and decided that speaking was my true passion, she watched me grow and develop that business too. She saw me working hard on my computer, she saw my passion and she saw me perservere and believed that dreams are meant to be found, not tucked away in Dreamland.

She watched me face my fear of walking the plank in front of hundreds of people when I said I wanted to meet Ben Barry because he was a sponsor of the event. She saw that when I said I wanted to write a book about inner beauty I finished it. She also protected me when her best friend at the time called me "ugly." She also watched me fail in many ways, but what she saw first and foremost is that no matter what, I didn't quit being me. I may have chosen a new path to get there, but I didn't give up on me and I'll never give up on her either.

And so one of my passions is mothers and daughters and the relationships they have and in February, 2012 I'm organizing a mother/daughter retreat.

One of my favorite laws, the Law of Reciprocation

2011-08-03T17:32:07Z

Did you just watch Eric and Keril's video? They do a fantastic job of explaining how the Law works and I love their short, energetic videos. You need to keep in touch with these guys, because they're awesome.

I still remember the day that Darren Jacklin told me about the Law of Reciprocation and that law states that when you help others first, they want to help you back. I didn't really understand how it worked until I noticed it working for me. I wanted to succeed in business, how could I help others succeed first before I succeed? And it doesn't just work in business, it also works in self esteem too.

Have you noticed that most times when you smile at someone they smile back? Have you noticed that when you compliment someone they want to compliment you back? Or have you noticed that when you help someone feel great about themselves they want to help you feel great too?

I also noticed that when I helped others succeed that I'm succeeding too. Another example of the Law of Reciprocation working for me is when my friend Troy Payne asked me to help him with his bestseller campaign for his new book. He asked if I could be a campaign partner and I immediately said yes, I would love to. I offered him a free ebook that could be used as a bonus gift, plus I also blogged about his book and promoted it on Facebook and Twitter.

Do you know what Troy said? Firstly, he thanked me and then he said that he couldn't wait to help me succeed with my bestseller campaign that I'm going to do this fall on my new book 'Self Esteem Doesn't Come in a Bottle.'

I have noticed that the more I offer to help others, the more they want to help me too. How awesome is that??? Exactly like the law says, help others first and in return they will help you.

Every day I practice this law and it's working for me and I'm positive it will work for you too. So, how are you going to apply the Law of Reciprocation in your life?

A Leap of Faith

2011-07-28T17:17:27Z

It was time for my annual performance review and I have to admit, it wasn't a good one. The year before was fantastic, but this one wasn't. There was definitely a change in me. Over the past six months, I got a promotion to a new job, got a new supervisor (that I wasn't enjoying working with), ended my marriage of 24-years plus last week lost my job. I felt like no matter how hard I tried to do well in my job, something would sabotage me.

I would have meltdowns in my office and text my best friend and say, "What is wrong with me, how come I can't do anything right at work?" No matter how hard I tried, I felt like I was just getting beat up and being sabotaged. I would cry and all the while wishing that I was speaking and sharing my message.

The day before my performance review, I got an email from a lady saying how somehow she found my website and was drawn to me, she was magnetized to me and when she read my website, she felt like she had known me forever. She had to connect and still doesn't know why or how it all happened.

And then another day a burn survivor wanted to talk to me about being burned and pregnant and we talked for an hour on the phone and I felt so great. It was so rewarding and I felt awesome, but then when I went to work I felt useless.

I knew I was going to quit my job, but I didn't know if I could or when the right time would be and I wanted to have a few more bills paid. And for the past two weeks every time I looked on Facebook I would get little messages about following my passion fully or taking the leap or making dreams happen.

I got Today's Business Woman magazine and in it was an article about how you should learn to trust that God is going to provide you what you need and why don't you trust him? It was weird and I kept telling the universe to leave me alone, I wasn't ready for that leap, but then my boss made me take the leap.

I knew a change was in order, and every day I kept thinking, when is it the right time, what do I need to do and I set some goals for myself and said, ok, when this happens I'll quit, but I didn't get a chance to. My big boss called me into the office and said how shocked she was that my performance wasn't as great as the year before and we had a long talk about it.

And she said, "Kel, listen to yourself, if someone came to you and said my passion brings me tons of joy and happiness and makes me feel great but my job makes me feel miserable, what advice would you give them?" And I said, "I know, you're right, but I'm scared of not having a regular pay cheque while I'm building my speaking business and writing my new book." And then she said to me (while choking back the tears), "You know what you want and what you need to do and some times somebody else just has to make the decision for you."

She told me to think of one question, "Are you going to be happy to come to work on Monday or relieved that you don't have to come to work?" I thought about it and she was totally right and now I'm taking the leap of faith and being a speaker and author full time.

Now I have the time to finish my new book "Self Esteem Doesn't Come in a Bottle" and will be on track to do my bestseller campaign in October. I'm also going to create an action guide and audio program about self esteem to go along with the book. I'm also looking for corporate sponsors who would like to have an advertisement in my book and audio program.

So, it's time to be FIERCE and live up to my title of Fierce Woman of the Year. Although I'm a little bit scared, I'm excited about the possibilities for the future. I know it's going to be exciting and I'm thankful that my boss gave me the push I needed to take the Leap of Faith.

Give Yourself Permission to say, "I feel great today."

2011-07-08T19:05:29Z

Yesterday, I had the great honour of speaking at one of @amanda welliver's self esteem workshops for teenagers at the Aboriginal reserve near Cold Lake. Now, this girl knows how to put on a great self esteem workshop! Wow is all I can say - for people who tell me content is king, she is the king of kings; and I was only at her level 1 workshop, I can't imagine how kickass level 2 and 3 are.

Amanda wanted me to come and share my story with her students and I of course said sure, how can I help? I had two hours to share my story to 17 teenagers. Yikes! What was I going to do? I thought I could just talk for 2 hours, but I realized I needed to find a way to keep them engaged and good thing I'm a packrat because I still had some scrapbooking stuff in my van. I took my exercises and made them into physical, tangible, creative products that the kids got to take home and they loved it.

Compliment Exercise

I got the kids to do the compliment exercise and wow, that was so powerful. One of the girls got up and went over and gave another girl a big giant hug. I don't know what she said to her, but it was powerful. It was great watching everyone's eyes light up when they got their compliments from eachother. I could tell they were enjoying the exercise even though they found it hard to "receive" the compliments.

I asked them to share their experience and how the compliments made them feel. One girl said, it felt great and another girl said, she didn't like getting the compliments. And I said, "Yes of course, receiving a compliment is very hard for us to do because we're taught to be humble and that we're not supposed to feel great about ourselves and we're not supposed to brag about ourselves and we're not supposed to show off. So it's really hard for us to receive and accept compliments because we're not supposed to feel good about ourselves."

Give Yourself Permission

I told them that I was giving them permission to look in the mirror and say, "I feel great." They don't have to shout it out to the world, they just have to give themselves permission to feel great. (Thank you to @Danielle LaPorte for her article on "giving yourself permission", it totally helped me to give myself permission)

The funny thing is, today I did that, I gave myself permission to tell myself I looked great. I put on my best hot ass jeans, did my hair and said, "Wow, you look hot today." I could have said, "Hey, you still have that muffin top going on with your belly and you still have those ugly scars on your face, who is going to think you're beautiful today when you look like that?", but nope, I said to myself, "Wow, look at you looking so hot today, want to go on a date?"

Empower others instead of Picking on Them or Yourself

We need to find ways to empower each other and spread good gossip about each other. Too often we try to find the negatives in people and knock them down. How about finding the great things about them and making them feel great? You'll feel great too when you empower people not knock them down. I know I do. It felt great telling a teenager that she had great hair and that I loved it. She LOVED getting the compliment because she thought she had great hair too. She loved the validation that someone else thought she had great hair. She had this fantastic smile on her face and said, "yes I think I have great hair too." Can you imagine how she would have felt if I would have told her, "your hair is a little weird." (Because seriously, she did have a different color than most people and a few people probably did think that way) I helped to empower her and feel great about herself, I felt awesome and so did she. Quit picking on yourself and calling yourself names! (that is actually a chapter in my new self esteem book)

It's not about You, it's about Them

Yesterday's workshop taught me something else, something a few of my mentors have told me, like Jack Zufelt, Darren Jacklin, Kathleen Mailer, Jo Ann Vacing and Cheryl Cran; when you're a speaker, it's not about you, it's about them. It's all about what you can give them to help change their life. I felt happy that I was able to help them even in a very small way. I don't speak on stage because I want to be the center of attention, I speak because I want people to learn how to feel great about themselves and to stop letting other people's opinions affect them.

Destined for jail... now doing the rock star jive from stage

2011-06-29T14:02:50Z

Don’t you just love a good story?

Well this one isn’t. I mean it starts out with an awful tale of a young child brought up in a number of highly dysfunctional families.

You know as well as I do… many who are brought up like this end up in jail, on drugs, or dead. Fortunately for Troy Payne, the author of the book I am about to share with you, he found a way out. Today he gets up on stage with his Rock’N Resiliency Project and helps thousands of kids discover some simple ways to change their life’s path.

Do you know anyone who was given a raw deal in life? Friends, family members, maybe work associates? Maybe you grew up and experienced things you would like to forget? Troy has taken the lessons he learned in his own experience and found a way to make it easy for anyone to use in their own life.

He has an incredible story to share and is destined to be a best selling author…

…today he is pulling out all the stops to make it so.

First, go to http://wrbook.net and see for yourself the story behind the story. Then pick up a copy or three (they make perfect gifts for anyone in your life that needs a helping hand). Last, send this to your friends as well. Troy has arranged a bundle of free gifts if you buy The Road to Resiliency today.

I can’t do it justice here, but the website can http://wrbook.net . Please help out Troy today! Thanks for your help.

Kelly

PS: Today is a special day and The Road to Resiliency is destined to hit the best seller charts. Troy has captured the hearts and imagination of thousands of people in North America… and now wants to share his story with you and those you love. Please help Troy today – this story that needs to be shared. http://wrbook.net

My Champion Charmaine and her furry funtastic dog Toby

2011-05-17T14:18:00Z

One of many things that I believe in is that you need to have Champions in your life. What is a Champion you ask? A Champion is someone in your life who knows you inside out, supports you tremendously and champions you to others. Your champion is someone who knows how you think and when you get off track in life, they pick you up, dust you off, some times give you a kick in the butt and get you going again. My Champion also sees things in me that I didn't know or see in me. One of my favorite Champions in my life is my friend Charmaine Hammond.

Why Charmaine?

Charmaine is my Champion for many reasons, but mostly because when I was trying to decide if I really was a speaker or not, she gave me a real good swift kick in my butt and kicked me over the fence and pretty much put me right into the speaking world. I almost didn't have a choice in the matter. She got herself and I both speaking at an eWomen event. And frankly, I'm glad she did that because without her, I never would have truly found my passion for speaking.

Not only did she give me the kick in the butt, but she also had me volunteer at her event with Janet Attwood and The Passion Test which further confirmed that my passion in life is being a speaker. She even made sure that she introduced me to Janet and then Janet gave me a kick in the butt too. So as a result of those two kicks in my sore hot ass, I have been working on being a speaker and all these tremendous wonderful things have started happening to me and I love it. I'm very grateful to both of them and the many others who kicked me in the butt too. Yes, my butt was very very sore! hehe

Charmaine has helped me in so many ways, in more ways than I can count and so I want to help her at this pivotal time in her life. Charmaine wrote a book called 'On Toby's Terms' and is working hard at achieving her goal of reaching the New York Times Bestseller list and I want to help her by promoting her book for her. Below is some information about her story and how Toby has affected her life. Two ways you can help, either by purchasing her book and/or sharing the link so others can purchase it.

All About Toby

Toby is a 70 pound Chesapeake Retriever and he has one of the most incredible stories to
share.

Not only was Toby a complete wrecking machine when his owners Charmaine and
Christopher got him, he also held a deep secret that ultimately has changed many lives.
Toby is a very special dog, and his owner Charmaine has written a heartwarming story
about their adventures together.

It's such a GREAT story that Hollywood even took notice and is bringing a movie out
later 2011 about Toby!

I am asking you for a favor today.

Please help Charmaine's book, "On Toby's Terms" become a best seller today.
Charmaine has put together an incredible lineup of gifts you can get when you pick up
one or more copies of On Toby's Terms today.

www.ontobysterms.com

I don't ask for a lot of favors like this - but Toby is an incredible dog and Charmaine an
incredible writer.

This is the ultimate book for readers, dog lovers and children.
It is heartwarming.
It will change your perception of 'troublesome' dogs.
It will show you hope where things seemed lost.
www.ontobysterms.com
- pick up a copy (or two) today and give Charmaine a hand in making Toby New York Times Best Selling Dog.

Thank you for your help!

Kelly

PS: Today is a special day and On Toby's Terms is destined to hit the best seller charts.
Toby has captured the hearts and imagination of Hollywood, and is now warming up the
hearts of children and adults alike across North America.
Please help Toby today - it is for a great cause and a fantastic story that needs to be
shared. www.ontobysterms.com

Garbage in, Garbage Out, Goodness In, Goodness Out

2011-05-13T14:17:00Z

One thing I love is hearing great speakers and being motivated. Every once in a while my friends will ask me if I heard about a toronado that killed a gazilion people, or if I heard about a plane crash that killed hundreds of people or something drastic and I always say "Nope, didn't hear about it." And why didn't I hear about it?

I Hate Watching the News

Because I don't watch the news. Ninety-nine percent of it is bad and then all I do is feel bad and crappy that the world is so traumatic and devastating and sure to come to an end because that's what everyone is predicting. And that's why I don't watch the news.

I spend time with inspirational friends, mentors and my champions who inspire me

I have lunch or conversations with my great and awesome friends who inspire me or I spend time chatting with my mentors or I read books that inspire me. I do everything I can to keep myself feeling great about myself and life by spending more time embracing great stuff instead of focusing on the news and all the bad stuff that is happening in the world. And I seriously, don't care to hear about who in the Hollywood movie world is boinking who and poor little starlet who is addicted to some kind of drugs. It's none of my business, everyone has problems.

Find the Gold Nuggets in the World

You see, not only do I believe that in order for myself to feel beautiful I need to focus on the beautiful things I love about myself, I feel the same thing about the world. I need to find those little gold nuggets in the world who inspire me and keep me feeling great and keep me motivated and keep me having great faith in the world that it can be a great world to live in.

For a long time, I didn't want to have kids because I thought the world was so horrible and who could ever want to live in this crappy, untrusting world? But when I started finding good in the world, I believed that my kids would do great in the world.

So, in my world of finding gold nuggets; this week, I found one. Very excited about this one because he's a paraplegic in a wheelchair. He's incredible and he's a speaker that I hope to be like one day and I hope I get to speak to the amazing crowds that he speaks to now. And of course, I also hope that one day I get to meet him.

Who Needs Legs When You Have Wings?

I'd like to introduce you to a man who inspired me so much this week that I was brought to tears by his message. In his one video, he tells the story about how his son said to him, "Dad, who needs legs when you have wings?"

Wow! How powerful and it made me think of my daughter Alex and what she said to me 2 months ago, that I inspire her. She loves when I speak and loves to come with me whenever I speak.

Introducing CHAD HYMAS

So, here is Chad Hymas:

At the age of 27, Chad Hymas' life changed instantaneously when an accident left him a quadriplegic. Since that time Chad has been recognized by the state of Utah as the Superior Civilian of the Year. Chad is married and he and his wife are the proud parents of four children. They currently reside in Rush Valley, Utah on a 200-acre wildlife preserve. Chad is a world-class wheelchair athlete enjoying basketball, wheelchair rugby, hang-gliding, and snow skiing. In July 2003 Chad set a World Record by wheeling a personal marathon of over 500 miles from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. Chad is also the author of the regionally best-selling book Soaring to New Heights.

Click on the picture of Chad to watch his video, it is so awesome!

Self Esteem ROCKS!

2011-04-12T20:15:00Z

This past weekend i had the honour of speaking to 130 11-15 year old teenagers about self esteem. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to the girls. I started the session with a bang by asking the girls, who thought they were ugly and about half the girls put up their hands. When I asked the girls who thought they were beautiful, only about 20 girls out of 130 put up their hands. While I was a little surprised, it confirmed what I thought might be true. Girls typically think they're ugly. Why, I'm not sure, but it made me sad because I want kids to realize they have an inner beauty that counts more than their outer beauty.

The second thing I realized was that I have a purpose in my life and that is to show girls that there are things they can do to make themselves feel great and more important is that they learn to count on their own opinions and not others.

I told them the story about a time I went to a garage sale and the lady said to me "They couldn't do better than that?" and how she really hurt my feelings and made me feel ugly but then I realized that her opinion didn't count in my world. I had tons of people who's opinion meant more to me and who truly feel I'm beautiful and I look good enough to them. They don't care if I have scars or not, I will always be beautiful to them. I was never going to see that lady ever again so why did I care what she thought of me? and so I said to the mean lady, "I happen to think I look pretty damn good" and I walked out.

One of the other things I did was talk about compliments and how we need to learn how to give and receive more compliments. I asked the girls who many of you feel great when someone gives you a compliment? Tons of hands went up. then I asked them how many of you feel great when you compliment someone? Again, tons of hands went up again. So then i said so how about we do more of that in our lives? And then i had them get up and compliment someone in the room.

Overall it was a fantastic event. I just loved sharing my stories and helping the girls to feel great about themselves. Not only did I get them to do the beauty exercise but I also had them up singing Katy Perry's song Firework. It was so awesome hearing the girls sing such an empowering song.

Who's that Fearless Woman? Join me in Manifesting my Fearless Vision

2011-04-07T20:08:00Z

She's a woman who doesn't let anything get in her way...

She's a woman who doesn't let money stop her...

She's a woman who has an incredible vision...

She's a woman who believes that there are many fearless women in this world who deserve to be recognized...

She's a woman who believes that women are taking action to change the world in an incredible amazing way...

She's also a woman who is producing another incredible book to inspire even more women...

That Fearless Woman is Mary Ann Halpin.

Incredible Connection

I had the great pleasure and honour today to chat with her on the phone. I could not believe the incredible connection I felt with her. We talked for hours and I'm sure we could have talked for hours more. Her vision is so increrdible and passionate and I just love it. Mary Ann is a photographer based in Los Angeles who loves photographing women, pregnant women and fearless women.

Fearless Women, Visions of a New World Book

She created her Fearless Woman book called Fearless Woman Fearless Wisdom and now she's creating her fourth book, Fearless Women, Visions of a New World to be released in 2012. She is currently looking for women visionaries to be featured in her new book that are change-makers in the world and have a positive vision for a new world filled with peace, harmony and a new world.

Who's in the book?

Well, guess what? She asked me to be in her book and I was saying, "What, are you kidding? ME???" And she said, "Yes I want you in this book and we are going to manifest the money you need to get into it, it's only $5000 and it's only money that's it. You will inspire so many others to find their fearless and beautiful selves. Let's make it happen." And of course, crazy fearless me, said "OK, let's do it!"

Please help me in manifesting my fearless vision...

So, I need help and hopefully you can help me. I need to raise $5,000 in order to be in the book and I'm looking for people or companies who would like to sponsor me. My idea is that for anyone who donates $50 or more they will get a FREE copy of my "No Risk No Rewards" book and for anyone who donates $100 or more, they will get a FREE copy of my book PLUS the new Fearless Women, Visions of a New World book. If you are interested, click here to help out. No matter how much you can donate, it will be totally appreciated and even for donors under $50, you will receive a free magazine called "Be Fabulous." Donors over $1000 will receive everything above, plus their logo in the Fearless Women book. All donors will be recognized on my website.

My Mission...

My mission with this book is to help other women and teenagers to feel beautiful about themselves and to walk out that door no matter what they look like. My mission is to help people find the good in themselves and in others and to learn how to feel Greater than Great. And to not worry about having an "imperfect body" and to realize that just because they aren't perfect, it doesn't mean they aren't beautiful (a quote I made up myself). My mission is to really help people feel their true beauty from within and that there a many other qualities that bring out the beauty in themselves, not just their outer beauty. My other mission is to help people to realize that they need to feel beautiful for "themselves" first and foremost, not others.

My Story...

I suffered a tragic accident when I was only two years old, an accident that my family has never been able to forgive themselves for. My cousins were throwing shingles in a burning barrel and I was standing a little ways away from the fire, but a spark came out and landed on my dress and I was engulfed in flames. I suffered burns on 75% of my body, all over my face, arms, chest, back and legs. I wasn't expected to survive and I wasn't expected to be successful, but I beat the odds and did both. Please help me in my mission to manifest this money so that my story can inspire thousands and thousands of others to find their true beauty and to follow their dreams instead of leaving them tucked away in Dreamland.

Extra Bonus...

The other great bonus about this book is that some of the proceeds are going to be donated to the Fearless Women Foundation to help women and children in need. So not only is the book going to inspire people, but it will also help charities and I love that.

Thank you very much for helping! ((HUG))

Kelly

PS - Check out Mary Ann Halpin at: www.maryannhalpin.com

Do I have to be perfect?

2011-03-18T18:43:00Z

I know it has been a very long time since I've written in my blog and today, I finally feel inspired to write. Today I'm going to talk about perfectionism and being perfect.

Perfectionism is impossible, unachievable and highly overrated

The reason I'm inspired about it today is partly because of Pink's new song F*&#n Perfect and also because of my message. I am soooo far from being perfect and having the perfect body that I know being perfect is impossible, unachievable and highly overrated. But, I think being near-perfect is perfect enough for me.

Is anything ever perfect for a Perfectionist?

Have you ever heard a perfectionist say that something is perfect? Seriously? That's the problem with being a perfectionist - nothing is ever perfect enough. People put so much pressure on themselves to be perfect that they set themselves up for failure before they even start.

How about being Near-Perfect?

Every time I tried to achieve perfectionism I failed, nothing was ever good enough, but every time I tried to achieve near-perfect, I succeeded, every time! And my brain feels so great that I'm able to accept that I don't have to be perfect, I just need to be near perfect. Even my book No Risk No Rewards isn't perfect. I didn't try to achieve perfectionism because I knew it was impossible for me, but I wanted to feel like I succeeded and so I strived for near-perfect and guess what? I succeeded!

Yes, you will find mistakes in my book and I know where they are, it's definitely not perfect. I had so many people proof my book and including myself, I'm sure I read it at least 1000 times. That's why I had other friends proof it and yet, still I found some more mistakes after it was published. But, you know what? My book is near-perfect and that's perfect enough for me. I succeeded, I did something that most people haven't done and don't know how to even start. So, yes I am a success and proud of myself for creating my book, especially since a year ago I didn't think I had enough content to write a book.

Perfect Body?

So let me tell you how far away from being perfect my body is. I am so imperfect, that it would take a million dollars and a million surgeries to make me physically perfect and I still wouldn't be perfect! I feel so sad for people who think their body has to be perfect so someone else can think they're beautiful.

For some reason, me with the most imperfect body gets told that I'm beautiful, fabulous, gorgeous, sexy, hot and yet I have a crooked arm, crooked fingers, a bald spot, scars all over my face and body, big lips, a deformed ear, a missing nipple and my breasts are too low. And yet somehow I feel greater than great. You know why? Because I'm near-perfect and I'm as good as I'm going to get and I love the things I love about me.

I love my big beautiful green eyes, I love my cute little button nose, I love my little deformed ear (and could never live without it, even though at one time I wanted to get it fixed) and I love my laugh and that I can make people laugh and I love my kids and how no matter what I look like I'm perfect enough for them. My kids have never told me they wished I looked different. In fact, none of my family or friends have said, I wish you didn't have scars so I could love you more. So yes, I'm perfect just the way I am and that's one of the reasons I just love Pink's new song F*&#n Perfect.

So, I hope you will find a way to be near-perfect and not be so hard on yourself. Your homework for today is to list all the things you LOVE about yourself.

And to purchase my "near-perfect" book, click here.

The Women can do Anything Movie

2011-02-03T03:01:00Z

Check this out - so very honoured to be a part of this:

Thank you Tracy Matthewman and Dianna Bowes for helping me to be a part of this.

http://theanythingmovie.com/ ...

My friend Darren Jacklin says, Kel, manifest a movie

2010-12-09T02:15:00Z

On Darren Jacklin's latest Alberta tour, I've been able to spend a lot of time with him and I am quite honored that I have been able to spend so much time with him. Every time he leaves, my brain goes crazy and thinks about all these things I want to accomplish in my life.

Inspirational People Will Inspire You to Reach a New Level

My daughter said to us tonight, "Mom, you talk too much. and I said, to her, "Alex, Darren and I are both talking lots because we are inspiring eachother, you need to spend time talking with inspirational people, they are the people who you will learn from and will inspire you to do great things."

If you spend all your time talking with negative people or complainers or people who just want to bring you down, then that's who you'll become like. If you spend your time talking with inspirational people or people who are positive thinkers or manifesters or who believe that the world is full of possibilities, then that's what you see the world made of.

World Full of Possibilities

I see the world full of possibilities and so does Darren. Yes, I know we have a crappy economy, but so what, that doesn't mean we have to stop living. That means we have to shift our thinking and figure out ways to work together better. We need to find other ways to create the lives we want - we need to CHANGE. It also means we have to find our passion in life. This crappy economy is making us really think about our lives and what is important to us. And if the economy is so crappy, how come there are still millionaires and billionaires being made every day?

The Challenge....

So, the other reason I've been inspired to write in my blog tonight is because Darren has decided to challenge himself and take himself to a whole new level in his life. He told me that it's time to break out of his comfort zone and he's going to travel to Dubai, Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia and start doing some corporate training there. He's ready to learn more and grow. Wow!!! How awesome and incredible! I can't wait to hear more about it.

But guess what, he also challenged ME to go out of my comfort zone too. He knows I've been working on a book and I've been picking his brain about expanding my speaking career and guess what he said to me tonight? "Kel, I read the letter your mom wrote about how you got burnt and it had me in tears, make a movie about your story, you will inspire so many people and it will take you to a whole new level."

And I said "How, ok, I know I'm not supposed to know or ask the how, the universe knows how and usually that is not my first question." And he said, "What are you scared of?" And he brought a few tears to my eyes and I revealed things that were said to me as a kid. And then he said, "You have to feel it in your heart and if you want it, you can manifest it, you don't have to know how to do it, the producers and investors will do it, you just have to really want it." And of course he also said, "Kel you have a story and people need to hear it, you never know who you're going to help with your story."

Darren has deeply inspired me to pursue creating a motion picture movie with a dream team about my tragedy and my life growing up. I am really excited about this and I know that 2011 will be a learning experience of collaboration and building my dream team to make this happen and get it done.

Darren's Projects

I HIGHLY recommend that you check out some of the exciting and fun projects that Darren Jacklin is currently working on to make a difference in peoples lives across the planet. Are you ready to Transform Your Obstacles into Cashflow in 2011 then checkout http://www.TransformObstaclesIntoCashflow.com/ and are you ready to teach your kids the life skills that aren't being taught in school then check out "101 Ways Your Kid$ Can Make Money" http://www.101WaysYourKidsCanMakeMoney.com/

I have wanted to do a movie about my story, but thought it would happen Someday, so here goes it, I'm not waiting for Someday to come - I'm asking the Universe today to help me make a movie, I can already visualize it in my head. Wow! Can't wait.

Thanks Darren! If you want to read the letter my mom wrote me, check it out here , but make sure you have lots of kleenex. Her letter is a letter to me about how I got burnt when I was 2 and her feelings about how scared she was of losing me.

The goof I am...

2010-12-01T17:32:00Z

Today I'm going to talk about being a goof. It all started last night when my daughter and I were driving to my brother-in-law's house for his first annual Christmas Light up of all his blow up characters. And yes, he has a lot, I think he said 80, anyways, it's enough for 10 houses. lol

So, I'm singing to my newest favorite song, Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars and of course head bopping and my daughter says to me, "Mom, you're weird." And I of course say, "I'm weird? How about you, I think you're the weird one." And she says, "Yeah, I'm weird, but you're weirder." And of course I laugh with her and think how proud I am to have created such an amazing daughter. Something I never thought I could do when I was a kid growing up, I didn't think kids were an option for me.

Our talk got me thinking and then I realized that I'm not weird, I'm a goof. I do goofy things that others would think are totally crazy and just not acceptable, but hey I figure life is too short for perfection. Like this morning, for example - I bought these black pants that I just love, but haven't worn yet because they're at least a mile long and me being as short as I am can never find anything that fits perfect and I've had them for a year I'm sure. So, what do I do, since I've been procrastinating getting them hemmed? I search the house for safety pins. Yep, I bought a package of safety pins a couple months ago and you think I can find them? Nope - I should have left them in my purse then I'd still have them. Anyways, I eventually find a couple and hem my pants the way my grandma would just shake her head at. But hey - at least I get to wear the pants, who cares if I have safety pins holding them up?

What else do I do that makes me a goof? How about something my husband doesn't want me to admit? Oh boy, now this is a good one. The other morning I got into my mini van to go to a meeting and it was -30 (extremely cold, I don't know if that is fahrenheit or celsius, whichever Canada uses, yes another goof moment), and it's 9 years old now and we know we have about a year left with it, but I'm still driving it because I believe I should drive it until it's dead and it's been so good to me except for the 4 or 5 times I've been in the ditch over the years because my van doesn't like winter and icy driving. (I never ended up in the ditch with my Suzuki, but it was a 4x4 plus a standard, standards ROCK for winter driving)

So, I'm having trouble backing out of my driveway - my van doesn't want to go, but eventually it does and then I put it in drive to go ahead and it doesn't want to go that way either, so I drive about 4 houses ahead and think nope, not going to chance it, I think it's the transmission. Because of course, not only does it not want to go, but it's making this horrible clunking noise. Oh yeah! A horrible clunking noise.

I call my husband and tell him I think it's the transmission, and so he starts looking at another vehicle for me and finds one and texts me the picture and I'm of course mad because I really don't want to buy another vehicle before Christmas and so he comes home to save me. And he gives me the look and says, "you know you have a flat tire right?" And I say, "no way, it can't be a flat tire, it made this horrible clunking noise, didn't want to go backwards, didn't want to go forwards and did I tell you about the horrible clunking noise, a flat tire wouldn't make that noise."

Well anyways, apparently when a flat tire is that low, yes it does make that kind of a clunking noise. So no, it wasn't the transmission, just a simple flat tire. And no, I'm not allowed to put it on facebook because he's embarrassed I didn't check the tires. And in my defence, I didn't check the tires because I got 2 brand new rear tires so I kind of forget that little detail. hehe grrrrr lmao

Oh well, at least it isn't the transmission, not like a few Christmasses ago when I blew the motor in my big cube van. I'm just a goof!

The other day I said to my best friend - I can't believe it, James Blunt is telling me I'm beautiful - how awesome. And then I get the response back, you're such a goof again. lol

And yes, I'm also a goof because I just don't care if people think I'm a goof or not - I'll wear 2 different color mittens or socks, I'll wear a goofy hat or wear pony tails that make me look 14. I do it because I'm me and the best me I can be. I also do it because I think people try too hard to be perfect and perfection is extremely hard to achieve, if not impossible. And I don't have time to be perfect, I just want to be me and yes, if that means I'm a goof, then so be it. I know I'm a lovable, funny, beautiful, authentic goof who isn't worried about what others think.

And I'm sure I could come up with a million more "goof" stories, but I don't have enough time today and my brain is hurting from too much thinking.

And if you think I'm a goof - you should hear my son Parker - he says he's the Mayor of Crazy Town!

Kel

ps - Just because you aren't perfect, it doesn't mean you aren't beautiful.

pps - So, comment on what makes you a goof.....

Fierce Woman of the Year Award

2010-11-12T18:25:00Z

This year I was nominated for the Phenemonal Female category of the Fierce Woman Awards, but the judges figured I should be the first "Fierce Woman of the Year". I am very honored and humbled that the judges felt I deserved this award. And like I said in my acceptance speech, I'm not trying to be amazing or fearless, I'm just trying to be me and I was taught not to let anything stop me from achieving what I want in my life. Just because I have scars on my face, it doesn't mean I don't deserve to have whatever I want. It means I have to go out and get whatever I want, just like everyone else.

I am really looking forward to my speech on Tue when I talk about "No Risks, No Rewards". I even have an exercise people will get to do to help them determine their pain levels, risks, rewards and disappointments. And one of the other major topics I talk about is why people are afraid to take risks. For more info, click here.

Thank you Tamara for putting on such a great event - I look forward to being involved again and passing on the title to the next deserving woman! And Thank you to my nominee and judges for choosing me, I truly am honored.

And the moral of the story is: If you don't take the Risk, you'll never get the Reward.

Hope Blvd

2010-10-29T19:06:00Z

This year I was very honored to be a speaker at the World Burn Congress in Houston Texas Oct 20-23. When I first arrived at the conference on Thur a.m., I listened to Dan speak. Dan is a burn survivor who has no hands, but found a way to be this fantastic drummer. He spoke for an hour about overcoming adversity and how just because he had no hands, he still learned how to tie his shoes and become a drummer. I didn’t know what I could offer other burn survivors and their families since I got burnt 42 yrs ago and don’t remember a lot of the pain and trauma. I went for a little walk, had a meltdown and texted my best friend about it and said how honored I was that the Phoenix Society chose me to speak not once, but twice and I was worried about how I could help others. I stopped and looked up and there was a street sign that said “Hope Blvd” and then I knew – I could offer them hope that they too can have a happy and successful life as a burn survivor.

Some people just need hope - they need to see that there are others like them in this world. Others who have gone through what they have. Others who understand their pain, their trauma, their differences, their world. They just need to know that they can get through it and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

When I got burnt, I didn't know there was anybody else like me - I truly thought I was the only burnt person in the world. I had a conversation with my mom when I was a teenager and I said to her, "I'm the only burnt person in the whole world" and she said, "Nope." Then I said, "well I'm the only burnt person in Canada" and she said "nope." "Well then I'm the only burnt person in Alberta" and she said "nope." And then I said, "well in Edmonton?" and finally she said, "well ok." I think she just wanted to shut me up.

And the winner is......

2010-10-27T14:19:00Z

WOW! I am so amazed. When I was nominated for the Phenomenal Female category, never did I think that I would win the Fierce Woman of the Year award. I'm pretty amazed that the judges felt I deserved this title. And like I said in my speech, I don't try to be fierce or amazing, I just try to be me.

This past year so many people have told me I'm amazing and truly, I don't get it - I'm just me, I'm not trying to be amazing. I can't be stuck doing one thing, I would get very bored so I have always tried to do lots of things. At one point, I thought there was something wrong with me because I had to do multiple projects. My grandma worked at the same company from the day she started til the day she retired at 65 and I always admired her for being able to do that, but I would be bored bored bored. And that would also make me a dead soul and so I've learned to embrace that I have done a million things and will do a million more things the rest of my life.

Thank you again judges, Tamara and my nominee (still don't know who she is) for believing in me and congratulations to all the other nominees and winners. I know everyone is as equally as deserving as I am. There are so many incredible stories out there and I know everyone is "fierce" in their own special way.

My dad always said to me, "Go get 'em tiger" and gerrrrrrrrrrrrow - to all the amazing women in the world.

You're Amazing Just the Way You Are......

2010-10-19T16:54:24Z

Today I'm kind of at a loss for words, so much is going on yet I don't know what to say about it all. Today I'm excited because I'm up for an award, for the Fierce Woman Awards with the Mom Magazine, then I rush home to finish packing, then fall asleep and wake up at 4 a.m. to rush to the airport and fly to Galveston, Texas for the World Burn Congress. At the World Burn Congress I will be speaking twice, once at the Journaling and Blogging for Fun and Soul session and then at the Sexuality and Intimacy Panel. Very excited about both.

What I'm also excited about is my new favorite song by Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are. My husband told me about the song and said, you need to use this song as an opener for your speaking and when I heard it, I agreed with him. The lyrics that I love the most say:

When I see your face. There’s not a thing that I would change
Cause you’re amazing. Just the way you are.
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for awhile.
Cause girl you’re amazing. Just the way you are

This song touches my heart because as I was growing up, I felt I had to change in order to be more beautiful for everyone else. It took me a lot of years to realize that outer beuaty didn't matter near as much as inner beauty. It was my inner beauty that everyone was attracted to, not my outer beauty. It was my smile, my laugh, my sense of humor, my confidence, my everything inside me that made people want to be my friend and gravitate towards me.

I'm very excited about this week for a few reasons. One of them is because I feel this inner change happening to me again. My life is changing and it's all great. I figured out my passion in life and because of that, everything is falling into place and wonderful awesome things are happening to me. Even if I wanted to stop this momentum, I couldn't. Too much great stuff is happening. My advice to you is to find your passion in life - your true passion and when you do..... watch out, hold on and keep on receiving! Life is too short to be miserable and doing a job you hate.

Kel

ps - I can't wait to meet more great people, help inspire them and be inspired - my passion in life: inspire others to find their true beauty from within.