The Soul of Success Vol. 8 • December 15, 2005

Quote of the Week

“Survivors of great loss or trauma often radiate a deeply grounded peace, not because they’ve never lost their center, but because they’ve been knocked into whole different galaxies, only to realize they could still find their way back to themselves.” —Martha Beck, writer

Welcome to The Soul of Success On-Line Community for Women!

This community is about finding balance in life by looking for ways to balance the inner and outer aspects of life. I’m delighted you’ve joined us for this issue of The Soul of Success e-newsletter on The Power of Integrity.

As we find ourselves in the thick of the holiday season—its beauty and its craziness—one way to stay “whole” is to make sure that we follow the contemporary adage to “walk our talk.” This means that what we do on the outside lines up with who we are on the inside. I hope you enjoy the feature article on Integrity, which features the story of Linda Chae, creator of 100% toxic-free skincare products for women—and the moment of truth she faced that has defined her life ever since.

If you have a friend who could use uplifting or encouragement, please share this newsletter with her or him—and thank you!

In this Newsletter:

• Ask Jennifer: What are some great gift ideas that can help put more meaning into the holidays?
• Feature Article: “The Power of Integrity”
• Today’s Tip
• What Do You Think?
• Next Issue: “The Power of Acceptance”
• Contact Us

Ask Jennifer: What are some great gift ideas that can help put more meaning into the holidays?

One of the best things we can gift other people with is time. In a world where we all seem not to have enough time, it has become a precious commodity indeed. For an older person, the gift of a meal or afternoon tea can be a precious opportunity to eradicate loneliness, even for a moment.

But I sometimes invite my young friends out for lunch, too. Sure, they have lots of friends, but it gives me a chance to get caught up with them and really get to know them in a way that’s not possible if I’m visiting their home just because their mother happens to be a close friend.

The other thing I have found to be fulfilling for me when it comes to holiday giving is to reflect on what someone loves—and not worry about whether I’m spending enough or how trendy it is. Something small but meaningful can turn out to be someone’s favorite gift. For example, I remember that my best friend was deeply moved by photos in a magazine of the cosmos taken by one of our space exploring satellites. I looked for—and found—a beautiful book filled with images of stars in our and other galaxies. I can’t wait to see her reaction!

Do you have a question for Jennifer? Send an e-mail to: jennifer@jenniferhawthorne.com with “Question for Jennifer” in the subject line.

Feature Article: The Power of Integrity
by Jennifer Read Hawthorne

Integrity is what happens when your words and actions line up with your inner voice and values. A beautiful example of integrity came to me from Linda Chae, whom I interviewed for The Soul of Success.

The second story of integrity came to me from a woman named Linda Chae, whom I interviewed for The Soul of Success.

When Linda was 20 years old, she had the chance to buy the beauty products company she had worked for since high school. She quit college and started doing makeup and facials with her own line at a local beauty salon. She loved the products, and her favorite was the Peach Day Cream, a best seller among her customers.

That same year, Linda got married and her mother-in-law, Julia, who was battling breast cancer, came to live with her and her husband. She was miserable from the swelling in her arm caused by the removal of her breast and lymph nodes, and so every night Linda would massage her to try to relieve the pressure.

But she noticed something odd. Every time she lavished Julia with the Peach Day Cream, she’d get a hard lump, sometimes two, near where the breast had been and halfway down her arm.

One day, when she had run out of the Peach Day Cream, she took some almond and avocado oils, added some nutrients and essential oils, and used this mixture instead to massage Julia. The lumps disappeared.

They began to experiment. Whenever the Peach Day Cream from Linda’s line was used, the lumps reappeared. Whenever she used the natural oils, they disappeared.

When she mentioned it to the doctors, they became angry and dismissed the possibility that a cream could possibly have that effect. She contacted the chemist at the manufacturing company that made her product line and asked what ingredient could cause lymphatic fluid to harden. He refused even to tell her what the ingredients were.

Linda went back to college and started studying chemistry. One day she ordered a material safety data sheet on the Peach Day Cream, which was provided in those days not to protect consumers so much as workers. When the results arrived, Linda stared in horror as she read that her beloved product contained six ingredients that were either potentially carcinogenic or could contribute to tumors and lumps. She sat at her desk and cried.

When she called her chemist to confront him, he assured her that it could still not be possible for the cream to have a detrimental effect. He also told her, “It’s not my concern or the cosmetic industry’s concern to stop cancer.” But she knew he was wrong.

For three weeks Linda’s Peach Day Cream sat on the shelves collecting dust. She didn’t know what to do. Then an old favorite client came in and told Linda that she was dying from cancer and had only a few weeks to live. She told Linda she wanted to lavish her whole body with Peach Day Cream for her remaining days, and ordered five jars.

Linda sucked in her breath and said, “Edna, I don’t think you should use that Peach Day Cream.”

“Why not, Honey?” Edna asked. And as they started talking, Edna realized that she had started feeling bad about a year before, when she first starting using the cream. At first, she was furious. Then she begged Linda to start making products that would help women be beautiful without threatening their health. Linda promised she would.

About ten weeks later Edna passed away. After the funeral, Linda went to the beauty salon and got a big trash can. She swept everything off every shelf. Then she went to her warehouse and bagged the rest of her inventory. She sat down and figured out she had just lost $32,000. But as she struggled with how she was going to deal with the financial loss, she vowed, “I’ll never, ever, ever again sell something that could hurt any human being, let alone somebody vulnerable with cancer.”

From that day on, Linda dedicated her life to researching and finding ways to make toxin-free beauty projects for women. Today, her products are used by some of the top organic skincare product lines in the country, and her own successful line continues to be “100% toxin-free,” which is different even from products labeled “nontoxic,” which, sadly, means only that less than 49% of the lab rats died when exposed to them.

Linda’s story is a constant reminder to me of how integrity involves the soul waking up to its own inner voice. When we make a decision that doesn’t reflect our integrity, it’s pretty safe to say that we’ll probably regret it eventually.

A friend of mine lives by this motto: Do the right thing—because it’s the right thing to do. It will feel good, and it’s as good a guide as any I know to help us live life well.

Adapted from The Soul of Success: A Woman’s Guide to Authentic Power, Health Communications, Inc., copyright 2005 Jennifer Read Hawthorne.

This article is also available in the two-volume CD set: 21 Keys to the Soul of Success. For more information, click here.

Today’s Tip

Are you struggling with a decision about whether to sacrifice your own values for the sake of financial security? One thing you might do is to write in your journal—and start a journal if you don’t already have one—what you value most in life. This can help you evaluate just about any decision you have to make, whether it deals with money or something else. Ask yourself: Does the decision you’re about to make line up with your values?

What Do You Think?

Are you on “information overload”? Does this newsletter help you in any way, or is it just another e-mail to delete from your too-crowded In-Box?

Send your answer to: jennifer@jenniferhawthorne.com with “Answer” in the subject line.

Next Issue: The Power of Acceptance

Mahatma Gandhi once said that “There is no way to peace; peace is the way.” And for those of us who care about peace in the world, we must understand that peace begins with the individual—meaning, you and me. How can we expect to have peace in the world if we ourselves are angry and out of balance—the opposite of peaceful?

But how do we find peace in a world that sometimes seem to have gone haywire? I believe that Acceptance is a powerful place to start. Please join me for a discussion of this idea in our next issue.

Contact Us

Your feedback is always greatly appreciated. Please e-mail us at info@jenniferhawthorne.com

The Soul of Success is a free e-newsletter published twice a month by Jennifer Read Hawthorne, copyright 2005.

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