I'm going to tell you a fairy tale.

Once upon a time there was a little fat girl who was teased by other kids. They called her "fat stuff" and "fatso" and other mean things.

Her mother put her into ballet class to slim down and build confidence.

The ballet teacher hid her in the back of the room for practice and the back of the stage for performances. The skinny girls were in front.

The chubby little girl hated ballet and dreaded going to class.

Then one day she had a new ballet teacher: a stooped little Russian lady with a stick in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The teacher saw through the fat and told the girl she would become a great dancer one day.

As if by magic, the fat melted away and a great dancer emerged. The girl joined professional ballet companies that put her at the front of the stage where she partnered with the cute boys and danced the new ballets and got the recognition she always wanted.

End of that story. She quit ballet and started a new story called college. (You can guess whose story that is.)

Now it's your turn.

Think of a big challenge you've overcome. You know what I'm talking about--a time in your life that hurt. It seemed like it would never get better.

You may be going through this experience now. My friends call this "AFGO": another frickin' growth opportunity. Ick.

Now it's time to write your story.

• Every story has a beginning, middle, and end.

• It has a hero (you) and a monster (the problem.)

• At first the monster is winning. This may go on for so long and the monster may be so terrible that the hero loses heart. Even his friends may tell him to give up.

• A teacher appears to guide the hero to a new understanding.

• The hero conquers the monster.

• Happy ending.

This is your fairy tale. What is your monster? What will be your happy ending? What's the next step in your journey?

A new chapter begins. Happy New Year.

****************

Morgana Rae, the Charmed Life Coach, helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, and entertainment professionals enjoy greater success without sacrificing their humanity. For more free tips on creating a charmed life of ease, flow, and abundance visit www.charmedlifecoaching.com * email: morgana@charmedlifecoach.com * phone: 310 657-5340.