Midlife seems to be a typical time for all of us to question what we are doing and why. We start looking around and asking the tough questions: "Is this it?" or "Is this all there is to life?" or "Surely, there's supposed to be a meaning or a purpose for my life, isn't there?"

Some of us will ask these questions, get anxious or nervous and close the questions off. We think it may require too much change or that we leave our jobs or our spouses or move to some exotic locale. Some think it will require too much energy or too much work to change. We let fear and our unruly thoughts rule the day. This to me is a crying shame because everywhere we look are ways to expand who we are and get in touch with a deeper meaning and purpose. Without a major overhaul in our lives.

YOUR LIFE, YOUR WAY – FOR WOMEN ONLY This workshop will get to the nitty gritty of what it means to be a woman with incredible emotional, time and energy demands and how to be who we are meant to be. What does it mean to be the real you, your authentic self? Are you caretaker, mother, sister, wife, loner, career woman, cyclist, etc.? Are these masks or the real you? What jazzes and lights you up? What makes you feel tight, down or stressed? How do you serve your own best interests while still having productive, close relationships with others? What personal power do you have and express in your life? Find out how to live life on your terms and get the most joy out of living now. Achieve more and be happier. Held Saturday, Oct 14th in the Heights.

DISCOVER AND LIVE YOUR DREAMS Do you know with crystal clarity what you truly desire? Do you know what makes your life meaningful? This workshop is all about exploring and defining your dreams. Not only will you discover what you really want, but you'll find out how to achieve it with ease and joy. Find meaning and purpose, what makes you light up and how to have more of that in your life. Includes questions, creating a dream board, exercises and experiences to further your understanding of your life purpose and your dreams. Held on Saturday November 18th in the Heights.

QUANTUM GOAL SETTING GROUP COACHING Are you ready to change your life? To live your dreams? To have what you truly desire? Quantum Goal Setting group coaching is for a small group of committed individuals who are ready to begin creating their best lives, no matter what that entails. Quantum goal setting is clearly defining your dreams and goals, using the law of attraction to set them in motion, and ultimately receiving and achieving more than you thought possible. It’s about thinking big and winning. The goal of this class is for you to discover and experience your dreams in the easiest and quickest way achievable. You get lots of encouragement, support, coaching and group accountability to speed you on your way. The class will include exercises, sharing of experiences, and boatloads of fun! We meet weekly for one hour with email between sessions. Meets Tuesdays in the Montrose (day 10-11 am & evening 7-8 pm available) Oct & Nov

ATTRACT MONEY NOW! Do you have all the money you desire and need? Join us for an attraction workshop focused entirely on wealth, prosperity and money. Open up to the immense possibility of having all the money you need and want. The law of attraction is simply that you create your own reality by what you think and feel. It’s all in the practice! Join us for a fun, experiential class! Meets Wednesday evenings starting Oct 11th through Nov 1st 7 to 8:45 pm

DREAM BOARD WITH A TWIST! A dream board is a simple, powerful way of making your dreams become real. It is the perfect tool to help you clarify your desires, see your goals vividly, to provide focus, and to imprint this visualization in your psyche. You will be led through questions that help you clarify your desires and the steps to create the dream board. A really fun class with very serious results! If you’ve taken one of these before, Mary Anne does it differently! Check it out and be surprised! Supplies provided. Held Thursday evening, October 19th from 7 to 9 pm. In the Heights.

I CREATE MY DAY – SETTING THE STAGE FOR EXTREME PRODUCTIVITY In this workshop, you will explore and discover the perfect wake-up routine for yourself. How you start your day drives how you spend your day. Each of us has activities and habits that work in our favor to create a vital, energetic and productive day. Creating your own personal environment based on your needs and what works for you can change your life. This class focuses on your wake-up routine and includes a statement (or meditation) of what you would like to create that day in your life. It’s powerful and fun. Held Thursday, November 9th 7 to 9 pm in the Heights

***FREE WORKSHOPS!!*** Want to attend one of my workshops for free? Just gather six friends, family and colleagues for the class of your choice and you attend for free. It can be held at your place or mine (within 25 miles of downtown) and at your choice of dates and times. This applies to in- person workshops only. Contact me for more information at 713.528.5971 or maf@lifeunfolds.com.

And if you are in the Houston area, check out the great workshops at Wild Heart Art at http://www.wildheartart.com. Kay Kemp has added a number of new workshops for the fall.

The following article is provided by good friend and fellow coach, Marcia Merrill. I hope you find it helpful. Check out Marcia's site and services at http://www.ecareercorner.com

This is a time in your life when major changes are taking place and your life is adjusting as a result. Changes may be related to the relationships in your life, to your surroundings, to your work life, or to your health - physical, mental and emotional. Some common life changes that lead you into a time of transition are separation from a life partner through divorce or death, relocation, a change in your job or new health issues. 

Changes happen in our life both as the result of choice and as the result of circumstance. Sometimes you're in charge of making the change (e.g. leaving your job to start your own business) and sometimes the change happens to you (e.g. being downsized or fired from your job). Transitions are usually easier when we feel that we're in control of them – that we've chosen them. But any type of change will evoke some or all of these feelings of anxiety, excitement, fear, foreboding and uncertainty. 

We, as business owners, have all heard about giving elevator speeches or a 30 second intro, preparing vision and mission statements, having a business plan and a marketing plan, and how important marketing is to the success of our companies. But how many of us actually have this important material? Many of my friends and some of my clients are business owners. And many of them have none of these. I hear reasons such as "I don't have time" or "I don't really know how to do them" or "I hate marketing" for not taking the time to create these products. So why are these documents important? Is it just for marketing? Or just for your clients or bankers? No, the real significance of all of these is what it does for you and how you run and market your business. There are five key things you must know that can make or break your business and speed up or slow down your success.

Do you have stories about changes you've made in mid-life? What questions were you asking or what problems were you trying to solve? What process or actions did you take to get the answers? How did you move forward? What helped you along the way? And where are you today? And one last thing, if you could share with others one piece of advice for mid- lifers, what would it be?

I'd love to hear them. Please do not be concerned about how well you write. I'm looking for insight and your experiences, not your writing skills! Please send an email to msmaf@swbell.net.

“Power,” he said, waving a hand in an all encompassing gesture. “All power is the same. Magic. Physical strength. Economic strength. Political strength. It all serves a single purpose—it gives its possessor a broader spectrum of choices. It creates alternative courses of action.” “I guess,” I said. “So?” “So,” he said. “You have more choices. Which means that you have much improved odds of making mistakes. You’re only human. Once in a while, you’re going to screw the pooch.” --Forthill (Priest) to Dresden (Sorcerer) in “Proven Guilty” by Jim Butcher

"Somewhere along the way I lost touch with myself. I was so busy working to reach my goal that I didn't realize the goal was no longer something I truly wanted." --Daisy Adams, in The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich

"It's not that I'm so smart , it's just that I stay with problems longer" -- Albert Einstein

"The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self." -- Albert Einstein

Read more articles and get more fr*ee resources in both my blogs:

Mid-Life Unfolds Blog

Solo Biz Buzz Blog .