– Oprah Winfrey

According to the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade.  It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trade conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers and workers.

There are 10 key principles of Fair Trade:-

• Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers
• Transparency and accountability
• Capacity building
• Promoting Fair Trade
• Payment of a fair price
• Gender equality
• Working conditions
• Child labour
• The environment
• Trade relations

Tomorrow is World Fair Trade Day and it calls on all of us to celebrate Fair Trade.  To celebrate you can do the following:-

• Support your local Fair Trade Organisations by volunteering to help with their work, make a donation or attend organised events.
• Buy Fair Trade products when you can and keep an eye out for products in your local supermarkets or better still ask them to consider stocking Fair Trade items.
• Browse an online Fair Trade Shop for gifts.
• Attend a World Fair Trade Day event if one is held in your area.
• Make a donation to IFAT.

My goal in the next 12 months is to have Modern Goddess Gifts offering a range of Fair Trade products from all around the world.

Get involved!

• Set limits - you already set limits: on your children, on your spending, on your food intake and so on.  This basic life skill can be applied to time, too.  Decide, in advance, how long you want to spend on a phone call or a visitor, shopping or cleaning, and stick to it.
• Do the worst task first - every day, at the office or at home, do your worst or most difficult task first.  At the office this could be writing a complex letter or making a phone call you’ve been dreading.  At home it may be the ironing or scrubbing the grouting.  Getting the worst out of the way as soon as possible gives you a sense of achievement plus relief.  It also frees your mind to concentrate on other tasks.
• Sacred hour - award yourself a regular hour, every day, when you can work uninterrupted.  Let phone calls go to voicemail and leave your emails, unless this is what you plan to work on.  One hour of uninterruped work will usually achieve much more than five constantly inturruped by phone calls and visitors.
• Grocery shopping - utilise online shopping and saved shopping lists, particularly when buying the staples.  Alternatively shop early in the mornings or later in the evenings when there are less shoppers and shorter queues.
• Regular coffee and meal breaks - this gives structure to your day and helps you keep focus.  By having breaks it can help you clear your mind, and refresh if getting a little tired from looking at the computer for the past hour.
• Make appointments - by writing them in your diary, you are blocking out time in the day for your client meetings and while you’re at it, block out some ‘you’ time.  30mins for a mini manicure or pedicure will not only pep you up but make you feel good too.

Do you have any favourite time saving tips?

The latest issue of the Modern Goddess Magazine is out now!

This issue is dedicated to mothers in celebration of Mother’s Day.  Michelle tells us the origins of Mother’s Day and reviews a lovely book for all mothers.  Jennifer offers tips for mum’s looking at going back into the workforce, Cheryl explains how it is not until you become a mother, can you really appreaciate your own mother and Anne explains that self is important.

We meet with Elizabeth Peru from Deltawaves.  Elizabeth is a Sound and Colour Healer, and is currently travelling Asia facilitating workshops and offering private healing sessions.  She’s on her way to Hong Kong and her workshops are listed in the Upcoming Events.

We also introduce you to a wonderful charity helping mothers by looking after their children.  Project Night Night is a worthy cause to support and they are looking for prizes for their silent auction.

We have a competition for you, a meditation and a chakra makeover.  Put your feet up and read your copy today… Happy Reading!

Blessings,
Nicole Graham

Founder and Editor
www.moderngoddessmagazine.com

As I head off on my holiday to Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca in Peru; Iguazu Falls and Beuonos Aires in Argentina; Santigao and the nearby wine regions in Chile and New York in the US, I thought I would give you an update of the past month.

I’ve been reading ‘A New Earth’ by Eckhart Tolle and am having many ‘a-ha’ moments.  If you’re reading the book, feel free to pop into our discussion forum and chat to us about your ‘a-ha’ moments.

In April my blog moved up the charts in the Top 100 Australian Women Bloggers list.  The previous month it was ranked 73 and this month it ranked 47.  Thank you to all my readers who link to me and leave comments.

Affirmation of the Month

“My highest duty lies in honouring my heart… from there my journey will flow.”

Articles Seen In

• ‘Coaching and What is It?’ was promoted in the All for Women Blog Carnival over at Mixed Metaphor.
• ‘Real Beauty’ was promoted in the All for Women Blog Carnival over at The Modern Goddess.
• ‘Women in Business’ was promoted in the Working at Home Carnival over at Working at Home on the Internet.

Link Love

• Beautiful Summer Morning is a blog that offers inspiring quotes, stories, books, art, poems and self development topics.

Tara, my journal business partner has been busy painting.  We are in our final stages of designing our next journal, Journal for the Pregnant Goddess.  This journal has five different images with the fifth image going to be part of our third journal, Journal for the Mother Goddess.

I’ve loved watching Tara’s paintings evolve because I can actually see where she’s come from to where she is now, and every now and then I get a glimpse of where she is going.  You can see a sneak peak of the journal cover painting on our website, Journals for Empowerment.

Tara has not only been painting for our journals, but she has also been painting for her business, Nirvana Visions.  I love one of her recent paintings of her daughter, aptly named ‘The voice of the toddler‘.

Another artist who has been busy is Jenny over at Jenni’s Papercraft Designs.  Jenny is a keen cardmaker and in between running her business and making cards, she has been learning to paint.  She has combined her cardmaking and artwork to offer a set of 4 notecards in her online store.

In my post, Business Success Factor #1 one of the factors is to evaluate your personal goals and consider if they suit the lifestyle of a small business owner.  What these women have in common is that they’ve successfully combined their passion with business.

Looking for something that you enjoy or are passionate about is a step in the right direction forumlating a business idea.  Of course there are other factors, but doing something you love is a good start.

What are you passionate about?

Welcome to Empowering Women - Issue 15 and this issue focuses on finance and money. Enjoy!

We start with Wenchypoo from Wench Wisdom who suggests a range of perks and benefits for those of you who are working for others.  These tips can be applied to your working life in whatever country you live.

Then Carole over at The Healthy Living Lounge helps you find your wealth location and offers guidelines to welcoming the wealth energy into your home.

If you are in a relationship, the article, How to talk about money to your partner offered by The Eclectic Female over at Women’s Lifestyle Blog are invaluable.

Next up is John from Truthful Lending who offers a range of tips on paying off your mortgage.  These are great for everyone, whether you live in the US or not.

Lastly, if you have kids then the article, 90 low cost or no cost activities to entertain your kids by Jeremy over at Destroy Debt will be very helpful.

Tell others about this Empowering Women Carnival… pass on the love, the knowledge and the wisdom and help anothers become empowered. Have a great week!

Thank you to everyone that submitted articles. I would appreciate author’s linking back to this carnival.

You are invited to submit your blog article to the next issue using our carnival form.

– Robert Grudin

***

Ever have one of those days, Nicole, when you’re feeling so good, crossing a street, driving your car, shopping at the mall, when, from a distance you see a complete stranger, with a kindly face, and you simply can’t help yourself from whispering a silent “I love you…”?

Oh, cool, because there has been many a time, in many a place, when some unknown face whispered the same to you….

Love you,
  The Universe