Book excerpt: Empowered Design is about creating the life you are meant to live starting from the inside out. Design is all-encompassing; from creating a passionate plan for life, to your personal space supporting your energy. Let's face it, Designers are like therapists and we are the go-to people for our clients, not only for style but for life advice. Well, it takes hard work and determination to live your best life! Design has been my life for over twenty years, and I realized that designing the life we are meant to live is connected to the space we live in. My book is about creating a passionate plan that will start with figuring out what direction will empower you and not drain you. It's important to understand the difference between the white noise that creates fear, and the fear that tells you that you're on the right track. Fear doesn't scream at you, it whispers most of the time. Everyone is afraid of anything worth doing, but how you react to that fear can be a game changer. One way that I can tell the difference between the two is if I were to imagine I was given the same opportunity that I was afraid of, except this time I was guaranteed that I could not fail. Would you still want to do it? You see, knowing the difference between how your feelings and your body reacts to different situations is at the core of fine tuning your barometer. You can't make the right decisions if you don't know the difference between the feeling of the right road or the wrong road. It seems so simple, but you would be surprised at how much people make decisions that they think are right, but really, they just chose the less scary and easy route. I'm not inventing the wheel, but I am infusing a lot of old world knowledge and common sense with my own stories of how I moved past obstacles, and how I'm still pushing past the obstacles that get in my way. I think that it's really easy to let the experiences in your life define your life. When life gives you obstacles, you need to use them as your own stepping stones. I am a fusion of Interior Design and Energy Design, and so my book will be a fusion of the two, that make up what I call Empowered Design. Now most of us know what Interior Design is, but I'm sure you're wondering what in God's name Energy Design is. And no I'm not referring to "GREEN" or Energy Efficient Design. I refer to Energy Design as the Designing of the emotional and non-physical space that surrounds you or that affects you on a daily basis. It's about taking your emotional pulse so that you can make choices that will build you up, and not bring you down. This calls for self-awareness, where you step away from yourself enough to be the watcher instead of the reactor. I have made a commitment to live my life on purpose, and I believe that I can show readers that there are no boundaries to achieving great personal success. It looks different to all of us and it's what makes your space and your journey unique. The life we are all meant to live is as much about how you feel, to what your space looks like when you wake up in the morning. It's as simple as if your house is cluttered then your brain feels cluttered. So I ask you, does your space feel authentic and does it support who you are? But I guess a better question to ask yourself is "Does your life feel authentic to who you are and who you want to be?" If the answer isn't a hard "YES" then we've got work to do!