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Review of Be the Star You Are! 99 gifts for Living, Loving, Laughing, and Learning to Make a Difference by Cynthia Brian REVIEWED by Bud Bilanch, The Common Sense Guy www.SuccessCommonSense.com

On November 8, I attended a great event: Amazing Woman’s Day, a Marsh Engle production.  And sure enough, I met a really amazing woman, Cynthia Brian.  Cynthia is the author of a great book, Be the Star You Are: 99 Gifts for Living, Loving, Laughing and Learning to Make a Difference.  Big title, big book, filled with big ideas. I like everything about this book, beginning with the title.  Like Cynthia, I believe that we are all stars – we just need to find ways to showcase our brilliance.  In Be the Star You Are, Cynthia provides 99 ideas, she calls them gifts, to help you showcase your brilliance. Each gift is explained in a few pages, followed by an exercise to help the reader make the most of it.  For example the exercise that accompanies “The Gift of Optimism,” one of my favorite topics goes like this… •    Stand up tall.  Reach as high as you dare.  Stand on your toes, and reach for the stars.  Imaging yourself flying to the stars and landing on a twinkling surface of heavenly light. •    Now, bend over and fall limply to the ground.  Imagine yourself continuing to fall, being sucked deeper and deeper into the earth’s molten core. •    Stretch upward again.  Make circles in the air with your arms, sweeping them around you as you jump high off the ground. •    Which feels better?  Do you want to reach and soar?  Or fall and sink?  In life, you can be an optimist and reach for the stars, or be a pessimist and collapse into the earth.  That’s your choice. “Twinkling surface of heavenly light,”  “earth’s molten core;” Cynthia certainly has a way with words. More important, she shows her readers how to make the most of the 99 gifts in her book by providing such interesting, fun and useful exercises. I won’t list all of the gifts that Cynthia discusses in Be the Star You Are, but here are a few of my favorites…. I am grateful for Cynthia’s words about the gifts of abundance, acceptance, affirmation, balance, celebration, choice, cooperation, determination, dreams, enthusiasm, forgiveness, friendship, gratitude, hope, humor, joy, knowledge, miracles, passion, perseverance, reflection, responsibility, serendipity, spontaneity, truth, understanding, wisdom and you. Last week I featured President Elect Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope.  Hope is powerful.  Be the Star You Are is a hopeful book.  But with hope comes responsibility.  Cynthia challenges her readers to accept responsibility for their lives and success.  She says, “You are unique.  No one has ever walked the earth with your exact combination of inborn and acquired strengths, weaknesses, skills, foibles, talents, frailties and experiences…I challenge you to become the star you already are…I’ll provide the guidance.  You provide the guts.” I like the way she thinks.  Do yourself a favor.  Pick up a copy of Be the Star You Are.  Read it.  Savor the writing.  Do the exercises.  And become the star you are.

Aurea McGarry is a ray of sunshine and hope. She believes that her faith in God and her determination to overcome all obstacles is responsible for the many miracles in her life. And she is truly a miracle survivor who lives passionately with copious amounts of humor and fun. Told she would never speak again, she beat the odds and hosts a TV series, Live Your Legacy, in Atlanta. As a motivational speaker, Aurea travels the country helping women from all backgrounds understand that domestic violence is not to be tolerated. Aurea McGarry is a powerhouse of energy and her book, I Won’t Survive…I’ll Thrive is a must read. http://www.liveyourlegacy.biz

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Teddy Tarr is a therapist who knows what it feels like to be betrayed. Her perfect marriage crumbled just as she was planning her future for a retirement on the perfect island. Dr. Tarr shares her pain, the lies, the suffering, the deception and the resulting healing in her book, Palm Island-Paradise Lost. Being forced into much needed self examination, Dr. Tarr triumphs from her traumatic experiences which helps listeners know the incredible ability of the human spirit to survive and strive. www.griefworksinc.com

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T42-Heather Brittany and Cynthia Brian with Be the Star You Are! for TEENS In T42, Heather Brittany and Cynthia Brian provide information on submitting your chapter for the new book, Be the Star You Are! for TEENS which will benefit Be the Star You Are! charity. There will be 99 chapters each beginning with “the Gift of…” with the gifts being various virtues important to living, loving,leading, laughing, and learning to make a difference. Teens and other writers are encouraged to peruse a chapter in the original book then sent in a chapter of 630 words or less. Deadline is Jan. 2009. For guidelines, visit http://www.bethestaryouare.org/Write/Index.html. Get published while helping others succeed!

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Cynthia Brian is one busy bee. In addition to her regular gardening column for the Lamorinda Weekly, she is a bestselling published author, a life empowerment coach, a radio host, a professional speaker, and the founder of the local non-profit group, Be The Star That You Are. And all this is after making strides as a Hollywood actress, model, and journalist. She speaks four languages, and is a wife and mother. Cynthia has accomplished enough for many lifetimes, but she is in no way finished. With a genuine interest in people, Cynthia has made it her mission to help individuals, especially youth, discover their passion and then go out and live it.

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Want to know how to play more, have fun, make a difference, garden,and be the star you are? Cynthia Brian is interviewed by PEOPLEJAM on subjects of importance. http://www.peoplejam.com/tags/search/Cynthia+Brian

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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR NEW BOOK: BE THE STAR YOU ARE! FOR TEENS Thank you for wanting to participate in our upcoming book which will be published in time for the 10th anniversary of the founding of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3 charity. We are very excited about this project and hope to help you become a published author with a book that will make you proud.  The book will be formatted in a very similar fashion to the first book, Be the Star You Are! 99 Gifts for Living, Loving, Laughing, and Learning to Make a Difference, although we may publish a random number of chapters. If you have not read the original book, we advise that you do so. You may read a sample chapter, The Gift of Abundance, at our web site or purchase personal copies from our office or our Amazon site where all sales are tax deductible as a donation. The link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587610086 Proceeds from the sale of Be the Star You Are! for Teens will benefit Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3 charity empowering women, families, and youth. GUIDELINES: 1.    Each chapter is titled THE GIFT OF…with only ONE story per chapter. 2.    Every story must be a true event that happened to you or someone you know who gives you permission to tell their tale. Stories are to have a compelling beginning, middle, and end with a life lesson that will inspire, encourage, empower teens or offer some insight to living as or with a teen. 3.    Each chapter is to include an original quote. 4.    Each story finishes with a short exercise demonstrating the “GIFT” in action. It will help the reader incorporate the gift into his/her life. 5.    Word count is between 360-630 words, not including the quote and the exercise. 6.    Please include your name, email address, web site, phone number, home/business address, city, state, zip plus a 40-50 word biography that tells us about yourself. 7.    Send ALL submissions in a WORD document to Cynthia@bethestaryouare.org. Hand written or typed submissions will not be accepted. Every submission MUST be via email or burned to a CD and sent to PO Box 376, Moraga, Ca. 94556. 8.    Every writer whose submission is published will receive credit as a contributor, a 40-50 word bio, promotion on our web site, newsletters, invitations to participate in book signings, readings, marketing, and deep discounts on all orders of books.  The writer will maintain copyrights and the ability to submit the story elsewhere as long as Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3 maintains the rights to publish the work in all mediums for the purpose of this book. There is no financial remuneration for publication of your story. 9.    Submissions are due no later than January 6, 2009

Please inquire about the chapter titles that are available. We will make every effort to give you the GIFT you want.  In the case of duplication, we will attempt to re-edit your article to fit a different GIFT, with your permission. Please visit our web site at www.bethestaryouare.org for the latest updates on available chapters. All submissions must go through a long selection process. If your story enters the final round of this process, we will notify you by email and send you permission and biography forms to return. Due to the large volume of stories we receive, you will be notified ONLY if your story reaches this final stage. Please be patient as this is a lengthy process. Our publication date may be as late as November 2009, and the final selections may not be made until close to that date. In the meantime, please feel free to submit your stories elsewhere, as we only ask for non-exclusive rights for the pieces used in the book. Thank you for sharing your story with us! We look forward to creating a best selling book for and by teens. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Cynthia@bethestaryouare.org. Cynthia Brian Be the Star You Are!® charity, PO Box 376, Moraga, California 94556. www.bethestaryouare.org

GIFTS/CHAPTERS FOR BE THE STAR YOU ARE! FOR TEENS Red X marks after a GIFT indicates that GIFT is assigned or completed. Do not duplicate. If you have an idea for a different GIFT not listed on this page, feel free to email Cynthia@bethestaryoaure.org. Abundance Acceptance Action Adventure Affection Affirmation Appreciation Aptitude Asking Attitude X Awareness Balance Beauty Being Breathing Celebration Challenge Change Charity Choice Communication Community Conviction Cooperation Courage Creativity Curiosity Daring Dating Dedication Delight Destiny Determination Devotion Differences Direction Dreams Education  X Enthusiasm Exercise Fairness Faith Feedback Forgiveness Friendship Fun Generosity Grace Gratitude Growth Happiness Harmony Healing Health Home Honesty Hope Hosannas Humor Imagination Improvisation Ingenuity Inspiration Integrity Interdependence Joy Knowledge Laughter Leadership Life  X Listening Love Magic Miracles Moderation Motivation Nourishment Now Opportunity Optimism Parents Passion Patience Positivity Planning Play Prayer Purpose Reflection Rejection Responsibility Rest Risk Safety Serendipity Simplicity Sleep Solitude Spontaneity Sports Success Surrender Survival Tenacity X Tolerance X Transformation Triumph Truth Understanding Visualization Volunteerism Winning Wisdom Work You X

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Sharon Wyeth with Know the Name, Know the Person Shakespeare may have had it wrong when he had Romeo and Juliette forsaking their names as a rose could smell as sweet. What is in a name? Much more than we ever imagined! Sharon Wyeth has developed a new science based on decades of working with numbers called Neimology. In her book, Know the Name, Know the Person, Sharon shares secrets that have not been unveiled before. With her new system of letter placement, we can find out much about a person by just knowing their first name. If you are considering starting a business, a service, or naming a child, you’ll want to refer to Know the Name, Know the Person. Find out how you can be more balanced by adjusting the spelling of your name. Very fascinating book. www.knowthename.com

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Bullying of any type is abuse. Cyber bullying can be done anonymously which makes it even more dangerous to youth. Parents and adults have an obligation to monitor their children for signs that kids may be bullied or are bullies. In this information and important segment of T42-A Mother/Daughter Brew, Cynthia Brian and Heather Brittany expose the realities of internet criminal behavior and the trauma it leaves behind. Fantastic episode. For positive good news, tune into the new series created by Be the Star You Are!- SHINE! http://www.youtube.com/Bethestaryouare

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We’ve all had our hearts broken, but when we are betrayed and shaken to our core we need help. Dr. Teddy Tarr married her best friend of 30 years and thought they had a fabulous relationship until one day he asked her to move out so he could move his girlfriend in. She recounts her suffering and her path to healing in Palm Island-Paradise Lost. With her expertise in psychology she utilized the tools that she uses with patients. Her book is a resource for anyone who is grieving from a loss of any kind. Her message is we can survive and thrive after bereavement or divorce. http://www.griefworksinc.com

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