It is with great joy and delight that I announce the premier of Be Your Own You magazine, where we celebrate our differences and the right for EVERY girl to feel good about who she is, where girls support girls instead of tearing each other down. In every issue, you’ll find exclusive interviews with today’s positive role models, empowering stories about girls who are making a difference in the world, powerful self-esteem tips & projects, fun games & puzzles, inspirational fiction, contests, and lots more, including opportunities for girls themselves to be featured!

Please consider getting a special girl in your life this empowering magazine with much-needed messages girls need in today’s world. We are offering a SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE of ONLY $10 for an annual subscription THIS WEEK. This extraordinary price expires Saturday, October 8, at midnight (after that you can still get  your annual subscription for our regular price of $17.97), so hurry to take advantage of this amazing offer!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR $10 SUBSCRIPTION!

Here’s what you’ll find in our PREMIERE October/November Issue:

* EXCLUSIVE interview with singer/dancer/actress & girls’ empowerment advocate Cymphonique Miller!
* Inspiring story of “Warrior Princess” – a 14-year old cancer survivor who is making an impact on girls everywhere!
* Powerful article on positive thinking with easy instructions on a fun self-esteem project you can do!
* Fun puzzles, brain teasers, and jokes in Puzzle-Palooza!
* Girls sharing what it means to “be your own you” (with YOUR opportunity to be featured next!)
* Never-before-seen On Location With BYOU photos!
* FREE first chapter of the award-winning book “Beauty’s Secret: A Girl’s Discovery of Inner Beauty” plus Beauty’s tips for inner and outer beauty to keep your Heartlight shining bright!
* I Am Poem Contest, Color Me BYOU, and so much more!!

Hurry, you don’t want to miss an issue of this empowering NEW magazine for girls ages 6-16!

Get your subscription today at:

https://shop.beyourownyou.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MAG

OR ORDER BY PHONE TOLL-FREE  BY CALLING 855- BUY-BYOU (855-289-2968)

ALSO! Email us the name & address of your school library and we’ll be sure to send them a FREE year’s subscription! Email the information to support@beyourownyou.com.

I’m very honored and excited to be included in the amazing line-up of world-renowned experts featured in the Who Am I Not To Be Telesummit that begins this Monday, September 26. This is an incredibly transformational on-line series that YOU can listen to and seriously benefit from – all for FREE! You will have the opportunity to enjoy 23 sessions of empowering advice and tips from world-class experts, such as Lisa Nichols, Marci Shimoff, Dr. Bernie Siegel, Yours Truly (Listen as I discuss “Who Am I Not To Be Empowered!), and so many more – all for FREE! And it’s so easy to sign up!

All you have to do is register here:  http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4460885

Simple tips to make you beautiful  … empowered … wealthy … respected … healthy … admired … powerful … successful …strong … peaceful … fulfilled … happy … extraordinary… and more …

World-class experts will help you conquer fear, doubt, sabotage, and being broke … so you can be the person you truly want to be.

You won’t want to miss this amazing opportunity to have access to 23 inspirational and informational sessions that will change your life – yours absolutely free with no strings attached.  Below is a description of the telesummit – I hope you’ll join me in a celebration of WHO you are now and WHO you are meant to be!

Who Am I Not To Be Telesummit

An online festival of powerful transformation

We’ve gathered 23 renowned experts from all over the world to help you with your effortless transformation in a FREE online event, so that you can make measurable progress toward your goals, even with today’s uncertainties.

There are simple techniques and methods you can put into effect in your daily life to help you determine WHO you are right now and to help you create the person WHO you want to be.

The Who Am I Not To Be Telesummit begins September 26^th –it’s free and easy to sign up:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4460885

When you sign-up today, you can listen to 23 individual sessions –all about one hour long – absolutely free – and get the breakthrough you need and want for greater success, a healthier lifestyle, better relationships, more wealth and abundance, heightened awareness of your body … whatever it is that you are looking for.

No matter WHO you want to be, there is an expert who will lead you through simple processes to help overcome your blocks and fears to allow you to be WHO you really are.

You can listen to these inspiring programs with our compliments:

* Who Am I Not To Be Radical & Extraordinary – Surpassing Average and Ordinary to Reach Radical and Extraordinary with best-selling author and charismatic teacher Lisa Nichols

* Who Am I Not to Be Happy – Learn to be Happy For No Reason With celebrated transformational leader and best-selling author Marci Shimoff

* Who Am I Not To Have Lasting Love – Creating & Renewing Lasting Love with Conscious Loving and relationship expert Katie Hendricks

* Who Am I Not To Be Empowered – Embrace Your Inner Beauty & Let the World Experience the Real You with former model/actress turned author & empowerment advocate Debra Gano

* Who Am I Not to Be the BEST Version of Myself with Successful entrepreneur and founder of Mind Movies, Natalie Ledwell

* Who Am I Not To Love Myself – A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles with motivational speaker, life coach and author Gabrielle Bernstein

* Who Am I Not To Be Abundant – The Vibration of Abundance with EFT Master Carol Look

* Who Am I Not To Live the Life of My Dreams with the founder Of Inspire Me Today, Gail Lynne Goodwin

* Who Am I Not To Be Healthy – Discover How to Heal Your Body With The Healing Codes Founder Dr. Alex Loyd

* Who Am I Not to Be Strong & Sexy with accomplished entrepreneur, highly-sought-after spokesperson, and life coach to celebrities and CEOs Forbes Riley

* Who Am I Not To Be Rich & Happy with energy healer and teacher Ann Taylor

* Who Was I Born To Be? – Allow Steve Olsher, “America’s Reinvention Expert,” to share with you his step-by-step guide to becoming the person you were meant to be

* Who Am I Not to Be Love – Start Living from the Vibration of Love with founder of Love or Above, intuitive healer  Christie Marie Sheldon

* Who Am I Not To Be Sensual – Discover the Power of Your  Sensuality with Elegant Femme founder Tara Marino

* Who Am I Not To Be Thin & Enjoy Weight Loss with psychotherapist and author Dr. Roberta Temes from The Hypnosis Network

* Who Am I Not To Be Wise – How To Be Clear in Your Mind and In Your Heart with speaker, author and founder of The Essence Method™ Susan Castle and Paul Bauer, founder of Dreams Alive

* Who Am I Not To Be Powerful – Why We Are Afraid To Step Into Our Power with in-demand life coach and transformational leader Christy Whitman

* Who Am I Not To Be Happy With Who I Am – Using Relationships to Figure Out Who You Are with relationship expert Cheri Valentine

* Who Am I Not To Be Unstoppable – Why You’ll Never Be Able to Stop Procrastinating Forever with mind-training genius and life-changing strategist Wendi Friesen

* Who Am I Not To Be Prosperous and Happy with Mary Jaksch, Zen master, psychotherapist, and author

* Who Am I Not Be a Miracle with author of A Book of Miracles -Inspiring True Stories of Healing, Gratitude, and Love Bernie Siegel, MD

* Who Am I Not To Take Care of Myself with spiritual coach and motivational speaker Terri Amos-Britt

* And much, much more …

All at no charge for you!

23 amazing experts will share their expertise with you!

We’ve scoured the world to discover the most talented teachers. They are world-renowned experts who have enhanced and changed the lives of thousands and thousands of individuals.

Their techniques and methods are easy to implement and proven to be powerful.

They are coming together in an extraordinary free online event to help you discover WHO you are and help you rise above the disappointments and chaos of our days and to enjoy a rewarding and satisfying life.

Click here  to see the 23 extraordinary teachers:  http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4460885

Here’s what you can expect …

Each day at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT beginning on Monday, September 26th, a new interview will be broadcast live for you to hear.

You will have 48 hours to listen to the presentation before it disappears. You can listen to each presentation as many times as you want within the 48-hour period. We’ll send you a reminder with links for each day’s call. It’s easy to listen in by phone or over the Internet. So there’s nothing to download and there are no complicated technical instructions.

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4460885

Please sign up today, and we invite you to share this with others. This online festival of powerful transformation is our gift to you and the world. Thank you!

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We invite EVERYONE to come out to cheer these beautiful inside & out girls on the runway and see all of the newest BYOU ‘Be Your Own You’ empowered apparel for girls! We’ll have lots of giveaways too! Please join us! Directions for the Denver County Fair at the National Western Complex are below.

Here are the modeling details:  Due to the overwhelming response, to be able to be a model in the fashion show, you MUST be able to attend BOTH the Wednesday evening training/rehearsal from 6:30-8:00 PM and be at the show location on Thursday from 3:00-7:00 PM. Not all girls attending the Wednesday audition will be able to model in Thursday’s show (unless you are already scheduled be to a model) but ALL girls attending will receive runway training, a FREE one-month membership in the BYOU Be Your Own You Team Esteem Empowerment Program, and will be kept on file for future modeling opportunities.

Wed, July 27, 6:30-8:00 PM: Audition/Training/Rehearsal

LOCATION: BYOU Be Your Own You Store, 6770 S. Dawson Circle, Suite 800, Centennial, CO 80112; (303) 400-8888

Directions: From Arapahoe Road, take Jordan Rd SOUTH; make first LEFT on to S. Dawson Center, building will be on your LEFT in the Arapahoe Center building; BYOU Store will be around the other side facing Arapahoe Road (you can see the store when you are on Arapahoe between Parker Rd. & Jordan Rd)

Please bring: Paper & pen/pencil, BYOU shirt if you have one

Thursday, July 28, 3:00-7:00 PM: Fitting/Rehearsal/Fashion Show

LOCATION: Denver County Fair- The Fair is located at the National Western Complex, (I-70 to Brighton Blvd Exit –just east of I-25 - MAP) 4655 Humboldt St. Denver, CO 80216. Go to Gate 1 on the North side of the Hall.  After you park at the Fair, please go to front door of the Expo Hall and check in at the window labeled Presenters.  You will receive your pass into the Fair and directions to your stage.  Upon your arrival at the Fashion Pavilion, please check in with Aimee Newman with BYOU ‘Be Your Own You.’ Each model is allowed to bring 1-2 adults with her (and siblings); other guests coming to watch the 6 PM show must pay fair entrance fee (General admission-$10. Youth (5-12) $5. Children 4 and under, free.

Schedule:

3:00 -5:00 PM: Fitting, Rehearsal & Hair Styled by Sweet & Sassy – please come with clean hair

5:00-5:45 PM: Final Rehearsal on Stage

6:00 -7:00 PM: Fashion Show!

7:00-9:00 PM: Informal Modeling (Optional – we’d love to have some girls stay after to informally model at our booth!)

Please bring:

1.       Denim jeans and/or shorts (no cut offs or ultra-short shorts!)

2.       Black pants/leggings/skirts

3.       Black shoes/sandals (no flip flops or high heels!)

4.       Fun accessories or things that allow you to ‘be your own you’

5.       Water, snacks, and/or sack dinner

6.       A great attitude! This is going to be great fun!

We look forward to seeing you!!

Having heard Demi’s name mentioned in the news, my eight-year-old daughter’s ears perked up and she exclaimed, “I love Demi Lovato! What are they saying about her?” Not wanting to completely taint my daughter’s image of this perpetually big-grinned teen star, I explained to her that Demi struggles with feelings of low self-worth and will sometimes do harmful and negative things to herself. My daughter, finding it difficult to understand how this confident-appearing favorite of hers could ever suffer from low self-esteem, responded, “But, Mom, she always looks so happy and sure of herself!”

 Demi’s disclosure on her issues is yet another example that “having it all” does not guarantee happiness or love for ourselves. I found that out during the years I personally spent working in the modeling and acting industries, and learned that true feelings of self-worth can only come from within (to hear the whole story, click here). This is the message I so passionately teach our girls.

Many don’t yet know what cutting is, so I wanted to bring awareness of what it is and offer preventative measures so it doesn’t become an issue in YOUR life.

Much like the “Mean Girl” trend, cutting is  increasing as an unhealthy self-harmful “trendy” behavior, especially with girls. Self-harm typically starts at about age 14, but more cases of kids as young as 11 or 12 doing it show up daily. As more and more kids become aware of it, more kids are trying it.

When a girl “cuts” herself, typically it is self-inflicted straight-line cuts with a sharp object, often parallel like railroad ties, carved into forearm, upper arms, and sometimes the legs. Some girls cut words into themselves, like if they’re having body image issues, they may cut the word ‘fat,’ or if they’re having trouble at school, it may be ‘stupid,’ ‘loser,’ or a big ‘L.’

Self-injury is a coping strategy for feelings of low self-worth and unhappiness. Parents often mistake cutting for suicidal behavior, but psychiatrists believe that self-injury has an effect similar to cocaine and other drugs that release endorphins to create a feel-good feeling. Children in emotional pain cause physical external pain to themselves so they won’t feel their internal pain as much.

And much like a drug addition, cutting typically escalates over time, with more frequent episodes and more cuts each time, because it takes more cutting to get the same relief.

Self-injury begins as a defense against what’s going on in a child’s internal and external life. If emotions and situations feel overwhelming, if they have failed in an area of their lives, of if they struggle for self-identity, this is a way to get “control” and blunt their emotional pain. Very often, girls who self-harm also have an eating disorder and tend to be sensitive, perfectionists, and overachievers.

Our work as mentors of children, and my mission in the work I do with girls, is preventative. Just like keeping our bodies healthy daily with good sleep and nutrition to ward off sickness, we want to daily nurture our own/our child’s self-esteem. And in this case, little things CAN make a difference!

We make choices every day how we handle difficult situation and how to help our children cope with the pain they are experiencing. If a child tells us she feels hurt for others teasing her, we can tell her that she is too sensitive and needs to get on with things, or we can listen to her and see what it is others are saying which is causing her pain. If she says she is unhappy or feels unloved, we can tell her to stop complaining and appreciate all the good things, or we can ask her to explain why and learn from her. If she tells us she feels judged by the comments we make, we can tell her she takes things too personally, or we can listen to her and try to be more accepting and less judgmental.

Be mindful and aware every day. Your responses to what may seem to you like a trivial thing could lead to either empowering her or leading her to seek other ways to numb her pain. Don’t wait to be proactive until she experiences mood changes like depression or anxiety, out-of-control behavior, changes in relationships, communication, and school performance – by then, she is suffering and in pain, and looking for ways to cope with that pain.

Children face so much today, and their emotional capacity to handle things is still immature and vulnerable. Whether they act like it or not, every child needs a strong support system to empower them “from the inside out.” 

It’s getting to be that time of year again when we give up some play time to scramble to get ready for back-to-school. With all the busy preparations, don’t forget the most important one you can do for your child is to begin a new school year with a strong sence of self and healthy self-esteem. With a child being bullied every 7 minutes today in our schools, this proactive element could never be more essential!

To help you empower your daughter and build her self-esteem, I invite you to join me on a free teleclass I’ve been asked to give by the Global TeleClass Network.  I’m honored to be featured along side such inspirational legends as Mark Victor Hansen, T. Harv Eker, Bob Proctor and many others. Below is a description of my class on August 25 – be sure to sign up early as space is limited! And also check out all the other classes offered – all free for you to enjoy from the comfort of your home.

Stay posted as Heartlight Girls brings you more for back-to-school to be “empowered from the inside out!”

PLEASE take 30 seconds and vote for my show, it’s truly essential that you do for it to get noticed. There are over 7,500 submissions at this point, many who entered early and have been able to gather a ton of votes, so I’ve got lots of catching up to do! The good news is that you can vote MULTIPLE times and it’s really easy to do (no signing up, just voting!) Voting closes July 3, so please, VOTE ASAP and VOTE OFTEN…and ask your friends to vote too (how about inviting your Facebook friends to vote?!) We’ve got to create a buzz for Oprah and her producers to notice, and we all know how important a show Empowering Girls From the Inside Out would be!

And if you (please!) add a comment to your vote, it will create even more of a buzz. Let’s show Oprah and her producers how essential it is to give our youth today, especially our girls, the attention they need and deserve to become the powerful women our world needs tomorrow.

Here’s the link to the video and to vote:    http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=video_details&response_id=19866&promo_id=1 

Please vote, it’s urgent, and important. And pass this along to your friends…and ask them to pass it along to their friends…who pass it along to their friends…you get the idea And don’t forget, you can vote numerous times through July 3rd. Thank you SO MUCH for your support!

We are looking for participants to feature in a few videos we are filming which will share the challenges girls face today with self-esteem. This can be your opportunity to help others, and have fun getting some national exposure! On-camera interviews will take place in the Denver area June 17-19. Here’s what we are looking for:

1. Heartlight Girls/Teens - Girls ages 7 & over and teens who are familiar with the “Heartlight” concept (meaning you’ve read Beauty’s Secret: A Girl’s Discovery of Inner Beauty and/or you’ve attended a Heartlight Girls program) and can speak about shining your light bright – as well as how/where you feel challenged sometimes in doing so. Parents of these girls to be interviewed as well if possible.

2. Girls who are experiencing issues, such as bullying, low self-esteem & low self-worth, body image issues, friendship problems, eating disorders, self-injurious behavior, suicide thoughts or attempts, etc. Extreme cases can be filmed with your identity hidden if preferred.

3. Parents concerned with what their daughters & other girls are facing today, i.e. bullying, unhealthy media, negative role models, peer pressure, etc.

4. Elementary/Middle School Counselors, Principals, Teachers – who can speak about the increase, drama, and dangers of bullying and other girl issues in their schools and in schools today

5. Doctors, Psychologists, Therapists – who work with girls/women and can speak about the dangers of low self-esteem

6. Are you a girl, or do you know one, who is doing amazing and powerful things that will inspire others? We’d love to interview and feature you!

If you, or someone you know, fits one of these categories, is in the Denver area, and can film a brief interview, please email me ASAP at debragano@aol.com. Please let me know your name, email, phone number, category you fit into, age (girls/teens only), and the topic or issue you would like to discuss. Also…for the girls/teens/parents segment, please let me know if you are available Saturday, June 19, between 2-5 pm. We will be doing much of this segment during and following the Mile Hi Children’s Festival which takes place from 10-3 pm that day at Mile Hi Church, 9077 W. Alameda Ave. Lakewood, CO 80226. It’s a fun festival so you can come out early and join the activities – I’ll be there autographing and having a great PRE-SALE SPECIAL on my next book, Star’s Attraction: A Girl’s Discovery of Inner Power!

Interviews with school educators, professionals, and girls with difficult issues will be filmed privately, most likely on Thursday, June 17 or Friday, June 18, your location or ours (TBD when setting up interview).

This truly is an exciting project and we’d love to involve you! Please email me soon if you’re interested in participating. And stay posted, I’ll fill you in more on things soon. If you’re not already connecting with me on my Facebook Fan Page, you’ll want to, as info/news/opportunities, etc. get posted on there almost daily! Here’s the link to “Like”:

  www.Facebook.com/HeartlightGirls 

(For Twitter fans: www.Twitter.com/HeartlightGirls)

As you may know, I’m quite passionate about building the self-esteem of young girls, and as a national speaker and the author of the Heartlight Girls series, I’ve always felt the motivation to do so. Yet as I write this today on my daughter’s eighth birthday (Happy Birthday Ella!), it is in my role as a mother that my passion, and compassion, is fueled even more to make a difference in girls’ lives. With much recent news of teen suicides attributed to depression and relational aggression/bullying, my concern for our youth is magnified, as I’m sure it is with many other parents.

Recent statistics show that every 7 minutes a child is bullied, and that 77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally, or physically. Bullying causes feelings of rejection, anxiety, and unworthiness in a child; these are some of the same feelings which are the main causes of suicide. The Center for Disease Control reports that the third leading cause of death, behind accidents and homicide, amongst teenagers ages 15 to 24 is suicide.  Even more disturbing is the fact that suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for children between the ages of 10 and 14. Self-esteem issues and bullying are worse than ever in today’s schools, and unfortunately often beginning as early as first and second grade and magnifying in the upper elementary and middle school years.

It is with these disturbing facts that I ask your assistance. I dealt with my share of bullying while working in the modeling and acting industries, and it was a challenge even as an adult. But to know our children deal with it on a daily basis breaks my heart. So Heartlight Girls is taking a stand against school bullying. In addition to writing the Heartlight Girls series (the next book, Star’s Attraction: A Girl’s Discovery on Inner Beauty, is due out near the holidays!) and developing products, I’m also building a series of expansive self-esteem programs to develop feelings of self-worth in our girls. And I’d really like your help.

I’d love to know your concerns, your needs, and your desires. What would be helpful to you, and what do you feel would be important in a self-esteem program? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts by taking a brief survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LT3Y535. Please pass this link along to others (parents, teachers, girls), for the more input we receive, the better we can create what you would like to see, as well as incorporate what’s needed to help our youth to stay strong, empowered, and in a position to always make wise choices.

By completing this survey, in addition to being a contributor in this important mission, you’ll be entered into a drawing to receive tickets for you and a guest to attend one of the Heartlight Girls Self-Esteem programs! Girls receiving this email can take the survey themselves, share it with a parent, or ideally, have both of you take it! Then we’ll have double the input, and your family will have double the chances of winning!

Again, here’s the link to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LT3Y535. Thank you for your participation. Your opinion will shape the young girls we work with here at Heartlight Girls!

Excited and honored to launch the new Teen Program with the Compass Personal Development Network! Through their unique MAPS programs, a teen can coach with me for a few minutes a day, and for only $19 a month! We’ve developed three powerful month-long programs, you can check it out by visiting www.mylifecompass.com/debragano and click on the TEEN tab in the upper right hand corner. Be sure to watch my video! Give the lasting gift of self-esteem to a teen this Valentine’s Day!

Beauty’s Secret…from the Inside Out

 Your hosts for this empowering show are award-winning author, self-esteem facilitator, & international model/actress Debra Gano (Founder & CEO Heartlight Girls), and award-winning producer, wellness intuitive, & quantum healer Tcha LaPlaca (Founder & CEO Indigo Blue Creations). Every other week, they invite you to become true to yourself and in love with who YOU are!  Join them, along with inspirational, nationally-known guests, for lively and real conversation for adults and teens.

“Our intention is to assist you in coming home to your authentic, beautiful self, by discovering how to let go of false beliefs that limit living a life of love, health, wealth, and joy. Remembering who you truly are to create the life you dream begins within..we invite you to join us on the journey!”