You’ll notice that I’m posting a day early this week — and for good reason! Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 11 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Mal Duane whose book Alpha Chick: Five Steps for Moving from Pain to Power launches on Amazon on Tuesday February 14, 2012.

Mal Duane has triumphed over devastating life challenges to become an Alpha Chick extraordinaire. After having struggled with alcoholism as a young woman, Mal now has a dream marriage, a highly-successful business, and as a certified Professional Recovery Coach, is deeply involved with helping women discover and use their connection with the divine power to redefine their lives and step away from their pain. She also serves clients through the multi-million dollar real estate company that she built from scratch. As she strongly believes in educating women, she built a school in Konjila, West Africa that educates a hundred students annually, and created Holly’s Gift, an educational assistance fund, which will receive proceeds from the sale of each copy of Alpha Chick.

Alpha Chick, Five Steps for Moving from Pain to Power is a model for any woman who dreams of having happiness, success, and fulfillment. It clearly guides the reader step-by-step in the process of becoming her own unique brand of Alpha Chick, using Mal’s simple 5-step formula for self-worth, freedom and transformation. The book is coming to Amazon on Tuesday February 14th, 2012 – Valentine’s Day. Mal says, “I chose Valentine’s Day because I wanted women to give themselves the gift of self-love on that day.”

Yesterday, Mal visited Christiane Holbrook, where they talked on the subject of spiritual practices, helping others and from pain to power. Listen in HERE.

Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Mal when I got to ask her some questions on gratitude, journaling and recovery. I hope you enjoy it.

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Sue Ingebretson: How do I keep clients (or myself) motivated to continue with gratitude journals? 

Mal Duane: To continue to stay motivated to write in your gratitude journal I suggest that you put the journal in a very convenient place where you are likely to see it before bedtime. The night table is a good choice.  You can also challenge yourself to come up with new things to be grateful for each night – even the smallest things matter.  I try to find five things every night. Just noticing these things can help bring a smile to your face and bring peace to your heart. I go to sleep feeling so good about my day and what I have in my life.

The healing effects of self-realization that come from journaling make the process well worth doing. It gives each of us an opportunity to speak our truths. Through the writing process we can then carry that to processing those truths in our lives.

Sue Ingebretson: I know you believe journaling can help in our recovery. What if we try to journal, but the words that come to mind are all negative (such as when we’re dealing with a chronic pain condition)? Do you think it helpful or harmful to journal these kinds of negative thoughts? 

Mal Duane: So much can be released through writing! Journaling is a step in recovery that allows us to identify where we need to make changes in our lives. If negative thoughts arise, that is great for cleansing the mind and the soul. However, it is very important that once you have written down that negative emotion, you release it. If it does not release upon writing it down, it may be time to meditate, or get in touch with your higher power. Then, switch gears and work on your gratitude list. Chronic pain can be very challenging. I feel you need to use journaling to monitor your improvements, even if they are small. Use it as a tool to record positive factors regarding a condition rather than negative. Even creating some positive affirmations that you can revisit will be helpful.

Sue Ingebretson: On that same theme, what do you feel are the most productive steps to BEGIN the recovery process?

Mal Duane:  You first need to be very honest with yourself and recognize that that you have a situation that has become unmanageable. When the quality of your life is being compromised by your desire to consume or do a specific thing, it is time to surrender and reach out for help. Remember, your identity is not solely tied to being in recovery. Everyone is recovering from something in these times. You need to accept your past mistakes and those situations which continue to cause you pain. By accepting you are not judging them as right or wrong, you are releasing your resistance to them.

For example, the first step in the five step Alpha Chick Process is Focus. I ask women to find a way to connect with their inner voice – their higher power. Whether it’s through meditation, prayer, or writing, I encourage women to take the time to ask themselves poignant and revealing questions so their subconscious can make room for the answers.  Transformation begins when you have the courage to honestly examine your beliefs and addictive behaviors – and this is what Focus is all about.

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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Mal Duane and that you’ll check out her book Alpha Chick: Five Steps for Moving from Pain to Power at ALPHA CHICK.

Here’s why:

 FREE GIFTS!

When you buy Alpha Chick on Tuesday February 14, 2012:

Author Mal Duane will give you over 4 hours of MP3 audio downloads from the Alpha Chick Telesummit recently held on February 7th, 8th & 9th, 2012

1. PLUS, Mal will send you an invitation to attend a special teleclass where she will personally take you through the five step process of transformation from the book
2. AND FINALLY… you’ll also receive a complete library of beautiful gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe.

 To find out more about these gifts, and to request a “launch reminder”

so you don’t forget to pick up your copy of Alpha Chick on Feb 14th, go to:

http://alphachick.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.html

 Thanks for reading! As usual, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.

AND… be sure to follow Mal tomorrow when the next stop on the Virtual Blog Tour is Charly Leetham, who will be interviewing Mal on the subject of women in business and their own personal power. To visit that “stop” on the tour, go to http://askcharlyleetham.com/book-launches/book-launch-alpha-chick-moving-from-pain-to-power