We all have moments when we feel truly beautiful.  (Men can feel “beautiful”, too!)

Surprise yourself feeling beautiful:

• Ask yourself why you feel this way.  What are the circumstances?  Did someone just praise you?  Are you doing something you love, wearing your favorite outfit, coming from the hair dresser, with good friends, or on your way to meet someone special?
• Use this knowledge to reproduce that feeling.  What is the expression on your face?  How are you standing or moving?  What are you wearing?  Where are you?  Who is with you?
• When you want to recapture that special feeling of beauty, flash back to the way you felt when you surprised yourself feeling beautiful.   Recreate that feeling as you bring it into the present.  Let that “feeling beautiful” state permeate your being. 

Has this ever happened to you?  Share your experiences with us via the comments.

A dream, a purpose, new relationships and synergies, constant learning, support and encouragement, a can do – will do attitude and resilience are but a few of the qualities that Alinghi shares with AgeEsteemers.

What is Alinghi?

Alinghi is the Swiss sailboat and team that won the America’s Cup in 2003 and again in 2006. – Not bad for a land-locked country!

Alinghi is now preparing for the next America’s Cup, this time with a huge catamaran supporting a mast of 164 feet.  What a treat we’ve had to watch Alinghi sail on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, this week.  It’s a thrill for all generations.

Not everyone will think that you are beautiful or handsome and it doesn’t matter.  Most important is how you feel about myself.  Tap into your inner essence, your confidence and age-esteem.  That is the key to AgeEsteem beauty – and it’s applicable to every age.

Highlight your physical qualities:

• Admire your face in the mirror.   What are the highlights of your beauty? Is it your eyes, hair, freckles, dimple, lips?  Emphasize these positive qualities.  Let them shine.

• Do the same with the rest of your body.  You want styles that will emphasize your long neck or lovely arms.

• Consider the physical qualities other people compliment you on.  Do they correspond with the ones you identified?  If not seek to highlight them as well.

Today I use a bit more make-up than in past years and seek professionals specializing in colors and styles.  But the truth is that it’s not necessarily when I am made up to be most elelgant or have just had my hair done that I am most attractive.

When do others find me most attractive?  It’s when I feel happy, doing something I love, with people I care for and making the most of the moment.  It’s when I’m in harmony with the genuine me and my inner essence. – Knowing who I am, loving myself for better and for worse, and feeling confident at the age I am.  That’s what makes me most attractive.

The make-up, clothes and accessories simply enhance my inner essence and age-esteem.

The make-up, clothes and accessories simply enhance my inner essence and age-esteem.

What do you think makes you beautiful?

Choose Clothes That “Do Something For You”

In order to connect with your inner beauty, become conscious of how you feel about yourself in the clothes you wear.

What clothes make you feel exceptionally good?  Have you ever seen a suit that you really liked, tried it on and felt like a million bucks in it?  Clothes don’t make the person, but they do make a difference!

Choose clothes and accessories that “do something for you”.  If you feel exceptionally good in a particular suit or dress, then it does something for you.  It sets off your age-esteem and confidence.  You not only feel attractive wearing it, you become attractive to others!

Tapping Into Your Inner Essence

I was brought up to believe that beauty is something that you manage.   In our family make-up was restricted to lipstick and mascara and very few in our small town wore more than that.

Whether we were considered pretty or not depended on the person looking at us.  As Mom used to say, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.”  There’s a wealth of truth in that statement.  People see us from their own point of view and make their own diagnosis as to the intensity of or lack of our beauty.   And this goes beyond outer beauty.

It’s when we tap into our inner essence and wear our age-esteem and confidence  that others find us attractive.

Each birthday is a new beginning. Enjoy and celebrate! Flaunt your age-esteem. Life is as wonderful as you make it. Begin now to create the best of your life.

Create the best of your life:

• Make a collage to represent your life today. Use photos, clippings from magazines, anything that is symbolic of your life as you see it today.
• Now make a second collage to represent your life as you would like it to be for the best of your life in the future. There may or not be similarities between the two.

Keep this collage where you can see it. Add to it as new dreams come to mind. It is the vision of what you would like your future to be.

…and of course after you make yoru collage send us some photos. I’ll select my favorites and send you a free copy of my book!

Realize a dream: Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but thought you couldn’t or the time didn’t seem right? A major birthday is a great occasion to act on that dream!

• Write a wish list. On a sheet of paper write “AgeEsteem Wish List” and write down every wish that comes to mind. Nothing is too wild. Let ideas flow without censor. Keep going until you’ve written at least 50 wishes.
• Choose three of these wishes to act on during this birthday year. Have you always wanted to learn to tango? Sign up for lessons. Age is no obstacle.

Refer back to your list every three months to put a new dream into action.

Flaunt your age-esteem. Celebrate your birthday and create happy memories with friends.

Celebrate: Celebrate your birthday! There are many places in the world where reaching age 30 is still considered almost a miracle.

• Throw a party for yourself. It doesn’t have to be costly. Invite each friend to bring part of the meal, or make pancakes or spaghetti. Ask people to wear their favorite hat or shoes.
• Focus the party on your guests. Prepare something for them: a limerick, song, dance or story album with their photos. Ask each person to share their favorite birthday memory.

You’ve come a long ways since birth, and even just in the past months.

Take inventory: Birthdays are opportunities to evaluate where you are and where you wish to go.

• Make a list of the knowledge and skills you’ve acquired since your last birthday. Take the time necessary to enlarge this list.
• Add your accomplishments of the past year. Some may seem minor, but all are important building blocks.
• Now that you’ve identified them, how can you capitalize on this knowledge and the skills and accomplishments and put them to use