Sandy sat at her kitchen counter, inhaling the fresh scent of her 
newly grinded coffee. He had a plate held a muffin and fruit ready to be eaten as soon as she completed her morning quiet time.

Her teenage daughter Ashley breezed into the room complaining about  her laundry not being done and snatched the muffin directly from Sandy's plate.

Immediately Sandy's heart and energy deflated as she watched Ashley chewing and swallowing the last muffin in the house. It didn't seem like much at the time. 

The challenge is that for Sandy this situation is the repetitive 
nature of this and similar scenes in her life. Her husband 
continually missed dinner at home without telling her and her 
friends rarely came to their lunch dates on time. To top it off, 
sometimes her secretary seemed to use Sandy as her personal assistant rather than vice versa.

Let's check in with Sandy's next door neighbor, Richard.

Richard grumbled as he hung up the phone. Once again his brother Peter expected him to drop everything and show up immediately, at Peter's beck and call. "How high can I jump?" Richard asked the silent room as he grabbed his car keys and headed towards the door.

This would be the second time this month Richard would be missing his writer's group because at the last minute "something suddenly 
came up."

In the moment immediately following these scenes both Sandy and Richard have both decided they have to do something about these recurring events. 

They are both missing an essential element for a successful life.

Aretha Franklin sang about it. Books have been written and 
voraciously read about it. 

And the root of it begins within ourselves.

Sandy and Richard each made a choice.

They each chose to no longer allow people to barrel into their lives disrupting their plans, their breakfasts, their heart longings, their highest inentions.

They personified in bold color the familiar lyrics Aretha Franklin 
sang:

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T 
Find out what it means to me 
R-E-S-P-E-C-T"

How are you on your personalized Respect scale?

Are you respecting yourself through honoring your plans, your daily rituals, your personal needs?

Here is a synopsis of Sandy and Richard's lessons for you to simply apply to your life.

1. Make a definitive choice to respect yourself: your whole 
self including your professional life, your spiritual life, your  schedule and your "free time."
2. Clearly communicate to others "what it means to me." Don't 
expect people to be mind readers. Create your line of integrity and become a role model for others by sticking to it.
3. Practice. Get up when you fall. Practice. Get up when you 
fall.
4. Apply the same rules to others: request they respect  themselves and applaud them when you observe the application of Self Respect.
5. Practice. Get up when you fall. Practice. Continue setting and living your best intentions.

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Julie Jordan Scott is a Personal Success and Creativity Coach, Radio Host and Speaker who inspires you to Create Heaven on Earth as you decide to Live Your Destiny! Subscribe now to the ezine that will show you how. Send a blank email here:<mailto:on-299@ezezine.com> or visit http://www.5passions.com now or call directly 661.325.4116 or email julie@5passions.com