You know it’s not the ability to survive a mistake or failure, it’s the ability to come back stronger from failure.  Life will give us these opportunities and sometimes the most courageous choice will mean taking a stand for the most unpopular or misunderstood decision.  In the face of that adversity, choose to stand with stability and poise.

Like overcoming any adversity, there are the moments of choosing to focus “one moment at a time” and not allowing the emotional waves to take you out, leaving you exhausted face down in the sand, but to the contrary, seeking out truth in the pressure that can’t be avoided. Poke your finger in its eye and just start walking!

Find a way to be energized by your pressure, I’ll tell you one thing, the truth will set you free!
How can we build trust (even with ourselves) when we don’t even practice truth?

It’s a pretty accepted fact that one of mankind’s greatest fears, beyond pain or death, is public speaking. Well, I knew that very fear all too well. I am no different than anybody else in that regard. But I couldn’t let that stop me and I couldn’t let my fear of public speaking be another one of those things that knocked me down. Otherwise I would never have a chance to tell people what’s in my heart. Instead I started getting up in front of audiences – small at first and – and gave myself a little OJT – and I started to be OK with it. And then I was coached and practiced more, got in front of larger groups, realized that a combination of my more polished speaking and my message mattered to other people, won them over and finally recognized I had overcome my fear of public speaking. Now, instead, it is replaced with excitement and a desire to do better every time I have the chance. As we are kicking off my upcoming book tour with the release of “Live Courageously”, we are scheduling some exciting appearances and so now I am actually working with an off Broadway professional speech and choreography coach, I will have stage dressing and audio visual support and will be in full stunt woman protective gear when I enter the stage. As my talk progresses, I will actually shed most of that protective gear. It is a metaphor for things that protect us behind which we hide. As a stuntwoman, yes, I need protection. I didn’t actually die 8 times on the Titanic – look for a future blog on that subject – thanks to protective gear. But in life, to be self-realized it is essential that we shed those things behind which we are only hiding. But whatever you do, just don’t ask me to take off my MAC makeup.

There’s a cute expression for a charming child’s toy…”Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down”. Unfortunately, it’s not true in the real world. People, lots of people, maybe most people fall down some time during their lives. Some fall down often and unfortunately some of them never get back up. I have fallen down all my life, I just found a way to get paid for it. But seriously, you don’t have a career like this one without some very serious self examination and I believe I chose getting back up for a living to understand at a “ground” level what it takes to get up time and time again. Maybe what some other people can do is figure out what knocked them down and decide what they are going to do about it. So maybe you aren’t a stunt person, but perhaps if you stutter and that has held you back, learning some of the tricks of public speaking and forcing yourself to get up in front of groups helps you to overcome that, then perhaps a speech therapist might lead you to become a great sales person. Maybe you get knocked down because you are not formally educated. Right now there are lots of government programs, more than in a very long time, for people to get back to school and get an education or refocus their education. Get back up and try it. The point is, don’t feel alone when you get knocked down, don’t envy the Weebles – remember, they’re just toys. Figure out what knocked you down and decide what you are going to do about it and then “TAKE ACTION!” Then by the way if you are standing, reach your hand out to help someone else to get back up…you’ll both win!

Terri Cadiente is a wife, mom, life coach, stuntwoman and jet-ski world record holder—who once ended up in a gutter.

Terri grew up in a broken home and felt unloved. It “tinted” her perception of life, she says, and she didn’t have the internal structure to know which way to go. The external structure of high school guided her, but after she graduated, when that structure was gone, her life turned upside down. She says, “I just imploded in a big way.”

She became a drug addict and fought that battle for more than seven years. But one night, Terri had a life-changing epiphany: “I found myself bloodied and laying in a greasy gutter of the street and that’s when I said to God, ‘If You’re who You say You are, will You help me?’ … I realized for the first time in my life that I had a choice in the matter.”

Terri explains that God showed her how great she is, that she has value. She knew life was worth living. “I pushed up from the ground that night, and I walked away from that gutter. And I wasn’t sure exactly where I was going, but I knew with every step I would never return back,” she says.

“I was walking away into a new direction. … My identity was not going to be wrapped up in being a drug addict. I was choosing a different way.”

She did not go through a program but was clean after a short time in recovery. She says God gave her the grace to make the choice. “I chose to walk it with Him.”

She has come a long way since that night in the gutter 21 years ago. As a stuntwoman, she worked on the TV show 24 for the last three years and has been a stunt double for Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Lohan. She is also a 15-year Kawasaki world-record holder and has been a life coach for the last six years. Now she is moving out of stunt work to fully concentrate on coaching. Her life message and passion is to “champion the authentic identity of every individual.” She says her heart beats for the freedom of each person.

Terri hasn’t always lived in the freedom she wants to help others attain. She says that because of what she experienced as a young person, fear was her master. She says the enemy uses fear to confound and imprison people. She believes she is to be an advocate for the restoration of people’s honor and dignity.

One group she is passionately seeking to restore is those exploited by the sexual slave trade. On a visit to Taipei, Taiwan, she saw firsthand the reality of this horrible business. She was certainly burdened for those victimized in that country. But when she returned home, she became even more indignant. She says Americans, and even more so Christians, should be concerned and outraged about this type of bondage. “Slavery of any kind is not OK,” she adds.

To help people understand the horror of sex trade reality, Terri created the seven-minute documentary Stuck in Traffic. When people watch it she wants them to be still for a minute and receive what they see, but also to be uncomfortable enough to react.

Terri is reaching out to a larger audience with her new book, Live Courageously. She wants to help readers “choose to be the real you,”to accept themselves and the way God has made them, and not try to be somebody else. She explains, “Living courageously … has to do with experiencing the freedom to be who we really are. And that’s not outwardly, but it’s inside where it counts. … Oftentimes we see our identities as like being tied to what we do. … Identity has much more to do with our being than our doing.”

Terri has overcome many obstacles to live a courageous life. She shares her heart to help others confront their fear and shame so they too can live in victory and freedom.

Visit Ragdoll Restoration Foundation for more information about the documentary Stuck in Traffic. Click here to purchase Live Courageously.

Written By: Charismamag.com May 01, 2009

It never occurred to me to think about why, specifically, I wanted to become an author, and then I realized that I have always had, or at least for a long time now, a message inside my soul that I wanted to be able to share with more people. When that clicked, it suddenly became vitally important to me to find an avenue to reach a large number of people and through encouragement, practice and training, I recognized that I could write well (with a little help) and one day I had the great fortune to meet with the Destiny Publishing people. They shared my beliefs and enthusiasm and here I am. Now about to deliver my message to an entire universe of people for enjoyment and betterment and my message is Live Courageously.

On February 28 at the Amazing Woman Day event in Westlake, CA, I had the honor of being recognized with the 2008 WOMAN OF INFLUENCE AWARD. The day, organized by Marsh Engle and other notable female leaders, included presentations by brilliant feminine entrepreneurs, well-being experts, life and career coaches, authors, women in broadcast media and loads more! And exactly one month later on March 28, the Santa Clarita Chapter of Zonta International held their annual “Women in Service Celebration” honoring women “for improving the Status of Women through Community Service”. This year I had the distinction of being one of the 20 nominees for this prestigious award because of my role as the president of Soroptimist International of Santa Clarita Valley. As you may know, a portion of the proceeds from my book “Live Courageously” will be donated to Soroptimist International for the work they do to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and around the world. By the way, even if your local book store doesn’t have the book in yet (it’s scheduled to hit book shelves any day now), it is available for immediate shipment on Amazon.com.

Another facet of the book introduction includes live radio interviews I have done recently. In February I was interviewed by LaFern Cusack and Desireé Vanderwal, co-hosts for the “Southern California Experience” which aired on ESPN radio and more recently I was featured on Doug Stephan’s Good Day Radio Show which broadcasts to over 250 radio stations worldwide from Guam to San Juan, from Alaska to San Diego and reaches an audience of over 3.25 million listeners each week. WOW! What a hoot! Check ‘em out.

Click links below to listen:

ESPN interview at address below

Good Day interview

As I mentioned before, we are ramping up the book signings and speaking engagements – here are a few of the upcoming events.

• April 25, 2009 - Soroptimist International Annual Spring Conference – Panelist – Ventura, CA
• May 12, 2009 – It’s a New Day – Guest appearance – Winnipeg, Canada
• May 15, 2009 – Ladies in Business Conference – Guest speaker – Santa Clarita, CA
• May 16, 2009 – Barnes and Noble – Book signing – Santa Clarita, CA
• May 20, 2009 – National LeSea Broadcasting – Guest – South Bend, IN
• May 21, 2009 – Daystar TV – Guest - Dallas, TX
• May 22, 2009 – Barnes and Noble – Book signing – Dallas, TX
• June 14, 2009 – Hour of Power – Guest appearance – Irvine, CA

I’m looking forward to a very busy summer!  And I sincerely hope you can actually attend some of these appearances.  I would love to meet you in person.

As a Hollywood stuntwoman, I have driven all kinds of vehicles, cars, trucks, jet skis…you name it…and most of them at break neck speeds, but on Sunday, January 18, 2009 I drove a NASCAR super late model racecar at LA Racing for the very first time in my life…what a thrill.  .

I’m hoping to drive in the Long Beach Grand Prix, Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach on April 18.  So in preparation for that high-speed experience, I thought I’d take a few laps (actually 20) around the legendary half-mile oval. I can see why NASCAR luminaries like Darrel Waltrip have described the Toyota Speedway track as the “best half mile track in the West.”

Being behind the steering wheel of this car (which by the way has to be removed before you can enter the car through the window, then put in place by one of the crew members) compares to nothing else.

Just like everyone who gets out of one of these monster rides, when I removed my helmet I was grinning from ear to ear.  There is nothing like it.  I suggest, “try it…you’ll love it.”   LA Racing is located at the Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA.

If you’re an adrenaline junkie, like me, you gotta check this out!

LA RACING www.laracingx.com

The plan is designed and crafted with your detailed outcome in mind. Begin with the end in mind.  It identifies and simplifies the steps that you must take to advance.  Make certain your plan has a structure that will include safeguards protecting the outcome from distractions and obstacles that could potentially deter you from achieving success.  This is easily done by asking yourself one question; “how will I get in my own way of achieving what I want?” and the answers will be exactly where you put your safeguards.  So no matter where you are in your resolution thus far in 2009,  there are 3 fundamentals to keep you moving in the direction of your desired outcomes:

1. make certain you have anchored your desire in what you want,
2. make choices through that lens,
3. design your plan with safeguards to keep you moving forward so nothing will attempt to pull you off track.