The Power to Navigate Your Destiny: The Five Essential Principles You Need to Access the Power Within

Copyright © 2021 Dr. Theresa Poussaint.

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9793-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9794-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020920471

Archway Publishing rev. date:  01/04/2021

To all women, especially my daughters, Cordelia and Felicity, who are my inspiration. My hope is to empower you and give you the tools you need to embrace your lives and circumstances and take control of your destinies.

Control your own destiny or someone else will.

Anonymous

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Planted

Growing

Changing

Principle One - Let IT Go: Whatever IT

Is He who forgives ends the quarrel.

—African Proverb

Principle Two - Self-Assess: WOMAN in the Mirror

He who knows others is clever;

he who knows himself is enlightened.

—Lao-Tzu, Chinese philosopher

Principle Three - Have a Plan: Know Where YOU Are Going If you don’t care where you are

going, any road will get you there.

—Anonymous

Principle Four - Lead by Example: THEY Are Watching You

Live as you wish your kids would.

—Anonymous

Principle Five - Persevere: DON’T Give Up

The race is not given to the swift nor

the strong, but to he who endures until the end.

—Ecclesiastes 9:11

Acknowledgements

I want to dedicate this book to those who have gone on before me:

My ex-husband, Andre’ Maximillian Poussaint

My parents, Bishop Ellihue and Mother Janie Cartledge

My brothers, Howard and Willie Cartledge

My sisters, Rose Parker and Laura Holman

My mentor, Roy Seavy Campbell

Additional mentors:

Susan Aldridge, PhD

Michael Frank, PhD

Leslie Dinauer, PhD

Richard Granat, Esq.

Lucille McCorkle

Introduction

I am not famous. I am not rich. I don’t have the resources celebrities have in order to propel their books to the New York Times best sellers list. I am an unknown, average, divorced mother of two. I have had my fair share of being knocked down in life, and I have sometimes struggled to get back up. I wrote this book to offer five proven principles that helped me to overcome obstacles during my marriage, separation, and ultimate divorce. The obstacles included depression, loneliness, mental fatigue, and the economic challenges of being the head of a household when it was just me and my two daughters. These principles enabled me to flourish and reach my personal and professional goals.

I hope that, by sharing my story, I will empower women who feel that they have no control over their lives—women who wonder every day how they will get through the next; who feel as if life has not dealt them a fair hand; or who have questioned themselves and, at times, God. This book is for you. I want to help you realize that you can take control of your life, develop and execute a plan, finish what you started, and reap the rewards of all of your hard work. I wrote this book because I believe that, if you look deep within, you will see that you are strong, you are brave, you can accomplish anything, and most of all, you have The Power to Navigate Your Destiny.

Planted

For as long as I can remember,