Author Archives

Melissa Venable

Rockin' a FabYOUlous life as an author, speaker, blogger, coach and consumer of way too much caffeine. Let me help you to ditch the drab and find your FAB--it's possible and it's FUN!

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The Sure-Fire Secret to Living a Life You Love

What if I told you that I had a secret that was guaranteed to help you experience more success, joy, prosperity and abundance than you ever thought was possible for your life? Would you think that I was yanking your chain? Would you think that I was just trying to sell you some hocus-pocus snake oil that was nothing more than over hyped, empty promises?

Yeah…me too.

Or, at least I would have thought that, before I discovered that there really was something that, when applied liberally and in regular doses, could actually increase success levels beyond expectations.

Fortunately, this isn’t any witch doctor voo-doo, nor is it some big secret that you have to shell out thousands of dollars on some over-priced personal development seminar to receive. It’s simple (though not necessarily easy) and it is free for anyone to access (whether or not they choose to actually use it). This magical, sure-fire secret to success is none other than good old, 

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What’s Stopping You?

Seven Barriers Between You and Your Dream and How to SMASH them

Okay–here’s the deal…no matter how FabYOUlous your life currently is, there are still things that you hope to achieve, experience, be, do or have in life. Even the least ambitious among us have something that they want to accomplish–even if it’s just making their way to the fridge for another beer (though I’m assuming that FabYOUlous Life readers are far more ambitious than that!).

So…if we all have goals and aspirations that we want to pursue, what is stopping us from doing just that? What is it that keeps us mired in the quicksand of stagnation that robs us of valuable days, weeks, months and even years? Sadly, the answer to that question can usually be found by looking in the mirror. WE are the ones who sabotage our own efforts when we establish habits that run counter to our aspirations. These habits are so easy to fall into, but once we acknowledge their existence, we can begin taking strategic action to break them and reverse their pull. Check your own life against this list of Seven Dream Barrier Habits to see which bad habits you need to break once and for all; and then, follow the prescribed actions to get momentum back working in your favor again.

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Come On Get HAPPY

20 Simple Ways to Hack Your Happy

I am very HAPPY to say that I live in the fourth happiest city in the U.S. (according to a study published in the book, The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons from the World’s Happiest People by Dan Buettner). However; I firmly believe that true happiness is a state of mind, not something that is dictated by your zip code.
I also happen to believe that happiness is something that we must take responsibility for consciously cultivating in our lives–it’s not just something that we stumble upon if we are lucky.

In today’s world of political mud slinging, school shootings, flu epidemics and what have you, it can be increasingly difficult to find a reason to smile. Yet, despite the difficulty, it is imperative that we make the effort because studies have shown numerous correlations between happiness levels and health and longevity.

So…what do we do when it seems that our happiness has gone packing and is nowhere to be found? Well, for starters, you can try any one (or a combination) of these 20 FabYOUlous Happiness Hacks. . .

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12 Books to Read for a FabYOUlous 2018

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”

~Dr. Seuss~

If I had to pick only one thing (other than relationships with other people) that has made the biggest difference in the level of happiness, productivity, contentment and success in my life, that one thing would have to be BOOKS.

I LOVE reading. I love reading for pleasure (my favorite fictional book series is The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward–love me some sexy vampires!) but even more than that, I really love reading for personal development. I absolutely credit much of the transformation that has taken place in my life to the multitude of books that I have read. Reading has provided me with a wealth of information, inspiration and motivation. Plus–research shows that reading can actually make you sexy (it’s true–you can read more about it here). So, with so many incredible reasons to read, the question simply becomes, what to read–and I’m here to help you with that. In order to help you live your most FabYOUlous year yet, I’ve  compiled a list of twelve books that have all had a huge impact on my life. These books are all from the personal development genre but some are more geared toward spirituality while others are geared more toward business development or goal setting. One thing that they all have in common though, is that each one of these books has made a powerful and lasting impact on my life, and I’m sure that the same will be true for you.

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Learn Something New in 2018

The True Power to Living a FabYOUlous Life is Found in the Ability to Learn

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

~Mahatma Ghandi~

When was the last time you intently studied a new, unfamiliar subject or set out to learn a new skill? If you can’t remember the last time, it is high time you brush the cobwebs off of your brain cells and get those synapses firing again.

Now, don’t panic–I’m not suggesting that you rush out and enroll in your local university or sign up for an intensive online course in astrophysics (though both of these suggestions certainly are options). I’m simply suggesting that the only real way to guarantee a FabYOUlous life for yourself, is to adapt the habits and mentality of a lifelong learner.