The Audacity of Self: Dare to Put You First

By Raquel A. Stuart PhD

The Audacity of Self: Dare to Put You First is a delightful must-read. This book pens a powerful account of emotional pain from not being genuine with self and others. It takes you on a journey from insecurity and having a victim mentality to strength, love of self, and moving from victim to victor. This journey is not an easy one; then again, nothing worth having ever is. This book is interactive in the sense that it will challenge you from beginning to end. It is a reminder to give yourself permission to live authentically through your words and actions. The author encourages you to believe in yourself and declare that you are worthy to live an awesome and amazing life. It is up to you to create the space and dare to put you first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jan 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504349055

Raquel A. Stuart PhD

Dr. Raquel A. Stuart is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a Ph.D. in Human Services with a specialization in Counseling. She has subject matter expertise in high engagement presentations and workshops dealing with sexuality, body image, relationships, and self-esteem. Her energetic speaking style and unique ability to engage and motivate her audience is unlike any other. Dr. Stuart’s first book, The Audacity of Self: Dare to Put You First, takes the readers through her experiences from brokenness and pain to a life of possibilities. She is the host of a weekly Internet talk show, Bare It All. She is the Founder and CEO of Sistas Speak, LLC, a motivational coaching business. Raquel resides in New Jersey.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015, 2016 Raquel A. Stuart, PhD

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The quoted ideas expressed in this book (not scripture verses) were obtained from secondary sources, primarily the Internet.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4904-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4906-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4905-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016900464

Balboa Press rev. date: 01/22/2016

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1    Where did it start?

Chapter 2    This Way to Baggage Claim

Chapter 3    Emotional Pain Must Have Purpose

Chapter 4    Pushing Past the Pain to get to the Land of Forgiveness

Chapter 5    My Life Changes When My Mind Changes

Chapter 6    Moving Forward

Chapter 7    Change the Conversation

Chapter 8    Seasons of Life

Chapter 9    New Attitude and New Vision

In Conclusion

About The Author

This book is dedicated to those who have

put others before themselves and are

ready to embark on a new journey.

To my parents, thank you for your undying

love and support on things I have done

and will do. I love you always.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As always, I want to acknowledge my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is my belief that without Him none of this would be possible. Thank you for your love, mercy, favor, and grace. I know you are not done with me yet.

My gratitude to my family and friends for their prayers and support with this manuscript. I appreciate each and every one of you for who you are.

Finally, I want to acknowledge you, the reader, for having the Audacity of Self and Daring To Put You First.

God Bless

FOREWORD

And the Lord God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.

Genesis 16-17 (NLT)

T he gift of life is full of options, choices, and decisions which we are free to choose. If this is the case, is there really such a thing as a mistake? If yes, how so? We have only the knowledge of good and evil. We do not have a machine which tells us what to do from day to day. If we did, it would be very possible to live a life without a mistake. All we have is the Spirit of God and scripture to help guide us within our choices. After seeking God, fasting, praying, and getting wise council, you still have to make your own decision; and if that decision does not go well we seem to still mark that as a mistake. Think on that for a moment.

Life is also about having the desires of your heart. When the Creator created you, he gave you a heart which yearns for what it yearns for, and chooses what it chooses. So, are there really mistakes? I like to call them choices. Maybe this will help you be easier on yourself the next time you hurt from a decision you’ve made. We, as beings, seem to grow from hurt. Were you supposed to hurt in