Remember Lean on Me, the movie of the New Jersey high school principal, Joe Clark?  He's sharing some insight today on your Monday Maxim. This your mental Vitamin B. Each Monday I share a little motivation & insight to start the week. You’ve got a lot of people depending on you. There is big work for you to do. So here’s a maxim for you, the smart, ambitious woman, to help you SHINE. “Self-respect permeates every aspect of your life.”  - Joe Clark I lived in New Jersey for nearly a couple years.  That's where I learned to speak Spanish. That area, Paterson, New Jersey, is where I was assigned as a missionary for my church. Our local congregation's leader lived right around the corner from Eastside High School in Paterson.  First, Crazy Joe had to kick out the drugs and problems and focus on those who were coming to school to learn. This is a perfect lesson for each of us today. Kick out the stuff that doesn't belong.  Focus on the good.  The respect you give yourself is the same respect that others give you. How do you start to give yourself respect?  You earn it. Be dependable.  If you say you are going to get up when the alarm rings, do it.  Don't hit snooze.  Get your feet on the floor and walk. It feels great once that warm shower hits your body. Commit to yourself. When you make a commitment to your family, friends, or work, you know that job will be completed.  That's what makes you a smart, ambitious woman.  What about you?  If you tell yourself you are going to exercise at 7:30pm, but someone needs your help... you push it aside, don't you?  Of course you have.  No more.  You can tell your family & friends, "Look, I will happily help you, but first, I'm going to do this..." then walk out the door, they may be stunnned.  But they know you are serious.  The people in your life aren't taking you seriously because you don't take yourself seriously.   Kick out the junk.  It's spring here in the Pacific Northwest.  I'm on a spring cleaning high!  I love getting rid of all the junk that has accumulated over the winter...(Where did all of that stuff come from, anyway???)  What is left is space to move and breathe.  A better environment for all of us here. It's the same with your habits.  You may have collected a few that are holding you back.  You know it's time.  Replace those habits with healthier ones and see how those tiny steps add up to big changes in your life.