Get Blogging group opened on Facebook yesterday with a lovely group of women writing from their hearts. Each one of them brings something meaningful and valuable to the world. Together we will undo the stoppers and use simple but effective measure to invite more readers. 
I chose a gift logo as the logo for the group since I believe each and every one to be gifts just waiting to be unwrapped. 
Thank you all for the time you took to participate in the class. I'd love to hear your comments in the box below.
Until we meet again, keep blogging!
Martine 

Because your heart does not lie!
You are full of love and compassion.
And in a world full of superficiality you can bring something real and meaningful to the table.
You can touch hearts, open hearts, and bring about change for good.


In the words of Emily Dickinson
"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain; 
If I can ease one life the aching, 
Or cool one pain, 
Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, 
I shall not live in vain."

Freedom
Enthusiasm
Words come easily
Loss of fear
Loss of self doubt
Meeting the people you are meant to work with effortlessly
Hearing your own voice
Becoming confident in your own voice
Making sense of your own life
Seeing the inter-connections with others’ lives
Feeling connected
Giving something of value to the world by touching the hearts of others
And deeply knowing this
Growing into your expansive self
Supporting the work of others you respect and admire
Honouring those you love who have died
Overturning centuries of repression where womens’ voices were unheard and where to be a woman with a voice was dangerous
Meeting amazing women across vast expanses of physical separation
Making a contribution to a more just and loving world
Sharing beauty and inspiration through pictures and music

If sharing your heart is for you and you don't want to wait any longer
and you want to experience what I have described above 
then join us in the online Get Blogging Group (24/7 access to support, learning, coaching and encouragement) here

I am simply buzzing after the call. (Thank you all.) Preparing for it has made me so conscious of the enormous good we can do for ourselves and for others when we write from our hearts.  I'd like to see you become more confident and writing freely and easily. I have a dream now of supporting women who want to write from their hearts and make a difference in the world.
Are you one of those women?

I hope you know already after this time we had together that I wish you all the best as you write. After today, I hope that you go out, break all the rules and speak from your heart! I would love to hear what you took away from the call, so please leave a comment in the box below.... and a link to your blog so that I can 'meet' you there.
Martine  

It is said that the first rule of blogging is to blog about what you know.
So what do you know?
I had a hard time with this when the question was put to me.
You might too!
So here is what helped me.
I asked my coach Nona Jordan and some friends 'what do you think I know?'
I got really useful feedback.
They reminded me that I know complicated families inside out, upside down and back to front.
I know what it's like to live with alcoholism, abuse, shame, secrets and lies.
I know the 'drama triangle' and all it's confusion from the inside.
I know domestic violence.
I understand deeply what it means to learn as an adult what self care and good boundaries mean because I was never taught them as a child.
But I would ask you a further question..
what do you love with all your heart?
I love genealogy, searching my family tree, discovering my family's roots, learning about my family legacy and of course how that impacts on my family and myself today.
So I started to write about what I love.... 
and the words came easily....
and I no longer struggled with a blank screen...
and I stopped worrying about whether they would read or not...
because I was in love with the writing...
and then people began to read.
So join us in the comments box below and tell us what you know 
and then tell us about what you love..
and my guess is you'll find a blog post in it somewhere.

But don't know where to start?
Have you spent hours staring at that blank screen?
Have you written a few lines and thought 'this is crap!'
And then deleted it all?
Have you wondered to yourself 'who would be interested in what I have to say anyway?' 
Have you been writing a blog and only your mother and your best friend read it?
Have you sweated over something and then died a little inside because it's too scary to say how you really feel?
Have you thought of something you want to say but feared alienating every single person you have ever met and even some you haven't?

I have experienced every single one of these feelings and more!
Until January of this year, I struggled and struggled with my blog and it was a red letter day when 47 people read my blog in a month! 
Now, my blog reaches between 15 and 25 thousand people a month. 
(Yes I know...I can hardly believe it myself.)
And I am a finalist in the Blog Awards Ireland 

One of my core values is "Pass it on" so here's the deal. 
I want to share with you what I have learned.
I want to help YOU kickstart your blog!
I want YOU to write a blog you are proud of THIS MONTH.
And I don't want any money in return.
That's right.
Not a single red cent!

You see, I believe that there is something beautiful in your heart just waiting to get out. 
But for some reason you have lost your voice.
Maybe you are scared...
Maybe you are full of self-judgement...
Whatever is going on inside you I want to use my counselling, psychotherapy and coaching skills in a new way to help you find your voice.
This is a first for me too.
But I do believe it's worth a try for both of us.
So what do you think?
I'm going to go for it!
Will you?
Just sign into the box above right to participate in the Get Blogging class