TAKE BACK YOUR POWER
How to Reclaim It, Keep It and
Use It to Get What You Deserve

Yasmin Davidds

Table of Contents

1. THIS IS MY LIFE
An American Dream Poster Child
A Family Shattered
Miracle at Rocky Bottom
The Will to Survive
The Whole Ten Yards
The Millennium Approaches
When I Thought It Was Safe to Get Back in the Water….
I’m Still Here

2. WHERE HAVE ALL THE POWERS GONE?
What Is Power, Exactly?
Giving Away Our Power versus Surrendering
Power Zappers vs. Power Enhancers
Family Power vs. Personal Power
How We Give Our Power Away to Men
Culture and the Media: Lies that Bind
What’s God Got to do with it?

3. IF I HAD A HAMMER: A TOOL KIT FOR SELF- EMPOWERMENT AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH
A Woman’s Work Is Never Done
The Seven Empowerment Principles
Principle 1. Own My Life
Principle 2. I Know Who I Am and What I Stand For
Principle 3. I Create Beliefs That Empower Me
Principle 4. I Live In Truth
Principle 5. I Never Feel Guilty About Being A Strong Woman
Principle 6. I Respect Myself
Principle 7. I Do What I Fear The Most

4. MAY THE POWER BE WITH YOU
Luz’s Story: Never Too Late
What “Owning Your Power” Means
Whose Life Is It, Anyway?
Five Steps to Freedom and Personal Power
The Not-So-Secret Formula

5. KILLING ME SOFTLY: SEX AS A WEAPON OF MASS OBSTRUCTION
Diana’s Story
Prisoner’s of Sex
The Connection between Sexuality and Self-Esteem
Do You Have Low Sexual Self-Esteem?
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth!
You Don’t Have to be Sexually Active to be Sexually Aware
The Attraction-versus-Affection Dilemma
What Kind of Women Are You?
Creating A New Belief System About Your Sexuality

6. WHO CAN STOP YOU NOW?
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Find Out What It Means to Me
Boundaries Demand Respect
Claiming Respect in the Business World
The Empowered Woman
The Secrets of Their Success
Becoming an Irrepressible Woman

7. WOMEN ON TOP: HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL
WOMEN BARE ALL
Rosario Marin
Claudia Trejos
Judy Davidds-Wright
Carrie Lopez
Charisse Browner

8. FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD:
EXERCISES TO GET THERE FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE
Step 1. Write Your Life Story
Step 2. Find Out Who’s In Control
Step 3. Determine How Tight Are Your Family Ties
Step 4. Locate Yourself: South or North of the Border?
Step 5. Learn the Difference Between “Want” and “Need”
Step 6. Overcome Your Fears
Step 7. Quash Your Inner Critic
Step 9. Determine Your Sexual Shame Index
Step 10. Abolish Shame and Celebrate Your Sexuality
Step 11. Rewrite Your Belief System
Step 12. Implement Your New Found Beliefs
Step 13. Write Your Own Bill of Rights

Acknowledgements