Home designers are catering to women’s interests and accommodating their opinions in home designs. This comes as no surprise given that women are the major decision makers in home purchases accounting to 83 % of consumer spending decisions in the U.S. Also the percentage of women home buyers is 22% and increasing each year and home designers and builders are increasingly trying to cash in on women’s influence in the home buying process.

One of the main focuses of the recently held International Builder’s Show in Orlando was on the need to build homes with designs that please women homebuyers. Recognizing the influence women have in the home buying process at a seminar on ‘building homes for women’, Architect Ann Olson and Paul Foresman, manager of Omaha-based Design Basics, offered what they called as the “ten commandments of women-centric home design”.

The following are the ten focus areas for home builders and designers based on what women want in home design:

1. Women want options in the master baths although they seem to be unable to decide on wanting a tub in the bath. Builders and designers need to pay extra attention to the design of de-stressing areas such as baths.

2. Women need a lot of storage space in the rear foyer in order to store stuff. They want more closet storage space and a separate laundry room. Builders would do well to give the rear foyer entry more thought than to treat it as a mud room.

3. A kitchen is an important place for women and also serves as the chief entertainment zone. Given a choice between a bigger kitchen and a bigger master bath, women prefer the former. Hence builders need to design bigger kitchens.

4. Women who have blended families need their homes to have separate bathrooms instead of shared ones.

5. Women want their homes to be easy to organize. They prefer closet organization systems that have double storage capacity to ordinary ones.

6. Women want larger storage space in their homes especially in the kitchen. They require bigger kitchen pantries to store prepared foods.

7. Women prefer home designs that let in natural light in their home such as a window over the bath tub, in the shower etc.

8. Women prefer home exteriors that need little or no maintenance such as maintenance-free decking.

9. Women like change so homes need to be designed with flexible features.

10. Women who run home-based businesses or work from home prefer homes with office space.

Do you know the ONE thing which is most attractive to women?

You’re completely wrong if you answered looks, youth or money, then!

The truth is women are always attracted to guys with unique and interesting personalities. In order to be successful with women, you have to know the right kind of characteristics to display to women.

In the next few minutes, you’ll learn the most important personality traits to display that will draw women to you. Let’s get started…

Personality Trait #1- Confidence

Whenever you’re talking to women, you have to show absolute confidence in yourself. No matter what happens or comes up, you should act like it doesn’t faze you. A confident guy can roll with the punches and handle himself in all situations.

Personality Trait #2- Mysterious

When you first meet women, you want to project a mysterious personality. What you want to do is meet women, and not be specific about your life. Instead of taking the time to talk about your background, learn to tell interesting stories about what you’ve done or things that have happened to you.

In other words, let your personality shine through. Not your background or social status.

Personality Trait #3- Desirable

I’m going to be honest here…

Women like guys who are pursued by other women. To trigger this reaction, you should flirt and meet with multiple women, instead of trying to attract a single one.

So next time you’re in public, try meeting and flirting with different women. Eventually you’ll find that there will be a few women who are competing for your attention.

Personality Trait #4- Center of attention

When you display this trait, you’ll become the guy who captivates the interest of every person you meet. In order to display this trait, you have to establish yourself as an authority with interesting things to say.

When you become the focal point of a room, you’ll be able to easily draw beautiful women to you.

Personality Trait #5- Fun to be around

An attractive guy is somebody who can bring fun and excitement to a conversation. If you can make women enjoy themselves when they’re around you, then it’ll be easy to attract them.

So instead of talking about serious stuff like work, school or your family, try to behave in a flirtatious manner and talk about fun things.

Personality Trait #6- Strength

Having a strong personality is one of the best ways attract women.

You can show this personality by always looking a woman in the eye and maintaining length eye contact. In addition, you should be a person who sets high standards and lives by them.

Personality Trait #7- Be challenging

One mistake other guys make is to be too aggressive with women.

Instead of doing this, you should try make her work for your attraction. For instance, you should do a few things leaves her wondering if you like her. The more she has to work for your affections, the more she’ll be into you.

In order to attract women, you must have a unique personality.

By cultivating the traits that I’ve described in this article, you’ll become the type of guy who can stand out from the crowd. All you have to do is practice demonstrating these traits, and you’ll dramatically increase your success with women.

Attracting women is a trick thing!

Sometimes attraction isn’t about doing certain things. Instead it’s often more about NOT doing making certain mistakes.

In fact, Chris Rock said best when he joked how women instantly decide: “I’m going to have sex with him, just as long as he doesn’t say anything to screw it up” (Paraphrased).

So what does this mean to you?

Well the truth is YOU might be making specific mistakes around women and you’re not even aware that you’re doing it. In order to be attractive to women, you have to first correct certain problem areas which instantly repel women.

That means if you’re making ANY of the following 4 mistakes, it’s vital that you stop what you’re doing and work on eliminating these characteristics:

1- Lying

Okay we’ve all been guilty of telling white lies to women. But let me tell you my friend, if you’re constantly lying to women to get what you want, then something bad will eventually happen to you.

No matter how much it hurts, honesty is the best policy when it comes to women. Even if you think the truth will hurt, it’s better to be honest then risk being caught in a lie.

For instance if you’re dating multiple women, be honest to each one. Don’t live some secret life where each woman thinks you’re in an exclusive relationship with her. This will only blow up in your face if your deception is discovered.

2- Weak character and commitment

A major thing women hate about some guys is when they have weak character. A man’s word should be good as gold.

If you say something with confidence, it should be 100% true. In other words, when tell her you’re going to do something, actually go out and do it!

Women love men who have strong character and attitude. By living up to your word, she’ll be drawn to your confident aura.

3- Lack of confidence

A lack of confidence is probably the quickest way to turn off a woman. If you’re constantly seeking approval from others, then you’re acting like a weak person. In order to become a guy who can attract women, you have to know how to be confident in all situations.

However you should keep in mind that confidence doesn’t mean you should act like an arrogant jerk. An attractive and confident guy is somebody who has pride in himself, but doesn’t feel the need to show off.

Believe me, a quiet confidence will definitely be noticed.

4- Not approaching women

In today’s era, guys don’t make much of an effort to approach women. They secretly hope women will do all the work.

Unfortunately this never happens.

In order to attract and meet women, you must get used to approaching them.

Remember that women want to be chased. It’s pretty simple…

Just walk up to women and start talking. Then if you know how to attract her, you can easily set up a date and make things more intimate.

If you can identify these 4 mistakes within and work at eliminating them, you’ll be on the road towards becoming the kind of man women LOVE to be around.

Women from past generations did not know how to properly take care of themselves for many reasons. The most prevalent reason that women did not know how to take care of themselves was simply a lack of medical research and general knowledge about female health at the time. However, contemporary women’s health research has resulted in women being much more aware of how to take care of their bodies.

Contemporary Women’s Health and Exercise

Exercise has always been a popular activity amongst women, but nowadays women are flocking to the gym more and more often to sculpt their bodies and keep their moods enlightened. Contemporary women’s health means that women have the option of joining private gyms just for women, which makes the sometimes uncomfortable process of getting in shape more tolerable, since everyone is there for the same reason.

Gyms offer a variety of options for getting in shape, and the great thing about contemporary women’s health when it comes to exercise is that there are lots of different workout classes that allow women to express their sexuality too. For example, there are some dance classes that use a stripper pole, which is a great and creative way to tone the legs and the upper body.

Contemporary Women’s Health and Nutrition

Now, more than ever before, women are becoming more aware of how to take care of their bodies since cholesterol and being overweight is an increasing problem amongst many females. Whereas before women often indulged in starchy foods, there have been more diets out on the market that use the glycemic index, which allows a woman to eat things like chocolate, but also to keep her carbohydrate intake in check.

Also, the increase in organic food markets has also gotten women thinking about eating healthier, since these all-natural foods look more appealing (especially in the case of fruits and vegetables). The idea of eating food that has not been chemically altered in any way would appeal to anyone, and to have it taste just as good and be healthy is of course an added bonus.

Knowing the Facts

Women need to keep in regular contact with their doctors about what is best for their lifestyles, and they should also sometime read medical journals to see the latest updates on any health matters that they might have questions about. Contemporary women’s health is really all about information.

One of things that all guys should learn is what women want from a man. These guys want to date women, but they’re unsure of what qualities they should display around them.

The truth is woman want a lot of misconceptions about the traits that women desire. Specifically a lot of guys think a woman is only interested in things like money or looks.

So if you want to know what women like in a man, then you have to look inwards. The personality you display around women is the best to make them attracted and interested in you. And here are 5 core characteristics which can help you make women like you:

A Confident Personality

Simply put, women are REALLY attracted to guys who demonstrate a high level of confidence. If you lack it, then you’ll a very little chance of attracting a woman.

On the other hand, if you approach every situation with absolute trust in yourself, then you’ll demonstrate that you’re in complete control of your actions.

An Honest Disposition

For a lot of women, dishonesty is a “deal breaker”. So when you’re around women, don’t lie! Yes, it’s really that simple!

Now we’re all guilty of an occasional lie when it comes to women. But if you constantly need to lie to her, then you’re headed for trouble. Eventually your deception will catch up to you.

A Strong Sense Of Character

If you show a lack of commitment and a weakness of character, then you’ll instantly turn-off the women around you. What women like in a man is somebody who actually does what he says- ALL the time!

So your word should be golden. When you tell her that you’ll do something, then you should actually do it.

A strength of character demonstrates that you can protect in case of emergency and you follow through with your promises. Both of these traits are incredibly attractive to women.

A Relaxed Attitude

When you’re around women you must display a relaxed pose in every situation. So if you want to display an attitude which a woman likes, then have to learn how to be at ease around women.

Generally you can display this personally by leaning back and looking comfortable in every situation, regardless of what’s going on. And when you walk places, you do so in a slow, yet deliberate manner.

A Sexual Manner

Now when it comes to what women like in a man, there is one ULTIMATE trait they desire- Sexual chemistry!

To be attractive to a woman, you have to know her know how to trigger her levels of sexual desire. It’s a simple truth that attraction and love start with physical feelings. So if you want a woman to return your feelings, then you must become a constant source of sexual excitement whenever you’re around her.

There have it!

Five different ways you can demonstrate an attractive personality around women. If you want to increase your chances of becoming what woman like in a man, then you should work hard at displaying these personality traits. Once you do so, you’ll discover that it’s easy to showcase an attitude around women.

Today, I’m going to be talking about the concept of ‘value’ to explain what women want from men.

The fact is - we all want to add value to our lives. Working hard for extra money can add value to our lives, because of what we can do with the increased disposable income.

We often choose to go to a sports game with friends because such social activities can add value to our lives. We save up to go on a holiday for similar reasons.

Everything we do can be broken down to a point where we are striving to add value to our lives. Keeping that in mind, let’s move it to the topic of what women want from you.

We’ve all seen the kinds of beautiful women who shine like ‘beacons of femininity.’ You know the ones I’m talking about, right?

She’s stunningly attractive, and often found laughing and having fun with her friends in social environments. However, as guys we sometimes take the wrong approach when starting interactions with women like that.

What do we do wrong? Anything and everything possible to try and impress her!

When the interaction begins, the expression of our true personality suddenly becomes restrained as we try to avoid offending her. We no longer behave like the person we truly are at our deepest core.

We become passive and much of our natural masculinity goes out the window, which isn’t what women want.

Stop for a moment and imagine yourself being nervous during a job interview. You’re frightened of what to say and how to say it, so you pretty much agree or go along with everything that is being discussed in order to avoid any sort of controversy.

The interviewer can feel your anxiety and can sense that you’re putting on an ‘agreeable persona.’

Now, while you still may be able to land some jobs being nervous and using a false persona, it is the wrong approach to take with women.

By suppressing our real personality in an attempt to avoid ‘offending’ women, we fail to offer them any value.

To add to that, women are generally not attracted to males who are intimidated by them. Instead, what women want is a man who is confident and capable of leading her. So a man who is uneasy around women will display neither of these very important traits.

Let’s look at this in another way. Imagine that you’re an attractive woman with a large social network and have guys queuing up to be with you. People want to spend time with you, whether it’s to socialize or just ‘hang out.’

When it comes to your social life as a woman, you are in demand and things are pretty good.

Now picture yourself as that attractive woman in a social environment, such as a bar. A guy walks up to you and shyly begins a guarded conversation.

Guy: Hi…having a good night?

Woman: Yes, thanks.

Guy: Cool…so what are you drinking?

Woman: Vodka.

Guy: With what?

Woman: Raspberry.

Guy: Cool…so…umm…so…what do you do?

Woman: (Turns to friends, “Let’s go dance.”)

Ever had that happen to you? I’m guessing that most guys will answer yes to that question.

A lot of guys will approach women and ask boring, typical, guarded questions like those. The problem?

Questions like those don’t offer any value to a woman’s night. Nor do they express what women want to see from you (i.e. attractive personality traits like confidence, humor, flirting, masculinity).

She’s heard those ‘lines’ a million times before and usually from guys who are inexperienced with women.

The question is: Do you want to be placed in the same category as all the others who have bored her to tears? Again, we all know the answer.

You see, when it comes to working out what women want - you have to understand that an attractive woman will usually be looking to add value to her life - not subtract from it.

When I go out socializing, I too am looking to add value to my night. If somebody is boring and negative, they aren’t adding value. In fact, they’re subtracting value.

The reality is that people naturally gravitate towards those who are lively, humorous and challenging. Why?

Because it’s those sort of people who typically add the most value to our lives. Dull, negative, and guarded people add little or no value and subsequently may have fewer people in their lives.

Ask yourself this question: If you were that attractive woman and two different guys came up to start an interaction, who would you be more interested in pursuing?

a) The passive, boring guy who asked a lot of standard questions? Or,

b) The exciting, unpredictable guy whose body language and conversation was confident, opinionated and daring?

The simple fact is that women are more interested in getting involved with guys know how to behave attractively and who can add value to their lives. That’s what women want.

Ask yourself - if you were an attractive woman, would you rather ‘trade up’ or ‘trade down’? Again, the answer is pretty simple.

So, the next time you find yourself in the vicinity of a woman you’d like to interact with, remember to be yourself.

By ‘being yourself’, I don’t mean your platonic, innocent, non-sexual self.

I mean that you should express your real personality and steer away from standard polite and guarded conversations. What women want is a guy who is confident enough to express his real personality, instead of trying to impress her with a ‘fake’ persona.

Enjoy the experience of meeting women and if you ever find yourself being ‘too nice’ or platonic, remember this:

Women are far more likely to be attracted to somebody who is lively and interesting because, like you, they too are looking to add value to their night and to their lives.

What group makes up half of our population, yet only 15.6% of corporate officers in Fortune 500 companies? What group holds half of all management and professional positions in the United States, but less than 3% of the CEO positions in the Fortune 500? Women!

Moreover, studies have shown that companies with the highest representation of women (top 10%) on their top management teams had better financial performance than did the group with the lowest women’s representation. Women purchase 83% of all products and services in the United States, so it makes sense that your employees reflect your customer base. In order to be successful, companies need to recognize what they are doing with respect to women, where they’re succeeding and where they need to improve.

What you can do. You can play a significant role in conveying the importance of the topic, assess what is being done well at your organization and what needs to be improved, and work toward implementing the necessary changes.

In my work helping women succeed in business, I’ve found that two kinds of barriers exist: one is external, male dominated organizations with a subconscious bias against women; the other is internal, how women themselves operate in the corporate world. Much of this is based on gender socialization in the United States. Obviously, there are exceptions to all of these situations. But there has been significant research done, and I’ve witnessed plenty of it in my fifteen-plus years in corporate America. Corporations need to pay attention to the barriers to minimize them, thereby maximizing their success, and women need to be aware of how they position themselves.

Bringing up gender biases in the workforce is a touchy subject. Some perceive it’s casting women as the victim. However, if we don’t admit it can exist, it can’t be addressed. In her book Necessary Dreams, Anne Fels cites a significant amount of research that shows women continue to receive less recognition for their accomplishments than men. This starts at pre-school and happens with both male and female evaluators. For example, in one study, two groups of people were asked to evaluate particular items, such as articles, paintings, and resumes. The names attached to the items were either clearly male or female, but reversed for the two groups. So, what one group believed was created by a man, the other believed was created by a woman. Regardless of the items, when they were credited to a man, they were rated higher than when credited to a woman. This discrepancy was consistent across male and female evaluators. What you can do. Create objective standards for success at your organization. Make success transparent, including performance measurements and competencies. When standards are objective, women succeed.

Another result of male-dominated organizations is that many are structured on the idea that the employee (a man) had someone at home (a wife) taking care of the children and house. This is rarely the case anymore. The fact that women still bear a disproportionate burden of childcare, house care and eldercare results in an additional stress on them in the workplace, and often results in what has been termed “opting out”. See “Off-Ramps and On-Ramps” by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce in the Harvard Business Review (March 2005). It offers a comprehensive overview of that phenomenon and what companies can do to reverse the brain drain of women leaving corporate America, and help women when they are ready to reenter it.

What you can do. Support flexible workplaces, put informal structures in place to stay in contact with strong people who have left your company, and make sure someone contacts them on a regular basis.

Talking about internal barriers that women create for themselves can bring up a different kind of resistance, as people perceive it as “blaming the victim.” Instead this approach empowers women to take control of their destinies by finding techniques that increase their success.

Finding a voice in corporate America is still a big issue for women. The range of issues includes not feeling comfortable speaking in public (especially when being the only woman in a group) to feeling very comfortable to speaking in public, but not having your ideas taken seriously because you are a woman. In a recent Catalyst report about women on Board of Directors, a woman director confirmed that “they’re predisposed against hearing you because you’ve got on a skirt.”

In a recent focus groups of professional corporate women, one woman stated it well when she said “If I’m 99% sure, I’ll talk like I’m 95% sure, as opposed to men who talk like they are 150% sure even when they are not. We need more confidence in our communication.”

There are ways of communicating that decrease the speaker’s credibility, which I call “power sappers.” They are more common in women and include the following:

Ladies, please do not take these lightly. These may not be for the faint of heart but they are extremely important. There is a great many articles on this subject, but here are 10 reasons in a nutshell for you to pay attention to NOW!

1: Take control of your future.

You will most likely be the surviving spouse. Or you may be divorced and single. Or you have always been single. Which ever is your reason, you are on your own. Do not wait for Prince Charming to come a whisk you away on his white horse. What if he never shows up? If you are the surviving spouse, where you part of the financial planning? You should be. This is YOUR life and you need to take control of it. None of you know where your futures lie, but wishing, hoping and praying that it will all work out is naive and will land you in big trouble.

2: Don’t scoff at working women.

Women tend to spend less time in the workforce. The average women spends 15 years away, (raising children, caring for elderly parents) while the average man will be away for 1.6 years.

This means women have lower benefits from company pensions, 401(k) plans as well as Social Security benefits.

It appears women are “punished” for raising children and caring for elders. Remember, no wages equals no credits equals no Social Security. Our system is not kind to women.

3: Keep a keen eye on your income, savings and spending habits.

Of all the elderly persons with income levels below the poverty line, more than 70 % are women. If married, more than 1/2 were much better off financially before their husband died.

4: Make health benefits a priority.

Many women need to pay out of pocket for health insurance benefits. This may be due to spending less time in the workforce. Whatever the reason, it can be devastating to be without health insurance coverage.

5. Defer your Social Security benefits as long as possible.

Women need to wait as long as possible to collect Social Security benefits.

At this time 60 % of women choose to apply for Social Security at the earliest age possible, 62 years old.

Keep in mind, your Social Security retirement benefits are based on your 35 years of highest earnings. (If you don’t have 35 years employment, they use a zero for each year without earnings. Working an extra year or 2 allows you to replace years lost, which increases your benefits.

If you go to www.socialsecurity.gov/planners you can calculate different retirement scenarios.

6: Hire a Financial Advisor

As much as you love to do things on your own and make important decisions by yourselves, this is a time to hand it over to an expert. Unless you have many extra hours to spend learning the ins and outs of the market, you will be only hurting yourself and your future. It’s a good time to ask for help.

Ask your family and friends for someone they trust that has done well by them. For most of you, this is a task you need to let go of.

7: Working longer than you anticipated may be the key

Women may need to work longer to achieve a stable, livable retirement. One half of working women do not have access to pensions or company retirement plans. Many women don’t earn enough to save in order to fund their retirement. The truth continues to be that women working full time still only earn 76 % o what men earn.

8: Baby Boomer women are the most educated in history.

Baby Boomer women are more likely to be divorced or never married than women in other generations. That in itself requires women to work more years. Although Baby Boomer women have more education and stronger workforce participation than earlier generation, being divorced or never married may create a deficit in retirement income.

9: Don’t count of your home equity

Planning on converting the equity in your home into retirement income could back fire on you. Housing values are not always stable and tend to either level off or decline. Although equity in your home may provide additional monies to your nest egg, don’t make it your primary funding source.

10: Be healthy minded NOW

Keep on top of your health now, not later. Exercise, eat well and get all the necessary annual medical check ups you need. How you take care of yourself now may be the crystal ball of your future.

According to AARP 62 % of women in the country do not have long term retirement plans.. Don’t let this be you! Policy makers have ignored the needs of Baby Boomer women and largely ignored the plight they are in when approaching retirement. This is true primarily for those without enough resources to fun their 3rd age.

Female baby boomers are well into menopause and beyond; part of a giant wave of grey (even though the grey has been tinted somewhat).

You would think this generation of women, teenagers of the 1960s en route to their 60s, the so-called “liberation” generation, daughters of Woodstock, drivers of modern feminism, would have an original attitude to sexuality as they engage the challenges of aging today. In truth, in general, they don’t!

There are more woman over the age of 50 in the world today than probably ever before in world history; 45 million US women born in the baby boom years alone are now doing the critical menopause passage, and 11 million UK women. Globally, age distribution in the older category is increasing in all the more developed countries.

Although this enormous wave of women are more self assured and economically empowered than any generation before and can look forward to a reasonable lifespan and quality of life , nevertheless there is also a faltering and a wilting.

The same generation who “benefited” from the extreme youth focus of the sixties simply don’t know for sure how to age these days. The matter of aging female sexuality is fraught with old psychic shadows and it is haunting baby boomer women today. The old stereotypes won’t do; and new prototypes aren’t there yet.

“Our sexual appetites aren’t lost as we age, it is the image of ourselves as sexual that we dutifully abandon to fit the bygone stereotype of patriarchy that regimented women’s sex to accommodate the economic power structure … and keep men’s shoulder to the wheel of commerce and women’s prodigious sexual power confined to childbearing”, says Nancy Friday, author of the seminal book My mother, my self..

We are terrified of becoming ugly old hags. The word hagia, which means “holy” in Greek, was once a reverential title for wise and respected older women; it degraded to “hag”. How did the revered and sacred come to mean old and ugly?

Historical images that have stereotyped post-menopausal women are awful and insidious. They infect our culture and deeply affect our own self-evaluations.

In 16th and 17th century Europe, post-menopausal women were witches, defined as satanic and diabolically sexual. In the 18th and 19th centuries, they were either pitiful old maids or idealised ageing grandmothers - righteous, virtuous and totally asexual. (Sexuality was contained within marriage and linked only to procreation.)

In the first half of the 20th century, post-menopause was considered a dangerous age filled with melancholia, “climacteric insanity”, and “remnants of infantility”. Sexuality after menopause was considered pathological by medical definition, and neurotic by Freudian definition. Except for being a doting grandmother, life as she knew it pretty much ended.

This is the miserable menopausal milieu into which baby boomers were born. Then the doctors took over and menopause, and life thereafter, was totally medicalized. Menopausal and post-menopausal women formed a perfect client group for the growing medical profession large numbers, ample finances, and vague symptoms. Sex was at least now considered “normal” if there was an interest, but there was no deeper evaluation of what this could mean.

So its not for nothing that baby boomer women are a little confused in terms of both aging and sexuality. What happens to baby boomer women as they meet their 50s onwards?

Somewhere along the menopause continuum, there is an acquiescence or reconciliation to whatever has been achieved or transpired to date. Emotionally there is an acceptance of sorts and a sense of being more authentically oneself, as best as is possible this time round; however contented or discontented people are with their lives at this over-the-mid-point point. The issue around sexuality is entrapped in individual life narratives and old opinions. There is more concern about financial security.

A lot revolves around people’s physical well being, health and fitness. Of course by the time menopause has struck, people are living the consequences of a lifetime of stress, wrong food, hard living, plus the deep cultural expectations around getting older which have impacted their bodies. Partners may have died, become ill or lost interest.

Only now are there books around talking about the soul (as well as the medical science) of menopause, where thoughts, intentions and our spirituality determine a different bodily response. There is also the rapidly evolving nutritional science of anti aging and wellness which create more options. Where everything disintegrates into illness and frailty, sexuality dissipates with the life force itself. A good dose of luck and good attitude also makes a difference.

Discussions with baby boomer women reflect a remarkable stonewalling of sorts, as people defend the position they are currently carved into. “When people reach our age, what is there to learn?” There are those bold and passionate Lolitas in their 50s who love sex, love and seduction and are now coming face to face with the old double standard of older women with younger men.

Some baby boomer women don’t expect to be seen as sexy but are proud to be living from an authentic centre, with or without sex. Some, who are celibate, see sexuality as spiritual but sublimated into and expressed through art, home, loving family, pets. Or they get into religion and/or spirituality or good causes.

All will agree that you can enjoy a “roll in the hay” when you are over 60, but its all about sexual intercourse with a partner. There is a fundamental confusion between being sexually active and an erotic, spiritual sexual awareness.

For many its not about age but about situation; having a partner is the key. It is considered something normal, fun and if you are dating the right person, are married (and he can still do it) or in a committed relationship. Others speak about sex with a consenting friend, who for whatever reason you would not want a “relationship” with but agree to safe sex occasionally.

Others simply give up. Mary, a divorcee in her mid 50s, had spent a few unsatisfactory promiscuous years as she went through a difficult divorce. When she became a grandmother, she literally closed down and focused fully on her new role..

The media support the idea that grannies are asexual. Whenever we are presented with an older couple engaged in sexual intimacy, it is almost always as comedy. Why should older sex be so (uncomfortably) funny?

Women who have studied Tantra and Taoism have a conception of a sacred sexuality that is ageless. But these ancient systems only became accessible in the West during the nineties, so their profound teachings are still being integrated into and adapted into our life.

The key is that the whole understanding of sexuality and the erotic needs to be deepened and our personal wounds need to be healed. Midlife is a really good time to do this.

But most women operate exactly from the same set of memories, thoughts and feelings that ran their entire sexual lives. Everyone has an operating viewing point on sex: sex for reproduction, fun and pleasure, a sin, a need, a duty, for love or friendship. The sexuality they talk about is the same sexuality of their youth and adult years, a sexuality informed by old psychic thoughts and attitudes that they have not cleared and brought to consciousness and feelings they have not integrated.

Now, in post menopause, there is not a strong enough intellectual and psychological framework for another more sensuous and sustaining view sex as something metaphysical, religious, spiritual, energetic.

Many boomer women talk about becoming a crone; but where should we seek the wisdom of the crone? And who said the crone is asexual?

There is a psychological resistance to the integration of what Dr Rachel Hillel calls the exile of “sacred erotic-sensual powers” from ancient feminine contents in the unconscious. She calls for the redemption of the feminine erotic soul in a book of the same name. in which she describes how our full expression and understanding of natural sexuality is fundamental to building a genuine female identity. The “erotic-sensual feminine psychic contents” are holy she says.

Perhaps the hard truth is that the sexual revolution of the 1960s failed to fulfil its promise of a real liberation because it offered an inverted version of a masculine prototype assertive, goal oriented, manipulative. It might have been free, but it had no soul and no feminine sensibility.

What would a liberated feminine aging and aging sexuality be like?

It would seem that this is a challenge for those baby boomers who are not rushing into an asexual old age?.

Women continue to open businesses in the U.S. at twice the rate of men. So why don’t they have million dollar bank accounts that reflect their hard work? According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, there are 10.4 million women-owned U.S. businesses. What people aren’t talking about is that women-owned businesses aren’t doing all that well. According to the Women Presidents’ Organization (comprised of women whose businesses annually gross over $2 million):

* About 43% of all women-owned businesses have revenue of $10,000 or less per year.

* Over 70% have revenue of less than $50,000.

* Only 3% have revenue of over $1 million (compared with 6% of men-owned firms).

Today’s entrepreneurial woman wants control over whom she works for, what she does, how she spends her time, and how much money she makes. Most of all, she wants to know that what she is doing is making a difference in the world. So why aren’t women-owned businesses more successful? Often the barriers to business success for women are self-imposed.

What Women Do Wrong

1. They dismiss their intuition. They dismiss their inner knowing. They don’t take their intuition seriously. That’s not hard to do when today’s business culture scoffs at women’s intuition, makes fun of their intuitive knowing, and pooh-poohs intuitive insight. Intuition is not a hunch, a suspicion, or a guess. Intuitive knowing is deep, sure, and trustworthy. Know this!

2. They wait for approval and permission. Women have the hardest time with this. Instead of making a decision for themselves, they look to others for approval and permission before making business decisions. Wake up! You do not need anyone’s permission to do anything. Men know this much better than women do.

3. They think something is wrong with them. When something goes wrong in their businesses, men focus on the business itself, looking for things they can change, correct, and fix. For women, however, it’s just the opposite. When something goes wrong in their businesses, women look for things they can change about themselves. 4. They think other people know best. Often their inner voicewhat I like to call a woman’s Inner Samuraiis giving them a clear indication of what is for their highest good and greatest well-being. Yet, because that inner voice conflicts with the advice and information they are getting from the outer world (often from those around them), they discount their inner voice in favor of another’s voice.

What You Can Do Right

1. Look outward for support. Look inward for guidance. Surround yourself with those who support your business vision and daily business activities. Go inward for guidance. Tap into your Inner Samurai. Understand that no one knows you as well as you know yourself. What other people think is best for you and your business is only an opinionperhaps a well-informed opinion, but an opinion, nonetheless.

2. Say yes. This is one of the hardest words for women to say. Women like to keep their options open, check everything out, and test the waters before taking action. Stop hesitating. Say yes. Move ahead. You don’t have to know how something is going to turn out before saying yes. Just say yes. You can handle whatever comes up. You can even change your mind.

3. Stop with all the positive thoughts and affirmations. Being positive and saying affirmations are not enough. You have to back those positive thoughts with focused, definitive action in the direction of what you most want to be, do, and have in your business. Fortune favors the bold.

4. Cultivate relationships. Women are naturals at building relationships and connecting to others. Connect, certainly, with other businessmen. However, be intentional about cultivating relationships with other businesswomen. Forget what they say about women being catty. Sure, some are. Most aren’t. Those are the ones you will intuitively be drawn to. Connect with them to build strong, mutually beneficial business relationships.

Women have been opening businesses at twice the rate of men for many years now. However, they have not been as successful at bringing in the big bucks as men. That’s because they try to run their businesses the same way that their male counterparts do from the head down.

Women, on the other-hand, do better when they build and run their businesses from the inside out and from the heart up, firmly connected to their Inner Samurai. Running your business this way means that you are in control of your financial future, you can have the life you’ve always dreamed of, and you can be in the best place of allmaking a real difference in the world.