In a time when women in general, African American women specifically, where looking for the answers to the questions on their hearts, Iyanla Vanzant stood up to answer the call. She responded to the common and, not so common questions women were asking of themselves and each other - - Is there more I can be? Am I more than I have been told? How do I find the more I am seeking? In response, Iyanla offered us: Tapping The Power Within: A Path To Self Empowerment For Black Women (1988); Acts of Faith; Daily Meditations For People of Color (1992); The Value In The Valley; Lesson For Women on the Journey to Peace (1994). For the past 20 years, Iyanla Vanzant has offered to the world at large and the community of African American women, 13 titles, including five New York Times Best Sellers, that do more than answer the questions. She has given us a blueprint for personal and spiritual progress. She has provided us with a detailed map that will take us through the hard times, the bad times, into better more fruitful times. She has been a demonstration of who we are as women; what is expected of us as pilgrims on a spiritual journey; and, what is required to be peaceful, joy-filled and loving, every step of the way. She has shared with us, the depths of herself in a way that puts her, not above us, but on the path with us. And, she has done it with grace, wisdom and a down-to-earth practicality and humor that has endeared her to our hearts.
"What I have learned from all of the difficulties in my own life is that human beings have very thick skin. I call that skin, Spirit, our Highest Most Powerful self. Spirit is the key to everything we desire. It is our weather-proofing, our Teflon, our line of credit that assures if we just keep putting one foot in front of the other, one day; there will be a miraculous payoff."
Iyanla has received numerous awards and accolades for the power and impact of her work. She is hailed as one of Halle Berry's five "Sheros" (Glamour Magazine 2006); one of the country's most influential African Americans (Ebony Magazine 2004); among the country's most 100 Influential Women (Women's Day Magazine 2003); one of the "most dynamic speakers in the United States" (Emerge Magazine 2000). She is a woman of passion, clear vision and purpose. Today, as the founder and Executive Director of Inner Visions Worldwide, she teaches and trains Spiritual Life Coaches and Ministers. She continues her writing and speaking careers, which places her in front of more that 10,000 people each year. We join her in celebrating the 20th Anniversary of her first book, Tapping The Power Within: A Path To Self Empowerment For Women, revised and updated in which she shares the lessons and wisdom she has gained on her own journey.
