When I first heard my hand analysis mentor, Richard Unger, call a Life Lesson “the loser lesson,” I gasped. What an awful thing – to call someone, to call one’s self – even worse, what a difficult thing to FEEL.

Some of you reading this are very familiar with this lesson as you have it in your fingerprints. Some of you have only parts of this lesson. It involves the fingerprints on right thumb (failure/frustration), right index finger (powerlessness/overwhelm) and right middle finger (money/business/time/integrity issues).  Imagine for a moment that when you get stuck in life, you find yourself trapped in a situation you don’t like, feeling overwhelmed, broke and frustrated.

Well, whether or not this is your lesson, you can probably relate to pieces of it. Taken together, feeling like a powerless, broke failure pretty much provokes a “loser” sensation.

Here’s the GOOD NEWS: when you complete tasks (success!), assert your boundaries (power), and ask to be paid (money), you activate the Big Shot Business Owner or your “Inner Trump” – as in ‘Donald Trump.’ This isn’t about whether or not you resonate with the actual Donald Trump, rather, it’s about claiming your own definition of success, standing clear in your powerful vision and refusing to give away your time without compensation.

You might experience only pieces of this lesson – feeling powerless one day, broke or running out of time on another day. The opportunity here is to remember that a “lesson” is really a blind spot. My dear friend, Jennifer Urezzio, who studied hands with me years ago, has dispensed with the word “lesson” altogether and simply calls Life Lessons “Skill Builders.”

Your Life Lesson, whatever it is, shows you the gaps in your knowledge and experience. By acknowledging these gaps, you can build your skills and achieve what is most important to you.

So, what’s it going to be? Feeling like a “loser” or claiming your Inner Trump? The choice, as always, is yours.

The Palm Pilot’s Coaching Questions to Consider:

What is YOUR definition of success?

Where do you get into power struggles with people? What triggers your defensiveness?

What is your WORLD VISION? (Everyone has one… really.)

Do you ASK to be PAID and charge what you are worth?

President-Elect Barack Obama is left-handed. Only 10% of the population is left-handed. It is my observation of left-handed folks in general that they tend to be less prone to listening to others and more prone to follow their own convictions, whether those convictions buck the trend or conform with it. (Right handers can certainly be mavericks, too! It’s just that given the smaller population of lefties, there appears to be a larger population among them that has that desire to stand out from the crowd and simply do things differently.) They think creatively about situations and do have maverick streaks. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman are all lefties, too, for whatever that’s worth.

In the above picture, Obama’s little finger is curving in a bit towards the palm which indicates a fear of being too vulnerable and seeking protection. He works toward tremendous self-control to not show his vulnerability. The finger is also a bit curved, like a crescent moon, indicating trust issues, possibly relating to early abandonment by his father.

His heart line, which starts beneath the little finger and curves up between the middle and pointer finger. This is the Big Heart heart line, indicating that Obama is a nurturing, generous and caring person. He has a non-negotiable need for connection. His heart goes out to the wounded birds of the world – the less fortunate.

His head line, which begins on the palm between the pointer finger and the thumb, is separated from his life line, which happens in about 20% of hands. It indicates “independence of thought.” Obama absolutely thinks for himself and comes to his own conclusions. Because of this, he is unlike to be bought or sold very easily.

His head line is also a gift marker, know as the “Hal 9000″ – named after Hal 9000 in the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. This type of head line goes almost all the way across the hand, but stops about a ¼ inch from the edge of the palm. This gift indicates that Obama’s mind works like a super computer, able to parallel process huge amounts of data quickly. He is the grand synthesizer. He needs a job that is big, complicated and important. Being President of the United States would certainly satisfy this headline.

Most folks who have this thinking ability have a mind that is chronically underemployed. If YOU have a gifted problem-solver head line, you need a large, world-scale issue to solve or your mind will create large problems, particularly in your personal life, to keep itself occupied.

You can choose: solve a world-scale problem or create tangled webs all over your life to try to untangle. (If you want to find out more about the Hal 9000 head line, why not join our Master Mind this month which focuses on this gift? You can find out more here.

The vertical line extending upward toward his little finger is a “line of insight” indicating that Obama is introspective and interested in the deeper meaning of life. He asks questions such as “Why are we here?” and “What is our purpose?”

Our finger zones indicate our business niche. Obama’s two largest zones (in the photo) on his right hand are the middle zone of his pointer finger (goals) and the bottom zone of his middle finger (nature, the environment, values and moral code). Obama’s personal goals are goals that improvequality of life, particularly as it relates to open space, undeveloped land and natural resources. He is likely to be a big advocate for environmental protections and conservation. (I also get the sense that Obama said as little as possible during the campaign about his BIG plans for the U.S. in terms of being an energy leader. Time will, of course, tell.)

The tip of his thumb is very large, indicating enormous drive and will power. The way his fingers sit on the ridge of his palm indicate he is a teacher and leader called to the spotlight. The mounts of Venus (at the base of the thumb on the palm) and the Moon (across from the Mount of Venus) are large, indicating that Obama is a phenomenal storyteller with a romantic bent and love of culture. He is a sensitive, thoughtful person who is more likely to become sad than angry when he sees injustice in the world.

Baeth’s Coach’s Challenge: What is YOUR large, world-scale issue to solve? If you didn’t see it as a ‘problem,’ who would you have to BE-come to make inroads to change?

Baeth: Welcome, It’s In Your Hands readers. This is Baeth Davis, the Hand Analyst. I’m calling in today from my Tucson, Arizona office.

I have on the line with me Dorene Lehavi, a magnificent woman who we’re going to find out more about in just a moment.

This is the inauguration of my client interview series, which explores how my clients have taken the information from the life purpose spiritual blueprint that’s in their hands and used that to create a transformational experience, not only in their lives but in how they view themselves and who they’re becoming in their everyday life.

Welcome, Dorene. Before you had your hands read and had that experience, what prompted you to have a hand analysis session? What drew you to the experience?

Dorene: I was very satisfied with the kind of work I had been doing, but I always felt that there was more. I didn’t know what it was, and I really wanted to know. You came along and you were perfect.

Baeth: What did that “more” feel like emotionally for you? How did that affect you?

Dorene: For me, it’s really a matter of knowing that I’m doing everything I’m supposed to be doing on this earth. I don’t want to leave without fulfilling my purpose and my passion.

I felt that I could only know so much on my own. There was more. What I understood that you did was really zero in on things I had no clue about.

Baeth: Your hands revealed that your life purpose is to be the passionate, creative artist with an audience that loves your work. What did you feel or experience when you heard that was your life purpose from your own hands?

Dorene: You threw me into a shock. I never thought of myself that way. I’ve always been a lot more serious and heavy about helping people. I’ve been a therapist and a coach, and I still love to do that.

The art was brilliant, bright, gorgeous, fun and very warm, and it reached me at a heart level. I never knew that about myself.

Ms. Geiss, my sixth grade art teacher, still loomed heavy over me and was very discouraging. Now I’m showing her. I got the last laugh.

Baeth: That brings us to the life lesson. People will show up in our lives that trigger a certain emotional response in us. With our life lesson, it’s usually something we might term negative or uncomfortable. Would you mind sharing what your teacher said to you?

Dorene: It isn’t so much what she said. I was always a very good girl. I never misbehaved, got into trouble or dared. I was really a good girl. She’s the only teacher who called my mother in. She told my mother that I made a bad face at her, which is so not true.

Baeth: You were probably thinking about what was for lunch or something.

Dorene: I have no clue, but I would never do such a thing. I was scared to death of this woman. Of course, she was also teaching coloring inside the lines and things like that.

Not only was she negative about my artistic ability, but certainly never encouraging. She never said a good word. It was a subtle message there that came on very strong to me.

Baeth: This leads in perfectly to what your hands revealed about your life lesson. Your life lesson is emotional authenticity.

The learning with emotional authenticity is essentially to express what you feel regardless of the expectations of others. Therein resides the explanation or highlight to the story you just told us, which is marvelous.

Dorene: Maybe I did make a face at her?

Baeth: It’s not about the face, but the fear of being judged. You were judged as making a face, even though that isn’t what happened.

The fear of judgment made you shut down not just something you enjoyed doing, but you made a decision at that young age to not fully pursue your art. Do you see how that works?

Dorene: Absolutely. I didn’t even have a clue.

Baeth: Most of us structure our entire lives to avoid the discomfort that the lesson is asking us, in a sense, to confront.

What you’re here to learn is that if people make faces at you, whether they mean to or not, it’s not about you. People’s opinions of what you’re doing or not doing are essentially none of your business. Your inner work is to love yourself fully and to express what is true for you.

Dorene: That’s so releasing and freeing. It’s wonderful to hear that.

Baeth: It’s the key that will open the door to the next level for you as a passionate artist in the spotlight.

This is the connection I hope everyone reading this is intrigued by and reminded by, whether they’ve had an experience of having their hands read or not.

There’s one final thing, Dorene. Your life school is love.

I believe that each of these life schools has a spiritual promise. The spiritual promise of the school of love is unconditional love of self. That’s the prize that you experience. It also is a spiritual promise in your work that when you put your creative artwork out in the world, it moves people into an experience of love.

Dorene: That’s been my experience with it so far.

Baeth: There’s a heart connection created. In order for this heart connection to be felt by you, it means that you’re called to commit to and continue with your artwork, regardless of the expectations of others.

Dorene: I’m loving it!

Baeth: Would you be willing to make a commitment to our audience here? It’s okay if you don’t want to. If so, what would your commitment be around your creativity in the next 90 days?

Dorene: I’m not sure what you’re asking me. Do you mean something concrete?

Baeth: Yes, something concrete.

Dorene: I’m actively pursuing my own language with my art and what I’m about. I’m really looking inward to understand more about myself so that I can deeply connect with the person that I am.

I’m tending toward doing biographical collages so that I capture the essence of the person I’m collaging.

I love people, and I love connecting with them. Because of my gift as an intuitive and having been a therapist, my connection with people is deep. I see beyond what they see for themselves. I really want to develop that part of my art so it comes out at a very deep level when I get into doing a biographical collage for somebody.

Also, I’m just finding ways to express my language and find what my particular language is in my art. I commit to keep doing that and really go deeper and deeper, and hopefully just doing better work.

Baeth: I want to up the ante here, if I may give you a coach’s challenge. I’m going to challenge you to have three of these biographical collages commissioned in the next 90 days.

Dorene: That would be lovely.

Baeth: Yes, but it’s only valuable if it’s something you’re willing to commit to.

Dorene: I will commit to doing three in 90 days.

Baeth: And paid for.

Dorene: That’s wonderful. I commit to that.

Baeth: For everyone listening, you can have a gander at the incredible biographical collage that Dorene did for me in the newsletter, and we’ll also be posting that online.

Dorene, how can people reach you if they’d like to find out more?

Dorene: Probably the best thing to do is to call me. I will have a website having to do with my art, but my website right now has to do with my coaching business. They could go there and find me at www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com.

My phone number, which is probably better if you’re more interested in the art, is 323-931-7204.

If you’re in a business partnership and you don’t want to be in those miserable statistics that you will fail, I will show you how not to.

Baeth: Thank you again for today.

Dorene: Thank you, Baeth. You’ve set me on a track that’s bringing me such joy. You’ve just confirmed it for me. Frankly, it didn’t even occur to me.

Baeth: You’re like most of us. Finding out who we are, we’re usually the last to know. That’s the way it goes.

Thank you, everyone, for reading. If you’d like to have this experience for yourself, please consider attending my Life Purpose Spiritual Summit this June 4 through 7, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The web address is www.LifePurposeSpiritualSummit.com.

At the summit, I will be doing live coaching and life purpose hot seats where you get to have the energetic and emotional experience of living in your life purpose, which for many of us we’ve never had.

Once you have it, you can’t forget it. It’s like learning how to ride a bicycle. Once you have that skill, you never forget. Hence, your life purpose can be expressed in every area of you life for fulfillment, purpose, passion and profit.

Thank you again, Dorene.

Baeth’s Coach’s Challenge: What will YOU accomplish in the next days? Go for it – and be sure you get paid for your passions!