This Entrepreneur Gives Away Handbags to the Homeless So You Can Manifest a Better Self

By Jordan French Jordan French has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team
Published on December 18, 2018

Cathlene Miner had a full plate. So she added more.

A mother and grandmother, she witnessed homeless people nearby had a need to carry their belongings more easily. She founded Helping Handbags to offer a hand, and found out her endeavors gave her a renewed sense of purpose, too.

Grit Daily caught up with Miner to find out what drove her to make a few key life changes over her multi-decade career.

Tell us about yourself.
Cathelene Miner was working three jobs. Then she founded a company.

I am a wife, mother of four and grandmother to two.  I was once a single mother of two working three jobs and I have been blessed now with being an author, speaker, radio host, coach with an expertise in fitness, manifesting on purpose and self-perception.

How long have you been guiding others on getting a healthy self-perception and fitness?

I have been guiding women for over 26 years. It is something that I was led to because when I was in high school I  had an eating disorder and I realized I wanted to live my life healthfully and on purpose. So I began to get my certifications to teach fitness while I was working my other 40 plus week job and raising two children.  

It worked out perfect because I was able to make the extra money I needed to pay my bills while I was helping my body and others. I changed my lifestyle and my life began to head in amazing directions. I also realized as I aged that the things that I was doing in my 20s, 30s and now 40s with eating, exercise and connecting with my intuitive self needed to be tweaked. With every age, we must switch it up for it to be effective on the inside and out.  It can be better than it was before. We are always evolving.

What is self perception?  

Self Perception is what you think and feel about your self.  Not what anybody else thinks of you. Some people get confused between self-perception and self-care.  Self-care is the things you do for yourself. Massages, hanging out with friends, and reading. whatever you do to take care of you.  These things are crucial but it different from Self-perception. Self perception is the base of how your life flows.

What are signs that you do not have a healthy self perception?

Some signs that can clue you in that you may not have a healthy self-perception.

  • You doubt your decisions.

Do you always second guess your choices?  Or you feel you have to have validation from someone else before you move forward.

  • You allow others to dictate how you feel about yourself.

Do you often ask others opinion instead of trusting your own?  Are you allowing what the other person says to dictate how your day or life goes?

  • You are stuck in a toxic relationship or job.

Do you keep repeating the same feeling in relationships?  You feel uneasy. You feel like you have to always please someone else.  The relationship makes you “feel” bad about yourself.

This is a gift.  A gift that the universe s giving you to take a look inward and reevaluate.  You deserve to be treated amazing and to be in healthy feel good relationships.

  • You criticize your self.

Do you often look at your self and see negative aspects?

  • You are not reaching your version of success.

Do you feel like you always fall short of your version of success?  This is a time to re-evaluate and be sure that what you are thinking  is really what lights your souls up. Not someone else’s.

  • You live in a clutter of your physical space and or mind.

Clutter and jumble in your brain and physical space can sometimes be a sign that you are super creative. But if you always have a cluttered mind and physical space and are not sure what direction you are going in.  Take a step back,. It’s time for a change.

The exciting thing is that these things can be changed!

What are two things you can start now to begin your journey to a healthy self perception?
  • Compliment your self-everyday.

Look in the mirror every morning and find something you love about yourself.  You give others compliments it’s time to give them to you.

  • Dream your biggest dream and KNOW you are on your way – don’t stress about every detail about how you are going to get there-trust the process and enjoy the journey.

Dream!  Imagine what your life would be like if nothing was holding you back.  No money restrictions, people or circumstances. Feel it. Get excited!! Get in that place as many times as you can throughout the day.  You will soon see shifts.

Since it’s winter and more grey outdoors what are three ways you can banish winter blues?

Visualization and/or Meditation

Take 1 minute at least 5 times a day and close your eyes. Visualize a beach or sit in front of a window. Go to that sunny, warm place and feel the sun beaming down on your face. Feel the heat on your skin. Imagine your Vitamin D levels raising with your positive mindset.

  • Smile…(It looks good on you)

Smile consciously when you are at the computer, doing housework, or just chatting. When you see a stranger, smile.  When you are at home, smile at your family members or pets.

  • Simply be Thankful

Be grateful.  Write 5 things you are grateful for every day. Visualize them and feel the positive emotions as they come up as you are writing.

What is the value in journaling?

I am a huge advocate of journaling! Journaling changed my life and it’s something I do every day. Journaling can allow you to re-train your subconscious mind. There are many kinds of journaling and they are so effective.  You are retraining your subconscious mind by using different parts of your brain. You are thinking what you are going to write, write it down (another part of your brain) and then take a few seconds to visualize what you just wrote as if you are living it out (another part of your brain). Feel the feelings if you are in that situation (another part of your brain).

A great way to retrain your subconscious mind is to change over any negative statements that you may write in your journal. This can truly be life-changing.  Check out different kinds of journaling and experiment. What works best for you will be the “right” kind of journaling for you. This may change throughout the years too.

What kind of journaling do you do most?

I love to do what I call to create my life on purpose journaling. Manifesting on purpose.  The “30 Day Self-perception Makeover” has journaling prompts and questions that you will do daily and that is the type of journaling that I do most.  If I have any negativity going on I will write that down and switch it over as I explained above. I will then visualize myself in the place that I desire to be.  As I retrain my subconscious mind to know That these things will be my reality, I open the flow for them to come into my life.

Our brains are very complex. But yet very simple. They do exactly what we tell it to do.

How do you meditate?

Like journaling, there many different types of mediation.  I am not a great sit still person but find mediating very effective and a must for my life.  It allows me to be quiet and listen to the messages that are coming my way.

I meditate for about 5 or 10 minutes every morning before I journal.  I like to meditate before I journal so I can write down any messages that came my way so I do not forget them and can take inspired action if needed. Some of my most amazing thoughts and ideas come from this quiet time.  Things that I may have not otherwise thought of.

How important is gratitude in your everyday life?

Gratitude will open your flow to manifest (create, magnetize) the life that you desire.  It will raise your energy frequency vibrations right away and some days even a little twinge of raising your energy frequency will change your entire day. Be grateful for everything.  There is always something to be grateful for. Be grateful for your eyes that you can read this right now. Be grateful for the trees, thankful for the oxygen that the trees are giving us.

Can you really manifest on purpose?

Yes, you can.  The two other words I like to use for manifest is create and magnetize.  We are manifesting and creating every day by the energy we are radiating out into the universe, the decisions we make, how we react to situations, so why not do it on purpose. I started to realize at a young age that the things I was passionate about were all flowing in the “right” direction for me.  

The things that I was sort of ho-hum about were just either ok or not good at all. I was a single mom with two children and begun to re-evaluate my thoughts and feelings about everything. I began to purposely change my thoughts to what I truly desire and feel the feelings that came along with them. To create the life we desire we must first have clarity.  If you put wishy-washy out you will get wishy-washy back.

Can this type of lifestyle change lead to better health?

Yes, it can.  If you think about the things that we have talked about so far, you will see that by looking at the bright side and being grateful you will look have a half glass full mentality and your cup will runneth over.

Why is the “30 day self perception makeover?”

The “30 Day Self Perception Makeover” is a guide to lead you to the life you desire.  Every day you will take inspired action to gain a healthy self-perception. You are retraining your subconscious mind.  The commitment and consistency will allow you to be the person that you desire to be. On the front of the book, you will notice a big pink paint splash!  You are painting a new life.

Tell us about the non- profit that you founded?

Helping Handbags, USA is a non-profit, the concept of which came from the UK.  I started it here in the US and we collect once loved handbags and we fill them with necessities depending on what each organization needs.  These handbags go to women who are homeless and living in a shelter, working on getting back on their feet again. The hope that these bags give to these women is priceless.  

If anyone is interested in donating or starting Helping Handbags, USA in your area to give back and give hope, please contact me.  I look forward to chatting!!

By Jordan French Jordan French has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team

Journalist verified by Muck Rack verified

Jordan French is the Founder and Executive Editor of Grit Daily Group, encompassing Financial Tech Times, Smartech Daily, Transit Tomorrow, BlockTelegraph, Meditech Today, High Net Worth magazine, Luxury Miami magazine, CEO Official magazine, Luxury LA magazine, and flagship outlet, Grit Daily. The champion of live journalism, Grit Daily's team hails from ABC, CBS, CNN, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Forbes, Fox, PopSugar, SF Chronicle, VentureBeat, Verge, Vice, and Vox. An award-winning journalist, he was on the editorial staff at TheStreet.com and a Fast 50 and Inc. 500-ranked entrepreneur with one sale. Formerly an engineer and intellectual-property attorney, his third company, BeeHex, rose to fame for its "3D printed pizza for astronauts" and is now a military contractor. A prolific investor, he's invested in 50+ early stage startups with 10+ exits through 2023.

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