Who is Amina Makhdoom?

Ms. Amina Makhdoom specializes in high performance. She focuses on lovingly lifting and inspiring others to achieve their dreams thereby contributing their unique talent to support a world that works better for everyone.
Amina’s work focuses on bringing proven success strategies to individuals and companies in order to help them achieve their most important, challenging goals. She teaches a one day Success Strategies seminar for individuals to help them clarify what they want to do and determine the obstacles that have kept them from achieving their dreams. With her combined background in business consulting and human performance, Amina is able to help individuals and businesses apply proven principles for sustained success.
Amina is affectionately labeled “A Ray of Sunshine” not only for her positive attitude and disposition, but for her warmth and ability to connect with each person in the room creating a space that allows for growth. Ms. Makhdoom resides in the Washington DC area, where she works as a coach and trainer. In addition to her Lunch with Cinderella blog, she is an advice columnist with Ask Amina, and a Spiritual Advisor.
Amina has worked with many clients to help them overcome their biggest change management challenges to create high performing teams and organizations. She has 20 years of Management Consulting experience, starting her career at Accenture prior to starting her own consulting company, Fresnel Consulting. She leads the training team for Jack Canfield, America’s Success Coach and author of the Chicken Soup series as well as The Success Principle, and has written a number of articles, stories and blog posts. She is a co-author of Success University for Women talking about how to achieve 100% return with 0% effort.
Amina’s work focuses on bringing proven success strategies to individuals and companies in order to help them achieve their most important, challenging goals. She teaches a one day Success Strategies seminar for individuals to help them clarify what they want to do and determine the obstacles that have kept them from achieving their dreams. With her combined background in business consulting and human performance, Amina is able to help individuals and businesses apply proven principles for sustained success.
Amina is affectionately labeled “A Ray of Sunshine” not only for her positive attitude and disposition, but for her warmth and ability to connect with each person in the room creating a space that allows for growth. Ms. Makhdoom resides in the Washington DC area, where she works as a coach and trainer. In addition to her Lunch with Cinderella blog, she is an advice columnist with Ask Amina, and a Spiritual Advisor.
Amina has worked with many clients to help them overcome their biggest change management challenges to create high performing teams and organizations. She has 20 years of Management Consulting experience, starting her career at Accenture prior to starting her own consulting company, Fresnel Consulting. She leads the training team for Jack Canfield, America’s Success Coach and author of the Chicken Soup series as well as The Success Principle, and has written a number of articles, stories and blog posts. She is a co-author of Success University for Women talking about how to achieve 100% return with 0% effort.
lunch with Cinderella Story

My blog site is dedicated to capturing my thoughts and ideas on how to create what you want into your reality... manifesting. Since 2006, I have been working on my manifesting skills and in the past two years have taken them to a new level. I am clearer and clearer on the tips and techniques to effortlessly create the results I want into my life. In fact, I have termed a little slogan, 0% Effort, 100% Return.
The title Lunch with Cinderella came from an experience I had back in 2009. Both my sisters were going to Disneyworld for the week. They were both going for a week, but overlapping there for the weekend in between. I had a ton of work and really did not have time to go down, but since they were both driving, I decided to drive down with one sister on a Friday night and drive back up with the other on Sunday night. This was a last minute decision on my part and because of that, my sister who had arranged for the meal/entertainment plans at Disney had not gotten any tickets for me. For most of the things we were doing, it was easy to add one more person. I joined in for a character breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends and a luau for dinner one night. But, the one thing that I really, really wanted to do, had a year and a half wait list, and I could not get in. It was to have lunch with Cinderella (and the other Princesses) in Cinderella's castle at Disneyworld. The idea of this made me feel like a seven year old again and I really wanted to go… really, really, really wanted to go.
I knew when I set my intention, anything is possible. And, I knew we were going to Disney, the place where magic happens and dreams come true. So, I decided that I would be at that lunch. Adding to my motivation was the fact that we were celebrating my niece Sara's second birthday at the lunch and my entire family (10 people) was going. It just had to work out for me. I tried everything. I made phone calls. I talked to customer service representatives, their managers, their managers, managers. I spent two hours of the drive down on Friday talking to anyone I could get hold of. I called back Saturday morning checking for cancellations. I asked the people at the Disney gates. I spoke to customer service at the Park. I tried everything I could think of. But, still, the answer was no. The event has a long waiting list and tickets are hard to come by. However, I was not going to give up. I would not give up until the time of the lunch appointment, and maybe not even then.
Twenty minutes before we were supposed to go in, I walked back to the lady at the lunch check in and asked if there were any cancellations. The answer was still no. I just stood there. I knew this was the moment that something had to happen for me to get into this lunch. So, I tried again. She had already heard my story earlier in the day when I was there, so I did not bother to repeat what I had said (or the solutions I had come up with earlier - all of which were quickly shot down). Instead, I looked her in the eye and I said, "I am supposed to have lunch with Cinderella today. I don't know how that is going to happen, but I know it is supposed to happen. What have I not thought of that could make this happen?" I immediately got her involved in helping me solve the problem. She stood there and then said "let me ask my manager one more time". (The issue was fire code violation regarding number of people in the castle, so it was not that they did not want to help me, but were to capacity). She turned to her supervisor, and without them exchanging a word, the supervisor just nodded and the next thing I knew... I was walking in the castle with my family to have lunch with Cinderella.
To me, this story represents the key components to manifesting. Being clear on what you want. Not giving up. Taking every action you can think of. And, finally, enrolling others to help you. When you are clear and are willing to stick to what you want, the Universe shows up and helps you... at the perfect time. I know if this is possible for me, that it is possible for each of you. I hope your life is filled with hundreds of lunch with Cinderella moments, as mine has been!
The title Lunch with Cinderella came from an experience I had back in 2009. Both my sisters were going to Disneyworld for the week. They were both going for a week, but overlapping there for the weekend in between. I had a ton of work and really did not have time to go down, but since they were both driving, I decided to drive down with one sister on a Friday night and drive back up with the other on Sunday night. This was a last minute decision on my part and because of that, my sister who had arranged for the meal/entertainment plans at Disney had not gotten any tickets for me. For most of the things we were doing, it was easy to add one more person. I joined in for a character breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends and a luau for dinner one night. But, the one thing that I really, really wanted to do, had a year and a half wait list, and I could not get in. It was to have lunch with Cinderella (and the other Princesses) in Cinderella's castle at Disneyworld. The idea of this made me feel like a seven year old again and I really wanted to go… really, really, really wanted to go.
I knew when I set my intention, anything is possible. And, I knew we were going to Disney, the place where magic happens and dreams come true. So, I decided that I would be at that lunch. Adding to my motivation was the fact that we were celebrating my niece Sara's second birthday at the lunch and my entire family (10 people) was going. It just had to work out for me. I tried everything. I made phone calls. I talked to customer service representatives, their managers, their managers, managers. I spent two hours of the drive down on Friday talking to anyone I could get hold of. I called back Saturday morning checking for cancellations. I asked the people at the Disney gates. I spoke to customer service at the Park. I tried everything I could think of. But, still, the answer was no. The event has a long waiting list and tickets are hard to come by. However, I was not going to give up. I would not give up until the time of the lunch appointment, and maybe not even then.
Twenty minutes before we were supposed to go in, I walked back to the lady at the lunch check in and asked if there were any cancellations. The answer was still no. I just stood there. I knew this was the moment that something had to happen for me to get into this lunch. So, I tried again. She had already heard my story earlier in the day when I was there, so I did not bother to repeat what I had said (or the solutions I had come up with earlier - all of which were quickly shot down). Instead, I looked her in the eye and I said, "I am supposed to have lunch with Cinderella today. I don't know how that is going to happen, but I know it is supposed to happen. What have I not thought of that could make this happen?" I immediately got her involved in helping me solve the problem. She stood there and then said "let me ask my manager one more time". (The issue was fire code violation regarding number of people in the castle, so it was not that they did not want to help me, but were to capacity). She turned to her supervisor, and without them exchanging a word, the supervisor just nodded and the next thing I knew... I was walking in the castle with my family to have lunch with Cinderella.
To me, this story represents the key components to manifesting. Being clear on what you want. Not giving up. Taking every action you can think of. And, finally, enrolling others to help you. When you are clear and are willing to stick to what you want, the Universe shows up and helps you... at the perfect time. I know if this is possible for me, that it is possible for each of you. I hope your life is filled with hundreds of lunch with Cinderella moments, as mine has been!
Amina Makhdoom, The Sunshine Manifestor