O You!

Having to juggle both motherhood and jobs, women oftentimes face a high risk of burning out. It's up to us to take care of ourselves and take charge of our lives. Oprah's team of experts weighed in at the O You! event in Los Angeles this past Saturday on why too many women are wearing themselves out.

• They give too much. Suze Orman says women "give too much and take too little." We do this with our family, with our friends, and at work. Start getting used to saying no.
• They don't say how they feel. Perhaps we don't really say what we're thinking because we don't want to offend someone. "Thoughts, words, and actions have to be one. Don't say yes, when you are thinking no," Orman says. If you don't align yourself with your thoughts, you may be storing a lot of pent-up frustration. Release, and let go.
• They don't put themselves first. It's not selfish to put yourself first on the list, says Dr. Phil. In fact, "you cannot give what you do not have" and you will "cheat everyone in your life if you burn yourself out." To give to other people, you need to give to yourself first.

The first step to fixing your problem is identifying it. And if your problem is being disorganized, you need to know what type of clutterer you are to figure out the right solution. Expert organizer Peter Walsh, a speaker at the O You! Conference in Los Angeles this past Saturday, shared with the audience the main types of problem clutterers and what each should do to get organized:

Behind-closed-doors clutterer

Do you go to great lengths to hide your mess from visitors? For example, you stuff all your clutter in your spare bedroom and don't let anyone see it so they are none the wiser. There are two types of people who do this: perfectionists and people who just don't think it's worth it to be organized. For the perfectionists, they think if they can't do it perfectly, they're not going to do it. The people who don't think it's worth the effort simply don't think it's a priority and it doesn't impact their life in a big way.

Solution: First, "get over yourself!" said the organization expert. Second, get a friend (wine optional) and make decluttering a fun activity. But don't ask someone in the family or who lives in the same house as you to help because that can cause tension, warns Walsh. Make sure you offer to go over to your friend's place the following week to declutter. Third, start small so that it's not overwhelming. Perhaps you can start by clearing out your bedside table or your bag.

Knowledge clutterer

You have endless piles of magazines, books, and more. Don't beat yourself up over missing out on special tips, because Walsh jokes that there are only three original ideas in the world and magazines print them over and over again. Sooner or later, you'll come across the same information again.

Solution: Walsh only keeps two back issues of a magazine, and if he decides to keep a new issue, he will throw away an old one so he will only have two copies of the magazine. As for books, if your shelf is full, make sure every time you buy a book, you give one book away. Decide which ones are important to you and keep those.

Read on for more.

There's no quick fix for your finances, but if you change your outlook, it can make a big difference to your bank account. Suze Orman, a speaker at the O You! Conference in Los Angeles this past Saturday, told the audience that there are simple things everyone can start doing.

• Enjoy saving. "Get as much pleasure out of saving as you do spending," said Orman. See saving as a challenge, and take joy out of scoring the better deal or shaving dollars off your bills.
• Rely on yourself. It doesn't matter what stock market or presidential administration is going to do; the "only thing that matters is what you are going to do to save yourself," said the personal finance expert. Don't blame your misfortune on others; your financial future lies in your hands.
• Live below your means. We've all heard the argument of living below your means, but Orman emphasized living within your needs as well. Before you purchase anything, ask yourself if it's a want or a need. Get it if it's a need, and if it's a want, then, as Orman suggests, "say no out of love for yourself."

We all know there's no secret to success — or is there? Dr. Phil McGraw, who spoke at the O You! Conference in Los Angeles this past Sunday, spilled to the audience what it takes to become successful. It may not be a magic formula, but with hard work and motivation, you can work some magic.

1. Name it to claim it. You have to envision it; Dr. Phil said people who are successful are able to see what success is.
2. Get a plan. Have a strategy. "The difference between goals and dreams are a timeline," said the talk show host.
3. Make a move. Get yourself started because "the universe rewards action." Successful people are the ones who take action toward unknown outcome. Keep on doing it until you achieve what you want. Dr. Phil put it best when he said, "Winners do things that losers don't want to do."
4. Take a risk. Winners are willing to take a risk. Playing it safe might make you feel better for the time being, but you might be losing out on potential rewards.
5. Deal with the truth. Be honest with yourself, and don't hide behind a veil of self denial. It's very hard to be self aware, and if you're unsure of something, seek feedback from others. Take stock of what others say, but ultimately you need to make your own decision.
6. Build a support network. Choosing the right people to surround yourself with will help you with your struggle to the top. Have a support network that believes in you and wants you to do well. "Build a nucleus that wants you to succeed," Dr. Phil advised.
7. Have a passion. Have a passion to pursue, and if you don't have one, you need to get one, whether it be related to religion, sports, politics, or whatever can get you excited. You need something to look forward to.

Although Oprah Winfrey is one of the world's most successful women, she didn't always have it easy. In fact, to get to where she is today, she had to make a few sacrifices and work as a news anchor — a job she disliked — for a few years to pay the bills and gain experience and skills.

Winfrey told the audience at the O You! Conference in Los Angeles this past Sunday that young people often have the misconception that they have to give everything up to chase their passion. Winfrey advises to "do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do." You're not supposed to be able to get everything you want immediately, and when you're starting out, you should "keep a foot in the door" of your passion while doing what "you have to do to feed yourself."

It seems as if most of us strive for a happier life. We try to seek out the perfect job, partner, and friends to gain a sense of joy and fulfillment in our lives. But actually, happiness isn't a complex equation; there's only one rule you need to know about being happy, says life coach Martha Beck in an interview:

"Notice what makes you really happy and what doesn't. You would be amazed to know how blind we go to our own joy or discomfort as we learn to follow cultural norms. Go back to your inner guidance. Then, move toward things that make you feel good, and away from things that make you feel bad (really, it's not rocket science). Do this whether you're choosing a snack or making a lifelong vow."

Many of us often find a page in a magazine that we want to keep. Maybe there's a really good tip or an extremely beautiful picture on there. Whatever the reason, it's hard to keep your home tidy with scraps of magazine pages lying all over your home. Organization expert Peter Walsh, a speaker at the O You! event in Los Angeles this Saturday, tells us the trick to storing the glossy pages.

"I'm a big fan of ripping out a page or two from a magazine to keep as inspiration (just don't overdo it)! To keep them organized, I use three different books or binders. One is for recipes, the second is for projects I want to do, and the third is for places I want to visit. Every time I come across something I want to keep, I tear the page out and immediately tape it into the appropriate book. The trick is to make sure you refer to those books regularly. Not sure what to make for dinner? Go to the book. Not sure what to do this weekend or what restaurant you should try? Go to the book. Tearing the pages out is only half the job . . . The second is making sure that you use the info that you've collected. Remember also to set a limit for the pages you keep so as to avoid paper hoarding. Once you get to 30 items in any book, before you can add an article, you have to discard one."

Do you like tearing out magazine pages to keep?

A lack of confidence can hold you back in many ways. It may cause a self-defeatist attitude that prevents you from reaching your full potential. I talked to life coach Martha Beck, a speaker at the O You! event in Los Angeles this Saturday, who had some wise words of advice for those who don't feel good about themselves. Here's how you can drop your insecurities:

• Challenge yourself. "The only way to become confident is to do things that frighten you," Beck says. "When I was 14 years old, I started doing one constructive thing that feels scary every day. I still hold myself to that. It's the only reason I have any confidence at all."
• Acknowledge it. "It's not unhealthy to be insecure as long as you don't lie about it. Insecurity is natural. Admitting it is courageous. Being honest about insecurity allows security to develop."

Fall can be a tricky time when organizing your clothes. Your Winter clothes may be used intermittently and your Summer clothes will have to be stored away somewhere. Organization expert Peter Walsh, a speaker at the O You! event in Los Angeles this Saturday, says that this season is actually a good time to go through your clothes. Here are some of his tips:

• Chuck your Summer clothes. "If you didn’t wear that summer dress or those shorts during the entire season, there’s very little chance you’re going to wear it next. Time to get rid of it — no matter how cute it is or how much it cost. It’s taking up space in your closet and it has to go."
• Get containers. "Once you’ve pared down the essentials that you want to keep, and after you’ve had a chance to clean them all, grab an airtight container (a closable bin, a zippered plastic bag, and/or a set of vacuum bags), fill it with the clothes and a couple of cedar blocks to keep away the bugs. "
• Find a place. "Find an out-of-the-way place to store these clothes until the weather starts getting warm again." One great option for clothing storage is to keep them under your bed.
• Examine Winter clothing. "Similarly, for your winter clothes which have been hibernating . . . examine each piece carefully. Make sure it still fits you, that it hasn’t been damaged since last season [by bugs, water, and smells], and make sure you still love it. If it fits all of those criteria, then move it to the front of the closet or the top of the dresser."