Dealing with Fear and Doubt

What are the two biggest roadblocks to achieving anything big?  In my opinion they are fear and doubt.  Fear causes us to shy away from doing the things we need to do in order to reach our goals.  Doubt causes us to second guess every decision we make.  These are internal factors and ones that we can do something about.

I have heard several descriptions of fear.  I have heard fear is false evidence appearing real as well as several others that I can't seem to remember right now.  I have also heard about the flight or fight response.  I was talking about the fight or flight response when it comes to being on stage with my homeschool co-op drama students last Tuesday.  I think that the whole concept of fight or flight and the release of adrenalin into our systems has been over simplified and misconstrued.  I love being on stage.  I have no fear of doing this and yet every time I am ready to get on stage I feel sick to my stomach.  My body releases adrenalin in order to give me extra energy to be vibrant on stage.  Athletes release adrenalin in order to help their bodies to perform better.  These times are not necessarily times of stress, but our subconscious minds send a signal for adrenalin to be released because we know that we need extra energy. I believe that this energy and clarity release has been confused as fear by this oversimplification.

There are two types of fear. There is the type of fear that causes the adrenalin to rush and creates extra energy.  This can be turned to something constructive and can be channeled into something productive.  If you channel that fear into action you will find that once engaged it will disappear.  This kind of fear is what brave people acknowledge and ignore.

There is another kind of fear.  This is the kind that stops us in our tracks and paralyzes us.  This is not necessarily a fear that causes that sick feeling in our stomach.  It often just turns our thoughts to ways we can avoid what we fear.  Its what makes us not approach someone or pick up the phone.  Its what makes us stick with the known and comfortable.  This kind of fear stops us from growth.  There is no accompanying energy release to prompt us to do something, anything.  There is just a sense of apathy and lack of motivation.

How do we overcome this kind of fear?  Once we recognize it for what it is then we can address the problem.  We can start asking what is it we fear.  Once we identify the fear and start thinking it through we begin to realize the result of confronting that fear will either have a great positive impact or if unsuccessful will really be no big deal.  For example, fear of rejection is something common that stops people from approaching someone new.  To address this you ask what will happen if this person rejects me or what I have to offer?  The answer is nothing, you just move on and go to the next person.  Once you can internalize this and face it you will find it quickly disappearing.

Doubt is usually a symptom of this kind of fear.  It causes you to ask lots of what if questions that can never be answered without following through on the what if.  It causes you to question your choices, what you have learned, and what you are capable of.  These doubts just feed into fear.  Doubt cause us to use other phrases such as I can't or it will never succeed.  Once again this is something you have to actively address by stopping negative thinking the second it begins.  If there is a legitimate question by all means seek out more information, but even then you are actively seeking a remedy to that doubt.

What can we conclude by this?  The only way to deal with fear and doubt is activity.  Address fear and doubt head on once you have proven to yourself that your fear and doubt have no validity then you are able to get out of your own way.

Changing trains on life's journey

Sometimes the train or path you are on was the right one at first, but it is not the train or path that will  get you to your ultimate destination.  Just like when I took a trip to Illinois from Virginia, the train I started on was not the train that got me to Chicago or my final destination.  In fact I changed trains twice in order to get to my destination on the Illinois Wisconsin border.  I got on the correct trains but they were only able to get me so far.

Likewise when we create our action plan for our goals and dreams the plan we start out with is the right plan for that time.  As we work it we learn and we grow.   Sometimes that plan will end in the achievement the plan was created for, but oftentimes our original plan will only take us so far.  That happens because although what it takes to reach that goal or dream doesn't change, but often our understanding of what it will take to reach it does.

My dream of financial independence began at age 18.  Each action plan I undertook gained me knowledge and experience.  Each new venture gave me a better understanding of what needed to happen to reach the goal of financial independence.  In the past I have always referred to these ventures as failures.  Maybe its time to look at things in a different perspective.

I started this journey not living in poverty, but overly concerned with financial stability.  We were not well off, we had to budget carefully, but we were not on welfare.  The problem was my parents openly talked about their money troubles regularly, couple that with a low self worth and I lived in a poverty mindset. Each venture I took while teaching me valuable knowledge and skills was doomed to end simply because I continued to live in a poverty mindset.  As a result that is what I continued to attract.  I was not ready to have an abundant life because I was not ready to accept one.

It was not until this last year that I have come to understand the concept of mindset and how our thoughts create our environment.  I lived in a negative and dark place.  Every minor glitch was a huge mountain to climb.  I am so thankful for Plexus products and the associations that have allowed me to change that.  I felt better and because I decided to try once again for that dream of financial independence I started reading mindset books, surrounded myself with positive and encouraging people and learned to make new connections.  In short I began to change the view I had of myself and what I deserved or could have in my life.  I finally began to prepare myself to accept an abundant life 28 years after I birthed the dream of financial independence.

A couple of months ago I started feeling that I was missing something.  I felt stuck.  As much as I liked Plexus and its compensation plan I began to feel that I wasn't quite connecting.  At first I thought I was looking for a better support and training system, but you know what with my mastermind groups and my 28 years of direct sales experience however hit and miss it was, I has all the knowledge I needed to be successful and new what to do and enough positive encouraging people in my life to have a cheering squad.

In spite of the great Plexus products, something began to click.  One of the mastermind groups I visited told me my best customers would be the lowest hanging fruit on the tree.  The problem was I wasn't hanging around people that wanted nutritional products.   I found myself trying to find customers and team members in groups of people I wasn't necessarily comfortable with.  My husband cemented this concept as he told me about his experiences in his job and people he could do business with in the short term but not the long term.  When I began to look at other opportunities not only did he urge me to research the company but find out if I would be comfortable with the type of people who would buy the products and the type of people who would become team members.

At first I began looking at well established companies represented in my referral group.  I was really interested in one until I started hearing some things I really didn't like.  Then I decided to do something really risky.  I looked up new opportunities.  There were 5 that looked promising because they offered unique concepts or products I liked.  I eliminated two right away leaving 3.  One of them I liked the product but realized there was part of the marketing of the product I just couldn't get into.  That left two companies that I contacted.  I would like to say that I chose the company that I did because it was the first to email me, but its not true.  I started talking to people about the two companies and the products they offered.  One I really loved the concept behind the products and the causes they supported, but it was pointed out to me just how hard this great concept would be to sell.  The other company offered early education products.  As a homeschool mom and someone who was raised around education I started to realize that this just might be my opportunity at the right time.  I did the research, asked the questions and found that these products were the kind of products that the people I would be comfortable around would be interested.  I saw the potential and the need and became very excited.  I signed up with this company last Monday as the 137th active consultant nationwide.

As I prepare to launch this new venture I have already discovered amazing things.  I have already had more positive responses and inquiries not to mention contacts in the last three days than I did in a year of any other company I have worked with.  I do not have the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I might fail at this one.  As I talk with people and begin to set up events I can share my product and company at, contact people who have already expressed an interest in it and soak in every bit of training and information I can on my new venture, and answer question about the products and company as they come, I am realizing just how 28 years of experience and effort just might help me become a so called overnight success this time.  My destination has never changed, but each new vehicle I have tried has gotten me much closer than I was when I started.  I am looking forward to what this journey will bring instead of fear that my final destination will never materialize.

Dealing with the everyday ups and downs

Sometimes life can be like a rollercoaster.  Its only Wednesday and already my week has been one big one.  Monday was going to be the start of something great right.  I was going to get back on track with my exercise programs since I was injury free and get everything done on my to do list.  Plus I was hoping to get the final question answered in a positive so that I could get begin a new business venture.  So instead this is how Monday went.

I got up, did my morning devotions and then began the start of my workout schedule.  That went well and all looked like it was going to be a great day.  I had my breakfast and noticed the dishwasher indicator lights were flashing.  I proceeded with doing all the tricks to clear it and get it started.  To my dismay the dishwasher had given up the ghost.  So it was time to add dishwasher shopping to my task list.  I was quickly getting things done and received the answer I was waiting for and was able to pull the trigger on launching my new business venture.  I was so excited and life was great.  I went to get in the car and start the errands I needed to do outside the house and guess what my car wouldn't start.  We had to get it towed to the service station.  With the use of my sons truck I was able to do a few of my errands.  That evening I went to a networking event and met a contact that will greatly help my new business venture and had a great time.  I came home to the news that my car would cost over $500 and a new dishwasher would have to wait.  That was just Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday have had both their ups and downs.  Most days don't have the severe swings that my Monday had but you will usually find it in a typical week.  What do we do about it?

Here is what I do.  First of all I recognize that all my plans aside I am not in control.  This is not a God thing, this is just what is.  Things happen.  I get injured so I can't work out.  Appliances break down, people get sick.  We can not control the events in our lives, but we can control how we react to them.  Do we let frustration rule as things don't go according to plan or do we take a breath and figure out a detour that will work.  Do we recognize that most of what is going wrong or different doesn't matter in the long run?

I heard from somewhere that it is a great idea to ask yourself, will this matter in 100 years. I think its from a book called don't sweat the small stuff.  The point was that most things are small stuff and don't matter in the overall picture of life.

If you can gain a new perspective on life and figure out that the ups and downs of life can be a fun ride instead of one filled with stress and anger then life becomes a little rosier.

Filling Your Bucket

Today I want to talk about the 2nd half of what Jenn Williamson spoke about last Friday.  Have you ever heard the phrase all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?  If you think about the word dull it doesn't just mean boring.  It means lacking sharpness.

When we have a to do list a mile long we have to prioritize our tasks.  Often the last thing on our priority list is ourselves.  We stop taking care of ourselves.  Sleep is sacrificed on the altar of productivity, but more than that we stop doing the things we love to do.

If you have a 40 hour a week job your most favorite thing to look forward to is vacation.  Often times people get back to work after vacation realizing that it could be another year before the next one and groan.  What else happens when you get back from a fun vacation?  Often times you will find yourself more productive for a time.  Unfortunately the trend in this country at least has become to bank your vacation days for the future or if you are not allowed to bank them get the money at the end of the year for them.

Why are we more productive after a vacation?  When you take the time to have some rest and relaxation, when you take the time to have some fun, you recharge your batteries and address the stress that you normally feel.  When you take the time to relax you reduce your cortisol levels and your adrenaline stops pumping you full of false energy.  You increase your endorphins and create sense of well being.

The questions becomes if we are more productive when we take some time out to do the things that we love, why don't we do it more often?  The answer always stated is that we don't have time.

So if we are less productive and more stressed when we stop doing the things we love how is that helping us?  The realization becomes that if we don't take time out for us to play and relax we are going at our work life and our action plans toward our dreams with a dull ax.

This doesn't mean that you reverse the phrase and become all play and no work.  It just means that you take reasonable measures to take care of yourself and do the things you love alongside the things that you are required to do to make a living and take care of your family.

So not only does sharpening your ax mean learning or honing your skills to achieve your dreams, it means that you take time out to do the things that make you smile and be your best self.

Back in pioneer times axes, where sharpened on a rotating grind stone.  This form required you to use water so a full bucket was kept close by to keep the stone wet.  We call this a whet stone.  So in order to sharpen your ax you need to fill your bucket first.

Sharpening Your Ax

I went to a lunch meeting with Business Among Moms today.  It is a great mastermind group for Moms who are also business owners.  We had a great speaker.  Her name was Jenn Williamson.  She is a Real Estate agent and life coach.  Her presentation had actually 2 parts, but I want to talk about the first half.  I will talk about the second part at another time.

Jenn talked about sharpening your ax.  She told a story about a man cutting down a tree.  a wise old man came along and asked how long he had been chopping and was told 5 or 6 hours.  This tree was not a very big tree so the wise old man asked is your ax sharp?  The man replied I don't have time to sharpen my ax.  the old man returned you don't have time not to.

Anything that we do takes a certain skill and mind set in order to have success.  Skill and mind set can be learned, but you have to take the time to do so.  What this means is that you need to set aside time on a regular basis to work on the skills and mindset that you need to be successful.


Skills can be learned through reading, workshops, podcasts, mastermind groups or classes.  Mind set can be learned both by the above named activities and by surrounding yourself with positive and motivated people.  Just being around people like that has an effect on how you view the world and your abilities.  These positive and motivated people have a way of making you feel like you can accomplish anything.

By working on personal development, you gain the skills you need to effectively work on the action plan you have created to achieve your goals and dreams.  If you are not progressing the way you had hoped, ask yourself what can I improve about me before deciding that the goal or dream is faulty.

Anybody can achieve their dreams.  They may take detours and meet dead ends along the way.  It may take way longer than they ever thought it would, but a positive mindset and a faith in your dream can make all the difference.

Researching the right opportunity

Direct Sales is big business, with the ability to set your own hours, choose who you work with and make money through duplication.  In the US alone there are 1,400 Direct sales companies to choose from and new ones being created all the time.  So how do you go about choosing the right one for you?

There are so many variables to look at.  How long has the company been around.  I found an opportunity that had a website begun only 36 days ago.  It looked kind of interested because it involved chocolate.  Then there are companies that everyone has heard of and have been around forever such as Avon, Watkins and MaryKay.  Then there are companies that fall somewhere in between.

  The problem with well known companies that have been around is that you often find consultants everywhere you turn around.  Even companies that have been around for 10 years can have that problem if they grew rapidly.  For the right people you can do very well in these companies and find yourself in leadership positions.  For others they are great starter companies with great training that will aid you in future opportunities.

The problem with newer companies are that these companies will have to deal with adjusting their programs as they grow.  The training is limited because of how few consultants there are and the financial stability is always in question.

Here are some suggestions for choosing the right company for you.

If you have never done direct sales before start with a very well established company that has regular meetings for training and recognition.  These companies have really established what works and what doesn't and you will have ready access to experienced leaders to answer questions and give helpful advice.

If you have been doing direct sales for awhile you might want to look at a much newer company that has unique products and few consultants.  This allows you to apply your experience to a company that just may have the rapid growth potential you are looking for.  Especially if they have a valuable product that a lot of people want with little competition.

In direct sales the biggest key is to find a company that has products you can become passionate about.  If a company has a great compensation plan, but you don't really like the products it will be very difficult to be successful.

Look at the compensation plan.  Does it make sense?  How does it compare to industry standard?  Will your time and work be adequately compensated?

Consumable products are great because they have to be replaced once they are consumed, but many companies with those kinds of products do require you to carry an inventory or you are required to rely on testimonials of others without product to demonstrate so while many can have great success with these kinds of products you should be very aware of the cons of selling them.

Party Plans are great because you are able to reach groups of people and its even better if you are able to do Facebook parties and have a website so you can sell to someone across the country.

One of the most important things you must look at when researching the right company for you is the leadership and the other consultants you would be working with.  In Direct Sales you are not alone and if you don't quite fit in with the people that you are meeting with on a regular basis it can curb your enthusiasm and make it difficult to connect with the trainings and culture of the company.

Make sure that you have an idea of what it is you are looking for.  Research reviews on the opportunity and the products.  Make sure that the company stands behind its products and supports its consultants.

All companies will have their complaints.  Make sure that the company that you work with had a record of dealing with those complaints to the satisfaction on the customer.

Overall if you want to have success in direct sales don't join a company because you went to a party or demonstration and liked the consultant and products.  Dig deeper than that and base your decision on research not emotion.

Excitement and Motivation

When a new business or project is undertaken people are often excited and motivated to work.  They talk to everyone they know about it and are full of energy.  Then as the newness wears off and maybe things are not going according to plan that energy and motivation seem to taper off.

What do you do when that happens?  What keeps you on task when the mundane workings take over the energy and excitement you had when it was new?

Most of our lives are filled with the mundane daily tasks it takes to survive in this world, from our own homes and families to our work worlds.  Most of us do not lead the kind of lives where exciting and new things are always on the horizon and we can't wait to see what each new day will bring.  Most of us lead lives where most days are filled with the same tasks and projects as the day before.

I personally deal with this all the time.  New projects are fun and exciting.  I have massive amounts of energy and motivation to get things done, but when things become routine and are no longer new, my excitement and energy die off.

Most overnight sensations took years to see that success.  Those who succeed and have the kind of life they want to lead spend years doing the mundane tasks it takes to reach their goals.

So how do we make the mundane fun and exciting again?

Many coaches train people to go back to their why and rely on that to keep the motivation going.  That may bring motivation, but it doesn't always bring excitement.  Putting things down on a to do list may help to motivate us and we can feel really good when we mark tasks off, but it still doesn't bring the excitement back.  You can make a game out of the mundane and then things can seem like they are going faster.

Overall I think the main way to find energy and motivation in the mundane is to change your perspective.  If you look at the daily tasks as just grunt work then that is all the mundane will ever be.  If you go at it with a different attitude as if each task you complete is one step closer to your goal, or learn new ways to do old tasks that can certainly help with the motivation and energy.

Find joy in the everyday.  Look for the possibilities in everything you do.  Say I get to instead of I have to.  Changing your words may not change your attitude at first but eventually you will begin to believe that you get to instead of you have to.  Look at what you have instead of what you have not and show gratitude for those blessings.

Eventually changing just a few things will get that attitude to change and you will find the energy and excitement in life you once had.

Monday is here again

Easter Weekend was filled with food, friends, family, fun and worship.  Friday night I did a ladies night out.  I found myself in a group of women who by far outclassed me and I was quite uncomfortable.   All of them had college degrees and actual careers.  Then here was me who attended community college, had spent my life raising children and was just starting out trying to build a direct sales business.  None of the other women were in direct sales.

Here is the thing.  Even though I was uncomfortable and left early, it was a good thing for me.  Because I didn't have a whole lot to contribute to the conversation, I just sat and listened.  That is something that I don't do very often.  I usually find some way to enter the conversation with a similar experience and try to dominate the conversation.  Yes I know this is not a good way to make friends and I am working on it.

One of the ladies there did pull me aside and we had quite a conversation.  I enjoyed talking with her and we did a little bit of networking.  I will be meeting with her on Wednesday to further that relationship.

This is just another example of how we don't grow in our comfort zones.

So today is the beginning of the typical work week.  I have written out my tasks for the week and the day and am as usual ticking them off one by one as I complete them.  I have added a couple of new tasks and have some things I was asked to do by my husband as I am exploring entering into a new business venture.

These new tasks will ultimately give me a different start at this potential business than I have ever done before.  If I take this new business on, it will be after continuing to do research on the company and people I will be involved with as well as well as lining up customers before I begin.  This is different because I have undertaken all other ventures based on emotion and the hope that my launch party will set me up for success.

By doing things differently than I have before I am hoping to change the result.  What I have done in the past hasn't worked and I shouldn't expect that to change if I try the same things again.

Life is certainly interesting and I can't wait to see where I will be at this time next year.

I am not alone

Last night I went to a Business Among Moms mastermind group.  The subject was remembering your why.  For the meeting we did a plaque to hang where we can see it to remind us of our why.  As we were working on our art project we went around the table and talked about each of our why's.

Here is what I found out listening to the other 6 Mom's at the table.  All of us were doing our businesses for some sense of identity and purpose outside our family.  We wanted to reach out to people and create a sense of sisterhood and community.

When I became honest with myself and realized my why was about being something more than I was, I thought I was being pretty darned selfish.  The truth is that I have found out that most of the women in direct sales or coaching type businesses are doing it for similar reasons.  All of us feel our families are important and want to be available to them, but we want to have more than just that.


Before the women's movement there was a sense of community and sisterhood among women.  There were sewing and quilting circles, there was neighborhood get togethers when the children were in school.  Women filled their time with helping others in the community as well as tending the hearth and home.

Once women went to work that sense of community and sisterhood suffered. Now we often see women pitted against women and a sense of competition instead of a spirit of support and caring.  We were told that we could have it all work, family and self.  So many women are stressed out just trying to work, care for their family and home leaving little time for themselves. Those who stay home have a sense of being less and loss of identity.

I have seen a trend toward a rejection of these things.  There are life coaches, Mom's support groups, Business groups for Mom's or women.  There is a trend towards women looking to leave the traditional work force in favor of things like Direct sales, coaching and blogging.  I think that this is a growing trend and a good one.  As much as we would like to believe otherwise, we do not have superpowers.  We have the same finite time each day as everyone else.  There has to be a happy medium between trying to be Superwoman and losing ourselves in our family responsibilities.  I think that many women are coming to realize that there are ways to do this.

We all were gifted with talents, strengths and weaknesses.  There is nothing wrong with using them and growing personally at the same time that you are raising your children, but it doesn't mean you have to leave their care to someone else while you pursue that growth either.

What I learned from failure?

I have been doing Direct sales off and on for the last 20+ years.  I have tried 8 different companies and must I say it, failed at every one of them.  I've done make-up, jewelry, nutritional supplements,home decor and kitchen aids.  I have never made more than a few hundred at each one.  Does this sound like you?

At one point I told my husband I would never do another direct sales company ever again.  What's the phrase never say never?  A little over a year ago I decided to hop on board another company saying that this time would be different.  It was.  I still have not become a leader or had a lot of customers, but that is okay.  I learned so much about what has been holding me back.

Earlier I did a post about reaching my dreams one business at a time, and yet I am considering doing another business.  Why is that?

When it comes to social skills and sales I am not the best person for it.  Personal interaction is not my strong suit.  With each of the companies I have learned a little bit more about what doesn't work for me.  I have also learned some things that do work for me.  Each company that I have worked for has given me valuable knowledge on how to run a business, how to do product presentations and how to interact better with other people.

I have come to realize that as much as I like the Plexus products, that I need to have good local leadership that does training, recognition, and opportunity meetings I can take people to.  I also need to have a product to show and not just rely on samples and testimonials.

So as I think about taking on another company I have learned that I need to do things differently than I have ever done it.  If I am going to do a party based business I need to get 3 people committed to being a hostess before I sign up.  I need to have a large launch party with more bookings coming from it.  Getting the training on doing Facebook parties will help me with that.

You may ask if I am not good at something, why do I insist on continuing to do it?  Well I do have dreams.  I do want to be more financially independent and have my own income without having to put my youngest child in daycare.  I want to be debt free and have the money to give to causes I wish to support.  I do want to be able to say I want to go do this and have the money to do it.

It took Thomas Edison 10,000 tries before he successfully created a light bulb.  Persistence will eventually pay off for me and I will be able to achieve my dreams.

Consistency is The Key to Success

Now that you have your dreams written down and an action plan to achieve them that means that you will be automatically successful right?  Wrong!  In order to get where you want to be it takes working your action plan on  a consistent basis.

If you are looking at nutrition and fitness that means you need to get out and exercise at least 3 times a week, every week.  It also means following your nutrition plan daily.  For a new business that means you need to be doing income producing activities weekly if not daily depending on what type of business you have and what level of success you want to achieve.  If you are in direct marketing and you want to reach the top of your company's pay chart  quickly then you need to be working your business 5-6 days a week, every week.  If you want to have a working business, but not necessarily get to the top the company then you need to be doing those income producing activities 2-3 days a week, every week.

Whatever goal that you have set you need to do the activity it takes to get there.  The key is the consistency.  If you want to write a book but only have one day a week to work on it then you need to work on it that one day every week.

If you only work your action plan on a hit and miss basis or when you remember, it is highly unlikely that you will actually reach your goal.

So take a look at what your dream or goal is.  Look at what time you have to spend on it and then set a schedule for when you will work on it.  What ever that time set aside be it many or few hours weekly its working those hours every week that will get you to where you want to go.

Going from Negative to Positive Mindset

I grew up with a negative mindset.  This is because I was always told you can't do that or its time to give up.  There were times when I wanted something so bad that I ignored that mindset and just kept going after what I wanted, but more often I listened to that voice that said it will never happen.  I spent my life listening to that negative voice of its not possible, it will never happen and I can't.

I was able to change that dialog in my head. I do have my bad days and it is a constant battle to override that negative programming, but I have changed my outlook on life.


Are you wanting to know how I did it yet?  Its both simple and complicated.  Simple because the tasks required to make these changes are simple.  Complicated because it is a lot of work.

The first thing that I had to do was to identify the negative voice inside my head.  Then every time that voice spoke up I had to decide to stop that thought and replace it with something positive.  Once I was able to do that then I had to intentionally create a positive voice in my head.

Here are some of the ways I did that:

1. Affirmations both morning and night.

2. Read positive quotes daily

3. Read self development books by people like Tony Robbins and Dick Tracey

4.  Find groups of positive people to associate with

5. Find a purpose and work toward that.

When you have negative programming it seems like almost every thought is doom and gloom.  You may not even realize it but those negative thoughts are reactionary in nature.  these thoughts facilitate irrational fear.  This fear prevents you from getting out of your comfort zone and growing.  Through positive thinking you can become proactive.

When I first started this process I realized just how much of my thinking was negative in nature.  Most of my thought processes involved some level of negativity.  These thoughts caused me to isolate myself from the world.

Changing my thought processes did not happen overnight.  It took over a year of doing the things listed above.  I am by no means cured of negative programming.  If I stop doing these simple activities I do revert back to that negative programming.  One day I hope that I will completely overcome that negative programming, but for now I will just keep working toward that end.

Detours and Silver Linings

Last week I wasn't able to get anything done.  I caught a cold and then hurt my back.  Every time I coughed or sneezed I hurt my back more.  Besides the cold medicine I was taking a muscle relaxer so I was not exactly with it.

So now I am able to move around and I am on the tail end of my cold so its time to get back to business.  Things happen.  We find detours along our journey, but remember your destination remains the same.

It would be so easy to step back and say that's it.  I give up.  I can't gain the momentum I need to succeed if I am going to keep having these curve balls thrown at me.  The trick is to learn how to allow for those unexpected happenings and adjust your goals and timing in order to achieve your dreams.

I have a friend who is a runner.  She has run half marathons and Tough Mudder races.  She injured herself and has been unable to run.  That didn't stop her, she decided take a detour and become a certified personal trainer.  She is hoping that her physical therapist will allow her to get back to running soon, but in the meantime she is helping others to get fit and healthy.


Taking a slight detour does not have to mean giving up on your original goal.  It just means that you are adding some additional experiences to your journey.  Once the detour is over than you can resume your original path.  You never know when that detour might make the difference and change your path just enough to push you to the success you desire.

Look for the silver linings in the clouds and you will find your journey to be so much more than you ever thought it could be.