Why I chose to sell Early Childhood Education Products

I have dabbled with Direct sales for over 20 years.  I have tried to sell many kinds of products for many different reasons.  Usually I fall in love with a product or the idea of being able to earn a large income.  So far it hasn't worked out well for me, but I have learned a little bit more with each venture I have tried.  I vowed I would never do direct sales again, but then I found Plexus a company with some great health products that have really helped me be the person I wanted to be.

After a year of being with Plexus I realized that something was missing and that health products were just not my niche.  I still use them religiously and if I find out they can help someone else have no problem sharing those products with others.

I began a search for something else without even realizing I was doing it.  I joined a referral group and started listening to what some of the other companies were offering.  I even seriously looked at signing up with one of them, but after my husband told me to look deeper, I found too many things I didn't like about the company I investigated.  I thought I was looking for a company that I would meet often in person with, but I realized my mastermind groups were enough encouragement for me to find a start up to work with.

I got the idea to look at what was new in direct sales and found 6 different companies that I was interested in.  As I looked at them more closely I quickly narrowed it down to 2.  Then I started talking to my husband about both of them.  We discussed the cons of both of them before we addressed the pros.  We determined that while the other company had a great idea behind their products they were a little more difficult to sell because you had to convince people of the validity behind the idea for the products.

I grew up in a home with parents who were teachers.  Not just any teachers, but special education teachers.  My mom had a special needs home day care before she got her teaching degree.  I chose not to go into teaching because I didn't like what I heard when they discussed work at the dinner table, but I found myself in positions where I was teaching anyway throughout my life.  I found myself being regularly in contact with families of special needs families and I had 2 children with their own set of special needs.  Then I had my youngest and I was faced with a different challenge of having a child who was academically advanced at a young age.

I started homeschooling which was something I had also vowed never to do.  As I started looking at Fundanoodle Learning, I realized that these products created by Pediatric Occupational Therapists and Early Childhood Education Specialists were ones that I wished I had had not just earlier in my youngest's education but with my daughter who was diagnosed with disgraphia in 5th grade.  These were products that could benefit so many not only with special needs, but with the average child as well.

Because of my background and who I associate with now, I found that these were products that spoke for themselves.  It also helped that there were only 2 other distributors in my state.  I don't have to convince people that there is a need for these products. I just have to show them that their children will use them and enjoy them.  It only took half of my life, but I finally found the company that I belong with.  I am a teacher at heart even if I didn't go to college to become one.

How do we maintain our integrity in our current world climate?

Integrity is fading away in a world that people will do anything to make a buck, gain an office or find fame.  Businesses cut corners and lower quality while raising prices, celebrities go by the phrase no publicity is bad publicity and our leaders make promises they never intend to keep.

Direct sales has a bad name because of the many scams and pyramid schemes out there , not to mention those who operate their businesses using deceptive advertising and promises of lots of money for doing nothing, but putting their automatic system in place.

We see the lack of integrity in our media everyday as the news no longer reports with an unbiased eye to what is going on and now reports using a political agenda to vet their stories.  We have fake news sites, so much so that Facebook has had to put procedures in place to ferret them out and inform people.

Our political leaders twist and omit facts in order to deceive the public about what is in their best interest.  They use scare tactics instead of facts in order to get the people to follow them.  They can be caught in lie after lie and people still vote for them.

Sports figures, movie stars and musicians are all over the magazines, reporting on their bad behavior and our children hold them as role models.

So how do we maintain our own integrity in a world where it seems that you can't get ahead by doing so?

We start at home.  We do what we say we will do.  We keep our promises to our friends and families. We are honest with ourselves and others.  Then we turn around apply it to our career and business life.

We maintain our integrity in business by following through on our promises.

We maintain our integrity by being honest in our advertising and promotions.

We maintain our integrity by offering the best customer service we can.

We maintain our integrity by putting people above money.

We maintain our integrity by not poaching other peoples prospects and customers.

 We maintain our integrity by asking to use other distributors ideas for promotion and advertising.

We maintain our integrity by admitting when we don't know something.

We maintain our integrity when we admit when we are wrong.

Our integrity is what keeps our reputation from becoming tarnished.  When we have a solid reputation then people are more likely to refer friends and family to us and continue on as customers.  Integrity matters even in a world where it doesn't seem like it.

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales

So this weekend I went to see the 5th installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series.  I had already seen the other 4 so this was something I had to go see.

I won't do any spoilers so don't be afraid to read this is you haven't seen it yet.  In this movie you will find at least an appearance of the original characters from the 1st and second movies.  Then there are some definite new characters.  The CGI in this movie is great, but you will find a recycling of old ides from all of the previous movies.  You have the quest, the ghosts and Jack's crew.

I will say that this 5th movie does bring all the movies full circle and closes out the storyline while leaving it open for more adventures with Jack Sparrow.

Is this movie appropriate for all family members?  Some of the scenes can be quite scary and there is quite a bit of sexual innuendo.  Where  other movies imply Jack's drunkenness this movie outright shows it.  I wouldn't bring any child under 13 to it.

Overall there were some parts of the movie that were quite slow, but you were kept hoping for the continuance of the movie.  While it wasn't my favorite movie of the year I did find it enjoyable.  I would rate this movie 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Will there be another movie? I think that will depend on the numbers from this movie and if the writers can come up with a new storyline.  If it is a smash hit there will probably be another one, but if it only does so so I believe they will move on to other ideas.

Memorial Day Weekend and Me

I am writing this on the Friday of a Memorial Day weekend.  Memorial Day is a lot of different things to people.  Its a 3-4 day weekend off from work.  Its time to spend with family.  Its the unofficial start to summer.  Its time to enjoy the warming weather and more laid back attitude that comes with the heat.

For our family, Memorial Day is the 1st big holiday that we celebrate in the year as an extended family.  Every year we have some kind of Barbecue or Fish fry inviting all the family and closest friends.  This year the guest list is 37 I have been told.

Our large gatherings have a tendency to be rife with family drama and tension.  We may try to curtail any issues that may be occurring, but something inevitably erupts when you have that many people in a small space.

I have had business associates that claim Memorial Day weekend is a great time to go out and network.  There are so many festivals and gatherings that new people are never in short supply.

I would like to take a moment and talk about the real reason for Memorial Day.  Memorial Day was started shortly after the civil war, in 1868,  to honor those who died fighting it.  It was called Decoration Day.  Then as time went on and more wars were fought those war dead began to be included, but it wasn't until 1971 that the name was changed to Memorial Day and became a national holiday.

Although I can trace family members who have been in the military during each war and conflict since World War II I have been fortunate to not have any family members that died while fighting.  I honor their service by raising my children to honor their country and the sacrifices made for the freedoms we enjoy today.

Many of the men and women who died for these freedoms we enjoy, did so out of a feeling of needing to serve the country they loved.  Some died believing in the cause they were fighting so vigorously for.  Some had no choice in joining the fight because they were drafted.  Some fought because circumstances required it.  All gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy the freedom we have today, to live our lives the way we want.  We have the right to vote, protest, speak against our government, and organize to change what we believe to be social wrongs.  All because these men and women gave their lives for us to be able to do that.  There are so many countries that don't have those rights.

Whatever your political affiliation, I hope that at some point this weekend you can take a moment to pause and remember the price that was paid for you to live the life you live today.  This weekend is not about politics its about the sacrifices individuals have made and still make daily to ensure our freedoms.

Finding my voice

A few years ago I wrote a book.  It was a work of fiction and I had been attending meetings associated with the Romance Writers of America.  Among the local group were several published authors so they were able to give tips and tricks to getting published.  I finished my book and proceeded to shop my book around.  I actually received a response from a publisher which I was told was unusual for a first attempt.  The letter stated that I had a great idea but they had stronger authors they chose to go with.  I was told by members of the writers group that I needed to find my voice.  That style that made the story uniquely mine.

At the time I didn't quite understand what they meant and I pretty much gave up on the idea of writing.

Here we are today and I am writing again.  No I am not working on a great work of fiction or even what used to be called a dime store novel.  My writing efforts have been channeled into writing this blog.  I didn't read a lot of blogs before I started writing mine.  As a result of this instead of subconsciously copying someone else's style I have developed a way of writing that is completely me.  Nothing I write is artificial or insincere.  What I write comes from the heart and from my own learning experiences.

When I was young I loved to perform.  Singing dancing and theater.  I did Pageants for quite  few years.  I even play the piano and organ.  I learned to perform technically well, learned to interview really well and did everything I could to interact with my audience appropriately, but like my writing something was missing.  There was a genuineness that I was lacking.  It all boiled down to one thing.  I hadn't found my own voice.  I didn't know who I was.  I had spent so much time trying to be what everyone else needed me to be that I had buried who I was very deep.  I continued to do that well into my 40's

It has taken me a lifetime, but I am finally discovering who I am and just where my voice is.  I may one day get another idea for a fiction book and try it again, but for now I continue to find and refine my newly discovered voice.  If you are searching for your own voice, don't get discouraged.  Time and circumstances have brought you to where you are.  You will find it when the time is right and the lessons you needed to learn have been taught.  Finding your voice is a process.  There is nothing you can do to speed it up.  One day you will wake up and realize that you are ready and it will come.  until that day just keep at it and enjoy the journey.

Seeds and future growth

When you plant a garden with seeds, you bury the seeds in the ground and you don't see them any more.  You water and wait until 10-15 days later you start to see some sprouting.  Then the real work begins.  As things start to grow you can see how things are a little too close together so you thin out what you have planted.  As the days go by you notice weeds growing and must pluck them out before they sap the water and nutrition from the good plants.  You water and care for your garden until months later you are able to harvest what you have sown.

Some years, all your work will bring a bounteous harvest because the weather conditions were just right and the pests were kept at bay.  Other years, the harvest is lean due to bad weather, disease or bugs.  Sometimes the harvest is bad because you did not do enough to ensure a good harvest and other times you have no control over the elements.

Life is much like that.  When you begin a goal or start a business you begin by planting the seeds.  For goals you create an action plan and begin to implement it.  For businesses you begin to approach potential customers and partners.  You will find that things will not move smoothly right away.  In fact it might feel like you are getting nowhere fast.

As you continue to work toward your goals or on your business and nurture the seeds that you have planted then you will slowly begin to see some results.  Then it will be time to really buckle down and get to work.  Continue to develop the business relationships and work on your action plan.

Sometimes things will happen that you have no control over.  These things will hinder the process a bit.  Sometimes things will grow bigger than you had anticipated and sometimes your own lack of attention will lessen your result.

Much like a garden it can take 3 months or more before the harvest is apparent.  It takes work, patience and perseverance before you begin to see success.  So ask yourself, what seeds are you planting today?  What am I doing to nurture seeds I have planted before and what weeds are growing hindering my progress?

We reap what we sew.  Don't expect to see good results if you haven't done the work to get there.  Gardening, personal and business growth are active undertakings not passive ones.

Mourning with Manchester

I do not want to get political.  I don't want to offend or alienate anyone, but today I have a heavy heart.

Last night a bomb went off at the end of a concert in Manchester, England.  This was not a military target.  This was not a political gathering.  It was a concert where those in attendance were mostly children and teenagers.

Today 22 families have lost their loved ones.  Today 59 other families are dealing with injured loved ones and today there are families still, who do not know where their loved one is.

A parent should not outlive their child and to have one taken in such a senseless act is an even bigger shock to the system.

I don't care what religion or political affiliation you are with, but any ideology that encourages the taking of innocent life in order to control what the population thinks, says or does is wrong.  To not only condone, but encourage people to go after children is incomprehensible.

Filling the world with kind and loving acts is the only way to combat this ideology.  Reaching out to those who are not like you lets them know that they are a human being who is cared about.  Being kind costs nothing and can be worth so much more.

Today let us mourn with those who mourn.  Tomorrow let us take action to change the dialog by being kind, going the extra mile and serving even the most difficult to serve.  If we do then the world just might become a better place.

Yes we must take action to prevent this from happening again.  We do need to find ways to stop those who would harm, but kindness and love can stop someone who is on the fringe from taking that step into the abyss that will continue this madness.

Its all about commitment

The other day I realized that several things were happening in my life.  I was not meeting my weight loss goals and I was not meeting my business goals.  In fact things seemed to be going the wrong direction.  I needed to figure out why.  Here was the reason.  I stopped doing the things I needed to do to achieve my goals.

Why did I stop doing those things to help me to meet my goals?  My commitment level dropped.  I was more interested in the right now than the long term picture.

So what do I do about it.  It is time to recommit myself to my dreams and goals.  It is easy to stay committed when everything is falling into place and going the right way.  When things are a struggle it is easier to drop back and say I don't want to do that today.  I want to do something else.

Yes I want to lose weight so that I am healthy, fit and have the energy I need to do all the other things I have planned for my life.  Exercise and monitoring my food is hard.  Someone once said it is hard to be sick and tired and it is hard to exercise and eat right.  Choose your hard.  Taking my supplements is great but unless I exercise and regulate my food I don't get all of the benefits.  I still get some, but I am no where near where I want to be in my health.

Getting a business off the ground is not an easy prospect.  Finding the right products or services and reaching the right people can seem overwhelming.  When things don't go as planned it is so easy to throw up your hands and say that's it I quit.

For me my business isn't necessarily all about the money.  I do see the benefits of having more money and being able to do more with my family or being able to help others.  Most of why I do my business centers on becoming the best me I can be.  Health wise, socially, skill wise and personality wise it is better for me to have something productive to do other than raising my children and taking care of the home.

Once again I can live my life miserable because it has no clear purpose or meaning or I can work to create something that will not only benefit me but others as well.  Once again choose your hard.

Commitment in the beginning is easy, its easy when things are going right.  So its when things are not going the way we want or as quickly as we want that our commitment waivers.  All of us will face this challenge.  Being aware of our waning commitment is half of the battle.  Once you see it you have a decision to make.  Recommit yourself or give up.  It is that simple.  You either stay committed to your goals or you move on.

Don't make the decision lightly.  You see what you are up against.  Are you really ready to do what it takes to make it work? Can you afford to not make it work?  Where will you be if you give up?  Will your life be better or worse in the long term with either decision?  Being committed is up to you.  No one else can do it for you.  So what will it be recommit or give up?

Fitness and the reality of life

When I was young I loved to dance but hated doing anything like sports, run etc.  Hiking was ok, but I much preferred to stay inside and read a book.  My metabolism was very fast so I could eat anything I wanted, but as a teenager at 5 feet 4 3/4 and 124 pounds I felt I was fat.  I ate because I liked food even though I hated that my body reality didn't fit with my vision of it.

Fast forward many many years.  I still don't like doing anything that is considered exercise, but I know that its important so I schedule workouts and grit my teeth while I do them.  Unlike some people I don't release feel good endorphins and it is a chore to get through a workout.  I don't feel more energized after a workout and I don't feel bad when I don't workout.  My metabolism has slowed quite a bit and eating anything I wanted has gotten me to over 200 pounds.  Granted I build muscle quickly so I don't look anything close to my weight since there is a lot of muscle under the padding I do have.

These are not excuses, these are the realities that I face.  I do really well with my workouts and fizzle on controlling my diet or I do really well with my diet but fizzle on my workouts.  When I am doing well on my workouts I do really well for a short time and then I find reasons to not work out.  When I am doing really well with both I can lose weight but then something comes along and halts all of my progress.  With the supplements that I take I don't crave the sugar like I have in the past and eating a lower carb diet is much easier.  The cravings are gone, but that doesn't mean that if I see food on tv or feel bored that I don't go looking for food.

Food and I have a very difficult relationship.  I like to eat.  Its one of the few vices I have.  That and reading too much.  TV doesn't hold the attraction it once had but food and reading can overrun any good intentions that I have.  The reason that I liked dancing, was the social aspect of it or being able to perform for other people.  Neither of those is available to me so dancing no longer holds the appeal it once had either.  I know that I want to be physically fit.  I want to stay healthy and able for as long as I can, but exercise for one who really doesn't like it, is way too easy to find excuses to avoid.

I battle each day for what  I want more, to lose weight and become fit, or have the fleeting pleasure of food right now.  It took me years and 4 pregnancies to get to where I am and getting to the fitness level I would like to be at will not happen overnight either.  I find myself trying to recommit daily only to have my discipline leave me at a critical time.  I have a hard time with a lifestyle change that will see me limiting or eliminating foods that have been my comfort, my pleasure or my boredom killer for the rest of my life.

The struggle is real and even with all the commitment and determination that I have I still find it difficult to follow through on what I need to do in order to like myself in the mirror again, but then again I never did like myself in the mirror.  I guess I need to learn to like myself where I am now so that once I get to where I want to be fitness wise I can like myself in the mirror even better.

Book Review: Out of the Frying Pan

I love to read so I will be adding a weekly book review to my blog.  I read many different kinds of books but I especially look for books without profanity, sex or other adult situations.

This weeks book:Out of the Frying Pan by Michelle Griep & Kelly Klepfer

This is a great book featuring murder, romance and sleuthing senior citizens.  If you think that a book taking place in a retirement community would be boring then think again.

Fern and Zula are widowed sisters-in-law living together in a retirement community.  One is quite conservative while the other is very colorful and maybe even a little scatter brained. One morning they come across their murdered community cook and they try to be oh so helpful in solving the case.

Things are not as they seem in this little community and when KC hears of the trouble her Aunties are invloved in, quickly flies out to try to keep them out of more trouble.  The dashing detective Jared Flynn has all the ladies of the community bringing out their granddaughters and nieces to meet him.

Solving mysteries is not all these ladies, do in the midst of this, there is a bit of matchmaking going on not to mention their own dating lives.

There is a lot to follow in this book.  There are surprising twists throughout the book and this was one mystery I didn't solve a 3rd of the way through.  So there is nothing predictable about the plot or characters.

Overall this book was a fun read.  The book does have a Christian theme running through it, but it is not very heavy.  If you enjoy mystery, romance and quirky characters I think you will like this book even if you are not Christian.  The religion portion is really just a reflection of who the characters are and in no way preachy.

Aging Gracefully or not

My newly married daughter and expectant mother asked me if I was going to write about becoming a grandmother.  I told her no at the time, because I was trying to gear my blog toward personal development, not my life.  She teased me that I just didn't want to admit that I will be a grandmother.  Since then the focus and purpose of my blog has changed.

Here is my truth.  I am closer to 50 than I am to 40.  For all intents and purposes I am a middle aged woman.  I just don't fee like one.  If I didn't have all the responsibility, didn't have to go to a club or bar or had a husband that would go with me, I would go dancing every weekend.  I had my first mid-life crisis at 30, dreading that all the best things in my life had happened, and that my life would be all downhill from there.  I even tell people I can't be old enough to have a grandchild I have a 6 year old.


If you couldn't tell I am fighting my age with everything that I have.  Yes I can recognize all the wisdom and knowledge that my time on Earth has brought.  The problem is that we live in a society where youth and beauty are held in greater regard than wisdom and experience.  In women that holds especially true.  Male TV, Movie, and Media stars can be considered sexy and sought after well into their 50's while women are often less sought after once they reach their 30's.

The first gray hair I saw sent me into a panic mode, coloring my hair and finding ways to hide the natural aging process.  The thing is no one else was seeing the gray hair because I have a lot of natural gold highlights in my hair and from a distance just blended in.  The hair coloring wouldn't stay in the gray hairs so I moved to highlighting my hair to mask the gray more easily.  That  meant costly and time consuming upkeep.  I finally decided to accept that my hair was going to gray much sooner than I wanted it to.

The next thing I did was to stop looking back at how much I had lived and start looking forward to how much I still had left to live.  One can accomplish a lot in 20-30 years.  Look at Grandma Moses or Mother Theresa.  Look at Oprah Winfrey.  Just because we are aging doesn't mean we have to stop reaching for our goals and dreams.  In fact the older we get the more we can appreciate those accomplishments as we fight for them.  We no longer take them for granted.

So maybe I am not ready to hear the word grandma used in my presence, but at least I can find ways to leverage my age and energy into more positive thoughts and actions.  After all the reality is age is just the number of years we have been on this planet.  We can feel and act as young as we want to.  We just need to make sure that we keep good maintenance on our bodies so that we don't break down sooner than we have to.

Homeschooling, co-ops and taking the road less traveled

I am a Home Schooling Momma.  This being said I am not anti-public schools.  I do have 3 adult children that graduated from public school and received a good education that fit their needs.  My youngest child however did not fit the public school mold.

I am raising a highly intelligent 6 year old.  At age 18 months she was already counting to 20, knew all the letters and colors and showed a highly active imagination.  She also started suffering from night terrors.  I realized that this child would not do well in a public school setting.  We have been a single income family for most of our marriage and private school was just not in the budget.

I started doing formal preschool at 2 1/2 because my child was so curious that she needed some structure just so she would stop getting into so much trouble.  This last September if I had enrolled her in public school she would have been placed in a half day Kindergarten.  We are in the process of completing 2nd grade curriculum.

This has been an interesting journey to say the least.  Dealing with a child that says things that make her sound like a little adult, but having the attention span and behavior of a 6 year old.  Her sleep issues make things extra difficult as she wakes up with nightmares almost every night and doesn't like to go to bed at night.  As much as I would like to keep to a schedule, when she is tired, doing school work becomes a fight.

This last year we found a co-op to join.  Once a week we go meet with them and my daughter has the opportunity to take some enrichment classes and socialize with other children.  Before co-op she attended church, went to library programs and then to indoor and outdoor playgrounds.  Going to the co-op means she is forming bonds and friendships instead of just learning to play nicely with others.

Doing school at home means I have a lot more flexibility with how I teach my daughter.  My girl loves science so we do a lot of hands on learning for science.  We can sit down and read a book or play reading games on the computer.  For history I can sit her down to watch a video or have her do some worksheets.  Yes I still have a set curriculum that we are working on but I only spend about 2-3 hours on school with her depending on how cooperative she is that day.

We have passes to the aquarium and are able to teach lifestyle skills along with our formal curriculum which means I can turn any situation into a learning situation.  For now this works for us.  As she gets older and her attention span gets longer I will be able to do more sit down work.  I already have plans for her to be enrolled in an online accredited high school when the time comes.

This is a lot of work, but when you have an unconventional student sometimes an unconventional approach to learning is the best.

Book Club, can 4 different people find a book that they can all like?

My women's group at church decided to have a book club as an enrichment activity.  Being the book lover that I am, I jumped right on the idea of leading it.  I had all these great ideas of books that we could read and discuss.  Then I talked to the other 3 people who had signed up for book club and ran into problems right away.

The 1st problem I ran into was that not everyone was on electronic media for reading.  The 2nd one was that there were those in the group that didn't want to pay for books and wanted to get them from the library.  There went my entire list of books to read and discuss right there.  Then I found that we all had different interests for what we read.

We are a religious group so we don't want to be reading books with graphic love scenes or profanity, nor do we want to read books with graphic violence.  Do you see a trend in that our reading pool is rapidly dwindling?  I had a difficult time getting a book to read for our first month and put off our monthly meeting for April.  Then I decided I had a book that was given out at a youth library event by a local author that was on the top 100 books for 2012.  I thought I had a winner.  It was available at the library and I already had a copy.

So last week I started to read the book,  20 pages in and there were 2 swear words not to mention some very adult situations.  I stopped right there and decided to not even finish the book.

Tonight is our first book club meeting.  One of the group did manage to get through the book so I guess she can tell us about it, but the biggest thing that I hope to accomplish is to agree on some rules as to what kind of books to read and where to find them.

In a world were sex sells, it is quite difficult to find wholesome good books to read.  Most of the clean books are teen reading or authors that are not well known.  The additional problem is that our library system no longer purchases trade paperbacks. They only order hardback or the larger size paperback books.

I am bound and determined to make this work.  Yes there are challenges, but by working together I think the 4 of  us can come up with some books we can all agree on.  Remember its not avoiding the challenges that make life interesting its in how you deal with the challenges that we all run into on a daily basis.

Mother's Day and ALL It Stands For

In my faith and the way that I was raised we put a lot of emphasis on Mother's Day.  Maybe even more than Father's Day.  For us its about honoring Mother, future Mothers and those who would be Mother's if they could.  Its a celebration of womenhood and all that it stands for.

This has caused a little bit of an issue for our family.  Our oldest daughter married into a family that does not hold Mother's Day in the same regard.  Her husband's family only uses  Mother's Day to honor those who have children and even then, without the importance placed on the day.

In order to overcome that issue, my husband not only honors his Mother and myself, but his sisters and our two adult daughters.  He does this to let all the adult women in the family know that they are valued and respected and teaches our daughters to expect to be treated accordingly.

In spite of that little glitch, Mother's Day was a great day.  I went to church where they honored Mother's,then I got to do a little relaxing.  In the evening we went over to my husband's sister's house for a family Mother's Day celebration.    There were 27 people there.

My gifts were small but thoughtful from a glass water bottle, cards and christian themed coloring book from my husband, to a necklace, stuffed owl, cards and a painting given by my children.

I made sure to call my Mother as well.  There was a Facebook Meme going around before Mother's Day claiming Mother's Day is not about you it's about your Mother.  That is a difficult sentiment for those whose mothers no longer live or live very far away.

For me I will always see Mother's Day as a celebration of Women and their rightful role in the world.  A place where women can be honored for their potential to give life.  I feel that motherhood is the most important role a woman can have and I will not be ashamed of that opinon.

Just because its hard It doesn't mean I can't do it

 Gardening has not been my favorite thing.  There is a reason for that.  I have tried to grow plants several times over the years from outdoor gardening to indoor plants.  My husband says that I am the only person who he has seen kill a spider plant.

  As part of our home school curriculum I decided to do a garden with my daughter this year.  The pictures you see are what my garden beds look like today.  My strawberry plants were planted a little late in the season.  We did get a few small strawberries, but we found that the animals really liked strawberries.  My lettuce is looking pretty good and I am looking at harvesting them in a couple of weeks.

We also planted tomatoes which seem to be thriving so far and a cucumber plant.  These tomatoes and cucumbers are in pots so we will see how they fare.  Now I planted carrots, Kohlrabi, beets, cantalope, beans, and cucumber from seeds in April.  They are growing well.  In fact my pea plants have blooms.

Last week I planted corn & watermelon as well. We do not see sprouting yet, but it has only been a week.

Why am I writing about my gardening exploits?  Well this is one of the things that I have challenges in and yet I am still attempting to do it after numerous failures.  This year may not bring a bounteous harvest, but I will be able to harvest something and that is better than I have done before.  I am encouraged at the progress I have made so far.  As I am working with this years garden I am already looking at what can be done better for next year.

I am a person who has a tendency to stay away from anything that I do not do well.  I am really working on changing that.  I can't get better at something if I don't work on improving it.

Evolving Myself and My Purpose Through Branding

As I have been going through this journey this last year and a half I have been hearing a word from many different sources.  That word is Branding.  It is a hot word in the direct sales community that wasn't there when I started.

So what is branding?  Branding is making you stand out from all of the other direct sales people in your company.  Its the reason that people go to you instead of someone else.  It is what draws people to you.  If you do your branding right people will remember you instead of someone else.  Its the difference between A & W Root Beer and Generic versions.

Let me tell you something.  When I first started hearing this word, I ignored it.  I felt I didn't need to brand myself.  I was who I was and people could either take me or leave me.  Then I kept hearing about it.  When you are hearing about it  almost daily even hardheaded and stubborn people like me take notice.

Last night I realized something, between this blog my Plexus business and my Fundanoodle business I have a unique set of views, services and products.  Rather than looking at them as separate entities, it would be easier to think of each thing as a part of a whole.  This is where branding comes in.

I already have this blog, a twitter feed and a business page all with unique world mom in them.  That is part of my branding.  I have decided to build a website around this brand.  With this website I can direct people to any of the things that I am doing.

As I evolve my blog you will eventually find a wider variety of content as I include writings on health, early education, personal development, business development, book reviews and other subjects that feel important in my life.  Above all I am a wife and mother.  You may even find me writing on various challenges and triumphs that I deal with on a regular basis in that aspect as well.

Lifestyle blogging are new words I am trying out.  I want to appeal to an audience with varied interests.  As I learn and grow through this experience you will find my blogs and websites will continue to grow and evolve with me.

Overall you will find this blog going through another transitional phase and some growing pains.  Bear with me as it does.  Hopefully it will become more than I could have ever hoped for.  Isn't that what all us want for our creations?

My launch has happened so now what

Yesterday was a nerve racking but optimistic day.  I posted my Facebook Launch for my new business venture.  I had a few people participate last night, but the other 17 people have the rest of the week to hop on and check it out.  No orders or play dates scheduled yet, but I am optimistic.

Here is the thing.  I can't place all of my hopes on this launch event.  If I want to have success at this business venture, I need to find multiple avenues of generating business.

I need to be out there talking to people and finding the groups that would find benefit in the products that I sell.  Today on my list is to contact a company that deals with special needs home school students and public ed spectrum students who want more support.  If I can get in with this active group that will allow me a platform to get my products out there as well as the services I offer.

Here are my other plans.  I am working with a referral group and I need to follow up with my sponsor to get the name of the person who requested my company come to a couple of events she is hosting in August.  I need to work with the one person who had requested a possible play date and I need to post something on my event today.

All in all just because I have officially launched doesn't mean I get to sit back and wait for things to happen.  As my own business owner I need to continue to make efforts to reach out to people and find new ways to market and build my business.  Constant activity is what will lead me to sales and a team at this time next year.

Staying upbeat and focusing on what needs to happen daily is what will keep my mind off of any blips and glitches along the way.

Facing the unknown

Today is the launch of my new business venture.  I am experiencing a variety of emotions. Excitement for the beginning of a new journey.  Anxiety over doing something new.  Fear that this one will be no different in its path as any of my others.

I am a big picture kind of gal that gets lost in the details.  I know what my ultimate goal is,  I know what needs to happen to get there and I am willing to work to do those things that are necessary.

Here is where I get lost.  What I want to have happen  as I do my work and what actually happens are usually two different things.  Its hard for me to have fantasized about events going overwhelmingly successful then have them only go so so.  Its experiences like that, that have me sweating and sick to my stomach.  It is hard to have things happen much slower than I would like.

I try really hard to not play the what if game.  What ifs have a tendency to go to extremes.  What if I fail again to what if I am so successful that I am not up to the task?

I was on a conference call last night and they were talking about doing Facebook live and other marketing strategies.  Here I am going I just started, I am not ready for that.  That is okay.  We are never meant to walk, run, learn, do etc more than we are ready for.

The thought of having a successful business can cause as much anxiety as failing for me.  I have a lot of experience with things not going where I want them to go and little experience with things going right.  I know how to act if things do not go well, but what will I do if what I set myself up for happens?

What I do not want to do is begin to sabotage all of the work I have done over the years and begin to unknowingly do things that will ultimately end my journey prematurely.  What I do want is to focus on each event and activity as it comes.  I need to focus on what I am doing now and not on what might happen.

As I launch my business, I know that I have done all I could to have a successful launch.  If I continue to focus on the activity and not on the outcome then I do not activate my anxieties and fears.  Even if my launch does not go as planned I will have learned valuable information and will be able to focus on other ways of building my business.  I have more than one iron in the fire and with time things will all come together if I keep producing activity.  The right activity will lead to what I want when I am completely ready for it.  These are lessons I have come know over the years.  Now to apply them with confidence and I am ready for the next step.

Becoming a Lifelong Learner

I  graduated from high school almost 29 years ago.  I did a little community college, but didn't graduate.  When I graduated that didn't matter.  You were still able to start at the low end of the totem pole and work your way to management.  Today that is not as much the case.  What has changed is the world view of education.

I saw little value in a college education when I graduated from high school.  My classes were all advanced and college prep.  I was burned out and didn't understand why I needed to take more of the same classes I took in High School.  I loved my cultural exploration, psychology and elective classes, but I didn't see the value in continuing with additional English, Math and Science classes.  Part of it was that I didn't have an end goal in mind, but part of it was being required to learn what someone else thought I needed to know.

Don't get me wrong.  I understand the need to learn things required to function at the career you choose to undertake.  That makes sense to me.  I don't even have anything against learning in general.  I just didn't want to waste my time learning something that I found no value in.  I tried to take the basic English 101 at the community college level.  The problem was that our first assignment was to summarize an article we were given.  I read the article and wrote a summary and was promptly told that was not what the teacher wanted.  The teacher wanted the main idea sentence.  Then why didn't the teacher ask for that?  I dropped the class and then I ended up dropping school.

If I wanted to go back out to the work world, that lack of a piece of paper that stated that I had a college education would stop me from getting a decent waged job.  In fact two of the jobs that I had previously, now require college degrees to do them.

Somewhere along the way the world at large forgot that there are more ways to become educated than going to college.  Now more than ever we have access to any information we want at our fingertips.  We can search the internet for articles, watch YouTube videos or if we wanted to go old school we could read a book on any subject we want either electronically or through printed media.  Knowledge is everywhere and yet it is only the knowledge in accredited institutions that seem to have value anymore.

I don't profess to be an expert at anything, but I have learned a little bit about a lot of different subjects.  I keep myself informed of what is going on in the world around me and if I find something of interest I look for more information.  When I need information for something I am trying to accomplish, I seek it out.  I have taken free online courses just because I enjoy the subject matter.  I have read countless books and articles.  I have talked to others who have done what I am trying to do.

Education isn't about getting a piece of paper so that you can get a job.  Education is about knowledge.  It doesn't matter how you obtain that knowledge.  It has been said that knowledge is power, but others have said its specialized knowledge applied appropriately that has the real power.  I seek after knowledge not because someone else has said I need it, but because I want it and that is what becoming a lifelong learner is all about.

Priorities and Branding

I have dabbled in Direct Marketing off an on for the last 28 years.  I have learned something from each company that I worked with.  Last month I joined a new company.  As I have begun to establish this new business I have realized something.  Even though I wanted to have the success and big income, I never treated any of my other companies like a business.

What do you mean I never treated the other companies like a business?  Well I never took the attitude that what I was doing was a business.  If I was able to make sales great.  Yes I talked to people and did a lot of activity trying to get each business off the ground.  I understood how each company worked and learned a lot about direct sales.  I still never got into the business mindset.

This business has started out with an entirely different attitude and outlook.  When I signed up with my new company I saw the tremendous potential it had.  As a start up direct sales company I wasn't going to find a consultant doing what I was doing every time I turned around.  The type of products I sell are specific to an age group and developmental level so it already narrows down my customers from everyone to only those who are caregivers or work with children in that age level or developmental level.  There is still plenty of flexibility as I can sell to parents and care-givers, schools, daycares, pediatric occupational therapists etc.  I can do vendor fairs, in home demos, online events or business to business.

At first all this flexibility and potential was a bit overwhelming.  I knew that I eventually wanted a big business, but my sponsor and spouse both said take a step back.  Only go as fast as you are able.  I had to set some priorities and schedules.  First of all I had to sit down with my husband and talk about what kind of evening hours I would be able to work that would allow my priority to still be my family.  I promised that I would only do 3 evening meetings a week and 1 big event a month.  With the networking and mastermind groups that I do that meant that those evening networking meetings would have to take the place of any sales appointments I could have.  I also had to talk about what his activities were so that I could plan around his evening schedules as well.  This was a first for me.  Actually negotiating when I could work.  This was done because of the belief I held of the success of this venture.

The next thing that happened was I got an email late Saturday night with someone inquiring about joining our company.  I was so excited I was going to hop on the computer and respond right then.  My husband stopped me.  He told me that I needed to set office hours.  I couldn't work whenever the opportunity came up.  If I started answering emails when it was time for bed then it would be a continued expectation.  I realized the wisdom in this backed up and went to bed.  Waiting to answer the email until the next day.

As I continue to establish my business and my branding I have had to make some decisions on how I plan to conduct my business.  I have to narrow down who I will market to and where to place my energy.  As my time is limited because I am homeschooling I can't market to all the possibilities. I have to make some tough decisions.  For me that means the easiest for me to reach.  That means parents and caregivers, that means homeschoolers and that means special needs.  As much as I would like to reach out to the schools, daycares, and other professionals working with children, I just donot have the resources to do so at this time.  That is not to say that if I am given an opportunity that I did not seek out that I won't take advantage of it.

My priorities are shaping my branding and I am okay with that.  By taking my business seriously and narrowing my focus, I will have a much better outcome.  By setting office hours and the evenings I can work immediately I am shaping the attitude that I work my business.  I am planning on who I will market to.  I am planning on when I will be marketing and I am coming up with a plan on how I will market.

By branding, setting office hours, making a business and marketing plan I am going at this business with a different mindset.  I am keeping in mind my priorities and I am better able to see my potential instead of the company's potential.

Why I blog

This morning I woke up and did my usual morning routine.  I did one thing that I don't normally do and that is check my Facebook notifications and messenger notifications because I saw a Messenger icon on my phone when my alarm went off.  I did this before I exercised when I usually wait until later in the morning.  On my Facebook notifications my daughter commented on a titter post about my blog from yesterday.  Her comment was about how she was the one who suggested that I do a blog.

Originally I created this blog a few years ago as a way to vent my opinions.  My only outlet before had been my family and my teenagers were getting pretty fed up with listening to me.  My blog lasted a few months before I decided no one really wanted to hear my opinions and I quit.  The couple of years between then an now saw a lot of changes and topsy turvy living.

When I saw a call for blog submissions for a large site I followed I jumped right on and submitted a piece thinking it would never be accepted.  Not only was it accepted it was the first piece for a series of guest bloggers.  At that time I realized that maybe I did have something valuable to say and there were people out there who wanted to hear it.

I still write my blog to have a voice, but the kind of voice I choose to share has changed.  Instead of having a platform to showcase my opinions and daily experience, I decided to write posts to uplift and encourage others.  As I write each post sometimes the things I create are things that I have learned that might help other people.  Sometimes I write about things that I am in need of working on.  I know the steps to take, but I need to internalize them and begin doing them myself.

I am certainly no expert at anything that I write.  Most of my inspiration comes from books I read, trainings I go to, speakers I listen to and difficulties I am having.  I am just an average Jane trying to live an extraordinary life hoping that my journey will help others along the way.

Really, if you find yourself in the things that you read in my blog share it with others.  Not so I can go viral and become widely sought after, but in the hopes that my words can reach more people and touch those who need to hear the things I am trying to say.

When things seemingly all fall into place but then fall apart

How many of you have had the scenario where it seemed like a project you were working on was coming all together with barely any effort on your part?You get all excited because things are going so well and you are on top of the world because everything is going right.  Then it happens the glitches start happening one by one and it feels like everything is falling apart.  You go from feeling all is right with the world to your world is coming to an end.

The above situation happens all the time.  How you handle this will make all the difference.  Do you go into panic mode and let fear run the show or do go into troubleshooting mode where you let your brain run the show?  What's the difference?  When you are in panic mode you are reacting to what is happening.  Everything is running on emotion and even if you are able to get it done, your stress level is at an all time high.  Your adrenaline is running and you are reaching for the closest solution.  When you are in trouble shooting mode you are looking at the situation in a logical manner.  There still may be some stress and adrenaline but it is giving you energy to see the situation through.  In troubleshooting mode you are looking for the best solution not the closest or easiest solution.

Being in panic mode often prevents a person from accomplishing all that needs to be done because they are not able to see past the immediate need.  Being in troubleshooting mode allows a person to look at the overall picture while still reaching for the end goal instead of just addressing the immediate problem.


If you look at things with an attitude of its all falling apart we are doomed  you will probably be right.  If you look at things with an attitude of how can we find a solution that will get us where we need to be, you will likewise be able to find that solution.

Basically if you are able to face unexpected challenges head on, you will be better off in the end than if you just get upset and react to those challenges.

Do you push on the 1st or the 31st?

Yesterday was the last day of the month.  All over my Facebook feed were direct marketers pushing very hard to make their monthly goals.  This happens every month.  They casually work their business throughout the month and then frantically market the last few days of the month.  Then they take a break the first day of the month and the cycle begins again.

What would it look like if the energy that was put in at the end of the month was put in, beginning the 1st day of the month?  If everybody in direct sales put the energy into meeting their big goals at the beginning of the month hitting those marks early on then making every sale or recruit gravy after that.

I get that we all do direct sales in order to work around our schedules.  I get that those who are the most successful set big goals.  My question is why wait to the end of the month to push for those goals?  Wouldn't it be wonderful to set a goal, meet it early on and then casually work your business the rest of the month?  How much stress could we relieve if we hit the mark for getting the bills paid within the first week instead of pushing at the end when you haven't reached it?

I personally don't set sales goals or recruiting goals.  We can not control what other people decide and if someone is not interested I am certainly not going to waste my time overcoming objectives and convincing people they need what I have to offer.  There are a lot of people in the world and its better to look elsewhere than to pursue someone who has to be convinced.  People either want something or they don't.  Yes they can change their mind and that is the beauty of relationship marketing.  You maintain the relationship even after the no and then if in the future they change their mind they know that you are available.  If they begin to have questions then they know you are there to answer.  Its better to have them come to you than chase a road going nowhere.

I like to set goals that I have control over.  How many phone calls will I make?  How much time will I spend developing relationships?  How many networking meetings will I attend?  How much training will I do?  etc.  Keeping my focus on what I can do and then actually doing it will ultimately lead to the sales and recruits that I want.  Rome was not built in a day and neither is a successful business.  It is the consistent work happening daily that will get you where you want to go.

So push on the 1st or push on the 31st.  I say push on the first.  If you hit your goal early you can make the choice to continue to push past the goal or back of a be more casual.  Then you know you should make your goal higher for the next month.