Resolutions

I know it's not New Years (Traditional or Pagan), but I wanted to get my resolutions written down and out to the world.

1. Exercise

   Ok so I've hit the "comfortable" place in my relationship with my fiance.  I first noticed it, when I saw pictures my family posted of me on Face Book.  This is not ok, with my wedding coming in April.  I don't want to look "comfortable" in my wedding photos.

   Since my fall and shoulder injury in November 2009, I've been significantly less active.  I also have a Major sweet tooth and lower metabolism.  Time to Get Up and Get Active again.  Oh yeah and find some healthier sweets, like fruit.  My mom gave me the new Wii Fit game for Christmas this past December.  I've used it several times and had alot of fun.  Now I need to become more consistent.  My boys started taking Karate classes, last week, at the Community Center in our town.  They have an exercise room which I plan to put to use while the boys do Karate.  And when this "lovely" New England winter weather is done, I'll be getting back on the trails to go hiking and letterboxing again!

2. Organize
    Lately I feel like my brain is Swiss cheese, full of holes.  Being a working parent or stay at home parent comes with a Big To Do list.  With the kids, working, planning a wedding, and the general day-to-day stuff, I definitely need to be more organized.

   When I worked full-time outside the home I used to have a "Control Journal", thanks to my FLYing lesson's with the FLY Lady.  So it's time to start a new one to keep myself on the right track.  I haven't been FLYing for a long time, so I restarted with the "BabySteps".  I've let all routines go out the window since I've been home on a more full-time basis.  FLY Lady is great at teaching you how to create routines and get control over your life again.


3. Focus on Work

   I have let my Home business (and life) fall by the way side over this past year. 

In March of 2010 my father was admitted to the hospital for a brain bleed.  Over the course of the six months doctors found that his brain was bleeding due to minute holes in his spine that was leaking fluid.  The leaking fluid also caused low brain pressure.  The doctors patched the holes and eventually my dad came home.  Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with Intestinal cancer and a heart condition was found while prepping for cancer surgery.  Post surgery he had complications from the abdominal surgery.  He is home now and we're all keeping our fingers crossed that he continues to heal and stay well.

    I put my life on hold to deal with this situation, be there for my dad and to help and comfort my mom and sister.  Now it's time to focus back in on my awesome WAHU team!  So not only am I a mom of four, which is a full time job in it self, I also work two other jobs.  And one of them has been feeling very neglected.  It's time for No More Excuses!  Organizing my time better should help me get WAHU back on track.

4. Quality Family Time

   Most importantly, I want to spend more Quality time with my family.  I'm ashamed to admit it, but too often I'm "too busy" to spend time with my children.

    My little Potato is always asking me to play a game with him, he Loves board games.  I hate that recently nine times out of ten I tell him "no" because I'm doing    (fill in household chore/job)   .  My girls got these awesome nail painting/design kits for Yule.  I want to sit down with them and have some girl time, yet I haven't.  My Monkey boy keeps wanting to show me how to play his new Wii game.

  We have just recently started a family dinner and movie night.  Usually on Sunday or Tuesday, when my step-daughter is here.  Dinner is buffet style and we eat in the living room (a treat since I don't allow food out of the kitchen) while watching a family movie.  I would like to also spend time with each of the kids individually.  I've been making use of the car travel time to activities, by turning off the radio and talking, listening, and laughing with the kids.  With a busy life I know it's not the amount of time I'm spending with them, but the quality of the time we are spending together.

~Your Earthy Mom

Stuck in my Pajamas

   I was sitting at my kitchen table eating breakfast and watching my boys play the Wii, in the pjs they've been wearing for the last few days.  It then suddenly occurred to me that I too had failed to change out of my pjs for the second or third day in a row.  Of course now I've started thinking how often am I too lazy to get dressed in the morning, since I'm not leaving the house.  I now hang my head in shame, knowing I'm lazy about getting dressed far too often.  And I'm teaching this laziness to my children by not having them get dressed and not setting the example.

   Getting dressed from head to toe each day is also about helping yourself to feel good.  As a WAHM you'll gain confidence and posture from being dressed head to toe.  I know most likely no one but the husband and kids will see you, but if you're the makeup wearing kind of gal, put a little makeup on too.  Just this simple act can change your day around.  You'll go from "Oh great, another day I have so much to do."  to "I feel Great!  I can't wait to meet today head on!"

   Some of my SAHM friends tell me they don't bother to get dressed just to do house work.  It makes sense that you wouldn't want to get your nice clothes dirty while taking care of the house.  But I still think SAHM's should get dressed from head to toe each day anyway.  So go ahead throw on your jeans and a t-shirt, add a little make up and feel good about the day ahead. 

   It's so easy for us mom's to forget about ourselves with everything else we need to do for our family.  One thing we can do for ourselves is dressing head to toe each and everyday.  This small little bit of "Me" time will help in so many ways.

• You'll feel more confident
• You'll feel pretty
• Your kids will notice the good example your setting (They may never tell you, but they'll know)
• Your spouse will notice (He may tell you with actions instead of words)
• You'll reduce your stress by feeling good about your self

I'm going to challenge all you mom's who are home full time, to get out of your pajamas, get your clothing out of the closet, and get dresses from head to toe everyday!

Thoughts for today

I was on a training call a couple days ago and wrote down a few quotes I wanted to share.


Get out of your own way.
Too often we are the biggest problem when it comes to achieving our goals. Everybody has the ability to reach their goals and beyond. Some of you will, and some of you won't. For those who won't, it will be because you get in your own way.

Ignore the voice of doubt.
We can live with doubt – and forever limit our actions.  Or, we can learn to ignore the voice.  Shout affirmations and your voice of doubt will whisper.  You will have success in whatever you desire.

Keep moving forward.
Life can come at you hard.  It’s about having the will to continue in spite of the obstacles thrown at you. 
"Around here we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things. – Walt Disney
Staying out of stuck.
Life is too short to stay stuck in a place that doesn't work for you.  Step into your dreams and don't let the road blocks of life get in your way.

School starts in only 17 days! Were did the summer go?

I guess this means it's time for us to start getting organized and back to a schedule.  The school lists have almost all come in, so next week there will be school supply shopping to do.  I need to clean and dust off our school shelves.  I am so happy we started this system several years ago, it has made keeping track of the kids school papers and homework so much easier.
I set up a small set of selves, one for each child, right next to our backpack and shoe cubby.  On each shelf I put a "in box" tray and a pencil box.  The tray is for any papers that come home for me and a place to keep homework that isn't due the next day.  Each child has their own pencil box with several pencils, box of crayons/collored pencils, erasers, glue stick, and a pair of scissors.  This cuts down on the time spent looking for these items for homework and arguments over who lost such-and-such item.  This year I've decided to cut out several bookmarks from heavy paper for everyone, so they aren't constanly looking for one/dragging their feet at bedtime.
I get very focussed on work so I really have to set up and stick to a schedule, or else the kids might noteat dinner till late.  I've been working on and tweeking our schedule from last year to work better this year.


6am - Make sure girls are getting up.
6-6:30am - Go for am walk
6:30-7am - Online time for business (posting, emails, etc.)
7:10am - Girls go out to school bus
7-8am - Wake up boys, get them ready for school, baby gets dropped off
8am - Take boys down to the bus stop
8:10-9am - Take care of baby and settle her down for a nap
9:15-10:15am - Make morning calls
11am-3pm - Open for appointments
12:30pm - Lunch time for baby
1:30pm - Nap time for baby
1:30-2:30pm - Afternoon calls
2:30pm - Girls come home from school, snack, start them on homework
3:30pm - Baby gets picked up and boys come home from school, snack
4pm - Start boys on homework and make sure dinner is in the oven.
5pm - Dinnertime
6-6:30pm - Evening calls
6:30-9pm - baths, reading, getting everyone to bed.
9-10:00pm - finish evening calls, check emails, finish up business or house work
10-11pm - Time for me and then bed.

Color Chart
Business
Daycare/babysitting
Family time
Me time

When I right it all down I have a pretty packed day.  With the kids, the baby I take care of during the day, and our business.  I make sure to put in some me time at the beginning and end of the day, to destress and relax.  I'm also lucky that I don't have to do this alone, my fiancee works our business with me and does more than his fair share of keeping our family running.

Survivors and Thrivers

One of the most-watched television shows of the past several years is Survivor. We admire those who survive! We tune in every week to see who makes it next. But even better than being a survivor is to be one who thrives!



What are the differences between someone who survives and someone who thrives? Here are a few:



A survivor gets by, a thriver gets ahead. Do you feel like you are just getting by? You don’t have to. You can actually get ahead! You can be out front! You can thrive!



A survivor is tired at the end, a thriver feels full of energy. When you are finished do you feel tired? You can thrive and be filled with energy! You can thrive!



A survivor has barely enough, a thriver has an abundance. Do you have more month left over at the end of your money? You can have more money left over at the end of your month! You can thrive financially!



A survivor is always on the edge, a thriver is on firm ground. Do you feel like you could fall over the edge at any time? You can get back on solid footing! You can feel firm about where you are. You can thrive!



So how do we shift from being a survivor to becoming a thriver? Here are a few steps to put you on your way!



First, start with some good input. Subscribe to as many good magazines and e-zines that will change your outlook and inspire you to thrive! And don’t just subscribe to them—read them. Devour them. Get great audios and videos and listen to them and watch them. The principle here is to renew your mind to become a person whose mindset is one of a person who thrives.



Second, get around people who are thriving. Join clubs and groups filled with people who are already thrivers. Develop friendships with them; take them to lunch or coffee. Pick their brains and learn from them. Mimic their habits of thriving.



As you commit to these first two, you will see the time you spend watching and listening to junk go out the door. You will see that you are spending less and less time with those kinds of people who just want to survive. This will be the launching pad for your success.



Third, make a personal evaluation of your skills. What areas do you need to grow in? Now, get to work on those skills. Skills are what take you to the top. An old quote says that the race isn’t always won by the fast or the strong, but that’s the way to bet! I’ll take the person with skills to be the one who thrives every time. It won’t work like that every time, but it will most of the time.



Fourth, make a commitment to a long-term, tenacious outlook. We have to do this in order to turn the ship around. If you are just a survivor, you can be a thriver, but it may take some time. Remember, this is for the rest of your life. There will be times of weakness. There will be times of hardship. If you are tenacious, you can, and will, thrive!



Fifth, understand that thrivers are almost always people of methodical discipline and order. They know that they have to have order in their lives and the order is what produces the ability to thrive. They thrive financially because they discipline themselves to save and invest rather than spend. They thrive physically because they are disciplined in what they eat and in how they exercise. Discipline will make you thrive!



Yes, you can THRIVE! Take the above and get to work. Make these principles a part of your life and they will create in you an ability to thrive in everything you do. You will no longer just survive. Instead, you will thrive! And that is going to feel great!

by Chris Widener

Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs.... who arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.
A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants....
The race began....
Honestly:
No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.
You heard statements such as:
"Oh, WAY too difficult!!"
"They will NEVER make it to the top."
or:
"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"


The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one....
Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher..
The crowd continued to yell,  "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up....
But ONE continued higher and higher and higher....
This one wouldn't give up!
At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?
It turned out....
That the winner was DEAF!!!!


The wisdom of this story is:
Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic....  because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you -- the ones you have in your heart!

Always think of the power words have.

Therefore: ALWAYS be....
POSITIVE!
And above all:
Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!

Eat the Frog!

Recently, I heard a funny story of a woman who died and went to heaven.  When she arrived at the pearly gates, St. Peter was there to greet her.  She said, "Is this really heaven and do I get in?"  Upon which St. Peter replied, "Yes it is, and your entry is dependent on your ability to spell one work correctly."  The woman asked, "What word?"  "You can choose any word; you decide." replied St. Peter.  So, she thought about it for a few seconds and said, "Love, and it's spelled L-O-V-E."  St. Peter smiled and said, "That's correct.  You an enter Heaven.  However, you must now take my place and do the same thing for the next person to come to heaven.  Then, pass the gatekeeper job onto them."

 As the woman waited, lo and behold, along came her ex-husband.  When she saw him she said, "What happened to you?"  He said, "I had a heart attack.  Is this heaven and do I get in?"  Upon which she said, "Only if you can spell one word correctly."  "What's the word?"  He asked.  She paused for a long moment and said, "Czechoslovakia!"

Well, that's kind of how life is.  It's the difficult things we do, like spelling, that give us the big rewards.  However, for man of us, the most difficult things to do are usually the things we put off doing the most.

Consider this example: People often set a goal to lose weight, but when the alarm sounds at 6am on the following day, it's just too hard to get out of bed and get to the gym.  It's too easy to put it off until tomorrow.  We naturally procrastinate doing the difficult things.  But if we can rise up and get to the gym each day, our weight loss goal is likely to happen.

Mark Twain said, "Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day."  Imagine going to your pantry in the morning to find food for the day.  There you see several options.  However, at the end of the shelf is a live frog.  You know you have to eventually eat it, but it's not appetizing at all!  So, you put it off and off.  Well that's exactly how thing never get done.

In the book Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy talks about doing the most important activity in our business each day first.  He says when we "train ourselves, through repetition and practice, to overcome procrastination and get our most important tasks done," we will succeed.

With Work At Home United, we can "eat the frog."

We have Seven Critical Business-Building Activities.  They are:

1. Keep Building Your Contact List
2. Set Appointments
3. Make Presentations
4. Hold 48-Hour Follow-Up Meetings
5. Celebrate Success
6. Always Be Involved with Fast Track
7. Lead By Example

If you were to ask me, I'd much rather make a presentation or celebrate success than set appointments.  But we have to eat the frog!  That means we need to work our contact list and set appointments each day and prioritize them ahead of the other critical activities.

Imagine if you "ate the frog" each day before you did any other activity.  Imagine if everyone on your team was working their contact list and setting appointments every day.   Your business would consistently grow each month.

Frank has invited everyone to make one contact for an appointment every day.  These contacts are not emails.  They're done in person or over the phone.  Now, making one contact a day doesn't mean every day we're successful at setting an appointment.  Once in a while, we will get a "no."  Regardless, each day we'll be making a contact leading to an appointment.

On some days, you'll do more than one contact or set more than one appointment, but the goal is to do at least one contact daily.

Most of all, commit to one contact for an appointment each day.  If you'll do this and "eat the frog" daily, you'll have an endless number of customers coming in to your business!

Written By:  McKay Christensen

How many "boxes" are you going to open today?

I just had to share this awesome mind-set that one of my partners came up with ! It is a fantastic way of looking at calling leads.



How many ‘boxes’ are you going to open today
I Love Calling Leads

It's Like A Present Each Time You Dial a New #

Sometimes the Box Is Empty
( wrong # & disconnects)

Sometimes someone used way too much tape and you can't even get in!
(the no-answers and the answering machines) :)


Sometimes You Get something you would like to return
( people who are not interested or didn't request info)

Sometimes You get a Gag Gift
(the no shows )

But Sometimes It is Exactly What You've Been Wanting
( the ones that get it and want it )

LOL

I Hope that this helps when you are making your daily calls
to think of things this way. It works for me

Enjoy Your Day


“There is a difference between interest and commitment. Interest is doing something when circumstance permits. Commitment means you accept no excuses, only results.”

- Ken Blanchard

The word No

Why are some people more successful than others?
It's a one-word answer.
The word is NO.

Some people have a really tough time accepting the fact that they are going to hear the word NO fairly often. They get discouraged and feel rejected because they look at the word NO as a negative.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The word NO simply means that nothing changes.

Think about it. You approach your neighbor and ask her if she would like to be a Marketing Executive for you or if she would enjoy some FREE sample Melaleuca products. She says NO. What changed? Is she still your neighbor?
YES. Did your income go up or down?
NO. Nothing changed. It can't be a negative. To be negative, things would have gotten worse.
But they didn't.
Everything remained exactly the same.
On the other hand, suppose she had said YES. Now, there are some positive changes. She receives a Melaleuca business or membership (a positive) and you gain a customer (another positive) or even a marketing executive (a better positive) and you earn money (a great positive)!
You can see by this example that there are no negatives in our business. There are only positives and times when nothing changes.

When someone tells you NO, they are not rejecting you or your products. They are simply telling you that they are unable or unwilling to make any changes at the moment.
Once you understand this, doing this business becomes a lot more FUN! So, why not look for a way to make the word NO fun?
Each time someone tells you NO, cross out one of the NO's listed below. Set yourself a goal to get all 100 NO's crossed out within the next 30 days. (NO kidding!)
If you want to see your business explode with growth, take this little exercise seriously.

Here's a hint that will make it easier. Triple up. Ask someone to:
1. Become a Marketing executive. If they say NO, cross a NO off and ask them
to...
2. Become a Customer. If they say NO, cross a second NO off and ask them
to...
3. Give a customer referral. If they say NO again, you got 3 NO's
already!!!
You'll never be better at getting NO's than you are right now. The more you do this, the tougher it will become to get those 100 NO's. You'll find that a YES will creep in here every once in a while.

Don't let the occasional YES distract you from your primary goal of 100 NO's.
Imagine the look on your neighbor's face when she tells you NO and you respond, "Gee thanks. I've only got a few more NO's to go and I"m finished for the month. I was afraid you were going to say YES there for a minute."

Don't take this exercise lightly, it works!!! Get those NO's now while it is
still easy for you to do so. Don't wait until it becomes difficult for
people to tell you NO. That time will come soon enough!

And remember, if you read NO backward, it's ON ON ON ON........