Hey, I’ve been fired, Week 2
Filed under: building your business, dreams into reality, entrepereneurs, overcoming fear, positive attitude, time management, try try again
Surprisingly, now that I’ve been fired, Monday mornings are the worst day of the week. Usually, on Monday mornings, we ramp ourselves up for our work week. We drag ourselves out of bed and step into our workday routine. A lot of times, we hate Monday mornings. We feel like we’re heading back to confinement, after a weekend of freedom and doing exactly what we want to do.
So you would think that Monday mornings would be great, if you didn’t have to go into work. Freedom! That would probably be true, if there wasn’t a fear clamped firmly in my gut, settling wetly on my heart, a constant undertone of worry about the future, worry about how things are going to turn out, how does this movie end. . .
The loss of morning routines can be disconcerting and can aggravate worry and fear. So it follows that establishing an alternative morning routine can provide a sense of order and purpose to the day. Since I’m calling the shots now, I’ve decided to include things that I enjoy into my morning routine. But it’s also important to include things that maintain my self-discipline and increase my certainty of success.
On my list of enjoyable things: meditation, yoga postures, writing, hot bath, gazing into my cat’s adoring eyes, talking with my husband, watercolor, taking action. On my list of disciplined things: balanced breakfast, walking, catching up on emails, paying bills, waiting.
Taking action and waiting are a balancing act. I’ve signed up another 4 people in my business in the last few days, sent out a newsletter, written follow-up emails to everyone on the list, sent out samples and literature, gotten my downline pointed in the direction that’s best for each person. . . Taking action is the easy part for me. But it has to be balanced with waiting to be truly effective. I have to consciously make myself wait, wait for others to sift through the information in their brains in order to move forward; wait for the emails to be opened and read, absorbed; wait for the postal service to deliver the samples and literature; wait for the soup to simmer and be ready for lunch.
A friend told me: take care not to drive faster than your angels can fly. Last week, a couple of times, I drove too fast and splatted against the wall at the dead end because I missed the side street where the answer was patiently waiting for me. I put in motion a couple of projects that didn’t need doing. I left voice messages that were outdated after I opened my email and found the answers waiting for me there.
Progress is directional. If you have trouble taking action, then progress for you is convincing yourself to take action. If you’re doing too many things and spinning your wheels, then progress for you is slowing down and balancing your life. And when your life changes drastically, your directional progress may require a fresh look and evaluation of what’s really going on and what would be the best direction for your energy and focus.
So this Monday morning, I’m establishing a new routine, balanced yet active, thoughtful yet reaching out, generating a positive attitude, nurturing hope that turns into faith that turns into belief that turns into reality. I’m waiting yet taking action, balancing the two opposites perfectly in my heart, letting the joy blossom and grow, enveloping my day, guiding me toward the right thing to do.
How is your Monday?
Too busy?
Filed under: MLM, building your business, direct sales, entrepereneurs, learning network marketing, network marketing, perfect business, talking with friends, time management, women entrepreneurs
What are you doing right now, that is going to gain you more time a year from now?
Of course you’re busy; everyone is. Is that ever going to change, given the course you’re on now?
Everyone has 24 hours each and every day. Most people spend all of their time making all of their money. The treadmill loops around and around, and they can never get off.
Some people leverage their time, so that a year from now, they’re not working so hard; five years from now, they’re kicking back; ten years from now they’re sitting pretty.
If you work harder at what you’re already doing in your job, you’re just going to keep working longer and longer hours. Jobs can eat us alive, especially those of us who are motivated to do a GREAT job.
But do the GREAT job for yourself, and for your family, and for your friends. Don’t do it for some corporate board of directors, or the neighborhood hardware store. Do it for yourself and the people who are important in your life.
Network marketing lets you train yourself and learn from your leader, then train and lead others, who then train and lead others, who then train and lead others. The harder you work, the less you have to work next year or the year after that, and that trend just keeps on going.
Network marketing is the PERFECT business for people who are too busy, who have no time. Because it gives you the gift of time. It gives you back your life, so you can spend it with your kids with your wife, with your husband, with your friends.
Do it yourself, or pay the man?
Filed under: MLM, direct sales, earn money from home, earn money online, entrepereneurs, learning network marketing, make money online, network marketing, overcoming obstacles, solving problems, time management
There is so much to do and only so many hours in the day. You’re building a business, probably while working full time at the job you’re trying to escape, raising a family, juggling schedules, caring for aging parents, and having a quiet dinner out, at least once in a while, with your spouse, so you can remember why you’re doing all of this anyway.
Some things you’ll be really, really good at. Other things will be a struggle for you. Avoid the trap of trying to do it all yourself. Otherwise, you’ll eventually run out of time and sanity.
Look for business partners with skills that compliment yours. If you don’t like speaking in front of groups, keep your antennae out for someone who likes being up on stage. If you can’t write, team up with someone who can. Are you super organized? Not everyone is. You can provide this skill to your partners, while they’re up on stage or blogging.
Another option is to hire someone to help you. For a couple of years, I had a personal assistant. She picked up my mail and called catalog companies to get me off their mailing lists. She returned the videos (pre-Netflix). She bought batteries for my watches and kept the refrigerator stocked. She did my laundry and filled out the checks for me to sign for all of the bills I was supposed to keep track of. When I traveled for business, or pleasure, she kept all of these things going in the background, so I came home to a cleared desk, with no backlog.
Heaven.
Then I got laid off, and I couldn’t afford to pay her any longer. But it taught me an important lesson: If someone else took care of the details that didn’t interest me, I could focus on what I loved to do, working on my career.
When I started network marketing, things went along pretty good, but I was starting to get frazzled around the edges because there were too many things to do, and most of them I had to learn first. I was a scientist, with no experience in network marketing. I had to learn everything.
When I turned to social networking, I had to learn Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and blogging and and and. . . the list goes on as far as the eye can see.
I sent out a plea for help, and the perfect person said “I could do that for you!” And she could. She did. She still does. My business has grown fabulously since hiring her, because I can focus my attention on the parts that I’ve learned really well, and that I LOVE to do.
Self reliance is a wondrous thing. Overwhelm is the pits.
Where are you?
Things you hate to do
Filed under: MLM, entrepereneurs, giving up, learning network marketing, network marketing, positive attitude, solving problems, time management
One of the essential keys to time management is to identify the one thing on your todo list that you most DO NOT WANT TO DO, and then do that thing first.
When you have a task awaiting you that you dislike, or fear, or feel is beneath you for whatever reason, it tends to prey on your mind. You think about it; you think about how much you hate/fear/resent the task. You do it over and over again, in your mind, without making any progress. It eats up your energy and your enthusiasm and your ambition.
If you simply go ahead and do it FIRST, then it’s done. You’ve only had to do it one time, and it’s over with. The rest of the day seems brighter and lighter and easier. You’re ahead of the game.
Yesterday, my husband tried to coax me into cleaning out our fishpond with him. This is an annual task, so it doesn’t come around that often, and usually when it does start edging into our consciousness, it’s me who coaxes him into undertaking the task.
I also should tell you that the fish pond was my idea in the first place. When we first moved into our place, we had a wonderful blank canvas for our front yard: dirt and cement. Or, I should say, soil and concrete. I talked my husband into helping me dig a big hole in the hard clay, line it with a gigantic sheet of black plastic, and haul flagstones and water lilies from the garden supply store to our driveway and place them strategically in the perfect spot. A little to the left. Hhhmm. . . a little to the right. . .
Ten years later, the pond is still the bright spot of our front yard. But every year it needs to be emptied, hosed clean, and refilled. Every year I coax him to help me, and every year it does.
This year, I did not want to touch the thing. My attention was focused elsewhere. I had calls to make; I had emails to write; I had new material to print out and organize; I was a busy lady. When he mentioned the pond, I came up with a dozen reasons why we should postpone it. It was foggy and cold; there were too many other things I wanted to get done; my sister and niece were coming by for a visit; we also had to wash the van, and no one should have to do two icky jobs in one day. Quite an impressive list, no?
But then I just decided to cooperate and get the thing done. We actually had gotten an early start to the day, and there would be plenty of time for the calls, emails, printing, organizing in the afternoon. So we started.
As soon as we focused on the pond, my whole attitude changed. I love working side by side with my husband. We don’t get to spend much time together with our busy careers, and every minute with him is a treat. I love to garden, and rarely have the opportunity to spend the time to transform our front yard from neglected chaos to orderly beauty. The weather was perfect for this job. We were able to rearrange the teetering flagstones along the edge next to the fence. The fish were SO happy to have clean water flowing through their gills. They raced around, gleefully. The pond looked beautiful. And my sister and niece walked through the gate as the pond was filling and oooed and aahhed on cue.
And the rest of my day was brighter and cleaner and completely care free.
So when you make your list of things to do today, identify the one thing that you most do not want to do, and then do it. You’ll feel better. Then find the next thing on your list that you most do not want to do, and do it. The day will start to get better and better. Your life will start to get better and better.
Make those calls. Send those emails. Set up those lunch meetings and dinner presentations. Take charge of your life. The energy will carry you along. Create your amazing business. You CAN do it.
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