Changing Your Mind

Most of us are comfortable with our daily personal and professional routines.  Our day-to-day practices and schedules are familiar to us, so, many of us are resistant to change.   Even though we realize that change is part of life, we sometimes fight it anyway.

With technology today being in a constant flux, we really must have the ability to adapt readily.  It is, in fact, an important skill if we want to succeed. 

At least as often as not, change is an improvement.  Changes can be exciting and fun and keep life interesting.  But there are times when we actually fear change.  We’re afraid it will affect us negatively.  However, if we learn what the changes entail, we may find that truly is positive.  

Even if you dislike the change, it is important to accept it so you can move forward.  It may take some time to adjust, but the sooner we begin, the sooner we will be comfortable or at least accept it.

Another way to look at change is by facing it as a challenge.  Meet it with enthusiasm, and learn as much as possible about it.  It may turn out that it will provide you with new opportunities about which you never dreamed.  Face changes bravely and head on!

When we cling to status quo, your business can become stagnant.  It will cease to grow.  Learn how the change will affect you and your business.  Instead of being afraid or unhappy, seek out ways that the change can help you.  Part of our personal and professional growth is to step out of our comfort zone.  

Ask others in your company for feedback; ask them how they are adjusting to the change.  If you use your network of co-workers as a support system, you can all share ideas and work through the adjustments together. 

Once you accept and adjust for changes, each additional change will be easier to face.  Changes are inevitable, so learn how to face them positively, and the fear of change will evaporate and instead become challenging and exciting.   

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For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

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Here's Your Sign

Bill Engvall has made a career out of the stupid statements people make, saying that stupid people should carry a sign identifying themselves.  He is my favorite comedian.  In case you’re not familiar with Bill’s “Here’s Your Sign” jokes, here are a few.  I hope they brighten your day.

(Please remember, these are jokes, intended for fun.  They are not meant to offend any person or group of people.)

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Last time I had a flat tire, I pulled my truck into one of those side-of-the-road gas stations. The attendant walks out, looks at my truck, looks at me, and asked, "Tire go flat?" I couldn't resist so I said, "Nope. I was driving around and those other three just swelled right up on me. Here's your sign."

One day I locked my keys in my car and as I was standing there with a coat hanger halfway thru the top of my window, a guy walks up and says," Lock yer keys in the car?" Without missing a beat I said, "Nope, Just washed it and was hanging it up to dry."...Here's your sign.


It's like before my wife and I moved. Our house was full of boxes and there was a U-Haul truck in our driveway. My friend comes over and says "Hey, you moving?" "Nope. We just pack our stuff up once or twice a week to see how many boxes it takes. Here's your sign."


A couple of months ago I went fishing with a buddy of mine. We pulled his boat into the dock, I lifted up this big 'ol stringer of bass and this idiot on the dock goes, "Hey, y'all catch all them fish?" "Nope -Talked 'em into giving up. Here's your sign."

I stayed late at work one night and a co-worker looked at me and said, "Are you still here?"
I replied, "No. I left about 10 minutes ago. Here's your sign."


Went to the grocery store, got everything on my list and went up to the checkout. I put a bag of pet food for our rabbit on the conveyor.
The girl looked at me and said, "Do you have a rabbit?"
I looked at here and said, deadpan, "Nope. Just like 'em cause they're crunchy. Here's your sign."


I shot me a nice deer, and I hung it on the den wall in my house. My neighbor comes over and he says, "Did you shoot that thing?"
I said, "Nope. He ran through the wall and got stuck. Here's your sign."


I arrived home the other day, and it was just pouring rain outside so by the time I got from the car to the front door I am SOAKED. I walk in side and take off my jacket and my wife says "Is it raining out" I couldn’t help myself when I replied "Nope, I had to take the gold fish for a walk. Here's your sign."

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For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

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I Have this Bad Habit of…

"Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones."  Benjamin Franklin

Do you check your email many times a day, even when you should be focusing on other work?  Are you late for appointments or training calls?  Do you take personal phone calls when you should be working?  These and many other bad habits can prevent you from being successful with your business – and even damage your reputation. 

One definition I found for the word “habit” is, “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.  There are helpful habits of course, like being on time for work or being optimistic.  In this post, I’m discussing harmful ones than can prevent us from focusing on tasks that need our attention and ultimately affect or personal lives or careers.

We all know examples of really obvious bad habits like being late for appointments, gossiping, being resistant to change and negative thinking. Some are not as obvious, so you’ll have to think hard to determine what they are.

Bad habits are difficult to overcome because they are automatic.  We do them unconsciously, giving them no thought.  These deep-rooted behaviors have become habits.  In some cases, we actually prefer doing these activities instead of work we should be doing.  Texting or sending emails to friends on our cell phones is more enjoyable than attending a training session.  The enjoyable activities become habits although they are not good habits.

Overcoming bad habits is not an overnight process and can take weeks or months to break them.  Once you do break the habit, however, it is a great feeling of accomplishment.  The biggest incentive to break a bad habit is the knowledge that it could be harmful to your career and reputation. 

You must be aware of the behavior, the bad habit, in order to eradicate it from your habitual activities.  As you go through your day, pay attention to your actions.  Are you doing things that are nonproductive or even harmful to your business?

Once you are aware of your bad habits, you can use a variety of strategies to replace bad habits with good ones.  One particularly good way to begin is by including habit-breaking into your goals.  As with other goals, break them down into mini-goals so you’ll recognize your achievements as you work toward totally eliminating the habit.

Self-awareness and self-motivation are required throughout the process of eliminating your bad habits.  Some people prefer to quit a behavior “cold turkey,” but most are more successful if they limit the behavior or a period of time.

Using the example I mentioned above about surfing the internet when you should be working.  You may start out by limiting yourself to a few minutes per hour for a week.  The next week, reduce the time to five minutes every two hours until you have eliminated the behavior altogether.

The method you use may depend upon the habit you are trying to break.  Sometimes avoiding temptation helps.  For instance, if you are aware that you gossip, try avoiding the break room if that is where you normally gossip.

Replacing bad habits with positive behaviors can be very effective.  For instance, if your goal is to stop checking your email during meetings begin taking notes during the meetings, thereby keeping your mind and hands busy.

Reward yourself for overcoming a negative habit with something you really want.  If you are consistently late, after you have worked hard to be prompt for a week, reward yourself with a gourmet coffee or lunch out with friends.  You can also make the rewards better and better as your positive habit replaces your poor one.  Eventually, the positive behavior will become a habit.

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For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

How Can I Gain Self-Confidence?

If you are not confident in yourself, it can be contagious.  Others will not be confident in you, which can be detrimental to building a business and/or improving your life. 

It is not possible to simply snap your fingers, and “ta-da,” you are self-confident.  Gaining self-confidence is a process, and it is unlikely to happen quickly.

However, building self-confidence is achievable for anyone who wants it badly enough.  It takes determination, focus and a little time.  Self-confidence comes from achievement.  And you are in control of your achievements. 

If you believe you lack confidence in yourself, whether it is in your personal or professional life, take time to think about the direction you want your life to go.  What are your goals? Write them down, both your long term and short term goals. What is it you want to achieve in your personal or professional life?  Then, commit yourself to reaching those goals and achieving everything about which you now only dream.

Start by looking at your life.  What have you achieved so far in your life about which you are proud?  They need not be huge accomplishments.  Did you earn a college degree?  Did you work with a charitable group that helped many others?  Did you pass an exam, or were you selected for a position you wanted?

No matter how small, think of ten things you achieved in your adult life, and write them down.  Put them somewhere that you’ll see them frequently – on a bulletin board perhaps or the refrigerator door – to remind you that you have achieved a lot already in your life.

My mentor once asked me, “What do you think is more important, working on your strengths or your weaknesses?”  I immediately replied that I should work on my weaknesses.  Wrong!  We should instead use our strengths to help us grow.  Don’t dwell on our weaknesses.  I was surprised to see that when I followed his advice, my strengths got even stronger, but at the same time, my weaknesses were minimized. 

Concentrate on your strengths, and you’ll find that your confidence will grow.  EVERYONE has strengths, even if you don’t believe you do.  Pay attention to the negative talk in your head.  “I can’t” should be eliminated from your vocabulary.  If you catch yourself thinking or saying it, quickly change the words to “I will.”

Change your vision of your future.  Create your mental picture to see yourself achieving the goals you have set for yourself.  You can start small, and then allow yourself to grow your vision.  You can use imagery to picture yourself in a year, in five years or ten, having achieved many of the goals you set out to complete. 

Commit yourself to success, and you will achieve it!  When you find self-doubt rising to the surface, use self-talk to challenge it.   Remind yourself that you can achieve all you have set out to do. 

I don’t believe for a minute that this process is easy or quick.  It is neither.  It will take time and repetition.  Like “The Little Train that Could,” remind yourself that you CAN do everything to which you have committed yourself.  You CAN and you WILL build the professional and personal life that today seems to be only a dream.

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For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

Building a Network Marketing Business Foundation – Part 2

In part 1 of “Building a Network Marketing Business Foundation,” I discussed having a positive attitude, social and network marketing and offline networking groups.  In this post, I will share a few more proven methods to build your business foundation. 

Blogging is a great way to “expose yourself.”  You can write a blog about your business or nearly anything you wish.  I suggest you create your blog on a Word document first, and use “spell check” before posting it online.  You want to appear professional.

Over the past few years videos have become a very important part of the network marketing mix.  Do whatever you can to get past how you look on camera.  No one is critiquing your appearance, but they are hearing you talk about your business opportunity and the products you offer.  If you’re not telling them, someone else will, and they’ll be earning the money, not you.  If you have a web cam and a microphone, you can make videos.  They are simple to do; you just have to do them!  If you do not have a web cam and/or microphone, they are very inexpensive to buy.

Placing ads on Craigslist and other free classified ads can be an effective way to “expose” yourself to the public.  I personally have not found classified ad sites to be THE most effective way to promote an online business, but they have generated leads here and there.  So I usually have at least a few ads running.  Create a half a dozen or so ads, and then you can rotate and use them repeatedly.

To help you grow a local business, join your Chamber of Commerce and other business-related networks in your area, and participate in their events.  Once they get to know who you are and what you do, you’ll find people will refer others to you.

Finally, word of mouth.  Some network marketing companies encourage you to first approach your “warm” market.  I actually discourage you from trying to recruit or sell to your family and friends.   Instead, just like you know what most of your family and friends do for a living, be sure they know what you do.  You need not shove it down their throats.  In normal conversation you can mention what products you promote and that you are a recruiter for your company.  If they know someone who can use your product or service or someone who is seeking a business opportunity, they will send them your way.  Over the years, my family has referred several people to me.

There are other ways to promote your business and build the foundation to achieve success.  These are just a few to help you begin your growth or to kick-start a struggling business. 

To your success!

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For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

How to Build Your Network Marketing Business Foundation – Part 1

Even if you have had your home business for months or years, it is not too late to build your foundation.  If your business has not yet “taken off,” it is not too late to start fresh. 

Tenacity is vital to growing your business.  When something works well for you, stick with it.  Discontinue any ineffective marketing.  If we decide that we are going to reach success in our endeavors, WE WILL!  If we believe in ourselves, our products or service and our companies, nothing is impossible.  There will be obstacles along the way, and our commitment may well be tested, however the power is within each of us to accomplish anything.

More often than not, those who are successful are the people who simply never give up!  Don’t quit!  Progress may be slow, but keep moving forward, you will get there.

Maintain a positive attitude.  Spend as little time as possible with those who discourage you, the dream stealers. Do your best to surround yourself with enthusiastic, encouraging, successful people.  Stay in close contact with your sponsor and anyone who inspires you. 

Entrepreneurship is very rewarding, even though there will be bumps on your journey.   In the beginning, we must do a lot of groundwork and foundation building.  If you have not yet done so, start today!  We may not make much money at all at first.  

If we view this time as a learning period, it makes sense.  We are attending “school” to learn the business and “brand” ourselves.  Instead of paying tuition, we can earn some money while we’re still learning.  The network marketing industry is growing dramatically, partially because of the residual income and the financial security it brings – eventually.

There are myriad ways to market and promote our businesses.   Our greatest efforts should be geared toward generating leads, either customers or team members.  One of the most effective ways to generate leads is by using social media and online networking.   It is unnecessary to spend much at all to promote your business.    

If you have not yet done so, set up accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WAHM.com and IBOToolbox.  Actively participate on each of these sites.  Connect with others and help them where you can.  They likely will reciprocate.  Feel free to explore and find other forums and networking sites, possibly those in your industry when you worked a job - or if you still work a job. 

When you join each of these networking sites: 

·        Complete your profile and include a photograph of yourself, not a logo or avatar, in your profile.  Post a photo with you smiling.  People will be more attracted to you if you appear friendly.  Use the same photo everywhere.  Your face will become familiar to other networkers, and you’ll make more connections. 

·        Include your bio on sites that offer the space, and use the same one everywhere. 

·        If you post a phone number and/or address, always use the same formatting.  For instance, if you put your area code in parenthesis, always put it in parenthesis.  Consistency can improve your search engine rankings.

The reason networkers participate in a variety of forums and social media networks is simple… to get our names and businesses “out there.”  If you were attending a Chamber of Commerce meeting, you would be handing out your cards, chatting with members and getting to know people.  Online networking works the same way.   

These totally free marketing platforms can be extremely powerful!  It requires time and serious participation, but you will see increased website traffic to your websites, leads will begin to come in and your search engine optimization will improve over time.

In my next post, I’ll provide a few other ways to promote yourself and build your network marketing business foundation.

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For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

Does Hobby Lobby Discriminate?

Last year I wrote an entire blog about bigotry.  It is my belief that any person or group who believes they are better than any other group of people – including race, religion and gender – are bigots.   Anyone who looks down upon any group of people is a bigot and lacks intelligence. 

I’ve read in a variety of places on the internet that Hobby Lobby’s owners discriminate against Jews.  From what I have read, it is not totally clear whether this is true or not. 

The story began when a customer at a Hobby Lobby store in Marlboro, N.J., was supposedly told by a sales clerk that "We don't cater to you people," when she asked if the store would be stocking any Hanukkah merchandise.  The store apparently already had a large stock of Christmas items available. 

Ken Berwitz, a Jewish resident of Marlboro, N.J. followed up with Hobby Lobby's corporate headquarters and was told that the chain does not carry Hanukkah or Passover items "Because Mr. Green is the owner of the company, he's a Christian, and those are his values," he claims he was told.

When asked about the situation by Entrepreneur.com today, a Hobby Lobby spokesperson said,  

“Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is currently working with our buyers over our merchandise selection. Due to multiple customer requests, we are currently evaluating our Holiday items and what we will carry in the future.” 

Before reading this last quote, I was thinking that since everything I’d read was hearsay, perhaps it was not true.  However, Marlboro, N.J. has a large Jewish population.  I have difficulty believing that inquiries about Jewish holiday items began only recently.  

My local Wal Mart carries no Chanukah or Passover items.  I’ve lived here for 18 years, and they never have carried them.  However, very few Jews live in the area.  I can understand that with limited shelf space, they cannot carry items that likely would have very low sales. 

Is it Hobby Lobby’s choice whether or not to stock Passover and Hanukkah items?  Absolutely!  I can even understand that in areas where there are few Jews, they may not want to carry them.  However, in the Marlboro, N.J. community, there are many Jews who would likely purchase these items. 

So, yes, it is Hobby Lobby’s choice what merchandise they offer in their stores.  It is also my choice to never shop at their stores.

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For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.