Where Will You Be One Year From Now?

I totally overslept today! I was awakened by the menagerie of fur babies that decided they had waited long enough for "walkies" and breakfast.

I am glad that they feel loved and protected enough to get up on the bed to wake me. They are all rescues and have had some bad experiences so that makes me feel wonderful.

I remember when each of them became members of the family. It was frustrating. One would hide under the bed. One wouldn't come out of the carrier. One would hiss and spit if you tried to pet him. But slowly things, turned around and eventually things got better. Now we're all family!

Our businesses are like that. They take time. They take lots of patience. Consistent love and attention.  And yes, they take work. But how can you be consistent when you're not seeing results? You know it takes time. You know it takes work. But it's SOOOO hard because you aren't seeing the results!

You are missing that positive feedback mechanism. (Yes, I took Psychology in school). Almost everything worth waiting for takes time. Losing weight. Exercising. Eating better. earning a new language. Creating a business...

Did you know that if you start where you are and improve by just 1% every day, you will be 365% better a year from now? Yes, it's very slow progress at first. Most people will give up. But it starts to accelerate over time. Start today and improve 1% tomorrow. Rinse and repeat.

Don't do this for me. Do it for you. Start your own challenge. Do a 30 day challenge...of anything. It could be walking. It could be drinking water. It could be creating videos. It could be personal or business. You choose.

I'm doing my own personal challenge of morning exercise. I am not a morning person so working out first thing in the morning is a way to get my energy flowing. So far I've done 7 workouts in 7 days.

It only takes 21 days to build a habit (so they say) so if you want to do a 21 day challenge to get started, that's fine too.

So I'm asking you today what is your personal challenge? What are you going to challenge yourself to do? You can do whatever challenge you like. Personal, business...or BOTH!

Think about where your business will be a year from now if you just start something today.

P.S. You might find this 3 minute TED Talk from Matt Cutts (yes, that Matt Cutts) inspiring.

Challenge Yourself!

Don't Waste a Minute!

No more excuses!  With all the resources available today, if you are not where you want to be - in your life or your business - it is probably your own fault.


Yes!  I dared to say that!  With today's technology, you have access to the combined knowledge of hundreds - maybe even thousands - of the best minds in the business (no matter what business you're in).  And that same technology allows you to perform most of the tasks related to your business with an ease never before experienced.  It gives the marketer working from his bedroom the same global reach as even some of the largest companies.


Network marketing is not hard.  Business in general is not hard.  Most of the obstacles we find along the way are actually of our own creation.  (Yup!  I said it again.  It's your own fault). 


I know.  There's a lot of conflicting advice out there about building your business.  Why is that?  Well, what works for me and what I'm comfortable with may be very different than what works for you.  I hate cold calls.  In fact, I hate the telephone in general.  And so all the advice out there on this topic is a waste of my time.  I do the bare minimum necessary.  But I have a friend and team member who LOVES the phone.  I think one day we may have to have it surgically removed from her ear!  I tried to teach her how to build her list and how to blog.  And she hated every minute of it.  So how do you sort through all of the information out there to find what works?  Well, first, look for what feels right to you.  Focus on your strengths and make them stronger.  We all need to learn new skills.  I may learn to perfect my phone technique one day.  But right now I prefer to write. And it works for me.  So I'm taking coaching and training in copywriting and blogging.  My friend is perfecting Facebook Live and video.  Because she likes to talk.  Both methods work, as long as they are being used by the right person.


I've been told that I need to "get with the times" and do more video.  And maybe someday I will.  But that's your belief.  I'm doing fine right now with my own DMO (daily method of operations *smile*).


"But not everyone believes in network marketing.  They won't listen.  They think I'm a fraud!"  Ok.  Some will.  Some won't.  Who cares?  Work with the ones that do.  Ignore the rest. 


You can do this!  I know you can.  You have the power within you to live your life on your terms.  Many of you won't and that's sad.  But some of you want something more.  Go get it!


I have a small group of friends.  We call ourselves the Ninja Marketers.  Our sole purpose is to share our skills and knowledge with others in the business and to support and motivate each other.  We are a team.  When one of us succeeds, we all succeed. 


Find your Ninjas.  And if you can't, you are welcome to come and hang out with us.  Either way, find others who share your vision and work together to live your dreams.


Don't waste another minute!  Get up right now and do something - anything - to get your business back on track, to build the life you want to live, to move closer to your goals.  If you don't have goals, write some!  I have a blog post about that!  Then take MASSIVE action - to COMPLETION - to achieve them.  And yes, I have a blog post on that too. 


It's time.  If you truly want to live the life you were meant to, the life you dream of, then stop making excuses.  As Henry C. Link stated, ""While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior."

What Are Your Goals?

Did you know that less than 3% of people have written goals? Why? Studies have shown that the most successful people are the ones who have specific, written goals.  This is true in both your personal and your business life.  Perhaps most people don't have written goals because they don't understand how to set and use them. Since setting goals is one of the most important keys to achieving business success, let's learn how to use them wisely.

Setting a goal is not like a New Year's resolution. That is just a wish, an annual ritual we use to lull ourselves into thinking next year will be different. But just wishing and hoping for something isn't going to make it happen. You need to have a target to shoot for and a plan to get there. That's where goal setting comes in. 

When planning your goals, first establish the time frame. They could be lifetime goals, 10 year, 5 year, 1 year, 6 month, 3 month, 1 month or weekly goals. I have a 5 year plan and a yearly plan that I use to set up monthly goals. I also have ongoing goals, such as exercising 3 - 5 times a week.

Be specific when you write your goals. Don't just write down "I want to lose weight" or "I want to increase my client base." Write "I will lose 60 pounds by December 2013" or "I will have my new Training for Trainers website online by August 1, 2013" (which is actually MY newest goal!).   Make sure your goal statement is positive. Don't say, "I don't want to be fat." Say "I will be a healthy weight by July 2013."  Instead of saying "I don't want a job" say "I will start a home business by January 1, 2014."

The achievement of a worthwhile goal can seem overwhelming at first. The easiest way to proceed is to break your goal down into smaller steps. Start with the first step then move onto the next. When making your plans, a good way is to start is from the end part and work your way to the present.

Measure your progress. After you complete a step, check it off. Watching steady progress is a good motivator. For example, while working towards my weight loss goal, I can mark off milestones of 10 pounds or 20, 40, and finally 60!  Each day, as I build a page of my new website, I know I am one page closer to reaching my goal.

Don't be discouraged by setbacks. All successful people experience setbacks, disappointments, and failure along the way. That's just part of the process. That's part of learning. Many times these act as course corrections to get you back on target.

There are several success principles used in goal achievement. One is properly programming your mind. You need to review your goal morning and at night before you go to bed. Have your goal written on a 3 x 5 card so you can review during the day. At night, ask your subconscious mind for solutions to problems, and methods or tools for helping you achieve your goal.

Another important principle is that of persistence. No one has enjoyed great achievement without persistence. Do something everyday towards your goal. A day's action puts you one step closer to your objective. Doing something everyday creates a momentum that is hard to stop.

When it comes to achieving your goals, you need to think of yourself as an unstoppable force moving relentlessly toward your objective. Keep moving forward, one step at a time, and before you realize it, you will be marking another goal as "Accomplished!".

My 2013 New Year's Resolutions

2012 is almost over.  It's the time of year when everyone starts thinking about New Year's Resolutions.  Even me.  Many people will start Tuesday morning with a long list of things they are going to do differently in 2013.  Unfortunately, in a few months, just about everyone will have given up on those resolutions as they fall back into their old habits.

That's why I prefer to use the last few days of the year to set goals for the coming year.  Unlike resolutions, which are really little more than wishes and daydreams, goals are specific and measurable and can provide a way to get where you want to be.

With that in mind, I decided to share my goals for the 2013 in the hope that some of them may inspire you to set some New Year's Goals of your own.

1.  Create a 1-page strategic plan for 2013.  I tend to get wordy at times so learning to condense my plan for the year to a single page is going to be challenging!  But it will be wonderful to have something I can put my hands on every day, look at every day, and carry with me anywhere, to remind me of where I'm headed and how I'm going to get there.

2.  Take Bob and Austin for a walk 3-times a week.  What kind of business goal is this you may ask?  Well, I've put on some weight (ok a lot of weight) this past year.  And my last doctor checkup indicated my blood pressure is on the high side.  I've been more tired and less focused lately.  How can I continue to move my business forward if I'm not in my best health?  The walks will help with the weight gain and spending time outside with my "boys" will help relieve stress.  Both of these should help lower my blood pressure and get me back to feeling like my old self and ready to work.

3.  Attend at least one business-building seminar.  I'm hoping I will be able to get to one of Ken McArthur's events.  I am currently not able to travel as much as I like but I always learn so much at these that I am determined to make it to at least one this year.

4.  Use some of the ideas provided in Bev Mahone's great book "How to Get on the News Without Committing Murder" to get some FREE PR.

5.  Advertise - every day!

6.  Give my blogs a makeover.  I recently finished ProBlogger's "31 Days To Build a Better Blog" and while I did apply much of what I learned, life - in the form of an automobile accident - got in the way.  Since even the little I did complete significantly improved traffic to my blogs, I can't wait to try the rest of the ideas!

7.  Devote one blog post per month to promoting my fellow entrepreneurs.  It may not help grow my business but part of my mission is to help others grow theirs.  Here's my chance!

8.  Express gratitude daily.  Several years ago, I did a teleseminar with Karol Avalon on how an attitude of gratitude is essential for business success.  I have forgotten that lately.  It's time to bring it back to my business. 

9.  Get off Twitter!  No, not really.  I love it!  But it's time I learn to really use Facebook and LinkedIn and all the other social media platforms available.  Ok, maybe not ALL of them.  But it is time to expand my social network!  Facebook, here I come!

10.  Give my website a facelift.  A recent comment from a visitor made me think.  Just because I'm a baby boomer, my site doesn't have to look old.  It can be informative and still be fun and engaging.  Time for a makeover.

That's my list for 2013.  Do you have a "resolution" to share? 

Free "Recession-Busting" Video

Will you act during the economic downturn, or simply REACT?

Don't let fear of the recession guide your goal setting plans for 2009. This is a BIG mistake...! Fear is an emotional response, only good for short-term survival. When you're in "fight or flight" mode, you're not thinking clearly about the path you're running... You're just RUNNING! So your efforts lack strategy, planning, and insight. I want you to do more than just survive 2009.

Internet shopping is predicted to hit $145.1 billion in the coming year, a significant 14% increase -- despite the recession! Consumers will be spending more time at home, using their computers for everything from bargain hunting and product research to upgrading skills. Studies show this shift is ALREADY well underway...!

I don't want the Big "R" to stop you from pursuing exciting personal, financial, and business goals in 2009, so I've arranged to get you exclusive VIP access to an important video that Internet marketing guru Derek Gehl just put up on his site. Derek's been successfully selling on the Internet for over a decade now, and he's brought in over $100 MILLION in sales... ... so he's by far the BEST person to advise you about how to thrive in ANY market. When you watch his FREE Goal Setting Video, you'll discover how you can make 2009 your richest year yet:
http://www.internetmarketing.com/2009-goals/1155

Derek's also going to be hosting a FREE Webinar in the first week of January to help everyone kick-off their New Year's goals with a bang. You can register for it here: http://www.internetmarketing.com/2009-goals/1155

Wishing you health, wealth, and happiness in 2009!

I need your input

I'm sitting in my office with a small case of the "blahs." You know that feeling right? I have tons of stuff to do and little desire to do it. I woke up at 5:30 this morning and I'm tired. And I'm not so sure that I haven't lost sight of some of my goals and I'm not confident that I'm making progress.

So where did I get off track? I was moving along just fine, getting more excited every day and then ...Something hit. In my case it was the air conditioner, the washing machine and the lawn mower all breaking in the same week. Then all the rain we've been having must have eroded some of the soil in on our land because a tree fell over and destroyed part of our fence. And my husband just announced he may be transferred to Fresno, CA.

Doesn't it ALWAYS happen this way....You are going along just fine and something just blows up in your face and that carefully planned goal gets forgotten.

So the real question is ...Now that I know that I'm off-track, what do I do about it and how can I keep it from happening again? Well, the first step is to remember what your main goal is. In my case that goal is to ..."Make a decent living while helping as many people as I possibly can achieve their own goals for a quality life." But, wait. I have to admit that I am making a decent living, at least in my own estimation. So have I achieved my goal? Is that why I feel so lost? Is it time to change my goal? Of course not. I just need to fine tune my goal. You see, my original goal was written long before I learned anything about how to set SMART goals. What is a "decent living." Who gets to decide? How will I know when I make it?

A goal is a clear, concise statement - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and has a time limit. So let's see what we can do with that original goal to make it better. Ready? How about "Earn $200,000 this year" or "Make $40,000 a month by the end of 2008." Better? Okay. That's part one. Now for the second part - "help as many people as possible achieve their own goals." This one could be a little trickier. How will I know if I've helped as many people as I can? How will I know I couldn't have helped just one more if I had worked harder? Is there any way to make this a SMARTer goal? Probably not. So you know what. It's not a goal. Perhaps it should be part of my personal mission statement. (What? You don't have your own mission statement? Shame on you! We'll work on that in a different post.).

Okay, so my new financial goal now reads: Make $30,000 a month by the end of 2008. Good goal. I'm feeling more focused already!

Step two. When you've lost focus and you've reexamined your goals, your not finished. Because just rewriting or remembering your goals isn't going to help you get back on track. You have to look at your strategy for achieving your goals. So how am I going to make $30,000 per month? I have my site selection business. That does well. But with the current economic situation, many meetings are being cancelled or scaled back so the chances of making $30,000 per month with that is not good. I have my Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing business. That does great. And it's growing. It could conceivably make $30,000 per month. But probably not by the end of 2008. Then there's the money I make from my affiliate programs. They all bring a little. And the "Travels with Bob" website is almost ready for launch. These are all good businesses. But none of them will make $30,000 a month by the end of 2008.

So what's the answer? Multiple sources of income. Alone - none of these will help me make my goal. But together I will more than achieve it. That was part of my sense of failure. I was focusing on one business to take me all the way. And then I talked to one of my mentors who reminded me that $30,000 is $30,000 whether it's all from one business or $10,000 each from several businesses.

Now, running several enterprises at once can be time consuming. And since one of my other goals is to spend more time with my husband, daughter, and grandchildren, that could cause conflict. So I also need to come up with some passive, recurring, and residual income. I will need to look at automating more of the processes on "Bob's" website. And maybe it's time to hire an assistant to help with some of the clerical and administrative tasks. And then I really need to share Fortune with as many people as possible. Network marketing is one of the greatest sources for passive residual income!

I'm so excited! I feel a new burst of energy. I think I'm back on track. In fact, I'm so excited that I almost forgot what I originally wanted to post about. I've been thinking of writing a book. I've got a title."Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise - A Woman's Guide to Becoming Physically, Financially, and Spiritually Fit". And you can help me write it. I need some specific input from you. If I've helped any of you in any way, I need to hear about it. Why? Well, it's not for my ego -- although I have at least as much ego going as the next person. It's because I need to know what things I am doing to reach my goals actually WORK! It's OK if you want to e-mail me and tell me that nothing has worked for you yet...But ...That's not the purpose of this post. What I am looking for is specific information, tools or techniques that I have personally given you that helped you towards a better life. I'm really looking for specific results. The more specific the better. If you have benefited from something that I've shared with you, please take a moment, hit the comment button and let me know specifically what it was. I'll be able to see what is working for you and that will help me help others.

The Four Stages of Your Business Life

I was speaking with a member of my team last night. She was one of the first to join my network marketing downline and she went after it with all she had. Before long, she was making more money than I was! Last night, she called to tell me she had hit a slump and she thought maybe she had taken this business as far as it could go. Of course, she is wrong. She has just hit that stage in her business life that I call the "dry spell."

If you have been in any kind of business of your own then you know what I'm talking about. You will go through stages while you get things up and running and then find your equilibrium. There are typically four stages to the life of any business and what you do during each of them can dramatically impact the life of your business.

The first is the "new business excitement" stage. You have just joined a great opportunity or launched your first product or put up your first site and you are jazzed! You are have the best deal out there and you are going to whip the world. You are going to make so much money that no one will even believe you when you tell them. You are full of energy and new ideas and can't wait to do them all. Unfortunately, that's the problem at this stage. You may have a tendency to scatter your time and resources among so many different things that nothing gets accomplished and you get discouraged. You are so busy building your business that you forget about the rest of your life. As resources dwindle and energy drops, you begin to worry more and more about your decisions until - you quit, thinking your business idea was a bad one or the network marketing opportunity was just a scam.

How to you make it through this stage? Focus. If you have joined a network marketing business, concentrate on finding customers for your products and team members for your downline. Decide how many prospects you can talk to effectively each day. That's your goal. If you don't gain a customer or recruit a team member that day, don't keep pushing out of desperation. Panic shows! Just set it aside and start fresh tomorrow. And don't spend all your money buying the videos or trying the products or going to the meetings. You will need to budget for these things while you grow your business. When I first joined Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing, it was just a few months before the annual meeting. Everyone was talking about it and asking me if I was planning to attend. I almost got caught up in all of the excitement and was just about to spend LOTS of money on plane fare and hotel rooms when someone in my upline stopped me. He asked me how much money I was making and I told him I had just started. Then he said if I wasn't making enough from my business to pay for my trip, I should reconsider. There were probably other more important uses for that money and my time could probably be better spent at home building my business. It made sense, so while everyone else was in Las Vegas, I stayed home and recruited enough people to promote myself to the next level.

Stage two is the "dry spell." You have been working as hard as you can and yet you just aren't growing like you did in the beginning. You have run out of people to tell about your business opportunity. The initial excitement for your product has worn off. Your site just isn't getting the hits it used to. You're wondering "does this thing really work?" Don't panic. This just means it may be time for some changes. If you are in network marketing, it may be time to stop concentrate on building your own downline and focus on helping your team build their businesses. After all, if they are successful, it impacts you as well. Or perhaps it's time to look at some new marketing techniques or different markets for your products. Now is the time to learn some new ways to do things. Talk to your mentor. Read some of the books and newsletters published by the experts in your field. Brainstorm. And then make the changes necessary to move you past this stage.

Stage three is the "Wow - maybe this REALLY does work stage." You made it through stages one and two and you are seeing your business gain some new life. You feel a sense of hope that perhaps you can make this happen after all. You have new energy and a new outlook and a new optimism. Keep it going by concentrating on doing the things that helped you make it this far to begin with. This is where you want to really take a look at what held you back and what moved you forward. Discard the actions that limited you and focus on those that help you grow.

The last stage is the "I DID it!" stage. Your business is flourishing. You are making money. You have learned to balance your business life with your personal life. Don't lose it by becoming complacent. Always keep learning. No matter how long you been in business, there is still something you can learn. Always stick to the basic plan that got you here in the first place. When things slow down, take a good look at what's happening and don't be afraid to make changes if necessary.

You can do this. Look at me. Just when I was thinking about retirement and wondering how I was going to afford it, a whole new world opened up for me! I'm doing things with my business now that just a few months ago I would not have dreamed of. And it's all because I refocused my resources, listened to the experts, made some changes to my business plan, and DID it!

Make Your Choice!

So here we are, sitting at our tables, looking at our list of New Year's resolutions. At the top of the list - build our business bigger. Or perhaps it's "start a home business." Or maybe "be more successful." We're staring at that statement wondering where to start. And we're looking at all the people we know or have read about and wondering what it is that makes them different from us. Do you really want to know? Good - because I'm going to tell you. They aren't sitting at the table wondering how to get started. They've already done it.

I've spent a lot of time studying successful people and I've found they all have a few things in common. They take action, they make decisions quickly, and they hang around with people like themselves. Successful people have been doing the same things for hundreds of years because it works! Someone - Theodore Roosevelt, I think - once said that the best thing you can do is make the right decision. The second best thing you can do is make the wrong decision. The worst thing you can do is make no decision at all. Think about it. If you decide on your first step to reach your goal and it's right - SUCCESS! If it's wrong, at least you may learn something from the mistake that will help you move forward. But if you never make a decision, you never get started - and you'll be sitting at your table again next year wondering how to change your life and what do all those successful people know that you don't.

Determine never to be idle. Do at least one thing every day to advance you toward your goal. It may be the wrong thing sometimes, but it's still better than doing nothing. Thomas Jefferson said, "It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing" Think how much you can accomplish towards your business and financial goals if you do one thing every day. Make a DECISION! Take ACTION! Take the action necessary to reach your goals.

Let's make this year your year to SHINE!