Shoes and A Direct Sales Business

I love shoes! What woman doesn't? I have so many pairs; I'm almost out of room in my closet!

There are some that looked great in the store but took on a totally different appearance once they got home with me so they remain in the closet untouched by my feet!

There's a pair that I've worn a total of ONE time...eleven years ago (on a date with my husband after Ethan, my eleven year was born!)

Then there are a few pairs that pinch my feet because they are a half a size too small...but they look so good on!

This past week, I was organizing my closet and for some odd reason the variety of footwear taking up residence in there, forced me to see some similarities between my shoes and my Direct Sales career!

If you are anything like me, you've probably been involved with more than one Direct Sales company. We tend to try on opportunities for size...to see if they are a good fit for us!

Many years ago, I joined a company (which shall remain nameless); I couldn't wait to get the starter kit...I was so excited, I stalked the UPS driver! When the highly anticipated kit arrived, I unpacked it and eagerly explored all the contents! Somehow what I had seen and had been told didn't quite match up to what was in front of me. This was my first experience of being a "closet" distributor...my kit was pushed into the back of the closet until I found someone to pass it on to!

Shortly after this misadventure, I decided to check out another Direct Sales company(same rules of anonymity apply here) which everyone was raving about! I quickly signed on the dotted line with the same level of excitement as with the previous company. The kit arrived and this time I will admit I gave it a good 100% of effort...doing everything I was told to do; but a few months down the road my excitement begun to wane. All too soon that kit also became part of the landscape at the back of my closet.

A few years ago, still not burned out by my experiences with Direct Sales; I found a company which I fell in love with! I was on fire! Nothing was going to stop me know! I had a wonderful product and was shouting it from the rooftops! I took that product everywhere with me...I life styled my business like a true Direct Sales professional!

Guess what? As much as I loved and was passionate about this business, I was having minimal success to say the least. But I hung in there because I loved the product and what I was doing so much!

Fast forward to three weeks ago...I noticed that an online friend who been a distributor with my company (and who was doing very well) had switched! I got curious and reached out to her and based on the information that she gave me and my own research; I switched and joined her.

Same PRODUCT, different COMPANY...but what a difference! I love my Gold Canyon Candle business just as much just as much as I love my shoes! It fits me perfectly, just like my favorite pair of Jimmy Choo's!

Colors of Relaxation

Most of my closest friends know that my bedroom (and by extension my master bathroom...I'll discuss this room in another posting) is my sanctuary. My bedroom, especially is the place I go to retreat from my kids (I have no photos of the boys in this room at all), from housework and just when I want to relax and experience a sense of peace and rejuvenation. I light my favorite relaxation candle and drift away into the ambiance of scents and surroundings!

When I redecorated my room early last year I had no clue about the effects of color on mood...all I knew is that I wanted blue to be the central color in the room...I never knew why because green has always been my favorite color(my nickname in my neighborhood was Ms.Green)! After the room was completed and I settled into my newly painted surroundings I begun to feel a difference in the feeling of the room...(or was it in me?) I decided to do some research on colors as they affect mood and this what I found:

Pacifying Colors -- blue, green, and purple -- stay reservedly in the background, cooling, calming, and re-energizing weary spirits. Put them in rooms for resting and refueling.

Pale, serene greens slip quietly into a living room, bedroom, or reading room, hushing it with a whisper. Medium greens connect to nature, grounding and freshening the spirits of a home office, family room, or spa. Deep greens comfort a library, bedroom, or sitting room. But lime and parrot greens tend to waken and activate.

Blues and Neutrals Blues and purples work meditative wonders. Pale azure and glacier blues wash a room in coolness and unstructured serenity. Proud, strong blues work responsibility and contentment into the mood. Pale purple-blues prompt reflection and dreaming.

Neutralizers are the "noncolors": browns, beiges, grays, and white. Perfect for neutral territories of the house, such as kitchens or baths, these colors bridge together rooms, other colors, and moods. They neither activate nor pacify; they blend, combine, and cooperate.

White, another neutral hue, brings out openness, airiness, and an expansive spirit. It generously welcomes other colors into a room, framing them and showing them off to their best advantage.

Activating colors , such as yellow, orange, and red, move forward, warming and cheering, and inspiring conversation in varying degrees. Red, the intense one of this group, sparks emotions forcefully. Orange applies less pressure, and yellow merely suggests. If these extroverted colors please you, put them to work in the activity rooms of your house. Ruby, raspberry, or brick reds pack a punch in entries or halls. Even people who can't relax amid strong colors find a short spurt of red's exhilaration comfortable as they pass through a brilliant hall.

Notice what they say about brown? It's a neutral color that blends, combines and cooperates. The accent wall in my bedroom is brown! So without realizing I had created an oasis for myself where I can go to rest and refuel; emerging re-energized and filled with a spirit of serenity, contentment and cooperation!

What hue are you?

Relaxing With a Cup of Tea

It's early morning right before the sun rises and I am sitting quietly in my room sipping my first cup of tea. I love tea! I picked up the habit roughly seventeen years ago in Leeds, England where I spent six months on a modeling assignment.

This is one of many self care rituals that I practice. I sit quietly before the boys awaken, sipping from my cup of tea and writing in my journal while surrounded not only by calming quiet but the wonderful aroma of "Relaxing" an Aromatherapy candle.

This is the time of the day when I do my best thinking...when I create the masterpiece that is to be my day! There's a special feeling in the air that is unexplainable...all I can say is that there is so much peace and calm just before the sun rises. This is both literally and figuratively because as the sun peeks over the horizon I am bound to hear my two younger sons getting up and wondering aloud; "I wonder what's for breakfast!" After that I can barely hear myself think!

Here are some health benefits of tea that I found on the internet:

Fights Cancer & Heart Disease
Tea contains antioxidant compounds of polyphenols that help the body fight harmful free radicals. It is believed that harmful free radical can lead to cancer and heart disease. Tea also contains flavonoids that restricts the build up of cholesterols and help with blood vessel functionality.

Protects Teeth & Strengthens Bones
Polyphenols found in tea may reduce plaque, which lowers your chance of cavity and gum disease. Tea also contains fluoride that helps protect against tooth decay. Fluoride is extracted from the soil by the tea plant. This identified mineral also strengthens bones and prevents osteoporosis.

Improves Digestion The polyphenols in tea help with digestion of fatty food by increasing the flow of digestive juices.

Prevents Food Poisoning The catechins in tea are a powerful sterilizing agent, which kills germs and bacteria. Tea prevents food poisoning by fighting against stomach diseases caused by harmful bacterias.

Look and Feel Younger Studies suggested that the high concentration of antioxidants in tea have an anti-aging effect.

Strengthens the Immune System Vitamin C in green tea helps to treat the flu and the common cold. Moreover, the polyphenols in tea have shown to increase the number of white blood cells in our immune system.

Prevents Dehydration Tea is a good source of fluid intake that replenishes lost body liquid. Doctors recommend that it is vital to drink at least 1.5 liters of fluid a day. Tea is low in calorie and it is a great thirst quencher.

Do you enjoy tea? Share with me what kind you like.

Mine Is The Best!!!...Or Is It?

“My company makes the best candles!” This was a claim I heard from a few distributors from another candle company, which shall remain nameless. For about three months, scarcely a week went by without my opening my in box to emails from eager distributors who wanted to prove to me that their candle was the BEST on the planet!

Finally, out of curiosity I asked one person to please send me one of her candles so I could try it for myself. I eagerly awaited my package, because as the saying goes; “Ten thousand Frenchmen can’t be wrong”. I was beginning to think that we were in serious trouble here if all these eager distributors were right!

My package arrived on time and as I unpacked it I noticed the first of many major differences…I could not smell anything emanating from the box. Strike One. "When I received my first order from ……., I got really excited because I could smell the candles even before I opened the box. I sat my candle on the table for a few days and thoroughly enjoyed the scent even before I burned the candle.”

I lit up the 20-ounce jar candle (Grandma’s Cookies) and prepared to enjoy the scent and the ambience. I was in for a disappointment because after burning the candle for the recommended four hours, there was no scent…only a flame! Strike Four. "I lit my first ……. candle, placed it on my fireplace and turned some music on and was running around the house doing some housework. Twenty minutes later, the entire house was filled with an aroma!”

The biggest letdown came when I blew the candle out. There was an overwhelming smell of soot, which took about ten minutes to dissipate! Strike Three. “The 1st thing that sold me was the jar sitting there with black soot all over it and it hadn't burned evenly. The …… jar was next to it, no soot and had burned evenly! How disgusting that other candle jar was and imagine what my walls, TV, picture frames, curtains and other items in my house would look like. I was hooked.”

For the record, the captions in bold are testimonials from customers who currently burn my candles.

I did burn the candle in its entirety in order to give a thorough opinion to the person who sent it to me.

Let your product speak for itself. Third party opinions are very valuable when promoting a product or service. Do not fall into the ‘mine is better than yours’ trap. This premise can also be applied to all areas of your life. When you live your life with authenticity, others will heap praise on you without solicitation. Remember… “Self praise is no recommendation”.

Woodstock and This Month's Candle Scent

I wasn't yet born in the summer of 1969 when the Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place in a pasture in Sullivan County with over 450,000 people in attendance. The event took place over the course of three days from August 15th to August 18th with some of the greatest musicians of the time performing before a mammoth crowd that spilled onto Max Yasgar's 600 acre dairy farm.





That summer was dubbed "Summer of Love " and I find it quite fitting that my Gourmet Candle Company has, on almost the fortieth anniversary of that iconic weekend of love, created what has become my new favorite candle scent; quite aptly named "Summer Love".

Folks, you have just got to experience this scent for yourself. It just reeks of sensuality and romance! I will be traveling this summer to introduce many of you to this incredible aroma that has awoken so many pleasant memories for me and I'm sure it will for you also. Looking forward to meeting some of you on my "Summer Love" tour.

Switching Gears

Hello World
I have not written in my blog for over a year and I must admit I have missed connecting with my readers. I was inspired to begin writing again when I read a post on a friend's Facebook page. Simon T Bailey said in his post: "If your life is not moving in the direction you want it to go, then make a U-Turn. That's right You-Turn and go in the opposite direction." I thought about it for a few days and realized that MY life was not moving in the direction where I wanted it to go. I decided it was up to ME to make the turn and steer myself back onto the path that I had strayed from.

It was kind of a hard decision to make because I had become quite comfortable in the rut that I had somehow gotten stuck in this past year. I was enjoying not over extending myself and growing quite used to staying in my comfort zone. I was unfortunately, very comfortably ensconced in mediocrity in both my personal and business life.

The most difficult part was the first step; assessing myself and deciding what changes had to be made. The first things I looked at were in my personal life. I was not eating properly and was not getting enough exercise. I immediately changed my diet and have started a walking regimen. It's strange stretching both my mental and physical muscles but I'm getting used to it.

I then had to take a long hard look at how I was running my business. My desk was disorganized and I know I have spent many BUSY mornings just reading and answering emails. I was not being productive at all. My first task was to organize my office and make sure it was ready for me to get back on the road of productivity.

The next thing I looked at was my actual business. Here is where the most crucial switching of the gears was made. I have enjoyed being a candle distributor with the same company for almost two years. Unfortunately I was not performing the actions I should, to be successful. I was recently reminded by Todd Falcone in his newsletter about the ten things I had not done to make my business as successful as it should be. They are:

1. Pick a company
   
2. Make the commitment to build it.
   
3. Start building it and don't stop.
   
4. Help people get what they want and maintain your focus.
   
5. Work hard and work smart.
   
6. Don't quit.
   
7. Be honest...first and foremost with yourself!
8. Be REAL. In other words, be genuine.
   
9. Keep working on your skills.
   
10. Lead by example.
    
    I had to make a sharp u turn away from all the activities that I was doing that were not helping me be productive in my business. I am so excited to be embarking on a new leg of my Direct Sales journey. I will be posting regularly about my adventures and whether I am staying on my newly forged path. I look forward to sharing with you.
    

7 Tips To Help With Your Network Marketing Start-up Costs

If you don’t have the funds built into your budget for the initial and ongoing expenses of a network marketing business here are seven ways that you can cut spending in order to afford to start and maintain your new business in its early stages.

1. Have a garage sale- You will get rid of unnecessary clutter and be more organized.

2.Get rid of your cable- All that television is no good for you anyway and you’ll also be saving on your electricity bill. Use the time to read books and listen to audio tapes pertinent to the network marketing industry.

3. Stop eating out- Making your meals at home is healthier for you and arguably more sanitary.

4. When grocery shopping, forgo the brand name products in favor of store brand- They are all made by the same manufacturers anyway; the only real difference is the packaging.

5. Avoid going t the movies- Wait until the shows are released on video. It’s cheaper and you won’t spend a fortune at the concession stand.

6. Do your hair and nails yourself- You will save both time and money that could be better spent on your business.

7. Start a part-time job-Think of all the valuable contacts you can make that may turn out to be potential recruits for your business.

When you’ve built a wildly successful network marketing business, you can splurge all you want and watch the reruns on television.

Read a good book along the way.

Be REMARKABLE!
Sharon Mayers
"The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work."...Robert T Kyosaki Author, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"