Summer Day

Summer is here, full force. I love the Summer. I love spending long days outside. On a typical day I sit back in the lawn chair and get my work done while the kids are playing. Sometimes I even take a book out there, it all depends on how hot it is and if the kids are keeping themselves occupied!

This week we have VBS. The kids absolutely love it and so do I -- I get 2 1/2 hours of free time!!! Since I have the free time, this week I started reading a new book - Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. I have only read the first 3 chapters, but so far I highly recommend it!

I was on our team forum call this morning. I am getting my Diamond Directorship and co-hosting the forum call is one of the requirements. I absolutely love doing the forum calls! One of the ladies there was concerned because she wasn't getting the results that she had expected with her advertising. I wanted to touch on this for a moment...

I think the issue is that today is a beautiful Summer day!

People tend to do more in the Summer. There are ball games, cookouts, trips to the beach, VBS, day camps, not to mention going on vacation! Most of us already lead busy lives, Summer just compounds that with longer days and warmer weather.

When you are getting back to someone who has requested information and you don't get in touch with them, it's not you! It's just life keeping that person busy. Do your job, make the phone call and send an email. Be consistent and persistent. If the person is truly interested, they will get in touch with you or they will answer the phone the next time you give them a call.

We are planting seeds. The people that we are talking to now will be the people that get involved in the next 30 - 60 days. Do not give up! There are many home business owners out there that will put their business to the side during the Summer. Do not be one of those people. The people that are asking for your help now are just as serious as the people who were asking for help 3 months ago. It is our job to help those who are willing to help themselves!

Is short, don't take it personally! It's Summer time! Definitely keep on working toward your goals. Get outside and enjoy the weather. And remember, you can always do both at the same time like I do :-)

Think About It.

I went to a different church this past Sunday.

There was a missionary speaking and he has just come back from Mexico. He told a story that I would like to share...

He started by telling us that he had a revelation with bugs in his mouth...literally!

There was a bucket hanging from the top of the cooking hut. In the bucket was a pile of dirt that was covered with hundreds and hundreds of worms (the same worms that you find in the bottom of the tequila bottle). So, he asked what the worms were for. The lady never answered him, she just reached in the bucket, pulled out a handful of worms, and threw them in the pot. She cooked them for a few minutes, crushed them up, mixed them with a salsa type of stuff, and told him to try them. So, he put a pile in his mouth. Then he forced a smile.

He said that at that moment this went through his mind -- "Is my temporary comfort (in this life at this moment) more important than the eternal destiny of the person I am talking to, talking about, working with, working for, ministering to etc. etc?"

All I could think when he said that was this - What is more important? Being a little out of my comfort zone and talking to people I don't know? Or helping other people completely change their lives and get where they need to be?

Think about it!

Thanks!

Thanks to all the Dad's out there.

The ones who got up in the middle of the night when we needed you. The ones who went to work, even when they didn't feel like it. The ones who took time off - just because it was our birthday. The ones who took us out for ice cream and a movie. The ones who listened when we needed to talk. And the ones who talked when we needed to listen.

Thanks for teaching us about life. Thanks for teaching us how to drive and then letting us use the car. Thanks for correcting us when we needed it. Thanks for doing the things we liked to do (and pretending to like it too). Thanks for being a friend. Thanks for being you!

I Love You Dad!!!

Shy

I was talking with a very nice lady today who is trying to find a way to bring in some income from home. She is married and they have a 7 month old daughter. She did everything that I asked her to do. She read over the information and she does see how this business could really change her life.

Here's the thing -- she's really shy! She says that she is not a people person, even though she is a delight to talk to. The most soft spoken, polite lady that I have talked to in some time.

Because of her shyness, she told me that this is not something she would want to do and she thanked me for my time.

You know what? I TOTALLY get where she is coming from! I was the exact same way! I hated talking to people that I didn't know. I was so bad, that when I was out in public, I would stand around (usually in a corner somewhere) with my arms crossed. I was great at the one word answers:

How are you today? OK
What have you been doing lately? nothing
Are you having a good time? yes
Is there anything I can get for you? no
Will you come again next week? sure

I was very shy. I didn't have much self-confidence. I didn't think that anyone would want to hear anything that I had to say. I thought that if I did say something, it would probably come out wrong. I would sound stupid, or worse, hurt someone else's feelings.

I know better now! I know that I am here to help people.

So, if you are the shy person standing in the corner, watching life pass by, and you want more -- there is hope! If you want to change, you can! I am the living proof. :-)

Goals

Yesterday my thoughts were on dreams. Today I'm thinking about goals.

I think that the only thing that separates a dream from a goal is action. The ones that we make up our mind to try to accomplish are our goals.

I like to list my goals and review them all the time. I also like to reevaluate them every few months. I have two types of goals. Short term and long term. Those things that I can accomplish in 90 days are my short term goals, everything else is a long term goal.

When I first started my business I wrote my goals out like this:

1. Build better relationships
2. Quit working outside of the home
~ spend more time with my kids
~ join a gym (and go!)
~ cook dinner 4 nights a week
3. Pay off credit cards
4. Build a deck
5. Put more money in savings

Now, this is just an example, I wanted to show you that even though I had a more long term goal on my list, I would break that one goal into smaller ones. Even though I may not have been able to quit working outside of the house completely, I could see that I was making progress. Maybe I only had to work two weekends out of the month instead of all four. Because I was able to work less hours I had more time to spend with my kids. Those little things really make you feel good about what you are doing. After all, if what you are doing isn't paying off, are you going to keep on doing it?

Now, most of our goals can be put in to different categories. Not just short term and long term. They can be personal (health, relationship, etc.), business (work, money, etc.), or spiritual goals. Some of these goals we can accomplish on our own. Some of them take other courses of action.

If your goals are to build a deck, or add more to the savings account, or go on a great vacation, you probably need to find a way to bring in some extra cash. Think about how much extra income you would need to accomplish those goals. Now, how are you going to do that? Can you bring in that much additional income at the job you currently have? Could you go out and get another part time job? Would you still have time to live your life?

If working more hours or going out to get a second or third job doesn't sound like something you are willing to do, then it's time to look at other options! A home business maybe?

Don't settle! Don't get comfortable with things the way they are. Look around -- there are other options. First think about what interests you and go from there. If you don't like what you are doing, then you will never stick with it, no matter how much money you make doing it. You deserve better! You deserve a happy life! You deserve to see how it feels to be living right in the middle in that picture you pained of your life when you were younger!

My interest is travel and I did something about it. What interests you? Are you going to do something about it?

Dreams

What are your dreams? Have your dreams changed over the years? I'm sure they have, most people's dreams change over the course of their life. That's a good thing! We should all evolve as we get older (and hopefully wiser!).

But, did you settle? Did you lose sight of your most precious dreams? Did life get in the way? What were your dreams? Remember, back when you thought that you could do anything? When nothing was impossible? When you actually DARED someone to get in your way? What were the great things that you were going to accomplish? What did the picture of your life look like?

If you thought that you could do anything, if you could not fail, what would you do? Even if you didn't make it all the way, would it be worth it just to say that you tried? You gave it your all? How would living life like that be?

Dreams are the one thing that we completely own. They are ours and no one else's. Reflect on your dreams for a few minutes today. Put a smile on your face, live in the moment, and let your imagination soar!

It Just Keeps Getting Better!!!

All I can say is - WOW!

The WealthBuilders just keep getting better, and better, and better!

Our 2nd Annual Coastal WealthBuilders Seminar is taking place next month. It is sure to be a great event!

There is something exciting about being able to meet other people who do the exact same things that you do on a daily basis. It's even better when that group of people are there to help each other out with ideas and support. We are very fortunate to be in a group that truly believes in paying it forward.

I was just told to get ready because there is going to be a session on retailing the travel packages business to business. That is a definite interest of mine! Needless to say, I am excited!

We are all going -- My mother-in-law and her husband, my husband and I, and our kids. We would love to meet you there! Oh, this is an open event, you are welcome to join us even if you are not in Coastal yet!

If you want to see the event flyer - click here!

Do you need more detail? Go here!

Also, just released today was the first team newsletter for the WealthBuilders. They just keep on getting better!

Email!

Here is a copy of an email that I got today. It was sent out by the founder of the WealthBuilders, Lynn McCallister. I like it and I thought I would share it with you!

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Hi Team, Lynn here...

Happy Sunday, Team. I wanted to share this excerpt from Mark Victor Hansen.

Deciding how we want our lives to play out is like creating a storyboard for a movie.

Storyboarding is the process of creating a panel of rough sketches that outline the movie and major changes involving plot or action in the production. Storyboarding was first dreamed up by Walt Disney when he began his animated cartoons way back in the 1930s. It has since become an industry standard and has now moved into the “corporate” world with help from Bill Gates and his electronic storyboarding software, Microsoft PowerPoint.

In order for us to create the movie of our lives we have to decide exactly what we want to happen. First, we create an outline for the entire movie. We start at the end, deciding in the beginning what that outcome will be. We decide what we want in each area of our lives.

Next, we conceptualize the plot – we ask ourselves questions to determine specific goals in each category.

Finally, the camera goes on and filming begins – we create action steps for each goal and begin to live our dreams.

Shakespeare said, “All life is a stage...” so create your stage for YOU, for YOUR story, and the rest falls into place. Seeing the big picture of the life you want to live is a tremendous achievement! Better yet, it’s exhilarating! Most everyone who has achieved great success, both financially and personally, has had a clear vision of what they wanted their lives to be like.

Clarity is power. Without that vision we’re like ships drifting on the ocean without a captain or a destination. You must become the captain of our own ship. You must map out a destination worthy of you.

Visualizing the future does not mean only focusing on our careers or business, because our lives consist of so much more than that. In order to live abundantly we need to visualize abundance in every area of our lives.

Here are the seven categories of life in which I encourage you to begin storyboarding by developing an outline:

1. Health and Fitness – When it comes to this category, include spiritual fitness and mental fitness. Note: Health is your first Wealth.

2. Contribution – Our lives should be brimming with contribution to those around us and to causes that we believe in. We all have gifts, talents, time, energy, ideas and/or money. It’s our obligation to the Universe to contribute whatever we have to give.

3. Relationships – This is the category where we concentrate on the people in our lives. They can be members of our family, friends, associates, or mentors that we’d like to learn from. We deserve to have amazing relationships, so deciding on the relationships we want is extremely important. Consider your criteria for what makes a relationship exhilarating, fulfilling and fun, then take the actions necessary to keep those people front and center in your life.

4. Personal – In our personal lives we need only concentrate on ourselves. Here, we need to discover skills we want to perfect, ALL the skills we have to offer.. and then seek those who will benefit from them.

5. Fun, Fun, Fun! - Unfortunately, this is the category that most people forget about or feel guilty about. That is nonsense! We are ALL meant to have FUN. We need it in our lives. I’m talking about real fun...whatever it is that puts butterflies in your stomach and a smile on your face that you can't wipe off, THAT'S what I call fun.

6. Finances – In our financial lives we must focus on goals concerning the TOTAL income we would will receive each week/month/year; the amount of money we want to invest in real estate or other appreciating assets, the sum of money we want to put into savings, and finally, the debts we want to pay off – all this while becoming debt-free, stress-free and set free. Write it all down...just like in a movie..if it's not in the script, it's not going to happen.

7. Business – In our business lives we need to consider every business we want to build, all of the different careers we want to have (whether there’s one or ten and no matter how crazy they may sound to anyone else) and even the key people with whom we want to work. This last point is incredibly important. If you don’t write down the type of people you want to work with or even write specific names of people you most admire and want to learn from, you’ll miss so much opportunity in your life!

Walt Disney had a full 50 Year Plan... What's yours?

“Each of us must do massive right thinking, take massive right action and get massive right results, right here, right now.”

- Mark Victor Hansen

Note: Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and grossly underestimate what they can do in a decade. Grab a pen and start writing.
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OK, what is going to be on YOUR storyboard?

OK, I think we are finally caught up!

It's June!

It's hard to believe that I started a business with my mother-in-law two years ago. It's even harder to believe that I didn't do much of anything with the business for the majority of that time!

Since I have been working at the business this year I have consistently made at least $4,000 per month in profit. The crazy thing about that is I don't even work that many hours!

On the 1st my son had field day at his school. I really wanted to be there for him, but I also wanted to work. So, I talked face-to-face to 2 people about my business at the school. I talked to 1 lady at the bank. And I talked to 2 people at the pharmacy. I ended up talking to 5 people on my day off. I was really bad during the month of May, I probably only worked 15 hours all month. Even with that I still made $4,000 profit.

I am not saying these things to brag. There are many others out there who make a LOT more than I do with Coastal. I just want you to know that a successful business can be built even if you don't have much time. If you want it bad enough, it can be done!

May 2007

Once I took this business seriously, and I actually treated it like a business, great things started happening!

I get to stay at home with my kids. I get to see my husband every day (I didn't before, we worked opposite shifts). We finally get to do the fun stuff together. Cub Scouts on Monday's. Birthday parties for friends. Dinner and a movie. Days at the beach just for fun. Last month we even took a mini-vacation to North Carolina with the kids. Our life is nothing like it was a year ago at this time!

I truly thank God for everything. I thank Him for putting me where He did. I love the group of people that I get to work with on a daily basis. I love getting up and getting on the phone to see who I can help each day. There is not another job out there that I would rather be doing. I really am blessed!

**Congratulations to Amanda from IN for qualifying as a Level II Director this month! **

April 2007

Dani Johnson brought First Steps back to the East Coast this month!

Patsy wanted to go back to First Steps and so did I! My husband even wanted to go back again, so we did! We drove up to Baltimore for the conference. One of my new associates (Rene from IN) and her husband even met us there. Again, many of the WealthBuilders were there. Actually there were probably more of them there in Baltimore than there were in LA because in March the Coastal Vacations conference happened at the same time as the Dani Johnson conference.

I know, you probably think this blog is all about Dani Johnson, but it really isn't :-)

We probably will not be going back to one of her conferences for a while. For now I am going to concentrate on helping my new associates!

I also started a conference call for my personal associates this month. We meet every Monday night, it's a great way for everyone to get to know each other and encourage each other!

March 2007

March went well :-)

March 14th and 15th my husband and I went to Los Angeles, CA for the First Steps to Success seminar. I got to see a lot of the people that I had met at First Steps in VA Beach last summer. We also met a lot of new people from the WealthBuilders group. Two of my new associates, Amanda from IN and Jen from GA, even made it out there with us! We were all ready to get home and make great things happen! We had a great time in LA!

I stepped up to the top Coastal package. This is where I am supposed to be so I am here to stay!

February 2007

February started with a bang!

I really wanted to go back to First Steps To Success. This time I wanted to take my husband with me. So, at the very beginning of February, I registered us for the March event that was going to be in Los Angeles, CA.

Also, the first week of February, I had a meeting with an advertising sales manager at our local parenting magazine. The meeting went great! In exchange for a vacation I am getting 6 months of free advertising!

The same day of the meeting with the magazine, I had a brand new associate start at the Premier level!

I also ended up starting the paid advertising again this month.

February ended up being a really great month!!!

Fall/Winter 06'

During the Fall and Winter things really started turning around. Everything started going much better for us personally.

I did a lot of personal development. I really started listening to the Dani Johnson Cd's (Spiritual Keys to Success is my favorite!) that I had purchased at the First Steps conference. I was also introduced to "The Secret". Those are just a few of tools that I use for personal development.

The most important thing that I did during the Fall and Winter was staying consistent. I stayed plugged into our team training. I checked, updated, and renewed my free ads as needed. And I did some form of personal development almost daily.

All in all, 2006 was better than 2005. Things were looking up for us and I was excited to see what 2007 had to offer!

Summer of 06'

The Summer of 2006 went pretty slow for the business. I didn't have extra funds in place for advertising. I did do all I could with free advertising though. That was ok, I was still getting visitors to my website, but it wasn't going as well as I thought it would.

I did start participating (instead of just listening) in our Wealth Builder team calls. I had met several of the Wealth Builders at the Dani Johnson conference, so that was really cool! I loved listening to them and hearing how their businesses were booming.

I did have the opportunity to do a live presentation for a business. I went to their Board of Directors meeting and presented the travel package to them. I was pretty nervous about it at first, but it ended up going great!

I was qualified out as a Level II Director over the Summer of 06', so that was great!

I also had a lot of fun with my kids! Being able to stay home with them is just awesome!

My Biggest Change

There was one major change that took place in me at First Steps To Success. I became a Christian again!

See, I grew up in church, my Dad was a preacher. I had always considered myself a christian. I tried to be a good person and I tried to raise my kids with good values. I said goodnight prayers before bed every night with the kids. We even went to church every once in a while.

All of that meant nothing because I had walked away from God and I hadn't even realized it. I did all of those things because I thought that's what I was supposed to do. I was trying to be a good Mom. Not because that was the life that I was living.

I didn't have a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. He wants that personal one on one with each and every one of us. I didn't have that with Him. In fact, until First Steps, I had only felt His presence one other time in my life that I can remember. That was when I was about 12 years old and I went to church camp.

OK, I am not going to start preaching to you now. I just wanted to add this so that you would have some background on me. In my heart I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I was brought to this business and to this wonderful group for a reason!

First Steps -- To Things Changing!

In June I decided to take my Coastal Business seriously. I had been on the training calls, even though I never participated, off and on throughout the year. I really thought that if all of these other people could be successful with this business, so could I.

I talked to my director and I told her that I was ready to get back to work. I didn't know how I was going to make it happen, but I was definitely going to give it another try.

She told me that I needed to go to First Steps To Success -- a Dani Johnson conference. The conference was going to be right here in VA Beach that month. I already knew who Dani Johnson was. I listened to some of her free pre-recorded calls on the internet when I had time. I liked her and I had wanted to go to one of her live events for some time. The problem was, we didn't have the money!

I knew that I needed to go, but I couldn't scrape enough money together to make it. My director, Donna, called me out of the blue one evening the week of the First Steps and told me to check my email. She had paid for my ticket to the conference! I still owe her to this day for that one!

Patsy and I ended up going to First Steps together. We split a hotel room and we had a truly life changing weekend!

Now, I could tell you all about the conference, but I won't. I will just tell you that if you have not been, you need to go! It doesn't matter what you do for a living, you will benefit from the conference!

I personally will never be the same. I am definitely changed for the better. Everyone around me saw the difference as soon as I got back home.

Cont. How I Started Down This Road...

The business that Patsy and I started was Coastal Vacations. I really wasn't looking for the business to do much of anything. The only reason I started with an advertising campaign was because of all that was happening at the time.

You see, we started in June of '05. At the time I worked as a contractor in our local public school system. I was a computer math lab administrator. I absolutely loved my job, but I didn't love the pay.

Ever since middle school I had wanted to become a nurse. In high school I started taking nursing classes and I was certified as a nursing assistant at the age of 16. During the summer of my Junior year I even worked at a retirement home. After high school I started at our community college to pursue my nursing degree. Next thing we knew, I was pregnant. My advisor suggested that I wait until after I had the baby to continue my classes because of my due date. I took his advice and dropped all of my classes.

Life happened and I put going back to school off. I had a husband, two kids, a job in the school system, and a pretty busy life. Even through all of that, the dream of becoming a nurse never left me. In March of 05' I was accepted to a private nursing school. Only 15 students were accepted each year -- and I made it!

Since I was getting ready to go back to school full time, I had to quit my job at the school. Since Patsy and I started a business I thought that I would at least give the advertising a try until my classes started up in September. I thought that I would make some money to have on hand for when I went to school.

I plugged into the training that our group, the Coastal WealthBuilders, offered. It was awesome! You will never meet a group of people that truly want to see each other succeed. Over the Summer I got one person started. I made $1,000 and I thought that if I could do it once, I could do it again. I got really excited!

At the end of August I found out that I was not going to nursing school after all. Things just didn't work out with my son starting Kindergarten and needing a sitter for my daughter. I had her on a preschool waiting list all Summer and nothing opened up. I had to give my nursing school spot to someone else. I was very upset about not being able to go, but at least I had my Coastal business! I have to admit, being at home with the kids all that time was great. A lot of times I would actually talk to people and do my work outside while the kids were playing in the kiddie pool!

Once the summer ended a lot of personal stuff happened. Patsy and I ended up putting the business aside. I went to work part time at two different places. It was supposed to be just a seasonal thing. I was going to bring in some extra money for Christmas. It ended up being way more than that.

In June of 2006, when school was out for my son I quit both of my jobs (I didn't make enough to pay for day care for both of the kids anyway). I decided that if my life was going to change for the better, I was going to have to be the one to step up and change it.