What’s with all the Woo-Woo in the Home Business Industry?

Many years ago, when I got my first taste of the home business industry, I was invited to a wealth tele-seminar. I was super excited thinking I was going to learn more about the compensation, maybe map-out a ‘fast track plan’ with numbers, figures, or perhaps they might touch on investments, taxes or something of the like. Bottom line, I was expecting a very practical ‘wealth’ seminar.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived and the moderator introduced a guest speaker from Australia who started to speak about changing our behavior in order to “attract’ wealth.

The seminar proceeded to cover such topics as attitude, power of words, our reaction to situations, our behavior towards money. Imagine my surprise when topics like happiness, desire, passion, gratitude and giving took over the conversation.

As surprised as I was, the journey from then on took an upwards direction and my life has never been the same.

What appeared at first glance to be “fluff’ and “woo-woo” was the introduction of Personal Development and a turning point in my life.

…and I know has been the turning point for many successful people and there is a reason it is so prominent in the home-business industry.

What exactly is Personal Development?

Personal development is not something you do once. It’s a life long process.

Personal development involves improving yourself via daily habits, routines, and making time to reflect on who you are and what you’re goals are.

To give a full explanation of everything that Personal development entails would be impossible but in a nutshell it involves change, improvement and self awareness and becoming more than who you are right now.

Why is Personal Development so important in Home Business?

Money is a good place to start when explaining the importance of Personal Development in Home Business because it is something tangible… quantifiable.

Think of it this way: We get paid to bringing value to the marketplace, right?

Is it possible to become twice as valuable, or even 3 times more valuable and make 3 times as much money in the same time? YES!

All you need to do is become more valuable.

The reality is that if you are not very valuable, you don’t make much money.

The famous Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, motivational speaker and author said it best: “If you want to be wealthy and happy, learn to work harder on yourself than you do at your job”. He stressed that what and who you are becoming is much more important than what you are getting.

He further notes that no matter how much you make, your income almost never surpasses the personal development required to get there.

Think of it this way… Most of what you have today, monetary or otherwise is a direct result of becoming the person you are right now. Does it not then make logical sense that by improving who you become, you will also improve what you have.

Personal development taught me to take personal responsibility. It taught me that I can’t change outside circumstances but I can change what I do, how I react and what I change in my life .

If you change, everything changes for you.

“ Work harder on yourself than you do at your job”, says Jim Rohn. “If you work hard on your job, you can make a living, but if you work on yourself, you can make a fortune.”

Where do you start?

Truthfully, a lot of us already know what we need to do to change and improve ourselves but we aren’t doing it. Start there.

Google has a ton of free resources that can help you (audios, videos etc).

You also might want to check out the Deep Abyss, an Inner Circle, high level mastermind designed to get you the life of your dreams.(Great stuff there)

Here’s to the “woo woo”. It’s life changing.

To your success and outrageous goals,

Top New Year Resolutions For Home Business Success

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New Year’s resolutions date back to the Babylonians, some 4000 years ago who celebrated in mid-March . The resolutions included making amends for the past and make promises to their gods.

Fast forward to today, there is a typical association with New Year’s Resolutions being something you commit to on January 1st, to lose weight, be a better person, quit a bad habit etc. At the stroke of midnight, following a drinking and eating binge, all of sudden, cold turkey, everyone is cleansing and committing to everything good and pure.

Then there’s the anti-resolution phase that I see “trending” now suggesting resolutions don’t work and that you’ll only break them so why do anything.

My take on all this?

Resolutions, goals, making promises, commitments…whatever you choose to call it, all point to positive change and if you stick to that, there can’t be anything wrong with that.

Here are just a few “New Year Resolutions” that will make the world of difference in your home business.

Stop waiting for your “New Year”

Treat every day the same. Dec. 31 or January 1. Monday or Friday. A cold winter day and a summer day. Stop waiting. Stop planning. Stop thinking a new season brings New success. Do, don’t try. Do. Don’t just plan. Do.

Resolving to start something in the New Year or something in the fall or after spring break, although it may seem empowering to you is weak. It’s weak if you keep setting these goals and not taking the action. Why wait? Just take action.

Drop what’s not working and move on.

O.K, let’s get real here. We’re adults right? We are business owners. Get real with yourself.

There’s a huge difference between quitting and moving on and it is important as a business owner that you learn to discern between the two.

If you haven’t worked consistently at something and treated your business like a business and are throwing in the towel looking for something else…I hate to break it to you but you are never going to find that something else.

If however, you are working at something consistently and you are just not moving forward, it’s time to take a good hard look at what you are doing and change it. Although closing shop might be what you need to do and decide to do, first do a little analysis on what’s really going on.

Get some advice from someone who is having success at what you are doing. Maybe you just need to tweak something? (having a mentor is imperative).
Take a good hard look at your business – is it in line with your beliefs? Did someone tell you that this is the way to go but you don’t quite like what you are doing or believe in it. Either you need to change your belief or you need to find something that is aligned with your beliefs.
Learn a new skill. Moving on might just mean that you need to upgrade your skills and replace or upgrade what you currently know.

Don’t quit. Change what needs to be changed and move on.

Create and Share Value

Your earnings are directly related to the amount of value your business provides.

You, as a business owner have the ability to increase your revenue by providing value, consistently… and it is not that hard. Simply share what you know that can help someone solve a problem.

Before you even think about making a sale, you should be thinking about what value you can provide to your prospects.

This illustrates your expertise, brands you, makes you visible and positions you as a leader.

Giving away value that your prospects can use, helps build trust.

One of my mentors for example is known to provide extreme value. She was selling education that I was looking for and wanted to purchase. Truth is, I could have purchased it from thousands of other people but I chose to purchase from her. Why?

…Many reasons really, (that I will get into in future posts) but one of them is due to the tremendous value she was consistently providing before I purchased anything from her.

She was visible. She was in my inbox every day. What I learned from her, I could implement and make a change without buying anything from her. So when it came to buying, she, the leader, the one who was providing consistent value was there….and I chose to purchase from her.

Commit to improving your skills

The most successful people never stop learning or educating themselves. They read. They listen to audios. They go to trainings. They are constantly looking for ways to improve their skillset so that they can be more valuable.

Be teachable. Realize that you don’t know it all and commit to learning and improving your life and you will not be sorry.

Recently I invested in an education program. The free training alone was helping me master skills that I needed to master and within 24 hours of implementing a specific training, I had sales. I had improved myself and was reaping the rewards. I can’t stress this enough.

In this ever changing, internet era, I highly suggest that you get trained in areas that can help increase your reach on the internet – no matter what business you are in. Keep abreast what marketing techniques are working, master at least one and your business will soar.

Be consistent.

Don’t just do this until January 21. Don’t resolve to do this next year again. Do it now even if you are reading this on a random day in July, and do it consistently.

I strongly urge you to read this post again.

The consequences of not sticking to these may not seem as dire as breaking the New Year promise to those Babylonian gods years ago but what about breaking a promise to yourself, a promise for a better business… a better life?

If you are truly committed to make a positive change in your business, or venturing into an online business this year, make that promise to yourself.

To your success and outrageous goals,

P.S If you want to connect with me and work with me, friend me on Facebook and learn about being a Facebook entrepreneur.

Personal Development

What Twitter Training Taught Me About Teachability

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Twitter and I are old friends. When I first started using Twitter, I filled a room full of strangers at an event I was hosting within just weeks of joining the Social platform. I was hooked. I was engaging, having a blast, increasing my online presence. It was great.

That was years ago. And years ago, various experts gave me a long list of how to’s, not to’s and best practices that I held on to for years.

Then, a few years later, another group of people told me that Twitter wasn’t the place to be. That you would need to reach a ton of people and that it was impossible to build a business using twitter …

I admit, some people sold me on the fact that you should never automate. Never send an automatic reply. Never this. Never that.

… and because I once filled a room with strangers from marketing on Twitter, I thought I knew it all. I admit, I thought I knew Twitter and I gave up on my ‘ol friend.

I still tweeted here and there knowing that it was important to keep my presence there but I didn’t use it to the fullest potential because I had made some assumptions, some decisions, and thought I knew better.

I had ceased to be teachable.

Fast forward to just a few weeks ago when I, for just a moment came to the table with an empty cup and decided that it was time to hear someone out who was having great success with Twitter and I learned a valuable lesson along the way.

(Hint: This post really isn’t just about Twitter Training)

The person teaching the training was having amazing success getting leads and sales from Twitter. Sounds like someone I should listen to, I thought… and I did. I listened. I soaked it up. I implemented. The very next morning, after implementing what I had learned I had targeted leads in my inbox.

The lesson here is bigger than twitter training. The lesson here is about teachability.

Do you think I haven’t been to other Twitter trainings before? Some of them would have meant a lot to my business, had I been open to learning and implementing what I learned.

What we often do, however, is decide that we know better when the truth is, we should be seeking knowledge from people who have what we want.

Are you teachable? Do you go to trainings saying… “yeah but” or “ I already know this”. Being teachable means being open and willing to learn. When you cease to be teachable you are closed to a world of possibilities.

It’s when we realize that we don’t know what we don’t know that things can start changing.

And it’s when we go open-minded and ready to learn to those that know what we want to know, and those that have the results we want to have, that we are teachable again and things start changing…

You might want to read that again.

Here’s what distinguishes teachable from the unteachable:

Successful people are teachable. They are always open to learning and they know their success depends on it.
Teachable people listen and ask questions. They don’t just talk.
Teachable people are open to constructive criticism because they want to improve.
Teachable people aren’t afraid to ask for help.
Those that are teachable are O.K with trying and making mistakes. They know that in the process, they are learning and know there will be more lessons to learn.
They go beyond the minimum required when learning. They take notes. They read…. And they don’t just read the required readings… they read the recommended readings as well.
Teachable people are willing to admit when they are wrong and when someone else knows better.

( I wrote a blog post sharing a Zen Master’s story regarding teachability you might want to check out here)

Be teachable. Your success depends on it.

Oh, and that Twitter training I was talking about… you can check it out for Free here.

To your success and outrageous goals,

Personal Development

Nothing Happens Until You Move

Master the Basics in Your Home Business

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We live in an interesting time. Instant this. Automatic this. Get this widget, that gadget, get into this system, buy this, take this course, install this… and it seems we have forgotten to Master the Basics.

It makes my head spin.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love tools.. I love learning and I suggest that you as an entrepreneur are open to change and learning. But…

Somewhere along the way, I think people get lost in the madness.

We’ve jumped ahead. We look at what everyone else is doing and try to master it all thinking that if you just try this other thing, you will get the success you are looking for.

Problem is, we haven’t taken the time to master and implement the basic concepts and we’re already looking at what else we can do.

Years ago someone introduced me to the concept of mastering the basics – something that is so unbelievably simple but so necessary in order to learn and progress.

Yet, for some reason it is so easy to stray from this. We think we know more and that we are often beyond that so we jump ahead, only to hit a brick wall again. Why is that? It’s a reminder that we need to get back to the basics. When we master the basics, only then should we even contemplate moving forward.

I just learned the same from a Professional in list building …. she reminded me of the importance of taking direction and mastering the basics. There’s a lot of broke marketers out there and it’s because they haven’t taken the freshman/undergrad class yet and they already want to jump to their masters degree.

Remember Karate kid? Wax on, Wax off?

It might seem a little tedious, even boring to practice the same thing over and over again. We all want to get to the bigger more exciting stuff. But none of the bigger and more exciting stuff will work until we have mastered the basics.

Think about it.

In soccer, do players ever stop practicing dribbling and controlling the ball. No. They practice this basic skill over and over again until they master it and then they master it some more.

In arithmetic, do you think the student can move on to algebra and calculus if they haven’t mastered basic multiplication or division?

Ask yourself in whatever you are doing in your home business. Have you taken the time to learn and master the basics? Have you stuck to something, mastered it to the tune of wax on wax off, long enough to see the method to the madness, before you jump to the next thing?

If you are marketing a product, are you using one method of marketing consistently for at least 90 days before jumping ship and giving up or trying something new yet again?

I challenge you, if you are stuck and find yourself spinning your wheels and hitting a brick wall.. get back to the basics.
To your success and outrageous goals,

Leadership · Personal Development

What This Big Gulp Container Taught Me About Team Culture and Leadership

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I’ve been part of some teams – past and present. I’ve seen some thrive and I have seen some dwindle away and I have seen a team like no other, grow and take on an almost magical, contagious, positive personality.

Team culture – that’s what it is and it’s more important than you think.

Some time in 2016 I was blessed to be added to a mastermind group with an amazing group of Internet marketers and heart-centred entrepreneurs led by Laura Parrish. She called her group #TNS (Team No Sleep- and often she doesn’t as the name suggests). What happened in the last few sessions of a regular team mastermind online was interesting, to say the least and it got me really thinking about Team Culture and Leadership.

You see, Laura has this huge jug… nothing fancy … just a huge “Big Gulp” jug that she fills with her drink of choice, Diet Pepsi, that is by her side while she works and during the masterminds.

Laura simply mentioned her jug and showed it to us on a mastermind. She didn’t tell anyone to buy it. She didn’t say that this was a prerequisite to being in the group. She smiled, told us how she fills her jug everyday…jokingly calling it her “crackbucket” … and then… what happened next was crazy.

Pictures showed up on Facebook with her team members buying the infamous 711 Big Gulp jug.

Members messaging each other on where to get one in the U.S and in Canada.

Members offering to ship them out to each other.

Hmmm? What was happening here?

Was buying one of these going to make us better Internet marketers? (don’t think so)

Laura never told anyone to buy one.

Many of us professed that we aren’t fans of pop anyway. (And frankly, the jug is a little tacky.)

What happened is that a leader created something called Team Culture and she did it by way of great leadership.

Why is team culture and great leadership so important?

Truth is, people want to be part of something. Plain and simple. Inside jokes, team t-shirts, inner circles create a sort of unity, camaraderie amongst people. When a good leader makes a team atmosphere appealing and worth sticking around for, team culture is created.

Creating culture means creating an experience. Individuals feel like they have something in common – a special bond, something similar that they can identify with.

The team t-shirts or the “Big Gulp” containers are more than just merchandise. They are part of strengthening an identity and spirit. They inspire creativity.

Great leaders do a great job at being supportive and accessible. They motivate and they inspire. They keep you accountable and they keep you coming back for more. By doing this they create comfort, trust, communication, improved morale. People have fun and they enjoy work more!

Not just in Network Marketing.. Team Culture is important in any business

Similarly, I am also lucky to be a part of an amazing team at a Mortgage Brokerage. I and my colleagues also have a team culture that was created by a committed leader.

As mortgage agents, we have our own personal goals we work towards, yet as a team, even though we do not benefit from another mortgage agent reaching their goals, we are constantly cheering each other.

It’s not about the money.

We are excited when someone else does well. We are excited when we are able to help clients. We help each other. We give each other ideas. We learn from each other. Negativity has no place in our office. We have fun and we get things done. We are certainly more productive because of it. This was created because of teamwork and culture created by the Broker, our friend and leader.

Do you want to become a leader or be part of an amazing team? Here’s what leaders do that you need to keep in mind:

1. Leaders are accessible and approachable. They don’t disappear after they have made money off you. They are interested in supporting You and you feel it.. By doing so, they are not only helping you succeed but growing their team, appearing more desireable as a team to join and growing as leaders.

2. Leaders motivate and inspire. They use words to build people up and not bring them down. They know what to say. They are positive and will keep the morale up.

3. Leaders don’t do all the work. They involve you and keep you accountable. They show you the way and then let you take over.

4. Leaders edify and encourage. It’s important to recognize your team for their wins big and small both privately and publicly. In Network Marketing and Internet Marketing, leaders post pictures and descriptions of their team members’ accomplishments all over Social Media!

5. Leaders are ethical and honest. They communicate and are open not secretive and unscrupulous.

6. Leaders walk the walk. They lead by example. They don’t just tell you what to do. They show you what they are doing.. by doing it.

7. Leaders continue to grow and educate themselves. When you are in a position of a leader, you haven’t reached some magical destination where you know everything and never and never need to learn anything again. True leaders know that they are more valuable to their team when they are constantly learning and passing on that knowledge.

By doing this, leaders create team culture.… and when you have a leader like that, I bet if she has a Big Gulp sitting in front of her desk, you’ll want one too… commissions included or not.

To your success and outrageous goals,

P.S Learn more about creating a team like this or join me on my team. Watch the video here.

“To run fast, run by yourself. To run far, run with others”

-African proverb

21 Day Blogging Challenge · Personal Development

The Importance of a Sit Spot for Your Wellbeing and Your Business

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Ghandi once said, “All of man’s problems, stem from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

In this fast paced world and this high tech age of convenience and 24, hour “everything”, it is no wonder that we have become stressed, overwhelmed, overly connected to “things” and disconnected from nature.

For this reason, I was more than just intrigued when a concept or practice was introduced to me called the “Sit Spot”

The Sit Spot is described as an age-old practice of going to one spot in nature on a regular basis over a long period of time and just being still and observing your surroundings

How can the Sit Spot benefit you, your well-being and perhaps even your business?

First, one can’t deny that there is something special about finding a magical personal spot to just be. I often speak about going for walks when you get stuck in life or in your business just to disconnect from everything and be alone with your thoughts and feelings. I often use the walk to visualize, to pray and get some much needed fresh air and exercise. The “sit spot” has its similarities to my walking in nature but I believe it takes it a step further…

It slows things down in a very fast paced world. It allows you to embrace the importance of taking time for onself. It is a major opportunity for personal growth and it let’s nature just… “happen”.

In our interactive push-botton world, when was the last time you took the time to just “let nature happen”. When was the last time you lived in the present moment and observed what was around you outdoors instead of being in constant action and interaction. It’s amazing and powerful when you just “be”. You will be amazed at what you discover.

So how does this exposure to nature help you in your business and in your life? Exposure to nature helps:

– promote good health
– It is known to reduce stress
– Provides a peaceful calming environment and effect
– Has been connected with higher test scores and graduation rates
– It helps promote creativity
– It increases self confidence

Sit spots, having just been introduced to me are becoming a daily habit. I intend to share my experiences with the “sit spot” practice when I am well into it and I invite you to do the same.

For the next 30 days, take at least a few minutes a day, pick an outdoor spot that you will return to every day and just …stop and be still.

The results can be amazing. I look forward to hearing from you about how it has helped you.

To your success,

P.S I was just part of a 4 week private Inner Power Intensive for women, that was designed to help you take your life to the next level, get unstuck and finally get the results you deserve. The intensive has introduced the Sit Spot and various breakthrough activities to me and a group of superwomen ready to conqueur the world. I’ve learned that Personal Development is key to having any success in any business. Click here to learn more about a monthly Personal Development Mastermind designed to take you to the next level.

Personal Development

Best Personal Development Apps

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In this world of technology where we find ourselves often glued to our phones, checking Facebook and other social media , texting and checking email, I thought it valuabe to list a few of the best Personal Development Apps I have come across so that we can use our devices for some self improvement instead. There are an abundance of amazing apps out there but I came across these 5 cool Personal Development apps I thought I would share designed to help you grow, be more productive, happier and reach your goals.

1. Lift/Coach.me

Cost: Free

What it is/How it works: Designed to help you achieve your goals and track them in the area of personal development, fitness, weight loss, productivity, relationships, meditation and more. 24/7 coaching and support available.

Compatibility : IOS and Android

2. Happify

Cost: Free

How it works: Increase happiness with fun games, activities and tracking to help you be happier ! The app helps you with life changing happiness habits based on science. It helps you reduce stress for a happier healthier life while building skills that help you choose positivity. I found it… well … fun! How much time do you really take out of your day to just be happy! Why not do some activities that can increase the positive thoughts and decrease the negative in your life?

Compatibility: IOS and android

3. Headspace

Meditations for a happier, healthier, more productive life. (with more available via subscription after trying the 10 free ones )

Cost: First 10 meditations are free. Subscriptions available ranging from $ 6.24-$12.95/month. For every subscription purchased, one is donated to someone in need.

How it works: Meditatations available for health, performance and relationships.Tracking and stats to help you on your journey of meditation.

Compatibility: IOS and Android

4. Success Vision Board app

Cost: free

How it works/ What it is: Brought to you by Personal Development guru Jack Canfield himself you can create a vision board on your phone… add images and voice affirmations at the click of a button. (watch video here – it’s pretty cool!)

5. Sleep Cycle Alarm by Northcube AB

This one is not necessarily a Personal Development app but can help to optimize your sleep and have a more productive day and everyone wants that right?

Cost: Free

How it works/what it is: It’s an intelligent alarm clock. Wakes you up in the lightest sleep phase. It is designed to be a natural way to wake up feeling rested and relaxed. The phase you are in when your alarm goes off is critical for how tired you will feel when you wake up.

Since you move differently in bed during the different phases, Sleep Cycle can use the microphone or accelerometer in your Phone to monitor your movements and determine which sleep phase you are in.

Sleep Cycle wakes you when you are in your lightest sleep phase. the optimal time to wake you up during a 30 minute window that ends at your set alarm time.

Compatibility: Iphone, iPad, and iPod touch. Android 4.0 and up.

I hope you will take some time to do something productive with that phone and check out some of these cool Personal Development and self improvement apps designed to help change your life.

Do you have any self improvement apps that you are using? I would love to hear about them in the comments below.

To your success and outrageous goals!

Click here to learn more about a monthly Personal Development Mastermind designed to take you to the next level.

Inspiration · Personal Development · Uncategorized

What is Inner Power?

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Inner power – another buzz word that’s going around these days like… transformation. Those of you who know me know that I don’t take those words lightly. Recently, I have been around some pretty powerful women entrepreneurs that don’t take it lightly either.

What is Inner Power really?

I believe that we were all born with amazing gifts and talents. Growing up, we, especially women often have big dreams that are often suppressed because of … well … life. Life happens. The good, the bad and the ugly creates experiences that often lead to fear, anxiety and hopelessness… or sometimes we are just a little stuck and know there is something more for us. But it does not need to end right there.

I believe that by facing our fears and taking the time for personal development and growth, we have the ability to find out who we are, what makes us tick, our value, our gifts. It is these events and experiences in life whether they are bad or good, whether they are empowering, educational or even traumatizing that shape us.

The key however is getting in touch with that God-given power inside of us that is there for a reason. It’s realizing our value, our gifts and realizing who we are meant to be. And while it may seem cliche, overcoming adversities does make us stronger and gives us an undeniable, amazing power … the power to help others in similar situations overcome adversities.

I want to tell you a story….

It’s a story about a women who never dreamed she would be able to influence other people. In fact, she was a college drop-out living in the basement of a bar. Layla found her inner power.She went on to become a mom, a mentor, an internet marketer… a Superwoman. Layla went on to make 7 figures and inspire women all around the world. I stood in an audience and watched Layla inspire and motivate entrepreneurs from all walks of life.

Now that’s power.

Discover your inner power. Click here to learn more about a monthly Personal Development Mastermind designed to take you to the next level.

To your success and outrageous goals,

Personal Development · Productivity · Uncategorized

Knowledge is Power… or is it?