A Letter to Hope 2.0

As we close the month of February, I want to share one last thing in honor of International Boost Your Self-Esteem Month!

Remember you deserve to be happy, truly happy with a joy which comes from within.  Believe in yourself just as others believe in you.  See yourself through their eyes.  You are AWESOME. Feel it.  Believe it.  And know you deserve it.

I don’t know about you BUT I struggle with self-esteem – from the comparison game in my business to still seeing the 295 pound me instead of the new 175 pound me.  I practice visualizing, where you want to be every day, then take the steps to make it a reality.  It isn’t easy but I am determined to reach my goals even though they scare the HELL out of me!

Someone suggested I write a letter to the future me so I could see how far I have come.  It also helped me to visualize the future and how it feels to reach my goals.   Have you ever written a letter to future you?  Why not try it?  Make sure it contains positive affirmation of the goals you want to achieve.  Remember, the Law of Attraction?

Here is my letter to Hope 2.0 telling her how proud I was of all she has accomplished in her life:

Dear Hope 2.0:

I am so proud of all you have accomplished in the last 5 years:

• Your office  is organized.  I am glad you finally have a part-time assistant to help with the busy work.  The family room looks AMAZING.  I know your team loves hanging out with you and learning all of your great business tips.
• Where did you say your last cruise went to?  WOW!  I know hubby loves the fact you can take a vacation every year and you treat.  What a great way to say thank you to him for taking care of you every day.  Of course, those mini getaways are nice too.  You can never have enough of them.
• Your team has grown by over 100 girls.  Having hubby there when they celebrated your accomplishments on stage was the best part.  I know you cried because he never wanted to enter the pink bubble but he was so proud of you.  He finally sees your business as a business and the impact you are having on others.
• Your calendar is always full.  Your hostesses are scheduling their next party so they never miss out on getting on your calendar
• Your Annual Hostess Appreciation party has become the talk of the town.  In 5 years, it is the must attend end of the year event
• The many charities you have helped with your seasonal events for kids and families are a blessing.  Don’t forget the multiple fundraisers you hold every month.  Not only are you helping organizations find discretionary money but you are also helping people who are struggling. You never forget where you came from – a homeless, addict who just wanted to please everyone.  By remembering, you are able to encourage others
• You have inspired so many on your team to reach for their dreams, to overcome their inner gremlins and as a result their lives are changed forever
• Your willingness to share your office systems, your party ideas, presentations and even allow consultants to tag along with you whether they are on your team or not is a great example of a leader.

I want you to remember success is always within your reach.  There will be struggles but it simply means there are lessons to be learned.  Your  journey is yours alone but others can learn from it.  Comparison is not in the plan.

I am not there yet BUT I am on the road to being Hope 2.0.  I am not waiting for “when” or “if”, I am claiming the blessings NOW.  I have seen things change in my business since I did this exercise – thank you Eryka. Give it a chance, what have you got to loose.  You deserve to have all of the blessings waiting for you.  I can’t wait to celebrate your successes.

What about you?  What would your letter look like?  Share your thoughts with us…

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

I Have a Vision

Do you have a vision? Do you want to quit your JOB?  Do you want to pay down debt? Do you want to lose  weight?  Describe your vision with details……

My vision is hubby and I on an all-expense paid cruise surrounded by thousands of other Thirty One leaders. We will be floating in the pink bubble of the Leadership Incentive Trip.  So my “why” is leaving my part time job behind for good and earning Thirty One’s Leadership Incentive trip. I can see it.  I can practically feel the ocean spray on my face.

I have the set goal. They will stretch me.  They will make me push myself out of my comfort zone.  Is you goal slightly out of reach but still attainable with a little bit of work.  If it isn’t, it should be?

Setting the goal is one thing.  The next is changing the mindset to overcome the struggles or challenges along the way.  I am saying “I earned this trip” instead of saying “I am trying to earn this trip”.  The difference is the confidence I have in achieving my vision versus letting insecurities and fear creep in.  By changing my wording just a little bit, I am ready to step out of my comfort zone to get more leads and grow my business.  .

 

So let me tell you about this AMAZING incentive trip offered by Thirty One.  We have just ended Month #1 of the earning period and I am feeling confident.  This Leadership Incentive Trip (LIT) is available to Director’s and above.  Did you know over 200 of the 1,000 plus consultants who went on last year’s LIT were not in leadership when the promotion period started.  That is AMAZING, right?  WE are headed to the Bahamas!  Notice how I said “WE”.  No, it is not official but I going to DREAM BIG and I want you to join me.

What is an incentive trip?  It is a fabulous, all expense paid vacation offered every single year.  Based on your title with Thirty One, you have personal, team and recruiting goals to achieve the trip.

Here are JulieAnn’s top 7 steps for earning your company incentive trip.

1. Choose The Level You’ll Shoot For – This year each level is a trip for TWO!  So, my goal is a romantic get-away gift for my hubby for our 5th Wedding Anniversary.  I am stretching myself beyond what I think I can do.

2. Decide How Many New Consultants You’ll Sponsor – As you’re earning the trip, you’re growing a thriving business and getting rewarded for it. I always recommend you shoot for more new team members than you actually need to earn your trip. You build in a safety net.  My mantra is “I am a RECRUITING magnet”. Once you know how many people you’ll sponsor, then make absolutely sure those you sponsor get qualified. 

3. Use the Incentive Trip to Earn the Incentive Trip –  Use this as a great incentive to sponsor others who might be interested in joining you on your vacation! I LOVE these suggestions:

• Make the incentive trip a part of your opportunity commercial (and talk about your excitement about where you’re going)
• Put the incentive trip destination as well as a photo of the resort/cruise ship/etc. in your e-mail signature block
• If you’re a leader, make it the “culture” in your organization to earn the incentive trip every year.

4. Track Your Progress – Reward yourself for each small victory as you work toward your trip. I have a vision board in my office to remind me of my goals.  Here’s some small steps you can reward yourself for:

• Made at least 5 phone calls each week to either book or sponsor
• Scheduled at least 1 sponsoring interview each week
• Did at least 2 parties each week
• Sponsor at least 1 new person each month

5. Create a Vivid Visualization – Visualize at least once a day, preferably twice a day (right before you go to sleep at night and as soon as you wake up in the morning).  Close your eyes and really feel the feelings of already being there, even if it’s just for a minute or two a day.

6. Encourage Your Downline Using all of Your Tips and Tools – As a leader, you have to lead by example. Make sure your team knows you intend to earn the trip and you would love to take the vacation right along with your entire team.

What are YOUR best tips for earning YOUR company Leadership trip?  Share them with us so that we can enjoy that trip together.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Want An Ideal Team

Happy Throwback Thursday!   I love seeing all of the retired Thirty One prints and products.  It reminds me how far we have come.

The NEW Fall enrollment kit is NOW available.  I love the new prints and the fact that there is some of our newest products included in this little pink box.

No, this is not a pitch to get you to join my team – although we do know what an AMAZING $99 deal it is.

Today, we are going to  talk about finding our “ideal team members”.   Building a team is the best way to increase your paycheck in direct sales, right?  No, I don’t mean those pyramid schemes but where you CELEBRATE – ENCOURAGE – REWARD your team to reach their goals.

Are you constantly complaining that your team is unmotivated, draining, and frustrating? Do you wish that your team met their goals?  Do you wish that your team were more engaging?  Guess what – if you are focusing on the things you don’t want – you are actually attracting those same kind of recruits.  As a result, you are going to get more unmotivated, draining, frustrating team members in other words kitnappers.  It’s a simple fact that you get what you focus on. So if you don’t have the direct sales team of your dreams, you are responsible for that.

So, how do we change that, right?  I mean we all want a team that wants leadership, meets all of their personal goals and works as a team player to help us meet team goals, right?

It all goes back to The Secret and speaking what we do want into the Universe.  So let’s decide what you want and not focus on what you don’t want, shall we? This is a short exercise courtesy of JulieAnne Jones.  Take a moment and do this short training exercise.

First of all, ask yourself the question, “Who is my ideal team member?”

Here’s a list of some adjectives to get you started:

• Motivated
• Happy
• Positive
• Smart
• Creative
• Invested
• A Self Starter
• Serious
• Peaceful
• Caring
• Fun
• Great Sense of Humor
• Reliable
• Dependable
• Helpful

Now, sit down, clear your mind, get focused.  Make a list with at least five adjectives that best describe your ideal team member.  Be honest with yourself because this list highlights your ideal potential recruit.

Now read over the list that you just created. Would you say those words describe YOU? Of course, they do.  So, here’s the point. When you’re truly showing up at your best, the energy you’re putting out will attract others like you…at your best. It’s really that simple.

So, how do we change the energy flow?  The key is to get your thoughts, feelings, and actions lined up so you’ll begin attracting those amazing people into your direct sales business. Here’s the process…

Print out the list you made and put it up on the wall in your office. Start thinking about all of these attributes and how you can manifest them in your own business (this is the “thoughts” part of the equation).

Sit down, close your eyes, and imagine what it would feel like to be working with an entire room full of these ideal team members. Just feel the feelings of what it would be like to lead a team of outstanding individual who exemplified those characteristics (the second part of this equation).

Now visualize yourself standing in front of a huge team with all of those traits at your next team meeting. This is the third part of the process and the visualization can literally take only 30 to 90 seconds.

Take about two minutes at the beginning and ending of each day to read over the list and then close your eyes and walk through your visualization.

We want to make this a habit right? So, I want you to do this visualization every day for the next 30 days, twice a day. Then pay attention to the people, circumstances, and opportunities that begin to show up in your life and business.   The most important key  is that you are going to TAKE ACTION on those opportunities!

The formula is simple and can work on anything that you decide to focus on. Attracting what you want is a simple as this three step system  of Think/Feel/Act. Who is ready to find their ideal recruit?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

 

Change Your Life

We are a little over half way through January and already I am doubting my ability to check off my achievement list (my word for goals).  Am I the only one?  Have you already broke your New Year’s Resolution?  Have you already got caught up in the crazy pace of life and forgot about your plan, your goals, or your vision?

Take a deep breath – RELEASE.  Here is an interesting stat from Entrepreneur.com

The average employee spends 13 hours each week on email. That, plus endless lists of to-do items, hours of seemingly pointless meetings and unexpected interruptions creates noise that prevents productivity, inhibits creativity and gets between you and the day you hoped you’d have. 

YIKES!  Since I am my own boss, I am not sure that 13 hours a week on email is accurate but I can tell you that my to-do list is usually WAY too long.  So, what if we were to take CHARGE… yes, again… to get the professional and personal life that works for you?  Are you ready for some tips courtesy of the writers at Entrepreneur.com

1. Define success. Only you know what will make you feel fulfilled.  Write it down and refer work toward it every day.  

2. Visualize that success. Work for that future you and don’t hold that person back with your own pessimism.  I was blessed to be on a coaching call with some Thirty One sisters the other night when I could visualize and even feel the emotion that went into my promotion to Director.  That helped me to release the limits on my perception of success so that I could dream (and work) for the next level – Senior Director.

3. Forget entitlement. Don’t expect that what you want will fall into your lap or that you are more deserving than someone else. Focus on the work or expect to miss out on something great.  Honestly, I am just the opposite, I always think that I am not deserving of the promotion, the applause or the praise.

4. Think small to think big. You can’t change your ways overnight, so set small, achievable milestones and slowly build momentum toward your goal. Don’t set yourself up to fail by taking on too much too soon.  WOW!  I guess I better throw away my dream of a magic wand.

5.Consistency is key. Procrastination can quickly turn to panic, kicking your brain into crisis mode. Consistency for me (or most in direct sales) means reaching your personal and team goals ever month.  Planning not procrastinating.

6. Prioritize. Do the most pressing or important item on your to-do lists first. Willpower is often at its highest at the start of the day rather than at the end of it. Monitor yourself to understand when you are the most productive and organize your schedule accordingly.  I am most productive BEFORE 9AM and by 12Noon, I am usually done!  If I could only figure out the best way to connect with my customers and my team during my most productive hours.

7. Delegate. Learn to let some tasks go and relish in the new perspective you’ll get in return.  This has ALWAYS been tough for me even when I was working in the non-profit world.  Not because I thought I could do it better just because as a care-giver, I want to take care of the world.  Definitely working on this.

8. Find collaborators. To make these steps stick, enlist likeminded friends, colleagues and family members who will hold you accountable, celebrate your achievements and share their insights. Support can come from the unlikeliest of sources. Just make sure you’re open to the possibilities.  I am blessed with an AWESOME-sauce group of Thirty One sisters.  Do you struggle with this because you are afraid of people seeing your weaknesses?

9. Stay motivated. To keep engaged and weather any setbacks, make yourself a “motivational manual.”  I LOVE doing this for my friends, my customers and my team – I just wish that I could head my own advise sometimes.

10. Take stock and try again tomorrow. If you feel like you have too many plates in the air, stop and just focus on one at a time. Try spending time on one project every day and see how much you accomplish.  

So which one of these are you ready to work on?  Share it with us….

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

#changeyourlife #thirtyone #partywithhope #consistency #success

 

How To Accomplish More

I LOVE this quote “every year, we get 365 blank pages that we get to write in our awesome book of life, today is Day 1.”  It’s so true.  Yes, I am still talking about the New Year even though we are half way through the month.  My question is, why do we have to wait until the New Year to have a blank page in our book.  Every day is a NEW day and as a result we can start each day fresh.  Don’t beat yourself up if you have skipped a few days or have already abandoned your resolution.  TODAY is a new day and each one of us is special and has a gift that needs to be shared.  Thank you to Brandon Mouton for his article that was the inspiration for this blog.

We all have talents, so may know what they are while others are shocked when someone else identifies a particular talent in them.  Do you know what you inner talent is?  I have to admit, I am one of those who is shocked on a regular basis.  I  mean who would have thought that this semi-retired grant writer could be a blogger that people would actually READ! Here are some steps that Brandon suggested to make the most of this year (or your new day or month):

1.  Create Your Personal Mission Statement: I have talked a lot about goals and this year’s “ONE WORD” I have never really thought about a mission statement.  Your mission statement will be the cornerstone that you can come back to when you get off track.  Your personally created mission statement will be your guide to the goals you set, and the actions you take.  Finally, your personal mission statement should be something that you look at on a daily basis.  I have written ALOT of mission statements for grants and programs and only ONCE did I do one for me personally.  Guess it is time to do one and see if it helps me to EMBRACE (my one word) my goals for the year.

2.  Create SMART Goals: Okay, so we have all heard about making SMART goals, right?  SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.  By using those five areas to measure your goals, you can create tangible areas to mesa sure to know how to meet and achieve your goals.  My SMART goals are on a board in my office where I can see them and color in as I achieve each of the steps in that goal.

3.  Keep A Record, Write It Down:  WOW!  Great idea:  If it’s worth doing, it’s worth writing down. Keep track of the activities that you need to do, things that you need to schedule, information that you may need to use at a later time, and every other thing that needs your attention today or in the future.  By keeping a record and writing it down, you can free up mental energy from trying to keep track of items that you need to remember, and instead use your brain for creating and processing ideas.

4.  Review Your Habits: Your personal habits are one of the biggest things that can impact the actions that you take on a daily basis.  Review your own habits and ask yourself the hard question, “do my habits support my personal mission statement?”.   Does this mean staying off Facebook and Pinterest until I finish some of my work in the office??? 

5.  Visualize Your Achievements: Visualization works by visualizing your achievement. What is your life like now that you have achieved your goal?  Who is there with you?  How do you feel?  All of these things create very powerful hooks to anchor you to your personal mission statement.  If you can’t visualize what it looks like once you have hit your goal, then you need to rethink your goal and how it aligns with your personal mission statement. This is a tough one for me.

If you got value from this post, be sure to share this post.  Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!