Hump Day or Workaholics Day?

Do You know what time it is?  Yes, it is Wednesday, traditionally known as “HUMP DAY” but today probably feels like a Monday since many people had a LONG weekend for the 4th of July.

There are lots of “special days” celebrated for many reasons but this was definitely a new one for me!

According to Punchbowl which helps you plan a party from start to finish – July 5th is Workaholics Day!  By definition, a workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.  Generally it implies the person enjoys their work and they feel compelled to do it.  According to an article on Webmd, a workaholic is a life out of balance with key signs to when you are in trouble.  Does this sound like you?

• Trouble delegating work
• Neglecting other aspects of your life (family, special events, vacations, etc) to work
• Incorporating other aspects of your life into work (turning a hobby into a new business)

So, if I have just described you – TODAY is dedicated to you.  It is a time for you to step back and take it easy.  Do some mindless activity you enjoy – read a book for fun, take a nap, take a walk on the beach or spend some time watching YouTube videos.  If you are the friend or family member of a workaholic, CELEBRATE – ENCOURAGE – REWARD them for their accomplishments today.

As for me, I am a struggling recovering workaholic.  Family and friends used to take a back seat to my job – I thought it was my calling or passion.  Now, my passion is owning my own business.   Yes, I always have a catalog with me.  Yes, I am always ready to share about the way Thirty One has changed my life.  Yes, I love every time I go to work – I get to PARTY!  The difference is now i take time to spend with hubby on his days off, or play hookie to hang out with my best friend or spend the day with my mom.  I still slack in the family time area but I am a work in progress.

I challenge you to look at your life and do a double check – do you have a healthy work-life balance?  If not, what are you ready to do about it?  Please share how you will be celebrating today

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

How Do You Parent?

We are almost 3 weeks into a catalog change, about 1 week into an amazing enrollment opportunity and my office (not even just my desk) looks like a “hot mess”.  For those of you who know me, this is not good!  Health challenges, brain fog and “hot messes” don’t mix well.

I know, you are wondering what this has to do with my question, right?

My “time hop” reminded me of a workshop hosted by ETTW (Entrepreneurial Think Tank for Women) where Caryn Chow was the guest speaker.

Caryn shared that we need to “apply the same skills to your business as you did to raising your children”. That got me to thinking that we need to do the same thing in our relationships.

Here is the acronym that she shared with us:

P = Patience
A = A lot of Love
R = Resilience
E = Endurance
N = Nurture
T = Time Out

In direct sales, this makes so much sense. Many of us think of our team as our kids. They need patience, encouragement and nurturing.  Just as my daughter taught me lessons as she was growing up, my team teaches me everyday.  Let’s be honest, these same characteristics are important in our relationships with other people, especially our spouses, right?

The question is,why is it sometimes much harder in our relationships then in our business?  Love is pretty easy.  In our marriage, we love our spouse or we wouldn’t have gotten married right?  Endurance to continue on even despite nah sayers.  Even when there are bumps in the road personally and professionally, we endure.   Nurturing seems to come naturally for most women. I mean, we take care of everyone else and seldom take time for ourselves, right?

Patience, now that can be a little tougher in both aspects of our life.  Why do we tend to lack patience with our spouse or in our business?  We tend to compare where we are in our lives with where others are in their life.  Social media – a love/ hate relationship that keeps us comparing ourselves with others!

The two things that I struggle most with are “time out” and “resilience”. Sounds crazy right considering that I have endured the roller coaster ride of life.  Taking time out for me (or family) is something that I have struggled with my entire  life. Workaholic Wendy steps in sending the message that I am only worth anything at work!  YIKES!! Did I say that?  Yes, I did.  With the help of hubby, I am learning to take time out to enjoy our moments together without work. Not easy but I am trying.

Resilience is defined as “the capacity to recover quickly” or “the ability to spring back into shape“. Yup, that is me!  Bad business month, I spring back kicking it into overdrive.  I have to be careful not to become the “pushy salesperson” and just continue sharing the gift of Thirty One. The recovery process is a lot slower when Negative Nellie and Doubtful Debbie visit mostly in my personal life. The key is that I do snap back.

Here is another fun acronym

T eaching (telling them)
R ight
A ctions and Attitudes.
I nvolvement (showing them)
N urturing (caring for them)

Telling, showing, and caring– this triple helps you have a successful business and a happy marriage!  So, are you ready to be a PARENT and be a TRAIN-er ? I would love to hear others thoughts on this…

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

PARENT Your Business

Happy Monday!  I was cleaning out my “hot mess” of a desk this weekend.  It seems like every time there is a catalog change or I am out of my office for a few days, the paper gremlins create a pile of things to do.  My theory of touching each piece of paper only once goes out the window and I am shifting papers (without notes on them) to figure out what my thought process was days ago.  For those of you who know me, this is not good!  I came across some notes that I took at a workshop held by Caryn Chow and ETTM (Entrepreneurial Think Tank for Moms), the basis today’s blog.

I was blessed to pick Caryn up and have a few minutes to connect with her BEFORE the meeting.  It was then that I knew what she would have to share, would be a game changer for me or at least get me on the path and out of the grass.  The thing that struck home with me the most was “apply the same skills to your business as you did to raising your children”.  WOW!

Here is an acronym that she shared with us:

P = Patience

A = A lot of Love

R = Resilience

E = Endurance

N = Nurture

T = Time Out

Being in direct sales, this makes so much sense because I usually think of my team as my kids which is mainly because most of them are younger.  As my daughter taught me lessons as she grew up, so does my team teach me.  The question is, if this makes sense for MY business, why does it seem so hard to do.  Okay, so patience, love, endurance and nurture are pretty easy for me.  I LOVE my business, the people, the connections, and the relationships.  Most days, I have patience to work hard (sometimes too hard) but I want to nurture it so that it will grow.  Despite the nah sayers, I have endured because I LOVE it even on those days when I can’t pinpoint my why.

The two things that I struggle with are “time out” and “resilience”.  Sounds crazy right considering that I have endured the roller coaster ride of direct sales and continue to move forward in leadership.  Taking time out for me (or family) is something that I have struggled with my entire working life.  Workaholic Wendy steps in sending the message that I am only worth anything at work!  YIKES!! Did I say that?  Yes, I did and that is why I believe that I have been (and sometimes still am) a workaholic.  With the help of hubby, I am learning to take time out to enjoy our moments together without work.  Not easy for me but I am trying.

Resilience is defined as “the capacity to recover quickly” or “the ability to spring back into shape”.  When I have a bad month, I do spring back but it takes ALOT of work on my part.  I have to be careful not to become the “pushy salesperson” and just continue sharing the gift of Thirty One.  The recovery process is a lot slower than I would like and as a result, Negative Nellie and Doubtful Debbie may get a chance to visit.  The key is that I do snap back – doing whatever it takes to make that happen.

So, here is another fun acronym that I cam across that helps too…

T eaching (telling them)

R ight

A ctions and Attitudes.

I nvolvement (showing them)

N urturing (caring for them)

Telling, showing, and caring– this triple gets you runs to home base and a successful business!  So, are you ready to be a PARENT to your business and TRAIN your team?  I would love to hear others thoughts on this…

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Overwhelmed

“When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn.” Psalm 142:3 (NLT)

These words bring great comfort when I LISTEN!  I have discovered that my greatest source of stress and distraction in my life is when I take on too many things trying to please everyone around me and not thinking of the consequences.  I FEAR that if I say “no”, I will miss out on something.  The truth is when I take on too much,  I end up rushing through things, not enjoying the moment or sometimes not even remembering what happened or who I met.  Or the days when I am Workaholic Wendy,  I spend countless hours being busy and NOT building my business.  Sad, right?

I need to learn to release before taking on something else and in most cases, it is negative thoughts and FEAR! FEAR causes me to side step the blessings that God has for me.  I have dreams personal and business but when struggles come, I grab onto something that appears safe and secure instead of stepping out in faith.  I have not released those FEARS that have plagued me for years. Oh, I have days of filled with faith and confidence but when a little struggle comes, Negative Nellie and Doubtful Debbie come for a visit.

Release is a gift for me who is weighed down with FEARS.  Release is for me when I know I can’t take much more. Remembering Psalm 142:3, “When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn.” Tears well up in my upturned, pleading eyes. “God help me. It’s all too much. I’m tired and frustrated.”  Into my head pops the word, “R-e-l-e-a-s-e.” GOD is that you?  I know that I need to listen in order to EMBRACE the blessings that are in store for me.  Can I do it?  Will I do it?  In that struggle of trying, will I miss every bit of joy.

With RELEASE comes the gift of peace. There are opportunities I need to decline,  there are things I need to say no to, there are fears I need to let go of so I can make room for the blessings. When I release in peace, I am signaling that I am now ready to receive.Receive what’s next. Receive what’s best. Receive what’s meant for this season, right now.

What do you have to release, to receive peace and joy and more blessings?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!