Hope everyone has a most beautiful day with family and friends.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Mid Week Update
Hi everyone!
If you're a visitor to the Boot Camp Journal Blogs then you should know that Ginny and Jacki kind of gave us some time off for the Holidays so we don't HAVE to report and blog daily. Like most of us Campers, I'm not taking the entire time totally off but it's much appreciated to be able to relax a bit and take care of the holiday and family things. So again, thank you Ginny and Jacki.
Today is Al's and my 20th Anniversary and we went to the flea market, did groceries, took in a movie and then out to diner but I took MPM with me all day:-)
I took my time today and walked around the local flea market to talk with a few of the local businesses that are normally there. I handed out some invitation cards to regular people too but it's really the businesses that I want and NPOs.
A few wouldn't give me their contact info and that's okay.
There was Ned who was a subcontractor it turned out for the local paper and he just does this to give his wife a break so I emphasized with him the savings from his everyday purchases. He said he'd have his wife check it out as she's in charge of that sort of thing and no, she wouldn't be happy with him giving out their #...
Ted & Fred run a bulk spice business. Fred's no longer part of the business and Ted had on a shirt with the name Phil on it because it only cost him a quarter and he doesn't buy much groceries, he does buy a little bit of gas but he doesn't do anything on the Internet...
David is a Scout Master for a local Boy Scout troop and they had a booth there to raise funds so I talked with him a bit and he thought it was a great idea and would bring it up at the next meeting...
Tom is a service technician for the biggest AC/Heating Co. here in the area (which I thought was really weird that they had a booth...heating I can understand but hey, if you can't sale or service A/Cs in Florida - where can you?) Anyway, my thought with that is business must be down and they may possibly be looking for a fresh avenue of advertising and trimming expenses so I talked with Tom for quite some time. He actually asked for an extra card because he has a friend who has another business and he wanted to pass it on to him, if I didn't mind. Also, he was kind enough to give me the name of the person in the company that I would need to talk to and that it's best to make an appointment with him which I'll set up.
George has been doing the flea market forever. He sell Vinyl Etched Glass Decals which is a neat product. George does the flea market circuit where he's at several through out the week. He also liked the whole concept and wants me to follow up with him on Monday since that's the only day that he's not at a flea market.
The best contact I feel I made today was with Marcus. He and his wife Andrea have recently opened a restaurant & bakery in Inverness so they're very open to stretching their money. He makes all kinds of wonderful breads 'in the European Tradition' so that will be an easy easy follow up as I'll need some rolls for Christmas dinner.
I didn't do any follow up today other than 'Christmas card' emails but I also talked to the cashier at the grocery store as I mentioned that I just got a rebate for everything I purchased and thanked the waitress as I told her that I had gotten a rebate not only on the meal but also her tip...yes, I paid for everything today with an AmEx gift card bought on tada...my mall.
Goodnight all
Linda
If you're a visitor to the Boot Camp Journal Blogs then you should know that Ginny and Jacki kind of gave us some time off for the Holidays so we don't HAVE to report and blog daily. Like most of us Campers, I'm not taking the entire time totally off but it's much appreciated to be able to relax a bit and take care of the holiday and family things. So again, thank you Ginny and Jacki.
Today is Al's and my 20th Anniversary and we went to the flea market, did groceries, took in a movie and then out to diner but I took MPM with me all day:-)
I took my time today and walked around the local flea market to talk with a few of the local businesses that are normally there. I handed out some invitation cards to regular people too but it's really the businesses that I want and NPOs.
A few wouldn't give me their contact info and that's okay.
There was Ned who was a subcontractor it turned out for the local paper and he just does this to give his wife a break so I emphasized with him the savings from his everyday purchases. He said he'd have his wife check it out as she's in charge of that sort of thing and no, she wouldn't be happy with him giving out their #...
Ted & Fred run a bulk spice business. Fred's no longer part of the business and Ted had on a shirt with the name Phil on it because it only cost him a quarter and he doesn't buy much groceries, he does buy a little bit of gas but he doesn't do anything on the Internet...
David is a Scout Master for a local Boy Scout troop and they had a booth there to raise funds so I talked with him a bit and he thought it was a great idea and would bring it up at the next meeting...
Tom is a service technician for the biggest AC/Heating Co. here in the area (which I thought was really weird that they had a booth...heating I can understand but hey, if you can't sale or service A/Cs in Florida - where can you?) Anyway, my thought with that is business must be down and they may possibly be looking for a fresh avenue of advertising and trimming expenses so I talked with Tom for quite some time. He actually asked for an extra card because he has a friend who has another business and he wanted to pass it on to him, if I didn't mind. Also, he was kind enough to give me the name of the person in the company that I would need to talk to and that it's best to make an appointment with him which I'll set up.
George has been doing the flea market forever. He sell Vinyl Etched Glass Decals which is a neat product. George does the flea market circuit where he's at several through out the week. He also liked the whole concept and wants me to follow up with him on Monday since that's the only day that he's not at a flea market.
The best contact I feel I made today was with Marcus. He and his wife Andrea have recently opened a restaurant & bakery in Inverness so they're very open to stretching their money. He makes all kinds of wonderful breads 'in the European Tradition' so that will be an easy easy follow up as I'll need some rolls for Christmas dinner.
I didn't do any follow up today other than 'Christmas card' emails but I also talked to the cashier at the grocery store as I mentioned that I just got a rebate for everything I purchased and thanked the waitress as I told her that I had gotten a rebate not only on the meal but also her tip...yes, I paid for everything today with an AmEx gift card bought on tada...my mall.
Goodnight all
Linda
Monday, December 15, 2008
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
YES! I live in north central Florida so how much like Christmas can it look like???
I learned - no, RELEARNED last year that Christmas isn't the big tree and all the ornaments and decorations. I thought Christmas 2007 would be very bah-humbug because I was missing like 90% of all my beautiful decorations and lights and my big tree etc, but I was wrong.
We had been trying to sell out home here in Florida so we could move back to North Carolina so, we did what all the Realtors tell you to do...un-clutter thyself! That is to clear out unused / less frequently used items and put them in storage etc so the home shows better. So away went excess books, CDs, DVDs, most knick-knacks, husband's woodworking tools from the garage and of course, all the Christmas stuff...it’s early spring, we'll certainly sell the house before Christmas and be up in NC for Christmas!
We loaded everything we could fit in to our 18' trailer and took it up to NC to store at my mother-in-law's. We actually made two trips and even left the trailer there the second time around.
In late October we headed up to PA to see two of our grandchildren for their birthdays and we would stop in and visit with Mom on the way up and back down again since NC was like the half-way point. On the way back down I'm thinking, time's getting pretty close and still no offers on the house...maybe I should bring some Christmas stuff back down.
That was a hard choice to make because Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year and I have collected quite a lot of Christmas decorations through the years. But what did I absolutely have to have? How many boxes could I pack in the truck and still close the roll cover? What really made Christmas for me? I decided that I didn't need my 7' tree because that would mean all the boxes of lights and ornaments so I'll settle on the 4' ‘Charlie Brown’ pine tree that I usually use for the porch! I also knew I had to have at least most of my snow people collection and a wreath for the door and the scatter rugs.
For the first time since forever, there would be no lights and decorations for the yard...no candy canes lining the walkway, no tree for every room of the house, no collection of Christmas CDs and movies to watch and play as I chose...just a scarcely decorated, lonely, barely has enough branches, short and narrow fake pine tree along with about half of my snow people...:-(
You know what happened? Just like in some old classic movie, Christmas came anyway! We decorated with what little we brought back, we had a wonderful 'Christmas dinner' on the 23rd with the oldest son and his family who live in FL. Even our 2 older granddaughters were very pleased with the scaled back gifts from us this year and there's a new grandchild due in Feb and the little Charlie Brown tree was actually very, very pretty.
Christmas isn't the lights and the ornaments. It's not the pretty presents under the tree. Christmas is family and being together and a feeling of contentment with your life at the end of a busy or hectic or bad year. Christmas is knowing that all things can start anew, that all that truly matters in life, is right with the world and the promise of what the New Year can bring.
I learned - no, RELEARNED last year that Christmas isn't the big tree and all the ornaments and decorations. I thought Christmas 2007 would be very bah-humbug because I was missing like 90% of all my beautiful decorations and lights and my big tree etc, but I was wrong.
We had been trying to sell out home here in Florida so we could move back to North Carolina so, we did what all the Realtors tell you to do...un-clutter thyself! That is to clear out unused / less frequently used items and put them in storage etc so the home shows better. So away went excess books, CDs, DVDs, most knick-knacks, husband's woodworking tools from the garage and of course, all the Christmas stuff...it’s early spring, we'll certainly sell the house before Christmas and be up in NC for Christmas!
We loaded everything we could fit in to our 18' trailer and took it up to NC to store at my mother-in-law's. We actually made two trips and even left the trailer there the second time around.
In late October we headed up to PA to see two of our grandchildren for their birthdays and we would stop in and visit with Mom on the way up and back down again since NC was like the half-way point. On the way back down I'm thinking, time's getting pretty close and still no offers on the house...maybe I should bring some Christmas stuff back down.
That was a hard choice to make because Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year and I have collected quite a lot of Christmas decorations through the years. But what did I absolutely have to have? How many boxes could I pack in the truck and still close the roll cover? What really made Christmas for me? I decided that I didn't need my 7' tree because that would mean all the boxes of lights and ornaments so I'll settle on the 4' ‘Charlie Brown’ pine tree that I usually use for the porch! I also knew I had to have at least most of my snow people collection and a wreath for the door and the scatter rugs.
For the first time since forever, there would be no lights and decorations for the yard...no candy canes lining the walkway, no tree for every room of the house, no collection of Christmas CDs and movies to watch and play as I chose...just a scarcely decorated, lonely, barely has enough branches, short and narrow fake pine tree along with about half of my snow people...:-(
You know what happened? Just like in some old classic movie, Christmas came anyway! We decorated with what little we brought back, we had a wonderful 'Christmas dinner' on the 23rd with the oldest son and his family who live in FL. Even our 2 older granddaughters were very pleased with the scaled back gifts from us this year and there's a new grandchild due in Feb and the little Charlie Brown tree was actually very, very pretty.
Christmas isn't the lights and the ornaments. It's not the pretty presents under the tree. Christmas is family and being together and a feeling of contentment with your life at the end of a busy or hectic or bad year. Christmas is knowing that all things can start anew, that all that truly matters in life, is right with the world and the promise of what the New Year can bring.
I think the song really should be "It's beginning to FEEL a lot like Christmas."
-------------------------
Back to Boot Camp biz...
I got a sign up on Sunday - my neighbor Dawn that I've been helping with her memory album about her husband.
We finished the album Sunday afternoon and she was talking about having to drag herself out to the mall in Crystal River because her granddaughter wanted the original soundtrack for Twilight and it was at f.y.e. Knowing that we have f.y.e. in our mall, I told her I could save her the trip so we went online to my Boot Camp Foundation mall and made the purchase. Then I showed her a little bit about the mall and she wanted to know how she could get one! We signed her right up and I actually was thinking just a Personal Savings mall for her because she's in her 70s but she upgraded herself to a Business mall because she wants to share it with others. Go figure!
Wow - that was just too easy...has it really been that easy all along? What had I been missing? Or maybe I wasn't missing anything but rather adding too much into it - trying too hard - talking too much and just listening or showing too little...hhmmm.
So, now it's go back to square one with anyone I've met or talked to. SHOW THEM THE MALL. People are generally lazy and they'll tell you what you want to hear so sure, they'll say they'll go take a look - but they won't or at least not the majority. So, when ever possible, I'll be on line with them at the same time and show them the mall.
Happy Monday Morning - 10 Days til Christmas
Twas the month before Christmas when all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying nor taking a stand.
Not a Christian was praying nor taking a stand.
The PC Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.
December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping 0n your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday !
Friday, December 12, 2008
TGIEnd of Week 3!!
Well, here it is...end of the week and we're all still alive! No one lost their heads or broke their necks and all us campers will live to see another day! WooHoo.
This will be a short one tonight (of course I say that to myself before I begin each blog,)...
So, the 'Investigator' seemed pleased when he left...not only did he find my husband alive and kicking but he also seemed to like what I offered him regarding MPM:-) He traveled up from Tampa for a half hour interview and it seems they send him all over the state for half hour interviews which he thinks is foolish and totally a waste of company funds but "hey - it's a job!"
I wonder if he knows that "job" stands for "just over broke"?
An elderly neighbor then stopped in - Dawn had recently lost her husband of 30 some years so I keep kind of close tabs on her and make sure she's taking care of herself as Jim would have wanted her to. We do what we can to help her when she needs us since her kids all live on the Atlantic coast. She brought over a bunch of pictures and asked me to help her put together a Legacy Memorial album of Jim's life so she can give copies to their children for Christmas.
She's not a shut in but still grieving and trying to get use to being 'one' so she doesn't venture too far from home and the local grocery store etc. We got to talking about Christmas and what shopping she has to do yet but she doesn't much feel like driving to Ocala where the real stores are. I mentioned about My Power Mall again and she's coming back over on Sunday to finish the memory album and take a look at it and thinks it might just be a good idea for her to have one too:-)
Then the Sears repair man arrived to take a look at out microwave that's 21 years old! Yep, original with the house and it worked great until the other day when it just plain stopped. It's a built in unit above the wall oven so I was hoping that they could no longer get parts for it and I'd then put in a double oven but alas - no such luck as it was just a fuse! Granted, the fuse has to be ordered but it can be had - oh well. Anyway, before he left I asked him the same 3 little questions...
Me: Do you buy groceries, toilet paper and gasoline?
Sears Repair Guy: (with a very puzzled look on his face) Ah...yeah.
Me again: Are you getting rebates on everything you purchase?
Sears Guy: tst, nooo. (head shaking)
Me with a mischievous smile this time: Would you like to?
Sears Big Eyed Guy: Yeah - HOW?
Well, he must be somehow related to my husband...if you ask Al what kind of computer he has, he'll tell you it's a grey one! Sears guy didn't know his email address! Have to call Mrs Sears Guy for that but he's definitely going to sit with her and go to the site.
I found out that there are numerous business owners who literally live in my development - a CPA, 2 vets, a few Realtors, 2 who own restaurants, 1 owns an art gallery, a sign shop, several Drs... Dawn has lived here a long time and she knows everyone - so I'm going to get to know my neighbors! Amazing isn't it? I've come to the conclusion that I simply haven't met enough people since we've been in Florida because I don't belong to any organizations or associations other than my HOA locally.
I think that between a more active approach to the HOA along with the Business Woman's Alliance and hopefully there's a local enough chapter of the BNI, I will have some very positive results.
Linda
This will be a short one tonight (of course I say that to myself before I begin each blog,)...
So, the 'Investigator' seemed pleased when he left...not only did he find my husband alive and kicking but he also seemed to like what I offered him regarding MPM:-) He traveled up from Tampa for a half hour interview and it seems they send him all over the state for half hour interviews which he thinks is foolish and totally a waste of company funds but "hey - it's a job!"
I wonder if he knows that "job" stands for "just over broke"?
An elderly neighbor then stopped in - Dawn had recently lost her husband of 30 some years so I keep kind of close tabs on her and make sure she's taking care of herself as Jim would have wanted her to. We do what we can to help her when she needs us since her kids all live on the Atlantic coast. She brought over a bunch of pictures and asked me to help her put together a Legacy Memorial album of Jim's life so she can give copies to their children for Christmas.
She's not a shut in but still grieving and trying to get use to being 'one' so she doesn't venture too far from home and the local grocery store etc. We got to talking about Christmas and what shopping she has to do yet but she doesn't much feel like driving to Ocala where the real stores are. I mentioned about My Power Mall again and she's coming back over on Sunday to finish the memory album and take a look at it and thinks it might just be a good idea for her to have one too:-)
Then the Sears repair man arrived to take a look at out microwave that's 21 years old! Yep, original with the house and it worked great until the other day when it just plain stopped. It's a built in unit above the wall oven so I was hoping that they could no longer get parts for it and I'd then put in a double oven but alas - no such luck as it was just a fuse! Granted, the fuse has to be ordered but it can be had - oh well. Anyway, before he left I asked him the same 3 little questions...
Me: Do you buy groceries, toilet paper and gasoline?
Sears Repair Guy: (with a very puzzled look on his face) Ah...yeah.
Me again: Are you getting rebates on everything you purchase?
Sears Guy: tst, nooo. (head shaking)
Me with a mischievous smile this time: Would you like to?
Sears Big Eyed Guy: Yeah - HOW?
Well, he must be somehow related to my husband...if you ask Al what kind of computer he has, he'll tell you it's a grey one! Sears guy didn't know his email address! Have to call Mrs Sears Guy for that but he's definitely going to sit with her and go to the site.
I found out that there are numerous business owners who literally live in my development - a CPA, 2 vets, a few Realtors, 2 who own restaurants, 1 owns an art gallery, a sign shop, several Drs... Dawn has lived here a long time and she knows everyone - so I'm going to get to know my neighbors! Amazing isn't it? I've come to the conclusion that I simply haven't met enough people since we've been in Florida because I don't belong to any organizations or associations other than my HOA locally.
I think that between a more active approach to the HOA along with the Business Woman's Alliance and hopefully there's a local enough chapter of the BNI, I will have some very positive results.
Linda
Thursday, December 11, 2008
4th Day - Week 3
Is it really the third week already! Wow - time flies when you're having fun...we are having fun right?
Sure, some days are scary but not like home alone watching SAW II on a dark and windy night scary! You may not always feel like talking to someone but, not like they really have horrendous bad breath, BO and you're about to keel over, not want to talk to them...well, not too often does that happen anyway. And, with everything else going on in our lives we are probably more worn out than we have been in a long time too but, not like 29 hours in labor tired or I just got back from climbing Mt Kilimanjaro worn out...
Okay - point to this is...???
There are 'reasons' and there are 'excuses'.
I've been scared at times to approach people about MPM. There have been times I didn't feel like talking to anyone and I've certainly been more tired this last week of Boot Camp but they're all just excuses! Excuses to myself for not doing what I need to be doing.
I need to talk to more people. I need to leave my comfort zone more often than I do. I need to just meet more people in my own neighborhood. I need to follow up more by phone and in person and stop relying so much on the computer. I need to climb Mt Kilimanjaro...no - no, scratch that one!
I need to get back the person that I was when I was successful in the auto industry. I was a fierce competitor. A top sales person during a time before it was fashionable to have a female salesperson in a dealership. I became a top trainer and manager for both sales and finance in the industry. The same when I went to the mortgage industry...HELLO Linda, are you in there? Come out come out where ever you are!
I'm working on it folks...as the saying goes...some days are diamonds and some days are rough!
Today was somewhere in between. 3 of my trade show contacts still haven't gotten back to me and I don't want to call again so I'll drop a card in the mail - 2 others still haven't had a chance to watch the presentation and I'm having lunch one day next week with the one who's big with the Business Woman's Alliance. Ms Fox, Bam's grandmother wants me to call her back over the weekend and I've sent an email to Tom Fleming who is the Exec. Director for the West Central Florida chapter of Business Network International. I've talked with a Chiropractor in town and a guy who sells Rainbows - not the pretty ones, the vacum cleaners. (I could have said 'the ones that suck'!) No wait - I just did!!
Tomorrow is a full day as Al has a Workman's Comp review ( one of those home visits where they just need to see him living and breathing and know that I don't have him stuffed in the freezer and still collecting his checks. LOL) Also, Sears home repair will be here SOMETIME to repair the built in Microwave. They'll be my first 2 contacts:) Then I'm going to stop in at 3 businesses so I'm going to bed early to get more rest and have my beans in one pocket and a cross to fend off the vampires in the other...wish me luck.
Linda
Sure, some days are scary but not like home alone watching SAW II on a dark and windy night scary! You may not always feel like talking to someone but, not like they really have horrendous bad breath, BO and you're about to keel over, not want to talk to them...well, not too often does that happen anyway. And, with everything else going on in our lives we are probably more worn out than we have been in a long time too but, not like 29 hours in labor tired or I just got back from climbing Mt Kilimanjaro worn out...
Okay - point to this is...???
There are 'reasons' and there are 'excuses'.
I've been scared at times to approach people about MPM. There have been times I didn't feel like talking to anyone and I've certainly been more tired this last week of Boot Camp but they're all just excuses! Excuses to myself for not doing what I need to be doing.
I need to talk to more people. I need to leave my comfort zone more often than I do. I need to just meet more people in my own neighborhood. I need to follow up more by phone and in person and stop relying so much on the computer. I need to climb Mt Kilimanjaro...no - no, scratch that one!
I need to get back the person that I was when I was successful in the auto industry. I was a fierce competitor. A top sales person during a time before it was fashionable to have a female salesperson in a dealership. I became a top trainer and manager for both sales and finance in the industry. The same when I went to the mortgage industry...HELLO Linda, are you in there? Come out come out where ever you are!
I'm working on it folks...as the saying goes...some days are diamonds and some days are rough!
Today was somewhere in between. 3 of my trade show contacts still haven't gotten back to me and I don't want to call again so I'll drop a card in the mail - 2 others still haven't had a chance to watch the presentation and I'm having lunch one day next week with the one who's big with the Business Woman's Alliance. Ms Fox, Bam's grandmother wants me to call her back over the weekend and I've sent an email to Tom Fleming who is the Exec. Director for the West Central Florida chapter of Business Network International. I've talked with a Chiropractor in town and a guy who sells Rainbows - not the pretty ones, the vacum cleaners. (I could have said 'the ones that suck'!) No wait - I just did!!
Tomorrow is a full day as Al has a Workman's Comp review ( one of those home visits where they just need to see him living and breathing and know that I don't have him stuffed in the freezer and still collecting his checks. LOL) Also, Sears home repair will be here SOMETIME to repair the built in Microwave. They'll be my first 2 contacts:) Then I'm going to stop in at 3 businesses so I'm going to bed early to get more rest and have my beans in one pocket and a cross to fend off the vampires in the other...wish me luck.
Linda
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wacky day
Started out early this morning at one of the flea markets here which was way overwhelming and too too long since the 'snow birds' are all down with their wares. They arrive in caravans of RVs that are jam packed with their products to sell and they're living in the RVs too! Talk about claustrophobia!!!
I wasn't interested in them but had to wade through them since we had no choice but to park in the back forty and walk our way to the front area where the local vendors and merchants are...the ones who live here all year round and are regular fleabees. Fleabee...is there such a word? I think I just made it up :)
Talked with a very nice lady who sells a special brand of jewelry that she gets from NJ, got her info and sent her an email. Then there was this very energetic young man who does metal sculptures that I was very impressed by. Cranes, egrets, crabs, palm trees and the likes, (it IS Florida). He first cuts the metal to the shape using a large torch and then hammers a dimension to it such as the body of the crane. He then adds color in a unique way using various media and techniques. It's all very rustic artistic wonderful looking.
Most of the pieces are hang-able for the outside of the house or to really be a Florida home, to decorate you lanai with. (I have a lanai but I guess it's not a Florida home though because I don't have all that sort of thing on the walls of my lanai. And why is it called a 'lanai' ? Who named it lanai anyway? It's a semi enclosed porch that opens the main house to the caged pool.) Okay - so the single word, lanai, does sound better than that long description I just gave!
Anyway, Bam, that's his name and I did not make it up, sells these pieces dirt cheap. No two pieces are alike since each is made by hand and he was more than glad to give me his Grandmother's name and phone # to talk to as she handles "all that stuff for him." So I'll try calling Ms Fox again tomorrow.
I was then talking to the owners of the flea market but unfortunately or fortunately, looked at my watch and it was time for me to call in and greet the early birds for the morning call. It was so noisy there and I had grabbed the wrong headset for my cellphone so I had to send Al back to the back forty to get our vehicle so I hear clearer. So, at that point, we headed home so I could listen to the rest of the call:( Sorry I missed the rest of the vendors for the day but glad to get the rest of the call:)
Al was in a bit of a cranky grumpy mood after dragging him away from the flea market before he had a chance to finish the walk through himself...that's one of the things he really enjoys doing and looks forward to each week. (I think I'll have to be on the evening call if I plan to do the Wednesday flea market again.) I offered some cheese with his whine for lunch...only kidding but I have to admit that I didn't make any more contacts for the day. Occasionally we have to be reminded that we have a spouse or loved one who deserves some quality time with you so we spent the rest of the day getting the Christmas decorations finally done.
So that was my day folks - 2.5 contacts but only one with an email address in hand, uncounted strands of Christmas lights, some 200 snow people through out the house and Peaches trying to play with every one of them:) And to all a good night.
PS: I did take a break and watched 2 neat little videos on YouTube that a friend had sent me - one was about blogs and the other was about advertising your blog through social networks such as FaceBook and MySpace. Email me < smandp@earthlink.net > if you'd like the links to them - they were very interesting. I also have a digital eBook copy of Who Moved My Cheese if anyone would like it. Marvelous little book and I know you've heard Ginny refer to it often.
Linda
I wasn't interested in them but had to wade through them since we had no choice but to park in the back forty and walk our way to the front area where the local vendors and merchants are...the ones who live here all year round and are regular fleabees. Fleabee...is there such a word? I think I just made it up :)
Talked with a very nice lady who sells a special brand of jewelry that she gets from NJ, got her info and sent her an email. Then there was this very energetic young man who does metal sculptures that I was very impressed by. Cranes, egrets, crabs, palm trees and the likes, (it IS Florida). He first cuts the metal to the shape using a large torch and then hammers a dimension to it such as the body of the crane. He then adds color in a unique way using various media and techniques. It's all very rustic artistic wonderful looking.
Most of the pieces are hang-able for the outside of the house or to really be a Florida home, to decorate you lanai with. (I have a lanai but I guess it's not a Florida home though because I don't have all that sort of thing on the walls of my lanai. And why is it called a 'lanai' ? Who named it lanai anyway? It's a semi enclosed porch that opens the main house to the caged pool.) Okay - so the single word, lanai, does sound better than that long description I just gave!
Anyway, Bam, that's his name and I did not make it up, sells these pieces dirt cheap. No two pieces are alike since each is made by hand and he was more than glad to give me his Grandmother's name and phone # to talk to as she handles "all that stuff for him." So I'll try calling Ms Fox again tomorrow.
I was then talking to the owners of the flea market but unfortunately or fortunately, looked at my watch and it was time for me to call in and greet the early birds for the morning call. It was so noisy there and I had grabbed the wrong headset for my cellphone so I had to send Al back to the back forty to get our vehicle so I hear clearer. So, at that point, we headed home so I could listen to the rest of the call:( Sorry I missed the rest of the vendors for the day but glad to get the rest of the call:)
Al was in a bit of a cranky grumpy mood after dragging him away from the flea market before he had a chance to finish the walk through himself...that's one of the things he really enjoys doing and looks forward to each week. (I think I'll have to be on the evening call if I plan to do the Wednesday flea market again.) I offered some cheese with his whine for lunch...only kidding but I have to admit that I didn't make any more contacts for the day. Occasionally we have to be reminded that we have a spouse or loved one who deserves some quality time with you so we spent the rest of the day getting the Christmas decorations finally done.
So that was my day folks - 2.5 contacts but only one with an email address in hand, uncounted strands of Christmas lights, some 200 snow people through out the house and Peaches trying to play with every one of them:) And to all a good night.
PS: I did take a break and watched 2 neat little videos on YouTube that a friend had sent me - one was about blogs and the other was about advertising your blog through social networks such as FaceBook and MySpace. Email me < smandp@earthlink.net > if you'd like the links to them - they were very interesting. I also have a digital eBook copy of Who Moved My Cheese if anyone would like it. Marvelous little book and I know you've heard Ginny refer to it often.
Linda
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Totally blank tonight...
Totally blank - not as in a lost for words, but as a new canvas from which will develop a beautiful masterpiece...one stroke at a time.
I am the canvas, the World Changer Mall is the artist, Ginny, Jacki and all my fellow campers that I'm learning from are the brushes within the artist' hands. Every micro speck of paint placed on the canvas is a new person I've shared WCM with.
As any artist will attest, a masterpiece is never easy to come by. Sometimes they can paint over and over on the same canvas, even rearranging the landscape or theme again and again before it all comes together to their liking. Before they're satisfied.
I believe I read some where that Da Vinci repainted the Mona Lisa over twenty times on the same canvas! Each time, making a subtle change here or there to improve it until he was satisfied with the results. Until he was sure that it was a masterpiece.
Hey - I could have used the lump of clay being molded routine but that's sooo common and there is just nothing about My Power Mall or Together We Can Change The World that is common! We have such a unique opportunity to share...there is nothing like it out there. There may be some 'Wanna Be's' cropping up, but they'll never be any where close!
So - how did my day go today? Pretty good I think (other than trying to get this blog post finished as my computer keeps wanting to freeze up on me!
Since I didn't get to listen to all of Linda B's portion of Monday's call, I took her up on her offer to coach and sent her an email in the morning to which she responded very quickly so after my morning call and then lunch, I was on the phone with her and getting some great pointers. Thank you Linda B.
I had also emailed each of my contacts from Monday. I of course addressed each email personally and added something that would make the emails not appear as if they were canned...here's the short email I send for the first follow up...
-----------------
Hi Debi;
I had the _____ booth at the trade show yesterday and I just wanted to say hello and let you
know how much I enjoyed meeting you and the other ladies there. Even though customers were nearly non existent, networking with everyone made the day bearable.
I look forward to us all getting together again in the near future and hopefully at a better location.
Have you had a chance to check out the site I told you about yesterday? If not, that's okay but I was wondering, since you're a business woman, do you know 5 other business women locally who would enjoy advertising to 148,000 people for less than $16 a month? If you do, your advertising could be FREE! I'd love to sit with you and show you how.
I'm really interested to get your opinion of the program and I'll talk to you soon.
PS: My husband loved the ponzu sause - I used it tonight on a shrimp stir fry. Yummy!
-----------
After the calls I tried to contact each by phone but only managed to reach 3 and they hadn't had a chance to view the video yet but promised they would. I did not get a chance to stop in at my NPO as I had planned so that's moved to tomorrow's agenda.
Tomorrow's another day and I'm anxious to see what specks of paint are added to my canvas. I hope they're bright colors :)
Linda
I am the canvas, the World Changer Mall is the artist, Ginny, Jacki and all my fellow campers that I'm learning from are the brushes within the artist' hands. Every micro speck of paint placed on the canvas is a new person I've shared WCM with.
As any artist will attest, a masterpiece is never easy to come by. Sometimes they can paint over and over on the same canvas, even rearranging the landscape or theme again and again before it all comes together to their liking. Before they're satisfied.
I believe I read some where that Da Vinci repainted the Mona Lisa over twenty times on the same canvas! Each time, making a subtle change here or there to improve it until he was satisfied with the results. Until he was sure that it was a masterpiece.
Hey - I could have used the lump of clay being molded routine but that's sooo common and there is just nothing about My Power Mall or Together We Can Change The World that is common! We have such a unique opportunity to share...there is nothing like it out there. There may be some 'Wanna Be's' cropping up, but they'll never be any where close!
So - how did my day go today? Pretty good I think (other than trying to get this blog post finished as my computer keeps wanting to freeze up on me!
Since I didn't get to listen to all of Linda B's portion of Monday's call, I took her up on her offer to coach and sent her an email in the morning to which she responded very quickly so after my morning call and then lunch, I was on the phone with her and getting some great pointers. Thank you Linda B.
I had also emailed each of my contacts from Monday. I of course addressed each email personally and added something that would make the emails not appear as if they were canned...here's the short email I send for the first follow up...
-----------------
Hi Debi;
I had the _____ booth at the trade show yesterday and I just wanted to say hello and let you
know how much I enjoyed meeting you and the other ladies there. Even though customers were nearly non existent, networking with everyone made the day bearable.
I look forward to us all getting together again in the near future and hopefully at a better location.
Have you had a chance to check out the site I told you about yesterday? If not, that's okay but I was wondering, since you're a business woman, do you know 5 other business women locally who would enjoy advertising to 148,000 people for less than $16 a month? If you do, your advertising could be FREE! I'd love to sit with you and show you how.
I'm really interested to get your opinion of the program and I'll talk to you soon.
PS: My husband loved the ponzu sause - I used it tonight on a shrimp stir fry. Yummy!
-----------
After the calls I tried to contact each by phone but only managed to reach 3 and they hadn't had a chance to view the video yet but promised they would. I did not get a chance to stop in at my NPO as I had planned so that's moved to tomorrow's agenda.
Tomorrow's another day and I'm anxious to see what specks of paint are added to my canvas. I hope they're bright colors :)
Linda
Monday, December 8, 2008
It's a Lovely Day in the Neighborhood...
Hello fellow campers and visitors or should I begin with goodnight since that's where I'm headed...fully exhausted and with much physical discomfort from standing on a hard concrete floor in an old VFW hall from 11am to 7pm today!
I was at a Home Party Plan Trade Show today - all day and though the customer traffic was not good at all (due only to insufficient advertising and an out of the way location), I met some wonderful ladies of the local direct sales professions. And, after touring each other's booths and discussing sales trends, product versus product etc., I discussed MyPowerMall with each and everyone of them off and on all day. There were so many 'open doors' in conversations that I couldn't even walk through them all! Like how often does that happen?
Of course, we all had so many things in common which is always a plus. There were 10 vendors all together including myself and I truly feel that there will be at least 5 sign ups from today's effort.
I listened in on the conference call this morning while I was at the show and what Linda B. talked about really spurred my conversations today because everyones eyes lit up when I told them about the Local Merchant Mall in conjunction with their World Changer Mall. That's huge and invaluable even in a small area where there might not be a large number of members yet such as my local area and as business woman, they each immediately recognised the value.
Okay, what next? Follow up tomorrow with these ladies of course and especially one who is very prominent with the Citrus County Business Woman's Association. She already invited me to the next networking luncheon. That will be in Feb since they just had one last week which had nearly 150 business women in attendance.
I also need to get with my NPO tomorrow and gear them up for next week as the featured NPO and decorate the house etc etc so I'm off to beddy bye for now:) Talk to you all tomorrow.
"Down in their hearts, wise men know this truth: the only way to help yourself is to help others." - Elbert Hubbard
Linda
I was at a Home Party Plan Trade Show today - all day and though the customer traffic was not good at all (due only to insufficient advertising and an out of the way location), I met some wonderful ladies of the local direct sales professions. And, after touring each other's booths and discussing sales trends, product versus product etc., I discussed MyPowerMall with each and everyone of them off and on all day. There were so many 'open doors' in conversations that I couldn't even walk through them all! Like how often does that happen?
Of course, we all had so many things in common which is always a plus. There were 10 vendors all together including myself and I truly feel that there will be at least 5 sign ups from today's effort.
I listened in on the conference call this morning while I was at the show and what Linda B. talked about really spurred my conversations today because everyones eyes lit up when I told them about the Local Merchant Mall in conjunction with their World Changer Mall. That's huge and invaluable even in a small area where there might not be a large number of members yet such as my local area and as business woman, they each immediately recognised the value.
Okay, what next? Follow up tomorrow with these ladies of course and especially one who is very prominent with the Citrus County Business Woman's Association. She already invited me to the next networking luncheon. That will be in Feb since they just had one last week which had nearly 150 business women in attendance.
I also need to get with my NPO tomorrow and gear them up for next week as the featured NPO and decorate the house etc etc so I'm off to beddy bye for now:) Talk to you all tomorrow.
"Down in their hearts, wise men know this truth: the only way to help yourself is to help others." - Elbert Hubbard
Linda
Friday, December 5, 2008
End of the 2nd Week of Boot Camp
And it ends with not the results I'd hoped for but hey, never give up hope...never say defeat. There are people out there that need and want what MyPowerMall offers and we will find them.
Follow up was positive today...not with everyone of course but there are 3 that I believe are seriously considering and taking a second look at the presentation.
I got an email today that my NPO, Camp E-Nini Hassee, (everything in Florida has the weirdest names), will be the featured NPO for the week of Dec 15 - 21 so I'm excited about that. I'll be going over there personally on Tuesday to gear them up and get some more notes on them as I want to send the local paper a press release about it so those who also help to support it can plan on shopping on their site also. I'll take some footage of the Camp while I'm there too and share it with all of you, but let me tell you a bit about it...
The camp was founded by Mr & Mrs Eckerd (Eckerd Drugstores) some 40 years ago. It encompasses 840 wooded acres in Citrus County Florida and is at any time, the home for an average of 70 ‘troubled girls’ from all over the state.
Mr Eckerd’s philosophy was that it didn’t matter if they were a kid from the streets of Miami or an abused child in a trailer in some small town, they were all just kids and deserved the chance to know life could and can be better. ((Kind of fits our philosophy too.))
Girls reside in actual camp buildings of 10 girls per unit and a single house counselor who resides full time with them. They receive credits for being schooled on the premises and the average stay is 1 ½ yrs. Their lives are being structured by actual activity versus lectures. The girls are being raised in the care of the staff and then handed back into society with better standards, expectations and dreams for a future that’s brighter than when they arrived. JoLynn Smith has been the director of the camp for 24 years and every girl there is her child.
It's such a neat NPO and they don't get very much exposure and assistance so I'm so glad to be able to help them. Even though there's a trust fund for the operation of the Camp, they have to rely on fundraisers for things like medical/dental, clothing and personal needs for the girls as their families are often not able or willing to aid in their support.
Wow, next week's going to be very busy! Monday I'll be at a Trade Show all day and talking to a lot of local ladies so I can't wait to let you know how that turns out. Tuesday at the Camp and I still still need to get out Christmas cards and decorate the house. Oh yeah, and do shopping for Christmas with my AmEx gift cards. Friday the 19th my son flies in from Philly for 10 day, so I'll have 2 of my sons and one set of grandchildren here for Christmas this year at least...getting all three together usually only happens like every 5 years...as they get older and busier in their lives we learn to be thankful for any time we get to spend with them:(
That's it for tonight fellow campers and visitors...if I don't add anything over the weekend, have a blessed one.
Linda
Follow up was positive today...not with everyone of course but there are 3 that I believe are seriously considering and taking a second look at the presentation.
I got an email today that my NPO, Camp E-Nini Hassee, (everything in Florida has the weirdest names), will be the featured NPO for the week of Dec 15 - 21 so I'm excited about that. I'll be going over there personally on Tuesday to gear them up and get some more notes on them as I want to send the local paper a press release about it so those who also help to support it can plan on shopping on their site also. I'll take some footage of the Camp while I'm there too and share it with all of you, but let me tell you a bit about it...
The camp was founded by Mr & Mrs Eckerd (Eckerd Drugstores) some 40 years ago. It encompasses 840 wooded acres in Citrus County Florida and is at any time, the home for an average of 70 ‘troubled girls’ from all over the state.
Mr Eckerd’s philosophy was that it didn’t matter if they were a kid from the streets of Miami or an abused child in a trailer in some small town, they were all just kids and deserved the chance to know life could and can be better. ((Kind of fits our philosophy too.))
Girls reside in actual camp buildings of 10 girls per unit and a single house counselor who resides full time with them. They receive credits for being schooled on the premises and the average stay is 1 ½ yrs. Their lives are being structured by actual activity versus lectures. The girls are being raised in the care of the staff and then handed back into society with better standards, expectations and dreams for a future that’s brighter than when they arrived. JoLynn Smith has been the director of the camp for 24 years and every girl there is her child.
It's such a neat NPO and they don't get very much exposure and assistance so I'm so glad to be able to help them. Even though there's a trust fund for the operation of the Camp, they have to rely on fundraisers for things like medical/dental, clothing and personal needs for the girls as their families are often not able or willing to aid in their support.
Wow, next week's going to be very busy! Monday I'll be at a Trade Show all day and talking to a lot of local ladies so I can't wait to let you know how that turns out. Tuesday at the Camp and I still still need to get out Christmas cards and decorate the house. Oh yeah, and do shopping for Christmas with my AmEx gift cards. Friday the 19th my son flies in from Philly for 10 day, so I'll have 2 of my sons and one set of grandchildren here for Christmas this year at least...getting all three together usually only happens like every 5 years...as they get older and busier in their lives we learn to be thankful for any time we get to spend with them:(
That's it for tonight fellow campers and visitors...if I don't add anything over the weekend, have a blessed one.
Linda
Thursday, December 4, 2008
What Day Is This???
Hello fellow campers and visitors!
I am sooo tired right now - can hardly keep my eyes open. Was up til 1am and then kitty was insisting on another playful early morning at 4:30am so I rolled out at 5 and shuffled into the kitchen trying my best to not run into anything in the dark while artfully managing to stay afoot as Peaches likes to run in between my feet as I walk! Not an easy trick to accomplish but I've been practicing almost every morning since she arrived and I almost have it down pat:)
So, into the kitchen and hit the coffee on then over to my desk to boot up and perform my every morning routine of disc cleanup up while I check emails and wait for the coffee to be ready and putz around in cyber space until the sun comes up.
Ah yes - coffee - so good. Speaking of coffee (caffeine just kicked in), there's a shop in our mall that has some wonderful coffees - BocaJava. I love coffee and I especially love getting paid to drink Gourmet coffees!
I love herbal and special blend teas too but alas, my favorite tea store, The Republic of Tea isn't in our mall. :( They have so many exquisite flavors and blends to choose from and these wonderfully decorative airtight tins to keep the tea bags in. White tea, green teas, black, red...you name it, they've got it. They also carry loose leaf and all the neat teapots and tea accessories. My favorite is a Honey Ginseng green daily tea. Yep, too bad we don't have them in our Power Malls ... but wait, oh yeah, I can still get paid to drink my favorite tea because I get paid to purchase American Express Gift Cards that I can use at the The Republic of Tea website to purchase my tea. Duh!
Seriously - if you're a visitor here, go to
my business site
and check it out because if you're not getting paid to buy groceries, gas, clothes, shoes or eat out and fill your tank up or pay your utility bills...you're losing!
Oh yeah - almost forgot to tell you how the rest of my day went...it continued to be busy. Half way in to the Boot Camp call this morning I had to hang up as we had an appointment to show our home. That took much longer than I had expected so I only managed to get 2 contacts today and they were the lookers and their agent :) You have to love the days when the leads come to you!!
I'll fill you in in a day or 2 how the follow up goes and of course if the house sells. Goodnight all.
Linda
I am sooo tired right now - can hardly keep my eyes open. Was up til 1am and then kitty was insisting on another playful early morning at 4:30am so I rolled out at 5 and shuffled into the kitchen trying my best to not run into anything in the dark while artfully managing to stay afoot as Peaches likes to run in between my feet as I walk! Not an easy trick to accomplish but I've been practicing almost every morning since she arrived and I almost have it down pat:)
So, into the kitchen and hit the coffee on then over to my desk to boot up and perform my every morning routine of disc cleanup up while I check emails and wait for the coffee to be ready and putz around in cyber space until the sun comes up.
Ah yes - coffee - so good. Speaking of coffee (caffeine just kicked in), there's a shop in our mall that has some wonderful coffees - BocaJava. I love coffee and I especially love getting paid to drink Gourmet coffees!
I love herbal and special blend teas too but alas, my favorite tea store, The Republic of Tea isn't in our mall. :( They have so many exquisite flavors and blends to choose from and these wonderfully decorative airtight tins to keep the tea bags in. White tea, green teas, black, red...you name it, they've got it. They also carry loose leaf and all the neat teapots and tea accessories. My favorite is a Honey Ginseng green daily tea. Yep, too bad we don't have them in our Power Malls ... but wait, oh yeah, I can still get paid to drink my favorite tea because I get paid to purchase American Express Gift Cards that I can use at the The Republic of Tea website to purchase my tea. Duh!
Seriously - if you're a visitor here, go to
my business site
and check it out because if you're not getting paid to buy groceries, gas, clothes, shoes or eat out and fill your tank up or pay your utility bills...you're losing!
Oh yeah - almost forgot to tell you how the rest of my day went...it continued to be busy. Half way in to the Boot Camp call this morning I had to hang up as we had an appointment to show our home. That took much longer than I had expected so I only managed to get 2 contacts today and they were the lookers and their agent :) You have to love the days when the leads come to you!!
I'll fill you in in a day or 2 how the follow up goes and of course if the house sells. Goodnight all.
Linda
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Day 9
I can't believe this week is half over already!
Really neat call this morning. I love that we have an open mike so to say and can discuss our fears and obstacles openly with each other as a group and as a group we come up with different ideas and ways to deal with it all - the nos - the yeahs - the disappointments and the successes.
Al and I went to our local salon today and got hair cuts (we do a lot of things together) and our stylist Mela is from NY originally so we always have a lot to talk and joke about since Al is born & bred upstate NY and I lived there for some 25 years. Anyway, I like Mela so much because she talks like, sounds like, acts like and even resembles my best girlfriend who died very suddenly 3 years ago this April from breast cancer.
Diane's passing was a tremendous loss as we'd been best friends for almost 25 yrs. And even though she stayed in NY and I moved back south and we didn't see each other too often the last almost 10 years, when we talked on the phone or got together it was as if we were never apart and had just see each other yesterday. Her son and my youngest son are still friends today.
She was only 50 something (real friends don't ask or divulge ages - they don't need to,) and had never had a mammogram in her life until that October and she was already stage 3 by then. I literally cried my heart out for weeks inconsolably.
So, it was natural for me to gravitate towards Mela and actually it was Al who made me see who she reminded me of. Striking a kinship with her I think helped me get beyond the hurt of losing Diane and yet , in a sense, reconnecting with her too. But the point of telling you this sad story actually coincides with something that was brought up in the call this morning - reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances...
After getting my 5 today which of course included Mela and the other 2 stylist in her salon, I came home to find 2 emails from 'old friends and acquaintances'! How weird huh. And there were also 2 emails from team members who haven't done a thing with their malls in over a year and the message to call another one! SPOOOOOKY!!!
Hey Jacki - can we talk about nothing but new sign ups tomorrow?? I want everyone on the call to simultaneously close their eyes and send out thoughts of all the signs up coming their way. Maybe we can all meditate and chant together or something. "Anything the mind can believe and perceive, it can achieve."
Follow up today was so-so. Everyone is so wrapped up (no pun intended) with Christmas right now but we keep trying and stay positive.
Linda
Really neat call this morning. I love that we have an open mike so to say and can discuss our fears and obstacles openly with each other as a group and as a group we come up with different ideas and ways to deal with it all - the nos - the yeahs - the disappointments and the successes.
Al and I went to our local salon today and got hair cuts (we do a lot of things together) and our stylist Mela is from NY originally so we always have a lot to talk and joke about since Al is born & bred upstate NY and I lived there for some 25 years. Anyway, I like Mela so much because she talks like, sounds like, acts like and even resembles my best girlfriend who died very suddenly 3 years ago this April from breast cancer.
Diane's passing was a tremendous loss as we'd been best friends for almost 25 yrs. And even though she stayed in NY and I moved back south and we didn't see each other too often the last almost 10 years, when we talked on the phone or got together it was as if we were never apart and had just see each other yesterday. Her son and my youngest son are still friends today.
She was only 50 something (real friends don't ask or divulge ages - they don't need to,) and had never had a mammogram in her life until that October and she was already stage 3 by then. I literally cried my heart out for weeks inconsolably.
So, it was natural for me to gravitate towards Mela and actually it was Al who made me see who she reminded me of. Striking a kinship with her I think helped me get beyond the hurt of losing Diane and yet , in a sense, reconnecting with her too. But the point of telling you this sad story actually coincides with something that was brought up in the call this morning - reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances...
After getting my 5 today which of course included Mela and the other 2 stylist in her salon, I came home to find 2 emails from 'old friends and acquaintances'! How weird huh. And there were also 2 emails from team members who haven't done a thing with their malls in over a year and the message to call another one! SPOOOOOKY!!!
Hey Jacki - can we talk about nothing but new sign ups tomorrow?? I want everyone on the call to simultaneously close their eyes and send out thoughts of all the signs up coming their way. Maybe we can all meditate and chant together or something. "Anything the mind can believe and perceive, it can achieve."
Follow up today was so-so. Everyone is so wrapped up (no pun intended) with Christmas right now but we keep trying and stay positive.
Linda
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Day 8 of Boot Camp
Okie Dokie!!
I'm back after a momentary melt down that was slow building and reached a peak last night where in total frustration I'm emailing Ginny at 11:30pm and was ready to throw in the towel!
I really had huge doubts that I was accomplishing anything except spinning my wheels - wasting gas and annoying a lot of people including myself! I couldn't get anyone to talk with me and those who did weren't going to give me any contact info...I felt like I was trying to get a pig to sing...it was frustrating me and annoying the pig!
Thank goodness Ginny had a marvelous email in my inbox first thing this morning or else I think I would have given up. And, talking openly about my frustration with Jacki and some of the other Boot Campers on the call this morning was tremendously helpful too. Thank you everyone.
If you're new to MyPowerMall or just 'visiting' or had gotten an invitation card, I want you to know that we really do have a wonderful family in MPM. If you just happened to stumble onto this blog, please go to my business site to see what we're all so proud to share with you.
So, to further my new found good feelings, I headed to my nail salon for a pedicure and manicure with a purse full of cards and a note pad. I really was hoping that my AmEx gift cards that I purchase (through my mall of course) would be here this morning so I could use them as a point to my conversation but they weren't but that's okay, off I went anyway.
I arrive at the nail salon which is normally fairly busy but there were only 3 other customers there and 2 employees along with the husband and wife owners, Justin & Trish. Not too much to work with there but I talked with 2 of the ladies and Trish. A bit more with Trish as the owner of the business but she didn't give me her email.
After leaving there I stopped in to say hi to 2 other business owners in the area. One owns a pet grooming business and I had talked with her last year when we first kicked off the BP program and the other owns an art gallery across the street and also happens to live in my development. I have contact info for both and will follow up with a 'nice talking with you' ecard and then a call by weeks end. I also have 2 that had told me to called them Wednesday.
I'm back after a momentary melt down that was slow building and reached a peak last night where in total frustration I'm emailing Ginny at 11:30pm and was ready to throw in the towel!
I really had huge doubts that I was accomplishing anything except spinning my wheels - wasting gas and annoying a lot of people including myself! I couldn't get anyone to talk with me and those who did weren't going to give me any contact info...I felt like I was trying to get a pig to sing...it was frustrating me and annoying the pig!
Thank goodness Ginny had a marvelous email in my inbox first thing this morning or else I think I would have given up. And, talking openly about my frustration with Jacki and some of the other Boot Campers on the call this morning was tremendously helpful too. Thank you everyone.
If you're new to MyPowerMall or just 'visiting' or had gotten an invitation card, I want you to know that we really do have a wonderful family in MPM. If you just happened to stumble onto this blog, please go to my business site to see what we're all so proud to share with you.
So, to further my new found good feelings, I headed to my nail salon for a pedicure and manicure with a purse full of cards and a note pad. I really was hoping that my AmEx gift cards that I purchase (through my mall of course) would be here this morning so I could use them as a point to my conversation but they weren't but that's okay, off I went anyway.
I arrive at the nail salon which is normally fairly busy but there were only 3 other customers there and 2 employees along with the husband and wife owners, Justin & Trish. Not too much to work with there but I talked with 2 of the ladies and Trish. A bit more with Trish as the owner of the business but she didn't give me her email.
After leaving there I stopped in to say hi to 2 other business owners in the area. One owns a pet grooming business and I had talked with her last year when we first kicked off the BP program and the other owns an art gallery across the street and also happens to live in my development. I have contact info for both and will follow up with a 'nice talking with you' ecard and then a call by weeks end. I also have 2 that had told me to called them Wednesday.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing,
the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worse thing you can do is nothing."
~ Theodore Roosevelt, American President (1858 - 1919)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So, it appears that even when we're not getting names, numbers and emails - when we're not feeling particularly successful in our endeavors, we're talking to people and putting ourselves out there and that's doing something and that's better than nothing!
Okay, so what if people are leary...so what if people are too busy because of the Holidays...so what if I live in an area with a medium age so old that we jokingly refer to it as 'Hospice County'...I know in my heart that My Power Mall is a program that everybody needs and I WILL keep on offering to share it with anyone and everyone! What's the worse they could do, say no? Better they choose to do nothing, than me do nothing.
Til tomorrow...
Linda
Friday, November 28, 2008
Shopping Poem for Black Friday
Hello to all - company arrived almost immediately after this mornings call so I won't get my 5 today but I'll make it up over the weekend.
Linda
So, no follow up blog either - this poem will have to suffice and maybe even spur you on...
Economic Bail Out got your down?
You don't have 700 Billion to spread around?
Then help yourself with your own economic plan
And shop online every time you can.
No need to search for all the stores
At your fingertips there's 1200 or more;
With a shortcut toolbar for you to install,
Just one click to enter your own Power Mall.
Save on gas - get delivery to your door,
Save your energy, no 'mobs' in YOUR stores,
Where finding the BEST parking space is never a care
For it's the chair underneath your own dairyaire.
While avoiding the local shopping circus,
Rebates you'll earn for all that you purchase
And inviting others to shop our mall is always a plus
For what ever they buy means more income to us.
While shopping your mall, they may take a glance
At Ginny's presentation, and then just by chance
They'll want their own too after all
It makes sense to own a MY POWER MALL.
You don't have 700 Billion to spread around?
Then help yourself with your own economic plan
And shop online every time you can.
No need to search for all the stores
At your fingertips there's 1200 or more;
With a shortcut toolbar for you to install,
Just one click to enter your own Power Mall.
Save on gas - get delivery to your door,
Save your energy, no 'mobs' in YOUR stores,
Where finding the BEST parking space is never a care
For it's the chair underneath your own dairyaire.
While avoiding the local shopping circus,
Rebates you'll earn for all that you purchase
And inviting others to shop our mall is always a plus
For what ever they buy means more income to us.
While shopping your mall, they may take a glance
At Ginny's presentation, and then just by chance
They'll want their own too after all
It makes sense to own a MY POWER MALL.
LindaDay 4
Everyone and Welcome to my Friday morning blog post!
I pray everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day - (all who celebrate it anyway), and if you don't celebrate, then I pray you just had a nice day :0)
I really enjoyed the time with family and friends and taking the day off from my business. Isn't that one of the great things about having a home-based business and being your own boss? You make your days - set your hours - and best of all, get ALL the rewards.
You're shaping your own future and building your own dreams instead of for someone else. And yes, it's true that ahead of you are others such as Ginny Dye but with My Power Mall, unlike so many other home based business noopportunities (no, that's not a misprint or mis-spelling), NO-ONE ahead of you succeeds unless you succeed.
Over the years I have been in so many MLMs and business' that it's just not funny. I have wasted so much time and energy and money on plans that were never meant for me to succeed or at least not beyond a certain level. I have been elbow to elbow with bonifide millionaires in those companies only to realize that that in itself is part of the overall hype.
I'm here to tell you that those plans don't work for long. Sure, I've made some money in them but I dare say that I put out more than I got back. Thankfully I never was one to stock more 'inventory' than I could or would use myself. I was even doing live 15 minute TV mini infomercials for one company and guess what, I got stuck with the bill from the TV station! I believe in Karma though because that company has since gone belly up and all those poor millionaires have since gone on to other schemes and plans.
Okay, feel like I'm ranting a little but my point here is this...nothing like that will ever happen with MyPowerMall...no one will ever get 'burnt' with MY Power Mall. You're never expected to do or buy anything that you weren't going to anyway and in today's economy, it makes perfect sense to save when and where you can so what better way than to make purchases through your mall and earn money back?
I'm not into doing the Black Friday thing - never have been. (I actually hate shopping but it is a necessary thing that has to be done.) I won't fight crowds, especially hostile ones, even if it was free! But that's just me.
However, before my son and his family come for the weekend, I will go out and get my 5 today as well as do my biking and be on the call this morning as that's my commitment. And besides, it's called Black Friday because all retailers have mega deals on that day and for one day a year, they make enough sales to actually dip out of the red and into the black...any day I shop in my PowerMall that automatically pays me back is therefore a 'Black Day' for me:0) It could be for you too. Think about it.
Linda
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Day 3
Today was an exhausting day...getting ready for Thanksgiving and a weekend visit from oldest son and his family and catching the call this morning while trying to take care of normal everyday stuff too BUT I still managed to sneak away and make my 5 contacts :) and now I'm blogging and baking the pies for tomorrow and keeping my eyes open with clothespins attached to eyelids and the brows!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I decided to add a commitment of my own to coincide with the Boot Camp time frame - - - I now bike at least a mile before the morning call! (You all have no ideal how huge that is for me!!!) It's an aireydine bike in my spare room but hey - it's a start and it's just the first week. I hope to 'go further' each week and see how much weight I can lose by the end of Boot Camp. I'm thinking that it'll boost my metabolism and energy level too but right now it's just kicking my butt!
If I don't lose any weight at all in 60 days I'll take my World Changer earnings and throw a big party and publicly commit bikacide - one spoke at a time - and you're all invited to watch! We'll use the spokes and roast marshmallows afterwards:0)
We had a terrific call this morning by the way. I so enjoy hearing from all the different members how they're tackling this. Some of them are so funny and just plain human.
If you're reading this because you've received one of my invitation cards, I just want to assure you that the company you're looking into is simply a wonderful company put together and run by real down to earth people. This opportunity is so real and has got to be the simplest thing available to anyone anywhere. This process is so duplicatable and whether near or around the globe, the people you'll meet and friendships you'll form will be with you for the rest of your life.
Okay - that's going to be all for tonight so I can attend to my pies and such. Hope everyone has a pleasant day tomorrow with your family and loved ones, we'll see you on Friday and let me leave you with the immortal words of 4 wise men from England...
Linda
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Day 2 - Whew!
Okay - so every day's not going to be that piece of cake but good none the less because of the sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, and that's always a good thing.
My husband claims that since we moved to Florida in 2004 I've become a hermit basically because I spend far too much time indoors and mainly at the computer in my efforts to produce an income. And he's right! So, me committing to go out everyday into the wild blue yonder and make one on one contact with 5 people everyday is amazing him. Frankly it's amazing me!
I have to admit that today was a bit tougher than yesterday...maybe it was me..maybe it was the locations I visited or just the time of day??? But the important thing is that I didn't give up or get discouraged and I didn't come home until I had my 5 for the day.
It all seemed to flow easier for me when I changed my approach from asking if they'd like to 'help me', to opening with "can I ask you a question?"...
Walking up to total strangers and starting a conversation isn't always easy and you may not always feel up on your game so to say but it's not Rocket Science either. I think we sometimes have a tendency to make it more difficult than it is or should be.
I look for 2 simple things in or about a person before I approach them to break the ice:
My husband claims that since we moved to Florida in 2004 I've become a hermit basically because I spend far too much time indoors and mainly at the computer in my efforts to produce an income. And he's right! So, me committing to go out everyday into the wild blue yonder and make one on one contact with 5 people everyday is amazing him. Frankly it's amazing me!
I have to admit that today was a bit tougher than yesterday...maybe it was me..maybe it was the locations I visited or just the time of day??? But the important thing is that I didn't give up or get discouraged and I didn't come home until I had my 5 for the day.
It all seemed to flow easier for me when I changed my approach from asking if they'd like to 'help me', to opening with "can I ask you a question?"...
Walking up to total strangers and starting a conversation isn't always easy and you may not always feel up on your game so to say but it's not Rocket Science either. I think we sometimes have a tendency to make it more difficult than it is or should be.
I look for 2 simple things in or about a person before I approach them to break the ice:
- Do they have a name tag on? If so, then I use their name when I speak to them. It makes it personal for them - people enjoy hearing their name and I'm more apt to remember more about them from our conversation. I try to say their name at least 3 times during the brief conversation.
- Is there something about them that you can compliment them on? Good hairdo, fashionable purse, perhaps they're wearing a color that just 'pops' on them... Again, it makes it personal to them and it's appreciated. They'll remember that.
Smile - make eye contact and just be yourself. Meeting new people is fun and if you're reading this because you stumbled on it, got one of my invitation cards, are checking out My Power Mall or you're a Power Mall member, I want you to know that this home based business is simple and makes so much sense. There's nothing about My Power Mall that isn't duplicatable even if you ARE a Rocket Scientist!
So, I don't have a sign up yet from the Boot Camp but I'm planting seeds and watering them and that's more than I was doing last week :-)
Til tomorrow...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Day 1 Ends With A Smile
Okay - we can so do this!
First day in camp began at 11am EST with the morning group call...actually, it began a lot earlier with me as I'm not only a light sleeper and usually am fortunate to sleep past 4am, but I also have a new kitty who was ready for me to wake up and play with her at quarter til 4:)
So, I'm on the computer (what else is there to do when it's still dark out,) in between doing 2 loads of wash and entertaining 'Peaches' (new kitty,) and I'm reading some of the blogs of my fellow campers and checking out some other things...coffee's on, house is quiet...getting more and more psyched about the first call at 11:00. I actually dialed in to the call line almost 20 minutes early! Not too anxious huh...but glad I did as I got to chat with a few comrades before hand.
The call itself was everything I've come to expect from Ginny and Jacki. Good call - very good call and I had no doubts by the end of the call exactly what was expected of me. This is going to be not easy but so doable IF we all simply follow their lead. Can't wait for tomorrow's call.
So...what did I do after the call? What impact did the call have on me and what did I do to implement what I had learned from the call?
Well, first I ate lunch with Al and then I printed out some of the new invitation cards with my contact info and then Al & I went to do some shopping for the new kitty. She needed a larger litter box and some toys so it was off to a store or two with invitation cards at hand...I couldn't come home without 5 names, phone #s and email address of my 5 new contacts to share MyPowerMall with!
First stop was the Dollar Tree where I found nothing for Peaches but got my first contact. Then across the street to BigLots where all they had was a package of mini play mice but I had 2 contacts there. So, still no litter box and chensey toys AND still need 2 more contacts so it's off to the "BigK" where I find a nice litter box and some neat toys along with a scratching post, a container of catnip and a very nice cashier and that's contact #4 for the day. (I know we have KMart in our mall but Peaches needed this stuff today!)
One more. I need one more. Where am I going to find one more? We're parked right outside of KMart and Al's back is bothering him so it's not a walk through the mall day...
We're leaving KMart and I notice a lady sitting at the first Kiosh just 20' from KMart so I head towards her and strike a conversation and within a few minutes she's joined by a friend who also works in the mall and bingo, I now have #5 AND #6 for day 1. We can sooooo do this:-)
Stay tuned for results and further adventures.
First day in camp began at 11am EST with the morning group call...actually, it began a lot earlier with me as I'm not only a light sleeper and usually am fortunate to sleep past 4am, but I also have a new kitty who was ready for me to wake up and play with her at quarter til 4:)
So, I'm on the computer (what else is there to do when it's still dark out,) in between doing 2 loads of wash and entertaining 'Peaches' (new kitty,) and I'm reading some of the blogs of my fellow campers and checking out some other things...coffee's on, house is quiet...getting more and more psyched about the first call at 11:00. I actually dialed in to the call line almost 20 minutes early! Not too anxious huh...but glad I did as I got to chat with a few comrades before hand.
The call itself was everything I've come to expect from Ginny and Jacki. Good call - very good call and I had no doubts by the end of the call exactly what was expected of me. This is going to be not easy but so doable IF we all simply follow their lead. Can't wait for tomorrow's call.
So...what did I do after the call? What impact did the call have on me and what did I do to implement what I had learned from the call?
Well, first I ate lunch with Al and then I printed out some of the new invitation cards with my contact info and then Al & I went to do some shopping for the new kitty. She needed a larger litter box and some toys so it was off to a store or two with invitation cards at hand...I couldn't come home without 5 names, phone #s and email address of my 5 new contacts to share MyPowerMall with!
First stop was the Dollar Tree where I found nothing for Peaches but got my first contact. Then across the street to BigLots where all they had was a package of mini play mice but I had 2 contacts there. So, still no litter box and chensey toys AND still need 2 more contacts so it's off to the "BigK" where I find a nice litter box and some neat toys along with a scratching post, a container of catnip and a very nice cashier and that's contact #4 for the day. (I know we have KMart in our mall but Peaches needed this stuff today!)
One more. I need one more. Where am I going to find one more? We're parked right outside of KMart and Al's back is bothering him so it's not a walk through the mall day...
We're leaving KMart and I notice a lady sitting at the first Kiosh just 20' from KMart so I head towards her and strike a conversation and within a few minutes she's joined by a friend who also works in the mall and bingo, I now have #5 AND #6 for day 1. We can sooooo do this:-)
Stay tuned for results and further adventures.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Check In Day at Camp...
Okay - it's the day we all arrive at Boot Camp and anxiously await the flurry of activities that begin tomorrow...tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow, you're only a day away.
And that will be a day closer to $2000! Yeah.
Seriously, there's 25 of us in this camp and I can't imagine a single one of us is doing this because first we couldn't use the money, but mainly because we're all looking forward to gaining the knowledge, experience and know how to teach others that they too can achieve this level of success with MyPowerMall. I am just so excited about this experience and opportunity.
It will be so amazing to read the blogs of the other 24 members of the camp and even any comments from those peering into our 'Glass Bowl'.
Yes, this should be a very interesting 60 days...25 people mixed together from different areas and backgrounds, all sharing the same activities and goals...(sort of like summer camp only without the ghost stories and mischievous pranks.)
Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to the next 60 days and sharing all my success with everyone as well as cheering others on for their success.
And that will be a day closer to $2000! Yeah.
Seriously, there's 25 of us in this camp and I can't imagine a single one of us is doing this because first we couldn't use the money, but mainly because we're all looking forward to gaining the knowledge, experience and know how to teach others that they too can achieve this level of success with MyPowerMall. I am just so excited about this experience and opportunity.
It will be so amazing to read the blogs of the other 24 members of the camp and even any comments from those peering into our 'Glass Bowl'.
Yes, this should be a very interesting 60 days...25 people mixed together from different areas and backgrounds, all sharing the same activities and goals...(sort of like summer camp only without the ghost stories and mischievous pranks.)
Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to the next 60 days and sharing all my success with everyone as well as cheering others on for their success.
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