Admit It or Not...We ALL Do IT!

It's true! We all do it. We don't all talk about it. Some of might not even want to admit it. Some of us will even lie about it. Some of us are proud of it...a feeling of accomplishment. Some of us will never talk about it. Afraid we'd be judged or avoided by our friends. Some of us make lots of money at it, especially on the internet. Why I bet even a large percentage of you even did it this morning...while convincing you child that their breakfast is good for them. Or possibly while you were talking to your best friend on the phone about a great new pair of shoes you just bought. And even a handful of you did it while telling your boss why they should give you a promotion or a raise. What is it? It's sales.

We all do it all the time. And yet, it's the biggest excuse I get when talking about home based businesses with my peers. "I'm just not good at sales". How many of you hear that? More important, how many of you say it?? To be successful in this world we all need to be "selling" something all the time. We sell our products, we sell our services. We sell our time, we sell our businesses, bosses, friends to other friends, children to other children and parents, pets, pride and opinions. And yet, I hear it. "I'm just not as good at sales as you are, Christy". Well I'm calling you on it. Yes you are!

So why are we unconciously able to sell the aboved mentioned and we are so reluctant to take on a "sales" role that will make our lives easier and our pocket books thicker? I have two theories. The first is unfamiliarity of the product. You don't think you can sell it because you don't know enough about it. I agree. I can't sell something or someone if I don't believe in it. I can't tell Jim he should ask out Janice if I don't think Janice is a real catch. I couldn't sell USANA if I didn't believe with all my heart that you will be better off for using the product. Get to know the product you are considering being a part of. If you know it, you will not fear it.

The second reason in my mind is fear. How do I live my life differently than I do now. How you live it now may not be the way you dream. You may not have all the money you want. You may not feel as good as you would like to. But it is what you know. Good or bad, right or wrong, you trust it. The fear of change and the fear of success is very real to some people. That rut that they are in is comfortable. But dare to have a better life.

Dare to dream. Feel it as if you are already living it. And most important, take the steps to make it happen. Without taking that first step in a new direction nothing will change. So my challenge to you this week is to look at something new with an open mind. Stop yourself when you think "I couldn't" and say instead "What if I did?" And then educate yourself. USANA may not be for you. I can't imagine why, but it might not be. But find something that is. Take that brave first step and begin the life you always wished you had. It's work. But isn't the new life worth it? And after all...we all do it everyday. Now make it productive for you! Good luck and get going!

It's Not Too Late!

I have a CD in my car that a friend loaned to me. It's David Bach, renowned author, discussing a plan for wherever you are in life to change your life and literally finish rich. I have listened to it twice now. I believe that the first time you hear something like that you just scratch the surface. The second time it begins to penetrate and have meaning. Bach wrote "Start Late/Finish Rich". A book I plan on reading soon. He himself was a millionaire at age 30. A multimillionaire by 35. The thing that sticks the most for me in what he said is that we should pay ourselves first. If we look at our paychecks the first thing we notice is that the government has already taken it's share before we can take ours. Bach says we need to get in the habit of doing the same for ourselves. His suggestion? Take one hours worth of your wages a day and pay yourself first right into a tax deductable IRA or 401 K. He goes on to say that the growth that will produce will be very beneficial in the long run. Agreed. Tricky part? Where do you pull that money from if you live pay check to pay check as so many of us do. Ironically enough, my new marketing account is an investment banker. We found ourselves in a conversation today about how Social Security will not be there by the time us early to mid forty-somethings need it. The investment banker I met with today says there isn't enough there to take care of the baby boomers at this point. Bach's solution for extra funding? In home businesses. His statement was that if you can begin a home based business that provided just $500 a month in extra income to invest into your future that it would be well worth it. And in many cases with MLM's and home based businesses that $500 often turns into $1,000 in not a lot of time. Know where you want to be in five years. Know where you want to be in 10 years. And if you aren't there or on your way there, what you are doing is not working. It can work. If you are interested in knowing some important criteria for selecting a home based business, contact me. I'd be glad to share some unbiased information with you that might help you make a choice.