Resolutions and New Beginnings

I'm sure some of you are thinking...yeah...she invites us to read this blog that she does not write on! You are a partially right. But don't think for one second that it's because I don't have anything to say. And those of you who know me know that that is never the case.

The year got off the ground with a bang but all in a positive way. I am working full time at the Med Spa now and loving it. But with that position came a lot of first of the year bookkeeping that kept my mind spinning. And as always, with the creative team there...the ideas never stop. Also, one of my dearest friends got engaged over Christmas and asked me to be a her bridesmaid. This is a huge honor and I am so excited to be a part of it and the planning has begun and well, the wine drinking too!

The biggest thing thus far in January for all of us is the oath of our new President, Barack Obama. This was a magnificent day for all of us and, like my president stated, it will take all of us.

It is time that each and every one of us ask ourselves what can we do to help get this country on track. There seems to be an awareness that I haven't seen in this country in the past 8 years. People seem anxious and excited to do what they can to help.

It's not foreign to our parents and grandparents. During WWII, it took everyone and their time and talents. If you weren't serving in the war itself, you were heading up rubber drives and bottle drives. Or you were sewing for the Red Cross and any other number of things you could pitch in and do to help each other through these tough economical times.

With the 80's came the ME generation and it was all about getting all you could. No more. It's time to get back to the 40's and roll up our sleeves and give of our time and talents just as our President is asking us to do.

Now I can hear your question. What am I doing. Well here you go. First of all, early this fall I teamed with my business, Grande Ronde Med Spa to be the drop site for Union County Youth in Transition. Working closely with Pam Dodds at La Grande High School, there are currently over 140 homeless or couch hopping youth in my county. The Med Spa continues to receive blankets and coats for these kids during this tough winter and we have made it know that our business will continue to be a drop site for your donations.

Grande Ronde Med Spa is also joining forces with Habitat for Humanity New Orleans and Voice of the Wetlands to aid the rebuilding process in Southern Louisiana post Hurricane Katrina. On February 24th, which is Mardi Gras, for any paid procedure you receive on that day, 10% will be donated to the charity mentioned above that you choose. This is a great opportunity to assist in a worthy cause that costs you no more out of pocket money. Look for these opportunities and support businesses that team up with other charities.

Also, my son and I are doing the Walk for Warmth on Valentine's Day. Walk for the Warmth is part of my area's Community Connection to assist with heating bills for people and families who are struggling to stay warm during this very hard winter. As I write this, it is currently 17 degrees outside and windy. I am lucky enough to be warm but there are so many others who are not. If you are interested in sponsoring me or my son, please email me at Christy.Barber@hotmail.com.

We can all do this. We can answer the call of our President and the people around us that we see everyday. Like it or now, we are all in this together and we will get out of it together. But it will take all of us. It's time to put away childish things as President Obama said and part of that is ending the blame game. Let's get together, do what we can and help our brothers and sisters out.

Examining Bailouts BEFORE the Bailout

Former CEO's of bailed out AIG have accepted millions of dollars in severance pay. Let me say that again.

The government bailed out corporate company AIG at the price tag of $85 BILLION dollars and former CEO's have walked away with millions of dollars. Outraged yet? How about this. After the bailout, AIG executives celebrated their bright and shiny future by treating themselves to wining and dining at an elite resort, treating themselves to manucures, pedicures, massages and other spa treatments again costing in the $500,000. Want to know who paid for it? We did. You and I.

When was the last time you took your family to an exclusive spa for a weekend even where money was no object? I can easily say never.

When going before Congress, former CEO Martin Sullivan who resigned from AIG this past summer received 15 million dollars in severance pay. When asked if he would be giving any of that back to the tax payers, his response was no.

Mad now? How about this financial breakdown from USA Today:

"After the bailout of AIG last month, the United States government effectively bought an 80% share in the company. That should have caused a fundamental change, you would think, in how the company was spending funds on compensation, bonuses and benefits. The committee learned that shortly after the bailout went through, executives from AIG's major U.S. life insurance subsidiary, AIG American General, held a week-long conference at an exclusive resort in California.

The resort is called the St. Regis Monarch Beach. ... It's very impressive. This is an exclusive resort. The rooms start, gentlemen, at $425 a night. Some are more than $1,200 a night.
... We contacted the resort where AIG held this week-long event, and we requested copies of AIG's bills. We learned that AIG spent nearly $500,000 in a single week at the -- at this hotel. Now, this was right after the bailout.

... Let me describe some of the -- the charges that -- that the shareholders who are now U.S. taxpayers had to pay. Check this out.

AIG spent $200,000 for hotel rooms, and almost $150,000 for catered banquets. AIG spent -- listen to this one -- $23,000 at the hotel spa and another $1,400 at the salon. They were getting their manicures, their facials, their pedicures and their massages while the American people were -- were footing the bill.

And they spent another $10,000 for -- I don't know what this is -- leisure dining."

When going before Congress, former CEO Martin Sullivan who resigned from AIG this past summer received 15 million dollars in severance pay. When asked if he would be giving any of that back to the tax payers, his response was no.

According to KOKC talk radio, the bailout is now under investigation:

"Congress is looking into the government bailout of American Insurance Group today. New York State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo will appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Dinallo is expected to tell the House committee the bailout was unavoidable. The federal government stepped in after the insurance giant's mortgage business suffered huge losses. However, Dinallo will testify that AIG's insurance business is still strong and profitable. "

Maybe the investigation should have happened PRIOR to the bailout. Stop panicking and do what's right for the country.

Alternatives

I just had a conversation tonight regarding gas prices. My mentor mentioned that he and his wife just returned from a month in Europe. They said that when they returned to the US they could feel the tension with the economy being what it is and fuel prices skyrocketing out of this world. He also delivered some grim news. He said, in his opinion, this is no where near the top. He feels that gas prices will not stop rising until they hit around $6.50 per gallon. In Europe they toured one of the richest oil countries around and they were paying $10 per gallon. And this is a country that produces it's own fuel.

Pretty grim. So it's no longer a situation about where the prices will stop, but rather what are you going to do to improve your income $400-$450 a month so that you can manage it. What are you going to do to manage it? Mmmmm.....good question.

One solution. Invest in your own home based business. Sleep deprivation is a huge issue in society. So most likely if you are like most American's taking a second or in some cases a third job may seem overwhelming. Looking at what fits into your life at the moment seems logical and most of us talk, right? We talk at work. We talk to our friends and we talk to our family. Well, why not talk to them about something that could be beneficial for everyone. And while your at it, why not talk about NIKKEN.

What astounded me when I got involved with NIKKEN and I started talking about it, I haven't had one person tell me a single negative thing about the company. The 33 year established business has such a well earned reputation that maybe not everyone wants to be a business builder with you, but they will be pleased with the products. Seems people I talk to have a) not heard of it before or b) oh yeah, their mom has used it and loves it or something similar.

It's time to look at home based businesses as a serious means of supplemental income. Rising costs of fuel and groceries will not go down soon. Therefore, it is imperative that we find additional means of bridging the gap. What are you going to do the make up the financial difference of $450 a month? What if it could be even more?

In network marketing, you definitely reap what you sow. You get out of it what you want to put into it and if you want to do it part time or full time, you can't go wrong as long as you move forward.

Personally, I'm looking for business builders. However many hours you can contribute, I want you on my team. I want to build you up, because that is how you win at this game, by helping others and I want us both to benefit from the knowledge of an amazing upline and sidelines to make a difference not only in our financial well being but in our health as well. More and more we hear about stress effecting our health and how it is a leader in health issues in this country. Give me a call or drop me an e if you are looking for a way out of financial worries and way in to a healthier more financially stable life. I'm standing by. Christy.Barber@hotmail.com or 541.786.1613.

What a Mystery to Me

I was raised as an only child and due to this, I didn't grow up having to share points of view with siblings, though I was raised by parents who could not have been more of the polar opposite of myself. Because of this, I tend to think that the way I think should be the way other people think too. Are you with me? Anyone else feel this way? That if the world saw things as I/you do, that their would not be the problems there are today? Well, obviously, that is not the case.

I look at the past 20 years of the White House and I can't say I'm happy with how it has gone. We've done the Bush/Clinton/Bush and possibly the Clinton thing again and all I can ask of you is, "how's that working out for ya?" Are you making all the money you want to be making? How are your taxes looking for you this year? Are you able to put your kids through college? Do you have a son or daughter that could be looking at a draft if a certain someone who supports this war and doesn't mind seeing it go on indefinately? Are you making your house payments comfortably? If you are like me, the above mentioned are areas of concern for many of us. And yet, I see a nation that is so reluctant to change. I see that the majority of Republicans are in favor of this war. I see the middle and lower middle class continue to take it in the shorts as the rest of us struggle to keep our heads above water. And more disconcerting yet, I see people who don't even know who is running and who they stand for. I saw on a bumper sticker the other day. It said, "if you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention". I, for one, am outraged. I hear people talk of change and yet when it's time for the polls, I see people time and time again make the same decision over and over again. They vote for a repeat of the continued disasters that are currently plaguing this country. So why not take that leap? Why not make a vote for change? Are people afraid that things will actually get worse? Or maybe they will get better and then no one will have excuses for their continued failure to thrive. I for one am in favor of positive change and a better life for me and my kids. Come on, won't you join me in Christyland and make a better world for all of us? At least think about it.

A Different Glass Ceiling

It has recently been brought to my attention that there is a different sort of glass ceiling that is causing as much if not more damage than the traditional type. More and more statistics support that in the next few years, there will no longer be a "middle class" in society. And that indeed we are heading to a "have's" and "have not's" society. I see this becoming evident as the lower middle class strive to bring their standard of living up. I don't understand what a person's credit rating has to do with their ability to do a job effectively. It has been brought to my attention by people I work with applying for higher paying jobs that provide benefits, 401K's and other perks that come from stable, fulfilling full time employment in the corporate and sub corporate world need to provide information and consent to credit checks. This can affect a decision made by an employer as to whether or not to hire the applicant. Are you kidding me???? I have to say it! This enrages me. Chances are that the applicant does not have stellar credit rating due to the low income circumstances in which they have been living. If the employer sees qualities that enable the applicant to do the job regardless of their previous income, shouldn't that be enough to hire them? Why can someone who seems so suited for the job be declined due to a credit score number? In my mind, this is another example of keeping the lower class where they are and not allowing them to infultrate the upper class sector of society. A practice that, in my opinion, is so wrong. Let's take that out of the job market, increase the over all economy and bring that bottom line up. A previous credit score may reflect a low time in the applicants life, a divorce, an illness and many other things that have nothing to do with the applicants ability to fulfill a job. Did you know the difference between having a home for a single income family and have that same family homeless is 2 paychecks? Think about it. Let's hire our employees based on their credentials and not their credit scores.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Get out your jingle bells and last years fruit cake because ready or not, the Christmas season fast approaches. Already (even before Halloween) holiday shopping ads were filling the air waves. Maybe you've started your shopping, maybe you need that extra push but what I want to know is, where do you shop? Many communities (including my own) have campaigns to shop locally with great statistics about how that helps local economy. Do you do it? How many of you have a Super Wal-Mart in your area? We do. And the day after Halloween it was full of Christmas trees and holiday fare everywhere. Do you take advantage of their discounted prices? Or how many of you (us) who work at our computers all day find the ease of internet shopping and having it shipped to our work to keep it from the kids extremely convenient? I live in a rural area with usually heavy snowfall and yet I know of many who travel to the nearest mall to do their shopping. And yet, I do believe that many of us complete this joyous task with somewhat of a hybrid of all the mentioned. But what do you do? What is the most likely means you will the Christmas or in Christmas' past get the job done? Take a moment to answer the poll you see to your left. Or drop me a comment!

Breaking Through The Glass Ceiling

This month is National Women in Business Month. Since this is something I hold near and dear to my heart as a female entrepreneur, I wanted to take a moment and address the proverbial glass ceiling known to exist to women who are trying to climb the corporate ladder. Living in a rural community where everyone struggles to get ahead, the encounters I have had with this have been limited to old fashioned thinking and the good ol' boys club. I have had in business situations a gentleman pass me by to shake the hand of a male boss. Didn't fly well with me. Then I realized how my actions could have changed that scenario. What if I would have gone out front, introduced myself and extended my hand before he had the opportunity to pass me by. Yes, it's tragic that men see men in the business world. And yes, we as women often have to assert ourselves in the role that we want more so than men. But in my experience, if we wait for men to come to us as leaders in the business world, it may be a slower journey. We as women need to assert ourselves in the work place. We need to be involved to the point that the decision makers that sit on the business panel include and equal number of women to men. Same with those we seek out to assist us in financing our businesses. Don't wait to have our hand shaken. Make sure we do the shaking. Treat others with respect and demand to be treated the same way in return.

Let About Time Internet Marketing, LLC (ATIM) help you to get the word out about your goods or services before this holiday season passes your by. ATIM can determine the most profitable ways to get your business seen. Planning a holiday open house? Let ATIM help you spread the word. Whether you have a walk in business or a virtual internet business, ATIM can assist you in promoting your products and services that will potentially increase your sales and traffic. Give ATIM a call today! It will be here before you know it!
The Holiday Season is often the most profitable time of year for businesses. How do you plan to make the most of this season?
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