MLM Woman Newsletter Issue 122

MLM Woman Issue 122
March 2007

From the Desk of the Editor

Welcome to the 122nd issue of the MLM Woman Newsletter! This month we feature 5 more articles from successful and savvy business women who generously share their knowledge with you.

If you enjoy this month's issue, please be sure to let your friends know about it too and invite them to come and visit us.

Also, if you have comments, questions or something to share after reading this month's articles, please visit our MLMTalk Discussion Forum and join in the lively conversation!

And also be sure to check out our new MLM Marketing Blog for lots of additional tips and resources which are added throughout the month.

Yours in Success!

Linda Locke, Editor MLM Woman

A Recipe for Feeling Great
by Lisa Martin, The Working Mother’s Coach

When you feel good within yourself and about yourself, the result is a happy and self-content you. All the ingredients for your overall well-being are within your reach. Follow the recipe below to get the most out of your life.

1. Two cups of positive selfishness.
Being positively selfish means choosing to spend your time and energy on things that bring you joy and making decisions occasionally that are based on what you need instead of what others want.

Practicing positive selfishness is all about letting go of the harmful emotions you might feel because you took some time for you. It’s believing that by serving your self-interests you will, ultimately, better serve the interests of your family, your colleagues and your community. By becoming positively selfish you can be physically and emotionally present at all times, without resentment.

2. One cup of unfaltering commitment to your wellness.
If you view your wellness as integrating body, mind and spirit it will become easier to make your well-being a priority. Use, the wellness wheel to see your physical, mental and spiritual health from a holistic perspective. Visualize a bicycle wheel. See the spokes radiating out from the center to the rim of the wheel; these are the activities you undertake to enhance your wellness. Exercise is one spoke. How you are treating your body in terms of nutrition and rest is one, too. Giving your spirit some time to be renewed, another spoke in your wellness wheel.

You may not always achieve a perfectly circular wellness wheel, but if you’re willing to listen to your body and your intuition, they will guide you as you move toward overall wellness.

3. Two cups of daily joy.
Experiencing joy is about paying attention to the small pleasures, appreciating the wonder hidden in the tiny moments of life. Small, basic, everyday things can bring you joy--the smell of fresh coffee, the sound of laughter, the beauty in a blade of grass. Make an effort to slow down for just a moment and practice really seeing and experiencing all the beauty that surrounds you, joy can be found that easily.

4. Five ounces of relaxation.
If you are craving some downtime but not sure where to find it in the midst of all you do and want to do, try starting with five minutes. When you first wake in the morning instead of rolling out of bed and jumping right into your day, just lie there. Lie there for a full five minutes. Just breathe and think of your day ahead.

5. Three tablespoons of doing your best.
Your best is going to be different from situation to situation. It will change depending on how rested you feel, who is involved and where you might be. No matter what the circumstances, the most you can ask from yourself is to do your best…and then remember to acknowledge that you’ve done your best. It is in this self-acknowledgement that you will be released from angst and regret, and possibly see the humorous side of things.

About the Author
Lisa Martin is a certified coach who inspires working mothers to achieve success that’s balanced. Author of Briefcase Moms: 10 Proven Practices to Balance Working Mothers’ Lives, Lisa is a sought-after expert and speaker on work-life balance issues. Known for her very personal and practical approach, Lisa coaches working mothers to know what they want and get what they want. A mother herself, Lisa’s powerful presentations and programs have helped thousands of women define success and balance on their own terms. www.briefcasemoms.com

A “Beginner’s Mind” Approach to Prosperity
By Dr Jill Ammon-Wexler
Pioneer Brain/Mind Researcher
© 2007 by Jill Ammon-Wexler

To have a high probability of becoming prosperous, you have to start with one very important decision! What are you offering to give, in return for achieving your goal?

One of your most important assets is your ability to creatively determine what you have to offer that other people will pay for. This is the ultimate source of prosperity, unless you manage to win the lottery or inherit money, of course.

Cultivate a “Beginner’s Mind”
Your mind is infinitely more subtle and creative than you realize! And sometimes it pays to sneak up on it when trying to solve a problem. What would this involve? Approaching a problem of question with a totally open and flexible “beginner’s mind.”

Suppose, for example, you are an expert in vertical take off and landing aircraft. And perhaps you are looking for a new, creative approach to hovering.

Obviously you could drag out technical texts and the latest journals in your field and pour over them. That could be a good starting point. But suppose you instead chose to be a “beginner,” and make the assumption that anything is possible regarding hovering.

I wonder what insight might come to you if you asked yourself how a mosquito approaches hovering ? - or perhaps a speck of dust that seems to weightlessly float in the air current above your desk?

Is it lighter than the air? No? And yet it floats and hovers. Since you are a “beginner,” can you assume your aircraft could do the same thing? Could it defy gravity?

Or pick one common assumption in your field that everyone subscribes to perhaps like “you must have a good education to succeed.” What it they are all wrong? What if the truth is the exact opposite. Black is white, and white is black. What would this mean? How can you apply it? Do some “beginner’s mind” brainstorming, and don’t reject your “crazy” ideas. Reflect on them!

Boost Your Mind Power
A great way to build mind power is to continually feed your mind new ideas and concepts. Get onto the cutting edge of your field of interest. In our rapidly exploding information age, knowledge is the key to success.

The interesting thing about building up your knowledge in your field is this: The more you know, the more competent you will become.

And the more competent you become, the greater your sense of self-esteem and confidence. This equals increased personal power ?- the sure mark of an achiever on the road to prosperity. BUT - many very successful people insist it’s equally important to read and study totally outside your field. Read a comic book. Watch a garden program on TV. Go to a horse race. Challenge your mind to grow and expand. Bill Gates plays chess and bridge.

Be Willing to Cut Your Losses
According to the American Management Association, at least 70% of the decisions we make regarding our lives and our businesses or professions will turn out to be wrong in the long run. So how is it that some people still manage to end up so prosperous? The answer is simple. Those who rise to the top in life are willing to cut their losses if a decision proves wrong. They are willing to admit they made a mistake, and move onto a new path.

To rise to the top in your own life, develop the skill of looking carefully at your decisions. If new information or results prove your decision isn’t working, be willing to abandon it and try something different. There’s no sense kicking a dead horse, after all. The horse won’t get up and pull your cart, and you’ll just bruise your toes!

Your Most Valuable Asset
The greatest source of wealth you have is right there in your skull. And remember that modern neuroscience has now proven that our brains never cease to grow and change - regardless of our age!

What you need to become truly prosperous is a flexible, active, creative brain - and the courage to commit to your ideas. Since there is virtually no limit on the knowledge you can acquire, and the creativity you can develop, why not just go for it?

What you have between your ears is far more valuable than your bank account. Money is always out there looking for ideas. Your personal ability to build your brainpower, and unlock your creativity, is the true key to prosperity. Period.

About the Author
Dr Jill is the co-developer of the Quantum Brain Gym, the web’s first (and only) complete mindpower workout. It’s as close as your computer. Come discover why thousands of people across the globe use the gym daily to increase their mental muscle. http://www.quantumbraingym.com

How important are making connections to your success? It's extremely important and here's why as well as some of the ways you can learn to be a better connector!

First of all this is a people business! It's all about people and what they want! If you don't find out what they want by connecting with them you'll most likely flounder in this business!

Connecting with people and finding out what their desires are, their why, their problems and their purpose and then helping them with solutions to those problems and helping them accomplish their purpose is your real mission!

There's a way to become a better connector and that is to network with lot's of people including people in your own industry that are in other companies. Yes! You read that right! This is very important! Why? Because you never never know when your paths will cross and you end up doing business together! So try not to burn any bridges! If you don't connect then you could lose out on a great potential business partner relationship! This is so crucial! Not to mention the valuable friendships you create.

Now how do we make these connections and how do we connect with people? I've been doing this for almost 10 years with people I've connected and built relationships with through the Internet and phone. I've met many of these people personally and have spent time with them and their families. These relationships mean the world to me and I respectfully appreciate each and every one of them!

First of all it's important to always keep an open mind. You're a business person so make connections with all sorts of people where ever you go. If you stay closed minded and only connect with people in your own company or industry you could be losing out on some really valuable resources to help you grow yourself and your business!

Connect with people by asking questions. It's really that simple! When you ask you get answers! When all you do is tell you don't get any answers because you're not connecting with THEM.

Where do these connections take place? Everywhere you go! When you're out doing your errands, your shopping, volunteering at your children's school, at your jobs, on airplanes, in airports, on vacation, with your realtors when you're looking at property, at social functions, at family gatherings, etc.

Does this mean you are shoving your business and products down their throats! NO! You are connecting with THEM! That means asking about them and genuinely taking an interest in what they are saying and what they are not saying!

Your job is to be the messenger. It's not to push, shove, manipulate or force people. Your job is to lead, guide, prompt and suggest. It is the responsibility of each person to give willingly for their own purpose. Sometimes it takes longer with one person than another but it's up to them to decide!

Some of the ways we connect is through using technology. The Internet is an excellent way to connect with lot's of different people by using email, online marketing systems, and message forums and communities.

Some of the communities where I network and connect with people are ryze.com, mlm.com, ivwcc.com, mydswa.com, powerfulintentions.com, mlmwoman.com and there are many others. Just do a google search! These are not places for advertising, they are a place to connect with people!

When you do use technology though remember to turn the high tech into high touch and that means connecting by being interested in people and finding out what they do, where they live, do they love what they do, what are their hobbies, are they married, do they have children, grandchildren, are they happy with how their life is going, are they looking for a change? Here's something else to consider.

Do they want to connect with you and you them?

Make connections, build rapport that turns into long term relationships and someday those relationships could turn out to be an exceptional business connection!

The phone of course is another personal way to connect! Use it often and use it properly by asking those connecting questions above!

Making connections with people could end up being the most important thing you not only do for yourself but when you teach others to do this too think of the possibilities!

Everyone connecting and actually helping each other find positive solutions!!! What a concept huh? It's a gain for everyone lives you help to change for the better!

Now that creates a true people connecting mission that will flourish everyone's business! If you continue to keep making connections and you NEVER GIVE UP you will achieve your dreams and help many others dreams come true too!

About the Author
Sue has been earning an income from home online since 1996 and teaches others how to get leverage in their lives. She is coauthor of the book 'Build It Big: 101 Insider Secrets From Top Direct Selling Experts'. To find out more about how Sue builds her business online visit http://www.LivingMyOwnLife.com

I have written several articles on how to publish an ezine, so this time, I thought it might be interesting to write an article on how NOT to publish an ezine.

Sometimes it helps to learn things when you can look at both sides of the process - the right way and the wrong way. So here goes - what NOT to do when publishing an ezine.

1. Leave out your name and contact info - who would want to get in touch with you anyway. Your readers don't care if there is a real live dependable person writing the ezine! NOT!!

Your readers definitely want to know there is a real person there that they can contact if they want or need to. This helps establish trust.

2. Put as many squiggles and decorations in your ezine as possible - So your readers get a headache while trying to read your ezine, deal with it! NOT!!

Squiggles may look cute, but they could make it hard for many people to read your ezine. Keep the design neat and clean for easy reading.

3. Load the ezine with ads - I mean after all, isn't that why you are publishing your ezine. NOT!!

No, you are not publishing an ezine to run tons of ads, you are publishing an ezine to build that important relationship of trust and respect with your readers. This helps build your business and your reputation.

4. Don't bother sending it out regularly - After all, most people can't read it every time anyway! NOT!!

How can people trust and believe what you say, when they can't even depend on you to send out your ezine consistently!

5. Don't add any original material - Just use all the same material other publishers use. It works for them,why not for you! NOT!!

Always have some original material in your ezine. Even if it is just an editorial or some tips.

6. Why bother with a disclaimer or privacy policy - Readers know their email is safe with you. They also figure if it is in your ezine, you recommend it. NOT!!

Never assume anything. Your readers want to be assured that their email is not being handed out for profit or promotion. Also, you want your readers to know that they should check out all opportunities and ads. Just because it is in your ezine, does not mean you are recommending it.

7. Content is content, right - As long as your ezine is full of "stuff" it is helpful. NOT!!

Try to give your readers down to earth, basic information that they can actually use and that will benefit them. Quality content is the key!

8. Don't let your readers get to know you - They are interested in your ezine not you. NOT!!

Your readers need to get to know you, so they can trust you and know they can depend on you to publish a consistent, and quality ezine.

9. Don't bother formatting the ezine correctly - Who cares how many characters are in each line, it all reads the same. NOT!!

Definitely format your ezine uniformly and evenly. You want to produce a clean, sharp, professional ezine.

10. Don't waste time proofreading, everybody makes mistakes, right - What is a mistake or two, nobody is perfect! NOT!!

Take the time to make sure all the spelling and grammar is correct in your ezine before you send it out. After all, you are a professional, right!!

I hope these tips have given you a good idea on how NOT to publish an ezine. Producing a quality ezine that your readers can depend on can be a very big business booster!!

About the Author
Terri Seymour has several years online experience and has helped many people start their own business. Visit her site at http://www.seymourproducts.com for resources, $1 ebooks & software, free tutorials, affiliate programs, and a free ezine with bonus report: 77 Ways to Get Traffic! subscribe@seymourproducts.com

Do You Know Anyone
With BDSI Disease?
By Bonnie Ramsey

Chances are if you are around many people at all, you are associated with someone who has BDSI Disease. This stands for Big Dreams Small Initiative Disease.

Many of us know someone who dream of all the things you see in the movies...big houses, yachts, travels, fancy cars, the works. But very few people have the initiative that it takes to make the changes in their lives that are required to achieve their dreams. They just assume that they have to come into some inheritance or win a lottery in order to achieve their dreams. What they are missing is the knowledge to find the right business vessel to carry them through to those dreams. Along with the right business, they also need the initiative that it takes to make a plan and take action to achieve what they want from life.

Most people are in a dead-end J.O.B. that is doing nothing but getting them by paycheck to paycheck and making their bosses rich. What they fail to ask themselves is how their bosses came to be in the positions they hold. Most of them didn't inherit these positions and most didn't win lotteries to get there. Most of the successful business owners saw a dream, wrote out a plan and took the necessary action to achieve their goals. Some of them may even have a minimal investment in their businesses but have built from the ground up without a lot of debt.

This happened because they did research on their business to find the necessary information that they needed to build a successful business. Three key factors they had to explore was 1) Marketability- was their product or service marketable and what was the size of their target market? 2) Profitability - was their a good profit margin in their product or services and was this profit ongoing or temporary? And 3) Stability - would this product or service remain stable through the future and was there room for continual growth?

There are other factors but these were 3 of the most important factors they had to accomplish before becoming successful. They did not sit around a table just talking about how they dreamed of starting a business and what they wanted to accomplish just to go home and return to their every day J.O.B. for that week - to - week paycheck.

Many people do this in their daily lives without even realizing it. People love to dream but when approached with an opportunity to achieve their dreams, they refuse to take the necessary action to make it happen. This is what I refer to as the BDSI Disease because it is easy to dream, but it isn't so easy to have that initiative that it takes to reach your dreams.

If you have dreams, you should be open to that opportunity that will be your vessel to achieve them. And most of all, once you find the right opportunity, have that initiative that it takes to use that opportunity to its fullest to reach your goals. If you are open to opportunities, you can do the research needed to determine if it is the right business for you and if so, then act on it and put your best effort into building it toward success. Just remember in order to cure the BDSI Disease all you have to do is apply the R.P.A. (research, plan, act) rule. Write down your goals, both short term as well as long term and figure out what you need to do to reach those goals and write that list. Then highlight each one as you achieve it. You will be surprised how much this will boost your initiative and keep you pushing for those goals.

Don't just sit back and talk about your dreams! Get out there and make them happen. Then, teach others how they can do the same in their lives. If you teach enough people to be successful, you, in turn, will also be successful in your life.

About the Author
Bonnie Ramsey, Independent Distributor, for Scent Sations, Inc. http://www.bonniesgifts.scent-team.com. Life is not about FINDING yourself. Life is about CREATING yourself! http://www.bonniesgifts4all.com

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