Setting goals & Making Resolutions

I know every January millions upon millions of people make resolutions for the new year. They declare to themselves, and sometimes the rest of us, how this year is going to be different. How this year they will achieve that lofty ideal they have set for themselves.

We know the big ones. Weight Loss. Saving Money. Get a new job. Get an education. Get a second education. Have a second breakfast. wait ... no, sorry, Lord of the Rings reference snuck in there on me.

And we all know how quickly these fade. How quickly all the will power is used up and gone. How quickly we abandon these resolutions and goals and return to the status quo. Personally, sometime in the summer (when shorts and capris have returned) and sometime in the fall into winter (when I have to put on the oversize sweatshirts and bulky winter coat) I realize how little I have done to improve myself or my station in life over the last whatever months. I remember why I set those goals and what I wanted to achieve. I read this blog all the time and he talks about Big Wins and Immediate Results. And I Love It!! And I love a ton of other things about his principles and ideas, but we'll stick with the Big Wins and Immediate Results thing for now.

I overthink things. Regularly. Ridiculously. I shoveled my carport today. 4 of the stalls weren't cleared out at all. Granted we didn't have 12" of snow because it is enclosed on 3 sides, but there was still enough to make a mess. So I cleared all the stalls that weren't already cleared out. I needed the exercise, and wanted to do something nice for my fellow tenants. While I'm doing it I start wondering if the office will call me and ask me not to do it again. Because I wasn't clearing it perfectly, because there was some left behind, because I didn't "technically" do everyone's, because it's not my job. And I had this whole argument in my head ... over something that was almost certainly NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!!

So, setting goals can be hard for me. Well, no, I take that back. Setting the goal isn't hard, following through on the goal is hard. Two reasons, First and foremost I try to set all my goals for the whole year at once. And then right alongside that is the fact that I overthink and overplan everything. So I have 5 goals and I have 10 steps to each goal and each of the 10 steps has 3-5 baby steps associated with it and next thing i know I'm sitting on the couch watching Season 1 of Bones yet again because I can't seem to force myself to do anything at all.

I am almost 33 years old and I am just now figuring out that Taking one Baby Step at a time is not only okay, but is preferred. Also, just because conventional wisdom says to "eat less, move more" if you can only do one, then just focus on the one. If conventional wisdom says exercise at least twenty minutes three times a week, and I can only make myself do my own made-up program of weight-training for 15 minutes twice a week, then do that! I am just figuring this out!!

But boy am I glad I did! I got three things moved around between my kitchen and office, by taking it in small steps. I got a bunch of stuff rearranged in my kitchen cupboards and storage, by taking it in small steps.

And, drumroll please, the one I am most proud of right now

I did warm lead calls, exactly according to my goals (3 calls Monday night, 3 calls Wednesday night, and 3 calls Friday afternoon), TWO DAYS IN A ROW NOW!

It may sound pathetic, but I have never been able to do this before. And, felt so incredibly good about it. Some of our trainers have said 5 people a day, 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month. and I don't disagree with her. I think that is a fantastic way to crank your business into high gear. If you can stand to do that. I have this phone anxiety and just could NOT make myself make calls more than once a week. But since I am shifting my mindset, and I'm only making 3 calls at a time, suddenly it's not quite so daunting and terrifying.

Another one of the many things on the very long list of Things I Love About Direct Selling is the easy achievements. I set this goal for myself, and I'm doing well at it! I can see myself continuing it for quite awhile. I can see it becoming a highly successful habit for me. And that makes me proud.

Alongside that, I emailed my leader and shared my joy with her. I told her what i had done, and I told her I hadn't gotten any tangible results yet (no bookings, no parties etc) and her response?

Yippee Yippee - This is your year - i just know it - you go girl

I Love It!! If you join the right team with the right company, you can go as far as you'll let yourself go!

Where do you want to get to??

Entrepre-what?

One of the things I find endlessly amusing are the people who simply don't understand why you would want to be an entrepreneur.

They stare at you blankly when you tell them what you're doing.

They ask questions about insurance when you tell them about the product.

They shake their heads in disbelief when you tell them about your goal to get a free car.

It amuses me. But it didn't always. I did direct sales for another company, home decorating & candles, for 3 years shortly after college. I did ok with it, but I was still highly influenced by other people's opinions. I'm staring down 33 and only now am I starting, and I mean just barely starting, to move beyond letting those opinions box me in.

At our L'Bri national convention last year, in 2009, Nicki Keohohou said something. She said that at the core, people will start a direct sales business, or any business, for one of just a few reasons.

To gain the respect of someone else.

To make someone proud of them.

To be proud of themselves.

To build something of their own from the ground up.

They want more for their family.

Ultimately when everything else is stripped away, their core base for being willing to consider it will be one of these things.

For me this was kind of life changing. I realized quite suddenly as she was speaking that I did want my family to be proud of me and I wanted to gain their respect. But, the minute she said they want to build something of their own from the ground up, not just a lightbulb, but an entire Fourth of July grand finale fireworks display went off in my head.

So many of the things I have tried or dreamt about or set goals for over the last number of years has been for this reason. To build something I can proudly put My Name on. I know other people at that convention had similar realizations, but with totally different core reasons.

So, now, when I tell an acquaintance that I lost my job in December, share the story of what happened, and begin to explain what I am doing now, the reaction I get amuses me. I explicitly share that I am working on building this L'Bri skincare business, that I am working on a consulting business for Social Media and basic Computer Helps, and that I am working on my 2nd novel and prepping to get my 1st one submitted to agents in order to get published. I share those things and, as if I haven't even said any of that, they will inevitably ask some version of

"Well, are you looking for a job?"

Yes! I am. I am applying for my 2 jobs a week, legitimate jobs that I am qualified for (sometimes over qualified for) that I would take and that I would be good at, to maintain my unemployment. But, that only takes up so much time in a week! I am filling my weeks with ... well with too much facebook, but also with L'Bri University, with reading and teaching myself more about social media, with brainstorming ideas for proposals for that and my computer helps business, with time spent writing my novel. And time spent with friends and family. But they inevitably come back around to:

"Well, good luck with the job search."

I had an acquaintance do just that this weekend. I shared with her how I lost my job and I shared an elevator pitch on my consulting business as well as this L'Bri business and her very first question was "Have you ever looked at contract work?"

I am so deeply grateful that I have gotten to a point in life, finally, where I can hear that and be amused. I can answer her and move on to other topics, and not sit and stew on that question and what she may or may not think of me or my abilities or ideas for days and weeks on end.

And when I'm driving around in my Nissan Murano with my L'Bri magnet on the side, I will smile widely and be very very proud of this team I built that I can put My Name on.

How does $120 in Free Product sound?

One of the things I have always absolutely loved about Direct Sales is the hostess programs. If you try to translate a hostess program to department stores it starts to sound completely and utterly ridiculous.

Do it! A friend booked a party with me this week. She invited 17 people on facebook and is doing other invites and order gathering. She gets 6 people to come out to the party and 5 of them buy $60 in product. Her other friends buy another $150 in product, totaling $500 in sales for the company/consultant/me. That 6th guest at the party is so broke she can't order anything, but she had so much fun she decided she would get her friends together and have her own party. That $500 in sales is going to get my friend over $200 in free product!! Woo hoo for her, right??

Let's go to a department store. My friend invites a bunch of friends to go to Store X with her. Some of her friends can't join her that day, but they go on their own and buy $150 in stuff. My friend gets 6 people to join her for the shopping day and, again, 5 of them buy $60 each in stuff. Totaling $500 in income for Store X. What does my friend get for gathering her friends, organizing a time for them all to join and bringing them into Store X??

NOTHING!!

But that is one example of a L'Bri show and the Hostess Rewards. And that is just the baseline. That doesn't include my free makeover, the Thank You gift, the booking rewards or anything else that I might throw in depending on the month.

I've done Pampered Chef shows and had to go through the catalog 3 times just to use up all my free product.

I've done Lia Sophia shows where I have to figure out which items I'm getting free vs which ones for half price vs which ones I'm saving for the shows I now have in the future that my friend's booked.

We've all done shows for a company or two, we get how it works. Yes I know, some of us are better at having people over or gathering orders or whatever than others are. I've had absolute BOMBS for shows too. But, ultimately, when you compare Direct Selling to Department Stores, we are head and shoulders above them. Plus, you get to meet ME! AND, you don't have to leave the warmth and coziness of your house to do your shopping. You can go directly to my website whenever you want and place an order and have it shipped directly to your house in less a week, typically. You just can't beat that.

So, how much free product would you like to get??

Exfoliation

I am going to be 33 this year. It is only in the last couple of years I actually began considering my skin and how old I truly look. As a twenty-something I liked the claims of various skincare companies and I'd laugh at the utterly wrinkle-less woman advertising a wrinkle cream. But I truly didn't think all that much about it.

I had an incredibly vague idea what exfoliation was and zero practical idea of why one should do it. Then I started using L'Bri. They told me to exfoliate, so I did, sometimes. Then I started learning a little bit about why. So I did, a little more. And, as is often the case, I don't make it a personal ownership/responsibility until something dramatic happens for me. (Ask me about the eye gel incident sometime).

Back in early December I used our Fruit Enzyme Facial Peel one morning before work. This peel uses fruit enzymes to pull up the dead skin cells off the surface of your skin, and then it gathers them together in these little balls that you

can feel under your finger tips as you rub it around on your face. It is simultaneously disgusting and highly gratifying. I do it in the shower so all those little balls of skin can go right down my shower drain, and I don't have to worry about cleaning out the sink afterwards or anything.

The thing about it was, I did it on a Tuesday morning. On Thursday morning I was doing something at my desk and set my jaw into my hand and noticed that my skin was still soft!! TWO DAYS LATER!

I was blown away! And I've been using these products for almost 5 years!

I have had similar experiences with the Facial Masque in the past. But since I only like to do that one at night, and it needs ten minutes to dry, and time-management has never been my forte, I often neglect that one.

Last week, I saw a twitter post from Bethenny Frankel, one of my heroes, that said

"Good tip: when using those bath/shower scrubs,do on dry skin in shower.Then turn on water&rinse.much better results.smooth like a baby."

and I thought, "I've never tried that."

So yesterday, when I got into the shower I did my

normal shampoo, conditioner, body wash, shave routine and instead of putting some of our Exfoliating Facial & Body Scrub right into my cleanser to use on my face, I just used a dollop of it right on my dampened, but not intentionally wetted face.

OH. MY. GAWD.

My skin was about as soft as the facial peel made it, and i noticed the difference!

This is one of those things I love about L'Bri and about skincare and about the internet. You read one small tip from someone and suddenly you can totally change how you do something and actually see the difference! I've done this a few different times with L'Bri products and man oh man, it makes a difference.

I figured since exfoliation is the process of sloughing off the old to bring the new to the forefront, New Year's was a good time to bring it up. :)

So, with all of my thoughts on the matter, what are yours? What's your favorite exfoliation? What do you notice or not notice? What would you like to see after you exfoliate? Let me hear ya!