Network Marketing/MLM/Multilevel Marketing

Posted on by Sandy

Hey all!

I have just returned from New Orleans and a cruise to Cozumel, that I received from my MLM business, SendOutCards. I am going to be doing my next podcasts on finances – since it’s on everyone’s mind now. I will start with what I wrote about in fEmpowerment…then move on to what I learned at the lectures on the cruise.

I have to tell you – NOW is the time to get that part time/full time money through a business that is YOURS. One of the hallmarks (usually) of a Bond Girl is that she is her own boss. Hey – James Bond “works for the man” – he’s a government employee. Bond Girls usually have their own businesses!

A lot of folks have questions about network marketing…which is what I am using to currently supplement (and soon replace) the income from my law firm. I will never replace my coaching and speaking income…because I love doing it! But networking marketing is sure a wonderful way to come home to an unexpected check! My check this month is 5x the one from last month. I’ve been doing my MLM for a year, not even full time. But it’s just starting to pick up. I’m getting excited!

Anyway – CLICK HERE to take a look at this – it answers a couple of the questions I am asked a lot about multilevel marketing. Hope you enjoy!

The Difference by Jean Chatzky

Posted on by Sandy

This book is available as a PDF download RIGHT NOW from Oprah.com – become a member (for free) if you are not already, and GO GET IT! In these financially tough times, being offered free help is awesome!  Here is a clip from the foreword of the book:

“A study of more than five thousand individuals, conducted by Harris Interactive in cooperation with Merrill Lynch, has torn the covers off the four groups of people who make up the new economic strata in America today. They are:

The wealthy (W)

The financially comfortable (FC)

The paycheck-to-paychecks (PTPs)

The further-in-debtors (FIDs)

We now know that the people who have achieved both financial comfort and wealth are distinctly different from those who are struggling paycheck to paycheck or sinking further into debt each month.

They are different in their attitudes, behaviors (financial and nonfinancial), personalities, and goals.

The financially comfortable and the wealthy tend to be more passionate about what they do in life, they are more optimistic, and they are more resilient—able to overcome whatever obstacles life throws their way. They are more visionary—able to see things in a slightly different and improved way, if not a new way altogether. They are more connected to others in their professional and personal lives, and they have greater confidence in those relationships, as well as in their lives overall. And they are grateful—incredibly grateful—for the good fortune life has thrown their way.

They are also more likely to come at life with a different mind-set and a different set of skills. They tend to be goal setters who figure out what they want in life and then make a plan to go after it. They are dogged workers (and often need less sleep). The comfortable and wealthy take more risks than the average person, but they listen to their own voices and those of people they trust in order to be as certain as possible that those risks are appropriate for their stage in life or work. And they are always on a quest to learn something new.

The good news: These are all things

you can learn. Although some people are born with, say, more optimism, it—like every other attribute or skill on this list—can be taught.

And that is what The Difference is all about. [The] book is devoted to teaching you how to uncover your nascent talents and develop those abilities. You will discover the latest psychological and academic findings, complete exercises that are easy to incorporate into your everyday life, and read stories of people who’ve done precisely what you want to do. They’ve harnessed the power within and used it to reach the same goals you have: financial comfort and long-lasting wealth.

Go download the book right now!

“Ruby” show

Posted on by Sandy

W-O-W.

Hey ya’ll – listen, you know I’m a HUGE Oprah watcher. I just saw an episode with Ruby – who has a new reality TV show.  Check it out here.

I can’t wait to see this show. There are just a billion shows on TV now-a-days…are you spending your “television time” watching things that don’t “feed” you? Bond Grrl (or “James”!) – listen here. You have SO FEW hours in the day. If you’re going to spend time in front of TV – please PLEASE spend it being inspired.

I love Oprah – what can I tell you. I find folks like Ruby…and you gotta admit that Ruby and Oprah are Bond Grrls, true and through!

If you have seen this show, I want to hear about it!!

 

Life Is For Sharing – Liverpool Station 6 weeks ago (T-Mobile Ad)

Posted on by Sandy

You gotta watch this! It will take just under 3 minutes and it will MAKE YOUR DAY. CLICK HERE FOR FEED (I tried to put it in the video box below, but it keeps freezing, so go to the source).

Talk about stopping traffic. The spontaneous reaction of the subway customers is great. This commercial was shot at the Liverpool Street Subway Station in London about 6 weeks ago (Jan 15, 09). Only the dancers knew what was happening; the general public didn’t have a clue what was about to unfold.

Watch this again and again when the day, economy, recession or “whatevah” gets you down. And remember the “Mall Walk” exercise in my book – this is what it’s all about

– Solitaire

P.S.:  Here is the “Making Of” video

1,000 Marbles

Posted on by Sandy
This is from the book Motivating Yourself: Recharging the Human Battery, by Mac Anderson. It was forwarded to me by a friend (did I mention in the previous post I’m trying to clear out email?) – and I liked it a lot so I’m sharing with all of you. I think that my granddad would appreciate it too, since it features a ham radio operator (if you have been following my postings re his WWI diary).
++++++++++++++++
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday morning. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:
I turned the dial up into the ‘phone portion’ of the band on my ham radio, in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles.” I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.
“Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It’s too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital,” he continued; “Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.” And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.”
“You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
“Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I’m getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail,” he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be sevent y-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.”
Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There’s nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.
Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.
It was nice to meet you Tom. I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 year old man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!”
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Inst ead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.”

“What brought this on?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing special, it’s just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”

Ten Commandments to Staying Alive in the Wild

Posted on by Sandy
A great article from the San Francisco Chronicle – perhaps applicable to “staying alive” in this “wild” recession??? – Solitaire

You ever face a life-or-death predicament in the outdoors? Yes? Then you already know to never assume you’ll rise to the challenge. And “If you live on the edge,” as the late Waylon Jennings said, then you know “you can be subject to a fall.”

These lessons come to mind after Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and two friends were lost at sea when their boat capsized on an offshore fishing trip last weekend, and a Squaw Valley ski patroller was killed Tuesday by an avalanche as he tried to clear the resort of exactly that danger. Like many who followed these stories, my heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims.

Last April, I wrote about a similar siege of tragedies, and it seems calamities in the outdoors are reported virtually every week. These stories remind me of the close calls I’ve had and the advice my mentors and friends have provided on trips.
Here’s that collected wisdom. I hope you clip it, save it, and stay safe:

1. Never hope: When you face a crisis, never try to hope your way through it. Take complete command of the outcome, even if this means immediate withdrawal for your safety. Rusty Ballinger, my flight instructor, repeated this so many times that it is practically branded on my forehead. This is the opposite of what Waylon called “Going to the Bank of Chances.” One night at South Lake Tahoe, he said: “If you keep going to the Bank of Chances, you’ll find you’re overdrawn.”

2. Get your ego out of the way: Most athletes and successful professionals are hard-wired to believe they can handle anything, no matter what they face and how little training they actually have. “You do not rise to the occasion,” said Il Ling New, firearms and self-defense instructor. “You default to your level of training.” Remember that. So get trained to the highest skill levels in everything you do.

3. Know the danger: “Mountains wait for you to make a mistake, then punish you, but water comes after you, attacking you. You have to be ready for both.” Jeffrey Patty, photographer and wilderness explorer, said that one night at camp. The moment was memorable, after we’d nearly drowned trying to cross a river at flood stage amid a six-week off-trail wilderness expedition where we’d been hired to look for Bigfoot (really).

4. Learn your lessons: The first time we hiked the John Muir Trail, a few miles north of Forester Pass, we crossed paths with some know-it-all greenhorns, and my brother Rambob said: “Smarts in the outdoors has nothing to do with intelligence. It has to do with learning your lessons.” Never forgot that moment. Personal expertise often comes from having failed in small ways, then using those experiences to get it right.

5. Get it right: “Know what the hell you’re doing,” commanded Ed Dunckel, my Little League baseball coach, who in the next 40 years shared all his fishing secrets with me. In my travels, he advised always seeking out the top experts I could find and then learning everything they knew. I’ve always done that. I still have mentors for everything.

6. Have a plan: Many crises develop when members of a group do not work out a clear plan that they agree to share. This can be true even for a mild vacation. “Start every trip by having a meeting of the minds on how you’re going to spend your time, especially husbands and wives,” advised rafting guide Diane Strachan. “The problems start when people have a different idea of what is supposed to happen.” In a crisis, this is amplified a hundred fold, when your life can depend on swift, coordinated action.

7. Be decisive: “Have an idea, then move forward.” This was the motto of legendary woodsman Davy Crockett. Guides still teach it. “If you execute your plan, be decisive,” New said. “A mediocre plan executed assertively will serve you better than a perfect plan executed poorly or too late.”

8. Trust yourself: If you are the type of person who is perpetually disappointed when others let you down, as Bob Dylan wrote, then instead “trust yourself.” To take it a step further, “Trust your intuition,” says scientist and trekker Michael Furniss. Once, trekking off-trail in the Trinity Alps, we decided against a planned route up to Sawtooth Ridge when he said, “This doesn’t feel right in my gut.” We reconvened and developed a new plan. Way better.

9. Leave yourself an out: The “surprise factor” is often common in outdoor tragedies. “Most people don’t see it coming,” said Bob Simms, one of California’s top woodsmen, “so always leave yourself an out no matter what happens.” Of course, before heading out, assemble all the information available for your trip. Prevent and avoid rather than confront. This is the opposite of hoping you’ll make it, and in that case, see No. 1 about the Bank of Chances.

10. Pay attention: This recent trend, where people simply don’t pay any attention to what’s going on, shocks us old-school guys. We see people tune out from nature and reality as it occurs, where they instead plug into iPods, cell phones, radios or talk too much. I really don’t understand it. The greatest pleasure of the outdoors comes by unplugging from technology and heightening and taking in the sight, sound, smell, touch, taste and how you feel inside. Those with heightened awareness not only have a better time, but they tend to stay out of trouble.

Intervention on my BFF

Posted on by Sandy

Okay, so since I’m now using this as a blog again (smile), I’m writin’ what’s up today.

I was up at 4:00 this morning, because the economic news is not good in this Bond Grrl’s household. My James told me his take-home is being cut by 25% (though he still has a job). We talked about it a lot, and went to bed, and I woke up in a cold sweat at 4:00.  Not very Bond Grrlish of me, is it?

SO, I went downstairs to catch up on my email/bills/etc. from our being away (nothing like returning from an expensive trip and having another on the horizon – already paid for – to make you freak too!). OK and catch up on Criminal Minds, Bones, CSI NY, Oprah…At about 7:00, I got a text from my bff, Domino. She is moving this weekend, had said she didn’t need help, and then realized she DID need help. She asked if I could be there by 9:00, and I said I’d do my best.

Woke my James up with coffee at about 8:30 (VERY early for my handsome husband secret agent!) and told him I really had to (and wanted to) go – Domino has moved me probably 5 times, and somehow I have never reciprocated. He had a bunch of “honey do” stuff for me – mainly going to a local home improvement store that’s going out of business and looking at things we don’t quite need now, but we definitely WILL, since they’re marked down 50%. I wound up with a kitchen sink and a huge outdoor amphora in the back of the SUV – and off I went to Domino’s.

I was about 2 hours later than she wanted me there (I got there at about 10:45) – so I didn’t actually help with packing the moving van as her James and his buds had hoped (or bring them bagels and coffee as they’d hoped!). The boyz were all done, and she was up at the new house when I showed up at the old. Both he and Domino said that there were “just the baby clothes left” in the closet, and could I get them and bring them up?  SURE, I said.

OK, so I swept through that house like the Grinch in Whoville. (I actually texted her at one point “I feel like I need to look for Cindy Lou Who’s lollypop!”) There was a lot of “stuff” that hadn’t been packed – you know, odds and ends – but all over the house. I wound up starting downstairs, and just bringing everything up to their foyer, first – then taking a look at what I actually could pack and bring.

The funniest part was that there weren’t a lot of bags or boxes left – just a few – but as I dove into back closets and the like I wound up finding things like the cover for her massage table (HUGE score for carrying stuff!), old Nordstrom’s bags that suits come in, grocery bags, stuff like that. So I went to tackle their bedroom, last (which was the one place that I was supposed to really clear out – the baby’s closet).

Now, mind you, this baby has more clothes than ~I~ do (she’s like 4 months old). But there was still about 1/4 of Domino’s closet, some still in her James’ closet, a boatload of hangars, and all the baby’s clothes. And the breast pump. And the baby bath. And…oh Lord…all Domino’s bathroom stuff.

INTERVENTION! I started texting her as soon as I opened up those bathroom drawers! She had a bottle of massage oil I had brought her back from Scotland – FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.  (Yes, really.) Oil…goes…bad…hello…I texted her to say “Just Say ‘Throw’!” She had dozens of lipsticks. I’m cleaning out the drawer, there are 3 Chanel of the same color, unopened, behind some QTips…ok yeah I could go on. And so I totally busted her chops. And dozens of jog bras. Sweaters smashed behind sweaters.

Why are they moving? Like all of us, they need to save some dough. They can get a better house by moving farther from the city, and into a more “cookie cutter” neighborhood and rent there for a while, as they save for their own place.

She’s skimmed my book, but I guess it just didn’t “catch.”

Lots of Brands in the clothes and accessories…but Safeway-brand vitamins. 

How many of you are like this? Be serious. Have you really gone through YOUR house? How about taking some of your extra stuff to a Consignment Store? Or eBay? If not there, how’s about doing a Clothing Swap party (I’m having one on Monday!), where you can all get “new clothes” from your friends, and then give the rest to charity! And I can’t stress enough that your “big money” should be spent going into you…not onto you. You never EVER see a Bond Girl in brands…

About 8 years ago, an Auntie of mine (Rosemary Manell) had to be put in an Alzheimer’s Home, and my James and I helped my Mom clean out her house. Holy cow. It was one of “those” situations – books up the stairwells…stuff everywhere – and we are talking GOOD stuff. She was Julie Child’s best friend, and her husband had been Consul General during World War 2, and she had lived an awesome awesome life – so she had GREAT stuff, just a LOT of it. After we worked for weeks on it, all of us wound up cleaning up our stuff, because we realized we just did NOT want to be in that situation later in life! It was just one of those moments. And it was what formed how I explained how to “attack these issues” in the first Chapter of my book!

Well, there I was, facing it again…and I know (because my bff just texted me!) that she thought she was SO GOOD! Woah.

OK, one funny thing – I wound up PACKING my car and I mean PACK-ING it with stuff to bring up to their new house…but the stuff I’d had to get with my James was all still in the back too.  When Domino’s James’s BFF saw it, he said “HEY, look, she’s got everything, and the kitchen sink….SERIOUSLY.” It completely cracked me up.

So, that’s the update. And yeah, I’m goin’ back to the bloggin’ style that got my book written – write stream of consciousness, post.  So there. See ya, maybe not tomorrow, but definitely Monday after my Clothing Swap Party!!