I'm still learning to get comfortable with failing. We want our businesses to succeed so badly that we get into this mode of inactivity because we think "If I just say it right the first time, they'll want to book a party with me." or "If I just say it right, they'll buy my product." 

The truth is that, most people that are successful have gotten very comfortable with their failures. They remember all their activity of saying and doing it the wrong way. They remember the nights where they went out to do home shows and left order forms at home. Or the moment they had to do the presentation by heart because the Powerpoint wouldn't work. They were brave enough to step out there, try things, then get back and analyze what's not working. They laughed at themselves, shared with their downline or team what's not working, and they changed their habits.

Growing our businesses is as much an internal work as it is an external work. We have to be able to look internally and see what we need to overcome if we ever what to see external results like customers or a full calendar of events. 

The next time you meet someone wildly successful in your company, ask them what they did wrong in the early days of starting their business. Ask them what they did that was embarrassing, uncomfortable, or downright WRONG. I'm sure they'll have a ton of material to draw from because they're not successful because they're special... they just DO more than non-successful people do! 

There is no magic formula to success besides DOING. Waiting until the words are right...waiting until the timing is right...waiting until YOU are right...IS ALL A WASTE OF TIME.

I encourage you to GO NOW. I'm going to. With all my imperfections of not feeling like I know enough, I'm going to GO NOW. That's what makes success. Being willing to fail over and over again! 

Do you agree? If you're wildly successful, how have you failed your way to the top? If you're not where you want to be in your business, what's holding you back?

I realized I haven't been as proactive as I should be with using Twitter for business. I took the time today to focus in and watch this webinar.

I think a lot of times we sign up for social media because it's free but usually don't take the time to make sure we're using it properly or to its fullest potential. The beautiful thing about social media is that most mediums are free. If you can see yourself using these free tools properly and making money, you're ahead of the curve...because that's where business is! 

Word of mouth is still HUGE when it comes to marketing. However, you can see what people are talking about in their tweets. Any bad experience or great experience about anything is being tweeted. 

How can you use Twitter to build your business without every post being a link and a sales pitch? I truly believe this webinar got it right! Whether you want more fans on your Facebook page, a bigger list to sell to, or leads for your home based business...This is how to do it with Twitter. 

CHECK IT OUT! 

I've created a vision board to keep me on target with my goals. Bee (my daughter) got in on the action this morning. I picked her up and showed her every element of the board. She's five so she was thoroughly fascinated that Mommy cut pictures out of magazines and taped them up. I explained to her that I'm doing this for us. I also asked her what she wanted. She agrees that we should go to Disney and she wants to go to Dutch Wonderland. 

It is so important that your kids realize that your dreams benefit them. It helps keep the whole family on target with goals. It also gives your kids pride that when Mommy or Daddy accomplishes something, so do they. When they see goals materialize into results, it gives them the work ethic to not just want things but do what's necessary to get those things. Nowadays, I don't think it's enough to just tell your kids "I work so we have money." I think what's more important is to say "I am working hard to do XYZ and when I do, we're all going to Disney!" or "Give Mommy an hour of quiet time to make phone calls, then we'll go for ice cream!" You can teach them the value of both large and small goals.

Both big and small goals are represented on my board. There are things I can do in a month, things I can do in six months, and things I can have done one year from now. I used cork board because, as I acccomplish things, they will be removed and new goals will be put in the space. As life evolves, so will the vision board. 

How do vision boards help your personal and family life?

Being a part of the Market America community, I've decided to grow my  entrepreneurial endeavors by distributing Motives cosmetics. Here's a product demo! 

I'm the oldest of five children. I was at my mother's house over the weekend. As a family, we've had many struggles. One of my sisters was there and she got really upset.

She lashed out at my mother and said "Sh*t isn't working out for me! I can't find a job! I'm broke! I don't have anything going to for myself!"

I could see the tears in her eyes and the anguish on her face. I stood silent for a long moment because I realized that in that moment, my sister couldn't focus in on the positive things around her. I felt sad for her. I wanted to shake her so she'd realize that she was much better off than she was even a month ago. However, I know that when you're in a personal misery it's hard to hear what HAPPY people have to say.

My life has changed dramatically in 5 years because I choose to not dwell on the negative. Half the battle in life is in our own MINDS!

What does your internal dialogue have to say? Is it positive? Is it negative?

There are still many things that I haven't achieved yet, but I've learned...that happiness is a choice.

I can throw a tantrum because things aren't right or I can choose to focus in on what IS going right.

Like my sister, I used to think that happiness was attached to a job, things, money that could buy things, realizing I don't have things that other people have, etc, etc. However, in that moment of watching her, I realized I've grown. I've learned along the way that if your happiness is attached to external things, you'll always be emotionally trapped by those things. When those things evaporate, so will your joy. That's a self-defeating way to be!

You can choose to be happy. With or without! Regardless of what's there and what isn't there. Regardless of what you want and what you don't want. You can choose from this day to be happy ANYWAY!

Here's a screenshot inside the Action Machine tool. It can manage any task you're doing.

Yesterday, we focused on creating Office Hours for our Home Office Time Management.

Right now, I challenge you to close your eyes and really think about my next question.

What do you have to show for burning through another 24 hours of your business?

Really!

If the answer is, 'next to nothing', or 'not nearly as much as I would like', then I'm happy to tell you that you can change that right now!

A couple of months ago, I had so much on my desk. I was drowning in content for my internet business. I had calls to make for my offline business. I had so many things to do and I felt like I wouldn't get anything done.

Enter...The Action Machine!

I needed something on my desktop that would keep me working through projects. I realized I would get started with tasks and then the phone would ring or a family member would need me. I'd have to walk away from my work and then return to my desk to realize I hadn't gotten a lot of work done. The Action Machine has been a lifesaver!

If you're ready to put more life and more action into your day, then get a pen and paper and write down these simple steps that I use every week and apply to my Action Machine.

It consists of 5 basic steps. Here they are:

1. Write down all the tasks you want to get done today.
2. Assign a specific block of time for completing each task (like 30 minutes).
3. Select a task.
4. Start a timer.
5. Focus on nothing else until that task is complete!

That's all there is to it.

I've realized that by putting my tasks into this tool, I've been able to keep myself accountable and be productive.

Is it simple? Yes! Incredibly effective? YES!

By itself, this system can put your productivity into high-gear -IF you use it.

At the end of your week, you can even go back in and get reports on what you worked on and how long you worked.

The challenge for most of us is that in a day and age of technology and automation, writing things down on paper and
using something like an egg-timer feels a bit clunky and inefficient.

I highly recommend you watch the demo video, which shows the software in action, by clicking this link (you'll find it
about half-way down the page):

Take Action!

Have a great, productive day!

Working at home gets so hectic. I've realized these past weeks that I do a lot of things but don't necessarily have a great way to track time management. Working from home is different from when you're working outside the house. Many times, there's no one to keep you accountable like there is in traditional work. When you work in a doctor's office, for example, you know you have only a certain amount of hours in the day to get your tasks done. Time gets extremely more flexible when you work from home. You realize you spent an hour too long watching TV or that you were so busy working your business that you didn't start dinner yet.

One way I've learned to keep myself accountable is to set office hours. I know it's nice to sit there in your PJ's and hammer away at your blog. However, I also know the importance of having focused hours to simply write content, or respond to emails. With all the notifications and emails coming through your computer and your family calling on you to do things for them; it's imperative that you set aside hours to focus on business-growing activities.

You don't have to sit at home either. I've found that I'm very productive when I work at Starbuck's. I'll pack up my laptop in a heartbeat and go to my local Starbuck's to figure out why my content isn't flowing right. When I do return home to my family, I have a clear focus on my home life because I dedicated time to my business. There's no room for wondering if I didn't get anything done.

Are you setting office hours for your business yet? If not, what's holding you back from dedicating time for your business?

I think sometimes I psych myself out too much. I spend so much time in the planning process that I don't do as much I should do up front. Currently, I'm learning more about online marketing. I've always wanted my own internet business and I believe now is the time to do it. My personal issue is that I spend too much time on preparation. My tendency to be a perfectionist or want everything to be just right gets in the way of me doing what it takes to get it all done.

I'm realizing that my perfectionist tendencies hold me back. Though I envision myself doing things right and being successful, the intense desire to do something perfectly keeps me from doing anything at all.

I'm getting over this because I realize things will never be perfect. Success is like most things in life. You just have to get out there and try something to see what comes of it. If you sit on the sidelines too long waiting for the stars to align and for things to be perfect, you'll miss out. There's a lot to learn if you're willing to make the mistakes. While other people are just doing their best, warts and all, you're still thinking or talking about what you're going to do.

Don't talk about it. BE about it!

I think as business owners, it's so easy to get caught up in getting the dollar that you lose the sense of service. I think at the heart of business we still have to aim to solve problems and be more giving. I was spending time networking with another businesswoman. She said something that struck a chord with me. She said "We help our businesses by helping other people's businesses. When you give you get."

What's the last unselfish thing you did to help a customer?

When's the last time you gave a solid referral to a business colleague?

I'm retraining my mind to think about others. Customers are the heart of our business. If they don't feel valued, they won't give your business value (money). If you only sit behind your desk and never reach out to other businesses to see how you can help them, then you'll never get referrals. People simply won't know anything about you or your business to send you business.

Bottom line: You have to give to get!

I had a very great networking experience this morning. Through LinkedIn, I was invited to this event. At first I was a little thrown off because this networking organization was having a visitor's day at 7 o'clock in the morning. I am not a morning person but I put my bare feet to my cold winter floor. I stumbled in the dark to my business casual outfit (that I don't wear as often as I should) and actually put a little makeup on to go meet new people....At this wee hour of the morning. I don't think the sun was actually out until 8 o'clock. Thankfully, they had the coffee hot and strong at the country club where the meeting was held.

I'm in my late 20s, I know about social networking. I love the connectivity that the internet provides. I'm LinkedIn, I tweet, I retweet, I text, I blog, etc, but I must say there's something about getting face to face time with people.

I think a lot of times people try to hide behind social networking. We think that if we write good content, do a lot of tweeting or always having something clever to say on our Facebook pages that it's enough. That the people will flock in in droves to see what we have to say about our business. I believe social networking works. However, I still think there's something to be said for seeing a smiling face and getting a firm handshake.

I must say, compared to other networking events I attended, these people were very friendly and warm. They introduced themselves to me, wanted to know what I did and how I'd fit into their organization. They didn't just stand around in their cliques and avoid the new people in the room or only help those they personally invited. There simply wasn't any ice that needed to be broken. That's really rare!

Majority of the people at this networking event were older. I doubt many of them have blogs. Many of them have 9 to 5 jobs or offices. I don't think many of them use Twitter. However, I realized that they were still people that would fit into the niche of my business. They were still people that could use my services.

What I'm trying to say is that it's important that we still hit the pavement. Go to coffee. Tap into our local business networks to see what would be the best fit for our Internet goals. Even though we have many avenues to connect with people online, there's a slew of fresh perspective in our backyards. The traditional networking style of word of mouth is still very vital to any business endeavor. Whether your business is online or not.

Traditional Networking and social networking have to go hand in hand.

How have you used Traditional or Social Networking to build your business or brand?