The Network Diva

Oh, Those Six Inches Can Be A Long Journey

Your business is never really good or bad "out there."  Your business is either good or bad right between your won two ears. ~ Zig Zigler

Over the years, I have experienced lots of good and bad...who hasn't right?  We all face opportunities and difficulties.  There are seasons of our lives that just seem to be working...there's a flow...like nothing can go wrong.  And then there are times when if feels as though we're in a downward spiral that just won't stop.

How is it, though, that some always manage to come out on top, no matter what the circumstances are?  Here's what I've discovered.  When I've been in a funk for longer than 24 hours, it has EVERYTHING to do with my perception...how I'm interpreting what's happened.  I get into this funky victim mode and just feel like I'm drowning.  My most recent pity party was back in September 2009 after my return trip of taking care of my mom who had just had back surgery.  I love my mom, but she is a painful person to be around.  Everything is negative.  She has settled for less than mediocre in her life, like she doesn't deserve to have any better.  Everything about her, her posture, how she takes care of herself, how she moves, the words she utters, just NEGATIVE.  Live in that for three weeks and anyone will walk away feelin' a little low.  Top that with I had a HUGE event planned for later the same month where my mentor and her business partner were flying in and I was certain there would be less than 20 guests there...most of whom had been there before.  I was embarrassed, mortified and downright felt undeserving of their time.  I can honestly say, my six inches got the best of me for a while...and the crazy part, it took me a while to figure it out.

So, what do you do when the six inches between your ears has the best of you?  First, tell yourself the truth.  YOU'RE IN A FUNK!!  Accept it, embrace it, acknowledge it.  Second, take IMMEDIATE action in the opposite direction.  I like to listen to a powerful motivating song over and over again.  Third, start flipping your thoughts.  If a negative thought comes into your head, simply ask yourself, "Is that really true?"  If it's not, then flip it.  You'd be surprised to learn that 90% of the negative thoughts you have about yourself or someone else are truly not true at all.

Managing those six inches is a daily affair.  To let a day go by without it in check can compound itself so quickly that even you will not realize the power until all is said and done.  Rule it with an iron fist and you'll find you'll spend more days in bliss rather than in despair. 

You Can Have It All...

"You can  have everything in life you want,

if you will just help enough other people get what they want."  ~ Zig Zigler

I hadn't really realized that I had been living this philosophy my entire life. For as long as I can remember, helping others has been my focal point.  I can even remember my father telling me when I was about 16 or so that I'm happiest when others are happy and fulfilled because of my contribution...and he's right.  I am happiest when I can help others become more, do more and have more. 

It's never occurred to me that I may lose out or be taken advantage of.  As a matter of fact, if I lived that way, I think I would be a paranoid ninny.  It never crosses my mind to think of how I will benefit by helping someone else.  I've just always felt that somehow it would come back to me...and it always does.

Networking is a lot like that.  It's figuring out a way to help those you meet achieve their goals by connecting them with their next big client or partner.  Rather than spending the time trying to figure out whether or not the person you've just met can benefit you and your business, why not determine if you have a connection that could benefit theirs.  You'd be amazed at how these little deposits can be drawn upon at some point in the future.  Helping people...that's what it's all really about...puts meaning into our lives that many of us are missing.  So, the next time you're given the opportunity to meet someone new, make it your focus to be the gift.  In time, you'll experience what it is to have it all. 

Dreaming your Dreams...

As I was chatting with my darling husband last night about some of the recent challenges I've been faced with...it occurred to me that I was being the quintessential cry baby.  I had an excuse for every inquiry he made about my challenges.  And when it hit me like a flippin' two-by-four to the head, man was I pissed!!  He smiled...you know the one...the one where he was proud of his accomplishment.

Seeing as I've not had a restful night's sleep in days, I took it as an opportunity to explore my mind and get to the bottom of my quite despair.  Obviously something has been eating at me for quite some time or else the sleep would have come easy.  What did I discover?

I lost sight of my vision...it had become blurred somehow.  In the midst of all the chaos, which I managed to create some of it, I had lost sight on what my purpose was to begin with.  Rather than putting my foot down and diggin' my feet in, I had lost my balance and allowed myself to be taken out to sea and have just been treading water.

Funny how the mind will resolve what needs to be resolved once the block is removed.  I now know what I must do to cast a better vision for myself and for those who follow me.  I know the path I must walk and the journey that must be taken if my vision...my dreams...are to be realized.  Thank goodness for darling husbands who know how to be a total pain the butt sometimes...God bless them all!!