Brain Sabotage by John Assaraf

So, Gentle Reader,
I've had a fantastic day. After listening to my own voice talk to me on my Ipod about being an organized person and listen to another guy talk to me about my financial thinking and actions and yet another gal's voice telling me how incredible I am as I went to sleep last night and got up this morning, I felt like working. And I did. Cold calls to 16 people who responded quite well and several even agreed to go to my web site for a look see.

Tonight I stumbled onto this video which really explains why it takes so much concentrated effort to re-program the mind to do something differently, to get out of the comfort zone, to actually change the comfort zone.

Take a look yourself and see what you think. If this helps you, Great. I think it's helping me. I'm going to keep on listening to these tapes.

By for now and keep on keeping on, Christmas or no Christmas. People are out there looking for what you and I have to offer, now as much as any other time of year.

To our health and wealth. Betsy

www.HiHoWealth.com

Trying to get my stream up after a Mexico break

Dear Reader,

Have you ever come home from vacation and couldn't get going on the tasks that stare you in the face? I spent the first week of December in Mexico at my favorite spot, Puerto Vallarta. My sister in law from Denver and I had a relaxing time, exploring, shopping, eating well, reading and just hanging out. I spent most of my time reading "What Do You Say When You Talk To Yourself" by Shad Helmstetter. I listened several times a day to an audio programming my mind for financial security. I wrote my 20 Reasons for working again. I mapped my plan of action for the next 6 months. I was ready to put everything into action.

Monday came and I just couldn't do anything. I was so glad to have a dinner gathering at my house because I had to clean, cook, get the tree trimmed and the Advent things out. In short between getting home late Friday and Monday when the guests arrived the house was perfect for Christmas. Still I was grumpy and disappointed in myself for not getting a running start at making calls and searching for three good people to build with me all the way to director by June. This is my year. This is my 6 months. But without partners, I will not get where I want to go.

How to find them. Then Bob Ferguson sent this You Tube clip on the recession and how badly so many people have been hit. The 60 minutes report is a year old. I'd like to know what has happened to these people since then. I can't imagine starting a day care at age 60! Good Lord, no. Here's the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAHgr9dY9BU.

So far, I am very lucky. My annuity is fixed and therefore has not gone down. My Social Security hasn't taken a hit yet. And my Shaklee business steadily earns me between $2500 and $3000 a month. What about you?

Bob talks about a couple who have had a good, steady Shaklee business for years and years and who have suffered terrible health problems this past year. Here's his email:

Dear Betsy,

As I mentioned in my last email, I just talked with Phyllis Willkomm today, checking in on how she was doing after six months of dealing with a very serious infection in her lung. I'm very happy to say that she is on the mend, and back working her business with her cellphone and laptop. What was striking, particularly in light of the severe impact of a 10% U.S. jobless rate, was how her Shaklee business carried her and Warren through the crisis with completely stable income. For six months she was completely unable to work, but because she had created a strong Shaklee business, the income just kept coming. One can only imagine the impact of a similar health crisis without the security of a long-term residual income. Phyllis also mentioned that she feels the base of health and vitality she had before this crisis struck kept her alive.

We have lots to be proud of in this tremendous opportunity. Let's keep getting the word out to the millions who need an opportunity.

Best Wishes,

Bob

I'm looking for those people who would like to try their hand at a home based health business with excellent training and a turn key system. How to find them is the issue I face. This news story is going to help me get going. People need help. Is it true? Maybe, maybe not. If they think the need help, I'm here with a possible solution.

Be well, be solvent, keep your promises to yourself. Betsy

206 933 1889
www.HiHoWealth.com

New beginnings

Dear Reader,

What a blessing the Thanksgiving break turned out to be.  The day itself was spent completely in the company of family and friends.  Friday was a work day that went extremely well, productive and punctuated by a very brief step into the shopping world.  My 14 yr. old granddaughter Hanna talked me into a girl cousin overnight to do crafts, play games, watch and movie and do nails.  How could I resist that.  I didn't hesitate one minute.  The shopping was to buy the Friendship bracelet and Gingerbread House kits along with 4 new paint sets.

On Saturday families who had not gathered on Thursday, plus a couple who had, came for my turkey, bringing the trimmings.  It was wonderful and included a gang of us playing touch football after mid day dinner.  Only the girls remained and was it fun watching a movie, talking, playing sardines and hide and seek and spending lots of time in the hot tub.

Today, Monday, began with a new scroll, a prayer for guidance, guidance for a saleswoman. A prayer for focus, for love, for perseverance, for staying in the present, for ability to meet whatever situation presents itself.  With one remaining month in the year, handing the results over to the hand of the Divine feels so appropriate.  And in the middle of the afternoon, my leaders called and, after being satisfied with the answers to a series of questions about my motivation, invited me to join a team of high achievers for maximum effort over the next 6 months.

I am encouraged by their leadership and will shape my other commitments so that I have the time it takes to meet their rigorous requirements.  How wonderful to have this kind of accountability to help me reach the goals I have.

December will be what we are calling and intense mental fast.  We will read What do you say when you talk to yourself by Shad Helmstetter.  We will read this book in the next 30 days, listen to 2 audios from Jerry Clark's Club Rhino and re-write our 20 Reasons.  Massive action will yield massive prospects.

Stay tuned.  Enthusiastically, Betsy Bell

Unexplainable dark times

Dear Reader, I wish I understood what brings me to a wandering place.  Can you relate to the feeling of getting up and just not being able to get to the desk?  Sure, I took the early walk, ate the special foods prescribed by my nutritionist--designed for a late fall liver cleanse.  I vacuumed the carpet because I couldn't bear to lie on it to do my exercises.  I emptied the compost and fed the chickens.  I made the spare bed and called the repair man to fix the dryer.  I raked the leaves, cleaned the gutters and hung the Christmas lights.

But it was all wandering, following the next impulse rather than the plan.  And no phone calls were made.  Mostly I noticed and didn't get overly self critical.  Our scroll this month (Og Mandino's The Greatest Secret in the World) begins with the certainty of failure no matter how wonderful the goals and plans if no action is taken.  The mantra is "I will act now".  the first week and even the second week reading this scroll 3 times a day, I noticed myself completing little tasks that had gone undone for months.  I am still reading Bryan Tracy's Maximum Achievement which is a manual for how to make your dreams concrete, prepare mentally for success and how to take the steps necessary to achieve the results you want.  I am sure of my goals.  I can picture them in the present tense.

Nevertheless, these last few days I could only notice how my day filled up with endless driving children and grandchildren places, meeting deadlines for other projects unrelated to my business goals and then spending the remaining possible productive moments watching a movie or working a challenging puzzle that's been sitting on my table for nearly a year (it's a spherical puzzle of the globe, extremely difficult especially putting the Pacific Ocean together).

My sleep has been troubled with dreams of the most fantastic kind so I awaken without being fully rested.  I haven't been able to write either my memoir exercises or this blog.  I could only notice this wandering in the dessert kind of feeling and undirected action.

Today something shifted and I feel as though I am back without any real understanding of what was going on.  It is my nature to analysis "why" to death, and I could share some thoughts about that.  Reasons abound.  And sometimes they stop us.  Mostly I keep going, managing my moods and working through them.  I'm glad to be back.  There will be business action tomorrow and the day after that and then comes Thanksgiving.  Family time.

A blessed Thanksgiving to you.  May you feel the gratitude rising from the bottom of your heart.

Betsy

www.HiHoHealth.com
www.HiHoWealth.com

Keeping the urgency

In my class Doing The Work When You Work For Yourself: Inquiry for the Independent Professional, I experienced a major insite.  The way this class works, our teacher, Grace, poses a question that is most assuredly emotionally loaded and then one student helps another student inquire about the stressful thought.  the general topic was "I believe money would give me ...........  

The thought held by Bryan was "I have to pay this guy."  and he didn't have the money.  I was assigned the task of guiding his inquiry.  My insight is very painful for me to admit and yet, you can probably relate to it, so here goes:  Instead of letting him explore all sides of this extremely upsetting situation so he could discover for himself relief for his stress, I wanted to rescue him, to assure him that it would be OK, that I had had that same situation and anxiety and it had all worked out for me, etc, etc, etc.  Whose business was I in?  His. 

I have a lot to learn about how to help a person see for themselves whether a Shaklee business would be a good thing for them or whether these products would be worth a try for improving their health.  At this point I realize I don't even know how to begin.  Our scripts are helpful because they do not push at all.  It's an attitude thing.  Trusting in the moment to unfold as it needs to without forcing anything.  Trusting the other person to know what they need and want.

After that beginning, I had less confidence but still managed to make a few calls, convert a couple retail customers into wholesale members and help a referral sort out a program that she will try for several months, going to my website on her own to place the order and sign up.  That's all positive.  

A sales leader from another group who has just moved into the area wanted to chat at a moment when I needed a break from work and a chance to blow off steam in the garden.  I was a little short with her.  I am getting more protective of my time and energy, not giving it away.

These steps are valuable but not necessarily comfortable.  Do you ever have days like that?

And now to make my list for tomorrow before I go to bed.  The list includes a hike in the Cascade foothills.  It's a soul keeping day.

Thanks for reading, Betsy

Maximum Achievement means going backwards sometimes

So, dear Reader, I did it.  I called Annie this morning and told her this business wasn't for her at this time and to please send back all the manuals and CD's I have sent her.  Not only did she do this but she also trashed all the cards I had made for her, the ones she bought from Vista Print and the fliers and handouts--anything that had her name on it.  Oh, my goodness.  We talked several times. She said it would cost a lot of money to mail all this material back to me.  I told her she'd have to figure that out.  I reminded her that she could continue to buy Shaklee and enjoy the products and share with anyone who wanted what she was taking and she seemed thrilled to be able to stay connected.  Ignorance on fire burned out fast.  I took it away and relieved us both of a lot of pain and frustration.

In this morning's readings from Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy, one of my favorite trainers, I made notes from the section on "Your Master Plan".  In my master plan I wrote out what I want:  to be Ex. Coordinator by June 2011.  There.  I've put it out there for everyone to see.  I want it because I want to prove to myself that I can recruit and train successful business leaders.  I wrote out a list of the obstacles I have to overcome to get there.  One obstacle is people, finding them, talking to enough people to find the ones who want what I have and will do what I do.  I must spend more time prospecting.

So what happened today in reality was that I sat down to make calls at 10.  But first I finished the plans for taking 2 grandsons to Spring Training in Arizona.  It was noon before I finished what I thought would be a 30 minute task.  Then I had deliveries to make on foot so I could get my exercise in and work simultaneously.  It was 2 before I got home and then I had to eat something.  The Meal Bar I had on the walk was wearing off.  There were urgent emails that had to be taken care of.

It was 3:30 before I started making calls.  Luckily, or because of good planning, I knew who to call and got right to it.  I'm going through my list of customers, the list Shaklee has and asking each of them to think of who they know who is looking and might be open to a wellness career and willing to enter a training program.  No new leads from 12 calls.

Had to condition the hot tub and take care of the chickens and cats. Then Annie 2 (not her real name) came over for a visit.  She is a business builder and agreed to begin the Basic Training class tomorrow.  Yipee!

Net result of the day:  one down and one up.  Calls made.  Still not enough effort to find potential leaders.  I wrote this morning:  My obstacle to getting this done [finding leaders] is the amount of time I devote to it.  This is the first thing every day [that I must do] when I sit down to work.  I flunked.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Thanks for reading.  Betsy

This is a volunteer business

So, Gentle Reader, You probably don't need to be told what it's like to work with people who are basically volunteers and can quit anytime they like.  That's the truth of Network marketting recruits.  They sign up for many reasons.  My job is to help them know their reasons and develop a commitment to themselves and their Why? 

There is lovely Annie (not her real name), my age exactly, who asked a friend if she knew anyone who sold Shaklee.  My phone rings and there she is, full of excitement and enthusiasm for beginning a sales career with the Shaklee products. She gets a wholesale buying membership and some of our Vita Lea. Two weeks and many phone calls later, she turns her membership into a Gold and spends the money for a kit of our premier products and 3 months of a free web site.  Now Annie doesn't have a computer and isn't going to get one.  I am copying her manual and her prospecting materials for her and mailing them to California.  Am I crazy?  She is so excited.  So it seems like the right thing to do.

Then she calls and says her husband, who is in his late 90's and really wants her at his side all the time, doesn't want her to have a business.  I take it away and tell her this probably isn't the business for her.  She wants it so badly, she tells her husband she's going to do it anyway.

We call her first 25 names on her warm market list and only one person is interested.  Annie isn't too discouraged because she has done Fuller Brush, Mary Kay, and has a few loyal Avon customers, so she knows how people are.  She says her area is depressed anyway.  She has homework, a manual to understand and a way to track everyone she and I are calling.  It is challenging.  I'm thinking maybe this really isn't for her.  Then on Sunday, she called to say she was definitely going to quit.  Man.  I have so much invested in this lady.  Three different packages of printed material, a check to cover postage to mail back a product her one customer asked for and then didn't want, lots of time and energy.  Am I crazy to keep this up? 

I've been waiting for years for someone to show up with this much excitement in their voice, this willingness to give me her top 20 reasons and her list of names and call me several times a day to tell me who she's met that might be a prospect.  She is so eager.  Exactly what Dale Calvert calls "Ignorance on Fire".  I love this lady.  We laugh, make calls, comment on the people, and have a really good time.  I'm loving this collaboration.  And now she says her husband insists she quit.

My husband was sick and dying when I was building my business years ago.  I worked it hard because I knew when he was gone, I'd want the income and the community this business provides in the customers and the builders I'd be working with.  I explain this to her.  I encourage her to sit with her husband, to make no phone calls for a couple days, do be by his side, but not to make a decision yet.

Do I cut my losses?  Do I say we're done?  Do I just wait to see what happens next?  I have her names. 

What a rollercoaster.  What would Dale Calvert do?  He'd say "Next!" And I am saying that too.

I took time to play-- go to the ballet with my daughter and enjoy having a couple grandsons spend the night.  Life is good, really good in spite of the volunteer business ups and downs.  And my sales are very good this month.  Shaklee just dropped a big check in my bank account, nearly $3000 which will help pay for a couple trips I'm taking with my grandson in the early Spring.  All is well. 

Thanks for reading,  Betsy

Mixed Review

So, Gentle Reader, today several things on my list slipped and I am still going to bed too late to get 7 - 8 hours of sleep. Not quite enough phoning. what happens is I have 20 minutes and am not sure who I should call. What's the cure for this? A better list? Better priorities for which list to go for first? Ideally I should be able to sit down for 30 minutes and know exactly who needs a call and efficiently go for it.

I left the thank you's, both email and snail mail off the list again. Not good for customer service. Where is the most efficient place to put that in the day?

I attended two meetings taking up 5 hrs of the day. Hung out laundry and brought it in (a sheer pleasure as was the 2+ mile walk to one of the meetings.) The Chamber meeting gave me good networking opportunities and a possible new customer and I already followed up and set an appointment with her, so that's a big plus.

Had an excellent phoning and training session with my downline, Millie. Must make calls on her behalf tomorrow. Lots of cold calls into her area dialing for professionals. This is a high priority. she is working hard. I need to work hard for her.

I need to support another downline, Michelle, and make calls for her.

Did some good exercise and writing and recorded all the scrolls and my affirmations on a tape, a long overdue project. I'm very pleased with that progress.

I was glad to be able to respond when the Chamber of Commerce asked me for a door prize. It turns out that the Get Clean line is the easiest way in.

To be satisfied with my progress, I must get the calls and thank you's in. When a child calls, I want to show up to them, especially if the news is big as it was with Cynthia and Alicia. Over all there was balance, yes, but slightly under par performance if my goal is Ex. Coor. And it is!

Shall I not be too hard on myself? What do you think?

Betsy

Working hard enough to reach my goal

Dear Reader, In preparation for a class today, I examined the thoughts that came up in answer to the question: what must I change to be successful in my business? First I thought about all the people who don't respect MLM and that if they had a better opinion of network marketing, I would be successful. Then it occurred to me that if I just worked more, I would be successful. I needed more time. Time would provide the success I want.

To deepen that idea, I asked myself when was the first time I realized I wanted more time to spend on something to make it as good as my picture of it This has been true most of my life: a great idea of an outcome and then feeling that the project didn't quite make it because I didn't devote enough time to it. If I only had spent the required time, I would have been unqualified in my satisfaction with the outcome.

There was one project that completely satisfied me. I trained adequately--long hours and exacting practice. I successfully climbed Mt. Shasta with the Breast Cancer Fund. I was physically happy and psychologically pleased with my performance. It was my very best. I did not summit. The choice to stop and rest at 12,900 ft. is one of the triumphs of the experience.

When I thought about the kind of support I had to achieve this goal, being accountable to all the many people who donated to the Breast Cancer Fund on my behalf was a big part of it. I blogged about my training, my feelings as I prepared for this terrifying effort. It was a long process beginning in December and building until the climb itself in July, 8 months focussed on fitness, diet, fundraising, attitude. I took the time necessary to reach my goal.

Why not do the same thing with my business? When I began my Shaklee career, I was in a large class of beginners attending a weekly meeting, each student accompanied by our sponsor and coached by the leading sales leaders in the area. We had homework and assignments each week which I faithfully completed even though I was working a full time job, had family and volunteer obligations. Out of the entire class, two of us broke out as 2000PV sales leaders at the end of the 90 days.

I have never been able to repeat that intensity, although I maintained it to the point of earning a bonus car at 5000PV.

I have had the goal of becoming an Executive Coordinator since the first Shaklee convention I attended, 1990. Now I am going to reach that goal. Blogging honestly and frequently about my progress will help me stay on track, take the time I need to achieve this goal and do the things I need to do. Daily reports will keep me honest. No fudging allowed.

I count on you, gentle reader, to help me with your support. Cut me no slack. HOld me to my desired outcome.

Good night! Betsy