You know that old saying "Out of the mouths of babes".
My son is 7 years old and gives me so much joy. But as a typical child (and boy child to boot!) there is just no telling what will come out of that boy's mouth sometimes! We have a lot of fun, always a few laughs and some learning experiences.
I want to share an experience where I actually learned something about my business and industry recently from my young son.
Television is not a thing that is on in our house a lot. As a former educator I know too well what too much television does to children. I prefer things that are educational or interactive to watching my son sit in front of the square box getting square eyes. I'm probably one of the very few American households that doesn't have cable television or satellite!
Last fall on one of the occassions where I did have the television on, my son discovered the game show "Deal Or No Deal". He absolutely loves it and it's one of the few programs we watch on a regular basis. He knows the models by name and even does a very good Howie imitation!
Lately, Howie Mandel has been on the Million Dollar Mission on Deal Or No Deal. Those of you that are watching know what I'm talking about.
The other day my son and I were talking and out of the blue he came out with the fact that I was on a Million Dollar Mission with our Gourmet Candle business. "After all Mom you always say our candle business is going to make us a million dollars someday".
Out of the mouths of babes!
Is Network Marketing and the company I'm with like being on a Million Dollar Mission? After thinking about it I've joined the conclusion YES YES YES!
My son and I had a little fun with what he said and drew some neat parallels. Ones that a seven year old can relate to. Now when I am making recruiting calls or talking to my team he understands this is part of our Million Dollar Mission. Is Mom going to make another call? Deal Or No Deal?
We came up with reasons why the business was our Million Dollar Mission. Whys are important even to seven year olds.
Just like the game show Deal Or No Deal, it's a game of chance because you don't know who you are going to meet next or what opportunity lies around the corner. Even a chance encounter can lead to a customer or new distributor on your team.
Just like the show, it's a game of endurance because slow and steady wins the race. Bail out too soon and you miss the possible Million Dollar payday at the end. You have to hang in there and weather the bumps (like when you open a high dollar case) and see it through to the end.
Just like on the show, sometimes when you open a case there are disappointments or discouragements when the number is high. In our business we have some of those too. Not everyone is a receptive audience to what we have to say. We have to open more cases because the more we open the more chance we have of attaining our Million Dollar Mission.
We came up with the idea that every new contact, every phone call, every meeting was like a case on the show. You have to spend time and open the case to see what's inside.
What is inside could be your next big sale or a slight disappointment but we have to keep on keeping on! It's a game of chance, remember! If you keep opening the cases (contacts) you are well on your way to your Million Dollar Mission.
Our Million Dollar Mission offers lots of fun....new customers to discover and new team members to meet. Just make the contact (open the case) and see what is inside and what lies ahead.
Am I ready to make that next phone call? Or hand out that next scent sample? Or talk to someone you meet in your daily life about your candle business? Deal Or No Deal? I say DEAL!
Ready to follow up on the next fundraiser? Book the next home party? Do the next expo or show? Deal Or No Deal? I say DEAL!
Are you making your business your Million Dollar Mission? Will you see it through to the end? To see the rewards as great and take those daily action steps? Do you see our business as the vehicle to make your Million Dollar Mission a reality in your life? Deal Or No Deal? (Again I say DEAL!)
We had a lot of fun with this here at home and are continuing our Million Dollar Mission into 2008 and beyond....
Are you? How many cases are you going to open today? This week? When you get that disappointment are you ready to move on and open the next case? Will you see it through to the end and win the Million Dollar Mission? Deal Or No Deal? My son and I had lots of fun with this and say DEAL!
I know this family plans on winning this Million Dollar Mission! Stay tuned!
Dawn Mathisen
$10K Diamond Distributor/Team Leader
Southwest Florida
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
What Made Me Who I Am Today - My Introduction
My story is much like many of your's out there.
I am the oldest of three children. My father was a great provider and worked hard to be and attain what he did in his life. He worked sometimes at two jobs and became college educated with three children in the early 1970's. Not an easy task to work and take college credits and I respect and appreciate him for it.
My mother worked in my younger years but once there were three of us it just made sense to stay home. In my parent's generation, one income households were more the norm and daycare wasn't a word you heard on a daily basis.
Maybe I'm dating myself a little there. I'm not secretive or ashamed of my age since I'm in my 40's now. I've come to terms with aging and truthfully the only way I would ever consider going back is if I knew then what I know now.
Among my friends and peer group daycare costs and issues are a constant struggle for most working mothers and it's one of the many examples of how our world has changed since the days of my childhood.
I always did well in school and got a scholarship to college. But of the three of us I was the one who was less the traditionalist if you will. My brother and sister both pursued the college thing to it's end but I didn't. I think it's because I did not so much subscribe to the teaching of go to college, get a job, retire, live happily ever after.
I saw how that did not work for my grandparents and many seniors around me who seemed to struggle or basically made ends meet. The golden years for most are not full of fun, travel, glamor and all those things that working hard and retiring promises. Pensions and social security don't provide that lifestyle for retirees which to me is kind of like a big, broken promise.
My college years were more an exercise in self discovery. Much unlike my high school career which was filled with good grades and extracurricular activities. College was where I found myself. I discovered that I disagreed with some of the teachings of life. I realized I was more a free spirit and didn't buy into the notion that a college degree alone guaranteed you a great job with above average income.
I did what I had to do to get by in college, admittedly. I didn't get the exceptional grades and I don't have any regrets because what I learned about myself to me has more value. It's where my entrepreneurial spirit was born.
At 18 years old I found my first Direct Sales company in the cosmetics and skin care industry. Looking back I know it wasn't a true fit for me and I wasn't so passionate about it but it was my starting point.
Two years into college while working for a real estate company (in a clerical capacity) I decided to leave college and get my real estate license. The call of being my own boss, working for myself in a sense, was stronger than the pursuit of higher education. I could after all make as much as my college educated friends as a realtor.I had the desire to be my own boss. Many of us do. Usually time and the "real world" or the "school of hard knocks" stifles that desire somewhere in us.
It is one of the sad realities for many that the desire to be your own boss gets stifled somewhere. But fortunate for me I became a series of what I term learning experiences that lasted until 2005 where I found my current company and business.
I had thick skin, or a thick skull as my family always thought. I was always into something, some venture, some pursuit of making that lifestyle I dreamed of.
I've had varied work careers which included Realtor, Marketing Director for a title insurance company, travel agent and later travel agency owner, customer service in the insurance and utilities industry and finally as a Helping Teacher with our school district. Quite a resume huh?
You can say and I readily admit I was a jack of all trades, master of none. Everyone needs a job and I enjoyed the jobs I've had in my life. But that call, that inner dream of self employment and creating a lifestyle, was always there.I also tried several Direct Sales and Network Marketing companies that I found only mediocre success with. I loved both industries and totally saw their potential. But I still lacked the burning desire, the passion, the full commitment and conviction that this was the right company and vehicle for me.
So what I lacked back then was the true fit in my life. Somewhere where I felt at home and firmly believed that I had found what could build that dream lifestyle.
Becoming a mother in 2000 forever changed my life. My son was a wonderful gift at 35 years old and I consider him a true blessing in my life! I firmly believe he was meant to be. But with circumstances with his father I also found myself facing single motherhood which to those who are single moms know is rewarding and a struggle at the same time. It can be bittersweet but so worth it!
In 2005 my life was forever changed when I finally reached the end of my quest. I found the company where I now have that burning desire, that level of conviction and commitment and the place I can call home.
I found a company that combined the best of the two industries - Direct Sales and Network Marketing beautifully. With a product line I was naturally crazy about - candles - so my quest has ended and my new venture began.
I will share more about my Gourmet Candle Business and my journey from overworked single mom to WAHM (work at home mom) in my future blogs.
To those who are out there still looking for that fit I have some advice. Find a company and a product line that you feel passionate about. That is of utmost importance to your success in creating not just a life, but a lifestyle, in your own business.
I am the oldest of three children. My father was a great provider and worked hard to be and attain what he did in his life. He worked sometimes at two jobs and became college educated with three children in the early 1970's. Not an easy task to work and take college credits and I respect and appreciate him for it.
My mother worked in my younger years but once there were three of us it just made sense to stay home. In my parent's generation, one income households were more the norm and daycare wasn't a word you heard on a daily basis.
Maybe I'm dating myself a little there. I'm not secretive or ashamed of my age since I'm in my 40's now. I've come to terms with aging and truthfully the only way I would ever consider going back is if I knew then what I know now.
Among my friends and peer group daycare costs and issues are a constant struggle for most working mothers and it's one of the many examples of how our world has changed since the days of my childhood.
I always did well in school and got a scholarship to college. But of the three of us I was the one who was less the traditionalist if you will. My brother and sister both pursued the college thing to it's end but I didn't. I think it's because I did not so much subscribe to the teaching of go to college, get a job, retire, live happily ever after.
I saw how that did not work for my grandparents and many seniors around me who seemed to struggle or basically made ends meet. The golden years for most are not full of fun, travel, glamor and all those things that working hard and retiring promises. Pensions and social security don't provide that lifestyle for retirees which to me is kind of like a big, broken promise.
My college years were more an exercise in self discovery. Much unlike my high school career which was filled with good grades and extracurricular activities. College was where I found myself. I discovered that I disagreed with some of the teachings of life. I realized I was more a free spirit and didn't buy into the notion that a college degree alone guaranteed you a great job with above average income.
I did what I had to do to get by in college, admittedly. I didn't get the exceptional grades and I don't have any regrets because what I learned about myself to me has more value. It's where my entrepreneurial spirit was born.
At 18 years old I found my first Direct Sales company in the cosmetics and skin care industry. Looking back I know it wasn't a true fit for me and I wasn't so passionate about it but it was my starting point.
Two years into college while working for a real estate company (in a clerical capacity) I decided to leave college and get my real estate license. The call of being my own boss, working for myself in a sense, was stronger than the pursuit of higher education. I could after all make as much as my college educated friends as a realtor.I had the desire to be my own boss. Many of us do. Usually time and the "real world" or the "school of hard knocks" stifles that desire somewhere in us.
It is one of the sad realities for many that the desire to be your own boss gets stifled somewhere. But fortunate for me I became a series of what I term learning experiences that lasted until 2005 where I found my current company and business.
I had thick skin, or a thick skull as my family always thought. I was always into something, some venture, some pursuit of making that lifestyle I dreamed of.
I've had varied work careers which included Realtor, Marketing Director for a title insurance company, travel agent and later travel agency owner, customer service in the insurance and utilities industry and finally as a Helping Teacher with our school district. Quite a resume huh?
You can say and I readily admit I was a jack of all trades, master of none. Everyone needs a job and I enjoyed the jobs I've had in my life. But that call, that inner dream of self employment and creating a lifestyle, was always there.I also tried several Direct Sales and Network Marketing companies that I found only mediocre success with. I loved both industries and totally saw their potential. But I still lacked the burning desire, the passion, the full commitment and conviction that this was the right company and vehicle for me.
So what I lacked back then was the true fit in my life. Somewhere where I felt at home and firmly believed that I had found what could build that dream lifestyle.
Becoming a mother in 2000 forever changed my life. My son was a wonderful gift at 35 years old and I consider him a true blessing in my life! I firmly believe he was meant to be. But with circumstances with his father I also found myself facing single motherhood which to those who are single moms know is rewarding and a struggle at the same time. It can be bittersweet but so worth it!
In 2005 my life was forever changed when I finally reached the end of my quest. I found the company where I now have that burning desire, that level of conviction and commitment and the place I can call home.
I found a company that combined the best of the two industries - Direct Sales and Network Marketing beautifully. With a product line I was naturally crazy about - candles - so my quest has ended and my new venture began.
I will share more about my Gourmet Candle Business and my journey from overworked single mom to WAHM (work at home mom) in my future blogs.
To those who are out there still looking for that fit I have some advice. Find a company and a product line that you feel passionate about. That is of utmost importance to your success in creating not just a life, but a lifestyle, in your own business.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
My StumbleUpon Page