Please Read This First Before Asking Me About Medifast

This post is because of the countless questions I’ve been asked and the countless long phone calls I’ve been on with people talking with them about Medifast.

This post might rub you, dear reader, the wrong way and know that was never my intent. I am just going to do a tell all here rather than continue spend hours on the phone with people who a) buy the food and quit or b) never even try. Every time I talk to someone about it they do with a or b..and it makes me wonder why I even bothered spending my time trying to help.

It is so very frustrating..so, here goes.

1 year ago I weighed about 170 pounds. I say “about” because I stopped weighing at 160 pounds but from looking back at pictures I think 170 is a conservative estimate.

Today, May 3 2012, I weigh 119 pounds with no exercise. (Click picture for full size)

Here’s the secret. Medifast. You can read all about it at their website. In fact, I will just only tell you about my experience with it. If you do it, good for you. If you don’t, that’s your choice.

I started Medifast because I got a severe ankle sprain. I have loose ligaments meaning I can do several of those double-jointed tricks. The downside was I had no idea until AFTER this injury.

• I started out by counting calories. What I found, though, was that my large sweet tea from McDonalds was taking up more of my calorie “budget” than I wanted so, I was drinking my calories and was missing out on the protein/carb balance so I had to change that habit eventually. I probably lost about 10 pounds counting calories.

• Then I started using the Wii Fit and lost about 10 more pounds. The Wii Fit requires you to do it barefoot. Seeing as I have no arches (due to the loose ligaments as I found out later) I sprained my ankle something FIERCE. It was a 8-9 month ordeal. I saw 2 orthopedic surgeons. Both told me I would have to have surgery and that it would be 12 months before I could walk again.

I decided that I had to keep losing weight so I could at least have a chance at recovery through physical therapy. David, my husband, had seen someone’s Medifast results in a forum once and did it himself with amazing results so I though I could give it a try.

With his encouragement, I ordered a full month’s supply. I kicked and screamed over it though. I loved food. I didn’t want to quit eating whatever I wanted. But I knew I needed to.

I was a sweet tea or coke a day kind of person before Medifast and now it has been 1 year since I have had sweet tea OR a full strength soda. Now, lots of people say sugar substitute causes cancer but you know what? I have bad genes as it is and we’re all going to die one of these days I might as well die in the body I want!

Here’s the deal:

Medifast is a 5 and 1 meal plan. You eat 5 of their meals and 1 lean and green meal a day. There is a chart that even tells you the leanest of the lean to the fairly lean meats.

1.  I ordered the pre-selected foods on the women’s plan. My advice- try the bars, shakes, puddings and brownies.
2. The peach tea is TERRIBLE. The soups are okay, but they take too long to make. The eggs are actually good but, again, they take time to prepare. The oatmeals were tolerable at first but then I began to hate the taste of them- they also take time to make.  (see a trend here?) I wanted a quick, easy solution and the bars and such fit the bill.
3. The hardest part was the first 3 days. Your body has to adjust to the lower calorie intake so I suggest starting the plan on a Friday.
4. David was VERY supportive and we went through and donated any pastas or otherwise unhealthy food/snacks we had left.
5. I began to really get into the My Medifast forums. You will find lots of tools, support, recipes, and the like. Reading and connecting with other Medifasters really helped me in the early weeks of the process.

My goal was to get down to 130 pounds.

I noticed inches coming off before I noticed weight. My clothes were getting baggy. I kept with it. I lost a few pounds at a time until they all started adding up. Down 1 dress size. Then another. And if I failed (and I did cheat ALL the time. My biggest fail was cheese dip) then I just ate my next Medifast meal on time. The weight came off and I kept going.

That’s the long and short of it. Commit to the program. Commit to eating the food. Commit to your own success and you WILL LOSE WEIGHT. I cheated, was physically unable to exercise, and actually lost MORE than my goal weight on Medifast.

And, for the record, I get paid NOTHING to tell you about Medifast. I want people to know that if I can do it (and I am one of the weakest willed people in the world when it comes to food) then THEY can do it.

I kept the weight off for 6 months without being on Medifast. I got down to 124 pounds.

• I ate the same concept of 6 meals a day- Egg whites and turkey bacon, a fruit, sugar free yogurt, a turkey unwich wrap (no bread, just lettuce) maybe some crabstick by itself, and then a lean and green meal.

I gained nothing back but I felt like giving Medifast another go a few weeks ago to see what other inches come off because I’m happy with what the scale says. With the inches lost a few more pounds did come off, though. Now I’m down to 119 and a size 7.  I started at a size 14/16.

I no longer have a craving for sweets, just salty foods from time to time. And when I get weak I use the My Fitness Pal iPhone app to look at the food I was considering. If I discover it is loaded with calories then I just choose something else, or only eat it without the bread, etc. This way I’m still in control of my cravings. I have them, but I choose what I do with them.

You can do this. Stop being afraid. After you’ve read this then decide for yourself.. do you want your life back?

I know I left some things out because I wrote this pretty hastily last night… if I failed to cover something you wanted to know about just let me know!

——————————————————

Update

Current weight: 117-119, current size 2-4 (achieved with good eating habits, exercise, and Hot Pants 

here are some items I seemed to order most:

Item	Type	Quantity	Price Each	Your Total Price**
Dutch Chocolate 55 Shake Item Code: 51710	Box	2	$16.50	$27.12
Brownie with real chocolate chips Item Code: 57500	Box	2	$16.50	$27.12
Chocolate Chip Pancakes Item Code: 57710	Box	2	$16.50	$27.12
Chocolate Crunch Bar Item Code: 64805	Box	3	$16.50	$40.68
Chocolate Mint Crunch Bar Item Code: 64905	Box	2	$16.50	$27.12
S’more Crunch Bar Item Code: 65455	Box	3	$16.50	$40.68
Chocolate Pudding Item Code: 57400	Box	1	$16.50	$13.54

Medifast is a tool, your body is the machine. Was it hard? Sometimes- but it would have been harder had I try to achieve the same results without Medifast.

5 Signs Your MLM Might Be In Trouble

This is no April Fool’s… here are some potential warning signs that your MLM company could be in trouble.

Here’s how I know… because every single one of these happened to come degree to the company (companies) I promoted from 2007-2011. I say companies because the owner of the MLM repeatedly changed the name and products and I got grandfathered in (and opted in) to the new opportunities after each change.

I saw 5 companies be born..and struggle. Most failed. 2 are still officially operating but, like most things in business that could always change at any moment.

1. Your company introduces additional products or services that seemingly have nothing to do with the name or culture of your company.

It could just be diversification, which is always a potential way to generate more income..but watch out. If new things keep getting added it could also mean that your company is unable to produce enough income from its main product or service alone..which means it is struggling

2. Your company NEVER meets deadlines (i.e. they fail to follow through) This includes payment deadlines, website launch deadlines, and the like.

If your company keeps saying “XZY will be launched on such and such date” or “Direct deposits will appear at so and so time” etc and they never do, or are VERY VERY late…that’s a huge red flag that there’s trouble. Missing a deadline once is bad, but still forgivable. Missing every single deadline? Get out while you still can!

3. Your company keeps extending exclusive advance-in-rank promotions. Over and over and over. 

This means that nobody is producing the way the company expected. Or nobody is producing AT ALL. If your company extends a promotion once.. awesome. Take advantage of it. If they keep extending it..and extending it…and extending it.. that’s a big clue that the company is struggling because people are failing to advance, which means customers and reps have stopped being gathered…which means money troubles for the company itself.

4. Nobody answers the Corporate phone number and/or returns your calls/emails.

DUH! There is something amiss here! If you’re paying them a monthly fee to be a distributor and they’ve stopped responding STOP PAYING THEM because it is very likely they’re about to disappear from the face of the earth.

5.  The name of your company keeps changing with very little (or no) warning.

This is also a big BIG red flag. Rebranding is difficult but sometimes necessary in today’s market,  but if you find your company is constantly trying to reinvent itself with little or no heads up to the field of representatives promoting that company then perhaps the company itself is trying to run from something. Could be reputation problems, money troubles, bad partnerships, etc. but seriously. Trust your gut here. If it keeps happening… run.

Did I miss any red flags of company failure? Let me know!

10 Tips to Save Money in 2012

WOW! It’s 2012 and it’s almost the second month of 2012, at that! So, many people make resolutions around this time of year but how many keep them?

My challenge to you if, if you NEED IT, to get in control of your finances this year. Some people are already on top of their money, but most people can always save or spend more wisely.

I have some homework for you- all of things things have helped me become even more financially mature.

1. Watch the Suze Orman Show every Saturday night 8 central on CNBC. You can also download the podcast for free on iTunes.

2. Take a look at these 20 ways to trim up your budget- things like ditching cable tv and using Netflix streaming instead, use coupons, use cash back credit or debit cards, shop online via eBates, etc.

3. Watch Till Debt Do Us Part every Saturday night at 9 central on CNBC if you DO decide to keep your cable.

4. Watch The Money Class on Oprah’s OWN channel that premiered 1/9/2012 if you keep your cable, or check out the online material.

5. Eat dinner at home! We did this last Monday-Friday and we saved at least $75  ($15x 5 days)

If you like a particular type of food learn how to cook it at home and be amazed at how much you save!

Our vice was sushi. We would send $35 or more plus tip every time we went out to eat sushi (about 2+ times a month) so, to lessen the financial blow, we picked up this tool called the Sushezi on Amazon, watched MySushiDaddy on Youtube and taught ourselves to make some pretty darn good crabstick based sushi- plus we’re saving a bundle!

6. Pick up every piece of change you see on the ground- I mean, come it- it’s free money!

7. BUDGET! It makes a difference! Try using this budget calculator 

8. Shop at your local thrift stores. I have purchased brand new looking clothes from names like Abercrombie & Fitch, Eddie Bauer, Gap, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, Express, etc. just by shopping at thrift stores and I’ve saved a bundle of money doing it!

9. If you have stocks check to see if they have a DRIP program- (Dividend Reinvestment Plans) If so, enroll. This takes your stock’s dividends and automatically reinvests them in fractional shares of the stock, so, in essence, saving you money. Also take  a look at these no cost DRIPs.

10. Buy store brand instead of name brand at the grocery store. I have bought store brand for years and for most products I am unable to tell a difference in the taste and quality when compared side by side with a brand name product. PLUS they’re less expensive!

Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!

How do you intend to save money this year?

A Modern Woman’s Guide To Attracting A Mate

Even though I am happily married and the advances are unwanted I get hit on all the time, even when I was overweight (and as a result was less outgoing) and I wanted to share my secrets in hope it will help someone else, or at least give folks a good laugh.

It dawned on me that a lot of women I know are looking for that special  someone in their lives and struggle to find that person. You may wonder why I’m saying person and mate- well, I’m an equal opportunity kind of person and while I’m writing this with a woman and man in mind, I imagine these tips could benefit the lesbian community…but I highly doubt these will work for men. If they do, let me know!

So, without further adieu, here’s how!

And yes, I really did do these things and I really did get hit on while doing them.

The 4 most successful semi-humorous semi-serious tips for attracting a mate:

1. Dress down: (this is the most important tip of all!)

Women looking for love- stop looking like you care about your appearance! I mean, wash your face and take a shower and such, but stop doing your hair, stop wearing makeup, stop looking like you care! EVERY time I get hit on it is when my hair is a curly mess, I have sweats or jeans and a t-shirt on, or am wearing scrubs. I wish I had pictures of how I looked when I got hit on but trust me, it was “What Not to Wear”-ish. I have no explanation of why this attracts attention but it does. Just do it!

2. Attitude is everything

Stop acting like you care about your appearance and/or about getting a mate. Very few people are looking to be in a relationship with someone who physically appears, gives off an vibe of, or IS desperate. Once you stop caring about how you look and stop caring about if you’ll get in a relationship you’ll start noticing a big difference! People are attracted to confidence. Since desperation is the total opposite of confidence you can see why desperate people (even those who just look like it or give off a desperate vibe) are single.

3. Be your natural self and stop looking for/expecting attention:

This goes along with dressing down and wearing no makeup. I get hit on ALL THE TIME when I’m a) not expecting it and b) being myself without even realizing that dude is paying attention to me. Still be aware of your surroundings because that’s just being safe but stop physically (or mentally) eyeing prospective mates from across the room.

4. Smile:

Smile at strangers, smile at service people, smile at mean people- just SMILE! Your happiness comes through to complete strangers when you smile and your dreamboat is looking for someone who is happy, confident, and kind. Besides, we all know smiling is contagious so share your joy with others by smiling.

Embracing these tips will surely help to attract love to your life, be it romantic or platonic.

Will it bright your perfect match? Perhaps- but if nothing else at least you’ll have more possibilities for romance!

What are your tips for attracting love?

 

What a Craigslist Housing Scam Looks Like

For anybody who has ever looked for rentals online…you need to know this to protect your hard earned money!

Recently my husband got orders out of state so I’ve been doing the best I can to find a home online (or at least discover what areas look good via steet view)

When replying to various Craigstlist and Trulia ads I have received no less than 30 fake scam responses. Most are exactly word for word, others use a bit of a different writing style.

I wanted to post one of the more generic responses I’ve received in an effort to just let other house hunters aware of what a scam looks like.

The big tip off: a nice house, or home in a nice area, for the same price as the less desirable areas. For instance, this came from a home that actually exists in Mustang OK. Those homes rent for $1,000 and above. This was for a 2200 sq ft rental for something like $650. The listing has since been flagged and removed or I’d post their ad, too.

I knew it was a scam and thought I’d mess with them a bit.

I sent a generic ”is this still available” email and got this:

Thanks for your email, I personally own the house, I want my property to be well taken good care of, and there are some rules and regulation in which I do give out to tenant willing to rent my house so please don’t disrespect my order But if you are still capable of renting my house the rules and regulation goes this way
You must keep my house clean including the surrounding, you must know the way in which you use the stove so as to avoid fire outbreak,you must not disturb the neighbor.I decided to rent out the property due to our transfer to (West Africa) on a Missionary Work in a church here named World Mission, so we are renting it out since we need someone to take good care of the property on our absent. Don’t be surprise if you find the home with another site and deference price, I have plan to rent it through Real estate before, but they are not serious simply because they have a lot of house to lease out And they added some money to the rent while there commission is not fair.
Have this in mind you must know the kind of person that I’m nevertheless I am giving you this rules because of what corresponded between me and my last tenant. the keys and documents are with us here in West Africa… So I will need to ship them to you before you can occupy the house But you can drive by the house anytime to take a look at the area and surrounding, You can also peek through the windows if you don’t mind.

let me know if you are still interested so that I can forward you the Rental Questionnaire to fill out…

Number of Bedrooms:4
Number of baths:2
Square footage:2,200
Pets are welcome!!!
Rent:$650
Refundable security Deposit:$600
House Address: [withheld]

Thanks and God bless you.

Donny R Morgan,

These types are the more sloppy emails I’ve seen. Some scammers use better writing which makes it more difficult to detect right off the bat.

The big red flags in this one are:

1. the broken english
2. the fact that the “owner” is out of the country
3. that pets are welcome (most high end rentals in this area do not allow pets)
4. and that they have to mail the keys to you.

I actually messed with another scammer for a long time-up until the point where they told me where to send the money (western union of course). The address he gave me for his flat in London? A LONDON COFFEE SHOP.

I seriously considered telling him I sent the money and for him to be waiting for it, etc. but got distracted and never did.

These scammers take legitimate MLS and FSBO listing information and pictures and post them as their own. Then when (and hopefully rarely) the unsuspecting renter sends their deposit and first month’s rent to the scammer that person is out the money and without a place  to live.

Tips to avoid a scam:

1. Google the phone number in the listing. See who or what company is it.
2. Aim to work only with property mangers. Their listings tend to have a phone number or website in the post.
3. Got an email address in the listing? Google it to see if what comes up
4. When dealing with a private party rental- BE. CAREFUL. Period. It’s more of a risk than renting with a property manager or real estate agent. If the price is too good to be true..it probably is.

Get informed, tell someone about this, and help keep yourself and loved ones from being scammed!

The Thing About MLM Opportunities Is

….that eventually all things come to an end and those hardcore MLM’ers are left without a company to promote so what happens? Those people and their teams move on to other companies.

That’s just what happens.

If this has happened to you then you know how it is- all those people are now contacting you about their latest greatest comp plan, product, service, and/or company promotion.

Tip: If reps keep asking you to join and you really have no interest TELL THEM THAT. If the pitching continues then maybe you need to stop engaging in conversation with them for a while until they get the picture.

They want you to join.But should you? Well, that’s just up to you but never let yourself feel pressured to join a company just because “everybody else from the old company is doing it.”

That’s why I’ve passed on iZigg. It seems cool enough at first glance but I’m done with selling something.

I hate asking people to spend their own money to be my customer in a network marketing sales situation, which in turn earns me a commission. That just makes me feel icky. Now, some people are naturals in the selling department and there is nothing wrong with that. I just dislike how it makes me feel because I know I would be reluctant to spend my hard earned money on a product or service  that it a want rather than a need

Now, in iZigg’s case it is a tool for business owners to use so it’s less a “want” and more a need , but I personally think text-to campaigns are a bit spammy and I personally hate marketing texts to my phone.

Then there’s the Body By Vi 90 day challenge which is the MLM company ViSalus Sciences. Hulk Hogan is using and promoting their product, as well as some other celebrities. It seems to work, but here’s my beef- I already lost weight on Medifast (a non MLM product) and am in the transition phase.

I really want to avoid getting off one diet and getting on another health/diet product..and Medifast has been around since the 80′s..Vi? Not so much. I have trust issues when it comes to less established products.

I keep getting asked what I’m doing now..well, I’m waiting for something free or inexpensive that customers already use or actually need to come out that I can market in my immediate local area (that WORKS and does everything the company says it will) with proven leadership… until then, I’m finding other things to do to pass the time and earn some coin.

If you’re in one of the companies I mentioned or referred to and it’s what you want to do and you love it.. then  that’s awesome.. go you! This is just where I stand right now.

Carry on!

 

Standing up to scammers

If you have ever been scammed then you know the feeling. You get solicited for something. They make it sound so good. You might even have a bad feeling about it but you pay them your hard earned money anyway because of how good they make it sound.

Then you start googling them or their company.

After what you find the realization that you’ve just been scammed begins to set in.

It’s a HORRIBLE feeling that I wish nobody would ever have to experience. I know because I just got scammed.

Here’s what happened. I got solicited from someone telling me they’ll put me on page 1 of bing and yahoo, etc.

As you know we just got military orders to move to Oklahoma City. This means selling our house and 1 car because we have too many vechicles and as renters in our new place we have to place to put it.

So, this means we are busy packing and showing the house. This guy called me and I told him we were right in the middle of it. I kept avoiding his sales pitches by talking about the weather, etc. He was GOOD. He kept saying “so what’s the billing address this will go to” and after the 4th time or so I fell for it. My brain went into online shopping mode and I started telling him my credit card number.

I KNOW RIGHT? What was wrong with me? I was in the middle of a stressful big life event and fell for his persistence, that’s what.

I called back 5 minutes later and asked him to cancel the campaign. He said okay but that I had already been charged the set up fee and that was non-refundable.

Well, then I start googling. He gave me a fake name. He told me he owned the company, when in fact his wife does and he’s nowhere on the corporate paperwork. Etc. Etc.

I tried calling him twice but he “just stepped out,” of course. Sent 2 emails-they went unanswered.

Well, he called me today. It turned into 14 minutes of me letting him have it in the most productive, professional way possible. He argued marketing and advertising semantics with me (bad idea, I was an English major) then I told him what else I know that he lied/deceived me about.

He did provide the work only it was incorrect. The ad title was for services, the copy and the link were for the business opportunity so there was the inconsistency in the marketing I was telling him about. He said as long as it redirects to the correct site that’s okay. I told him “based on your logic and business practices you can advertise puffy pink poodles and redirect to the client’s site that’s okay- do you see the problem with that?”

He even said he felt bad (I told him good that he should) and when I said I couldn’t believe I fell for it he said it wasn’t my fault. Interesting.

Long story short. He refused to refund me. It was not much money compared to what OTHER people have been scammed from but it’s the principle and I’m glad I at least fought.

I hope I put a dent in his day- at least a 14 minute dent- and that maybe he will consider the people he solicits and think of them as people not dollar signs.

I’m out that money but I hope this will encourage people to stand up and confront those who scam them, lie to them, and deceive them in the future. I feel better knowing I told him exactly what I thought was wrong with what he did and how he did it.

Even if they refuse to give you a refund maybe you made an impact on them somewhere deep inside their hearts. Karma will get them somehow if they fail to change their ways, anyway!

BE BRAVE. Stand up for what’s right. And if you get upset when you confront them that’s okay too. I was so mad I cried a little. Those who know me know that’s a rare, but it happened and I am unashamed.

 

How to set up a WordPress Ecommerce Site In 5 Easy Steps

I just built my first WordPress e-commerce site for a paying client and wanted to share my experience.

This post will be best suited for: a business owner trying to set up their own e-commerce site on WordPress or b: someone trying to do the above, but for a client.

(pre-steps 1. buy a domain 2. buy hosting 3. install wordpress)

1. Theme: There are several WordPress themes that are optimized for the various shopping cart plugins out there like wp e-commerce and eshop. Many themes will work, however, even though they make no claims to be officially optimized for those carts.

2. Merchant account, payment gateway, and shopping cart: Normally these would be 3 separate bullet points but there’s a reason why they’re together- keep reading!

The client is responsible for setting up their business bank account, their merchant account, and payment gateway but they had no clue (this was their first online e-commerce venture) and neither did I so we worked together on this one.

There are many merchant accounts to choose from. These clients were considering Paypal, or a local bank’s merchant account. There are also several payment gateways available. The most well known (and widely supported by WordPress shopping cart plugins) are Authorize.net and Paypal.

Luckily with the suggestion of a seasoned e-commerce entrepreneur we got the client set up with this WordPress compatible shopping cart, 1shoppingcart. This is all online and is easily integrated with Quickbooks.

This is NOT a plugin, however. You simple use the URL’s provided in the 1shoppingcart online interface within your WordPress posts or pages and you’re DONE!

1shoppingcart has a SSL built in and they also offer their own merchant account with a payment gateway built in, e-onlinedata.

The pricing was within my client’s budget and was fairly inexpensive especially considering that we got the merchant account, payment gateway, and shopping cart knocked out in one fell swoop.

3. Plugins used:

All In One SEO Pack

Contact Form 7

kStats Reloaded

Share and Follow

Shockingly Simple Favicon

w3 Total Cache

WordPress Backup (by BTE)

4. I ran free stress tests on the site via Loadimpact.com

5. I submitted the site to search engines for free  using this handy tool.

The client is thrilled and is already starting to show on page 1 of Google for some of their keywords. All in all, pretty good for my first time and the client and I are both happy with it.

Now are there better plugins out there for this application? Probably. There’s no way I could have found them all but so far these are working like a champ.

Got something to say? Know a better plugin that one I used? Leave a comment and let me know!

 

4 Valuable Prospecting Tips

My husband and I were discussing sales, customer relationships, and why sales is so often considered a bad word and here are just some of the conclusions we came to.

1. The relationship with the customer is the most important thing. If you can make them feel good (and I encourage people to be GENUINE here) about their decision then they will buy and will buy from you again. This equals potential customer referrals, as well, which is always a plus.

2. In sales if you can get the customer to come to you your job is 1/2 way done. They are interested. They are looking to buy, price, evaluate, etc.

3. It is getting customers to come to you that most people struggle with because it’s a combination of skill, luck, BRAVERY, and timing. If you get your feelings hurt easily you’ll never make it. If you let rejection linger you’ll never make it. You have to remember that sales is a numbers game. Most will say no but a FEW will say yes. All any salesperson (or self employed business owner!)  needs is a few yes’s ever so often to meet their personal goals!

4. There is a way to create a sense of urgency without being pushy. For instance, in car sales: someone calls on the phone about a car you have in your online inventory. At the end you say “when are you ready to come test drive it? “When would be a good time for you to come down here and give it a spin?” etc. That requires an answer besides a yes or no on their part. See how that works?

Here is a personal example of taking  I had a totally random stranger send me an email through one of my business websites asking to get together and that she was very interested. I emailed her back that next business day. NO response for other a week. So I sent her this today:

Hi, XXXXXXXXX

You had emailed me last week asking about information about Ampegy. I emailed you back that next day. I just wanted to let you  know there is a huge momentum going on in your area (I checked based on your phone area code).

If you want more information be on this call tonight at 8pm central (6 pm pacific I believe)
1-605-475-4486, access code 62269

This will be my last attempt to reach you. If you’re interested, let’s rock and roll and make you some money!

————————————————————————-

I got a response back that same hour saying they would be on the call tonight and that they wanted to follow up with me afterwards. Now is this a guaranteed hot lead? No. It’s never a guarantee until they act, buy, join, etc.

But it’s a hotter lead than had I never tried to contact them a second time OR had I phrased it differently like “I’d like for you to see this but if you don’t like it that’s okay it’s not for everyone” etc.

 

Awakenings: Learning From Our Mistakes

How many awakenings will one experience in their lifetime? Growing up I just assumed that everyone only had maybe 1 or 2 in their life but that’s out the window now because I have had 2 major awakenings in the last 3 years so I imagine that the average self aware adult has the potential to have at least a dozen different eye-opening experiences in the span of their life.

The first awakening I can remember was about 6 months after my closest friend passed away unexpectedly.  After he died I went into auto-pilot. I truthfully have no idea how I completed tasks at my corporate home-office job or around the house for those 6 months.

Anyway- I distinctly remember sitting at my desk one morning at work and it was as if someone had removed a veil from my eyes. I looked around. Looked down at my desk and realized I HATED MY JOB. LOATHED IT. I am sure that I would have quit earlier had I not been mourning my friend those 6 months. I was promoting a travel company then on the side and shortly after that day I resigned to pursue the travel referral business full time. This travel company later morphed into what caused my second awakening.

The second major awakening happened just recently and is still in the process of happening. I started promoting a web-based shopping rewards company in 2009 and due to the bad press that one  blogger who specialized in SEO started it crashed and burned right after launch. I fought every day to publish positive content on 2 self-funded blogs about the company, and endured just about every other hardship you can imagine.  I, along with about 30 others who were just as dedicated as I was really shouldered a heavy burden that included the loss of friends and loss of credibility.

I only just recently started realizing that this ship may be unable to continue sailing. I could be wrong. It may have an awesome comeback, and I hope it does. This is beside the point. The awakening was this: I sold out. I sold out to a company (that I honestly believed in) when you’re really only supposed to sell out to your team and yourself in this industry.

Companies come and go. Trends change but teams- if successful teams stick together then they will make money in any company!

In this awakening I have a mixture of feelings- heightened maturity as I look back  but also some slight embarrassment and disbelief that I really acted that young and naive at ages 23-26. While I really WAS young and fairly naive I still thought that I would find my niche just by throwing myself into it because that’s how I achieved other things before.

I knew nothing about business, business relationships, or the network marketing industry and I never recommend approaching a business by totally immersing yourself blindly. That was a bad idea so I hope you learn from my mistakes!

While I have learned a LOT I also failed at A LOT. I will try to take that experience and move forward because you can only get really GOOD at something after you’ve sucked at it.

Remember- it is about the team. It is about sticking together. It is about making mistakes and learning from them.

What major awakenings have you experienced? Feel free to share!