Learn To Love Networking And Watch Your Business Grow

by guest blogger, Sam Crowley

On a hot July day several years ago people gathered in droves to drink, talk, and do business. This wasn't a convention, reception or staff outing. The event was called Young Professionals, a local business networking group for, as the name suggests, young working professionals. This event acted as a magnifying glass on the importance of networking in business.

The first thing you'll notice at an event like this will be the amount of people that attend. Discovering an opportunity like in the business world can be a refreshing feeling, especially to those that are constantly scrutinized at work. If nothing else, networking provides members of the business community an outlet to reassure one another that their current job doesn't have to be the only job they ever do. The first step in networking is putting oneself out there to be met by others, and engaging in conversation about business, and life with other likeminded individuals.

The next thing you'll notice at the event are the prevalence of business cards. The importance of business cards in networking is essential. If you have business cards be sure to bring them everywhere, if you don't yet have a card, make one. Many of your employees might be people you'll meet networking for business. If they don't have a business card you won't be able to hire them. Having a business card and distributing it freely will help you become successful at networking. If you need reassurance, look at those that profit off networking the most, real estate agents, stock brokers, and other broker types. Do you ever see a drought in business cards among these individuals? Some people have stacks of cards high enough to hit an 11 foot ceiling.

Another thing you'll notice happening at the event are the unabashed marketing of products, and services. Market your product when networking. What if you don't have a product for sale? You may have a service, or an idea, whatever it may be, market it while networking. You will be surprised at how many people can help you achieve your dream.

A few things you'll want to bring to a meeting are a pen, pad, and something to hold things in, like a portfolio. While networking be sure to take notes if necessary, ask questions of others, and capture the moment. Many rely on fate to bring them to success in business, and life. But for those seasoned veterans of business, and life will tell you, diligence and hard work are as important as anything else.

When you are networking try your best to get the most out of the situation. Next time you are at a networking event, instead of enjoying the free pigs in a blanket, make the most of it by actively networking.

Sam Crowley is a best-selling co-author and motivational speaker. You can see Sam's home business at www.defendyourdream. Sam's mission is to create ten millionaires in the next five years

Greg Cryns
Scentsy wickless candles- http://www.dad6.com/gowickless
http://www.workathomeprofiles.com

Meeting Paul Newman

A Michigan woman and her family were vacationing in a small new England town where Paul Newman and his family often visited.

One Sunday morning, the woman got up early to take a long walk. After a brisk five-mile hike, she decided to treat herself to a double-dip chocolate ice cream cone.

She hopped in the car, drove to the center of the village and went straight to the combination bakery/ice cream parlor.

There was only one other patron in the store, Paul Newman, sitting at the counter having a doughnut and coffee.

The woman's heart skipped a beat as her eyes made contact with those famous
baby-blue eyes.

The actor nodded graciously and the star struck woman smiled demurely.

Pull yourself together! She chides herself. You're a happily married woman with three children, you're forty-five years old, not a teenager!

The clerk filled her order and she took the double-dip chocolate ice cream cone in one hand and her change in the other. Then she went out the door, avoiding even a glance in Paul Newman's direction.

When she reached her car, she realized that she had a handful of change but her other hand was empty. Where's my ice cream cone? Did I leave it in the store? Back into the shop she went, expecting to see the cone still in the clerk's hand or in a holder on the counter or something. No ice cream cone was in sight.

With that, she happened to look over at Paul Newman. His face broke into his familiar grin and he said to the woman,"'You put it in your purse."

Greg Cryns

Scentsy wickless candles - http://www.dad6.com/gowickless/

247 WEBSITE TRAFFIC TIPS: http://www.wahmsearchengine.com/traffic-tips-report/
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Interview: Penny Haynes, web audio/visual expert

Penny Haynes owns a successful online business that allows ANYONE to create audio, video and images and easily upload and post them to social media and social networking sites . Her business is named The Commercial Creation Center http://www.CommercialCreationCenter.com

I met Penny when she signed up for my Ryze.com network and after seeing that her business is cutting edge I asked her to do an interview. The result is very informative and helpful.

Click here for the entire interview

Greg Cryns
247 WEBSITE TRAFFIC TIPS: http://www.wahmsearchengine.com/traffic-tips-report/
Join a new community of Wahm folks. http://www.workathomeprofiles.com
Sentsy - Go Wickless! http://www.dad6.com/gowickless/

The War Prayer

THE WAR PRAYER

"Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth into battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe.

O Lord our God, help us tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended in the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames in summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it --

For our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimmage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen." ~Mark Twain

The Secret to a Successful Online Business - It's All About Building Relationships

Guest post

The Secret to a Successful Online Business - It's All About Building Relationships

People buy from those they know and trust. Nowhere is this more true than on the Internet, where you may never even meet anyone in person. Establishing a trust relationship with your potential online clients takes time, but it is well worth the effort!

Think about the last time you bought a product or service online, that had a substantial positive impact on your work or life in some way. If you were spending a good chunk of change (and perhaps investing a good bit of your time) on that purchase, chances are you did some research first: reading online forums and reviews to see what others had to say about them; contacting them directly with questions and observing how quick and helpful (and polite) their response was; maybe even buying a smaller product or service from them first. All to determine if you could trust this online business to deliver what they promise.

Your potential online clients are no different! They are going to want to know if they can trust you to deliver, too. Here are three specific ways you can work on building trust relationships online, and how each will help your business:

1. Get to know your customers. This helps you more deeply understand what it is they need - making it a lot easier to tell them how what you are selling is going to meet their needs. Find out where they "hang" out, on discussion forums, social networks, etc., and get involved. Don't just schmooze or try to sell your product right then and there -- instead, add value to the conversation. If you are doing it right, you'll be doing a whole lot more listening than talking.

2. Connect with your customer on a personal level. Let them see you as a person, one who has some things in common with them. People will trust you, and ultimately buy from you, if they feel you are like them. This means being sincere and transparent - not pretending or making something up. If you can't make that trust connection with one particular person, don't force it - move on to someone else.

3. Keep up the trust relationship. The relationship doesn't stop after the sale! Clients who know and like you, and have benefited from what you have sold them, will tell others about you! It will be easy for them to recommend you because they are recommending a trusted vendor, not an impersonal business or product. If you've done a good job of providing them with something that makes their job or life easier, they won't be able to wait to tell someone else!

Terri Zwierzynski is a self-employed business strategist and marketing consultant to solo entrepreneurs, and a grassroots promoter of the solo entrepreneur lifestyle. She runs Solo-E.com, the resource website for the self-employed which attracts thousands of solo entrepreneurs and home business owners monthly from over 100 countries on six continents (2007 finalist for "Website of the Year" in the 4th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business). Visit Solo-E.com and get our new ebook, "25 Surefire Ways to Capture More Clients, Get More Done in Less Time, and Make More Money -- in 90 Days or Less."

Greg Cryns
247 WEBSITE TRAFFIC TIPS: http://www.wahmsearchengine.com/traffic-tips-report/
Join a new community of Wahm folks. http://www.workathomeprofiles.com
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Laid Off? Today Is A Brand New Day

Guest blog post

Laid Off? Today Is A Brand New Day
Copyright (c) 2008 Deborah Brown-Volkman
Surpass Your Dreams, Inc.
http://www.surpassyourdreams.com/



A sudden job loss can be very unsettling, and it makes a person
look inside in order to get perspective on their situation.

I was a person that was laid off too a few years back, so I know
what it is like to not have a job to go to.

I feel fortunate, though, that I was building my coaching
practice while working full time. Because of that, I was able to
transition into coaching full time. But still, not seeing the
same faces everyday, having deadlines, and an office to go to,
took some getting used to.

The best thing about that experience is I had the opportunity to
create whatever I wanted with my future. I could coach full-time.
I could go into consulting. I could freelance. Whichever way I
chose, I knew that it was the start of a new adventure.

For me, the job loss was a blessing; and it can be a blessing for
you. Yes, you will worry about how you will pay the bills, if you
will get another job, and when the new job will come. You will
also have the opportunity to spend more time with your family,
friends, and yourself. You will have time to do all the things
you wished you had time for when you were working. You can go to
the gym, get outside more, and use the time to reevaluate your
life and your career. (Yes, this is a good thing.)

So How Do You Make Peace With What Just Happened To You And
Create A New Future? I Have 7 Tips For You:

1. Recognize That Losing Your Job Was Not Your Fault

Yes, there is some relief knowing that the inevitable has finally
happened vs. the waiting to see if you will go next. But there is
still a little part deep inside you that wonders if it was your
fault. Maybe if you worked harder, then this would not have
happened. Maybe if you worked weekends, evenings, etc, it would
have been some else that was cut. Maybe if you participated in
office polices more, you would still have a job. All these
thoughts drain your energy and take away from the contributions
you made when you were there. Your company was not doing well.
They had to cut costs, and you were one of the people they cut.
This is all there is to it. Period. Stop making it mean something
more.

2. Decide What's Important To You

You probably have put YOU on hold for years as you have been
spending all your time figuring out how to mold yourself to be
someone else. You worried about what your boss thought of you,
what his or her boss thought of you, and what your co-workers
thought of you. You spent many evenings trying to calm down or
figure out what to do with a co-worker or boss that was driving
you crazy. All of this is gone (if only temporarily) and now you
get to decide what is important to you. What makes you happy?
What gets you excited? These are questions that you can answer
because you have been given the gift of time to do so.

3. Recognize That The Time Off Is A Blessing

Things in life happen for a reason. There was some purpose for
you to stop and reassess how you have been living your life at
this point. Why do you think this happened now? Were you working
too hard? Were you neglecting yourself? Was your family screaming
for you to spend more time with them? Now is the time to see if
your former lifestyle will fit your future one. Use the time
wisely because an opportunity like this one may never come again.

4. Decide What You Will Do Next:

Will you stay in the same career? Will you do something
different? Will you start your own business? Or, will you decide
to scale down your lifestyle so you can stretch out the time
before you go back to work? There is no right or wrong choice,
only what calls to you. Trust your instinct. The answer is inside
you. It is up to you if you will take the time to listen.

5. Put An Action Plan In Place:

Now that you have free time, how will you make it as productive
as it can be? How many resumes will you send out each week? How
many hours each day will you spend searching for jobs online and
in the paper? How may people will you talk to, and how e-mail's
will you send out? Your job search does not have to consume you,
but having a daily plan, will keep you from sitting in front of
the TV saying "I really should be looking for another job."

6. Get Support:

Enlist the help of a friend, spouse, coach, colleague, etc.
Someone who will listen and support you through this transitional
period in your life. Looking for a job can be frustrating, time
consuming, and disappointing. Remember that you do not have to do
it alone.

7. Reward Yourself:

Yes, the final reward is finding a new job, but there are
milestones that can be rewarded along the way. Sent your resume
to five employers? Reward. Went on one job interview this week?
Reward. When you look back, you will know that you are not the
same person you were before this happened. And, you will smile to
yourself because you know that this is a good thing.

So what do you say? You only have one life to live so it might as
well be one you love!




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Deborah Brown-Volkman, PCC, noted career coach, and best-selling
author of several career and business books works with Senior
Executives, Vice Presidents, and Managers who are looking for
new career opportunities or seek to become more productive in
their current role. Do You Dread Going To Work On Monday Morning?
Visit http://www.surpassyourdreams.com to discover Deborah’s
complimentary career action tips for making Monday the best
day of the week.


Greg Cryns
247 WEBSITE TRAFFIC TIPS: http://www.wahmsearchengine.com/traffic-tips-report/
Join a new community of Wahm folks. http://www.workathomeprofiles.com

Life is good when you're filled with love

Sometimes you need to Get Unplugged

How not to "make money" on the Internet

When I see stuff like "How to make money on Twitter" or "ways to make money on the internet" I get a little sad and a lot angry.

There is no letting go of the hacking, thuggish ways of the 20th Century.

Old Style marketers keep coming at us with their marauding style of ugly approaches.

Listen up marketers. The Old School style of marketing is falling apart at the seams. Look at General Motors. Look at your local banks. Look at the business vacancies in your neighborhood.

Isn't it time to try something new?

Here are some recent posts on Twitter that just smell up the joint:

Make Money Scrapbooking

New blog post: Make Money and Save the Environment

New blog post: How To Make Money From Home With Articles And Niche Websites

Survive From Financial Crisis by Make Money Blogging

Do u want to make money? Become part of our team.

Want to Make Money Online?

Google’s YouTube: Finally, A Way To Make Money

Benefits and Pitfalls of Generating Free MLM Leads: You can make money in Multi Level Marketing MLM

How To Make Money Fast On The Internet

They want me to click on their incomprehensible offers and their oh-so meticulously preplanned "launches"?

Not everyone has a herd mentality.

Go away, spammers. I've got better things to do with my time.


Greg Cryns

Join a new community of Wahm folks. http://www.workathomeprofiles.com
My town: http://www.allaboutpasorobles.com
My business blog: http://gregcryns.blogspot.com

Social marketing - your approach says it all

Social Network Marketing

Do you get defensive when you talk to someone and they delve into their "awesome company"?

Of course you do. You've been approached like that before. You sense something wrong coming.

The pressure is right there from the get go. We've been conditioned to react this way because that is the way that sales people are portrayed. With this tension comes a lack of trust because we feel that we are about to be scammed. It's a never ending cycle that is hard to break.

The truth is, there is only one way to break it. The sales person has to do it himself. This is done by lowering the tension and raising the trust. Easier said than done, but it is possible. Here are a few tips that just might do the trick.

For starters, you want to approach somebody delicately. You don't want to come off like some kind of raving lunatic, like so many sales people do with their "boy have I got a great deal for you" hype. People are so sick of this. Instead, what you want to do is casually bring up the conversation of whatever it is you want to get across.

Let's say you're selling a business opportunity. Instead of saying to somebody, "boy have I got an opportunity for you" and having them run for the hills, ask the person to tell you a little about themselves. Ask them what they're interested in. Ask them what their skills are. Ask them if there's something they'd really like to do if they could. Find out what they are doing. Talk about them, not about you.

Be sure to ask your prospect how they feel about your product and company.Maybe they have very strong opinions. If so, keep their friendship by moving on to another topic.

If they don't know anything about your company, suggest to them that you would like to send them some information and ask for their email address. (make sure you have a pen and paper handy at all occasions)

This gives you a chance to hold another reasonable conversation with him in the near future. People do not like to be pushed into an immediate decision.

The most important thing is not to fill them with hype. Be above board and honest and you'll be surprised how often you'll end up closing a sale without even trying.


Greg Cryns
247 WEBSITE TRAFFIC TIPS: http://www.wahmsearchengine.com/traffic-tips-report/
Join a new community of Wahm folks. http://www.workathomeprofiles.com
My business blog: http://gregcryns.blogspot.com

Social Network Marketing - earn their trust

No matter how many articles you read or gurus you consult, it will be up to you to make anything happen.

Sorry to say, most people will fail to succeed in their Internet pursuits unless they are willing to spend a lot of time and effort to grow their business.

Ladies and gents, there is no free ride, even on the Internet. Frankly, if you are not willing to put in the time to make it happen, you might as well get a regular job offline.

Let's get started about how to do that necessary work.


When you approach somebody about joining your program, you want to approach them as an expert on the program. The first thing you want to do is explain the program to them in complete detail. Many people don't want to do this because they are afraid that they'll be giving away too many secrets. The truth is, there is so much to learn about any one program that it would be impossible to teach somebody everything. Advertising techniques alone can take years to learn. So don't worry about this. Approach the person as somebody with knowledge. Make them understand that you know what you're talking about and more importantly that you know what you're doing.

But even more important than just imparting this knowledge on them is making them understand that you will personally see to it that they get the same knowledge for themselves. Make them understand that you are there to help them with the program. You're not just getting them to join your program. You're getting them to become a partner with you. This is especially true if you have a program where your people are benefited by your own efforts. This way they know that not only will they get your knowledge but your help as well.

In becoming their expert and partner you have to first show your own results. This means showing them exactly how long you've been doing the program as well as how much you have made from it. Many people feel this is none of anybody's business. But the truth is, if you don't have any credibility, or don't want to share your credibility, you're going to have a very difficult time getting anybody to believe a word you say. There is an old saying that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. This is no less true in Internet marketing. If you can show a person that you are successful then you have a lot better chance of convincing that person that they can be successful as well.

You need to be able to show your prospects that you can back up what you are saying. If you promise help, you better be ready to follow through.

Make sure you give them your contact information. This will include your home phone and your business email address.

Give them the help they deserve. You need to convince them you will be their mentor in the program you are selling.

You can set specific times that you will answer your phone. But your email will always be open for business.

Remember, if you can show them you are an expert and that you will become their partner if they sign up, you will begin to become successful.



Greg Cryns
247 WEBSITE TRAFFIC TIPS: http://www.wahmsearchengine.com/traffic-tips-report/
Join a new community of Wahm folks. http://www.workathomeprofiles.com
My business blog: http://gregcryns.blogspot.com

Try social network marketing to promote your business

Giving advice can be very depressing.

I've been trying to teach people a concept that works for me but most just don't want to hear it.

Amazing concept: You don't sell your product or service in the Internet. You sell yourself!

The Internet is a vast place. But ironically it is also a cozy place. You can check stuff out quickly and thoroughly in just a few minutes. You can also check out people who sell stuff. Just Google their name. Try it. You may be amazed. What you find there are just like offline referrals or offline dissing. Type in "ebay sucks" for example. That will open your eyes.

So, you need to sell yourself because the Internet crowd demands it.

You can tell me that your weight loss product will chew up the pounds in a few weeks. What are the chances that I will believe you and plunk down some hard earned cash to buy it? Slim to none unless you have already formed a bond with the buyer.

You can't sell somebody a product or service until you really do have their trust. This means that in whatever approach you use, the last thing you should do is bring up anything to do with sales. Don't give them the link to your product to buy it, no matter what you've put in your initial contact with them. You have to make them want you to send them more info. You have to make them write back to you and tell you how much they appreciated your honesty. Once you have their interest, then you can start to send them your offer or offers with their permission. Don't try to do it without asking first.



Greg Cryns

247 WEBSITE TRAFFIC TIPS: http://www.wahmsearchengine.com/traffic-tips-report/
Join a new community of Wahm folks. http://www.workathomeprofiles.com

Older dudes and dudettes- let's get it on!

This afternoon I had a great conversation with an old dude. I don't think he will mind me calling him that. He's that cool.

His name is Jim Carpenter. Jim lives in Hawaii. I knew that because all of his emails came to me with the salutation "Aloha". I learned that Hawaii is just two hours away by time zone.

I met Jim through my Ryze.com connections. I run an active network on Ryze and one day Jim popped up as a new subscriber. I've gotten into the habit of taking a peek at the profile of each new subscriber there. I get 5-10 a day new subs a day. Usually I will visit the Ryze page of each one on Fridays. I always initiate some sort of conversation after learning a bit about he person. I think it is a good idea to personalize any communication with someone you have not yet met.

He has a BS in marketing and he served in the USMC during the Vietnam era, discharged as a Captain. Jim has 40 years experience in health clubs and aromatherapy. He also has 16 years experience in home based businesses.

I needed to interview Jim after reading those credentials. Jim consented You can view the interview here: http://www.workathomeprofiles.com/work-at-home-tips/wahm-interview-jimpeterson.shtml

I must say that I am thoroughly enjoying my work more now since I feel direction taking hold again. I am looking forward to work each day after a year in the doldrums. The magic of the Internet is back again.

Greg Cryns
My new home town: http://www.allaboutpasorobles.com

Social marketing - I am starting to get it

I resisted. I fought it. I wanted to make Google Adwords work for me. I wanted to take the easy route to fame and riches.

Social networking seemed to be such a long, drawn out process with little received in return. I just did not see it to be worth while.

I am not exactly an Evangelist for social networking yet, like Chris Brogan whom I highly regard, or like Problogger Darren Rowse who I need to get to know better by reading more of his stuff, too.

No, I'm not entirely convinced enough to throw my whole self into the Web 2.0 arena, but I am getting close to doing just that. Frankly, it just feels right.

I have a running "discussion" with a good friend. We are at opposite political poles. He is the "clear thinker" and I am the blurry "from the heart" responder. I guess you can easily figure out which side of the aisle we walk on. But we are still good friends even though there are occasional flareups and temper tantrums.

Social marketing agrees with my heart if not my brain. I think that is because I've been brainwashed for so many years. I used to be an insurance guy. Woody Allen had a great line in one of his movies. It went, "I sentence you to three days and three nights with an insurance salesman."

Last year I listened to a wise marketer, Kim Klaver, try to tell us that the direct sales market and its techniques had it all wrong. At least that is how I heard it. They were pounding "build a team" into the people who signed up with companies that sell candles, diet plans, vitamins, you-name-it.

In the last 5 years I was placing ads for regular folks who were persuaded to sell mortgages to anyone and everyone. No real training needed. Nope. Just put it out there. Get in their faces. Tell them whatever you think they would agree with to close the sale. You can even do it online!

We are now feeling the consequences of that product pushing technique. My heart says it time to change.

Something inside me says "get on social train ride and see where it takes you."

This morning I watched Chris Brogan talk about "Don't be that guy" in a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kX4oUmm3GA&feature=related It hit home run for me.

I don't want to be the guy Chris is talking about. I don't want to be that guy who only knows how to talk about what he sells. Sure, I want people to pay me for services I can provide, but, darn it, I don't want to clear out a room in 5 minutes talking about me and what I do and what I bring to the table.

If you know some teen agers take a listen to their conversations. How often do they talk about themselves? How many times does the word "I" pop up in their talk? The average teen I knew and know talk about themselves a lot. A very wise man once told us to "put away the things of a child" when the time came to be an adult.

Social marketing is an adult activity, folks. You need to be mature, in my opinion, to make it work. You can't be a fooler. My grandfather, God loves him, used to say, "You can't fool a fooler." That makes sense when you realize that foolers are playing games. Their mantra is often "he who has the most toys, wins."

If that is your mantra, please don't try to initiate a conversation with me. I am beyond that thinking. I am an adult now.

greg cryns

The Stories We Tell That Fail To Help

Guest article

The Stories We Tell That Fail To Help
By Tammy Stanley

Our youngest daughter babysits a little 3-year old girl two to three nights a week, and she often arrives home with forty bucks in her hand. A few weeks ago, I kept commenting that I couldn't believe she was getting paid that because "Back in my day (Yes, I actually used that phrase) I would babysit three kids for 6 hours and be ecstatic if I came home with t wenty dollars."

After a few days of me continually saying, "Geez, I can't believe you get paid that much, blah, blah, blah," my husband gave me a good talking to! "Look," he said, "You can be glad Zoë's making that money, and if you really believe in abundance, then it's not hurting anyone for her to earn however much that woman wants to pay her. BE GRATEFUL!"

Ahem, yes dear reader, sometimes "The Tamster" isn't perfect (Ah, I've officially lived even after admitting that!), and often requires someone to set her straight.

It is incredibly difficult to experience the wealth you seek, if you entertain restricting ideas about what one should or should not earn for any particular job. I am reminded of a powerful paragraph in Wallace Wattles book, The Science of Getting Rich, a book you can read in an evening and study the rest of your life:

Do not tell others of any past financial troubles. Do not think of the m at all. Do not tell anyone about the poverty of your parents or the hardships of your early life. To do any of these things is to mentally class yourself with the poor for the time being, and this will certainly check the movement of things in your direction.

You can see that by going on about the woes of baby sitting back in my day, I was aligning myself with all the thoughts associated with that past experience - hard work, low wages, and little to no appreciation.

Hmmm.... I guess if we really want to open the flood gates to abundance, we need to be sure we really believe in it. We really need to let go of those past troubles. And the way to begin that is to stop talking about them. Once we quit talking about them, we can truly leave them behind.

This week I want to encourage you to do this in your business. If you have had difficulties with the person that sponsored you, if you have had trouble getting bookings, if yo u have had challenges earning enough money, etc., stop talking about that. Every time you talk about it, you affirm the truth of it and therefore it's longevity.

Let's look at what happens when we speak of how lousy our sponsor is or was. Every time we do that, we mentally exclude the possibility of her becoming more supportive. We also affirm that without a good sponsor, the journey will be long and arduous. And ultimately, if things are not going really well, we communicate that we cannot help it - it's our sponsor's fault.

The truth is that people do the best they are capable of doing at the time. As Maya Angelou says, "If you had known better, you would have done better." If your sponsor has failed to give you the support you wish she had, give her a break, affirm in your heart that if she had known better, she would have done better, and in this random act of kindness you will release her to be a better sponsor to you and to others.

The truly unique aspect of this industry is that competitors share ideas and offer help. You are not limited to only your sponsor's help. Just by regularly attending tele-conferences, sales meetings, and national conferences you will end up with more friends and support than you ever dreamed possible (And of course, don't forget that every week you get to hear from little ol' me!).

Years ago I saw Anthony Robbins at a live event. I think the only thing I remember about his talk, besides the fact that the guy is just plain TALL, was a story about two brothers. I don't know if the story is actually true, but I believe it rings of truth.

Two brothers wind up on opposite ends of the spectrum. One is extremely successful while the other is behind bars in jail. In order to discover how two brothers from the same family could end up so different, a psychologist goes to interview each of them. When asked how they explained thei r current situation, each responded, "What do you expect, considering the parents I had?"

The cool thing about this story is that you never learn what kind of parents they had! I believe it doesn't matter because the real difference is that one of the brothers took responsibility for his own life and the other didn't. Successful people don't bother with blame. They see themselves as having the power to change.

One of my favorite authors, Vernon Howard, says that the main reason we refuse to give up our pain and/or frustrations is that we get a secret thrill from them. The first time I read that, I felt as though an arrow had been shot right through my heart, and I had an instantaneous understanding of how true that was in my own life.

I understand the secret thrill found in the "woe-is-me" recording (Been there, done that way more times than I care to mention), and I can assure you that there's something much grander w aiting for you, when you let that go. I won't spoil the fun for you in learning just what that is. Let go of those old limiting stories and watch what happens!

Author, Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker Tammy Stanley publishes the propelling 'Sales Refinery Insights' weekly ezine for direct sales professionals. If you're ready to jump-start your direct sales business, make more money, and create more value, get your FREE tips now at www.tammystanley.com/ezine_offer_ds.htm

Greg Cryns
http://www.workathomeprofiles.com
http://www.wahmsearchengine.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/calgreg

Correct those embarrassing grammar mistakes

There are some grammar mistakes that keep popping up in emails I receive every day. This is bad news for the sender because the mistakes tell me the person sending the email is not too concerned about getting it right.

I don't think any less of the sender as a person but such mistakes cast a shadow on the possibility of doing business with him or her in the future.

Here are just a few of the common errors that make me cringe:

1. Titles of books and articles should be italicized.

2. These were sent by SEO expert, Robin Nobles:

receive (remember: i before e except after c)
all right (alright is not a word)
category
dependent
a lot (should always be two words)
cannot (preferred way to spell)

3. Loose instead of lose
Right: You may lose your money if you gamble.
Wrong: Are your trying to loose weight?

4. They're (they are) for their
Right: They're going to win this time.
Right: Why don't they wash their hands?

5. Effect for affect
Right: The effect of bad grammar can be damaging to your business.
Right: The way you dress can affect your business.

6. Then for than
Right: If you need good exercise then consider fast walking.
Right: You are shorter than you look.

7. You're (you are) for your
Right: You're going to enjoy this.
Right: Be sure to brush your teeth.

8 Web site or website
Right: the jury is out on this one. I think website is good for most Internet articles and communication, but web site may be better for formal papers.


Greg Cryns
247 WEBSITE TRAFFIC TIPS: http://www.wahmsearchengine.com/traffic-tips-report/
Join a new community of Wahm folks. http://www.workathomeprofiles.com
My business blog: http://gregcryns.blogspot.com