Trust in Me

Trust is one of the hardest things for a person to do to another person.  It takes on so many facets of life.  Trust in a parent to take care of a child, a trusting friend who a girl to tell secrets to and that friend will never tell a living soul or even a patient on the verge of dying trusting that their doctor and their family will make the right decisions on their behalf. 

Yes, trust is that word which says, “I put my life in your hands, and you are not going to let nothing happen to me no matter what.”

 So, what happens to that trust?  That is what I am going to talk about today.  So, “trust in me” as we talk about trust.

What is a trust?

Trust. created by P.Lynne Designs
Through Canvas.com

Under social context, according to Wikipedia, is “Trust has several connotations”.  The one I will be concentrating on is the one that says, “a situation characterized by the following aspects: One party is willing to rely on the actions of another party; the situation is directed to the future.”  Do you see why I used the previous examples in this piece?

The reason for this post

Lately, I have been disenchanted by the way things have been in this country, specifically the last couple of weeks.  No, this is not a political post, which would have included a campaign for you to vote for this candidate or hate another.  We all have our reasons for voting and supporting the person who we think is better to run the country.  No one is perfect.  It all goes back to trust, and trust does not need a campaign slogan to be heard.  Later, I will tackle “the art of advertising and influencers”, part 2 and conclusion of a miniseries.

Disenchantment be damned

Like many Americans, three weeks ago, on a Sunday, in the middle of the summer season, I was sitting down with my mom at my parent’s home.  My family and I usually take Sunday as a day of rest, to worship God by going to church, coming back to my parent’s home, eat and rest.  We talk about things that went on during service.  We are United Methodists, part of the Protestant Christian faith.  We believe in the Holy Trinity (God, Son, Holy Spirit), with the Son being the savior by dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.  We are to do God’s will, which is to love all mankind, no matter what their life is like, everyone can be saved.

I say that to say this:  whoever pulled the trigger on the people at that Garlic Festival was not acting in God’s will.  I am not saying that the person was Christian, but the actions of this person too were not the way that Jesus would act.  I am going to leave it at that comment for now.  Same with the incident in El Paso, TX, and Dayton, Ohio. 

The Dayton, Ohio incident was about an hour and a half from me, plus my brother lives there, so I feel more apart of that incident than the El Paso, TX one because of my brother, who, thank God was at my parent’s house in Columbus when the shooting happened, and I thank God that my Sis-In-Law, who was at home, was nowhere near the Oregon District.

So what does that have to do with trust?

As Christians, we trust that God will take care of us, no matter what.  We also trust that the people who did not make it in these incidents over the past few weeks and beyond had a purpose to teach so that others will learn of our mistakes. 

This next thing that I have to say may turn some people off, and that’s okay.  Maybe this country and this world need to learn a lesson or two.  No, do not misquote me.  I grieve for every single person, including the people who pulled the trigger.  We have been too loose with the second amendment, “the right to bear arms”. This to me is the NRA’s Motto, but there needs to be an amendment to the amendment.  You do have the right to have guns for sport and protection, BUT if you want to do harm to anyone (including self) because of hatred or mental illness, you do not have that right, period. The second amendment does not apply to you.  Before you can purchase a gun AND own a gun license you must go through a deep background check and take a class on gun safety.  This is how you can build trust.  I think that is what those who have died in the name of gun reform have taught us.  Yes, it is gruesome, but someone became a martyr because of gun control.

On top of that, Japan, and other countries are now telling their citizens to stay away from us, and do not visit the United States at all.  Now that is deep.

Conclusion

This is a short post (less than 1000 words) because there is nothing more to say on this kind of trust except to:

• Be aware of your surroundings
• Use the buddy system whenever you can
• If you carry a concealed weapon with you, make sure that the safety is on, have your license on you, and that you are of sound mind IF you have to use it.
• Never carry it in a building that does not allow on in it.
• Never escalate an argument with anyone.  Or finish one for that matter.  Get the proper authorities if someone is bothering you.
• Report anything suspicious.
• Finally, be at peace with yourself, God, and try to love everyone.

I pray that everything goes well with you. God bless you.

Blogging is hard-Chapter 2: Making a schedule

Hello, and welcome to My Ambiance Life.

In today’s post, I want to take about blogging in general, not how to get started, not how to win at increasing traffic, but blogging in general.

Myths in blogging…

One of the myths I get when I am reading post from Pinterest, searching on Google, or anywhere else on the interwebs (Internet), is “blogging is dead”, “no one is interested in blogs anymore”, and phrases like that.

I am here to tell you that the way blogs got started might be dead, but the overall concept of blogs is not.  In fact, blogging is very much alive.  This is how blogging works for me….

You can do the following with a blog:

·         Use it as a follow up to a video

·         Offer products with the blog:  Talk about your subject, offer a free product (say a free guide), then if you are able, offer a course to further talk about your subject.  I have seen it a lot and it is something I am thinking about doing in 2020.

o   An alternative is to offer a service like freelance writing or graphic design service.  This also works if you are an organizer or party planner.

If you feel that your blog is dying a slow death, these ideas and many more can help bring new life into your blogging experience.  I not necessary say bring in traffic but help spruce up your blog.  Perhaps you are on a server that is limited, like Blogger.  Now I like Blogger and it is good for those who want to get their feet wet into blogging.  I have outgrown Blogger, as I have mentioned many times before.  I am also not a programmer, so Joomla, which is a website language that I would love to learn how to do, but WordPress is my go to language for the moment.  Maybe one day.  It is very easy to learn, and it takes no time to build up a website.

Scheduling a blog post, Part 1

I have learned something new in the past few weeks.  Schedule out your posts. There is a way for to do it on Blogger: 

1.       On the right side, you will see Post Settings

2.      Go down to schedule and click on it

3.      If you want the blog to post when you click on Publish, leave as it.  If not, click on Set date and Time.

4.      A calendar will pop up and you can click on a day of the current month or use two little arrows on the right side to advance a month ahead.  You can also click in the box for the current time or type in the time that you want.  Remember to highlight AM or PM.  Make sure you have the right time zone.

5.      Click Done when finished,

For WordPress:

This comes from WP Optimus (2014), but it still hold true today:

1.       Once you are finished writing your post, go to the right side of the panel of your post where the Meta-publish box is located. Click on Edit

2.      Set the date and time for when you want the post to publish.  The time will be listed as a 24-hour clock format, not 12-hours.  This is also called Military Time.  Ex. 1 PM is 13:00

3.      Click on schedule when finished.

Now you are able to schedule times for when you are on vacation, or too busy to write.

Scheduling a blog post, part 2

OK, the following was how to schedule when you blog post will publish to your blog.  Another thing I found out about scheduling is the art of writing when you feel the need to say something.  Christians call it, “God told me to tell you something that has been on my heart”.  Others say, “I have something to say, and I am not going to back down until I say it”.  Trust me, I do not have nothing to get “off my chest” (another saying).

We all have complaints.  In most Facebook groups I am in, it is having a rant, but there are tactful ways of complaining without getting chewed out by other.  I have learned the following.

1.       Do not say something just to get an audience.  In fact, do not expect for someone to respond with a “me too”, “I agree”, or “I feel the same way”.  Speak your peace and move on.

2.      If you journal, write the rant there.  You have gotten off your chest and you have left it in a place for you to see.

3.      Ask questions before you rant, especially if you are in a group setting. It is best to ask questions than to assume and get kicked out of the group.  You may still get kicked out, but at least you are not ranting blindly without all the answers.  Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

4.      Calm down before typing

5.      If you are in a group setting and you are still angry, do not announce that you are leaving the group.  Just leave and let go.

When situations are treated with kindness, you will have a better result.

Scheduling a blog post, part 3: know when to write

OK, confession time:

I have set up all these day the type of themes I want to put in this blog.  Some weeks it works out great, while others, not so much.  It is embarrassing, and I do not have any hard copies to remind me of what I am supposed to write about.  For example:  I write my journaling prompts posts on Wednesday instead of Thursday, Motivational Monday becomes motivational any day, and so on.  The only thing that has been constant lately is that I do not write and post on Saturdays and Sundays.  I have a solution for that.  I am picking two days out of the week to write, posting them on the days that I pick (probably Monday and Wednesday or Thursday) Friday may be a bonus day, and I am scheduling them so that they automatically post.  Everything has been edited complete with pictures.

Why am I saying this:

My schedule is full, and I need to take time to do things carefully. 

My takeaway for this is simple:  take time for you.  I know I have mentioned some portion of that to you in the past few posts, but I am serious as always. 

Yes, I need an audience, clients, and viewers, but I also need me, and I need to continue my spiritual journey with God.

If you do not have that, then what is life.  I am not saying that life is meaningless, but your life has meaning and a purpose.  We all need to find that purpose and it is not always about making money.  I know I push making money, but you are not going to die if you do not make a 6-figure salary.  Make enough to allow you to save and to live on the daily.  This means if you need toothpaste, make enough to buy it.  Same with your home.  Make enough to afford a decent home for you and your family.  It does not have to be a 5-room mansion with a 3-car garage, it can be an apartment with a parking space, but not a one-room boarding house where all 6 of your family members sleep in it.  If this means you have stay in that one -room for a moment, fine, but aim higher.

In other words, you can change your situation.

Have a good day.

Motivational Monday: Self Doubt

As usual, from my Facebook status (I am starting to have a lot these days): “This is a retweet I shared about two years ago. I still feel the same as this person. I was raised to believe this and I will always carry this even I am about to draw my last breath. I also going through a period of uncertainty that reaches even before what happened over the weekend with Longaberger.

As a person, I am willing to stand by this company, but I need to be honest, I am not sure how long I am willing to do this. My first priority as an Independent Home Consultant is to take care of customer's needs. I hope the owners of this company know that. It is not what keeps them coming? New products can wait. If you cannot serve the general public with your service of provision, then maybe you should close your door for good. Yes, I am angry, and I am hurt. I may not have had many sales over the past few months with you and the reason was quite simple, I was dealing with self-doubt.

I had self-doubt in my abilities as both a consultant with a once upon a time billion dollar company and as a stationery/graphic designer/writer/crafter, trying to build a company from scratch. Why did I self-doubt? Simple, no sales, and no money to do promotions. I thought that by promoting on social media (especially my FB page) would get me sale from both Longaberger and my company, P. Lynne Designs. There were periods where I would just stare into the screen and wonder why am I doing this? I would hear the voice of God saying, "You got this", but I was not hearing it. Even when I did two projects last year for Judith Sharpe and Tiffany Thomas (which I still thank you both for believing in me), the doubt was still there. I still did not try hard enough to get the work I needed.

Two months ago, I made a decision to really get in there and push. That was when I accepted a scrapbook project from Pat Meadows that I can truly feel proud of (not that I was not proud of the other two projects from last year. I am finding my self-worth again, which is my long-winded speech of saying, self-doubt is a mood killer, a dream killer, and the devil's advocate. Do not give in.

One last thing: To all independent consultants, rather you are with Longaberger or with some other direct selling company, I decided back in 2010 to have another source of income. take those skills that you gained with the company, and use them to your advantage and have backup income. I am not saying leave direct selling, but have a secondary income, even if you have a spouse or partner. Like so many companies before Longaberger, you were told everything is fine, and then one day, you cannot contact the call center. I believe that Longaberger will return in one form or another, but now is the time to come up with a backup system. I can now understand why consultants ask to join another company. That is not what I am talking about. Use your skills as a consultant to maybe teach a class. having home parties have taught you to not be afraid of audiences. This is one example, and I am reposting this on my blog.

Never self-doubt your skills or your abilities to help others.”

It is pretty self-explanatory, this post.  It sums what I have been going through in the past few months, including why I have not been posting on a regular basis for both my blog and vlogging channel.  It comes from a quote from Twitter that I reposted in 2016 (my Facebook and Twitter accounts are linked):

Retweeted Melanie※ (@SimplyShayXO):

#ThereIsAlwaysRoomInMyLifeFor God. Even though the darkest time of my life, even when I pushed Him away, He was there. He is always there.

It is the post I just wrote that I want to focus on.  To give you a backstory, this is what transpired ever the weekend (without giving out company info because I still stand behind this company for their products):  I was told, along with other consultants and leaders to not put in any orders until further notice.  You can read into it however you want, I am not spilling tea yet until they officially declare bankruptcy, or I can go back to submitting orders for myself or other customers. You can get angry at other people without hurting the relationship, and at the moment, I am angry at owners of Longaberger.  Please note that I am also angry for and at the former owners of Longaberger. The reason:  for softening the blow of what was really going on with the company and why shield it from the sales force and the employees?  I am going to leave that question right there because the same thing was going on with Toys R Us, Sears (I was let go from two stores because I was in the dark of problems stemming from that fiasco), even my most recent former employer, Archivers. 

Most people blame Amazon and Walmart for their company’s problems, but I smell an even bigger problem, which is why I choose to stay out of company politics, but when you are messing with my money, my livelihood, you need to speak directly to me.  Longaberger owners JRJR Enterprises was not speaking to the sales force loud enough, long enough, and early enough to say there were problems.   Actually, I take that back.  I did receive an email, stating for everyone to increase their sales, but they did not say why.  I thought it was them encouraging you to increase sales, like a normal motivational talk, not a “we are losing sales” talk.

So back to the whole reason for this post.

I was thinking about my reason behind the post on Facebook, other than this post resurfaced (which is a good thing), and I was in that funky feeling.  It was the kind of feeling that you were happy but not that happy.  That is one thing that Facebook is famous for, to remind you of your post.  I am the type of person who posts what I have to say on social media and leave it at that.  A post.  Like others, I do post what makes me angry, but I have calmed down my anger over the past few months, since some people pay attention to it, and sometimes they do not.  I do not post to get a reaction anymore.  If it is inspirational I make it a point to have my Facebook friends (and Twitter and Linked-in friends since the accounts are linked) to read it.  I want to make sure that you know where I am coming from, and I do not like posting junk, which is the reason behind me not posting when I get a high score on a game.  I want people to learn and be inspired by my experience.

I want you to feel loved.

I want to solve the problem that you are having.  That is the whole reason behind P. Lynne Designs, my stationery/scrapbook company.  Let me give some examples:

• You want to capture that moment when you first went to Barbados.  You decide to go on a cruise and you decide to take a lot of pictures.  Now, you may not think that a scrapbook album is an answer to everything memorable, but it is.  You can put in more than photos.  How about that ticket stub to a benefit concert put on by Rihanna, who happened to be visiting her mom, and it was for a neighboring school that she attended when she was a child.  Or the first time you tried rum punch. How about on the Lido deck? The program from that concert? 
• You need flyers for an event
• You need an article about the on-going effects of global warming or how to make canvas wall art.
• You need wall art.

Yes, this is how I give of my talent, but I cannot give if I am constantly doubting if the client is going to love it or not.  I need to trust my instincts more.  I love the way I see things, which is with an open-mind that says that the world is more than one way.  So far, my clients have loved my work.  I get results. 

This also brings me back to you, and my takeaway from this post. 

What is your talent?  You do not have to be a good artist, singer, dancer, or speaker.  Listening can be a talent.  Listening with the intent of offering good advice can be a talent.  Chad Raider, Youtuber from GabeBabeTV is a known baby whisperer.  Every time a baby is near him, they calm down, which has worked so far on the newest member of their own family, Reagan Elizabeth.  Know this, if people turn to you because you can make the best Mac and Cheese that can beat a 100-year-old recipe, that’s talent.  If someone says that you can light up a room with your smile, that’s talent.  Talent does not always be a physical thing.  It is your mood, your attitude, your very presence.  In other words, confidence can be a talent as well.  Being modest without being overbearing is a talent.  Patience is a talent.  Find that talent, and never self-doubt it.

I’ll Tumble for Ya

No, I have no channeled my inner Boy George.  Anyone who was around during the ‘80s knows that this was one of Culture Club’s hits.  (Not sure what happened after that album.)  The title means something more than that.  I am talking about the Final Five.

(c) 2016 Olympic 

In case you have been living under a rock, have no access to the media (television, radio, newspaper, and the internet), in a coma, or anything else that has prevented you from finding out about this talented group of young women, they are the U.S. Gymnastics Team, the last team under Marta Karolyi. This coach along with her husband, Béla, have transformed the U.S Women’s Gymnastics Team into the powerhouse that it currently is, starting with Nadia Comãneci (even though she was for the Romanian team), and ending with this team.  Their legacy will be hard to match.  Marta retired with the Final Five, a name that the girls; Simone Biles, Madison Kocian, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, and Laurie Hernandez, gave themselves, in honor of Mrs. Karolyi.  I will miss watching her at the Olympics.

To be a gymnast (male or female) takes years of hard work and dedication, pretty much like I had to do with dance.  Because of my disability, I cannot do so much as a cartwheel, but I wanted to do gymnastics.  Dance was the next big thing I could do.   I thought that since dance was an important element in the floor exercise routine, I could work my way up from there. 

Did I mention that you could not have a fear of heights?  During gym class one year, I got on the balance beam and almost cried.  Hey, you try doing a forward roll in a beam that is 4” wide and 4’ off the ground.  Uneven bars?  The gym teacher had me stand on the bottom bar.  Not only I could not reach over to the top (due to my short arms), but I started crying for real, so the teacher (who was a man) had to catch me to get me off. Vaults?  I do not want to talk about it.  Thus ended my gymnastics career, before it even got started, but hey, I could do a nice headstand. Thanks for the experience, 7^th grade.

This is why I admire the women who could do it.  Each one of them had a special place on the team, and they supported each other.  There was no, “how dare she place better than me”, “I can do that tumbling pass in my sleep”, or “if she gets one more gold medal, I am going to throw up.” They were very supportive.  It was others outside of the team that had a backlash to these girls, especially towards Simone and Gabby, and I do not get it.

First with Simone.  Why do people like to bring up the past?  The media constantly brought up her mother (who by the way lives here in Columbus), her grandmother’s birthplace, and her adoption.  This is mostly aimed towards Bob Costas (who will never read this, but…), adoption is a beautiful thing, especially when a person (the birth mom) is not able to take care of the child or children.  It helps in two ways; it helps a child feel like they are wanted.  Everyone needs love and support, no matter what their background or circumstances are.  It also helps the person who is adopting.  Maybe they are unable to have kids, or maybe they wanted to give back.  You do not know the situation, and God has blessed Simone to be with her grandparents because the situation could have been worst. 

With Gabby Douglas, people were criticizing her hair, she did not put her hand over her heart during the National Anthem, she looks mean, she’s mad, blah, blah, blah.  My question to all of you haters is this: Did you ask her why she did not put her hand over her heart during the anthem?  She was caught up in the moment.  She was taking this in. First being selected to be one of five women to represent the United States in gymnastics for the second time in a row is a feat in itself, and then win a gold medal to show who is the best team, give her a break.  Next, the hair.  It is hard enough to keep a black head in check, which is one the reasons why my hair is in twists, so I should know, and many in the black community should know.  Next, you cannot wear too much product in your hair when doing something like flying from one bar to another, twisting and turn on a balance beam, doing a floor exercise, or vaulting.  You will slide all over the place.  I did not see people criticizing Simone’s hair.  Oh, wait, I forgot, people were still having questions about her parentage and that she came from a broken home.

The point to all of this is people do a lot a criticizing when someone is doing something great.  It does not matter if you are opening a new store (startup or expansion), feeding the homeless, starting a program for inner city kids (which is where Simone got her start in gymnastics), or doing a double pike layout with a double twist in the middle of a floor exercise routine, and winning a gold medal for it.   When a person criticizes you, it means that you are doing something right.  What I also do not get is how a person can so mean and cruel, and the other person lets that remark slide off, like water sliding off a duck’s back.

It has to do something with the person’s character and how they take things in the first place.  They have already been criticized by their teachers, coaches, and anyone who told them that they could not do it.  It is their upbringing that allows them to ignore the haters and celebrate the successes in life that God gave them.  For instance, when Gabby Douglas wanted to try gymnastics for the first time, coaches in her gym could have told her that they do not teach black children and this sport was not for her.  Today, because if her winnings in 2012, black children across the country want to try gymnastics.  Their thought process is, “If Gabby (and now Simone) can do it and make it, I can try to do the same.  Before that time, it was only Dominique Dawes who did professional gymnastics, and at the time, she was the only one.  Today, Dominique is a motivational speaker.

Sometimes I wonder if the team had been all one race if the views of the public would have been different.  After all, there were not criticism towards Aly, Laurie, and Madison.  After all, they did the same thing as Simone and Gabby.  Laurie, I believe, is the first Latina to be on the gymnastics team, and I have yet to hear about her hair being messy or that she came from a broken home.

We, as the African American race need to learn how to not put each other down, and to celebrate the accomplishments of others.  It is a moment to walk in someone else’s shoes and to understand what they went through to get there.  We have had so many people from other races put us down, until we, as a whole, do not know how to give a compliment.

Yes, we want our people to look good (getting back to the Gabby hair complaints), but as a meme said that I saw on Facebook, “you try to do a double back layout off of a 4” beam.”  In other words, “do you want me to look fly or fail?”  Sometimes we cannot walk and chew gum at the same time.  We, as humans expect someone to fail.  “It’s impossible”, but has anyone ever thought that with God, it is possible?  How else do you think anyone, even a runner in these games got through to get the Gold Medal, luck? If that is the case, then good luck with that logic.

Be grateful for the small things in life.  So you cannot tumble like Final Five, run like Usain Bolt, swim like Michael Phelps, or sing like Alicia Keys, but I bet somewhere inside you is a balling ass negotiator, a great graphic designer, a wonderful wife, a marvelous mommy, a dad that is killing it in the boardroom, all while being a person of God, or whoever you believe in.

2016 is your Olympic moment.  May it yours.  Celebrate others.  Be a team player in school, work, and at home.    

What’s keeping you?

Today, I posted this as my status on my Facebook news feed:

Something I am looking forward to
Photo By P.Lynne (c) 2014

” I feel a little disappointed but not down right now. OK, besides just reading my sidebar to see that Leonard Nemoy died, but more personally my sales. Not sure what to do about that, and trying almost everything within guidelines of the company. My question to my FB friends (not necessary my customers) is what is holding you back from trying something at least once in your life? It does not have be related to Longaberger, just anything. Is it being afraid of the outcome? Financial? Or just used to the same old habit and not willing to try something? I am at a loss here, and feel like I am spinning my wheels. Please help me out with this question. As for my sales, I have one more day to make at least $350. I cannot always be my best customer.”

Back story to all of this:  I started my independent consulting career in 2001, one month exactly after 9/11.  Before then, I was trying to find an internship for my marketing degree at Franklin University, because it was time for me to graduate.  After having successful interviews, with some wanting me to start the Monday after most of my interviews, they fell through, either because they ran out of money to pay me (or not having enough in the budget to not pay me), bad business deals, or going in a different direction, I never got a chance to work these internships.  I was getting frustrated, and I had heard that you could make your own internship by just owning your own business. (By the way, I found out that it has to be an actual business hiring you and the school taking credit for that hiring-go figure)  Anyway, I wanted to try direct selling, so I started researching and narrowed it down to two companies:  Pampered Chef and Longaberger.   I met with the Pampered Chef consultant, who was nice, but for some reason, I did not like the idea that I had to cook something at every party.   Not in my budget.   

Then I met Scott, a consultant from Longaberger, and since I already liked the products, I signed up to sell for them. In case you are wondering what Longaberger makes and sells is baskets, pottery (dinner and cookware), and wrought iron products. FYI:  Sell products that you love and do not sell just anything.

At first, I was just in it, because of the products and I have created my own internship, but the more I got into the company, the more I loved selling, and because I was not really motivated to actually selling, I made mediocre sales.  Around year 5, it really hit me that I need to make the most of my new found business.

I want to stop here for a moment, because I am feeling like you think I am writing a sales pitch of some sort.  Not at all, I thought I must admit that if you want to just my team, you can, but this is not a sales pitch post at all.  It is a motivation pitch letter to ask you a couple of questions.

We all have routines and habits.  We all have certain products and brands we like, and we never want to be disloyal to those products at all.  I get that, and I am not trying to take you out of your habit at all.  What I want to know is are you willing to try something new?  If it could be anything, what would it be?  Now that you have that in your head, are you doing that new thing now?  If not, ask yourself why.  Going back to my Facebook status, what is keep you from trying that new thing?  Is it money?  Is it the old question, “What will my family and friends think if I try it”? Are you afraid of the outcome?  

Getting back to my sales for this month, which ends tomorrow at midnight, then I start again, I have advertised within my guidelines.  I am not a pushy salesperson, because Longaberger (as well as the rest of the internet community) consider it spamming.   I have an online party open to receive orders, and I have a Facebook business page that I regularly post to that anyone can see.  Perhaps it is Facebook’s Algorithm that prevents some people to see these ads, or perhaps I am blocked in some areas.  I am not sure.  Or people like the ad, but none of it translate to sales on my website, and that is what I do not get with Facebook.  They want you like a person, but penalizes you if you have extraordinary interaction with them.  As a salesperson, I hate this.

OK, rant over, sorry about that.  The bottom line of all of this is like that Nike campaign, “Just do it”.  Now I am not saying to all if a sudden just spend the money you do not have, but if you don’t have it now, make plans to make it happen.  Invest in yourself.  If your goal is to decorate your whole house, research into the cost, see what is doable now, and write into plan your timeline and do it.  If you want to climb the highest mountain in Europe, research, and see what you can do to make it happen, and do it.  There are ways to get things done, like open a saving account, do a Kickstarter campaign, asking friends and family for support.  Just make it happen.

As for me, I need to get my butt in gear, if I am going to make my sales to at least $350, $500, if I want the incentive of the month.  By the way, the website is www.longaberger.com/patricialogan in case you are interested in checking it out.