A Winning Attitude when times are tough

I don't have to tell you about all the things going wrong in our country right now, it seems like we are a ship without a port, being tossed right to left and back. Times are definitely difficult to say it mildly, yet I have hope. Not because of our current government, and their plans for recovery, instead I have hope deep inside which propels me each day to get up and get going to accomplish something useful and beneficial to someone.

Do you look up at the sky and see dark clouds only, or do you peer behind them and see the sun shining above? That is the Winning Attitude I am talking about. haIt says, regardless of the situation I am in, regardless of the tough times I am in, like the stormy clouds that eventually clear up and show the sun again, so too, we will go through these times.

How? How can I have a winning attitude with all this going on around me? In my life?

First and foremost I believe you have to know that you are important.

To quote Roy Lessin who wrote these words;

"Just think, you're here not by chance, but by God's choosing. His hand formed you and made you the person your are. He compares you to no one else - you are a one of a kind. You lack nothing that His grace can't give you. He has allowed you to be here at this time in history to fulfill His special purpose for this generation."

Whether you believe this to be true, it is God's perspective of you. He treasures and values you more than anything in this world. There is no thing that He would trade you for. Knowing that, when, maybe you have nobody else in your life who tells you that you are important gives hope.

I am not saying He will suddenly appear and pluck you out of your difficult situation - no, instead, He will lead you to people, who will welcome you with a kind word, a place to stay, warmth and security during the difficult days, weeks, or months that you are going through this time in your life. Remember that we go "through" and never stay in the place we are if we are willing to follow His guidance which we hear in our conscience or our spirit.

We can have a winning attitude in many ways, when we realize for example that we are healthy, have friends and family, have someone who cares about us, laughs and cries with us, and prays for us.

This is not for the weak of heart - it is a time for strength and perseverance during difficult times. We need to charge our batteries with prayer and be strengthened by God's Word so we can be a beacon of light to others and they grope their way through the dark times of their lives.

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but when dreams come true at last, there is life and joy!" (from the Living Bible)

Winning Time

You look at the clock and the day is GONE! Seems like it just burned up like the fuel in your car, and you are both running on empty with much to do. Do you ever notice how quickly the hours in the day rush past you and you feel like you haven't accomplished much?

It happens to the most organized woman who diligently makes out her list of things to do, and methodically goes about the day knocking off each task till she finds that there aren't enough hours in a day to do it all. It's almost as if the list keeps growing longer as does the day grows shorter. So how do women win the war with time? How can we win some time back?
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Deciding that it was time to make use of the internet and mine its treasures, I took a piece of paper, drew a line down the middle and on one side made a list of things that I could find solutions for via the internet and on the other side, I listed those things that either I or someone has to take care of.

First I took on simple things like;

Ordering groceries and finding coupons from on-line resources such as;

• http://www.PeaPod.com, the staples are great, (I don't recommend ordering fresh fruits, veggies, meats that way), or http://www.Schwans.com They have everything from bread to ice cream and both deliver to your door.
  http://www.findsavings.com - Find Savings,coupons,discounts for 100s of stores!
  

• A Personal Chef is another option that comes in handy to prepare meals for you in advance, especially if you are needing personalized meals for diet, low sodium, or family meals.

• Find the local dry-cleaner who provides pick-up and delivery, or offers 24-hour drop off service. Dog-walkers will take Spot out for his daily walk for you. On-site Car Washing - they come to you at the office or at home, and they will fill up your tank if you need it.

Then there is the "other" list. This is where the thought pops in your head; 'If only I could duplicate myself!' - well, this is almost as good as having another you -

A Virtual Assistant can take care of your paperwork, paying your bills, sorting out receipts for taxes and does all the "fun" stuff that takes time from you. Your Virtual Assistant becomes a second YOU, she takes care of getting cards out, gifts purchased, in other words - she helps you win time!

So that's it - winning some precious time back to spend with your family, or on yourself, with a few tips and shortcuts.

Please share ways you have found to time for yourself by leaving a comment and let me know if this has been of help to you.

Enjoy the winnings!

Social Butterflies - Finding the Right Sites Pt 2

Are you are a Business person? Do you have a business you want to promote?

In Part 2 of Finding the right sites we will look at three (3) strong Business sites that can benefit you as a business person and/or business owner.

The first is LinkedIn. Not considered a social site, its' primary focus is on making contacts and networking with other professionals at different levels at companies you would like to interact with.
Perhaps you are looking for the contact person to a company you are interested in seeking an opportunity or employment with. This is the place for such a search. It is more direct and you can get past the gate-keepers.
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If you are new to LinkedIn and want to start making contacts then consider joining one or more of the open networking groups found on the groups page. Groups such as; LION (Linked In Open Network), OPEN Networker, TopLinked, GroupLinked, Inviteswelcome, and BLUE (The Dallas Blue Networking site with over 25,000 members worldwide) are all excellent groups to start with. As you sift through contacts, hone in on the ones you feel you will want to network with and expand your contacts from that base.

Additionally, you can find niche groups related to your area of expertise that you may also want to join. You can have up to 50 groups which will expose you to thousands of potential contacts that you can add to your network.

Quality, more than quantity is key, therefore, if you receive an invitation to connect from someone that doesn't look like a fit, just Archive it. Never click the "I don't Know" button. This is a courtesy all LinkedIn folks extend to each other.

LinkedIn offers several levels of membership. I suggest starting with the Free Membership, then if you like it, move into a paid subscription. Visit them at http://www.linkedin.com

Another focused business site is FastPitchNetworking.com - which is a business networking site that will help you grow your business and give you greater exposure across the internet. They offer many tools to help you become more visible in the network and on the internet. It is also segmented, so you can find professionals locally, citywide, and statewide. Again, this offers several levels of membership. Visit them at http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com

A different kind of business and social networking site is e-cademy. This is a global site that enables you to connect with people world-wide. In your profile you are asked for 50 words to describe yourself, which are like keywords or tags. This will allow people who type any of these keywords to find you and invite you to connect.
Again, you can choose to accept or decline their invitation based on what you are looking for. Visit them at http://www.ecademy.com

Finally, keep it all real - give enough professional information about you, your professional experience and expertise, but don't write a thesis. Stick to the point of your reason for being there, advertise your services or company by following the template they provide. Let people know you are open to invitations and are ready to engage in networking.

You will be amazed at the door that will open for you in the networking world.

Ready, set - Go for it Winning Woman and start making those connections!

Pitching your Business

You are in an elevator with someone who may be a decision maker for the company you have been looking at doing business with - what do you say?

How do you get your pitch in before the door opens? It's crunch time, and you've got to say it in 25 seconds or less - there are no second chances, this is the moment; and that is why it is called the 'Elevator Pitch' or 'Elevator Speech'.
Great! You think; 'Here's my chance to tell them about my great company', and you proceed to download your entire docier of everything you do and have ever done. Then, just to make sure they don't forget you, you offer your card. Do you wonder why you never hear back from them?
Has this ever happened to you? Carried away by the mere question, in your excitement and exuberance, you fire-hose the person with everything you've got. Too much information (TMI).
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Seriously though, you have a business that you want to talk about because you love doing what you do. You are passionate about it and you want to tell the world. However, what you may or may not realize is that no one is interested in you. Your long-winded discourse could go on to being boring or even borderline rude if you continue talk only about yourself. It is time to tighten it up and make it interesting to "them". It has to be about them. This is why it is important to master your speech so that it clearly identifies what you have to offer is of benefit to this person. The person who may or may not be interested in you and has for the sake of small talk, asked - 'And, what do you do?'

So, what options are there for letting people know about your business - politely?
Let's look at and break down the elements to the best under-1-minute speech and how to put one together; The Elevator Speech or The Elevator Pitch.

First, get a timer, set it for 2 minutes, then write down what you do. Not easy is it?
Two minutes seem so short, yet it is way too much time in an elevator. Keep working at it till you can beat the clock at 2 minutes, then 1 minute, till you have it under 40 seconds. Sharpen and shorten your time till you can say what you do in 25 - 30 words or under approximately 40 seconds.
Get to that strong one-liner that makes them think 'wow' and ask for your business card. Or perhaps they may give you theirs and tell you to call them. They want more, you got them hooked. How did you do it?

Let's break down the elements to a great elevator pitch or speech by implementing these keys as you are putting your pitch together;

• Know who your target is - if you don't no one else will and you will just throw it out there hoping it will stick on someone. Keep in mind that if the person just doesn't seem to fit your client profile template, just smile, be professional, and very be brief about what you do. Never offer your business card.

• Know what your goal is - you want to get your foot in the door with this speech, then once in you will get more time to elaborate on your business and how it will benefit them. Notice, I said benefit them, which leads me to the next point -

• Know that it's NOT about you - your potential client wants to know what's in it for them, what are they going to get and how will they benefit from your business relationship.

• Keep it short and to the point - enough said. You don't want someone rambling in your ear, don't do it to anyone else.

• Be prepared - always know that the chance for your pitch can happen anywhere, any time.

• Be confident - Practice! Practice! Practice!, till you can say it in your sleep. Make sure your speech exudes the passion behind what you are saying therefore YOU have to believe it yourself.

The late great Winston Churchill said it best; "Be Clear. Be Brief. Be Seated."

Social Butterflies - Finding the Right Sites Pt 1

Are you confused about which social site to choose?

Social Sites are popping up all over the web and you may be wondering what they are and if you should belong to any. Perhaps you want to know where you might invest your time and your affiliations?
In researching this vast offering of online communities, I have found that it can become a bit overwhelming with the plethora of information and aspects to them. There are so many to choose from and they all seem to offer different aspects of communication, community, and environments. With this in mind, I thought we would start with two of the most visible and hot sites going right now.
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Facebook tends to be more like an online diary, journal, scrapbook or memoir depending on how you wan to use it. It offers many groups to belong to including causes that may be of interest to you. Most people will post rather than real-time or IM, however that option is available if you want to see who is online when you are. With time you can build your community by inviting people you know, and new people you want to know via a group or cause. Post comments, photos, links, music, videos, whatever it is you want to share that is important to you. Then, take your time to read your connections' posts when it's convenient for you, add comments to their posts, and send them an email directly if you choose.
It also offers groups you can join and meet others with same interest and causes as you have, or you can create a group and invite others to join yours.
You can also use FB as simply a place to post updates on your life with photos and keep it to your immediate circle of family and friends. FaceBook has a tendancy to be more intimate and more casual in its socializing.

The complete opposite of this is Twitter which is real-time, like live texting, except you are interacting with a community of thousands. And, with limit of 140 characters - you learn to tighten your thoughts and respond immediately to a current topic or start a new one yourself. This is where the fun is, because the topics jump around so much, and with the time zones, people from all over the world start to engage themselves in these open forum conversations know as Tweets. Twitter offers the opportunity to find out what other people are thinking and saying in real-time, where you can find people who have opposing or similar interests, political, religious and/or social similarities . It is not a forum for promoting your MLM or selling - people will block you and actually consider it spamming. It is building relationships and exploring subjects of interest to discuss, and yes, sometimes, you may even connect on a business level and make contacts.
If you are really wanting to spread your wings and be a social butterfly -you can join a number of different communities, keeping in mind that they all have "unwritten" rules and etiquette that you need to follow to be able to become part of it.
In my next post, we will look at several more communities and the rules of engagement.

Winning Hearts - Winning Lives - This is American Heart Month

The euphoria of Valentine's Day has worn off, you've had a few too many desserts, and realize that you have hit that moment when you look in the mirror, the numbers on the scale and think that it's time to get serious about your health.

You feel uncomfortable in your clothes, everything is harder to do, you are out of breath, and you have no energy. Take a serious look at your lifestyle - are there things you can change? Does the idea of living encourage you to rethink some of your habits that are causing problems in your life? Do you feel out of control and don't know where to begin to make changes?
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Well good news! This is American Heart Month and there are many resources available to help you take that first step to a winning life. Our heart is the center of our lives, it keeps us alive, and what condition is it in? Are you taking care of your heart?

Did you know that heart disease is the #1 killer of women? Look at these numbers from the American heart Association Heart Disease & Stroke Statistics, updated 2008;

• 80,700,000 American adults have one or more types of cardiovascular disease.
  
• Cardiovascular disease includes stroke, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, birth heart defects, hardening of the blood vessels, and other diseases of the circulatory system.
  
• One in 3 female adults have some form of cardiovascular disease.
  
• In 2004, cardiovascular disease caused about a death a minute among females.
  
• In 2004, 460,000 female lives were lost due to cardiovascular disease.
  
• More female lives were lost due to cardiovascular disease than by cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s disease, accidents, and diabetes combined.
  
• 49% of Black/African-American women have cardiovascular disease.
  
• 35% of non-Hispanic white women have cardiovascular disease.
  
• 34.4% of Mexican-American women have cardiovascular disease.

Overweight, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, eating the wrong foods, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even a family history of heart disease contribute to heart disease deaths in women.

As a Winning Woman you have the ability utilizing the right information and tools to reduce the risk of heart disease and have a healthy and longer life.

If you do just 4 simple things; not smoking, balanced eating with the right foods, do some physical activity and lowering your weight to a healthy number, doing these four thing can help lower your risk of heart disease by as much as 82% according to the NHLBI.

We must spread the word to other Winning Women and encourage each other to take this seriously. To remind ourselves - wear RED! Joining a local group or starting one in your area to create accountability partners if you think you can't tackle this on your own.
Sometimes we just need another person who is willing to get us out of the house, walk with us, talk with us, and encourage us.
Living healthy is really Winning.

Be a healthy Winning Woman!