It's a New Day

One morning recently, before the holidays, as I was waking up, the thought that came wafting it's way into my mind was, "Its a New Day." As I was getting myself ready to go to work I was aware that the more I meditated upon that thought; the more I was encouraged. It's a new day. There is no need to be holding on to the baggage from yesterday. If there is something carried over from yesterday which needs to be addressed. ADDRESS it, and move on! Take whatever means necessary to get it resolved. Then PUT IT BEHIND YOU. It is in the Past! It's a new day. There are new opportunities; new inspirations; new people to meet; new challenges and obstacles to overcome; new things to do and learn. The Scripture puts it like this in Phil 3:13b-14 "...this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the High calling of God in Christ Jesus". In building your business; each day is new! Learn from what happened yesterday; but don't rest on the laurels of yesterdays successes, and don't build a monument to the failures of yesterday. Today is a brand new page, and you can create new momentum to the Slight Edge continium which is pushing your business and your life to where you want it to be.

The Wisdom to Know the Difference

We've all read the what is called the Serenity Prayer: Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. This saying is made famous by groups like 'Alcoholic Anonymous who are working to help people change their live This weekend, I heard this thought expressed in a different tone. A man named Octavio Paz wrote that "Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor change but in the dialectic between the two". Each person must struggle and strive to find the values that define their lives. This is a process which takes time, because these values are the foundation stones upon which we build our lives. Once we establish our values, we must hold to them and never change them. However, in each of our lives, there are areas which we need to change, in order to become the people that God made us to be. We need to be open, flexible and ready to make these changes when the light of inspiration shines upon our pathway. The Wisdom lies in the ability to discern between those values which we need to hold fast to, and the changes which we need to make in order to become better people. That is why we need continually to be learning. Education and growth are life long processes. In Network Marketing then, Self Development is a must. We must be continually improving; finding those areas where we need to make changes. If we don't, we will be stagnating and going backward.

The Real Authentic and Individual Me

I read somewhere just today that the ultimate creative act is to express what is most Authentic and Individual about myself. So I made the decision that for my first blog post of 2009, I would paint a picture of what is most authentic and individual about me. I am a 'green' personality. In the vocabulary of personality study, I would be called a 'melancholy'; although I am not at all melancholy. I have been an optimist, and a positive thinker my entire life for as far back as I can remember. I am very self contained and keep to myself and somewhat indirect. Although, I feel like I have a book inside of me which I need to share with others. So I can't be that indirect. I hate political correctness. I like to state exactly what is on my mind. One of the things currently which drives me bananas is the emphasis on being enviromentally conscious or 'green'. Sure I believe that we need to protect the environment in which we have to live; but today, too many people are going overboard. In my opinion Rush Limbaugh is correct when he calls such people 'Environmentalist Whackos'. Like I said above, I keep to myself. There are alot of times when I enjoy being with people. I enjoy talking with and relate to all kinds of people; but I consider myself solitary, like an eagle. I enjoy my own company. When I travel I travel by myself. It doesn't bother me to go out to dinner by myself. I keep my own counsel. I am a critical thinker. I don't follow the crowd, and I don't care what people think about me. I don't want to be like anybody else. I want to be who I am. I want to be the person that God made to me. I am a Spiritual person. I prize highly above everything else to be spiritually minded. Thirty years ago, I was born-again, and met the God of the universe. To be like Jesus, and to be pleasing to Him. That is the focus of my life If you are in business, especially the network marketing business, you've got to connect with people. You've got to BE YOURSELF to connect with people. If you are not yourself, people will turn you off. You've got to be Authentic, and Individual.

Having just told you about my recent pedestrian auto accident, my mind flashed back to something that happened 41 years ago, on June 01, 1967, when I was 14 years old. I was in the 8th grade at Mary Lyon Junior High School in Royal Oak Michigan. My home room and Social Studies/English teacher was Mr. Schneider. I was in the Boy Scouts. My rank was First Class. Our meetings were on Thursday nights. On this particular evening I had ridden on my bicycle to the scout meeting with a neighborhood friend Art Kowalski. We had to cross one busy street, the intersection of 14 Mile and Campbell roads. That was the dividing line between 4 suburbans in Metropolitan Detroit. Troy, Royal Oak, Clawson, and Madison Heights all came together at that intersection. We called it 4 corners. On my way to the scout meeting that evening, there was nothing unusual about that intersection. The traffic light was operating with normal operation. We just waited until the light turned green, and then we crossed. Foolishly, we rode our bikes in the streets. On the way home, it was already dark. It was after 9 PM. We rode our bikes in the street again, this time on the shoulder of Campbell Road. When we came to the intersection the traffic light was flashing. It had turned into a flasher at 9:00 PM. I remember noticing that it was flashing, and I was anxious about it. Being as careful as I could, I attempted to cross the intersection. I was struck broadside by a car going eastbound on 14 Mile road about 35 miles an hour. I must have been knocked out because I remember waking up, lying on the street, looking up into the face of a neighbor, Mrs. Mapes who lived half a block way on Sheffield. She was asking me if I was all right. I was taken by ambulance to Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital. I stayed over two nights for observation. I had a slight concussion, a sprain, but no broken bones. I guess being on the bicycle protected me. How does this relate to Success and Survival in business? When changes come, and they will, we must be ALERT. and then we must adapt and be flexible to help us get through the changes. Back to the incident I just related; when we were on the way home, and I noticed that the traffic signal had started flashing, I might have avoided the accident entirely by going over to the sidewalk and crossing at the school crosswalk. We must be alert to changes that come. We must slow down, think rationally, and critically. We must be flexible and adapt if we are to survive. I can help you be SUCCESSFUL! THOMAS HAVIS-Detroit, Michigan (313) 516-6043 call anytime

FACING ADVERSITY AND PLOWING AHEAD TO FIND ULTIMATE SUCCESS

I have been out of the loop for 6 months. Here's why April 1, 2008 started out as a normal day. I rose at 4:00 am. I read my Bible. I ate my normal breakfast. I showered and dressed for work. I got a lunch together, including a thermos of coffee. I left my apartment at 6:30 am and started walking to the bus stop about 4 blocks away. At about 640 am, about a block away from the bus stop, while attempting to cross the street, I was struck by a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country, which is nearly an SUV. I saw myself get hit. I was thrown about ten feet, and hit the pavement on the femur portion of my right leg. As it turned out, the Tibia of my left leg was shattered, and the Femur of my right leg was severely fractured. Fortunately, a workman who was at the intersection that day, called EMS who took me to Detroit Receiving Hospital. I was in the Hospital 10 days, during which time I had 4 surgeries. I was transferred to a Rehabilitaion Center where I was for 45 days. I lived in an Assisted Living Center for 4 months where I graduated from a wheelchair to a walker; and from a walker to a cane. I am still using the cane, but less and less. Gradually, my life is getting back to normal. God has done a great miracle for me. I owe my recovery to my faith in God; people that prayed for me; my support ;system; and the positive attitude that I carry with me all the time All of us go through adversity at one time or another. It may be in that in building a business, the path to success may be filled wth adversity. It may seem that you are Butting your head against a stone wall. I is in have a positive mindset, faith in God, yourself, and perserverence in plowing ahead that you will eventually SUCCEED!

NORMAL WEEKEND STUFF..CLEANING THE CHURCH

For the last 15-20 years I have been part of the team which has gotten the Tabernacle, and the Church Fellowship Hall prepared the worship services which our church has on Sundays. Of course, we have our worship services, Sunday AM & PM in the Tabernacle. We use the Fellowship Hall for the children's Sunday School Classes which we have during the hour preceding the Sunday Morning worship. We also have classes for the older youth, young adults, and adult in the Tabernacle. On Saturday afternoon at approximately 4:00 pm or later we prepare both building for the Sunday functions. We do whatever cleaning is necessary, do set up work if appropriate, and we prepare the literature for the Sunday School classes, making sure that it is available and set out for use. We make sure that both buildings are prepared and ready for Sunday Morning ; and that we can function without a hitch.

If you are in business of any type; If you work at a regular job; Indeed, at any activity in your life that you wish to be successful, you must plan and prepare. Something that I heard seems to be a Maxim or Truism in this regard "IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU PLAN TO FAI!! Because I am steering these thoughts in the direction of Network Marketing, and building a Successful Network Marketing Business, I will limit my discussion to some of the planning and preparation that is necessary in building a business from home, More in my nest post,

SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN YOUR ENDEAVORS

Recently, I mentioned that 26 years ago, I was in Basic Training in Fort Leornardwood Missouri for the United States Army. There were a lot of failures I had. I was 28 years old when I enlisted in the Army. Even though I ran Cross Country, and Track when I was in High School, At 28 my stamina wasn't what it should have been, and I found it hard to keep up with the pace of the Company runs. I had a lot of inhibitions that hindered me when it came to the Obstacle Courses, and the Confidence courses which the Unit trained on. When it came to the Fire and Manuever taining, I found myself moving like a truck. I had one of the Company Drill sargents. Sgt Jantzen tell me "Havis, you're not going to make it as a Soldier". And when it came to the Grenade Course, i failed it, and had to be rescheduled to take it over. Finally, I had some type of physical affliction where i feet were swelling up, and i missed a day of marching on them

I had some things that were successes. I managed to qualify with my M-16 the first go-around. I practically aced the "END OF CYCLE TEST on the soldiering skills that we had learned in Basic Combat Training. I managed to pass the Army Physical Training Test (APRT); and I gained the respect and admiration of my fellow recruits.

What made the difference? I NEVER GAVE UP.. This week, some one sent me a story about what it takes to be a finisher. The MORAL is this. If you want to be a Finisher, DON'T GIVE UP!!

This goes Double, Even Triple, if you are trying to build a business. I can guarantee you, it will be a struggle. Nothing in life ever comes easy; Learning all the skillls necessary to talk to people; learn what is necessary to manage your business will all take effort and hard work. Success will not come EASY. But one thing is for sure, IF YOU QUIT. YOU WILL FAIL. GUARANTEED!!! KEEP HANGING IN THERE! EVENTUALLY, SUCCESS WILL COME IF YOU DON'T QUIT.