Are you familiar with the Flip Video Camera? An awesome tool for any mom by the way. Easily fits in your purse or pocket and you always have it when those moments arise.
I bought one for my husband for Christmas:). I'm not sure he has even turned it on yet but I'm loving it!
Here is the real message. I spent nearly half a day trying to charge the thing recently. I kept plugging it in to my computer USB port but I could not get it to hold the charge. I couldn't find the instructions. It is so simple to use that you really don't need them. Finally, in desperation, I googled how to charge. Turns out my camera uses 2 AA batteries.
I could have spent all day "charging" on my computer but I could never have accomplished what I needed to. No matter how hard I tried. I've been thinking about it a lot. Do I have the right tools to accomplish what I am trying to achieve? Do you? Do you need a new instruction manual?
Got a story you can share or thoughts of your own on this? Would love to hear them.

I have an acquaintance introduced to me by a powerful group of friends (pay attention when successful friends introduce you to their friends!). I consider her a mentor though she may or may not remember me. We spoke only on  a handful of occasions and yet I consider her a powerful presence in my life and think of her often. Much like folklore,  I am sure I have elevated her to greater  heights than may be humanely possible. Her influence has touched me, inspired me and challenged me to be much of the person I am today. I give time energy and resources to charity and to community in ways I never knew were possible.

This woman started with a well known MLM in the 70's and grew an amzing business. She started with a small goal and a dream to improve her life and travel. She needed extra income to do that. Now, she does business in more countries than we have states. When she opens her business in each new country she requires her leaders to give 10% of their income to projects or causes in their country. In addition, she pledges 100% of hers.

She frequently says that she makes a ton of money so she can give it all away.  I too would like to be filthy stinking rich so I can give it all away! How about you?

She has been responsible for for building clinics, roads, and orphanages. Feeding hungry children and putting shoes on their feet by the thousands.

Not only that but she inspires others like me to give of themselves and their resources in a ripple effect that is immeasurable. It must be in the  millions a year and countless man  hours directed to making the world a better place.

Did your dreams, goals and aspirations just get bigger? Will anything in that get you out of bed earlier or keep you up later working on your self and your business?  Who inspires you?

 Do you have it? Do you want it? With freedom and success, I believe there comes great responsibility. To those who are given much, from them much is expected.
I am blessed to work from home, have successful businesses and great freedom.
When there are needs greater than the needs of my family I feel a responsibility to step up. I have helped with disaster relief efforts in the past. I am currently working on the development of a new community fitness trail, providing fresh produce for hungry children and families in three counties, I’m also president of the PTA for the elementary and yesterday I started work helping move an orphanage we support from Haiti to homes or a home here in the US.
I spend time daily on my businesses. I can take time off when i want without it affecting our income and I have plenty of time to devote to the people and projects I am passionate about. I call it freedom but it does not mean I sit on the couch eating bon-bons or globe trotting solely for my own pleasure.
Start today to be the person you want to become. Get involved in projects and causes you are passionate about. Give more of yourself than you have ever given and I promise you will create a life better than you ever imagined!

Christopher Robin and Pooh Bear are especially wise.
I was reminded of this favorite quote today (Thank you Diane Kennedy!).
You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. - Christopher
Robin
I believe that about you my dear friends. Anything is possible.
Tape that quote somewhere you will see and read it often!
I'm going to remember to share that with my children from time to time as well!
I'd love to know some of your favorite quotes or inspirations. Please share them in the comments below!

Happy New Year! May it bring you peace, joy, love and prosperity!
So time to 'fess up. In my previous post I set a couple of goals to accomplish before the end of the year. With only two weeks left I wanted to end it strong and begin again with momentum.I must admit I failed at my goal for weight loss and it was worth it. I enjoyed every bite of that holiday fare!   I did however, get the new website up! What a great way to start the New Year. New project already under way. Actually have several new projects/business ventures in the works and know that 2010 is going to be the most amazing year.
What are you working on or working towards that you are excited about? What gets you up early in the morning and wakes you up in the middle of the night...well, besides children and pets:)!  Live with passion and purpose. Get excited and stay excited. If what you are doing right now isn't it then start looking! Life is too short to sit on the sidelines!

 I get asked all the time. How do you accomplish so much? I don't believe I have any more time in the day than you. I sleep, I hang out with my kids, we eat dinner together every night and I am taxi driver in the evenings as we shuttle from activity to activity. I talk on the phone with my girlfriends and I spend time with my husband. He may be the one who sometimes gets shortchanged. Please feel free to call me on that.

It is consistent action over time and persistence. Small steps daily lead to big results. It isn't huge action that accomplishes anything. It is the small things you do daily and over time that get the results. The one extra phone call, the action plan mapped out or one more appointment scheduled.

It is also what you or I choose to focus on. It occured to me early in the week that we have just two weeks left in December and 2009. I asked myself an important question. What could I accomplish in the next two weeks without taking away from family and our holiday celebrations? Granted the children will be off school and we have family and friends visiting so that will be my priorty but what could I still accomplish? I'm going to loose the extra 10 lbs that crept on this year and get my new website up and running. What will it take? Some discipline, some focus, an extra phone call or two, the walks I should be doing anyways, hitting curves an extra time or two and just knowing my priorities. I will also be thinking about how great it will feel to hit 2010 with momentum and a sense of accomplishment.

So I ask you, What can you still accomplish in 2009? What one thing could you do? What one step could you take today to move you closer to a goal? Let me know. I'd love to support you!

Christy

As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I have to share with you someone that I recently learned about and for whom I am extremely grateful. Her name is Beatrix Potter.

I recently saw the movie, Miss Potter, which is all about the life of Beatrix Potter, author and illustrator of the Peter Rabbit books. She has since become my new heroine and role model and here is why. She totally followed her passions and used her talents to create incredible books and products that connected with so many millions of children in so many languages and countries all around the world! And this is all the more extraordinary as she did this in the early 1900's in England where the biggest goal for women at the time was to marry well and run households!

But that is not all that Beatrix Potter did - this is only the beginning! Peter Rabbit was patented and produced as a soft toy in 1903 making Peter the oldest licensed character in existence. Her books and licensed products produced a steady stream of royalties for Miss Potter that allowed her to purchase and conserve large tracts of farmland in the Lake District that had become very dear to her. She eventually moved to the Lake District and became a respected sheep breeder and farmer, buying up land in the area. When she died, she left everything to the National Trust, a conservation organization that has maintained her land as a park for everyone to enjoy. 

Beatrix Potter followed her true passions and was an extremely unconventional woman for her times. She used her talents and imagination to create books that entertained millions, and as a result built her own personal wealth, of which she used to purchase land to be placed in conservation for all future generations to enjoy. She was truly an extraordinary woman and for these reasons she is my new heroine and role model!

So when you ask me what I am thankful for, as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I am thankful for incredible women like Beatrix Potter, that show and prove what can be done when women follow their heart's desires.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you incredible women!
Wendy

 Beach money is money you make while you are sitting on the beach, taking care of your kids or sleeping. It is also the title of my favorite new book by Jordan Adler. I'll post it on the booklist as soon as I remember how:)!
Beach money or passive residual income that comes from a business like network marketing or investing and it has always been my goal. This is cashflow that comes in consistently over time for work you do once. It has to do with leveraging your time and talent rather than trading time for dollars. It is a concept not everyone understands but it is how many people become financially free.
If you work for an hourly wage or a salary you are limited to the amount you can earn. You can only make as much as you can physically work or as much as someone else decides you are worth.
If you are able to invest or build a leveraged business there are no limits. What would you do with an extra $1000-$10,000 or more a month that had little or nothing to do with how you spent the majority of your time? That is what I'm talking about!
If this sounds interesting or intriguing I suggest you read the book. I'd love to hear what you think!

I recently bought a new wallet and as I was transferring everything from my old wallet to my new wallet, three little pieces of paper slipped out. They were three "fortunes" from fortune cookies that I had liked enough to tuck into my wallet that I had forgotten all about. Rereading each fortune one after the other, I could see a message coming through that really speaks to me right now and where I am in the process of discovering my life purpose. Perhaps they can help you too.

Fortune No. 1
The principle business of life is to enjoy it.
This is something that I am constantly needing to be reminded of. Not that I don't enjoy my life but when I think about it like this - that the fundamental, primary business of life is to enjoy it, lots of extraneous stuff no longer is important. At it's core, we are here to enjoy our lives - it is our primary business to do so. What are you doing with your life that makes you enjoy it? What am I doing with mine? This definitely leads me back to my life purpose discovery! We all owe it to ourselves to find out what that is!

Fortune No. 2
Success is a journey, not a destination.
It's coming at me from all angles! For such a long time now I have been looking at arriving at my destination as the goal so that I could finally have the time and finances to do all the stuff I enjoy. I'm still learning this lesson (I've been in that other mindset for so long) and again the reminder that success is right now, the here and now of it, in the journey, is so hugely helpful. Reminds me of Fortune No. 1!

Fortune No. 3
Good clothes open many doors. Go Shopping.
OK so this one is a little different - but what woman doesn't like to see a fortune like this one?! Permission to go shopping, wear good clothes, look great and enjoy the doors that open up! Doesn't this one come back to Fortune No. 1 also? If you are like me, a stay at home mom, that doesn't have to dress up to pick her kid up from school, can work from home in sweatpants (my UPS guy wouldn't recognize me without them on), putting on some nice clothes and shoes, just because I can, and walking out to the world makes me feel entirely different - and better! And I know you know what I mean. Nice clothes, shoes, a pretty handbag, a new haircut, and lipstick can do so much for how we feel about ourselves, which certainly rubs off on everyone else around us too! 

Remember, the main business of life is to enjoy it!
Wendy

PS. This is a photo of me and my little Willy Wonka, all ready to enjoy Halloween!