A Holiday Wish For Direct Sellers

Take a minute to watch this. It is slow to load and is well worth the wait! I would like to thank all the direct sales professionals who visit this site and participate in our events. You are awesome.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and have a terrific Kwanza and every other holiday that you may be celebrating. Have some fun and do not let stress ruin it for you. Happy Holidays, Deb

All Work & No Play – Not Me!

It is important to enjoy life too. One of the many benefits of being in direct sales is that you can write your own schedule. Be sure that you do exactly that and enjoy doing the things that you love. If you find that I am not answering my phone or returning my calls quite as quickly as usually this is why.

Check out last year’s snow making video too.

It’s Not Snow Colorado!

You may have noticed that I do not post as often in the winter. Snow is my thing. Skiing, snow making and playing in snow. If it is not the natural stuff then I will make my own. Here is one of the ways I spend my Winter time.

I started training for competitive body building about 3 years ago. Perhaps it was a midlife crisis or something. I had just turned 51 and body building competition had been on my list of ‘Things To Do Someday’ dream list for about 30 years. When my network marketing company sent me on a free vacation to Hawaii I picked up a muscle magazine. For some reason whenever I go on vacation I start thinking about things on my fun ‘to-do’ list. While looking at the magazine, I realized that it was time. I thought “I have been holding onto this dream for almost 30 years. If I don’t do it soon, this it will pass me by.” I am not one to give up on a dream so I wasted no more time before starting my body building career. I realized that there was nothing stopping me from doing it, so I did.

Focus Is Key To Achieving Goals

I began to focus on body building as my passion outside of my business. I studied and read body building books, subscribed to body building journals, went to body building competitions and hung out with body builders. I got a personal trainer, joined the gym, bought body building apparel and basically learned every aspect of body building. It took focus. I focused on scheduling time to get to the gym each week. I focused on eating foods that build muscle. I focused on visualizing winning competitions; I focused on the enjoyment of the sport. I focused on my health. I focused on what other body builders did. I focused my studies on my new sport.

Determination Is Essential To Success

I was determined to be a winning body builder. There were times it was not easy. I kept my determination and now, after two seasons of competition, I can say that I have enjoyed several successes as a body builder. The body building trophies and medals remind me of the determination and commitment that it takes to be an entrepreneur. When I first quit the corporate world I did exactly the same thing. I focused on network marketing, I studied and read books on network marketing, I subscribed to networking magazines. I scheduled time for my business. I joined a team of successful reps and hired a coach or mentor. I visualized myself quitting my full time job. I visualized myself on a free vacation in Hawaii. I focused all my studies on my new career.

Failure Is Lack Of Commitment

It hasn’t always been easy, yet I have kept my determination. The only difference between success and failure is the ability to stay committed. In both body building and network marketing I have been told by friends and relatives that I am crazy for sticking with it. In both a hobby and a career I have occasionally had thoughts that maybe they were right. I have even thought that it was not worth all the work. I did not fail because I did not quit. The number one reason anyone fails in anything is because they stop!

Stay Committed To Your Dreams

You deserve to enjoy life. Both your career and hobbies and dreams should be enjoyed. Know that they are attainable. Body building is the same as being self-employed. It is all about your commitment to yourself. You deserve to receive all the good in life, so give yourself the opportunity to live your dreams. Stay committed to achieving your dreams, both in your personal world and in your work world.

30 Years Of Dreaming & 3 Years Of Focus

This 2 minute clip is the result of 30 years of dreaming and 3 years of commitment and focus. Natural body builders are judged in two segments. In the morning on symmetry and muscularity and in the evening on posing. I earned a 4th place in my age group and 5th in overall women’s physique. This is the evening performance in Middletown, PA on October 6, 2007.

Deb’s posing routine at the NABBA American Championships

Debbie Banana And The Mad Scientist is a Fun Assembly

Most of you know that my speaking services have dual interest. I speak as much on health as I do on home business cash flow. Today I presented the hilariously funny school assembly Debbie Banana And The Mad Scientist 4 times! The Coudersport Elementary School in Coudersport, PA invited me to present two assemblies to the students and two to the parents coming this evening to the parent-teacher night. Debbie Banana teaches the kids that they will grow up to be healthy when they eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day. The Mad Scientist teaches them what is really in that box of macaroni and cheese. The evening events were a short adult version of the same assembly, so that the parents are also experiencing what the kids learned.

The Assembly Impacted Their Lives

Even though the day was really long, this was a unique experience that I really appreciated. Most of the time when I present in schools, I do the assembly, talk briefly to the kids and leave. Today I have had the privilege of spending the entire day here. During the afternoon at the school I really became aware of how much impact the program has on the kids. I had many students come up me and high-five me. (The program teaches five fruits and veggies and that there are 5 ingredients in wholesome  homemade macaroni and cheese.) A small shy girl from the kindergarten level who came back in the evening with her Dad hesitantly told me that she ate carrots for a snack. I had several kids actually say that they would never eat macaroni in a box again for the rest of their lives. In the evening parents were coming to the workshop early because their kids had been talking so much about the assembly. I really enjoyed being involved in the whole day at Couldersport Elementary School and receiving all of the positive feed back.

Emotions Create More Learning

The drive home was long and the moon hung over the highway like a wedge of orange hanging in the sky. I had a lot of time to think. When presenting to adults, I know that participation creates more learning. Debbie Banana And The Mad Scientist is not your typical boring school assembly. Kids have fun, laugh and get involved. Everyone shops or buys with their emotions. I realize now how effective this program is due to the emotional involvement that the children have when participating in the event. Everyone learns and invests in life based on their emotions. Like a home party, when an assembly engages the kids, they have fun in school and become emotionally involved. This creates an immediate impact in their lives now and for the future. My mission is to change the way kids eat now and into the future. I made good progress toward that goal today.

Prioritize Your Health

I am impressed with some of the schools and school principals like Mrs. Sherry Cowburn at Coudersport Elementary School that prioritize the healthy education of the children. Unfortunately, many Americans, as well as schools, only give lip service to a desire for health. Money, prestige, and education are useless when you give away your gift of health. When more schools begin to really prioritize wellness education, maybe we will begin to overcome some of the obesity issues in the US. Click Here For Info On The School Assemblies.