We all know someone who seems to have all the luck! They win all the door prizes, they get all the free stuff, they get to meet all these cool people. They just seem to have the sun shining over them all the time. Who do you know that’s like that?

I can think of a guy I knew from work. I’ll call him Bob. Bob and I both worked for a charitable organization. I also went to college with his wife. This guy was always getting free tickets to cool events, he was always invited to places where he got to hang out with some local or national celebrities. Bob was the guy people were talking about when they said “That guy is SO lucky!” Even his wife was heard saying it frequently.

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Larry Platt is a genius! He wrote  a song that only has 3 basic lines yet it speaks volumes. This simple song with these 3 lines put a complete picture in every one’s head in America.

How did he do that? Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a time…..there was a mom who had two little children.  One was five and the other six months old.

Loneliness and just having that feeling inside of her that there was ’something more’ she decided to run a business that had just literally fallen into her lap.

She bought a ’starter kit’ at a home party show cause it was way cheaper to do that than to ‘outright buy’ all the wonderful things she had fallen in love with.  Candles, crystal and solid brass items…quality pieces that she couldn’t just ‘buy now’ on her family budget.

Once she gleefully opened up her kit of “goodies” she actually sat down and started reading the ‘manual’ that came with it. Mmmm…to think that she could actually make a dollar or two spurred her ‘creative genius’.

Her skeptical husband said, “How are you going to do that? And who would be your customers? This product is too expensive!”
She knew though in her heart that ’something had led her’ to this particular product.

Having invited over for dinner one of her most skeptical friends, who also had a great taste for expensive things, she said to her husband “Look, if Mrs. Skeptical decides to buy what I have, and wants to host a party for me…then I will know that this is, indeed, the business for me!  Not only that, but she will decide this tonite within the first 15 min’s of coming into our house!”

Well, skeptical husband didn’t even wait 15 min’s….Mrs. Skeptical came into the house…saw the mom’s new pieces and within five min’s said “Oh my goodness, this is beautiful! Are you selling this? I used to sell MaryKay and I will host a party for you!”

Born in that moment in the mom’s heart was confirmation that she had indeed chosen a great product, and if she could instantly get Mrs. Skeptical on her side…success would be hers…and it WAS SO!

I guess I don’t need to tell you that I was that mom! I made a decision to start a business & had three key ingredients that made me start, and also three “motivators to my success”. 

Just how successful was I? Let’s try to the tune of $4,200/week average, won National Leadership awards, earned Top Ranking Consultant too many times to count!  I must just add here that I accomplished this in a tiny little town with less than 10,000 people!

Here are the Top three reasons most moms/mompreneurs decide to start in a business!

1) There are just plain lonely and in desperate need for some Adult/Female conversation!  Let’s face it….women on average talk 40% more than men, so if you are planning on your DH (darling hubby) to provide that Convo that you need everyday just to stay sane…uh it ain’t gonna happen!
2) Need for the Extra income.  Whether you have come from the corporate job and have now decided to be a SAHM (stay at home mom) or like our young family the need for that little bit extra is a top motivator for moms!
3) Knowing that your life is missing just that “Something”…that you were meant to do!  After all, every mom at some point wonders if this is all her life is cracked up to be: changing diapers, nursing, breakfast lunch dinner, bath times and puke times!  It doesn’t mean you don’t love these things…maybe minus the puke, but you start to seriously question what your “Better good” is!

Let me continue my story just a little bit more!

At my shows, which I absolutely Loved doing BTW, I had hundreds (yes hundreds) of women in other businesses keep asking me two questions: 1) How do you keep getting so many bookings? (I averaged around 10-15/mth) and 2) How are you getting such high sales? (again I AVERAGED around $750…which mean some were the minimum $250 and some were over $1500!)

At that point in my business these were two questions I honestly couldn’t answer!  I guess I didn’t have a ’set formula’ then for success!  I loved what I was doing, I loved sharing what I was doing and I definitely loved to make the money I was making!

After I ‘retired’ from that business, God has a great sense of humor so I developed ‘allergies’ to alot of the fragrances,  I tried a few other business’s sucked in by the money aspect.  Did I do well in these other business’s? Sadly, no!

I hopped from business to business, trying to find the ‘right one’ for me again!  I tried everything from scrapbooking (mom of six here) to vitamins (health is good right?) to even an on-line self development course (which I found after having been told I had a hrt condition). 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I really did love all of these businesses and I’m 100% certain of their merits and value that I could add to peoples lives….but one thing was missing….my heart!  That little voice in my gut saying “This is what you are meant to do!”

I started some real ’soul searching’.  I don’t believe that something happens in our lives for no reason!  So I sat down and for four months really worked out what my passion is!

Here it is: “My passion is to help other moms/mompreneurs learn the three steps I did to Be happy, Love what you do & Make money doing it!”

Here are the three steps that I realized years after many ladies were asking me how I got more bookings and higher sales:

1) I knew that something in my life was missing and allowed something new to open up to me!
2) Once I fell in love with a certain product (or passion) I was not deterred by what other people told me. I was focused and used the simple techniques that I was told by my mentors.
3) I knew in my heart that this was for me, and I believed that it was going to work for me.

Bio: Jody is a WAHM, owner of www.DesignedforDivineDestinations.com, mom of six of a blended family, an accomplished ToastMaster & Speaker and has a passion to work with mompreneurs!

There have been many times in my business where I have felt “Stumped” and “Stagnant” & it’s at those times that I take a close look at what is holding me back!

There are so many ‘options’ out there today for business’s and ways to ‘grow your business’, ‘make money online’ etc… that many people get themselves into a state of “Overwhelment” and then the funny thing that happens is this…”Nothing” gets done/accomplished.

One of my favourite history stories is about Hernando Cortez, who crushed the Aztec Empire.  He made their level of committment ‘essential’ by burning his armies boats, so they had ‘no choice’ but to move ahead.  To move towards their goal with no ‘other options’.

This is definitely a story that I think about and ponder when I’m in that ’stagnant’ stage.  I give myself permission to ‘Look at where I am at’ and ‘who I am being’.  I know that my level of committment is being hindered by the boats(or our lame exuses) that I am hanging on to!

Once I have clearly identified the boats (exuses) I give myself permission to burn them down & give myself no other option than to “move forward”.

I highly encourage you right now to think of where you are in your business & if you are happy with your level of success/income/business development…are you 100% happy with it?  If not, then you need to identify what your boats/exuses are, write them down, then have a good old ‘burning session’.

“The key to change…is to let go of Fear!” Roseanne Cash

Start right now to get rid of too many options, and move yourself forward ‘one option at a time’.

Jody Maley

owner of www.DesignedforDivineDestinations.com

“Where it’s not just about the Destination, it’s the Journey to get There!”

This is a true story and I hope it has never happened to you! Enjoy the read & I’d love your responses!

Some people on Twitter and Facebook have been making all sorts of of comments as to why Ethics are Important in a Business?

A few years ago when I was crazily stoked doing alot of Home Parties in the candle business, I found I was getting a tonne of packages sent to my home by FedEx.

The company I was with was all about ‘customer service’ and at that time (this was probably over ten years ago) when you hosted a party with alot of different companies delivery could well be over 8 weeks! Since I was in a very remote part of BC, Canada, our area easily added on a few more weeks.

My company stood apart and instead of having products being shipped through the post office, they decided to use Federal Express and they ‘ate up’ the additional costs to make sure people were receiving their products in less than three weeks.  This was something very good that I utilized in my selling features.

Since I was a leader I received many things for nothing and had pieces shipped almost on a weekly basis.  I also let some hostesses use my address if they were far away and not within Federal Expresses delivery. In this way I probably received two to three parcels, or bundles every week.

Let’s just say that the delivery people definitely knew who I was, and got my parcels to me in a very quickly and timely manner!

One day, when no one was home and it was pretty warm out, I had a nice cool shower, dried off and remembered I had a stack of clean clothes in the laundry room.  So, I just padded through the house in um…nothing but what the good lord gave us.

At that particular moment, my trusty FedEx dude was delivering a big pack of bundles on my back step.  Unfortunately for me, this of course was the fully glass door to my laundry room. Oops!

He was embarrassed, needless to say I was embarrassed, and I pretty much hid in my room for the better part of the day thinking “My professional life is ruined!”

In spite of this really embarrassing blunder, and trust me I’ve had many many more, I knew I had two choices:

1) I could let this embarassment hinder me in my business (I was already trying to think of how I could divert boxes to a different address….perhaps in a totally different city??) or
2) I could Face my embarrassment, laugh and learn from it, and keep on Keeping ON!

Good thing for me I chose Option number two because I would’ve missed some of the best money making years of my business if I didn’t. (Averaging about $4,200/week!)

Having a good sense of humor enabled me to ‘move forward’ instead of panic, fear and embarassment hold me back.

Now I’m sure that you have had some little ‘obstacle’ or ‘embarrassment’ in your business which has held you captive too.

Perhaps, it’s even held you back from stepping forward, facing your FEAR and I’m hear to tell you one clearly important thing:

Not Facing that Fear or Obstacle IS holding you back from having the Best years of your business financially!

I also knew that ethically I owed it to my customers, hostesses and consultants to stand up and Be the Leader, no matter what I was feeling inside.

Some of the other ways I feel that you can be ethical in your business are these:

1) Always do what you say you are going to! Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.
2) Don’t let fear or embarrassment hinder you, learn from it, grow from it and teach others how to overcome that same fear.
3) Provide the best customer service you can.  My partner Charlotte wrote a great article on  the service recession which I agree is in a worse state right now than the ‘economic recession’.

 4) Keep your ‘focus’ on the why you are doing what you are doing! Is your intention to just sell a bunch of products to make a few quick dollars? or is your intention to build ‘relationship sales’ with your guests, hostesses and consultants? You need to decide that right now.
5) Keep on learning! Without learning how to be better, both personally and professionally, your business will sink taking you down in a spiral with it!

There are many other reasons I’m sure as to “Why are Ethics Important In a Business” but I just want you to think about where you are right now.

Are you happy with the results you are getting? Either in your business or your personal life?

My story today has made you laugh, I’m pretty sure, as well as made you think where your focus is!

What would be some benefits of working together with Designed for Divine Destinations:

• Learning new tips and ideas to help move your business forward, one great new idea can easily put $300 or $400 dollars back into your pockets!
• You can save yourself hundreds of dollars in childcare by turning your hobby into a full time business!
• Learn how to “Brand Yourself” no matter what business you are in! (this is Free BTW when you sign up for our Ezine, coolio!)
• How to Massively grow your Hostess list, so that you aren’t always bugging Friends and Neighbors!
• Learn how “Intended Focus” a 15min/day technique I have used  that will Allow you to Work LESS While Making More Money

One thing I myself have learned from my story above is that I always grab a towel now when I jog through my house!

As for the FedEx dude, he started wearing a camera around his neck when he came to make my deliveries!

Jody Maley
Owner & Speaker of DesignedforDivineDestinations.com

“Where its not just about the Destination, it’s the Journey to get There!”

I found out that my body was toxic. My liver was hanging on to something that was toxic to me and causing me issues. What is it?

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There are a lot of articles on child development. and there are some great articles out there on the subject. Lots of books and magazines and online sources do a great job at talking about raising kids. Jody wrote a great article on parenting styles that addresses integrity.

We learn a lot about parenting from our parents, we learn what to do and some of what not to do from them. Our parents taught us a lot and gave us what they knew. There are lots of family counselors that help us with the things we do not know from our own childhood experience. That can be helpful for some but what I found even more helpful was learning about myself.

With personal development I have learned more about myself and what got me to this point in life. I was raised in a military family and was encouraged my whole life to be independent. My parents worked on empowering me but there were things that disabled me. One example  is that when I was a kid and we went anywhere, my Mom always told me not to ask for things. Personal development helped me discover that not only can I ask for things, but should ask for things. I figured out that being “polite” doesn’t help me get sales. Then I thought about the fact that other kids come to my house and ask for things and I’m OK with that. So now I tell my kids it’s fine to ask but don’t ask for too much and always thank the hostess or host.

I have had to learn from my childhood that I felt a certain way about things but I can’t project that onto my kids. That is disabling for them. It keeps me from offering opportunities that they might enjoy. One cool, cloudy April Sunday, my son wanted to sell lemonade. I said yes and thought “no one is going to buy lemonade today”, I was so wrong, he made $11.  I let them try new things and let them decide for themselves how they feel about it after they try it. I do set necessary parameters but don’t manage the whole thing.

Many parents (especially women) want their house to look a certain way, we believe it’s a reflection on how clean we are. We think our house has to be spotless or clutter free. We clean it ourselves so it can meet this standard we think it should have even though we didn’t make most of the mess. We sometimes  figure it’s easier to clean, do laundry, etc. rather than get the rest of the family to contribute. It has to be an exact way (I have to confess, that’s the one I’m working on) or it’s not right. Now we can develop systems that work for us but they are able to use some creative thinking to resolve some problems like a system for their room or laundry.

We are not empowering our kids if we are doing everything for them. My oldest brother was married to a woman who believed that if her kids were working hard in school and getting good grades that they shouldn’t have chores. She did everything for them. How were these kids going to learn to do anything if she did it all for them? That is enabling a, child not empowering them. Those kids are going to expect someone to take care of those things even after they are adults. Even if your house isn’t perfect, kids should do chores. They contribute to the mess, they should contribute to clean up.

I have a relative who moved out of the house and he didn’t know how to do laundry, he was using fabric softener… his clothes were soft but not as much clean. His mom had done his laundry, cooked for him, cleaned up after him all his life and he got out into the world and couldn’t do anything for himself. That put him at a deficit.

Control is another thing that I found, through personal development, that I had to work with. Although I gave my kids chores to do, I was wanting them to do it perfectly and thoroughly I had to give that up. They won’t ever feel like they are doing it right if I constantly nit pick the way they do the chore. It does have to meet a standard but I need to be able to have a kid standard. I can’t eat off dirty dishes but I can ease up on how they fold their clothes. Part of the control issue was that I thought it was a bad reflection of me if something wasn’t up to my standard.If they go out in wrinkly clothes it needs to be their issue I shouldn’t manage my kids’ lives on how it makes me look but rather, how they want to appear. If they don’t care if their clothes are wrinkly then I need to let it go, and I have. One day when they are teens, they will figure out that their clothes are wrinkly and will work on folding or hanging their clothes so that they appear fresh.

Lots of articles on child development say “pick your battles” and I would say, determine what is important to you but more deeply, why it’s important to you. The main thing in parenting is to do an up close honest look at yourself and ask yourself some important questions. Look at your own childhood and find out how your parents empowered you and how they enabled or disabled you. What is important to you, really important; Not the surface “people will judge me” things but the standards you need to set in order to raise empowered kids. To find what’s really important to you as a parent about raising your kids, ask yourself some “how” and “what” questions. “Why” questions will only evoke emotion, “how” and “what” questions are for true exploration.

A kid isn’t going to be empowered because they have unwrinkled clothes, a kid is going to be empowered by self discovery and parents who encourage them to find a way to resolve issues. Kids are empowered by parents who help them discover their talents and skills and who foster problem solving skills. I am grateful for parents who encouraged me to solve my own problems. I will take it to the next level to encourage my kids to be productive and contributors.

I can’t control my kids every minute of the day. I can’t make them eat right, or be nice to other people or make good decisions about friends. What I can do, is teach them how to make wise decisions. I can’t watch over them everywhere and tell them how to live. My efforts are much better spent having frank and honest conversations with them about life. I can give them ideas on good thought processes and I can arm them with the ability to make good decisions on how they want to treat people, how to choose good friends, what to wear and even make wise decisions about drugs and sex.

Ask yourself, “Am I empowering my child? Or am I enabling my child?”

Our first ‘family’ trip is what set the precedence for our whole house of rules.  So it’s very interesting to be writing an Article on Parenting Styles.

I still remember it like it had happened yesterday.

We had to travel quite a distance, about 7 hours one way and we had decided to break the trip up a little. We drove the whole way one day, & then we promised all the children that their good behavior would be ‘rewarded’ to a trip to the water park on the way home.

Kids being kids though, they tested our patience with being loud in the car, and both sets of siblings quarrelling.

My new spouse Christian had declared a ‘quiet zone’ & so for a few hours the trip was quiet and uneventful.

Now my youngest was only 5 yrs old and used to ‘getting his own way’.  He kept asking me ‘to do this for him’ and ‘mom, can you tie my shoes?’.  I still remember Christian saying, “Ok, CJ you are big enough to do those things for yourself and if you ask one more time for your mom to do something for you, we will NOT go to the water park!”

About 15 min’s later at McDonald’s “Mom, can you cut my pancakes???”

Oops!   That was it, Christian then said “Ok, no water park!”

Being 5 he didn’t quite understand what was going on, and I don’t think it hit home until we were DRIVING past the water park.  He started crying, and the older kids were telling him to “Be quiet or we’ll never get to do another thing in our lives!”

To be quite honest, even I thought he was going to at the last moment pull in to the water park.

It set a very good example for the rest of our kids growing up as they knew when Christian said something he meant it & follow through is very important.

It also made the kids work more together as a Team to get something they wanted! Because if one child acted up, they all received nothing.

Since then we have had two more children together & it always amuses me that the four older children will tell the younger two how important it is to ‘listen when mom and dad ask you to do something!’

This was definitely a lesson that I’m glad that we all learned early in our relationship together & what I learned as a parent is the importance of “when you say something as a parent, Follow Through is the most important thing!”

Sometimes as a parent we tend to give ‘ultimatums’ but then lack the integrity to back up what we say!

I can now say from experience that this was one of the best lessons we have given to our older children, and they also know that when they want “honest” feed-back from us now that they are young adults, we are
the parents that will provide that for them!

Jody Maley

Owner of www.DesignedforDivineDestinations.com
“Where its not just about the Destination, it’s the Journey to get There!”
www.twitter.com/jodymal

The other day I was driving past a local neighborhood park and I saw a mom with 3 little ones all decked out in collegiate alumni outfits. I like to imagine what scenarios might go with what I see when I’m out. I was prompted by a common scenario… Read the rest of this entry »

I am sure that some readers immediately know the frustration I have. I’m not sure what goes on with some hairdressers but it certainly is difficult to find a stable hairdresser.

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