::: snicker :::

Well I am feeling better and adjusting to work...I think.....

Well the countdown begins to see my son that is in Boot Camp......20 days and counting.....Hooray I can't wait. I am so excited. Boy will I have pictures and lots of news. Don't worry I never run out of things to say...

Well my friends I must run, gotta have time to stop for my coffee....

Have a great day.........

Lady O

Extended Stay Hotels...  They must smell REALLY bad...

I love Japanese commercials:

I. Love. Frank. Caliendo.

His show FrankTV was a stink bomb, but his standup is killer.

He's coming to Aurora in November... any takers?

IBOs are quick to point out that Amway is ranked way up there in certain product segments. For instance, a commenter recently pointed out that XS Energy was the #2 selling energy drink in North America. I've read that Artistry is one of the top-five selling prestige brand of skin care and cosmetics. I've seen the ads with medal-winning athletes promoting Nutrilite.

This is all fine and dandy, but my question focuses on you the IBO.

What have your sales been like this past week? This past month?

You can have the best marketing and promotion in the world, but if you are not selling and moving products for your business, you're wasting your time.

Selling products to retail customers is the fastest way to earn profit. It's also lends itself to duplication, since everyone is familiar with the concept. I was taught heavily to buy from myself and teach others to do the same, which encourages lack of profitability and more profits for your upline kingpins. If I were an IBO today, I would focus more on selling products than buying products for myself. Yes, you have to know your products, but that doesn't mean buying 100-300 personal PV of Nutrilite, XS, and Artistry for yourself each and every month!

I've been writing Happy Friday posts for the past couple of months now. How has your business developed over those same months? Are you going upwards in profits or downwards in losses? If the losses are mounting, how much longer until you decide that the business is not working for you? There are plenty of other opportunities out there; Amway, despite what you upline may tell you, is not the only way. Remember, the name of the company is not Onlyway!

I wanted to mention a new blog for you to check out. My sister in law has recently started blogging. I told her how fun and fulfilling it is so she has started her own. She is very new and she is trying to get people to check out her blog. So please check it out and drop her a comment. When you are first new at blogging you want to see comments so you know people are reading your blog. So stop over and check it out....I have added an RS Feed along the right side of my blog. So it's only one click away...

Check out Traci's Thoughts at http://traci37.wordpress.com

Thank you and Happy Friday.....

Lady O

In the Amway business, there seems to be a product tailored for everybody. You can drink XS Energy, eat Nutrilite bars and vitamins, use LOC and SA8 at home, and buy Ribbon gifts for friends and family.

My question today is how much are you buying for yourself versus selling to others? What if instead of drinking XS Energy, you drank water (not Perfect Water) and sold XS Energy to others? How much would you both (1) save by not self-consuming and (2) earn by selling retail to others? Perform the same exercise with the other products that you purchase on a monthly basis.

The key to any business is to maximize profits and minimize expenses. What's the bare minimum you need to keep your business at humming along at its greatest efficiency?

This week witnessed the second of three steps to ushering out the Quixtar name in favor of Amway Global. Happy Friday has some questions to ask before tonight's meeting:

• How has the name change been communicated to you and your group?
• Are you upfront and leading with the Amway Global name when talking to prospects or continuing to use the curiosity approach?
• How do you represent the relationship between you, your System, and Amway Global to prospects?

Alticor is doing its part to market the name Quixtar and Amway Global through its TV and print advertising to the public. How well are you and your System holding up your end of the bargain?

German ingenuity at it's finest:

Well everything was going great today. Hubby decided to take me out for dinner. We still haven't heard anything from our son yet as to how boot camp is going. However when we got home there was a message from him on the phone. Wouldn't you freaking know it... We had been home all day and most of the evening and after we left he called. I am so upset. We listened to the message and he said he was fine. But I am still upset that I didn't get to talk to him. I started to cry and am still sad.

Well I am not very good company right now, so I believe I will end my post now. I need to get some tissues....I know he is fine but of all the dumb luck..

Happy Friday...

Lady O

Today's topic is an expansion on what I wrote in an earlier post that the true indicator on the health of your business is the bottom line. Almost all Amway Motivational Organizations (AMO) talk about setting goals in the business. For instance, I remember having the following goals when I was an IBO:

• Hand out 5 tapes this week
• Get 3 people signed up by the next Major Function
• Be in Platinum certification by the end of the year
• Go Diamond in 3 years

Aside from the first one, I didn't achieve any of other goals during my two and a half years in the business! Call me a failure in the business and I won't argue with you. Call me a quitter, and I'll say, "Darn right, I quit!" Since leaving, I've set other goals for myself and I'm happy to say that I'm achieving them one by one.

Goal setting is very critical to your business. You can hope and dream for the day when you'll go Diamond, but until that day comes, it's just that... a hope and a dream. Setting daily, weekly, monthly, and annual goals is key if you want to move on in your Amway Global business, your job and your relationships.

INA Diamond Dave Vanni once told me that he wrote on an index card the list of things that he needed to accomplish that day. If he didn't complete all of his tasks, he wrote them on the next day's index card. He went Diamond, and as far as I know, he's still qualifying for bonuses in Amway. I suspect that he's still writing and reviewing his tasks on a daily basis. You know why?

Cause, it's a good thing to do!

There are many ways to keep track of your tasks and goals. You can get a stack of index cards like Vanni, input them onto your computer or even enter them on your cellphone. There are also free online web sites like Remember the Milk or Ta Da List that can remind you via SMS or email.

To IBOs in the business today, how are you tracking your progress and goals? Are you vigilant in completing your goals or do you find yourself rolling them over to the next day, month, or year? If you've been in the business for several years or are just getting started, are you any closer today to your goals than yesterday? At the end of the day, your ultimate goal in the business is to make sure enough PV/BV flow through your network to help you qualify for the pin level you desire. If that's not happening, you've either got to set some new goals or think about doing something else with your time. Don't waste it dilly-dallying with the business.

My Friday meetings were over 45-minutes away, and I shudder to think how much gas I would be wasting and spending today if I were still in the business. Travel time is an often overlooked expense for beginning IBOs, who are told that it only takes an extra 8-12 hours a week to earn thousands per month. Does that time-commitment also include driving from place to place? I don't think so.

Now that I'm out of the Amway business, I'm really happy to have my nights and weekends back for myself. I'm going to kick back, have some home-cooked dinner, and watch the Olympic Opening ceremonies from the comfort of my own home.

Current IBOs, how long has it been since you missed a meeting? How long has it been since you deliberately skipped a meeting for an important date, social function, or just to rest? Your business isn't going to collapse overnight, so give yourself a Happy Friday and take a break from the typical IBO routine!

My son leaving for boot camp next Monday is weighing very heavy on my heart. I thought about this song that is so wonderful and touching. I cannot help but tear up when I hear this song.

I am and always will be so very proud and honored to be his mother.

I am very thankful to all those men and women fighting for our freedom.

So I think this video says it all....

Have a Happy Friday...

Lady O

We miss you, Phil Hartman...

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1459721&w=425&h=350&fv=]

iPhone still does not deliver a complete mobile phone experience. I am talking about MMS. You cannot send pictures by mobile MMS on your iPhone. No, sir. You can send them as an email attachment to another email account, but not to someone's multimedia phone. That is one major bummer for me and all the rest of the Euro-Asian mobile kids who have been doing this since 1999.

So this Friday, my happy weekend post is the genius Battemberg Cake. iPhone is cool because the whole world has developed the cutest - and to a high degree most useless applications, which make the crowd go "AAAhhhhh-Ooohhhh".

Meet one made for your computer. It is sweet (but of course it is, it's a cake!)

My son and I planted sunflower seeds earlier this summer.  We got our first sunflower yesterday.  As we planted them he asked me if we would have a pot full of sunshine when we were done and I said yes. 

Children have a wonderful way of observing life.  They do this without fear or hesitation.  When I took a look at the face of our very first sunflower, I was captivated by the deep orange rim and brilliant gold.  She really looked like a radiant sun.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Who will you vote for? Elephant? Donkey? Neither?

Maybe this video will help you decide:

Ill feelings toward squirrels...
"they are vicious and tormented inside" --David Crowder

David Crowder explains his story HERE.

You'll find today's video below:

So I'm in Economy which, legroom-wise, I don't mind, but it's the darned chiken-and-ham or cheese-and-tomato cold and soggy sandwiches what kills me, specially if I do a couple of one-day trips on a given week.... It's sandwich or death, really... again for me this Sunday, coming back home...