THE CONSULTANT DIARIES

Here is a "story" that my wonderful upline, Karen Morris shared with the team at her LeaderShare last month in Las Vegas.  It made me chuckle and wonder if she was spying on me!  It is days like this that prompted last weeks topic.  After you read this little tale, go back and re-read last weeks post.  Perhaps you will see how the techniques listed would have helped this consultant!  Do you identify with her?  At the end of her day, what tasks did she actually complete?  What tasks were left unfinished?

THE CONSULTANT DIARIES
by Karen Morris

             This morning I woke refreshed and ready to take on the day.  This was my “work” day to get caught up on all things Close to My Heart.  I was going to get organized and get my business back on track.

             But first, a healthy breakfast…. most important meal of the day, right?  And I need my strength for the big “work day” ahead. 

No sooner had I pulled out a cereal bowl when my phone rang.  It was my friend -- she wants to host a gathering (terrific!) but she wants to do it THIS WEEKEND.  Uh, sure, no problem. 

I was so excited about having a Gathering drop into my lap, that I forgot about breakfast and went straight to my office.  Idea Books!  Oops-  still in shrink wrap and not labeled with my info.  Went to the file cabinet and realized I didn’t have any printed labels ready.  Another oops.  Turned on the computer, and began printing labels for the back of my Idea Books. 

While they printed, I decided to quickly check email.   Read a Company Update and wondered if my name was listed as a contest winner so I popped over to the corporate consultant website and looked at “Recognitions” page.  Nope, not this time.  Of course, it might have helped if I had turned in my contest entry on time.  Well, better luck next time, right?

It had been a while since I’d checked out the BB so decided to see what was new there.  Great ideas!  Then I saw a post mentioning something about a Gathering.  Oh yeah--- I needed to get a hostess packet together.  Now where were those invites?  Hmmm….. what was the Stamp of the Month this month?

Back to the computer to print out SOM fliers.  While I’m here, I thought, let’s check out the Art BB for SOM art ideas.  Cute ideas.  Print some.  Oops -- printer is out of ink.  Rats!  INKS!  Did I order those new Ink Colors?  Let’s see….. Ummm… well maybe I can use something from Gatherings and Workshops on the Go and back to the computer I went.

Remembered that I had started putting together a Hostess Packet.  But oh, I didn’t have any cute envelopes to hold the materials so stopped to stamp one.  The phone rang before I even had the stamp mounted on the acrylic block.

It was my DL who called to see if I had any extra bulk black button brads……

Hmmm….. where did I put those?  After several minutes of searching, I found the “organizer” that had slipped behind my stash of OLD idea books.  I called the DL and she came right over.  Then she spent the next 30 minutes telling me about a new recruit lead she had and was really excited about.

Recruits.  That’s another thing that I should probably do… have some cute recruiting basket for the Gathering, too.  So I pulled out my new paper kit then went Blog Hopping in  search of inspiration when a new email popped up.  A quick check of that and back to the Blog Hop when the phone rang…..

My sons scout leader called to remind me it was our turn to bring treats to the den meeting.  I took a quick break from my “work day” to mix up some brownies and toss them in the oven.

             Oh my gosh - I couldn’t believe the time!  The phone rang again - it was my UPLINE calling to remind me about Convention.  I really want to go so had to stop and balance my checkbook to be sure there was enough money in there.  And while I was thinking about Convention, figured I’d better go back to the BB and post something about finding a roommate.

I was reading the newest posts (since my earlier visit to the BB today) and someone had posted their great experience with EZ Invite.   Oh, I realized I should set that up for my hostess right away.  Before I finished setting it up, the doorbell rang.

It was the mailman with lots of priority mail boxes…… my team’s swaps had arrived and needed sorting.  No time like the present, right?  As I was sorting, I found that one of the participants had forgotten to include a return address label.  LABELS.

Labels!  Oh yes - forgot about the labels that were printed several hours ago and needed to be put on the back of the Idea Books.  I sighed.  There is NOT a clear workspace for labeling catalogs so I moved back to the kitchen, cleared the counter, and put away the unused cereal bowl. 

That’s when I realized I’d missed lunchtime and it wouldn’t be long before dinner.  DINNER!  I forgot to pull meat out of the freezer for dinner.  I grabbed a piece of chocolate and another Diet Coke but something caught my attention…. a smell of burning….. BROWNIES!

It was too late.  I pulled the brownies out of the oven and they resembled something more like charcoal briquettes than sumptuous chocolate treats.  What now? 

Hoping against hope that there would be something in the pantry - a package of stale cookies, crackers, SOMETHING that would work for cub scouts, I rummaged around and found….  LIQUID GLASS.  Ah yes.  My DH  had used it last week to repair his model airplane.   Maybe I could demo Liquid Glass at the gathering…..

Shout-Outs:

Congratulations to 1st downline Ginni Candelaria (no. 2) and Lisa Sargent (no. 13) for

Highest Number of My Acrylix® Stamp Sets Sold in March!

Creative Corner: 
Here are some cards from my customer classes in March and April.  The coffee cup, chair and vest cards were inspired by artwork from the CTMH Artwork bulletin board.  There are so many wonderful artists who are generously share their talents!

Quote of the Week:

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. "

Eddie Cantor

10 Ways to Add More Hours to Your Day

 10 Ways to Add More Hours to Your Day
By Vicky White

Would you like more than 24 hours in your day?  Me too, but alas all we get are those same 24 hours everyone else gets. They can be 24 hours that flow with effective actions and time for what’s most important to you, or they can be 24 hours of mad scramble where lots of things fall through the cracks and you feel burnt out and frazzled at the end of the day.  Had any of those frazzled days lately?

When I’m not achieving as much as I’d like - or achieving way too many non-essential tasks on my to-do list and getting burnt out - this is the list I check in with to get back on track - doing more in less time and designing my life to work for ME.

1. Take time for YOU first thing in the morning: which usually means getting up earlier. When I have this quiet time to journal, meditate and set my intention for the day, I start my day feeling centered and calm.

2. De-clutter your to-do list: I love lists and mine can get pretty big. And what I know is that I can regularly delete things from that list and it makes no noticeable difference in my life. I feel way better when I see lots of things crossed off - whether I’ve done them or not.

3. Decide on the three most important tasks for the day and complete those first. When those are done you’ll have made progress towards your bigger goals and you’ll feel great. Then you can get to the smaller, less important things - or take some time off knowing you’ve been productive.

4. Take breaks: yes, you’ll get more done. Take breaks between tasks - even just 10 minutes. Take a lunch break, take a cafe break, take a whole day off! I know, it’s a challenge when you’re feeling stretched, but honestly - this is one of the best things you can do. It means you have a chance to renew your spirit, refresh your mind and when you take a cafe break you’ll often find inspiration away from your computer and your office. And everyone needs time for inspiration - in your life and your business. It needs to be part of your life plan and your business plan.

And while you’re at it - schedule one whole day off each week. Schedule your vacation time - even if you don’t know the details now. Schedule your breaks and everything else fits in around them. Try to fit breaks into your busy life when you’re already feeling under pressure - and there’s no time for them. It’s funny how it works like that. If you don’t believe me, just watch how productive you get the day before you go off on vacation!!

5. Focus on one thing at time: it’s really tempting to multi-task when you’re feeling under pressure. You might fool yourself that you’re getting two (or more) things done at the same time - but really you’re cheating yourself and everyone else. Talking on the phone while reading emails - have you ever done that? You can’t be present, you’re not giving the other person your full attention, you even sound like you’re not paying attention - it’s not pleasant and it’s not productive. When you do two things at once you’re continually having to shift gears between each one. Not only are you not being productive, you’re not even being present in your life.

6. Enroll your Higher Self to help you: Use the Order Book Process to order up what you want. This is where you write what you want as if it’s already happened. This is one of the most powerful tools I know for creating your days and your life just as you want them to be - if you remember to use it. Last night I put in my order for an article for this newsletter today. I woke this morning with the title in my head and I had to get out of bed and start writing because it was all just coming to me - and not surprisingly, it’s all about the reminder I got this week to pay attention to what I know works - these 10 tips!

7. Schedule chunks of time for specific tasks: whatever size chunks work for you. Two hour chunks work well for me. Yours may be longer or shorter. And then batch similar things together. Perhaps in one chunk you make your phone calls or answer emails. Perhaps another is for doing one of your most important tasks for the day. When you put similar things together it’s easier to get some momentum going and get into the flow. One thing I know for sure: when I schedule a chunk of time to do something specific, it usually gets done within that time. When I don’t ….. the same thing can take all day. Scheduling certainly gets the mind focused.

8. De-clutter your office: clutter is one of the biggest time wasters and creativity blockers. One of the participants in a recent program de-cluttered her desk and said her productivity at work went up 20%. You can bet her employer was pretty happy with that. And she was too - it made her feel much better about her work. And, if you work for yourself your bottom line is directly related to your productivity - make sure your office is supporting a flow of energy and prosperity.

9. Schedule email time: one thing designed to make me feel like a crazy person is to be checking emails whenever they come in. When I’m in my groove, I unplug the internet connection so I can still refer to emails in my Inbox if necessary, but they’re not catching my attention and curiosity every couple of minutes. And it actually feels good to see a whole lot of new ones all at once (like Christmas) and to then zip through answering and deleting. Way more satisfying - when I do it.

10. Enroll Helpful People: When I get into my busy stuff and start to feel burnt out and non-productive, if I don’t catch it fast enough my Coach or one of my MasterMind buddies will remind me of the obvious! Duh… sometimes we need a whack over the head to see what’s right under our noses.

Keep this list handy and check next time you’re feeling like there are not enough hours in the day and things are getting away from you. At times like that it’s not usually just one of these I’ve stopped doing - it’s a whole lot of them. And it’s pretty easy to get back on track when I see what I’m doing.

Introduce a few of these into your life and you’ll find yourself doing more in less time. And, having time for what’s most important to you.

How do you get more done in less time?  I'd love to hear from you.  Leave me a comment and let me know how.

Shout-Outs:  A special Thank You to Tera Boring, Cathy Lambert and Lynn Christopher!  These ladies did a wonderful job presenting and teaching at our Oregon Team Meeting.  If you'd like copies of any of the handouts, just email me and I'd be happy to send them your way. 

Last Week I announced that I celebrated 20 years with CTMH - We also have 2 others who are doing the same - Sr. Executive Director, Kathy Markloff from PA. and Karen Howard - my very first recruit. 

I am so excited that we have an AMAZING 17 1st downline Connected Hearts that are celebrating 15 years with CTMH this year!  CONGRATULATIONS to all of you!

Consultant Name	Current Title	Date Signed Up
Wanda Riley	Executive Manager	11/01/96
Tracy Rausch	Jr Consultant	08/14/96
Tammie Llewellyn	Supervisor	01/24/96
Sue Ashman	Supervisor	11/04/96
Nancy Reding	Consultant	08/14/96
Lori Symank	Consultant	01/15/96
Lisa Combs	Supervisor	01/03/96
Laurie Laney	Consultant	01/25/96
Kelly Robinson	Jr Consultant	08/30/96
Kari Palmer	Executive Manager	08/29/96
Jackie Bluhm	Manager	08/28/96
Gill Barnett	Jr Consultant	05/28/96
Denise Maurer	Consultant	05/13/96
Delilah Sharp	Jr Consultant	08/15/96
Darinda Fitzgerald	Consultant	02/20/96
Cynthia Laughinghouse	Executive Manager	04/04/96
Becky Lester	Jr Consultant	03/21/96

Creative Corner:  As promised, here is some of the artwork from the Oregon Meeting

I added color to our clear sparkles using Sharpie markers-
coloring right on top.  It turns out a shade lighter than on
paper 

Accordion Card Holder taught by Lynn Christopher



Firecracker party favor taught by Cathy Lambert





Winner of the art swap contest - by Lori Symank
front of card

                                 backside:o)




Cathy Lambert and Michelle Smith enjoy creating - Michelle has her little helper!

 

Quote of the Week:

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

                                              Johann von Goethe

Twenty Years with Close To My Heart!



Card from CTMH

Today is a landmark day for me...it's my 20th anniversary with Close To My Heart!!!!!  I have been reflecting back on the past 20 years and I am so thankful for the many blessing that being a part of CTMH have brought me.  I am perhaps a minority in that I joined for the business opportunity and by diligently working my business, the financial rewards have far exceeded my expectations.  But more importantly, the amazing relationships both new and lasting that I have with the people in our company and the customers I have met are what have sustained me during the ups and downs. 

I am thankful for great leadership from Jeanette and her management team and my wonderful upline, Karen Morris without whom I can't imagine not sharing the past 20 years.   I never dreamed we would have something as awesome and fun as Studio J and I look forward to the next 20 years to see what innovations lay in-store for us.  Thank you to my team for allowing me to be a part of your life.

Dana Swadling sent me this article and she said it made her think of me.  She's right, it spoke to me and how I've tried to approach leadership.  Please, please if you are in need of assistance with your CTMH business in whatever your vision of success is, whether is be as a casual seasonal seller or a career business person, give a call or email, I'd love to help you!

What Every Leader Needs…

 by Fish! Philosophy on April 11, 2011

Rob Gregory, owner of Rochester Ford Toyota, tells of a mentor of his who told him, “When things go incorrectly, do you know where you should start? There’s a nice big mirror in the men’s room, go down and take a look there first.” Rob continues, “Oh, he used to make me angry! I would say, ‘That’s not the problem, it’s them!’”
He realized, though, that he didn’t really have any control over anyone, “but at least sometimes, I stand a chance with me. And that’s where it starts.”

Leadership Tip…

As leaders it is very easy to assume the role of Mr./Mrs. Fix It (leadership tip). It is so easy to see the faults of everyone around us and it is a place that is very normal for us to go. Just watch one episode of American Idol and you will, temporarily at least, see yourself as one of America’s top talent critics.
Left unchecked, we do the same thing with our families and especially in the workplace. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard the phrases, “If they would just…”, “What were they thinking?”, or “If I were in charge…”.
The problem with this approach as a leader is that, even though it is easy to see what needs to be fixed in them (them being your team)…IT IS NOT ABOUT THEM!
Sorry for shouting but let’s get this straight once and for all, they are what they are and do what they do in large part because they have the leader they have. If you want to affect them, then get to the closest mirror and take a look.
Leadership starts with you.

Leading From the Front

If you ever want to experience a living example of this, go witness, or better yet attempt to herd sheep. If you try to push sheep they are very slow to respond and will eventually scatter.

You have to step up and be accountable for the integrity you expect from them, the honesty you expect from them and the commitment you expect from them.

However, if you get out in front of them and lead them they may follow. I say “may follow” because sheep won’t just follow anyone. They depend on their instincts in order to know when it is safe to follow you. Once they trust you they will follow you wherever you go. Just walk out front and here they come. Sound familiar?
I am not inferring that your team is a bunch of sheep, but this shows us a very important aspect about leadership. You must go first. You will be infinitely more successful in achieving the team goals if you are “being” what you would like them to “be”. This concept has been around a while, Socrates said it this way, “Let him that would move the world, first move himself.”

Knowing Is Not Enough

It is not enough to “know” this. If you want to have the team you’ve always dreamed of and the results you know are possible, then you have to weave this idea into your actions. You have to step up and be accountable for the integrity you expect from them, the honesty you expect from them and the commitment you expect from them. Every day, every meeting, every phone call, create the standard through your behaviors and they will follow you.
Now you’re leading.

Shout-Outs:
I'd like to extend a heartfelt WELCOME to the following ladies who are now part of my 1st Downline.
Debbi Bussell, Tindy Hunter, Glenda Maxwell, Casey Hoke, Christina Gyetvai, Becky Martin, Laura Andrade and Adina Godin.

CONGRATULATIONS to the following Leaders for their Promotions in March - Awesome job of growing your teams!
  * are my first downline

Consultant Name	Previous Title	New Title
Betsy Gully *	Manager	Executive Manager
Irene Gingerich *	Manager	Executive Manager
Robin Charvet *	Consultant	Supervisor
Katrina Anderson *	Consultant	Supervisor
Tracey Raczkowski *	Consultant	Supervisor
Joyce Houck	Executive Manager	Senior Executive Manager
Patricia Ervin	Consultant	Supervisor
Karen Taylor	Consultant	Supervisor
Janis Purves	Consultant	Supervisor
Diana Rogers	Consultant	Supervisor
Tina Shelly	Consultant	Supervisor
Rayna Martin	Consultant	Supervisor
Pamela Royster	Consultant	Supervisor
Janet Mills	Consultant	Supervisor
Shelly Edwards	Consultant	Supervisor
Michon Benic	Consultant	Supervisor
Melody Paulishak	Consultant	Supervisor
Kimberly Derico	Consultant	Supervisor
Koni Dotson	Consultant	Supervisor
Amy Raftery	Executive Manager	Senior Executive Manager
Karen Pepe	Consultant	Supervisor
Sarita Schraeder	Manager	Executive Manager
Janice Franceschi	Supervisor	Manager
Sarah McLean	Consultant	Supervisor
LINDA COUTURE	Consultant	Supervisor
Keri Churchwell	Consultant	Supervisor
Charity Lazore	Consultant	Supervisor
Ronda Knapp	Consultant	Supervisor

Creative Corner:

Are you ever at a loss of what to say on the inside of a card or don't have just the right stamp for the outside?  I found this great magazine that can help.  I love the one on the bottom right of the cover!

 

This is the award Layout I received at Karen's Leadershare for Top Team Sales for 4th Quarter 2010 - It really belongs to the entire Connected Hearts Team. Congratulations everyone!



My award for 2nd place Personal Sales for 4th Qtr 2010
The CTMH art department did a wonderful job.  I love the layouts!

 Next week I will have LOTS of art to share from the Oregon Team meeting.  Stay tuned....

Quote of the week: I thought this quote went well with my article

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

                                               - Serenity Prayer