It's THAT time of year!

When I re-started my blog/team newsletter back in January, I shared with you my struggles with priorities.  Well.....it's time to test my strategy for not procrastinating and getting it ALL done without dropping one of the many balls I keep in the air!
I am in the midst of getting ready for convention which involves planning and executing a party for 300!  I do this with my upline, Karen Morris my fearless leader, and sideline, Julie Reynolds.  We typically begin this process in March or April and it ramps up until June 25th.  We couldn't do it without the help of our volunteers as well. 

My challenge has always been to keep everything else going and up to date AND add this on top of it.  Now mind you, I LOVE doing the party and look forward to it each year, but it always seems to come at a cost.  In the past some casualties have included my blog, record keeping, sleep, exercise,  yard and housework, time with family and friends   I WANT to be able to do it ALL! 

I know that many of you have events in your lives that get added on top of your already busy schedules, be it the addition of an activity for one of your kids, a new baby/grand baby, a wedding, caring for aging parents, moving, a volunteer job that you love, training for a physical challenge etc.   I hope you have found something useful as I have shared with you articles that have helped me.

Today's post is it bit abbreviated from my usual format - BUT I did do something which is better than not doing it at all :o)

Reminder:  to those who are going to convention - if you would like to take advantage of the FREE transportation from the airport to the resort, be sure to make your reservations asap so they have time to send you your tickets.  You'll find the link from the Convention registration page on the CTMH website.

Business Bit:

Here's Today's Tip from my favorite resource The Success Factory:

SUBJECT : HELP! It’s Spring and I can’t get up!

Ahhhh. Spring…how can it be that it’s the beginning of May but it feels like summer vacation is already over? School days are jammed with end of the year field trips, picnics, concerts, plays, recognition/award ceremonies and graduations. Weekends are busy with all of the aforementioned activities as well as birthday parties, baby/bridal showers, weddings, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day picnics, etc; etc; Sift in a generous dose of gardening, vacation/family reunion plans and kid camp arrangements and you have a sure fire recipe for severe overwhelm and business procrastination.

We at TSF are not immune to this malady. In the past few weeks, we often wanted to do nothing but watch TV and eat popcorn to avoid figuring out what to do first. However, we know from past experience that procrastination is NOT an option. So…here are the two simple steps we use and recommend to get rolling again:

     1.Write it down. It sounds almost too simplistic, however we have found that journaling our  
        feelings about the tasks at hand was a form of action, and action of any kind ALWAYS breaks
        that cycle of procrastination.

     2. ONE BIG THING. As a second step, we sat down with our planner and each day for the next   
         week wrote down one big thing (one personal and one business) that we would do each day.
         This was non-negotiable. We made the choice NOT to go to bed before either completing or at
         least working towards completion of our ONE BIG THING task list.

Amazingly enough, within just one week’s time, the seemingly insurmountable tasks were much more manageable and our businesses were back on track again.

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make in the spring is to stop working until everything else blows over. Remember, springtime is seed planting time. Your fall harvest is dependent on what seeds you plant NOW! So, even if it’s just ONE THING that you do each day to touch your business, keep tending those crops. As those seeds start to sprout in the next 30-90 days, you will be happy that you did.

Copyright 2013 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

Here is another timely tip I'd like to pass along.  It's a passive way to recruit and keep those soon-to-be outdated Idea Books working for you!.  You can use these ideas and leave Idea Books in waiting areas that you visit.

SUBJECT: Your catalog – are using it fully for building your team?

 Do your customers know you are looking for new team members when they peruse your catalog?

-Instead of just stamping your catalog with a traditional name/address/phone label; consider purchasing 2 x 4 inch labels and putting a recruiting “blurb” on it such as:

We need consultants in your area…ask me for more information!

Hiring and training consultants all over the United States (or Canada)!

HELP WANTED! Full or part time – flexible hours…ask me for more info!

How about your “story” short and sweet…
“I was a stay at home mom of 2 toddlers who needed to make some extra money and regain my sanity. Amazing Parties has helped me do both and I’m having a blast! I’d love to show you how you can do the same thing!”

You get the idea…get creative, but be sure you are MAXIMIZING your catalog!

P.S. This can be a great activity for a team meeting. Take 15 – 20 minutes and brainstorm ideas for labels on your catalogs that will help team recruiting.

Copyright 2013 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

Shout-Outs:

I'd like to give a special Congratulations to Michele Rowley!  We have been working together for the past few months doing some business coaching.  She has a goal to earn the trip to Costa Rica and along the way she has promoted to DIRECTOR!!!!  She has become a recruiting machine! 

Another special Congratulations goes to Dr. Phil Wilhelm and Noreen Petty for earning the Costa Rica trip!  Woo Hoo!!!

Creative Corner:

One of the great perks of leadership is getting a hand stamped birthday card from CTMH.  Last week, I received this gorgeous card from CTMH! 

One of the tasks I had on my "to do" list this week, was to mock up my samples for my June card classes so I can get them photographed and put on my June CTMH customer newsletter.  Yesterday was the day I set aside to stamp.....well, I don't know about you, but sometimes my creativity just can't be forced and I ended up with a bad case of stampers block.  I finally resorted to outright stamp lifting, tweaking and otherwise putting my own spin on the creativity of others.  At the end of a long evening I ended up with this huge mess that I have yet to clean up.  Look carefully and you can see that small piece of colored cardstock - that was my stamping area!  What you can't see is the mess on the floor too.  It can be a real challenge to come up with projects that are teachable in a group setting.  Can't be too time consuming, I have to have paper and accessories in  bulk, can use a stamp in just one color and for one project etc etc.  Below are a couple of the cards I'm teaching. By the way, I did finish all my samples that night.



This card came from Jeannette's blog.  The original artwork was created by Leanne Garner
I added Glitz Glitter to the wings of the bees and used  C1549 Buzz and Bumble Scrapbooking workshop and C1459  Stitched Together for the "fly lines" curving them when I put them on the blocks.  I also cut the card  base to 4 x 51/2 so can get 6 of the B&T pieces from 1 sheet and omitted the stitching.

This card is my tweak of a card by Jean Johnson using the June Stamp of the Month and a bit of For Always B&T.  I used Topiary cardstock for the leaves and stamped with Olive. I also cut the large flowers from white and black - stamped the black one with White Daisy Ink and added LOTS of bling. I also added  Topiary tendrils which come from C1508 Paisley Flair

  When I teach this card, I will pre stamp the white flower with black Stazon Ink so they can color it with the alcohol markers.  This way I don't need 2 stamp sets.

Quote of the Week:  I love this thought!