Aloha!

Aloha and Happy Spring!  I am so envious of you who are experiencing early summerlike weather.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have barely left the cold bleak days of mid winter.  In fact I woke up to snow this week.  It has made me appreciate my time in Hawaii just that much more.


The last day of the cruise, we gathered for a brief business meeting and a CTMH game.  Kristine Widtfeldt shared a tidbit to get us excited about what's to come at convention and in the Fall/Winter catalog.  She said that there is a balance between the comfort we have in our product line and the excitement we get from new products.  The more comfort we keep, the less excitement we can have!     As you know, some of our "comfort" will be retiring- our markers and How-to books, that said, get ready for more EXCITEMENT!   A number of you have expressed concern over the up coming loss of the How-to books.  After 21 years with CTMH, I am looking forward to whatever is to come.  Jeanette has my complete trust.  She has brought us so many innovative products - including the how-to books.  I can't wait to see what's next!  I hope you'll come to convention and see!

This month has been so exciting!  It has been a flurry of team building with the incredible Constant Campaign - A Philosophy of Fun!  Congratulation to those who have made the most of it and added many new team members.  For others, this time of year can be a bit frustrating.  The boost of the holiday sales are over and we, as well as our customers get busy with springtime activities.  Here is another great article I'd like to share from The Success Factory:


Business Bit:

Getting out of a Slump  

We all have peaks and valleys in our businesses. This is just a fact of life. If you are in a valley – give yourself permission to sit down and consider what it is that is making you unhappy about your business and how you can change it. This fact was once pointed out to me by a very wise upline at a period in my career when I was ready to just throw in the towel. Together we sat down and she patiently listened as I whined and complained about what wasn’t working in my business. (To her credit, she allowed me only about 10 minutes whining time). We then talked about the things that were going well and we brainstormed some simple changes and eliminations that I could make within my business. Some of the changes were simple (like eliminating the use of folders which at the time were driving me crazy because with 2 toddlers, it was almost impossible to find the time to load them up after every party). Some of the changes were more difficult (like convincing a husband that I needed him to care for our children one designated night a week so that I could do some phoning in the evening).
If YOU are in the valley, contact your upline. They can’t read your mind and might not know you are struggling. If you are the upline, be in touch with your people. Resist the urge to email and pick up the phone! The key to keeping a team is relationship building. It is difficult at best to truly build relationships via the computer; people cannot hear the tone of your voice and that is important.

SHOUT-OUTS:
The stats are changing every hour, so as of 4:00 pm Pacific Time we have added over 250 new team members this month!  Please share my blog address with them.  It will be fun to see how many of you promote this month too!

The top team builders so far in March are:

Dr. Phil Wilhelm - 9
Lynn Como - 9
Jamie Heuser - 9
Linda Sturdivant - 7
Helen Onulak - 7
Briana Bostick - 6
Cathryn Brown - 5
Marie Robert - 5
Nikki Calmes -5
Noreen Petty - 5
Sue Rodriguez - 5
Susan Tomaino - 5

CONGRATULATIONS TO DR. PHIL WILHELM!!! HE HAS EARNED THE 2012 CRUISE!


CREATIVE CORNER:

Cards from my March workshop featuring the Stamp of the Month.  This idea was from the Artwork board - cutting idea from Jennifer Bennett.  See the next photo for the cutting diagram.  All three cards are from 1 6x6 kraft card.

Cut the front of the card off.  Cut into 2 - 3x6 pieces and fold to create 2 3x3 cards.  Take the back and fold as shown.

This is an extra 4x4 card I created with the Stamp of the Month.  It measures 4x4 and is made from the Kraft cardstock

This is artwork from the board swap I participated in.  Done by Laurie Varner.  It is one of my favorites!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Can you think of a time that you watched something happen without standing up for what you believe in? It is not enough to know what you believe in. You must be willing to use your passion to fuel success. Even if it is doing a small simple action, you must DO. Think about what you believe in and try to make a stance. Even if you just choose someone else to share your beliefs with, it is a start!