The new Thirty One catalogs are here!

Isn't Spring a wonderful season?

 

 

I just received the spring catalog from Thirty One Gifts.  WOW! So many vibrant and pretty fabrics are offered in the collection of totes and purses... I just cannot make up my mind which is the prettiest ones.

 

I am hoping that you check them out on my website:

 

www.mythirtyone.com/vw

 

 

I am loving me some spring!!

Turning a corner

Turning a Corner?No doubt you’ve seen or read stories about the group of expert economists who recently declared that the Great Recession is officially over. I doubt it feels that way to many of you.
The recession has hit the direct selling business in about the way we expected.

According to our latest Growth & Outlook survey, the number of people engaged in direct selling grew to a record 16.1 million in 2009. The same thing happened during previous downturns, when many people turned to direct selling to replace lost income.

Sales last year fell slightly, to $28.6 billion. That’s somewhat disappointing, but even our resilient industry felt the pressure of the economic headwinds of the last two years. Consistent with the experience of previous recessions, though, direct selling still outperformed retail, which saw a decline of more than 7%, compared to about 4% for direct selling.

Everywhere I go, people share stories about how direct selling has helped them and their families. Some turned to it for the first time when a family member lost a job. Others had dabbled, but ramped up their businesses to provide themselves a little extra financial security. All were thankful for the opportunity.

A colleague recently told me that he attended a seminar here in Washington with two prominent administration officials. Their message: The economy may not be growing as fast as we’d like, but we’ve definitely turned the corner.
Maybe. I certainly hope so. What do you think?

The Thing About Passion

As February is right around the corner, all hearts are focused upon Valentine's Day and since that is the day set aside for Lovers, I thought about what truly defines passion. I thought about Romeo and Juliet with their love meshing with their passion. It was so much so that they both killed themselves as their mindsets were focused upon the fact that they would rather die together than live apart separately.

I think upon the passion within me too... which is why i am following my dream of thirty one gifts! This time that I am experiencing is so much fun and so fulfilling to me. I enjoy every portion of what this company is affording me with all of these opportunities. Of course, it is not about Valentine's Day... in what makes this heart leap and beat a little bit faster... it IS about these wonderful purses and totes that are in the spring catalog! I just received my new spring collection here and I am in LOVE. I have so much PASSION for these bags and totes! Love them!

I hope you will contact me as I invite you to share this passion too... I want all of my friends to make your own wish lists of what products you are MOST passionate about there as you consider all of the new items listed in the spring/summer 2011 catalog.

There is this thing about Passion... it gets deep there and won't let go... this is how it is when you see the collections. WOW! My heart just skipped a beat!

Getting really excited!

I have not made resolutions but I am a goal setter. I believe that a person who doesn't have goals is a person who will miss out on dreams and opportunities coming their way. I anticipate good things here in 2011. I am proactive in my own business as I continue to work full time at the hospital. I have certain visions of gaining in leaps and bounds concerning my mulitple streaming incomes as I lay down a foundation of living well way into my 90s and on into my 100s if I am so lucky to live that long.

I challenge anyone here to set their goals for the NEW YEAR and make them clear, concise, with a definite plan on achieving each one. I am so excited about what this year is going to do for me in productivity and

Integrity is about the small things

To be influencial, the foundation of trust is built upon being someone of integrity. With it comes dignity and respect. If the foundation is laden with weaknesses and shows factors of flaws, then what a soul is trying to build concerning integrity suffers.

Cheryl Biehl stated, "One of the realities of life is that if you cannot trust a person at all points, you cannot truly trust that person at ANY point." Even when a person can hide their lack of integrity for a period of time they will eventually experience failure and whatever influence they have temporarily gained will disappear. Think of integrity as having benefits similar to that of a house's foundation during a big storm. If the foundation is sound, then it will hold up against the raging winds and rising tide. But when there are cracks in the foundation, the stress of the storm deepens the cracks and chips away at the foundation... and eventually the whole house will crumble.

Integrity is a quality every soul needs to possess. It is not determined by circumstances since they can not be responsible for your character. Integriry is not based upon credentials. It comes from who we ARE and not what we accomplish, what title(s) we hold. Integrity is not to be confused with reputation. If you take care of your authenticism nad integrity, your reputation will take care of itself. Your character is made of the small moments of your life. Those times when others relied upon you and you did not let them down. Those times when they needed a soul to encourage them and you filled their expectations fully. What you gained was their trust and you were found to be credible in your character. Commit yourself to building your integrity. Build upon your strengths. Be committed to your friends and be a helper to those who really need you. Do what you should do BEFORE you do what you want to do. Keep focused upon those little things you do as you walk in the path of your character.

Five Life Lessons from a Puppy

There are five life lessons to learn from a puppy.

1. Unconditional Love. Puppies forgive and they love again and again... over and over... they do not seek out revenge. A human would do well to love without conditions added to their loves.

2. Balance. A puppy plays hard and lives to give you a great loving experience. Then the puppy plops down and totally relaxes to sleep deeply and soundly. There is balance as the puppy lives, plays, and sleeps. A human would do well to create balance in all aspects of living too...

3. Being in the moment. A puppy doesn't rationalize that he ate twenty minutes ago. He doesn't conceive the idea that food can stay in the bowl for an hour or two more... he will live as though this food is all important and all vital. It doesn't matter that the master will feed him again tomorrow... what matters is the moment NOW! A human would do well to live in each moment too... not to always be focused upon what is going to happen next week or next year. Be IN the moment and truly live in the passion of that moment.

4. Shake it off. A puppy will fall off the couch and just shake it off. The puppy will sometimes have a skirmish with his siblings and as soon as he walks away, he will shake off physically. It is as if he will shake off the negativity that came through the fighting... A human would do well to learn how to shake it off too. It would behoove a person to not hold onto hurts and past experiences, it would do him well to shake it off too.

5. Be a child and grow up when it is only necessary. A puppy will be a puppy even after it grows into maturity at times. It will play a tug of war even when a knee is a bit achy from arthritis. It will run in the meadow as long as it can while the meadow is its outlet and its energy holds up. A human would do good to stay in a childlike persona and keep on staying in the child like attitude of living life as seeing it through a child's eyes. See the world with passion and enthusiasm.

Be like a puppy... live like a puppy.

A Vision, A Dream

Of course, everyone has a vision. That dream that crept into their thoughts so long ago. I ask you to think upon what you envision now. Do you have a dream too? Do you have a vision of more in store? Is this dream still prevalant today? Do you want to see it come to fruitation as this vision might become reality? Or are you trapped in a comfort zone? That comfortable place where you feel trapped anyway... where there might be fears or anxiety in stepping out blindly in faith... and those emotions keep one trapped, even though it is not so pleasant or so grand a circumstance...

So, I ask you do you see it, that dream, as a freedom? Are you interested in making it MORE than a vision? My last question, "When do you think you will begin?"

Just food for thought.