The Mondayest Monday ever and it's only 8am...

Oh friends, it is. It's most definitely a Monday.
I'm not usually one to shy away from a Monday. I actually like them quite a bit. I love new beginnings, new chances to get done what I couldn't last week. I get the house back in order on Mondays, catch up on my role as a leader on Mondays.. it's always a fresh start.
But not today.
Today, it is the Mondayest Monday ever and it's only 8 am.

In our house, we prep for the next day, the night before. Since yesterday was a Sunday, I encouraged my girls early in the afternoon to get their clothes set out, gym bags together & asked (again) if homework was done. 30 minutes before bedtime, I double checked just to be sure everything was done. Assurance is what I got in return. Everything was ready for Monday.

Except it wasn't.

One daughter, K, who did have her things together, had (what I like to call) "dragon hiney" today. Slow as molasses & kept waiting for others to be out of her way before she did the next thing she needed to take care of. For instance, sister was in the bathroom, she needed to use it, so she waited on her bed...instead of using the second bathroom or putting her bags in the car etc. She could have been getting further ahead if she had just done something else while waiting instead of sitting stagnant.

My second daughter, A, put on her clothes in a timely manner (although she is wearing leggings and winter boots on possibly the hottest day of August, but whatever), but then as we were minutes from walking out the door, told me she needed help with her homework.

Ya'll. I can't even.
But, in an effort to keep things moving, I calmly try and help her figure it out (quickly). I heard the words, "I don't know!" 500 times in that 3 minutes and a bonus "I shouldn't even be in 5th grade! I don't even know how to spell biscuits right!" Things were beginning to go downhill. My patience about to snowball with it.
I calmly helper her finish her paper, got it in her bag, ushered her to the car and reminded K that we needed to leave NOW.

Head to the garage where A starts losing her ever loving marbles because she can't find her gym bag.
Friends I can't even find the appropriate emoji to cleverly place here. K has to be to the ball field in 3 minutes, she's not even in the car and now we have a missing gym bag??? That should have been prepped YESTERDAY! I. can't. even.

I send A back inside with her dad to find her bag while I take K to the field (who was 3 minutes late), come back to get A (who never found her bag) and get her to school. On the way, A lamented about how she would get in trouble for not having her bag for PE as tears dripped down her face. What I've left out here is how I totally lost my cool, yelled & reiterated my HUGE disappointment in how this supposedly "prepared morning" was going.

Again, Mondayest Monday.

So what does this have to do with business? Your business? My business?

It has everything to do with it.

How could all of this been avoided? How SHOULD this Monday have started? Smoothly. It should have started quietly, simply and easily. The girls should have prepped for today yesterday like they knew they should have. Checking bags, laying out clothes, & making sure homework was done. That was their job. A little preparation to make sure they were ready to handle their responsibilities. See where I'm going here?

Sometimes friends, we are the one putting those obstacles in our own way. We don't take the time to prepare for the day, for our business, for our dreams. We decide to wing it and then get frustrated when nothing goes as unplanned.
Or, we sit and wait for people or things to get out of our way instead of doing other things that will get us closer to where we want to be in the meantime. All of it is our choice. We can blame circumstances or other people all we want, but our dreams aren't their responsibility. They're ours.

The truth is you cannot have a successful business or a successful life without preparation, focus and willingness to change things up when one way of doing things gets blocked. I've never heard of anyone "accidentally" getting a degree, paying off debt, or earning a promotion.
 It is all done by knowing what you need to get you where you want to go.

So while our Monday has started off in disorder and crazy, the good news is, it doesn't have to stay that way. In our house, we have "restarts". At any time in the day, we can restart, forgive what's happened before and move on like it was never a hot mess of madness. On the car ride to the field, K and I talked about how to do things better & A and I forgave each other's impatience & I sent them to school with restarts in their pockets.
The same applies for where you are right now.
If things haven't been going right today, this weekend or this month- call a restart. You have a new week to grab hold of, to prep for, to conquer.
Don't wing it. Don't wait for other people to get out of your way. Go take care of yourself, your business and your future. Own it. Step up. Know what you need to get to where you are going and for goodness sakes, please make sure your homework is done. 😉
-Amanda

How to be the rule breaker...

Yesterday I shared with you the stirring drive within my heart to show others how to "break the rules" and promised I'd be back today to share with you how to do just that.

As a refresher, I'm not talking about ACTUAL rules, because the rules I'm talking about aren't actual at all. These aren't speed limits & "don't touch a hot stove". They are rules placed on us by family history, a bad teacher, a "friend" or even ourselves outlying what we are or are not capable of.
That we aren't smart enough for....
Capable enough for...
We will only ever have.... because that's all anyone in our family has ever had.
Pick your poison. Whatever your "rules" are, it's time to break them at the cost of taking responsibility of your dreams and chasing them.

Now I mentioned that I'd be showing you how break the rules you've been held back by and to do that, you have to start with recognizing the role you play in those rules. You've, so far, accepted them as your reality and today, that stops. Today, you'll change your whole way of thinking and as you make conscious choices every single day to chase your dreams, you'll keep all of the following in mind. Are you ready? Here we go...

1. Live with gratitude, not entitlement
2. Forgive others instead of holding a grudge
3. Give people credit for (and celebrate) their victories instead of being jealous
4. Pass out compliments like candy and keep criticism in your pocket.
5. Learn something new every day instead of "knowing it all" already.
6. Talk about ideas of how to make your community better, instead of other people
7. Openly cheer on those around you instead of secretly hoping they will fail
8. Share your knowledge and your gifts instead of holding them for ransom
9. Keep a list of goals instead of a list of failures
10. Exude joy, not anger or bitterness
11. Embrace change instead of fearing it
12. Read or listen to a book on a topic you love instead of watching TV
13. Take a chance on an opportunity instead of living with "what if..."
14. Share your story, because others need to hear it. Even if it's hard.

Now you're probably reading this list and wondering where are the tips on getting others to make your life better aren't you? Sorry. That's not what this is about. This is about the power YOU have to flip the script, to change the channel, to stop living by the rules that you've been bound by, because friends, that's where it really lies. In you.

So start today. Pick one or 5 of these things and start making changes. Show the world that you are brave enough, strong enough, strong enough and fiesty enough to pick up your dreams and run with them. No matter what's happened every single day leading up to this one.
Because this one is the one that is going to change it all.
All because YOU chose to break the rules.

Be the "rule" breaker...

Living in a small, rural town in Oklahoma of just about 2,000 people, you see it often and I'm sure you've see it where you live too. It's common. Too common. 
The poverty mentality. 
Generation after generation living a life of constant struggle.
The idea that "grandma was broke, momma was broke and so I'll be broke too."
"Grandpa had nothing, daddy had nothing and I'll have nothing too."
"They weren't smart, so I can't be smart and my kids have no hope."

It's a dream crushing, imagination squashing, living outside of God's promises way to think. 
And it breaks my heart. 

I also see it in our business.
People in our team and in customers who have signed some invisible "contract" in their lives to just live their days miserable, broken and well below what they are capable of.
All because "that's just the way it is" and that "rule" keeps them from pursuing a life well lived. 

But wait. 
What if it's not true?
What if that isn't just the way it has to be?
What if you could break that "rules" of leading a life that is in constant turmoil and struggle?
Because you can.
You absolutely can.
You just have to do it. 
Did you hear that? YOU HAVE TO DO IT!

Years ago, it was said that it was not humanly possible for the body to run a mile under 4 minutes. Experts weighed in, runners gave it a go (even having bulls chase them to spur them along) and it just wasn't happening. 

As runner's persisted in chasing this goal, a record was finally set in the 1940's to 4:01. 
Not under 4 minutes, but 4:01. That record held for 9 years. It was never going to happen. No one would ever run a mile under 4 minutes. Generations before couldn't make it happen, so why would generations after even bother?
Everyone knew it wasn't possible.

Except Roger Bannister.

On May 6th, 1954, Roger decided that it could be done and he would be the one to do it.
Taking responsibility for his dreams and waiting on no one else to do it for him, Roger ignored the "rules" that it couldn't be done and ran a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. 
Record broken. Forever in the history books. His life changed as he finally grasped what so many before could never grab hold of.

Even more important is what followed. 
Once the record was broken by Roger, others started doing it too. First, just a few and then more. Now, over 60 years later, there are high school students running 4 minute miles. A feat history told them wasn't even possible is done every single day, all over the world. 
Why? Because one person changed their mindset. 
One person didn't follow the "this is how it's always been" thought.
One person took responsibility for their dreams and made it happen.
And the rest of the world saw IT WAS possible after all. 

You have to become the rule breaker in your own life. You know, the "rules" that you'd always have and be nothing? Yeah, I'm giving you full on permission to break them. 

Just because the generations before you couldn't see possibility and hope, doesn't mean you have to be tied to the same demise. That is solely the way your mind has been programmed. 
Psst....You can change the channel. 

Change the channel not just for your life or your finances or your dreams. Change it for the generations who will come after you. Be the one who shows the rest of them what's possible. Give them permission to do the same!

If you intend to do anything great with your life, it starts with you, not anyone else.
And it's starts today, not tomorrow. It starts by letting go of what others have told you that you are capable or not capable of. It starts by choosing to stop being fine with just settling for a mediocre life.
It starts by taking responsibility for your dreams, changing the channel and running after them just like Roger chased that 4 minute mile.

Henry Ford once said  “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”
Today, which will it be? 

Tomorrow, I'm going to post again and share with you ways to battle this mindset. Challenging you to change it does no good unless I give you tools to do so, right?
To make sure you don't miss it, be sure to subscribe to our blog.

Until then, Happy Dream Chasing.- Amanda

Be the joy...

Sometimes that is easier said than done, right? To be the joy in the lives of those around you.

In our business, the business of customer service, this can be one of the greatest tools you could possibly have in your pocket. To be the joy in the lives of your customers.

"What does that even mean?" you ask? "I'm just here to take their order and deliver their products" you say?

Oh, but you can do and be so much more.

Being joy in the lives of your customers means being the person who they love to do business with because the experience they have with you always leaves them feeling awesome. The "Chick Fil A" experience if you will.

A smile. A thank you. A "my pleasure!"

But it goes beyond just this.

It's recognizing that because your two lives are intersected because of your business, you have the opportunity to do life WITH your customer. Now, this doesn't mean you need to be all up in their business and know every intricate detail of said life.  We aren't talking stalker here, but what we are talking about is going beyond just a sales transaction. Showing your customer that because they invest you in, you're willing to invest in them.

To celebrate their highs & recognize the lows. To be gracious and generous and appreciative of what they bring to the table. That every interaction with your customer leaves them better than when they came. That you, with intention, do or say something that reminds then why they can't imagine doing business with anyone else. This could all be said for your role as a leader. The two aren't very far apart at all. It comes down to joy.


"So how do I do that?" I'm glad you asked.

You give handwritten thank you cards. You say 'Happy Birthday!' You celebrate new babies or jobs or graduations. You offer condolences or prayers when their hearts are aching. You bring laughter & goodness on Facebook instead of grouchy complaints or "shares" of ugliness. You smile or say hello when you pass them at Target. You tie up their packages with beautiful ribbon making each order a gift, even if it's just for themselves. You be the joy.

One of my favorite quotes from Walt Disney is this...

Be the joy and do it well. While goodies and giveaways and samples are all great, YOU are truly your greatest billboard when it comes to your business. Your product is amazing, no doubt, but people come back because of what YOU can give them. An experience they can't get many other places. 

Being the joy won't always be easy either. 

When we have our own tough stuff going on, pouring good into those around us can feel daunting. But, my friend, when you choose joy, even in those moments, and you share that joy with others, not only will you see a shift in your business as your customers come back for more and bring their friends along too, but what you'll find is that in being the joy for those around you, your own cup will begin to overflow. It will be inevitable. 

Be the joy.

Happy dream chasing.

-Amanda

Frontline Binder System

One of the best parts of my job is loving on my team. One way I do this is by keeping a Frontline Binder for every person in my direct team (meaning there is not a director between them an I).
Here is an example:

When a new consultant joins, as a part of their welcome message, I ask for this information you see above with the explanation that I like to send fun mail for different occasions.
I keep a stack printed out and in my binder so they are always ready to go.
Once filled out, I file in it alphabetical order in my binder. (This makes it easy for quick reference).
Each month, during the first week of the month, I pull my binder out and can easily flip through each page seeing who has a wedding anniversary, birthday, Scentiversary (the day they joined Scentsy) or if their spouse or children has a birthday in that month. I also like to send cards for other life events (wedding, babies) and seasonal events like the start of school or Christmas.
 I list dates in numbers (I.E. 8/6/2018) so I can look for the number corresponding to the current month. Speeds up the process that much more.

I use the lower half of the file to make notes throughout the month. This could include goals, obstacles or life stuff I see going on  that I want to be able to reference next time we talk. It's important for me to know these things so I'm not asking them to say, host an open house when they're in the middle of moving.

Another convenient aspect of this binder is that I can take it and my postcard box with me wherever I am. This means that I can work in the car rider line at school, at Panera, or even just over on the couch. Because I have all of their info right in front of me, I don't have to run reports or filter through the workstation for their address and so on.

It has become one of my favorite tools for my business and I'm sharing it HERE for you to use as well, should you like. If you're looking for a better to build connection and "stickiness" between you and your team, start here. When your team feels and sees you invested in their non-business life, they will become more invested in their business life.

(The file is a Word document, so you will need Microsoft Word or Open Office to view it.)

Happy Dream Chasing!
Amanda

I see you...

I do.
Every single one of you.
And I think about you.
About what could have been had you seen it in you too.
Had you been willing to give it more time, more attention, more heart.
If you'd quit listening to the outside voices and the inside voices too that told you this wouldn't work.
I think about the bills you could have paid off. The trips you could have taken. The lives you would have changed. The stories you would have had a hand in creating.
I see momma's who wanted better for their kids. I see women who desired connection & friendship. I see wanderers who couldn't wait to travel the world.
I see moments where past failures tainted the new opportunity.
Where self doubt spoiled the brewing potential.
Where mismanaged time become "I don't have enough of it."
I see you.
And it makes my heart ache.
Because it's in those moments, when I see you "checking out" of your dreams that I wonder what would have happened if those before me had done the same.
If the ones who pursued better for their own self had "checked out" before I had the chance to see what it could do for me.
Would we be here or would we still be swimming drowning debt & "insufficient funds" notices?
Would I still be lonely and depressed & aching for connection?
Would my daughter's have an example of doing things differently in their lives?
Would my marriage have even survived?
Would we have made it to new countries or even across our own?
Would we be living here? Driving this? Doing these things?
Would I even be a dreamer anymore?
What would have happened?

But they didn't. They didn't quit.
They pursued, pressed on & tried harder.
They worked for 'yes' when all they were getting were 'no'.
They ignored the "that will never work" and showed them that it would.
They did not check out on their dreams, but chased them with roaring passion.
Because they knew they were worth it. No matter the cost. No matter the fleeting moments of disappointment. No matter how long it would take. No matter what hills had to be climbed or what awkward "come to Jesus" moments it took with a leader who loved them.
They saw something in them that fueled them forwards and somewhere down the line, I saw it in me too. The hope for something greater and the courage to chase it.

So I see you.
and I still cheer for you.
And I still wonder what could have been...
If you'd only see it in you too.