Getting Away

Alan and I took a few days off this week. We drove south west to a little Victorian town called Beechworth. We brought the camera, but didn't take any pictures. We went to vineyards and bought 2 cases of wine (pretty reserved - could have done more). We read books, I played my guitar. We ate nice food, we slept in.

Then we drove to Barooga (Barooooooooooooooooooga) to see our friends, Mike and Julie. Another relaxing afternoon, evening, and morning.

Getting away is important. I hope you've been able to get away lately. Let us know where.

Later!

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won, had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Author Unknown

Sponsorship

We had a very successful Share & Succeed training on Saturday. Here are some notes from my presentation on Sponsorship.

Sponsorship versus leadership
Sponsorship is for every Consultant in PartyLite. You do not need to be a Leader to sponsor someone. In fact, you do not even need to aspire to leadership to sponsor someone. Until you are a leader, I recommend that you use your Unit Leader to assist you significantly in the recruitment of new consultants. You are not alone. In fact, it is your Leader’s responsibility.

Leadership may be something you aspire to achieve. This is great. Your Unit Leader can assist you in setting goals and a plan to achieve them. PartyLite also offers training for Future Leaders. Leadership is more than sponsorship.

Understanding the difference may be the break you are looking for. As your team grows, you will get leadership training to prepare you to lead your own team. Until that happens – use your Leader.

Consultant Guide
Section 7 of the Consultant Guide is a critical part to understanding and preparing for sponsoring. Take 30 minutes to read it and to think about how to integrate it into your shows and your conversations.

My personal commercial
I discovered PartyLite in 1996 when I was living in Denver, Colorado. My hairdresser asked me if I wanted to come to a candle party. I asked her if I needed to bring a candle. She laughed and said, “No, you just need to bring your Visa card.”

Since then, I’ve been hooked.

I became a Consultant myself in June 2005 and I am now a Leader of a great and growing team of smart, successful women. My enthusiasm for my little candle business has done nothing but grow. I go to parties. I tell people about the best candles in the world. I have fun, eat their food, drink their wine, and get paid. I work when I want to. I work part time from home – even with my Leadership commitments, I still only work about 20 hours a week. It’s the best thing that’s happened to me. I control it all. If any one here today likes some of the choices that I have shared with you, and you think that it would make a difference to your lifestyle as well, then please come and talk with me later and we can set up a time to have a chat.

Planting seeds
Planting seeds is useless unless you are prepared to provide sunlight (directly offer the opportunity), water (answer their questions), pull weeds (overcome their objections), and harvest (sign ‘em up).

Directly offer the opportunity to each person – especially to your hostess who has just had a $500+ show. Don’t ask if they are interested? Ask them what they like about your job. Tell them there are meetings each month where they can learn more. Offer to introduce them to your Unit Leader to answer any questions they have. Give your Unit Leader the name and number of two people at each show who want more information or who seem like good potential consultants (personality).

Answer their questions – Ask them what questions they have about the Discover PartyLite brochure. Phone call, in person, with your Unit Leader, and/or at your next Unit Meeting.

Overcome their objections – Feel, felt, found – use either your experience or another Consultant’s to honestly share how the same objection was overcome.

Sign ‘em up – Until you’re ready, here’s what your Unit Leader will help you do: ask them if there is any reason why they wouldn’t be able to give it a go. Help them write out their FRANK list. Give them some help setting up their first six shows, and get the contract signed.

Sponsoring is a verb
Think of sponsoring as an activity. Look for Consultants. Invite people to do what you do. Recommend people to the company. Like a visitor to a country club, you are signing them in.

Start them right
The first six shows of a new Consultant are critical to her success as a Consultant. Don’t underestimate the positive impact of doing six shows, getting bookings from each show, and getting commissions from six shows. If your new Consultant can see a financial impact from her efforts, he or she will be much more likely to succeed. BriteStart is a good motivator. Help your Unit Leader by consistently supporting the importance of getting six shows into a new Consultant’s diary.

What Music Means to Me

Not a Rant, Just a Roll of Thoughts....

I get goosebumps. The kind you get when you hear the perfect note, or the truest lyric, or the most amazing harmony. I get goosebumps.

I know we all get them from time to time, but I think I get them more than most. I do listen to a lot of music.

Music moves me. Makes me happy, sad, introspective, and motivated. Takes me somewhere else and then throws me back into the moment.

Listening to lyrics make me a stronger person. How? Because it gives me confidence and comfort to know that I'm not the only one feeling the way I do. When a lyric rings true to me, I know thousands of other people must feel the same way... and that's comforting. Whether the lyric is about love, war, frustration, life, suicide, working, writing, love lost, money, jealousy, passion, poverty, history, the mundane, or the exciting, I feel better knowing that other people feel those things, too.

The emotions that can be created through the voice of the instruments alone, without lyrics, are sometimes more powerful.

Though, listening to music makes me jealous. And angry. Angry at myself for being so lazy as a child that I didn't learn the language of music. How to read it, write it, feel it, to dream in that beautiful language. There are millions of nuances, timings, and tones that I can appreciate but not replicate. Practice.

I often close my eyes and just listen. Especially during a music video - I prefer to interpret a song myself through the music and the lyric. Videos seem to be a cheating way to interpret (or misinterpret) a song.

Live music takes me to another realm altogether. Since I perform myself, when I watch someone else perform, there is appreciation and admiration simply for their presence.

I realise now that I watch the stage differently than a non-performer. I listen to the music differently. I take apart the song now - I never used to do that. I listen for the bass line. I notice the variety of guitar sounds. I hear the high hat and the snare and can pick out a triplet with ease. I think about the arrangements and wonder about alternatives (not that I could create them).

Forever I'll be learning and improving and I can't imagine a time when I'm not feeling like there is significantly more learning and improving to do. I'm hypercritical of my own performances and I'm always striving for the perfect take.

Only recently, I realised that, because of all of these things, I am a musician.

Finally.

It'll be just like starting over....

Those words by John Lennon can be used every day. Everyday we can re-start. We can re-invigorate. We can re-build.

Have things stalled? Are you inactive? Do you want to begin again?

Can I offer you a helping hand?

Basically, to get going again, you simply need to start again. Here are five steps to get started:

1. Read section 2 and 3 of the consultant guidelines – Section 2 will inspire you to set goals and act, Section 3 will be a great refresher on a show.


2. Get your own calendar organized for now through Christmas – know when you have personal things to do, when you work, when the kids have activities you can’t miss, mark them all down. You need to know when you can do shows.


3. Host a show at your house this month. Set the date.


4. Write out your FRANK list (again). Seriously, sit down and write down every person you can think of – Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, Neighbours, and Kids Friends. Invite at least 30 people to your show. Don’t just email them. Email them, post them a postcard invite AND then call them each to give them a boost. If they can’t make it, let them know that they can order from you and you will add it to that show. Make sure they know that there are great host benefits if they will book a show with you. Christmas is coming…. Great informal shopping! Don’t pressure them, but be ready with dates if they are interested. If they want to think about it – ask them if you can call back in a few days. (Definitely call them back!)


5. Call each of the customers you have served already (get out the door prize slips from shows past) and let them know that you’ve been on a bit of a break, but you’re back. If they need any candles, remind them of how to get in touch with you. If they have them, make sure you have their email addresses. If they haven’t been burning their candles (and therefore don’t need more) remind them that candles look best, and smell better, and make their home look nice, when they’re lit.

Just make 3-4 calls per day. Our next Unit Meeting isn’t until October 24. In the meantime, you can call me anytime or you can schedule a weekly/fortnightly call with me if you want. At those calls, I’ll see how you’re doing and offer advice on moving forward.

I hope this helps. I could add more, but I want to keep it simple.

My Guitar Weeps

Yesterday, as I sat on the couch, guitar in hand, pickless, I realized that I have been playing the very same song for over two years - and not very well. I only have 3 songs I play without a pick, and whenever I pick up a guitar without one, I play all three of them: Blackbird, Tears in Heaven, and Landslide. They're all great songs. They deserve better.

I know what notes to play, but my fingers don't always follow where my brain says to go.

Realizing that I've been just playing them and not practicing them, I've decided to really knuckle down and get them right. Ask me to play one next time you see me. Suppose I'd better go learn the lyrics to Blackbird now....