Happy Holidays

Occasionally I'll see something in writing that will make me go hmmmmm.... Today it was a request on Facebook to start saying Merry Christmas instead of the "politically correct" Happy Holidays.

When I'm addressing a group of people, I'm in the Happy Holidays camp. I don't like making anyone feel like a minority. But more than that, it's not only about how I make them feel. It's also about how they will think about me. Being accurate for, let's say, 80 percent of a room, an email, a letter, an advertisement, a Tweet, or a Facebook update means you're wrong for 20 percent. Wrong. Alienating. Irritating. Selfish. Uncaring. Insensitive. Lazy.

I wouldn't want anyone thinking that about me.

When I'm addressing a person and I don't know what religion they practice, I'm in the Happy Holidays camp. I don't try to guess whether it is more appropriate to say Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, or Merry Christmas. Why guess? What would I base the guess on? The way they look? Where they're from? No. Religion is not the same as race or nationality. It's a belief, a faith, a philosophy.

My holiday cards (when I send them) ask for peace and love. I just figure everyone wants peace and love. I do. When I'm talking to someone who I know is Jewish, I'll wish them a Happy Hanukkah with joy in my heart. When I'm talking to a group of friends who met each other at a Christian church, I may end the conversation by wishing them a Merry Christmas. Otherwise, I pretty much respect everyone's choice of religion by saying Happy Holidays.

Sometimes being "politically correct" is just a nice thing to do.

For me, it's the right thing. Imagine....

Happy Sunday Morning



I'd just eaten a scone... that's powdered sugar. (Photo: Angela)

May 15th. It's been cold in Sydney this week. Seems colder than it should be. It is supposed to be late autumn, but it feels like a Sydney winter. When I start to think I'm cold, I close my eyes and try to feel Denver in February. The cold eases when I do that. It's not ever that cold.

This week has been fantastic though because the sun has been out. It's dry. The air is dry, too. Alan actually applied handcream the other night. It's weird.... that used to be a 3 times a day occurrence in Arizona and Colorado. Now we don't really use handcream much. I put on lotion on my arms in the morning, but that's more because I love the smell of the body butter I'm using.

This morning I woke up at about 7:00. I'm pretty sure it was Copper who woke me. He needed to go out. Alan was the one who let him out and then over the next 3 minutes all of us peed and then got back into our warm waterbed. I tried to sleep again, but my mind was moving.

I was angry actually. Last night Paul and I had a gig at the Quarryman's Hotel in Pyrmont and after we did our first set, we were asked to not play anymore because of a soccer game about to start. Apparently everyone in the pub wanted to watch the game and this silly live music was going to empty the place. We got paid, but that's not the point.... I wanted to play.

This is the second time the Q has pissed me off this week. Earlier I found out that they are cutting back their budget to only have a solo performer on Saturday nights. They just don't have the turnover at the bar to justify the expense. Don't get me started about all of the marketing they could be doing to make it work, because if I start I'll be on a rant and probably end up writing a marketing plan. I was the only one promoting the music. Go figure.

So after June, that means no Wen & Bendy or Wendy and Paul or Merchants of Menace at the Q. That's what happens in this industry. It just kicks me into gear to get busy and find a few new venues where we can play. I needed to do that anyway. I've been around the industry long enough to know that this is normal, but I wanted to share why I was angry this morning....

I got up and checked my Facebook. I have a personal profile where I can see my cousins, my Arizona buddies, my Texas and Colorado friends, my skiesta family, and my extended Aussie clan. I like checking that page once a day. Then I have three pages: Wen & Bendy, Wendy's Candle Consultant Page, and Wendy the Candle Lady - for my clients. I check all four places every morning and then I'm done. I did that this morning.

Then I went outside (yes, into the cold, sunny morning), sat on Copper's Landing, and meditated for 20 minutes. I've learned Vedic Meditation recently and I am very good at doing it in the morning. I'm supposed to also do it once in the afternoon/evening, but I've found it hard to prioritise that. I will though, because I am positive that it is doing me good. I sometimes feel a wave of.... what is it.... it's a vertigo feeling.... sort of a buzz, dizziness, perhaps almost sleep, emptiness.... where I know I've gone somewhere else. It doesn't happen for the entire 20 minutes. It just creeps up on me. When it happens, I know that I'm getting into the zone. It's hard to describe. But it's pretty amazing.

Alan just got up and he's making me another coffee now. Yay! We are headed off to Fiji next week for a beautiful five night, five star holiday courtesy of PartyLite. Copper is having a house guest while we're gone. Debbie will love our warm dog, indoor and outdoor heaters, and bubbling spa. Copper will just love Debbie. :)

I think that's all for now. Arizona is hotting up.... Hope you in the north are enjoying the almost summer. I'll keep my ugg boots on.... :)

Life is Good

There is a lot going on. Always seems to be. I feel like I've neglected my WendEmail too long though and it's definitely time for an update.

Travel
I have three trips "planned." First, to go to Fiji for five nights in May. It's another trip I've earned through my network marketing business at PartyLite. Alan will come with me and it's all completely free. Yippee! Second, to visit my brother in Shanghai, China. I hope to do that in October - Alan has started looking at flights for me. Third, to go with a group to Spain in April/May 2012. It's time to get the accommodation booked, so I need to get going on it. My mom and my cousin Alison are helping me organise it all this time. I need to get on the ball with them.

We'll share the itinerary and anyone who wants to can join us in Barcelona. What a fun time we had in Italy last trip. Feel free to gate crash on this one.

Music
Ben has formed a band as a vehicle for his latest string of songs. He asked me to be a part of it, so I'm playing guitar (acoustic and electric) and singing. It's a four piece band. We have a blog. You can subscribe or link to it through Facebook. I'd absolutely love for you to read more about that because we're going to be sharing videos, audios, and updates as the project develops.

I'm also playing pretty regularly at a pub in Pyrmont called The Quarrymans. Mostly with the Wen & Bendy duo, but occasionally with my good friend, Paul. It's a strange pub, but we have fun getting out there and playing songs we love. Wen & Bendy are on Facebook, too, so if you want to keep up with our schedule, you could "like" us.

Candles
I've officially become Wendy the Candle Lady for my public business persona. Not only do I have Wendy the Candle Lady on Facebook, where I can link with my clients, but I just bought the domains of www.wendythecandlelady.com and www.wendythecandlelady.com.au. They aren't active yet, but I'll link the two together and develop a landing page for that site in the next month.

The business is going really well. My team has been growing nicely and I'm working on improving my process for training new consultants. We had 6 new people start in March, which was a record, and I think that sort of growth will continue. As the leader, I need to make sure new people get started right and get my attention, even as the number of new people grows. So my focus is there.

I'm also doing a lot of networking now. The first reason is, of course, to keep expanding my business. The second reason is to develop my professional network; I've met a lot of great people through my BNI chapter. The third reason is to lead by example. One of the problems we always need to overcome in party plan, is to keep meeting new people. I wanted to be able to share effective techniques to do that with my team.

One output of that is that I've been writing. I'm involved in a book project that will be completed in the next few months. I'm writing a chapter on how to effectively network as a party plan person (aka network marketing or multi level marketing). The book will be available on Amazon and it is a great way for me to put my toe into writing and publishing. More info as it comes.... I'm excited.

Home
Alan is fantastic. His job had been getting very stressful last year because he was managing too many people. This year he was able to make some management changes under him and he is more sane because of that. He still sails almost every Saturday - racing a 24 foot sailboat in the beautiful Sydney Harbour.  He loves it. Earlier this year he and his sailing buddies had a skiing adventure in Japan. He loved that, too and enjoyed Japanese skiing. He would like to take me there. I'll wait to see if the mountain is radioactive after the recent events.... So sad.

Copper is my ragdoll dog. He is 3 years old now and we have a lot of fun together. Because I work from home, he and I are really close. We take snuggle breaks every now and then, go for walks, and he greets all of my guests nicely. Everyone loves him (or at least that's what they tell me) and he makes people smile all over the inner west of Sydney. Last week, Ben and Ange took him to Coogee for a walk on the coast, so he is spreading the love as much as he can.

The house has been completely transformed now that the deck is complete. Every morning, I open the doors all the way and enjoy the fresh air. It's absolutely what we were looking for when we decided to make it happen. We are working on the landscaping now. I suppose the projects will just keep coming. After the landscaping is done, we'll move to the interior decorating to blend the living room, dining room, and deck and to improve the flow. Alan will finally be able to get the TV and sound system he's always wanted. I'll get a new couch, a nice place to read, and a better entertaining area. But we're patient... it'll happen when it happens.

I love getting updates from you, too. So drop me a line to let me know what's up every now and then. Facebook is pretty cool for staying in touch, but lots of people don't use it, so call or write. I'm on Viber and What's App on my iPhone, so it's free to talk to, text, or send photos, videos, or audio recordings to me if you have that set-up, too. :) Douglas and I love both and are in touch now more than ever. (Being in China and Australia has brought us closer together. Strange, huh?)

Make it a great day! Love, WLC.

Big Hairy Audacious Goals

I reckon you have to put it out there for things to happen. So... in the spirit of a New Year, I've created my list of goals. These aren't resolutions. They are real, honest goals. I'll be creating a visual inspiration board above my desk to inspire me more.

But I figure writing these down and telling you will be inspiration enough.

• Invest my monthly bonus into my superannuation account (monthly).
• Set up insurance and wills by end of March 2011.
• Buy an investment property in 2012.
• Promote two Unit Leaders before the end of June 2011.
• Complete backyard landscaping in two phases by September 2011.
• Complete driveway upgrades in 2011.
• Continue with two or more Wen & Bendy gigs every month (monthly).
• Add two or more gigs per month in other bands (monthly from March 2011).
• Redecorate the living room for $5000 or less in 2011.
• Go to France, Spain, and Italy with friends and family in April/May 2012.
• Achieve $1,000,000 in downline sales in 2011.
• Receive Sponsoring Excellence award in July 2011.
• Achieve Five Star Fiji Incentive Trip in May 2011.

I've achieved my lists before. I'll do it again. Here I go!