Good Stress

I feel like I have been gone all summer and from the looks of my blog, it looks like it. I didn't mean to be negligent, so here is the update. First I have been busy facilitating CE classes for condominium, homeowner, and cooperative licensed managers! They are a terrific group of people and do a wonderful service for our communities by managing all the headaches so the residents can enjoy their lifestyles. Thanks to all of you who attend my classes sponsored by the premier leader in educational workshops, Gray Systems, Inc. www.graysystems.com

In between those classes, I have been speaking and training and coaching in and out of the office. One of my clients tells me that I "bring peace to the workplace, snappy dress to the humdrum, and education to the masses!" Couldn't have said it better. www.imageinsideout.com


In July, I attended Discipleship and Family Week at Ridgecrest, North Carolina, sponsored by LifeWay Publishers. It was an inspirational week with godly speakers such as T. W. Hunt, Avery Willis, Ergun Caner, Roy Edgemon, and Claude King. I was able to hike both mountains while there - Rattlesnake and Royal Gorge. That was a very personal victory! www.lifeway.com

On the heels of Ridgecrest came the National Speakers Association Convention in Orlando, Florida. What a powerful group of people, but all with the caring and giving spirit of Cavett Robert, CSP, CPAE, our founder. www.nsaspeaker.org My local chapter, NSA/Central Florida, was the host chapter and made sure everyone had their own bottle of sunscreen compliments of Publix! www.nsacentralflorida.com

Then off to Atlanta for the Personality Insights, Inc., "Share the Passion" conference for inspiration on helping people know themselves and others better. www.personalityinsights.com

In between all that, I was able to visit TWICE with my son, Adam, who is serving in the United States Marine Corps. He is currently stationed in Beaufort, South Carolina, and still enjoys hunting and fishing as passionately as ever. What a blessing he is to me and I could not be a more proud mom. He has decided to re-enlist for another 4 years to serve and protect our country. Thank you to him and those brave men and women like him who allow us to live freely. God bless you all.

Credibility and Professionalism

What you look like speaks louder than what you say! To be sure you are perceived as credible, honest, and knowledgeable, dress in HARMONY with yourself. Don’t follow the examples set by the fashion industry which dresses its models in CONTRAST. Dressing in contrast sells the clothes. Dressing in harmony sells YOU. By dressing in harmony with yourself, your clothes support your verbal message and ensures your eyes will walk into the room first, not your shirt, tie, or suit. So, if you have light hair and light eyes, your suit should be a lighter shade. If you have dark hair and dark eyes, your suit should be a darker shade. This means that blondes should never wear black for their most credible look. Black is a “power” color only if you have black/brown or silver hair and dark brown eyes!

How to Succeed
I was listening to Fox & Friends this morning and noted the interview with the authors of "Succeed on Your Own Terms," Mr. Greenberg and Mr. Sweeney. The gist of the first question they ask their readers to consider is their definition of success. One year from now how will you know if you were successful? They also noted that in the hundreds of interviews conducted before they wrote the book, the people interviewed had a common thread. Each considered themselves successful because they had crafted a career based on their passions, strengths, and skills. Just imagine! Being successful depends on being true to yourself! To find out more about choosing a career that lines up with who you are, let's talk! There is a way to know this information about yourself!

How to Find Mr. or Mrs. Right

I am studying right now with a group of 10 wonderful single women. We are studying the book, How to Find Mr. or Mrs. Right by Tom and Beverly Rodgers. http://www.soulhealinglove.com/

Drs. Rodgers say that love at first sight isn't really love. It's a chemical in your brain called phenylethylamine (PEA) that gives you that head over heels, giddy feeling. Your body is able to produce it and keep you on a "high" for about 3 years. After that it wears off and couples think they don't love each other any more. Your body can become addicted to PEA which is why some people go from relationship to relationship, falling in love again and again, about every 3 years.

So far, our group has determined we need to date a man for at least 3 years before we marry or else be really prepared for the second stage of the relationship - REALITY.

Fashion and Fads

I recently received an e mail from Jane who said:
Actually, I don't have comments..but I have a question.. why do fads change from time to time?

My answer was as follows:

The reason fads change is because the fashion industry has to have new clothes to sell every season. So they change the clothes, tell the consumer what they need to wear to look good, depend on the consumer NOT knowing what she/he should wear to look good, make money, and do it all again!

The same is also true of makeup retailers. One year, it's blue eye shadow, next year green, etc. That way you keep buying! It's the same with makeup techniques. One year you line the whole eye, the next just the top lid, the next just the bottom, the next year, it'll be the natural look with no liner. They depend on your insecurity and lack of knowledge! It's a racket.

By learning what YOU should be wearing for your color type, shape, lifestyle, personality, and age, you will be an informed consumer and will be able to say NO to some of those fads in clothes, makeup, and makeup techniques.

This audioblog is for my friends who are Community Association Managers.

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Success and Depression

All along I thought the success/failure continuum was it. Then I find out by reading Larry Wilson's fantastic book, Play to Win, there is another continuum - fulfillment/depression.

Here is how it works -

Failure and fulfilled = content
Failure and depressed = suicidal
Successful and depressed = hopeless
Successful and fulfilled = joy

It's easy to see we want to be successful and fulfilled; to feel an abundance with life; joy. But how? Only by using your God given abilities, personality, and spiritual gift in service to others. It is being YOU on purpose.

Find out more by scheduling a Why Do I Do What I Do workshop or a Personality Basics workshop. Go to http://www.imageinsideout.com/Churches/WhyDoIDo.htm or http://www.imageinsideout.com/Churches/PersonalityBasicsChurches.htm

"Memberships in all civic, service, and ministry organizations are in decline. Unless you change your image and the way you attract new members, organizations that have been in existence since the early 1900s will collapse within the next 20 years."

Betsy Barbieux addressing the 1600 attendees of the 52nd Annual Convention of the National Council of Catholic Women in Atlanta, Georgia, in September, 2005.

ANTs

ANTs. Most people are infested with them. Right now, day after day. And the bad thing about ANTs is they spread. You could be an innocent bystander. But you’ll get them if you don’t protect yourself. You have to intentionally stop them. You can’t just hope they’ll go away. Procrastination will only make them worse. Procrastinating is the same as saying “yes, come on in. You’re welcomed here. Make yourself at home. Bring your relatives. Mi casa es su casa.”

And they do. Eventually you are overrun. You try to exterminate them and you fail. You try to get your friends to help and they can’t. You leave the house more often, or sleep longer, or eat more, drink more, or spend more. They won’t go away.

You could be having a big problem with ANTs right now. These ANTs are of a particular species. Though the species is as old as man, it is a fairly new discovery. Modern specialists have been testing treatments for only the last 100 years, though you find some remedies contained in ancient literature.

Some people are better than others at killing them. But if you’re not successful at killing them the problem is you’re not using the right pesticide. You’re trying to get rid of them the cheap and easy way. Ironically, though the solution to the pest problem is not “out there.” The answer lies within.

To read more, check out the whole article on my web site at http://www.imageinsideout.com/ManagementCompanies/ANTs.htm or for an indepth study read the book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, by Dr. Daniel Amen.