Devote Yourself to creating something that gives you purpose . . .

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

Tuesdays with Morrie, author Mitch Albom

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Upcoming Events and Activities

If you are looking for motivation or inspiration to help you grow your business, check out the following activities in our local area:

1. April 14, 2011 - Get Motivated Seminar at VanAndel and DeVos Place. Some of our members will be going to hear the exceptional lineup of individuals slated to share their business wisdom. To obtain tickets in advance go to the following website. Get Motivated Seminar Tickets are $1.95 per person in advance.

VanAndel is the live presentation. Workbooks at this location will cost $4.95.

DeVos Place is the live satellite feed, workbooks are free at this location and you will also receive a free boxed lunch.

Thank you Mitzi Taylor, Not So Basic Training for sharing this information.

2. World-Renowned Small Business Guru and author of E-Myth, Michael Gerber will be speaking at the Frauenthal Theater in Muskegon, on Wednesday evening, May 18, 2011 at 7 p.m. General Admission is $12.00. If you are a student your ticket price is $7.00. Tickets are available through www.startickets.com or by calling 1-800-585-3737 or the Theater Box Office at 231-332-4110.

Thank you Dawn Johnson, Muskegon Chamber of Commerce for sharing this information.

The first two events are opportunities presented by 3 Degrees Connected Members, but are not hosted by our organization.

Our next 3 Degrees Connected Event has been scheduled for Thursday, May 26, 2011 with guest speaker Kathi Jo DeYoung, Joyous Journey who will share with us her perscription for great networking success. Time, Location, and Event Details will be announced soon, please mark your calendar.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, Rhonda Geneva at 616 405-7402 or email president@3degreesconnected.org.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Member News: Inge Bonfoey, Wet Dog Solutions

FURminator® Announces Towel Togs Partnership


Wearable microfiber towels provide pet owners with happy dogs and clean, dry carpets

ST. LOUIS – Effective March 15th, FURminator® Inc. will be the exclusive worldwide distributor of Towel Togs Wearable Dog Towels. Towel Togs provide an effortless way for dog owners to dry their canine companions while calming them and keeping carpets, furniture and cars protected from a wet, smelly pet.

The Towel Togs can be easily slipped over the dog’s head and tail, cinching around the dog to fit comfortably. The Towel Togs will stay in place on even the most active dog. Towel Togs are made with special microfiber fabric that rapidly draws water away from a dog’s coat and into the material’s absorbent fibers.

“Since its beginning FURminator has been offering deShedding solutions to pet parents worldwide. Today we are very happy to add to our product portfolio a new solution for the pet parent to address the nuisance of wet dogs indoors,” said Olivier Amice, FURminator president.

“Whether it be from rain, snow, grooming or from swimming in the family swimming pool or lake, dogs attempt to dry themselves, and household furnishings can take a beating. Towel Togs simply eliminate the dog’s need to rub furniture. I am very happy to partner with the FURminator team to expand distribution of the Towel Togs across the globe,” says Inga Bonfoey, inventor of the Towel Togs.

Towel Togs are secure, wearable, and prevent water from dripping onto the pet’s feet, so pets can wear a Towel Tog around the house immediately after bathing, swimming or a rain shower. Because the towel’s fabric allows the dog’s fur to dry faster, the wet, sour dog smell is reduced, offering an additional benefit for the pet owner interested in keeping the home looking and smelling its best.

“Towel Togs are a welcome addition to the FURminator line of deShedding solution” said Amice. “We continue to devote ourselves to creating products that keep pets happy and healthy while helping pet owners keep their homes clean and attractive.”

Towel Togs are available in five adjustable sizes, from extra small to extra large, to provide for dogs of all breeds and ages. These products, along with FURminator shampoos, hair care products, and deShedding Tools will be sold at pet specialty outlets, and will also be available online at www.FURminator.com.



About FURminator:

FURminator Inc. enhances relationships between pet owners and their pets with effective and easy-to-use pet grooming products. Based in metropolitan St. Louis, FURminator was founded in 2002 by husband and wife team David and Angela Porter. Sold at national pet retailers, the company’s products are available to consumers nationwide and distributed through professional pet groomers, veterinary practices and rescue organizations across the United States, and are also available for purchase online or through professional and consumer catalogs. For more information on FURminator, visit http://www.furminator.com/.

Inge Bonfoey of Wet Dog Solutions, inventor of the Towel Tog, and member of 3 Degrees Connected, share the following information with us.  Best of luck Inge in your upcoming retirement :)

Lakeshore Style Revolution - Thursday, March 24, 2011

Pull out your little black dress and come support a good cause.  Donaylle Roger's of Donaylle Nicole Hair Salon is hosting her 4th annual charity event to support the Center for Women in Transition.  Tickets for this event cost $40 and can be purchased from their website at http://www.dnhair.com/.

To learn more about this event, review announcement click here.

This information was submitted by Marla Curry, of Donaylle Nicole Hair Studio, and a member of 3 Degrees Connected.

Are You Ready to Embrace Your True Passion?

I wanted to make sure you knew about my free teleclass on March 17 at 8:00 pm EST Embracing Your Passions: 3 Simple Steps to Discovering Your Top Passions.


Do You Know What Your Top Passions Are???

Identifying your top passions will provide you with more clarity and confidence in your relationships, career, money and well being.

Your passions are your gifts to the world and what you should be getting out there to share with as many people as possible.

Your passions are what light the fire within and need to be expressed every day. They are the joy that you need in your life.

On this call you will discover:

• What passions are and their importance/their gift to the world…

• What your passions are…

• How to narrow down your passions…

• Identifiers/how you know you are living your passion!

But That’s Not All…

In addition I will also be providing laser coaching opportunities to participants. This is an opportunity to start out now on your way to unleashing your passions so you can get your message out to the world in a big way!

Are You Ready?

If you are ready to find your true passions, embrace them and fill your life with them you need to be on this call.

Sign up now to make sure you reserve your seat for this call. There are a limited number of seats and you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity for laser coaching so you can leave the call with more clarity and confidence right away!

Can’t wait to talk to you then!

Barb
Create A New Story Coaching

15704 Charles Ct
Grand Haven, MI  49417

 
This teleclass was submitted by Barb VerCande who is a member of 3 Degrees Connected.  Her business is Create A New Story;  Barb is a life coach.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Gene Forton Memorial Golf Tournament - August 20, 2011

My Dad died from cancer at an early age of 62, since I have been a Mary Kay Consultant I have had the vision to honor him and to help fight this awful disease, on August 20, 2011 the vision will be a reality. Please come and support this effort, by donating items such as food, snacks, coupons from local business's etc. or register to play in this BEST BALL SCRAMBLE. The fee per person is $35.00 and includes a cart, and lunch. There will be door prizes, a silent auction, and other prizes as well. We are collecting Corporate Sponsors and any and all supporters Names, and or Business Names will be put on a flier to be passed out the day of the event.


If you are not a Golfer and would like to support this event we are selling raffle tickets for a FLIP VIDEO recorder $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00. You are also invited to come and bid on the silent auction items all day. Bidding will end 1 hr after awards ceremony. You can stop by as early as 8:00 a.m. that day.

The event will be at the Fruitport Golf Center on Harvey St. in Muskegon (down the street from the Lakes Mall). 6334 Harvey St. Muskegon, MI. 49444

Anyone wishing to volunteer to help with this event please contact Becky Forton at 616-502-7581 also registration forms are available through Becky Forton. Registration ends July 31, 2011.

It is such an honor to remember my Dad in this way. He was a very avid Golfer and loved life and people. If you have ever known someone afflicted by cancer, please support this wonderful cause.

Thank You!

Becky Forton
Mary Kay Cosmetics



This article was forward by Becky Forton, who is a member of 3 Degrees Connected and a Mary Kay Cosmetics Consultant

Monday, February 21, 2011

What Cause Do You Support?

In the book Unstoppable Women (Day26), Cynthia Kersey asks us to take a look at causes or issues that are important to us. In her own life, she experienced great emotional healing when she focused outward on the needs of others whose pain was much greater than her own. In 1998 she experienced a significant loss and in her own evaluation she decided that she should build 100 homes in Nepal through the Habitat for Humanity program to outweigh the pain she felt. In three short months she raised enough money (approximately $200,000) to build 100 homes. It is interesting that 100 homes in Nepal are about the same price as one middleclass home in America.


Most of the causes I personally support are aimed at the needs of women and children. In 2007 I discovered the program KIVA which matches lenders with those needing resources. A hidden message in our daughter's adoption documents gave us the feeling that we should pursue a method of giving back after being so blessed to raise this little girl. We learned that our daughters name was given with best wishes in hopes that she would be happy. We wanted to leave this legacy.

When one focuses on learning about the needs of women, as I do, it is easy to discover that women do not fair well in many parts of the world. Although we will never know the specific reasons that our daughter became an orphan at one day old, we know that the decision to relinquish her came at a great cost to her birthmother. Her birthmother will never know the outcome of her decision. We know that our daughter’s birthmother gave her a tremendous lift in life by giving her up. By inspiring our daughter to give to others, we hope that we can somehow create balance in the universe that cost her mother so dearly.

I firmly believe that happiness is a reflection of what we give to others, so as we embarked on the journey of parenthood, we decided we would raise our family on this premise. When we discovered KIVA, we knew that this would be one approach to leaving a "happiness legacy" behind. The money we use to buy a cup of coffee in America is a full weeks wage in other parts of the world. I feel passionate about my role as a resource director, so when we have a few extra dollars, we roll them into a giving experience.


When you plant seeds and tend to those seeds, great things can happen. Yesterday I was reviewing progress made in our micro-lending experience. In a few short years I've discovered what began as one small $25 loan contributed toward one woman's business has now turned into 68 loans in 17 countries through our lending team. We have personally contributed to 38 of these loans and have given two gift certificates. Since time allows one to reinvest in new business once old loans are repaid, the circulation of our money has allowed us to contribute $1,250 to make life better for women and their families. Part of these resources have come from our own savings, but in 2008, my daughter asked her friends to contribute toward this cause instead of bringing gifts to her birthday party; she was four. This amounted in $125 that we were able to roll into our giving. Since that time, we've learned that even our babysitter at age 15 is beginning to value this experience as her own mother gave her a gift certificate to get her started.

Our lending team was started in May 2009. With donations from a gold buying exchange we added another $150 to our lending. We would love to have you join us in this venture and see what a difference we can make as a collective team. It is our goal over the next five years that we will increase our lending ten-fold (to 700 loans, contributing $17,500) to help women in other regions of the world. If you are interested in learning more about KIVA or wish to join our lending team, find us on the Internet at http://www.kiva.org/team/3_degrees_connected.

To learn more about Cynthia Kersey’s Unstoppable Women’s Challenge go to her website at http://www.unstoppablewomen.com/. See what Cynthia is doing for her upcoming birthday.



This article was written by Rhonda W. Geneva, SendOutCards Distributor and President of 3 Degrees Connected Women's Network.

Friday, February 18, 2011

A Support Team

What kind of organization is 3 Degrees Connected™ Women's Network? In Cynthia Kersey's book, Unstoppable Women: Achieving Any Breakthrough Goal in 30 Days, she talks about surrounding yourself with people who lift you higher (Day 23). As I read through this material (my second trip through this program), I had the prompting to write this article.


Often time women identify with multiple roles that require her time and attention. We identify with being daughters, granddaughters, sisters, aunts, wives, mothers, best friends, career person, committee member, or Sunday school teacher. Our list of people we claim to be can be overwhelming.

When you think of each of these roles, each has its own criteria that make you feel successful in that role. It is likely that you depend on the same inner circle to provide support and offer feedback in all areas of your life. If you draw on your spouse or best friend for support in the area of your career, you may not like their input. They know you in a different role, should they know how to support you in a role they had little part of creating? Most likely they are focused on many roles themselves.

Finding a support team that understands the nature of what you are trying to accomplish can be helpful. When trying to lose weight, you might find joining a weight-loss program focused on the right behaviors makes more sense than gaining encouragement from someone who has never had to face that obstacle. A support team of this nature would encourage you to take a walk rather than sit on the couch and enjoy a two hour movie on your flat screen television.

Cynthia shares "The University of California at Berkley has demonstrated that associating with successful people improves performance and increases the chance of success. Conversely, associating with unsuccessful or unimaginative people is counterproductive." Building relationships on mutual support or accountability can be very helpful. Not only will you be the recipient of many new insights, you will feel great knowing that you are also contributing to someone else’s success.

Take a look at the relationships you have created and rely upon. What roles have you assigned to whom. Here are just a few examples: nurturing and restoring, allowing you to maintain the status quo, spiritual ambassador, gossip and complaining, goal directed and personal development. What support roles are lacking?

Cynthia explains that there are several areas that one can look for support including: non-profit organizations, professional associations, career centers, personal coaches, your place of employment. We would like to believe that 3 Degrees Connected™ Women's Network is a great organization focused on support. If you have interest in joining us, please check us out. We would love to create a mutually beneficial relationship with you.

This article was written by Rhonda W. Geneva, SendOutCards™ Independent Distributor, and President of 3 Degrees Connected™ Women's Network.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Our Next Event - February 23, 2011

Why do we not achieve our goals?
In our first event of 2010, we focused on setting SMART goals.  Mitzi Taylor of Not so Basic Training showed us the formula we should use to create Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-based Goals.  This focus was assuming that most of us knew what we were aiming for.  I heard it said:  "You will be 1000 times more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down".  Does this mean if we apply pen to paper that we will succeed?

What's Happened to Last Year's Goals?
Many of us may be uncertain of what last years goals really were.  We may not have taken time to evaluate our progress.  We may have stopped short by never beginning to make progress.  Maybe it is because we lacked the motivation, but more than likely it was because we didn't know where to start.  In the words of Dr. Phil "How's that working for you?"
Seriously, Now is not the time to be sarcastic about our progress, but to dig a little deeper and find out what we can do to change the outcome.
Be Unstoppable . . . and Find Your Passion will be the focus for this event.

Presented by:  Rhonda Geneva, President of 3 Degrees Connected, and Barb VerCande, Life Coach of  Create a New Story.
This event is free, space is limited to the first 40 registered members or guests.

We hope we can help you find your greatness in 2011.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Defining Moments

This morning as I sat in my car I was listening to the audio version of Kody Bateman's book Promptings, I found myself paying particular attention to the wording "Defining Moment" he spoke of in chapter one.   Kody talks openly about one very significant "defining moment" that prompted him to start his Multimillion dollar Send Out Cards business.  This defining moment came in 1989 with the death of his brother Chris.  Although I've listened to this story at least two dozen times, this morning I thought about how this moment created the momentum necessary to understand his life's purpose.



Kody talks about
  • Inner Promptings - those things that define who you are, and
  • Outer Promptings - those things that define what you will do with who you are. 
It is very easy to let life happen without recognizing the significant events in our lives that may change the way we think or move us in a new direction.  I don't believe that "defining moment" is a single event as I have experienced many things in life that have changed the direction that I was heading. 

The definition of "Defining" according to Merrimam-Webster's dictionary

1.  to determine or identify the essential qualities or meaning of (whatever defines us as human), to discover and set forth the meaning of (as a word), or to create on a computer (define a window or procedure)


2.  to fix or mark the limits of demarcate (rigidly defined property line), to make distinct, clear, or detailed especially in outline (the issues aren't too well defined).

3.  to characterize or distinguish (you define yourself by the choices you make)

As I thought about Kody's message and the significance of understanding not only who we are, but what we do with who we are, I realized that it would be an excellent exercise for me to look back over time and recognize the significance of such moments in my own life. 

One of my first defining moments came in 1994 when I made the decision that my life was more important than the possession I had accumulated and I walked away from nearly everything to start my life anew.  This was a defining moment that helped me to realize that one is never stuck in a bad marriage, in a bad job, or in bad circumstances.  That defining moment resulted in a tremendous advances in my career, and finding out more about the person I wished to be.  Within less than four years I had increased my income 250% and I was enjoying life again.

Another defining moment came in 1998 when I made the decision to take a vacation and attend a seminar that taught me about the origin of beliefs.  This study helped me to recognize the significance of transparent beliefs.  Transparent beliefs are beliefs that we attach to so closely that they become part of our identity.  They go unnoticed and when unchecked they create patterns or repeated experiences.  The stories we tell ourselves about who we are often will reveal transparent beliefs.  One seminar led to another and I cleared up a lot of beliefs that I had held on to tightly and didn't realize the impact that they had on my life and my direction.  Then using the techniques that I had learned through these studies I came to the realization that there were beliefs I held on to that led me in the direction of being an employee rather than a business owner.  Answering some very specific questions helped me realize that I no longer had to be caught in the corporate environment trying to break the glass ceiling.

The next defining moment came in 2004 when my husband and I began the first journey to become adoptive parents to a child born internationally.  This adoption led me to study life and culture as it relates to women in other parts of the world.  As a result of becoming a parent now to two children born overseas, my vision of the world has significantly changed and I do not believe that I will ever take my birthplace for granted nor my interest in being of service to others lightly.


I would encourage you to look within your own life and see what defining moments have shaped the person that you are and determined the direction you should head.

This article was written by Rhonda W. Geneva a SendOutCards Distributor and owner of Geneva Girls Designs.