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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Events for November and December 2010

Check out the following events to keep your finances in check during the holidays:


 Upcoming Events - November & December

Thank you for sharing Bobbie Twa, Changing Directions

January 21-22, 2011 - Another Event for Women

Thank you for sharing Cindy (Marinko) - West Michigan Spa & Wellness

November 13, 2010 - Pamper and Protect

Thank you for sharing: Dr. Sara Young, Lakeshore Family Chiropractic Health & Wellness

Books Needed

Do you have books that your kids no longer read? Do you want to do something amazing with those books that will help children who want to have a library in their school?

We have an opportunity to donate our books between now and Thanksgiving.

Pat VanSlooten has brought it to my attention that she is on a mission to start a small library at Rainelle Christian Academy in Rainelle, West Virginia (population 1513). This small community could use our help. We are in need of books for all grades K-12.

If you would like to make a donation, please bring your books to Spring Lake Presbyterian Church at 760 E. Savidge Street, Spring Lake, MI 49456.

All books will be accepted whether new or used, classic novels, biographies, history, educational, or just plain fun.

If you have any questions, feel free to give Pat a call at 616 847-3604 or drop off your books at the church.

If you are coming to the next 3 Degrees Connected Event, November 9, 2010, feel free to bring books with you.

Thank you,

Rhonda Geneva

The Four "IF's" by Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn is one of my all time favorite speakers who not only knew how to communicate, but how to communicate well. The Four "If's" shares some insight that he has about making life worthwhile.

Over the years, as I’ve sought out ideas, principles and strategies to life’s challenges, I’ve come across four simple words that can make living worthwhile.

First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN. What you don’t know will hurt you. You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if you learn from your own experiences—negative or positive.

We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a positive negative. We also learn from other people’s experiences, both positive and negative. I’ve always said that it is too bad failures don’t give seminars. Obviously, we don’t want to pay them, so they aren’t usually touring around giving seminars. But that information would be very valuable. We would learn how someone who had it all, messed it up. Learning from other people’s experiences and mistakes is valuable information because we can learn what not to do without the pain of having tried and failed ourselves.

We learn by what we see, so pay attention. We learn by what we hear, so be a good listener. Now, I do suggest that you should be a selective listener. Don’t just let anybody dump into your mental factory. We learn from what we read, so learn from every source. Learn from lectures. Learn from songs. Learn from sermons. Learn from conversations with people who care. Always keep learning.

Second, life is worthwhile if you TRY. You can’t just learn. Now you have to try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference. Try to make some progress. Try to learn a new skill. Try to learn a new sport. It doesn’t mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do if you just try. Try your best. Give it every effort. Why not go all out?

Third, life is worthwhile if you STAY. You have to stay from spring until harvest. If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the project, see it through. Sometimes calamity comes; then it is worth wrapping it up and that’s the end. But just don’t end in the middle. Maybe on the next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through.

And lastly, life is worthwhile if you CARE. If you care at all, you will get some results. If you care enough, you can get incredible results. Care enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to win.

Four powerful little words: learn, try, stay and care. What difference can you make in your life today by putting these words to work?

3 Degrees Connected Event - How Well Do You Handle Stress?

Maybe perfect timing for the upcoming holiday season . . . or maybe just great timing for any season. We would love to have you come to our event. Click Register for this event to learn more.

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Step by Step - Achieving One's Goals

If you've ever set a big goal and took the steps necessary to achieve it, you will find the excel oration in sharing your accomplishments with others and the interest in helping others to do the same. Early in June I was attending a camp with my daughter and volunteered to work in a marketplace. A gentleman walked up to look at items that were for sale and he was wearing a tee-shirt which read "Million Step Club". I was intrigued by what he had accomplished so I asked him about his shirt. He was more than happy to explain that he and his son had set a goal to walk 1 million steps. After he achieved this goal, he got a tee-shirt. I didn't learn all the details to see if this was an official club, or just a recognition of his accomplishments. That evening I resolved to become part of the 1 Million Step Club.

Knowing that it is recommended that one walk 10,000 steps a day I figured that I could accomplish this goal in about 100 days. Deciding to be generous with myself I resolved to walk 1,000,000 in four months or 120 days.

The first week I found myself chanting "Winners never Quit" and "Quitters never win" as I put on my walking shoes at the end of the day to finish up the last 3,000 to 5,000 steps that I needed in order to meet my daily goal of 10,000. At least a half dozen times I got those last two to three thousand steps by my bedside during the evening news as the mosquitoes were to hungry, or the weather was not desirable to finish my steps. One evening my pedometer wasn't working so I actually walked an hour and a half bedside to get the remaining 4,000 steps I needed. The next morning my electronic devise decided to tell me the truth about the steps that it didn't register the night before. I had actually walked 15,000 steps. No wonder I slept so well!

Now it is day 82 and I started the day with the realization that I have less than 25,000 steps to go. It is remarkable what you can accomplish when you stick whole-heartily to achieving your goals. Remembering the story "Around the World in 80 Days", I started pondering what I had actually accomplished in a little over 80 days myself. On average I walked about 5 miles a day x 80 days; I've actually walked 400 plus miles. My weight has changed by more than 2 pounds since I started this process, but my legs, waist, and face all show signs that I've been up to something good.

This post is to share my accomplishment (two days to go for my million steps), and also to encourage you to take on at least one new goal before the end of September. Write down what you want to accomplish and what will be required of you in order to meet the challenge. I am now formulating my next million steps and setting an additional goal of keeping a journal. Having an account of obstacles and accomplishments will give me more insight to achieving success.

For my next million steps, I'm actually going to see if there is an official million step club that I can join.

Stats: Day with the most steps 18,451, Day with the least steps 9,000. Average steps over the 82 day journey 11,795, Self-esteem - PRICELESS!

Compliments of a Friend

This article was shared by a member of 3 Degrees Connected. The author is unknown.

I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection--the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.
Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin--a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women …share from our souls with our sisters, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged--not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!

So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health!
We are indeed very very lucky.
Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends.Evidently it's very good for our health.

Money - What is Your Relation to It?

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live in a society that did not use money as a means for livelihood?  There are countries in the world where reciprocal arrangements are made to care for the needs of those within a community.  Knowledge of how money works is not a concept that they are familiar with.

In Lynn Twists book, The Soul of Money, she describes a situation where a member of such community moved into our realm and had to learn from scratch how to survive.  In her words,  He began to see how it is in America:  that virtually everything in our lives and every choice we make-the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, the schools we attend, the work we do, the futures we dream, whether we marry or not, or have children or not, even matters of love-everything is influenced by this thing called money.

As foreign as a concept of money is to such a community, it is also a topic that many of us do not question or think twice about . . . money is just money and remains a way of life.  Gaining better insight to the purpose of money and the value we place on it is something we should endeavor to understand.  Lynn says:  We all have an identifiable through largely unconscious and unexamined, relationship with money that shapes our experience of life and our deepest feelings about ourselves and others.  She goes on to say Money has become a playing field where we measure our competence and worth as people. 

Lynn’s books provides great insights on how our society has come to not question the relevance of money and how it drives our lives, our decision, and our self-esteem.  If you would like to question your own ideas of money, I think you will find this book very insightful.  We challenge assumptions about every other facet of life:  race, religion, politics, education, sex, family, and society.  But when it comes to money, we accept it not only as a measure of economic value, but also as a way of assigning importance and worth to everyone and everything else in the world.  

Often times we use the term success to mean wealth, maybe success is a concept that we should also evaluate?   

The Lesson of Two Wolfes

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
 "The other is God - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea

Have you read the book 10-10-10? This book is a very short read, but provides the basis from which we can more clearly evaluate decisions that impact our business or personal lives.  For each decision you make, think of the impact this decision will have in the next ten minutes, ten months, or ten years.  You might find from doing this little exercise that you gain better clarity on how to make wise decisions and may find that some decisions lose their relevance based on looking at them within this context.  Some decisions may have no impact in the next ten minutes, or even within ten months; others may have more relevance on the short-term, but no impact ten years from now.  This book should help one stress less over the decision one makes.  

This book was written by Suzy Welch.