Motivation Mondays-get those last minute shoppers

The end of the year can be a really hard time for many businesses.  The Christmas rush slows down, and people start holding on to their money very tightly.  It can spell disaster if you’re not prepared for a decline in sales.  This is the time of year when last minute shoppers are your bread and butter.  How is a direct seller supposed to get in front of a last-minute shopper when they are probably just going to dash in the nearest store and pick out something that they know their gift receiver will probably not like?

Being creative in the final push for Christmas is going to set you apart from everyone else.  You know as well as I do that our last-minute shopper is on Facebook trying to figure out what to get their gift receivers right now, and think about what they see.

500 things that have been copied and pasted, 200 advertisements from every other business, pictures of kids, and funny videos.

People get on social media to be entertained.  It’s the great American time suck, and most of that entertainment comes in the form of videos.  I’m not talking about just sitting in front of your camera and babbling on Facebook live for twenty minutes, I’m talking about hilarious entertaining videos or live feeds.

How do you get this shopper’s attention?  Be silly and think Christmas.  Decorate yourself like a Christmas tree and sing a song about how amazing they are and how much you want to help them purchase your product.  Create an online character, click that Go Live button, and have some fun. 

Here are some tips to making great Facebook videos:

•         Keep them under 2 minutes.  Social media has created a civilization of people with finger
  
  swiping ADHD. 
•        Plan out what you’re going to say and do before you start.
•         Make sure it’s relevant to what your viewers are looking for.  Don’t dress like a vampire the week before Christmas and try to sell Halloween, unless you’re selling blinky green and red vampire teeth.
•         Find blinky red and green vampire teeth and send them to me, because I need that in my life.
•         Don’t live feed everyone to death.  One good live feed per day is great.  Contact some of your biggest cheerleaders and ask them if they will share it on their pages and give you a plug, but contact them in person.
•         Don’t spam.  Facebook jail is a real thing.  Don’t go there.  I hear the food is terrible and there aren’t any mojitos. 
•         Most important, be clear and concise in what you’re trying to communicate and HAVE FUN!

Trust me, you’re gonna’ love it!

A pause in your business can mean a future struggle

Many of you may have noticed that there hasn't been a StunGunGirl blog post in quite a while.  Many of you also know that a few months ago, life was moving along at the perfect pace when I was given a cancer diagnosis.  My seemingly perfect little universe was turned up-side-down, in-side-out, and kicked across the cosmos.

Even still, through the process of wrapping my brain around the C word that was living in my body, learning treatment options, deciding to go with surgery, and then the hardship of healing, my long term goals never wavered.  I thought for sure that when I was well, I would just pick up where I left off and continue the climb to the top with only maybe a minor hiccup.

Boy was I wrong.

As I sat down in front of my computer and opened my CRM software (I love fiitfu.com the most), it overwhelmed me.  I had 196 overdue followups.  I suddenly realized that I was so behind I might never catch up.  When I started working through those followups, I also realized that none of my contact's lives stopped, and it was like starting all over again with at least 180 of them.

That was just the foothills of Mt. Overwhelming.

All the while, I didn't want to appear that things weren't okay, so I appeared as if business was normal on the outside saying things like, "I'm so blessed to have a job that I can take time off for to beat this cancer," because I didn't want to scare anyone away from joining my company.

Really, taking months off to fight a beast like cancer already takes a mental and physical toll on you.  I wish I would have known the reality of taking that time off and what it would be like to come back to work after so much time passed.  I think I could have been better prepared for what was to come.  I'm here to tell you, you don't pick up where you left off, you start about 500 steps behind, and that's okay.

When you expect to come back to the exact point you left off, it doesn't feel okay.  Luckily, I learned something really important along the way, and even though I felt like I was treading water in my last hour of strength in the open waters of the deep blue sea, I reached out.  When you're feeling down, call up.  I wasn't just feeling down, I was feeling defeated.  My fire was gone and I was questioning whether or not I could succeed.

I am here to tell you, that after some hours on the phone with some amazing ladies who not only let me fall apart, but then picked up my pieces and handed them back to me while reminding me who I am, what my destiny is, that there is no future without me in it (especially for me), and told me to put those damned pieces back together, I am ready.  The fire has been lit, the passion has reignited, and even though I'm not starting where I thought I would, I'm getting started where I am.


How do you eat an elephant?  Invite your friends!  When you're feeling down, call up, and when you're feeling up, call down.  You never know which one of your team members might be floating in open water alone and not saying anything.


Have a blessed day!

Grow a business with integrity

I was talking with a friend about the amazing boot camp the Damsel in Defense has been offering the last 5 weeks, and I mentioned that I'm sure we're coming up on the week we have to recruit someone or be out.  He said, "why don't you just pay for someone's kit and sell the products?"

No way! I am growing an honest business with integrity and character I can be proud of. I could never feel like a real Damsel if I bought my way through! I would never let this business grow through false pretenses. Every rank I earn, every commission I make, and every product I sell will be with the same integrity our Co-founders set fourth when they formed this company. You can't be proud of what you've grown if it's dishonest and greedy.

If character is who you are when no one is watching, then my character wouldn't allow such business practices. I have already faced adversity set in motion by others who made choices to grow their businesses with those kinds of ethics. I've had more than my share of people demanding I reimburse them for Damsel products someone else sold them at nearly double the retail sales price.  I have faced clients who don't want to talk to a Damsel because of how they were treated by another Damsel. I will not do anything to send those kinds of ripples into the world.

I am proud of what I have built, and my team is made up of genuine humans who honestly wanted to invest in a business for themselves, and that is how they will grow their own teams.  I teach them to grow through the same values and integrity.

  

I can't wait for the next boot camp challenge, and I will take it on with integrity whether I move on or not, and I will be cheering my team on the whole way.

If you're ready to grow an honest business, let's talk. You can find more information at yourdamseldiva.com

Invest your tax return in a new business

Joining this team is one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Are you ready to help me fight human trafficking by spreading awareness and zapping stun guns?

Http://www.yourdamseldiva.com

Success through goals and accountability

Think of your business as driving at night into fog so thick you can only see 6 inches through it.  You have no idea what is around every twist and bend, but one thing is for sure, if you just floor it without a plan, you're sure to drive your business right off a cliff.

Goals can seem scary, but in reality, they are just giving you accountability for the job you're doing.  If you're driving into that foggy night, you aren't going to have a firm plan for what is going to happen two miles down the road.  It might get worse, the fog might lift, or it may stay the same.  You can have an ideal goal for two miles down the road, that you want to make it safely, but until you get there, focusing on a bigger goal than taking the road a foot at a time isn't the best plan.  Instead, set your goals smaller, within the space you're in.  

You know how much you want to see yourself do in the back of your mind.  Fear of commitment to something that might fail holds people back.  

If you want to sell $1000 this month, what does that look like?  If your average presentation brings you $200 in sales, that's 5 presentations you have to put on the books this month.  If on average you get 2 bookings from every 10 calls, and you need to book 5 presentations, you need to be making about 30 calls.  Well that sounds alright, but then you have to focus the goals a little more.  How much time does it take you to make ten calls.  Does it take you 30 minutes?  If so, you have to set aside an hour and a half to make those calls.  There's another goal.  Go to your planner and find the time and put it ink.  An action plan is no good if you don't actually take action.

Jim Rohn once said, "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment."

Discipline.  Yes, to some that word is a curse word.  It means you have to do something.  You are forcing yourself to do something.

Dave Ramsey took it a step further and said, "Children do what feels good. Adults make a plan and follow it."

Without goals, you don't have a plan.  Without a plan, you don't have a business.  

Look to your mentors to help you with achievable goal setting and ask them to be your accountability partner.  Their success depends on your success, so it's in their best interest to help you become a professional goal setter.

How to have a successful event-5 things that can help

Events can be many things.  They can be a booth at a fair, a local Christmas Bazaar, or even an open house that you invite a few other vendors to.  They are all different, but in order to be successful, there are several things that have to stay the same.  Here are 5 very important things to think about before your event:

A very small open house requires a smaller display than a fair.

1. Know your event-Make sure you read the vendor rules for your event and pack for the size of event you're doing.  For instance, a fair requires a larger display, more product on hand, and possibly a canopy, while a small open house might require you to bring your own table and you would want your display to stay very simple.  Make sure you read the rules about what you can bring and what they require as well as what they provide.  Some events won't let you use your own table cloth, some require a canopy, and some limit the products you can demonstrate.  
2. Generate leads-It's best to have a give-away to generate leads for your business.  Make sure you have a raffle box to put them in.  I picked up a wooden box from the craft store, cut a hole in the top, and blinged it up with paint and glitter.  I always give away a gift certificate to generate a sale, but you can give away product, a basket of goodies like samples from other direct sales people in your network, or cash.  That's the cool thing about running your own business, it's up to you.
3. Product on hand-Make sure you have something to sell.  Most people at an event want to leave with something.  Be aware of how much product to take.  You would take much more to a fair than you would an open house.  A bazaar would be somewhere in between.  
4. Be able to make sales.  Find out if you can use your square or other card reader.  In the event that there is no wifi, do you have a hot spot?  Take cash to make change.  You want sales to go seamlessly, and people will walk away if it takes you too long to figure out the wifi password and get your square set up and ready to go.  
5. Talk to the people-If you sit and wait for the people to come to you, you will not have a successful event.  Try to engage everyone in a conversation that doesn't begin with a yes or no question.  I begin with asking how they are doing today.  Often times the automatic response is for them to ask how you're doing, even if they don't want to.  Once this happens, they feel obligated to listen to your response, at which time you can ask another question that is not a yes or now answer.  You have the power to lead them into a dialogue, but don't be hurt if someone walks by and ignores your attempt.  Keep at it, and always speak with a smile.  Not only can everyone see it, they can hear it too.  

These are just a few simple tips to make your event fantastic!

How is your weekend shaping up?

One of my part time jobs is as a photographer.  I fell into it by accident, I'm not even really sure how.  People liked my photographs, and wanted me to do them, then they wanted to pay me for them and wouldn't accept no as an answer.  I did not go to school to be a photographer, I have very minimal formal training, but still, five years later, I'm doing senior portraits, school photos, weddings, retirement parties, business development packages, and families.  I even do zombie family photos and cosplay events.

Today was school photo day.  From 11-3 I was shooting school photos one adorable kiddo after another.  That was the easy part, next comes editing and sending the order to the printer, but even then, I can crank the music, pour the coffee, and rock out all night.

At the same time, I began the training for my newest Damsel in Defense team member.  That is one of the funnest things I get to do.

Having my own businesses means that I can budget my time the way I need to in order to get the job done and still have time for date night with my amazingly supportive husband.

How is your weekend shaping up?  Are you tired of being an employee?  Let's talk!  Sunshine@yourdamseldiva.com.

Friday Funny-Network Marketing

Happy Friday everyone!!!  Here's to the weekend!!!
Cheers from Your Damsel Diva!!

Motivational Mondays-I hate Mondays

Every Monday, the same thing happens.  Everyone drags their feet, grumbles about the fact that it's Monday, and sets themselves up for a negative unproductive day.

As a society, we've made it appropriate to hate the beginning of the week simply because we have to go back to our jobs from a long lazy weekend....or more likely, we're exhausted from a crazy two days of shuttling kids from event to event, running around like crazy people, and trying to cram in as much playing into 48 hours as we possibly can.

No wonder we hate Mondays.

How can you expect to have a productive week if you and everyone around you starts it out with anger, resentment, disgust, hate, and loathing?   You can't!  

Whatever you put out into the world is what comes back to you.  If you fill your environment with negativity and your feed with negative memes, what happens to you as a business owner?  Your Mondays will never be good because you have created a negative connotation, would you agree or disagree?

At some point, if you want to start your week off successfully, you are going to have to shift your perception.  It won't be easy, because it's been beaten into us that Mondays are bad.  Many of us grew up believing they were the worst day of the week because our parents always said it was.  Changing a pathway in the field of your brain is going to take more than just agreeing with me.

You're going to have to work at it.  You're going to have to remind yourself every Sunday night that tomorrow is Monday, and it is going to be the most amazing day.  You have to do it every single week until it becomes habit.   When you wake up in the morning, you're going to have to remind yourself to get excited, and you're going to have to send a ripple into the universe that says, "Guess what?  I no longer hate Mondays!  I accept them, I love them, and I refuse to squander the gift of an entire day!"


And change your memes.  

Once you take the steps to reclaim Monday, something amazing is going to happen.  You're going to accomplish tasks, you're going to be productive, and if your business runs on a 5-day work week, your are going to see a 20% increase in your business as a whole.

Once you take control of that day and find a reason to make it exciting, you will see a boost in your mood.  People around you will take notice and want to make the change in their own lives.  Your entire environment will become more uplifting and you will feel more fulfilled.  There will be no more spending and entire day dragging yourself around in a series of forced movements, because you refuse to let a bunch of silly cartoons and negative Nancy's get you down.  

When you shift your Monday perception, so will the rest of the people on your team.  Not only will you have 20% more productivity, so will they!  How exciting is that?

What are you waiting for?  Take your Monday back!

Sunshine O'Connor is a successful Senior Mentor of a Damsel in Defense team working as a Damsel in Defense Independent Pro.  If you're looking or a crime-fighting team with a heart, contact her at sunshine@yourdamseldiva.com or on the web at yourdamseldiva.com.

My wish for you

This is my wish for you:

I don't want to breed a culture of fear.  I want to breed a culture of education.  I do NOT want you to be afraid.  I want you to walk around this world with confidence because you're prepared, whether it's from an attack or a break down in your car.

I want you to join me in the war against sex trafficking.  I want you to be aware of what's going on outside of your doors every single day, and I want you to want to fight against that.

I want you to notice your surroundings and be prepared to take action in them.  If you see a person being hurt or taken, I want you to take action.  

My job isn't to make you afraid of the world.  My job is to prepare you to live courageously without fear.

If you want to start a new financial life by starting your own Damsel in Defense business, I want you to do that with full support of a team dedicated to helping you succeed.  I want you to confidently show the products, share the opportunity, book presentations, and sell enough to help save hundreds of lives.  I want the ripple that goes out into the world from you to be one of positivity, courage, and faith.

Help me declare war on sex trafficking by booking a presentation, ordering from my website at yourdamseldiva.com, or joining my team.  I can't do it alone.  I can't do it without you.  Together we can make a difference in this world.  Email questions to sunshine@yourdamseldiva.com

Don't be afraid.  I can teach you how to be safe, how to help others, or how to become financially independent.

What are you waiting for?

I'm looking for you

Pimpin made easy-Yes, sadly pimping is way too easy

Post by Ron Jones.

Shine bright like a diamond

Reach your full potential

There is something terrible lurking about.  It’s everywhere, watching all of us, waiting for that moment when it can pounce and take us down.  It seeps into our work life, our family life, our faith, and our self-worth.  It’s dark, it’s ugly, and it won’t hesitate to tear you apart without missing a beat.  

The beast I speak of is doubt.

I battle with doubt, and I feel ashamed.  I doubt myself, I doubt my faith, and I doubt my ability as a wife, a mother, and a human in general.  Doubt is like a terrible companion that overstays its welcome.  Like a family member who I can’t tell to leave, doubt sits next to me while I eat my breakfast.  It walks with me when I do my job.  It stares at me through judgmental eyes as I go about my daily activities.

While this evil little twerp called doubt sits on my shoulders, I look at people around me and feel less than them.  I look at women in my field, and I feel like they should be the ones doing this, because I am totally clueless.  I look at women of faith, and I wonder why they can stand up and be so strong when I feel like I don’t deserve God’s grace.  I watch other moms, and I feel like they are doing a much better job than me.  Worse yet, I see other wives and feel like a fraud. 

Then I grab that sucker off my back and I drown him in the sink. 

Everyone comes face –to-face with doubt.  It can eat you alive from the inside if you don’t first recognize it, then kill it, and realize that like a good parasite, it will find you again when you least expect it.  There are some great practices you can put into place to help you pull yourself back to safety when doubt wears you down.

•    Keep a pamper basket on hand- Think of your very favorite things.  Your favorite scented lotion, your favorite color of fingernail polish, your favorite place to eat, your favorite place to shop, and any of your other favorite things.  Keep pampering products, gift certificates to your favorite places, and a sweet treat in your pamper basket.  When you feel doubt start to take you down, pull it out and spoil yourself.
• Take a break-Step back for a while.  Sink into a book like The Confidence Gap: AGuide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt by Russ Harris. 
• Keep a goal journal-Write down your goals and journal about your achievements, and when you doubt yourself, pull that journal out and remind yourself of what you've done.
• Talk to your support system-We have a great slogan in our Damselin Defense sisterhood, “When you’re feeling up, call down, when you’re feeling down, call up”.  What that means is that when you are feeling up, call your down line and help them with their success.  When you’re feeling down, call your recruiter, and keep calling right up the line until you get the wind back in your sails.  If you’re feeling doubt as a mom, call another mom.  If you’re feeling doubt as a wife, call another wife.  If you’re feeling doubt in your faith, call another believer.  Reach out to the people in your circle and let them know you’re struggling.  I promise they’ll help.
• Meditate-Take some time to close your eyes and refocus.  Come back in line with who you are.  Picture yourself achieving your goals.  Imagine yourself in the role you want to be in.

Doubt may be watching and ready for you at any time, but if you’re ready for it, you won’t even loose entire days any more.  It starts with you.  First you have to take the initiative to make changes in your patterns.  After that, the sky is the limit.

If you’re ready to reach your full potential, email sunshine@yourdamseldiva.com  to learn more about joining a company that puts the mission first.

Get down with the sickness-falling ill at the worst time

A couple of weeks ago, I was so excited that I couldn't even contain myself.  Literally, every cell in my body was buzzing with anticipation, excitement, and anxiety.  I would be on a plane on my way to Boise in a matter of hours for the first ever Damsel in Defense leadership retreat.

Let's rewind a bit.  In November, I set a goal with my Damsel in Defense business to bring my team to the next level and become a Senior Mentor.  Not only would that give me two promotions, but it would launch me into the next step as a leader, AND qualify me for the first ever Leadership Retreat with the top team leaders in the company.  I launched on a path to success, and through tireless and numberless parties, I made it on the last day of the month by the skin of my teeth.

Let's fast forward to the excitement I felt as my Director and I landed in Boise ready to get our batteries filled to the max.  My goal was to track down ladies whose biggest strengths were my biggest weaknesses and just absorb every single thing they had to say, as well as make a more lasting and permanent connection with Mindy Lin and Bethany Hughes, the founders of Damsel in Defense, and two of the most amazing God loving women alive today.  Another thing at the top my goal list was to meet Bob Hipple, our new CEO.

When we got there, I felt a little tickle in one of my tonsils, but nothing more than just a little tickle.  I attributed it to the dry canned air on the airplane. 

I met some amazing inspiring women, and quickly achieved my goal of meeting Bob, Mindy, and Bethany, as well as the wonderful Johnna Johnson, the Vice President of Field Development for Damsel in Defense.  The list goes on and on.  I got to meet and mingle with everyone from the top of the company.  At first, I was pretty intimidated.  I was talking to women who were so successful and made so much money and had such huge teams that I felt like I had no idea how I got to be in the same room with them.  They all welcomed me with open arms and treated me like I was a sister, and all of my insecurities were instantly put to rest.  We laughed, we cried, we talked a little bit about ourselves, and I felt like my heart would explode.

By 3pm, I had to lay down.  I mean, there was no choice, either I was laying down, or I was passing out.  I could tell I had a fever.  I wanted to fight through it so badly, but every time I stood up, the room spun so fast that I felt like I was going to fling into the wall from the velocity.  It hit me like a truck.  One moment I felt fine, and the next, I was pretty sure I was going to die.  When I excused myself to go rest for our afternoon break, I had no idea that I wasn't getting out of bed again. 

I missed dinner, new product reveal, and head shots, but I hoped the next morning I would be able to get up. The thing I wanted to attend the most was the following day, and that was a session with the other Senior Mentors and Mindy Lin and Bethany Hughes.  To be in a small group set aside from the rest with the two ladies who literally put their blood, sweat, and tears into this company, really meant a lot to me.  I knew fully that my generation of Senior Mentor would be the last one they would be able to know on such a personal level before our company exploded in size.

The next day was worse.  I was getting more and more sick.  There was no way I was getting out of bed.  I needed to go to the hospital.  In talking to my husband, I learned that our insurance wouldn't cover me out of state unless it was pre-approved, and we couldn't get it pre-approved until the following Monday.  I had no choice.  Somehow, I had to pack all of my things, get myself to the airport, and get home.  We had to buy an extra plane ticket, and I had to survive the flight home.

I made sure to take every precaution that I could to protect my fellow passengers from whatever germs I had, and I somehow made it off the plane.  Half way through the airport, I literally felt like I had to tell someone to call 911.  I dug for the strength to make it to the car, and somehow, I did.  My husband took me straight to the hospital.  My fever was in the mid-high 103's, and I had a nasty case of strep throat and a double ear infection.

That night when I went home, I noticed that Mindy Lin posted on my facebook wall.  One of the founders and driving forces of this company took time out of the last evening of leadership retreat to post on my wall, "Hi Sunshine! I just wanted to check in on you and tell you that you were greatly missed this weekend. Praying you are okay and on the way to feeling better. We love you and I know we will be living it up in July together at conference!"

I drifted off to sleep with a deeper sense of how much Damsel in Defense is a sisterhood as well as a business opportunity and the opportunity to save lives.

That Monday, I received a phone call from Bob Hipple.  Bob Hipple, the CEO of Damsel in Defense took the time out of his day to call me on the phone and see how I was doing.  

I couldn't believe it.  I have never in my life been part of a company that cared so much for the people in it that the heads would personally take the time to reach out to someone who had fallen ill.  

It took a week in bed, and another trip to a doctor for stronger antibiotics to get over this.  I lost 18.5 pounds and had to stop taking ibuprophen for a while because it was putting too much of a strain on my kidneys.  Eventually, I climbed out of bed and stood up without the room spinning.

I had already dedicated myself to the Damsel in Defense mission before my trip, but the fact that I mattered enough to the founders and CEO that they reached out to me just fortified the cement holding me to Damsel in Defense.  My love for this company runs so deep.

If you've been looking for something to fall in love with, now is the perfect time.  Head over to yourdamseldiva.com and find out what all the buzz is about with Damsel in Defense.  To join the safety community, like my Damsel in Defense facebook page and learn all about what we're doing.  Questios?  Email sunshine@yourdamseldiva.com.

How to get rid of negative labels in your life

"Sometimes I feel like a kid walking around in my mom’s clothes."

It’s a form of insecurity that sneaks up on a lot of us.  Questions are born in these moments when we’re unsure we’re even in our own skin. 

Will they discover I’m a fraud?

How long will it take for everyone to see through me?

What am I doing?

Do I even know what I'm doing here?

Am I a fraud?

Then come the labels.  Fake.  Fraud.  Doppelganger.  Then those labels plant seeds that grow into bigger labels:

•   Idiot
•   Failure
•   Liar
•   Looser  
• Worthless
• Incapable
• Ugly

 These moments happen far too often to far too many people to be ignored.  Let’s not only talk about the elephant in the room, but let’s train it to do our laundry.  Our dirty laundry.

First, everyone fails at something.  Some of us are better than others at recovering from landing in the bottom of pitfalls.  Maybe our parents let us fail enough as children then led us through the path to resilience.  Maybe we have always been strong.  Maybe we have overcome something in our lives so massive that we realized our full potential.  Some of us are not as good at recovering, and we have to wallow in the mud for a while.  Some of us never recover and learn to live in a dark damp world void of light.  The most amazing thing about being a human is that we can change our trajectory at any time.  

 I want you to think about the five most successful people you know.  Use your own definition of success, but really picture them.  Close your eyes and spend some time thinking about them.  Now take out your handy dandy notebook and write down the first five words about their successful personality that come to your mind.

Guess what?  They have failed before.  We cannot achieve success without first overcoming failure.  

Second, you are not a fake.  Unless you have a fake name on your ID and are pretending to be a person other than the one you were born being, and you're not trying to flee from a deadly abuser or in the witness protection program, you are not fake.  The key to being real is becoming comfortable in your own skin.  The first step to becoming comfortable in your own skin is to accept that you are an imperfect beautiful creation.  Even your flaws are beautiful.  People who know you think you're beautiful.  I think you’re beautiful.  

I want you to think of the most successful person you know.  The one that commands a room the moment they enter it and is unafraid to speak with anyone they come in contact with.  They aren’t afraid to ask the hard closing questions, and everything they do turns into something that benefits them, almost as if they have the superpower of bending the will of others.

Guess what?  You are as real as they are.  Cell by cell, breath by breath, follicle by follicle.  Now, I want you to close your eyes again and imagine yourself walking into that same room and filling it with confidence.  Visualize your confidence as a drop of pink food coloring in a clear glass of water.  Slowly, it stretches through every molecule until the glass is entirely filled with pink water.  Really feel everyone in that room respecting you.  Imagine yourself laughing and mingling, rubbing elbows with all of the beautiful people.  Imagine them all wanting to be near you and hear what you have to say, because they want to be like you and to be liked by you. Then, I want you to close your eyes and remember that feeling every time you get ready to walk into a situation where you might feel like you don’t know what you’re doing.  Fill that room with the pinkness of your confidence and use that as the lens you view life through.  There's truth to the old saying about rose colored glasses.

The only people who don’t succeed are the people who were sure they would fail before they even got started.  It might not have even been a conscious though, but on some level of their being those labels are still sticking.  You will never succeed if you let labels like fake and failure rise up above you like real life conversation bubbles.  

I don’t care if you think you’re too awkward, too tall, too fat, if you hate your nose, or if you are too afraid to pick up the phone and talk to your customers, first you identify your pitfalls, then find a way to work around them without falling in.  Any shape and size of person can walk into any room of people with the right attitude and confidence and win.  The image you project of yourself in your own mind is the image others will see.  

The next time you feel like a kid in grown up’s clothes, picture an elephant in a pink apron hanging your clean laundry on the line, and remember that you are real.  You are beautiful.  Put on your rose colored glasses.  Change your labels.  You are:

• Amazing
• Beautiful
• Successful
• Worthy
• Capable
• Respected
• Trusted
• Loved

If you're looking for a group of amazing women who can help you realize your full potential, please email sunshine@yourdamseldiva.com and find out how you can join my Damsel in Defense team.  Head over to my Facebook page and join the safety community.