Do you have the wherewithal to inspire one person to do business with you and/or become an advocate for your mission?
Most of us underestimate the real power we have in our story.
We have been taught from birth to be modest in our approach to others.
- Be seen and not heard
- Don’t be boastful
- Modesty is a virtue
No it’s not.
There is nothing virtuous about hiding your light under a bush. It is useless to be seen and not heard. If you aren’t proud of your work and your accomplishments, who will be?
If your goal is to make valuable connections, build profitable and sound relationships you must share your story!
Here my challenge to you:
Tell me your story. Give me something to move me into action, the BEST that you have.
Fire away… I’ll catch up with comments left when I return this afternoon.
Edit: Yes, there actually is a point to this, but I am not telling you what it is yet!
Are you paying by the word or by the time it takes me to recant?
Because – I can take advantage of either – just need to know which one…
No cash payment from me darlin, go with what moves you… the “story” should be the reward in itself… if it’s not – why bother telling it 🙂
My short story would be about conviction. I believe in myself and what I relay to my Clients. Honesty and loyalty to my beliefs and what I percieve during readings (my work) That which I (at times) aggressively express may not always work for some but that’s what I give when I do business with others. Since my success depends on the public this is not always been weighed towards my benefit in means of profit but absolutly benefits my clientel by means of quality. My success with the individual is due to genuine commitment. You, the client will find my service performed without shame or contridiction. Only a loyalty, honest and highest concern for those seeking my advisement.
The Real American Dream
I wake up to the sun streaming through my window and spend my morning doing whatever I want. I get to spend the day with my girls, and every evening my hubby comes home for a family dinner. Here I am with a wonderful husband, two amazing daughters, a nice house in a great neighborhood, 2 new cars in the garage…living the American Dream. There was only one problem – it wasn’t my dream. I found myself living the life I had imagined growing up, only to find that it wasn’t my dream after all.
Fast forward 4 years – we now live where we’ve wanted to live for years in a wonderful not-so-small town near Lake Michigan. My husband stays home and teaches our daughters while I run my businesses from the comfort of my own home. In the last four years I’ve learned to run a business, become a real estate investor, author, speak and Change Angel. I’ve been on an amazing journey and my greatest joy is taking you on the same journey – helping you create the change you want. My path was full of peaks and valleys with potholes in the bottom of some of the valleys. I’ve studied. I’ve tried. I’ve failed, and I’ve succeeded. Now I want the same for you – a life you love with work that fulfills you. So I ask you – Are you ready to invest in yourself? Are you ready to create the change you want? YES! Go to http://www.ReclaimU.com right now and get started!
@miranda
@sandy
Thank you for sharing your stories… Who else wants to play?
My story is simple and is the same that many have had. I am just an ordinary girl with an extraordinary gift…
I am a single mom of 2 boys. (To magnificent boys!) I have lived both the high road and the low road. I have had a life filled with what others would call tragedies but what I call life learning experiences. Along this road I have traveled I have had the opportunity to learn what being authentic is. I have also had the opportunity to find my purpose and stay on task with my purpose. I am happy in my own skin. My story is like a rags to riches story. Only I keep writing it day by day. I say this because this story goes on. And as it goes on I learn more and more. My purpose in this life is to build a fulfilling life for myself and my family by building an organization that serves others. I have started this by building a Virtual Assisting business. My hopes are to train up women from domestic abuse and teach them that they can do the same and move forward and become empowered, nurturing them along the way. The road from abuse to abundance is a very rough road for most of these women and I would like to make that transition for them a bit easier. Which leads back to my purpose….I am a life coach.
I have been through many ups and downs along the road we call life however I have always stayed high spirited through it all. i was a victim of abuse and escaped to become a much stronger more determined person. I am in a healthy relationship and have started my own custom website design business for ethical animal breeders. I am also creator of “It’s All About Pets” and administrator on “Pet lovers Paradise.” Early in life I was convinced by negative influences that I would never be anybody and would not ever accomplish anything in life. Sadly I let this effect me for many years and still do to some extent. I have had to deal with low self esteem and feel I am doing pretty well now but there are still times I want to cry because I seem to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Three years ago Web design was a thriving business, then just as I learned the ropes the economy dropped off and I have struggled to get clients to no avail. I still have two very devoted clients who are very happy with my dedication and abilities.I feel I need direction because I have learned so much but still have so much to learn.
I‘m completely humbled at where I am today with my watch design company. Just this morning I was looking for an old watch someone had mentioned in a watch forum, it was a Hamilton brand and I clearly remembered having one. So I searched, and searched some more when suddenly I realized maybe I didn’t have that old watch after all. But what I did discover in some of those old boxes of nostalgia…
http://www.after8media.com
I am like everyone else here in that I have had lots of ups and downs in life – can I strike a chord with you I do not know let me try. I went through a cyclone in Australia on Christmas Eve 1974 in Darwin – she was called Tracey, and Tracey left an indelible impression on me she literally broke me. To be more precise she broke 7 bones in my back I was 15 – fast forward to 72 hours to get to a hospital by medivac transporter. Fast forward 3 years to re-learn how to walk and regain the use of my right arm. The positive I had lots of time to study and ended up with lots of great grades. I was told I would not walk or have children – it took a lot but I know have to 2 healthy children and this year became a grandma. As I had many medical problems I was told not to bother working. I have never listened to any one before so why start now. I trained as a naturopath, and loved physical therapies so had a job helping others to get through there pain. I had found my calling – its been 20 plus years and now and no pain for me – and now I am looking after my husband and trying to set up a business at home. I have always succeeded in what I have put my mind too, and it has always been to help others. I want ot help people by the e-books I am writting.
What spectacular stories! Thank you … keep em coming!
My story…mmm…my story…
I grew up in upper middle class America, can’t say that I remember anything extremely negative happening. Had supportive parents, enjoyed my creature comforts and got a great education at UC Davis.
Met my soul mate at 19, married at 24, 1st offspring at 25. Did the corporate lifestyle for a bit while Jack put himself through chiropractic college.
Became a serial mover and traveler, quitting my job and up and moving to Ireland when a 3 month opportunity came up for Jack.
2nd offspring born in rural Ireland. Ah, the lucky bloke has EU citizenship too!
Moved back to California and worked with Jack, who bought and expanded a wellness clinic in Marin County. Became an avid proponent for homeschooling/unschooling, and seriously got into mountain biking. Very fun times, although stressful.
Found Abraham-Hicks, who just reminded me of what I already knew, at the right time to help me….
Overcome and release a HUGE health issue, the Big “C”
Within a matter of weeks, closed a successful wellness clinic, dropped everything, stored all our stuff and moved to Costa Rica to allow my health to come back…
And here it is, almost 1 year later, my health has returned completely (no signs of any dis-ease), my bond with my family has tightened, and I now really know myself and my abilities.
So, I am working on the next challenge….rebuilding our financial situation, which completely disintegrated when we left California. But with this, I am completely at ease, knowing that all is well and everything will ‘return’ to normal (and better)….the ideas are flowing fast now!
Alexis
Abuse, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Adoption, Adjustments and Action…
That would be my title and I know there are many who have gone through the same challenges and processes I have (and am still in the midst of), but here is my personal journey with all its quirkiness and little twists. First you do need to know a little history, the preface if you will…
I didn’t meet my dream man until in my mid to late thirties and being a person whose goal in life was always to be a wife, a partner, and a mother you can imagine the elation. And things were great for the first three years. I had a wonderful husband who loved and cared deeply for both me and his two sons, and was successful in the balancing act that is needed for split parenting. Don’t get me wrong, life had its challenges, but together we faced them and I think won most times.
We became Foster Parents. A compromise so that I could have the next part of my dream life as I was not able to bear children of my own. We made the decision to foster, not adopt. His sons were reaching adulthood and when they truly hit the mark, we wanted to move forward doing things on our list. Traveling was a definite and also just having the flexibility to just be. So, adoption was out , but fostering provided the chance to give back, help others and let me be a “mom”.
That changed when this beautiful 4 year old girl walked through our door and was freed for adoption one month after living with us. It was not a decision we made lightly. No. In fact, it took over 5 months to actual say, “Yes, we want to adopt her.” Truth be told, I was the holdout. My husband was 9 years my senior and I really wanted to make sure he would be ‘still thrilled’ when he was in his late 60’s parenting a teenage girl. I also had a lot of concerns regarding her birth family. They were a part of her life and would have to be a consideration as part of our life in doing this. But, yes. The decision was made with a resounding, “YES!”.
The adoption took 5 years to accomplish – throughout this time I was the party of the part who was the liaison to the party of the part that consisted of lawyers, counselors, the state and superior court system and well, the list just goes on and on. For anyone who has adopted through Social Services you know exactly the battle I was in. And I worked part time as well. Always believed I should be bringing in something to contribute and even as a full-time, adoption-battling mom, I worked.
No tragedies at this point, simply life challenges and a constant requirement to position emotions and feelings in a positive way for all. Things were good!
Then it happened. The computer industry took a bad fall in productivity leading to no job availability and with it went my husbands lucrative career. He didn’t survive it. Instead he turned to a series of attempts in other directions and alcohol . Unfortunately his heart was never really in it, but his hand was certainly always on a bottle and I am not even sure I realized how much so until after a couple of years past. The cry for help was there, but the willingness to heal was not. I lived through verbal abuse, a split of parenting structure and beliefs (to the point where I knew if I said white, he would say black) and I still tried to get us back on track. His personality shifted to passive aggressive and always managed to make me look bad to the outside. At one point I honestly was worried I had lost my mind. The chaos of the two worlds was unmanageable and more than disturbing. Until I was able to define it.
I had made an appointment with a new counsel and as I was on my way to her office I took a side trip to a bookstore. It is one of my favorite things to do with an hour or two. You could probably guess I headed to the self-help section and when I did – BAM. There on a table was a book being promoted that was my wake up call. It was the only one on the table and it called to me. I read the first section and found it describing the reality of my life. Shoot – It was my life! Every chapter in that book was what I was living at home. I devoured it! I bought it and I highlighted it. It was truthfully my awakening.
I still had hopes that things could be saved, but as you already can tell, there was no willingness on the others part and it does take two to tango. Oh, sure, he agreed to counseling, but it was with false provado and things behind closed doors were not much better. He made one attempt at not drinking and that lasted 2 months. I actually did have my prince charming back for those two months and loved it! But alcohol is a vicious enemy and once again consumed him.
The next tragedy I really did not see coming at all. My vacation every year had become the “job” of flying to Florida to drive my mom back to her house up north. Not every woman’s dream vacation, but I was happy with it, and since my mom paid for everything, it was more of a mom holiday, in many ways if you will!
I returned home this one year and after the custom reunion with my daughter and family dinner, and after all was quieted down, was told by my husband that he was miserable and wanted a divorce. None of this was a surprise to me and I think it was inevitable. What was a surprise was when he told me he had found a place to live, had emptied out every one of our joint accounts and had taken a $30,000 loan from our home equity line – and, are you ready? Put a stop hold on my name taking out any more! He was walking out leaving me with $25 in the checkbook and all the responsibility of “our” life – the mortgage, the bills, the child and the pets. My disbelief in this still causes me to react with pause. It was so unjust, so selfish, so cruel that I could not believe it! He was convinced he deserved a fresh start and since I had never really worked, our money was really his. He didn’t want the house we were in and since he would not be living here he had no financial obligation moving forward. And no, he did not want to adopt our daughter – he would rather be a “father of the heart.” I kid you not. To this day, I do not know when my husbands alter ego took over – I never saw it happen, but I can tell you that person was not the man I married.
The courts sided with him on the financial side of things because the law did not recognize a less than 10 year marriage as a true partnership and since there were no “children” involved they said I certainly could have been a better contributor financially. That and his obligation to a prior family put him in the driver’s seat. The judge actually apologized to me for the “law’s limited vision in a society that has many unique situations.” Those were her words.
I got through the divorce in a record breaking 6 months, taking my financial plunge into a very deep hole, but with great hopes I could and would rebuild.
Throughout all of this there is the daughter. Waiting to be adopted. Four and a half years and he pulled this one month before she was finally cleared by all courts to become our legal child. Child services was onto him and the consequence was he was removed from her life – no visits, no phone, no communication. And while that was for the best, it was not easy to see my daughter through yet another abandonment. Then started the process of Single Parent Adoption which I could not start that until our divorce was finalized.
Flash forward — After getting those divorce papers, social services worked with me (as did a number of lawyers) and we were able to accomplish the adoption goal some 6 months later. Another 6 months later and I was buying our house from him. All major accomplishments and I cherish each and every one of them! I honestly do not think I have had a chance to realize HOW much I accomplished before the next chapter began.
It is now my turn to be part of a failing industry that has left me without my primary income and no chance to collect (the downfall of commissioned independent sales). While I am grateful for what it did allow me to achieve, I am now facing foreclosure while trying to find work in an economy that simply does not have a lot to offer. It is a very painful challenge and I am trying to rid myself of a lot of anger. I have always believed in savings and being prepared for financial surprises, but have simply not able to rebuild in time. My faith is also shaken as I question this happening after having been through so much. And the biggest concern, ever present and always looming is being able to provide for my daughter.
So, I am still “fighting” for a level of comfort . It has been an enormously tough 6 years and yet, I do keep finding things to grab onto that give me hope. I am grateful for my health, my sanity and my ability to give up a lot of things because I know people mean more than stuff. I am somehow managing to make it month to month, so for now, we do have a roof over our heads and the pets remain. Most importantly, my daughter is blossoming into the most beautiful woman, both inside and out. She is an old soul who has found a way to enjoy her childhood and for that I am ever grateful!
I know there is no looking back, so with a stiff upper lip I continue to keep moving onward and upward as my goal. And I am also still keeping my eyes open for the real Mr. Right!
Thanks so much for listening and for providing an opportunity to share. (-: