National Random Acts of Kindness Day - February 17

I was having a conversation with my good friend and co-author Debbie Roser when she mentioned it would be nice if we could more often think of others than think of ourselves.  This prompted me to say, yeah, like random acts of kindness.  She agreed and since she was at her computer decided to see if there was a national celebration of random acts of kindness.  Well, here's what we discovered on Wikipedia:
  
Random Acts of Kindness Day is the name of an unofficial holiday increasingly celebrated around the world by localities or organizations, or nationwide, in order to encourage acts of kindness. The original founder of Random Acts of Kindness Day is unknown.^{[citation needed]}.
The holiday is celebrated annually in the United States on February 17 and in New Zealand on September 1.^[1] In New Zealand, RAK day began at a national level in 2005^[2] by Josh de Jong, Marshall Gray, Megan Singleton and Reuben Gwyn. It is not a holiday, rather a national day where the entire country is challenged to do something kind to a friend or stranger for no reason at all.

We really were tickled that here we were talking about this and it is this Friday February 17th - just two days away.  This gives everyone plenty of time to prepare for this awesome opportunity - to do something kind for someone without expecting anything in return.  What a novel concept!  The idea of giving to give - just for the sheer joy of it. 

Join us in celebrating National Random Acts of Kindness day this Friday!!!!



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Must Love Dogs

Dogs, dogs, everywhere dogs. I love dogs. I have six of them counting Sienna, the service puppy I am co-puppy raising. I have five of my own - Fawn, Tobie, Kira, Corkie and Leiden. All are funny, cute, sensitive, crazy in their own special way. I can't imagine life without any of them.

I've always loved dogs. My grandfather, "Pop-Pop" raised dogs. He raised champion hunting dogs - Pointers and Retrievers. As you probably know, I'm not a hunter and actually don't condone hunting. Yet, my Pop-Pop was a hunter. Mostly I think he loved being with his dogs, working them. He always had a whistle in his mouth to call the dogs. At four years of age, I can still remember running behind him to keep up with him and the dogs. At age 100 he was still going to the Bird Dog Club.

My first dog was Susie, a Cocker Spaniel. Apparently she was a lot of work for my mom with three small children because she "went to live on a farm." In this case, I still want to believe that's actually where she went to live.

 Our next dog wasn't really our dog, it belonged to our neighbors. They went to Japan for a year and we got their dog, Ginger while they were gone. Ginger was a poodle. Not my favorite dog to this day. We were supposed to get a puppy when they returned. She never had puppies.

Next was my first "very own" dog - Misty. Purchased for five dollars, she was the best investment I ever made. A shepherd/collie mix. What a great dog. I was ten and we went everywhere. I tried to teach her to be a seeing eye dog but ended up running into a tree. End of that lesson. She used to pull us on the icy roads (we lived in Indiana in those days). That was really fun. She died my junior year in college. I was away from home. Still sad. I'm still a shepherd lover to this day.

My next dog was Bandit, a sheltie/shepherd mix rescued from the shelter. He was with me until he was fourteen years old. At that time we also had Buddy, a pit bull/Mastiff. Dumb dog. Allergic to everything. Lived to age ten when he was hit by a car. Awful, awful - I had to bury him as Joe was taking his master plumber's exam that day. Bitter sweet - he passed, the dog died.

 Fiona, our border collie, was also a rescue. I found her while horseback riding in Ireland! She was the best souvenir ever. She had a very interesting life - stray dog on the moors, mini farm dog and in her final years, companion to autistic twins where she was the only dog.

Tiger was our black lab/pit bull/chow mix. She was a rescue. Took Joe a long time to find the right dog - she definitely was. Kind, sweet and had a face that took a little getting used to. Once you did, you believed all black labs should have a round face, black tongue and little chow ears. She died young - age six, of cancer.

That's full circle. Fawn and Tobie are my "junk yard" dogs rescued from Buddies for Life. Kira is my blonde shepherd rescued from Pet Rescue by Judy. Corkie and Leiden are both AKC registered. Cork was born to a neighbor's dog so she has always lived in Chuluota. Leiden was a gift from the Universe - she found me through her owner while I was having lunch one day in Winter Park - neat story that I'm always happy to tell. Sienna is our service puppy from New Horizons Service Dogs.

 I love dogs.

See you in Hawaii - Be there Aloha!

Teresa and I are off to Hawaii in a week or so! We qualified for the VIP Incentive Trip for SendOutCards. Qualifiers earned points for team building! We feel really blessed to be a part of this awesome trip!

It's funny, I really didn't think we had a chance of qualifying - in fact, I was begging my other SendOutCards friends to let me come along as their roommate! It wasn't until Mary sent me an email that we were right on her tail that I had any idea we might actually qualify ourselves! But, since this is a team building effort, it can't be done alone - it requires the activity of team members.

We have an awesome team! We are building an even better team for the future. SendOutCards is a great company with a great opportunity for anyone who wants to change their circumstances in life. In other words, if you want to build financial freedom, this is the way.

So, we are looking forward to Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. We are also spending a two nights at the Modern Honolulu in Waikiki Beach. Can't wait to see all of our SendOutCards friends - so many wonderful people that we've come to know over the last three years - and those that we are still adding to our list of SOC friends.

You can be there too! Join our team - come with us. Next big adventure will be the Treat Em Right in Tampa on May 4 and 5, 2012. Then off to Las Vegas for the annual Convention June 6 - 9, 2012. We'll be at the Mirage Hotel. You should be there too. See you soon!

Where have all the entrepreneurs gone?

“I am attracting business builders.” That’s one of my daily affirmations. But where have all the business builders gone? These people are also known as entrepreneurs – people who see an opportunity and seize it. More specifically, an entrepreneur is someone who makes money through risk and initiative.
I see people every day struggling with finances, with personal freedom, with the ability to determine their own destiny. Yet, I see very few people willing to do what it takes to change their circumstances. It seems we’d rather complain about what we don’t have than take positive action toward change.

I call myself a serial entrepreneur. I can see a business opportunity in almost anything. I have more business ideas and money making thoughts in one day than I could ever hope to put into action. Yet, every day, I am taking action. I’m always building one or more businesses. I look for business opportunities that are a reflection of my personality. I want business to be fun, not something I have to do that I would dread.

And yet, daily, people go to jobs they hate and trade time for money. Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “The Business of the 21st Century” tells us there are four ways to make money. The first is as an employee – the person above who trades time for money. Since both are limited, ultimately, there is a limit to what can be earned. The second is as a self-employed person – in other words, a person who owns a job. Most so-called business owners fall into this category. The day they stop showing up at work, the money stops showing up too. The third way to make money is as a true business owner. A business owner is someone who can be away from their business and when they return, the business is still making money. Very few people actually fall into this category. The problem with being a business owner is it generally takes years (sometimes generations) to build a business that is large enough and successful enough to run independently of the owner. In addition, the commitment of financial resources is often substantial – bricks, mortar, technology, human resources, intellectual capital, etc. The fourth way to make money is through investments – letting your money make you money. This would ultimately be the preferred way, but as they say, “it takes money to make money” so choices one through three generally have to be the starting point.

When I was in my 20’s, fresh out of MBA school, I truly believed I would get a job with a big Fortune 500 company and make my fortune. Instead, I traded my time for money for a number of years before going to law school. After law school, I still traded time for money until the day I had an “entrepreneurial seizure” and started my own firm. Here was my chance to make it or break it. I was terrified. I was certain I had doomed myself to financial failure. Fortunately, thirteen years later my firm is still thriving and growing. I’m still self-employed, but getting closer to true business ownership every day.

A few years ago I was introduced to a new business opportunity. Interestingly, I didn’t see the opportunity at first. In the beginning, it was the product I was attracted to. It was a product I knew I could use in my law firm to enhance my current level of client interaction. It would help me do what I was already doing, but even better and at a lower cost. When I became aware of the business opportunity it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was exactly what I’d been looking for. A business that would be fun, easy and had the potential for significant residual and long term income. I didn’t have to hire anyone, inventory any product or spend a lot of money. Perfect.

You didn’t have to ask me twice. I immediately got involved and got busy. I got busy because I know there is no such thing as a get rich quick scheme and anything worth doing takes effort. I followed the system taught by the leading money earners in the company: 1. Every day collect names and birthdays – a minimum of three is good. 2. Send a card every day and send a least one gift a week. 3. Share the business opportunity by giving away DVDs and magazines. You can lead Opportunity Meetings, but only if you want to. 4. Let people try the product without cost or obligation. 5. Teach others how to do the same thing.
Could there be anything easier? Or really, more fun? Sending cards and gifts and sharing the opportunity to reach out to people in kindness. Sounds like rocket science huh? It doesn't require a degree, doesn't require any special skills - what could be better? Oh yeah, and you get to meet a ton of new people and get some new friends.

If you want to know more, you can contact me directly or you can attend an Opportunity Meeting. Yes, I’m one of those people that like to do educational workshops. My next one is on Wednesday February 22, 2012 at 6 p.m., my office. Mike Bass will be the guest speaker. I’m located at 254 Plaza Drive, Oviedo, Florida 32765. You can RSVP on Facebook, to me at Peggy@CardDivas.com or by calling me at 407 221-3614.