tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20493485452556634152024-03-08T10:14:45.477-08:00Just Jinnia...Sharing My Journey As A Stay At Home MomJinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-22392869147192152922009-09-28T16:53:00.000-07:002009-09-28T16:58:46.388-07:00Announcing My New BlogI now have my main blog at <a href="http://www.JinniaLow.com">http://www.JinniaLow.com</a>. <br /><br />It is where I will write all future blog posts. :)Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-61435041773429808452009-06-21T22:44:00.000-07:002009-06-21T22:44:12.469-07:00There Is Always Time To Be Yourself<a href="http://jinnialow.com/2009/06/there-is-always-time-to-be-yourself/">There Is Always Time To Be Yourself</a>Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-54637521113666700742009-04-26T01:19:00.000-07:002009-04-30T21:17:30.142-07:00The Question Of Focus In Mothering And In BusinessI had posed a question earlier - Is it possible to multi-task and focus at the same time? And the answer to that question led me to these questions - What happens when multi-tasking is unavoidable for a stay-at-home mother, who also works from home? How can she keep her priorities straight and still focus on building her business?<br /><br />I just love to figure out how to live right and maximize the life that I've been given for things that are truly important. Especially in business, it is quite a big playing field and I think it's necessary to lay an excellent foundation, test things, make mistakes, fall down and come right back again!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_S8Pu3mduxw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_S8Pu3mduxw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-20964371089421448032009-04-26T01:06:00.001-07:002009-04-28T09:52:17.797-07:00Who Will Get in the Last Word of Encouragement?Who will get in the last word of encouragement?<br /><br />This is my personal challenge to myself as I work on building great relationships with people. I think it's safe to say that one of my life's biggest goals is to become a great conversationalist and servant to people - to be a stay-in-touch master who builds a huge network of people. I spent all my life not staying in touch with people because of fears of people getting too close to me not liking me. But, getting over a fear like that opens up a floodgate of wonderful relationships just waiting to happen.<br /><br />Acceptance is key.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-26166025352071096882009-04-23T13:46:00.000-07:002009-04-30T21:06:17.750-07:00Multi-Tasking and FOCUSI've been thinking about this question a lot lately, and that is, "Do you think it is possible to multi-task and focus at the same time?" I even posted this question on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and a forum. Check out the video below to hear what kind of answers I got and what my conclusion is.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ikvEEgNQpRM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ikvEEgNQpRM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-81823828663919515362009-04-17T12:47:00.001-07:002009-04-17T12:47:49.703-07:00<img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bHQ9MTIzOTk5NzU5MzY5NSZwdD*xMjM5OTk3NjYwNjcwJnA9NDExODYxJmQ9Jm49YmxvZ2dlciZnPTEmdD*mbz*xNjczOTcyMDgwMzM*MDE*ODY4NGQ*N2ViZTM3MTEwOCZvZj*w.gif" /><b>The Customer is Always Right</b><br>Customer service has been on a steady decline over the past decade or so. What recourses do we have as consumers and is there any hope for a return to the service of yesterday?<br><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1031510/the_customer_is_always_right.html">http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1031510/the_customer_is_always_right.html</a>Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-2611590886728659992009-04-09T23:49:00.001-07:002009-04-09T23:53:12.036-07:00Think You Know Your Referral Network?<p> <span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >Today's blog was inspired by SmallBizBee, a prominent small business blogger, who posed this question earlier today:</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >"When my customers refer me to others, what three things are they saying about what I do?"</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >While SmallBizbee focuses on customer word of mouth, we thought it would be helpful to also ask the same question regarding your referral partners. In other words:</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >"When my referral partners refer me to others, what three things are they saying about what I do?"</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >There are some things to consider when making the distinction between how accurately your client's communicate your services and how accurately your referral partners communicate your services.</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >What are your client's saying about your services?</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >Your clients have no intrinsic obligation to learn and accurately communicate the benefits of your services. As SmallBizBee points out, what you "think" your clients are saying about you may be different than what your clients are "actually" saying about you. It's always a good idea to follow up with clients and get an idea of how they perceive your services. Yet, because they are your clients and not necessarily a referral partner, you must take a much more passive approach. Probe, ask questions and if you notice any trends or miscommunication; you may want to tweak the marketing message on your end.</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >What are your referral partners saying about your services?</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >Conversely, good referral partners need to maintain clear communication and meet the expectations you've both set forth. Because you're vested in each others success, there is a certain level of accountability. It is more acceptable to actively control the marketing message within your referral. Your strategy could involve anything from a periodic newsletter, to a lunch-date where you specifically tell your referral partner how you'd like to communicate the value of your services.</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:100%;" >Referral marketing comes with a responsibility to accurately represent those who you've agreed to generate sales leads with. While the line between b2b relationships and customer relationships can sometimes be blurred, don't do market research on your referral partners; sit down with them, define clear expectations and be specific in how your services should be presented.</span></p>Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-74454166324633935632009-04-07T09:34:00.000-07:002009-04-07T09:44:43.400-07:00What Speaks To People's Hearts?What speaks to people's hearts?<br /><br />In working with all sorts of people, I've observed that everyone likes to be noticed, listened to, and appreciated. There may be certain ethnic groups that seem like they don't want to be in the limelight - but think about it - outwardly they exhibit this tendency, but how do you think they feel inwardly?<br /><br />It does not matter who you are - whether a mighty athlete, a famous movie star, rocket scientist, business professional, or stay-at-home parent. Inside the core of each person lies the same thing - a heart that loves and wants to be loved.<br /><br />So what speaks to people's hearts?<br /><br />If you take the time to simply get to know someone, with no agenda, and simply build a relationship with them - they'll feel that you care about them. Your attitude needs to be that of genuinely caring about them - listening to them, asking them questions, accepting them for who they are.<br /><br />That speaks volumes to a person - even if you don't say much about who you are.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-53420687922662540412009-04-01T21:18:00.000-07:002009-04-07T09:15:06.920-07:00What Are Your Strengths And Weaknesses?This is another very important topic I could camp out on. But I will attempt to be brief.<br /><br />Everyone has strengths. Everyone has weaknesses.<br /><br />Why do we as a people get hung up on when we've made a mistake, or failed, or have a certain weakness that we can't seem to get over?<br /><br />Do you know what your strengths are? And weaknesses?<br /><br />A proper assessment of who we are can really shorten the learning curve for us. For then we can employ the talents of other people - their strengths to cover our weaknesses, our strengths to cover their weaknesses. And we can truly work as teams of people toward a common goal - rather than alone. There's nothing worse about success than doing it alone. What fun is it to celebrate your success all by yourself?<br /><br />The point is - be careful not to let your strengths puff up your ego or let your weaknesses surprise you that it pulls you into the pit of despair.<br /><br />Here's an excerpt from a book entitled <span style="font-style: italic;">The Search For Significance</span> by Robert McGee:<br /><br />"People with a poor self-concept may tell themselves:<br />*It was just luck.<br />*I couldn't do it again.<br />*I'm still a failure.<br />*I should stop while I'm ahead because it will never happen again.<br /><br />If you tell yourself things like this, it may be because you expect failure and rejection so much that you simply can't handle success and appreciation."Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-55341683461481828362009-04-01T20:48:00.000-07:002009-04-07T21:56:41.403-07:00Making DecisionsEvery day we make decisions. Whether it's with our spouse, children, work or business - we make decisions. Either it's a small decision or it's a monumental decision - that act of our will to CHOOSE requires us to go through the process of prioritizing one way or another. We choose one thing over another, one person over another, one place over another, one thought over another, one emotion over another - we have a CHOICE.<br /><br />This is a huge topic - one of vast importance in terms of personal growth in character and in relationships. Look deep within yourself and ask the tough questions. If you have a hard time making decisions, ask yourself why.<br /><br />Here are some examples of why:<br />1. Confusion about direction in life.<br />2. Lack of commitment.<br />3. Procrastination.<br />4. Wanting the best of each choice.<br />5. Afraid of making the 'wrong' decision.<br /><br />Challenge yourself by going to the root of the struggle, then reverse it. For example, if you have a hard time making decisions because of a lack of commitment, then decide to commit to something and follow through. Sometimes that simple act of the will propels you forward to make that decision.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-59092144514247844632009-03-29T23:45:00.000-07:002009-03-29T23:53:50.716-07:00PrioritizingMany of us know what prioritize means. Basically it's to do the most important thing first. But how many of us can say that we regularly prioritize everything successfully? Why is it common knowledge to keep your priorities in order, but when it comes down to actually doing it, very few of us prioritize on a daily basis?<br /><br />I believe 2 things prevent us. Here they are:<br />1. Lack of planning. When things and circumstances come at us, we are in reaction mode due to the lack of planning our schedule in advance.<br />2. Inability to say "no" to ourselves. I've learned that keeping my priorities straight requires me to be able to say no to myself when I want something. It's the ability to delay gratification that actually empowers us to get done what needs to get done.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-42230426657606804132009-03-24T16:49:00.000-07:002009-04-01T20:47:35.486-07:00A Matter Of Balance?Early on in my mothering career, I sought to balance being a stay at home mom with working at home. What did it look like for me you ask?<br /><br />You'll need to know how I get things done. I love to learn new things and I had a "million" things going on at once. I tried to "balance" everything much like a juggler kept objects in motion in the air. You guessed it. I could only keep everything I had going on for a certain amount of time. Usually it was 1 week. Sometimes I got it up to 2 weeks. Has that ever happened to you? You want so bad to do everything well, that you give it your best shot - but it didn't last?<br /><br />Needless to say, I was pretty frustrated. I had my fair share of ups and downs building my business and parenting my children at the same time. Thank God I have an awesome business coach who pointed out to me that what I was doing was like being yoked to slavery. That sounds serious, doesn't it? Surely what I was doing wasn't THAT serious...<br /><br />Or was it?<br /><br />So what did I learn to do?<br /><br />I'm sure many of you have heard it before...can you guess what it is?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">PRIORITIZE</span>. More on this to come...Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-47671435815319789972009-03-17T10:56:00.001-07:002009-03-17T16:22:10.323-07:00What does it take to be an Entrepreneur?Being an Entrepreneur is simple, but certainly not easy. There are many obstacles and challenges to building any type of business. So what does it take to be an Entrepreneur? What does it take to not quit when things get tough?<br /><br />It takes many things. The first thing to BE is someone with Character. Good character with a strong sense of responsibility - now that is building on a solid foundation. Just like building a house - one built on sand will fall when storms and winds hit. But one built on solid ground will stand and be of great value to its inhabitants.<br /><br />As Entrepreneurs, we invest into developing and growing as human beings - and build that CHARACTER and possess that VALUE to give to people. We are not in business only for the money. Money is a byproduct of who we ARE and what we DO on a daily basis. Money is basically the seed we have to invest into the lives of others - and we want to invest well and invest fully. Quoting Hans Johnson, "When we become a good 'farmer', our seed grows and our crops are very fruitful, yielding 30, 60 and 100 fold returns."Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-84821479775741287562009-03-12T23:00:00.000-07:002009-03-12T23:08:57.245-07:00Earth-Shattering Calamity?Today I came across this post that reinforces what my husband says about America and our church age. The post is from a business mentor of mine, Mr. Hans Johnson. His keen insights and experience are absolutely amazing, as you will see.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.truewealthformula.com">Earth-Shattering Calamity About To Happen?</a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.truewealthformula.com/"></a>Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-63727007346895431172009-03-12T22:43:00.000-07:002009-03-17T10:39:09.016-07:00The Coming Evangelical Collapse?Yesterday my husband read an article entitled <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090310/cm_csm/yspencer">The Coming Evangelical Collapse</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.</span><span class="story_comment"> <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090310/cm_csm/yspencer">Read more here</a><br /></span>Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-77610108191394325012009-01-03T12:21:00.000-08:002009-03-12T22:21:02.849-07:00Financial Hope during Economic Downturn?I want to talk with you a little bit about our current economy. Maybe you or someone that you know has either lost money in the stock market or lost a job recently due to the economic downturn. The question is...do you believe that you will come out of this thing unharmed, that you can still prosper, have hope and a future? Do you believe that there is still opportunity for you in the midst of economic chaos?<br /><br />The truth is that 98% of the population will be dead or dead broke by the age of 65; only 2% of the population will be financially independent. Are you among the 2% of the population that will figure out a way to create opportunity where there is economic chaos - where there seems to be no opportunity?<br /><br />Now is not the time to be fearful, friends. It is time to center ourselves on truth and take action on what we know we need to be doing.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-76401517703766727412008-09-21T22:35:00.000-07:002009-03-12T22:19:29.979-07:00How SendOutCards Helps Businesses<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">~Check out this story~</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >"We're in real estate, and our business relies on referrals. We used to send handwritten notes to our clients, but that got frustrating. If we missed a word, we had to rip up the card and start over. We had to have stamps, go to the post office, and try to keep track of what we had sent to whom.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >When we were introduced to SendOutCards, I turned to my husband, Chuck, and said, "I don't care what it costs; I want this for our business!"</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >SendOutCards has been the best business system that we have ever invested in. From just one card sent to our clients, we generated three referrals that turned into $30,000 in commissions within 30 days. It is amazing that what you give out comes back tenfold!"</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">Nicki and Chuck Pousson</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">Chandler, AZ</span>Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-41378582781389710932008-09-02T16:05:00.000-07:002009-03-12T22:10:23.803-07:00Rumana Jabeen, Real Estate Professional with Coldwell BankerI really like Rumana as a person. She is one of those real estate agents who have others' interests in mind when she does her job. Here's a link to her website if you want to check out who she is and what she does.<br /><a href="http://www.rumanajabeen.com/">Find out more</a><br /><br />If you are looking to buy or sell property, Rumana's main concentration is the mid-Peninsula Bay Area - Millbrae, Burlingame, Foster City, Belmont, San Carlos. She can go as far as South San Francisco.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-88744819963560542752008-03-31T22:27:00.001-07:002008-04-01T23:20:58.012-07:00March 31 Jordan Adler Call on LeverageDoing more and more with less and less.<br /><br />Gain leverage with yourself, with other people, with money, and with technology.<br /><br />The smallest change can impact the greatest result. A minor small shift in a bunch of different areas.<br /><br />Leverage belief and take 100% responsibility around your emotions - around your personal circumstances and situations. Personally and with your current business. When you can't manage your emotions, you lose days, weeks, months. That little 2 degree difference ultimately costs you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Will those emotions shut you down? Consistency, the importance of being consistent.<br /><br />Leverage with people. Creating more value for others.<br />1. Send a book to your top 10 people.<br />2. Take your top 3 people with you to a seminar.<br />3. Have lunch with your team.<br />4. Promote all the Monday night calls.<br />5. Get your entire team to the Convention.<br />6. Promote the Treat 'em Right seminars and EFTBN meetings.<br /><br />Leverage with money. Take 10% of your income for personal development. Send out your greeting cards and DVDs - those are your workers. Make them go to work the way they're intended. Make somebody's day.<br /><br />Leverage with technology. Sending cards is much easier - what would take 2-3 hours, now takes 2-3 minutes. Conference calls, webcasts.<br /><br />The difference between good and great, plodding along and having an exploding organization, $10,000/month and $100,000/month is 2%. Like baking a cake, putting in the right ingredients in the right order. A small shift can turn a minimum amount of work into hours, days, and months worth of results.<br /><br />It's not you against the world, it's you leading the world.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-87447012083338958292008-03-31T14:33:00.000-07:002008-03-31T14:36:09.523-07:00Team Call on Beyond the BasicsMake it convenient for your new people to send cards - help them with importing their contacts from Outlook or Excel. That'll be 30 minutes well spent in the beginning with them, to set them up to being more likely to use the system.<br /><br />If they have their database in Act, then send them to Customer Service to get a file of how to import their contacts from Act.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-45543470581307279362008-03-29T22:42:00.001-07:002008-03-29T22:47:55.181-07:00Daily 8 Training Call on Building Your Contact ManagerAwesome call! They went over 8 methods you can use to build your contact manager, and of those 8, they suggest we choose 2-3 that work well for you.<br /><br />The 8 methods are: warm market list, lifestyle marketing, swap & drop, reciprocal marketing, networking meetings (such as B.N.I.), event marketing, internet marketing, and niche marketing.<br /><br />The 2-3 that catch my attention are: reciprocal marketing, networking meetings, and niche marketing. Maybe swap & drop, and initially, warm market list to practice with.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-20783418603068497672008-03-23T00:06:00.000-07:002008-03-26T22:49:50.240-07:00Tidbits of InfoThis past Monday's Team Call from Jordan Adler, he interviewed a lady who lives in a small town in Arizona. She mostly built her business with cold calls, and the thing that I was reminded of from that call was to follow up with people to whom you've sent a card. And have a way to keep track of who you sent a card to and when, so that you can follow up with them in a timely manner.<br /><br />I recently read some things from a book called "Lower Your Taxes Big Time!" by Sandy Botkin, and it had some great nuggets of information on how self-employed business people can take tax deductions. The main thing I can apply is to get a tax diary, or tax organizer, and keep really good records about income and expenses.<br /><br />The last thing I want to mention was from listening to Dani Johnson's Spirit Driven Success CD #7. She talked about how life and death are in the power of the tongue, because the speech center of the brain has complete dominion over your entire reality.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-51784290849232254032008-03-19T23:36:00.000-07:002008-03-19T23:39:54.874-07:00SOC Basics BBB Team CallToday I listened to this call and it went over:<br /><br />1. Sending a card<br />2. Submitting your handwriting font form<br />3. Ordering business cards<br />4. Setting up a gift account for someone in your contact manager<br /><br />I also found out that you can click on the Card Shop at the bottom of the Card Catalog and it will take you to more cards created by other artists who use SendOutCards. Pretty cool stuff.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-76774631042623276502008-03-18T21:53:00.000-07:002008-03-19T23:40:41.892-07:00Biz Strategies BBB Team CallFrom the first team call on March3, these are some highlights that I wanted to remember.<br /><br />Within a 90-day period, have a goal to have 6 new team members - which translates to 2-3 gift account walkthroughs each week. That is not too difficult to shoot for.<br /><br />So what would be stopping me?<br /><br />It would be the fear of being able to balance work and family. I continue to work towards believing that it is possible for me to work this business part-time and still keep my family as my priority over my business.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2049348545255663415.post-69526591297881324742008-03-18T16:56:00.000-07:002008-03-18T21:50:13.494-07:00Sending Out to GiveWhen I first learned this concept from SendOutCards, I thought of the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Or, as my daughter's Sunday craft from church says, "Treat others as you would like to be treated."<br /><br />I have always believed this to be true, but honestly, have not had a way to implement this in a practical and tangible way every single day. There was a time that I thought about calling a different friend every day to chat at length, but I couldn't practically do it. I had always wanted to keep in touch with people, but was not very good at it.<br /><br />Initially when I started with SendOutCards, I started with wanting to build a business right away, because I loved the company's corporate mission statement, "Changing lives...one card at a time." I think it is a very needed service and everyone can benefit from giving and receiving words of encouragement and affirmation from the people they love.<br /><br />However, to be honest, I did not follow directions from the company very well. They recommended sending an unexpected card every day to someone. I thought this would be a waste of time and money. And I did not think it would do much for my business. But I was focusing on myself and what I could gain.<br /><br />It was not until I shifted from actions of focusing on myself to focusing on others on a consistent daily basis, that I began to send out a card every single day, for the purpose of giving encouragement and affirmation to others who crossed my paths or my thoughts.<br /><br />I cannot begin to tell you the difference it has made in my daily thoughts as well as what is starting to come back to me. So the "sending out to give" or the "treat others as you would like to be treated" philosophy is true! And it is not just a philosophy; the Scriptures itself has said it through the words of the greatest teacher Jesus.<br /><br />I have not only been keeping in touch with friends and family that I haven't talked with in a while, I have begun to befriend new people and gotten so many invitations to playdates, birthday parties, and special parties than I could have ever imagined! Now I can barely keep up with all the activities and friendships that are sprouting up from my consistent action of sending out a card every day just to give.<br /><br />Not only do I get a chance to connect with people in the community, it just plain feels good to send out positive words every single day, knowing that I am helping to affect someone's thoughts for the better that day.Jinnia Lowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548114858165238700noreply@blogger.com0