Make a change – get a different result!

I was driving with my kids in Seattle the other day on our way to pick up Shawn from work.  We were at a Stop light waiting to take a Right and we saw a man laying on the sidewalk, face down on the pavement, one shoe off – in the shade.  My 12yr old Daughter, Alex, said, “OMG Mommy, is that guy dead?”  My 8yr old son Sam said, “Why is he laying there like that?”  I saw his chest moving up and down so I knew that he was alive and reassured them that he was just sleeping in the shade because it was so hot and that he probably didn’t have anywhere to live.

This started a long conversation with the kids about people struggling to survive on the streets, keep or find a job, pay bills, take care of their families, drugs & alcohol, etc.   The cross street, where this man was sleeping, is notorious for pan handlers and for having a community of ‘regulars’ who work the corners for change.  During our conversation, my daughter was very upset.  She is very sensitive and was worried about this man and others like him.  At the end of our discussion she said, “Mommy, if I could make a wish I’d ask for world peace or for no one to ever be homeless!”  For a split second I smiled because it sounded like a Miss USA Pageant answer but I could hear by the way she said it that she was very serious.

Then, when we picked up Shawn, the kids told him about the sleeping homeless man.  He then told some stories about where he grew up, in a rough area of Seattle.  The kids couldn’t get enough of the stories of things that happened, people who lived on his street, etc.  Shawn finished by telling the kids that they’ll never have to worry about being homeless or living in a rough neighborhood and trying to make it to adulthood.

I’m writing this post today because I couldn’t get the vision of the man on the sidewalk, nor the conversation I had with the kids & Shawn, out of my head.  It really got me thinking, a lot, about different times in our life where we thought we might end up without a roof over our heads. We’ve had a lot of financial struggles and did wonder, at times, if we’d have to live in our tent or van or something.  Every time I had these thoughts I fought to work harder and better to make sure that our kids always had a roof over their heads and never had to worry about where our next meal was coming from or if when our power or water would be turned back on!

We’ve made a lot of stupid financial and business decisions as well as having some unfortunate economy based problems occur that were out of our control.  We could have just given up each time these things happened and felt sorry for ourselves.  Sometimes I did cry or not sleep – at all- because of the stress that this puts on you – Shawn too!  Still, Shawn and I woke up every day and kept plugging away.

20 months ago, Shawn took a leap and joined Scentsy and became a consultant.  He didn’t know what to expect but he knew he loved the warmers, scents and the idea of online marketing as a way to make some extra money – which we desperately needed.  We didn’t realize it at the time but this was a pivotal time in our lives and Joining was a defining moment.

Looking back, Shawn saved us, in more ways than one, by making the decision to think outside the ‘job’ box.  He just knew that even if we stunk at the business that we had to at least try to do something to get us out of our situation.  We never thought that we’d now have a team of over 200 consultants all across the USA, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico.  We had no idea that we’d make enough for me to work from home full time or to earn trips to Hawaii (which we did), bonus’s and prizes!  This time next year we’ll be able to travel during the summer with the kids and put them in sports and activity camps (if they want) without stressing out about how we’ll come up with the money to do it.

I’m not saying that you can just join Scentsy or other Direct Selling companies and you’ll be magically in a better ‘place’ – we worked very hard to get where we are now and continue to push ourselves each day to get to a position where we are never again fearful of losing our home!

If you are looking to ensure financial stability for you and your family then you can’t sit around feeling sorry for yourself (at least for more than a day) and hope for someone or something to come along to rescue you.  YOU are the only one who can improve your financial situation and take care of your family – now and in the future.

Times are really tough right now and we are seeing more and more people we know who are struggling to make ends meet.  Most of them are waiting for work to pick up or for a ‘job’ to pull them out of their financial crisis.  While it’s good to make sure that you have stable work and can meet your basic bills and needs, it won’t really increase your income.  I’ve never had a Job in which the more hours I worked the more time I had to spend with my family – have you?  Most the people I know who work more than one job have been doing so for a long time and don’t see that trend ending anytime soon.  Most of the time it seems like they really only make a few hundred extra dollars a month.  They are trading their time for money and usually…the money’s not that great.   Very part-time Scentsy consultants can make a few hundred extra dollars a month by having one or two fun parties a month that take just 1-3hrs of your time instead of 20hrs a week.  That sounds a whole lot more fun and a much better way to use your time – just saying!

My point is, if you don’t make a change then you won’t get a different result!  How many of you keep telling people that you don’t have money to do this or that?  You don’t have time to do stuff with your family?  Can’t take a day off of work for fear of losing your job?  I can go on and on with the things we hear that people “can’t” do.  What we almost never hear is, “I’m sick of not having any money, working in a job that doesn’t pay me enough, not having any time to spend with my family…I’m ready to take a leap and make a change so I never have to say that again!”  When we finally did that, everything changed for us!

A friend of ours just lost her job the other day.  She posted on FB that she didn’t even like her job in the first place but that it really ‘hurt’ to lose her income.  I immediately thought, “Awesome!  Now she can find something to do that she loves instead of doing something she can’t stand!”  I saw this as a GOOD thing for her!  Instead of telling her how sorry I was for her and not to worry and that she’d find a job soon, I told her that I wanted to meet and discuss doing what I do to see if it was something that she’d like.  She said that she was grateful and honored that I’d even think of her!  Isn’t that crazy?  Now, she might not want to Join Scentsy, but at least she’ll know that she has more options than just a crummy job.
We can make anything out of our lives – if we want to.  I mean ‘really’ want to. You can’t just wish it and ‘poof’ it happens.  You’ve got to be dedicated to do the work that goes into changing your life and tweaking how you think!  When we have a friends, family or consultants who are trying to make changes in their lives, we bend over backwards to offer our support!  Taking a ‘chance’ can be very scary so you need all the support you can get!

Good luck to all of you in finding your path to a better future.  Whatever you decided to do…give it your all!

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