Who knew that keeping up with a blog, running a home business, home schooling and now trying to sell our home could keep me from spending at least two times a week writing on this blog. ROFL! Life; that is it!
Not too long ago an old friend of mine sent me a Wonder Woman gift on Facebook. Believe me I do not feel like a Wonder Woman. Far from it! My kids and my husband would be the first ones to say: "Are you Kidding?" Wonder Woman is suppose to be able to solve all the problems of those around her, have strength, agility, smarts, and look fabulous all the time. That DOES NOT describe me. BY NO MEANS!
Some days I just don't put on the makeup! Now I do brush my teeth, get out of my jammies, and brush my hair, cook my kids their breakfast, teach them from home 5 days a week, and squeeze my work in between!
But you know what? I'm just like you or any wife, mother or person that you know. You see I mess up; lots. I try to do what I can each day in hopes of accomplishing everything on my to do list.
BIG SURPRISE!
I don't!
Yeah....you too, huh!
Simply put, we are humans; people with faults, time constraints, surprises, and seemingly unending disorganization no matter what we do to keep from being disorganized. I take a comment wrong, I say the wrong thing, I just goof up! There it is...LIFE. IT always gets in the way.
Your child gets sick, you get sick, a friend needs your help, a family crisis or you are just over stressed, over tired, and over worked. Again....LIFE!
But what is the key to handling it all? How you react to your present situation.
It is all about training yourself to wait, reassess your situation, think a little more, and then react or respond. Yeah, you will miss up, but it is okay. But there will be days, 'oh glorious days', that everything seems to go into place.
We learn , we grow, and we learn to say we are sorry. We even learn the act of forgiving our own misgivings or those who have hurt us.
You have too! It is...Life!
How are you going to live your life today? Choose to live it to the full and with wisdom!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sanctity of Life: Abigail's Legacy
In February of 1999, I had a routine sonogram scheduled to see our unborn baby. My husband, Billy, and I were very excited and filled with anticipation of seeing this new life that was forming inside of me.
Shock is not the word to describe our heartbreak; it was more like distraught numbness as we heard the doctor tell us that our sweet baby had no hope of living due to a neural tube defect called anencephaly. Our world was shattered! Our life was turned upside down!
We were appalled at the suggestion of taking our child's life, since it was still a legal possibility in our state. I remember telling the attending doctor, through my tears, that there was no way I would take my baby’s life. I said to him, “God is the Author of life and I have no right to choose to take my baby’s life, and I will not do it. If He wants to take my baby’s life that is His decision and not mine to make!” My view of life comes from the knowledge of God that all life is precious and created for a purpose, no matter the circumstance of that life.
At this time I was about 3 months along in my pregnancy, and what was suppose to be a joyful moment had turned into a time of sadness and pain. The knowledge of her life inside of me and the dire prognosis of the outcome brought up a battle that raged inside of me. I had to face it every moment of every day.
I also knew I served a strong and mighty God, a God who could heal, but also a God who knew ultimately what His plan was for not only my life, but the life of this beautiful baby inside of me. We had not only the prayers of our family, friends, and church going forth on our behalf, but we had the prayers of people all over the world who were praying for us. It was amazing to feel those prayers of strength, hope and blessing upon our unborn baby, myself and my family. Those prayers helped both Billy and I press on to what God had called us to.
We wanted so much for God to create a miracle in the life of our baby. We prayed for her healing, but God began to move us to pray for His best to be done through this time whatever the outcome. We knew without a doubt He could heal, but we didn’t know what His call in this matter would be ultimately be.
It often made me angry when a couple of people would question my faith because I was not specifically praying for a miracle. It hurt! They had no idea what their words meant to me. They did not understand, instead of this being a faith stealer this was a faith giver of ultimate proportions.
I remember one particular time, while I was working on an Architectural Rendering project, I cried out to God and asked Him at the debts of my pain: “Why! God, I cannot do this anymore! I cannot continue going on with knowing what I know when I see my belly growing. I just don’t understand why You want us to go through this. I don’t want this!” But in the quiet of that room I heard His sweet soft whisper, “You are not going through this alone.” That is when I began to realize that God had chosen to allow us to go through this pain and yes, healing, in order that He could be glorified through it. I didn’t know how or even completely understand the why of it all, but on that day I became thankful to Him for allowing me the privilege of not only carrying this sweet baby, but allowing me to grow more into the person He was grooming me to be.
Believe me there where many moments of tears, and heartache as this human, motherly mind came to somewhat grasp that there was a possibility that I may not raise her. It grieved within my soul. But that time period of turmoil, growth, and moments of joy was what God had called me to go through. At the same time I was dealing with my heartache, Billy, was dealing with his own. Even through his pain God was moving incredibly through him. Billy was going through his own grooming.
Abigail Grace was born on Aug. 3, 1999. It was a bittersweet moment for us all as we realized that the healing we desired would not be. Abigail was indeed born with anencephaly, but our doctor was amazed to see how beautiful she was. Anencephalic babies normally are very deformed in their facial features. Except for Abigail’s forehead and the top of her skull, her other facial features were barely deformed. I was completely amazed myself because in my research I had seen pictures of babies extremely deformed. As expected Abigail could not see, hear or feel us touching her. With only a brain stem the ability to see, hear, and feel was not possible for her.
When she was born there was not a dry eye in the room. My mom, Marjorie, and Billy’s mom, Susie, were there to give us their love and support during her birth. Also the doctor that I had prayed would be there for her birth was able to be there. Not only was he a Christian, but our nurse was as well. In fact, her nurse’s shift was already well over, but she stayed to support us through Abigail’s birth. God had given us several miracles that day!
Holding her in my arms was the most precious thing to my heart, but I wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted to hold her did while we were blessed with her life. I had held her tight for 9 months and it was important to me for everyone to have some time with her. Throughout the hours after her birth she would peep out to the world, but mostly she kept her eyelids shut. It was sweet and sad at the same time because with those peeps her eyes lacked a focus.
That night she slept in the safety of her daddy’s arms.
The very next day she started showing signs of hunger. This surprised us as she wasn’t supposed to be able to feel hunger. Everyone left the room to give us time to see if she would nurse. In those last moments it was the three of us: Billy, Abigail and me. Her big sister, Morressa, had already had some time with her as best as a 2 year old could with a newborn. It was not long before I realized that our hopes of nursing her would be impossible. Since she did not have a complete brain the connections could not be made that would allow her to nurse. A moment later, as I was holding her in my arms, she turned her head toward us as though she heard our voices. It was then that she opened her eyes to really look at us. A few labored breaths later she took her last breath as she left this earth to go home to Heaven.
Some would say that those last moments we experienced with her was a reflex as she was dying, but I choose to believe that in those last moments God gave us one last gift of her seeing, hearing and feeling us love her with all our hearts. She knew that as she left us and went onward into the glorious presence of Jesus that she was loved beyond measure, all because we gave her a chance to live.
We had the miracle God meant for us to have.
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in the secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me. When as yet there were none of them.” Psalms 139: 13-16 NKJV
Copyright 2009 Latanya Wagner
Shock is not the word to describe our heartbreak; it was more like distraught numbness as we heard the doctor tell us that our sweet baby had no hope of living due to a neural tube defect called anencephaly. Our world was shattered! Our life was turned upside down!
We were appalled at the suggestion of taking our child's life, since it was still a legal possibility in our state. I remember telling the attending doctor, through my tears, that there was no way I would take my baby’s life. I said to him, “God is the Author of life and I have no right to choose to take my baby’s life, and I will not do it. If He wants to take my baby’s life that is His decision and not mine to make!” My view of life comes from the knowledge of God that all life is precious and created for a purpose, no matter the circumstance of that life.
At this time I was about 3 months along in my pregnancy, and what was suppose to be a joyful moment had turned into a time of sadness and pain. The knowledge of her life inside of me and the dire prognosis of the outcome brought up a battle that raged inside of me. I had to face it every moment of every day.
I also knew I served a strong and mighty God, a God who could heal, but also a God who knew ultimately what His plan was for not only my life, but the life of this beautiful baby inside of me. We had not only the prayers of our family, friends, and church going forth on our behalf, but we had the prayers of people all over the world who were praying for us. It was amazing to feel those prayers of strength, hope and blessing upon our unborn baby, myself and my family. Those prayers helped both Billy and I press on to what God had called us to.
We wanted so much for God to create a miracle in the life of our baby. We prayed for her healing, but God began to move us to pray for His best to be done through this time whatever the outcome. We knew without a doubt He could heal, but we didn’t know what His call in this matter would be ultimately be.
It often made me angry when a couple of people would question my faith because I was not specifically praying for a miracle. It hurt! They had no idea what their words meant to me. They did not understand, instead of this being a faith stealer this was a faith giver of ultimate proportions.
I remember one particular time, while I was working on an Architectural Rendering project, I cried out to God and asked Him at the debts of my pain: “Why! God, I cannot do this anymore! I cannot continue going on with knowing what I know when I see my belly growing. I just don’t understand why You want us to go through this. I don’t want this!” But in the quiet of that room I heard His sweet soft whisper, “You are not going through this alone.” That is when I began to realize that God had chosen to allow us to go through this pain and yes, healing, in order that He could be glorified through it. I didn’t know how or even completely understand the why of it all, but on that day I became thankful to Him for allowing me the privilege of not only carrying this sweet baby, but allowing me to grow more into the person He was grooming me to be.
Believe me there where many moments of tears, and heartache as this human, motherly mind came to somewhat grasp that there was a possibility that I may not raise her. It grieved within my soul. But that time period of turmoil, growth, and moments of joy was what God had called me to go through. At the same time I was dealing with my heartache, Billy, was dealing with his own. Even through his pain God was moving incredibly through him. Billy was going through his own grooming.
Abigail Grace was born on Aug. 3, 1999. It was a bittersweet moment for us all as we realized that the healing we desired would not be. Abigail was indeed born with anencephaly, but our doctor was amazed to see how beautiful she was. Anencephalic babies normally are very deformed in their facial features. Except for Abigail’s forehead and the top of her skull, her other facial features were barely deformed. I was completely amazed myself because in my research I had seen pictures of babies extremely deformed. As expected Abigail could not see, hear or feel us touching her. With only a brain stem the ability to see, hear, and feel was not possible for her.
When she was born there was not a dry eye in the room. My mom, Marjorie, and Billy’s mom, Susie, were there to give us their love and support during her birth. Also the doctor that I had prayed would be there for her birth was able to be there. Not only was he a Christian, but our nurse was as well. In fact, her nurse’s shift was already well over, but she stayed to support us through Abigail’s birth. God had given us several miracles that day!
Holding her in my arms was the most precious thing to my heart, but I wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted to hold her did while we were blessed with her life. I had held her tight for 9 months and it was important to me for everyone to have some time with her. Throughout the hours after her birth she would peep out to the world, but mostly she kept her eyelids shut. It was sweet and sad at the same time because with those peeps her eyes lacked a focus.
That night she slept in the safety of her daddy’s arms.
The very next day she started showing signs of hunger. This surprised us as she wasn’t supposed to be able to feel hunger. Everyone left the room to give us time to see if she would nurse. In those last moments it was the three of us: Billy, Abigail and me. Her big sister, Morressa, had already had some time with her as best as a 2 year old could with a newborn. It was not long before I realized that our hopes of nursing her would be impossible. Since she did not have a complete brain the connections could not be made that would allow her to nurse. A moment later, as I was holding her in my arms, she turned her head toward us as though she heard our voices. It was then that she opened her eyes to really look at us. A few labored breaths later she took her last breath as she left this earth to go home to Heaven.
Some would say that those last moments we experienced with her was a reflex as she was dying, but I choose to believe that in those last moments God gave us one last gift of her seeing, hearing and feeling us love her with all our hearts. She knew that as she left us and went onward into the glorious presence of Jesus that she was loved beyond measure, all because we gave her a chance to live.
We had the miracle God meant for us to have.
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in the secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me. When as yet there were none of them.” Psalms 139: 13-16 NKJV
Copyright 2009 Latanya Wagner
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Story Behind Living Life with Grace Post
Last month I went by my son's school to close out his IEP. My son has special needs as classified by our local school system, but truthfully, at times, I forget that he is a little different from most kids his age. To me he is just Luke, what you see is what you get.
Background:
Luke was an answer to prayer for my husband and I. We had lost our first baby through miscarriage, and then were blessed with our oldest daughter. Then we lost a baby in 1999 as a result of Anencephaly, a neural tube defect. When I found out I was pregnant, after loosing our baby girl in 1999, what a relief it was when our little boy had no birth defects.
As Luke grew we relished all his successes and just the sweetness that he was (and still is). Luke was not the typical child. He didn't quite hit the growth milestones as he was suppose to, but the Doctor did not seem concerned, so we weren't. We just took it as Luke being who he is, nothing more, nothing less.
Instead of crawling Luke scooted on his little behind. We thought it was ingenious that he had decided to get around differently than other babies. We even got a lot of laughs out of seeing him get around. He was SOOOOOOO CUTE!
Luke also did not talk. We just figured he was a late bloomer. It wasn't until he was about 3 that he actually really started talking. My husband and I, along with his big sis, were about the only ones that could understand what he was saying and even then we had difficulty.
It wasn't until he was in school that we finally dicovered that his delayments were all because of something far beyond our control. For whatever reason God designed our boy a little different, a little unique, and filled with a whole lot of love and kindness of heart. He designed Luke to be Luke, a little boy who just learns a little different, and has some diffiultiy accomplishing a few tasks that we take for granted. Luke is also gifted with his unique prespective of the world. I am amzes everyday by him and how he sees the world. He is so much fun! (By the way, he talks ALL the time now!)
He has made milestones in the public school system, but I felt also that not everything was done to help him on his path to being all that he can be. So with the ending of this school year my husband and I chose to pull him out permanently to teach him from home.
And with that the reason why I was at school to close his IEP. I had already been looking for manipulatives to help Luke with his schooling from home. I was very excited to bring them with me to show his teachers, physical therapist, speech therapist, county school system psychologist and the school prinicipal. They were helpful and full encouragement for the seemingly huge task before me, all except for one. The Prinicipal was already not happy with me because the year before I had pulled our oldest daughter out of the system, and now I was doing the same thing with my son. After sharing with them briefly some of the things I was going to teach Luke this upcoming school year she just had to comment on my lack of considering creative writing. She commented that she seriously doubted my ability to take care of his learning needs.
Needless to say I was hot under the collar. Why would a school principal feel so highly of herslf as to right out insult a very capable parent?
My mother hen mentatlity was SOOOOO wanting to come out and just tell her what I thought of her and the public school system.
But...
I decided to handle it with grace and respond sternly, but with kindness, that I, as his mother, was fully capable of taking care of his learning needs, and that there was no way I could share in that brief time everything I was going to do with him. I told her I understood her concerns, and that I was going to do creative writing with Luke, but only when he was ready. I also told her I wanted him to feel successful, not incapable.
Not long after that I left.
After having to deal with a year of Luke feeling like he could not do his work, and not seeing more improvement as we were promised that he would have, I made a conscious decision to pull him out for his own good. I know there will be many days ahead filled with difficulty, but also there will be many, many successes for Luke. He will begin to see himself as someone who is capable of reading, writing, and arithmetic. And we will do it with grace, tears, hoorahs, and determination, because it is the right thing to do for our family, and most importantly for Luke.
Latanya
Background:
Luke was an answer to prayer for my husband and I. We had lost our first baby through miscarriage, and then were blessed with our oldest daughter. Then we lost a baby in 1999 as a result of Anencephaly, a neural tube defect. When I found out I was pregnant, after loosing our baby girl in 1999, what a relief it was when our little boy had no birth defects.
As Luke grew we relished all his successes and just the sweetness that he was (and still is). Luke was not the typical child. He didn't quite hit the growth milestones as he was suppose to, but the Doctor did not seem concerned, so we weren't. We just took it as Luke being who he is, nothing more, nothing less.
Instead of crawling Luke scooted on his little behind. We thought it was ingenious that he had decided to get around differently than other babies. We even got a lot of laughs out of seeing him get around. He was SOOOOOOO CUTE!
Luke also did not talk. We just figured he was a late bloomer. It wasn't until he was about 3 that he actually really started talking. My husband and I, along with his big sis, were about the only ones that could understand what he was saying and even then we had difficulty.
It wasn't until he was in school that we finally dicovered that his delayments were all because of something far beyond our control. For whatever reason God designed our boy a little different, a little unique, and filled with a whole lot of love and kindness of heart. He designed Luke to be Luke, a little boy who just learns a little different, and has some diffiultiy accomplishing a few tasks that we take for granted. Luke is also gifted with his unique prespective of the world. I am amzes everyday by him and how he sees the world. He is so much fun! (By the way, he talks ALL the time now!)
He has made milestones in the public school system, but I felt also that not everything was done to help him on his path to being all that he can be. So with the ending of this school year my husband and I chose to pull him out permanently to teach him from home.
And with that the reason why I was at school to close his IEP. I had already been looking for manipulatives to help Luke with his schooling from home. I was very excited to bring them with me to show his teachers, physical therapist, speech therapist, county school system psychologist and the school prinicipal. They were helpful and full encouragement for the seemingly huge task before me, all except for one. The Prinicipal was already not happy with me because the year before I had pulled our oldest daughter out of the system, and now I was doing the same thing with my son. After sharing with them briefly some of the things I was going to teach Luke this upcoming school year she just had to comment on my lack of considering creative writing. She commented that she seriously doubted my ability to take care of his learning needs.
Needless to say I was hot under the collar. Why would a school principal feel so highly of herslf as to right out insult a very capable parent?
My mother hen mentatlity was SOOOOO wanting to come out and just tell her what I thought of her and the public school system.
But...
I decided to handle it with grace and respond sternly, but with kindness, that I, as his mother, was fully capable of taking care of his learning needs, and that there was no way I could share in that brief time everything I was going to do with him. I told her I understood her concerns, and that I was going to do creative writing with Luke, but only when he was ready. I also told her I wanted him to feel successful, not incapable.
Not long after that I left.
After having to deal with a year of Luke feeling like he could not do his work, and not seeing more improvement as we were promised that he would have, I made a conscious decision to pull him out for his own good. I know there will be many days ahead filled with difficulty, but also there will be many, many successes for Luke. He will begin to see himself as someone who is capable of reading, writing, and arithmetic. And we will do it with grace, tears, hoorahs, and determination, because it is the right thing to do for our family, and most importantly for Luke.
Latanya
Where did I go?
Oops, I do not know what happened to me! I really don't!
Where did I go this month? Boy did I get sidetracked!
Do you ever get those moments when you just don't do what you need to do? I kept telling myself that I needed to get on this blog and write.
Do you see the date? Yikes!
Well, I am back! Hopefully I WILL NOT get sidetracked again. You are laughing! You know what? I am too!
I will post a REAL blog post in just a few minutes. You see I just got up and there are things I need to do before I am ready to really think!
See you in a bit! Hopefully I won't get sidetracked!
Latanya
Where did I go this month? Boy did I get sidetracked!
Do you ever get those moments when you just don't do what you need to do? I kept telling myself that I needed to get on this blog and write.
Do you see the date? Yikes!
Well, I am back! Hopefully I WILL NOT get sidetracked again. You are laughing! You know what? I am too!
I will post a REAL blog post in just a few minutes. You see I just got up and there are things I need to do before I am ready to really think!
See you in a bit! Hopefully I won't get sidetracked!
Latanya
Monday, June 30, 2008
Living Life with Grace
As we live life, life just happens. It doesn't always run smoothly, in fact, most times it can be right out chaotic.
I don't know about you, but when things happen that I am not particularily thrilled with my instant reaction is often with disgust or wanting to do something about it right then and there. I want to react without giving the situation or myself the proper time to take it in and think about it. Especially, if it involves my kids. All I can say is watch out for Momma Hen!
I know I can absolutely blow it sometimes! In those moments I am definitely not handling the situation with grace.
Far from it!
Certainly, I want to act calmly and gracefully in the intense moment.
When living your life with grace you actually build your character. So next time when you just want to react to a situation, handle it with grace. If that means walking away then do so. But if it is a situation that really requires a verbal response, be firm, but watch your words. It is so much easier watching what you say instead of bringing embarassment to yourself, and then having to say you are sorry for how you handled the situation.
Latanya
I don't know about you, but when things happen that I am not particularily thrilled with my instant reaction is often with disgust or wanting to do something about it right then and there. I want to react without giving the situation or myself the proper time to take it in and think about it. Especially, if it involves my kids. All I can say is watch out for Momma Hen!
I know I can absolutely blow it sometimes! In those moments I am definitely not handling the situation with grace.
Far from it!
Certainly, I want to act calmly and gracefully in the intense moment.
When living your life with grace you actually build your character. So next time when you just want to react to a situation, handle it with grace. If that means walking away then do so. But if it is a situation that really requires a verbal response, be firm, but watch your words. It is so much easier watching what you say instead of bringing embarassment to yourself, and then having to say you are sorry for how you handled the situation.
Latanya
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Natural Networkers
Ants? Yes! I learned some lessons from a massive move of ants on my North Carolina pantry last year. After returning from a last minute trip to the Myrtle Beach, SC, we discovered ants, thousands of them, eating our cereal, cookies, and breakfast pastries. They had even managed to find their way into sealed packages! Yes, we were frustrated! Not to mention feeling the pains of having got in the way of their work.
After spending a day cleaning up after the ants, throwing away boxes of food, vacuuming the ants, and screaming at the kids to stay away, I started thinking about those ants. I thought about how they worked with great determination. It was apparent they had a goal. Then I began to see that I had a lot to learn from them.
I grabbed a piece of paper and brainstormed the qualities in ants that make them great networkers. Ants are goal oriented, determined, know what they want and go after it, are over comers, persistent, team oriented, and they never make a conscience decision to quit.
If you have ever taken the time to look at a trail of ants when they are in the process of gathering food for their colony it is clear that they are goal oriented. They know what they want. Food! And they go after it! They don’t wonder around without a plan. They know they have to have food. Their lives depended on it.
Networkers have to have goals also. Clear goals are necessary to stay on course; to reach the prize.
So what are your goals? Those ants knew my baseboards, walls, cardboard boxes and sealed plastic packages would not keep them from attaining food for their colony. They knew what they wanted, knew how to get it, and then they went after it. Do you know what you want in your business? Do you know how to get it? Have you gone after it?
Determination was another quality that I saw in the ants. Determination is important to obtaining success in Network Marketing. If you don’t have determination you’ll never get anywhere. Imagine for a minute if those pesky little ants had not had determination. They would have wondered aimlessly around my floors and walls never getting anywhere. So activate determination in your Networking adventure and with it you will see things happen in your business that you have never seen before. You’ll reach your prize!
Know what you want and go after it. Those ants knew what they wanted. They knew what would give them fulfillment. What is it that you need? Make a list of what you want. Create a dream board or a dream book. The dream board or book will keep you focused. Write down your why on the dream board and put a picture beside it that represents your why. Place your dream board or book somewhere you can see it every day so it will be that perfect reminder of what you want.
Have you ever observed Ants as over comers? Are you an over comer? Ants will not let barriers get in their way of their goal. They don’t suddenly come to a dead end or a huge barrier and throw their legs up in frustration. They look for another avenue to travel. And if you are like me, you know what it is like when you get in the way of a determined, goal oriented ant: they bite! Don’t let barriers and dead ends get in your way and hurt you, "attack" back and overcome it by looking for creative ways to go around the barriers and the dead ends. It is possible!
Those ants…. they are persistent little creatures. I remember when I was a kid, I would sometimes interrupt an ant trail. I would run my foot through their ant trail and then watch the ants scramble to find their pheromone path again. No matter how many times I would disrupt their trail they always managed to find their original pathway. Dealing with the ants in my home was the same way, no sooner had I vacuumed them up then more ants would appear under the baseboard going along the same trail as their predecessors had done. We need to be persistent too! Don’t let something that seems bigger than you disrupt your pathway to success.
Ants are also team oriented. They don’t do the work of gathering alone; they work together with consistency, strength, and knowledge. Ants consistently do their job. They don’t lie around, use excuses, or work half heartedly. They put their all into their work. What kind of excuses are you using today to not work your business? Or is your "business" really just a hobby wanting to be a "business?
Ants are very strong insects and they can carry anywhere from 10 to 20 times their own weight. Why not try carrying 10 to 20 times your own weight! Great mental picture! Right! Ants know their strength and they use it to succeed. Have you ever seen an ant struggling with a dead insect or food particle that exceeds that 10 to 20 pound range? They struggle. They wobble. Their load shifts. What happens next? Quickly their team mates pitch in to help carry their load. They don’t tug and fight with who gets to carry the lighter or heavier end. They just take their side and go. They work together!
What are you doing to work together with your personally sponsored team? Even your crossline? Your upline? Find ways you can share your strengths with others in your organization. You will be surprised with how it makes you feel, let alone those you help.
Ants also use their knowledge to help the life of their colony. It takes knowledge and instinct to forage for food and then to move that food to their ant hill. What knowledge do you have that you are sharing with others? Hope you aren’t keeping it all to yourself! What good does that do? Nothing! You might get lots of immediate signups, make lots of money at first, but then if you are not the type who is willing to share your knowledge, what can happen to your team? They begin to give up on your abilities to lead them, and they leave disappointed. Don’t let your team down. Share with them what you have been given! And even if some do fall by the wayside, you at least know that you did your part to share your knowledge with them. Just do not take it personally.
Finally, ants never make a conscience decision to quit before they have gotten what they came for. Ants simply are not quitters! Don’t ever make a conscience decision to quit before you reap the benefits of what you have worked so hard to obtain. Give yourself time to develop your business. Ask for help! There is always someone out there willing to help. Find that mentor! Set a timeline to get your business going if you need to, and then commit to genuinely work your business with consistency and steadfastness. You never know what might happen next! Just make a conscience decision to succeed no matter what and then GO FOR IT! You will reap the rewards in time!
After spending a day cleaning up after the ants, throwing away boxes of food, vacuuming the ants, and screaming at the kids to stay away, I started thinking about those ants. I thought about how they worked with great determination. It was apparent they had a goal. Then I began to see that I had a lot to learn from them.
I grabbed a piece of paper and brainstormed the qualities in ants that make them great networkers. Ants are goal oriented, determined, know what they want and go after it, are over comers, persistent, team oriented, and they never make a conscience decision to quit.
If you have ever taken the time to look at a trail of ants when they are in the process of gathering food for their colony it is clear that they are goal oriented. They know what they want. Food! And they go after it! They don’t wonder around without a plan. They know they have to have food. Their lives depended on it.
Networkers have to have goals also. Clear goals are necessary to stay on course; to reach the prize.
So what are your goals? Those ants knew my baseboards, walls, cardboard boxes and sealed plastic packages would not keep them from attaining food for their colony. They knew what they wanted, knew how to get it, and then they went after it. Do you know what you want in your business? Do you know how to get it? Have you gone after it?
Determination was another quality that I saw in the ants. Determination is important to obtaining success in Network Marketing. If you don’t have determination you’ll never get anywhere. Imagine for a minute if those pesky little ants had not had determination. They would have wondered aimlessly around my floors and walls never getting anywhere. So activate determination in your Networking adventure and with it you will see things happen in your business that you have never seen before. You’ll reach your prize!
Know what you want and go after it. Those ants knew what they wanted. They knew what would give them fulfillment. What is it that you need? Make a list of what you want. Create a dream board or a dream book. The dream board or book will keep you focused. Write down your why on the dream board and put a picture beside it that represents your why. Place your dream board or book somewhere you can see it every day so it will be that perfect reminder of what you want.
Have you ever observed Ants as over comers? Are you an over comer? Ants will not let barriers get in their way of their goal. They don’t suddenly come to a dead end or a huge barrier and throw their legs up in frustration. They look for another avenue to travel. And if you are like me, you know what it is like when you get in the way of a determined, goal oriented ant: they bite! Don’t let barriers and dead ends get in your way and hurt you, "attack" back and overcome it by looking for creative ways to go around the barriers and the dead ends. It is possible!
Those ants…. they are persistent little creatures. I remember when I was a kid, I would sometimes interrupt an ant trail. I would run my foot through their ant trail and then watch the ants scramble to find their pheromone path again. No matter how many times I would disrupt their trail they always managed to find their original pathway. Dealing with the ants in my home was the same way, no sooner had I vacuumed them up then more ants would appear under the baseboard going along the same trail as their predecessors had done. We need to be persistent too! Don’t let something that seems bigger than you disrupt your pathway to success.
Ants are also team oriented. They don’t do the work of gathering alone; they work together with consistency, strength, and knowledge. Ants consistently do their job. They don’t lie around, use excuses, or work half heartedly. They put their all into their work. What kind of excuses are you using today to not work your business? Or is your "business" really just a hobby wanting to be a "business?
Ants are very strong insects and they can carry anywhere from 10 to 20 times their own weight. Why not try carrying 10 to 20 times your own weight! Great mental picture! Right! Ants know their strength and they use it to succeed. Have you ever seen an ant struggling with a dead insect or food particle that exceeds that 10 to 20 pound range? They struggle. They wobble. Their load shifts. What happens next? Quickly their team mates pitch in to help carry their load. They don’t tug and fight with who gets to carry the lighter or heavier end. They just take their side and go. They work together!
What are you doing to work together with your personally sponsored team? Even your crossline? Your upline? Find ways you can share your strengths with others in your organization. You will be surprised with how it makes you feel, let alone those you help.
Ants also use their knowledge to help the life of their colony. It takes knowledge and instinct to forage for food and then to move that food to their ant hill. What knowledge do you have that you are sharing with others? Hope you aren’t keeping it all to yourself! What good does that do? Nothing! You might get lots of immediate signups, make lots of money at first, but then if you are not the type who is willing to share your knowledge, what can happen to your team? They begin to give up on your abilities to lead them, and they leave disappointed. Don’t let your team down. Share with them what you have been given! And even if some do fall by the wayside, you at least know that you did your part to share your knowledge with them. Just do not take it personally.
Finally, ants never make a conscience decision to quit before they have gotten what they came for. Ants simply are not quitters! Don’t ever make a conscience decision to quit before you reap the benefits of what you have worked so hard to obtain. Give yourself time to develop your business. Ask for help! There is always someone out there willing to help. Find that mentor! Set a timeline to get your business going if you need to, and then commit to genuinely work your business with consistency and steadfastness. You never know what might happen next! Just make a conscience decision to succeed no matter what and then GO FOR IT! You will reap the rewards in time!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Blog Header Redesign Contest
Wanted to let you know about a contest going on at Joyfully Living for His Glory. You can win a redesign of your blog header by entering the contest!
Thanks Chelsey and Blue Yonder Designs for the contest.
Latanya
Thanks Chelsey and Blue Yonder Designs for the contest.
Latanya
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