Juggling Acts

~ lisagangone ~ 1 Comment

Life is a juggling act of the many different directions our lives take us through. We grow up thinking about all the adventures we will have when we are adults. Then what happens? We become responsible, get a job, fall in love and get married, buy a home, have children, and settle in to a routine. What happened to the adventures we were going to have? Well for me the only part I did not do was having children. I did not go on those adventures my friends and I dreamt of. I do have fur babies. In fact I just adopted a new fur baby and this is where the juggling act begins today for me.

Working from home, keeping focused and motivated, keeping a schedule to stay on target with goals are some of the struggles we all go through. Now I just added a new fur baby and my juggling act gets larger. Don’t get me wrong I am excited and feeling blessed I finally have a pet in my home once again. It has given me an added purpose and once again that word responsibility comes up again!

I started out by talking about what we think about growing up and what we actually do for a reason. I know for me since I have started my journey of entrepreneurship I have made so many business acquaintances and friends who stay on the path of routine and others that have taken the path of adventure. I believe I am on the cusp of both. I am dipping my feet in to test the waters. But what I have also found is my views of what is important to me have changed. So I ask you what has changed for you? Do you want to test the waters or dive in feet first?

What has changed for me? The first big change is I am no longer materialistic. Granted I like having things but these things are different and there are less of them today. I am living simplistically and am enjoying this change. Because of this I feel I have more opportunities to bring to my life. I know you are thinking what does this have to do with juggling life? Well as we grow in self-development, change our priorities, and open ourselves to opportunities we bring more into our lives. So how do we juggle life?

Okay you can probably tell from my writing that I am not a planner. So how do us non-planners juggle? The planners have this down pat; well at least it looks like they do. From the suggestion of a friend I carry a notebook to write down things I need to do as they come up and then schedule them into my week. This is a great tool for me. I carry a planner as well as inputting into my phone because it seems to help me stay on point. Some may say its not needed in our digital world but it helps me.

So my ask of this blog post is to please comment and tell me what works for you in your juggling sphere of life…

 

Until next time…

~Lisa

 

 

Selling: Is it a Four-Letter Word?

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

Let’s face it no one likes to be sold to. But most jobs whether working for a corporation or an individual business owner you are selling to someone. It may not even feel like selling to you but it is. Convincing your boss your project should take priority, asking for for that promotion or raise, or interviewing for that perfect job. But here is the thing when you share information, educate people about what you do, why you do it and this resonates within you, then would you not consider changing how you view selling?

We grew up selling. We worked our parents convincing them to buy us the latest trend or take us to wherever we wanted to go. Children watch adults and learn from them. Wouldn’t it be great if we could take what we learned as a child, bring it into adulthood, and not feel guilty about it? Wouldn’t be amazing if learning this skill was considered positive instead of negative? I see people excelling at their jobs; their businesses and I wonder what were they taught as a child? Were they given the tools for success or were they deprived as a child? People are driven by different circumstances. I have learned not to judge anyone based on any characteristic, circumstance, financial status, religion, etc. I cannot list everything but you get the idea.

All of my adult life I have been in some type of sales but never really thought about it up until a few years ago when I became dependent upon myself and the commissions I make. It is very different when you receive a paycheck from a corporation. I am not making any judgments here because I do supplement my income in different ways. My supervisor at my “job” observes how other people act and recognizes how people sell themselves in different ways. So why not look at this in a different light and really think about how we sell. I look at selling as educating. This is new for me and it would have been amazing to have this knowledge years ago but I probably was not ready for it until now.

Observing and learning from others is important to me in order to grow my business. I believe today that I am not selling but educating people on a different way of life; a way that not everyone is open to but another way of looking at life and what our purpose is here on this earth.

Surround yourself with successful people. This success comes in different forms. It all depends on what your definition of success is. That is the really cool part of this. Everyone has their own path whether or not they choose to look at it and go in that direction. It takes some longer than others (like me) and others get it straight out of the gate. All along we are selling whether we realize it or not. So go out there, have fun and sell!

 

Until next time…

~Lisa

The Gift of Helping Others

~ lisagangone ~ 1 Comment

How do you feel when you help other people? What is your idea around helping people? There are many ways we help people on a daily basis and sometimes we do not even know we are helping. There are simple things we can do to help without knowing it-saying thank you to the person who waited on you, telling someone to have a nice day, a smile, opening or holding a door open, picking up something they dropped so they do not have to bend down, giving up a seat for someone else, and so much more.

Then there is knowing and purposely helping someone whether it is friends, family, or in business. All of these can integrate at any given moment. I know when I have the ability to help someone I feel better as a person, a human being, and that I have the capacity to make my small part of the universe a better place to live in. What I have learned is that you can feel good helping people in business that benefits them and you all at once. I do not need to feel guilty for earning a living when the end result is positive. Since entering the world of entrepreneurship I have come to understand that when you help someone you help yourself in many different ways. It is an overwhelming experience, it is humbling, yet empowering all at once.

What I mean by empowering is the knowledge that I can make a difference. This experience is nothing I ever felt in the corporate world.

Today I can be that person that helps and have gratitude that I was blessed with this ability. It is a simple concept yet complex all at once. Has this happened to you in your business? How does this make you feel? For me it keeps me in a forward motion knowing I can continue on this path.

I have been blessed with helping people change their lives for the better, becoming pain free, giving them the ability to gain their lives back. I have given this to myself and this is how I have been able to give it to others. I can be a support system to others and they to me. It is synergistic and healing mentally, physically, and emotionally. Finding peace of mind in health allows everything else to follow. When people feel good they can do so much more in their lives and others see the changes in them. Who would not want to feel good? When I see someone smiling and laughing that has not done so in a long time and knowing I played a small part in helping them achieve this all I can say is yes I am on the right path.

I have met many people in my journey who’s mission is to help others because they truly believe by helping others they help themselves. Some are health coaches, business coaches, marketing coaches, others sell make-up, are holistic practitioners, domestic diva’s, preachers, and so much more. They have helped inspire me and kept me going just by knowing we all have the same purpose. Everyone has a different message but yet it is the same. The synergy is humbling.

What is your path? How are you helping others? Are you looking for a way to make a difference or have you found your way? It warms my heart knowing I have helped someone on his or her path of healing. Tell me have you found your path? When you do it will be amazing.

Until the next time…

~Lisa

Finding Your Belief in Yourself

~ lisagangone ~ 2 Comments

What drives you? What makes you do what you do? The big question is. Do you believe in yourself? Because you can believe in what you do, why you do it, but if that belief is not deep inside of you all of this will not click. The reason I say this is because I had all of this except for the belief in myself. Then one day it clicked. I cannot tell you how or why it just did. I just cannot pinpoint the click; if you can understand this then you are on the same path of self-discovery.

Believing in myself opens myself up to infinite possibilities. When I am open to infinite possibilities I manifest goodness in my life. I attract goodness, I attract people to me, and it is synergistic. Has this ever happened to you? It brings you to a new high. People see it in you. There is an aura about you that cannot be explained. How amazing is that?

The key is staying in this zone of self-discovery, belief, and manifestation in my life. Here are a few of the parts of my self-work to keep me on this path:

Mediation ten minutes before going to bed. This has been so important to my mind, body, and spirit. I have set up a table with trinkets of what I love and what I want to manifest into my life. It relaxes me and puts me in a state of allowing goodness to come to me. A great way to get into meditation is once every so often Oprah and Deepak have 21-day free meditations. A few of my friends recommended this to me and it helped tremendously. One of the classes I attended started with a ten minute meditation-this was at 8 a.m. in the morning so many times it turned into a nap. Whatever works for you and helps you is different for everyone. I recommend trying different things to help you find what works. You never know until you try.

Affirmations of what inspires, motivates, and heightens your awareness’s. A good friend and business partner with a background in psychology recommended I put some type of affirmation in every room of my home. I printed “I Am” in different fonts, sizes, and colors, framed them and put them in strategic places in each room. It is subtle but effective. I even have one in my car.

I have some company recognitions that were sent to me. They are positioned in my work area. My vision boards are in the same area as well.

Now I am not saying that those negative thoughts do not try to creep in. When this happens I use visualization to push them out and bring positive thoughts in. What do you do to keep moving forward? It is so helpful to me to hear what other people do to keep shall we say in “beast mode.” It’s a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together. Then, when that belief in yourself comes through, well all I can say is watch out world!

~Until next time

Lisa

 

Storytelling: Tell Your Story You Just Might Help Someone Tell Theirs

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

I would like to tell you a bit of my story. I did not attend college after graduating high school; I went straight into the workforce. I began working in the retail industry and worked my way up to management.

I stayed with my first company for 19 years until the company went out of business. I worked for three other corporations and it was at that last company that I realized I would not go any further because I was lacking a college degree. I decided to go back to school. My life and career seemed to be at a standstill and it was time to make a change. I decided to try one class to see if I could do it. Not only could I do it, but also I loved it! So began my journey of getting my degree. I enjoyed learning, keeping busy, and not being a couch potato any longer. I met a lot of different people and felt alive again, well almost. My job was not going well so at least I had school to keep me going. I received my Associates Degree in Business Administration in 2013. I am continuing towards my bachelor’s degree in Communications.

I am telling you the next part of my story because it ties into what happened to my corporate life. Towards the end of 2010, one snowy day I was driving uphill and a vehicle in the other lane lost control and hit me head on. Both airbags went off and I was knocked out (I believe physically and emotionally). My body was traumatized and I ended up having back surgery because nothing else could help me. I can tell you this that a power greater than me had plans for me to slow my life down.

The surgery helped me but needless to say my body was not the same. I was not able to do the things I needed to do to take care of myself, my home, and having a physical job I was not able to perform my duties at full capacity. I was pushing my body at work because of the fear of losing that job. Well, I did lose that job and honestly it was a blessing in disguise. I continued with school because it was the one thing besides my dogs (my kids) that made me happy.

The reason I am sharing my story is that I know there are others who have experienced similar situations and struggles. This past February 14th was my four-year anniversary of being out of the corporate world.I did not know losing my job would be the best thing that could have happened to me. I have met others who feel the same way. I had never been terminated from a job ever, but I now know that is okay as someone I met said, “I did not die.” I am surviving, even better I am thriving. I have met so many people in the past four years that I have been able to relate to because their stories are my story. So I ask you what is your story and how are you using your story to change and be your authentic you?

Until next time…

Lisa

 

 

Vision Boards and Inspirations

~ lisagangone ~ 1 Comment

For my first blog I wanted to tell you how I came about deciding to start a blog. One of the networking groups I attend is a coffee connection. The focus of this group is to dive deep into our businesses, our blocks, strategies, improving, and supporting one another through input and referrals. One of our meetings was a vision board workshop. We knew this prior to the meeting and my homework was to go through my magazines and cut out what I thought I would like on my board. Most of my magazines are organic gardening, health, AAA, nothing that was business related or so I thought. I was prepared for my vision board workshop.

I started out by going through more magazines when I got there but decided I had enough to start (well I had more than enough). A lot of what I placed on my boards was organic in nature, inspirational and spiritual. So this is a “tell” of where I am headed. We were doing a personal and a business board. Well, I had so much and was on a roll that I did another board. My obsessiveness in action as you will see when you look at my boards.

To piggy back this I am participating in-group business coaching. This coaching is pulling out my struggles, how I can overcome them, and celebrating my successes. As we were on the call the other day I was talking about my boards. My coach asked me what could I do differently to promote my business and myself. As I was looking at one of my boards’ one quote that spoke to me, “Great stories aren’t just told. They’re experienced.” I read this quote to the group and I knew right then that I needed to write a blog. I have gone to a few networking meetings about writing blogs; this is a message that keeps coming up for me.

So, for those seeking inspiration, unsure of your next step, looking for some answers, or just wanting to try something new I recommend making a vision board. Just start going through magazines (any will do), get some poster board, cut out a cardboard box, or anything you have on hand and go for it! Leave your vision board somewhere you can see it so you can grab inspiration at any moment especially when you are struggling to take your next step whatever that step may be. Take that moment, meditate, contemplate, call a friend, or whatever you need in that moment and experience your moment. This is your moment to shine and allow your journey to come to you, and celebrate your life because you never know what is in store for you.

Concluding this I will meditate and see what comes to me for my next blog posting. My intent is to share my story, tell you about my businesses, and share information. I believe in sharing information we can help others. Thank you and until the next time…

Lisa