Spam doesn't work!

Big news on the networking front...SPAM DOESN'T WORK!

When I joined my company, advertising on Facebook was kind of a new thing. People were looking for new ways to advertise what they have without paying the cost of ads. So, up sprang all of these buy sell trade Facebook groups. Within these groups, people realized, hey- I can post here, for free- and reach potentially tens of thousands of people a day. And, thus was born- Facebook spam.

Well, there are lots of ways to do this, you can buy an auto-poster that will post to hundreds of groups a day on your behalf. I call these- spambots. Robots programmed to spam the millions without emotion. Very impersonal. And, highly ignored.

Then there are those who copy and paste into hundreds of groups a day. While a tad more personal, since they are real people actually propelling carpal tunnel into their fingers and wrists, it's still spammy and really just a motion of selfishness. Join my team! It'll change your life! (And give you tons of medical issues down the road!)  

And then there are those who are just kind of mediocre at it, they'll post locally and just throw a few pictures up, or comment on posts from those seeking out employment. A lot more relational, and personal. But, still- spammy, since ALL you are doing is prospecting- not REALLY offering something of value. 

I'm not arguing that NO ONE ever sees results like this, a top leader in MY company got there by doing one of these things. She was essentially the first in our company to try it and she put in countless hours doing it. Was it worth it for her? Absolutely. But now, everyone is doing it- so it's getting pretty annoying and overwhelming.

I'm also not saying you wont find my name out there "spamming". I am one of those mediocre types, I'll throw it out there a few times, but in my local area, I focus more on building my client base and offering my services as a local business. It's not to say, I don't prospect, because, I do that too. I've seen a few small rewards from my efforts, but not enough to invest in a spambot.

What I have seen more success in, is relationship building. Offering value, and the opportunity to change lives, for real. See, when you shift your focus from JOIN MY TEAM and MAKE ME MONEY, to....I can really help you with my product, or I can really help you get out of this tough situation- you will see more success. You need to be real with people, be yourself. It might take you a little longer to get where your going, but you will have a more focused, more dedicated team. And, in the long term, residual view- that is way more important.

Team Pink Boutique- Paparazzi Accessories Commercial

I thought I killed it!

So this past week, I've been fairly observant of things. Like, I noticed that my house is a complete disaster. So now my pregnancy hormones are in overdrive telling me I have to clean, clean, clean! But, something else happened and it got me thinking.......

So, I was straightening up my office and in my windowsill, I had this dead plant. I kept this plant alive for about a year in my office at my "normal" job. When I lost my job, I brought this plant home and immediately, it became a tragedy. I thought for certain, I killed it.

This plant, has been sitting in my window for a good 2 months now, no water, too much sun... and even uprooted by my 2 year old. I thought it was dead.

But, as I was cleaning I noticed something. Something in my window. It was........green. How could this be? I have neglected this plant for 2 months. It's been abused and tortured....left in the sun to shrivel up and die.

I began to take away the dead leaves, and low and behold the plant had re-rooted itself in the dirt. Very delicately, it had found a way to survive. There were all kinds of little tiny leaves in my pot, and they were green. So immediately- I began to nurture the plant. I tucked it back into the soil, gave it a drink and set it back in my window sill.

Well, it's been a few days, and I checked on my plant. I kind of tugged on the biggest part, and guess what. It was firmly planted in the soil. The leaves are a little greener, and a little plumper. It's ......growing!

What is my conclusion from all of this amazingly unusual turn of events?

Basically, sometimes we burn out. Sometimes, we appear to be dead. We get exhausted. Tired. We just fizzle. But, sometimes, sometimes if people just leave us alone, we begin to heal ourselves. We take root of what we have left deep down in our hearts- and begin to shed away the dead parts, and just barely hang on to the life we love.

And then, when it's the right time... someone comes along and sees we are still there- hanging on....still alive. And they begin to feed us, nurture us and care for us. It's at this moment, that we realize we never really died, we just needed a break. We just needed a little time out. Some...alone time. But now....now we are ready to spring back into life- to grab root of our hopes and dreams and begin to grow and reach our destiny! Sometimes, we just need someone to help us trim away the dead spots. So we can focus on the new things.

Where are you at in your business? Does it feel like your burning out? Maybe it's time to take a little rest. Soon, soon someone will be along to help bring you back to life! Don't give up. NEVER give up... there is still hope!

From this old rotten, dead stump, springs a new tree- new life.