What is Good Karma?

You may have asked yourself, exactly what is good karma?

Well, if we consult Wikipedia about karma, we find “Karma is not punishment or retribution but simply an extended expression or consequence of natural acts. Karma means “deed” or “act” and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction that governs all life.”

This would seem to be saying good deed doers receive good in return in their life.

I believe this can be as simple as giving a smile to another person.  Have you ever noticed when we flash our pearly whites at another person, whether we know them or not, both spirits seem to be lifted up pretty much immediately. This appears to be a universal truth.

Isn’t it great making someone else’s day brighter?…then as a natural byproduct, our own life is enhanced also. Cheering others up make us cheerier.

What is good karma? If you ask me, it’s like the boomerang effect…what you throw out comes back to you in kind.

Fire Up Your Networking

I’ve always been sort of a pyromaniac. Is there anyone who doesn’t actually love a good fire?

As  a child, when my family went camping, I always looked forward to the irresistible  nightly  bonfire that my dad built.

I’ve also always been kind of a goody-goody too.  Which means that when I was a kid and I wanted to play with fire, I did it in the safest way that my child mind could think up.

So, my sister and I took a book of matches and our little beach bucket with us to the neighborhood park.    For safety’s sake, we filled our pail in the lavatory sink.

When we arrived, we were happy to see that no one was playing basketball on the asphalt court.

Even though I’m tall and was always asked if I played basketball, at the time, I wasn’t coordinated enough  to walk and chew gum at the same time.  So I had no business being near any hoops…except maybe hula hoops.

Off we proceeded to center court, with our water filled bucket, matches ready.

Since it didn’t take very much to amuse us, we were having a great time lighting one match after another (over the bucket) when we were caught.  Not by a grown up, but by the older brother of one of our friends.  He threatened to tell on us…unless we became his servants.  So what else could we do?  We agreed.

For some reason, our main duty as I recall was to stand with our arms out to our sides, keeping them up as long as we could.  I guess he thought that was funny.

Well, that brings me to this past weekend.  Since it was cold out and my husband was gone, it was up to me to get the fireplace going.

The first day, everything went perfectly.  My fire was roaring in no time.  On the second day…not so great.  I did finally get it going, but only with a lot of tending.

What was the difference?

This started me thinking about fires.

I wondered about Smokey Bear (he dropped his middle name, you know) and his cause of saving the forest from fires.

“Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”

Did that mean that only I could start a forest fire?

How exactly does one dropped match burn down a whole forest when I had a hard time get my fireplace to light with quite a few.

I had carefully placed the kindling in a tee-pee shape with crumpled newspaper underneath.  I then lit the paper in several spots, several times.  A bit of fanning and nice little fire erupted…and then died down to basically nothing.  More kindling, more paper, more fanning…ablaze again.

Of course, I hadn’t even put any real wood on there, yet.  It was too soon to pile on the big stuff.

After rearranging the log placement many times and adding to it, it seemed that I had a real fire going.  It couldn’t be neglected or it would surely go out.

It finally got to the point where it only needed tending from time to time and stoking occasionally to keep me warm.

You are probably wondering what any of this has to do with network marketing.

One thing that comes to mind is that when someone is really making things happen, we say they are on fire or that they’re all fired up.

Fires and networking businesses (or any business for that matter) actually have many similarities.

They all start out small.  They are all unique.  Some grow into a big blaze, maybe even to epic proportions…out of control.  Others fizzle and die for lack of trying or lack of understanding what it takes to build it in the proper order.

Even though some fires are started accidentally, they all begin with a combination of circumstances (intentional or not).

The electrical fire is started when there is faulty wiring that is plugged into an outlet that has power running through it.  No fire ever begins with a carelessly tossed unlit cigarette.

There is always some sort of initial cause.  Cause and effect go hand in hand even if we can’t always figure it out.

I suppose it might be possible to accidentally sponsor someone.  I guess that someone might see something about your business and ask you if they can join, but I’ve never heard of it happening.  It definitely never happened to me.  Come to think of it, I also don’t know anyone who accidentally burnt down a forest.

When you look at anything that is past it’s infancy stage, it becomes more difficult to decipher how it got to where it is.

In the case of actually doing anything well on purpose, there is usually some sort of small, imperceptible trick to it.  Something that was done at or toward the beginning that made it either possible or at least easier to do.

Learning from someone who has done the thing that you would like to do is the fastest way to speed up the learning curve.

It takes some different skills to start something up from scratch than to keep it going or grow it.  It really helps to have some tools to work with.  The fireplace broom and dustpan were excellent for removing the old ashes to start fresh and have room to grow my fire without smothering it.  The poker and the tongs were indispensable for moving hot logs around to create a hotter fire.

It takes more than one log to build a bonfire but you can get a nice one started with a bit of kindling and just a few logs.  The same is true of your business.  You must start with the fundamentals and then it only takes a few good builders to get it red hot.

The Recipe For Success (Part 2): Take Action

Part 2

The second part of the recipe for success equation was eluded to in Part 1. It is simply this:  TAKE ACTION.

As we all know, nothing ever happens until we take action. You could have the greatest ideas in you head, but who would benefit from that?

Even though it is simple, it’s not necessarily easy. Putting one foot in front of the other is easy once you know how to walk, but in the learning stages everyone falls down…a lot. If you gave up trying to figure out how to move using your own power in an upright position, you would either still be crawling or you would be a tremendous burden on others.

Some people don’t have, or have lost the capacity to walk.  That’s not what we’re talking about here.   Even so, most of them have found other means of getting around. They serve as a great example. An awesome lesson can be learned from so many of these valiant souls. They have a lot to offer and have chosen to rise to the challenge.  They are productive.  They contribute.  They don’t use excuses. They take action!

The ability to take action is in everyone.   Start small.  Celebrate each success…no matter how small. Build on your successes.

Everything counts…even the mistakes!   Maybe, especially the mistakes. They are quite frankly unavoidable when working to achieve anything.

Notice what doesn’t work but don’t dwell on it, just adjust. The only way that you can really know for sure what works and what doesn’t is through action. Trial and error. Each and every time you make an attempt, you are making progress. This gets you closer to the prize.

The process is really quite simple. Take an action. Notice the result of taking that action and then evaluate that result.

If it is a pleasing result do more of it if that is appropriate. If the result is unappealing to you, then go back and make any adjustment that seems appropriate to you and begin again. There is always something that you can do to improve your result.

It helps to know your destination. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there.

When measuring the accuracy of each attempt, there must be a yardstick to measure against. You must know your desired outcome in order to determine what new action will be required.

The formula is really the same as the one that you use to drive anywhere. When driving you are constantly making little course corrections in order to stay on the road, moving at the rate of speed desired to reach your final destination.

In fact, once you become proficient  at driving, you can do a multitude of other things with ease as you continue on your way.             .

The Recipe For Success (Part 1): Learn and Grow

Part 1

There are many factors that create the recipe for success. Being a constant student of life is certainly one of the most important.

Remember when you were in high school, well as you probably realize, some people are still there mentally. The fact that you are reading this now, confirms that you are absolutely not one of them.

When people decide to stop their self education either consciously or unconsciously, they will be suspended in time…stuck wherever they had stopped. They don’t need to stay there though, it is always possible to pick up and continue the journey at any time.

A necessary ingredient for success requires a commitment to lifelong learning. In order to grow your business…you must first grow YOURSELF.

The ability to handle all of the different issues that will inevitably come up will be determined by your willingness to learn what must be done.

This increases your ability to add value.

The better the foundation that you have laid, the faster you will be able to figure out what course of action to take. Each new piece of information is a brick to build with. You can erect an enormous fortress in your mind that can be accessed to create whatever you want.

When first embarking in a certain direction, be alert for signs as to whether you have chosen the right path. Nearly all of the time, there will be some course correction in order. On occasion, a whole new strategy will be necessary.

A steady stream of general self improvement fortified by specialized knowledge will equip you for the challenges that arise.

It’s been said that whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. It’s also been said that we are never given more to handle than we can bear.

Through continuous learning, you will grow and build confidence. This is a very attractive quality.

People are always looking for someone who can show them the way to where they would like to go. The only way that anyone is able to lead another somewhere is to get out in front and be at least one or two steps ahead of the follower.

We can all be leaders and we should all be followers at different times for different things.

Everyone knows something that can help someone else. This means that your learning should not be restricted to books, you should keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to learn from others.

You never know who or what will give you that crucial bit of information that propels you to the next level. Be open to help anywhere that it comes from.

Adding a twist to something that is from a source that is unrelated to what you are doing could be the answer to whatever is blocking your progression at the moment.

You can also be encouraged when things don’t seem to be working out because what may appear to be a step (or even a few steps) backward, may be just what is necessary to put yourself into a position to steamroll forward. It’s smarter to move to a different vantage point so that you can be prepared to catapult yourself ahead instead of continuing to wear yourself out banging into the roadblock trying to force your way through.

In order to succeed, you must keep your inner child-like curiosity, but loose the childish attitude that holds you back.

How The Game Of Football Is Like The Game Of Life

Life Is Like Football

Well, it’s football season again and it got me to thinking. In many ways, the game of  football is a lot like the game of life.  Just like in football, simply being selected to be on the field already makes you a winner.  It means that you made the cut…you’re in the game.

We All Start At The Beginning

Everyone starts with no score on the board…a clean slate.  We all have our own goal line to strive for and there are an infinite number of  routes that can get us there.

We are all moving toward the final score.  We all start out with the intention of getting as many points on the board as we possibly can.  Somewhere along the line, some seem to give up, others get a second wind while a few persevere and continue to increase the score.

You can only get there one step at a time.  No one wakes up one morning as a pro.  It was a daily process of doing what needed to be done that day.  It’s impossible to cram in a year’s worth of effort into a day, a week or even a month.  You get there incrementally…one step at a time, always building on the previous step.

Always Put In Your Best Effort

You never know where the tipping point will be. What will create the needed momentum in your favor for things start to going your way. Anyone can make up their mind to keep on keepin’ on.   To keep playing hard even when the present score on the board is not in your favor.  To be the one who inspires the rest of the team to keep trying even when the odds appear to be against them.  The movie Rudy is a fantastic example of this principle.  It is a truly inspirational true story about a kid named Rudy Ruettiger who’s dream was to play on the Notre Dame football team…against all odds.

Like Football, Life Is A Team Sport

No one comes into this world knowing anything.  We all have to learn from others.

The game is played with a TEAM.  No one goes it alone on the field.  Can you even imagine if one lone soul showed up to play against a team?  They’d get creamed!  In life we all need other people on our side helping us and rooting for us.

There is this myth out there about the self made person.  No one can achieve anything of greatness on their own.  It is impossible, so why even try. In fact it is actually a delusion.  The sooner we realize Read more..

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