In order to empower our children, we first need to empower the parents.
This mother says that every stabbing death brings back the pain of her son's killing.
Click here for my blog on Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.
Plus click here to add your blog to the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.
I wrote about Nonviolent Communication, NVC, in Success Strategies for Black People and in my new ebook, Affirmations for Parents.
Together, we can make a difference.
Identity Theft - It is more than just about Finances. It can kill you if you don't deal with it. There are many products on market which offer Identity Theft Monitoring Services. If you have one of them that's great.
What that means is that you have the consciousness to recognize that there is a problem out there and you are taking positive action to protect yourself. Which is a good thing. The downside is that you may be experiencing a false sense of security because you are actually still exposed the vast majority of types of Identity Theft.
Financial Identity Theft also know as credit fraud only represents about 20% of the overall crime.
This means that your bank or credit card company isn't going to be able to help you with other 80% types of Identity Theft Crimes out there. That's not good.
One of the things that chart doesn't show is that is Medical Identity Theft. Did you know that because of the current health insurance crisis people are desperate to get medical coverage? When people are desperate they will doing things which may not be other's best interest.
Here is a quick video that shows the challenge Medical Identity Theft poses.
So what are you going to do? How are you and your family going to get protected from those other threats? By the way, many of those other services require that your spouse or significant others to pay an additional fee to be covered.
Fortunately, there is another solution. There is company with a dedicated staff of trained professional Identity Theft Restoration Agents. The best part of it is that the service covers you and your spouse with one low price and for just a dollar a month more you can add up to 8 children.
If you would like to know more about the service please visit http://idt.yournubizsolutions.com
About the Author
Clarence Coggins is an Internet Market. He has extensive experience with applying Web 2.0 technology in the promotion of business and educational ventures. He also works a Leads Broker with the Silver Fox Leads Factory to contact him you can email thebestleadscompanyintheworld@gmail.com or call him at 973-943-4073.
Hey Ladies,
Most of us have been there at one time or another. We find ourselves in toxic relationships and have no idea how we got there. We are either in denial or desperately trying to fight our way out. If that's you I'd like to encourage you to hang in there and do whatever it takes to get out.
If you've gotten out, bravo for you! I'm happy you have made it to the other side. Encourage your sisters and keep pressing forward in faith and love.
I bring this up because I have been there and done that. I went through one toxic relationship after another, but now I am on the other side and want to share words of encouragement and tactics to help my sisters who are still in the trenches. So I'm writing a book about it and conducting research into the topic.
I've created a free ebook I'd like you to have. It's called 10 Reasons You Might Be Attracting Crummy Guys, Toxic Relationships, and Heartache...and How to Stop It!. You can download it here.-->> http://nomorecrumbsdating.com/ebook
I've also created a quick 5-question survey I'd like for you to take. It would be a tremendous help to me and may be beneficial to you, especially if you own a business.
There is a space to share your story, your cause, and your website. I will include it in the book, which is free exposure for you. There is no obligation to do this at all but there are certainly benefits.
Here is the link to the quick 5-question survey -->> http://bit.ly/xiCdiW
I don't know about you, but I like to think of summertime as the prime season for RELAXING--kicking back, enjoying the warm sun, balmy breezes and fun events with family and friends. Swimming, concerts, good music, food--just good times all around. And I don't want stress anywhere in there!
So why is it that we're still so stressed out and don't know how to unplug?
If you have that issue, I'm excited to tell you that you're in luck! Because next Thursday, 7/21 at 7pm EST, I'm delighted to have professional organizer Ellen Delap back for a great, encore presentation on our "Call & Learn" teleclass, "Summertime Unplugging & De-Stressing!"
She's going to be breaking down all types of great ways to slow down and actually ENJOY the warm weather while it's still here! So, I hope to see you on the call--to register (and get a free copy of "Accountability Partners for Internet Marketers," just go to http://successtales.com/7-21-registration/ and sign right up! See ya there!
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About the Blogger:
Vonetta Booker-Brown is the creator of SuccessTales.com, a resource/membership site for savvy female small business owners--and the author of the e-book Success Tales: Female Entrepreneurs' Stories of Challenges, Inspiration & Success--featuring BBWO's own LaShanda Henry!
Sisters,
FOCUS (family,outreach,community,unity & schools) has designated April 2011 as mentor a teen parent month. It's no secret that we are in a crisis with this issue and loosing girls everyday. Black women are needed in the schools and communities to help these young people as they attempt to be teenagers, a parent, and a student. Some only need our wisdom and a loving embrace just as we would our birth child.
Think about when you struggled with issues about sexuality, the jr.high crush, self-eseem, wanting belong to the popular clique. Remember you parent/child conversations that made every situation okay? Remember seeing mom, dad or grandma at the football game to support you or mom working the concession stand as a band booster ? Most teens don't have this support system which makes them more vunerable for making poor choices.
Black Professional Women the time has come for us to take a proactive stand and help families with challenges. These are our daughters so we must step to the plate and not attempt to tweak this situation any longer.
For ideas about getting involved or building rapport with a teen mom please email: wheniamlearningtoloveme@gmail.com.
In Sisterly Love,
Michelle Chaisson
Over the next two weeks, we’ll spend time with people we love, people who love us, and people who know how to push our best and worst buttons.
--Choose to be the best that you can be.
--Choose to remain strong and powerful, supportive, and non-judgmental.
--Choose to let go of patterns that keep you and others chained.
--Choose to go up the “referral curve” with close friends and family.
--Choose to match your actions, words, tone of voice, and facial expression to make the world a better place.
--Choose to keep your mouth shut (if what wants to come out isn’t nice).
--Choose to make a difference in each moment with each person.
--Choose wisely now (not after some list of criteria is met).
--Choose to try again (when you make the wrong choice).
--Choose to believe that next year will be better because you will make it that way.
--Choose to be conscious.
--Choose to choose.
If we choose to do this with the very people we love, with the people who love us, and with the people who know how to push our best and worst buttons, then choosing to do it with everyone else will be easy. Choose to notice how your choices create a ripple through your world; through the world.
Excerpt from BNI weekly.
Have a blessed holiday- from Vanessa, SendOutCards and dbjDESIGNS- online and handmade greeting cards and custom paper designs.
www.sendoutcards.com/80793 and blog: www.dbjdesigns.com and follow me on Twitter @dbj_designs.Today, people aren’t just looking for ways to improve their health; they want to create wealth, too.
Our friends and neighbors are looking for an honest opportunity; one that reflects their passion for life and achieving their wildest dreams.
SnackHealthy offers a refreshing, inspiring business opportunity with a products and a message we believe will ring true with many. We are committed to the well being of our customers, our associates and our communities.
SnackHealthy Associates recognize the value we offer as a company and as advocates for true health and true wealth.
We hope you will join us....Click here.
eFoods Global is currency of the future. No matter what your time commitment, level of interest or income desire eFoods Global has created a compensation plan for everyone. CLICK HERE:
This exciting plan is designed to blend many rewarding elements of several earning structures to help you achieve your financial goals and more. We blend immediate rewards with a strong long-term residual plan. One of the unique aspects of this earning plan is the blending of weekly food rewards with financial rewards. Not long ago, terms like providing for the family, being the bread winner, and putting food on the table were the measure of a good day’s work. With the eFoods Global earning plan, you will be putting food on the table tonight while reserving weeks, months, and even years of food in your home, accompanied with some huge financial rewards.
This extraordinary earning opportunity has the ability to potentially generate a potentially endless stream of storable gourmet food as well as lifestyle-changing income. We at eFoods Global have a very simple philosophy: serve it, save it, and share it.
Joining us is as easy as 1, 2, and 3:
• Become an Independent Business Owner (IBO)
• Serve an enjoyable meal
• Share essential ideas
Don't wait... join the movement today. eFoods Global saving families one meal at a time.
when I leave the 9-5 is going to consist of webinars, getting kids to school, client meetings, site updates, blogs, encouraging messages and videos and TWO POWER NAPS.
So there....I am not going to work weekends unless absolutely necessary.
Can't wait for my release from the 9-5. Thank you LORD for this job right now, but thank you for the gifts you have given me to leave a legacy for my children and be at home for them.
I use Tungle for scheduling events and meetings http://tungle.me/mrsceo AND Plancast
I will order my blankets and comforters from LTD for my nap time AND I am using GVO Conference right now for my webinars
http://mrsceo.myprelaunchinvite.com/
(stay tuned for my next blog....on the GVO Conference)
“History will be kind to me because I intend to write it.” ~Unknown
What do you want your legacy to be? Never thought about it before? Women today are far busier than our grandmothers or even our mothers ever were. From being a mother to wife to student to now being an entrepreneur, our legacy - that which you will leave behind you - is in jeopardy. That fact of the matter is that when it comes to talking about legacy, women hesitate because it seems too self-centered. But I argue that we, as women of today, need to start preparing and designing our own legacy. It is not a matter of self-centeredness, but of creating a roadmap or blueprint for future generations
What is a legacy?
According to Webster’s Dictionary, a legacy is “A gift left in a will or a thing handed down by a predecessor.” It can give and be created while you are still alive. It can also be public or private (we’ll talk about this more later). In other words, it is not for the rich only – a very common myth that no one talks about, especially women.
So, what is it that you want to leave behind for those you love when you pass? A legacy of obesity? A legacy of drug abuse? Or a legacy of service to others? I remember my mother once slamming her car into a tree because she fell asleep at the wheel while driving home from her third job. She survived, thankfully, but for many people, this is their life’s story and it does not often end with a happy ending. My mother has given me a legacy of hard work, dedication, tenacity, integrity and the importance of education.
Leadership, Purpose and Vision: A roadmap to building your legacy
When it comes right down to it, building a legacy is about being a leader. Leadership is positive behavior and/or influence on the community and/or family (this is a personal choice that can impact your legacy). Therefore, before you can build your legacy, you must know your purpose. How do you know what it is?
First, you must be open to it – listen to other’s ideas about what they see you as being good at. For example, if people are always saying to you “Girl, you make the meanest chocolate chip macaroon cookies! You should sell these,” they are confirming something the universe has been trying to tell you all along. Women, especially, tend to fend off these compliments by downplaying it: “Oh! This is nothing.” Don’t do that! You are essentially telling the universe (God, for some) that it/He made a mistake.
Your purpose can also come through tragedy: Average Girl was created in response to the murder of my cousin (a victim of domestic violence, she left behind 7 children). My writing experience prepared me for this in that I learned how to write and tell a good story as an English major and now teacher of literature and composition. When it came time to put together the editorial content and style of Average Girl, I was ready for it. Therefore, your purpose is directly related to what kind of legacy you want to leave behind for your business or family/community.
More important than you could ever imagine is Vision; how do you define it and get others to follow it? Tell your story when given the chance; how does it relate to your purpose? You will talk about it if you believe in it. Sadly, women tend to second guess their products/services and themselves. For example, I used to tell myself that ‘no one would buy my magazine because it didn’t look like other magazines on the newsstands and I was “a nobody.” No one knew my name and I had no money to bring to the table.’ It took years of encouraging self-talk (and the loss of a lot of potential sales) to downplay that horrible tape playing around in my head every time I tried to bring to life my vision.
Your vision must connect or resonate with others. We, as women, share a common bond: being a woman. I use this to speak about and promote Average Girl. We may come from different ethnicities or socioeconomic backgrounds, but we all experience joy, pain and heartache as women. We all have dreams that are sometimes crushed or deferred because of society’s pressure to make us conform to its standards of femininity (i.e., housewife, wife, and businesswoman).
You must also have a workable plan – this is where you need to spend a lot of time in development once you have hashed out clearly your willingness to be a leader and follow your purpose. You can’t ask people to follow you or to invest in your vision if you have no idea what it is or how it works, looks, smells, taste, etc. As a leader, you are responsible for not only your word and actions, but the well-being of others.
How can networking help to establish a legacy?
Networking is about building relationships, so you must select networking events that you are truly interested in attending and are in line with your business objectives/market. Time is money and once it’s gone, you cannot get it back. So, do some research first before attending any networking events. When you get there, talk to people about their business; ask them how can you be of service to them? Don’t just stand in a dark corner and cower or worse, stick to the click. Engage people. Be an active listener as it is not always about you and you only.
Use your gut instinct when choosing people to talk to people at these networking events. Truth be told, some people are just there to make money and will use whomever they can to do it: women are good with their instincts, so listen to your gut. Also understand that you cannot help everyone and everyone cannot help you – that’s why referrals are VERY important to not only your business, but in creating a legacy – but be careful about referring the wrong people. If someone has not paid you for your services, do not refer them to another business they could stiff. It will look bad on you, not them. Use those instincts!
Most people forget this vital part of networking: the follow up. Follow up the connections made at these networking meetings with lunch or breakfast or tea just to chat. While there, share your story here if asked to – don’t go into a diatribe: keep it short, sweet, simple and to the point. Discuss your products/services (don’t second guess their response) – you are building connections. Follow up this meeting with frequent communications via email or phone. This is simply confirming connections and building a strong network.
Once people know who you are and what you are about, they will remember you when they hear things “in the wind.” For example, when I was an executive assistant, I used to tell my co-workers that I was studying to be an English teacher. One of them heard about a teaching job expo and told me about it. I went and was hired on the spot. So began my career in education and eventually the birth of Average Girl Magazine.
Forging Business and Community Alliances
Work with people who are doing what you are doing, but perhaps with a different angle. Sponsor an event for a potential alliance to introduce their company to the community. This shows that you are willing and able to work with others. You can also host an event to introduce your company and your goals for the community. For example, I host a tea party every December for Average Girl, but I always donate proceeds from the silent auction to a local woman’s charity or non-profit. I announce this on all of the flyers and marketing material – message: not everything is about just my business. Invite some of your local competitors to be your guest.
If you are thinking about forging an alliance with an organization, research the company first before preparing to establish an alliance. Make an appointment to speak with key persons/decision makers. Before you go, however, prepare an informal plan of action – again, this is a chance to tell your story. At the meeting, establish how you can be of service to them and visa versa (ask questions to establish this further). Perhaps you could offer services such as, free products, time, space, PR, etc. Whatever you offer, do not let it severely impact your bottom line. This is about building alliances wisely that will benefit both businesses’ bottom line in the long run.
Market your business or persons as a community centered entity. Begin to establish yourself as having integrity, flexibility and service. Here is where private vs. publish exposure comes into play. Whatever you release to the media, make sure it is what you want released and that all parties mentioned are in agreement. Some things you may not want the public to know because you just wanted to do it (be aware of your motives). Sources of media to release information to if you choose to go public include: books, website, articles, public speaking engagements, e-newsletters, public service announcements (PSAs). In the end, your reputation will slowly begin to build as your alliances become solid and fruitful. Remember, people remember good deeds and spread the word – but they also remember bad deeds and spread the word.
How can community involvement add to the bottom line of your business?
It can, but is this your ultimate goal? Getting your business involved in community activities/activism is a move that should be carefully considered. It can bring more loyal customers/clients to your business. The company can grow financially and in size due to exposure increase. Your reputation for integrity, loyalty, vision will attract all of the above as well. But beware! People can smell greed and selfishness…and that can ruin more than just your bottom line.
Ultimately, we are here to serve others – if we keep this in focus, your business and/or personal life will prosper for it and your legacy will be the benchmark for others to emulate and prosper from. Remember! Your gifts/talent = purpose = vision = services = legacy = connection to God (or Higher Power).
So what do you want your legacy to be for yourself and your business? Write it down: make it plain, according to scripture. That’s the first thing. The rest is up to you.
~Copyright © 2008 Rebekah L. Pierce. Mrs. Pierce is the CEO/Editor in Chief of Average Girl Magazine LLC, now The Girlfriend Connection. She is also a playwright, former radio talk show host, motivational speaker, teacher, wife and mother. Visit www.thegirlfriendconnection.yolasite.com for more information.
Have your Karma Prince and Princess chat with James
TONIGHT @ 6:30pm
http://www.minglemediatv.com/AskJamesFromaChildsPerspective.html
Life is a theater so invite your audiences carefully.Not everyone is holy enough andhealthy enough to have a FRONT ROW seat in our lives.There are some people in your life that need to be lovedfrom a distance. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize your time with draining, negative,incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships,friendships, fellowships and family!Everyone can't be in Your FRONT ROW.Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention to:Which ones lift & which ones lean?Which ones encourage & which ones discourage?Which ones are on a path of growth uphill & which ones are just going downhill?When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse?Which ones always have drama or don't really understand,know & appreciate you & the gift that lies within you?Everyone can't be in Your FRONT ROW.The more you seek God & the things of God, the more you seek quality,the more you seek not just the hand of God but the face of God,the more you seek things honorable, the more you seek growth,peace of mind, love & truth around you, the easier it will becomefor you to decide who gets to sit in the FRONT ROW& who should be moved to the balcony of your life.Everyone Can't be in Your FRONT ROW.You cannot change the people around you...but you can change the people you are around!Ask God for wisdom & discernment& choose wisely the people who sit in the FRONT ROW of your life.Remember that FRONT ROW seats are for special & deserving people& those who sit in your FRONT ROW should be chosen carefully.Everyone Can't be in Your FRONT ROW."Spiritual growth occurs when faith is cultivated."Keep the faith!
