Welcome to 2012!  A very Happy New Year to you !I’m so glad you are here with me.

As you might know I took the entire month  of December off and I had an absolutely marvelous time. I even was able to scratch some things off of my bucket list. (Yep, at my age you need to start living a little, haha.) I also created some new holiday memories by going to see my favorite musical, West Side Story, performed live on stage. What an experience!

Take Immediate Action Using the Tools Already Available to You

Here’s an amazing story to illustrate my point for today on how to stop getting ready to get ready and instead take immediate action with the tools already available to you. You know without action your network marketing business is not going to grow.  Au contraire. There has to be constant and consistent action to keep it alive. Massive action taken will even put it on turbo charge.

But anyway, let’s move on.

I heard this story told by Roberto Monaco who is a great story teller and public speaker. Oh and by the way, he was the top producer in the Anthony Robbins Company for 5 years straight.

Without further ado, here is the story. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.

The following 30 Words of Wisdom don’t just apply to life itself, but can also be used in building your network marketing business. Or any business for that matter.

(Feel welcome to add as many of your own words of wisdom in the comments below.)

Words of Wisdom to Live By

1. Nobody can ruin your day without YOUR permission.

2. Most people will be about as happy, as they decide to be.

3. Others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently.

4. Whatever you are willing to put up with, is exactly what you will have.

5. Success stops when you do.

What is the right time for every action?

Who are the most important people?

What is the most important business?

Sometimes we wish we had all the answers. It would make life so much easier, wouldn’t it?

Well the little story below will give us the answers to the questions above. But having those answers could we still fail?

The Three Questions
By Leo Tolstoy

It once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right time to begin everything; if he knew who were the right people to listen to, and whom to avoid; and, above all, if he always knew what was the most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything he might undertake.

And this thought having occurred to him, he had it proclaimed throughout his kingdom that he would give a great reward to anyone who would teach him what was the right time for every action, and who were the most necessary people, and how he might know what was the most important thing to do.

And learned men came to the King, but they all answered his questions differently.

In reply to the first question, some said that

Time Out!

Sometimes I feel I write this blog just as much for myself as for you, my visitors. I have been extremely busy lately. Learning new things, figuring out new WordPress plugins, and gadgets and widgets. I’m almost at the point of burnout.

You can only burn the candle at two ends for so long.

Last night, while laying in bed, unable to sleep because my mind was still going a thousand miles an hour, I remembered this story below. I love motivational and inspirational stories. Lately I’ve been putting them into custom greeting cards and sending them to my customers, team mates, friends and family.

So here’s the story …

The Mayonnaise Jar and Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar… and the coffee…

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.  When the class began,

I was cleaning out some files to make more room on my hard drive and came across this poem by Jim Rohn. I thought it would make an excellent tribute to one of the greatest mentors of this century. So here it is…

“I wish for you a life of wealth,
health, and happiness; a life in which you give to
yourself the gift of patience, the virtue of reason,
the value of knowledge, and the influence of faith in
your own ability to dream about and to achieve worthy rewards.” _Jim Rohn

The Entrepreneur’s Prayer

As I awaken with the gift of yet another day and prepare for the tasks at hand, I offer up this most ardent prayer.

I pray for continued clarity of purpose so that I may hold my vision steady and keep my focus on the needs and success of others, which in turn shall bring me success.

I pray for the wisdom to epect abundance in my life, that it surrounds me and is available for the taking and to be shameless and unapologetic upon its receipt, for I deserve abundance.

I pray for a cheerful countenance, be it clear or cloudy skies and that I may radiate and infect others with my positive attitude.

I pray for the trust of others that they may recognize my sincerity and true intentions so that we may move forward together.

I pray for the strength to fend off adversity and use my desire and determination as both weapon and shield.

I pray for the courage to carry forth my convictions during the battle of business and to resist temptation to a quicker monetary result when such temptation compromises things for which I stand.

I pray that I may be used as lightning rod to collect the amazing ideas already present in the universe and when blessed with such inspiration, that I may be able to apply my talents and abilities to turn the power of thought into measurable advancement of my goals.

I pray to retain my childhood wonder so that I can recognize and revel in the small miracles of each day that others may miss.

I pray for an infinite supply of self-confidence  for it alone fortifies faith, strengthens my resolve and conquers the largest enemy I will ever face…fear.

I pray for a compassionate spirit and the patience to offer those  who seek my advice and my help, my full and undivided attention.

I pray for good health and a feeling of well being, and the continued desire to improve those areas of my physical life I may be neglecting in the name of my spiritual and entrepreneurial advancement.

I pray that today is a day of excellence and at its conclusion I can acknowledge and be grateful for the forward motion I have made and the growth I have experienced.

I pray most of all for the understanding and support of those closest to my heart, my family, that they will equate what may seem like endless hours of apparent pre-occupation with affairs of business to what is at the very core of my being, that which drives me, for once I achieve what I have set out in its fullest, I will become that more complete being I strive to be.

It is for these things I pray, for I am an entrepreneur.

An excerpt from
The Strangest Secret
by Earl Nightingale

Watch the DVD or read the story below…or both

George Bernard Shaw said, “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, they make them.”

Well, it’s pretty apparent, isn’t it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn’t know where he’s going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry – his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing… he becomes nothing.

How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I’ll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it’s good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn’t care. It’s up to the farmer to make the decision.

We’re comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn’t care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn’t care what you plant.

Now, let’s say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land…and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.

1. “Well done is better than well said.”
Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790)

2. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its’ pants on.”
Winston Churchill
(1874-1965)

3. “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
Mother Teresa
(1910-1997)

4. “Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.”
George Washington
(1732-1799)

5. “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(1929-1968)

6. “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, has strengthened me. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
Walt Disney
(1901-1966)

7. “Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.”
Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865)

8. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”
Vince Lombardi
(1913-1970)

9. “It is better to light the candle than to curse the darkness.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884-1962)

10. “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”
Dwight Eisenhower
(1890-1969)

11. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
Nelson Mandela
(1918 – )

12. “We must become the change we wish to see in the world.”
Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948)

13. “The best and most beautiful things in life cannot be seen, not touched, but are felt in the heart.”
Helen Keller
(1880-1968)

14. “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
Henry Ford
(1863-1947)

15. “Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.”
Ronald Reagan
(1911-2004)

Watch the Movie to see More Great Quotes fromGreat Leaders: