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!

And…I finally got to see the beautiful Christmas lights downtown Denver a treat almost 20 years in the making. The last time I was downtown around Christmas a couple of years ago I visited the Denver Christkindl Market, but missed the lights.

Now we are in a new year. 2012, what will it bring?

I don’t know about you but I have given up on New Year’s resolutions. My reason? I haven’t kept them yet and I hate the feeling of having broken a promise, especially a promise I made to myself.

I believe it’s much better to set short-term goals on our way to our final goal. What do you think?

I came across this incrdible video full of wisdom by Will Smith and one part especially struck me…

“You don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t say I’m gonna build the biggest, baddest wall that’s ever been build. You gonna say, I’m gonna lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid and you do that every single day. And soon you have a wall.”

That’s exactly the same thing you do with your short-term goal, your daily tasks that bring you to your desired destination.

You do them every day. You do them as perfectly as you possibly can. You don’t miss even one single day and soon you will have reached your final and ultimate goal.

May this year be perfect for you, full of blessings and may you accomplish what you set out to do, and may it be your best year ever.

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

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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 Little Dog and the Lion

There was this family on vacation in Africa and they had a little dog with them.

Somehow the dog got loose and disappeared. The family was devestated because they thought their little dog was lost forever. They searched and searched but they couldn’t find him.

Meanwhile that little dog had run into the bush. He was really scared because there were a lot of skeletons and dead animals along the way.

Suddenly he heard a loud roar and as he turned around he saw this huge lion charging at him. “Oh my gosh! What am I going to do? This lion is going to eat me alive if I am not resourceful and do something quick.”

He looked around for something and saw this dead animal. “I have an idea,” he said to himself. With the lion still charging at him,  the dog turned his back, pretended to eat the dead animal and started talking to himself in a loud voice so the  lion could hear him …”Hmm yum, yum. This is so good. I love this lion that I just killed and am eating for breakfast.”

The lion stopped dead in his tracks. “Wow,” he thought, “this little dog killed that big lion? I better not get anywhere near him or he is going to kill me too.” And he escaped.

A monkey up in the tree saw and heard the whole thing. He swung from the tree and followed the retreating lion.

“Hey lion’” he said, “I saw the whole thing. That little dog is a liar. He didn’t kill that lion. It was already dead. He was playing a trick on you only pretending to eat it so you wouldn’t attack him.”

Now the lion was really angry. How dare this little dog to make such a fool of him. “I’ll kill him and eat him,” he said, and with the monkey on his back went back to where the little dog was.

The little dog saw the lion charging at him again. This time faster and much more angry. “Oh boy, I’m in trouble now. That monkey must have squealed on me and made the lion really mad. I don’t stand a chance of survival if I’m not resourceful with the tools I already have and do something quick.”

As the lion gets really close and ready to jump on him, the little dog turned his back to the lion and the monkey and said real loud… “Man, I hate that monkey. I told him half an hour ago to go and grab another lion for me to eat and he’s taking too long.”

The lion heard that, looked at the monkey and killed him.

Take away…

The morale of the story is…You have to be resourceful with the tools you already have and use them to your advantage.

Oftentimes people are waiting for new tools to come out. New websites, new presentations, new marketing systems or whatever, instead of using the tools they already have and taking immediate and massive action.

Getting ready to get ready is getting you nowhere. While you are sitting there waiting for the latest and greatest with all its bells and whistles the competition is going to pass you by.

Take immediate and massive action with whatever tools you have available to you …right now.

To Your Success…

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. As always, if you liked this story and found some value in it, please be sweet and retweet and also share it with your friends on Facebook. Don’t forget to tag me so I can properly thank you. Thanks!

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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.

6. When your ship comes in…. make sure you are willing to unload it.

7. You will never “have it all together.”

8. Life is a journey…not a destination. Enjoy the trip!

9. The biggest lie on the planet: “When I get what I want I will be happy.”

10. The best way to escape your problem is to solve it.

11. I’ve learned that ultimately ‘takers’ lose and ‘givers’ win.

12. Life’s precious moments don’t have value, unless they are shared.

13. If you don’t start, it’s certain you won’t arrive.

14. We often fear the thing we want the most.

15. Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you have to say. Best friends listen to what you don’t say!

16. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints.

17. Look for opportunities…not guarantees.

18. Life is what’s coming….not what was.

19. Success is getting up one more time.

20. Now is the most interesting time of all.

21. When things go wrong…..don’t go with them.

22. Sometimes the majority only means that all the fools are on the same side.

23. God can mend all broken hearts. You just have to give him all the pieces.

24. A person who asks a question might be a fool for five minutes, but a person who doesn’t ask, is a fool forever…

25. A best friend is like a four leaf clover… hard to find, and lucky to have.

26. A friend is someone who reaches for your hand but touches your heart.

27. A coincidence is when God performs a miracle, and decides to remain anonymous.

28. You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to.

29. Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace… and your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.

30. Our eyes are placed in front because it is more important to look ahead than to look back.

I don’t know who wrote these “30 Words of Wisdom” up originally, but I’m sure glad they did and I thought they were very well worth sharing with you all.

Let us know which ones are your favorites. I actually love all of them, but my absolute favorites would be #s 1,9,15, and19.

I also love #22. Honestly, how many times has that happened in online marketing? A program comes out that promises the moon and every fool on the planet falls for  it. A couple of months later you read that the program has been shut down.

Online marketers beware!!

So, which ones do you like best? Share them with us in the comment box below.

To Your Success,

Ilka Flood

P.S If you want your friends to get a piece of wisdom, please share this post on Twitter and Facebook.

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1. Happy New Year and Great Wisdom from Will Smith

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 to know the right time for every action, one must draw up in advance, a table of days, months and years, and must live strictly according to it. Only thus, said they, could everything be done at its proper time. Others declared that it was impossible to decide beforehand the right time for every action; but that, not letting oneself be absorbed in idle pastimes, one should always attend to all that was going on, and then do what was most needful. Others, again, said that however attentive the King might be to what was going on, it was impossible for one man to decide correctly the right time for every action, but that he should have a Council of wise men, who would help him to fix the proper time for everything.

But then again others said there were some things which could not wait to be laid before a Council, but about which one had at once to decide whether to undertake them or not. But in order to decide that, one must know beforehand what was going to happen. It is only magicians who know that; and, therefore, in order to know the right time for every action, one must consult magicians.

Equally various were the answers to the second question. Some said, the people the King most needed were his councilors; others, the priests; others, the doctors; while some said the warriors were the most necessary.

To the third question, as to what was the most important occupation: some replied that the most important thing in the world was science. Others said it was skill in warfare; and others, again, that it was religious worship.

All the answers being different, the King agreed with none of them, and gave the reward to none. But still wishing to find the right answers to his questions, he decided to consult a hermit, widely renowned for his wisdom.

The hermit lived in a wood which he never quitted, and he received none but common folk. So the King put on simple clothes, and before reaching the hermit’s cell dismounted from his horse, and, leaving his body-guard behind, went on alone.

When the King approached, the hermit was digging the ground in front of his hut. Seeing the King, he greeted him and went on digging. The hermit was frail and weak, and each time he stuck his spade into the ground and turned a little earth, he breathed heavily.

The King went up to him and said: “I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to answer three questions: How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time? Who are the people I most need, and to whom should I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what affairs are the most important, and need my first attention?”

The hermit listened to the King, but answered nothing. He just spat on his hand and recommenced digging.

“You are tired,” said the King, “let me take the spade and work awhile for you.”

“Thanks!” said the hermit, and, giving the spade to the King, he sat down on the ground.

When he had dug two beds, the King stopped and repeated his questions. The hermit again gave no answer, but rose, stretched out his hand for the spade, and said: “Now rest awhile and let me work a bit.”

But the King did not give him the spade, and continued to dig. One hour passed, and another. The sun began to sink behind the trees, and the King at last stuck the spade into the ground, and said:

“I came to you, wise man, for an answer to my questions. If you can give me none, tell me so, and I will return home.”

“Here comes some one running,” said the hermit, “let us see who it is.”

The King turned around, and saw a bearded man come running out of the wood. The man held his hands pressed against his stomach, and blood was flowing from under them. When he reached the King, he fell fainting on the ground moaning feebly. The King and the hermit unfastened the man’s clothing. There was a large wound in his stomach. The King washed it as best he could, and bandaged it with his handkerchief and with a towel the hermit had. But the blood would not stop flowing, and the King again and again removed the bandage soaked with warm blood, and washed and rebandaged the wound. When at last the blood ceased flowing, the man revived and asked for something to drink. The King brought fresh water and gave it to him.

Meanwhile the sun had set, and it had become cool. So the King, with the hermit’s help, carried the wounded man into the hut and laid him on the bed. Lying on the bed the man closed his eyes and was quiet; but the King was so tired with his walk and with the work he had done, that he crouched down on the threshold, and also fell asleep—so soundly that he slept all through the short summer night. When he awoke in the morning, it was long before he could remember where he was, or who was the strange bearded man lying on the bed and gazing intently at him with shining eyes.

“Forgive me!” said the bearded man in a weak voice, when he saw that the King was awake and was looking at him.

“I do not know you, and have nothing to forgive you for,” said the King.

“You do not know me, but I know you. I am that enemy of yours who swore to revenge himself on you, because you executed his brother and seized his property. I knew you had gone alone to see the hermit, and I resolved to kill you on your way back. But the day passed and you did not return. So I came out from my ambush to find you, and I came upon your bodyguard, and they recognized me, and wounded me. I escaped from them, but should have bled to death had you not dressed my wound. I wished to kill you, and you have saved my life. Now, if I live, and if you wish it, I will serve you as your most faithful slave, and will bid my sons do the same. Forgive me!”

The King was very glad to have made peace with his enemy so easily, and to have gained him for a friend, and he not only forgave him, but said he would send his servants and his own physician to attend him, and promised to restore his property.

Having taken leave of the wounded man, the King went out into the porch and looked around for the hermit. Before going away he wished once more to beg an answer to the questions he had put. The hermit was outside, on his knees, sowing seeds in the beds that had been dug the day before.

The King approached him, and said:

“For the last time, I pray you to answer my questions, wise man.”

“You have already been answered!” said the hermit, still crouching on his thin legs, and looking up at the King, who stood before him.

“How answered? What do you mean?” asked the King.

“Do you not see,” replied the hermit. “If you had not pitied my weakness yesterday, and had not dug those beds for me, but had gone your way, that man would have attacked you, and you would have repented of not having stayed with me. So the most important time was when you were digging the beds; and I was the most important man; and to do me good was your most important business. Afterwards when that man ran to us, the most important time was when you were attending to him, for if you had not bound up his wounds he would have died without having made peace with you. So he was the most important man, and what you did for him was your most important business. Remember then: there is only one time that is important—Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with any one else: and the most important affair is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!”

If you like this story please share it … and, don’t forget to leave me your thoughts in the comment box below. Thanks!

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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, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.  He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.  The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.  He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  He asked once more if the jar was full.  The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.  The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, ” I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.  The golf balls are the important things – your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.  The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.  The sand is everything else – the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.  The same goes for life.  If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.  Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.  Play with your children.  Take time to get medical checkups.  Take your partner out to dinner.  Play another 18.  There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.  Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter.  Set your priorities.  The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.  “I’m glad you asked.  It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

That really puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? I’d really love to hear your thoughts.

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

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“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

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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.

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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.

As it’s written in the Bible, “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Remember the land doesn’t care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants – one corn, one poison.

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn’t care what we plant…success…or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal…or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.

Enjoy!

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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:

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