A fellow blogger put this out there and I have to admit I felt uncomfortable watching it but also felt guilty for feeling this way. If a mother feels like she is nurturing her child, she has the right to breastfeed as long as she wants right? Let me know what you think . . .

Veterans Day, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day whatever name you go by, it’s the day of remembering those who sacrificed their lives for ours. Celebrated on November 11 (on the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month) on the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I.

Take a few minutes today to remember, better yet, remind yourself everyday why you have the freedoms you have and for those whom you never met, fought for our freedoms and we should cherish them.

These days, war may be something many of you view on television or hear about on the radio news stations and may not seem real. But for many soldiers, their friends and families, wars in the past and present are very very real. This very moment, men and women are still putting their lives on the line in the name of freedom and hope in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.

I won’t even voice an opinion here whether I agree with the current wars or not, because it’s not the point. The point is honoring and giving those respect to the soldiers of the past and present. Never forget, never.

*Photo by Scott Moore

What is it about discovering your passion that often eludes us? Is it that we just don’t really get to know ourselves? Do you open yourself up new experiences? New people?

We recently rented a cute animated movie named Ratatouille  about a rat named Remy who had a talent for cooking, yet because he was a rat people could not believe he would know how to cook, because let’s face it, he’s a rat. Right? He teams up with another unlikely candidate names Lou who is basically cleaning and taking out trash. The restaurant where this whole story takes place goes by the motto, “Anyone Can cook.”

This movie is charming and I would recommend it to children and adults. My point of telling you this is the movie has an underlying message in which we can all learn from. You see, the motto, “Anyone can cook” meaning greatness can come from anywhere even the most unlikeliest of places is important. We should never dismiss ourselves and our inner greatness or potential. Once you open yourself up to the greatness within you may be surprised at what is revealed.These very lessons I learned from my mentors and studying the Master Key System. Once I learned to be open to life around me; ideas, passions and even people started to flow into my life.Yes, you will be encountered by obstacles and yes, you will have to do some work to find your ground and discover your potential. And no, once you discover these secrets you won’t wake up with a permanent smile on your face but you will wake up with something to look forward to that will put a smile on your face and a feeling a satisfication in your heart. 

This industry is definitely not for the faint hearted whether doing it off or online. It takes perseverance and willingness to try just about anything to achieve your dreams.

One of the worst ideas I think Brad and I had was when our first baby was only a few months old. We packed up flyers and invitations to a hotel meeting we had set with some people on our team and went to our local  c-train station. I put my son in my front carrier and we handed out invitations to people while they came in droves to grab the early morning train for work downtown. We must have stood there for what seemed like eternity, and then we drove down to the next stop and stood at that station too.

My feet were killing me, we felt somewhat desperate and humiliated that we looked so desperate, but we didn’t care as long as someone showed up at our meeting. We handed out hundreds of flyers that day.

You know how many showed up?

You guessed it. Zip. Zero. Absolutely none.

We just didn’t get it, how could all of those people just blow off such a great opportunity? They looked like lifeless zombies going to work that morning, surely they would be excited to be offered a better solution?

But that’s when a fellow networker gave us the lowdown. She said, “Listen, why would someone else want to do what you just did? You just told me how you hated standing there at the train station with your poor babe in tow. Do you think any of those people want to do that? You’ve got to find a way to network with others that is enjoyable to you, so that other people will want the excitement about their work that you do.”

Brad and I just looked at each other feeling so stupid wondering why we didn’t have the common sense to do that. Seriously, would you want to stand at the train station just handing out flyers at 6:30 a.m.? It sounds exactly like the job I was trying to avoid at all costs by starting my home based business.

But the task proved to be a learning experience for ourselves that we will never forget. It taught us:

- Be willing to do whatever you have to do to make it.

- Prove it.

- Find a way to market that you find enjoyable or else you won’t stick with it.

- Teach others the same so they will stick with it.

Lastly, we learnt we definitely didn’t like prospecting face to face or hotel meetings. For us, the Internet was the way to go, it fit our lifestyle and encompassed everything we enjoyed doing such as writing, speaking and meeting people from all over the world. You want to know the absolute best part for me? I can work in my pajamas while hanging out with my kids and take a break to play superhero, queen’s castle or paint a portrait whenever I want.

Discover your own success through Martial Arts Marketing and Mentoring led by one of the top marketers in the world.  Be your own Marketing Warrior.

Cheers to Your Success!
Kelly 

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One of the aspects I have noticed by being part of a Mastermind Group is the sense of community. Let’s face it, people don’t quite connect with others like they used to. Neighbors don’t bring over a home baked pie when you move into the neighborhood and people are often paranoid in the “big city” to even say “Hi” when passing you on the sidewalk. The world has changed, but that’s not to say it isn’t for the better. We are now on a bigger playing field and can meet people from all over the world like never before.

We are adjusting to that change. The possibilities are incredible. We now connect through telephone lines and with people across the world through our laptops. We are still human beings and possess that sense of belonging that a Mastermind group can give us. Yes, there are still local business groups that can operate like Mastermind groups but connecting from the comfort of home is what many of us have become accustomed to.

Communities often give us consistency that we crave in our lives. A Mastermind Group can do that for you while some ventures may come and go but a Mastermind Group community can create a commitment from everyone knowing we are accountable to others. This kind of community of like-minded people works together in harmony to help each other discover the most within ourselves and reach beyond what we once thought were our limitations.

An industry like Internet marketing is changing faster than we can keep up. It’s good to have some passengers to travel with on that wild ride, people whom you have developed a sense of trust with.

As human beings, we crave that interaction, especially meaningful ones with people who are also committed to each other. It’s critical to success to be with others who are also bringing energy, excitement and a fresh perspective to the Group.

Mastermind Group community advantages include:

Support system
Energy
Motivation
Balance
Sense of belonging

We join parenting communities to have a support system and help us be better parents so wouldn’t it be only logical to join and entrepreneurial community to be better business owners? It only makes sense.

When we envelop ourselves in a community it becomes a daily ritual, part of a successful habit instead of a chore. It gives us a sense of who we are and becoming successful means developing successful habits and surrounding yourself in a community of positive, energetic, motivated and successful people. Brad and I look forward to our Mastermind group classes and would feel lost without our community.

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Mastermind-Group/labels/Kelly%20Smith.html

Cheers!
Kelly

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“Life is not tried it’s just merely survived, if your standing outside the fire.” Garth Brooks 

I have to vent.

I was talking to a former marketing partner who was giving me reasons to me about why she was quitting her business and how some people have to work a 9 to 5 job and don’t have the option to run a home business like my mother does or like Brad and I do. She went on that she needs to pay rent, pay for things and they don’t have people throwing money at them, they have to take whatever they can get – no choices.

Choices? Choices?! Life is all about choices. Sure things happen to people, sometimes good, some bad and life can  wallop you when you’re not paying attention. But it’s your choice what to do when life comes at you and at you hard.

My mother made the choice to start working from home when my father became so sick he couldn’t work a regular job. She decided to take everything on, the mortgage payments, my father’s care, even started a second home business to make ends meet. She didn’t do it by windfall or luck, just took the risk and believed in herself instead of worrying about the stuff happening around her . . . That was over 15 years ago and she is a stronger person today because of it and so is her business and independence. In turn, so am I.

Brad and I took a risk to work at home, already had two babies, but believed in ourselves enough to know we will always do what it takes to make it happen. It’s a choice. A belief, without fear. That big stumbling block that stands in my former partner’s way. That stands in the road of many people’s paths. This is where the entrepreneur takes hold of that fear and kicks it in the butt.

What is it that makes us different? Entrepreneurs I mean. People often call us foolish, risk takers, silly, etc… When a deal goes sour we lose out on money, when a company goes down, people say it’s a scam. But the true entrepreneur looks at every experience as a learning experience.

“What did I walk away from this experience with?”

You may then see the evolutionary process it may have put you through. You may have learned how to become a better networker, a better speaker or a better Internet marketer. You may have learned new techniques from a new business partner or mentor or learned how to become a better mentor yourself and the next venture turns out to be that much easier because of it. You have learned how to make the Law of Attraction work for you instead of against you.

As entrepreneurs, like other risk takers we thrive on these incredible experiences that enable us to feel truly alive. It’s the same as breathing. I know Brad and I tried the safe route a couple of times when we were younger. We felt like those puppies in the window, noses pressed against the glass, watching others live their lives. We choose to take the risk instead of letting life pass us by in a cubicle somewhere.  I am not knocking the cubicle if that is your dream, though I can’t personally imagine it.

Follow your dream instead of hiding in fear of taking the risk on yourself. Because that is the real risk isn’t it? The risk is You. It’s not money, it’s not the product or training, it’s yourself you are taking the chance on.

Traits of the people who see success and the traits of the people who just never seem to get it:

The successful: determined, have no fear, take risks, believe without doubt they are successful even before it happens and have a passion for what they do.

The ones who fail: blame the product, the comp plan, the team, the upline, their mother, their best friend, their spouse, etc… You get the point. They are usually negative about everything around them and FEAR is constantly rearing it’s ugly head.

So those of you, who call us risk takers, crazy, fools, it’s okay, we know it’s only fear talking. I think Garth Brooks says it perfectly in his song, “Standing Outside the Fire,” when he says, 

 “You got to be tough when consumed by desire because it’s not enough just to stand outside the fire.”

Cheers!
Kelly Smith

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Today was a good day. For you guys in the states it was 4th of July, Independence Day. We celebrated Canada Day at the beginning of the week. Since I am an American living in Canada and married to a Canadian, I celebrate both. So cheers to everyone and celebrate your independence. We have such freedoms to celebrate too.

Brad and I get to work from home, go for long walks (he wore me out with a two hour powerwalk on the bike path this morning), enjoy the summer day, take our kids out for ice cream and fly kites.

My business partner said, “Gotta have days like those, good for the spirit!”

I agree. Since we work from home, we don’t leave work at work. It is around us 24/7 and we often have a hard time tearing ourselves away from us until we are burnt out. Just like everything else, we need balance between business and the freedoms that we enjoy in our lives.

We often take for granted such freedoms that we sometimes ignore them, think we have to be lucky to enjoy working from home or learning a new skill. Because we do in fact have those freedoms, they aren’t luck, they are in fact choices. So many still don’t get that. We aren’t forced into anything, we have the choice to take this path or that one. Brad and I chose the road less traveled and it’s definitely not always the easy road, but it’s a path full of challenges, excitement, energy and freedom to choose. Every day, we wake up and are grateful for the choices we have and look forward to what challenges lie ahead. 

Enjoy your day and make it the best day ever!

Kelly

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If you have studied any of the successful entrepreneurs out there you know by now that being part of a MasterMind Group is an integral part of their success.

The idea of the MasterMind group was actually introduced by Napolean Hill in his well known book, “Think and Grow Rich” in the 1900’s. He described it as, “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work
toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

What can a MasterMind group do for you? -
The possibilites of what it can do for your business and you as a person are endless. You are brainstorming with other people of various experience with people of similar passions.  It can catapult your business with new ideas, possible new partners and training experience. Not to mention the challenges you can learn to overcome.

MasterMind Power -  
Brad and I first discovered the power of a MasterMind group from our friend and mentor, Val Smyth. People who were participating in the evolutionary process of the group including us were actually leading some of the trainings
and developing an empowerment that could help us overcome the obstacles that we face daily in the business world.

MasterMind groups often have written or unspoken confidentiality agreements and respect agreements free of judement where people can feel free to ask questions about challenges they are facing from choosing the right business to the spiritual warfare many face in working for themselves.

Support -
Too often, people don’t survive in the home based arena for lack of a good support system and this is truly where a MasterMind group can help you.

The wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and challenge each others’ minds will definitely elevate you to the next level. It can reward you for your efforts at the same time empowering you with new found knowledge you can now
use in your business.

How do you find a MasterMind Group? - 
You can find mastermind groups locally or most convenienty on the internet who meet over the phone or even in web conference rooms. Better yet, start your own with a few business partners who have like minds or similar goals
and aspirations. Look for a group that have a good mix of people with different strengths you can utilize.

Accountability -
Another thing to remember about a MasterMind group, is it is all about accountability. Place each other on tasks by agreeing to accomplish certain tasks before meeting again, such as you will contact a certain amount of prospects before meeting again. When you all meet, the group can run through each other’s progress. This can help with motivation that may be lacking when you are home alone running your business and no one to report to.

When you attend a MasterMind group be a contributor. Who wants a group member who just sits back and doesn’t contribute? No one likes a slug, trust me, you will get weeded out pretty quickly if you don’t bring anything to the picnic. A mastermind group can give you a chance to step up to the plate with other people you feel comfortable with and may become lifelong business partners, consultants and even good friends.

 ”Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” –Napoleon Hill

These are just a few aspects you can receive from a MasterMind group. No wonder the most successful people like Henry Ford and Napolean Hill utilized them.

– Empowerment
– Support
– Networking
– Success

Cheers!
Kelly Smith
Marketing Secrets Exposed!
Xooma Lifestyle

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“You haven’t walked in my shoes.”
“You don’t know what I have been through.”
“I have been burnt and scammed so many times.”

Have you ever heard any of these statements from prospects or team members? If you haven’t than you haven’t been in the industry long enough. This industry is all psychological. If you can’t empower these certain prospects to change their mindset than you might as well tell them to take a walk before they suck the life out of you.

These are some of the lessons I have learned along the way.

1. We’ve all been scammed at one point or another in this industry. It’s not some random isolated incident. What you must do is look at it as a learning lesson on what to look for next time.
2. Go with your gut. You can question people, look at the comp plan, call the president of the company. If something feels good, than do it.
3. No matter what you think you’ve been through, there is always someone out there who has been through worse. Don’t assume the person you’re saying this to hasn’t seen the down side of life. He/She just chose to take a higher road and get through it.
4. No matter how tough things can seem or how many people complain, I know that my life is a thousand times better today with the love of my husband and two children.
5. You can’t create a better life by focusing on what’s wrong with it. Haven’t you watched The Secret or studied the Master Key System yet? Geeez!
6. Know that there will always be things you don’t know. Keep studying, internet marketing is constantly changing!

7. You’ll never, ever be able to please everybody.
8. Empower, don’t enable. Once you enable someone they will expect everything from you including you building their business for them.
9. Just because someone calls you to say they are a heavy hitter, doesn’t mean squat. They are usually looking for some kind of special deal or placement. If they have to call to tell you that, it should be your first clue. We’ve found the people who produce and work the hardest are not the ones who brag about who they are.
10. There will be moments when you want to quit and walk away. Time outs are just as effective with adults. Just walk away to a quiet place or go for a coffee with a friend. In a couple of hours you will be in the right mind frame again and be ready to jump back in.

Brad & Kelly Smith are founders of their home based business – Mindset Marketing . They are mentors and leaders in Mentors in Motion, Master Key System and Amigo Health Labs. They share their passion and knowledge of the industry within the past 5 years with others in success.
“Finally Exposed! Red-Hot Secrets Marketers Don’t Want You to Know” http://www.marketingsecretsexposed.tv/
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