Retreats, Validation, and a Comeback

• November 1st, 2008
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Wow! I’ve been away a long time. I apologize for my extended absence. On the one hand, I was busy working my business! On the other hand, I was also dealing with CFS. Basically, I’ve been working my business consistently since July and the extra oomph has been wearing me out when coupled with my day job. Fortunately, I have put myself on a vitamin regimen and made some simple lifestyle changes (more sleep) and I’ve come out of my little funk. It’s great to be back!

The first thing I want to write about is the retreat I attended at the beginning of October. It was awesome! Unfortunately, it was followed by a 12-day migraine plus serious fatigue, but it was a great retreat and I managed to get the most out of it in spite of not feeling so great. Now, I cannot wait to share what I experienced at the retreat. It is not what you might think.

One word describes what I received at my retreat. That one word is validation. When I was anticipating this retreat I didn’t know what to expect. It was the first time I’d been to this particular retreat and it was with a different group of directors than I regularly train with. It was quite refreshing, really. I needed to get away for a weekend because life has been just a little stressful at the day job. It came at the perfect time.

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t learn anything new at the retreat, but this is not a bad thing at all. As I was listening to the different directors speak, all I could think about was how much I should be up there, too! Everything I was hearing completely validated the way I’ve been working my business since July! I thought about things I’ve written on this blog and felt that they were so relevant to what some of the speakers had said. For the first time in my business, I felt like my actions are in line with reaching my goals and that has continued through to now.

Due to some postponenments and my health issues, October was not as productive as I’d planned it to be, however, it was not a flop. I have a new team member! Also, I met a woman at my doctor’s office who saw my MK tote and is interested in joining my team. It does pay to carry the tote and wear the pin! I also received an email from a woman I facialed at a party about a year and a half ago. I had not pursued her because she had a consultant, but was a guest at the party. She wants to schedule a party sometime soon! I asked her what happened to her other consultant. She said she called her and emailed her several months ago and never heard from her! Lesson: Call your customers; especially if they are looking for you!

Now here we are in November! I have a lot of phone calls to make tomorrow. There are hostesses to reschedule, I have a fund raiser with a friend that I need to get set up, and I have just plain customer service calls to make. Now that I can stay awake I will be able to get myself caught up and get back on track for my goals! In past years, November has intimidated me as far as scheduling appointments. I have run into reluctance because people start to anticipate the holidays and feel overwhelmed and it’s just another “thing” they have to keep track of. Not so this November. I am foreseeing a very busy November and I can’t wait!

How was everyone’s October? I’d love to hear about it! You’ll be hearing much more from me this month. I’m participating once again in NaBloPoMo. This is a challenge to write every day in the month of November. So, here it is, November 1, and I’m ready!

Tags: Events, Goal Setting, Leadership, NaBloPoMo, Retreat, Selling, Training