Frustrated

I am a little frustrated today.  I have a lot to be thankful for, and I shouldn't get frustrated over little things, but today, I am frustrated.  I signed up to be a distributor for AdvoCare a couple of months ago, and was working with it a little bit, but I wasn't really pushing the products or opportunity.  Over the months, I have still talked with people and shared my successes.

I have lost fifteen pounds and several inches while using the products.  More important than the weight I have lost, is the fact that I feel great!!!  People can tell a difference when they are around me.  I am less stressed and usually in a better mood than I was in the past.  People have been asking a lot of questions too. 

I decided that I was going to place more focus on building the business that I had signed up for in AdvoCare.  In my mind, people would have to be crazy to not want to feel better.  People who wanted to lose some extra pounds would surely be interested in something that has helped me lose 15!!!  On top of that, I have actually made a little money and who can't use a little money in today's economic times?

So, I said I was frustrated.  I am frustrated because people keep asking about what I am doing, but they aren't interested in doing it themselves.  I know that shouldn't be a reason to get frustrated, but I can't grow my business if I can't even convince people to try the product once.  On top of that, I listen to calls that have a ton of great information, but I want one single question answered.  I want to know where to find more people I can share the products with when my friends and family don't want to share with their friends.  I have several of my friends and family that buy products from me, and I really appreciate that, but I need to meet new people.

In October, I will be in Sand Springs, Oklahoma and I am trying to get a "mixer" together to share the products with a group of people there.  I only hope that I am able to help a number of people there on a path to losing weight and feeling great while I am there, because right now I am a little Frustrated.

www.advocare.com/130514347

It Is Finished

So, it has been a little while since I  blogged last, but for those of you who read my blog on a regular basis, I know you aren't surprised.  I'm not going to make excuses or promises to blog more in the future.  If it happens, it happens.  I am blogging today, because there are three things that I really wanted to share.

First, I recently decided that I was feeling run down, eating really bad food, and needed to do something to improve my health.  A friend of mine had been losing weight and was displaying an increase of energy that I wanted to mimic.  So I asked him what he was doing.  I am grateful that he decided to share his secret with me.  He was using AdvoCare products.  When we first started talking about it, I thought I could get the same results by going to Kroger and buying various vitamins and just taking a lot of vitamins.  That turns out to not really be true.  So, I started drinking Spark.  My eyes were opened to a new world.  Since that day, I have used some of AdvoCare's other products and plan to embark on a 24 Day challenge in June.  I am looking forward to training my body to be more healthy.  Beyond just using the products, I decided that since I have seen how the products work, and I really believe in them, that I would try my hand at selling the products.  I have tried selling stuff in the past, and it has never worked out.  I am hoping that I am better in this endeavor because these products change people's lives for the better every day.  If you or anyone you know are interested in looking into these products, check out my site at:  www.advocare.com/130514347.  If you are looking for a part time job that can help bring in some extra money, you can find information on becoming a distributor from the same site.

Second, I have been a little bored the past few weeks.  I found a new job with the same company, after my last project ended.  It isn't as much work as what I was doing before, so I tend to have more time to try to fill.  It has been really weird coming home and not having to worry about getting back on the computer to do more work.  It has also caused me to learn that I have to find other things to fill my time.  I enjoy the fact that I have been able to spend more meaningful time with my wife and kids, but there is still time left in the day.  So, I have decided to pick up a project that I started six years ago that was put on the back burner while I was working on my doctorate.  Some of you have read excerpts of The Memoirs of a Foolish Heart.  I have decided it is time to finally get back to that work and finish it.  It is completely emotionally draining at times, but I am excited to be pouring myself back into something that means a lot to me, and I hope will mean a lot to others when they are able to experience it.

Finally, I have completed a goal that has filled much of my free time the past year.  I know, I didn't have a lot of free time, which made it more difficult.  I finally finished reading War and Peace.  It was a difficult read at times, but has been very rewarding.  If you have not already read the novel, you might not understand how great of an achievement that is, even for someone who loves to read as much as I do.  Russian literature from the 1800's is much more different than reading Harry Potter or some of the other contemporary works.  If you love to read and want a challenge, pick up War and Peace.  Although I enjoyed reading the novel, I am excited to say It Is Finished!

Hopeful for Summer

I keep trying to tell myself that I need to take the time to blog and talk about stuff going on in my life.  I think this week, I realized why I have such a hard time blogging on a regular basis.  The only conclusion I have come up with is that I just have a hard time sharing.  I am a very private person and share very few details of my life with most people.  Although I don't think many people actually read my blog, it is hard for me to open up and talk about everything going on in my life.  I find this to be especially true when I am having a rough time or things just aren't going as well as I hoped.  My goal for this year is to work on that and do a better job of blogging.  The other part of my problem is that I don't think my life is very interesting and don't feel like I have anything to say about it.  How many people want to read about how much time I spend sitting at home watching TV.  I have decided to make a list of things that I have done or are going on in my life and try to write about each of them.  This way I can try to be a better blogger, even when I don't feel like writing anything.

I mentioned in a previous blog, I think, that I wanted to take a trip to Oklahoma this spring.  We have been talking about it and my son really wants to go.  Last week I had to give him the unfortunate news that we aren't going to be able to go anywhere during his spring break.  Needless to say, he was very upset about this, as am I.  So, what is the reason?  My job.

Last August, my company asked those of us working on my project not to take vacation time through the end of the year as a way of booking as much revenue as possible and ending the year strong.  We did that and had respectable revenue numbers to end the year.  In January the restrictions on time off were loosened.  People started planning time off.  Last week, we were again asked not to take any time off between now and April 13.  The goal is to book as much revenue and produce as many results for our customer.  This past Friday, our client informed us that they would not be extending our contract beyond the current year, ending April 13.

We are now tasked with the difficult job of finding new jobs, preferably within the company, while working as much time as possible, up to 40 hours, on our client.  So the job search is on, the current work is still on, but for March there will be no trip.  This makes me sad, but I am still hopeful for summer.

I'm a Doctor

It is completely official, I am a doctor!!!  I completed all requirements in November, participated in my commencement ceremony in December and got my diploma in the mail in January.  I am finally done with school for the rest of my life.  I don't have any degrees above me.  I am at the top of my field, educationally speaking.  I'm a Doctor!!!