Three Lessons
Written by:
Laura Posey
Article Overview: Do you ever have one of those days when you just hit a rut? It’s like you can’t seem to make progress on your goals. No matter what you do, it seems like you’re either standing still or moving backwards.
I’ve had one of those weeks recently. All my goals seemed so far away and all I could see what how far short I’d fallen on some of them. Then three things happened which reminded me of just how far I’ve come.
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Three Lessons
Do you ever have one of those days when you just hit a rut? It’s
like you can’t seem to make progress on your goals. No matter what you
do, it seems like you’re either standing still or moving backwards.
I’ve had one of those weeks recently. All my goals seemed so far
away and all I could see what how far short I’d fallen on some of them.
Then three things happened which reminded me of just how far I’ve come.
The first thing was that I had a Rotary Group Study Exchange woman
from Brazil stay with me for a week. She and her team were in the
States studying business and visiting Rotary clubs to promote peace and
cultural understanding between our countries.
Listening to Joanize tell stories about the differences between
Brazil and the US made me so appreciative of the things I take for
granted. I’ll be forever grateful that I live in a country where houses
aren’t surrounded by high walls to protect against crime. As I walk
through my Northside Richmond neighborhood, I can be thankful for the
open lawns and beautiful houses I see. I can’t be doing too badly if I
can afford to live here.
The second thing that happened this week was that a friend
experienced a horrible family tragedy that left her spouse dead and her
with severe physical and emotional wounds. Her kids were physically
unharmed but they have a long emotional recovery ahead of them.
The good that came from this terrible event is that my friend found
out that she has a whole army of people who have stepped forward to
support and love her. These people, I’m sure, were always there in
spirit but it took this tragedy to make them come forward. It made me
realize that we all have a silent army of friends and loved ones who
would help us if we really needed it. I guess I can’t have lived a bad
life so far if that is true for me.
Finally, I had lunch with a friend the other day. She was in a bad
spot financially and was worried about her career. After listening for
awhile, I suddenly saw a huge opportunity for her to make money in her
current position. That’s what I do for a living – give advice about
money-making– and it was great to realize that I am still good at it
finding money for other people. I went to that lunch to help my friend
but ended up coming away feeling good about myself too.
What things have happened in your week that show you just how good
you have it? What stories from others have you heard that have reminded
you of just how wonderful your life is so far?
If you’re in a rut, count a few blessings and listen to a few friends and you’ll soon find yourself rearing to go again.
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Article Tags:
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About the Author: Laura Posey
RSS for Laura's articles - Visit Laura's website
Laura Posey (laura@dancingelephants.net) brings much passion to her work as Vice President and Co-Founder of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group. She is a "firecracker" who likes to create and get things done. Over the years, she has received numerous awards and recognition for her sales and management contributions to different organizations.
Laura's expertise in sales led her to start four successful businesses. She now translates that sales know-how into a language entrepreneurs can understand and implement. She helps them sell more themselves as well as build sales teams that work.
Laura is the co-author of Six Secrets of Sales Magnets. In this book, she discloses the differences between average, good, and great salespeople and shows readers how to become part of the top 5% in their field.
Click here to visit Laura's website

More from Laura Posey
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Related Forum Posts
300 rules!
- 300 was my favorite movie of 2007 and Kevin you did a great job in highlighting the Business Lessons from the Movie.
Napoleon on Project Management
- Why do I include this in a list of books aimed at female entrepreneurs? Well...in the expectation that there are as many female history buffs as male ones, and in the belief that anyone interested in history will find this book fascinating, while those interested in project management will learn a thing or two.
I think this was the first "gimmick" book - an author using a historical figure (usually a male, military figure, it must be admitted) to talk about modern day business management. I refuse to read any of the kind that advocates - even obliquely - the techniques of the Sopranos or the Mossad - but these military ones are pretty fun.
Anyway:
Only in the understanding of history, Napoleon might say, do we gain an understanding of strategy in the present. In the same spirit, Napoleon on Project Management offers the recipe for successfully managing your commitments using the strategies, tactics and priorities that propelled Napoleon himself to victory. [The book doesn't gloss over how Napolean eventually fell in defeat, of course, and there's lessons to be learned there as well.
TOC
Foreword by Douglas James Allan (Napoleanic Society of America)
1. The Rise to Power
-The Skills to Succeed
-A Compelling Vision
-Diplomacy and Networking
-Lessons from the Great Campaigns
2. Napoleon's 6 Winning Principles
-Introduction
-Exactitude
-Speed
-Flexibility
-Simplicity
-Character
-Moral Force
3. The Downfall
-What Went Wrong
-Lessons from the Russian Invasion and Waterloo
-The Four Critical Warning Signs
-Napoleon's Legacy
Ebay actually drives prices up...
- I have an acquaintance who collects rare books. He went off on a rant about Ebay in his blog a couple of weeks ago. It used to be he could buy books for quite reasonable sums, but ever since Ebay debuted, people are putting their stuff up their with inflated reserve bids, and the uninformed public are buying those books at ridiculous prices...so now even book collectors that don't deal on Ebay are also inflating their prices, because if people are too stupid to know what is proper market value...
For myself, I fell victim once... not so much to a scam but to my own lack of knowledge of what I was buying...
Way back in the 70s Forrest J. Ackerman published 8 issues of a magazine called Spaceman, and I wanted them all. I also thought they were very rare and was willing to pay any price to get them.
So I bid $100 for a beat up old issue of Spacemen 1, and got it, and of course next week another issue was up there for $20. So I was not a happy camper.
Lessons are - know the market value of what you want to buy and realize that there are other places besides Ebay where you can get it.
Are You a Businessgirl or a Businesswoman?
- One thing that has irked me off and on for 30 years is the tendency of people - both men [i:2wryyhvf]and [/i:2wryyhvf]women, to refer to women, whatever their age, as 'girls' rather than women.
College basketball announcers, coachers and players do it, as do the fans. These are 'girls' who are between the ages of 18 - 21, that's women in my book.
Tennis players and announcers do it. John McEnroe called 'em girls and just when I was getting annoyed at him for being a bit of a male chauvanist, they interviewed player Lindsay Davenport - 30 years old, and she referred to 'em as girls as well.
The Bond "girls" were girls up until the 90s, I admit, doing nothing more than providing someone for Bond to bed and rescue, but in the last few installments the "girl" has been more of a power player...nevertheless she's still a 'girl'.
And of course there was the TV series The Golden Girls - which I liked by the way, but which featured mature women calling themselves girls
And now here it is in the 2000s, and we get this:
The Girl's Guide To Starting Your Own Business, by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio. Their photos are on the cover - presumably the photo is of them and not models - and they are definitely women, not girls.
And what "girly" chapter titles do they give us? "The Scary Stuff" (financial matters) and a chapter on ACTING Like an Adult. (Caps mine).
So popular was this book, apparently, that they've now come out with a sequel:
The Girl's Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being A Bitch): Valuable Lessons, Smart Suggestions, and true stories for succeeding as the CHICK-IN-CHARGE. (My caps)
and once again I was tempted to take the book and throw it across the room. Let's indulge in [i:2wryyhvf]all [/i:2wryyhvf]the cliches, shall we?
So I'd like to hear from other businesswomen out there. Do you find yourself referred to as a girl? Do you mind it? Do you like the culture that still propagates that mindset?
Books for Women Entrepreneurs
- There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here.
It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new.
In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment!
1. The Old Girl's Network
2. Mother's Work
3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women
4. Pitch Like A Girl
5. Workplace Warrior
6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer
7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery
8. She Wins, You Win
9. Napoleon On Project Management
10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do
11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years
12. The One Minute Millionaire
13. Talking From 9 to 5
14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions
15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success
16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded
17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful
18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End
19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide
20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen
21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business
22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker
23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business
24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises
25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy
26. The Promotable Woman
27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it
28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home
29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
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