And We're Off!! Welcome to the first FULL day of selling!!!!

Check out the video link! Not only is this one of my favorite songs, but I could not think of a better way to get us in the mood to win that trip to Mexico!!!

Things are only impossible until they're not. ~Jean Luc Picard


I want to begin by wishing everyone the very best of luck as we begin this first full day of selling! I know that for many of us this is the first time we have picked up our demo bags in several months.  Some of us may have something to prove with this push.  And all of us are in the position- we need to not NOT hit this trip!! I can speak from the perspective of somebody who has hit this trip before, and I know how amazing it is.  But I am equally terrified of what I would do, and how I would feel if I didn't hit it this year! Sometimes during pushes it feels like we are working towards and impossible goal.   When you are having a day that feels impossible, I encourage you to remember Jean Luc Picard's famous quote.  Just because you haven't done it before does not mean it cannot be done.  It simply means you have to seize the opportunity to make it possible! Have an amazing first full day of opportunity and let's make this trip possible!

Some of our worst days, are some people's best days.

Merry Christmas everyone!
As a tradition, my family and I always have Christmas brunch and sit around our table to mention what went well in the past year and a few things that we were thankful for.

This year, we invited our family friends to join us. Out of the three families, one mom just got diagnosed with Stage II cancer, the only child from the second family just recovered from back surgery, and in the third family, the father had just lost his job and their family was hanging on with their mother's part time substitute teaching salary.
(Don't worry, I'm not trying to ruin your Christmas spirits by sharing these stories)
Meeting with my family friends made realize how much I had to be thankful for...the opportunity I have to be in school, be healthy, be a Manager to earn great resume experience to benefit my future, etc.

"Some of our worst days, are some people's best days."

It's all perspective isn't it? We could complain all we want about having to come for training, making calls, driving to demos...but some people would dream to have an opportunity to have a job, be able to learn a company's training seminar, have a car, etc. The closest most people would get to running a business would be in their wildest dreams...and we have that opportunity to fulfill those dreams this coming summer! But it's going to take sacrifices, hardships, struggles, just like everything else.

Even as management candidates, we have so much to be thankful for.
Just remember, next time you're having a "bad day," the challenges you have to go through is someone else's dream.

Happy Holidays :)

I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become. ~Oprah


Happy Holidays to everybody, and for those of you who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas Eve :)

I just want to leave a short post for your reflection during the day.  This holiday season, what are you most excited for? What are you most looking forward to being a part of?  What are your plans?  Are you excited to see family, be with friends, go to a service of some sort, just hang out and relax?  Whatever your plans for the holidays, this is one of my favorite quotes (we've been keeping these posts anonymous, but if it's any clue at all, I'm the one with all the Oprah quotes....).  The holidays are NOT time to be thinking about Cutco.  They are time, however, to be who you are, celebrate what you want to celebrate, and reflect on those things that mean the most to you.  And just maybe, take a moment to look back on who you are and who you have become and where you are now going as a result of the past year, and just remember this quote.  What we dwell on is who we become and I feel certain that we can control what we dwell on in the year to come.  Have a wonderful holiday!

Keys to Victory

Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.


Prep is just around the corner, and school is wrapping up, and let's face it- most of us are stressed!  But this is also when we are testing ourselves and feeling the growth.  It takes more than talent to be capable of growing.  In fact, if there is one thing we've learned, it's that talent has very little if anything to do with being able to go.  It's all about what you can handle and what you can take.  Sometimes it's just a matter of how much you can take on and handle that are the reasons you succeed.  Sometimes when we are stressed and have a ton to do, it's about mental toughness and concentration- these are the things that truly bring us to the end and help us toward victory.  Think about the habits you are forming now, taking on more than you ever have before, and what that can do to create a victorious summer! Trust us, these two skills will be the margin of victory for you this summer!

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

"At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you." 

As much as I love that quote, I somewhat disagree. I think some people buy into that saying and think that things will fall into their laps if they are willing to make the initial decision. However, even if you've submitted your letter of intent, verbally made a decision, mentally prepared, progress will not be made unless you take the steps to commit. Interviews and training won't be learned on its own, no one will hand you the keys to success, personal growth will not happen by mere luck.

If you are willing to prepare, put in the hard work, there are so many people willing to reach out and help you. You have to reach out first for the universe to really "assist" you!

The Real Risk...

Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive- the risk to be alive and express what we really are.


When I think about the fear and risk, I think about people who I feel are brave.  Think about the classic examples- Rosa Parks, Reggie Jackson, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Ellen Degeneres, John Lennon, and Oprah.  All of these people have taken huge risks to be themselves.  To me, these risks are what make them brave.  But think about how scary those risks are.  It really is scary to take the risk to be who we are.  I think about movies that express that theme- Rent, The Blind Side, Remember the Titans.  It's a common theme, and it is something that we grapple with on a regular basis.  But then look at the possible reward!  Think about the final product when we do step out on a limb and take those risks to be ourselves and be alive.  So what is going to be your motivation?  What is going to be your reason to embrace who you are and be your wonderful individual self?  Comment if you can see why this is so important to our business!!

This is the time

"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere."  

Mentally fast forward 5-6 weeks from now. You are at Year-End-Banquet. Your "death zone" is over.
What would your experience have been? Would you have really overcome the challenges and obstacles that crossed your path? Would there have been a roadblock that you had to dance around? Would you have looked at adversity right in the eye and embraced it? Or would you have had a straight, easy path where you moved through the motions? 
Understand that you are in control of your actions right now. There is no rewind button to press when you're at YEB or in front of your office turning the keys to your door. 

Act now, your time is now.

Let's Make this a Little Easier...

It is easier to do a job right then to explain why you didn't.


It is such a simple thought, but have you ever really thought about that before?  Have you ever thought about how much easier it is to do something right the first time then to explain yourself later for why you didn't?  I know this time is all about expanding our capacities and growing ourselves, but I'm pretty sure everyone would agree that if there is one area that should be as simple as possible, it is this!  I like to think about where I am going and what I am working towards for the summer.  My vision of what my team and my office will be like and what I want to create.  And then I think about what I need to do correctly now to create that.  This quote challenged me to think about how my summer would be different if I didn't go through the growth zone and management training the right way, and did things incorrectly (you know what that includes...), and how much harder it would be to make that vision a reality!! I know that this time is about pushing ourselves, but make this part easy! Think about what you want to achieve and what you want to create, and how much easier it will be if you just do it right this time!

"Success is often a result of good decisions; Good decisions are often a result of experience. Experience is often a result of bad decisions, so get excited whenever you make a bad decision & learn from it & grow because that will lead to your success." -Jon Vroman

I think a lot of the time, we tip-toe around to make sure that we're doing everything right. We're so cautious to make sure that we're doing all the right things that we're too cautious. We're afraid to make mistakes in fear of what others may think, or in fear of misrepresenting ourselves the wrong, negative way. Don't necessarily celebrate when making mistakes, but realize that you're learning and growing during the process. Dive into action without hesitation...try different things out! As Albert Einstein has stated, every time you "fail," you are learning a new method of what not to do in the future.

Dreams

There are those who dream and wish, and there are those who dream and work.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVl8tj3Wf58


When was the last time you thought about your dreams?  Was it when you were 5 years old, or 10 years old, or was it just the other day?  Dreams are so incredibly powerful and they have the potential to motivate us against all odds and more than anything else.  But even dreams cannot make us wake up in the morning and do the difficult tasks.  That takes the decision to commit and work towards our dreams.  You have probably seen this video before, but take a look at it again.  We should ALWAYS take time to dream.  Because in dreaming, we will find our most powerful motivations and we can then make the change from wishing, to working for those dreams to come true!  So, why are you doing this? What are you working towards?  What do you ultimately wish to accomplish by working hard?  You will work with much more purpose when you have a dream to achieve!

Just keep moving

"Even if you're on the right track, you can still get run over if you just sit there." 

Think back to your first day in training. You successfully completed the training seminar, your first weekend, your faststart, your first representative summer. You stood out as a representative and was then invited into our extraordinary management program. From there on, after attending weekly management training Monday meetings, monthly Preps, you were invited to visit our factory in Olean. After getting PR's, you are about to witness one of our best January programs yet, then be rewarded by going on a company trip to Mexico at the bare age of 18, 19, 20, 21. Think about all you've accomplished so far...feels good, doesn't it?! You've accomplished so much thus far. You've done what others wouldn't to get to where you are now. However, if you do not utilize your accomplishments or make continuous progress, it's easy to metaphorically get "run over." Use your success to your advantage!

Leaving No Doubt

A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory. ~Arthur Golden

Doubt can cripple us.  When I think of doubt I automatically think of fear, and how like fear, when we become consumed by doubt it is nearly impossible to move forward.  However, doubt seems to be the more prevalent cousin to fear.  It can feel, at times, that doubt is all around us.  Just think of the nay-sayers who questioned you when you told them about your job, or when you told them about management.  The "Is it even possible for a 20-year-old to run a business?" people seem to be all around.

So why all of this, what may seem negative commentary?  It's supposed to be a positive post right?  Well from what I can tell, where we are right now exists to disprove doubt.  Look at what you are doing right now.  Right this moment you are reading a quick post meant to motivate.  You are taking control of your mind set for the day and choosing to empower yourself.  Right now you may be in the midst of the "Death Zone", taking on final exams, learning training, becoming more involved in your office- doing more in these couple weeks than some of your friends may do in the entire year!  We are taking on more than we have ever felt comfortable doing, for the purpose of dispelling doubt.  And maybe for some of us we are trying to prove to ourselves that we can handle this too.  Maybe some of this is to dispel that lingering doubt in the back of our minds that this idea of a college student running a business might be a little bit crazy....

But guess what, it is crazy!  I think about what Jeff Gamboa said in Olean- this is absolutely crazy what we are being trained to do, and it doesn't make sense.  But guess what else, that doubt is only going to hold us back from becoming champions.  The road to victory will have challenges, but think about how much more effectively you might deal with them if you didn't have to manage your doubt as well!

Today I encourage everybody to think for  a couple of moments- what do you have to lose by eliminating doubt? And then think, what might you have to gain by just throwing away doubt?

Making small daily improvements

I don't think it's a secret that procrastination isn't necessarily the most effective tool to learning something. As I'm preparing for my finals, I cannot help but to realize that I am sadly falling into slight habits of procrastination as I'm cramming facts about physiological psychology, trying to remember the different parts of the brain for my abnormal psychology class, looking back on the insights of different philosophers, etc. Needless to say, because of my tendencies to slack off a bit towards the end of the semester, I am definitely feeling the mental crunch, while still attempting to earn the A's on the exams. And yes, as I knew I would, I'm having some feelings of regret for not starting to study my material sooner or paying closer attention as the professor was lecturing the past two weeks. (Can anyone relate?)

I recently heard a quote that "small daily improvements lead to stunning results over time." This quote reminds me a lot about management training. I can relate with you that it's easy to push things back and think to yourself, "I'll practice this part of the interview tomorrow...I'll script the Intro talk next week when I have some "more free time," I'll do my morning phone time on Wednesday after my exam. How easy it is to catch ourselves pushing things back...

One day will turn into two, two days will turn into one week, and one week will turn into one month. Before you know it, you're about to open your OWN OFFICE and you're frantically running around trying to script training! (Hopefully that will not happen to any of you reading this because I'll spark some sort of inspiration for you to get things done sooner...)

From experience, I will tell you that it is easier to take those small daily steps. In the long run, those seemingly small steps will lead to stunning results. The person who is hungry for daily growth- whether it's practicing the interview for 20 minutes every day, scripting 30 minutes of training every other day, getting an extra PR in, sending out a classroom PR e-mail, will reap the benefits tenfold than someone who does everything last minute.  I'm not encouraging you to overwhelm yourself by doing something you feel you cannot handle, but to doing something every day is essential. Bruce Goodman has said that every action is rewarded... trying, movement, doing SOMETHING is rewarded. 

What SMALL steps can you take to grow a little bit today? 

Can you go to bed tonight feeling that you've accomplished something? 

Day 2

Every one of us gets through the tough times because somebody is there, standing in the gap to close it for us. ~Oprah Winfrey

I hope everybody is as excited as I am to count down the weeks until break and the push begins! I love this quote because it speaks to the nature of our business. We are never left to figure out what do by ourselves, there are always several people available in our networks eager to help us through those tough times.  We are a business built on filling in those gaps for others and reaching out for support when we know we need it.  Reach out to somebody when you feel stressed or overwhelmed, we are here to fill in those gaps!

Hello DC Metro Impact! The purpose of this blog is to provide some guidance through the "death zone"...or as we like to call it, the "GROWTH zone!" We hope to be able to provide you with a bit of positive motivation through some quick daily thoughts that you could read in between classes, beginning of the day, or at the end of the day.We will be updating it every morning as a positive outlet to help keep you in a good mental place; we're hoping to alleviate some of your emotional or mental pain. We're excited to witness everyone's personal growth through this process and to see the outcome that our "growth zones" will bring each and every one of us.


-Jess & Lauren