Difference Maker!

Difference Maker!

This week’s difference maker is all about you! All of you are difference makers. With that being said, we hold an extraordinary responsibility to ourselves and everyone around us. No matter who you are, you can lift people around you or bring them down.
 
You can be the poison in your workspace, spreading seeds of dissatisfaction to create unhappiness and disruption, or you can be the leader, the problem solver. Or you can just move on.
 
In your relationships with your spouse, siblings, extended family, children, and friends, you could be the person who feels the room with laughter or tension. Even when you are not the creator, you can be the person to inspire and support others’ creations.
 
When you meet a stranger, a server, an, accountant, teacher, client, attorney, pretty much everyone you experience on a day-to-day basis, how you look and talk to them matters.
 
I had two notable experiences with people: one a stranger and one I’ve known for a few years. I have recently decided to start my own brokerage. This decision did not come from any dramatic event or disdain towards my former employer. It was a slow realization that they didn’t know how to work with a managing broker. I found myself wanting the freedom to succeed or fail without the weight of burdening others. In retrospect, I think we were all just holding back our truest intentions. I felt a lot like a third wife being brought into a tight knit family… it ain’t easy!
 
Anyway, a person who I just met asked me what was wrong. I guess my face was showing my feelings (horrible, guilty, and a little scared). I reiterated pretty much all the above. Her response was beautiful and exactly what I needed to hear. She said, you’re feeling this way because you’re a good person. You care about what you do and who you do it for. I’m sure you will be great at whatever you do, and if not, you’re a big girl and will start over again.
 
The other conversation did not go as well. This person, who I have never shown inner weakness said “wow that’s a lot!  Are you sure you can handle it?”
 
I understand that she could have been projecting her own emotions.  She may have just been stating how she would feel if she were in my shoes. Or she could just legitimately not believe in me. Either way, not cool.

AND THAT’S MY POINT!

Don’t be that person, the difference maker who stops progression, action, or positive vibes. Always take the opportunity to be the difference maker in the right way. Be part of the creation without being the creator. This can be achieved with a casual conversation, a smile, a compliment, words of encouragement, whatever!
 
I’m not saying you need to be “on” all the time, and I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be honest with people or ask questions. But please keep in mind that it’s how you project the who’s, the what’s, why’s and how’s that matter when communicating with people.
 
So today, tomorrow and the next day, start paying more attention to how you talk with everyone around. If you find yourself not being the right kind of difference maker, don’t beat yourself up about it. It doesn’t make you a bad person, but please acknowledge it and vow to make change. If you find yourself being the right kind… keep it up! And most likely you played that role in my life, so THANK YOU from every part of my being.

Evergreen and Everlasting!

Evergreen and Everlasting!

Evergreen and Everlasting is not about highs and lows. It is a constant, steadfast line of interest that you can count on always being pertinent in your marketing strategy.
 
So, what’s not evergreen? Here are some examples:
 

  • Holiday videos
  • Birthday celebrations
  • Anniversaries
  • Promotions
  • Announcements

 
I mention this because we all tend to have knee jerk reactions at the start of a new venture or when business is down.  Don’t fall for the dangling carrot!  These reactions tend to be costly. Like spending an exorbitant amount of dollars to produce and promote a Christmas video…
 
Don’t do it!
 
Pause.
 
Take a moment to reassess.  Reflect on what works and what’s not working. No matter your business, your mission, or your cause, you need to have content that will always be a helpful resource to your audience.
 
Social media marketing is like running a marathon, or getting married. You must be committed and be in it for the long haul. Only posting trends, current sales, or holiday videos is like running a 5K or taking home a one night stand.  High impact results, then we move on.

Edible Fact!

Edible Fact!

Words!
 
That’s right, words.
 
If you affirm a specific word mantra, you should wear it, tattoo it, make it accessible to your daily life. Some people do this through repeating affirmations, connecting a string of words together reminding themselves who they are or who they’d like to become. Other people do this through prayer.
 
It is proven that the words we choose to describe ourselves create our reality. Daily affirmations can change negative beliefs we have about ourselves or propel forward toward a goal we wish to achieve. Affirmations can raise your confidence, improve your productivity, and influence you to create new beliefs.
 
You can have these words memorized, be extemporaneous with them, or read them. But for affirmations to truly make change, you must be committed and consistent.
 
If you, like me, find value in daily affirmations, I highly recommend The Little Words Project. Founder and CEO Andriana Carig didn’t just want to sell a jewelry line, she wanted to create a community. Her goal is to create a huge positive impact with simple truths. I wear her bracelets with words such as Fearless and Badass daily. I wear them because quite honestly once or twice a day is not enough for me.  I want to reflect on my goals and my principles every time I see my wrist.
 
This motivational word jewelry is sold at Ivory and Birch. We have absolutely no skin in the game to advertise for The Little Words Project or Ivory and Birch, but at Dandelion we are all about spreading the love.

https://www.shopivoryandbirch.com/jewelry/bracelets/

Sun or Shade?

Sun or Shade?

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m obsessed with Glen Doyle’s podcast, “We Can Do Hard Things.” Her latest podcast featured an amazing woman, Dr. Galit Atlas. Dr. Atlas is an expert in relational psychoanalysis. An author, teacher, lecturer, recipient of the Andre Francois Award and the NADTA Research Award, Dr. Gailt’s latest book explores Emotional Inheritance.
 
The premise of Dr. Atlas’ podcast is that humans are not, in fact, born a blank slate. Instead, she asserts that we carry with us the unspoken history of our ancestors. In other words, we carry genetic remnants of our ancestors who lived through famines, the Holocaust, and slavery. I had no clue that this was even a possibility!
 
The discussion further explored how children are born with the inherent secrets that we have carried with us, knowingly or unknowingly, for generations. This worried me. I began thinking of my own secrets and how they have impacted my children. I felt like I screwed them up before they even had a chance.
 
My mother lost her teenage brother during a game of baseball.  I started thinking about how her loss impacted me. My mom has always been an advocate of me playing sports, even baseball. However, I had this internal fear of the game of baseball. When my kids played America’s favorite sport, I was petrified watching bats swing around.  I was terrified at balls flying toward the kids in the outfield who weren’t paying one iota of attention.  And don’t get me started on the wild pitches being hurled toward the batter with plenty of strength, but no real aim. I also think about how neither of my kids play baseball anymore.
 
My thoughts and revelations went on and on…
 
Human beings tend to notice when subconscious ideations suddenly pop to the forefront of our minds.  To illustrate: I was recently scrolling through Facebook, the podcast ruminating in the back of mind, when I saw a post from one of my friends.
 
He talked about how he saw his mother for the first time in over thirty years. He goes on to tell the story of his ancestors who lived in Germany during the reign of Hitler. He details how they barely escaped the Concentrations Camps by hiding in an Indonesian convent until the war was over. He recognized that generations of women in his family were impacted by the pain of their predecessors. Many years later, my friend and his niece have acknowledged this generational cycle and decided to actively step away to begin anew.
 
According to Dr. Gailt, our children are affected by things we say, things we don’t say, and things we aren’t even aware of beginning at birth. How do we handle this information, much less fix the conundrum? I’m still figuring that out. However, recognition is always the first step.