Pick More Daisies

She who laughs, lasts. ~Mary Pettibone Poole

How true is this? How much are you laughing in your life? How much do you smile every day? How much joy and laughter do you spread? When people think of you would they say you are happy?

This is a little story to remember to always choose happiness and laughter...

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When the late Nadine Stair of Louisville, Kentucky, was 85 years old, she was asked what she would do if she had her life to live over again.

"I'd make more mistakes next time," she said. "I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been on this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

"You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, and a raincoat. If I had to do it over again, I would travel lighter than I have.

"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds and I would pick more daisies."

It's A Quote Day - Be Inspired!

It's a quote day today. Here are some good ones for inspiration about the beauty and strength of women!

I discovered I always have choices... and sometimes it is a choice of attitude. ~Judith M. Knowlton

Joy is prayer - Joy is strength - Joy is love - Joy is a net a love by which you can catch men's souls. ~Mother Teresa

Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you are doing better than you have done before. ~Bonnie Blair

Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself. You may be surprised at how easily this happens. Your doubts are not as powerful as your desires, unless you make them so. ~Marcia Weider

One day at a time - that is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone. And do not be troubled about the future for it has not come yet. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering. ~Ida Scott Taylor

A Box Of Kisses

(I wish I knew the author of this story! I love it... I cry every time...)

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty.

He yelled at her, "Don't you know that when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside it?"

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,"Oh, Daddy, it is not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
It is told that the man kept that gold box by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us as humans have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, friends, family and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

Work, Life Balance: Make Extra Money

Okay, let's just get really honest. We all want to make extra money. Who doesn't right? We need to make extra money so our kids can take piano lessons, so we can take that cruise, buy the furniture we want, get the boat, pay for our house faster, spend more time with our family... There are so many reasons to make extra money.

However, is it right to focus on making extra money? Is making money a bad thing? There are so many people I hear talking about how rich people must have 'robbed' someone or if our hearts are set on money then we are not focusing on what is 'right' in our lives.

Well, I want to have a little debate about that. I don't believe money is a bad thing. I also don't believe that wanting extra money is bad. Earning money is a good thing... it all depends on your MOTIVATION for doing so.

Money is simply a tool of production. Without it because of the world we live in, we simply don't have as much to exchange in the market place.

Are you in a place in your life that you NEED to earn extra money to survive, but you don't know where to start? Well, here are my 5 suggestions of where to look if you are searching for extra money, but have no idea have to move forward:

1. Start with your mindset: During these hard economic times, there is too much focus on 'not enough'. Living abundantly means being abundant is all areas of your life, not just finances.

continue with the article here By Andrea Palmer

WELCOME BACK TO 5000MOMS!

5000moms has been in the midst of working on backend technology for the site during the summer months, and as moms- we also balanced the project with summer time fun. We hope that you all had a great summer and are looking forward to the fall.

Each month at 5000moms we will have a new theme. Each of our blog writers- Home, Body, Soul and Business- will write from their perspective on the theme. We at 5000moms feel really strongly that together we can help you Achieve a Balanced Life, Invest in your Wellness and Become Financially Free.

You will be hearing from our CEO- Andrea Palmer in the next few days to introduce our Theme for the month of September. And as always, we welcome your feedback.

Please stop by our new site and check out our most current articles.

Shawna Fillmore
Marketing Director
5000moms.com

Inner Peace when Saying NO to an Oprah Talk Show

Recently one of my friends suggested I send in an audition tape to Oprah for her search for the next Oprah. She thought with 5000momsand who I am - having my own talk show would be a perfect fit. Hosting my own talk show has always been on my “dream list”. When Oprah announced her campaign, it did make me pause and consider the possibilities. As I mulled the idea around in my brain I thought through the details. How would it work? What would I offer the world that is new or different from all the other Oprah hopefuls? What about my family life and kids? As my brain strategized, I could already feel the answer in my heart. My brain could work out the details but my heart said NO. I sat for a minute thinking about the first day my show would go live. Heart says “not the right season”. I want afternoons to swing in the backyard with my daughter and late nights of trying to understand my teenage son. I want quiet days in my pjs writing a blog post for 5000moms and overnighters with my husband. I am sure fancy calendaring would allow for those things to happen and have the stardom of a television career – but for now I want more quiet and less air time.

Audition information from Oprah

When making decisions, I have learned that I need to pause and take a moment to hear what my heart is saying not just what my brain is thinking. When I can’t seem to feel the answer, I take it to Quiet Time. I use prayer, staying quiet and still so I can know the answer and maybe see the bigger picture that God has created. He can direct us because he sees all the planes in the air. He is in the control tower directing our path if we let him. It is during this process we avoid inflight crashes and unneccessary detours. Trusting Him means I will peridoically delay landing because of incliment weather or because another plane is ahead of me. Trusting that His timing is always better than I can dream is what I define as faith.

I love the classic country song from Garth Brooks. “Sometimes I thank God For- (finish the article here by Soul Essentials Director, Ganel-Lyn Condie.

Why We Require Supplements

To be healthy, strong and maintain a sense of vibrancy and energy throughout our lives, our bodies require a broad range of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other micronutrients. We can obtain most of the nutrients we need from a well-balanced diet, but not at the optimal levels now shown to promote health over the long term.

Add that to poor eating habits, meals on the run, fast food restaurants and processed foods which further depletes their nutritional value, and we are left with meals devoid of nutritional value. Plus, we are exposed to a hundred more toxins than our parents did. Even with a well-balanced diet, it is difficult to reach the advanced levels of nutrients that has been shown to promote optimal health.

Nutritional supplements are like a little insurance to maintain and enhance your optimal level of health. However, please understand that all supplements are not created equally. You could go to a local store and pick up a bottle of vitamins thinking you are getting something that will improve your health and overall wellbeing.

But how much do you know about what you are taking? How well will it be absorbed in your body? What type of quality exists in each pill? Is the vitamin designed to prevent nutritional deficiency diseases, such as Rickets? Or is it actually going to help you achieve the optimal level of health?

Why Usana

USANA is a word that translates to mean “True Health”. USANA Health Science products are built on solid science and committed to staying abreast on all current trends and discoveries. Dr. Myron Wentz founded USANA Health Sciences when it became apparent that the nutritional requirements of the human body were not being met in modern society.

To help your entire family be healthy and energetic throughout life, USANA has developed an Essentials product for each

At Home Business Success with 5000moms

As a founding team member of 5000moms, and the marketing director, I am very passionate about the marketing tool that 5000moms is. I love the demographic, I love the team I work with, I believe that when good women around the world unite together in a common purpose that is real power. And I knew that together we could help to facilitate change for women in their personal lives that would allow them a window to make a difference in their financial lives. But I was also possibly the most apprehensive about our corporate alliance- USANA Health Sciences.

My professional background is in corporate marketing and sales. I am drawn to high-energy, fast paced environments and thrived on the media sales and marketing energy. But after 10 years, it became a huge drain on what I felt was truly where my heart was. My hearts desires and my professional life were competing with each other My heart was with my family, my children, my home, but I didn’t want to loose that energy and creativity that I felt when I was working. Shortly after I left the corporate world to stay at home with my second child, I quickly found like-minded women who were starting a magazine for women. I quickly jumped on board and two years later, depleted and exhausted, I took a year to just be. I wondered why after all these years my desire to stay at home and be with my children,I jumped into an emotionally and physically exhausting start up magazine. While I learned a lot, it was a hard lesson on me and my family. A year after my – what I like to call- ‘Ashram year’, I was approached by my dear friend whom I’d worked with on the magazine to consider a network marketing venture with her. Not only did I say no. . . I was mad that she even would ask! Me. . network marketing. . .it just wasn’t even a consideration. As I listened to my dear friend say- “we can create our own marketing tool. . . “, we could apply all the tools that we learned at the magazine to help women feel connected to each other and we could do that virtually. .. although we didn’t have the know how in this area, it was a conversation I was willing to have. After about 2 months, a 15 year veteran and very successful USANA Diamond director began to unite a team of women across the country. The project manager of 5000moms- Andrea Palmer had the vision and leadership skills to help unite us as a team, and direct us in how to organize and create this amazing tool. I was SOLD on that idea, but had to be open to the idea of our corporate alliance many months before I was actually convinced that it was the best tool for us.

I was standing in my kitchen doing my dishes and it HIT me- I actually looked around to see if there was someone I could tell my story too, I picked up the phone to call a few girl friends, no one was around. Ok, I thought, this moment is just for me. This is what I came to realize that day.

1. Our corporate alliance USANA Health Sciences provides. . .

The Law of Generosity

Every new mom knows what it feels like to give and give a little more. It is the stage of no sleep and feedings. It is a season. All seasons change and they grow up. The giving of yourself to a baby, that can’t give much back to you, creates a magical bond that carries you both through the ups and downs of those teenage years.

This concept is what I like to call the law of generosity. Simply stated, you can’t keep what you don’t give away.

Elbert Hubbard, ”Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.”

I don’t think that the law of generosity only applies to the currency of love. If we think about time, money or talents they also will increase in capacity as we share them. When we break a law the opposite is also true. Hold tight and hide away your love and talents they seem to shrivel and disappear. Our hearts seem to increase in size with the addition of a new baby and thus our capacity to love multiplies. The same principle will apply to our time and money?

Read the rest of the post by Soul Essentials Director- Ganel-Lyn Condie here.

Putting Yourself in the Clearance Bin

I bought a book a while ago for $19.97, read it and received huge value from it.

The other day I was in the book store and saw that same book in the “Clearance Bin” for only $5.

It was weird because seeing this book on sale, I felt cheapened my experience that previously had been so valuable.

It made me realize that part of the way we value experiences in life is through the cost associated with a product or service.

When we get things for a “discount” or “on clearance” we tend to value it less.

What do you do in life or business that devalues yourself or your service?

How do you put yourself in the Clearance Bin?

Maybe it is not following through with what you say, not respecting your time or health. Maybe it is discounting your product or service for a potential client that says they “don’t have the money.” Possibly even doing things that you don’t believe in or not speaking how you truly feel in a situation.

Whatever it is, determine what you value the most and the value of what you have and consider what it would take to keep yourself selling at “full price.”

Jeffrey St.Laurent

Body Essentials Contributor

(Husband to the Body Essentials Expert!)

TrueYouNow.com

Jeffrey St. Laurent