Happy MK New Year!!

Well, I guess most of us in MK Land realize our fiscal year ended June 30th @ 12:00 central time. All yearly items we track, return to zero - so it is time to start anew. A suggestion I have is not to just set another goal and dive forward in to it but to look at what you wanted to achieve last year, did you achieve it? Were you close to it? Did you track your progress through out the year or did you wait until the last minute and try to make up the better part of the year?

Whether or not you achieved the complete goal or not is not as important as if you consistently worked towards it. Goals are to have you looking forward - to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Ultimately having a goal and working towards it, will get you farther than working without a goal. It is just highly important to evaluate your actions and your results so that adjustments can be made if you have not chosen the best route to attain your goal. Goals are not evil. There is no shame in not achieving a goal as long as you put forth the effort.

When setting a goal, you want to make yourself stretch and grow if one sets a goal they know is "easy" to do, it really isn't a goal and no growth will be had. It is also wise to have a "larger" goal but have smaller ones as markers along the way, a way of tracking your journey. Looking like you achieved your goal and actually achieving it are not the same thing. Putting forth your best efforts but falling short of your goal is still something to stand tall and hold your head high about. Accepting praise for a goal you know did not actually obtain is going to result in a loss of self respect and self esteem. Which in turn will begin a downward spiral.

I set some big goals this year, I am pleased to have accomplished 2 out of the 3 of them. I would have been happier to have attained all three but .. hey.. I gave it a respectable try and faking it or buying it doesn't mean the goal was achieved. Had I not had any goals, I can assure you, I wouldn't have accomplished what I did.

I often explain to my unit that a large goal and smaller goals to measure progress are much like any of us going on a trip. If I wanted to go to Disney World and lived in Texas... I wouldn't jump in my car and just start driving (unless I had onstar, which I do, lol). I would have a plan, I would have a map, and I would have a route that I planned on taking to get there. Without these tools, I would aimlessly drive around and the chances are I would never make it to my destination. And that is kind of what Mary Kay (or just about anything in life) is like without a goal.

So I encourage everyone to set a goal - don't worry about how it compares to other's goals, make it your goal and then work towards it. Liken the smaller goals to rest stops or gas stations that you would have on your trip to Disney World.

I would love to hear from some of you on what your Mary Kay goal is.. but I also encourage you to work with goals in other areas of your life. I will share that my goal this year is Triple Star - that would be Court of Sales, Court of Sharing, and Unit Club.

In closing, always remember that "wishing" isn't going to make it happen - "working" will. Have a Great Day!

Something to thing About...

Love these!

"Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it." - Lou Holtz (In case you don't know he was the football coach for Notre Dame).

“It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful.” ~Amberella Anton LaVey

"When you realize you've made a mistake, make amends immediately. It's easier to eat crow while it's still warm." ~Dan Heist

The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time. ~Joe Girard

Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure. ~Earl Wilson

Choices

Some people sit – some people try;
Some people laugh – some people cry;
Some people will – some people won’t;
Some people do – some people don’t.
Some people believe and develop a plan;
Some people doubt – never think that they can;
Some people face hurdles and give it their best;
Some people back down when faced with a test.
Some people complain of their miserable lot;
Some people are thankful for all that they’ve got;
And when it’s all over — when it comes to an end —
Some people lose out and some people win.
We all have a choice — we all have a say;
We are spectators in life or we get in and play;
Whichever we choose — how we handle life’s game;
The choices are ours — no one else is to blame.

Quote of the Week

The only place that Success comes Before Work is in the Dictionary!

Inspirational - Lemons/Lemonade = A Winner

BEIXIAOYING TOWN, China (AP) -- Natalie du Toit pulled herself onto the dock and waited for someone to bring her prosthetic leg. She stretched out the other leg -- the one she didn't lose in that horrendous motorcycle accident -- and chatted with an official about the first open water race in Olympic history.
Du Toit didn't finish where she wanted. Not even close.
But just making it to Beijing was a huge victory for anyone who's ever faced a disability.
Hoping to contend for a medal, the 24-year-old South African amputee fell off the pace toward the end of the grueling 6.2-mile race and finished 16th on Wednesday, more than a minute behind gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko of Russia.
"I tried my best," du Toit said. "I'm not too happy with it, but I'll be back for 2012."
Don't bet against her.
When she walked out with 24 other swimmers to be introduced for the groundbreaking event, it was quickly apparent she wasn't like any of them.
Du Toit hobbled along stiffly on her artificial leg, No. 23 written on her back and both arms. While others bounced up and down to loosen up, she settled for shaking her arms. A couple of times, she walked over to the edge to splash water on her face and goggles, leaning over tenuously with the wooden prosthetic sticking out to the side, keeping her from falling over.
When it was time to race, she walked slowly onto the dock and removed her replacement leg. Someone moved it to the side, and du Toit sat at the edge of the water, her right leg dangling in. When the starter called for everyone to get ready, she pulled herself up, wobbled just a bit and dove in.
She was an Olympian.
"My message isn't just to disabled people," du Toit said. "It's to everyone out there that you have to work hard. I've been through a lot of ups and downs ... but I've seen a lot of good things along the way. I was able to use the negativism in a good light and say after my accident, 'I can still do it if I work hard.'
"You have to set dreams, set goals and never give up."
Du Toit, who carried the South African flag in the Opening Ceremony, hung with the lead pack much of the race, but she had a problem with her cap and couldn't keep up when the pace quickened toward the end of the two-hour ordeal. She finished 1 minute, 22.2 seconds behind Ilchenko, who out-sprinted two British swimmers who led most of the way.
Then again, du Toit's time of 2 hours, 49.9 seconds put her ahead of nine others, including 16-year-old American Chloe Sutton, who broke down in tears after finishing, every part of her body cramping and aching.
"I was swimming next to her and she beat me -- and she has one leg," Sutton said. "It's incredible she was able to do that."
Du Toit was an up-and-coming swimmer who just missed qualifying for the 2000 Sydney Games when her life took a tragic turn in 2001. Returning to school on a motorbike after a training session, she collided with a car and sustained massive injuries to her left leg. Doctors tried for a week to save it but finally had to amputate at the knee.
Instead of giving up on her athletic career, du Toit was back in the water six months later. Swimming made her feel whole again, though she wasn't competitive with able-bodied athletes in the pool, where the legs are vital for starts and turns.
Along came open water, which was added to the program for Beijing. There are no flip turns to negotiate in marathon swimming, which is usually held in lakes and oceans, and the upper body is more important than the legs.
"When I take my leg off and I'm completely free in the water," du Toit said, "that's who I am."
She had found her new calling. Du Toit qualified for the Olympics with a fourth-place finish at the World Championships in Spain this year.
"I find it hard, and I'm a completely able-bodied person," said Cassandra Patten, who won bronze in the race held at the Olympic rowing and canoeing course. "She's an amazing role model."
The race didn't go according to plan. Du Toit caught her skintight cap on a buoy and spent much of the time fiddling with it, trying make sure it didn't fall off.
With the cap occupying her attention, she kept skipping the drink stops along the course and wound up getting dehydrated. By the end, her leg was cramping and searing pain ripped through her bulky arms.
"I couldn't even get out of the water," du Toit said. "That showed I gave my best."
After bobbing on the surface in the finish area for a few seconds, she finally hoisted herself onto the deck. The official came over with her artificial leg, which was stuffed with the T-shirt du Toit wore out for the start. She pulled it out, slipped on the prosthesis and walked slowly toward dry land.
Du Toit has put herself out there for everybody to see, and she's eager to share her story.
"Sometimes you feel a bit awkward kind of asking, but she told me everything. She told me about the accident, what happened, the rehab," Patten said. "She's got such courage. Everyone's insecure, everyone has insecurities. To kind of put that in show and be totally fine with that is totally amazing. I'm going to go and give her a big cuddle."
Du Toit was not the first disabled athlete to compete at the Olympics, or even in Beijing. Natalia Partyka, who was born with a right arm that ends just below the elbow, made the Polish team in table tennis.
Both will remain in Beijing after these Games to compete in the Paralympics. Du Toit will be looking to match the five gold medals she won in Athens four years ago.
No disabled Olympian was more successful than American gymnast George Eyser, who won three golds and five medals overall while competing on a wooden leg at the 1904 St. Louis Games. His left leg was amputated after a train accident.
Still, it's quite unusual for someone with a major disability to compete at this level, especially in a sport such as swimming where the legs provide so much power.
Ilchenko praised du Toit for not letting her disability hold her back. She was right in there battling with everyone else in a race that's often called wrestling in the water for its rough tactics.
"I'd even go so far as to award her a separate medal," the winner said through a translator. "I have enormous respect for her. It is exceedingly hard. Just looking at these people inspires you."
Du Toit did receive a special gift from officials at the rowing basin: a traditional Chinese drawing encased in a wooden box. She doesn't want to be treated any different, however.
"I worked hard to get here," she said. "I want to do everything on merit. This is not just a free ride."
Du Toit didn't get a free ride Wednesday.
She was an Olympian, just like everyone else.

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I thought this was a very inspiring story. But as I read, I picked up on so many of the “things” we are taught in MK that pt want to poopoo on. Life is how you look at it and what you make it, and you must love, love, love this line:
I was able to use the negativism in a good light and say after my accident, 'I can still do it if I work hard.'

There is a major difference between not being negative and being a polly ana – but it is how you handle the negative that decides the quality of your character.

I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did and now I want to go do something BIG today!

Inspiration

My first post is going to be a little different, I really am excited to put together some original ones but it has been a very busy (but fun) week. I happened to read this and found it to be quite powerful and thought I would like to share it in light of all the "interesting" things we have been reading that people will do (or won't do) because of pressure or manipulation. I won't make every post inspirational or deep, but this one spoke volumes and felt it was worth sharing.


A matter of choice:
Immaturity is thinking that you have all the answers. Wisdom is knowing that you don't.
Weakness is wanting to control everything around you. Strength is gracefully accepting and valuing what is.
Insecurity is the constant, gnawing desire to have more and more. Confidence is knowing that you already are enough.
Failure is thinking that you can advance yourself by pushing others down. Success is understanding that the more you lift others up, the more you'll be lifted yourself.
Despair is committing yourself to shallow, superficial things that too soon will wither and die. Joy is filling your world and your life with the things that truly matter.
Every moment, you are fully capable of living with wisdom, strength, confidence, success and joy. It's not a matter of chance, but always a matter of choice.
And you can make the choices now that will surely take you there.
-- Ralph Marston