On Grief

Hey everyone,

This last week I lost my sweet Grandma, Peggy Lou. Now that's a Southern name if you've ever heard one, right?

In all fairness, she did frequently remark that I was gonna throw her into a conniption fit, called me Sugar and lived off of sweet tea.

Towards the end of her life, she began to show signs of dementia, then Alzheimer's. Sometimes she joked about it, knowing that the wrong thing came out of her mouth. Other times, she was angry or sad that her brain wasn't working the way she wanted it to.

She loved kids. She raised two of her own, my dad and aunt; taught Sunday School; hugged a kid whenever one walked close enough to her.

She was a sweet, if ornery, lady, and I miss her very much.

I promise I'll get back to my usual happy posts. Today, I just needed to share a little about this wonderful woman.

Lizi

Connecting With Others

I love to talk to people and help people. Often, I come across as very exciting and enthusiastic, because I'm a driven and passionate person. I understand that some people don't like that sort of thing, but even sticklers who prefer an even keel of hidden emotions (I used to act like one, in fact--it's a long story) grudgingly smile at my quirky inner joy.

I think the reason that even people who want to dislike me can come around is because no matter who you are, where you came from, your past circumstances, your current circumstances, I can look past all of those things and listen to you. Really listen. And really care. I can relate to so many different aspects of other people because I've been where so many other people are or are going. I get it, I do.

My vision is to heal a hurting world, one broken heart at a time.

Giving Just Because

I had a goal today: Bless 7 people. That was it. No ulterior motives here. I'm not that kind of person anyway, just ask my husband. Anyway, I had many, many errands to run today and my Granny (my 85 year old American grandmother) had surgery on her femur due to a fall and I wanted to see her too.

My first errand involved the bookstore, where I needed to drop some stuff off and pick some literature up. When I dropped off my old books, the guy behind the counter needed to see my license. I showed it to him and he said, "What do you go by?"

I shrugged. "Elizabeth, Liz, Lizi, Beth, Betty--I've been called many things."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Lizi Ann?"

"That's a first," I said with a smile, walking away to the business section. I found a cool biography for my Grandpa to read while he hung out with my Granny, and a remastered cassette book with like 50 comedians from days gone by for my grandparents to listen to--they don't like the modern smut comedy.

From the loudspeaker, I hear, "Lizi Ann, your order is ready for pick up." I smiled at my new nickname and got my stuff. I walked around some more, browsing, then grabbed what I wanted and checked out.

Right before I touched the bar to push the door open, I remembered that I wanted to bless 7 people. I spun on my heel and walked back over to the bookstore guy who gave me the silly nickname. It's always nerve wracking to put yourself out there, isn't it? I waited until he looked up and then I said, "Hey, I just wanted to let you know I was grabbing this stuff for my grandparents. My grandma just had leg surgery and she isn't eating, so I was getting this stuff to cheer them up. I really appreciated your silly nickname, thank you."

He looked surprised, and said that he always tried to keep stuff light and silly to cheer people up. Now mind you--my husband and I are in there all the time. I'd seen this guy before and he had seen me with my spouse, so this wasn't some kind of weird thing. He knew I was crazy about my spouse. But he cheered me up on a really hard day, and so in turn I wanted to bless him by telling him why that silly little thing meant something to me.

My day continued much like that. I blessed an elderly gentleman outside of Quicktrip with a quarter for the payphone because his phone battery was dead and had him laughing about my kids eating pecans in our backyard and him telling me about growing up in a house with pecan trees. I blessed my Grandpa and Grandma with visits and presents, my Grandma's caretaker I blessed with a prayer, my Grandma's nurse I blessed with some kind words. I lost count by the end of the day, I just started making it my mission to bless everyone I came into contact with.

It was an awesome day, and I highly recommend everyone try to integrate it into their lives. You reach a point where you realize you set out to bless other people, but you really end up being the one who gets blessed the most.

Lizi

Where Has The Time Gone?

Have you ever gotten to the end of the day and asked yourself that question?  Do you frequently feel like you tried your hardest but you have nothing to show for it? Let's look at some ways to manage time more effectively to have results to show for it at the end of the day.

#1. Define Your Goals--Some people are into structure, some aren't. I recommend doing what works for you. If writing 3 things you want to do by the end of the day on the back of a receipt and sticking it in your pocket works for you, then do it! I don't care. I like having a day planner with time blocked off for each part of my day, with my running "To Do" list on the side. I can tell you right now, though, that if I asked my brother to keep one, it would never get written in. Ever. He's a "back of the receipt" kind of guy, and you know what? It works beautifully for him. So define your goals and put them somewhere. A secondary thing to do, once you have a focus for your activities, is to prioritize them. For example, I have a goal of working out for 30 minutes every day. It's a priority for me. Another priority for me is to learn something new. If I have 2 hours left in my day, I might try a new workout. Why? Because both of these things are priorities for me and I have a limited amount of time, so I'll learn a new workout for bonus points. Let's say in this 2 hours left scenario I also needed to...I don't know...return Library books. I might just bump that to the next day, because while returning them is important, the library books won't impact my health like working out will.

#2. Bust Time Wasters--If you frequently find yourself intimidated by your To Do list and jumping on FaceBook to compensate, you need to become aware of your bad habits and cut it out. If you are supposed to be setting up lunch meetings and instead you grab a coffee and hang out on Twitter for an hour, become aware of it and cut it out. A good way to catch yourself at this is to write down everything you do, every 15 minutes for 1 day. Don't lie to yourself and don't hold back. From when you wake up, begin recording even the mundane details. I realized I spent about 40 minutes every day just staring into space thinking of what to do next. That's what led me to a to do list! Almost an hour wasted literally doing nothing (not that thinking is bad, it's not, I still spend plenty of time doing it, but there's no need for me to stand around figuring out what to do next instead of having a plan of action that I wrote up yesterday and charging forward! Then I get to spend more time with my kids and husband after completing my To Do's :) )

#3. Rinse and Repeat--There's a Japanese Proverb that says, "Beginning is easy. Continuing is hard." My sentiments exactly! Don't just do this once or twice and then write it off. If you want a successful life, you have to change the way you do things. If you want to get healthy, you have to change the way you eat. If you want to catch a rainbow trout, you have to have a certain bait. You see where I'm going with these analogies? If you're unhappy with your life--MAKE A CHANGE! And then keep doing what is successful and modify what is unsuccessful.

Just never, ever stop. A friend of mine once pointed out that in Texas, Highway 45 runs all the way from DFW to Houston. And it doesn't matter if you go 50 miles an hour or 5 miles an hour--you'll get to Houston. Just don't lay down and don't turn around.

Lizi

And We Work It Out!

I have changed my workout routine. I am a very driven person, and if allowed to do my own thing, I'll run myself into the ground, lay there for a second, then get up and keep running. That's just how I'm wired. I'm ready to rock and roll all the time, I talk really fast and animated (as you'll see more of with the Vlogging I'll be posting) and I love to run!

When I left weights, I have to be very careful about my form because I favor explosive, dynamic, high intensity training versus slow, steady lifting. Again, this can obviously have a giant downside, and I'm super grateful for my sweet, muscular, weight-lifting husband who watches me and is like "Slow down crazy woman! Enjoy the burn." --He's right, too, when you focus on the muscle your working on (example: bicep curls) and instead of doing 21's like I favor, you lift and then oh so slowly release you'll go much farther with less reps.

So, where oh where can I turn to in the fitness world to force myself to slow down and focus on what I'm doing instead of concentrate on burning off my extra energy with running or calisthetic exercises?

Did you figure it out yet? :p

Yoga, of course! Now I went through everything on wonderful Youtube.com last night looking for a routine that worked for me. I personally can't do a routine if it involves laying still and concentrating on your breath. So, I bookmarked a couple of these for me in the morning, when I need peace of mind the most: 

This is Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown Level 1: 

And here is Sadie Nadini's 20 minute Weight Loss & Fat Burning Routine:

Both of these were fun--especially the part where my cute little 4 year old was trying to do yoga with me last night haha! She likes to make it dangerous. Like crawling under my downward facing dog and popping up, missing my nose by a hair's breadth! I should film that and call it "Ultimate Adrenaline Yoga For Moms!" 

So, my new routine, again customizable to my daily level of crazy, is:

Morning: Yoga routine 15-30 mins

Noon-ish: Going on a run (preferably) or a Core Workout (Like Sean Vigue with Motley Fitness, he's amaaaazing!) 

Afternoon: If I still have energy left to burn, or have to skip my noon routine, I like to do the Supreme 90 videos right now. I am ashamed to admit sometimes I curse the day Tom Holland (he's the host) was born in the middle of a routine, but by the end of it I mentally apologize to him because I feel amazing :)

I hope these little glimpses into my world help to inspire you to keep growing and changing and adapting to a healthier, happier lifestyle!!! :)

Lizi

Just Do It!

I've noticed a trend in people that are changing their lifestyles.

They want to change their eating habits. They want to start working out. They have a general idea of why they want to do that: live longer, lose weight, look fabulous, have more energy and so on.

And then they talk themselves right out of it!

Either their wasn't specific enough information on exactly when to do what exercise, or when to eat what specific meal, or what kinds of foods you should combine, or that sounds like too much food or not enough food and so on.

For the love--Don't talk yourself out of a healthy lifestyle!!!! ALL OF THOSE ARE EXCUSES!!! 

The bottom line is this: Eat healthy, real foods (real foods don't come through a window or out of a bag/box).   Aim for 5 days per week of mixed exercises. Drink plenty of water. Supplement your nutrition appropriately.

That's pretty much it.

"But!!!" I hear you cry, "But do I do cardio, or yoga, or weights, or pilates, or yogalates, or Insanity, or use a personal trainer? And when I eat, do I eat according to my blood type, or low fat, or low carb, or Paleo, or according to an endo-ecto-mesomorph plan, or 500 calories a day? And do I weigh myself, or measure inches, or use calipers, or buy a $200+ body composition scale?"

The answer to those questions is...yes.

Ha! Now I've really got you trippin'!

You can do whatever kind of exercise you like. I myself, for example, love to run and lift weights. So, if my day allows it, I go on a 2 or 3 mile run (to some of you that's puny, to some of you that is a Herculean feat, to me that's what I have time for). If you like Yoga, do that! If you have a personal trainer, use them. If you used to like one thing but you got bored of it, FIND SOMETHING ELSE! It's the Age of Information, y'all--there IS something out there for you.

You can follow whatever realistic eating plan you want to--as long as it's real food (You know, fresh fruits and vegetables, the best meat you can afford, prepared in your home with healthy ingredients you add yourself. If you have no idea what real food is, open a new tab on your browser and fart around for a bit finding out--it's worth it). You cannot eat a fast food diet and be okay--you might take the buns off and have a chicken breast with a diet soda but consider this #rant: The "chicken breast" is made up of old, bacteria-laden mixed parts (bacteria laden because of antibiotic use in modern farming, mind you), then it was injected with a sugar/salt water mixture to make it moist and tasty (barf), then it was fried, then it was coated in liquid smoke to make you think it was grilled. You can re-name your diet soda chemical soup. You basically consumed a bunch of garbage that will release free radicals to zing around in your body, damaging otherwise perfectly happy cells, which (if you eat like that I'm guessing you don't care about supplementing vitamins too much) don't have the proper nutrients to then recover from the damage. You age your body every time you eat that junk. Cut it out! /#endrant

I think he says it best:

Drink your freakin' water too. Your body is over 90% water--you literally need it to live. If you get all of your water from carbonated crap, you're surviving but you're not thriving. When you drink your 8-10 glasses daily, your body releases toxins stored in your cells for your kidneys to deal with, which can often make you lose weight. Also, your cells release extra water they were HOARDING because they thought you lived in a desert, which often causes you to lose weight. Additionally, your molecular functions work properly when they have enough H2O to work with, giving you more energy. Oh, and you'll probably lose some weight.

On supplementation: The only reason I recommend it is because we've jacked up this planet so much our plants can't absorb the nutrients necessary for our optimal health. Some of us have seen the study on the peaches in the 50's versus the peaches now. Basically, we said screw composting, we'll concentrate on phosphorus/nitrogen balance in the soil only to make sure we can make more food to make more money. Do you think dirt is made up of 2 minerals? If you've gone through 10th grade chemistry, then you know it's incredibly more complicated than that. In addition to the declining nutritive value of our food because of crappy farming practices, we're now also genetically modifying it without enough testing to make sure that's okay to eat, spraying it with pesticides, covering it in salmonella, e.coli and MRSA--and recommending everyone eat more of it!  The USDA recommends 7 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily for men, and from 9 up to 13 servings per day for adolescent teenage boys. Don't get me wrong here: EAT YOUR FRUITS AND VEGGIES! Just be aware that what you put in your body might have unnatural issues, and to counteract that, you might need to add additional plant-derived nutrients. Examples would be antioxidants, because they fight free radicals to keep your cells happy, glyconutrients to keep your cells communicating properly and recovering from damage, enzymes to properly break down and use nutrients from the plants you eat and so forth. Another thing to supplement is protein if you--like me--don't get enough of it. I eat really healthy, but I am also busy, and if given the choice between stopping my life to cook up a bunch of meat because I forgot to on a Sunday (when I try to prepare it ahead, but seriously, I'm not perfect) OR eating chopped up raw broccoli and roasted red pepper hummus, guess what wins every time? The faster one! And while chickpeas in hummus are healthy and have protein, that's not enough to sustain my level of output during the day. Therefore, I supplement with a good, clean, real protein powder, and vitamin complexes derived from plants, and glyconutrients, and antioxidants and omega 3 essential fatty acids (they're necessary for a healthy brain, eyes and heart as well as a natural anti-inflammatory). 

Sorry for the nutrition rant. I'm a little passionate about the care and keeping of the world and the human body. 

Anyway, you can complicate your life as much as you want to, but you'll end up feeling like a failure and quitting. Don't do that. Don't give up on being healthy, or being able to see your feet when you look down, or running a mile, or living to be 130 years old and the world's top endurance knitter (I don't even know if that exists...yet...). Don't give up on your desires for a better, healthier lifestyle. 

Just do it already. 

Eat real foods. Aim for mixed exercises 5 times per week. Drink your water. Supplement appropriately. 

Repeat, and enjoy a long, healthy, happy life. 

Lizi

VLOGGING!!!

(Sounds like a new word for vomit haha! But I'm talking about Video Blogging...Video + Blogging = Vlogging!)

Today I'm going to be working on several little segments while my hubby works on saving 50 kids by Thanksgiving!!! 


Keep your eyes peeled for the latest developments in our family. Team Kratos has been growing like crazy, so I thought blogging in video might be a little shorter and sweeter for everyone. I'll start posting them in the coming weeks for you guys.

Until then, remember:

Romans 8:37
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Follow your dreams!

Do things that make you happy. Like curling your hair :p

Eat healthy, nourishing foods and feed them to your friends and family.

And please forgive me for being an erratic poster. I will do my best to continue to inspire you all to live your best lives, as well as uncomplicate the crazy world of health for you in my own weird way.

God bless, you're the best!!!

Lizi

We Like To Move It Move It!

Our house is turning into a pseudo-gym! Our living room is used for Core Workouts, Plyometrics and working out with DVD's, and our huge kitchen/dining room houses my husband's bajillion giant weights, our trampoline (or rebounder, as it's known by some), our kitchen table bench that doubles as a workout bench and our kitchen chairs, also known as additional stand-in workout equipment.

It's awesome though--I love living a healthy lifestyle by eating right, supplementing with food-based technology and moving my body. Plus, our kids love to "do cardio" by jogging laps around the backyard or kitchen table and they also enjoy yoga. How cool is that? Other kids are developing juvenile diabetes and we're training superheroes in this house!

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to share with you this amazing core workout Michael (that's my husband) turned me on to today. If you enjoy working that core like crazy, give this intense but short workout a try!

Be the ball, Danny! (you'll get it during the video). Hope you are having an awesome night living life with a major impact!

PS: Want to see my precious face? Tune in to www.mannatechlive.com tomorrow Tuesday October 23rd at 7:30 pm Central Standard Time--I'll be on Tuesday Night Live with the 2MannaSisters regarding Xtreme Food Makeovers! This will be broadcast all over America and in 22 countries internationally, so don't miss out! :)

Lizi

Humble & Relateable

Do you remember Bill Cosby's "Kid's Say The Darndest Things" show? I didn't actively watch it, but I remember my grandparents watching it and laughing until they cried. I never really understood why until I had children of my own.

It's about relate-ability. My grandma and grandpa took my dad, brother and myself in after my parents divorced until my dad could get on his feet as a single parent. So, in essence, in their late 60's they became parents again while our dad worked crazy hours to establish himself here in Texas.

I can remember some of the crazy things we put them through. My grandma was forever trying to teach me manners and get me to take an interest in little girl things. I was a tom boy and I was very jaded and mature from my childhood, so when I wasn't reading I was outside climbing trees or catching bugs. Well, Grandma went to a garage sale across the street and bought me some Barbies, encouraging me to take an interest in girly toys over catching bugs. I have no idea why I reacted this way, but I grabbed an empty Whitman's Chocolate sampler box, filled it up with hundreds of roly-polies and let them loose in her living room! That was a rare, childish and impulsive moment for me, but I can understand a little better why she'd watch the "Kids Say The Darndest Things" show and laugh--because she saw again first hand how silly and reactive kids can be, and she (and my Grandpa) related to the feeling of trying to be the adult in a humorous situation.

My brother got into all kinds of little boy craziness--urinating outside instead of using the inside toilet (which I'm told by girlfriends with little boys that this is not an uncommon issue for young misters!), rough housing with neighborhood boys, leaving Lego pieces everywhere to be stepped on in the middle of the night, waking up the entire house hold to find his red Power Ranger before bed and so forth. At the time, it was a hassle to clean the mess and find the lost toys--but looking back, it was an honor to be trusted to look for his most prized possessions.

How many times has someone reached out to you, only for you to ignore or belittle them? Do you cultivate your ability to relate to other people? Or are you too busy to stop and open up a little?

My girls, making a huge mess 

This morning my daughter had what was a very important conversation to her with me. She was listing everything that she thought she might want for Christmas.

"And a Barbie playhouse, and a Strawberry Shortcake City...and...and..." Her little face scrunched up, then fell apart. "Oh mamma, I was thinking too much and I forgot everything that I wanted."

I smiled. It was 6:45 a.m. and I just wanted to drink my coffee. However, thinking about that "Kids Say The Darndest Things" show, and about how many people need you to just open up and relate to them, I set aside my wants. "Well baby, maybe you should think it over again, but make your list a little smaller, that way you can be more grateful for what you have, and not focus so much on what you want."

She nodded. "OK. I love you mommy, I'll be thankful."

If I allowed myself to be brusque and rude, and consider MY time and MY desires the MOST important thing, I would've missed hearing what my daughter was really saying. Behind her little Christmas list, she was saying, "I need to talk to you. I need your help. I need you to see me being a big girl and thinking this through and to recognize my forethought."

I am so thankful I caught her message and cultivated that moment with her. Life is a series of these little moments, will you be too wrapped up in yourself to see them? Or can you decide to change, to listen to what someone else is saying, what someone else needs from you?

Lizi

Dream Big

I don't have much time tonight, but I still wanted to say something.

Don't limit yourself. 

Don't suffocate your desires under excuses.

Dream big.

Take risks.

Is this cheesy? Somewhat.

But we all need to hear it.

Self-Compassion

I am a driven perfectionist. I can admit that. This is what has caused me to go above and beyond what anyone told me I might be capable of achieving based on my past.

I am intentional about what I feed myself, what I feed my family, how I speak to others--I even mind my own thought patterns and evaluate habits.

But I am guilty of not being very kind to myself.

I don't "go easy" on myself when I eat some junk food. Mind you--getting me to eat junk food requires isolating me from all healthy food choices for a minimum of 8 hours with only something fried as an option. Even then, I might prefer fasting to filling my body with free radicals.

Being around sick people all day in a clinical setting does funny things to you.

So when I read this article, I was surprised! Modern psychology is telling us to take it easy again.

It is well known that we as Americans have a culture of busyness. We must always be running ourselves ragged to feel that we've done something significant in our day--an unhealthy way to live. I am guilty of this lifestyle, although I am trying to work on it...

Anyhow, new studies are showing we are just as reactive towards ourselves with regard to dieting. Read the article here and tell me what you think.

Are you too easy on yourself with regards to diet? Too hard on yourself? Leave a comment below!

Giving Is Good For You

It's Fall, y'all (yeah, I said it)--

Have you ever looked up the reason we feel so good whenever we give something? You know, you see something your friend would like so you buy it for them. Or you have an extra book or CD and someone tells you how much they've been looking into that subject so you give it to them. Or how about those "care bags" on Pinterest that lovely people keep in their car to pass out to the homeless?

And mind you, this isn't just a Christian thing I'm talking about. Modern psychologists actually debate whether or not giving can be classified as a "selfless act" because of the physical and psychological benefits we get from it. Check out this excerpt from Psychology Today:

"We feel so good when we give because we get what researchers call a “helpers high,” or a distinct physical sensation associated with helping. About half of participants in one study report that they feel stronger and more energetic after helping others; many also reported feeling calmer and less depressed, with increased feelings of self-worth. This is probably a literal “high,” similar to a drug-induced high: for example, the act of making a financial donation triggers the reward center in our brains that is responsible for dopamine-mediated euphoria. (For more on the “helper’s high,” check out this essay by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander, published this month on Greater Good.)"

You can read the full article here.

Isn't it fascinating that your body has such a dramatic response to a simple act? All you have to do is THINK of giving and your body responds. The power we have been given never ceases to amaze me.

Naturally, I personally am a big advocate of giving: giving of time, acts of service, giving of gifts, or even a text/e-mail/facebook message to say "hey, I'm thinking of you"--giving of my thoughts.

Here's a list of some ideas for how you can get that dopamine-related euphoria in your life:

--Make some of those care bags to pass out in your local Downtown area to the homeless

--Go through your pantry and pull all the canned or packaged food you haven't eaten in the last month and donate it to your local food bank

--Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen

--Run a marathon for a charity organization

--Even ask a family member or friend how you can help them. For example, we go to my Grandparent's house every Sunday to help out and have a family dinner. You could also help a busy mom go grocery shopping, volunteer to watch someone's kids while they run an errand or bake some freezer friendly food for an elderly neighbor or new mother--two groups notoriously in need of extra help!

Of course, there's a bajillion ways to give. Personalize it. Listen when people talk to you, find a need they have and fill it. Eventually, it will become second nature.

--Lizi

PS: How awesome would it be to wake up every morning, knowing you're taking care of yourself, your family and a malnourished child living in poverty? E-mail me and I'll TELL you how awesome it is! :)

Conquered!

While no new friends were made today, today was still conquered! We moved my mother-in-law into our house (she has back issues from a 360 fusion surgery 2 years ago). "Nana" as the kids call her, watched our little princesses while my husband and I pushed up our sleeves, rented a U-haul truck and endeavored to move everything and drop off the truck in 4 hours. We were 30 minutes late, but they forgave us since they gave us 4 hours instead of the usual 6.

My husband has a gift of organization, so he did the heavy lifting (except for the giant bed, which took both of us) and tetrised it all into the truck. (I know tetris isn't a verb, but still...)

After a bit of exertion, he grounded me to sitting on the floor of the almost-empty apartment. He knows I'll push myself until it's unhealthy.

And even though it was hard and we were tired and out of energy, it was a beautiful Fall day, cool weather, a deep blue sky with no clouds and a sweet breeze.

A good day to be alive, to be healthy, to be able to help someone who needed us.

Presentations Part 2

Hey guys,

I am pumped today! I make a goal for myself of 10 calls daily, and today I was on fire. Plus, I had 4 presentations back to back, which always gets me excited about meeting new people and sharing my dreams.

Anyway, today is about how to give an effective presentation. The first tip I can give you is: TAILOR IT TO YOUR AUDIENCE!!! What does that mean? Well, if I am going to speak to a doctor, I would bring slightly more technical information because they're more likely to be interested in that sort of thing. If I brought a 28 page scientific article on glyco-proteins to a beauty salon owner, do you think she'd get pumped? No! She'd probably find it interesting, but she might not see how that applies to her, specifically. Instead, I'd bring something that talks about how my company's products can help give people clear skin or something that is relevant to her.

The second best piece of advice I can give you is to keep things clean and simple. Don't convolute the conversation by jumping in with a bunch of facts or input because that's not your objective. Your objective in this business is to build relationships with people. It's to get to know them, to ask them what they're interested in, to find out about their goals and dreams. Let the person you're presenting to tell you why they decided to meet with you, what their life is currently like, what their hobbies are. It might seem weird to do this at first. You're gut reaction will be "get in, blurt out message, get out." But that's not why you're there. If you build rapport with them and cultivate a relationship, they might not want what you have right then, but you'll be the one they call when they do.

And the third best advice is not really about the presentation itself, but it is still important: follow up soon to see what they think. Don't be weird or aggressive, genuinely care about the person and ask for their honest opinion.

Think about how many people you run into that don't care about their jobs, that go through the motions, asking you if you need help but not making eye contact with you when they say it, the unhappiness they feel with their position in life just radiating off of them...

Now think about how different it would be if that same person came up to you--warmly, not with a hidden agenda, struck up a conversation, remembered you when you came back, always had a kind word to say, was interested in you as a person and not in your wallet, rejoiced over what you two had in common, asked about your family...

Think about those two scenarios, and about which one you'd want to do business with. Carry that image with you where ever you go and interact as that positive, loving person when you're with other people.

Hope this blessed you,

Lizi
mannateamkratos@gmail.com

Presentations part 1

Hey there,

Today the topic most on my mind is: presenting to other people. When most people hear the word "present," they picture someone in a smart suit with a pie chart or Powerpoint standing in a conference room. And that is one way you can present, but in our industry, whether you call it Social Entrepreneurship, Network Marketing, Direct Sales or MLM, presenting is better understood as "giving information." I prefer to call it that for 2 reasons: #1. It's less intimidating to the client, #2. It's less intimidating to the new people and #3. It's non-threatening.

If I called you and imitated what in my mind would be a salesperson-type pitch, I might say something like, "Hello John Doe, this is Lizi and I had noticed you inquired about our services. When is a good time for you to schedule a presentation?"

Mind you, that isn't a terrible way to go about things if that is the way you talk. However, I don't talk like that.

I talk like this: "Hey John Doe, how's it going? Awesome man, listen, I saw you were curious about what my team was doing in your area and I always want to be available to answer any questions you might have. What time is good for us to get to know each other and kick around some information?"

Is that threatening? Do I come off as "here's 15 minutes of my time and then I don't care about you anymore?"

NO! I want people to know I care about them--because I genuinely care about them! And if I hear anyone badmouthing a prospect, I let them know that their thinking and their speech will propel them to failure--they're doomed before they even start because of their poor attitude.

Instead of that, honor the person you're speaking to. Really pay attention to what they say, what they want out of life and who they are.

So, the takeaway: presenting doesn't have to be scary. It is literally a time you and your prospect are setting aside to get to know each other and to share personal goals.

Tune in tomorrow and we'll go over the nitty gritty details of being yourself during a presentation.