Green-Washing, Out-Gassing, TV Commercials.... Huh?

You find out you're pregnant!  Congratulations!  This is one of the most exciting times in your life.  You can't wait to watch how your body changes.  Your first ultrasound is incredible.  This little being growing inside you.  You can't wait to see your baby, hold your baby, smell your baby, etc...

Then a little panic might set in.  You will be responsible for this new little one.  You want to make sure you have the safest environment for your new baby.... you check the safety of car seats, high chairs, cribs, etc... You want nothing but the best for your little person.

How many soon-to-be-parents even think about things like what they clean the house with?  What they do laundry with?  What they plan to bathe the baby in?

Sad fact is, many don't.  Many people just assume that if a product is sold, then it must be safe.  We get drawn into the commercials for baby shampoo... safe...natural...delicate... they use all the right words to suck us in.  But, take a step back and think for a second.  What is the purpose of the commercial?  TO SELL THE PRODUCT!  Does that mean what they are telling you in that commercial is 100% fact?  Come on, we're smarter than that... aren't we?

Every single commercial is trying to sell something... whether it be a product or a service.  They are marketing geniuses, aren't they?  Spraying Lysol around the daycare... on the toys... then the kids picking up the toys.  So, it must be safe, right??  Or is it??

You owe it to yourself and your family to DO YOUR RESEARCH!  Find out what you are really bringing into your home.  Products on the market today are filled with toxic chemicals.  Why?  They are CHEAP.  Box stores like WalMart will only stock a manufacturers product if it falls within their price guidelines.  WalMart promotes what?  Quality products?  Nope!  They promote: CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP.

A few years back when 2x concentrated laundry detergent came out on the market, WalMart told the manufacturers that in order for them to continue carrying their products, they all had to have a 2x detergent available at a low cost.  Guess what happened?  The manufacturers created a 2x concentration using more water and more fillers.  Huh.  So here you are, the consumer, buying a product you think is better... but is it really?

Look around for a moment.  Look at the different health problems people have today compared to 20 years ago.  What the heck happened?  Chemicals happened.  Synthetic products happened.  Lifestyles of fast, convenience happened.  But at what cost?  Our health?


This may surprise you, studies have found that levels of several chemicals around the home are on average 2 to 5 times higher indoors than outdoors. Hence the important of making good choices in what kinds of products you choose for your home and certainly avoiding renovations, painting the house, lacquering or varnishing furniture and so on throughout your preconception preparation and during your pregnancy. Newly painted wall can outgas for up to 6months after coating!

What is "outgassing"?  This is when the chemicals in your bottles seep through the bottle even when tightly closed.  It is also the chemicals that seep into the air we breathe from residue left on surfaces... clothing... counters, floors, toys, etc...

Let's look at infertility....

1. Chemicals are hormone (or endocrine) disruptors—this means they directly and indirectly negatively affect your health and fertility in a MAJOR way. So by reducing exposure to a great number of the things you don’t really need in your life and that can be replaced by more natural and less toxic alternatives you will maximize your fertility and the chances of having the healthiest possible baby.
2. Chemicals are persistent and linger in the environment (in some cases) forever because they simply do not break down, therefore chemical contamination become our legacy for future generations as well;
3. Chemicals are bio-accumulative, just like heavy metals they build up in our bodies and the bodies of animals, being passed down along generations causing disease.

So, what are the options?  There ARE options.  Stop believing what you see on TV.  Stop believing that everything sold at the store is safe.  Green-washing is HUGE today.  This is when a manufacturer makes their product LOOK like a safer, greener product... but is it really??  Keep in mind ~ manufacturers will do anything to sell their product.  It's up to YOU to do your research and really find what is and isn't safe.

I found an amazing manufacturer of SAFE products.  Been shopping here for almost 11 years.  I don't sell the products, I am not a distributor... I am simply a customer.  Want to learn more?  Visit http://www.switchingstores.com/nicolebennett

I can't be successful....or can I??

What type of person is successful working from home?  If you google this, some of the tips are quite comical.

One says that you shouldn't have any distractions... you need an office space... to decorate it to make it a "happy place" for you... if you have kids to get a babysitter... if you have pets to put them in another room... basically get rid of anything that could distract you.

Hmmmm... Sure, decorating your office space to make it soothing to you and make you want to be there... yes... great idea.

But get a babysitter for your kids?  Really?  So what exactly would the point be to work from home to be with your kids, but ship them off to a babysitter?? 

Chances are, if you find the RIGHT company to partner up with and you love what you do... you will WANT your kids right there with you.  You will be partnering up with other moms who also have their kids right there with them.

For me, when I started working from home I had a 3 month old and a 5 year old.  The reason WHY I wanted to work from home was TO BE WITH MY KIDS.

If you are making calls from home... which you probably are if you're working from home... does it not validate you as a REAL mom if your kids are there with you?

Of course you don't want to neglect your kids... but there are ways to be successful with your kids right by your side.

For anyone to be successful, there are key contributors... find the right company... do your due diligence... research, research, research.  You must believe in the company and what they represent.  You must have some drive.  You must have a vision to be in a better place.  You must have a reason WHY you are working from home.

You don't have a "boss" telling you what to do... that can be a detriment to some people.  It's easy to get distracted with things that aren't going to help you be successful with your business.  At the end of the day, ask yourself this: "if everyone in my business did what I did today, where will my business be tomorrow?".  If you're doing nothing, guess what?  You're business isn't going to move forward.

I have heard some moms saying that it's just too hard to make a success from a business with their kids at home.  It's only as hard as you make it.  When my boys were little, I involved them in my business.  Sure, some days were trying... but we survived!  I made them part of my goals.  They understood that mom was at home with them all the time... but mom was also working sometimes... either I worked at home where they could see me and have me all the time... or I would have to go outside the home to work.  They learned from an early age that even though mom might be on the phone... I was still there with them.

Fast forward to today... my boys are 14 and 9.  Yes, my boys fight.  They are boys...lol  But, they also know (I think) how fortunate they've been to have mom at home all the time.  They know nothing else... I've always been home.  My oldest could probably do my business better than I can... he's listened to me for so many years!  That would likely go for my little one as well.

Saying that you can't be successful because your kids are with you is a cop-out.  It's an excuse.  There are ways to work around your family.  My business isn't my life, but it's given me a life.

If you seriously want to be successful, stop making excuses.  I heard a great quote several years ago... You can either make money, or you can make excuses... you can't make both.

So, what will today bring for you?  Excuses.... or success?

Wow, You're So Lucky That You Can Work From Home.....

Oh, how many times I have heard those words... "You are so lucky that you can work from home."

Hold on!  Lucky??

Luck really has nothing to do with being able to work from home.  The beauty is ANYONE can!  It's all in making a decision.  10 years ago I made a decision that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.  I wanted to be a stay-at-home-mom.  I had a choice.  To continue doing what I was doing - working outside the home and having my son in daycare... or I could change something.

The amazing thing is, is that EVERYONE has the choice.

How many times I've heard, "I wish I could work from home."  Or, "I wish I had the time to do what you do."  Really?  Let me ask this... If you continue to do what you are doing right now for the next 5 years... will you be in a different place?

Really think about that for a moment.  What will change?  The unfortunate truth is likely nothing will change.

The best determination of future behavior, is past behavior... UNLESS something drastic happens.  When my mentor said that to me, it was like a lightening bolt struck me.  WOW!  We all have choices.  The one thing we all have control over is ourselves, our own lives, our destiny.

Yes, I am "lucky" that I work from home... but it was a choice that I made.

Don't live your life thinking you're doing what you "have" to do.  You have options.  There are other paths you can take.  The question is, are you willing to step up to the plate?  Are you willing to put in the work?  Are you motivated enough to make it happen?  Or, would you rather sit on the sidelines, go off to a job where your income can only go so far and envy that mom who is 'lucky to work from home'?

We're all lucky... we all just choose to use that luck in different ways!

My luck started here... http://www.internetceomoms.com/nicolebennett

The World Needs More Dreamers

The World Needs More Dreamers.

Have you ever had a goal, dream or vision that you shared with someone only to be told all the different reasons that it would not be possible.  Your friends and family probably mean well, but we want to encourage you to pursue those things that ignite your soul and spirit.

Today, Adam Advertising Group shares a message from John Maxwell that will shed light on why most dreams never take flight.

Most of us never see our dreams come true.  Instead of soaring through the clouds, our dreams languish like a broken-down airplane confined to its hangar.  Through life, I have come to identify why dreams don't take flight.

1.  We Have Been Discouraged from Dreaming by Others

We have to pilot our own dreams, we cannot entrust them to anyone else.  People who aren't following their own dreams resent us pursuing ours.  Such people feel inadequate when we succeed, so they try to drag us down.

If we listen to external voices, then we allow our dreams to be hijacked.  At some point, other people will place limitations on us by doubting our abilities.  When surrounded by the turbulence of criticism, we have to grasp the controls tightly to keep from being knocked off course.

2. We Are Hindered by Past Disappointments and Hurts

In the movie Top Gun, Tom Cruise plays Maverick, a young, talented, and cocky aviator who dreams of being the premier pilot in the U.S. Navy.  In the film's opening scenes, Maverick showcases his flying ability but also displays a knack for pushing the envelope with regard to safety.  Midway through the movie, Maverick's characteristic aggression spells disaster.  His place crashes, killing his best friend and co-pilot.

Although cleared of wrongdoing, the painful memory of the accident haunts Maverick.  He quits taking risks and loses his edge.  Struggling to regain his poise, he considers giving up on his dream.  Although the incident nearly wrecks Maverick's career, he eventually reaches within to find the strength to return to the sky.

Like Maverick, many of us live with the memory of failure embedded in our psyche.  Perhaps a business we started went broke, or we were fired from a position of leadership.  Disappointment is the gap that exists between expectation and reality, and all of us have encountered that gap.  Failure is a necessary and natural part of life, but if we're going to attain our dreams, then, like Maverick, we have to summon the courage to deal with past hurts.

3. We Fall Into The Habit Of Settling For Average

Average is the norm for a reason.  Being exceptional demands extra effort, sustained inspiration, and uncommon discipline.  When we attempt to give flight to our dreams, we have to overcome the weight of opposition.  Like gravity, life's circumstances constantly pull on our dreams, tugging us down to mediocrity.

Most of us don't pay the price to overcome the opposition to our dreams.  We may start our inspired, but through time we fatigue.  Although never intending to abandon our dreams, we begin to make concessions here and there.  Through time, our lives become mundane, and our dreams slip away.

4. We Lack The Confidence Needed To Pursue Our Dreams

Dreams are fragile.  They will be buffeted by assault from all sides.  As such, they must be supplied with the extra strength of self-confidence.

In Amelia Earhart's day, women were not supposed to fly airplanes.  If she had lacked self-assurance, she never would have even attempted to be a pilot.  Instead, Earhart confidently chased after her dream, and she was rewarded with both fulfillment and fame.

5. We Lack The Imagination To Dream

For thousands of years, mankind traveled along the ground by foot, by horse-and-buggy, by locomotive, and eventually by automobile.  Thanks to the dreams of Orville and Wilbur Wright, we now hop across oceans in a matter of hours.  The imaginative brothers overcame ridicule and doubt to pioneer human flight, and the world has never been the same.

Many of us play small because we do not allow ourselves to dream.  We trap ourselves in reality and never dare to go beyond what we can see with our eyes.  Imagination lifts us beyond average by giving us a vision of life that surpasses what we are experiencing currently.

Dreams infuse our spirit with energy and spur us on the greatness.

So, what's YOUR dream?

Have a great week unless you choose otherwise.  ~Drago~  

Start Your Dream Today ~ You Are The Pilot Of Your Life!

Why does it cost money to start working from home?

Are you looking for a JOB or a BUSINESS?

If you are someone who is looking online for a way to earn an income from home, know that almost everything you will find is a BUSINESS that you will be starting up.  There aren't "jobs" online where you can sit at home and get paid by the hour.  In order to find an online "job", you need to be hired by someone local who is looking to outsource.... hard to find!

Some people ask, "Why does it cost money to start working from home?"

Well, the answer is simple.  You are starting a business.  It just happens to be an online business. 

Let's say you were going to open a restaurant.  Would there be a start-up cost?  Yep... and it would be an INSANE amount of money!

When looking online to work from home... ASK QUESTIONS!!!  If you are told it will cost you money to simply get the information----RUN AWAY!!!

I have heard recently, more and more stories of people being asked to pay thousands of dollars to start working from home.  This is ludicrous!  What are you getting for those thousands of dollars??  Even hundreds of dollars doesn't make sense to me.

Stop and ask... is the product or service this company offers something that real people ALREADY need?  Do people already go out looking for these types of products or service?  Is this something people will need to repurchase again and again??

There are soooo many businesses out there today.  It scares me when I see people advertising their glamour and "get-rich-quick".  Seriously people, the only way you are going to get rich overnight is by winning a lottery, or you lose a loved one and they leave you a large inheritance. 

Working from home takes work.  It doesn't have to be hard... but it takes time to build.  How much time?  Well, that depends on you.  How willing are you to get things off the ground?  Are you coachable?  Are you open to listening to your mentors?  Do you have motivation? 

When I hear of people quitting their outside the home jobs to start working from home... that also alarms me.  I would never advocate someone quit their job...NOT until you have replaced your income.  Don't get burned.  Do your due diligence first.

Look at income stats, look at growth charts... where is this company going??  What does their history look like?  If the company has started within the past few years... hmmmmm... is that going to be stable?

Like in one of my previous articles... don't lose your head. 

When people look at my company, the are impressed.  The start-up cost is so minimal and is guaranteed.  No one gets hurt.  I have been here, with the same company for over 10 years.  I don't jump ship to other companies.  I don't have more than one business on the go.  This is it.  It works.  We can stand tall and stand proud knowing we are representing a company with such incredible ethics.  How many can say that? 

Are you looking to earn money for a lunchtime or a LIFETIME?  Choice is yours.

www.JoinCeoMoms.com