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Time Management Tuesday: The Power of No

No is a word that can liberate our time and free us to focus on what matters most. It is a powerful word when it is applied to the right situations and for the right reasons.  Many times, the greatest challenge in learning to manage our time is learning when to say no to the things that are not for us so that we have time to say yes to what is. No Is Our Friend No is not our enemy. It is our friend. We must embrace no and welcome the boundaries it represents. These boundaries restore our peace and reclaim our sanity. They prevent our efforts from being watered down across too many commitments.  It is a word that will, if we allow it, protect us from being used and abused by those who might take advantage of our generosity or misinterpret our willingness to help others as a license to enslave us to their own desires. No Must Be Handled with Care If no is abused or used in the wrong circumstances, it will create stagnation in our lives and prevent us from pursuing our dreams. It...
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Marketing Monday: The Basics of Marketing

On Friday, I mentioned that I'd found a way for readers of this blog to make money promoting the products offered by Project FED which will also support the Nigerian orphans. During my Sunday Strategy post yesterday , and in today's YouTube video tutorial of how to sign up for Zazzle's affiliate program so that those who are interested can make money promoting the products, I promised I would start teaching the basics of marketing so that those who are interested are supported in their efforts. Marketing: The Right Way Many people THINK they know what marketing is, and most of them are wrong. Most people, when they picture marketing, think of Don Draper from Mad Men . They think of a sleazy guy who will tell you whatever he thinks you want to hear in order to get you to buy a product you don't need and that may not even be good for you. They also think of ad campaigns on TV and Radio, Superbowl commercials, and billboards. Those are examples of types of marketing, but...
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Strategy Sunday: Say It with SaSS - Day 6 of Project FED

Today is Sunday and it's day 6 of Project FED. Sunday, for those of us who are Christians, is the Lord's Day.  As Saint Jerome, who died in 420 a.d. stated in his writings,  "Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, it is the day of Christians, it is our day."   It is supposed to be a day of rest, where we celebrate God's love for us, the restoration of our ability to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven made possible through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and His triumph over death through His resurrection to life.  In light of all that, I wasn't sure that I should be working on it today. After all, His intention is that we spend today living as if we were already living with Him in Heaven. So, I sat down to ask Him how it was He wanted me to spend His day. A Father's Chastisement and a New Responsibility I'd been on social media earlier that morning and I posted something that was confrontational and antagonistic to those who believed something I did...
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Clarifying the Vision: Day 5 of Project FED

Yesterday was a pivotal moment in Project FED's history. After time spent praying over the direction to take Project FED and asking God for His help in seeing to its success, I received answers on multiple levels. The Struggle Is Real It's tough to get the majority of people interested in doing something for others. Most people like to talk about it, but when it comes time to rolling up their sleeves and taking action, they are too busy.  Only 25% of Americans - my home country - do volunteer work of any kind. Those that volunteer typically do so for just ONE of the many organizations that need help and support. While 73% of Americans do give to charitable organizations, the average donation is just $128 . There are so many causes and organizations to support, so many people asking for support that people begin to feel overwhelmed.  They know that - at least on the surface - what they give today won't come back to them and the money they have is a finite resource that can...
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Why Nigeria? Day 3 of Project FED

Over the last two days, I've talked about Project FED and the work I'm doing to get it going. Yesterday, I read about the kidnapping of yet another priest  in Nigeria by Boko Haram. They also kidnapped 140 schoolchildren, most likely to raise ransom money. It is the fourth mass school kidnapping since December. Nigeria: The Canary in the Mines Why do I care? First, I have friends who live in Nigeria and other friends whose families live there.  Second, because I see Nigeria as a sort of canary in the mines for America and all resource-wealthy nations. What can happen to them can happen to us. What we do about it will determine our destiny. Underground miners in America used to bring canaries down with them into the mines. In addition to their music providing the workers with something to help cheer them, those canaries were an early warning system that notified them when the air was becoming too toxic. If the canary stopped singing, they needed to get out right away. Nigeria...
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Making Progress - Day 2 of Project FED

Yesterday , I introduced you to Project FED , my effort to help Father Lucas raise money for the three orphanages he supports in Nigeria. It took me all day yesterday to try and find the right home for an online shop where I could sell the designs that I am creating to use in the campaign, but I finally set up shop on Zazzle .  We got our first email signup for Project FED as well as the first volunteer to help keep our momentum going. It may be a small gain in the relative scope of things, but every giant redwood tree began as a small seed, so I have confidence that if I keep up the work, we will keep up the momentum. Today's Work It is my husband's birthday and Wednesday, which is my day to celebrate my husband's life and my granddaughter's. I won't, therefore, get the chance to do a lot of work on Project FED.  However, I have spent the morning hours creating several different products and setting up a Pinterest board specifically for showcasing the products. An...
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Introducing Project FED

  The Story Behind the Project I met Father Lucas through some Facebook friends more than a year ago. He lives in a small village in northern Nigeria. Part of his parish includes 3 orphanages filled with children of many different ages. He struggles to get the funding to care for them. At the time, I was working a reliable freelance marketing contract and was making decent money doing it. I sent him money from time to time to help support his ministry. Toward the end of April, I got an idea. What if I had him collect some art from the children at those orphanages and I used my design and marketing skills to help him raise the money by creating products such as fabric designs and housewares and t-shirts that featured the artwork?  I made the suggestion to Father. He told me he'd work on it.  Life-Changing Circumstances In the meantime, on May 11th, I got quite a shock. The contract I'd been working on for the past three years ended suddenly and without notice.  That w...
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