Are you selling a DREAM and your blessings to people who haven't built the muscle to carry them?

Are you selling a DREAM and your blessings to people who haven't built the muscle to carry them?

As a consultant and speaker, this was hands down my number one least favorite and most discouraging part of the journey. I cared more about the end result for my clients than the transaction or recurring revenue.
My intent and investment of time and energy was tied to their results.
I began asking other coaches, consultants, and leaders if they struggled with this.
Each and every one said, as long as you provide good information, it's up to the client to produce the result.
Being the numbers person that I am, the conversions were still extremely low after digging into each conversation with each expert.
I came to the conclusion that if the expert was solid to begin with and was a trustworthy coach who provided the entire blueprint including the what, the how, the pitfalls, the expenses, the support needed, etc...and an extremely high percentage of clients were still not hitting the goal, only a handful of success stories here and there, then it must be something wrong.

Was it that information needed to be niche out enough to measure the deliverables?

Were we leaving out the fact that each person has a unique set of skills, I communication sales planning which ultimately have a direct impact?

If these things aren't factored in, we still leave people somewhat forced to figure it out on their own. 
I think as leaders it's our responsibility to include all the factors, not just the ones that support the dream or the transaction.  If it's hard and you could barely figure it out, then say that.  When a client invests in information, they should be provided a complete process or guide which is sold off the merit and integrity of the solutions and potential pitfalls, not a dream lifestyle.  So many legends in the industry have resorted to teaching new leaders how to sell programs but not how to truly change communities.  I believe it begins in the mind and your journey will prepare you. 

With the focus on the deliverables of the program, the clients are investing in the learning, doing the work, and committing to a process; not the emotional and psychological high of a new life or fear of staying stuck in an old one.

Fear based decisions provide temporary solutions which lead to a low rate of people who actually have the power and muscle to make it to the finish line.

- Tierra Destiny

How credit is calculated

“How your credit score is calculated”

The most used credit scoring company is the Fair Isaac Corporation “FICO”. Over 80% of creditors use FICO scoring. Below is the breakdown and factors of what makes up your FICO score. Credit is based off several different factors however payment history makes up 35% which is why it's very important your accounts are “paid as agreed” or “paid on time”. By making only one payment late can negatively affect your credit score. A good FICO score is 750+ on a scale 300 to 850.

How credit scores are calculated

Payment History:
Accounts paid as agreed
Number of past due items
Current negative marks
Amounts owed

Secured vs unsecured 

Number of accounts with balances:
Balance to credit
Balance to loan amount

Length of credit:
Time since account opened
Time since account activity 

New Credit:
Recent credit inquires
# of inquires
Recent opened accounts
Time of recent opening

Types of credit:
Mortgage
Installment loans
Retail cards
Credit cards

Santasia H.~

Connect with Santasia:

Website: www.creditdonesimple.com
Twitter Handle: @mscandihill
Instagram Handle: @i_am_candihill
Facebook Handle: Santasia "Candi" Hill
Linked In: Santasia L. Hill

FREEDOM AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

FREEDOM AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE 

What would we do differently if we were driven by unconditional love? How differently might we serve? What if how people perceived us didn’t matter? What if criticism or praise could be seen as simply feedback?
I recently listed my inner critic concerns and after I did the list I noticed a trend: lack of love, fear of what others will think, their reactions or rejections, and it was a really liberating moment for me. I was liberated in less than 10 minutes, because I realized that what I do isn’t driven by the outside, it is driven by my inner truth. All of these concerns weren’t in alignment with my truth. I realized that I am already loved just as I am, and that if I shifted my perspective about every one of my concerns, my life could change in an instant.
In this moment, I realized something else – that freedom and unconditional love are best friends, co-partners in life, and that unconditional love comes when we are able to see our circumstances, lessons, and growth processes from the eyes of compassion instead of judgment. When we can see our lives from compassion, we are truly liberated – and in that moment, the lessons we were supposed to learn become available to us and even more available to others.
Being a CEO of my own company has been one of the major GIFTs I have ever had. Being in charge of my company has made available to me my major strengths and resilience, on top of all the inner work that is available for me to create. I can no longer look around and find someone else responsible for my mistakes or shortcomings; the only one to look at is myself in the mirror, and there I always see who has ownership for everything. At the beginning of my journey, there were areas I didn’t like to see there, so I tried to hide from myself. As I matured, I realized that I needed to see my whole self, not just a snapshot of myself. I needed to embrace myself fully without judgment. When I do this, I am open to renewing myself.
Loving myself is the most important life objective for me and my life, business and clients, because when I love myself I am free to learn and innovate. When I am willing to fail, I am free to see others with compassion, to connect to the Divine Love available to support me and sustain me along the way. I am free to fly, to share fully versus partially; and most of all, to be human. I am liberated from my own inner critic to keep moving forward and to continue accepting life. I am free to be a GIFT to the world and be of service to others because I have shifted from my cloudy view to a more authentic inner view. Love and compassion give me the courage to expand beyond my own self-imposed limitations.
I invite you to recognize how many things you aren’t doing because you are seeking external feedback or praise. If you’re avoiding something, ask yourself how this is serving you. And how is it serving others?
Writing books taught me that life lessons are meant to be shared with others, and I am amazed and humbled when someone shares the impact the books I have written have made in their lives. This feedback helps me realize that there is a direct IMPACT on me when I don’t share with others, because just as something can be really liberating for me, it may be for others as well. I have come to realize that loving oneself isn’t selfish at all. To the contrary, it is valuable and even necessary for the communities we live in. It brings a new energy to the work we do and the reasons why we do what we do. The quality of my work changes by the energy it’s been created with, when I create with love vs. apprehension or fear I can feel the difference.
Your story matters, your lessons matter; share them from a space of inner love, and quiet your inner critic with a prayer:

I accept my Divine GIFT, for the service of the world. God, I surrender myself to your divine aid, for you are my protector, my council and my courage and strength.
Please show me the way, send me your divine angels and archangels to sustain me so that I may share this GIFT with the world.
God, you are my wings. In you I put my trust. I open my heart to your guidance; surround me with your strength and unconditional love.
Because I am infinitely loved by you, always and forever, I will remember that rejection is only an illusion. And so it is.

Virginia Nava Hieger is the author of Your Unique Gift: Finding Life’s Unique Gift Proposition and Meaningful Freedom: Finding Freedom Through Wholeness, two books aimed at empowering women on a journey of self-discovery, authenticity, wholeness and personal freedom. As a Transformative Power® coach, she believes each one of us has our own source of inner strength and that we simply need the tools to reconnect with it to let our light shine back out into the world. Visit her site at www.thetransformativepower.com. For a free copy of an ebook, email virginianava@thetransformativepower.com. 

- Virginia Nava Hieger

Connect with Virginia:

Website: www.thetransformativepower.com
Twitter Handle: transformativep
Linked In: Virginia Nava Hieger

Put On Some New Genes!

Put On Some New Genes! 

As children we come into this world just as innocent as we can be. As our characteristics and traits start to develop people may see things we do that remind them of our mother or things that will remind them of our father. I have someone in my life that comes from a family of bi-polar disorder he constantly states he is not bi-polar. He does not want to be associated with the disorder. He is choosing to put on new GENES.

Just because his family line is associated and impacted by this disorder he is making better choices and decisions with his life. Life is all about making good choices and decisions because the choices affect our future, not to mention what or who is connected to our future. Diminish the infamous character or conduct that may have been passed on through your GENES. When you take authority over your life and learn to walk in your new GENES the overall life for the next set of family members can take a different route than the previous family members.

After a conversation with a close friend we realized the patterns that are currently in her life and I brought it to her attention that she must end it now. She must put on her new GENES because she has a daughter that may take the pattern and continue to build a quilt out of it. When you make the final say to ending the relationship with the old GENES and you put on the new GENES they will have a much better fit, cut and they will look good on you.

So stop what you are doing and look at your GENES....DO YOU NEED TO PUT ON SOME NEW GENES?

- Keshea Way

Connect with Keshea:

Website: www.kesheaway.com
Twitter Handle: @taughtbyfaith
Instagram Handle: @taughtbyfaith
Facebook Handle: Keshea Way
Linked In: Keshea Way

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday! 
 

Are you over reading? Crazy question, right?  I know, but I was curious.  I think that sometimes we can get so addicted to learning and taking in information that we stunt our own momentum.  There are countless "voices" on the internet.  These "voices"  are human beings just like you. We each have unique experiences, which is what's so awesome because we each grow from each other through sharing our voice.  

However, beware of always seeking the voice of others more than you do your own.  This is what I realized while writing, "The Power of Peace in a Pause.  Life can become so routine that we rarely choose to stop reading, listening, and doing what everyone else suggests; in order to know for a fact, that we are where we want to be and doing what we want to be doing.

- Tierra Destiny

Purpose To The 5th Power

Purpose To The 5th Power

As "Finding Purpose" has become the trending factor across the world; so many are engaged in finding their purpose or assisting others in finding their purpose. The truth is purpose was never lost, our way was. The reason I say that is because we were born with a purpose and it was left up to those who were molding us to help us understand who we are and to point us in the right direction. Often times we grew up as children hearing "You're a child you don't have a say so" or "Stay in a child's place". I believe that had we been molded differently, operating in our purpose wouldn't have been such a challenge. We lost our way because we were groomed and shaped into thinking how someone else thought we should. Our purpose was already in course the day we inhaled and exhaled. That's why I say it's not about finding purpose but about finding self. When it comes to purpose, purpose is a powerful things. I like to call it Purpose to the 5th Power.  
 
Here are the 5 powerful points to purpose.  
•A purpose will motivate you. 
•A purpose will keep your priorities straight. 
•A purpose will develop your potential. 
•A purpose will give you power to live in the present. 
•A purpose will help you evaluate your progress. 
(Excerpt from The Maxwell Leadership Bible) 
 
Once self-discovery is there and purpose has it's free course, you can look forward to 5 powerful encounters to purpose that are sure to take you beyond you're preconceived thoughts of how to live out your purpose. Once you know who you are, serving others becomes easier and more rewarding to do and you can rest assure that purpose will operate in the 5th power. The number 5 signifies grace, meaning you find joy, favor, ability and fulfillment; you will have the grace to be and do who you were originally created and chosen to do before it became contaminated. Go and be great…there are more counting on you than against you. The world awaits you. 

- Melody Joy

Connect with Melody:

Website: www.stilettoauthority.org 

Twitter Handle: @melodyjoy_ 

Instagram Handle: @stiletto_authority 

Facebook Handle: Melody Joy (Stiletto Authority) 

Linked In: Melody France 

Do you know the difference between a soft inquiry and a hard inquiry?

Do you know the difference between a soft inquiry and a hard inquiry?

Soft inquiry sometimes known as soft pull, is an inquiry into your credit history that does not affect the credit score. Most times, you are not aware when a soft inquiry has taken place on your credit report. For example, the mail offerings you receive from credit card companies, loan companies, and car dealers it's likely the company has conducted a soft inquire to see if you qualify for services as well as when mortgage companies pre-approve you for a loan. Employers even sometimes use soft inquiries as a part of background check, banks verify you are who you say you are before opening your accounts by soft inquiries. Checking your own credit report, which you should do once a year is free and done as a soft inquiry. Checking your credit file, at least once a year is important for your financial future.

A hard inquiry on a credit report is different from a soft inquiry. Hard inquires does affect your credit score. Whenever you are applying to getting a new credit card or loan that company conducts a hard inquire on your credit report these hard inquires does lower your credit score by 5 points for about 6 months that stays on the your credit report for 2 years. It's very important you guard your credit from obtaining too many hard inquiries. Companies will offer 10-20% off your purchase for opening an account, it's not worth the hit of 5 points it can make on your credit report especially if you are trying to build credit or if you are in the market to make a big purchase like a home or car. Be smart about your credit.

Santasia H~

Connect with Santasia:

Website: www.creditdonesimple.com
Twitter Handle: @mscandihill
Instagram Handle: @i_am_candihill
Facebook Handle: Santasia "Candi" Hill
Linked In: Santasia L. Hill

5 Smart Career Tips that You Can Begin Tomorrow!

5 Smart Career Tips That You Can Begin Tomorrow! 

1. The first one is, Take Responsibility, you have to take ownership of your career development. There are so many companies who have scaled back on training and development due to the economic downturn and smaller companies cannot provide significant support for their employees, so to simply put this your career rests in only one set of hands and that’s yours. And if you’re looking for a job, make your job search be your full-time job. Work 40 hours per week on finding a job and submitting applications. No excuses! Don’t quit! Employers can get up to 500 resumes for ONE job opening. When you dread “failing” and have this poisonous fear of failure within you, your nervous system will kick in and you’ll experience all the feelings that go with failure. Unwittingly, you will overestimate the dangers facing you and underestimate yourself. This is where you have to take control!!! Remember, fear of rejection doesn’t have to paralyze your job search efforts! Understanding your value and expressing it confidently allows you to shine in every interaction you have, whether in person or in writing!

2. Strategize. Have a long-term career strategy, or at the very least an idea for where you’re headed. Ask yourself, “What do I really want to do? Or, where do I see myself in 5-10 years?” Write this information down. I CANNOT stress how important it is to write down your goals especially as it pertains to your career and/or job search. This will guide you throughout the year and allow you to see your career development and growth. Get a small notebook and carry it with you. Write down various magazines, articles, books, and websites that you want to read and gain more information from regarding your job search. 

3. Connect the Dots: Work in step with your company’s goals. Connect the dots from your role to your company’s vision and key objectives. Reflect on how your work aligns with the organization’s goals and then think about how you can maximize your contributions. If you’re a job seeker you can do this activity also, think about the companies that you’re applying for and how their strategic plan coincidences with your career goals. (BUT, don’t allow this to keep you from stepping outside of your focus area. My background is in education, BUT I was still able to show how my transferrable skills could translate into a career in public health & science even though I didn’t major in either of those areas.) Ultimately, it is the demonstration of your strengths that will lead to your success. Remember, I want you to develop and demonstrate your transferable skills!!!! Your education does not have to determine your elevation! See yourself in a new role. Cross OVER. Many successful employees have risen through the ranks by taking cross-functional roles, such as moving from finance to sales or marketing to IT or administration role to project management etc. Focus on your transferrable skills and don’t stay confined to one box. Form a mental picture of the positive self you’d like to become in your career. 

4. Strengthen Your Communication Skills. Communication skills can make or break our careers. Pick one area that you need to hone in on such as listening, presenting, persuading, or writing emails for example and commit to improving this area. Pick one area to focus on this month. JUST ONE. Think about which area you need to strengthen your skills on. Take a class, practice with a trusted friend or co-worker and focus on a particular area. Strong communication skills are vital for a successful career. A great resource for assessing your communication skills is www.mindtools.com. And click on the communications page. They have communication checklists and multiple tools that you can start right away!!! Communication is KEY to your success! 

5. Find a Guide & Network…NOW NOT NEXT WEEK!!! Mentors can serve as influential role models and provide critical support and guidance for your career. Never underestimate the power of a mentor. Reach out to a potential mentor within your company and see if he or she would be open to mentoring you for a specific purpose and timeframe. You can even draft a mentorship proposal. The best time to increase your network is today. Your network = your net worth. Starting now, get involved in groups such as professional organizations and/or charitable organizations. Step into leadership roles and make your expertise known. As you begin to build relationships in your new networks, don’t forget those that you connected with years before. They can continue to serve as a critical resource. I am still in contact with my mentors from over 10+ years ago. They were the foundation for my success and always pushed me and shared new resources and success. We keep valuable items in our homes, even if they are old. WE don’t throw those away. Keep in touch with your old mentors while you make new ones. This will create a cycle for YOUR success! 

For more successful tips and career strategies visit us online at www.topchoiceresumes.com, Follow us on twitter @topchoiceresume and like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/topchoiceresumes

Connect with Lisa:

Website: www.topchoiceresumes.com

Twitter Handle: @LA_Matthews

Instagram Handle: Lamatthews

Facebook Handle: www.facebook.com/topchoiceresumes

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlamatthews

STARTING OVER WITH SHYREETA

Greatness Unmasked!

I want to WIN but I have no one that believes in me or my vision!
I need a mentor!
In order to receive what you are being taught by a mentor, they have to be relatable.
Relatable in a sense of knowing how you feel and being unafraid to share their raw feelings of how they felt and how they coped.
On those days where you just feel unmotivated, defeated, rejected, empty, overwhelmed, beat down, and just blocked up from life's occurences this person should be able to tell you that it's normal and show you ways of how to get pass it.
I'm not saying that your mentor should pacify and pat you on the back by telling you what you want to hear. They should be able to be in touch with life and not sale you a story of whimsical dreams and experiences. Nobody gets to where they are by way of luck or by living the perfect life. Their lives are built with brick and mortar; one brick at a time.
When you find a mentor that you can trust, be honest with, and unashamed to share your rawest of feelings, keep them close. Those are the ones that have experienced some things and take pride in providing the necessary tools to help you succeed.
Remember your success depends greatly upon you and the work that you put in not the excuses!
I hope your week is grand!

Connect with Shyreeta:

Website: www.ibrandmatchmaker.com

Instagram: Shyreeta_shops4u

Facebook: Shyreeta Benbow

Linked In: Shyreeta Benbow