The Power of Purple

The lure of getting something for free has led to an increase in companies, independent business owners, and those in direct sales offering free incentives to build their customer base, as well as their teams. But...are they really free? Consider this... You see an item online that says it's 100% free, yet when you get to checkout, you see a shipping and handling fee. You wasted time (time = money) going through the process to receive the item, and now have to choose to pay the fees or not receive it. Is the item really free?  You see free tickets offered for a concert or show, yet you must pay "taxes and a handling fee" before you receive them.  Are the tickets really free?  You sign up for a service that offers "three months free", yet are charged a "deposit' within the first month. If you cancel, you don't get the deposit back. Is the service really free?  You're invited to a free networking event, yet there's a cost to ever...

For the past couple of weeks, at night, my dog has begun to sleep fully stretched out and pressed firmly against my back. She's always been protective, but this is a new thing for her. It's almost like she's telling me "Don't worry momma, I've got your back."  That got me to thinking... Who else has my back? Or more importantly, who has your back? Who surrounds you? Who includes you? Who accepts you as you are, not who they want you to be? Who would drop everything to help you without being asked? Who would make sure you have enough to eat if you were forced to choose between paying rent or buying groceries? Who would be there to pick you up (literally) when life continues to deliver the punch to the gut that brings you to your knees? If you can't answer, it's ok. I have a hard time answering this too. Five years ago, I would be naming names without hesitation. Today, it's a struggle to come up with more than one. As time changes, so...

Over the past three months, I've started this blog several times; and several times I scrapped everything and walked away. Why? I felt it wouldn't deliver enough value to anyone who reads it. The more I tried to flush it out, the more irritated and frustrated I became. The words wouldn't flow in the way I thought would draw anyone in, and they certainly didn't "feel" right. After a heartfelt conversation with a good friend who gave me the kick in the pants I needed, I realized, again, that the value I deliver is more than enough. I had somehow let the recent opinions and voices from others affect the way I looked at the value i bring to others. So I began to put my thoughts into something that, I hope, helps others take a new and different look at the value they bring to this world and begin to see that they should never settle for anything less than what they want to achieve. In January, during a conversation, my value and worth were questioned. Not in a ...

You can't fit a square peg in a round hole.  Why would you want to "fit in" when you were made to stand out?  I'm sure you've heard those sayings before. They've been weighing on my mind ever since I had lunch with a friend who indicated that while I am always encouraging, upbeat and supportive, I just don't quite fit in. He's right. I've never really fit in, even as a child. I wasted alot of years watering down who I was just so I could try to "fit in". Everyone wants to be liked, but the reality is that even when you're well liked, you may not always "fit in". Which brings me to the question of the day: Why do we try so hard to fit in? We're all unique. We're wired to be different; from the way we look, the way we think, how we process information, how we act, etc. Those tratis make us different from the start. Over the years, I've learned that when we try to fit in, on some unconscious level, we alter ...