Times Are A Changing A BIG Happy New Year to you and yours.  I really feel 2013 is a year for greatness and year for growth for all.  From November of 2012 I spent countless hours revising my business over the last 12 months.  I checked out what worked, what could be improved and what was a challenge.  I do this every year in my business, I almost go into a hibernation state as I work through the ups and the challenges for the last 10 - 12 months.  You will notice the newsletter has had a change of colour and layout.  You may also notice the heading has significantly changed.  My reevaluation of my business and core strengths invited me to re-access my business style and service. I now have incorporated the areas of my business under one umbrella making it easier to distinguish each part.  This was a huge challenge and exciting at the same time.  Are you in the process of re-evaluating your business and your life?  How did you go about the process?  Are you still in the process?  If you are stuck and would like to share your challenges please contact me for a complimentary 15 minute action traction session.

The ABC's of Great People SkillsI am a very fortunate person, I am surrounded by amazing people who have come into my life just at the right time.  One of those people is Dawn Billings, CEO & Founder of Heart Link Network International and renowned Author. One of the books Dawn co-wrote is the ABC's of Great People Skills a great read that is to the point and an easy read.  I really wanted to share the A-Z with you.  When you read each line it really starts you thinking.  Such a timely reminder as we start our journey into 2013.

Please enjoy this small excerpt from Dawn Billings:

Appreciate others.
Be kind.
Consider other’s feelings.
Don’t make fun.
Envision the future.
Forgive dumb people.
Great-fullness.
Hate or Hope.
Inspire.
Join forces.
Keep your faith.
Look inside.
Make room for diversity.
Next.
Offer help.
Push yourself, not others.
Quit Blaming.
Reach out.
Stop the Violence.
Teach tolerance.
Understand.
Value life.
Watch closely.
X-pand your views.
Yes you can!
Zero is a number, not a name.

WHAT is the value of appreciation? Lee Cummins believes a simple “Thinking About You” or “Thank you for Your Business” could lead to anything from a smile to increased profitability.

Cummins, is a local Snr Manager, representing the US based online greeting card company, SendOutCards 

Unlike other online card companies, which allows users to send an internet link to a personalised card on the internet, SendOutCards users get to personalise one of the 17,000 card options or even create their own cards using their personal photos, which is then mailed to the recipient, anywhere in the world.

Once a user logs on to SendOutCards   subscribes to the service, they can create their own secured account where they can store information like names, addresses, birthdays, anniversary dates or reminders along with photos to send appreciation messages.

Users receive emails to get their cards out in time for these occasions. There is also an option to send gifts or gift cards, which can be selected from options on the website, along with the card.

The card is printed within 24 hours after the user completes their order. Cards of the highest quality standards and printed on recycled paper.  Mailing time differs according to the postal service within the country in which the recipient lives.

Receiving an emailed link to an on-line  e-card does not compare to going to the mailbox and seeing a card among all the bills and windowed envelopes or whatever else is mailed.  Another benefit of SendOutCards, is it is more convenient than heading to a store to purchase cards, lining up at the post office or worse, not remembering to post the card.

SendOutCards makes it hassle free. You can access it at any time from a computer with internet access, no matter where you are.  You could choose from the wide selection of cards or make your own. The cost of the card is cheaper than most of the options available at card shops.

The service is utilised in the United States, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, UK and Singapore by businessmen, businesswomen and companies, including real estate agents, dentists, doctors, mortgage companies and other businesses which rely on customer- based earnings.

People feel underappreciated. 68% of customers move away from a business due to percieved indifference.

This is a simple tool to show appreciation. It is inexpensive and time saving. A lot of companies take business from people and do not say thank you. The experience is not personalised. This little tool could help many expand their business.

SendOutCards has also been used to teach school aged children appreciation and can be used as a fund raising initiative.

To raise funds, organisations such as schools or churches, can become distributors themselves and encourage parents or members to take out subscriptions to the service.

Therefore every time they send a cards or gifts from the website, the organisation will receive the profits from these sales and raise much needed funds.

Do you wish you could have invested in iTunes, Amazon.com, or Netflix when they launched?

What do these businesses have in common?

They all were game changers.

Amazon.com revolutionized the way we shop for books. Borders, Barnes & Noble and the other booksellers stopped expanding and started closing stores.

iTunes changed the way we buy music. I bet you'd have a hard time even finding a record store anymore!  Most record sales are digital thanks the way Apple revolutionized the music business.

Netflix was a game changer in the video business. It's hard to find a local video store any more. Many of the franchise video stores have closed down. Blockbuster went bankrupt and was bought buy Dish Network for peanuts.

What do these businesses have in common?

They used technology to deliver the same service better, cheaper, and most importanly in a more convenient way.

Anyone who invested in Apple, Amazon, or Netflix is happy they did. These businesses are now dominating their industry. I wish I had the foresight to invest in them 5 or 10 years ago.

What if there was a new home business that was doing the same thing?

Would you want to be a part of a business like that?

http://www.remembergreetingcards.com/opportunity/leecummins

There is a new business that is taking the Netflix style of business to greeting cards.  This company is working to overthrow the 7.5 Billion dollar powerhouses of Hallmark and American Greetings.

They're using a Netflix type delivery system and modern technology to take all the hassle out of sending a greeting card or gift.  No more trips to the post office. No more trips to the mall. It's a lot more convenient and you can even personalize your cards with your photos and handwriting.

Businesses love it because they can automate their cards to their clients.  They can do mass mailings to prospects.  They can setup referral programs and use this technology to send gift cards as thank yous to clients.

This business is called Send Out Cards. It is a game changer in the greeting card business. The owners of 5 Hallmark stores (they've asked their names to be withheld) have switched.  They shut down their stores and invested in this business instead.

What is this business?

http://www.remembergreetingcards.com/opportunity/leecummins

Check it out.  You don't want to miss out on this opportunity.

You don't want to be kicking yourself in 5 or 10 years for not getting involved!

I have always been an avid reader right back since being a young child.  I did give reading a spell for a little while but only because I could never find the time, or when I did have some time to spare the book wasn’t with me.  Then.... I discovered Kindle on the Ipad, I am now back reading at a furious pace. 
I love the selection of books, I love the fact that whilst hubby is watching footy I can be in the same room with the backlit Ipad and read my book.  Now I have the time and a world of books at my fingertips.
Just recently I added to my collection the book ‘The Magic’ by Rhonda Byrne also known for ‘The Secret’.  So far I have been like a sponge reading page by page, chapter by chapter.  What an amazing book.  One of the chapters suggests waking every morning and being thankful what the day lies ahead and saying ‘thank you, thank you, thank you three times. 
Along with doing the suggestions after each chapter I have also been participating in the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge.  Since adopting more of a gratitude and thank you nature to the beginning of my day, I have seen remarkable shifts in my well-being, my health and my thinking.
It is a well documented, scientific,  fact that coming from a ‘good place’ , a place of gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness the feel good hormone, Serotonin increases.  Also, if you give someone a gift, compliment or a gesture of gratitude, their levels of Serotonin rise.  Amazingly, anyone in the room witnessing this act of gratitude, goodwill or thankfulness also sees a significant rise in their Serotonin levels.
Who would you like to give the gift of a rise in the feel good hormone?  Everyone benefits, imagine if all of Australia, or might I suggest the world had a lift in Serotonin every day, would the world be the same place today as it was yesterday?