Inconsiderate, Late and Blind People

Okay, okay, so this is one of the biggest rant in everyone life, but this week it’s really getting to me, as well and others around me.  I’m a mom of 3 wonderful, never perfect, kids (9, 6 and 1), and I understand that there’s going to be times where not everyone is going to be out the door in a timely manner…I get it.  But here’s the problem, it’s been an epidemic at my children’s school, the last few month especially.  The school is constantly sending emails, notes and reminders to make sure that your kids are where they should be on time.  This shouldn’t be that hard to follow, right?!?  Apparently not.  As I stand on the playground every afternoon I’m surrounded by parents chit-chatting and raving over how INCONVENIENT it is to get everyone to school on time.  REALLY!  “Well, my kids don’t want to wake up in the morning” “Mine shuffles their feet and complains” “My son/daughter is too busy watching tv to eat their breakfast or get ready”  SERIOUSLY  What is happening in your house?  I know parents who do EVERYTHING for their child, scrambling in a desperate search to find last nights homework that didn’t fully get finished because they didn’t want to do it,  while the child just sits there watching tv.  I’m 35 years old, I’m somehow considered to be a millennial, but don’t think the way a millennial does.  I understand that every child needs help to tie their shoes, zip their coat and pack their lunch, but really parents, please make sure you teach your child responsibilities.  It is not YOUR job to make sure THEIR homework is put away.  It is not YOUR job to pack their bag.  However, it is YOUR job to show them how to do so.  Turn off that blasted television in the morning.  Teach your child to pour their own bowl of cereal, to get dressed, to pack their bag and to head out the door.  THAT’S our jobs, to parent.

I know one parent on my block that drops one child off at school, races back home to pick up the other child that wasn’t ready to go, zips them down, then regularly has to run BACK home to grab their band instrument that they forgot….AGAIN.  How is this exceptable?  I see her face every morning, stressed out as hell.  Why?  Why do people do this to themselves?  Create a routine that works and if they forget something….oh well.  Let them learn that lesson?  Let them fall.  Let them make those mistakes that we made when we were kids, and guess what, we learned NOT to forget.  OMG What a concept!

I have another friend who looks to me as if I’m that perfect mom (which, I’m no where near.  I don’t think this in the least) and her son is the most sweet and loving young man….until mom and dad show up.  He knows how to play his parents to get away with anything and everything.  You want to see a fit being thrown?  Have his parents tell him something that he doesn’t want to do, like run errands (i.e. Costco, grocery store).  This kid will take off and hide, then when found will cry and pitch a fit to get his way, but the sad thing is, his parents will give in.  I can’t say anything to them, because it’s non of my business, he’s not mine.  There’s time where we will be having a conversation and I’ll say that my kids are about to or doing their “Night time routine”, she will look at her son and say “See, her kids have a routine.  Where’s yours?”  The boy will just roll his eyes and run away.  I just want to smack her and tell her that it’s NOT his responsibility to come up with a routine, that’s her job.  It’s NOT his job to just automatically know what to do if he’s not taught how to do it in the first place.  Get your ass in that house, develop something that works for you and you TEACH him his job.  She is the perfect definition of a helicopter mom.  Hover over your child, do everything for them and teach them nothing except to be a spoiled rotten brat.

Anger is running through my veins at the moment, can you tell?

The other issue I’d like to address today is the inconsiderate.  This started my brain off this morning because of a mom with a double stroller decided to just STOP right on the corning of the school, in the middle of the sidewalk.  Mind you, this was the worst time and place to do so because there was myself, also with a stroller, and about 20 other kids and parents behind me, also dropping their children off…on time.  She had an area for her to pull her stroller off to the side, out of everyone’s way so she could kiss and hug her kids goodbye, but no, she parked her ass in the middle of the sidewalk with her dog, stroller and kids and made everyone else squeeze passed her.  Seriously, what happened to decency and manners?

Along with the letters to be on time, the school is constantly sending out reminders about the parking and drop off/pick up lane.  At our school, there is parking on the street, a parking lot (mainly for staff, as it should), a pick up/drop off lane and a bus lane.  MOST people do ok, but there are those jackasses out there that the rules JUST DON’T APPLY TO THEM.  There’s signs that says “Do not block the buses from entering”, but really, it should just say, “Use some common sense”.  The drop off and pick up lane is meant for parents to do just that, not park your car, get out, pull the back pack out of the trunk and walk your child in.  That’s what the parking lot is for.  Make your butt walk the few extra yards.  If the pick up lane is full, find a spot, park, and get out to get your child just like EVERYONE ELSE.  Don’t sit there in the street, with your blinker on, blocking ALL the cars and buses behind you from going to their destination.  Common Sense.

Okay, I know this blog is harsh this time, but I have a lot of pent up anger and had to get it out before I just blow up.  I am not the person to say no to people, I’m not the person to talk shit about them, either in front of or behind their backs, but when it just keeps getting built up and built up, I just can’t hold it back anymore.

Signing off

A look at your own life

     Take a good look at yourself and your life.  Are you where you want to be?  What is your 5 year plan?  What was your 5 year plan 5 years ago and have you achieved that dream?  I bet that 99 of 100 people can truly answer yes to that last question.  Look at your age and think about yourself at 17 or 18 years old, where did you think you would be by now?  Big house?  Building a family?  Secure career where everyone respects and listens to you?  That hasn’t happened has it?  Maybe you have built a big family, but you are just squeaking by each month and cramped in a small house that you can barely afford.  My main topic this time is for you to take a look and really think about your own life.  What would you do differently?  What would you change?  How can you change it?  What steps can you take to help you get yourself on the correct path and out of situation that you are in.

     I’m going to start with one complex question and give you a very simple answer.

                         Question-   “How do you eat an elephant?”

                                     Answer-   “One bite at a time”

     That’s it guys.  In order to change your life’s situations, you have to start with just one bite, and it starts with thinking outside of the box.  Yes, people will look at you funny and start questioning your sanity a bit, but the biggest problem that this world has, is that everyone has problems, and they are all the SAME problems, but why?  Let me tell you a story that I have heard over and over again, and never get tired of hearing it.  “Every year, a husband watches his wife prepare the Christmas Ham and every year the wife would cut off the end of the Ham.  One year, the husband finally asks, ‘Why do you cut off the end of the ham?’  The wife replies to the husband, ‘Because I watched my mother do it every year.’  So the husband asked his wife’s mother the same question, ‘Why did you cut off the end of the ham?’  The Mother-in-law gave the same exact answer, ‘Because my mother did it.’  So they went to talk to their Grand-mother, ‘Why did you cut off the end of the ham?’  The Grand-mother replied ‘Because the ham was too big and it wouldn’t fit in the pan!’ ”  The same thing is happening to us.  Every generation that goes by, we are taught, “go to school, get a job, go to school, get a job, go to school, get a job”, but no one teaches us “What else is there?”  What about your own business, whether it be through another company (i.e. network marketing) or creating your own?  I know what you are thinking, “Networking Marketing?!?!? Those are all Pyramids!”  Well, I’m here to tell you, the biggest pyramid you will ever see is Corporate America, where the person at the top gets paid all the money and the people are the bottom get next to nothing.  That sounds like your own job doesn’t it?  Truly think about that.  Well, not all network marketing companies are scams.  Have you ever heard of Avon, Tupperware, Amway, Mary Kay?  How about Starbucks or McDonalds?  Yes, they are all forms of networking.  It’s only because a few years back, so many marketing companies came into the scene all at once and burnt so many people, that the world got a sour taste in it’s mouth and ever since then, the generations have been taught to despise network marketing.  I’m not saying that Networking is for everyone.  All I’m saying is there is another option or there.

     Every bad thing that happens in life opens up a new opportunity.  Are you failing in life?  Learn from your failures and “Fail Forward”.  Find someone who has the life that you want and follow them.  There is more value in a mentorship than in a paycheck, but if you follow a proven system that the right mentor/roll model has followed, the paychecks will come with.  Quitting is something you’ll never forget, but adding on is something that creates value.  God doesn’t build junk.  You are not junk.  Find who you are and be the person that God has built you to be.  Even a blind squirrel can find an acorn by sniffing around hard enough. 

“Find a way to serve to many and you will achieve greatness”

Ask yourself “Am I the person I’m looking for?”

http://www.brandyaiken.acnibo.com

If not this, then what?  If not now, then when?  If not you, then who? and ask, “What can I do differently tomorrow to change my situation today?”

Doing as your parents do. Is that the right way?

I’ve been reading the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.  I just picked it up the other day and I just can’t seem to put it down.  I am in love with this book and I advise everyone to read it. 

Now, I am into Network Marketing and I understand the power of leveraging, residual income vs. linear income and owning your own business vs. being a traditional employee, but to a lot of people out there, they don’t even know there is another option for them.  Almost everyone is taught by their parents, (because their parents before them taught them and so on and so forth) that you must go to school and you must get a job.  Now, I’m not knocking school.  I believe that education is a great thing, but the right education is the key, Financial Literacy.  “Money controls their lives, or should I say the fear and ignorance about money controls it.  So they do as their parents did.  They get up every day and go work for money, not taking the time to ask the question, ‘Is there another way?'” -Robert Kiyosaki Rich Dad Poor Dad  I own my own business through a marvelous MLM company and they have been given The Bravo award for Top training in which I attend once to twice a week locally, but with in this training, there was a story that was told about a woman who would cut off the end of a ham every time she cooked it.  Finally someone asked her, “Why do you do this?  Why cut off the end of the ham?”  In which, she would reply back, “because my mom did it.”  She then went to her mom and asked her why she cut the end off.  Her response was the same, “Because my Mother did it”  Finally, she asked HER mom why she cut off the end of the ham.  Her response was; “Because it was too big and I didn’t have a pan big enough.”  I laugh every time I hear this story, but it’s funny how we imitate people we are close to with out asking the reasoning for it.  My point is, start thinking about your life and ask yourself, are you doing the same thing as your parents did just because they are doing what their parents taught them?  If so, is that the path for you?  Are you missing something in your life, but can’t figure out why or what you’re missing?

I will leave you with just one last insert from Rich Dad Poor Dad.   “Most people live their lives chasing paychecks, pay raises and job security because of the emotions of desire and fear, not really questioning where those emotion-driven thoughts are leading them.  It’s just like the picture of a donkey dragging a cart with it’s owner dangling a carrot just in front of it’s nose.  The donkey’s owner may be going where he wants to, but the donkey is chasing an illusion.  Tomorrow there will only be another carrot for the donkey…What intensifies fear and desire is ignorance…If the Donkey could see the whole picture, it might rethink it’s choice to chase the carrot.”-Robert Kiyosaki

Don’t work for money, have money work for you.  Start thinking, “what else is out there?”

www.brandyaiken.acnibo.com

Modern Day Gold Rush

Modern Day Gold Rush

One of the biggest top producers in Network Marketing is ACN’s Senior Vice President Mr. Shane Douglas.  He’s from a, “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” town in Idaho, with well over 250,000 business partners on his team.  I’m one of the fortunate people on his team.  I have met him personally and have been trained by him a number of times and I can’t say enough good things about the guy.  He’s one of the most down to earth gentlemen I know.  He saw this opportunity and said that “It just makes sense”.  If it doesn’t make sense to you, then just pass this on, but if it does shoot me an email at brandyaiken@acnrep.com I’d love to set you up with more information and answer any of your questions.  There are tons of people out there just looking and praying for an answer.  This was mine.  Maybe it’s yours too?

16 Practices that Reignite Momentum

What a great list!

Leadership Freak

You lost momentum because you did the right thing too long.

Momentum never changes until something changes.

Igniting momentum requires shifts in attitudes, behaviors, methods, and results.

16 practices to reignite momentum:

1. Celebrate in public. Kick butt and complain in private.
2. Define current reality. Don’t pussyfoot. Use hard data, observable behaviors, and market conditions to explain where you are.
3. Admit what isn’t working.
4. Take a break.
5. Draw a line in the sand. Determine how long you’ll stay the course before making adjustments.
6. Learn something that shifts your thinking.
7. Learn by refocusing on customers and clients. Lost momentum invites leaders to isolate and sink inward.
8. Eliminate toxic people, practices, and programs.
9. Simplify. Ask, “What should we stop?” Kill the program that you fell in love with because it worked way back when. Energy returns when you stop wasting it.
10. Narrow focus. Achieve one or two objectives. Do less.
11. Send teams to…

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Respect and Support of people

I find it strange and depressing how people treat others they call their “Friends” and “Family”.  I got Lucky in life and came across this amazing network marketing company that has been around for over 20 years now, it’s being exclusively endorsed by Mr. Donald Trump himself and he has convinced NBC to showcase this brilliant company on his prime time Celebrity Apprentice show twice (2009 & 2011).  But here is the problem, it’s “Network Marketing”.  People are so afraid of “Pyramid Schemes” that even though when something good, like this, comes their way, they aren’t even willing to even take a look.  But here isn’t the entire issue.  In Network Marketing, it’s best to go through your closest family and friends, that’s great, that’s what’s supposed to happen, but what if your family barely acknowledges you and your friends don’t respect you?  My family and friends fall into one of 2 categorizes for me. 1. They say they support me, and will either do the bare minimum to help me out, or will just SAY they support me but do nothing to help me anyway.  and 2. I go to them for help and this is what I get back; Absolutely nothing, no “no thank you” or “maybe another time” or “I’m not interested”, NOTHING!!!  Then the ones that do reply back to me are so rude and absurd that I really don’t want to repeat what they say on this page.  That’s how bad they are.  I know my business is what’s for me and growing as a person must coming before the fortune.  That’s not what bothers me.  It’s the way people act and treat others.  What ever happened to “Treat others as you would want to be treated”?  I have 2 kids (2 and 4 1/2) and you better be DAMN sure that my kids will be taught this valuable lesson.  I am a Stay at Home Momma with a growing business on the side, but no matter what, God and my family come first in my life.  For those who feel the same way I do, please know that I am a VERY strong woman.  I may have some low times in life, but what person doesn’t.  I will pull myself out of anything life throws at me.  One day, I will be standing in a room filled with 30,000 people and all eyes will be on me, listening to every single word I have to say and I will be telling them what struggles I have gone through to get to that point in hopes that my words will mean something to just one person and I will turn their life around.  So, tomorrow, I will pick myself up and I will go out there and show the world the gift of hope that has been bestowed upon me.  I love my life, I love my Blessed Lord for giving me all that I have and I love my beautiful family.

www.brandyaiken.acnibo.com is packed with the gift of hope for those who are looking, for those who are praying for something and for those who may not know they are looking, but know they want something more out of life then what they got.

Moms

Being a mom really has to be the hardest job in the world.  Your job description is endless and changes every minute of every day.  I always knew before kids, that being a mom was going to be hard, but nothing on earth would prepare me for the emotional roller coaster motherhood has been.  Of course there is; the physical pain of pregnancy and child birth, the colicky nights, the breast feeding (are they eating enough, am I producing enough?), crawling, talking, walking, the “Why don’t you understand me”, “I don’t understand what you are saying”, the skinned knees, the high fevers and ear infections, the list is endless, but the one biggest emotion that always overtakes me is love and affection.  This morning, my 4 year old son had a Mother’s Day Tea at his pre-school and all the mom’s and grandma’s were invited.  They sang a few songs and spoke a few words and I just couldn’t help but tear up and laugh out loud.  All these kids are just absolute Angels sent directly from God’s arms.  After their couple songs, we were all drug back to the class room where the mom’s got to have snack time with the kids, and the teacher read out loud little, fill in the blanks, poems that each kid had to fill out and our jobs as moms were to guess which one was ours, and this is what my son wrote (remember, that he’s only 4). 

My mommy is the most beautiful person I know.  The prettiest thing about her is her “Flowers”.  Mommy is about “like this (~1)” feet tall and weighs around “Light weight” pounds.  Her eyes are “white” and her hair is “Yellow”.  Her favorite food is “Pizza” and her favorite color is “Green”.  The thing I like to do most with my mommy is “to play games with my mommy.” There are a lot of reasons to love her, but most of all I love my mommy because “I love to play games with her”.  Love, your son

How does a person take all that love into their heart with out it just exploding everywhere?  I became so overwhelmed.  To see my own creation have so much creativity and imagination is just….well, overwhelming.  I know a lot of you who read this will probably think that I’m a lunatic and a psycho and probably believe that I think my kids are the greatest in the world over top of all others.  Well, yes, yes I do, but what parent out there doesn’t think that, and those who don’t, SHAME ON YOU.  God has given me 2 very special kids and one amazingly special husband, and everyday, I can’t believe that they are mine.

Just over 2 years ago, I lost my brother suddenly to undiagnosed diabetes.  He was a month shy of 31 years.  I see so much of him in my son that it just breaks my heart.  To see my son pulling his shirt up to his face, picking his nose, touching his toes, swaying side to side in front of everyone today with his blond hair, brown eyes, and scrawny physique all I could see was my brother at his age.  It hurts so badly to visualize my brother and my son at the same time.  I sometimes wish that he didn’t look so much like him, but at the same time, it’s a pleasant reminder. I hate having to feel this way and some days all I want to do is just break down crying on my mom’s shoulder, but the last thing I want to do is make her feel bad.  Catch 22.  I need my best friend here, but she decided to move 2000 miles away.

Moms, hold on to your babies.  See how precious they are.  They will show you God’s gift to you. And please I wish every mother out there a wonderful Mother’s Day from myself and my family.

Open your minds

“Minds are like Parachutes, they only function when they are open.”

I read this today and thought, “Wow, that is so true.”  It amazes me at how many people have closed minds.  Just think about all the people who have REALLY made a difference in their lives as well as others, just because they opened their mind to new and different ways of thinking.  Every single one of them had an open mind.  Really think about it.  Abraham Lincoln, freed the slaves when so many people were against it.  And it’s because of his open mind, chains of other historical events occurred.  How about Christopher Columbus?  So many people believed that there was only one way to the Philippines, and that was around Africa (because the world was flat).  Bill Gates?  Dropped out of High School to play with computers/technology.  Albert Einstein?  Donald J. Trump?  Harrison Ford? I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. 

It has been programed into our brains that you MUST do this, and you HAVE to do that.  You have to go to school, get your education so you can do what?  A ton of debt and a job that barely pays your bills or have no job at all.  You’ll be lucky to even get a job with the education that you paid way too much for.  Did you know that 95% of our nation works from paycheck to paycheck and only 5% are financially free?  Here’s why.  The 5% successfully own/run their own business by leveraging other peoples time and efforts while the 95% are the people who are being leveraged.  Which sounds better to you?  Did you know that Donald Trump told the Cofounders of my online business that if he were to do things all over again that he would get into network marketing?  And right now, the United States is in the middle of the deregulation of energy.  That means people will have a choice on who their gas and electricity providers are.  NO MORE MONOPOLY!  For those who are old enough to remember the situation with Mabel, can understand what this is all about. The greatest part about it is any average person who is willing to go to work, can get paid on their and other people bills.  Can you just imagine?  Warren Buffet did an interview with Forbes Magazine and stated that “the deregulation of energy will be the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the world” and Jack Welch said “The deregulation of energy will be bigger than the internet.”  My company has the Largest foot print in energy AND we work in 26 different countries with 2 more coming on this year.  If you don’t want to take my word for it, then that’s fine, but between Donald Trump, Warren Buffet and Jack Welch, how can you argue with them?

As for keeping an open mind, I think that’s what’s got me where I am today, and from where I’m sitting (outside in my own backyard, on a porch swing, in the sun with a laptop) I have zero complaints.

Filing Cabinet

So, yesterday I drop the kids off with my father-in-law so I can get some work done.  I’ve been looking at my filing cabinet for the longest time, thinking “if I try to stuff one piece of paper in this thing, it’s going to explode”, so take a guess what I did.  Went through and started to clean out all the old bills from our Internet, Phone, Bank accounts (all which we no longer have anymore) and started to shred them. I was really starting to become depressed looking at my old bank account.  Of course it was before my husband and I were married and before we ever had kids.  It’s amazing how kids will just suck your bank account dry.  All I could do was bow my head and pray.  Talking to the Lord always puts me back into perspective and He will always answer and calm my fears.  He told me to have faith in myself and that I have the capability provide my family with all our needs and then some, but I need to be patient.  He also told me to never give up on my dreams, even though sacrifice is necessary.  There are a lot of parents out there that say “Why should your kids have to sacrifice and suffer for you to realize your own dreams?”, I don’t really agree with that.  Why can’t we both have our dreams?  Why should one suffer miserably so the other can be happy?  What kind of lesson is that for a child?  Yes, life isn’t always fair, but there is such thing as compromise. 

Ok, I’m done.  I have to take my kids to a Drs. Apt.

Back to reality.

 

Mommy needs a Time out

So, last night I was having such a rough time mentally, that I didn’t know what to do other than put my own self in a “Time out”!!  I was to the point where my vision was actually starting to go whack-o on me.  I didn’t have a headache, surprisingly enough. I just got to the point where I needed silence, pure silence.  NO NOISE!! No screams!  No KIDS!!!! Even no Husband.  I decided, right after dinner to just take my laptop and just lock myself into my bedroom…TIME OUT!!!! 

I just got to the point where every little thing just bugged the living daylights out of me.  Husband was putting dishes away but was completely disregarding how I’ve organized the cabinets and seemed like he was just making more mess for me to clean up later, and when I said something all he had to say was that it didn’t matter to him and it’s only just a matter of time before it just gets messed up again.  Totally disrespecting me.  Then on top of that, my kids were just being loud (as usual, nothing new there), and so before I blow my lid, I just had to get away.  This house is so loud all the time that I just don’t know how to handle it sometimes.  I am a very distractible person, so getting my own thoughts under control is just hard at times.  Just like right now.  My son is wanting attention from me (in which I have no complaints about), I’ve got a friend who is trying to battle me into seeing his Network Marketing business (again, I’m a firm believer in Network Marketing, but I’m not going to change my own business that I’ve been working so hard on, to switch to someone else’s company when I know mine is so much better).  Ho Hum

I gotta go.  Maybe I’ll get some more thoughts down tonight.  Until then, See ya.