In a moment...

This is a picture of my friend Linda & me in Rio - just a couple weeks ago. (not sure why the picture is sideways - or how to fix that...) Earlier this week, I got word that Linda had an aneurism. She was at home & told her husband Jason she had a terrible headache - the worst one of her life. They packed up the kids (they have 3 of them) and headed to the hospital. It ruptured on the way there. She had surgery & was in the neurosurgical ICU (not sure exactly what it's called). Got an update this morning - she is now awake & has been moved to a "regular" room. She has been eating & talking a little bit. Apparently it was at the base of the brain so they are not anticipating any brain damage.
It just made me realize how quickly our lives can change & how we need to truly make the most of our moments. Our lives are truly a gift from God. I have no doubt that Linda will make a full recovery and am very thankful for that. So I guess this is just a reminder for all of us to not leave things undone. Earlier this year my brother-in-law (30 years old) had a heart attack. I am not fool enough to think that I am immune to these things & I hope you who are reading this will realize the same thing.
Love to you all...

Change is good...

Okay, well while I'm trying to figure out the picture stuff, I'll fill you in on some other revelations.
I am an opportunist - when I see an opportunity, I'm going to take it. So it was in Rio. We were at the Awards Banquet & people were mingling and dancing & just having a good time. Then I saw her across the room - Nicky Laman. Now for most of you, I am sure you have no idea who I am talking about. But for anyone who has been in Discovery Toys for any length of time & has done any training at all, you will know that Nicky has been around since the beginning of the company & is a Diamond Sales Director - the top rank in the company. This is a woman of influence & intelligence. I have heard her speak several times & above all, I just really jive with her. I love her philosophy & her way of approaching things. So there she was. I told her I wanted to see the "circles" - a way of diagraming to new people how to promote within the company that she came up with. It's nothing super scientific, by any stretch. It is, simply, circles. However, to spend 10 minutes sitting with Nicky and having essentially a one-on-one training was something I was not about to pass up. Can you guess what I have been doing since I returned? Having coffee with team members & drawing circles....
I have reached a point in Discovery Toys where the only way for me to go up is to help others go up. And I couldn't be happier about that. There is nothing that jump-starts my engine than to celebrate the success of others - especially if they're on my team! But not exclusively. For those of you that are familiar with the 5 love languages, mine is gift-giving. And maybe that's why I get a rush out of doing what Nicky did for me - taking the time to give someone a piece of advice that just might help them reach a new level in their business. It is one of the things that has surprised me the most out of the people I have met in this company. You would expect that a group of women working in the same area would be very catty & competitive but the opposite is true. I have met some of my closest friends in the last few years & we genuinely rejoice for each other at our successes. This is my kind of company - one that rewards you for helping others succeed.

Arg

Anyone used Flickr before? I have my photos from Rio posted there but I am trying to import them to my blog. Anyone know if I can do this & how??
Stay tuned....pictures coming soon....

Jet Lag

It is 1AM in Brazil right now & I am attempting to stay up past 9:00 local time to help myself readjust. So this post will be short and sorry - I haven't downloaded any of the pictures yet. But I do have this one that was actually taken this summer in San Francisco. I was there for convention & a group of us decided to do some touring on our last day after convention was over. So we all went to Bubba Gump's for lunch & they sat us at a table right next to this licence plate and of course we all had our pictures taken next to it. Well, wouldn't you know it, I am now the proud owner of an identical licence plate (except it says 2007) that I bought from a guy on the street outside Corcovado.
There aren't enough words to describe how much we enjoyed Rio. Troy & I have done a fair bit of travelling, together & before we were married. We both agreed that Brazil was our favorite. The people there are just amazing - so very friendly & helpful. My Portuguese was atrocious but every local was very willing to help me - whether it was to get directions or order pizza!
Anyways, I have so much more to say about the trip & no energy to put words together right now. Hopefully I will have pictures up in the next few days...

On Pins and Needles...

Well as some of you know, last week I managed to injure my SI joint (lower back & hip) - don't know how...just know that I could barely walk, And, of course the thought of a 20-hour plane ride had me searching for solutions. I started, of course, with positive thinking - which actually did some remarkable work! I went to bed with visions of dancing in Rio and woke up the next morning feeling much better. However, I was not 100%. So I continued to slowly recover but had told myself if I wasn't totally better by Monday, I would have to look into alternative therapy. Well, alternative indeed. Yesterday I went for my first acupuncture treatment. I could not believe the difference! It was truly amazing! I went again today and I feel basically healed. I have to say that I was a bit nervous about the whole idea - a series of needles sticking out of my spine for a period of time...But I barely felt them go in at all and although I wouldn't say I was totally relaxed, I did manage to close my eyes & take in the soothing music. I have to say that I am glad the needles were in my back so I could not see what was going on. On the first day, after taking the needles out, she told me what she was going to do next. However, I really had a hard time understanding her (she had a fairly strong accent). I didn't mind that I didn't know what was coming - I actually preferred it that way. But then she asked if I was going to be swimming in Brazil, if I would be wearing a swimsuit. I said yes and she said "Oh, then I won't do this because it wil leave a mark." At this point I lifted my head to see her holding a cotton ball in a long pair of tweezers in one hand and a lighter in the other! Maybe it's best I didn't understand her. All in all, though I am now a fan of acupuncture & will probably go back when I return if the pain returns.
But now I must go to bed. Tomorrow & Thursday will be long days. We fly out first thing tomorrow so I will post pictures & stories when we return. I am very excited - although fading fast at this somewhat late hour... That's what you get when you save everyone's packing until the night before.....and try to make arrangements for someone to buy you tickets to the Police while you're away...
Toodles for now!

The Final Countdown

Doo doo doo doo...Doo doo doo doo doo...Doo doo doo doo...Doo doo doo doo doo doo doooo do do doooo do do doooo do do doo doo doo doo doooo doo dooo...

So we leave a week from tomorrow. I am trying something different this time before we go - tanning! For any of you who saw our Mexico & Bahamas pictures, you might remember my classic white -to-pink-to-white-again tanning attempts! And I just burned in all the wrong places. The bottom of my belly was a strip of oh-so-agonizing red while the top of my belly remained white... So I am trying to develop a "base coat" to alleviate some of the pain. It would be nice to also come back from some place tropical & have people look at me and say "Wow - you must have gone somewhere warm" instead of the usual me saying "I just spent a week in Mexico" and them saying "Really?"
I also find it amusing that Stewie from the Family Guy also started tanning on this week's episode. So now when I come home Troy looks at me cheekily & says "It's not a look, Brian - it's a lifestyle!"
Anyways, I do actually have a tan line, which is actually quite sad when I look at how white my legs are and realize that they were whiter than that last week.
Troy and I also watched a travel video on Rio last night. I learned about many things, including Cachaca - a 40-proof drink made from distilled sugar cane....yowza. Think I'll stay away from that one. (On a side note, I couldn't remember the name of it so I googled it & found it on a website that sells not only alcohol, but also windows & doors, sports shoes and granite...)
Well, I have developed a terrible back ache this evening so I am going to nurse myself back to health and prepare for the 20-hour plane ride!

Dancing on the Sand

Well the countdown is on - only 20 days until we leave for Rio!! I am so excited! It was one of those things that I knew from the moment we found out, that we would be there. When I first saw the announcement on the webstie about the trip, I called Troy and said "We're going to Rio!!!" There was never any doubt. I didn't think "Ooo - that would be nice. Hope I can do that but I'm not sure..." Every year I strive to grow my business more & more. I recently adjusted my goals based on things that were happening around me. I have decided to push myself & I will be a Sales Director by convention this year (July). I've learned alot about visualization, both from Jim Fannin's book (S.C.O.R.E.) and from other books & people's stories. It is a powerful tool and right now I see myself walking across the stage being introduced as a new Sales Director. It's already happened in my mind. I read a great story in S.C.O.R.E. - it was the story of John Mackenroe & how when he was just starting out, he beat one of the top champions in the world. Years later, Fannin asked him how he did it & he said "I was number one in the world. My raing just hadn't caught up yet." I love that!!! So now I have been going around saying that I am a Diamond Sales Director & a millionaire - my rank & my bank account just haven't caught up yet! My goal with DT has always been to make enough money so that Troy could quit his job & pursue his dream. I forsee this happening in the next couple of years.

And on a much less serious note, check out these new shoes I got for Rio!!!!!