Showing posts with label job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job. Show all posts

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Fathers

Father’s Day will be here in a few days. I got to thinking about fathers and what they represent in a family. According to the dictionary, a father is the male parent. He has many roles to fulfill: provider, protector, instructor, trainer, commander, corrector, nourisher. The list could go on and on, but you can get the general idea what their role in life should be.

I remember growing up thinking my dad could do no wrong and could basically walk on water if he wanted. When I was little I would sit on his lap and we would talk and play and I would tell him I would marry him when I grew up. I realized as I got older that that was not possible or even legal, but I also came to the conclusion I wanted to marry someone "like my father." I believe I did that. I married a wonderful man who is a super father to our four boys. He has set a good example for all of them to follow. He has not only been a good father, but a great husband, which is hopefully the model they will follow when they marry.

I was fortunate to get to be a stay-at-home mom while our kids have grown up. Hubby did not want me working and sticking our kids in daycare. Even though our youngest just graduated from high school, he does not want me to have to work outside the home. So thank goodness for the Internet and my online business! He has been an excellent provider as a husband and father. He has worked at the same job for nearly 26 years doing shift work. We added on to and remodeled our house ourselves to give each of the boys their own room to enjoy while they still lived at home. He has taught the boys a lot about construction and then encouraged them to go to the technical college where he went in order to gain more knowledge in that trade – which they have done. He is interested and involved in what the boys are doing and was a faithful supporter of them for 3 ½ years in their training to obtain their first-degree black belts in Tae Kwon Do. He has also been their Christian mentor and example since they were very little. I remember several of the boys having to write a paper for school about their hero. And guess who it was they wrote about? Their dad.

Fathers keep the family linked together and make the world go round. I feel sorry for those who have grown up without a father in the picture. Little boys need them to have a buddy or a hero to look up to. Whey they get to be teenagers, the dads have usually lost that status, but it made great memories for dad while their little boys were growing up. Little girls need their daddies in order to know what to look for in a husband years down the road. They have a way of wrapping their dad around their little fingers and before dads know it, they are telling the preacher they are giving their little girl to the man of her dreams. My husband and never had any little girls, but I know giving a daughter away at the wedding would have been really hard on him. He is not an overly emotional guy, but something like that would choke him up and cause very moist eyes.

I have two plaques hanging side by side in our bedroom. One says "A mother is a person who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take." The other one says "Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy." Both sayings are so true. Do not forget to wish your dad a Happy Father’s Day, but most of all, tell your father (and mother) that you love them. If it was not for them you would not be here! Plus, we never know from one day to the next how long they or we will be around to tell them "I love you," and once someone is gone it is too late.

Author: Linda Dougherty
Specializes in working with people to show them how to market effectively to earn money online.

http://www.internettowealth.com/

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Decisions, Decisions

Have you ever heard the phrase "The decisions you make today determine where you will be tomorrow."? The mind is such an awesome tool. For some reason we believe and follow what and where it tells us. This can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing. A person’s attitude plays a big role in where they end up in life. People with a positive outlook tend to make good things happen in their life. Those with a negative attitude look for the bad in every situation and grumble and gripe because it is that way. A good phrase to keep in mind to deep you on track in thoughts and vocalization is "Positively NO negative!"

So with the attitude then comes the decisions that we make in our lives. It is our decision every day when we get out of bed if we are going to have a good or bad day. God gives us all the same day, but it is up to each of us how we decide to us it. In all honesty, we all have a bad day now and then. But what we do with it is determined by that attitude. This can put to play the phrase, "If life hands you lemons – make some lemonade!" That is just a way of taking a negative factor and making a positive situation out of it.

Making decisions is something that begins as toddlers. We started by deciding which food we did or did not like. We decided which toys we did or did not want to play with on a particular day. As we got to be teenagers, we decided which clothes or hairstyle we did or did not like. Our friends were also our decision – sometimes to our parent’s dismay. As we approached adulthood, decisions became much more important and complex. What to do after graduating from high school? What to pursue as a career or job? Who we want to marry and spend our life with? Where we live and what house we want to buy? How many kids we want and how we are going to discipline and raise them? At the time we are faced with making decisions, we may not consider all the consequences that go along with them. That is a lot of times what makes what we think was a good decision turn into a bad one. Just as good decisions can lead to success, bad ones can ultimately lead to defeat.

When growing up, I can remember kids in school who, if they could not make up their mind about something, would start in with the "eenie meenie miney moe" chant. My kids did that in their younger years too. I haven’t been around a lot of that age of kids for some time (my youngest just graduated from high school), but I am sure that it is still a well-used chant for indecisiveness. As a kid, it is used from picking a certain choice of food to picking who is going to be on your team to play a game. What memories!

As an adult then, many decisions have to be made that can ultimately determine where we end up in life. With much more seriousness, using that famous school yard chant is probably not the best choice for making up your mind about something in adulthood. According to the dictionary, a decision is the determination to follow a course of action. So once a person has determined to do something, they need to stick to it with diligence. There are times that no matter how hard a person strives to accomplish something that it just will not work. That is one of those life ‘lemons’, but with a little sweetener, lemonade can be made if for nothing else than to give us experiences. Many times if people do not see an immediate positive result from a decision, they will automatically think that it was the wrong one.

I have been involved in several direct selling and online business opportunities. None of those worked out because of various reasons, but I did learn several things in the process. I made lemonade out of the lemons! I then knew what I was and was not looking for in an online business, and it has helped me achieve that success I was looking for. One of my requirements was to be on a team that has mentors who offer online training and are available by phone or email if you have problems or questions – and I have found that. My decisions of today are determining where I will be tomorrow. Well, I think I will go have a pop. Diet Coke or Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi? Hmmmmm….eenie meenie miney moe…….

Author: Linda Dougherty
Specializes in working with people to show them how to market effectively to earn money online.
www.InternetToWealth.com

Friday, May 9, 2008

The Title of "Stay-at-Home Mom"

Once when an insurance salesman was helping my husband and I fill out a joint application, he asked me what my occupation was. I told him I was just a stay-at-home mom. He exclaimed, "Just! That is a very important job and very rewarding for both you and your kids." I thought about what he said and he was so right. Many women are not fortunate enough to be able to stay home to raise their kids because of needing the extra income. My husband and I decided when we started having kids that no one else was going to raise them for us, and we did not want them to be latch-key kids. It is a proven fact that that situation is not good for kids or society. So we cinched the belt really tight to be able to afford to do it. We had four boys, and the youngest is now getting ready to graduate from high school and leave for college.


I have enjoyed being able to stay at home even while they were in school, not just as preschoolers. It is great to be able to have them walk in the house after school and yell, "MOM! I’m home!" This has allowed me to be able to do things for and with them that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I was working. I went as a sponsor on several field trips, I helped as a room mother at school parties, I volunteered to help elementary kids with the Accelerated Reading Program at school, and I was able to help with high school post-prom decorating - all while many parents were at work. We have even been able to go take our sons out to lunch during college when my husband’s work schedule would allow for the 150-mile round trip to be worked in. He works shift work with a rotating schedule, which takes extra planning. That was another factor determining me being a stay-at-home mom. With his rotating shifts, there would have been times I would not have seen much out of him.


I have done several things at home to help with the finances. I have been involved in several direct selling opportunities. Those did not work out because you have to go out and sell – same as working a J-O-B. I help my husband with his part-time construction business when he needs my assistance. I personally have three businesses that I run from home to help with the income. The first one is raising registered Beagle puppies. We have two females and one male, so we have four litters of puppies per year. The second is my cake decorating business. I specialize in edible image cakes. The orders straggle in throughout the months (including a few wedding cakes here and there), but my busiest time of the year is graduation when everybody is wanting a cake – usually within a three day time period. No stress there! My other is an Internet business, which allows me the freedom to totally work it from home. The business I am in has a great support team of experienced online mentors. There is also a great back office that gets me the training I need in order to succeed.


I have come to the conclusion that working outside the home is not for me. I fill in very occasionally at the local hardware store for the secretary when she is gone. When I get home, I am stressed out and scurry around like a chicken with my head cut off – not knowing what I should try to tackle first on my list of things to do that I normally take care of during the day. I like my stay-at-home routine much better! I do not like when others assume that I set around and do nothing all day but watch TV. I am busy from the time I get up till my head hits the pillow at night. I always have something to do to keep the house running smoothly and my family on track. If you are a stay-at-home mom like me, never underestimate your worth in what you are contributing to your family. It is hard to put a monetary value on some things – and that is one of them. Next time you fill out a form and it asks your occupation, don’t just put in stay-at-home mom or housewife. Put in DOMESTIC ENGINEER. You have earned the title, so why not use it proudly. This is not meant as a term of political correctness. The dictionary says domestic means of the home or family affairs. An engineer is a person who is able to plan, organize, and manage. Us stay-at-home moms have so many rolls to fill and jobs to perform on a daily basis that we become experienced at them all. Being a stay-at-home mom is something I have been very proud of, as should anyone else who has been able to have that as their career. I wouldn't trade it for anything!


Author: Linda Dougherty
Specializes in working with people to show them how to market effectively to earn money online.


http://www.internettowealth.com/

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Killer Dust Balls!

When I was growing up, my mom gave me the regular task of dusting the house. Because I did this so often, I got to where I absolutely despised that chore. I would rather wash a stack of dishes six feet high than get out that dust rag. I asked her once why I always got that job and she said it was because she didn’t like to do it!
Once I left home and was out on my own, I did not do this chore with nearly as much regularity. One day when my mom stopped by my house, she called attention to the fact that I had quite the layer of dust covering my furniture. I just looked at her and asked, "You know why I leave that on there don’t you?" She gave me a funny look as if she couldn’t imagine there could be a reason and asked, "Why?" I said, "Well, because it’s a protective coating for the furniture."
I know my mom couldn’t believe I had come up with some lame excuse like that. As long as it was undisturbed, you didn’t really notice it. But with having four little boys, they naturally thought it was as fun to draw in the dust as it was on foggy car windows. I just couldn’t see much sense in dusting because it seems like all you are doing is wiping it off and the next thing you know it is right back on there. I don’t think you ever actually get rid of it – you just rearrange its location.
It wasn’t too far down the road that my mom brought me a little present to hang on the wall that she had done in counted cross-stitch. Amongst five gray pompoms she had glued on were the words – "This house protected by KILLER DUST BALLS!" I had to laugh, but I display it proudly!
Keeping the dust at bay is something I try to do for my online businesses however. It’s best to keep them polished and running smoothly. If I don’t, they soon don’t function properly. I also have a mentoring team that helps me keep my businesses polished. As with their help, whenever my mom would get out another dust rag and assist me, it didn’t seem like near the chore to accomplish as it did when I was doing it by myself. Teamwork does make a difference!

Author: Linda Dougherty
Specializes in working with people to show them how to market effectively to earn money online.

http://www.internettowealth.com/

Monday, April 7, 2008

25 Years Together!

On April 10, 2007, my husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary together. Where did those years go that passed by so quickly? Just what had we done or accomplished in those years since saying "I do?" I started making a list and was rather amazed as I quickly came up with 12 things right off the top of my head.

1. We gave birth to four sons who are our pride and joy. Our early married life was spent having babies – to where we are today of being on the verge of experiencing the empty nest syndrome as our youngest prepares to graduate from high school this year. It’s been a great experience of rearing our children that we wouldn’t trade for anything. They are very polite and respectable young Christian men and we are so proud of them.
2. When our youngest was about two years old, we realized how we had outgrown our small house and started our quest to put on an addition and remodel the old part of it. It took us 3 ½ years to do it, but we did it ourselves working side by side with each other.
3. My husband has worked at the same job for over 25 years at a plant that manufactures shingles and other roofing products. We have survived those years with him working rotating shifts every week and experiencing many disappointments when he wasn’t able to attend something such as an event one of our sons was involved in or a family get-together. We even went through a horrible experience of him almost getting his hand cut off at work and several months of therapy.
4. We supported our sons through 3 ½ years of training to become 1st Degree Black Belts in Tae Kwon Do. We were very proud of them each and every time they attained a new belt rank.
5. We took our four boys and went on a major 10-day family vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota after the oldest son’s graduation from high school. We knew that might be the last time to go on such an outing before the boys were all gone from home. We had a blast!
6. We have been foster parents for about nine years – taking in 40 some kids in that time. Some kids stayed for less than a week, but others had stayed for nearly two years. Yes, there have been challenges along the way with most of the kids we’ve taken in, but it is our hope that we gave them a good home and have been a positive impact on their lives.
7. Getting our kids through college has been in the process for the last six years. They all are or have attended the same technical college in the construction trades. The two that have graduated have good jobs as a result of their education. Two down – two to go!
8. We have been able to see one of our sons get married to date. It is our prayer that all four of our sons find a wife that makes them very happy and that they can have as many years together as my husband and I have.
9. In our years together, we were saddened by the loss of both of my husband’s parents – we miss them a lot. On the other hand, we were able to help my parents celebrate 50 years together with an anniversary party in February 2007. Not many couples get to reach that milestone and we are so happy for them.
10. A great joy that has happened in the last couple of years we’ve been together is that of becoming grandparents. First of all came a grandson through our son’s adoption of a little boy that belonged to our daughter-in-law. Less than a year later, we experienced the joy of the birth of our granddaughter. It’s great being a grandparent! A recent song of "Small Town Southern Man" by Alan Jackson says it best in the chorus with, "The greatest contribution is the ones you leave behind."
11. My husband has been able to start a part-time job with his own construction business. After his hand accident on his full-time job, we were afraid he may not be able to pursue that dream of his. But with many months of therapy and 80% usage back, his business is growing with people wanting him to do jobs for them. What makes it even more special is that our sons have been able to step in and help on the projects since they have been to college to learn the construction trades.
12. I have been able to be a stay-at-home mom while all of our kids have been in school. It’s allowed me to help some with the construction business. I also have a cake decorating business and have been in several retail sales businesses. But the best has been starting my online businesses, which has allowed me to earn money online while being at home.

This list is just some of the highlights of our lives. There have been many other events that compile the make up of the 25 years my husband and I have had together. But what holds them all together like glue is the love we have for each other. Just as Faith Hill has sung "I am so blessed" in one of her popular songs, God has blessed us richly!

Author: Linda Dougherty
Specializes in working with people to show them how to market effectively to earn money online.

http://www.internettowealth/

Headlice? Get me a Nit Picker!!!

I don’t know if anything can quite compare to the feeling of when you discover someone in the house has headlice. It leaves a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach, you become overly anxious about the whole situation, and worst of all – your head suddenly starts to itch and you swear you feel something crawling.

My husband and I have been foster parents for 8 or 9 years. We had never dealt with headlice on ourselves or any of our own children through all their years in school, or any other previous foster children. I was absolutely horrified at the discovery of the lice on three out of the four foster kids when we took this particular group in to our home. And they didn’t just have a case - they had a chronic case!

We had been told by the children’s home before they arrived at our house that they had been treated twice while they were there so they should be okay. Boy, was I naïve. About a week later, I decided to take an old comb through the one little girl’s dry hair. With one swipe I knocked the comb out on the counter, and at least a dozen lice of various sizes went scampering. Horrified doesn’t begin to describe how I felt. First thing I did was rush out and get an over-the-counter product to treat their hair. Afterwards, I did some research and found out that was not the thing to do because the product had pesticides in it that can be absorbed through the skin and cause nerve damage. So I got online and did some research and found a product they guaranteed to work. I knew it had better because I have really long hair and I didn’t want those lice taking up residence on my head!

Exterminating headlice is not just a matter of getting them off of the head, but also the job of getting them out of the environment so you don’t get reinfested. So I ordered the product online and went to work as soon as it arrived with 2-day shipping. Not only did I treat all three kids’ heads, but I also did a total environment cleaning. I washed up all the bedding, bagged up stuffed toys and dolls and throw pillows for two weeks, and I vacuumed the house from top to bottom – including the furniture like the sofas where they set to watch TV. With that first treatment, I combed 90 lice and eggs (or nits) out of just the boy’s hair. I couldn’t believe it! What was nice about this product was the fact that it consists of only natural ingredients so it is totally safe. It can take up to ten days for eggs to hatch, and I knew it probably did not get rid of all the eggs the first time, as it says on the instructions. So I treated the environment and heads again in four days. I knew the product was safe enough to do it that often, plus I wanted to get any lice that may have hatched after the treatment, but were not old enough to lay their own eggs. With the second treatment on the boy, I got out 30 lice and eggs. The third treatment four days later was 14 and the fourth treatment was only 2 or 3 specks that may have been a part of a bug or an old shell. Regardless, I wasn’t taking any more chances at missing one, so I did one final treatment - and I combed nothing out of any of their heads. I was so elated!! Of course, I kept inspecting their heads on a regular basis and yes, we had exterminated them!!!!!!!!!

I recommend this product to anyone who is dealing with headlice. You can visit the volunteer headlice hotline website to learn more about this product. I became a volunteer after what I had been through so I could be a support and team member to others. There are several volunteers on the site, but if you would like to visit with me in particular, I would be more than happy to assist you. Just look for ’Linda’ on there and it will give you my contact information.
Being a team member for the headlice hotline reminds me of my online businesses. We have team members with those too that help others to succeed by showing them how to market effectively to earn money online .

Author: Linda Dougherty
Specializes in working with people to show them how to market effectively to earn money online.

http://www.internettowealth.com/

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Help For Your Online Business

Why do people fail in their online business? One of the biggest reasons is due to lack of support and help. When you go to work at a JOB, someone trains you so you will know what to do. New employees could be instantly fired within the first 15 minutes of work if they had not been trained properly. It takes time for an employee to learn the ropes of a new job before they feel confident enough to do it on their own without asking a lot of questions. The same scenario could be applied to an online business. How can we do something we don’t know how to do without someone taking us by the hand to show us the way? I have a great team of business leaders that are willing to help people get their online business going. They WANT people to succeed!!!!

Author: Linda Dougherty

A Dozen Good Reasons to Own an Online Business

Having your own online business is very exciting. There are many things to be said for owning your own business, and being able to do it online is even better. Just think.......
1. No driving to the job - saving you time and gas money!
2. No driving to work on icy roads, in the fog or rain, or being stuck in traffic jams!
3. No circling through the parking lot to find a place to park!
4. Not being around sick people in the office during cold and flu season!
5. Not having to work around other people’s vacation days in order for you to take your own!
6. Being able to take a coffee break whenever and however long you want!
7. Being able to take a nap without making the boss mad!
8. Not having to spend money on clothes to fit the office scene - wear jeans and t-shirt, sweats, or your pajamas instead!
9. No more alarm clocks - except to maybe get the kids off to school! Then go back to bed if you want:)
10. Being able to stay at home with the kids or babysit grandkids (depending on your situation)!
11. Being able to multi-task: work online, do laundry, cook dinner - all while at the same office building - HOME!
12. Being able to get the help you need online or by phone from the people you are in business with who will mentor you to help you succeed.
This is the kind of business I found. I knew these online businesses were out there, but what I hadn’t done was find the right match until now. With my Internet business you might agree with any of these dozen reasons for having your own online business as a passport to your wealth.


Author: Linda Dougherty
Specializes in working with people to show them how to market effectively to earn money online.
http://www.platinumtowealth.com/