If you are a Dr. Phil fan very often you will hear him ask that question of his guests. Most of the time he asks that question when he's trying to help someone with a problem.
Today I asked myself that question while contemplating something positive in my life...my home business. Why do I keep on doing this when at times it can be too much? What's the payoff?
I have a number of responses for that question many of which are obvious and some are not:
1.) It is very fulfilling to be able to create something with my own 2 hands and have the customer compliment me on my work.
2.) It is fulfilling to be able to earn an income for my family utilizing my God given talents. Even though my income is very small at this point every little bit helps!! I've been working at this for 5 years now and each year my gross profits have increased.
3.) I feel that I am setting such a good example for my kids. I am not only 'talking the talk' I am 'walking the walk'. I am doing what I love. I am utilizing my talents and creating a life for myself and my family. My kids are seeing that if you want something badly enough you can achieve it through hard work and perserverence.
When my kids were very young every once in a while they would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. (So adorable!!) First I would laugh out loud and make a joke about it! Then I would answer them honestly by saying, "I want to be an artist." Well, here I am, all grown up and following my dream! Day by day, week by week, year by year I am building a business that I love and am passionate about! Through my example I am giving them a tremendous gift! Through my actions I am teaching them to utilize their gifts and follow their dreams!
4.) Many of my customers will order a portrait or hand painted name sign as a gift for a loved one. Some of them will let me know how well the item was received. It's wonderful to hear what the final receiver's reaction was to my work!
5.) Finally it's an even greater payoff to hear how good the gift giver felt by giving someone they love such a heartfelt gift! To site an example...
...My sister is a speech therapist and works in a local school district. The school year was coming to an end and, with the help of her students, she wanted to throw a little surprise party for her co-workers. She asked if I could help her by making personalized desk plaques for the other teachers. We talked about each teacher's personality and their individual interests and with those details I then created personalized plaques for them. After the party was over my sister called me to let me know how well received the plaques were. It was great to know the teachers loved them. But beyond that my sister was thrilled to be able to give such a heartfelt gift to people she admired and respected! For me to see my sister's reaction and to witness her joy was the ultimate payoff for me!
As you can see for me there are many payoffs, but the one that resonates the strongest in my heart is to know that, by way of my talents, I am helping someone give a truly thoughtful gift!
So what is your payoff for working hard? Do you work your fingers to the bone and at the end of the day feel good about what you do? Think about it and be honest with yourself. If you don't feel good about what you are doing then it's time to make a change. You only have one life to live so why not do all you can to make it a happy one!
I'll be writing more about this subject in just a bit!
See ya soon!
Jane
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Friday, April 15, 2005
"Anyway" by Mother Teresa
I have a little bit of time on my hands right now so I thought about writing in my blog. I have been so bad about writing lately and I want to...no, I NEED to...write more. It's very cathartic for me.
Here's a poem by Mother Teresa that is inscribed on the wall of her home for children in Calcutta:
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
LOVE IT!! LOVE IT!! LOVE IT!!
Have a good one!!
Jane
Here's a poem by Mother Teresa that is inscribed on the wall of her home for children in Calcutta:
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
LOVE IT!! LOVE IT!! LOVE IT!!
Have a good one!!
Jane
Clean or play???
Okay here's my question...do I take more time to clean or do I take more time to play??? This is a question that I ask myself all the time!
Here's my situation...I am NOT a neat/clean freak. I WISH like heck I was, but I'm just NOT!! And sometimes having this type of personality just plain stinks!!! There are many, many days where I feel like a failure. I drop my daughter off at a friends house and the father is waxing his truck and the mother is cleaning the sceens. WHAT??? Cleaning the screens??? Are you supposed to do that??? Then on a daily basis I see commercials on TV with mothers who look perfect and have a spotless house!! Who wouldn't feel inadequate???
And when someone comes over or drops by I get easily embarrassed. Actually, for the most part the living room is not too bad. I have been able to maintain control over that room. And I do make it a point to clean the kitchen and bathroom regularly. The problem in our house is clutter. There is just lots of stuff laying around the house. Lots of papers from school, unopened mail, toys, balls, legos, barbie clothes, board games, etc...anyone with young kids will understand how it is.
Despite all of this stuff laying around and the negative feelings I sometimes experience I do believe I am on the right track with my family and my life.
Yesterday I had an overwhelming feeling that helped put all of this into focus. I was sitting in my van waiting for my daughter to finish softball practice. It was about 7:30 p.m. and the sun was setting. It would have been a beautiful sight, but I couldn't truly enjoy the view because the windows on my van were filthy!! Seeing the dirty windows got me worked up. The tape started playing in my head...WHY, OH WHY can't I just get it together???!! Why can't I make cleaning more of a priority???
After about 3-4 minutes of putting myself down I really examined that question.
Let's see...
Okay, first of all I have 3 kids aged 10, 9 and 6 all of whom have hectic schedules...softball practice, t-ball practice, scrimmages, friends to invite over, homework, school programs, field trips, bath time, dinner time...need I go on???
Secondly, I have a business where I work from home. I have portraits to draw, name signs, tote bags and t-shirt orders to paint. This is a priority because it helps to make money so I can help put food on the table, pay bills, etc. Plus having my business gives me a sense of self...I get to do what I love and, at the same time, I am contributing to the well being of my family.
Next, I have my kids who not only want time to play and hang out with their friends and do their own thing, but they also want time with me.
Last night while my daughter was at practice my boys wanted me to go outside with them and jump on the trampoline. What am I supposed to do??? Do I say, "NO! I have to clean!!" Or do I say "Sure!!" and then proceed out the door to jump around and laugh with my boys???
Well, I chose to go outside and have fun with my boys! I was out there getting some exercise and laughing with my kids. I was talking with my 10 year old who is JUST BEGINNING to pull away from me. He is getting to that age where he still loves me (although he won't admit it most of the time) but he is starting to be embarrassed by me. You know...those pre-teen years. So when he excitedly invites me to go outside and join him and his younger brother on the trampoline...honey I'm there!
After jumping around and talking and laughing for about 15-20 minutes I just laid on the trampoline with my boys and we looked up at the beautiful blue sky. We talked about the moon and how it get it's light. While looking at the moon we decided that it REALLY DOES look like swiss cheese. We saw a few jet airplanes in the sky and we discussed how they looked like rockets. Then we said that someday when there are puffy white clouds in the sky we will come outside and lay there again and find pictures in the clouds.
So there you have it...
My house may not be clean, there are piles of clutter in most corners, the windows on my van are dirty, there is a huge pile of laundry to do, dirty dishes in the sink, etc...
My reaction is "So what???" I choose to laugh and play with my kids and enjoy them while they are young. My oldest son will be 11 in a few months and the time has absolutely flown by!!
When I am an old woman I want to be able to look back on my life and know that my kids have happy memories of their childhood. I don't want to look back and say with pride that my house was spotless and clean!
So if you ever happen to stop by my house you will see clutter and dirty windows, but right there inside you will see 3 kids with smiling faces, happy hearts and happy memories!
See ya later...I have to make my way through the clutter to get to the trampoline!!
Happy day!!
Jane
Here's my situation...I am NOT a neat/clean freak. I WISH like heck I was, but I'm just NOT!! And sometimes having this type of personality just plain stinks!!! There are many, many days where I feel like a failure. I drop my daughter off at a friends house and the father is waxing his truck and the mother is cleaning the sceens. WHAT??? Cleaning the screens??? Are you supposed to do that??? Then on a daily basis I see commercials on TV with mothers who look perfect and have a spotless house!! Who wouldn't feel inadequate???
And when someone comes over or drops by I get easily embarrassed. Actually, for the most part the living room is not too bad. I have been able to maintain control over that room. And I do make it a point to clean the kitchen and bathroom regularly. The problem in our house is clutter. There is just lots of stuff laying around the house. Lots of papers from school, unopened mail, toys, balls, legos, barbie clothes, board games, etc...anyone with young kids will understand how it is.
Despite all of this stuff laying around and the negative feelings I sometimes experience I do believe I am on the right track with my family and my life.
Yesterday I had an overwhelming feeling that helped put all of this into focus. I was sitting in my van waiting for my daughter to finish softball practice. It was about 7:30 p.m. and the sun was setting. It would have been a beautiful sight, but I couldn't truly enjoy the view because the windows on my van were filthy!! Seeing the dirty windows got me worked up. The tape started playing in my head...WHY, OH WHY can't I just get it together???!! Why can't I make cleaning more of a priority???
After about 3-4 minutes of putting myself down I really examined that question.
Let's see...
Okay, first of all I have 3 kids aged 10, 9 and 6 all of whom have hectic schedules...softball practice, t-ball practice, scrimmages, friends to invite over, homework, school programs, field trips, bath time, dinner time...need I go on???
Secondly, I have a business where I work from home. I have portraits to draw, name signs, tote bags and t-shirt orders to paint. This is a priority because it helps to make money so I can help put food on the table, pay bills, etc. Plus having my business gives me a sense of self...I get to do what I love and, at the same time, I am contributing to the well being of my family.
Next, I have my kids who not only want time to play and hang out with their friends and do their own thing, but they also want time with me.
Last night while my daughter was at practice my boys wanted me to go outside with them and jump on the trampoline. What am I supposed to do??? Do I say, "NO! I have to clean!!" Or do I say "Sure!!" and then proceed out the door to jump around and laugh with my boys???
Well, I chose to go outside and have fun with my boys! I was out there getting some exercise and laughing with my kids. I was talking with my 10 year old who is JUST BEGINNING to pull away from me. He is getting to that age where he still loves me (although he won't admit it most of the time) but he is starting to be embarrassed by me. You know...those pre-teen years. So when he excitedly invites me to go outside and join him and his younger brother on the trampoline...honey I'm there!
After jumping around and talking and laughing for about 15-20 minutes I just laid on the trampoline with my boys and we looked up at the beautiful blue sky. We talked about the moon and how it get it's light. While looking at the moon we decided that it REALLY DOES look like swiss cheese. We saw a few jet airplanes in the sky and we discussed how they looked like rockets. Then we said that someday when there are puffy white clouds in the sky we will come outside and lay there again and find pictures in the clouds.
So there you have it...
My house may not be clean, there are piles of clutter in most corners, the windows on my van are dirty, there is a huge pile of laundry to do, dirty dishes in the sink, etc...
My reaction is "So what???" I choose to laugh and play with my kids and enjoy them while they are young. My oldest son will be 11 in a few months and the time has absolutely flown by!!
When I am an old woman I want to be able to look back on my life and know that my kids have happy memories of their childhood. I don't want to look back and say with pride that my house was spotless and clean!
So if you ever happen to stop by my house you will see clutter and dirty windows, but right there inside you will see 3 kids with smiling faces, happy hearts and happy memories!
See ya later...I have to make my way through the clutter to get to the trampoline!!
Happy day!!
Jane
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
