How are you responding to the events taking place in YOUR world? We may believe that things taking place in “the” world are not affecting us because we are witnessing and hearing events taking place on a television screen in the safety and comfort of our own homes…. But the truth is, we are all part of the current economic situation, and if something is happening to “the” world, it is happening to “our” personal world too. And vice versa. 

As many of you know, I do not watch television as a general rule. It is downright depressing and adds nothing to my own personal world and what is going on it. I have found that the more I stay away from the television set, the more I am able to keep my head clear, stay positive, and focus on creating my own reality of what I want to see and hear and experience in my life.

Recently, though, I have been plugging in, intentionally, to the events taking place with respect to the bailout, the mortgage and foreclosure crisis, and now the auto industry concerns. I have been watching, for the first time in MY lifetime, a government and people that are completely lost, scrambling to act and respond to events that seem to be completely out of control. And it seems that as current leaders attempt to respond to the chaos using traditional models and methods of economic stimulus - it JUST DOESN’T HOLD UP.

There was a time when the U.S. and all the other countries of the world could act independently. But times have changed. And what I am seeing through all of this is the truth and reality of life revealing itself to the world - and everyone is waking up to this truth - we are all one.

Technology has brought the world together like never before. And I think everyone would agree that while it was developing over the past 10 years with the advent of the internet and access to computers, that this was seen as a good thing because of the ability to reach across the world in a nano-second through email, ebay, google, whatever.

I don’t think the greedy people of this world, however, realized that because of becoming so interconnected financially to the rest of the world, it would create an interdependency that could never be taken back.

For the first time in history, the U.S. is now having to humble itself to the reality that it is not the center of the Universe. And other countries who may have not felt as powerful as the U.S. are now able to clearly see and experience how their place and people on the planet are an integral part of how we move forward.

It is a beautiful thing. The financial crisis is causing the world to wake up and recognize its oneness.  We are having one of the most incredible shifts in consciousness in the history of the human race - and if you recognize that - you will find incredible joy and comfort in the midst of the chaos.

The question is - HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP? How are you going to choose to participate in this global shift in consciousness? What is going to be your part in supporting the world as the truth about your role on the planet is revealed?

There is no right or wrong answer here. It could be as simple as humbling yourself. It could be accepting where you are right now in your life, for better or for worse. It could be that you develop compassion and understanding for others and their personal financial crises. It could be that you become a leader for others by HOLDING UP your dreams and visions of the life and world you wish to see, as many of us are doing in Platinum One Destinations.

We have tremendous opportunity at this very moment to change the course of the human condition. To push for leadership and change. The question is - how are showing up personally in this historic moment? Do you see the opportunity in front of YOU? Do you get how important you are to this movement?

There has never been a better time to make the changes in your life that you have wanted to make. I have found in every single chaotic experience in my life, that it was signaling that a MAJOR change was occuring. And whether or not it was joyful, or painful, in the end, and after the dust settled, I could see the beauty and good that came from it.

Now is the time for YOU to HOLD UP your vision of how you want to see YOUR WORLD. And your personal contribution to how you SHOW UP in your own life, WILL have a major impact on the world. So choose wisely.

It has been said that the flapping of a butterfly wing in China can and has been traced to the cause of major environmental shifts in climate and weather around the world. Are you ready to flap your wings?

Your Partner in Prosperity,

Carol Ann Martin
Founder, Synergy Prosperity Alliance
Synergy Certified, Platinum Executive Leader
Platinum One Destinations, Synergy Marketing Group
Learn more about Platinum One Destinations 

 Isn’t kinda funny how, like with Halloween, so many of us just follow along with traditions from childhood, as our parents did, and do things just because everyone else is doing them, without really knowing why! Kinda like graduating highschool, going to college, and getting a “good” job??

I do have to admit that having children does make Halloween much more fun as an adult. And I do enjoy the traditions of carving the pumpkin, having the kids get dressed up in cute costumes, and seeing people so willingly giving (unfortunately the worst thing you can give a kid - LOADS OF SUGAR) for the sheer joy of seeing little children in their cuteness and costumes.

As I have stepped into direct sales with Platinum One Destinations, I have become someone who has chosen to “wake up” to my choices and had to become aware that up until I joined direct sales, I was just doing what everyone else was…. volunteering for the rat race that would never lead me to true financial freedom.

So lately I’ve become more aware and conscious of my thoughts and actions, and I’ve been evaluating things I do to check in with whether or not what I’m doing is truly something that is original from me - something that I am choosing to do because of my own desires.

I realized that Halloween was just another one of those “things” I do because everyone else is doing it. So I spent some time tonight after we came back from trick or treating and had put the pumpkin seeds in the oven to toast… (mmm they smell good!) to research why myself and my kids are dressing up in costume and asking people for candy, and why we carve the pumpkin, and why the holiday has become this grotesque expression of death, murder, fear, mystery, darkness, and the like.  Sorta like some people ask themselves why they are driving to work day after day, month after month, year after year, to the same dead-end job.

So, here’s the deal… The celebration goes back to the Celtics in mainly Ireland and Scotland, England. It was a pagan ritual to mark the end of the harvest.  They believed that during this time, the dead would come back to visit and raise havoc on people and the crops. This makes sense given that back then when winter arrived it did represent a time of stillness and hibernation and death of growing and harvesting. Not to mention many people died during the winter months because of not enough food, heat, or water.  So they’d have huge bonfires and gather round with masks representing evil spirits. They dressed up as evil spirits to “blend in” with the real “evil spirits” that were at that time co-habitating with the mortals.

Trick-or-Treating came about from this season as well. Children would knock on the doors of their neighbors to gather fruits and nuts for the festival/celebration. And since the evil spirits were also roaming the neighborhood, the parents would not send them out without wearing a disguise (as an evil spirit).

Now the pumpkin thing is kinda cool. Back then they used turnips, and they would carve images of creepy faces and evil spirits again to ward them off.  The turnips looked like heads. And the reason they used them is that the head represented the most powerful part of the body, as well as where humans connected with spirit.  As far as lighting them up as a jack-o-lantern, that is tied to a guy named “Stingy Jack” who had a run-in with the devil, who then placed a curse on him to roam every night with the only light he had, which was a candle inside a hollowed out turnip.

Now given all of this - does this mean I’m going to stop celebrating Halloween? I mean, common, these traditions lead back to pagan rituals that have nothing to do with my current beliefs and understanding of winter, or fear of dieing because winter is coming. 

Of course I will not stop participating in Halloween. I wouldn’t do that to my children - nor do I think they would let me!! However, it is good to know where the “energy” of Halloween came from, so that I can choose not to carry on the same consciousness of fear and death and dieing from centuries ago.  Instead, I can choose to celebrate Halloween for the meanings I give it now for my own life, and here they are..

• A time to make fun of fear
• A time to understand that behind everything scary there is an underlying truth that is simply being masked - for the moment.
• A time to allow for my children to use their imagination and exercise their belief in magic
• To carve a pumpkin so I can eat the seeds and make a temporary candle-holder for my front porch
• To remind me of how rooted the human mind is to our ancestoral, outdated beliefs and fears, and to consciously choose to pick my own in all areas of my life.

With all that said, I wish everyone a very safe and Happy Halloween! May it be a reminder to you to laugh at your fears, and to see beyond them to the truth of the precious gifts behind the “mask” that is just waiting to be revealed.

Your Partner in Prosperity,

Carol Ann Martin
Founder, Synergy Prosperity Alliance
Synergy Certified, Platinum Executive Leader
Platinum One Destinations, Synergy Marketing Group
Learn more about Platinum One Destinations

Thank Goodness failure IS an option! Otherwise none of us would be walking right now.  Seriously… if babies were not allowed to fail in learning how to walk, how could they ever do it? Failure MUST be an option.

I know that the saying “failure is not an option” is expressed with good intentions - to inspire people to be driven to succeed and to never give up.  And to never give up is a good thing. However, it is important that we have moments of failure along the way to our goals for several reasons.

Number one reason to fail - it INNOCULATES YOU…

If you take a look at all the very wealthy, successful entrepreneurs of the world, you will find in their stories many, many failures before they reached that “sweet spot”.  Many people, such as Donald Trump, Walt Disney (whom I mentioned in my last post), and so many other famous successful people, have had MANY bankruptcies, made many mistakes, had businesses that failed.  The extremely successful entrepreneurs usually have at least 1-2 failures in attempting to build a business in their portfolio of investments.

Now, when most of us think of bankruptcy, we think of it as the end of the world. We perceive it to be a symbol of everything crashing down, all doors closed, a BIG BLACK MARK on our credit report that will keep us from ever being trusted again.  Did you know that over 50% of bankruptcies in the United States happens to the average American because of medical bills? 

Now I’m not saying that going bankrupt is a good thing. And if we can avoid that, then of course that is the better alternative.  All’s I’m saying is that more people in America experience bankruptcy than you realize, and it is not even due to irresponsible spending.. It’s because of events that happened unexpectedly, and it is more common than you think, and people are learning how to live with it and how to move on from it. The stigma of bankruptcy is beginning to dissolve, because people are ”innoculating” themselves with the fear of it.

And that’s what happens to successful people who pursue a dream, a goal, an idea who experience failure. They face it, go through it, and then, like getting a FLU SHOT, realize they are STILL ALIVE.  They also finally see that it is NOT the end of the world. It gives them the opportunity to review their experience, learn from it, and steer them to seek new ways to rebuild, with the wisdom of what they did before to assist them to pursue again with added knowledge so that they don’t do the same thing the next time.

Having been an entrepreneur in home based business with Platinum One Destinations for the past three years, I can tell you that I have had MANY failures. And, I have also had MANY successes. I share this information with you today because I UNDERSTAND the FEAR of not wanting to fail. I understand how it feels to have a goal that didn’t happen when I wanted it to, and struggling with the frustration, anger, and the funk I got myself in and had to wiggle my way out of.  I also can tell you now though, that facing my fears has given me new confidence, brought me to new levels of wisdom and understanding, that have allowed me to get to the next level.  I couldn’t be where I am today without the failures I have experienced. And it will be the same for you in your journey of direct sales. So, GET USED TO IT!!

The difference with successful people is how they perceive FAILURE.. They choose to see it as a learning opportunity, a chance to reprioritize what is important. And most of all, they use it to assist them to do it again. They faced their fear, went through it, and got to the other side - and each time they did - it made going after their goal that much less scary.

So many people are afraid to go for their goals because they are afraid to fail - BEFORE THEY HAVE EVEN FAILED!! My suggestion is that you FAIL MORE OFTEN as it will immunize you to the fear, and the more you fail, the more confidence you will build, and the more likely you will be to succeed, as you continue to learn and apply and tweak and build more and more information and wisdom to move forward easier and faster.

THAT, my friends, is the SECRET to success. The secret is that success is just a compilation of many failures, some big, some small. And the greater you are willing to fail, the greater your success will be.

Your Partner in Prosperity,

Carol Ann Martin
Founder, Synergy Prosperity Alliance Team
Synergy Certified, Platinum Executive Leader & Instructor
Platinum One Destinations, Synergy Marketing Group
Learn more about Platinum One Destinations

 Has anyone ever asked you that annoying question? And if they did, did you think to yourself - is that all you’re willing to pay me for my thoughts?  What a silly request… I have no idea where that little idiom came from, but it is a good subject for discussion related to thoughts and money.

In all of the studies, movies, and research about the science of wealth, success, and creating it, there is one very common theme. This theme was explicitly discussed in the famous book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napolean Hill, written back in the 1920’s during the Great Depression. Napolean interviewed the wealthiest people in the world (about 500 of them I think) to find out what made them different than the rest of the country’s population that was experiencing one of the most difficult financial times in history.

He discovered that all successful people had a consciousness installed within their brain - conscious and unconscious - about wealth and success. These people were immersed in the thought or idea or expression of wealth or success - whether they were either born into it surrounding them, or, created this experience through conditioning their mind to think those thoughts intentionally. These people had an unshakeable knowing that they would achieve the goals they set out to achieve, or had a level of confidence in their existing prosperity that the “thought” of being poor just never entered their consciousness.

Now, if you were or are one of those lucky people to be born into a family that is already surrounded by wealth, then, your work is easy. The consciousness, the thoughts that are installed into your developing brain as a child were placed there naturally. 

We also hear frequently the expression that “The Rich Keep Getting Richer” and “The Poor Keep Getting Poorer”.  That makes sense, when we understand that when you are surrounded by the thoughts of others, which translates to actions and results around wealth, you will produce more of that. So if you are surrounded in poverty, most likely you have very little chance to move out of that condition unless you’re able to feed your brain constantly with different ideas and thoughts. Likewise, if you are surrounded by wealth, live that lifestyle, you are less likely to go backwards and become poor, unless you are a complete idiot, make alot of mistakes in your life, or attempt to pursue wealth through greed and self interest, or you invested heavily in the stockmarket!!! (Tee Hee)

We know that there are only less than 500 individuals in this country who hold the most wealth (meaning assets, equity, investments, etc.).  The rest of us, unfortunately, were not born into wealth, nor have we been surrounded by it. And sadly, when someone offers to hand us a penny for our thoughts, we may believe that a penny is all our little thoughts are worth. And that is why most people will continue to stay at their current level of wealth, because they do not attach enough value to their thoughts, or understand the power of them. 

Let’s take a look at the value of a thought shall we? Let’s take a look at Walt Disney. Walt was a struggling artist. At the time he created Mickey Mouse, he was very young, living in a tenament apartment, having attempted several business ventures that ended in bankruptcy. He was known to draw and sketch whatever was around him since childhood, and it was around this time in his life that one day he thought, hmmm.. I might as well draw the rats that surround me, since they are the only subjects to draw at the moment.  And so was born Mickey, and Minney..

“Who would of thought” (another interesting saying) that Walt’s little idea, thought, in the midst of poverty, bankruptcy, and little hope, would be born one of the biggest entertainment empires in the world. That Walt Disney World would become a symbol of believing in dreams and miracles, and magic. That because of that one thought that one day that one man had, the entire world has been inspired to dream, and children and families have been delighted by the continued legacy of his ”thought” that day. Not to mention that his little idea certainly has generated ALOT of WEALTH in the world.

Now, I don’t know if Walt Disney was selling his sketches of Mickey and Minney back then. And I don’t know exactly how Walt Disney World came to be.  However, I bet at that time Walt sold his sketches for very little money, if it meant he could eat that day.

How many of you would right now accept a penny for your “little” thoughts or ideas? How many of you have an inspired idea, a thought, a desire, that you don’t act on because you can’t project out to see the value it may have for you, someone you love, or the world - right at this very moment?

If you are one of these people - the good news is - you are not alone. And, it’s not your fault. Your mind is simply the collection of data and experiences since childhood and it is operating on old programs about money.  You can, at this very moment, learn to install “new programs”, and create the consciousness of wealth and abundance simply by beginning to focus on new ideas and thoughts that immerse you in it. And, you don’t have to physically “have” the money and wealth to generate it. Only the idea, or the thought, with attached positive emotion around it, is necessary.

Your mind doesn’t know the difference between “reality” and just “images”. That’s why you react to a suspenseful movie physically sometimes by jumping or biting your nails. The brain processes what is fed to it, and the body reacts - whether it is an image, or the “real thing”.

We are at a very exciting time in our history - once again. And if you haven’t read the book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napolean Hill, I suggest you pick up a copy of it, to understand what Napolean Hill discovered at a very similar time in our history almost 100 years ago.

In any situation, we have free will to choose what we will “think”. We can participate in the current financial economic crisis by fueling the anger, the despair, the thoughts of lack and loss. OR, we can choose to use the power of our own minds to generate wealth for ourselves. Platinum One Destinations is one such vehicle that I personally recommend.

It all starts with you, and how and what you choose to focus your attention to in this moment. I suggest that you participate on solutions. That you “think” prosperous thoughts. These thoughts will lead to ideas, words, and actions, that will steer you to new avenues that can and will generate the kind of life you desire.

If Walt Disney could look at a RAT and generate billions of wealth with a simple thought, than I know that you too, have thoughts that are worth much more than a “penny”. And NOW is the time to act on them.

Your Partner in Prosperity,

Carol Ann Martin
Founder, Synergy Prosperity Alliance
Certified Platinum Executive Leader & Instructor
Synergy Marketing Group & Platinum One Destinations
Learn more about Platinum One Destinations