Change Begins With Choice

by Tracy Rodgers, National Sales Director

The late Jim Rohn was and still is one of my favorite motivational speakers.  I have learned many things from this man in my direct sales career.  I hope you will enjoy this as much as I did, and still do.

Change Begins With Choice - by Jim Rohn

Any day we wish, we can discipline ourselves to make important changes in our lives.  Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge.  Any day we wish, we can start a new activity.  Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change.  We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year. 

We can also do nothing.  We can pretend rather than perform.  And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are.  We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence.  The choices are ours to make.  But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. 

As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves."  We created our circumstances by our past choices.  We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices, beginning today.  Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions.  They need the truth. 

They need the whole truth.  And they need nothing but the truth.  We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path.  We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out.  And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives. 

And if I may be so bold as to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life - if you don't like how things are, change it!  You're not a tree.  You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life - and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

See more motivational inspirations at http://www.success.com/

Vessel and Essential Oils

Vessel jewelry was created for the purpose of combining fashion and fragrance.

Customizing our beautiful variety of ScentSpheres with one of our exclusive pure perfume fragrances is just one way to do so.

Another option that shows the versatility of Vessel, and that many of our Stylists and Customers are choosing, is to use essential oils with Vessel jewelry. 

Select fragrance-free ScentSpheres and apply the oils of your choice for their pleasing aromas or therapeutic benefits.

When using essential oils on your ScentSpheres, apply several drops of your preferred oil and let the oil absorb into the beads before inserting them into your Locket. Always make sure your hands are clean and dry when handling your Vessel jewelry.

A Vessel Stylist Kit includes an unscented set of all of our ScentSpheres, and a set of 12 scented beads representing our Vessel fragrances. As a Stylist, even if you plan to focus on essential oils with your Vessel business, you may have Customers who enjoy and select one of our lovely Vessel fragrances.

However you choose to wear your Vessel jewelry, with our fragrances or with your essential oils, you’ll be showing off your scent with style!

Don't stop that snowball from rolling, even in the summer!

by: Dioni Morales, Director of Stylist Services

As most of you know, we just celebrated Vessel’s First Year Anniversary in Salt Lake City, Utah a few weeks ago. I love any opportunity I have to visit Utah, as I lived there for a couple of decades and am totally in love with it. My family loves it too, so we had the blessing of spending over two weeks there. We stayed in downtown Salt Lake which is perhaps one of the most beautiful downtowns in the nation. I did a LOT of walking, not because I had to, but because I wanted to enjoy the weather and the views. The thing is I don’t walk alone. I actually push a double jogger stroller with my 4 ½ year old twins, so I’m pushing about 80 pounds which can really be challenging when you are going up hill.

As I was walking for over an hour a day I figured out one thing: that if I had to stop at any moment, it was really difficult to start again. It just seemed like I had to push with absolutely all my strength to get the stroller moving again. I liked it because I enjoy every opportunity I have to work out a sweat, but it really gave a brand new meaning to the word Momentum. So I started thinking about this concept in depth especially when it has to do with your business. You begin with little information but a lot of excitement. You start talking to people, booking parties, listening to Coaching Calls and pretty soon it becomes part of your life. It becomes a habit. You think about it when you wake up, throughout the day and when you go to bed.

Steve Ferrante said: “Success is like a snowball…. It takes momentum to build and the more you roll in the right direction the bigger it gets”. Now, what happens if we allow anything to stop that snowball? How easy do you think it will be to start moving that snowball again? This is exactly what we cannot allow to happen at any point in our career. I know that especially in the summer it might be a bit more challenging to get this snowball rolling. But keep it rolling no matter what, even when it might be a bit slower, as long as it’s in the right direction. Tracy Rodgers shared with us in her Coaching Call last week many things that we can do in the summer months to get some parties going. It’s also a great time to talk to people about the business and to keep learning and getting trained for your successful Vessel career. As Tony Robbins said: “People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

At Vessel we are incredibly excited about our future. We made incredible announcements at our Anniversary Event. We definitely have a wonderful momentum going. Are you going to be part of it?

Do You Know How to Party?

After watching National Sales Director Tracy Rodgers conduct a "mock Vessel party" at our Anniversary Event, I thought to myself that it's really a wonder that Vessel ever got off the ground!  More about that in a minute ...

I think that all who attended the event would agree that Tracy's party was amazing.  It flowed, it was FUN, the booking and recruiting conversations were natural and compelling.  Several of the attendees said they almost forgot that they were in a training about a party ... they felt they were actually AT a party.  And while Tracy's skills are absolutely undeniable, here is the point she was careful to make: she didn't start out with those skills!  She said that she learned from each party's mistakes, she made herself do it even when she didn't feel confident, and most of all, she PRACTICED.   She just kept on doing it, improving each time, until it felt like something that she could - in her own words - "do in my sleep." 

Well, we all know how that feels I think.  Very few skills are actually innate to us, but if we stick with something we will eventually develop the skill. 

Conducting a party can feel scary.  You don't know what to say, whether you should just let people look and hopefully buy, how in the world you could possibly get someone to agree to hold a party, much less sign up as a Stylist.  But with Tracy's tools, you can be assured of going about it the right way.  She has developed all sorts of scripts and outlines that will allow you to let your own personality shine through while at the same time providing a road map that will get you the RESULTS that you want.  Results that include, in addition to great party sales, increased bookings and recruiting.  These tools are on the Stylist tab of the website, so use them!  You also need to participate on our weekly training calls, where additional details and topics will be addressed.  The calls are every Wednesday night, 6:00 pm Pacific, 7:00 pm Mountain, 8:00 pm Central, and 9:00 pm Eastern. 

So back to Vessel's beginnings, and a great endorsement of taking advantage of Tracy's training.  When Karen and I first got going with Vessel (after months of developing the products and compensation plan), we initially did parties ourselves.  And I can say for myself, without a doubt, that I was doing parties the wrong way.  So I guess the good news is that Vessel did survive that (because it's a great and unique concept), but it sure could have been better! 

I would like to issue a challenge to our Stylists: read and use Tracy's tools for your upcoming parties.  Even if it doesn't go perfectly for the first few parties, keep doing it!  And before you know it, you too will be able to "do it in your sleep." 

To your success!

Susan

You Can Be in Control of Your Business

by Tracy Rodgers, National Sales Director

There are many things in life that we cannot control, but your business doesn't have to be one of them.  Of course, luck does have a small part to do with success, but you can take actions to increase it.  Don't treat your business like a lottery ticket, doing nothing while hoping it works out.  Take a look at our list of suggestions for increasing your luck, and coming closer to realizing your dreams.

• Lead with and focus on what you do best.  Being aware of your skill set allows you to identify your own personal strengths.  Use those strengths to make positive, memorable first impressions, as well as integrating them into as much of your business as you can.  For example, if you are quick-witted and easily make others laugh, don't be afraid to lead off sales presentations, opportunity meetings, and even one-on-one introductions with a joke.  Go a step further and integrate your unique sense of humor into all your business relationships when appropriate.  When you can bring your strengths to the table, others will take notice.
• Always be prepared.  Although luck does play a small part in our lives, you can increase your chances of success by preparing yourself as much as possible.  You wouldn't go in to a final exam simply hoping that most of the questions are about topics you remember from the text book; you would prepare yourself by reviewing the material, highlighting important points, and quizzing yourself before the day of the test.  The same concept applies to your direct sales business.  Rehearse your presentation before each party, even if you've been doing this for years.  Create possible scenarios that might catch you off guard if you're not ready.  Calling a referral to book a possible opportunity meeting?  Find out about the person's interests and aspirations.  Adequate preparation can be your most effective tool for finding success.
• Be a connector to people and businesses.  When you have a good experience with someone in business, take the initiative to share that experience with others.  Be the one who refers friends, family and customers to others without prompting.  Put in a good word about your hair stylist to your cousin who is looking for a new place to go for a cut.  Perhaps a customer is seeking out a service that you can't provide; be the person who finds someone who does.  Your role as a connector will not be forgotten when an opportunity arises for someone to do the same for you.
• Develop authentic relationships.  This begins with showing a genuine interest in and sincere caring about others.  Not all your relationships can or should be close ones, but they should all be authentic.  People involved in your business in any way need to be able to trust you, be open with you, and want to be around you.  Give others your full attention when interacting, and always follow through on your promises.  Building good relationships is the foundation of a career in direct sales.