Book Review - The Success Principles by Jack Canfield

The Success Principles How To Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield was given to me when I was visiting a friend's office and found it on the bookshelf.  I started looking through it and liked what I saw, so she told me to take it, they had all read the book already.

This is not just a business book, it's a change your life book. The thing I like about it is that Jack Canfield gives clear principles and how to put them into practice. Then he gives examples of how other people used the principles and what happened as a result.  He talks about goal setting and overcoming obstacles and boosting your self-esteem  This book contains practical advice.  I've read other books that are so complicated that there isn't an easy way to use the advice in daily life (like the very complicated The 7 Habits of  Highly Effective People).  Jack Canfield talks to you in an easy to understand way. He even gives a web address where you can download forms that can help you.

At the back of the book are resources and suggested reading to add to your knowledge. He doesn't claim to be the only authority on the subject. It seems that he really wants to help you get where you want to go.

There is one chapter on saying "No". That was always difficult for me, if someone asked me for a favor, to volunteer for a committee or to help out with a project I couldn't say no. Then I would get behind on my own scheduled things to do and I would get stressed out and sometimes get physically ill from the stress. After reading the chapter on saying "no" I realized that it's ok to say no if you do it the right way.  Life got easier.

This book has impacted my life in other ways too but you don't need to hear all my stories.  Read the book, change your life and make your own stories.

Please feel free to make comments about this book. I would like to hear what you think.

Book Review - Live Your Dreams by Les Brown

The book review for this month is Live Your Dreams by Les Brown.  Back when I was in sales working for a major insurance company we would go to sales seminars once a year.  They were usually in beautiful places like Hawaii or Palm Springs or Aspen and that's where the sales leaders would receive reward plaques and we would have speakers come in for the morning sessions.  One year the speaker was Les Brown.  He was incredibly motivating. That seminar changed the course of my sales career and the next year I was one of the sales leaders up on stage receiving an award.

This book isn't just for sales people, it is for anyone that wants to improve their life. Les Brown gives you a personal formula for success and happiness.  He says "My mission is to get a message out that will help people become uncomfortable with their mediocrity. A lot of people are content with their discontent. I want to be the catalyst that enables them to see themselves having more and achieving more."

I love his approach to life. He says "when life knocks you down, you should always try to land on your back...because if you can look up, you can get up!"  Is that great or what?  He was an inspiration to me because he had a very difficult beginning to his life and so it is very easy to believe what he says because he lives what he says. When he was a child he was adopted, along with his twin brother, by a 38 year old single woman, cafeteria cook and domestic worker, who had very little education or financial means. In fifth grade he was classified as "educable mentally retarded" and he let the label dictate who he was. Then a special teacher made an impact on him that changed the way he looked at himself.   He has many successes in his life and I'll let you find out what they are by reading the book. It's an excellent book bound to inspire you to Live Your Dreams, to be a better person and to realize that anything is possible because there is greatness within you.

Book Review - ReWork

Being an entrepreneur I like to read business books to keep up on trends and to give me ideas on marketing and sales.  I've decided to review the books I've read so you can decide if you want to read them also. 

The first book I'll review is called "REWORK" by Jason Fried and David Heineeier Hansson.  The authors are the founders of a very successful computer software company called 37signals.

I really enjoyed REWORK.  Yes, enjoyed a business book, who knew there was one out there that one could enjoy.  This is not your typical business book. These guys are down to earth, keep it simple, use your common sense kind of guys. The chapters are short, only a few pages long, and they write in language you can understand.  They go against the typical advice that every other business book says, and I love their advice. They take a no-nonsense approach to business that is refreshing.

The line on the inside cover that got me to buy this book was, "... artists who don't want to starve anymore will all find valuable guidance in these pages" and I agree 100%.  I think even people in big corporations should read this book.  There is too much red tape in Corporate America.  I worked in the insurance industry for a good part of my career and there were more meetings than there was work.  There were meeting to plan other meetings, meetings to summarize what happened in previous meetings, and meetings that just didn't seem to accomplish anything.  In this book, the chapter on meetings is titled "Meetings are Toxic". 

I think we all tend to get bogged down in the mire of "the established rules of business". Like having to write a business plan and finding investors and having meetings. Basically they say to stop talking and start working.  This book will make you think  and look at things in a different way. It's not just theory, these guys have built an extremely successful company using the wisdom that they share in the pages of this book.

My favorite line in the book, and also a title of a chapter, is "Build half a product, not a half-assed product". Good advice, maybe another well known software manufacturer should take that advice. There is so much that I like about this book, well actually I like everything about this book, so it's hard not to quote the whole thing while reviewing it. Anyway I don't want to give away anything.  It doesn't matter where you are in your work life, whether you work in the corporate world or have your own business or you are just thinking about starting a business, the advice these guys give will work anywhere.

If you have read this book, please let me know what you think of it.

October Birthstone

This month's birthstone is the Opal.  The opal is the perfect stone for October because of the explosion of beautiful colors, not unlike those of a magnificent rainbow or the changing colors of the leaves on the fall trees.  The Opal derives its name from the Latin word "opalus," meaning precious jewel.  Having the unique ability to refract and reflect specific wavelengths of light, the Opal was valued by the Romans and called "Cupid Paederos" meaning a child beautiful as love.  One legendary explanation for this gemstone's origin is that it fell from heaven in a flash of fiery lightning.

 

A gift of Opal is symbolic of faithfulness and confidence.  And the powerful energy radiating from this fiery gemstone will surely illuminate any occasion! 

If you are interested in a custom made piece of jewelry, possibly made with an Opal, you can contact me a denise@jewelrybydm.com

Enjoy your October and the changing leaves.

Fall Is Here

Yeah!  Fall is here and the weather has cooled off and the leaves are starting to turn.  It's my second favorite time of year; spring is my favorite.

In honor of fall and my friend Regina's birthday I made the vintage look earrings shown at the left. 

The stone is an amber color Swarovski Rivoli crystal.  The picture makes the metal look different colors but the earring is all one color metal. These earrings can be found at my store, and here is the link to them  My Best Friend's Earrings

I hope you will visit me at one of the craft fairs listed at the right.  The one that I'm doing on October 9th is an all hand made craft fair called BarronFest at Parker Press Park in Woodbridge. This will be my first year doing this fair and I look forward to being there.

Have a great fall and I look forward to meeting you all at one of the craft fairs.

Changes Coming

It's almost the official end of summer, only a few days away and I'm excited about the upcoming fall. I like fall a lot, if only it didn't lead to winter I would like it even more. So many things are going on with my business I can't wait to tell you.

First let me tell you the big news. As you may know, I discovered while doing some craft shows that there are other jewelry sellers out there with the business name Designs By Denise. So I did some research and compiled a list of new names, then put a survey on my newsletter and website to get opinions on what the new name should be.  As of September 1st the new name will be:

McLachlan Design Studio

I'm so excited about the change, but it was a lot of work getting all new business cards and post cards printed, having a new banner made, etc. I wanted to get it all done before the upcoming craft fair/holiday season.  I'll have a new banner on the website, here on my blog and also on my  Etsy Store.

I've also opened a new store at 1000 markets and will eventually phase out jewelry in my Etsy store. My jewelry business won't change, just the name. In addition to the current jewelry I'll be adding more sterling silver bracelets and a new line of rings. 

McLachlan Design Studio on 1000 Markets

In addition to craft shows and my online presence I am starting to do Home Parties also.  This way I can come to you, so you can shop from home.  I realize that sometimes it's difficult to get to a craft fair, you work all week and want to get errands done on the weekend.  Shopping online is sometimes difficult because you want to see the piece in person, touch it, try it on and that can't be done online. If you want me to come to your home or your office just let me know. My email address is denise@jewelrybydm.com - tell me what date and time and leave your phone number.  I'll call to get directions and answer any questions.

So, you may be thinking, "Why all the changes?" That's a good question. First is that I want to make shopping for jewelry easier for you, give you more of a selection and be able to keep my prices reasonable.  Etsy is costing me a lot and for some reason I am not selling on their site. 1000 Markets is much more cost effective which will help to keep my prices down and less overwhelming in terms of the number of sellers.  The price of silver and gold just keeps going up and I want to keep my overhead down so I don't have to pass it on to you. That's why I'm changing my sales venue. Doing home sales will be much better for you as a customer, saving you time, as I mentioned above. And adding more jewelry selections will give you a broader range of jewelry to choose from and help you with your holiday shopping.

I look forward to seeing you at one or all of my craft shows (listed in the box to the right). Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have a special order. I'm always willing to work with you on that special piece of jewelry that you need for an outfit or a gift.

Friday Finds

Instead of writing a Team Tuesday I decided to do a Friday Finds this week.  It's still a NJ Team Member that I'm featuring with a different angle, I choose one item in the store.  My Friday Finds pick is Autumn Witch ORIGINAL by The Vintage Sister.  This piece caught my eye because it is so original.

I love the way several different types of media are used to create the picture, and the Halloween uses of this are great, but it is such a fun picture you could use it all year round.  The piece is signed by the artist, Tracy. One good thing is the piece measures 8 x 24 inches, so it's a nice size and can fit in lots of places. Look at the details of the picture, even the spider, which is made of vintage buttons, is so unique. 

Here is a link to this item in The Vintage Sister's store:
Autumn Witch ORIGINAL

Check out the other items in The Vintage Sister's store, she has some really cute things, her store link is The Vintage Sister

I hope you enjoyed Friday Finds and will leave a comment. 
Have a great weekend!