Short but So Sweet

It’s been ages since I spent any time with my friend Holly – and when I say ages, I really mean over 18 months, so when I bumped into her at a networking event one evening, we made plans to have lunch together and actually put it on our calendars.

The day before the calendar entry, I reached out to Holly and confirmed our plans.  We made a slight adjustment to meet over a cup of coffee at a local coffee place.

The next hour (plus) was spent talking about our businesses, current and past.  We shared tips and ideas for growth for one another’s business; who we’ve seen lately, who has moved away; key factors of what makes our own businesses work and who we like to work with.

It was a great hour…no pressure from either of us to get the other to use products or services.  We now know what the other does in a deeper, more value-packed way.

This is how real business is done-at least from my perspective.  Only an hour provided both of us with so much value, that we vowed to do it again!

This is long, but so was my walk!!

There’s come a time when, even though you don’t want to, you have to admit that you’ve done something stupid—maybe even incredibly stupid.

On a recent visit to New Orleans as a tag-along traveler to a business trip for my husband, I found myself left to my own creativity to spend the daylight hours. Since I knew that my husband was tied up with work from early morning until well into the dinner hour, I reached out to people on Facebook to see if anyone knew anyone that could spend some time with me while in the Big Easy and share their city with me.  You see, I’ve only been here once before and that was about ten years ago, and I wasn’t quite as adventurous then.

And so my time in New Orleans has found me reaching outside of my comfort zone—and growing as a person.  I’m not one to go to a restaurant to dine alone, and yet I had no choice but to find a cozy table in the sun at a small breakfast place and enjoy my own company.  The French Quarter has taken on a slight change as i noticed I didn’t come across the voo-doo parlors that I remember from my last visit; rather there were more neon-lighted souvenir stores with masks, masks and more masks!

But this does not come close to the following day where my actions lead me into steps of stupidity.  Many, many steps!

 

I made contact with the friend of a friend, first by Facebook chat and then by text. He had Sunday morning obligations with his church choir and wasn’t available until 2pm at which time we would meet up on Moss Street at the bayou.  He wanted to see the Mardi Gras Indians that were coming out to entertain the crowds and, as he explained, it’s a special rarity.  I was ‘in’ for this treat!

I checked my Google maps to find that the meeting place was only 2.6 miles away-an easy walk for me.  I readied myself, grabbed my 6oz small bottle of water, my phone with the map and walking directions and headed out, not having a single idea of where the heck I was going.  I walked back thru the French Quarter, made a left turn, right turn, left turn, following the voice streaming through my headphones and trusting, trusting.

Even though I was watching the traffic and trying to be courteous, I still got honked at and flipped off (there are no pedestrian walk/don’t walk signs that were working!!).  As if that wasn’t unnerving enough, I found myself walking through neighborhoods that were, hmmm how should we say—scary!! Clearly, I wasn’t where I should have been.  Sirens were screaming every few minutes…low riding dark-windowed vehicles were slowing driving down streets, glass on the broken sidewalks, boarded up homes….my comfort level was running in the negative.  I remember thinking to myself ‘this is not good…this was a mistake’, but after an hour of walking, I couldn’t turn back.  And calling a taxi would mean I would have to stay in one place and wait—I figured it was safer to just keep moving.

And so I did…I walked under freeway passings and more un-easy neighborhoods.  Among the homes that needed some deep loving, there would be well-kept and even pretty homes.  They offered a sigh of relief, for a few moments. 

Sunday afternoons welcomed some of the neighbors to be outside in their chairs watching the traffic and as I passed and smiled, the return was “how you doing, baby?”, but not the scummy ‘baby’; more like the welcoming southern ‘baby’.  I enjoyed that.

As I approached the crossroads of where we were to meet, the waterway and Moss Street, I felt accomplished, full of confidence—warmed by the sun and taken by the beauty of the bayou, with the homes of history staring back at me.  I didn’t see any activity in the immediate area, so I continued walking towards the traffic up along the bayou. Turning the corner, I found the street car line stopped right in front of City Park.  Yes, the same street car that travels from right in front of the hotel we are staying at and ends at City Park.  A moment of frustration and self anger until I settled myself that I had no idea that we were meeting near City Park.

I waited over an hour and a half for my new friend to arrive after we made contact.  During that time, I sat on a park bench in the park and watched a group of men in their senior years erect a volleyball net in the park…I watched dogs guiding their humans down the walkway…a woman asked if she and her dog could come sit with me and we chatted for a bit; she’s a foster mom for the dog and had no idea where she parked her car.  Talking with her was a delight to my ears with her southern drawl and her fun speech.

When my new friend arrived, he found me in front of the museum where we agreed to meet.  The first thing he said was that we missed the Indians…they had already preformed at an area many blocks from where we were.  I told him I walked from Canal street and he said “Why’d you do that ‘baby’??…the street car could have brought you right here”!

We walked out of the park, back across the street where I had emerged from on my way in, down Esplanade to a cemetery.  Not like any cemetery I’ve ever been in before.  Because of the water level in this city, there is a unique way to bury family members.

Personally, I think this is very ecological in the thinking and it might be a great way for all cemeteries to consider.

After awhile being educated about this practice, we continued our walk down into the neighborhood that was lined in dogwood trees and graced with some amazing homes that were total eye-candy.  We met up with my new friend’s  partner who had his car.  My legs were ready for the break in walking. We then had to pick up a long-time friend from church and get them to their next singing obligation in a revival tent.  The conversation in the car was so amazing to hear between the two natives of New Orleans.  Fun and refreshing.

I was given a ride back to my hotel…and I so welcomed it since my feet and legs were noticing the 25,000 steps that my fitbit tracked. A hot shower and a pain reliever and I was ready to enjoy dinner with my husband.  As we walked to the French Quarter to grab a po’ boy, I shared my story….and how stupid turned into good.

 

It Feels Good!

It’s quite flattering when someone asks you to be interviewed…and very much a different way to present yourself.

First, there’s no ‘take overs’. Once the light turns on, it’s a ‘go’. I do have to admit that this experience was quite comfortable, thanks to the professionalism of the interviewer, Jeannine Barcarse of SoCal Marketing Consultants. She asked pertinent questions and allowed me all the time I needed to answer the questions, and then did a great recap.

Coaching is a system of investigating and asking open-ended questions to ensure that the client is thinking deeply to discover the proper route to accomplish their goals. A trained coach knows how to ask those questions; how to listen carefully to the answers so the process continues towards the outcome of desired goal. A well-trained coach has tools that can be used to help reach those goals as well.

This interview revealed that I’m very excited to help others with their confidence in their personal life and in making decisions about a business.

Here’s the interview–I’d love to hear your thoughts:
http://businessinnovatorsmagazine.com/debe-bloom-certified-confidence-coach-and-entrepreneur/

 

One Month Beyond

We are coming up to a month since I had to make the gut-wrenching decision to set my sweet little doggy, Julee Rose, free.  It’s not been easy.  I’ve made it a point to fill my days with activities to keep my heart from ripping out of my chest…and although some of the activates were centered around preserving the memory of Julee, it has been helpful.  Or so I think.

The day I searched and found the perfect rose tree…the golden orange blossom with yellow centers, and the perfectly matched pot, I received the most extraordinary gift from a long time friend & neighbor.  He had a tile made with Julee’s image on it; something that will sit nicely in the pot at the foot of the rose tree.

A few days later, a package came in the mail from another friend who lives across the waters….she had read my previous blog about sleeping with Julee’s blanket and had a pillow cover made with Julee’s picture on it.  Such a wonderful thought.  (Not to miss mentioning the many gifts of donations in Julee’s memory that will go to help other furbabies that are ‘in need of’…her memory does live on!)

My little furry friend certainly has great tributes that surround my home.  And yet, when I go outside to water the garden and talk to my fruit trees, I fall into such a state of sadness.  My heart misses my Julee to such a deep degree as my mind envisions her basking in the sun in her favorite places, or following me around the yard.

A part of me has reasoned that Julee came into my life as a rescue to fill a small place in my heart that needed to be filled. And she did that so incredibly well—her job was fulfilled.  But over the course of the eleven plus years together, that small place grew to an extraordinary size as we bonded into the friendship we had.

I have already looked on rescue websites for doggies that need a forever home.  Our home needs to be completed by the being of a doggy—and yet I need to agree with my son as I don’t think it’s the right time.  I need to honor the relationship I had with Julee.  I often asked her “what would I do without you?”….even asked her that as recent as 2 months ago….

I still don’t have the answer…

A Hard Good-bye

I woke up this morning with my arms wrapped around her blanket, my head resting on it…my face nestled in it.

When I got out of bed, the habit of concern and love continues as I looked over to where her bed was, where I would find her sleeping every morning…of recent anyway

Julee, Jules, Ju-Ju, Peanut, Face, Ju-Ju-Bee, My Doggy, My Baby, Monkey, Julee-Woolley, Ulie, Ules, Muppett, Sweet Thing, Daddy’s Girl —she answered to all of these names that she was given by me, by her ‘dad’, by her sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces.  She was one of those very special beings that everybody could & would love.

She had a face that you would either think was adorable — or just the opposite.  But her soul was her gold piece. She was always available to share her heart.  To people-big and small, to (most) other dogs, to cats, to birds!, and Guinea pigs. She never said no to anyone or anything.

Julee Rose—her name was a gift all by itself. When I decided to get a furry friend, it took me months to decide that I wanted a Pekingese -the breed I grew up with.  After another couple of months of searching for a dog that was being rehomed, i thought it just wasn’t meant to be. I looked one last time and there was the posting. After making arrangements to meet “Judy”, (who was impossible to house break) I spent about 6 hours chatting with my son trying to figure out a new name for Judy that a doggy would easily respond to.  When I met the woman who was rehoming the 1 year old pup, I was told her name was Julie & I found out we would be her 5th home!! I took Julie sight-unseen. No dog deserves to be pushed around so much:”the Peke Stops Here”, is what I was thinking.

On my way back to my office, Julie  became  Julee in memory of my sister. And a mile or so later, after calling her Julee Bloom, I gave her the middle name of Rose.

Six weeks Julee went to my office with me. She loved running ahead of me to the elevator, got in each morning and when we got to our floor, she would run ahead of me and bolt down the hall to our office door. When I needed to go to the bathroom, Julee went out first. She even had her own bed in the office, her Cleopatra bed!  Julee was always in the company of people–& never had a housebreaking issue.

She was my friend. My daughter. My sister. My babysitter. Her daddy’s relief (since his business takes him out of town & out of the house a lot). She was my charge–the reason I got out of bed — the reason why I was responsible at 5pm.  She was my dolly as I bathed her..brushed her..walked her. And of late, tended to her medical needs.

She was my hobby and my concern: my child (albeit furry) and my partner. My play toy and my silent voice of reason.  We travelled together by car, plane and boat. We hiked in the mountains and in the desert. We walked the neighborhoods and sat quietly on the sand.  We visited friends and romped in the park.  She was my lifeline.

We filled a void for each other.   And now my sister, my baby, my friend is gone.  I know she knew I loved her—I don’t know if I ever showed her how deeply it went.

Julee Rose Bloom—my yellow rose

September 10,2003 – February 26, 2016

Sharing is Caring

♪ ♫ Will you still need me, will you still love me when I’m 64?♪♫ Yeah, it happened, my Beatles birthday happened just a few weeks ago.  I thought when I was younger that 64 was going to be the end.  What can I tell you!  When I was younger, 64 was so far away and it was the ‘old folks’ age.  So, here I am at age 64, and here we are with Facebook!  Through Facebook, I received so many birthday wishes, my head was spinning and every year, it seems to grow more and more, and I’m not trying to be here to toot my own horn, because there is a message I am going to be delivering in a second.  The last number that I found that Facebook shared with me that had birthday wishes was over 300, and that’s not the point here, the point is that every one of those people took the time to sit down at their computer and actually type out ‘happy birthday,’ and I feel in my heart of hearts, that it’s kind of important for me to respect them back equally, so I actually, throughout the day, sent personal ‘thank yous,’ to each and every one of those people.  So, yeah, it was tedious, but it was also soulful; you know what I mean, it filled my soul and it was my way of saying ‘thank you,’ to them at a deeper level than doing the whole ‘thank you everybody for all of your wishes,’ kind of thing.  There’s nothing wrong with that, if that’s the way you want to roll, I mean, I personally just wanted to let everybody know that I care individually and absolutely for every person that sent me a birthday wish.  So, that’s all, just wanted to put that out there that I took the time, because other people took the time.  I guess sharing is caring; there you go!  Debe Bloom, Nerium International.

How to realize your true profession as being a NetWORKer (Article) (Video)

How to Find a Decent Direct Sales Company

There is an estimated 92 million people in direct sales worldwide, with 15.6 million from the US.  Which company is hosting all of these marketers?  The answer: Hundreds are.

So that leaves a person with more than a handful of choices, for sure.  Drilling down to the perfect company is a process:

  First choice should be a product that resonates with you.  Unless you are passionate about a product, it’s hard to deliver passion to another person.

‚ What is the reputation of the company?  Everyone has an opinion and there is controversy everywhere.  Investigate but take all your research with a grain of salt.

ƒ  Be sure that the people you are considering to partner with will provide you support, especially during your training period.  Talk to the current team members to see if there is the support that you will need—or if there may be too much support (after all, you are going into business for yourself!)

„  What does the company supply as far as support and training?  Does it feel like they are only money driven?  Do they believe in their product; or do they believe in the people who represent the product and company?

… Investigate the compensation plan.  How often would you get paid? How many different ways will you be compensated for your time and effort?

† Make a call to the Customer Service support line to see how fast your call is answered.

‡ Look on the company’s website to see if it is sophisticated to your style.  Once you sign up, would you have your own website that is provided by the company?

ˆ Attend a meeting that is sponsored by the company to get the ‘flavor’ of the company.  Company culture is incredibly important

.

‰ Read up on the leadership of the company. Do they have the reputation you want to be associated it?  What kind of history do they have in the marketplace?  Is it a strong team?

I have been involved in several MLM’s over the years and for one reason or another, the company &/or product just didn’t feel right for me. After taking the above steps to drill down into my current company that I’m a partner with, I am incredibly pleased with where I am.

Here’s a great reason why:  Not only is my company’s mission “to make people better” (proven in both the product and the opportunity), but they continually improve the compensation plan.  As a for instance, just recently they have enhanced the compensation plan where a new “brand partner” (the title given to all representatives) can earn an additional bonus (including commissions and products) in their first month!  That takes our compensation plan to 14 different ways to be compensated—simply amazing!

And although the above nine recommended steps may take a while to delve into, if it feels right, just do it!  Timing is everything and you don’t want to miss an opportunity that could prove to be the best thing you’ve ever done.

www.debebloom.aRealBreakThrough.com     bit.ly:  http://bit.ly/1exsNWl

www.theLastRunClub.com

Lesson Learned

I can’t believe that at this stage of my existence, I am still learning lessons. Stands to reason, I guess—if life were to stand still and I were to be learning lessons, then yeah, I would need to take a long hard look at myself and wonder why I am making mistakes.  But every day, something new is developed, a new technology, a new way at looking at things.

Let me explain:

It’s all based around Facebook.  A person I do business with and am developing a personal relationship, had a bad experience with a large company, a very well-known company.  Actually, a company I do business with. (I’ll refer to him as One.) One had this bad experience with this (mutual) company and he posted a negative review, asking his friends to repost.

I, in the effort of trying to help this budding friendship blossom, reposted.  Certainly, I figured, when you share a status, it doesn’t necessarily mean that those words are the words of the sharer (me):  it’s simply a way to help the poster spread his thoughts.

Oh contra!  I got a call from a brand new associate that I met at a networking event who happens to be a representative of this particular company (I’ll call him Two).  The very first thing Two said to me was “I thought we were supposed to be supportive of each other”.  WOW!  That hit me between the eyes. We ARE supposed to be supportive of each other—that’s why I shared One’s post in the first place, coming from a place of pure support and caring—After all, those were not my words, I just shared a post.

But coming from the viewpoint of Two, I was slamming him and his company. I immediately took the shared post off my wall.  Oy!  What a pickle I had myself in…and I meant no harm.

Lesson learned:  only lollipops, puppies and rainbows from now on.

Have you had a lesson lately?

Debe Bloom Takes a Train Ride-Part Two

Sam sat next to me.  A young San Jose resident. He pulled out his laptop, plugged in and….power at our seats went out.  Sam wasn’t the only one plugging in, so I’m not pointing a finger at him, totally.  But it never failed that after the fuse box was re-set by one of the conductors, and Sam plugged in, power went out.  I didn’t go to UCSB, and yet I was able to put two and two together.

Traveling coastal is amazing. There’s a secret surf spot just north of Santa Barbara (well, it’s not secret, but getting to it is kept secret) and I was so excited that I would be able to see it, I kept taking pictures with my iPhone (since leaving my Nikon home was a choice I made)—getting to Point Conception and actually seeing it for the first time…being in a space of awe enjoying the scenery—until, over the loud speaker, emergency conversation was being transmitted.  A couple of the young girls behind me started ‘freaking out’ thinking that the train was under siege….totally out of a movie.  The PA conversation continued and as we came to the Lompoc train station (a stop my hub and I made on a recent motorhome trip, so it was very familiar to me), first responders in ambulances, fire departments, military police and California Highway Patrol, arrived to greet the train.  Apparently, a person fell while in the dining car and cut himself pretty severely.  The waves were crashing against the rocks and the wind was blowing the sea-spray against them (I knew it was windy because the couple sitting under their hats on the rocks were holding onto their hats tightly) Thirty minutes later, we were on our way.  I was hoping that the train would make up the lost time by going a little bit faster, but, apparently 45 miles an hour is a speed limit.

The female duo across the aisle from me fell asleep.  They obviously were used to partying noise.  I went into a conversation with Sam about his studies.  Then he asked me what I did and I shared,  offering him a magazine that explained it.  Sam went to the dining car to engage with the hot dog, soda and fries.  I noticed a man going thru the trash.  He was wearing all white (except for the parts of his clothing that were dirty, that is).  He had his arm totally submerged in the trash can up to his armpit and every time he looked my way, I’d turn my eyes.  Being my first train trip, I had no clue what he was up to…so I acted like it was a normal thing.  After all, I wanted to be ‘cool’.

Our stop in San Luis Obispo was uneventful. People off…people on, just like in the movies.  I can’t say that about our next stop, Paso Robles, tho.  Greeted by emergency vehicles and personnel (yes, again!) to escort another person off and the family.  This took longer—close to an hour.  I was feeling very grateful that the only reason I left my seat was to use the bathroom, which was located down stairs and thru the luggage area (very similar to an airplanes facility, for those who are curious).

The sun began its process of setting. The sky began changing its colors.