tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79586757764200760502024-03-05T01:30:18.506-08:00Empowered StepsLM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-73000065408828105502020-07-29T19:31:00.000-07:002020-07-29T19:31:35.808-07:00Grassroots Ways To Fund Your Business<p class="MsoNormal"><b>FUND YOUR BUSINESS WITH MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUGsnaxz1joLJxqmeTNLFKAXEnoxWUoCkIeLQqEu5UbW01CgXxPJx2JPCmve2bY8aKRagEbqGI79vqxQjCd0seR0LjVyLYh5eNGdIyjJ29sQA11PZNA3Ba4olWm451vrwpUb4CCD0_IDWW/s678/Businesswoman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="527" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUGsnaxz1joLJxqmeTNLFKAXEnoxWUoCkIeLQqEu5UbW01CgXxPJx2JPCmve2bY8aKRagEbqGI79vqxQjCd0seR0LjVyLYh5eNGdIyjJ29sQA11PZNA3Ba4olWm451vrwpUb4CCD0_IDWW/s320/Businesswoman.JPG" /></a></div><b><br /></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By LM Preston, Author of Building Your Empowered Steps and
Homeschooling While Shaping Amazing Learners <a href="about:blank">www.EmpoweredSteps.com</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have started many businesses in my lifetime. I know the
process to get the work side up and running, but finding ways to fund larger
scoped business ideas caused for creativity and the art of selling the idea
before it was fully developed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pitching your business is a skill that works best when
thought out. Giving your business and idea a ‘catch phrase’ will allow you to
use that catch phrase for every facet of your business platform. It also helps
when finding and recruiting funding sources for your business.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were several ways I have funded new businesses and
observed friends fund their business with much success, here are some below.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Family and friends investing in each other’s businesses.
This is the way many families help each other achieve their business goals.
Investing in each other first. It is a first stop option for many small
businesses. My family used to have a family relief and business fund where all
of my grandmother’s sisters and brothers would pay $500 every quarter into and
the family member in need would get the loan or payout, then pay back into it
the next quarter so that another family member would get the loan or payout.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Grants, State Funded Programs or utilize credit lines if you
are sure your business could benefit from these options.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I personally, seek businesses with the least amount of
capital needed upfront. I consistently reinvest in my business and when needed
have investors that are willing to step in after I pitch a viable expansion
idea. However, when publishing books, games, or selling specialized products,
crowd funding can pay off in a major way by allowing you to find investors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All businesses require initial capital of some sort, think
of ways to create a business with multiple streams of income and sells
potential.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My business Empowered Steps has a focus on coaching. I
started with mentorship coaching, then expanded to include coaching parents,
college students, career candidates, publishing, course creation and now
recently added a financial investment and trading aspect to my coaching. All
facets of the business fits nicely under the business focus and allows growth
with the least amount of capital needed for startup or expansion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Be creative in funding your business, and you will be
shocked at the amount of resources you have acquired to get you off to the best
start possible.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By LM Preston, <a href="about:blank">www.EmpoweredSteps.com</a>
<o:p></o:p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.empoweredsteps.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1083" data-original-width="2903" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LT79VIM6rQJe5wNdIqVesQ00qesLQy0XbXhCAxBq4seLlyNf7K8gq40dE7RaajyXiI7Syg8hc8O9lMPQhOmFKN-FS0kO3TLx-RRBjteO8Se0DOxm6_2LkqDvJNg6e07HoA7yi8AkAI7U/s320/websitebannerboth-HomeschoolingEmpowered.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-2430406281258929722020-05-11T06:30:00.000-07:002020-05-11T06:30:09.177-07:00A BUSINESS IN ANY ECONOMIC SEASON<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Businesses that are fluid last through the many changes in
the Economy and lifestyles of their customer by being flexible and reinventing
themselves when needed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was younger my mother told me, she wanted to be a
Mortician – because she would always have work. However, after working in a
funeral home for a year, she realized that it wasn’t something she would want
to do for her emotional well being.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even so, that was one business, that no matter what, people
would always needed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>EVALUATE YOUR ENVIRONMENT FOR NEEDS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first step is to observe and research needs of customers
that aren’t necessarily based on an economic abundance, but something that
people will get done or a service they would need regardless of the financial
state of the country. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><b>Some to consider are:</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Car Services, plumbing, electrical services, home care
services, micro-businesses, moving company, handyman business, nursing home,
midwife, doula for births or deaths and other business services with very
little overhead cost.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>TIME IS MONEY<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes as business owners you find you may be giving away
a lot of your services and products for free in order to lure customers in.
Find ways to avoid having to downplay your products and services, but draw in
and retain your customers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>MAKE YOUR BUSINESS VIRTUAL<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If your business is an in-person business, find ways to
capitalize off of your knowledge by writing a book on the area of your
business, creating a course on your business form or doing a subscription box
service. As long as you can mail someone your product, communicate with them
online, on the phone, or in person – you can create a virtual compliment to
your businesses.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>EXPAND IN WAYS THAT DON’T COST MUCH BUT COMPLIMENT<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you are building your business, troubleshoot and
brainstorm how many ways you can offer the same services. Then list the
compliments to your business services. After you know numerous ways you can
branch your business into other areas, research the price of expansion. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>SCALING UP AND DOWN<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have a plan to scale your business to what your customer
base needs. Hiring consultants, or contract workers for specific task can
provide quality as well as allow an easy scale back or scale up for certain
surges in your business.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>By:</b> LM Preston author of Building Your Empowered
Steps and Homeschooling While Raising Amazing Learners, <a href="http://www.empoweredsteps.com/">www.EmpoweredSteps.com</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFNFG6B/" target="_blank">BUY BOOK HERE</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFNFG6B/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1002" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQ69DLiCHWY2e8NJvVW3jrUvlPMIobow6yRfPiEw1JMgmf3zXIk0SU88AfhF1mxqV9ETKBkryd-LisVCDwIEJ3HZzUwQUX6hLPVC8h8n3sa57Q3eNS6FwnzJSiV1rOQLUBfphWsALrc0Q/s320/BYESebook.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-32235413428929407332020-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:002020-04-13T06:00:02.450-07:00MANAGE A BUSINESS AND HOMESCHOOLING IN CRISIS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>MANAGE A BUSINESS AND HOMESCHOOLING IN CRISIS</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
by LM
Preston<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUtBhUcr58UK8i39q1BxtUG910eWiEo5_zxic99J_yEmyr9DaqaYfzMJr20pKjuRzYWMBAnOikmrns_aiTsIHp1sNBXnmFv4MGt3_i7IsYZK8x-7P5MhMawPw0ckXAH6IIZU0Xnx8AL5K/s1600/Everyday.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1024" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUtBhUcr58UK8i39q1BxtUG910eWiEo5_zxic99J_yEmyr9DaqaYfzMJr20pKjuRzYWMBAnOikmrns_aiTsIHp1sNBXnmFv4MGt3_i7IsYZK8x-7P5MhMawPw0ckXAH6IIZU0Xnx8AL5K/s320/Everyday.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Business owners have a survivor nature. They are adventurous,
take risk and think outside the box more so than most anyone. An entrepreneur knows
about risk. However, knowing how to plan for challenges and crisis isn’t always
a priority until it is too late.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>PUT PRIDE ASIDE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The main issue most run into that have the ability to work
at doing something they love, is to start to do something they don’t like – in order
to make enough money to survive. This means, possibly doing things you
originally considered out of scope of not a focus for your household or
business.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a time when we were launching our real estate
business that we needed to find money to advertise, my husband took a paper
route delivering newspapers and started delivering pizzas on the slow days to
put that money aside for our advertising. He fell back on those jobs throughout
our marriage when we needed money fast and wanted the flexibility to make it. I
also, took on babysitting other people’s kids overnight that worked night jobs
to supplement. We did what we needed to do – not what we liked to do – to reach
our goals.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>ALL HANDS-ON DECK<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you live with others or others are invested with your
business, everyone should do their part. Setting expectations for sharing the
financial load of maintaining a home, a business is important. There will
always -always, be a weak link. That is the case even among stars. However,
identify the person, resource, or issue and mold it into the best representation
of itself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>INCOME AND JUGGLING BUDGET OBLIGATIONS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Any household, business, or person, should strive to have
multiple streams of income. Even if one parent decides to stay home, finding
another source of income for the family that takes little effort to cultivate
is important in relieving stress.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For a business owner, they need to have methods their
business can create and funnel in income without it being as time or energy dependent.
Some quick tips on how to do this:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<b>Compress resources</b>: for example, instead of
purchasing or doing a long term lease for an office space, do a Day-Office
instead where you rent an office for the day or times you need it. This works
well for micro-businesses.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<b>Don’t be the only source of income for your business</b>:
For micro-businesses it’s great that you can run everything yourself to make money,
but what if you get sick? Fine other sources of income besides your time/body.
For instance, I am a career re-imagination coach, education coach and writing
coach – but there isn’t enough hours in the day for me to service everyone. I
created online courses to support my readers, clients and students. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<b>Barter and Trades</b>: If your business doesn’t have the
funds or your household doesn’t, fine ways to trade your skills, time, efforts
with others that will be able to do the same for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>HOMESCHOOL DOWN TO BASICS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now with many being forced to homeschool their kids, try to
work from home, and deal with the stress of crisis, taking things bare bones
can relieve stress. When homeschooling and working, own your flexibility. Have
a schedule of work your kids can do independently based on their learning
styles, attention span, educational gaps. Then assess how much one-on-one time
you can spend with them each day. Only focus one on one time on Reading,
Reading Comprehension, Writing and Building Math Skills. Make all other subjects
secondary. Homeschooling is MUCH easier when you do it without state oversight
by withdrawing your child from school and stating that you are officially a
homeschooler. Doing so, reduces the amount of work required for your child to
do and allows you to customize their education. Please see the HSLDA
(Homeschool Defense) for the laws in your state: <a href="https://hslda.org/content/laws/">https://hslda.org/content/laws/</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>By LM Preston</b>, Author of Building Your Empowered
Steps and Homeschooling and WorkingWhile Raising Amazing Learners. Purchase her
books <a href="https://www.amazon.com/LM-Preston/e/B002R7KUCC/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22LM%20Preston%22?Ntk=P_key_Contributor_List&Ns=P_Sales_Rank&Ntx=mode+matchall" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Website: <a href="http://www.empoweredsteps.com/">www.EmpoweredSteps.com</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blog: <a href="http://homeschoolandwork.blogspot.com/">http://homeschoolandwork.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-87454912226502026242020-02-24T00:39:00.000-08:002020-02-24T00:39:41.326-08:00CHALLENGES OF RUNNING A BUSINESS WITH YOUR SPOUSE<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3Otcbd2W9m0-Zbv_XxaECbHYPZC_jRwAAin_LRY__KXkYOZEDJW5yNh_2X_DMnuV88P_kPgW-d1oYC0evzjA7S1tqNVhxT3SS_DT3Kc7vTQXBYCHnhPlL-LoOUqxaUZP0MVvsPARxuxK/s1600/couplesinbusiness.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="906" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3Otcbd2W9m0-Zbv_XxaECbHYPZC_jRwAAin_LRY__KXkYOZEDJW5yNh_2X_DMnuV88P_kPgW-d1oYC0evzjA7S1tqNVhxT3SS_DT3Kc7vTQXBYCHnhPlL-LoOUqxaUZP0MVvsPARxuxK/s320/couplesinbusiness.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Husbands and Wives in Business Together</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Being an entrepreneur, self-starting business woman, and a
wife is difficult. However, when you add in the dynamics of your husband being
your business partner, things can get even more challenging. My husband and I
have owned several businesses together and separately. The most successful
businesses were the ones we worked on building together. They were also the
most challenging business to manage because there were so many dynamics to
doing it successful that clashed with our personalities, areas of passions, and
work methods.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WHO IS THE BOSS?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is the major hurdle that many couples have to
establish. In our case, I had the business idea, but my husband was the
business front man since he had the sales experience and passion for in person
and phone sales. In his mind, he was the boss. In my mind, I was the boss. This
bought challenges when it came to the goals of the business, who did what, who
made the decisions, and of course the power struggle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>To fix this we had to:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Agree on mission of business<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Create a business plan<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Decide on how decisions were made<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Divide areas of management determined by the
person’s strength<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Agree on expectations – write them down, make
them visible<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">TIME MANAGEMENT<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other area that was hard to manage was our time. Since
both of us needed to work the business, work our actual full time jobs, and
parent our children, we had many times when we thought the other person was
cooking dinner, putting the kids to bed or picking them up from school.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>To fix this we had to:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Create weekly schedules<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Assign each other or delegate task out<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Cut time at full-time job (one of us) to
part-time or hire a nanny<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">MAKE TIME FOR LIFE
AND DATES<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes the business takes over. It can cause stress to
manifest in the personal relationship of the couple in business. Building a
business is fun, exciting and like raising a child that you have more control
over. If you aren’t careful though, it will consume everything you care about.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>To fix this we had to:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have standing date night – no talking business,
kids, or work (we played board games, went to movies, or a day trip)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Take mandatory vacation (even if only for two
days)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Do something special for each other, write notes
to remind each other we love them, sneak off for breakfast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Continue to work on our balancing act<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By LM Preston, author
of Building Your Empowered Steps and Homeschooling and Working While Raising
Amazing Learners, </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.empoweredsteps.com/">www.EmpoweredSteps.com</a></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Building-Your-Empowered-Steps-Preston/dp/1717081355/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="1600" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHUY_BjeT_fijVnLQsd7yL9W5MKYBnTvnxBaqwxKgXbHzBbZK4MCbsakVCx98e8F8etqjWVWWArPqV8nWJFP6vGefyj7t-bv5J7aKCynYk6_PcXUqYZPxI2vfCkSGDC9OZZP3E6tPxaNv/s400/twitterbanner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-55431639847081355962020-01-16T03:30:00.000-08:002020-01-16T03:30:09.588-08:00HOW TO BLAST YOUR BUSINESS TO EARN RESIDUAL INCOME<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nJbz6aLrmIYtjNEMxfgpMNXqrEJs9vnKoknOXrvHNHw23vEMHyJxrGc6EwIyips2xD0ZmwpO9xFlT-Vq26P98sQKEG8GvM8KKZB2z8NrHXXGg9v6h-YO-0aA5hmEAiWiPkJ8-dMjz8nE/s1600/blogpost1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="968" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nJbz6aLrmIYtjNEMxfgpMNXqrEJs9vnKoknOXrvHNHw23vEMHyJxrGc6EwIyips2xD0ZmwpO9xFlT-Vq26P98sQKEG8GvM8KKZB2z8NrHXXGg9v6h-YO-0aA5hmEAiWiPkJ8-dMjz8nE/s320/blogpost1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Start to think beyond selling your one tangible product and
consider how you can sell your product, your knowledge, your lessons learned,
and any other possible companion products based on your original business
focus. As a business owner, finding consumers that are interested in your work
is always a challenge. However, assessing your skills and ways to express or
market them, even when it may seem redundant is important. It allows you to
spread your products and knowledge to a wider playing field and overtime can
keep you relevant in your market even when you decide to take a bit of a break.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>WRITE and PUBLISH THAT COMPANION BOOK OR PAMPHLET</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When writing or publishing materials with your business name
on it, do not skimp on quality. Also, consider not placing your face on the
cover unless you have a large platform that sells products just with your
likeness on it. This works for Oprah, but not most people. Consider getting a
writing coach, hiring out the building of the pamphlet and writing of it to a
professional, always get it edited by a professional editor. Make sure the
graphics and artwork looks professional and is in line with other like
published works. Distribution is important and spreading it beyond your
personal website and presence also allows it to have a greater reach. Lastly,
build it into your marketing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>VIDEO AND AUDIO EXPANSION OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Building a video platform and audio podcast can be time
consuming but can pay off in major dividends and clients. Even if your business
is selling jewelry, you can create videos that teach how to do what your do,
train your team, share your jewelry and much more. Being versatile in your
message boost all aspects of your business.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>AUDIO BOOKS</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once you have created several books, podcasts and videos, re-purpose
them as audio books. This opens your products to a different market and
potentially new customers to all of your offerings. Creating an audio book is
easier than your think, but it does require some level of financial investment beforehand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>CREATING YOUR CONTENT ROAD MAP</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The above are just a few examples of how to re-purpose your product,
knowledge and any companion product to build a stronger infrastructure that
will support residual passive income to your business. Think bigger, and wider
when you approach maturing your business to sell more than your original
product. Include, selling use to your mailing list, building and marketing
companion products on your site and on your video podcast, then create courses
on how to build a business like yours. All these possible streams of income
from one original product creates a strong content road map that is constantly
feeding your business. By promoting or selling one companion aspect to your
business, you are selling them all indirectly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>TAKE A LONGER LOOK AND BUILD, BRANCH OFF OPPORTUNITIES FOR
YOUR BUSINESS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BFNFG6B/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i7" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJeHEuj8VUuj2RxzVt2o0R1hOaRSsGBKKRHhmbjgpXWkyz9uWGEdKCiaokKR6OLjNXYEbpXwjNdn_GA5QszooJ637hO26yc5yFnxFhK02Qu8vMKXNp9M-OcRleZl7jbYs9mOKfWq6jzVK/s320/BuildingSteps.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>By LM Preston,</b> <a href="about:blank">www.EmpoweredSteps.com</a> <b>Book</b>: <a href="about:blank">Building Your Empowered Steps</a> and <a href="about:blank">Homeschooling and Working While Raising Amazing Learners</a>
<b>Blog</b>: <a href="about:blank">http://empoweredsteps.blogspot.com/</a>
and <a href="about:blank">Facebook Page:</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-8651985930714308292019-10-14T13:37:00.000-07:002019-10-14T13:37:04.453-07:00Working For Someone Or For Yourself<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj08UC7KlqEC9Yo2xBG-AbhQ18F1AMVw-AAqalfpdvviKZSZhWR8x4fgflXiJiJaeigDsTl-aeYsP29Qj9myc6R0hjQHNsqHt7A_bsWCjuAcbRgMGJnMQopH-4y7I-9XT-NfzhH-TG2Vpv/s1600/action-adult-advice-1120344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj08UC7KlqEC9Yo2xBG-AbhQ18F1AMVw-AAqalfpdvviKZSZhWR8x4fgflXiJiJaeigDsTl-aeYsP29Qj9myc6R0hjQHNsqHt7A_bsWCjuAcbRgMGJnMQopH-4y7I-9XT-NfzhH-TG2Vpv/s320/action-adult-advice-1120344.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My husband and I have always been entrepreneurs at heart. It
was in our blood since we were both in grade school. When we started having
kids while attending college, we both decided that we needed the stability of a
full time pay check instead of the erratic and extensive but flexible hours of
running a business.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most all businesses need capital, and time to kick start.
This could mean up to three years of investment without any real return. That
makes selecting a business that you are passionate about even harder when that
business may not return the dividends you hoped to get just to pay your bills
and survive.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In our case we went for businesses that had a good
infrastructure and at least moderate success, knowing we would have to work to
fund the business. We chose Real Estate and worked that business for almost ten
years.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">HAVING A BUSINESS IS
ABOUT THE HUSTLE OF THE SALE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people want to start a business to be their own boss.
It sounds great until we as the sole source of income for our household realize
that we aren’t making any money at it – initially. Pouring 50 to 60 hours of
effort into something that doesn’t pay off can be a drain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Here’s what we did to focus on sales, but not worry so much
about returns when we first started.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Work part-time to fund marketing and sales for business</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Use part-time job to network and gain customers through relationship building</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Use part-time job to fund household while building business</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Realize that business income is based on sales and that at the base of the business, you have to sell the business offerings</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Partnering with someone that can help run the business and take some of the pressure off</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Partnering with someone to get vacation time<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people are in love with the type of business they own,
but hate the aspect of selling it. If that is you, maybe other options are
better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WORKING FOR A COMPANY
– THE BENEFITS OVER OWNING ONE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With having a bill from college debt, we realized that
owning the business didn’t gain us what we needed most at the time-a regular
paycheck, health benefits, vacation paid time off, sick leave in some cases and
standard work hours. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In most cases, working a job, you can depend on the pay
being the same every week and getting the deposit with no more effort than what
you were expecting going in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DECIDING ON THE BEST-CASE
SCENARIO<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The best case for us was working for a company that allowed
us to have our business as a part-time endeavor. Having a constant stream of income,
we could count on most of the time, gave us comfort and joy in building our
business part-time. We partnered with others and the part time business grew to
the point my husband could work it full-time. It helped for one of us to stay
employed to gain health benefits and others from a well-established company. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">FINDING WHAT WORKS
FOR YOU<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doing your research and evaluating what your reason is for
starting your business is your first stop. Then map out a business plan. Decide
when you need to make money on your business and if you are willing to put in
the time and effort selling your product, marketing it, and being on social
media to promote it. If you aren’t interesting in the selling of your product,
are you willing to pay someone to do that for you? Then you will realize what
the cost and benefit is of starting your own company or working for someone
else.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By LM Preston</b>, <a href="http://www.empoweredsteps.com/">www.empoweredsteps.com</a>, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Building-Your-Empowered-Steps-Preston-ebook/dp/B07BFNFG6B/">Building
Your Empowered Steps</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RQ3MZKV/">Homeschooling
and Working While Raising Amazing Learners</a>, blog: <a href="http://empoweredsteps.blogspot.com/">http://empoweredsteps.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-7289820772864544412019-08-16T04:30:00.000-07:002019-08-16T04:30:00.324-07:00HOW TO DECIDE ON YOUR FIRST BUSINESS<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">HOW TO CHOOSE A
MOMPRENUER BUSINESS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By LM Preston<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfyR-3YC_2mzCyIibaqMvfd7jAKRw0a0nC1EUHFuzbhvdLDR5yn7Ko5j9JWZ3TYeG8riX8G2HnDjulctsTyTKuglarD4OhbnzjCv1GgSDe9iDYmnwEkaDlmSzHUPWS16JbYlvWvumPdHu/s1600/adult-afro-blazer-1056556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1129" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfyR-3YC_2mzCyIibaqMvfd7jAKRw0a0nC1EUHFuzbhvdLDR5yn7Ko5j9JWZ3TYeG8riX8G2HnDjulctsTyTKuglarD4OhbnzjCv1GgSDe9iDYmnwEkaDlmSzHUPWS16JbYlvWvumPdHu/s320/adult-afro-blazer-1056556.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wanting to start your own business is a big step for working
moms. Therefore, selecting a business that will meet your needs, be flexible,
calls to your passions, and makes you money is sometimes hard to find. There
are so many personal factors that impact the decision and as a Momprenuer, I’ve
tried many.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">INVESTING IN YOUR
BUSINESS OR GET PAID OUT THE DOOR<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When considering starting a business that you are supporting
from home or as a working parent, money and the amount to invest is usually a
concern. You want a business that has as little startup cost and operating cost
as possible. That’s the one way that you can ensure that it is a financial
benefit for you and your family.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">POPULAR TYPES OF
BUSINESSES OF A MOMPRENUER<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Creating a micro-business specific to your experiences and
areas of interest. This is the best option for many. Take what you’ve done in
your career and make it your own business. Working in freelance to provide
administrative and marketing support for other small and large businesses is a great
business that works around your personal schedule. Another possibility is
transferring your knowledge and interest to an online course or coaching
business. Online store owner can be a business where you basically sell your
old stuff or buy then sale in various marketplaces such as Etsy, Mercari,
Amazon, Craigslist and more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Starting a franchise business is a pricey, but, could be
profitable business. There are small businesses such as tutoring services like
Kumon and Sylvan where you can invest in the franchise for a small fee. Other
choices are Cruise Planners, Fit4Mom, Chem-Dry, Jazzercise, Jan-Pro which
offers services from travel, fitness, and cleaning services. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Multi-Level-Marketing is a form of business that many
mothers find cheap to start up and easy to work around their family
obligations. Some popular and successful ones include Usborne Books, Avon,
doTERRA Essential Oils, Pampered Chef and Scentsy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THE FINAL DECISION<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your final decision should be based on what you intend to
gain by starting your business. It’s goal to include income and
self-gratification. If you aren’t making money from the work you are putting
in, it is a detriment to your family and goals. It is a discouraging aspect of
starting a business. Do your research on the business you hope to pursue. Make
sure it checks all the points that are important to your goals. Realistically,
it takes at least three to five years for any business to make a profit. </div>
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Knowing that consider what you would want to do for that amount of time just for
the experience. Having your business in line with your personal areas of
interest that you are passionate about makes it a success even when you aren’t
making the money from it you’d like. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By LM Preston<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-88337291806163896892019-08-01T04:00:00.000-07:002019-08-01T04:00:00.447-07:00Blog Tour for Working Parents<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Join in the tour for the Giveaway and more!</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9lTP2p8D9KTcAQdtffKxusLlu7NjqBZJht1czpA-DBQwWRyEtVM-MS3Xzgla6_HXgmY-QqCRvIR0XvpSGw0jZ00Q9qZmfc0eKI5960_ZtiBfr2CPOjFHFyNYKnhEL1XJ9nGVEFlZv2DB/s1600/HomeschoolingWork-Cover-websitebanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1600" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9lTP2p8D9KTcAQdtffKxusLlu7NjqBZJht1czpA-DBQwWRyEtVM-MS3Xzgla6_HXgmY-QqCRvIR0XvpSGw0jZ00Q9qZmfc0eKI5960_ZtiBfr2CPOjFHFyNYKnhEL1XJ9nGVEFlZv2DB/s400/HomeschoolingWork-Cover-websitebanner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Working-Shaping-Amazing-Learners/dp/1732924732/" target="_blank">BUY BOOK HERE</a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Homeschooling and Working While Shaping Amazing Learners is a nuts to bolts guide for working parents who want to groom exceptional learners through the flexibility of homeschooling. Learn to juggle working and homeschooling your kids while maintaining your sanity. Also, use aspects of homeschooling for after schooling when traditional school isn’t working. Single parents are given options for executing homeschooling or after schooling methods that work in practical bits for the busy parent. Learn how to take your child from an average student to an exceptional student by exploring the possibilities shown in the section on acceleration of learning. From pre-K to homeschooling college, open your eyes to the many options in flexibility this approach to learning can give. You can homeschool and work to shape amazing learners by exploring the possibilities. </span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S918RBDfhBQ" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
THE BLOG TOUR for HOMESCHOOLING AND WORKING WHILE RAISING AMAZING LEARNERS</div>
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<b>Virtual Book Tour - August 7 - September 18
</b><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 7 - <a href="http://www.readingaddictionvbt.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">RABT Book Tours </a>- Kick Off</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 8 - <a href="https://nanasbookreviews.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Nana's Book Reviews</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 9 - <a href="http://the-avidreader.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">The Avid Reader</a> - Interview</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 10 - <a href="http://www.tsstuff.net/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">T's Stuff</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 12 - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BookLoverBlog2014/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Book Lover Blog</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 13 - <a href="http://javajohnz.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Java John Z's</a> - Excerpt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 14 - <a href="https://www.beachboundbooks.com/blogging-about-books" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Beach Bound Books</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 15 - <a href="http://www.thebookwormlodge.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">The Bookworm Lodge</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 16 - <a href="https://angelasfreelancewriting.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Angela's Freelance Writing</a> - Excerpt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 17 - <a href="http://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Jazzy's Book Reviews</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 19 - <a href="https://trulytrendy.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Truly Trendy</a> - Review</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 20 - <a href="http://mythicalbooks.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Mythical Books</a> - Guest Post</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 21 - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/alyssafayeblog" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Alyssa Faye Blog</a> - Interview</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 22 - <a href="http://novelnewsnetwork.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Novel News Network</a> - Review</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 23 - <a href="https://jenabaxterbooks.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Jena Baxter Books</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 26 - <a href="http://silver-dagger-scriptorium.weebly.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Silver Dagger Scriptorium</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 27 - <a href="http://texasbooknook13.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Texas Book Nook</a> - Review</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 28 - <a href="http://stephaniesbookreviews.weebly.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Stephanie's Book Reviews</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 29 - <a href="https://www.thesexynerdrevue.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">The Sexy Nerd Revue</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 30 - <a href="http://theindieexpress.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">The Indie Express</a> - Review</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">August 31 - <a href="https://dinaraeswritestuff.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Dina Rae Writes Stuff</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 2 - <a href="http://steamyside.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Momma and Her Stories</a> - Excerpt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 3 - <a href="http://mommasaystoreadornottoread.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Momma Says to Read or Not to Read</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 4 - <a href="http://authoreverleigh.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">A Life Through Books </a>- Interview</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 5 - <a href="https://bookreviewvirginialee.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Book Reviews by Virginia Lee</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 9 - <a href="http://facebook.com/voluptuousbdiva" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">The Voluptuous Book Diva</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 11 - <a href="https://www.beachboundbooks.com/blogging-about-books" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Beach Bound Books</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 13 - <a href="http://sylv.net/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Sylv.net</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 16 - <a href="http://www.teatimeandbooks76.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Tea Time and Books</a> - Review</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 17 - <a href="http://www.crossroadreviews.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;" target="_blank">Crossroads Reviews</a> - Spotlight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">September 18 - <a href="http://www.readingaddictionvbtreviews.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: url("bg_link.gif") repeat-x; color: #666666; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">RABT Reviews</a> - Wrap Up </span><br />
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LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-53723493876065214252019-07-08T03:30:00.000-07:002019-07-08T03:30:01.372-07:00SURVIVING WORKING AND PARENTING<div style="font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
SURVIVING WORKING AND PARENTING </div>
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I never considered what would happen with my career once I had children. Many young professionals don’t consider the road beyond graduating from high school and forging the pathway to that sought after career. When life happened and I got married, within a year we had our first baby while both he and I were working and attending college. I was working in my chosen career and my husband was starting college. We’d never considered the cost of childcare and the rest is a speed trip we took into reality of raising kids. </div>
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As a mom who’d worked full time as an engineer through the birth of four kids and finding a way to pump milk to nurse each of them for an entire year after their birth while working, I can tell you, having a great partner who helps makes all the difference. </div>
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MINDSET CHECK </div>
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Family comes first, then career, and then anything else. As a working mom who is pursuing a career it takes more of a balancing game to be able to decide what is important to you at each phase of your career, marriage and parenting. Raising kids should always be number one since they are with you for life. Most careers have some leeway and give that if you have to take a job that you are able to get home early, have flexibility but the pay is low, doing so for the sake of the family is always best. For example, my mother in law was a social worker, but she and my father in law had six kids and she decided not to be a social worker, but to be a foster parent where she mentored other foster parents. When she was done raising kids, she went back to school for her Masters and within five years became a principle. </div>
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Parenting and working requires the tenacity to consider how a goal may not just affect your end game, but your family. Keep your mindset on a positive bent by feeding it with the care and feeding it needs. Finding other working moms, being there for each other, giving a positive word helps all of us succeed in the journey. </div>
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THE POWER OF SAYING NO </div>
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Saying ‘no’ isn’t easy for many ambitious working parents. You are so used to accommodating everyone’s needs. That needs to change. If you can’t do extra work after you get off the job, say so, and allow yourself to seek another job if the employer doesn’t have realistic expectations of the job. </div>
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PLANNING MAKES PERFECT </div>
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In order to survive managing a home, a marriage and your job, plan your day, your week, and your month. If you start to see unnecessary events that suck the time out of your schedule for rest, spending time with your kids, remove them. If you need to get stuff done around the house, delegate it. Everyone in the house should pitch in and if they have, but there is still much to do, hire it out or forget about it. </div>
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ANCHORING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH KIDS AND SPOUSE </div>
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With all the juggling of a career, raising a family, and maintaining a relationship, we sometimes forget to feed the relationships that count. Don’t push time aside from spending it with your kids and your spouse. Play with each other, cook together, shop together, watch movies as a family, make those relationships the priority over all else. When you anchor your relationships you have a continuous cheering section every time you get home from work. </div>
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By LM Preston </div>
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New Book Homeschooling And Working While Raising Amazing Learners: Amazon www.EmpoweredSteps.com </div>
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LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-6852064938934451212019-06-24T00:24:00.000-07:002019-06-24T00:24:12.000-07:00Defying Social Expectations<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Defying Social
Expectations<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">By LM Preston<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">I was
always a tomboy when I was younger. I loved being around boys because they were
less emotional. Growing up with a ton of cousins that were rough and tumble
taught me to speak up for myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Being a
woman in a man’s world isn’t easy. It’s not for the faint at heart. Many girls
walk into careers in science, military, manual labor only to run the heck out
of there since it seems like it’s a losing battle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">We need
to follow through in order to make headway, to get used to one another. To
build a better product, environment, and innovations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">COMBAT FEELING AWKWARD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Diverse
opinions and viewpoints build a better product that serves everyone. Having a
workplace or business that is not diverse hurts innovation. Men and woman definitely
have different points of view and it helps combat problems from many perspectives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">The main
issue we women have working in male dominated environments is not fitting in
with the masses. In these environments, you have to be comfortable in your differences
and fight for your place by using your voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">MEN CAN BE GREAT ALLYs WHEN YOU
PROVE YOURSELF<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Being
consistent and standing out gains respect. Not only that, it makes speaking up
and demanding your place in your working environment easier. Practice makes
perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">THE GENTLE TOUCH<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">It’s a
tricky place to be as a woman. You want to roar and say, “I am here.” Don’t do
that. Be watchful of your environment. Assess the players. Then observe how others
fit into the equation. After you have the lay of the land, get involved. Start
speaking up during meetings. Everything you say, back it up with facts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">PUT YOUR EMOTIONS IN CHECK<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">One of
the best part of being a woman is our ability to sense and sympathize. In a
male dominated workplace, you can’t be to sensitive. You have to speak up for
yourself and set boundaries. Also, you have to realize that men communicate in a
more aggressive manner. However, they don’t usually hold grudges. Once they get
it off their chest, they move on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">SET BOUNDARIES<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Setting
boundaries is the best way to handle confrontational males in the workplace. If
you don’t tell a person they are doing something you don’t like, they won’t
know. Don’t be to nurturing at work. Be careful of falling into a typical role
as a woman. Being the coffee girl or the note-taking person can your ability to
be on a level playing field challenging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">READ BODY LANGUAGE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Taking
the time to understand and read body language can give you insight into your peers.
It also allows you to position yourself, your body in a way that says, take me seriously
and listen to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">DON’T GIVE UP – GET BETTER<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">The more
we women keep the road steady to progress upward into positions of influence,
our male peers will get used to sharing the space. Taking the time to point out
the benefits of a diverse workplace each step along the way. We can start to see
and gain sponsors that understand the challenges of being a woman in a man’s
world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">As a
female engineer, I’ve seen a lot of progress over the years. It’s why I stay,
it’s why I want to mentor other woman who desire a career in the science and
tech industry. It’s why my daughters now work in a much more fulfilling and
equalized environment than I did. We each represent one step closer to defying
the odds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-12282487934218664652019-06-03T02:30:00.000-07:002019-06-03T02:30:00.488-07:00EMBARRASSMENT – A LESSON, A STRENGTH BUILDING EXPERIENCE<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjji3upDwLAf41jLF6L8H4mHmyHAaB284y35Yld3VPjDAdCWLoaj9gNN-4iC_ajEiNaqAF0Qa31rtfRI2Mjxu-7zozloSZSQWPJH4eAlYSF2Gm69wtB9gJ6198hQbHP3Y7mbUevTZaqkqRY/s1600/embarrass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="777" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjji3upDwLAf41jLF6L8H4mHmyHAaB284y35Yld3VPjDAdCWLoaj9gNN-4iC_ajEiNaqAF0Qa31rtfRI2Mjxu-7zozloSZSQWPJH4eAlYSF2Gm69wtB9gJ6198hQbHP3Y7mbUevTZaqkqRY/s320/embarrass.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By LM Preston, author of Building Your Empowered Steps and Homeschooling While Working To Shape Amazing Learners, <span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #0563c1; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="http://www.empoweredsteps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">www.empoweredsteps.com</a></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Many of us fear embarrassment to the point of going to great lengths to avoid it. With the exception of comedians, making fun of our past mistakes, goof-ups or unpleasant experiences isn’t common. Instead, we typically try to forget those situations ever happened.</span></div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ONE OF MY EMBARRASING MOMENTS</span></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The kids in my neighborhood would spend tons of time making up games. One we played was truth or dare. Usually, I wasn’t invited to play because I was the youngest kid in the neighborhood. However, this particular time, they allowed me to play seemed like the best day of my life. I was going to play with the big kids, and no longer follow behind them. That day, Miniworm had arrived, and she was on top of her little world.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The SET UP</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The game went on as usual. Dares were made, secrets were told and the bottle spun. Finally, it was my turn. My moment, my acceptance, and then it came. The kid that had made the last spin, looked at me with a sneaky grin, and I knew immediately that I was doomed.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">THE DARE</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I dare you to eat this beetle!” the kid said. I gulped. Then I compared the penalty for not going through with a challenge. The penalty was to let every kid spit in your face. The decision was difficult, the choices were both gross. However, I refused to be made to eat something that I didn’t want.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">STANDING UP TO MY SO-CALLED FRIENDS</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At that moment of recognition, I felt strong and fierce. Ok, no really I was scared to death. However, I stood and said, “I renege on the dare!” There were gasp, snickers, and whispers. I held my ground, stuck out my chest and licked my lips. “You know what that means don’t ya?” the kid with the dead fat beetle snickered.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Yeah, and I don’t care!” I said, and swallowed as a tear ran from my eye. Man, I was so angry. The other kids bustled to stand in line in front of me. Never before in our game of Truth or Dare had someone challenged their fate. I was the first, and they relished in the chance to demean me further.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There I stood, as each kid gathered as much saliva in their mouths as possible and spit in my face. My eyes closed as I felt the thick, cool, wet globs slide from my forehead, down my nose to my lips. I held back a gag.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, it was over. My best-friend, who was last in line did a fake spitting sound that held little or no power. Then she took out a tissue and wiped my face.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Why didn’t you just do the dare?" she whispered.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I opened my eyes and smiled at her then said, “Cause I didn’t want to eat a stupid beetle.”</span></div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">GROWING FROM YOUR EXPERIENCES and USING THEM TO HELP OTHERS</span></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When I sit down to write my novels from a teenaged perspective, I have a lot of material to pull from. I was called all sorts of names, teased, and jeered at. I wasn’t the lowest on the totem pole, but I was somewhere near the bottom middle of the middle school pecking order. Yet, through these experiences I learned something about myself. I was a survivor and I was never a follower. That is what I portray in my fiction books and that is a skill I sharpen every day. We all have a purpose and the capacity to stand up for ourselves. Never forget that.</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Facebook Page</span></b><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredsteps/</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Blog</span></b><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: http://empoweredsteps.blogspot.com/</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Website</span></b><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: Fiction Books: <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="http://www.lmpreston.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">www.lmpreston.com</a> <b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Empowered Steps</b>: <span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #0563c1; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="http://www.empoweredsteps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">www.empoweredsteps.com</a></span></span></div>
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LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-42221497368957748192019-05-06T03:30:00.000-07:002019-05-06T03:30:03.184-07:00Overcoming the Challenges of a Female Video Gamer<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Overcoming the Challenges of a Female Video Gamer</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjet9_BmpaasKvFE1BL5jCMoKjCw4ghSSuzuG_jXxQ3wLMxvUlrOuusCjfOwq1uWgllCA6-Dn70kycdQyW_5f-hyQyr1qocmbDrWt3tnGIiNOtnakD11WOpxHItOBTBj-OtyQ1cJ1iOZ7K3/s1600/kid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="655" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjet9_BmpaasKvFE1BL5jCMoKjCw4ghSSuzuG_jXxQ3wLMxvUlrOuusCjfOwq1uWgllCA6-Dn70kycdQyW_5f-hyQyr1qocmbDrWt3tnGIiNOtnakD11WOpxHItOBTBj-OtyQ1cJ1iOZ7K3/s320/kid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By LM Preston, author of Building Your Empowered Steps and Homeschooling </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk4448563" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Homeschooling
and Working While Shaping Amazing Learners</span></a><br />
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; color: #0563c1; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="http://www.empoweredsteps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">www.empoweredsteps.com</a></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My youngest daughter has always been a video game fanatic, much like her father who she would play with endlessly as a child. When she was in 6<sup style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">th</sup> grade, I started homeschooling her, asking her if there was one thing she could do all day what it would be. She, like me, had many aspects of herself she wanted to explore. However, the first was, play and develop video games.</span></div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">GAMEPLAY ANONYMOUSLY</span></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Since she was a teen, we allowed her to create her game persona with and name that could either represent a male or a female. Since I was an engineer, in a male dominated world, I knew the implied bias towards females and didn’t want her to deal with that as a teen. She was never to talk to anyone online, and we had her set up where we could watch her play. She loved that. Everyone loves an audience, especially a gamer. In addition to playing games, she started watching others play them, researching game development companies, absorbing information on the industry and growing in her knowledge of the field she desired to pursue.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In an industry that is known for bullying female game players and developers, we wanted her to be able to feed her interest, improve her skills, in a safe and fun way. Then find her path to changing the tides.</span></div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TURNING YOUR PASSION INTO A BUSINESS</span></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Starting out as a female game developer seemed a fun idea and career path for my daughter. We decided to take her to some game developer conferences to talk to other females about the field. We were surprised to learn that the video game industry is one of the most vicious industries for women in engineering and programming fields do to the bullying and bias of the field towards women. It’s a surprising fact, considering that women initially led up key components in the software engineering and game development industry in its infancy.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My daughter, nor I, would give up. Instead she decided to one day work towards creating her own games, designing her artwork for them and writing the scripts. Then she would hire out the other aspects. Changing the industry by creating their own opportunities is the way in which women can impact the bias and bullying in the field.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Instead of depending on an industry to give you a way in, creating your own way, with your own rules is the best solution to turn the tides.</span></div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TIDES ARE CHANGING</span></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With the conference bringing to light the bias in the industry, and more women taking the hits, and paving the way, there is a slow wave of change that is allowing more women to be integrated. It is also causing more males that had the ‘boys only’ philosophy and unconscious bias against female co-workers to respect the fact that the landscape is changing.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Facebook Page</span></b><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredsteps/</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Blog</span></b><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: http://empoweredsteps.blogspot.com/</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Website</span></b><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif , serif , "emojifont"; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">: <span style="border: 0px; color: #0563c1; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="http://www.empoweredsteps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">www.empoweredsteps.com</a></span></span></div>
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LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-86279706386927992822019-04-01T04:00:00.000-07:002019-04-09T21:29:15.317-07:00Sometimes We Dream, We Do, We Change Directions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6ZSyhmgKLR5zrbQLe1hRhl-ojc-D3Cu6tDF0p8CI1uO16omwXRlODW6PR5ZWYD1qT7SiuQKOFHLYtN7QG4Z2w8EjoO2in-Dcr9NPDpcgzmcM5uQEQSTtKabITplED4r8_1nmFOSFECqU/s1600/20190321_092711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6ZSyhmgKLR5zrbQLe1hRhl-ojc-D3Cu6tDF0p8CI1uO16omwXRlODW6PR5ZWYD1qT7SiuQKOFHLYtN7QG4Z2w8EjoO2in-Dcr9NPDpcgzmcM5uQEQSTtKabITplED4r8_1nmFOSFECqU/s320/20190321_092711.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>MY TRIP TO AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND</b></div>
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<b>was a DREAM COME TRUE</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wRp3R8DFHOSNdIVjFnjsmP_GEQzzKBxR60rSjdjAwukwJqUF5k_rsS14cI4jjnG39Qngpr-d3m2LdoGLdlXl1ZpxN8dqICMEY0sfPxR3j2CYaRIYt34ejI2rkJREudmeKALVNTE2WQcn/s1600/20190321_114127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wRp3R8DFHOSNdIVjFnjsmP_GEQzzKBxR60rSjdjAwukwJqUF5k_rsS14cI4jjnG39Qngpr-d3m2LdoGLdlXl1ZpxN8dqICMEY0sfPxR3j2CYaRIYt34ejI2rkJREudmeKALVNTE2WQcn/s320/20190321_114127.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sometimes We Dream, We Do, We Change
Directions<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">SOMETIMES WE HAVE
TO TRY ON A DREAM <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Just to see if we like it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">MY DREAM TO BE A TRAVEL WRITER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Yes, I used to dream about
being a travel writer. I followed this travel show starring SAMANTHA BROWN and
I was hooked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Actually, I believe it started
when I was a kid and watched the Brady Bunch, a family of twelve that went to
Hawaii. That planted the seed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">THE FIRST TIME I LEFT MY BUBBLE was WITH MY SINGLE MOM<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My mother, who was a teen
single mom when she had me, worked hard to get my brother and I through private
schools. The first trip I took out of state was to Italy. I was lucky enough to
get a scholarship and my mom worked extra hours at one of her jobs to pay for
the rest. She started a spark in me and love of travel at that moment. I went
on a fourteen-day trip that changed my life for the better and made me truly
believe that sometimes, just sometimes dreams come true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">MY HUSBAND GOT ON BOARD<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He asked me to marry him
and I told him I wanted an adventurous life. Boy, did he ever deliver. He has
been my driver, adventure partner, ride or die, best friend and body guard
through our travels with four kids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">DOING
IT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I dabbled and created a family and friend
newsletter of sorts when we started traveling as a family. We’d go somewhere every month by road trips, then upped the game to include week long road trips,
then three to four-week trips and finally to flights, and cruising. We pretty
much stuck with the international family travel by cruise only since it was
easier and payment was simple.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I planned the trips, wrote newsletters,
created video books<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I started a travel business<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I helped others plan their travel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And let me tell you, I learned so much.
Mostly, that traveling isn’t perfect, it can be stressful, but oh boy, is it
fun!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">CHANGING
DIRECTIONS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After the newsletter, and traveling with
the kids for awhile, I realized, I loved to travel, but the video editing,
photo editing, write-ups, details, trip plans, and all that went with it,
sucked the fun out of the experience for me. Since this was my personal passion
that bought me pleasure in being with my family while experiencing new places,
I decided I would only focus on that experience. The time and effort that took
away from something I enjoyed wasn’t worth the personal cost for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">THE
EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF is LIFE CHANGING<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Always see to try, experience, grow
through accomplishing what you are interested in and passionate about. Then
realize that it’s okay, to keep the experience and the focus on your own
personal pleasure from the experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">-It’s benefits in trying it on for size<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">-It’s benefits in changing a course<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">-It’s benefits in saying, I’ve been there<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">-It’s benefits in saying, I don’t want to
share this, it’s just for me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">-It’s benefits in saying, I tried it, but
I didn’t like all of it, I didn’t like it at all – but now I know for myself<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">WHAT
HAVE YOU TRIED ON FOR SIZE? AND FOUND IT FIT? IT DIDN’T FIT? IT WAS FUN, but
you are ONE and DONE.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-80066270611433114632019-01-17T05:00:00.000-08:002019-01-17T22:22:17.818-08:00Make Dreams Into Reality, Piece By Piece<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIIruFZXCFB3QXDxfjj0RKicMkUjrTxtrn30gRzunuUZwMYPCCw2t5IGjy_f8nxZvb0iZ_boIdHv1fe8ou5cCOM0ABUE2MyzqkfpfMwI79Rziaoh56IYgUC-kuPaykuwMo0NoNWVzOnHF/s1600/ChunkGoals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIIruFZXCFB3QXDxfjj0RKicMkUjrTxtrn30gRzunuUZwMYPCCw2t5IGjy_f8nxZvb0iZ_boIdHv1fe8ou5cCOM0ABUE2MyzqkfpfMwI79Rziaoh56IYgUC-kuPaykuwMo0NoNWVzOnHF/s320/ChunkGoals.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
You ever wonder if you could climb that mountain if you just considered concentrating on that ONE STEP at A TIME.<br />
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<b>CAN'T CONCEIVE THE BIG DREAM?</b><br />
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That was me, for a long time. The burden of all the steps to make my goals become a reality was just to much to consider and was really overwhelming.<br />
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This is a major trip up for many people. They have anxiety at thinking of all they things they have to do in order to meet their goals.<br />
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<b>START WITH ONE STEP AT A TIME</b><br />
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This is the meat and potatoes to personal accomplishments. Focus only on the one step in front of you. Then take the next and the next. Each time, it gets easier, the challenges - heck, you've seen them before and are knocking them down like a practiced warrior. Once you have the hang of each one step at a time, then you can start to conceive and feel more confident taking that next BIG DREAM or GOAL on with the precision of planning.<br />
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<b>ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY</b><br />
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I love that saying! It is a funny reminder that progression and big endeavors take time, planning, and consistency.<br />
<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-7539043184430857492018-02-05T02:30:00.000-08:002018-02-05T02:30:36.204-08:00No Fear ~ Blossoming into a new Perspective <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo5_GRHWW6TxN0nL2Dm3SpLln0K470aCk7tY9dNWKPVBlNuBePSL0d2-GYjLcy7-xSHqBdRLWIRXC8iePZR8ophZL8PpJFdGBi3QrwFeycPOgyiRIysxyo82p23mWr2rCU01WaMNgNdM5/s1600/fear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="368" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo5_GRHWW6TxN0nL2Dm3SpLln0K470aCk7tY9dNWKPVBlNuBePSL0d2-GYjLcy7-xSHqBdRLWIRXC8iePZR8ophZL8PpJFdGBi3QrwFeycPOgyiRIysxyo82p23mWr2rCU01WaMNgNdM5/s320/fear.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
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<b>Fear Is A Big Barrier</b></div>
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I can't tell you how many times I've been afraid in my life. However, due to where I lived, and how I responded was life, death or depression, I tended to close my eyes and press forward. I did it because truthfully, I had no choice. Fear was my enemy, but also an awesome tool that hindered me from great harm, or catapulted me to a greater path.<br />
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<b>Assess The Fear and Use Or Overcome it</b></div>
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Many times when battling an opponent like fear, we have time to assess and calculate where it's coming from. Other times, we are thrust into a situation where fear hits us in seconds and we don't have time to do anything but react. Practicing how to react to fear is important in all situations. When people are taught martial arts, they are taught to react naturally to the immediate threat of fear. Lightening quick and reaction to the situation almost immediately. They practice everyday, and then fear becomes an ignition to the best possible reaction to a probable situation.<br />
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<b>Learning to Fight Fear</b></div>
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You can learn the skills to fight your fear. Accepting that you are afraid, but forging on inspite of it. Allow your fear to fuel your catapult. Control your irrational response. Deep breaths will calm your body response and clear your mind. Figure out ways that you can attack the different types and causes of fears.<br />
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<b>Don't be afraid of fear, You have the tools to Conquer It!</b></div>
LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-571657293521133102018-01-22T02:30:00.000-08:002018-01-22T02:30:29.619-08:00When Is IT ever Enough?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQriAmrbDeNAurhPMDu-pWgGk5dAk8fnNgTwmNDRN0ylYSfRsN0NFxgcAAdTUkDBuZsOfVLRKKwbYw18hxFiFjP90q4a87NEh2SQNq4rE_GJuPLVBHifw97xW04KG225Qfz_8SsNyinhc/s1600/True-Wealth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="934" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQriAmrbDeNAurhPMDu-pWgGk5dAk8fnNgTwmNDRN0ylYSfRsN0NFxgcAAdTUkDBuZsOfVLRKKwbYw18hxFiFjP90q4a87NEh2SQNq4rE_GJuPLVBHifw97xW04KG225Qfz_8SsNyinhc/s400/True-Wealth.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>THE ROAD TO TRUE WEALTH</b></div>
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<b>MAY BE RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE</b></div>
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Many people seek to bloom dreams that equal great financial wealth. And yes, having money does provide some comforts that not having money can't buy.<br />
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I have had many friends over time that have battled debt, broken relationships, struggled through massive heartache and abuse. Despite those things, they rose to a comfortable standard of living and gained money that allowed a good living.<br />
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However, the money, status, homes, and cars, never fulfilled their heart ~ their souls.<br />
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<b>WHAT IS ENOUGH?</b></div>
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Ask yourself where your happy place is? Mine is when I feel love, express love and am surrounded by love. My other happy place, is when my belly is full, can travel, and am healthy. None of those things I am willing to give up ~ and all of them are things that I don't have to have money to obtain.<br />
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What is enough for you?<br />
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<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-76988742524682831232018-01-08T02:30:00.000-08:002018-01-08T02:30:43.797-08:00The Choice to Be Happy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgix_10U4p1Nu-7lBQlkrxVcz3EfY1Vou0oLvpMex910kaADS0Q-21HoCmYRC4IVjJ94zUlYA1E1MwS6ZkYGY8nOgK8l1IeC7aHgoDrAgCN5yy4nc8Fl93MQdYWzKjfjQ6N4hrKJNOstSeP/s1600/happiness-is-a-choice-choose-happiness-feature-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="980" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgix_10U4p1Nu-7lBQlkrxVcz3EfY1Vou0oLvpMex910kaADS0Q-21HoCmYRC4IVjJ94zUlYA1E1MwS6ZkYGY8nOgK8l1IeC7aHgoDrAgCN5yy4nc8Fl93MQdYWzKjfjQ6N4hrKJNOstSeP/s320/happiness-is-a-choice-choose-happiness-feature-image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>What Does It Mean To Be Happy?</b></div>
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It's an attitude, a perspective on things. Can you change that? Are you willing too? That's a question I ask myself every now and then. I remind myself to relax, pinpoint my mind on things that make me smile, fill my presence with those things, pick them out of the mess of the day.<br />
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A mind and heart is a powerful thing, when we use it to turn our mood, make a smile in spite of sadness, and to consider the ways we can turn our situation around.<br />
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<b>HAPPINESS is a FLEETING EMOTION</b></div>
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It is all the more sweeter when you have the balance of sadness, anger, boredom, stepping in and out. When happiness comes in the room, it will be appreciated and savored.<br />
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<b>CONTENTEDNESS is the calm sea that breeds HAPPY MOMENTS</b></div>
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Between those moments we claim, wrestle and that make us feel the euphoria of happiness, being content gives you a comfort and peace that is as fulfilling as the seeking of fulfillment.<br />
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<b>TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE DOWN</b></div>
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Make yourself laugh. I personally love comedy. It makes me happy which is why I married a man that is hilarious when he wants to be, which is most of the time. Our date night is usually a comedy or fun action packed movie. When we were scraping nickles together we made it a point to splurge on these.LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-40938194102153831732017-12-21T02:00:00.000-08:002017-12-21T02:00:47.704-08:00Reflect On Your Year, Growth, Setbacks To Step Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgledrtHzoz1mfoo1NY7L4ChYB4582gmL_2YWSGeAJWW1aDr6Q9GrCDy9xiA7TWKQTM5Htp3cyyN3h3QulqySCNIfWn7zRdljiIlRgSShIo15fZgc4-CDwwMLPyo2cChedPeXdNArlziv/s1600/the-next-level3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="640" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgledrtHzoz1mfoo1NY7L4ChYB4582gmL_2YWSGeAJWW1aDr6Q9GrCDy9xiA7TWKQTM5Htp3cyyN3h3QulqySCNIfWn7zRdljiIlRgSShIo15fZgc4-CDwwMLPyo2cChedPeXdNArlziv/s320/the-next-level3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><i><u>Reflect, then Step</u></i></b></div>
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Every year since I was a teen, I used December as a time to reflect. I believe it started when my grandmother died. That year was so hard for me since she had been like a 2nd mother to me all of my life.</div>
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She died in December, just days before Christmas. It was significant. A time of joy, hope, and I lost her. That year she left, was hard. I promised myself I would survive it.</div>
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I did, ONE STEP at A TIME until I got to the NEXT level then the NEXT.</div>
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<b>REFLECT</b></div>
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Do your reflection in strength, with knowing that all the challenges were tools to make you stronger, to give you something to learn about yourself, and that you are here, to do a better turn of your challenges next year.</div>
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Then let the emotions spill, flush, cleanse you of this year. This year for me was very difficult. I don't want to forget the losses or the gains. I want to gather up those stones to build my NEXT STEP.</div>
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<b>THE NEXT LEVEL</b></div>
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Sure, everyone starts with a New Years resolution. This time, start with a NEW YOU resolution. Take one of those losses and ask yourself what you can learn from it, how you want to grow from it. Then take one of your gains, and smile at that, be thankful for it.</div>
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Then...step towards your next level.</div>
<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-34875016623742671052017-11-27T02:30:00.000-08:002017-11-27T02:30:01.415-08:00Guru Talk? Do You Need a Cheerleader?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMW_5xIgqIswL7BqG6NK4zm5wLdZ6Ao5aH3KW80HLsclK9vzdI3LoP-pmK9_LLaC_ioyFo_qVZvJg05AB0uFxO2Ssoz5uNjueuR2frlFmJYGb4ZWmw1usBTjDnksYMcMe85Rs2eFUJVZA/s1600/encourage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="735" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMW_5xIgqIswL7BqG6NK4zm5wLdZ6Ao5aH3KW80HLsclK9vzdI3LoP-pmK9_LLaC_ioyFo_qVZvJg05AB0uFxO2Ssoz5uNjueuR2frlFmJYGb4ZWmw1usBTjDnksYMcMe85Rs2eFUJVZA/s320/encourage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
ARE YOU ONE?<br />
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Are you a natural cheerleader? I know I love the song, 'Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader' by Omi. I realized that I was a natural cheerleader. Many of my friends and family considered me a 'glass half full' type of person. However, I did consider the portion that was empty.<br />
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HOW TO BECOME ONE FOR YOURSELF?<br />
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My biggest challenge, was do cheer myself on. Since I did have a hopeful spirit, I also had a side of myself that considered the risk, the possible failure, and it made me VERY cautious in cheering myself onward unless I felt the likelyhood of success was high.<br />
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So I had to learn to cheer myself on. (1) I would repeat a 'You can do this!' to myself when I woke up, when I brushed my teeth, when I had boring spaces in thought (2) I would position myself to be around positive thinking people, they teach you the skills of cheering yourself on (3) I would change my mindset to focus on the possibilities and not the possible failures.<br />
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START TODAY<br />
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Today I challenge you, to change your down talk, fears, into possibilities by cheering yourself on. Every time you say 'Can't' say 'Will'. <span class="_Xbe kno-fv"></span><br />
<br />LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-40696022304991478932017-11-06T02:00:00.000-08:002017-11-06T02:00:02.188-08:00Why You Should Not Take No for An Answer<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TlcYX8UpRrVJ2U3DVy0s4xRIX_L9ptQkwk0p1ugUKHH3uQBDhniKJSvlWV9EgRPwEtAI1komJnMCz5qL0TGTTUtBrbksb6szLOejzKm-qN75xonJevt9VwcPnkhT_KP7p5WRYXMrYgEn/s1600/Don%2527t+take+no.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TlcYX8UpRrVJ2U3DVy0s4xRIX_L9ptQkwk0p1ugUKHH3uQBDhniKJSvlWV9EgRPwEtAI1komJnMCz5qL0TGTTUtBrbksb6szLOejzKm-qN75xonJevt9VwcPnkhT_KP7p5WRYXMrYgEn/s1600/Don%2527t+take+no.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>I NEVER DID like that word NO</b></div>
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It's funny how the world most successful people never took 'NO' for an answer. They always came up with innovative ways to make their passion and dreams come true.<br />
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<b>WERE YOU TAUGHT AS A CHILD TO OBEY the word NO?</b></div>
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Yes, we all were. Some people intuitively never listen to their benefit and their detriment. Well it's time you free yourself from the binds of that word.<br />
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Evaluate your life goals and plan your way around the 'NO'.<br />
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<b>HOW and WHEN I HAVE overCOME THE WORD 'NO'</b></div>
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There are many times I worked out in my mind how I was going to accomplish a task that appeared to have every door closed.<br />
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One was a recent accomplishment of owning my own publishing company with my husband during a time when publishing and small press publishers were frowned upon. It was hard to get taken seriously, it was not fun getting all the rejection. However, in spite of all of those 'NOs', I found my YES, YES and YES.<br />
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Now owning a small press that has helped other authors, want to be publishers, and dreamers reach their star, I can honestly say, I am grateful for being born with a hard head that didn't absorb other's negative barriers, but found ways around them.<br />
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<b>SHARE WITH ME HOW YOU TURNED A 'NO' into a 'YES'</b></div>
LM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958675776420076050.post-54830603450086020442017-10-27T23:49:00.002-07:002017-10-27T23:49:57.013-07:00New Website and Workshops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdtkx3GcuO1t_s1rr2XVlNMCD0SfieqyG5SXYbf_O84w5V-wSYrJvBBt3ae77s-IPavlXJ5jpeExKX7t2RLFq78C9Y8EgeITkRGwT_8Uuo3rpq5AyXP9FwwaFuqH6Vsfp5niwo1ih8OaB/s1600/dream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdtkx3GcuO1t_s1rr2XVlNMCD0SfieqyG5SXYbf_O84w5V-wSYrJvBBt3ae77s-IPavlXJ5jpeExKX7t2RLFq78C9Y8EgeITkRGwT_8Uuo3rpq5AyXP9FwwaFuqH6Vsfp5niwo1ih8OaB/s400/dream.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Empowered Steps is planning some great things for 2018! New workshops and motivational events surrounding family, career, business building and dream making.<br />
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Join us.<br />
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www.EmpoweredSteps.comLM Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.com1