Why Start My Own Home-Based Business?

This is such a huge question and one I need to always keep in front of me! Success definitely comes from within yourself. Well, not always, I mean...I couldn't be a successful professional football player no matter how much I may want to be (I don't really, but only example I could come up with at this time of night). Size for one is definitely not on my side, and the fact that I'm a 35 year old female doesn't help either! However, if you really want to accomplish something in life for yourself and be successful, YOU MUST KNOW YOUR WHY! I've heard this before, but then was sent this awesome ebook ("Success in 10 Steps Where You Learn How to Think Not What to Think by Michael Dlouhy) and started reading it tonight and it reminded me how important this really is! So thank you Vikki Lawson for sharing the ebook with me!

You really need a strong "WHY" and need it to be written down somewhere you will often see it, in order to stick to your goals. This way you keep going no matter how tough times may get. So for this blog, I wanted to share my "WHY's"!

Why I want to be successful in my home-based business:
My #1 "WHY" is definitely my family. The reason I was drawn to network marketing was to have more time with my family. I want to be able to be there for my girls, they grow up so fast! They are only 2 and 4 years old right now, I don't want to miss a thing. I also want to have a lot of time with my husband, alone and with the girls!

My #2 reason is to be able to take some of the pressure off of my husband as he has been our only income since I quit my last sales job last August. He does well enough that I am fortunate enough to not work. But I've always worked, before kids I was a work-a-holic! Always sales, but I got burned out on sales. I wanted something that would give me more flexibility to be with my family, but still give me a way to help bring in extra income and in a way that I could feel good about doing it.

My #3 reason is to help other people be successful for themselves. I would love to learn to be a great Mentor to others and the heavy hitters "sales" approach I have worked with before never felt like the right fit for me. I like the idea of a coach MUCH better! In fact, as one of my earlier blogs told, after finding myself lost in the last network marketing company because I felt their way of doing it didn't fit me and I was not successful because of it, I looked into becoming a personal trainer. I LOVE working out and learning about health and wellness. I thought that might be a great way to help others feel better and be successful...however, I realized in order to be successful I would have to work a lot of hours, therefore going against my #1 Why!

So, writing down my top 3 reasons "WHY" brings me back to network marketing. However, it's with a different company who has a different approach...Servant Leadership as they call it! The leaders and company are there to mentor you to your success to reach your "WHY". They have created a comp plan and system to help part-timers make money too, not just the top 2% leaders! Therefore, part-timers also see success. That's where I fit in for right now...long-term, I want to make a lot more money. But for now, I'm a part-timer looking to make extra money each month for my family, spend more time with my family, and build some awesome relationships with the team in my company and those who join me!

So there's my "WHY's". I've definitely put them in writing and put them out there, you can see how passionate I am about them! I'd love to hear, what's your why? Email me at mnicholsonww@yahoo.com

My Next Move!!

Ok, so in my last post I updated on how I've really been working hard on working out and watching what I eat and seeing some great results! That's just part of the transformation I've been taking in the last 4-5 months. I went through a little phase of being down about my home-based business with Zrii. I am ready to write about it, what I learned and where I'm going!

Zrii was my first try at a home-based business, I was SO excited about it and love what I learned from the people and opportunity. I am one who believes you have to try new things, sometimes they don't work out the way you'd like, but as long as you learn and grow from it...then it's TOTALLY worth it!! HMG is an amazing group of people and I did learn a great deal from them. Zrii is a great company, still love their products and what the company is all about. However, I found myself getting very frustrated in trying to grow my business. When I started, the Binary Comp plan sounded fantastic...as I got into it, it just seemed to be frustrating to me and a lot more work than I was looking for (I'll be honest, not looking to work 40+ hours a week right now...maybe in a few years).

Just a little update on my background and what brought me to home-based business...I have always been more of a work-a-holic. Then I had two beautiful baby girls who fill my life with so much joy and who made me realize time goes WAY TOO FAST! Especially seeing them grow up. I am so blessed to have a husband who has a great job and makes enough that I could take the opportunity to quit my sales job that was more stressful than enoyable at the time and have more time with my girls. I made this decision because I had got into the opportunity with the Hager Marketing Group. I thought I had found my answer! I worked really hard for the first few months, too hard...started to get away from my reason for quitting my job. I was fighting with my husband and spending way too much family time on phone calls and meetings. I had to make a decision...it was easy...my family comes first now, not work or any money that comes with it! I didn't quit Zrii, but I stopped doing the training calls and stopped talking about it as much on Facebook or to anyone and still collect paychecks, which is cool. I started to put my energy into my workouts and my family...just one thing still missing...I do want something to bring in some extra money and a little job. But it has to be from home, on my own time...not my families time...and I have to be passionate about what I'm doing!

There's an awesome video I'd also like to share. It is by Tim Sales, talking about "do most people fail in network marketing?" You can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0--zrVzemw. I highly recommend checking it out if you have tried network marketing, are currently in it, or have just considered it!

This video really hit home with me, I didn't fail, I chose to quit the one I was doing because it wasn't feeling right for me...but I didn't quit, I kept looking for one that fit me better. I have met some amazing people in the network marketing industry who are so inspiring and who do make a great living for their families working from home and yet have more time with their families. I don't want to give up on that as something I want to do.

I have found an amazing company that I am so excited to be part of. I chose this company for a handful of reasons. One, it's a new company, only 3 months old...so great timing to get in now! Two, amazing people backing the company who are forward-thinking people and who want to make a company for the average Joe. As my mentor Travis Flaherty stated, "Revolucion was created under the premise that the average person, working part time from home can still succeed at building a future for their family. That is EXACTLY what we are seeing. More meaningful checks being paid out amongst the entire organization is what it's all about." This is for me! They have the amazing training calls everyday, mentor calls on Monday nights, product training calls on Wednesday nights. I still can't do those with the schedule my husband and I have with his job and the kids...but do you know what this company does, they record every one so you can go listen when the time is good for you to work (like after kiddos are in bed)!!! It's amazing:) Oh, and I didn't even mention that they now have Health Insurance available for their distributors (even with pre-existing conditions) and this week launched an AWESOME marketing tool like no other out there for Revolucion distributors! I'm getting trained on it this afternoon, so you will be hearing more on that!!! Still haven't said anything about their awesome products!

So as you can see from my little bit of rambling...I'm excited! I feel great from working out and keeping that a priority, I'm getting a lot of quality time with my husband and kids, and I'm excited about this opportunity I have been fortunate enough to find where I can build a home-based business that works for me! That's all for now, I'll get more info out as I continue to learn, learn, learn!!!

If you are interested in learning more about Revolucion, check out my website at www.melissanicholson.revolucionww.com for now...I'll have another one with a great video to watch after the training webinar this afternoon!!!

Watching Calories Does Work!

So it's been WAY too long since I last blogged on here...but I've had some very positive changes. I ended up finding this great app on my iPhone called Tap & Track. LOVE It! It has a lot of food already in it so you can quickly add calories and very easy to use if you want to add your own, but it not only tracks your calories, it also tracks your Excercise. So throughout the day you enter your food for calories and select your excercise, which can even be grocery shopping or vaccumming, all those things you do in your regular day that does burn calories. For the excercise you select the level from low to moderate to high. When you enter your excercise it ups the calories you can have for the day, but still lose the weight you are shooting for. I think I set mine up to lose 1 1/2 pounds per week (only can go up to 2 per week, which is good).

After doing this for a few weeks, I lost 5 pounds! I was still excercising a lot too...at least 5 days, sometimes 6 a week. But what I've learned is you really want to mix it up! I'm seeing great results from doing this and having so much fun with it! I recently started adding Spin classes to my weekly workouts, and like everyone told me, it's addicting! I think more because of how I feel after it's over...sweat A LOT, you know your burning a ton of calories, and really works your legs, butt and core! LOVE IT! So right now my weekly workout has changed to Pump Class (new release 73 is SO hard) two days a week followed by 1.5 to 2 mile run; spin 2 days followed by Piyo those 2 days for stretching; 1 day Cardio Core (let's just say torture by Mandy...but it's great for shocking your body!); and if I feel up to it for a 6th day I do the Combat class!

I am now down to 147, was at 154 on my last blog on March 1st. In between I've definitely had some bad weeks...family in town a number of times, birthday parties and Easter! But I've still managed to take the weight off and am so excited that you now can see some definition in my arms when I'm lifting...I think they call that muscle:)

I'm really happy with what's happening to my body. Of course I'd LOVE for it to come off faster and be in a size 8, but it's coming off and because of they way I'm taking off, it should stay off! 7 pounds in 9 weeks!

I've still been using the NutriiVeda shakes for breakfast and sometimes after my workouts. Still love them! But I've been changing it up some too to get other protein.

I've also made some other changes...but I'll get to that in my next blog! Stay tuned:) Life is GREAT, I have a great husband, two beautiful and funny children, wonderful and supportive family, and time to spend with them!

Working Out is not enough...Diet Time?

Ok, so it's been a long time since I posted. I am still VERY interested and excited about the possibility of becoming a personal trainer. There's just been a little set back...but for a good reason! I really want to become a personal trainer to help others learn to eat healthy and excercise, but not just for a few months and then get back to bad old habits! I want to be able to motivate and teach people to change their lifestyle. I think it's a waste of my time, their time and their money if I only help them for a few months. Now, I know from PLENTY of experience that it's difficult to always stay on track. But, if I can teach them and motivate them enough so that even when they do get off track (like I have MANY times)they will always go back to that "healthier" lifestyle...make that lifestyle the comfort zone they always go back to! Excercise and diet are both so important to the wellbeing of EVERYONE! However, how many are out there eating poorly and rarely exercising, if ever?! TOO MANY! I love the fact that personal training is growing like crazy...yes, that means a lot of competition. But I don't think we can have enough, and there will be no competition if I'm good at it and help my clients be successful in their healthy lifestyle transformation!! So, in a way, that's my Mission Statement once I get this new career kicked off.

There's a lot to do before that can happen. Right now I'm working on Step 1 - ME! I have come a long way with my workouts in the last couple of months. I'm having so much fun meeting new friends (other stay-at-home moms)at the gym 5-6 days a week. These workouts are fantastic! Monday and Wednesday we do a Body Pump class to do weight training and then I do 20-30 minutes of cardio...still running and loving it! Tuesday and Friday is Piyo, LOVE this class, it's a mixture of Pilates and Yoga and I sweat in this class almost as much as when I run 3 miles! Thursday and Saturday is Body Combat, sort of like kickboxing...also a lot of fun, but tough! So, as you can see, I've got a great workout schedule. I'm mixing it up, getting cardio, weight training and stretching and balance every week.

The Problem - not losing weight or inches! WHAT? I really thought once I put my workouts into high gear and mixed it up and still watched what I ate pretty well I'd see the weight falling off. Not the case and VERY frustrating, as you can imagine, I'm sure! I started watching my calories, looked up on a few sites to see how many calories I should eat each day to get to my goal weight of 135 and it said 1600. Still nothing watching that. I've also felt very tired and unmotivated. I have Thyroid disease in my family, sister and grandmother both have underactive thyroids, so I thought maybe that was it. I went to my doctor last week to have lab work done. Found out today it doesn't look like it's abnormal (still waiting for my doctor to look over the results, but probably normal). I was a little bummed, I don't want to take medication for thyroid, but did hope that was why I'm not losing weight. Good news...I'm very healthy:) Another good thing is after meeting my doctor I started taking a multi-vitamin for women because I realized I'm definitely not getting enough calcium (and probably other things too). I have noticed a change in my energy, not super, but SO much better than before.

The Next Plan - try doing only 1200 calories per day. I want to do it for a few weeks and see what happens...all I can think is it must be my diet. So I'll be doing 2 NutriiVeda shakes each day (they taste great, are high protein, low calorie and have great minerals and vitamins), so I'll have one for breakfast and one after my workouts. I have some great healthy recipes that I've been cooking for dinner, so we'll stick with those and have healthy snacks in between. I always say, I don't believe in dieting...I don't like telling myself I "can't" have something because then it's all I can think of. So this is not a diet, it's watching what I eat a little more closely...and on date night days, I may just go over that 1200 a little...call it my "free day". Learned that by doing Body for Life and I think it's important to be successful!

Once I get myself looking and feeling even better, I will be ready to move on to the preparation of getting certified to be a personal trainer. I think I'm learning so much throughout my own experience, that I'll feel even better when I start training others! I'm really excited to see what I can do with this...and to sharing it with those who read this! I'm going to try and post updates more frequently and share my thoughts and how I'm feeling.

Working Out, Loving It...Make a Career of it?

I'm so excited to be back in Vegas and getting back into a routine after our great trip back to New Mexico. I've really been enjoying the gym, a friend and I started going to different classes they offer at our Gold's Gym...so much fun and such GREAT workouts! We have been doing Piyo (mixture of pilates and yoga), Body Pump (all weights) and Body Combat (kickboxing). I also started running some again to test my knee, ran a mile twice after Body Pump and yesterday ran 3 miles. Knee is doing well, hopefully it stays that way. I think the classes should help, really working on building muscles that will help so I shouldn't damage or injure my knee as long as I don't push too hard or too fast.

I have had a passion for working out and eating healthy pretty much since college. Not that I've stayed focused on it all the time, but done pretty well since then. It started when I was in college, had a little too much fun eating and drinking and boy did it catch up with me! I always had a class from Freshman year on that was either aquasize or aerobics, but finally my sophmore year I started walking some and joined the local gym to step it up. I vividly remember the summer before my junior year I lived in Georgia as a nanny for my aunt and uncle and felt aweful...I was wearing a size 14. I'll never forget, one day I drove about 30 minutes to a Jenny Craig...got on the scale and it said 161 lbs. I about died, I'm only 5'5" and definitely should not be that heavy! I signed up, but on the drive home started crying and then just got pissed at myself and decided I needed to turn around and un-sign because if I couldn't do this on my own, then I would stay that size (I also really couldn't afford it as a college student and was going to have to drive that 30miles once a week:) So I did just that, turned around and told them I didn't want to do it after all. I had to keep the food, which was stupid considering I hadn't even taken it out of the bag...but whatever, I used a lot of it. I started watching my calories and really just eating healtier and walking everyday. When I got back to college in Colorado, I kept the walking going and started going to the gym for classes and workout before school. My walking slowly turned into jogging and running and loving it! I worked at the local ski resort and instead of using my 2 hour lunch break to ski once Spring hit, I ran...doesn't get any better than that, running in the beautiful Colorado mountains!

The weight came off, not right away, but it was better that way because I had completely changed my lifestyle. Now, I was still a college student, had 2 more years to go. So I was still enjoying the parties and eating Taco Bell...just not everyday and I was working out to help when I did take in too many calories. That has stuck with me ever since. There has only been two other times I got close to that size on the scale and that was when I was pregnant with each of my girls (definitely worth it). I made a lifestyle change...I tried diets, they never worked for me. If I say I can't have something, that's all I can think about eating and when I finally do I have WAY more than I should! I could definitely still do better with my eating habits, but would say overall I eat very healthy and keep the calories under control. However, if I want chocolate, I have some...if there's a dessert on the menu that looks good, I order it...to share!

I've been more of a stay-at-home mom since August. First time I'm not doing a full-time job. I really do love having so much more time with my girls, my husband and for myself. However, I am starting to get the itch to do a little more. I am now looking into getting certified as a Personal Trainer. I've had some awesome conversations with people in the industry. A really good friend of mine who has done it for a long time gave me some great ideas, so I'm really excited to really look more into it! I want to provide personal training to people who may not feel comfortable going to a gym and working out, teach them how to work out at home, or at a park with friends, etc. And teach them how to eat healthier and get results...CHANGE THEIR LIFESTYLE, not deprive themselves! It's something I can start part-time, and then when my girls are older, hopefully take it more full-time.

My opportunity with Zrii has also been part of me coming to find this possible new opportunity. I love all of the Ayurvedic principles I'm learning, it's really about mind, body and soul to live a healthy, happy and successful life. I want to also continue learning more about this and be able to incorporate that in my training. I have A LOT to learn, but want to take this passion to the next level.

A great quote: "If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you." ~ Steve Jobs

If any of you have advice or comments, I'd love to hear from you!!

A Quick Update - Knee is Ready to Roll...I think!

It's been a while since I posted, but it's been an interesting few weeks. I did finally get to see my doctor about my knee MRI results, thankfully there was just minor cartilage damage and a little fluid. He definitely didn't want to do surgery (so glad to hear that, I've heard some nightmares from people who got one surgery and just had to keep getting them!). He ended up giving me a shot of some kind of thick lubricant (not fun, thankfully I had my husband there to squeeze his hands)...I need to find out the name of it because I know people will ask. Bottom line, he said it would take 2-3 weeks before I really felt the full affect of it. Right away I could notice some difference, but it's now been 4 weeks and I have had no more pain in the last week! I even sat on a plane for over an hour, twice, and no stiffness! So this week my plan is to get back to more workouts, including running! Will let you know how it goes, I'm definitely going to take it slow, start running 2-3 miles first to see how it feels!

Last week was one of those CRAZY weeks! My girls and I flew to Albuquerque, NM a week ago last Friday to meet my family and drive another 2 1/2 hours to a VERY small town called San Jon, NM for my grandmother's 80th birthday. I was SO happy I got to be there! However, it didn't start off so well. My youngest (20 months old) had a runny nose before we left, she had an ear infection about a month ago so I was afraid flying with a runny nose may bring on another...OH BOY, I had no idea! Let me just say, there's something about going there?! Last time I got to go visit the big town of San Jon, my oldest (also around 18 months then) got really sick and we had to take her to the emergency room in Tucumcari, NM...lets just say my mom and I felt like we were in the Twilight Zone! Anyway, back to this trip, my daughter didn't sleep through the night the first 3 nights...mother's instinct was telling me after the first night that this was definitely an ear infection at least in one ear, maybe both! So I'm really trying to enjoy visiting my aunts and uncles and cousins I haven't seen in over 2 years, on no sleep and just can't bare the thought of going back to that emergency room. Thankfully a cousin's wife had some ear drops that soothed her and made her feel a lot better during the day. Still no sleep for mom, but thankfully my husband was able to come and meet us earlier than expected and help and then on Tuesday I was back at my parents house in Aztec, NM where our old doctor is and got her all fixed up. Mother's instinct correct, double ear infection...poor thing:( But she's all better now, however, she did share the cold with her other cousins and everyone else. Three other cousins ended up with ear infections, and a few of us got the cold...FUN, FUN, FUN! Oh, and they got more snow in the 4-Corners area while we were there from Monday to Thursday...more than they've had in YEARS!

On a positive note...my oldest REALLY wanted to play in the snow when we got to New Mexico. SHE GOT HER WISH:) My mom and sister are both teachers, they were off from school on Monday for Martin Luther King Day and then only had to go to school one day because every other day of school was cancelled. So, we got to hang out with the family like they were all on vacation with us...but as my husband put it, it was like a petri dish we were hanging out in:) Most importantly, I got to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday with her and it's something I wouldn't have missed...sleep or no sleep!!

We are back in Vegas and now just trying to get back on track! Been fighting this horrible cough, but am ready to get back to the gym tomorrow. After all of my mom's baking and being snowed in...I HAVE to!!

Here's to 2010!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year so far. 2009 was a great year, definitely had some rough times, but I have definitely been very blessed. I have a great husband and two beautiful girls, wonderful parents and in-laws and siblings and nieces and nephews. So even though our house is worth about $100K less than what we bought if for back in 2005 and our investments still are not back to where we started them...I am very blessed (don't ask my husband, he probably doesn't see it this way...LOL). This last year was a year of learning to appreciate what I have and who I have in my life. When it comes down to it, that is so much more important than the tangible things. I know we are a lot luckier than a lot of people out there who have lost their jobs this last year, some have lost their homes, etc. I am so thankful for who I am, what I have, and the opportunities that continue to come my way. It's what I choose to do with the opportunities that are given to me and with the people I have in my life and those I meet that I need to pay close attention!

We had a great guest speaker at our church this weekend, Bill Butterworth. Some may have heard of him, he speaks all around the country for clients like Walt Disney Company and American Express. He has written a new book called, "The Short List" and is highly recommended by John Maxwell as a speaker who brings passion and expertise no matter the topic he is discussing! He was talking about Isaiah 40, starting with verse 4:
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
We need to realize maybe our high's are not quite as high as we thought and the low's really aren't that bad. One point he made fit with what I learned about appreciating who I have in my life. Bill stated, "don't hold temporal things so tightly, they are temporary things! Life isn't measured by how much you own. There are more ways to define ourselves than by what we have."

This is something I want to continue focusing on in 2010. New Year's resolution? Maybe in a way, but not just for 2010, or just the next few weeks as many resolutions go!! I plan to take each step, one at a time, learning and growing and appreciating what I have...most importantly my family and friends and the time I have to enjoy with them!

It's been a while since I last blogged, crazy holidays! So the latest on my knee, well, I'll hopefully know on Wednesday. I go back to the doctor to go over the MRI I had done. I'm really hoping I don't need any surgery, just...well, not sure what, just no surgery! I also hope it's something that I can get under control and get back to running. I REALLY miss it! I've been enjoying these HIIT encumbent bike workouts I found with weight training and mixing that with Piyo and Yoga classes, but I definitely felt like when I was running my body was really transforming and I felt great! So here's hoping. Even if it's just running 3-4 miles a few times a week. Best case, I can start training for a half-marathon again, there's one in Orange County the first weekend of May! Keep fingers crossed for me:)

Weight Loss...ummm, well let's just say I was eating lot's of sweets over the holidays! I couldn't stop:) But since I was still going to the gym and working out and having a NutriiVeda shake for breakfast, I thankfully didn't put weight back on. However, I'm doing 2 NutriiVeda shakes a day for at least this week to hopefully get rid of any inches I got back! Pants feeling a little snug after the holidays, so I'll also be measuring again!

My home-based business was put a little aside over the last couple of weeks due to a lot of company in town for the holidays. Plus it was slower, understandably, others were also very busy! I did sell to some people here in Vegas and have received great feedback from them! I also got a new website put together where people can buy product just one at a time to try it. I'm excited about the new site and hope it gets more people trying these amazing two products Zrii has to offer! The beverage has continued to help myself, my husband and two girls be healthier (knock on wood). Our colds have been very minimal and much shorter than normal and it continues to give me more energy througout the day.

Check out my site at www.melissanicholson.net and you can use a coupon for a 20% discount on your first purchase to try it, just enter coupon code FACEBOOK20. Any questions, email me at melissadmagee@yahoo.com. I'm getting a lot of response from Facebook friends looking to lose weight, the NutriiVeda shakes are great and especially if you can use them along with the beverage. We also still have the Free distributorship if you choose to purchase products at wholesale prices with a 30-day money-back gaurantee.

Guess that's enough for now, but I'll have an update on my knee soon!