My Bucket Runneth Over

I'm back! And let me tell you... there are no words to express how amazing my trip was. I arrived in Minneapolis on Thursday. We grabbed a quick bite at Panera, and headed for our conference.

The only way I can describe some of the events that unfolded is for you to imagine almost 2,000 people on "Oprah's Favorite Things". But instead, Jill was Oprah. Along with receiving incredible information that could easily change your life, we also received so many free products and business tools, that many people had luggage that was over weight at the airport. Luckily I dodged this bullet (my suitcase weighed 5 pounds over). I'm chalking it up to saying hello to the NWA man with a smile on my face.

In our 4 days, we also had keynote speaker Alison Levine come and give us an uplifting and hilarious motivational chat. She was hysterical, and let me tell you... after she finished speaking all I could say was, "MESSAGE RECEIVED". Yep. I got it loud and clear. Be sure to check out the link by clicking her name.

When I do home taste testing parties, I tell "my story". My Why did I join TS? And I have to laugh because as I am approaching my 1 year anniversary, my "why" has changed so many times. At first, it was because along with my family, and many friends, I am a Tastefully Simple groupie. I love that the Rhubarb Strawberry jam is natural and has much less sugar than standard products. I love that so many products are all natural. I love that the seasoned salt has NO sugar or MSG added to it. Every time I called to place my reorder, I always had other peoples orders too. So "D" (my friend and the godmother of my son) said, "What are you doing? I feel like I am robbing you because you could be making money on this!" And that my friends, planted the seed.

She was right. I was handing over huge orders to her for myself and many other people. So with that, I decided to give it a whirl. I always did like doing the home parties. It is my "girls night out". Plus I can be myself, laugh, and get laughed at while making some moolah.

Through out the year, my story has changed. Some will say they joined for the friendships. If you asked me, I already had enough friends. But now, I have this very strong bond with women I would have NEVER met had I not joined. We had so much fun together at conference, that I am sure people thought we were all hammered, and we weren't! At least not all the time :o)

I experienced a light bulb moment while there. 8 is the magic number. 8 parties per month will easily earn the incentives, and yet for TS it isn't all about the numbers. After a year in this business I can honestly tell you that it is more about 'What can we do for you' and it has ALWAYS been that way. They offer incentive after incentive and every single one of them is easily attainable. And the 8 parties? Yeah, it seems like a lot, but it isn't. 3 hours per party, 2 parties per week. Yep. That's about 6 hours per week to earn an all inclusive trip to the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun Mexico - which is where I will be when that rolls around.

Jill was a middle aged housewife just like me. She has a son, and just decided to do gift baskets to make some extra money. She used products in the baskets that were homemade by local folks. At fairs and events, she would open up jars of products and let people taste them, so that they could really experience what they were buying. It took off like wild fire.

As for me, my "why" has definitely changed. Now it is because I LOVE this company. I love it. There are no schemes, no pyramids, no "surprises". It is what it is and it works. And 22,000 consultants can't be wrong. It is because even though this idea of Jill's has turned into a multimillion dollar company, she still hangs around with all of us gals, like a normal chic. She isn't unapproachable. As many times as I've seen her and heard her speak, it has NEVER been about her. She wants all of us to live our "BEST LIFE". To do what is right for us, and to live each moment to the fullest.

I am so glad to be here, and so thankful that I took the opportunity that was offered to me. What I do with this now, is all up to me.