It’s month end and Rodan+Fields has been crazy busy this past few days!  It’s incredible the calibar of people joining our company and seeing the big picture of this incredible opportunity.  I enrolled 2 consultants today, have 2 phone appointments tomorrow and meetings all day Monday as we’re qualifying for bonuses and building fast.  It’s an exciting time!

I must say, though, I’m exhausted from talking so much!!! My phone has rung non-stop and I’ve been talking like crazy!

I’ve learned a few very valuable things this weekend:

1. Closing language
2. The power of the 3rd party validation
3. The reality that when I’ve done all I can possibly do, I can’t do anything else!

Learned behavoirs and learned skills are what will make me successful in this business.  Has nothing to do with personality, per se.  It’s all about learning the systems, the language and the skills required to close transactions.  Amazing!

Poor Will…he’s a trooper.  Enduring my phone call after phone call.  We even had a conversation about month-end and he’s cool with it all.  What a great kiddo!  Thanks, Lord, for my awesome little guy!!!!!

Fear of failure. Fear of success.  Fear of rejection.  Fear of abandonment.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of ____________…you name it.

I know the what the Scripture says about fear.  It’s not of God.  He doesn’t author it.  God gives power, love and a sound mind.  I claim it daily…God, You have equipped me with courage, confidence and the ability to overcome.  Yet, I struggle with fear.  It drives me crazy, to the point of total paralysis some days.  Why is that?  I know why.  It’s satan, who’s come to steal, kill and destroy every ounce of strength, courage, confidence and perseverence I have. 

LORD, in Your Name, I speak against any negative thought, any fear and any voice that seeks to destroy my confidence, my faith and my assurance of You and Your promises.  Protect my mind, my heart and my thoughts.  Fill them with you….keep me focused on You, Lord, so much so that I cannot see anything else except what You want me to see.

Your favor, grace, peace and blessings…this is what I seek from You, God.  Pour down your rain of abundance over my life, my business, my everything.  I know that without you I’m nothing.  All glory, honor and praise be to Your Name.

I have had such a hard time getting up this week.  I’m sure it’s because I was up until 2am Sunday morning with a consultant…but I’ve got to snap out of it!  I got up this morning, got Will on the bus for school, came home and went back to bed and woke up at almost 10:30!  That’s not good!  I’ve got way too much to do to be sleeping the day away!

LORD…give me strength and courage, determination and perseverence to push through this sleepiness and get to a productive and rewarding day!  Bless my efforts and open doors of opportunity!  Bring the right people into my life through email, phone or in person, and add to my organization go-getters and people who are hungry for success, just like I am.

I had a nice old man deliver a huge truckload of firewood to my house yesterday…FREE of charge!  What a blessing…thanks, Lord!

Well, it was quite a week in my world.  Once the fiasco was over with the con-artist, the rest of my week suddenly opened up.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get much accomplished with Rodan+Fields other than training some of my team.  I did, however, get the incredible news about the added and revised bonus promotion which has me all excited! 

This week will be full of phone calls and walk-ins, sharing Rodan+Fields and hopefully adding new business partners to my team.  There’s never been a better time to join the company, and I’m not about to let this opportunity pass me by.  I cannot and will not leave money on the table.  The doctors are offering SO MUCH to us right now, just for being FIRST! 

Lord, strengthen me and build my confidence as I walk into this week…open doors of opportunity, bring the right people my way at the right time, and give me incredible favor with everyone I encounter.  Add to my team this week, Lord, and bless my efforts and the efforts of my business partners.  Abundantly bless my business and make it the vehicle to my financial freedom!  Thank you, LORD, for this incredible gift.  I pray that others will see it and receive it.

Just found out tonight that our Leadership Express Bonus has been revised and improved….to include an ADDED BONUS!!!!

Here’s the lowdown:

• Join Rodan+Fields Dermatologists as a consultant with one of the two business building kits
• Enroll in the Consultant Replenishment Program (CRP)…keeps you commissionable every month with a min. $100 wholesale product order
• beginning with your enrollment date, every 30 days recruit 2 new consultants with a business building kit and enroll them in CRP
• Do this every month for 3 months…get a $3,000 bonus!
• Continue that pattern for an additional 3 months…get another $7,000 bonus!
• TOTAL $10,000 potential BONUS after 6 months…IN ADDITION  to regular earnings, other bonus promotions and team production!!!
• PLUS…If, in each 30 day period, beginning on your enrollment date, you recruit 2 new consultants with one of the business building kits and enroll them in CRP…then help those 2 consultants recruit 2 each the same way…you get a $500 BONUS in addition to regular commissions and other bonuses in place
• Do this for any and all 30 day period for 6 months and you receive a $500 bonus EACH month you meet that requirement!!!

What does this mean?  It means BIG MONEY!  A potential 6 month bonus of $13,000 PLUS a potential $110,000 in regular earnings and other bonuses….in JUST SIX MONTHS!!!!!

There’s NEVER been a better time to join Rodan+Fields than NOW…

View the Powerpoint presentation here which outlines the REVISED Bonus Promotion:  https://consultant.rodanandfields.com/bCentral/Training%20PowerPoint.pdf

Christian Diaz Joins Rodan + Fields(R) Dermatologists as Vice President of Sales

• Tuesday February 17, 2009

PRNewswire/ — Rodan + Fields Dermatologists, the clinical skincare brand developed by Stanford University-trained dermatologists Katie Rodan, M.D. and Kathy Fields, M.D., announces the appointment of Christian Diaz as Vice President of Sales. In his new position, Diaz will oversee Sales, Field Communications and Training, Regional Field Development, Events, Recognition and Incentive Programs.

Diaz brings over three decades of experience in marketing, sales and business development, with particular expertise in the direct selling industry and in the international and domestic Hispanic Market.

Most recently Diaz served as President and Sr. Consultant of Diaz & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in marketing strategies targeted at the US Hispanic Consumer and international Latin American markets. Clients have included such companies as AMWAY, EXCEL Communications, NSA Water Filters, Rexall, AmeriPlan USA, Lexxus International (NHT Global), Arbonne International, TraVerus Travel and Zurvita.

Prior to Diaz & Associates, Diaz was Co-Founder and Sr. Executive Vice President of Interkard International, a debit-cash-card company. Earlier in his career, Diaz served as Executive Vice President of XENO Development, Inc., a holding company comprised of Prodika Inc, POWERmedia Inc., and EyeQ Corp. Diaz joined XENO from AmeriPlan USA where he held the position of Director of Creative Services and Vice President of Marketing for the Eastern Division and National Hispanic Market. Diaz began his career in creative services, forming Source Four Creative Services (SFCS) in 1985, where he provided creative direction and strategic marketing and advertising services to a number of Fortune 500 clients.

In addition to being a dynamic international trainer and motivational speaker, Diaz has served on both the Congressional and Senate Hispanic Advisory boards and is a recipient of various Addy Awards in Advertising and Marketing Campaigns.

About Rodan + Fields Dermatologists

Founded by Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields, the creators of Proactiv® Solution, Rodan + Fields Dermatologists is a direct selling skincare company that offers individuals the confidence of healthy, radiant skin though clinically-proven skincare regimens, as well as the opportunity to gain freedom and financial security as independent business consultants. Founded in 2002, the company made the unprecedented move out of department stores in 2007 and into the world of direct selling in order to take the doctors’ successful dermatological philosophy and unique personal approach to business one step further. Products are available through Rodan + Fields Independent Consultants, and at www.rodanandfields.com.

To my knowledge, I’ve never been taken advantage of by a con-artist…until today.  Or, I should say ALMOST taken advantage of.  Thank God I saw the light before it was too late!

The amazing man I wrote about in several entries has turned out to be quite the scam artist.  Here’s the series of events from the past several weeks since we started talking, keeping in mind that we were to meet in person at the airport TOMORROW evening!!! :

• Only child
• Divorced 2 years…married 14…11 year old son…
• Father died before he was born
• grew up with his mom in Ohio, but I found another profile mentioning Wisconsin
• Mother died of rare illness when he was 15
• Sent to live with aunt in Liverpool
• Went to college at Liverpool, where he met his ex wife
• Found ex and his best friend in the act one day, losing both wife and best friend simultaneously
• Ex lives in Africa
• He was in London on business as a geologist
• Son was with mother in Africa during his trip
• His home is in Stow, Ohio
• He has a thick accent…sounds Italian/French mix
• His photo looks like some hunk out of GQ magazine
• He sent another photo of “him”, but looks like a completely different person
• He didn’t have a phone with him in London
• He calls from a cell phone he bought there…London code…seems legit
• He claims I’m the one for him
• He books a flight to Nashville to arrive tomorrow so we can meet
• Suddenly, his bank account has been hacked and now is frozen until he returns to sign paperwork in person
• Claims he’ll do it when he arrives here
• There’s no branch of his bank in the state of Tennessee
• Then, this morning an emergency email comes from him…son has been in terrible accident and needs surgery, but the doctor won’t do surgery until they have an advance payment…he all buy asks for the money, yet
• I contact him via messenger to find out what’s going on…
• he’s vague on the details
• says son has a broken hand and gash in his head
• then says emergency surgery is necessary to save his life
• which he didn’t say before
• then he tells me he has a cracked skull
• and the ex’s husband won’t help
• he has no one to call for financial help
• i ask what he’s wanting from me
• he wants a loan
• i say no…and then explain why i’m uncomfortable with this entire situation
• he turns quickly and blames me for not understanding
• i apologize and hope he’s telling the truth, but that i hope he’ll forgive me for not trusting him
• he says to forget it and that he’ll redirect his flight to Africa…doesn’t that cost money?
• he says to have fun and goodbye
• a few hours later I get a message that his son is “on CPR and the doc will only leave him there for one more day before taking him off…he’s helpless”
• i don’t respond
• there are 2 missed calls on my cell phone from around 5am this morning…both international from 234 country code
• after a little research, I find that 234 is Nigeria

Now, at what point SHOULD I have begun to wonder about this guy?  I’m thinking sometime around the time when he emailed the 2nd picture of a totally different person.  But, no, I decided to trust him…until he said his account had been hacked…that happened over the weekend…and that’s when I began to feel uneasy.  Thank God for protecting me and revealing to me now that his dude is bad news. 

My guess is that he had no intention of coming tomorrow, but that he was just hoping I’d send him money.  I can’t believe that there are so many people who fall victim to this kind of behavior!

Stay safe girls…ask lots of questions and pay close attention to their answers and their stories.  You just never know!!!

Last Friday on Jim Cramer’s Mad Money on MSNBC…Jim gave a great plug for network marketing and direct sales companies, saying that even in a recession, they seem to INCREASE sales.  He said to invest in them NOW…check out the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYxIfaG_2XE

I’m racking my brain trying to figure out why people do get the concept of diversifying income streams and being FIRST in something as huge as Rodan+Fields…Proactiv creators…ground level…residual income…incredible products…FDA approval…HELLO!!!!!!!

Will and I just returned home from an amazing overnight stay at Opryland Hotel.  We arrived there yesterday just in time to check in at 3pm.  There were SO MANY people there…Valentine’s Day, I’m sure.  But, we got our room and went up to put our things down so we could roam around the hotel for a while.  Unfortunately, the hotel lobby where we checked in was about a mile away from our room!  However, when we got to our room, on the 3rd floor, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had a lovely view of the gardens and a fountain, so we could hear the water through our window.  It was awesome.  Will just went on and on about every little detail of the hotel, the room, even the door handles.  It was fun just listening to him. 

Once we settled into our room, we ventured out to find dinner.  We had already planned on eating at the sushi bar, so we headed over to Wasabi’s and waiting for them to open for dinner.  We were among the first in, so we were seated right in front of the bar where they prepare the sushi…we had so much fun talking and being silly together.  It really was a great mom/son Valentine’s Day…and perhaps my best ever!  Dinner was incredibly delicious.  Afterwards, we went back to our room and changed into our bathing suits.  Of course, the walk from place to place takes time because there’s so much to see and it’s quite the distance.

We spend the rest of the evening at the pool and in the hot tub.  There were lots of people there, especially after dinner hour passed…kids and families came and spent the evening there, too.  We swam and played, then went out and soaked in the hot tub outside.  It was SOOOO nice.  We stayed until 9:30pm before finally heading back to the room.  However, on the way back we had to stop for chocolate at the Godiva shop.  We picked out 2 each, then took them over to the Delta and sat at the water feature while we enjoyed our treats.  Once in our room for the night, we settled in, got cozy and watched a little Man v. Wild.  Then, like a switch, we were both out for the night.

This morning we woke up about 8am and Will was ready to roll.  So, we got ready and headed out…grabbed some danish at a little shop and then found a bench next to a waterfall and koi pond to sit and eat.  Afterwards we walked around, enjoying the scenery and vegitation throughout the atriums, and just had a really nice time together.  Around 10:30, we went back to our room to gather our things and check out…against our will!  Once we left the room, we went to the pool and spend about 3 hours there just having a ball.  We laughed and goofed around until we wore each other out.  Around 2:30 we go hungry so we got dressed and went to a pizzaria.  We ate out on a balcony overlooking the Delta river.  Next we took a stroll around some of the shops and looked around.  Will was ready to go swimming again, but I needed something sweet.  So, we found the Christie Cookie shop and got us some cookies before heading back to the pool.

Once back at the pool, we got in and swam more…until 6:15 or so…then we got dressed again and hurried back over to the Delta so we could watch the gyser water show.  On the way, we grabbed “dinner”…a fruit tart and 2 chocolate chip cookies.  Will absolutely loved the 100 foot guyser, and we enjoyed hanging out and chatting about our weekend.  Neither of us wanted to leave!

Around 8:30, we decided it was time to head home, so we gathered our stuff and made our way back to the car…about a 30 minute walk with all the final stops to see things along the way.

About 10 minutes into the car ride home, Will was dead asleep.  We are both worn out, but had such a great time.  What a treat that we were able to do something like that.  Thanks, God…for providing and for allowing Will and me to enjoy each other so much.

I’m excited. Will and I are leaving shortly to go to the Opryland Hotel. We’re packing an overnight bag and we’re spending the night!  I was able to get an incredible price on a room, so I surprised Will last minute and we’re really looking forward to it.  He keeps calling it our “trip”.  We will get there to check in at 3pm, then we’re going to check things out, find the pools, find out what kinds of things are going on tonight, then get ready for dinner.  There’s a great sushi bar inside the Cascades, so we’re having our Valentine Dinner there tonight.  Afterwards we may take a ride on the Delta river boat…then go change and head tot he hot tub or pool.  It’s a resort in and of itself, so we’ll find lots to do, I’m sure.

Thank you, LORD, for providing this special treat for us.  We haven’t been able to financially afford anything extra in a long time.  So, we’re grateful!