What is your talent, what is your passion?

I've seen many people that go through life wondering what they are doing here; what their place in life is and why they are where they are. They lose their jobs and don't know where to turn to during these difficult economic times. I have friends that have been stay at home moms all their married lives and when their kids go off to college or get married and move away, they are at a loss as to what to do with all their time. Some of these ladies' husbands have lost their jobs for one reason or another and they are afraid of what the future holds for them.

Some of those same friends make gorgeous quilts, others make beautiful handbags, yet others, are wonderful cooks; many are good with kids. What they all have in common is that they don't realize how valuable these skills are. We all have special gifts that God has given each and every one of us. What can you do? Do you sew? Do you make candles? Do you love to type? Are you a good organizer? Do you like to clean? Strange as it sounds, what one person hates another one loves to do. There is a market for every talent you may have.

Another revenue-producing idea would be direct sales such as Pampered Chef- for those that enjoy cooking, Jafra - for those that love to do skincare and makeup, Scentsy- for those that enjoy candles but don't want the fire hazard of traditional candles, Creative Memories - for those that love to scrapbook and the list goes on.

Many of you are saying, that's all well and good but how do we go about marketing ourselves; our products and/or services. Well, that's the easy part. The hard part is narrowing down your choices. Find that one thing that you are good at doing; that one thing that others have told you that you do so well. If you think back on all the things you do I know that you will come up with something that you really love doing and that you are good at.

I'm listing some ideas below to see if any of them apply to you. If you need help with marketing your products or services, post your question and I will get back with you as soon as time permits.

Like kids (Nannies make good money)
Like to cook (become a personal chef or advertise your services; ask me, I'll tell you how)
Like to organize (oh my goodness! The market is open on this one) I hate doing this myself.
Like to scrapbook (many people will pay for you to do their scrapbooks for them)
Like to teach (tutoring pays about $20/hr. sometimes more)
Like to clean (it's so very easy to start your own cleaning business; I helped my neighbor do it)
Like to drive (doing errands for people is quite lucrative)
Like to type (there are many, many companies that will hire you as an independent contractor)
Like to talk on phone (companies will hire you to do customer service from your own home)

You can also teach candle-making, soap-making or skin care and body care product-making; I've done the candle-making classes several times when I need to make a quick couple hundred dollars.

What I'm saying here is, find your passion, do what you are particularly talented in and what you really like to do and I guarantee you the money will follow. It's a given. I love to make jewelry, I'm very creative. I can do a show or walk into an office and walk out with a couple hundred dollars in profit; not sales - profit!

Let me know if I can help with anything. There is plenty for everyone to go around. God gave us all at least one talent; it's up to us to do what needs to be done with it.

The Law of Attraction - what is your take on it?

Several months ago there was a show on Oprah about the law of attraction. At first I was raring to watch it. I wanted to see for myself what all the excitement was about. I got the video and watched it, sounded a little far out to me. After watching it, I was pumped then after all the excitement started wearing off; I realized that it does help some people. To what extent I don't know. More than anything, as a Christian friend of mine told me, if combined with the fact that God is the center of our lives and the one we need to go to, along with the positive attitude that we are to extract from this video, we could really help ourselves. How's that for a long run-in sentence?

I don't believe that a person is a god as they seem to portray in that video. I do believe that in many cases people attract to them some pretty bad stuff because of their attitude or behavior. Just think of it this way, if you smile at someone or make a friendly gesture; more often than not, you will get the same in return. The same applies if you do the opposite. Is it Karma? I don't know. What I do know is that if we put God at the center of our existence, He is our universe. Yes, we must have faith in ourselves and always try to do our best to be good people. However, if we don't put God in this equation, we are doomed to fail.

What I did learn from this video was to think more positive now. I don't let negative thoughts into my life. I have plans that are more structured and well defined. The goals are in place and I focus on them as I should. Once you focus on something, things start to fall in place because YOU take the steps necessary to fulfill those plans. There isn't some mysterious force that magically makes a mountain of money, a new house, a new car or whatever the object of your desires may be appear just by thinking about it. It is you with the help of God. Remember, God created you, He gave you free will. In a sense, you are the author of your own "destiny" if you will--no pun intended. However, God is your editor. He will correct us when we are wrong, if we will allow Him.

When a person goes through life thinking they can do whatever they want without the fear of God in them or without acknowledging that it is due to His grace that we even exist, their lives show the consequences. In all my lifetime I've seen this happen again and again. I've lived those consequences.

If you have watched that video or read the book, let me know what your thoughts are on that. In the next few days I will be having a contest. I want everyone who reads my blog to take part in it...I know you lurkers are out there. The prize will be something fantabulous that will help you out tremendously with your Christmas shopping. I want the contestants to submit a true story of a time in their lives when they hit rock bottom. When God came to your rescue, even if you didn't want to acknowledge that it was Him that pulled you out of the deep pile of dung that you got yourself into.

To be fair, since I have several friends reading this blog, please send it from a yahoo email or hotmail address so I don't know who you are. And for pete's sake...do not use your name anywhere on that email address or in the body of the email, or initials or blog or website, etc. I will then issue each one a number and post it on here who the winner is. Who knows, maybe you won't have to worry about doing any Christmas shopping if you are chosen as the winner.

Now, sharpen your typing skills and start thinking of a time when this has happened in your life. I will let you guys know when to submit your stories. I will make it worth your while. I promise.