I am currently living in Nebraska. I am an Iowa girl, born and raised, married for 27 years to my husband from Nebraska. I am a mother of four boys. I am a Double Zyia Executive, and I’ve been with Zyia for two years this coming February. I run a full-time daycare and Zyia in between. I’ve learned with how busy I am, don’t be afraid to ask for help so that you can be successful in your business. 

What I am thankful for:

A lot has happened in the last year. My husband and I became empty-nesters with my youngest moving away for college, and my husband had a health scare. Everything that I am thankful for all comes back to Zyia, and what a gift it has been to my family and me.

Robin Eddy is my cousin and sponsor. She never prejudged. She is ten years younger than I am, and she had no idea that I was in so much debt. Having three boys that need things, for 20 years we had parented with having too much month at the end of our money. When she introduced Zyia to me, I had never heard anything about it, and I didn’t even know how to pronounce it. I just knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it still is. I jumped in right away. I am so grateful for this gift that we are financially blessed with, but even more than that, I am thankful for my team and knowing where we were financially and know that I can give that gift to others. 

Who should we give thanks to?

I am openly and verbally thankful for:

  • The home office
  • Our founders
  • Our corporate team
  • Customer service  

I know that they are not perfect, and neither am I. It reminds me to extend grace and ask for grace. I am on every call that I can possibly be on because I am so thankful not only for the information but also for the time they are sharing. When you shine that light up, everything naturally sprinkles down. 

How I actively give thanks to my team

I love to recognize my team. I love to connect, communicate, and I love to love on them. When they promote or sell a certain amount of dollars, this is not the only time to love on them. My favorite time to love on my team is in the valleys. This is the time between those fifteen minutes of fame that we can connect with our team, get to know them, and love on them. I write handwritten notes. This is the way I do things. I am old school. 

As leaders, we don’t get a notification when someone promotes. We don’t know when someone on our team promotes unless they are in direct communication with their upline. Once the numbers are in, you can go to commissions and scroll to the bottom. You’ll see who has promoted in your entire downline.  

Do what you can do

One month I had 48 that promoted. I didn’t write these notes all in one day. I spent a few weeks writing them. By doing this, you create a ripple effect within your team. Gratitude and appreciation will flow through your team. When I am sitting down writing their name, I remember their face and the conversations we had. Even if we didn’t have a conversation, it gives me time to reflect on the work done on our team, which benefits me. I write down their address, so I know where our team is growing. Not everyone is a paper and pen gal. If you’re not, send a voice message. There is something powerful about the voice and connecting that is huge in comparison to texting. I do still use text and email for a paper trail and information that needs to go out. 

One of our biggest gifts we can give is to connect our team members. We are in a relationship business and need to make sure that our team members are connected. 

Bomb Squads

We’ve put together what we call our bomb squads. This is a group of about 4 or 5 people. We may group them together if: 

  • They are in the same downline. 
  • They might be gunning for the same goals.
  • They are having the same successes.
  • They have the same struggles.  

A great gift to give your team is to put together a bomb squad, and you encourage that energy, commitment, and make sure they have accountability partners.

How to have a glass half full mentality when you might be struggling

It’s practice! This is a mindset. When you wake up in the morning, you need to set your mind right. I have two sons in college and two who have graduated. They still receive Monday motivation from mom. I send out a text each Monday. It takes work to have this mentality, as I have realized in my life. I am not 18 anymore. I have had life experiences that show me that there are peaks and valleys. If you hang in there, you’re going to reach another peak eventually, though it’s not a straight shot up. I connect this with an analogy I wrote in my journal some time ago about mountain climbers.

The Climber

I heard this story about mountain climbers who climb peaks worldwide, for example, Mt. Kilimanjaro. There is usually an outfitter that will take you up as fast as you can go, and there are many who do that that are really competitive. Only a few ever make it to the top. Then, there are other outfitters that ask you to spend more time on the mountain, and it may cost you a little more, but if you can spend more time on the mountain of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the rate of success of reaching the peak is so much higher. You can go fast, but the altitude is most likely going to getcha! I use this in life, in parenting, and especially in business. We can do this with our businesses by:

  • Committing to more time. 
  • Connecting with the right outfitters, for example, our home office, founders, and upline.

If we use the tools that they have for us, our percentage of success will be that much greater.  

In one of the climbs I read about, you had to climb up 15,000 feet in your first climb and then climb down about 12,000 feet just to climb up again, and that’s just life. That is just business. We all have things in our lives that shake us or raddle us, but we need to climb back up.  

My personal experience

My husband just turned 50 and is very fit. He is a teacher and soccer coach, so very fit and eats very lean. He created this workout group of people that hold each other accountable. On September 2nd of this year, during one of his workouts, he had a heart attack. His LAD was 90% blocked. He survived because he surrounded himself with skilled, intuitive, caring people who knew him and knew him going down was not an everyday thing. One of them was part of a tactical medical team and did eight minutes of compressions before the ambulance came with the AED and had to shock him three times.  

Talk about perspective and surrounding yourself with the right people at the right time. It’s because of that my husband survived. With Zyia, you have this. Surround yourself with others that hold you accountable, that are inspiring, healthy, and who are “All in.”

Why your community is essential:

As a small business owner, I see myself as if I had a small brick and mortar corner shop that I go into every day and turn over the open sign. When my husband’s heart attack happened back in September, if I had a brick and mortar store during a family emergency, I would have had to put the closed sign up to handle what was going on. With our Zyia Active community, I didn’t have to do that. Our community is amazing! My upline and level ones jumped into my parties and VIP groups and said, “We got you. We’re going to keep your business going, your sales going, and that residual income flowing in while you go take care of your family.” I’ve seen this all over Zyia, not just in my team. They are so giving and not selfish, and when we share our time and talents with our teams, we all grow, and we all are blessed. 

Is it worth selling during the holidays?

You can’t get away from the ads on Facebook. You need to earn their business. I have a friend that owns a local toy store here in my area, and they are the last remaining toy store because of their fantastic customer service. 

We have excellent customer service, and we need to be available and visible. 

Why not us? Make sure your cup is at least half full. If you are unsure;

  • Ask your upline to remind you what’s amazing about your Zyia Shop.
  • Plug into a training.
  • You need to build your belief that your Zyia Active shop is better than any activewear shop out there.  
  • Build your belief and be bold and brave. Do not keep your business a secret in a party or a secret in your VIP group.  

Be visible because everyone is buying during the holiday season.