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Error found in recent post-please enjoy Gratitude post

Published on Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

I was informed that my post didn’t come into the email correctly. I apologize for that error and hope you enjoy the entire blog! Please excuse the additional email crowding your InBox.

 

As you well know, we haven’t talked in awhile. Actually, the last blog was August 13, 2010. You were probably thinking, “Did Vickie fall off the face of the earth?” The answer is, “Almost!”

I’ve been very sick. I suffer from chronic pancreatitis and during the past six years, it’s become more intense and more frequent. Between August and December 2010, I was admitted to the hospital three times. During the time I wasn’t in the hospital, I was home, sick in bed. For those of you who don’t know much about pancreatitis, it can hit without warning, it can make you weak quickly, and the pain is almost unbearable. My condition got so bad that I didn’t know from one day to the next if I would be able to get out of bed. After much prayer, I decided that any energy I had needed to be put toward getting my health back. So I made the decision to close my businesses. It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever made, as I absolutely love what I do. Being able to mentor filled a void in me that I never knew existed.

For the first few weeks, I was deeply depressed. I wondered why me, I wondered how I could change this. Then I received an email that changed things for me. It was from my writing mentor, Donna Kozik, and she was starting on a new book called “The Gratitude Book Project: Celebrating 365 Days of Gratitude“. And I realized I had been looking at my illness totally wrong. Instead of asking “why,” I started thinking of all the great things that had happened because of my pancreatitis. Below is what I wrote, which has now been published as part of Donna’s newest book.

You asked, “What are you most grateful for?” My answer is probably different from many others because one of the things I am most grateful for is having a chronic illness.

Five years ago, I began to have problems which eventually led to quitting the corporate world. I searched for the reason why this happened and as the time went on, I received my answer.

My pancreatitis has allowed me to take charge of my life by working from home and watching my grandbabies whenever I want. It has allowed me to write my first book. And it has allowed me to travel, both personally and professionally.

My chronic illness made me look outside the box and find new ways of achieving success. It has allowed me to see the gifts I bring to this world and to be able to use them.

I am grateful for my chronic pancreatitis because it has made me a stronger woman. I start each day with excitement and passion because I am doing the work I love! Do I have down days? Absolutely! But I know those days don’t define me and neither does my illness. I choose a life filled with passion.

Writing that helped me tremendously. I focused on getting better and “looking outside the box” for keys to my health. I had surgery in January 2011 which I believe has been very successful. I’ve been sick approximately five times this year, but I have yet to be hospitalized. That in itself is better than last year. So I am very hopeful. Now that I’m feeling better, I’ve decided to begin working in small amounts. I still have to concentrate on my health, but I’m now strong enough to work a bit. So my first jobs are to reach out to my friends via my blogs and newsletters. I enjoy writing so this was a natural first course.

I look forward to reconnecting with all of you. Email me with any questions you might have and I will be happy to answer them privately – or build a newsletter or blog around those topics. I’m not able to reopen my businesses yet, but at least we can all keep in touch. I’d love to hear what’s been happening in your lives.

Vickie


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I Love Hearing About the Success of my Colleagues!

Published on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

I really love hearing about the success of my colleagues.

As most of you know, I am a mentor and a virtual assistant. I have to say that I am so blessed to be part of the VA industry. It’s been amazing to be able to do what I love to do – and make money at it. Most of the time, I don’t feel like I’m even working because my days are filled with ideal clients and work that I love. And the VA industry has been very good to me. My colleagues are very professional and love learning new things. Because of their thirst for knowledge, I too have been able to learn. Not only is there a vast array of education for virtual assistants available, but my peers love to share their knowledge. So things that my fellow VAs learn is being passed on to me. Because of this, I feel a deep gratitude for my colleagues. And I try to return the favor by sharing as much information as I can – and in giving plugs for them as often as I can.

That’s one way that blogs come into play. I love writing and it’s great to be able to write about the accomplishments of those I admire. I not only (hopefully) gain a larger following, but I am able to introduce my followers to new people they may not know.

Today I want to talk about some really exciting news from one of my newest VA friends, Alyssa Gregory. Her company is Avertua, LLC and she is an amazing VA. She does a lot of training and has real passion for other virtual assistants and how they can be their best. So I was really happy when Alyssa told us she had been chosen as the Small Business Information Guide on About.com.

About.com is one of the largest producers of original content on the Web. This will be a great opportunity for Alyssa to continue her passions of writing, sharing and learning about small business. She will also use it to plug virtual assistance whenever appropriate. And trust me, when an expert like Alyssa uses the opportunity to discuss our industry, it’s a great opportunity for all virtual assistants.

So – to Alyssa – congratulations! You are going to be great as a new addition to About.com. You are an amazing writer and they will be happy they chose you. I am proud to call you friend! For those of you who don’t know Alyssa, take some time to read about her and stop at her website to say hello. You will be glad you did.

Vickie


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Using Self-Publishing to Get Your Book Out There!

Published on Sunday, May 16th, 2010

As you know by now, my book was finally published (“What’s Love Got To Do With It: How to Have the Perfect VA-Client Relationship” – check it out at www.createspace.com/3448474). I started this process about a year ago – and finally am seeing the results. And I have realized something – starting the book isn’t the end; writing the book isn’t the end; editing and formatting the book isn’t the end. You have to get it out there to see the results of your labor. There are several options to get it published and I’d like to talk about the one I chose – self-publishing.

There are several factors to consider when deciding how to get your book out to the masses. They could include: what is your goal? Do you want to use your book as a form of passive income? Do you want your book to become your “signature?” Do you want it to be seen by as many people as possible? Or do you have a specific target market you are looking at? The answers to these questions can help you decide whether to self-publish or not.

I decided what I wanted to do was to get some new information out to my industry and my clients. I also decided that because it was a specific niche, I didn’t need to spend a ton of money getting it out to the people who would benefit most. One of the great things about self-publishing is that you don’t have to choose to have a specific amount of books printed. Each book is printed on demand.

I decided on a company called CreateSpace. One of the reasons I chose them was that my dear friend, Andrea Howe, used them to publish her book. As we all know, there is nothing better than a referral from a friend. So that went a long way toward my decision. Another reason was that they are very user-friendly. It was so easy to go to their website and create an account. Once I did that, it was just a matter of uploading the PDF files to my account.

They did a good job of explaining their process. They also had an extensive Help section, with different categories according to the type of media you are using. Some of the benefits of their site include a Preview Gallery, where you upload portions of your product to be reviewed by members of the community; a Community which is basically a forum to ask questions, make comments, and get general help; and they provide as much (or as little) help in getting the actual book done as possible. You can choose templates for your book design and they also provide editing and marketing services. You also have the choice to have the book populated on just a few sites (such as the CreateSpace site and amazon.com) or through many additional distribution channels.

Basically, here are the steps toward self-publishing. First, get yourself an ISBN. Because I had 3 colleagues who were also interested in writing books, we went in together and bought 10 for a really good price. If you don’t have that option, you can also have CreateSpace get your ISBN for you (another nice benefit of theirs). Once I finished writing my book, using a template from Donna Kozik’s Write a Book in a Weekend course (check it out at https://donnakozik.infusionsoft.com/go/wab-writewithdonna/vturley), I had a colleague who specializes in assisting authors do the editing. I then used another colleague who specializes in graphics to create my graphics and do the actual formatting. Once I reviewed the book for a final time, all that was left to do was create the title in CreateSpace, answer a few questions that tells them where to populate the book (category, etc), then upload the files to my account. The company then reviews the files and sends messages as to any changes that may need to be made. If there aren’t any, you are ready to order a proof.

Obviously, self-publishing is only one option and may not be the best for you. But if you decide it is the way to go, I highly recommend using CreateSpace. Not only are they user-friendly and have many benefits, their royalties are very high. Once you have approved the Proof copy, your book is given a link for people to order directly from CreateSpace (which provides the highest royalty) and is then populated to amazon.com. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy watching your sales.

Vickie


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Don’t Ever Stop Dreaming!

Published on Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

I am reminded over and over – dreams DO come true. No matter your age, it’s never too late to make your dreams become reality.

My first book, What’s Love Got To Do With It – How to Have the Perfect VA-Client Relationship, has just been published. To read more about it and order your copy – here’s the link – https://www.createspace.com/3448474

I am so excited to see something that was a jumbled mesh of brain matter become a published work. I have so many people to thank – for their support, encouragement and belief in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. This book is full of practical ways to fill a VA business with ideal clients. It is also a great resource for entrepreneurs who want to work with that perfect VA – the one who will be with them for the long haul!

There were times I didn’t believe it was really going to happen. I took two writing courses before I could actually make myself finish the book. Then there was the job of graphics. Thank goodness I have someone who I trust totally – and they created an amazing product. Then there were those who just encouraged and pushed and supported me as I finished my first published work.

Don’t ever stop dreaming – and then work to make those dreams become realities. If I can do this – trust me, you can do!


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Who is Your Saboteur?

Published on Saturday, March 20th, 2010

What is a saboteur? The dictionary defines it as “one that practices sabotage.” Sabotage is defined as, a) “an act or process tending to hamper or hurt” b) “deliberate subversion.” So what the heck does this have to do with being a small business owner? Everything!

Many times in our continuing education, we are taught to watch for those outward influences that may tend to hurt our business. These may include friends who are always negative; or colleagues who drain all your time, never giving anything back; or even family who are moving from catastrophe to catastrophe. But we sometimes forget the greatest enemy of all – ourselves. Many times, we are the worst about slowing our own progress – and that’s because of our internal saboteur.

In working with my coach recently, I was given an exercise that was tough, but very helpful to me. She asked me to actually name and describe my greatest saboteur. In doing this, it made it very real and therefore very present in my life. And because it was present, I can now be very aware of it. By the way, I’ve named my saboteur Melba. Long story – no time!

Melba is my greatest critic. She constantly criticizes me. She can’t stand anything other than perfection. And she has the hardest time relaxing. Now that I am very present to her, I can quickly see when she’s raising her ugly head. And being able to see that allows me to stop her negative talk – and continue forward on my path to success.

So the next time you tell yourself, “Who am I to …”, remember your saboteur. Allow yourself to see her (or him or it) for what it is and then move on. Don’t let negative self-doubt slow or stop your path to where you want to be. Who are you not to be successful? Why can’t you make a million dollars this year? When will you take that dream vacation? Whatever your goals are for this year, keep your eye on them. If you can quiet your saboteur, you can hear those dreams becoming reality!

Here’s to reality!

Vickie

P.S. If you’re looking for the next member of your team, I’d love to talk with you. Visit me at A Balanced Alternative.


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The Consultation Process – Free Teleconference TONIGHT

Published on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Are you a virtual assistant who is having trouble filling your business? Do you wonder why you can get prospective clients to the consultation process, but not beyond?

Let’s face it – we have so much to do and spending a lot of time with the consultation process doesn’t seem that important. But that’s where most VAs go wrong.

Join me tonight for a free teleconference call on The Consultation Process: How to work Before, During and After the Consultation to get that ideal client. This teleconference is being held by The Virtual Assistants Networking Group, a group of national VAs sharing ideas and getting tips from the experts. Please plan to join us at 8pm Eastern for this informative topic.

Due to this being a “join-only” group, the call-in information will be given only to those who email me to express interest. I do apologize for doing it this way but I want their confidentiality kept intact. If you would like to attend this teleconference, email me at Vickie Turley.

I look forward to having you on the call!

Vickie


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Walking the Walk

Published on Sunday, February 21st, 2010

You know what they say about the cobbler’s children needing shoes, or the plumber’s wife calling a plumber – we seem to have a tendency to know how to mentor to others, but we have a hard time living our teachings. Well, today I got a reminder from one of my networking buddies and it made me realize, if we don’t live our teachings, how can we expect those we are teaching to believe us? How can we expect to affect change in their lives when we can’t be trusted to do as we teach? I for one want to be remembered as someone who not only mentored those around her, she walked her walk.

Here is the article from the amazing Adam Urbanski. I hope it speaks to you. I’d love to hear from you.

“Two things that happened recently made me take another look (again) where I invest – or waste – my time on regular basis. Last week my two “little” girls went to their first Winter Formal Dance. When they both told me they were asked to the dance, I knew that my “babies” aren’t babies any more.
And my secret hopes that maybe that will want to hang onto their childhood days a while longer where totally crushed when I saw them all decked out the evening of the dance. And I thought, “Where did the time go?” Then, someone congratulated me on my 20,000th tweet on Twitter. Well, it turned out it was a system glitch – I really only wrote 6700 tweets so far. But the message made me think…

If each tweet takes on average about 30 seconds to write (I was being optimistic), and I wrote 20,000 messages… That’s 167 hours! That’s a full month of working 40 hours a week just tweeting! Now, as I said, I don’t have 20,000 tweets – but many of my friends have that many and more!
So what’s my point here? You see, those two unrelated events made me take inventory of how I use my time and, once again, see if I can weed out any time wasting activities.

I already eliminated most of my emails (only very few people can contact me directly by email) and I keep my email closed when I work. And in general I’m pretty good about keeping the small stuff from distracting me.

How about you? How are you doing with reaching some of the goals you set for your self for this year? Are you on track? Are you as productive as you’d like to be? How much of your time is invisibly wasted on the “small stuff” – like tweets, emails, and just shuffling papers?

Fact is, we all do it. The trick is to do less of it. Because if you are busy majoring in the minor stuff, you’ll never find time to do what really matters.

This weekend think about your daily work habits. I’m sure you’ll find a few opportunities to weed out small, but deadly, time zappers! I hope you find these tips helpful and put them into action to make yourself more productive, and your business more profitable in 2010 and beyond.
Until next week, here is to your outrageous success… Cheers!”

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© 2000-2009 Marketing Mentors Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The author, Adam Urbanski, helps service professionals and business owners how to
attract all the new clients they want, and how to develop marketing
strategies to increase sales and profits. His website offers more how-to
articles and free tips to create a winning
marketing action plan at www.themarketingmentors.com.
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Don’t Forget the Small Things

Published on Monday, October 5th, 2009

I’ve tried to start walking again. I say it that way because I do good for awhile, then it falls off, then it picks back up again, and so on. But today I walked and it was amazing!

We all know the benefits of walking, but something new happened to me today and I had to share it immediately (before it’s gone). We don’t take advantage of the small things.

For most of us, we think it’s not worth it if it’s not something big, whether that be in our personal or business lives. If we don’t walk 5 miles, we’re not making an effort. If we don’t land a new client today, it’s a day wasted. If we don’t learn a new skill, we aren’t pushing ourselves. But I realized that the small things count just as much (if not more) than the big things.

The small things are what get the job done. One small change, one small task, one small mindset shift, one small movement, can make all the difference. When we begin making small changes, they add up to really big stuff!

So my small thing today was this – I’m going to do a better job of congratulating myself when I walk. I won’t worry about how long it’s been since I last walked. I won’t worry about how long I walked. I will be happy with the fact that I walked. So what small thing are you going to do today? I’d love to hear your comments.

Vickie


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Busting the “Shoulds” Myth – 3 Steps to Creating your Path to Success

Published on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

If you have been beating yourself up over the “shoulds” in life, I should do this..I should do that – this is the teleseminar you MUST attend.

We will be busting the “shoulds” myth – that ugly word that keeps us from success. How do I know? Because I lived on shoulds for the first two years of my business and found out it did not work. If you want to break out of the old mold then this is the seminar for you. You will learn 3 steps to creating your own path to success without the “shoulds” of life.

Plan to join me this Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 12:00 PM ET

Visit here to sign up now -http://myvamentor.com/teleclasses/

Trust me, you won’t want to miss this. If you have any questions, let me know. Otherwise, we’ll “see” you on Thursday!

Vickie


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How About a Free Book?

Published on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

I have a great friend, Lauren Hidden, who is an amazing VA specializing in working with authors. She is having a contest right now that has no hidden strings, no future commitments, just a FREE book! You can’t beat this contest.

Check out the details at http://ow.ly/rIxs

Lauren and I got to know each other this year at the IVAA convention in Montreal, Canada. We are both members of IVAA but you know how virtual we all have become and I’d never met her. Her roommate was unable to attend so she was in need of a roommate. We talked and thought we’d make a good couple. And boy did we have a great time! As this was my first convention, Lauren introduced me to everyone she could. We talked and talked into the night. We ate and laughed and really had a marvelous time.

So trust me, when I say you really want to get to know Lauren, I mean it. She is the most kind-hearted person I’ve ever met. And she’s amazing at what she does!

So if you need your soon-to-be-published book edited or proof-read, contact Lauren. And tell her I sent you. No, I don’t get anything for that – I just want her to know I’m thinking of her.

And don’t forget the contest! Who doesn’t like free stuff?

Vickie