3 Lessons Kids Teach You About Business Success

Great article from the Exchange Morning Post.  It's a little different that what I usually put on here since it's not really about something that happened, rather more instructional, but it put a smile on my face, inspired and motivated me.  That's my 'smell-test' and it passed so here it is!

By Brian Sullivan

"My see," were the words my two-year-old daughter Maggie used last week as she extended her arms toward an older woman sitting in the window seat on a spring break flight to Mexico last week. The adult translation of those words is, "Excuse me ma'am, your window seat is better than my middle seat. I would really love to climb over this armrest, jump on your lap and hang out with you for a few minutes so I can look out that window. You good with that?" This woman was obviously well-versed in the ancient language of baby babble, and knew exactly what Maggie was saying. She pulled up the armrest, held out her arms and without hesitation, Maggie plopped onto her lap. They then began cloud gazing while getting to know each other.

My first reaction as a parent was one of hesitation. After all, I was a product of the "don't talk to strangers" era, and not only was Maggie talking (I think), she was bouncing on the knee of a complete stranger. My second reaction was as an adult; thinking there was no way that woman could want my drooling two-year-old climbing all over her. After several minutes of visiting, Maggie waved bye-bye to the woman and happily scampered back to her Barney video. And this was only the beginning. Throughout the week Maggie sat in several more laps, high-fived countless strangers and waved kisses to a dozen or more people she had gotten to know. As I watched, I began thinking at what point and at what age will Maggie become weary of new faces, put her guard up and perhaps stop trusting people she doesn't know? At what point will strangers stop randomly smiling at, waving at, and openly trusting her?

Then I thought … what a shame. Why does it all have to end? Well maybe it doesn't. While I don't expect strangers to randomly pinch our cheeks and blow us kisses walking down the street, maybe there is something we can do that will make people want to open up to us more. Because if they open up to us more, we can then learn more, influence more and serve more. So how do we do gain access to the hearts and minds of as many people as possible?

Kid Lesson #1: Trust others as you did when you didn't know any better!

Trust others, and they will trust you. It's a nice little game of give and take. If your defenses are always up and are skeptical of other's intentions, other's defenses will be up, and they will be skeptical of your intentions. So this week, let's think of one person who you are reluctant to trust and trust them. Make the first move. Might you get burned? Yep! But when you open your doors, more good than bad will enter. And surrounded by more good than ever, you can be taken back to a time when, like Maggie, people felt even more compelled to smile at you, laugh with you and let you know that their day is better because you helped them "look out the window and into the clouds" for just a bit.

Kid Lesson #2: Put yourself "out there" by being fearless.

Sure, most kids are afraid of things like green beans and cough syrup, but like Maggie, most have no problem "cold calling" people they don't know. Why? Because they don't yet have a fear of rejection. Even without a psychology degree, most people can tell you the most successful salespeople, entrepreneurs and business leaders attack opportunities that average performers deem outlandish.

So this week, think of three business opportunities or potential clients who others think you have absolutely no chance of getting. Then identify the highest person in the decision-making chain and make the call, pay the visit, send the creative e-mail or deliver the singing telegram. Regardless of how you do it, just put yourself out there. And take comfort in knowing the top is not crowded. Most of your competition is too scared to take the risk that you are about to take.

Another way to put yourself out there is to by identifying one smart person who you are dying to learn from. Not your buddy in the office, your manager or even your current mentor. Think about somebody big such as the author of your favorite book or a magazine writer you love, the host of that business radio show you enjoy, the speaker at that last seminar …whomever! Why not? Most people, regardless of their VIP status, are willing to help anybody gutsy enough to ask.

Cameron Johnson, a well-known author at age 23, has sold more than a dozen Internet businesses, and is now a contestant on Oprah's Big Give. He talked about a time when he was an eight-year-old kid, sending a letter to Donald Trump, Plaza Hotel, New York City. It was addressed just like that … no street number, street name, zip code - nothing! He didn't tell his parents he was sending it, but in the letter he asked Mr. Trump if, when he came to New York, Donald would give him a tour of the room where Macaulay Culkin stayed in the movie "Home Alone - Lost in New York." When his family arrived at The Plaza for their vacation, the hotel manager's first words were, "You must be Cameron!" Not long after, Cameron and family got a five-star tour of Cameron's favorite room by none other than Donald Trump. So what's the point? Because Cameron was eight-years-old and didn't know any better, he put himself out there and his high-profile prospect, Donald Trump, responded by giving him access.

Kid Lesson #3: Give access to expect access.

Kids will not only talk to anybody, but they will let just about anybody talk to them. How about you? Will you give access to just about anybody? Let's face it, we are all crazy busy and don't have a ton of minutes to burn every day. But if you expect people to call you back (access), you better be somebody who calls others back. If you expect that high level decision-maker to let you in, you better let that salesperson calling on you "in." If you expect advice from that VIP, you better be willing to give advice to that rookie. Those who get to the top in business and in life are those who are the most selfless. And because it is so natural for the top performer to give help and access to others, it is easy for them to ask for it from others.

So there you have it, kids. Let's turn back the clock by trusting more, fearing less and by opening ourselves up to those who need our help. And by acting in this childish manner, you are about to find yourself with a lot more customers, contacts, mentors and friends than you ever dreamed possible.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sales coach and business consultant, Brian Sullivan, is author of "20 Days to the TOP - How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company's Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less." As president of PRECISE Selling, Brian helps improve sales, customer service, leadership, and presentation skills through seminars and Internet training programs. He also hosts "Entrepreneurial Moments," a radio show on business and personal development. For more on his speaking, consulting or book, visit: www.PreciseSelling.com or email: bsullivan@preciseselling.com. To view Brian's inspiring video, "Trust Like a Child," go to: www.preciseselling.com/trust.htm.

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You, too, can host a ‘Giving Party'

The Charlotte Observer reports on a creative way to give from both the heart and the pocketbook:

Idea is to inspire guests to forgo potentially needless gifts, donate to charities.

By Orla Swift, orla.swift@newsobserver.com

As party invitations go, this one was a bit strange.

It wasn't only that Perri Kersh, the hostess, was asking guests to bring their checkbooks. Plenty of parties are organized around selling items, from Tupperware to Avon. The odd twist was that Kersh offered no merchandise at her spendfest, only good will.

It's called a Giving Party. Kersh came up with the idea last year, after seeing Bill Clinton promote his book “Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World” on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Kersh hoped to inspire guests to forgo potentially needless gifts for friends and family and instead make charitable donations in their names.

She scheduled last year's event a week after Thanksgiving. Of the 175 people invited, 65 attended. Representatives from several nonprofits gave presentations. Kersh set up computers so guests could donate online to any charity using credit cards. And at the exit, she put a box in which people could anonymously report how much they'd donated.

In three hours, she raised more than $12,000.

“What we really want to emphasize is how easy it is to give a party like this,” says Kersh, a professional organizer from Chapel Hill who also writes a blog about living simply called “Enough is Enough.” Kersh created a Web site, www.giving-party.org, and a blog, givingparty.wordpress.com, to spread her new idea.

“Not to be too big thinking,” she says, “but we were like, ‘Let's start a movement here where it's easy to do.' ”

Already, she has helped organizers in Charlotte and Davidson, and in Charleston organize their own parties this year.

At Kersh's party, the guests' donations ranged from $20 to $700, Kersh says.

“We all just felt so good about it,” said Casey Saussy, a party guest who became so inspired that she went on to give even more after the party to sponsor a child in Zambia.

“Everyone was whipping out their checkbooks or credit cards,” Saussy said. “Instead of picking out clothes or earrings, we were changing lives.”

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Inspirational Evie, 13, wins major award

Riding high ... Evie Edwards from Elmsett who refuses to let her disabilities get in the way of her life.

 

AN inspirational teenager who has pursued her sporting dreams despite being unable to walk or stand has won national recognition.

Brave Evie Edwards will receive a Children of Courage award in front of a star-studded congregation at Westminster Abbey next week.

Thirteen-year-old Evie will be presented with the True Inspiration Award at the annual ceremony organised by Woman’s Own magazine.

The sports-mad youngster has overcome devastating disabilities to excel in swimming, athletics and riding, winning nine national gold medals in the past year.

She was born with Thrombocytopenia Absent Radius which causes shortened arms and a blood clotting deficiency, and forced her to walk with callipers from the age of two.

Then last year the Hadleigh High School pupil faced another massive blow when she unexpectedly lost her ability to walk and became confined to a wheelchair.
But she bounced back, declaring: “I’ve spent a week thinking about the things I can’t do any more. Now I’m going to spend the rest of my life thinking about what I can do.”

In the past 12 months she has won six gold medals and one silver at Disability Sports Events Swimming Nationals, and three golds and a bronze at the DSE Athletics Nationals.

She also came fourth in a national dressage competition run by Riding for Disabled.

Evie, who lives in Elmsett with mother Sue, father Evan, sister Bethany, 17, and brothers Joshua, 15 and Jacob, 10, has also raised money for other children who need wheelchairs by taking part in sponsored swims.

Special needs teacher Sue, who along with one of Evie’s swimming coaches nominated her for the Children of Courage award, said: “She is very excited about it. We are so proud of her.

“I am also very proud of her sister and brothers. They have helped make her what she is because they are so supportive.

“What makes her achievements even more notable is that her legs constantly dislocate when moved. During many of the competitions she’s had to endure a lot of pain but she refuses to give up.

“She is a truly inspirational girl, very optimistic and cheeky with a really dry sense of humour.

“She loves school and has a very good group of friends. One of her favourite activities there is the pottery club, and she has just taken up trampolining.”
Evie, who gets around in an electric-powered wheelchair, plans to go to university then train as a psychologist so she can help other people with disabilities come to terms with their problems.

Stars of Strictly Come Dancing, the X-Factor, and some of Britain’s favourite pop and soap personalities will be at the awards ceremony.

Before the presentations the winners will visit 10 Downing Street, and afterwards they will be guests of honour at a reception at the House of Lords.

The full article contains 486 words and appears in Suffolk Free Press newspaper.

Last Updated: 03 December 2008 10:32 AM    .   Source: Suffolk Free Press    .   Location: Sudbury

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Direct sales company sees growth despite economy

December 2nd, 2008 @ 4:15pm, By Candice Madsen, KLS News

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The slumping economy is hurting a lot of businesses. But with so many people looking for extra income, a lot of direct sales companies are receiving a big boost.

A Utah County woman, Becky Anderson, is lighting up the home party industry. In her office, everything is coming up roses, peaches and even sugar cookies.

She's turned her For Every Body lotions and candles into one of the largest privately owned candle companies in the country.

"Our claim to fame is we are all natural; no mineral oil, alcohol, lanolin, paraffins or preservatives," she explained.

All of Becky's candles are made right here in Utah. Every year she produces millions of candles that are shipped out to stores like Kohl's, TJ Maxx and Lowe's.

"We're kind of Utah County's little secret. All these candles are pumped out of here," she said.

Becky started her company more than a decade ago to give her daughters a place to work. "My husband wanted them to learn the value of the dollar and hard work, so I opened up the store thinking it would be a place for them and their friends," she said.

This year she expanded the company to include For Every Home, a line of products sold exclusively through direct sales and home parties. She says the growth has been explosive.

"I think the direct sales industry in a down economy tends to go up because people are out of work and looking for jobs," she said.

Becky believes there is plenty of money to be made. "Eighty-two percent of all women in the U.S. who make $100,000 a year or more do it through direct sales," she said.

She hopes her new company will provide all kinds of opportunities for women, especially those with children. "That was one of the benefits of owning my own business," she said. "I had the freedom and flexibility to attend their functions and still work and contribute."

For Becky, that's the sweetest kind of success.

She has received several awards celebrating her success, including the Earnst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

For information on her companies, visit the links on this page.

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Helping hands join together in service to others

By Deb Keithley, Chronicle-Herald, Wed Dec 03, 2008, 10:50 AM CST

MACON - The Macon County Ministries group has worked for many years to bring the spirit of the holidays to families that may not be able to enjoy the season because of financial difficulties.

After 12 years as the Helping Hands at Christmas  coordinator Ruth Kitchen has turned the job over to Debbie Hartung and her sister Cheryl Carlson.

Ruth’s husband retired on Nov. 1, and she wanted to have more time to spend  with him and enjoy other family activities.

“Working with Helping Hands for so many years was a very rewarding experience for me,” said Ruth. “I have enjoyed seeing so many people get involved with helping others.”

“More than once in the past 12 years I have seen a family that was helped through a difficult time the previous Christmas give a donation the next year to help some other struggling family.” she said.

Over the years Ruth has also seen an increased number of family groups limit their gifts to each other and adopt a Helping Hands family instead.

“I know of one family where the men stay home and watch football on television while the women   go shopping for gifts and clothing for their adopted family,” she said.

In her first year as a Helping Hands coordinator Debbie has also seen families or organizations join together to  help others.

“Some clubs adopt a family or make a donation instead of exchanging gifts,” Debbie said.

“People get a good feeling knowing that they are helping others,” she said. “The need is so great this year, with the increased costs of food, utilities and fuel and with so many people facing layoffs or a reduction in hours they work.”

Helping Hands currently has 96 Macon County families requesting help. Only 75 of the families have been adopted to date. There is also a waiting list.

Families are referred to Helping Hands by NECAC, Head Start, Division of Family Services or sometimes by a minister or teacher.

Many of the families are struggling to meet basic needs  due to illness, minimal salaries, personal problems, accidents or, job layoffs.

After referral, a family fills out paperwork for sizes of clothing needed, if they would like to receive a food basket, and if they need to visit the Santa Shop for children in the family.

The Santa Shop is coordinated by Sandy Coons and will be held at the Zion Lutheran Church on Sat. Dec 13.

Those who obtain vouchers for a visit to the Santa Shop are able to select age appropriate toys for the children in their family.

Toys are needed for 233 children this year.

Anyone wanting to make donations of new or gently used toys may still do so until Dec. 10. Collection boxes are available at Macon County banks, Sutton Ford or Dollar General.

“We have more families than last year needing help and more on a waiting list,” said Debbie.

“Our monetary donations have been coming in steadily, but with Christmas time drawing near we are hoping that the other families on our list can be adopted soon.”

To adopt a Helping Hands family you may call Debbie at 660-385-4156.

Debbie says that she has spent about five hours weekly since the last of September in preparation for Helping Hands.

In addition, she also volunteers at the Better Living Center located at 106 Vine Street. The center is staffed by the Seventh Day Adventist Church and contains clothing, shoes and household items that are available free of charge to those who need them.

Debbie said that recently a family with several children came to the center. The oldest child was a boy about 10-years-old. He was wearing a pair of old tennis shoes that were too small and barely holding together. After making sure that his siblings and mom all had found selections for themselves he found a pair of shoes with assistance from the volunteers. After putting them on, he asked if there was a restroom he could use.

“He took his old shoes with him and when asked about it he told us that he wanted to clean them up a little and leave them at the center in case some other little boy needed shoes and could wear them,” said Debbie. “I was really choking back the tears to think that even though he was in need himself, he was still thinking of others.”

“The need in our community is great and it continues throughout the year, long past the holiday season. We all just have to get up and do something to make a difference.”

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Remembering a Fighting Spirit, An Inspiring Faith

After Long Battle With Illness, Sophomore Passes Away Saturday

Jenny Faenza (COL ’11) kept herself busy around campus between her job at Midnight MUG, singing in church services on Sundays and ESCAPE retreats on weekends. She always shouted hellos and “hey y’alls” to the faces she knew and sometimes to those she didn't, all the while bouncing around campus with a white bag speckled with bright polka dots trailing behind her and a smile stretched across her face.

With her rapid speech and Tennessee twang, she offered personal advice and guidance to anyone who needed it — and was never one to shy away from chitchat either. She faced life with an authenticity and sincerity that friends, classmates and faculty praised, a result of her compassion for others and devotion to God. All those who are forever changed because they knew this sweet, small, Southern belle gathered Tuesday to remember their friend, who passed away Saturday night after a long battle with pulmonary hypertension.

Faenza was feeling ill on Saturday and was admitted to the Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., according to her mother, Amy Faenza. She died later that night.

During her time at Georgetown, Jenny touched the hearts of many through her involvement with ESCAPE, the Protestant Student Forum, Copley Hall Community Council, Georgetown Program Board and the Midnight MUG, never letting her illness slow her down.

“Jenny loved Georgetown, the people who are a part of the community here and the quality of the academic environment we share,” said Protestant Chaplain Bryant Oskvig, the leader of the weekly Sunday liturgical service that Faenza frequently attended.

“We who knew her have been richly blessed by the joy, humor and excitement Jenny shared with her friends," he said. "Georgetown will seem a little less joyful without her around, but in caring for each other and this community that Jenny cared for so deeply, her spirit remains with us.”

Matt Renart (COL ’11), a co-worker of Faenza’s at Midnight MUG, met her for the first time when he was hospitalized due to his asthma.

“I actually met Jenny when we both had to make trips to the ER. I just remember how sick she was feeling, but she walked over to me to introduce herself and she seemed more worried about how I was doing than anything else,” he said. “I know everyone at Midnight loved working with Jenny; she always put you in a good mood because she was always in high spirits. To say Midnight's going to miss her is an understatement.”

“Jenny … [was] unceasingly optimistic. When you think about her continual struggle with her illness, it's really incredible how brave she was in choosing to go away to school and live her life the way she wanted to,” said Charlotte Myer (COL ’09), director of personnel at Midnight Mug. “She was extremely dedicated to everything she was involved in, and you could tell she deeply enjoyed working with people. … Jenny was one of those people that made everyone a little bit happier just by knowing her.”

Faenza served as a general member of the Georgetown Program Board during the fall of her freshman year and became the off-campus chair the beginning of January 2008. She was recently elected to serve as special events chair beginning next year, according to GPB Chair Jackie Mendez (MSB ’09).

“When Jenny became the off-campus chair, we had ice-breakers for the executive board at our first meeting,” Mendez said. “One question asked was, ‘What’s your biggest fear?’ Her answer was ‘not making a difference in the world.’ Once she gave that answer, I was like, ‘Wow, this girl is amazing!’”

Some of Faenza’s dearest friendships on campus reached far beyond the organizations she participated in and the services she attended.

Enrique Lemus (COL ’11) first met Faenza at GAAP weekend. During freshman year, they met again through a mutual friend and Faenza immediately approached him to reminisce about their previous meeting. Since then, they have been the closest of friends.

“Jenny was simply one of my best friends,” Lemus said. “One of my fondest memories of Jenny was her greeting me at the airport when I arrived in Washington D.C. for the beginning of my sophomore year, just because she said people love to be greeted at airports and have someone waiting. She was just that type of person. She loved to make people happy and be there for others. People speak of how positive she always was. She was a very strong person, both for herself and for others. … I just really miss her and pray that she keeps watching us and reminding us that a positive attitude can help us find the strength to face life's difficulties.”

When Josh Mogil (SFS ’11) met Jenny last year in Spanish class, they clicked right away.

“When Jenny met a person, she made an investment in them that truly was incredible. I always thought of her as ‘my person,’ the one who could solve all my problems and just listen when I needed a friend,” he said. “But I wasn't the only one; she touched everyone she met in such a profound way. … We need her more than she knew, yet I know her positive convictions will continue to guide me, and those that knew her, for the rest of our lives.”

“Jenny was one of my best friends, and I have so many memories of her,” said Matthew Mullarkey (COL ’11), who met Faenza in her freshman dorm, Village C East, last year. “The last time I saw Jenny, she was in the hospital, and I asked her if she was running the place yet. She smiled and said, ‘Of course I am.’ She was so strong and always wanted the best for everyone. I've never seen anyone with as many friends either. I feel honored to have been so close with her. She will be missed, and Georgetown definitely won't be the same without her.”

Emily Sharp-Kellar, Faenza’s long-time best friend from home and a sophomore at the University of Alabama, said Faenza was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the arteries leading to the lungs, on graduation night of her senior year in May 2007.

“She was salutatorian of our class,” Sharp-Kellar said. “They had to film her speech at the hospital to play at the ceremony.”

Later that summer, she said, doctors at Johns Hopkins University linked Faenza’s pulmonary hypertension to scelroderma, a chronic disease that leads to the hardening of the skin and connective tissue which occurred in the arteries of Faenza’s lungs.

According to her mother, Faenza was so ill in the summer of 2007 that her doctors told her it would not be possible for her to attend college outside of her home state of Tennessee. Her plan to attend Georgetown in the fall was shelved.

“The first thing Jenny said when her doctors told her she couldn’t go to school out of state was that could she go to Middle Tennessee State University. … She had been given a full scholarship there,” her mother said. “She was then in the hospital for seven to eight more weeks after that. We didn’t avoid the subject of Georgetown. … We were just doing all we could do at that time to stay together and help Jenny get better, because she was very sick.”

Amy Faenza said that after a few weeks on a new medication at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital, where Jenny had been transferred in July 2007 for a lung transplant, her condition improved significantly. Faenza was taken off the transplant list and doctors told her she would be able to attend an out-of state school in the upcoming fall after all.

"Jenny had her computer with her and logged into her Georgetown account. Once she did, she told me, ‘When I logged on, I had been receiving every e-mail regarding orientation. It was almost as if I was never not going.’ Three weeks later, we took her to Georgetown,” Amy Faenza said. “Her time at Georgetown … was divine intervention. She just ate it up with a spoon. She loved being in D.C. and at Georgetown. It’s where she belonged.”

Faenza’s involvements with Protestant groups on campus stemmed from her deep religious commitment and desire to become a minister in the future.

“Jenny was one of the first students I met when I arrived on campus this summer,” said Fr. Kevin O'Brien, S.J., executive director of campus ministry. “Her welcome made me feel right at home on campus. Her enthusiasm and zeal for life were contagious. Jenny intended to pursue further studies in theology, in order to become an ordained minister. She was a young woman deeply committed to her faith and to putting her faith into action to make a real difference in peoples' lives.”

Last year, Faenza wrote an essay for the Higher Education and Learning Ministries of the Christian Church describing her battle with her illness and how it strengthened her belief in God.

“I truly believe that God gave me this enormous obstacle to overcome because God knew that I could take the situation and use it to inspire people, which is what God knew they needed,” Faenza wrote. “I was (and am) an instrument of his love, peace and hope, as is every child of God … Knowing that I am and we are forever being sustained by the Giver of Life keeps me faithful and hopeful.”

“Jenny Faenza was the most wonderful person I have ever known, and I am so proud and so thankful to call her my best friend,” Sharp-Kellar said. “Although many people change when they move away and go to college, Jenny was always just Jenny. The Jenny you all knew at Georgetown was the same girl that I've known for years. She was a spitfire. She was intelligence, wit, kindness, generosity, beauty and friendliness all wrapped up into her tiny five-foot frame. … I was with her through her entire battle with her health, and I never once heard her complain. She was eternally grateful for all of her blessings: her wonderful family, her friends and her chance to experience everything at Georgetown.”

“It's hard to describe a best friend because any words seem so limiting, but Jenny was about anything but limits,” said Parisa Tabassian (SFS ’11), a friend of Jenny’s. “There was no end to her dreams and goals. And there will be no end to our friendships with her. She wanted to be here at Georgetown more than anyone else I know. I'm so honored to have known her while she was living and loving life to its fullest here at school. Loving you always and forever Jenny.”

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Happiness coach keeps the smiles coming

 

Christina Nelson believes happiness is a skill that can be taught, just like driving a car or swinging a tennis racket. And she wants to train you to be more content at work.

The motivational speaker and self-proclaimed "happiness coach" has started an organization to help ladies become more upbeat and, consequently, more successful in work and life. Women Inspiring Women kicked off last week and meets weekly in Tampa, Fla.

The first gathering drew eight women, from 20-something singles to grandmothers. Nelson, a giggly newlywed of 56, led the group in self-affirmation exercises and explained how the law of attraction has helped her land jobs, heal a chronic back problem and, four months ago, get married. Though she doesn't have a degree in happiness (who does

, really?), Nelson says her expertise comes from three decades as a dating coach, seminars, books and yes, watching Oprah. At the end of the 90-minute meeting, Nelson left the group with a homework assignment to say something positive before getting out of bed every day.

The always-cheerful Thonotosassa, Fla. resident is armed with endless supply of motivational one-liners: "Think about your thoughts." "Create your day." "Dream big." "Do a checkup from the neck up."

For future events, Nelson is open to exploring topics the group suggests. There is only one rule: Be positive. If someone makes a negative comment, they must put a dollar into a jar.

"If somebody stays negative in here, they're not going to stay here long," Nelson said.

"And they're going to be broke!" quipped Hazelann Pace, of Lutz, Fla., who had to pony up after refusing to let me take a picture of the group because she wasn't feeling photogenic. The money helps offset Nelson's expenses.

The bottom line of this lovefest, Nelson says, is that happy people are more productive and successful. Now that's something to smile about.

Christina Nelson's tips for relieving stress at work.

1. Find the good in all people and situations. That cube mate who's too loud on the phone? At least he makes awesome brownies for the company potluck.

2. When your boss snaps at you, don't take it personally. No one can emotionally hurt you unless you receive it, so brush your shoulders off and move on.

3. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. The more positive energy you put out, the more opportunities and productivity you'll get.

4. Say thank you often. It will keep you from getting upset.

5. At least once a day, say out loud, "I am confident, knowledgeable and productive" or whatever else you need to hear. Soon you will be.

6. Smile for no reason.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)

Must credit St. Petersburg Times

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