He asked for my thoughts on the economic recovery and I told him I’m not optimistic, for many reasons and based on some pretty clear indicators.

Then I clicked on the Huffington Post and saw this interactive map.

I was born in North Dakota. Judging by this map, I might have to go back there.

Take a look.

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All good for you. All waiting for you.

patty.pattychocolate@gmail.com

I’m headed down the mountain and back to society once again.

Great trip, but what I learned about being alone is this:

I like being with people. Other people besides just me. I’m outward-focused, and all this introspection gets old after a few days. Plus, it’s hard to play tennis alone (if I even played tennis . . .).

I work with people for a living. I help them think about themselves and why they do what they do and then dive into what it is they really want to do. I take all their ideas, help them think bigger, and then help plan their business growth and innovation strategies.

To do this job, one has to be able to listen. It’s when people tell you who they are (thanks Maya Angelou).

I have learned to be a good listener and I love to listen.

To someone other than myself.

Only us owners were able to make more than just a salary.

But along with ownership came taxes, licenses, loans, office expenses and other profit drains.

Worse, for me, were the emotional drains. Between the constant stress of running the operation and the limited ways in which I could help my employees, the fun was gone and the business collapsed under its own weight.

I now see the beauty of Network Marketing. Yeah, of course I was skeptical. People always fear doing things against the grain. Well, look around at the devastation of the past couple of years. I fear that more. Status quo ain’t cutting it anymore.

All I can tell you is there are millions of people out there making millions in Network Marketing. And Both Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki like the business model.That’s good enough for me.

Not only does Network Marketing eliminate the profit and emotional drains, but it enables me to completely satisfy my core value of contribution. Additionally, I’m no longer tethered to a desk, an office, a partner or any overhead. THANK GOD.

I chose Xocai Healthy Chocolate as my network marketing product because health+ wellness are also core values of mine, and Xocai is proven pure health, period. I have already shared the health victories this product has afforded my mother. And their just-released Meal Replacement product will rock the weight loss world. You will be hearing about it everywhere.

So this is pretty much a win all around. I’m sitting here on my loaned vacation home porch in North Carolina and making an income, all at the same time.

Sweet. And I don’t just mean Healthy Chocolate.

Feel free to e-me. Feel free to join me. I’d like all my friends to feel like I do right now.

patty.pattychocolate@gmail.com

If you’ve been following my travels, you know I’ve gone from Florida to North Carolina. My trip abruptly became unrecognizable from the trip I had planned. The universe clearly had other plans for me.

So-without repeating the long and very boring story, I am here. ALONE. 100% devoid of any companionship other than Addy and Ed, the dogs. Thank God I fought for them being part of this trip.

Anyhow, this turn of events has completely changed my STATE. Yes, I’m in a different state, but mostly, and more importantly, I’m in a different STATE.

Like I am seeing things differently. Hearing things differently (including the Boogy Man at 3 am-I don’t sleep til the sun rises. Oh crap I am a vampire).

My golf/hiking/dining/laughing/bonding trip is now just me and a rocking chair on a porch, and let me tell you–things look very different through this lens.

Bridal Veil Falls, NC

So I went, camera in hand, to Bridal Veil Falls. Gorgeous, but very quickly clear to me that any photo op would have to be jacked from whomever was there.

So I asked a nice lady if she would take my photo, and she replied. ” ARE YOU ALONE?????? OMG, you are so brave!”

I got, very clearly, that my trip, ALONE, was such a state change that I was seeing everything differently than anyone else.

ALONE is cool. ALONE is often necessary. ALONE refocuses oneself on what matters most. There is no one around to boss you, agree with you, argue with you, love you, fight with you, kiss you, hold you, yell at you.

Yeah, alone is brave.

It’s just you.

And you.

Talk about a change of state.

My state right now is creative and content.

And, more tired than ever before in my life.

The boonies are scary at night, and I’m there, eyes wide open and heart pounding, sitting sentry so the dogs can sleep well.

Holy Crap.

This is some weird state.

Anyway, what caught my eye today, besides the beauty of this little Bed and Breakfast, is the INTENTION with which they declare themselves to the world.

They want “Nice People” as their guests.

There.

They said it.

For all the world to see.

This implies a contract in that when someone walks in to register at the front desk, they are “nice people.” If you’re not, then the Chandler Inn isn’t the place for you.

I think this is fantastic. I’ve worked with brand after fancy brand over the years -  and this little North Carolina Inn just simply gets it.

Most businesses don’t declare themselves - to them or their customers.  In fact, many don’t have a clue who their customers even are, or who they are, for that matter. So how can they speak with INTENTION?

People rush into business all the time without building a foundation, a strategy. They mean well, but eventually wind up in trouble. [been there done that]

It’s critical to discover and verbalize your core values so you can declare your INTENTION with you, your customers, vendors, partners, employees, family and everyone else you come into contact with.

Then, if something does not fit your core values, it cannot exist in your life. Period. It makes decision making a snap.

I’m guessing these nice folks have a strong set of core values that they live by every day. They must. Because their reputation is as lovely as their premises.

Here’s another photo.

Have you done the work to identify your core values? E-me. I can help. This is what I love to do.

It’s always my first step when I work with businesses.

It’s always the one people feel is unimportant or a waste of time.

It’s always the one they are most grateful for in the end.

Core values keep us directed and focused.

Core values keep us out of trouble.

I’m loving it here in Mayberry. And I’m learning a lot. Learning is one of my core values.

Lake Sequoia, NC

But I had an OUTCOME: to get the power cord here in time for my Tuesday a.m. Skype meeting, a critical meeting for me. I’m a strategist, so OUTCOME is everything. I always start with the end, so the road to my goal(s) is clear. I know the Tuesday meeting will be life changing.  And it’s a goal-within-a-goal. A step.

So I traveled, with Ed and Addy on my lap (arf), down the mountain and through three states, getting unbelievably lost (ok, so the clear road thingie doesn’t really mean “road”) but seeing beauty that took my breath away.

Through no fault of my own  - can you say Google Mobile? -  I finally found the Apple Store, bought the cord and was back on the road within 15 minutes.

Outcome is a huge motivator. What would you to to achieve an outcome that is dear to you? How about if your outcome was a great marriage; financial success; a business that rocks; a child; happiness?

The answer is this: YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING. Think about that. ANYTHING means there is nothing that will stop you. It means you jump over hurdles and take all the deep breaths you need to stay focused. It means your OUTCOME is so important that you put everything you have into achieving it.

I did ANYTHING today, and got way more than I expected. And I expect even more, because the power cord is but a step toward achieving my final OUTCOME . (I’ll be telling you exactly what that is in the next few months).

How about you? What do you want so badly you will do ANYTHING?

Plus my hair is a mess . . .

So - my bucolic mountain trip is perfect.

Except my MacBook Power Cord is failing.

Damn.

So the wilderness is only cool when I’m connected?

Yes. I admit it.

But not because I am a connect-a-holic. Which I am.

But because a big part of my trip here is to complete a huge project that is near and dear to me.

And that can only happen online.

It’s the modern world, no matter how deeply buried I am in the mountains.

So FEDEX will find me when nobody else can.

I actually think that’s cool.

I’m as lost as I need to be to find myself.

So here’s what I did today.Rather, what I did for myself today:

I bought flowers. I love flowers. On the dining room table. Photo as evidence. [Failing MacBook Pro power cord is under the table. Sob.]

I also bought incense. Named after the local 5-star hotel here. Yummy.

Think the FEDEX guy will be able to sniff me out come Tuesday am?

Oh Good God, I hope so.

In the meantime, I will be zooming through the Smokies on the back of a Harley with some new friends I made today.

I love it here.