Why?  Why not?  Why not me?  Why not now?

What a powerful documentary... I highly suggest you buy, rent, or watch this doc on netflix... excellent!

Skeptical is not the word.  I was DEAD against network marketing.  After all, Jesse and I have built together and run 3 different traditional businesses.  (2 semi-active and 1 fully active yet.)  We know how to do it, and God always blesses us in it, even when we make major mess-ups.  We are both born entrepreneurs.  We both also know, neither of us could have done it without the other, but more importantly, we could have never done it without God.  At any rate, why then, would we choose network marketing for our 4th business?  Do you even realize how much "negative" attitude is out there about MLM companies?  Do you have any idea how much some people are AGAINST this type of business?  Why on earth would I even look at such a business model?  I think Robert Kiyosaki sums up in 10 minutes a few of the exact reasons we chose this model to build upon... we have been blessed, absolutely blessed, and long to give back to others and help them to do the same.  But we can only help those people who are willing to see this industry for what it really is, and open their mind to looking at it for themselves, not based on something they've heard, or an opinion they've formed with no real basis.  (WHICH IS EXACTLY HOW I USED TO BE!)

World renowned economist and trend predictor, Paul Zane Pilzner, explains how the Wellness Industry is going to take its place as The Next Trillion Dollar Industry; via direct selling/network marketing.

Simple concept.  Are you willing to do it?  I am.  And I am also willing to view this from a business standpoint, and pay it forward in my business too.  My goal: To help others achieve their goals.  You can do it.  We can help.

Here is the interview I was asked to do with Team Crown, the team that I belong to, and that supports me and my team.  My voice recording is a bit quiet and hard to hear, so turn your volume up  =)

Just go to this link, Kristie Lee Guns Interview, look for our picture, and listen to the audio there.  Enjoy!

Jesse and I just got back from Hawaii a couple days ago.  If you've ever been to Hawaii, you can relate with me, it is exquisitely beautiful.

During our trip, there were countless moments where I felt gratitude for the things God has blessed us with.

One of them, of course, being my own business. 

As a stay-at-home mom, there are times when one may feel... worthless.  Not that my kids don't appreciate me, or my husband for that matter, but just the fact of not contributing to the daily expenses, can sometimes be, well, difficult.  I know, I know, I am worth more than money and all that good stuff.  I get that.  I know my time and commitment to my family is worth much, much more than any amount of money.

However, some days, I have to be honest, it would be nice to have a "piece of mind" account... just the satisfaction of knowing that I can also be successful in a career too.

I don't know.  My thoughts on this have changed over time, and continue to change as time goes on.  A while back, I didn't want to work at all.  I despised the thought!  I only wanted to be a mom and raise my kids.  Then, there were moments where I longed for more social interaction and often wondered if the grass was greener on the other side.

Then of course, there were other times, where I would hear people speak negatively about stay-at-home moms, or I'd be standing there with my husband and his "guy" friends, listening to all of them talk and talk and talk about work...

Meanwhile, don't get me wrong, I loved staying at home.  I started homeschooling my kids, and life was good.  Yes, there were those awkward moments or times where I thought about going to work, but all in all, I was happiest at home.

Fast forward to the start of the teen years.  I have seven children.  So I have been blessed with much patience and diligence.  I have always been consistent with discipline and being a mom was the best thing I could imagine.  But teenagers?  Hmm.  This threw me for a loop.  Now these creative little minds that I have molded and caressed, have suddenly began thinking their own thoughts and, I might add, they are not always the kind of thoughts that I would approve of!  

Fast forward again to the present.  Four of our children are now teenagers.  (We have 3 in high school, two are in middle school, and two are elementary age).  They are definitely growing up.  And my job has become less appreciated over the years, and less needful.  I currently homeschool two of the kids, the others are all attending public school right now, and next year, I may finish homeschooling altogether.  The only reason being that I feel it is time.  It has run it's course in my life and the lives of my children, we have accomplished that which we had hoped to do with homeschooling, and now it is fast coming to a close.

So where does that leave me?

I love being home, but I also love being a business woman.  Being successful in that, definitely has it's ups.  And that's where I am presently.

Hawaii, in all it's beauty, caused me a great deal of reflection on my life, the direction I am headed, and where I have come from.  We hiked many miles in Hawaii, and I had lots of thinking time...

The past 3 years or so where I have spent time building my business, has given us so much opportunity.  This last July, we paid off the balance to our mortgage, and we become completely and totally debt-free.  I was able to take my beloved husband of almost 19 years on a trip to Hawaii, with money I earned myself.  And one of my goals, to buy my husband a boat, also came to pass.  I had never really earned my own money before, at least not in this capacity!

Along with my reflections of where we presently are, a lot of pondering came about around our future as well.  I had always thought, in the past, that when the kids were grown, I would go on to work.  Get a job.  It was fun and exciting to think about going back to school... I am an artist so thoughts of marketing would come to mind, or interior decorating... I also love people, so thoughts of going to school for nursing were also fun to think about...

However, what I didn't know then, and what I am right now struggling with, is that my dwindling eyesight is playing a factor in those dreams... and it's not at all what I had expected, nor what I wanted.  Two years ago, I found out I am officially "legally blind".  I had been for some time, but was never told it.  Yuck, the words alone I don't like to type.  I have known since I was about 14, that I have a degenerative eye disease.  What I did NOT know, however, was that it would ever progress to much at all.  I was very misinformed about the disease, and was told, "it would never amount to much" and "it was just a mild case".  Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be the truth.

So, in thinking about my future, my "career", et cetera, things suddenly became very narrow.

Going back to school, although not impossible, is highly unlikely for me now.  I've done a little checking around.  First, driving to school.  Because of my eyesight, my driving is substantially limited.  So I would need a ride both to and from school most likely.  And the nearest technical college is about 30 minutes away.  Of course I could take some online courses, however, not all of them are offered online, and eventually, I would need to actually physically show up on campus.  Again, not impossible.  Secondly, my job.  When I would get a job, it would have to be close because I again, would be needing a ride there and back.  Here again, not impossible.  Thirdly, as much as we do not like to admit it, if an employer "found out" about my disability, which of course they would know, they may not hire me.  My sister-in-law asked the hospital where she works, if they would hire a "legally blind" nurse.  Because of the implications with insurance, liability, etc, she basically said, no.  They wouldn't chance it.  There is enough liability that they have with messed up dosages and the like.  I guess that would make me too much of a liability.  It's kinda sad!  Do I spend my time and money going back to school to possibly be shut down and not be able to find a job anyway because of my eyesight?

Well, as you can imagine, upon finding out some of these things, unfortunately it did throw me into a depression for a while.  I lost some spirit to live ~ it's difficult when your dreams that you've been waiting for now seem to no longer be attainable due to circumstances beyond your control.  On top of that, I've had some very negative things said to me about my eyesight from other people.  If I had to guess, I'd say I started getting depressed, on and off, about 5 years ago because I could see my eyesight was diminishing and deep down I knew things were getting worse but I chose to deny it.

So, I then made the best, and one of the biggest, decisions in my life.  I was going to move forward with Life Force, and choose this as my business.  My career.  This is something I can do, sighted or not.  I can still be at home with my kids.  And my income potential is not capped.  I could start right away, and hopefully, by the time my kids are all out to public school, I would be making a nice income.  This kind of thinking gave me hope for my future again.

I won't lie, starting a new business with no experience and very little knowledge is not easy.  But neither were my other options.  

I am still learning, but I am hopeful now.  Not just hopeful.  I am confident.  I earn a sizable income already and I know that by the time my kids are in the public schools, my business will be beyond what I ever expected.  It is already happening ahead of schedule.  This has become my new dream.  And I am very thankful.

Besides all of this pondering about "financial" and "business" stuff, I had much, much more to think about and be grateful for.  So, I had lots to think about in Hawaii, didn't I?

This is a very interesting 30 minutes, definitely worth your time watching.  It's a cartoon, but totally keeps your interest and makes it (dare I say) FUN to learn what is going on with our hard earned $$.