THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING

That leads me to the my start of Positive Thinking.  One night while driving  the freeways, I noticed I could not see the passenger side of the car.    I thought I was just under a lot of stress because I was supervisor over 3 shifts in the Quality Control  Department of  a Laminating  Corp.  I was on call when ever the shift worked  which was 24 hours a day.  I lived 30 miles from my home so I was driving in the dark  both ways.  I forgot to tell you, that I finally got a name for my blindness in my left eye.  It is called Toxoplasmosis which I described earlier.  I also found the parasite can go dormant in your body.  It should have taken both eyes but for some unknown reason, it only took the one.  It can also  go to the heart and other major organs but mine was only my eyes.  Back to the point,  I really thought that my Toxo had resurfaced..  I went to the eye doctor right away and they did a MRI on my eye but they could not tell me what it was.  I continued working and driving  the freeways when one night I had a very difficult time finding my way home because it was dark and I could not see the lines on the road.  

Shortly thereafter, I resigned from my position and set out to find something closer.  The town we lived in was small at the time  and had very few places to get a job.  I was sent to Loma Linda Hospital where  they diagnosed it as Retinitis Pigmentosa aka RP.  It is a progressive eye disease with no cure.  I knew some day I would be legally blind.  I did not let that stop me.  I went to a local company that imported speaker components.  I was hired as a Quality Control Supervisor.  I did not mention my eye condition at that time.  I wanted to prove to them and myself that I could do a good job.  I had 10 Hispanics that worked under me, I did not speak Spanish and they spoke very little English.  We had two words that we used bueno  and  melo, that is good and bad in English.  They would point to the defect so I could see it or feel it.  My central vision was very good  then, but I had lost some of my side vision and was losing the rest  gradually.  I did this for several years until  I was no longer able to work.

In 1993, my husband took a position in Alabama.  I did not want him to drive by himself  so I rode with him.  I forgot to tell you that I had to give up driving 1989.  This was hard because you feel your freedom is taken away.  I am a very independent person and always like doing things for myself and not depending on others.  When we got to Alabama,I really liked  it and decided to go back to California and sell our home and move there with my husband.

After being out of work and on disability, I decided I needed to do  something so I thought about Avon.  It was something I could do from home or walk to neighbors.  My daughter which also moved there took me  around to drop off my brochures.  Avon gave me a purpose so I would not just sit and watch  the TV all day.  As you see my POSITIVE  THINKING  was getting stronger.  I no longer feared what people  thought about  me and focused on being a better person.  You see you MUST think and care for yourself first.    This sounds  very selfish but it is not.  If you have self  confidence, you can help others.  That was a hard lesson for me to learn.  I was always  worrying what other people thought but when I turned 50, I realized my life is more than half over and I needed to worry less.  Worry does not solve anything.  If you keep a positive  outlook, you are able to figure what you need to do to solve the problem..  Some problems cannot be solved.   We need to either accept and move on or find another solution.

Several years later,  my husband had to go on disability.  He was the major breadwinner in the house.  Our finances took a dump.  Normally, this would  upset me where I could no longer think of a way out.  We sold our house on a lease option  and they defaulted on us.  We had no alternative but to file bankruptcy.  This was very hard for me since I always made sure our bills were paid on time.  The lawyer assured us that this was the reason bankruptcy was formed.  I decided to look at the things lost as just stuff that could be replaced later or  not at all. This was no longer the importance in my life.

Our middle daughter  and her husband bought a farm in Missouri.  She did not like it because it was too rural so she asked if we would rent from them and they would keep it as investment property.  When this happened , I thought, there goes my Avon.   I had made Presidents Club for the past few years and I thought there is no way I can do it here because there are no homes close by and I knew no one.  The first year I made it by 11 dollars.  We have lived here for 6 years and I have not only made Presidents Club but Honor Society for the past 3 years.  So you see if you keep  POSITIVE  THINKING you can accomplish your goals.  Negative thoughts just closes your mind  to any good thoughts you may have.

I forgot to tell you about the time I was in Alabama  and  Avon had a convention scheduled in Orlando, FL.  I wanted to go but I told them I needed  to have someone  escort me to  the different seminars.  We set it up and on the first day, I was escorted to my  first seminar that was on the  third floor.  After that was over, I went out  to meet the person to   take me to my  second  seminar on the first floor.  Guess what, No one was there to meet me.  I thought do I continue on and try to find my next seminar or just find my way back to my hotel room where I would just stay by myself.  This is a huge convention center in Orlando.  I waited for quite awhile and no one showed.  I stood  there all alone.  I remembered where the escalators were so I thought, I am going to try this myself.  I had been taught in Alabama how to motivate the escalator.  I went down to the second floor and next to it was another escalator so I thought  it would take me to the first floor where I needed to go.  Well guess what, it took me  back where I had just  started on the third floor.  I thought to myself, this did not work so what do I do next.  I went back to the second floor and started walking  looking for the down escalator and I saw another Avon Rep.   I asked where the down escalator  was and she looked at my badge and saw I needed to go to the first floor so she said I will take you.  From that moment on, I had Avon Reps from all over the country looking for me at the next seminar so they could make sure I got where I needed to be.   This gave me such a feeling of confidence that I never worried about getting where I should be.  From that day on, I went by myself knowing that all that I needed to do was ask for help and I had it.  All the Reps that helped me  did not know me but were glad to help.  Four  years later, I went to a convention completely alone.  I had to go a day early because I was taking a special course.  I was also met by Avon people that made sure I was going to the right place.

I have told you all  this not because I am patting myself on the back but because you can do anything you set your mind to if you keep POSITIVE THINKING.

Since I have been in Missouri, I have been a New Rep Caller and now I call  all the No Orders for my District Manager.  This keeps my mind motivated and I love helping other reps succeed.  My  Avon friends and I work a booth at the local  outlet mall several different times a year.  This helps me to be out in the public and not be alone.  I can no longer see well enough to sell the products but they are my eyes for me.  All you have to do is ask and keep POSITIVE THINKING.   

I am now 71 years old and can hardly see anymore but I will not give up.  Because I do Avon, Missouri Blind Rehab has provided me with  a computer, zoom text  which talks to me and magnifies everything.  I feel like a sighted person when I am at my computer.  Blind Rehab  also paid for a class for me to set up my own minisite which you are viewing at this time.

My next goal is to get traffic to my website.  The purpose is to drive traffic to my Avon Erep Site. where you can  look at the current brochures and maybe place an order.  If I have 3 direct ship orders in one campaign, I will get full commission.  This is the only way I can sell Avon today because my lack of sight makes it impossible for me to go door to door.  To give you some ideal how much sight I have is as follows:  I just read on the internet, a normal sighted  person has 170 degrees of field in each eye.  My sight  is 3 degrees of field in one eye.  That 3 degrees used to be clear and sharp but because of the progression of the disease, It is cloudy.  

I am also in Leadership and if anyone is interested in selling Avon, I can sign you up and put you in my downline.  Just email me and I will get back in touch with you and I can tell you about Avon.  I am a good mentor and great support.  You will not be alone.  I will always be there to  help you succeed.

As you see, none of this would be possible without POSITIVE  THINKING.  Drive negative thoughts away and replace them with POSITIVE THOUGHTS.  If you are not sure how, I will be more than happy to help you.

I really hope that this will inspire you even if you do not have a handicap.  Negative thoughts can handicap you also.