You may have heard a friend talking about meditating and being mindful, and perhaps dismissed the topic, believing it to be some new-age stuff involving crystals and chanting and what-not. Mindfulness and meditation are about freeing your head of mindless chatter and becoming more focused and relaxed. If you’re having trouble sleeping, find yourself easily stressed, or are having problems getting your work done because you're easily distracted, meditation could help.

Meditation can take many forms, such as concentrating on emptying the mind completely. Mindfulness is simply a form of meditation. It means existing in the present. Many driving mishaps happen because we are thinking of other things, while being mindful means we are focused on the task at hand. Other thoughts may come into our head, but we let them go and concentrate on what we are doing.

Featured Resource this week -

Sherrie at SLS Event Planning and Consulting LLC, organizes, sets up, and manages various corporate, public, and private events and meetings.

We’ve known Sherrie a long time and have confidence and respect for her amazing event planning skills, so please give her our regards when you call.

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

Featured Resource this week - Infusionsoft

The Sales & Marketing Software for Small Business.

Customer & Marketing management: Manage and automate all facets of your customer relationships. Infusionsoft revolutionizes the way small businesses drive and manage their growth. With a robust dose of marketing automation, Infusionsoft replaces your diverse incompatible systems and provides you with an "all-in-one" solution that leaves you with more time to strategically grow your business.

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

How do you communicate with your customers and prospects throughout the year?

Do you blog, write an e-newsletter, post on social media, send mail, create audio/video, Facebook Live, create infographics, e-books or white papers, do webinars, or anything else?

In the last few years, retail holidays like Cyber Monday and Small Biz Saturday have gone from being discount secrets to important parts of the holiday shopping scene. Competition among retailers can be pretty fierce, so it's important to take steps to be prepared for these important money-making events.

Let's look at some ways you might be able to up your game:

For more than two centuries, members of our Armed Forces have defended our country with unyielding courage. In our Nation's times of need, these brave patriots step forward to answer America's call, leaving behind everything they know and love.

--excerpt from President Barack Obama's 2014 Presidential Proclamation for Military Family Appreciation Month

Do you worry about weight gain when the holidays come around? Think about this: if you gained 5 pounds each year after indulging at holiday parties and family dinners, you could be 25 pounds heavier in five years.

Here are 5 ways to make sure those delicious meals and snacks don't lead to unwanted weight gain:

Featured Resource this week -

Automate Your Appointments Never Lose an Email!

Automatically attach your emails to Infusionsoft contact records.
The campaign and broadcast emails you send from Infusionsoft are automatically archived on your contact records. But do you then use personal emails to follow up, answer questions, and close deals? If so, then you need emailAttacher to continue archiving those emails on the contact records.

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Just because your customers may be distracted by the holidays doesn’t mean you, as a business owner, should take the holiday season off. You still have value to offer your customers and prospects that you can easily relate to the holidays.

Our gifts to you are here and ready for you to download but, first, let me finish my thought...

One of the best parts of the holiday season is making it special for the kids. Sure, with these craft ideas they may find out what’s in their stockings, but it’s a chance to create holiday memories that they'll cherish as adults. Mostly what they'll remember is the special time that their parents spent with them, despite mom and dad being busy with work and trying to get everything together for the holidays.

Creating crafts and decorations means that there's a keepsake to treasure for years to come. Crafting is also a great way to teach your child skills that they may enjoy for a lifetime, as well as keeping them busy when your schedule is full.

If you've lost a loved one or have dealt with a tragic event, the holidays can often serve as yet another reminder of the loss. We can feel as though there's nothing to celebrate, or feel survivor's guilt. These are normal parts of the grieving process, and it's not unusual to feel the need for some kind of support at this time of year.

Just as there are many types of grief, there are many different types of support resources available. It's important to feel that it's okay to grieve, talk, cry, be happy or sad, and to live a full life, even though you are grieving.

Everyone loves a sure thing. It always feels safer to sign on with the old established war horse than to take a chance with the new kid on the block. For those who took that leap of faith years ago, we thank you. Some need a little more convincing, and that’s fine. For those who signed on with us after we’d been around the block a few times, we thank you.

Our relationship with our clients is one of the many things we have to be grateful for. This year we'd like to a 16 BIG WAYS we appreciate you!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving which is right around the corner, I have 5 cool business resources I’m so thankful for that I really want to share them with you. Most I use all the time, and one is new to my arsenal, but all are amazingly useful.

Here goes…

Featured Resource this week -

Start Syncing Infusionsoft with Facebook Custom Audiences in Seconds. Deliver Targeted, Money-Getting Ads, Every Time. Double or TRIPLE Your Earnings from every Infusionsoft email contact!

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You put a lot of time, effort, and creativity into your marketing. From strategy to platform to implementation, every small business owner puts hours of time into marketing their business.

Now that it’s up and running, how do you know it’s working? On the assumption you are getting response, do you know whether or not your marketing is paying off? Yep, that’s the $64,000 question — what’s your MROI, or Marketing Return on Investment.