I imagine that everyone has things they would rather not think about,
subjects that make them uncomfortable or things they've said and done
in the past that they wish would never resurface. While I work towards
dealing with some of those issues I want to touch briefly on some of the
positive things in my new life. First would have to be my job. Going to
work is usually fun for me. For those of you who don't know this I am
part of a newly created Inside Sales Department. On my first day we were
given a list of over three thousand house accounts that had one thing
in common. They were all down from where they had been last year.
Initially my job was to determine why these accounts were down. We
weren't instructed to try and turn them around specifically but the
theory was some of these accounts were malingering because they had
never had a sales rep calling to check in on them. While the program is
still new we have had some great success stories. My boss always tells
us that our goal is to see if we can get everyone to invest in one more
pair of shoes. That's all she wants, it seems like a very small thing
but if you take the four thousand accounts we now have and multiply that
times the price of a pair of shoes you can see that her plan will
generate growth.
Goals need to be attainable. My boss realizes this, she tells us we
are doing a great job and for once I don't need to hear that because I
can go into our accounting software, look at the date I started calling
some of my accounts and prove that my job is valid. One account in
particular has been a good performer for me. Last year they would have
been down, a $12,000 order at the end of the year pushed them above 2009
sales figures. They ended the year on an up note with final sales of
just over $70K.
This year they are on track to double that, I have accounts that have
already done more this year than they did all last year. That's
rewarding to see and gratifying to know that I had a part in helping
turn people around. Sometimes there is a legitimate reason that an
account is down. People quit, people go on maternity leave, staff
members die and retire and natural disasters such as fires and floods
can wipe out even the strongest account. I think one of the things that
makes me good at my job is I think it is fun to try and flip accounts.
I like the challenge of working with the worst and turning them into
some of the top performers. One man I spoke with told me he didn't care
for our lab work citing our toe fillers as being of a
lesser quality than one of my competitors. After speaking with him I
wrote him a letter, I sent him an e-mail and gave him some special
pricing on a patient who was paying cash for a pair of work boots and
custom inserts. That deal went through and I was beginning to think that
was a one time thing but I kept watching the account. I let them know I
was there for them and I sent them two boxes of cookies with some
really good granola.
Last week that account sent in more than $1200 worth of lab orders
and when I left yesterday there were five orders sitting in their
pending file. One of my coworkers is designing a report that will graph
the accounts we've been working with. Seeing the trends graphed out is
really cool because you see the downward slide, the initial contact date
and if you've truly flipped an account the upward trend and growth
curve is amazing.
While work has been going well things have been up and down at home. I
know I should focus on the foods I can have however it seems like I am
still in the process of discovering new allergies and intolerances.
Citrus fruits and chocolate were two of my latest. Quinoa is touted as
a wholesome gluten free grain, nothing says I can't eat it but the last
time I ate it I started not feeling well almost immediately.
Having to make virtually everything I eat takes time, it requires
planning and I get really frustrated when I buy things, make them and
find out later that my body can't handle it. It wastes my time and
money, I get physically ill and it doesn't seem fair that I'm the one
getting sick when all around me are people eating garbage. Food is
designed to build your body up. I know that but being constantly
bombarded by food type items makes it difficult to stay on the straight
and narrow path.
Beets, citrus, chocolate, corn, dairy, gluten, kale, legumes,
nightshades, oats, potatoes, rice, shellfish, soy, these are all foods on my Do Not Consume list. Almost
every gluten free flour has some sort of corn, bean, soy, rice or
potato in it. I don't know why my body rejects so many things. I've
gotten into trouble because I don't eat enough starchy carbs but my body
does not like grains and from my point of view I would rather give them
up than deal with the pain.
This summer I was in pretty decent shape. Because I have peripheral
neuropathy exercise and eating well is more important for me than for
most people. Although I am not diabetic I share some of the same
complications they do. I could easily lose fingers or toes and it is one
thing to write about toe fillers and another to think that one day I
could be wearing one. My circulation is poor but I don't look sick so
people get confused by my fanatacism. I feel as if they could be me for a
day they would understand things from my point of view a little bit
better.
The other night I stayed up late talking to a friend of mine. I
ordered a new book and thought about some of the things we discussed. I
don't like writing about things that are upsetting to me for many
reasons. My oldest daughter can be a very difficult child. She's a lot
like I am, according to others, my children are still young girls
however every day they are edging closer to becoming young women.
Modeling good behavior is the role of parents however that is also hard
to do at all times. I'm tired, I'm not well in many ways and I have a
short temper especially when I see her making some of the exact same
mistakes I made at that age.
My youngest daughter is sensitive and high strung. At least once a
day she cries about something. Sometimes she didn't get up as early as
she wanted to. A shirt that she wanted to wear might be in the wash or
making a lunch might seem like too large of an obstacle for her to
overcome. Whining is annoying, I hate listening to it and I think it is
abnormal that my daughter is crying so frequently over things that seem
minor to me. My husband thinks this is normal behaviour and something
she will have to outgrow or deal with.
Since I have been sick for years I was home with my children but not
in a complete way. When you are unwell you are unable to fulfil many of
your responsibilities and that includes your ability to parent well.
Someone once told me that I have my children because I am the right
mother for them. I have a plan in my head, I have things I want my
children to be able to do and I think school does a good job of
educating children and a moderately poor job of preparing them for the
rest of their lives. I hate the fact that my children play on the
computer and watch TV more than I think they should.
To say that I have food issues is understating things however I
believe that I know more about nutrition than most people outside of the
food allergy and sensitivity network. Every day I see and hear things
that make me want to send people to health care providers. I want to
tell people that being tired, feeling bloated, achy and generally crappy
can be signs of a much larger issue and even if you don't have
underlying health concerns in many cases the quality of your life can be
dramatically improved. The problem is no one believes what I have to
say or if they do they don't think that what I'm observing is really
important.
At work I am good at my job because I can recognize patterns and
trends. If I do something that breeds success I would be foolish not to
try to replicate that same scenario. I have an account that I do not
believe in because they are not even trying. When people tell me there
is no money in shoes I can show them otherwise however they have to
trust that I know how to help and they have to put forth whatever effort
they can to get more out of their programs. I invest a lot of time and
effort into growing my book of business.
Outside sales people have taken at least three of my accounts. In all
those cases no one was willing to stand up for me and my accounts. That
frustrates me because I know I am doing things that the outside sales
people aren't. I can go back to reports and prove that accounts are
better off because of me and I can often pinpoint the exact day things
turned around. I can do the same thing with people on an individual
level but I have no medical degree and in many cases no credibility.
Maybe I should dismiss others but I just know that if they felt better
they would be able to lead richer fuller lives.
So if I have all these great answers why don't I start applying them
to my own life? In many cases I have. Currently I weigh about a hundred
and eleven pounds. I could drop more if I started going to the gym and
working out. Laziness is a factor I need to overcome but another part of
it is it will take several seconds after I stand up for my blood
pressure to stabilize. Sometimes I push my body too hard, other times
not hard enough. Balance is an old concept that I am working on
improving. Neither too little nor too much of any one thing, more of the
good, less of the bad and you have a formula for success.
I don't always have the answers to everything however I am usually
curious enough to keep researching when the answers I get to things
don't work for me. Life is a journey that can end when you least expect
it to. Lately I've had fun reworking an old
writeup. It was interesting for me to evaluate where I have been and
where I am going because I tend to write about things that are flavoring
my life and being able to expand my
characters is good for me. That's pretty much it for now. Eat well, get
enough rest and exercise, if there is something you want to change
start thinking of ways to do it incrementally because that can and does
work. So long for now.
jess
Okay, I didn't address many of the things I wanted to but this is a start.