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What Do You Invest In?

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The life we create is determined by a series of choices. Sometimes that choice is determined by the lesser of two evils. Other times having to choose between two great things makes us angry to give one up. Though having a choice is always better than not.

When pondering a decision, I always consider the cost/benefit that choice creates. Certainly what we choose to invest in will either enhance or diminish our comfort. Assuming we want to be comfortable in our lives it makes sense to choose ways to enhance our health, financial freedom, our surroundings, our relationships, etc. It’s not rocket science but so often we make poor choices. The cost/benefit rule helps me greatly when faced with a not-so-great option.

I invest in my personal health first and foremost; physically, mentally and spiritually. Without those, I am a mere empty shell of a person. A bunch of fancy clothes, overpriced cosmetics with false promises or overspending on anything will not manifest health. The exterior package is fleeting and unsustainable. We will age and get gray hair, wrinkles and sagging skin. Those spider veins you had removed will reappear. That face lift will sag again. Gravity wins every time! We can dress it up and cover it up but the junk inside is eventually going to leak out. But focusing on improving the interior is eternal. The benefits are real and lasting rather than an illusion. Some of the most unhealthy and unhappy folks I know wear the most makeup, drive the fanciest car and drape themselves in expensive clothes and jewelry. The look in their eyes is a dead (emphasis on “dead”) giveaway that they are trying to bury what they don’t like about themselves. I myself, in my younger years, expended waaay too much energy on that sort of thing, on keeping up with the Jones.

That said, isn’t it better to fuel your body with proper nourishment, exercise regularly and surround yourself with positive people? I would much rather spend my hard earned time and money on clean eating rather than having to go to a doctor for gut problems. I’d rather spend 50 bucks for 5 exercise classes than on 1 physical therapy appointment. I’d rather have financial freedom than be stressed out by unnecessary debt. This kind of health is noticeable to others by the twinkle in your eye, the bounce in your step and the glow in your skin. For this girl, these are much better choices. So what will you invest in today, this week, this month, this year? We always have a choice but we only get one chance on this earth. Choose wisely!

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My Daily Walk: Lessons From a Recycle Bin

recycle bins

I walk often and enjoy exploring different areas. One thing I’ve noticed consistently in my own neighborhood is that the recycle bins are always strewn about all over the sidewalks and in the road after collection. This is a nuisance and unsafe as there are many walkers and small children riding bikes. In time, this began to anger me so much that it was all I noticed.

Finally one day a garbage truck was working where I was walking. Irritated that it should go without saying, but in as kind a presentation as I could muster, I pointed out what I thought was obvious. The gentlemen informed me that it is a different branch that handles the recyclables. Completely embarrassed, I looked up the road where they had just finished and saw that every single trash can was neatly placed where it belonged. That made me judge the “other guys” even more!

Fast forward to a totally different part of town. Same story. At that moment I realized that improper management was the issue. Perhaps the crews are instructed to get the job done as fast as possible at any cost. Who knows? I was once married to a mail carrier that was trained to cut across lawns to reduce their steps to save time and lengthen their route. This increased my awareness to “seek first to understand” and also made me realize how I was dwelling on this seemingly insignificant situation.

So in my usual fashion, I worked at turning it into a positive. Instead of getting agitated, I simply moved each misplaced bin to a safe place. With every bin, I noticed a bit more anger being replaced with a bit more joy. The simple task of helping instead of instigating, completely transformed my state of mind. It was much easier and took way less energy to be joyful rather than remain angry. Happiness is a choice.

So the next time you are bothered by something, simply “remove the bin”!

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Humbled By a Hacker

“Shit happens.”  “It can always be worse.”  Classic cliches.  Blah blah blah.  The fact is, that’s true, most of the time anyway.  Though it rarely makes us feel better.

This is exactly why my webmeister husband, Ogden, has strongly encouraged me to write and interact on my website blog posts rather than Facebook.  A most stressful weekend, my FB business page got hacked…in a BIG way.  They replaced me as admin with their self, changed the email address associated with the page and spammed the page with a dozen of the same ad.  They then ordered a $500 ad campaign, $175 of which was deducted from my PayPal before I noticed.  Because of the misuse of the page, Facebook unpublished me.  Poof.  Gone.  Four years of continuous effort.  All my reviews, almost 1750 “likes”, every post, comment, reaction and picture.  And there hasn’t been a single thing I can do about it.  PayPal denied my $$$ dispute, though I finally found a way to appeal, fingers crossed.  And thanks to a “friend” on Facebook who advised us and insisted there was a way to contact Facebook, we finally found how put in a claim to refund money and restore the page, though I’m not optimistic.  They sure don’t make it easy!

I lost all control of my page.  That doesn’t sit well with a perfectionist control freak.  Control.  Talk about the ultimate illusion.  If the times we’re living in don’t demonstrate that, nothing will.  So first I had to let it go and admit  I had no control.  Next, I took many deep breathes because this wasn’t going to be even a little fun to deal with.  My husband has little patience for a techno-tard such as myself but I was at his mercy; again no control.  So I sucked it up and never cried or flipped out.  But man I had a hard time not wanting to seriously injure the jerk who did this!  How dare they mess with my livelihood…and screw up my weekend plans!!!  (Hah!  We plan, God laughs.)

Humbled in many ways by this incident, I had to take a look at the big picture.  What did I actually lose?  It was a page, full of stuff, not even real stuff.  “Stuff” that I was clearly letting define me.  “Me”,  who so easily disappeared with the push of a button.  Ouch.  It’s time to get honest.  When I first “came out” and went public with my product line, something I was reluctant to do as it was, I was accosted by another crafter who made similar-ish products for “copying” them.  Again, how dare they!  My formulas are original and I had been around much longer than this other business.  That made me dig my heels in because I was going to show them who they were messing with.  Honestly, that made me work my damnedest to let people know who Sue Robilotti is!!!  So with revenge as my initial motivation I went on to build a “profile”.  I quickly learned I was pretty good at the whole social media marketing thing.  Then, during this Coronavirus pandemic, I had a captive and quickly growing audience and my web sales skyrocketed.  Along with my ego.  And then it disappeared.

I now have the incredible opportunity to begin again, to start fresh with proper intention.  For this I am grateful.

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Robilotti Receives 2020 Best of Endicott Award

Endicott Award Program Honors the Achievement

ENDICOTT May 1, 2020 — Robilotti has been selected for the 2020 Best of Endicott Award in the Beauty Salons category by the Endicott Award Program.

Each year, the Endicott Award Program identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Endicott area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2020 Endicott Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Endicott Award Program and data provided by third parties.

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Choose to Recirculate Rather Than Accumulate

I live in a circle of a flowing exchange of energy.  Literally.  Within a 2 mile radius I conduct the majority of my business with approximately 9 other mostly small businesses.  One day while making my rounds, on foot no less because it is all so close, I came to an incredible realization.  Each of these companies does business with each of the others (with the exception of the beauty supply store!).  One purchases from me and I spend that money at another of us and so on.  We totally support one another at an up close and personal level.  How cool is that???  When the s__t hits the fan on a large scale, we have a way better chance of survival by taking care of each other in this way.  Even the energy I expend on my walk I refill with lunch at a nearby diner!

“To have and not give is often worse than to steal.” is one of my favorite quotes (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, writer).  Think about it.  If our hand is tightly closed it is not open to give.  Anything more than what we truly need is wasted.  What good does accumulating anything really do?  It eventually leads to a dead end, and ironically, an empty life.  So the next time you bring home some “new to you” clothes, give away some others to be “new” to someone else.  If someone makes an especially large purchase in your store, pay it forward by giving a server an extra big tip.  And on it goes; who will be touched we may never know.  And it sure gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling when I share.  Because of this I will never be rich in dollars.  And that’s just fine with me!