Hi! My name is Debbie Oser, founder of Keeping it Positive.  Our company was started, and is still growing, on the mindset of thinking POSITIVE, and never giving up!

I started Keeping it Positive after an experience I had with my older son… The summer of 2007, I started saying Positive Affirmations to my two sons every night (then 3 and 5), hoping to give them the Confidence and Self-Assurance they need as they go through school, making friends, learning and doing activities, etc!

I wasn’t sure the affirmations were “sinking in”… until one day at the playground, when my older son stopped me from helping him  by saying, “No, Mom, I don’t need you… I can do anything I put my mind to!”

I was so excited to hear that the Affirmations we had been saying every night were truly making him more confident, that I wanted to spread this Positive message to ALL kids, and adults, everywhere… and Keeping it Positive was born!

I had decided that my first product was going to be a Pillowcase with Positive Affirmations, as it’s right there when you go to bed, and wake up, and contains ALL the Confidence-Building Affirmations right on the product in front of you, not only to see and touch, but to mentally say everyday.

In trying to start this business, and actually create a product… I had researched companies and called people for what seemed like forever! These lists of people that I would talk to were not always so encouraging and positive.  And though, mentally draining… I was determined to succeed, and continued this researching quest! To find the right material Pillowcases I was looking for was surprisingly very difficult. And many of the screen printers that I had spoken to about printing the affirmations onto the Pillowcases would tell me that it couldn’t be done in the size and colors that I needed!

I knew that I was NOT giving up, and if these people couldn’t do the job for me… then I would keep calling until I found someone who COULD! And sure enough, after months of time, energy and focus… I DID find the Pillowcases, and the right screen printer who said “yes”… and I finally had my product – my Pleasant Dreamz Positive Affirmation Pillowcases!

Another obstacle in this process was to try to keep “nay-sayers” at a distance… not everyone encourages you to pursue your “dream,” or try to start a business.  And no matter who is telling you not to do something, or you can’t do it, or just to give up… you MUST always tell yourself to ignore these negative thoughts/people, and you must be your own biggest supporter! This is exactly what I did with my own daily affirmations… and it worked, and still works to this day!

Our goal with these products is to have ALL children, and adults, know that if they BELIEVE in themselves, and KNOW that they CAN do it… they WILL Succeed at anything they put their mind to!

Everybody could benefit from a daily “dose” of confidence, and encouragement… and we truly do believe whatever we tell ourselves… so make sure it’s POSITIVE!

SEE it, SAY it, BELIEVE it…. and it WILL happen!

Just thought I’d share this insightful and inspiring message once spoken by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  Enjoy your Christmas day with your family and friends as well as the upcoming new year.  Hoping 2010 will be your most gratifying year yet!!

THE FINAL ANALYSIS

People are often unreasonable, illogical

and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway,

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish,

ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends

and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,

someone may destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, People will forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,

and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,

it is all between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa of Calcutta-

One aspect of business that has always fascinated me is the role God plays in the lives of entrepreneurs.  What’s apparent is that there is an abundance of inventors and entrepreneurs that believe their concepts, ideas and business all owe God the credit.  What is more interesting is how little this is made known to the general public.   It seems that those entrepreneurs that hold a strong faith in God often only insinuate His role in the process.  I am not just talking about fellow inventors on Yak About It or other business people I have met along the way, I am also referring to myself.  I truly believe my given talents, drive, people I have been blessed to meet and business situations were all guided by God’s hand.  I have had the free will to use my talents, meet great people or take an opportunity, but it is the presence of these sources that point to the fact God must be present.  There are so many occurrences in my life and business that I would have never even prayed for, yet they occurred and I am FAR better off because of these happenings.  The glory should be given to God.

This all leads me back to the question of :                                                                                      ”Why is God (or discussing God) politically incorrect?  Why does it offend or turn people off?

1.) Perhaps it is politically incorrect because we are so afraid of alienating those who don’t believe in God.  This I feel might be the worst reason of all.  For those who don’t believe in God I certainly don’t want to hold up against a wall and force them to accept God, but it is these very people I hope to reach with my message of God’s power in our everyday lives.  It is for those that don’t believe that hearing of God’s work is most important. Once again it’s not about forcing a belief, but rather not being afraid to share the strength God has provided in our everyday lives.

2.) Perhaps it is politically incorrect because those that hear you talk of God think that you feel you are better or ’special’.  Of course if people who did mention or credit God really felt they were better or ‘special’ that would be disturbing, but perhaps in general maybe people get turned off because that is how they want to view those who speak of faith.   This reason could be the unfortunate truth that a few spoiled it for the whole.  I hope this is not the case and that this reason for offending can be set aside.

3.) Perhaps it is politically incorrect because many people feel giving God the credit is a cop out.  If God is present in everything then giving Him the credit for certain entrepreneurial happenings is a ‘lame’ answer.  A good friend of mine who happens to be atheist once said when I asked him where he turns for guidance in his business troubles, “I say self, let’s do this,.. ‘self’ what do I need to do?.. and before I know it ‘self’ comes up with a solution”.  I think it could be considered more ‘lame’ that ’self’ or our own great genius is what guides us in business.  I think God’s role is often clear and should be more politically correct than how great or how smart any one person thinks they are.

Perhaps the real subconscious reasons as to why God’s role in our inventions, business and entrepreneurial efforts remains a quieter secret will never be known, but I hope that it can be a more free and accepted topic as the world evolves.

My last take on this topic is that just like anything it can be over-done.  No one wants to hear how God helps you email.  The other side of it is that their are steps in the entrepreneurial journey that others can learn from so while giving God credit is good we must provide the business content for others to reap the rewards of mistakes and successes of our past entrepreneurial ventures.

My older brother asked me that question at the start of my entrepreneurial journey and it’s stuck with me the whole way. It’s been a long road so far with setbacks and times where you fundamentally doubt whether the path you are taking is the correct one but that single question seems to make everything easier and more manageable; clearer and finer focused; far more creative and really…just downright more fun.

Think about it. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

I’ve learnt to keep the sentiment behind that question fresh in my mind and it has opened doors for me and given me the confidence to do things I otherwise may not have done. It also eases the long nights spent (and there will be many long nights!) trying to get things just right.

I’ve also learnt the value of talking to anyone and everyone that will listen about your idea, product, startup or business. People are generally helpful and if you are thoroughly excited about your idea they will inherently want it to succeed themselves. You will find all sorts of people come out of the woodwork with ideas and offers to make what you’re doing work.

Have you always been interested in something but couldn’t picture what success would be like? Are you stuck in a job you hate but have a passion for something else? Do you have vast knowledge about a subject or hobby that sets you apart from others?

Do you know what you would do if you couldn’t fail?

About: Photoswarm is the answer to the above questions for me. I’ve always been keen on photography and wanted to offer users photo website that is slick, simple, social and gives pro users their own www.yourname.com domain name with a minimum of technical knowledge. You can try one out for free! www.photoswarm.com

Story: Will Jennings is an electrician and keen photographer and his business partner Aidan is a web developer. They both were not really happy with what the market was offering as far as photo websites as they felt there wasn’t anything that made it simple and seamless to obtain your own www.yourname.com domain name (URL) so they decided to take the entrepreneurial route and build something themselves.  Like all entrepreneurs the process has included long nights and early mornings, but the thrills of bringing to life an original concept has been worth every second.