Thank you, Work Smart Lifestyle and nearly 150 other bloggers from around the world for allowing me to share a story with you today, during Social Media Week.

A hungry child in East Africa can’t wait. Her hunger consumes her while we decide if we’ll respond and save her life. In Somalia, children are stumbling along for days, even weeks, on dangerous roads and with empty stomachs in search of food and water. Their crops failed for the third year in a row. All their animals died. They lost everything. Thousands are dying along the road before they find help in refugee camps.

At my house, when my three children are hungry, they wait minutes for food, maybe an hour if dinner is approaching. Children affected by the food crisis in in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia aren’t so lucky. Did you know that the worst drought in 60 years is ravaging whole countries right now, as you read this? Famine, a term not used lightly, has been declared in Somalia. This is the world’s first famine in 20 years.12.4 million people are in need of emergency assistance and over 29,000 children have died in the last three months alone. A child is dying every 5 minutes. It it estimated that 750,000 people could die before this famine is over. Take a moment and let that settle in.

The media plays a major role in disasters. They have the power to draw the attention of society to respond–or not. Unfortunately, this horrific disaster has become merely a footnote in most national media outlets. News of the U.S. national debt squabble and the latest celebrity’s baby bump dominate headlines. That is why I am thrilled that nearly 150 bloggers from all over the world are joining together today to use the power of social media to make their own headlines; to share the urgent need of the almost forgotten with their blog readers. Humans have the capacity to care deeply for those who are suffering, but in a situation like this when the numbers are too huge to grasp and the people so far away, we often feel like the little we can do will be a drop in the ocean, and don’t do anything at all.

When news of the famine first hit the news in late July, I selfishly avoided it. I didn’t want to read about it or hear about it because I knew I would feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. I wanted to protect myself. I knew I would need to do something if I knew what was really happening. You see, this food crisis is personal. I have a 4-year-old son and a 1 yr-old daughter who were adopted from Ethiopia and born in regions now affected by the drought. If my children still lived in their home villages, they would be two of the 12.4 million. My children: extremely hungry and malnourished? Gulp. I think any one of us would do anything we could for our hungry child. But would you do something for another mother’s hungry child?

My friend and World Vision staffer, Jon Warren, was recently in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya–the largest refugee camp in the world with over 400,000 people. He told me the story of Isnino Siyat, 22, a mother who walked for 10 days and nights with her husband, 1 yr-old-baby, Suleiman, and 4 yr.-old son Adan Hussein, fleeing the drought in Somalia. When she arrived at Dadaab, she built the family a shelter with borrowed materials while carrying her baby on her back. Even her dress is borrowed. As she sat in the shelter on her second night in camp she told Jon, “I left because of hunger. It is a very horrible drought which finished both our livestock and our farm.” The family lost their 5 cows and 10 goats one by one over 3 months, as grazing lands dried up. “We don’t have enough food now…our food is finished. I am really worried about the future of my children and myself if the situation continues.”

Will you help a child like Baby Suleiman? Ask5for5 is a dream built upon the belief that you will.

That something I knew I would need to do became a campaign called #Ask5for5 to raise awareness and funds for famine and drought victims. The concept is simple, give $5 and ask five of your friends to give $5, and then they each ask five of their friends to give $5 and so on–in nine generations of 5x5x5…we could raise $2.4 Million! In one month, over 750 people have donated over $25,000! I set up a fundraiser at See Your Impact and 100% of the funds will go to World Vision, an organization that has been fighting hunger in the Horn of Africa for decades and will continue long after this famine has ended. Donations can multiply up to 5 times in impact by government grants to
help provide emergency food, clean water, agricultural support,
healthcare, and other vital assistance to children and families suffering in the Horn.

I need you to help me save lives. It’s so so simple; here’s what you need to do:

1. Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)
2. Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.
3. Share #Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter!

I’m looking for another 100 bloggers to share this post on their blogs throughout Social Media Week. Email me at ask5for5@gmail.com if you’re interested in participating this week.

A hungry child doesn’t wait. She doesn’t wait for us to finish the other things on our to-do list, or get to it next month when we might have a little more money to give. She doesn’t wait for us to decide if she’s important enough to deserve a response. She will only wait as long as her weakened little body will hold on…please respond now and help save her life. Ask 5 for 5.

Thank you on behalf of all of those who will be helped–you are saving lives and changing history.
p.s. Please don’t move on to the next website before you donate and email your friends right now. It only takes 5 minutes and just $5, and if you’re life is busy like mine, you probably won’t get back to it later. Let’s not be a generation that ignores hundreds of thousands of starving people, instead let’s leave a legacy of compassion. You have the opportunity to save a life today!

Sara Bingham

Brooklin, Ontario

Astrological Sign: Aries

# of children: 2

Ages:  8 and 10 years old

Favorite Business Book: Currently Mom Inc. by Amy Ballon & Danielle Botterell

Favorite Family Book: still love “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed” by Helen Cooper

Favorite Quote: “There are no hands so small that they cannot make a difference in the world.” – Author Unknown

1. What inspired you to start your business? My own children and my love of language inspired me to start my business. After my son, was born I was searching for work that I could do from home and it was important to me to be sure that that work focused on helping children’s language development.  With a focus on teaching language through the use of sign language with young children, I’ve been able to do just that.

2. What is your biggest productivity secret—the thing that helps you accomplish the most in your day? It’s not really a secret and it pretty simple but it’s easy to get distracted from it.  I have my business plan completed and each day, I have a to-do list with items only that contribute to that business plan.  Of course, some times my to-do list for the day turns into a to-do list for the week!  Having my goals clearly written out and on display helps me focus when the phone and the internet bring so many distractions!

3. Do you feel that your business is giving you the lifestyle of your dreams today? The answer to this questions is both ‘yes’ and ‘I’m getting there’. I started WeeHands to stay at home and be with my kids…now that they are in school; I love that if I get a phone call I can be there for them in about 5 minutes.  At the same time when they get off the bus, I shut down or slow down the work that I’m doing. I’d like to be able to do more and develop WeeHands more but I know that time will come in a few years when the kids are older. It’s a balance of what my business needs and what my kids need right now.

4. What was the tipping point for you when you realized you were truly an entrepreneur? Hmmm? There have been a few points: (1) when I realized that people are actually contacting me from across North America to teach with WeeHands; (2) when I was asked to write The Baby Signing Book and (3) each time I speak at conferences and people tell me they want more WeeHands products and classes!

5. How would you describe your purpose in life, in one word? Communicator

6.  Where do you find your greatest source of support for your goals? The families that I’m in touch with. Throughout the years I’ve had families who’ve taken WeeHands classes stop me in parking lots and coffee shops years after they took a WeeHands class to thank me. One mom to a little one with Down syndrome thanked me after a class and said, “Sara, this is the first normal thing I’ve done with my baby”.

Recently the families and children involved in our first DVD’s production inspired me even further. Five of the children on “WeeHands At Home” are Deaf. Most of the behind camera crew were Deaf as well. One of the moms on set emailed me later to tell me she drove home crying because her 4-year old son (a triplet) is, “the most profoundly deaf of his siblings and people usually feel sorry for him the most…and he just appeared in a children’s music DVD!

7. What do you do to recharge your spiritual batteries? Finding me time…whether it’s reading, getting my hair done, getting a massage.  A mom needs to take care of herself and recharge!

8. What is one thing you cannot live without? If you saw my hair you’d know why…conditioner!

9. iPhone or Blackberry? Blackberry! I’d really like to try to the new Blackberry Torch. My kids have iTouch’s and my husband has an iPhone but I think BB’s are better business tools. It’d be fun to have both a new Torch and new iPhone to be able to test and compare wouldn’t it!

10. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate! Mmmm, chocolate. Except regarding ice cream, for some reason I can’t stand chocolate ice cream and French Vanilla is my fave.

11. PC or Mac? My PC laptop. I’ve always worked on PC and my husband’s Mac confuses me. I’d love to try a Mac for video editing though!

12. Which do you do most often? Eat out, Order in, or Cook it? Most often, I cook but I do LOVE to eat out!

13. Who is your biggest supporter? My daughter. She’s in grade three and each year they do a project of who they admire and what they want to when they grow up. I love that she picks me and that she wants to ‘do WeeHands’ when she grows up.

14. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I’d like to see WeeHands with many more products and many more certified Instructors. I see myself in an actual WeeHands office setting with staff! Can’t wait!

Name of Business: WeeHands

URL: http://www.weehands.com

Twitter Name: http://twitter.com/weehands

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/weehandsbabysignlanguage

The goal of a lifestyle business is to generate a minimum of active revenue and a maximum of passive revenue that is centered around your true passion and that allows you to live the life of your dreams.

For some, the passion piece is the challenge.  They just can’t figure out what they are passionate about or how to monetize the object/activities of their affection.

For others, they don’t know where to start with the passive revenue piece.  The information products they have created aren’t selling.  Their teleseminars are empty.  The only revenue they have coming in is from inconsistent direct client contact that doesn’t allow them the freedom they dream of.

Then there are those who have created businesses that are the farthest thing away from their true passions and they feel trapped.  Helpless.  Confused.  Not free.

If you are having a hard time creating a true lifestyle business, that generates enough revenue to sustain a family or at least pay the bills… this 30 minute presentation will explain 2 forms of revenue (affiliate and network marketing)  that will allow you to build alternative revenue streams into your business that will truly set you up to achieve the wealth, health and happiness that you dream of.

If you have ever wondered if MLMs or network marketing really work, watch this video.

If you have never been able to make money through affiliate marketing, watch this video.

If you just want to know how to grow some passive revenue streams, you guessed it…

Watch This Video.

This video is not selling any products or pushing any programs.  In fact, it is just a 30 minute presentation that I probably SHOULD be generating revenue from, but I wanted to share this with you to give you the answers you need.  If you have any thoughts, tips or questions, please share them in the comments!

No one ever tells you to incorporate your health into your business, but it plays a HUGE role in your life, so it’s time that we all create a system to build optimal health that supports our entrepreneurial journey. Today I am here to say that if you want to be successful, your health is one system that you must integrate into your business.

Watch this video for a quick and easy tip that will help you to build a system around your health that will have a positive effect on your business and your life.

For more tips on health for yourself and your family, join me every Tuesday night at 6pm PST/9pm EST on the Healthy Moms Healthy Babies webinar and the #HealthyMomsChat where we discuss diet, fitness, mindset and other important topics related to your health. And if you are interested in learning more about the nutritional supplements that have made a huge difference in my life and that have changed my mindset on health, click here.

Don’t forget to leave your thoughts on health and your business below!  I’d love to know what you think about the idea of creating a health system for your business!

Christa MacLellan

City and State: Toronto, ON

Astrological Sign: Capricorn

# of children: 1

Ages: 4 months

Favorite Business Book: 30 Days to Wealth by Leanne Grechulk

Favorite Family Book: Unstoppable Me!: 10 Ways to Soar Through Life by Wayne Dyer

Favorite Quote: “We are all meant to shine, as children do.” -  Marianne Williamson

1. Which came first: the biz or the kid? the biz

2. What is your biggest productivity secret- the thing that helps you accomplish the most in your day? On a post it note I write down the 3 most important things that I want to accomplish that day and no matter how my day goes I cross those 3 things off. We all have crazy to-do lists and big ambitions, but there is always 3 important things to complete that when you do you will feel accomplished!

3.  How well do you feel you are balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship?  Any tips? I’m still very new at this, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. I better wait before I give any pointers, ha ha!

4. What was the tipping point for you when you realized you were truly an entrepreneur? When we bought our first home on the income from our business.

5. What one word describes your purpose in your family, your biz and your life? Nurture

6. Where do you find your greatest source of support for your goals in your family, business and life? Her name is Leanne Grechulk, love her to pieces. She is my mentor and most trusted coach on every level.

7.  What do you do to recharge your spiritual batteries? I like church on Sundays, I try different churches and religions all the time. Joel Osteen is great for a lazy Sunday morning on the couch. A long walk by yourself in nature works too! I also love HayHouse radio which I listen to on my iPhone. Right now I’m reading The Path of Practice which is a great spiritual read about ancient healing and taking care of the whole self. I could go on and on, but yoga is also a very important part of my life and my spiritual practice.

8.  One thing you can’t live without: Love.

9. iPhone or Blackberry? iPhone!

10. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla

11.  PC or Mac? MAC!

12.  Which do you do most often: Eat out, Order In or Cook it yourself? Cook myself

13.  Who is your biggest supporter? My mom

14.  Who is your greatest inspiration? My Nana

15.  What do you see yourself doing in 5 years? Empowering women to shine through it all with self healing and nurturing. I will be a speaker and coach traveling the world helping as many people as I can reach. I also hope to return in Africa to do more community work as a family.

Name of Business/es: Petite Fashionista, author of Blogging Your Way to the Top, Business Developer with Usana Health Sciences, and up next…. Shine Sister (my next project)

URL/s:

http://www.petitefashionista.com

http://www.bloggingtothetop.com

http://christajean.usana.com

We all KNOW that we need to eat a healthy diet with lots of fruits and veggies and not so much sugar and not too much excess… We are moms after all and we know about nutrition!  Right?

I certainly know how to tell my kids to eat their broccoli and take their vitamins. But… am I doing it myself?

Kids are much more likely to develop lifelong healthy eating and living habits when they have a parent to role model this behavior for them.

But, we are talking about wealth and health here.  So, have you ever stopped to think that the food you eat could be affecting your performance not only in business but in life?  In this video, I share with you (a fellow busy parent) just one simple thing you can do to start your day right and that will give you the fuel you need to charge through your day toward the health and wealth you desire!

Now, this simple action item I gave you in this video can be a catalyst for gradual change in the way that you look at nutrition which may ultimately benefit your life.

…Or it may be something you shrug off as something you already know.   My hope is that this video triggers a little voice inside your head that helps you see that everything you do- whether it is eating, exercising, meditating, getting enough sleep, or living in denial- is directly related to results you achieve.  So, why not give everything you do your best shot?

Now, I only covered one simple tip and I am sure that YOU have some stories to share or ideas about other ways that nutrition affects our wealth and health building activities, so please share in the comments!   Thanks so much for popping by.

As much as I hate to admit it… I have never loved to exercise.  I’ve taken yoga classes, bought gym memberships, walked the neighborhood, run the SF hills… but it just isn’t easy.  As much as I’ve tried to like it… exercise just isn’t my favorite thing.  Yes, I know it is something that I need to do so that I can feel good and live a long and healthy life.

The funny thing is that I know I am not alone in this struggle to actually get to the gym.  So many moms out there want to work out, but they think they don’t have time or energy or blah blah blah.  Excuses, excuses. (I know, I have used them all!)

TODAY, I DISCOVERED A NEW REASON TO EXERCISE THAT MAKES ME WANT TO WORK OUT!

Halle-freakin-luhia!  At 9am this morning, I got a text from a friend of mine asking me to join her at a yoga sculpting class.  My gut response was ‘yes!’  So, I had to run with it.  Now, watch this video to find out why I’m going to be doing yoga, eating well, exercising and living healthy for the success of my business!

Now, what do you think?  Want to join me in getting healthy so we can not only get in shape and feel good, but so that we can build our businesses and create wealth?  What do you think?

Watch this very informative presentation for moms about the value of teaching your baby to communicate through sign language by the adorable mompreneur (to be), Christa Jean.

So, what do you think?

Have you ever tried baby signs with your child?

…And?

How did it go?

Can you give parents tips on teaching their baby to sign?

Did you feel that you empowered your child?

Are you just curious about how baby signing works?

Or do you think it is all a load of bunk?

Comments please…

thanks.

Healthy Moms Healthy Babies Presents… 5 Reasons to Sign with your Baby! from Christa Jean on Vimeo.