Of course I’ve learned a lot of lessons from Oprah, (Who hasn’t?) Here are two lessons that I’ve put together to form something called Random Acts of Bling, which I will discuss later.

Lesson 1: I remember watching a show about America’s poor a few years ago. The women said over & over again that they felt invisible. This probably wouldn’t have been my biggest complaint, I would’ve been upset about not having running water in my house. However, this just goes to show what a horrible thing it is to feel like the world just doesn’t see you.

Lesson 2: I’ve heard Oprah say several times that what meant a lot to her was when some church ladies showed up at her door with a box of presents because they wouldn’t have had Christmas otherwise. Oprah recounted how this made her feel special & empowered. She tried to do the same thing when she had a Christmas in Africa, she took tiaras & baby dolls to kids who have probably never had a present before. She can’t fix all of the world’s problems but she can empower those who can.

My application: I’ve decided to start something called Random Acts of Bling. I can’t fix everything, but I can say, “Hey, life is hard, you are special, here is something shiny”. All you have to do is go to this weeks post to win a free tiara & leave a comment, trackback, or a link to a post on your own blog that demonstrates that humanity is pretty cool. The winner will be drawn at random on Thursday. Hopefully, I will be doing this every week. The winner can either keep the jewelry, or they can give it away to a random person, like a mom who’s kids are screaming in a restaurant. Everyone needs to be seen, & I’m trying to do my part. If you’d like, please feel free to grab the banner or code below & don’t forget to enter.

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Yes I have yet another business lesson from Gilmore Girls. What can I say? My business is important to me, Gilmore Girls is important to me, they tend to just meld together. Here are a few business lessons that I learned from Sookie.

It’s OK to be scattered brained. However, you need to align yourself with a partner who can take care of the details.

Trial runs are a great thing. Sookie always does run throughs for her recipes so she knows how things will work & she can perfect them.

Don’t cry when there’s an accident. Maintain your happy persona and come up with a backup plan.

Sookie is a fantastic chef because she doesn’t go by the cook, she tries new things & is constantly experimenting.

Most importantly, enjoy everything that you do and put as much thought and care into it as possible.

Mrs. Kim from Gilmore Girls may not seem like the obvious choice for a business mentor. However, there are a few, and very few things, that I’ve learned from her.

1. Be open to bartering. Know when your price is too high and be willing to sacrifice a little profit in order to make a sale.
   
2. Everything needs a story behind it. Granted, I wouldn’t recommend making up stories about General Sherman just to sell a desk but know where your products are coming from and be able to tell people why they should pay for it.
   
3. There are times in every business when you have to be tough, you have to be harsh. Just don’t be as harsh as Mrs. Kim. You don’t have to be rude to everyone. However, there are times where you have to take a stand.