Reut Mark has a family & friends all over Israel & the world, and she loves seeing them often. She also loves visiting new places and networking. To be able to do all these she is working from home in various programs & companies.
[audio:http://learnoutlive.com/wp-content/audio/reut.mp3]
Shalom Reut, we are happy to host you here at Learnoutlive and to learn form your experience of maintainting and suataining an online lifestyle. We are glad you could find sometime to share this interview with us.
You are running an online business, working also from home, did it change your relation to work and if it did, how ?
My main business is not really an online business, but I do use many of the options and tools that the internet, email, social media and so on have to offer. It has been my dream for a long time to work from home. I suppose many of you can understand the reasons for this, but let me mention just a few:Watching the traffic jams on my TV rather than being a part of them every morning and evening.
Having a good boss (That’s me!!!)
Being able to earn as much as I want (well, it takes time, but it depends ON ME!!!
Working only with nice people – yes, I can choose them now! Helping other people to become healthier and financially secure. And yes, it did indeed change my relation with work.
Let’s be honest – although I can not sleep until lunchtime and do next to nothing and still earn, I CAN decide when to get up, and sometimes to sleep a bit later. And except for the times when I am meeting other people, I decide what I do and when, and also how. It is not easy. There is so much to learn, and I need a lot of self discipline but it’s worth every minute of it.
After trying a few companies and deciding what I want and what I don’t want, I looked and asked around and found a company that fits all my requirements and I am very happy there. I get all the support I need but I am totally independent, and no one can fire me. (Forever Living Products, an MLM company that produces and markets Aloe Vera and organic bee products.)
So now I am learning how to be a good boss (to myself!), how to build and support my team, I learn about marketing, the products, nutrition, health, running a business, people!!!
I am very busy and very very excited. And I am learning and developing all the time.
Oh yes – now I do LOVE my work, I wake up excited every morning, not dreading another day but looking forward to it.
How does social media change the way you relate to people?
The internet in general and social media in particular changed me quite drastically. From an introverted, reserved person who is afraid to open her mouth, I can now quite easily start communicating with even complete strangers (I do remember though to be careful!!).
I got to know many people from all over the country and the world, I learned to sort of decide quite quickly which are “the good ones” and which ones I’d rather have nothing to do with.
I believe that I rely far less on stereotypes, and rather try to judge every person as a human being, unrelated to their age, nationality, religion, political views…
OK OK, there ARE some people I can’t stand, but hey – there are so many people out there, I can happily choose those that I like, those that interest me. I have become real friends with some people I haven’t yet met face to face, hopefully I’ll get to meet some of them, I already did meet a few.
You lived 16 years in South Africa, in what way this period developed in you a global perspective?
Having lived in South Africa for so long did indeed change my perspectives.
For one thing – I was literally living on the other side of the world….the Southern hemisphere, where winter is in summer and summer is in winter, where they drive “on the other side of the road”, where they speak another language (well rather MANY other languages), where there are so many different cultures.
For another – it improved my English to an almost mother-tongue level, thus opening for me the possibility to communicate with many more people than I previously could with just my Hebrew.
I obviously came into contact with many people of many kinds, most of which I never really met before in the relatively small Israel.
In South Africa there are people from many races (and during the Apartheid era it was something that could not really be totally ignored, even though I am generally apolitical), different religions, originating from many different parts of the world, speaking many different languages.
Naturally most of the time I was within the Jewish/Israeli communities, but while studying, working, shopping I came into contact with other people, realizing (again…) that people are people. They can be good or bad, clever or stupid, right or left etc, no matter where they were born and in what circumstances.
Many of our friends and relatives also emigrated while I was in South Africa, so I became exposed to even more places, time zones, life styles. Of course the internet, to which I first became exposed in 1998, opened for me even more worlds, time zones, countries, languages.
From your experience with people and networking, what massage would you like to deliver ?
My 2 main messages are:
1 – People are absolutely fascinating!!
2 – If you network a lot and come into contact with many people and groups, you can find just about anything you want.
Now let me clarify – of course not all people are good and interesting, but many many are.
And it makes no difference where they were born or where they live now – some will become good friends, most not, but hey – I can’t be friends with EVERYBODY in this world, so it’s OK!
And what do I mean by “finding anything you want”??
I personally found… some very good friends, parties and other events, business contacts, a personal coach, the company where I now work and am very happy with, training courses of many kinds…
I am sure I forgot many things, but you get the point – if you come into contact with enough people and groups, you WILL find many things that you need, want or are interested in.
It has been a pleasure talking to you, and I hope I did contribute something of interest, too.
