Anyway I was there for training and had a great time.  Met some new people who are excited to challenge themselves but raise more awareness for this great cause.  What was kinda cool to be honest was when they were talking about the sponsors for this event and they mentioned Amway Global was the National Supporting Sponsor.  When I checked in they asked how I heard about The Drop Zone and I said through Amway Global and they said oh really.  Told them I was an IBO and they were a bit taken back. LOL Funny how people react sometimes.  Amway Global is getting their name out a bit more now since they did have a lull.  It’s great to see a company give back to great causes.  I don’t see the company I work for’s name on there! 

Something I realized today was by raising money for this great charity is that I am sorta living one of my goals of building this business.  We have a goal to give a lot more money to charities we support.  I can tell you in the last 10 years of working I hardly donate because why? I cannot afford to.  It’s also what I’m seeing a lot of when I ask for donations.  People avoid it like the plague. Not that I want to pressure people into making donations but the fact of the matter is people cannot afford to donate or they donate only to one charity a year and that’s it. To be honest that’s pathetic, a should be giving back WAY more then we are.  ESPECIALLY if we draw off those charities. One of my goals like I said was to donate more money to charities and we will be able to do that through what we are creating.  I’m pumped to be to do that in the not to distant future.  So raising more money for Easter Seals has been pretty awesome as we are around the $900 mark.  Still working hard to get that $1500 so I can complete the Drop Zone so if you’re able to donate that would be awesome!

September 7th, I’ll be rappelling! 

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=2692229

So while we were having dinner with them we were talking on how people are successful in the finance  world and how hard it actually is.  He said very few actually make decent money where they don’t have to go against principals or morals.  They are by no means wealthy beyond means however they are pretty successful and it took them 4-5 years of nose to the grindstone and having that short term pain for long term gain mentality.  They basically had the whatever it takes mentality. Hmm sounds familiar.  I can respect people like that, people who despite everything stand on principal no matter what.

Recently another blog called Amthrax wrote a blog entry on Realism, Friendship and 0.0035% and while it was a pretty good article on a few notes, I was thinking about it today in how the success rate somewhat applies to this couples business and really how success rates really apply to any entrepreneurial undertaking.  The finance world is very tough and very cut throat, people are actually out to discredit you, throw you under the bus just to get ahead.  Being a successful financial advisor on your own is very tough but people do make it.  I don’t think they have quite the same success/failure rate that we do however I’d rather take what we do any day over what they have to go through.  We build business with integrity, morals and stand on some pretty awesome principals, the same cannot be said for the financial world.  One of our cardinal rules is “Don’t mess with anyone’s money” and we take that VERY serious.  Finance world… not so much.

I’ve picked on the financial advisor world a bit however I could pick on any entrepreneurial business as a lot of business’s fail and some succeed.  Everyone has their own percentages and everyone has their own little quirks.  There are negative and positive about every business out there whether it’s the Amway Global business or some Financial Advisor Business to the Pink Lovey Dovey Rabbit Company that only promotes the love of rabbits (not sure where that came from), but everything has it’s own success and failure rate.  What I think is the true measure of success, is when people despite the odds, despite the negative, despite all the naysayers, rise to the top and lay claim to the hard work and effort that was put into whatever endeavour they were trying to overcome.  That’s what I think success is.

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Please check out these other all-star bloggers in the 2010 Summer Blogging Challenge. Cliff – Peer Pressure Works, Chad – The Grind, Kelly – ‘Round the Bend, Kim – In Desperate Need of Entertainment, Kyle – Teacher, Tinkerer, Farmer, Geek, Liam – In the Now, Brad – Kick Me Out Soon, Tammy – Tam I am, Erron – From The Inside Looking In, James – Feelings of White, Vlad – Analog Coast, Janine - Because

Here is a great article I came across today on Fortune 500 Magazine’s website in regards to how Amway has continued to grow over time despite the economic downturn.  Currently the direct selling model is just booming in China right now as it has in other places like Korea.  They are looking at taking this successful practice to places like India, Thailand and Malasia.   Check the article out here or click on the picture.

Sears Canada will be joining before Christmas, there is no exact date but we were told before Christmas.  That a pretty cool and reputable company there that’s been around for ages.

Future Shop will be joining around spring of next year.  I thought Best Buy would be first but apparently not.  Doesn’t matter because they are both owned by the same company.  And if you wait just a bit longer later on in 2011 Best Buy will be joining us here in Canada.

Both Sears and Best Buy are already partner stores in the United States and I think that’s some pretty powerful stuff.  These companies want to join with Amway Global because they know the amount of traffic that goes through Amway Global and they want to join in on that.

Also heard that XS Classic Blast (For the people who like the Red Bull taste) will be coming to Canada soon as well as XS Shots.

Make sure to check the Amway Global dashboard for an official announcement but still some sweet news.

There is always the risk of unaccountable, non-integrous  people out there that give Network Marketing a bad name.  I suggest that you do your research from credible sites (not blogs, even mine), such as better business bureau and other reputable resources and make a properly educated decision before going into business with someone.  Network Marketing is a people business and while dealing with people can be an awesome thing, it can also be a disaster if working with sketchy people. 

What I find awesome about the company we contract with, Amway Global, is the fact they have a high standard for the impact they have on the environment.  The packaging materials we get are all recyclable and biodegradable.  How cool is that?

I work in IT and every day receive a ton of packaging from companies like Dell, IBM, etc.. and NONE of them have any consideration for the environment.  I don’t even think the cardboard boxes are recyclable.  I could be wrong, however I know the packaging inside the box is not especially the foam.

Amway Global has a few things that really stand out:

1. The cardboard is made from post consume products and is recyclable.
2. The packing peanuts as you’ll see in the video below are made from cornstarch and can be washed down the drain, eaten, or thrown out where they will dissolve and won’t hurt the environment or landfills
3. The air bags that stop the product from moving around or being damanged is bio-degradable as you’ll see in the picture. I’ve never seen this with any other company to date.  It may be out there but I’ve not seen it yet. 
4. They are one of 2 companies that have won the United Nations Environmental Protection Award for their cleaning products that have been green and save for the environment for over 50 years.  This award is typically given to countries not companies.  Goodyear is the other company for recycling tires.

I don’t know about you but as an avid outdoor enthusiast I’m pretty big on the impact we have on our environment and I’d much rather partner with a company that takes this type of commitment and seriousness to heart.  Depending on your values, what kind of company are you supporting? 

Bio-Degradable Packing Peanuts

I can take the whatever it takes mentality Chris had and apply that directly to what we are doing.  We are in our own Pursuit of Happiness so to speak.  We are putting our nose to the grindstone and building our future right now.  We are seeing a lot of success and more importantly we are seeing success’s in our team.  We may not be rolling in the cash right now, but with the continued hard work we will be and we will be able to make huge impacts, possibly like what Chris does.  That’s our goal.

I think everyone has their own pursuit of happiness, it may not be exactly what we are doing, but everyone has their own story of what it took/takes to become successful.  I love listening to the different stories out there of how people become successful.  If you want to be successful you need to get around these successful people. 

Last year at the Amway Global Achievers Incentive Trip, Chris Gardner spoke to everyone there.  While we were not there, I did check out some of the videos that people did post.  Such an amazing speaker.  Check it out

Spring Leadership is one of 4 major functions that we choose to attend not because there is a gun to our heads saying we HAVE to attend, but because we feel it’s worth it to get around the amazing leadership, the awesome teachings from someone such as John Maxwell which is one of the best speakers on leadership.  There will be other leaders in what we do speaking and teaching on their success and their story. 

What I’m really excited about is our coaches will be speaking in front of 10,000 people as well as a few other people from Alberta.  When I say Alberta, Canada is a booming market, the strongest and fastest market in all of World Wide Group, I’m not kidding.  There is a reason for that.  Mike and Brandie Wagner are one of the major reasons for that and I am honored to be coached by them who are new Emeralds. They are building business in a way that is unseen in World Wide and Amway Global.  This is just one of the reasons as to why I love what we are doing and why all the negative out there really doesn’t phase me in the least.  We are doing things with integrity and that is what is going to change the face of what we do.  Just wait.

So yeah back to Spring Leadership I am pumped for it because this will be the first Major Function besides Dream Night that we will be sitting on the floor because we achieved the level of Eagle.  That means no more lining up hours before hand and then racing down the stairs to get good seat as so many people have done before.  I’m pumped to just get some motivation, some positivity, some association and some teaching that we will apply to our business and continue to make it larger through integrity and great friendship.

I hope for those who are reading this and are actually in the business you experience Spring Leadership for your own reasons and are not forced or made to feel guilty about it.  If you do go, ENJOY it!

EDIT: Just realized it’s the following weekend not next!  Must be excited.

I really think people don’t fully understand what we do here in Alberta.  I don’t mean to put anyone else down by any means but I think what we do in Alberta is quite different then what others have done in the past and what people even do today.  You have to keep in mind that Amway Global and World Wide Group are neutral companies, it’s the PEOPLE that end up giving them a bad name.  Yes there were a lot of douchebags in the past that ended up keeping people’s bonus’s and really doing bad things, but I can tell you that’s not the way Amway Global is these days or how World Wide Dreambuilders operate.  We build business with trust, friendship, honesty but most of all integrity.  We build business a bit slower then most of North America but it’s because we invest a lot of time into people to make sure there is a right fit and that they get all the information and are ready to accept the offer to go into business.  That process could take 4-5 weeks depending on the person.  So you cannot tell me we just “sign people up” because that’s a lie.  We want high quality people who want more out of life then what the average is currently giving them. These are those 2%’ers I talk about.  This is just part of how we build business here in Alberta.

You can read a ton of negative things on what we do, but I’ll tell you what, you’ll find negative stuff about just about anything. Mother Teresa, The Pope, Obama, Canadian Tire, Any Successful Company, etc… You’ll find negative for just about anything if your looking for it.  Google is the bathroom wall of the world.  If you look you’ll also find positive,  which is one of the reasons why I decided to write this blog.

This blog is about my personal experiences with World Wide Dreambuilders and Amway Global, two companies that we choose to contract with.  Amway Global doesn’t give us the training and mentorship at all, they give us a membership and say thanks, see ya later.  World Wide Dreambuilders is a company we choose to use for training and mentorship through a business model.  The key word is we choose to.  Are we held at gun point and told to buy this tool or that tool or do this or do that? No.  LOL.  We are free people who choose to do what we think is best for our organization.  We’ve seen the people before us, the people that directly coach and mentor us and what they’ve achieved.  We’ve also see the kinds of marriages, the kinds of relationships and the kind of personal growth they’ve had and we choose to associate with that because WE LIKE WHAT WE SEE.  I love treating my wife like she is a queen, I love serving my wife and reading a book that helps me understand her love language so that I can serve her better.  Was our relationship bad before?  No, it was/is a good relationship, however I don’t want average, I don’t want just good, I want GREAT, I want an amazing relationship and I see that with every person that is coaching and mentoring us in this business.  This is just one prime example of what World Wide Dreambuilders has given us.  I would be willing to pay a hell of a lot more for what we get out of this.  An amazing marriage for one thing is priceless. 

Trust me, there is negative everywhere in life, you will always be surounded by it and you need to make a choice of what you do to deal with it.  I try to be a positive influence on the people who read this blog and the people I come in contact with. It’s something that I have to continually work at because I was one of those negative, skeptical, ignorant people out there that used to write bad things about companies and alike.  I’ve since learnt that got me nowhere and I was never moving ahead.  Now I can happily say I am moving forward in so many different ways that negativity just doesn’t phase me.  Say what you will