Tag Archives: YEG

Giving Back

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volunteerLast night was our Edmonton Regional where Mike and Barb Popovich came in to do some training during the afternoon and then in the evening, show what it is that we do by showing the plan and then they told their story and shared some successes they’ve had.  It’s also where we have the pin recognition where people cross stage at different PV levels.  Most pin crossings from what I’ve gathered are pretty quick maybe 15 minutes or so.  Our pin crossing this time was an hour plus!  So there is major growth in this area and as they say “the proof is in the pudding”.

What really impacted me from last night wasn’t the pin recognition, it wasn’t the training, it wasn’t the plan, it was Mike talking about how they give back on a constant basis.  That struck me big time because Lindsay and I feel the same way and we want to make sure we give back now and give back more when we make even more money.  There are many amazing things you can do with money, and that doesn’t make it evil.  Its what you do with it and we plan to do some pretty cool and impactful things even with what we have now.  I’ve already talked about some smaller things we’ve done on “Seeing Our Donation in Action”, and my current campaign for Easter Seals on my Drop Zone Page.  However I’m talking about doing some impactful things to people in need on a regular basis and not just waiting for certain organizations to do their fundraising drives.

See what I love about getting around the people we get to hang around with is that you start to open your mind to the possibilities that are out there.  The people I hang around with at work or even some of my closest friends don’t think about this kind of stuff.  Things like giving back to families that are unfortunate or kids that go without new clothes, underwear or shoes for years.  I know my current job allows me to live comfortable but doesn’t allow me to write a $5,000 cheque to needy family to put new clothes on their kids and get them some much needed supplies/food/etc… I know that when people are in debt themselves they rarely will look outwards and be more giving.  They will put any extra money on debt or just spend it frivolously. I’m really not doing justice to what I heard last night but we are going to impact communities with what we are building and that is worth fighting for and that is worth putting in the work to make this amazing business opportunity work. 

I’ve always been saying here that my main focus is my family and that’s why we build this business, but I’ve been adding in the giving back as a very very close second and that is a primary reason why we build this now.  Say what you will about his business, be it a “scam”, “pyramid scheme” (which are illegal by the way and 52 year old companies that make 9.2 Billion don’t get away with illegal operations in over 82 countries and partner with companies like Best Buy, Sears, and the Detroit Red Wings. I think their lawyers did more research about this company then what you did before joining with Amway.  Come on this isn’t the 70’s, take your head out of your…), or whatever else you want to say, my reason for building this far out weights your negative attitude towards what we do.  I’m building this to give back and help people achieve what it is they want to, be it giving back or whatever reason they want.  That is powerful and nobody can steal that away from us.

 

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Snowed In

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Well a pretty bad snow storm has taken the Edmonton area by storm. Oh I’m so funny!

All seriousness there is a lot of blowing snow mixed in with new falling snow and cooler temperatures have made for a pretty frustrating day for most people.  We launched a new business owner into business today and ended up getting stuck in a ton of snow outside their place.  Had to throw out the old rock the car back and forth trick.  20 minutes later and after a dig out by a friendly neighbour and I was free. 

Not sure how I’ll get to work tomorrow as the streets out side of our house are unsurpassable pretty much.  Oh well, that’s why we have remote login I guess.  Funny thing about this weather is how bad our drivers are here in Edmonton.  To be honest I believe we have the worst drivers in Canada, so much one of the TV stations, TLC (I think) has a show called Canada’s worst drivers. Anyway drivers around here are so bad they keep driving as if it’s dry pavement, speeding and just being careless.  Sometimes I wonder.

So as we almost pack it in for the night I’ll give you a few stats on how Edmonton clears it’s streets.

  • Currently there are 120 pieces of equipment clearing snow
  • There is over 4,000 KM’s or for our American friends that’s 2485.6 Miles
  • 120,000 tones of de-icing materials used on the roads and sidewalks each year
  • 80% of that is collected during spring and reused (that’s pretty cool)
  • Snow collected from the streets are taken to city snow storage facilities which have melt water ponds with lines to protect the ground water and soil from contaminants like salt, sand, antifreeze and engine oil.

Anyway for those reading in warm places or places where you get little to no snow, be thankful!

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View from my office this afternoon

Rappelling Training

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Rappel1 Today was the Easter Seals Drop Zone training at Edmonton’s Vertically Inclined Rock Climbing Gym.  I’ve been there a few times before as Lindsay and I took a 10 week training called ASPIRE.  It’s a great course and the gym is an amazing gym.  Takes you from a non-climber to someone that can lead climb.  Pretty sweet. 

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!  :) Rappel2

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! 

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Lindsay Now Free

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Today we freed Lindsay from her J.O.B where she no longer has to go back to work for another man.  She now has the freedom of choice to do what she wants. Since we made the decision 6 weeks ago it’s been a long 6 weeks but a great 6 weeks of excitement. 

While some people may not understand how a person at the age of 24 could retire, it really doesn’t matter.  We’ve made it happen.  Its making smart choices, getting out of debt, and creating an ongoing residual income on the side.  Yes we’ve done all of those things and because of it we’ve been able to free my wife so that she can live a life of choice instead of a life of being told what to do during those 8-9-10 hours a day. 

It’s been a pretty amazing day today.  We freed Lindsay at 2pm, showed up at her work and took her out of there.  Pretty much took maybe less than 5 minutes, didn’t want to spend anymore time in there then we had to.  We then headed for lunch with our coaches and mentors and a team member that wasn’t working today.  I don’t think it’s really set in for Lindsay right now because it just feels like a Friday where the weekend is here.  Even come Monday it will sink in only a little bit.  It will be a month before she really realizes what is going on and that she is free!

I’m really excited to start this new chapter in our life.  It’s going to be a great year coming up and we are speaking my freedom late Fall 2011 when we hit Double Eagle Ruby.  That’s the next goal and that’s when the big retirement party will happen.  When I retire is when it will really sink in for some people because there will be no more J.O.B. income, the income will be 100% Amway Global and that will be the largest impact.  This really does work and we’ve done it with integrity and without compromising our values or being “those Amway people”.  I’m pretty proud of the accomplishments we’ve made so far despite me being so negative at the start to the point we almost never did this.  I’m glad I could take my head out of my arse and actually make a educated decision.

To the next chapter…