Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Be A Trendsetter




Trendsetter-Someone who starts a new trend.

Most Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Most Americans are uneducated. Most Americans are either overweight, or obese. Most Americans dislike their jobs. Most Americans have abandoned their deams. Most Americans feel trapped in their current living conditions. Most Americans believe that the circumstances in their lives are outside of their control. Most Americans are followers.

Trendsetter-Someone who starts a new trend.

Today's post will be short, sweet, and right to the point: be a trendsetter.  Walk away from the 75%. Don't think their thoughts. Don't speak their language. Don't share their beliefs. Don't adopt their habits. Don't accept their lifestyles. Don't allow them to weigh you down with their negative expectations. Don't listen to their CRAP!

Trendsetter-Someone who starts a new trend.

You can become the NEW point of reference for your family. You can break that generational curse that has been handed down in your family from generation to generation. You can become the FIRST person in your family to earn a college degree. You can become the FIRST person in your family to own a business. You can become the FIRST person in your family to abstain from drugs and alcohol. You can become the FIRST person in your family that is fit, healthy, and in GREAT physical shape!

Trendsetter-Someone who starts a new trend.

Carve out your own space. Create your own legacy. Yes, you will absolutely feel like an oddball at times. You should understand that MOST successful individuals have been viewed at one time or another as being oddballs. Whenever you DARE to step outside of the status quo, you should expect, and understand that individuals who are content with belonging to the 75% will SURELY persecute you, and do just about everything in their power to knock you from your new course of action. Stay the course, and REFUSE to be denied in your new quest!

Trendsetter-Someone who starts a new trend.



Sunday, February 17, 2013

Fifty-Five Hours

Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."-James Matthew Barrie

The average American spends 34+ hours each week watching television, and another 21+ hours each week surfing the internet. There is value in television, and items of value can also be discovered via the internet.  Yet, the results of a recent study revealed the fact that some 68% of Americans were overweight.

As a promoter of the Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge, I have the opportunity to talk with individuals on a daily basis about obesity, fitness, and the stumbling blocks that often limit their ability to achieve their weight-loss, and/or fitness goals.

One of the more common complaints that I receive from individuals is the inability to maintain consistent workout schedules, due to "a lack of time."  Most health experts encourage 30 minutes of cardio, for at least five days out of each week. Cardio in and of itself provides extensive health benefits related to heart health, blood pressure, energy levels, etc.  Individuals looking to ramp up their workouts may also add in resistance training.

A great workout consisting of stretching, warming up, resistance training, and cardio, can be completed within a 60 minute period. Sacrifices may be necessary in order to work this 60-minute period into our daily schedules. For instance, we may be forced to miss Jeopardy, or old reruns of Seinfield. However, when we weigh the results of the loss of health vs. missing out on our favorite shows; it would be safe to assume that most reasonable individuals would prefer to skip the television shows.

Your HEALTH is your WEALTH. What I mean by this is that there is no wealth in the absence of health.  What good would it do you to have his/her matching Bentley's in your garage, if you're paralyzed from a stroke? What would be the value of living in a mansion on a hill, if you're bedridden from cancer? How much fun can you have traveling the beaches of the world if you are on an oxygen machine due to lung failure?

One of the beautiful things about the 90 day challenge, is that it provides a solution for individuals who are pressed for time, and either unable or unWILLING to prepare five meals per day, and to spend countless hours at the gym. We have literally created THOUSANDS of weight loss success stories from individuals who utilized our simple plan of drinking two shakes per day, with very minimal exercise to achieve their fitness goals.

I would like to end this post by encouraging each of my readers to consider their overall health, and to understand that there is a level of personal accountability that must be maintained with regards to personal health.

If you are like the dozens of friends that I have who are constantly on the go, and looking to lose weight, gain more energy, or to make changes to their physical appearance, then I would encourage you to consider joining the 90 day challenge.

The process is very simple. You will simply need to visit the site, which I will post at the conclusion of this entry. Select the kit that best fits your weight loss needs. You may scroll over each of the kits to examine the contents, as well as the prices. Once you have settled upon a kit, click the "Join The Challenge" tab, and follow the simple instructions outlined within the site.

If you have additional questions about the challenge, and/or how we can be of some benefit to you with regards to your fitness goals;then please feel free to contact me either via FB, or by direct phone at:
(517) 240-0190.

My website is: www.winslowwillis.myvi.net



Saturday, February 16, 2013

Make a DECISION. Make a COMMITMENT. Take OWNERSHIP. Exercise PATIENCE.

According to recent statistics, 80% of all new businesses fail within the first two years of operations. There are any number of reasons, as to why businesses tend to fail within this initial time period. Some of these reasons may include: poor training, lack of support, poor management, lack of capital, etc.

The purpose of this post is to share a four-step process that individuals who are new to the arena of network marketing can take, in order to ensure the achievement of long-term success. The four steps covered within this post will include:

1. Make a DECISION
2. Make a COMMITMENT
3. Take OWNERSHIP
4. Exercise PATIENCE


Make a DECISION

There are literally THOUSANDS of network marketing/direct sales opportunities in America. There are also an ENDLESS number of products, and/or services that new business partners entering the business of network marketing can choose from, with regards to establishing income from home. These products include: coffee, energy drinks, health & beauty products, telecommunication products, marketing products, etc.

The decision to join a particular network marketing company should involve a well-thought-out process that includes researching the various companies, the products and services offered, compensation plans, incentive programs, etc. 

Once armed with the necessary information, it would also be wise for prospective business partners to contact individuals that are already promoting the products, and/or services that have attracted their interest in the business. These individuals will be in position to answer questions, and to provide additional information about these companies, that may not be readily available online.


Make a COMMITMENT

Once this discovery process has been completed, and the necessary contacts have been established; if these individuals should make the DECISION to join a particular company, then this decision MUST involve an absolute COMMITMENT!

Why is this commitment important? This is important, due to the fact that new opportunities will be presented on a daily basis, and a half-hearted commitment will produce half-hearted results, as well as a complete lack of focus.

Every company has a system that is to be used in the business of promoting it's products and/or services.  These systems may range from business receptions to house parties, and any number of additional business formats. If you DECIDE to join a particular company, then you would only be doing yourself a disservice in trying to promote the business, without following the "established" system.

COMMIT to working your business for a set number of hours each week. COMMIT to making a set number of phone calls each day. COMMIT to presenting your opportunity to a set number of people each day. Most importantly, COMMIT to focusing EXCLUSIVELY upon ONE opportunity, as opposed to trying your hand in several opportunities simutaneously, resulting in simultaneous mediocrity! Although this business of direct sale does present opportunities for the establishment of wealth, by no means is this a "get rich quick" scheme. EFFORT will be involved!!


Take OWNERSHIP

I teach business courses in the evenings for a variety of colleges and universities. The average dropout rate for first year students attending community colleges is something like 70-80%. The reason behind these ENORMOUS dropout rates is simply the fact that these students have failed to make the "mental" transition from high school to college.

Many of these students have the intelligence necessary to graduate from college. Most of these students have the desire to improve their lives by earning degrees, and increasing their marketability. The problem is that unlike high school, if you skip class in college, you are not likely to receive phone calls from instructors. If you put forth a pathetic effort with homework assignments, you're not likely to receive motivational speeches from instructors. Once you have paid the cost of your tuition, MOST instructors expect and DEMAND personal accountability, and if you wish to be a failure, then they will absolutely grant you this wish.

This same "mental" transition is necessary when individuals who have been EMPLOYEES for the bulk of their lives make the decision to become ENTREPRENEURS in the area of network marketing. Employees are required to track working hours. Employees are required to follow company policies. Employees are required to meet production numbers. Employees must deal on a daily basis with the fear of disciplinary action, and/or termination for poor performance.

This is NOT the situation with a homebased BUSINESS. When you submit your initial start-up fees, from this moment forward, you are in fact a business OWNER. You will have an outstanding team behind you, and individuals who are willing to support you, and to assist you with the achievement of your goals. However, if you choose to spend all of your time sitting on your butt, and eating Twinkies, then you will not have a BOSS that is in a position to discipline you, or to terminate you.

You will need to maintain a constant awareness of the reason behind your initial decision to join your opportunity. What was the situation or the set of circumstances that motivated you to take action? Would you like to create a college fund for your children? Would you like to earn a new vehicle for your family? Would you like to match your full-time income, and eventually leave your job? Would you like to stop living paycheck to paycheck? NEVER lose sight of this REASON or your WHY, as THIS will be the ONLY thing that holds you accountable for producing on a consistent basis.

This is YOUR business. YOU are responsible for your results. YOU have the ability to dictate your monthly income. YOU will ultimately dictate YOUR success or failure.  One of the biggest mistakes that you can make would be to join a network marketing OPPORTUNITY, and to then sit back on your heels, expecting the individual who sponsored you into the business to feed you. The role of your sponsor is to introduce you to the business, to provide SUPPORT as needed, and to work IN CONJUNCTION with YOU in the pursuit of your goals. The role of your sponsor stops HERE!


Exercise PATIENCE

Written goals will serve as the engine that propels your business.  You will be in position to determine the rate at which to build your business.  The most effective way to utilize goal-setting in the area of network marketing, is to start by establishing long-term goals, and to then work your way backwards, in order to establish the level of activities that will be necessary on a daily, weekly, and/or monthly basis.

Ex. Tim's goal is to produce $20,000 in revenues for the month of March. The average (good) challenge party in Tim's opportunity produces $2,000 in revenues. This means that Tim's TEAM would need to produce 10 good parties within the month of March. A good party usually involves the attendance of 10-15 guests.  Drawing 10-15 guests to a challenge party usually requires 50 phone calls. This means that Tim's team would need to produce 500 phone calls within the month of March, in order to reach his desired objective of $20,000 in revenues.

When you observe individuals in your business with CRAZY success stories (Ex. John reached the TOP RANK IN THE COMPANY within 44 days, etc), understand that these individuals have been involved in the business for YEARS, and are usually surrounded by very experienced networkers, with very extensive lists of contacts. Do not make the mistake of comparing YOUR story to that of the STARS with YEARS of experience in the industry.

Establish your own personal goals, and then compare your production ONLY to the goals that you have established for yourself and for your team. You may not explode overnight. However, if you will commit to utilizing your company's system, as well as to working your business on a CONSISTENT basis; success will be your ultimate end.

I do hope that this four-step process proves to be of some value to you in your network marketing opportunity. You do not have to become a statistic in this business. Will there be challenges? Absolutely. Will there be setbacks? Absolutely. However, anything that is worth having in life requires resilience, focus, diligence, and most important: PATIENCE!! I will see you at the TOP!!!!






Tuesday, February 12, 2013

PURSUE YOUR DREAMS. PROTECT YOUR FAMILY.

"I (name), take you, (name), to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), my constant friend, my faithful partner, and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family, and friends; I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times, and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and to cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live."

Vow-A solemn promise.

We live in a fantasy driven world.  We are often surrounded by images of luxury cars, mansions on hills, exotic vacation spots, designer bags, fancy clothing, and high-end jewelry.  Most of us enter into our sacred marriage vows with every intention of holding to our commitments.  However, in more cases than not, we run into problems when attempting to balance our vows with our desires to acquire many of the material possessions that we are exposed to on a daily basis.

The purpose of this entry is simply to share just a few tips on steps that we can take in efforts to honor the commitments that we have made to our spouses, and/or families, while also pursuing our dreams. Topics covered in this entry will include: keeping your family in the #1 slot, allowing your family to contribute to your mission, dealing with day-to-day responsibilities, and beginning with the end in mind.

The #1 Slot-Your family

Our ultimate objective in life is to achieve "happiness." Society wants us to believe that "happiness" comes in the form of new cars, big houses, large bank accounts, shopping sprees, sex, drugs, etc. The dictionary defines happiness as- A state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.

Your family, which includes your spouse, your children, your siblings, etc, serves as the GREATEST resource of "HAPPINESS" that you will ever find in this life.  So with this understanding, prior to your ever setting out on a mission to accomplish the life of your DREAMS, you must understand that this vision starts and ends with your family.

Your husband/wife has needs. Each of your children has needs. These needs may include spending quality time with you, having you there as a shoulder to lean on in times of trouble, romantic dates, and/or physical interactions (with your spouse), your attendance to ball games and various sporting events, etc.

As you are creating your list of tasks that must be completed on a daily basis, with regards to the pursuit of your goals, it would also be wise of you to include notes on the things that you will need to do for each of the members within your family. There will obviously be days where you are completely SWAMPED, and unable to attend to the needs of your family, but this should be the EXCEPTION, and not the rule.

So your spouse, is #1. Your spouse can actually make or break the life of your dreams.  A miserable spouse will cause you to be miserable, and when you're miserable, you will not be in a position to perform to the best of your abilities.

So how do you go about pleasing your spouse, while maintaining the focus that will be necessary for the achievement of your goals? This is simply a matter of communication. Communicate with your spouse. Do this early, and often. Ask about his/her goals? Find ways to contribute to his/her passions. Clearly illustrate the point that although you are ALL OUT in pursuit of YOUR OWN goals, you are also tuned in to the needs and desires of your spouse. This takes us to the next tip.

Allowing Your Family To Take Part In Your Mission

Millions of individuals make the mistake on an annual basis of treating their goals and their families as two entirely separate entities. One of the best things that you can do on DAY ONE, as you are setting out in pursuit of a defined goal, is to have a sit down with your spouse, and each member of your family, to not only share your goals and ambitions, but to also seek the input of your family, and to invite each member of your family to take part in your mission, by offering assigned roles.

Ex. John Doe has a goal of becoming a network marketing superstar.  Achieving this goal will enable John Doe to provide a nice lifestyle for his family, fun trips for his kids, romantic outings with his spouse, etc. However, the WORK involved with building the business, will require phone calls, hotel meetings, email letters, sample mailings, etc.

So John organizes a meeting with his wife, and each of his three children, aged 12-15, to share the vision that he has for his business, and what the business will do for his family. John then offers each of the members in his family roles within his business, that will allow the GROUP to work as a TEAM towards the achievement of this dream.

The wife will make the phone calls to invite guests out to the hotel parties. One of the children will send out the emails. A second child will mail out samples. The third and final child, will prepare the presentations at the hotel meetings, and greet the guests as they arrive. When the family signs new customers, and/or business partners, then they will celebrate these accomplishments as a team! When John is honored at national conventions for his performance, then the family will take to the stage as a TEAM to celebrate the mission that they are pursuing TOGETHER as one UNIT!

This "team" arrangement will free up a great deal of time, allowing John to be available to attend sporting events with his kids, to spend quality time talking and hanging out with his wife, and to simply lead a balanced life that is not ENTIRELY consumed with business.

The antithesis of this, would be for John to abandon his wife and kids, and to attempt to spend all of his waking time performing each of these tasks on his own.  This will eat up the time that he has available to spend with his family. His wife will feel neglected. His children will feel neglected, and as a result; John will not be able to perform to the best of his potential, and his business will suffer as a result.

Now in this example, I used network marketing. However, your dream may not involve network marketing. This same principle applies to whatever it is that you're pursuing. DO NOT force your family to sit at a distance feeling isolated, and abandoned, while WATCHING you go after the object (s) of your desires. This takes us to the third tip.


Daily Responsibilities

1 Timothy 5:8-But if any provide not for his/her own, and specially for those of his/her own house, he/she has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Life does not stop when we decide to strike out in pursuit of our dreams. I am unable to count on TWO hands the number of families that I have seen destroyed, because the provider....or the individual who SHOULD have been providing, neglected his/her DAILY responsibilities, while chasing after fanciful dreams.

You have the right to pursue the dream of becoming a rapper. You have the right to pursue the dream of becoming a business owner. You have the right to pursue the dream of becoming an author, a painter, a motivational speaker, etc. HOWEVER, you ALSO have the OBLIGATION of providing for your family, and this obligation must take precedence over the pursuit of your dreams.

In other words, if the pursuit of your dreams prevents you from working a JOB, and your family suffers as a result; then you are OBLIGATED to place your dreams on the back burner, in order to first address the immediate needs of your family. The #1 cause of divorce in America is money, and more importantly, disagreements that take place over money, or the lack thereof.

You should never underestimate the value of a college education. Yes, the ceiling for your earnings with a degree may limit you to $70,000-$100,000 annually, and your dream may involve becoming a millionaire. HOWEVER, $70,000-$100,000 annually will enable you to provide for the needs of  each member within your household, who lives and operates under your direct care, as you pursue you dreams.

As one can imagine, your spouse is much more likely to support your visions of becoming the next John Grisham, if he/she is not eating canned soup and wheat bread for dinners on a nightly basis. Be sure to take care of the "FIRST THINGS FIRST," and this will drastically raise the likelihood of your dreams falling right into place.

"But Winslow, I'm going ALL OUT after my DREAMS, and I don't have time to go to college, or to work a job."  Well, you sacrifice the right to go ALL OUT, and to avoid working a job, the moment that you sign the dotted line as provider of a family! There are exceptions, and if your spouse is in a position were he/she can support the family, as you are pursuing your dreams, then so be it. However, more often than not, this is not the case, and divorce, along with broken families are usually the result for individuals who neglect the responsibilities of handling DAILY obligations.



Begin With The End In Mind

By now, I'm sure that most of you have had the opportunity to read Stephen Covey's book entitled, "The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People." In his book, Covey talks about sitting down and gaining an understanding of the desired outcomes, PRIOR to setting out to accomplish various tasks.

So as you're creating your vision board, START with an image of your family. Understand that your life begins and ends with the success or failure of your family. As you're adding each item to your vision board, reflect back on the image of your family, and take into consideration the needs of your family, as well as the sacrifices that will be necessary to acquire or to achieve each of the items on your vision board.

Your vision board is INTENDED to serve as sort of a pathway to success. Every vision board will be slightly different, as most of us will have a different interpretation of what success looks like. However, I can tell you this: IF you should acquire the dream car from your vision board, and the dream house from your vision board, and the dream vacation from your vision board........and lose your spouse, and your children in the process; then you have failed.

So as you're making decisions on a daily basis, take the needs of your family into consideration. Consider the END of a thing, meaning, "How will this decision impact my family 1-5 years from today? Would my spouse be happy with this? Would this place me in a position where I will be unable to be there for my kids, etc?"

Allow your values and your commitments to serve as the foundation for your daily actions.  The #1 commitment that you should reflect upon each and EVERY SINGLE DAY, is the commitment that was made on the day that you married your spouse:


"I (name), take you, (name), to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), my constant friend, my faithful partner, and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family, and friends; I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times, and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and to cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live."






Sunday, February 10, 2013

Would You Like To Sponsor More Partners Into Your Business? Change Your Attitude, Your Outlook, and Your Approach

Here is a quote that you hear OFTEN from new partners in network marketing: "I'm having quite a bit of luck with signing customers, but most of my friends and family members would never be interested in becoming business partners."

Do you know why most of your friends would never be interested in becoming partners in your business? This is simply due to the fact that you keep walking around and telling yourself that most of your friends would never be interested in becoming partners in your business. So as a result, you create EXCITEMENT and ENERGY with regards to your product, and/or service, but then you become nonchalant, and disconnected when the topic of "promoting" hits the table.

I had an experience about a week ago, that only confirmed this infomation. I received a call from a promoter who was not on my team, asking me to contact a friend, to sell this friend on becoming a promoter. So I called the friend, and by the time the conversation ended, this individual was bouncing up and down in her chair, and ready to join.

She said to me, "OH MY GOD!! I wish that I could have talked to you sooner. Your attitude about promoting the challenge is SO MUCH MORE EXCITING than my friend. My friend seemed to be very negative about it, and she didn't have much energy at all. I had actually decided to pass on becoming a promoter, but now that I've talked to YOU, I can't WAIT to get started!!!"

So the following Friday rolled around, and I contacted the promoter who was already in the business, to ask her if she had heard from this friend. She told me that she had not heard from the friend, but that she did notice that her friend was posting about our company on her page!!!

So I called her friend back, and I said, "Hey, are you ready to get started?" She said, "I joined earlier today, but I joined under a friend that lives in my city. If I could have been on your team, then I would have joined with you, but I just could not join under someone with no excitement, belief, or ENERGY about the challenge, and I wouldn't feel right joining under you, with the two of you being associated!!!!"

Take this to heart, and understand that people are drawn to ENERGY and EXCITEMENT! Stop focusing on the fear of rejection, start-up costs, and all of the possible negative responses that you might receive, and approach prospects with BELIEF in whatever it is that you're doing. You will notice a DRASTIC change in your results.