The Building Of A Railway Bridge Of Life
by Jan Ruhe

Published in Messages from the Masters 08-10-00

Have you ever compared being the best we can be in life to the building of a bridge? A railway bridge?

If you leave out a center section, and that section is over a river, the train is going to go right smack into the river no matter how well all the rest of the span is built. This can be compared to all the tools and systems that, in business, we need to build a solid, permanent, cohesive, and long-term, results-achieving sales organization.

If you don't get from one side of the river to the other, whatever the reason, it doesn't make any difference how good some parts of the bridge are.

The tools can be world class and still be useless. In other words, the best tools in the world, if they are not fit into a system and if people are not taught how to use those tools, are essentially useless.

What does being the best we can be have to do with bridges and trains?

As a leader, you are the train. The locomotive. You are responsible for pulling the rest of the train. Furthermore, you are pulling, much of the time, not just leading by brute force. Leaders have the ability to move (or motivate) the rest of train and in the process gain great momentum.

It is imperative that as leaders, we teach people how to build their own bridges so that the train can continue on its course.

The reason leaders seem to work so little, or work so easily, is that they do not use brute force unless they must take a stand for a value or principle. They may have, early in their careers, attempted to lead by brute force, but they quickly learned that they burned themselves out if they continued on that path.

Some people, run around trying to figure out what to do first, totally unaware that his/her fundamental need, in the beginning, should have been to sit down and draw up a plan. Instead, they have gone running off and think that taking "action" is something that will get them recognition.

Just because something is easy to do does not make it the smart thing to do. It just makes it easy. And possibly even fun, at least for a while.

Taking action and getting no results is silly and counter-productive. If what you are doing is not working, take a moment to stop and look at what you are doing and, if necessary, find another path. Surely there is a roadmap to follow. Just keep building relationships, like building bridges. You have to build the whole bridge to make it work. Stick around to complete the task. Build relationships, help people get what they want and you will get everything you ever dreamed of!

Jan Ruhe
www.janruhe.com

I believe-
that we don't have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.

I believe-
that no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every
once in a while and you must forgive
them for that.

I believe-
that true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I believe-
that you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.

I believe-
that it's taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.

I believe-
that you should always leave loved ones
with loving words. It may be the last
time you see them.

I believe-
that you can keep going
long after you can't.

I believe-
that we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.

I believe-
that either you control your attitude
or it controls you.

I believe-
that regardless of how hot and
steamy a relationship is at first,
the passion fades and there had
better be something else to take
its place.

I believe-
that heroes are the people
who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.

I believe-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe-
that my best friend and I can do anything
or nothing and have the best time.

I believe-
that sometimes the people you expect
to kick you when you're down,
will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe-
that sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me
the right to be cruel.

I believe-
that just because someone doesn't love
you the way you want them to doesn't
mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe-
that maturity has more to do with
what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them
and less to do with how many
birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe-
that it isn't always enough to be
forgiven by others. Sometimes you
have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe-
that no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe-
that our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are,
but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe-
that just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other
And just because they don't argue,
it doesn't mean they do.

I believe-
that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a
secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe-
that two people can look at the exact
same thing and see something totally
different.

I believe-
that your life can be changed in a matter of
hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe-
that even when you think you have no more
to give, when a friend cries out to you,
you will find the strength to help.

I believe-
that credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent human being.

I believe-
that the people you care about most in life
are taken from you too soon.

"Mortality is a time of testing and trial, which means that there must be
times when we feel pain and emotional discomfort. However, by patiently
trusting in the eternal plan, we can experience daily happiness and have
hope for 'ever-after happiness.'
Boyd K. Packer explained: 'It was meant to be that life would be a
challenge. To suffer anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even
some failures is normal. When we have a good, miserable day once in a while,
or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out.
There is a great purpose in our struggle in life'."

YOU CAN LIVE YOUR DREAMS.
-----------------------------------------------
You are different from everyone else and that makes you special.
Only you know what is best for you.

It's by taking chances that you'll advance on your road to success.
Don't be afraid to encounter risks.
Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or the
future.
Live your life with passion each day and you live all the days of your
life.

Remember where you have been and know where you are going.
Life is not a race but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

You can have anything you want from life if you try.
You owe it to yourself to try.

Being Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

Author unknown.

LOVE WHAT YOU DO, OR DO SOMETHING ELSE.
-----------------------------------------------
You'll never achieve real success unless you like what you're doing.
No one has ever succeeded in a line of endeavor which they did not like.

Your chances of success are directly proportional
to the degree of pleasure you derive from what you do.
If you're in a job you hate,
face the fact squarely and get out.

It's better to be a failure in something you love,
than attempting to be a success in something you don't.
Don't set compensation as a goal.
Find the work you love, and the compensation will follow.

The more you love what you are doing,
the more successful it will be for you.

The 4 Phases of Building Your MLM Organization.
You will build your MLM group in Phases.
That is one of the best kept secrets in Network Marketing. It is a business of phases and growth and seasons.
What is a phase?
It is a period of time in your life that you go through and through those times you experience many things, one being growth.
Your MLM organization is no exception. It will go through 4 phases of growth, if you let it.
INFERNO Secret:
Most downlines never go through all 4 phases, as they get stuck in one and stay there.
BUT NOT YOU!
You will stick with it and continue building your group till it reaches the phase you want it to be at.

What are the 4 Phases of MLM organizational growth?
1) FRAGILE.
This Phase is the first period of time that you and your fledgling downline will go through, and it can be a rough one. This period of time is where you are new, and really don't know the business, your skin is not 2 inches thick, you have no prior experience in MLM, and you are on a major learning curve, and you will make mistakes.This is where you are actually developing your belief and trust in the industry, and many things can shake your focus and belief.

Family.
Spouses.
Friends.
Co-workers.
Set Backs.
People telling you NO.
And the list goes on.

You really are fragile in this business, because you have not developed your "Success Muscles" to help you go on in face of adversity, and your group is as well. This is where a lot of people quit. They never "get it" that you must grow beyond the Fragile Phase to build a business. They got their feelings hurt constantly by their negative prospects, because they were in the Fragile phase and never grew beyond it. In the Fragile stage is where most people quit, as they cannot take the Negatives and Disappointments that are innate to MLM and entrepeneurism, but their problem was NOT the negatives, but their lack of understanding how to take them and what was REALLY happening with that kind of response. PassionFire has a training on that called "Inoculation." Read it again if you already have.

2) SOLIDIFYING.
This second phase is where you have grown beyond the Fragile phase, and now your group is starting to grow more solid and be more consistent in Volume and paychecks. In the Solidifying phase, you start to see some Leaders emerge, and volume becomes solid and steady, as well as paychecks start to get steady and consistent. When your group moves into this phase, you will know it and sense it as well. Your leaders will start to experience success as well as you and it is consistent, and you will see some leaders start to create their own identity in this business. And you will sense some beginnings of momentum as well. You will start to see some growth in your group that you had absolutely nothing to do with, and it will continue. And you will see some new faces starting to show up in your group that you don't know who they are, or their names.THAT is when you will FEEL your group starting to Solidify, and that is where the majority of people quit. 80-90% of people who leave this business leave during the first 2 stages, and most leave during the first.

3) MATURE.
This phase is where the big money starts showing up. You can make a living in the solidifying phase, a nice one, but this phase is where the big checks start showing up, and show up they do. Not only for you, but also your leaders as well.

This phase is where you start to have "Layered Leadership" and that simply means you have Leaders in layers in your downline in many legs, and they now start to have Leaders showing up in their group as well. And the numbers in your group now number in the thousands, and many are active Leaders. The Mature Phase also shows that your leaders have taught and duplicated how to build leaders in their group, and the dynamics of your group here become exciting as "Mature Pockets" start showing up and they no longer need you, as they have "splintered" into their own leadership organization. This phase, $100,000 a year is commonplace. And Millionaires to be start showing up.

4) ROCK SOLID.
This is the "WEALTH CREATION" Phase. This phase is where Wealth is created and accumulated and Millionaires roll up in this business. This phase is where no matter what you do, you cannot mess up your business, and it will continue on in the event of your death. The Rock Solid Phase is where also you have many Mature "Pockets" of distributors in your group, and now you have Mature Leaders that have big groups and many layers of Leadership.
Many people get close to this phase but never achieve it as they lack the Leadership skills to take it to this level?and many are close to it, but yet don't understand it is that last 10% effort that most never give that determine the Rock Solid phase.

So those are the 4 phases of Organizational Growth in MLM.
Fragile, Solidifying, Mature, and Rock Solid.
Where do you see your group heading?
The answer to that will determine your future in MLM and Network Marketing.
-Doug Firebaugh

DO IT NOW
"When you wake up in the morning, start with the phrase, 'Do it now, do it now, do it now, do it now,' " said Clement Stone. Repeat those three words 50 times in the morning and 50 times before bed.

The message I want to ingrain in your heads was simple: If you want to get to the top, don't wait for tomorrow. Don't procrastinate. Just do it now.

A young mother of three toddlers was so tired of at the end of each month, there was no money left over to do anything, go any place or buy anything. Her husband had small dreams; she had quit dreaming and was living a life day to day becoming more and more miserable. Her husband became a raging religious zealot and she started panicking looking for a way to make money from home as to not leave her children for a day job and to get out of the marriage relationship. She was a winner on the inside looking for a way to dream again. One day, fate took a turn; she was invited to a home party where the products were children’s toys, books and family games. She was thrilled because right in front of her was the opportunity she was looking for. BINGO! At that very moment, fate and destiny took a turn. She had no money to invest in a kit of products so she called her grandmother who was her best friend who said, “I will stake a claim in your future,” and loaned her $174 for her first kit of products. Although this young mother at the time had never heard of Clement Stone, his words were already in her head. DO IT NOW. Join now. Make something of yourself and your children’s future NOW. She had no sales skills, no self confidence and nothing but hope and a flame of desire in her heart and mind. A burning desire to be a winner. She started showing a toy catalog to friends and women in her church and then to her neighbors and then to strangers. She checked out over 300 books at a local library and outlined them all to change herself from who she was then to who she wished to become. Book by book, seminar by seminar she began to learn the skills she needed. She said a mantra every morning before her feet hit the floor…prosperity and abundance are coming my way. Zoom ahead two decades. That woman today is the leading distributor in Discovery Toys. She has had over 80,000 women in her successline in her career and her career team sales are in excess of $500 Million. She divorced, remarried, said goodbye to her grandmother when she passed away, college educated her children to the tune of $400,000 paying cash, built a custom home now valued in excess of $1.8 million in Aspen, Colorado and through her efforts she and her team have made a difference in millions of families lives. All from her income from her home based business. Today, she has written eleven books, in six different languages and lives the dream life. That is truly the Chicken Soup for the Winners Soul. Rags to riches. Taking an opportunity and turning $174.00 in a fortune, studying, walking the walk and being faithful to her dreams. That story could be you. There are so many single mothers who can’t seem to find a path to the top, yet the opportunity is right in front of you. Insist that you DO IT NOW. Take action on your dreams and do not be denied the lifestyle you so richly deserve. It is waiting for you on a silver platter. Oh yes, that young mother’s first child, Sarah White, has become a leading Diamond distributor in the USA in Discovery Toys. Don’t just live it outside your home, live it inside your home. Your children are watching you succeed or fail. Why not decide today to DO IT NOW? Change your future for the better forever by just deciding to take action to become a winner. It’s your turn to shine. Success is waiting for you on a silver platter. Come to the table of plenty. DO IT NOW.

-Jan Ruhe, author of 11 books, sales trainer worldwide for Network Marketing, top distributor in Discovery Toys. Proud mother of three successful children. www.janruhe.com

You may reprint this article.

THE ELEPHANT SPIRIT - EIGHT WINDS THAT MOVE THE HUMAN SPIRIT

The ancient Chinese knew that there are eight winds that move the human spirit. We are all affected by the eight winds: Praise and Blame; Fame and Defame; Gain and Loss; Joy and Sorrow.

On one side, when you succeed, four winds (praise, fame, gain and joy) will be blowing your way.

When you fail, it's only natural that the other four winds (blame, defame, loss and sorrow) will be blowing upon you.

It is easy enough to be pleasant, when life flows along like a song, but the person who is worthwhile is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong.

Have the Elephant Spirit to weather whatever situations or challenges enter your life.

Jan Ruhe
www.janruhe.com

Hi everyone in Hungary!

A few years ago, I was in Vienna, Austria and took the train to Budapest to meet Joska Telkes. He speaks English very well and I don't speak and Hungarian. Joska invited my husband, Bill and me to his beautiful home for dinner where we met part of his family. Their hospitality was just fantastic.

What brought us together was our love of Network Marketing. I attended a Network Marketing meeting with Joska and he helped interpret my same passion for Network Marketing with those in his organization. Actually,I was the first woman to go to Hungary to speak on Network Marketing at that very meeting.

Network Marketing is the stuff dreams are made of. I went from 6 figures in debt to being a millionaire selling educational toys, NOTHING in our line was consummable. So, if I succeeded BIG TIME in Network Marketing here in America, you can certainly succeed right where you are.

Here is what it takes...a burning desire...faith that it will work for you...a never give up attitude and being coachable by someone like Joska that knows what he is talking about.

Here is to your huge success in Network Marketing! Soon Joska is going to be translating my books into Hungarian and you will be able to read my wisdom in your language. I am looking forward to hearing about your great future successes in Network Marketing.

Jan Ruhe
www.janruhe.com

"Unlocking Your Path to Success"

Do you ever look at someone who is amazingly successful and wonder what it is they're doing that you're not? What is the “X” factor that is causing them to excel while you may feel like you're floundering, and how come no one ever let you in on this little secret to success? Well, today's your day. I am about to give you seven keys that, when used in order, will unlock your path to success.

Destination. Life decisions can be intimidating, and making choices between this or that thing can be confusing and exasperating. Are you fretting over which step should be your next? Listen, there is no need to worry about your path if you haven't first determined your destination. Once you have an end destination in sight, the path you need to take will become remarkably clear.

Dream. Next, turn that fantastic destination into a dream. Until you can see yourself on the sunny beaches of Hawaii, that spectacular destination hasn't yet become your dream. Pluck that destination from the realm of the hypothetical and attach it to the reality of your future. There, now you're dreaming.

Deadline. Beware you don't allow your dreams to become merely a “happy place” for you to escape to when life has you down. Give your dream a deadline, and you've just created a goal. Write down your goals. In this way you will motivate yourself to turn your dream into something more than an escapist's retreat from reality.

Decision. You need to make a decision to set sail for your goals. There will be many important moments of decision along the way, but none are more important than the first decision to stop being a spectator and get involved in your own life.
Drive. With so much negativity flying around in the world today, it is crucial that you learn how to encourage yourself. Some people stick with a decision only as long as that decision continues to provide them with happiness. The problem with happiness is that it will always come and go, because it is controlled by immediate circumstances. If you're going to fulfill your dreams, you will need something much stronger than happiness, and that substance is joy. Unlike happiness, which is determined by where you are, joy is fueled by where you are going. And this is exactly what you will need to weather the stormy seas that are between you and your dream.

Discipline. Indeed, dreams are the fuel of discipline. Discipline is doing what you don't necessarily feel like doing, because you love the results. Football players don't enjoy practice, but they love winning, and so they develop the daily discipline of practice. Successful people are only average people who will do what other people are not willing to do so they can be where other people will never be.

Determination. Don't give up, no matter how long it takes. Keep fighting for your dream!
-Mark Gorman

Highlights from the First 4 Chapters of Make That Call! By Jan Ruhe

•Make and practice your script about why you do what you do. Have your 30 second commercial ready for anyone who might be interested in hearing about your business.
•Use the phone wisely!
oThose who embrace the phone and use it wisely can have an amazing future. If you just want to gossip, talk to side-lines and others who have no vested interest in your success, you are wasting lifetime. Period. Stop all nonsense phone calls that get you upset, worried and that have absolutely no value.
•The only way you can fail is to quit.
•Get a Powerful Philosophy
oHere is Jan Ruhe’s: “Lead me and show me how to do it, follow me once I figure it out and if you aren’t interested in going for greatness, get out of my way.”
• Network Marketing Explained: The distributors who make the most money are those who move the most products out of the company warehouse. There are two ways to do this:
1. Move product by yourself or
2. Sponsor others to do the same. You don’t have to struggle to succeed. Just focus on moving product and you will have a thriving, pulsating business.
•Timing of Calls is Important. There are 2 important times during the day for you to make the call.
oImmediately after you have completed a successful phone can
oImmediately after you have failed to have a successful phone call
You want to get back on the phone after being rejected and keep calling. When you have success, you want to get back on the phone and build upon that success.
oFocus on Positive Results: In an interview with golf champion Jack Nicholas, he was asked, “How many more majors would you have won if you had not missed a five or six foot putt in the last two holes of a major championship?” He got so angry that he left the interview. He told the guy that he had never missed a four or five foot putt in a major. They showed clip after clip where he had missed a short putt. He could not remember it. He would not allow his mind to focus on bad results.
oBe Your Own Best Customer. With personal experience of using your own product, your enthusiasm and belief will grow. If you are unenthusiastic about your products, why would anyone want them? Use your products.
oIt’s Simply Mathematical: Do the math. Assuming you have 52 parties a year, one a week with approximately 10 people at each party, you can reach 520 people in a year. Many top distributors talk to that many people on the phone a week easily. Talking with 520 people in a year is slow growth. You can talk to many more people on the phone in addition to your face-to-face prospects that will help you speed up the growth of your business.
oTeach 5 to Reach 5
oThe idea of Network Marketing is to teach five distributors to each get five distributors and to teach tem to do the same. The numbers grow fast when you do this and you can teach this in your phone calls from the very first call. Paint the picture of the money that can be earned on your own efforts and the efforts of others.
o5x5 = 25, 25x5 = 125, 125x5 = 625, 625x5 = 3,250
oQuit Talking About Yourself. One of the best things to remember on the phone is that as soon as you say the word “I” you can lose the prospect fast. Keep the focus on the prospect. As time goes by, you can build rapport and friendships that include information about you, but at the beginning of a conversation, keep the focus on the prospect.

If you like what you have read so far, order Go Diamond right here at this site.

Thank you Sarah White for sharing this:

Be Committed to Keeping Your Personal
and Professional Life in Balance by Denis Waitley
It is so important to be living in prime time, rather
than watching TV in prime time. On your way to
success make certain you grow friendships, not just
bank and mutual fund accounts. Life is a collection of
memories, not of material things. The Egyptian pharaohs
were buried with all their treasures, and were mummified
in hopes that they could enjoy their bounty in the next life.
But we are only caretakers of possessions. There is a
big difference between standard of living and quality of life.
Standard of living is based on income earned.
Quality of life is the enjoyment of the millions of
minutes in between accomplishments.
Having money is only one aspect of wealth.
To the sick person, wealth is health.
To the lonely person, wealth is someone
to talk to and share with. To the estranged
person, wealth is hearing words of love and forgiveness.
Borrowing the free verse style from Brother
Jeremiah's classic poem, I'd Pick More Daisies,
here are a few things I'd do, t he second time around.
I'd laugh at my misfortunes more.
Spend more time counting my blessings than my blemishes.
Spend more time playing with my children and
grandchildren and less time watching performers
in the arena. More time enjoying what I have,
less time thinking about the things I don't have.
If I could live my life again, I'd walk in the rain more
without an umbrella and listen less to weather reports.
I'd spend more time looking at trees and climbing them,
less time flipping through magazines made from dead trees.
I'd spend more time fully involved in the present moment,
less time remembering and anticipating. I'd smile more, frown less.

And most of all I'd be more spontaneous and active,
less hesitant and subdued. When some spur of the
moment idea came up to go hiking, playing Frisbee,
coloring Easter eggs, singing in a chorus, going
kayaking, or watching an eclipse, I'd be less likely
to sit in my chair objecting, "It's not in our plan."

I'd be in c lined to jump up and run out the door
next time and say, "Yes, we can!"
Although I can't live my life again, I'm still going to
live the new way every day any way. I'll never have
all the moments I've missed, but I do have all the time remaining.

Action Idea – Choose one activity this
month that you really want to engage in,
but that you have been putting off because
it isn't a priority. Schedule that activity in your
planner, as if it were a "must do" business or
financial commitment. When you have done it,
while you are still feeling good, schedule one
for next month, and do it as long as you live.

From The Master Presentation Guide by Jan Ruhe
(available at www.janruhe.com Super Store):

“The easy roads are crowded and the level roads are jammed;
the pleasant little rivers with drifting folks are crammed.
But off yonder where it’s rocky, where you get the better view,
you will find the ranks are thinning and the travelers are few.
Where the going’s smooth and pleasant you will always find
the throng, for the many mores the pity, seem to like to drift along.
But the steps that call for courage and the task that’s hard to do,
in the end result in glory for the never-wavering few.”
-Edgar Guest

Bob Holker says:
“It’s a pretty good rule to remember that if the road is difficult,
the end will be easy, whereas if the road is easy, the end may be
difficult. If your pathway is filled with excellence, the future will be filled with comfort, peace of mind and satisfaction. Life was never intended to be merely a pleasure trip.
It’s a struggle, a testing and a training.”

Bank Account of Life

This is AWESOME....something we should all remember.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who
is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair
fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally
blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently
passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the
nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an
eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you have n't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied.

"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.
Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is
arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.
"It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I
can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts
of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for
the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll
focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just
for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of
happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in
filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing." Remember the five sim ple
rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

If You Don’t Know Where You Are Going……
Imagine going up to the airline ticket counter and telling the ticket agent you would like to purchase a ticket to go on a wonderful vacation, but you aren’t sure where you want to go or when you want to go. What do you think their response would be? Maybe something like “when you figure out where you want to go and when you want to go come back and I’ll help you. Now please step aside so I can help the next person in line.”
In Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland there is a wonderful passage where the Cheshire cat addresses this same issue by saying to Alice, “if you don’t know where you are going any road will take you there”.
The single biggest issue I am presented with is that business owners and salespeople don’t know the answer to the questions: “where do you want your business to be and when do you want it to be there”?
When I ask these questions the answers I hear are things like: “I want to make more sales/money, or I want my business to do better or we want to grow our sales and profits.”
Those answers are not good enough because they are vague, hazy, non specific or measurable. Consequently, they are not realistic or attainable. Before you start trying to figure out how you must first answer the question where and why. Failing to do this, your efforts and activity will produce the same results as a dog chasing his tail.
How do you begin this process? You begin by spending some quality time developing a blueprint for your future.
Start by thinking of how you would like to be spending your time. Of all the kinds of work you could be doing, what do you want to do the most? How many hours do you want to work each week, and how would you like to divide up your working time? Then think about what kind of people you would like to interact with. Who are your ideal clients, customers, and colleagues? Next imagine the physical environment in which you would like your business to operate. What would it look like? How large a space would you want? What would it look and feel like? What level of business would you have? How much revenue and profits? How many clients, billable hours etc. would you have? What would be the mix of clients or services that you would provide?
Write your answers in present tense. Don’t worry if your picture is a little fuzzy or you can’t answer all of the questions. You are striving for process not perfection. This process will help you develop the focus necessary to achieve your hearts desire. It takes a lot of time and effort, and some deep soul searching. It is not easy. That is why only 3% percent of people will do it.
You have a choice. You can consciously choose to be one of the 3% that pursues personal excellence or by default you will become part of the 97% mass of humanity that spends their life in mediocrity. I hope you choose to become one of the 3%.
Good Selling
Steve Clark

FACING THE ENEMIES WITHIN

We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some of our fears are brought on by your own
experiences, by what someone has told you, by what you've
read in the papers. Some fears are valid, like walking alone
in a bad part of town at two o'clock in the morning. But once you learn to avoid that situation, you won't need to live in fear of it.

Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our
ambitions. Fear can destroy fortunes. Fear can destroy
relationships. Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our
lives. Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.

Let me tell you about five of the other enemies we face from
within. The first enemy that you've got to destroy before it
destroys you is indifference. What a tragic disease this is.
"Ho-hum, let it slide. I'll just drift along." Here's one
problem with drifting: you can't drift your way to the top of the mountain.

The second enemy we face is indecision. Indecision is the
thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will steal your
chances for a better future. Take a sword to this enemy.

The third enemy inside is doubt. Sure, there's room for
healthy skepticism. You can't believe everything. But you
also can't let doubt take over. Many people doubt the past,
doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government,
doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunities. Worse of all, they doubt themselves. I'm telling you, doubt will
destroy your life and your chances of success. It will empty
both your bank account and your heart. Doubt is an enemy Go
after it. Get rid of it.

The fourth enemy within is worry. We've all got to worry
some. Just don't let it conquer you. Instead, let it alarm
you. Worry can be useful. If you step off the curb in New
York City and a taxi is coming, you've got to worry. But you
can't let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a
small corner. Here's what you've got to do with your worries: drive them into a small corner. Whatever is out to get you,you've got to get it. Whatever is pushing on you, you've got to push back.

The fifth interior enemy is over-caution. It is the timid
approach to life. Timidity is not a virtue; it's an illness.
If you let it go, it'll conquer you. Timid people don't get
promoted. They don't advance and grow and become powerful in
the marketplace. You've got to avoid over-caution.

Do battle with the enemy. Do battle with your fears. Build
your courage to fight what's holding you back, what's keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn and Jan Ruhe spoke together in Dallas, Texas and Las Vegas. Jan Ruhe calls Jim Rohn her mentor. Early in her career, Jan had the opportunity to learn from Jim Rohn and has thanked him the rest of her career for all he has taught her. Pay attention, success leaves clues.
www.janruhe.com

Think and Grow Rich
September 27th, 2006 by Steve Clark
American born Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich the most successful business book in history, is considered by many to be the most influential self-help writer in history.

Born in 1883 in a one-room cabin on the Pound River in Wise County, Virginia, Hill began writing, at age thirteen, for small town newspapers, and went on to become America’s most beloved motivational author. Fighting against all class of great disadvantages and pressures, he dedicated more than 25 years of his life to define the reasons by which so many people fail to achieve true financial success and happiness in their life.

His big break came when he was asked to interview steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie commissioned Hill to interview over 500 millionaires to find a success formula and write a series of success stories of the famous that could be used by the average person. These included Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Wrigley Jr, John Wanamaker, William Jennings Bryan, George Eastman, Woodrow Wilson, William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller, F. W. Woolworth, Jennings Randolph, among others.

He became an advisor to Andrew Carnegie, and with Carnegie’s help formulated a philosophy of success, drawing on the thoughts and experiences of a multitude of rags-to-riches tycoons. It took Hill over twenty years to produce his classic. The book has sold over 50 million copies, and has helped thousands achieve success. The secret to success is very simple, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is!

In chapter 15 “The Six Ghosts of Fear” Hill writes “Indecision is the seedling of fear! Remember this as you read. Indecision crystallizes into doubt: the two blend and become fear! The “blending” process often is slow. This is one reason why these three enemies are so dangerous. They germinate and grow without their presence being observed.”

As I coach business owners and high-income sales professionals, I have observed the ability to make decisions quickly is one of the key differentiators between the highly successful and the mediocre.

I have observed this to be so true that I no longer will take a client that needs to “think it over”, ruminate or procrastinate when they have seen all there is to see and heard all there is to hear.

What about you? Do you pursue prospects that have perfected the art of procrastination or do quickly disqualify them. More importantly, are you a decision maker or are you a procrastinator?

The most successful salespeople know that only decision makers can get others to make decisions. Chances are if you are getting a lot of stalls, put offs and think it overs it is because you are guilty of this behavior yourself.

Funny how our life experience mirrors who we are.

September 27th, 2006 by Steve Clark
American born Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich the most successful business book in history, is considered by many to be the most influential self-help writer in history.

Born in 1883 in a one-room cabin on the Pound River in Wise County, Virginia, Hill began writing, at age thirteen, for small town newspapers, and went on to become America’s most beloved motivational author. Fighting against all class of great disadvantages and pressures, he dedicated more than 25 years of his life to define the reasons by which so many people fail to achieve true financial success and happiness in their life.

His big break came when he was asked to interview steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie commissioned Hill to interview over 500 millionaires to find a success formula and write a series of success stories of the famous that could be used by the average person. These included Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Wrigley Jr, John Wanamaker, William Jennings Bryan, George Eastman, Woodrow Wilson, William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller, F. W. Woolworth, Jennings Randolph, among others.

He became an advisor to Andrew Carnegie, and with Carnegie’s help formulated a philosophy of success, drawing on the thoughts and experiences of a multitude of rags-to-riches tycoons. It took Hill over twenty years to produce his classic. The book has sold over 50 million copies, and has helped thousands achieve success. The secret to success is very simple, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is!

In chapter 15 “The Six Ghosts of Fear” Hill writes “Indecision is the seedling of fear! Remember this as you read. Indecision crystallizes into doubt: the two blend and become fear! The “blending” process often is slow. This is one reason why these three enemies are so dangerous. They germinate and grow without their presence being observed.”

As I coach business owners and high-income sales professionals, I have observed the ability to make decisions quickly is one of the key differentiators between the highly successful and the mediocre.

I have observed this to be so true that I no longer will take a client that needs to “think it over”, ruminate or procrastinate when they have seen all there is to see and heard all there is to hear.

What about you? Do you pursue prospects that have perfected the art of procrastination or do quickly disqualify them. More importantly, are you a decision maker or are you a procrastinator?

The most successful salespeople know that only decision makers can get others to make decisions. Chances are if you are getting a lot of stalls, put offs and think it overs it is because you are guilty of this behavior yourself.

Funny how our life experience mirrors who we are.

The Bottom Line
Face it.
Nobody owes you a living.What you achieve or fail to achieve in your lifetime is directly related to what you do or fail to do. No one chooses his parents or childhood but you can choose your own direction.Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome but that too is relative to each individual. Nothing is carved in stone. You can change anything in your life
if you want to badly enough. Excuses are for losers. Those who take responsibility for their actions are the real winners in life. Winners meet life's challenges head on knowing there are no guarantees and give it all they've got.
It's never too late or too early to begin. Time plays no favorites and will pass whether you act or not. Take control of your life. Dare to dream and take risks. If you aren't willing to work for your goals, don't expect others to.
Believe in Yourself!

Thank you, Diane Finocchiaro,
Discovery Toys for sharing

Want to Increase Sales Dramatically?
Then shift your sales focus from attracting new customers to enticing your proven customers to buy again. The best sales prospect is a prospect that’s already converted - one of your current customers. If you start focusing your sales efforts on your proven customers, you will be able to increase your sales dramatically. And these sure ways to increase sales will help build customer loyalty, too.

Try some or all of these ideas to increase your sales:
1. Set up a sales incentive program.
Give your sales people a reason to get out there and sell, sell, sell. Why do so many businesses that rely on their sales people to drive sales have incentive programs in place? Because offering their sales staff the trips and prizes for x amount of sales works.
2. Encourage sales people to upsell.
Upselling involves adding related products and/or services to your line and making it convenient and necessary for customer to buy them. Just placing more products near your usual products isn’t going to increase your sales much. To upsell successfully, the customer has to be persuaded of the benefit. For instance, when your baby is teething and screaming with pain, wouldn’t you want the best teether for the baby to help them through this time? Many times, we have approached mothers with just one toy and then said, As well, we have this wonderful CD that will teach your baby phonics and will help them get to sleep. BOOM! Sales increase. Persuaded people that buying it found it was beneficial to them and we make it convenient to purchase it. Result: increased sales for you.
3. Give your customers the inside scoop.
If you have a promotion or sale coming up, tell your customers about it. They will come back and probably bring some friends with them too. You can give your customers the inside scoop by emailing or calling them, too. They love it!
4. Tier your customers.
There should be a clear and obvious difference between regular customers and other customers a difference that your regular customers perceive as showing that you value them. How can you expect customer loyalty if all customers are treated as "someone off the street"? There are all kinds of ways that you can show your regular customers that you value them, from small things such as greeting them by name through larger benefits such as giving regulars extended credit or discounts.
5. Set up a customer rewards program.
There’s no reason that a small business can’t have a customer rewards program. It can be as simple as a discount on a customer’s birthday or as complex as a points system that earns various rewards such as discounts on merchandise. Done right, rewards programs can really help build customer loyalty and increase sales.
6. Distribute free samples to customers.
Why do so many businesses include free samples of other products when you buy something from them? Because it can increase sales in many ways. As the customer who bought the original product, you might try and like the sample of the new product and buy some of it, too. Or you might pass on the sample to someone else, who might try the product, like it and buy that and other products from the company. At the very least, the original customer will be thinking warm thoughts about your company and hopefully telling other people about your products. Attracting new customers is a good thing. But attracting new customers is not the only way to increase your sales and is, in fact, the hard way of going about it. Shifting your sales focus to enticing your current customers can make increasing your sales easier - and best of all, build the customer loyalty that results in repeat sales.

Here are six ways you can help prospects become clients and customers today.
Do you need to increase your income this week, and this month? What can you do today to attract more clients and increase sales?
1. Improve Your Marketing Message:
Most people talk about their work and advertise their products and services with marketing messages that don't pull in new prospects. Whether you are selling services or products, the most effective way to attract prospects is by telling them how you can help them. When you tell people you are a sales agent for a real estate firm, you're only talking about yourself, not what you do for your clients. Ditto when you tell people you've got a sales training manual for sale. To get your prospects attention you need to talk about what you do and your products in terms of solutions and benefits. If you're selling oranges, which is most likely to get a sale.
a. "The best oranges anywhere."
b. "Quench your thirst right now with this organic and satisfying source of vitamin C."
A good marketing message helps prospects understand what you do and why they should contact you. Whether you are selling oranges, real estate, sales training or fitness, write your marketing message from your prospects' perspective.

2. Give People a Reason to Contact You:
Whether you want prospects to email you, call you or come to your exercise facility, your objective is to get them to contact you. When they do, you can go to work and start converting them to client status. How can you prompt a prospect to contact you? Everyone loves the chance to get something for free. Offer a free report, workshop or consultation. Make sure its something related to what you're selling and that your target market loves.

3. Establish Your Pricing in Terms of Value
Whether your product or service sells for nineteen dollars or nineteen thousand dollars, your clients buy because they have a clear understanding of how your product can help them and the value it provides. Use your copy, questions and video clips to help people understand how much better off they will be when they use your products and services. When prospects are confident they will get what they want and expect, price becomes far less important.

4. Build Credibility:
People buy from those they know and trust. How can you get prospects to know and trust you? Whether you have been in business for one month or one hundred years, endorsements from others are the most effective way to establish your credibility. Place testimonials prominently in your marketing materials, demonstrate to prospects that you know what you're doing and that your products and services work.

5. Start a Conversation to Create Opportunities :
One of the key steps to helping prospects buy is to find out what they need and want. Once you know what their interests are, you can show them the service or product that's the best solution and you're on your way to completing a sale. How can you get the conversation going even if you're not face-to-face with a prospect? Ask questions. Ask prospects what they need and want and give them a chance to tell you. Even if you're not face-to-face with a client you can use your web site to generate a steady stream of qualified leads by using response forms. Often all that's needed to close the sale is a follow up ph0ne call.
6. Instill a Sense of Urgency:
Have you ever put off buying something that you needed or wanted? How can you get your prospects to avoid this black hole of procrastination? Give prospects clear directions. Tell them what to do when and why. If you want them to fill in a form, tell them how and why to do so. If you want them to buy your book, tell them how and why. If you want them to give you information about themselves, give them a reason. If you want people to make a purchase right away, motivate them with an impeding deadline.
Not every prospect will purchase your products or services today, but you can help them along. Use these six marketing strategies to attract more prospects and be more successful.

Cultivate Self-Confidence:
Do you believe that you personally are not good at selling? Are worry and anxiety eroding your self-confidence? That doesn't mean that you can't sell successfully. Believing in yourself is like any other attitude; self confidence can be learned. You can increase your self-confidence through practice, and that in turn will increase your selling skills.

Develop A Building Self Confidence Routine:
Many sales people don’t wake up each day revved up with self-confidence. Whether you are going to present a workshop, meet with a client, or work at home that day, go through a routine that I've developed to pump up my self confidence and get me ready to sell. The focus of the building self-confidence routine is to eliminate all those distractions that are interfering with your concentration on the event at hand and to put yourself into the positive, confident frame of mind that you want to present to others, whether in person, or via technology. Building self-confidence routine involves going over all of your preparations.

Use Self-Praise To Build Self Confidence:
Negative influences are all around. But most of these negative influences exist in our own heads. Awake or asleep, the mind constantly produces a series of thoughts and images and for many these produce a constant barrage of negative messages.Using self-praise is a self-confidence building technique for combating these negative messages. Instead of allowing your mind to produce whatever messages it wants, consciously override these messages with positive praise about what you've done or do well.

Building Self Confidence Routine Tips
Like the daily planning session, building self-confidence routine needs to be uninterrupted. Do not take phone calls during this time, or let family members interrupt you. It helps to physically confront yourself when you're conducting a self-praise session to build your self confidence. Many people find it helpful to stand in front of a mirror when they are doing this and to speak out loud. Once you've become comfortable with the technique, you may wish to go through the self-praise exercise mentally and combine it with other activities. If you haven't used a self-confidence building technique such as self-praise at first, you might feel silly when you first start. Ignore these feelings and persevere. Over time, you will find your feelings of silliness diminish as your self-confidence grows. The more specific you make your self-praise, the more powerful it will be. The more you use your building self-confidence routine, the more your internal self confidence will develop - the self confidence you need to sell your product or opportunity successfully. Develop a personal building self-confidence routine and use it every day this week. Your building self-confidence routine may be as simple as using a five minute session of self-praise each day, or as complex as using several techniques such as visualizing success and self-praise with whatever elements of your personal routine you find work best for you. Many people find that going through their building self- confidence routine just before their daily business planning session gives their day a positive energy that helps them be more productive throughout the day.

Increase Your Sales By Avoiding These Mistakes
Here are the most common sales mistakes people make.
Sales Mistake # 1:
Allowing a prospect to lead the sales process. The best way to control the sales interaction is to ask questions every five sentences. This is also the best way to learn whether or not your product or service meets the needs of your prospect. Quality questions that uncover specific issues, problems, or corporate objectives are essential in helping you establish yourself as an expert.
Sales Mistake # 2:
Tell the customer what you are selling. Do not hide what you are selling. Instead of presenting a product to someone you think will love it, don't waste time teaching the fundamental details of each product. Have your customer eager to meet with you. Invest the time learning about your products easily and quickly before you present them.
Sales Mistake # 3:
Talking too much. Too many sales people talk too much during the sales interaction. They present their product, its features, their service and so on. Instead of talking at great length about your experience and qualifications, get the potential customer talking about their business. By doing this you are able to determine the most effective strategy for that prospect.
Sales Mistake # 4:
Giving the prospect information that is totally irrelevant. Most sales peoople share information that is completely meaningless to the customer. No one cares about your financial backing or who your clients are. Make the most of your presentation by telling the listener how they will benefit from your product or service.
Sales Mistake # 5:
Not being prepared. When you make a cold call or attend a meeting with a prospect it is critical that you are prepared. This means having all relevant information at your fingertips including; pricing, testimonials, samples and a list of questions you need to ask. Create a checklist of the vital information you will need and review this list before you make your call. You have exactly one opportunity to make a great first impression and you will not make it if you are not prepared.
Sales Mistake # 6:
Neglecting to ask for the sale. If you sell a product or service, you have the obligation to ask the customer for a commitment, particularly if you have invested time assessing their needs and know that your product or service will solve a problem. Many people are concerned with coming across as pushy but as long as you ask for the sale in a non-threatening, confident manner, people will usually respond favorably. How many would you like to order? We take all major credit cards. Which credit card would you like to use?
Sales Mistake # 7: Failing to prospect. This is one of the most common mistakes independent business make. When business is good many people stop prospecting, thinking that the flow of business will continue. However, the most successful sales people prospect all the time. They schedule prospecting time in their agenda every week.

I thought I would share this:

http://www.thewingsmovie.com/
I absolutely love it!!
xoxoxo
Michele Marchetti
Discovery Toys

Doing the Remarkable

"When it comes to meeting and conquering the negativity in your life, here is a key question: what can you do, starting today, that will make a difference? What can you do during economic chaos? What can you do when everything has gone wrong? What can you do when you've run out of money, when you don't feel well and it's all gone sour? What can you do?
Let me give you the broad answer first. You can do the most remarkable things, no matter what happens. People can do incredible things, unbelievable things, despite the most impossible or disastrous circumstances.

Here is why humans can do remarkable things: because they are remarkable. Humans are different than any other creation. When a dog starts with weeds, he winds up with weeds. And the reason is because he's a dog. But that's not true with human beings. Humans can turn weeds into gardens.

Humans can turn nothing into something, pennies into fortune, and disaster into success. And the reason they can do such remarkable things is because they are remarkable. Try reaching down inside of yourself; you'll come up with some more of those remarkable human gifts. They're there, waiting to be discovered and employed.

With those gifts, you can change anything for yourself that you wish to change. And I challenge you to do that because you can change. If you don't like how something is going for you, change it. If something isn't enough, change it. If something doesn't suit you; change it. If something doesn't please you, change it. You don't ever have to be the same after today. If you don't like your present address change it — you're not a tree!

If there is one thing to get excited about, it's your ability to make yourself do the necessary things, to get a desired result, to turn the negative into success. That's true excitement."

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Hi Everyone!
My best tip for starting out the new year is to get on the phone in January and book home parties for the entire year! Just plan to do 4-8 a month and get it done! Fill your calendar with events and start the year with a sense of urgency. Remember to recruit 5 people and teach them to do the same. Once you do, the train has left the station!
Get to the top! It starts today!
Fire Up!
Happy Holidays,
Jan Ruhe

Is Direct Sales Difficult?

The following article is an excerpt from a speech given by a direct seller
at a local meeting. We are told she was asked to speak on how direct sales
compares to working a "regular" job. It was submitted to us, and although
the original author is unknown, we wish to thank her for her thoughts and
insights. We have edited it to share with you as you embark on a brand new
year, with new opportunities to count the many blessings we have in this
business.

Lately, I have heard so many people say how difficult direct sales is.
"It's hard." "I can't get bookings." "This just isn't for me." "I didn't
know how difficult it would be."

Well, I am a single mom of three who, before joining the direct sales
family, held down two jobs. I would get up at 4:00 in the morning and not
get to bed until midnight most nights, after returning from my part-time
retail job, packing lunches, checking homework and relieving my mother, who
helped out with the kids. That, my friends, is difficult.

It is difficult always having to lower your dreams to meet your means. It
is difficult to miss your son's football game because you have to work. It
is difficult knowing the rust bucket you call a car is eating you alive in
maintenance, but you can't afford a new one. It is difficult to realize
that someone else is going to watch your daughter take her first step or
have your son say mama to the preschool teacher.

It is difficult knowing that you have spent 40 years of your life working
for someone else, only to realize that you will be retiring on one-third of
what you can live on today. Or, worse yet, it is difficult knowing that
you have diligently worked all your life, only to be given an early
retirement and replaced by someone younger, more capable.

I will tell you what is difficult. It is difficult waking up one morning
and realizing that your children, the most precious things imaginable, no
longer need bottles, diapers, have tea parties, or are shorter than the
baseball bat they are trying to swing. It is difficult realizing it is too
late and that the time frittered away can never be retrieved. It slips
through our fingers one second at a time.

It is also difficult watching the spark in your partner's eyes fade because
both of you realize the house you have been wanting is just a Dream because
someone else is controlling your finances.

We have nasty habits about rationalizing, procrastination and skirting
important things, rather than facing the issues. Too often we allow others
who do not pay our bills, who do not share our dreams, to direct our
futures.

As children we have absolutely no freedom; we rebel in our teens and scream
for freedom. We reach adulthood and are finally free, only to relinquish
that freedom because we think it is too difficult. We do not want to take
responsibility. We do not want to make a wrong decision, so we obligingly
give that awesome power to someone else. We wake up too late. We hear
ourselves uttering phrases like: "I wish I had only . ."And "If I could do
it over again. "You have no one but yourself to blame. You had the chance.
Perhaps the Opportunity was presented many times and each time you elevated
the trivial to a higher priority than yourself.

Let me ask you: Is direct sales really difficult? Is it so traumatic to
show someone an exciting product or idea? Is it so difficult to understand
that if you work this marketing idea for three to five years, you just
might finally be able to send your children to a college chosen by
excellence, rather than one chosen by price? That you could finally put
your family in the home of their dreams? Would you work really hard for
eight to ten years, so you could mold a lifestyle of your choosing, so your
family could live a lifestyle of their Dreams, rather than trying to live
how someone else thinks you should live?

How difficult is it to pick up the phone and call your hostess? How
difficult is it to pack up your kit and meet some new friends? How
difficult is it, really, to share what you love with others? Think about
it. Realize the awesome power you have in your hands with direct sales.
There are people out there working three jobs. There are people drowning in
debt; or agonizing through bankruptcy, realizing they only needed a couple
hundred more dollars per month. That is difficult!

This business you have chosen has the ability to change lives. Direct sales
cannot do anything. But YOU can change lives with it. You are the one with
the life-changing ability. What are you waiting for?

There is difficulty and pain in success, and there is difficulty and pain
in failure. Difficulty and pain in success will last a short period of
time; but pain in failure lasts a lifetime. Which one is really more
difficult?

You will pay a price for your actions, and your choices. Which choice will
you make?

The Rule of Four

You are about to learn one of the little known keys to Network Marketing success. By carefully applying this strategy called The Rule of Four you can generate new growth as you never thought possible.

The Rule:
Never rest when you have sponsored a distributor until that chain has a total of 4 at the same rank.
Sponsoring distributor A does not end with submission of the application. You should take an active personal interest in getting at least 3 additional distributors under A. It does not matter if these 3 new people are all first level to A or if they are lined dup one under the other. Work directly with each of the distributors without regard to their level under you. When you identify a person with potential, you should apply The Rule of Four again to that person. There are 3 reasons why this rule will work for you. First, on the average, one distributor in four turns out to be a “worker.” This means that you are sure to get a “worker” somewhere in the group if you successfully apply The Rule of Four. Second, as you begin to accumulate several distributors in the same chain, the ones at the top of the chain are motivated by the growth. Sometimes this motivation is strong enough to convert a “non-worker” into a “worker.” Third, the very fact that you are applying yourself toward a specific purpose will strengthen your confidence and multiply your effectiveness. The Rule of Four is a plan that will not fail and as you begin to explain this part of your overall plan to your new people, they will be more eager to join your group.

As soon as someone in your group gets to the first level of management you must apply The Rule of Four by working to develop 3 additional leaders at their same level under them. Again, it must not matter whether these new people are first level to the original leader or at various levels. It should be quite apparent that The Rule of Four, when applied to a distributor will result in a leader. The Rule of Four when applied to a leader will boost that leader up to the next level. When you break off a first level leader, that is exactly the WRONG time to rest with regard to that group. Immediately pay some attention to the lower level leaders and help the new leader keep the momentum going. If you continue to take an active personal interest in the group until there are a total of 3 leaders under the original leader you will have a solid and profitable organization. Apply The Rule of Four is not as time consuming as it seems. A little attention goes a long way in helping lower level groups. To organize your efforts keep a list of the best four in each group. While your group is small, you can touch base with each of these “best four” once each week. It may be a phone call, if you call, ask about their new prospects, ask about their top people and help them begin to apply the Rule of Four. If these people live in another city, you might send them an email, letter, newsletter. Remember, a little attention goes a long way.

How to Become a Top Achiever
by Dr Jill Ammon-Wexler

The real difference between achievers and failures is the way they live their daily lives. Every successful person became who they are because of how they live their daily lives.

In short: Your daily lifestyle determines your success. You actually become a success the millisecond you commit to live a daily lifestyle focused on success. This puts the horse (your daily actions and beliefs) before the cart (your end goal).

This applies to success in any field or endeavor ­- whether business, personal, or social. If you want to achieve a goal of being fit and healthy, for example, you do so by adopting a daily lifestyle focused on regular exercise and healthy eating habits.

If you want to achieve a goal of having your own million-plus business, you do so by adopting a daily lifestyle focused on developing the skills and attitudes of a multi-millionaire business person.

Let’s Get This Party Started!
by Jan Ruhe

Like many mothers in the frenzied and unpredictable working arena of the 70’s and 80’s, I felt frazzled and daunted about the future of raising 3 children. We were struggling to make ends meet and my marriage was not a healthy relationship. Fate took a turn. In 1979 I received a call from a friend inviting me to a home party. At the party, I felt vitalized and secure with my decision that I could make money AND integrate becoming a distributor into my life. I didn’t need a nudge to get started; I didn’t need any prodding to stop living in mediocrity. I joined my Company and with great excitement began a new path in life at the early age of 30 years old. I began to set priorities of what I would have to give up to achieve the lifestyle I passionately wanted for my children and my future. I made commitments to myself and decided I would work through obstacles. No one and no situation would stop me. I would go after the lifestyle and chase it until I got it. Twenty five years later, I have earned millions, college educated my three children with no financial support other than my Network Marketing business, have built my dream home in the Aspen, Colorado valley and travel the world with my husband. I have trained over 100,000 distributors worldwide and am a sought after trainer in the Network Marketing industry in many different countries every year. I have written nine books on Network Marketing to share with you all that I learned along the way so that you can get to the top faster than I did. After 25 years, I have absolutely no regrets. I did it my way.

I didn’t want to be one of those mothers who leave their children all day to make money in exchange for raising their children. I didn’t want a job with shaky job security. I was seeking greater control over my future and wanted time with my children. Why should I put up with working for someone else when I could work at home just as well? I was not going to be denied a lifestyle and was willing to work for it. I wanted a more fulfilling life and had the courage to do what I really wanted to do. I figured that working from home, selling a product I was proud of would not be overwhelming, but instead very doable. I certainly didn’t do the business perfectly EVER but I learned that touching my business sincerely every day was enough. I realized that I would have to release old beliefs that others let hold them back. Just because you have desire is not enough. Decide what you really want to do in life and then go after it with all of your heart. Go after it with passion.

Is there something that burns within you? It needs to be more than somewhat of dissatisfaction with your current situation, no matter how unattractive you find life right now. It cannot come from something other people expect of you; you will not become successful just because your family believes in you. Find a spark of ambition deep inside of you, an idea that inflames your total being, your heart and mind and makes you want to go into action to change your life for the better forever. Waste no time in getting started and staying fired up for as long as it takes. You will not bend like a tree in high wind when the going gets tough. You will not blame your circumstances or make excuses of why you are not getting results. You burn all bridges to give yourself no way to retreat. You simply have made a decision inside your core that you want and deserve more out of life and your mantra becomes: If it's going to be it is up to me!

When you finally decide to go after your dream with all of your heart, you will. Turning a smoldering desire into a burning desire takes mental effort. No matter how much you attain in life, if it doesn’t fulfill that burning desire inside of you it will not mean anything. I wanted to have a grand lifestyle. I decided to use Party Plan as my vehicle to get it. By January 10th each year I had booked 52 parties. If you work the plan, and build a Network Business, you can have everything of which you ever dreamed. It only works if you do.

If you are going to achieve great success, plant in your mind a strong motive! Focus on what you want, not on what you don't want.

The best way to get started is with raw enthusiasm. Find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it. Take a look at all the home based businesses that are available today. There is something for everyone. I tell prospects that before I take their money to order their kit that they must be so excited to join me that they must book 6 home parties BEFORE I will let them join. I am interested in finding distributors who see the value in building a Network Marketing business. Remember, those who earn the big checks simply move the most product out of the warehouse and into the hands of the masses. There are only 2 ways to do this: 1) move the products yourself or 2) recruit others to do the same.

As I say to you now and always, Don’t Be average, be a Champion. Make sure you get my book, Let’s Party! Available at www.janruhe.com. I put everything I know about Home Parties in that book for you! Also, get a voice mail from me everyday by joining the Powerline Voice Mail Messaging at www.janruhe.com. Here is to your colossal success! For those of you in Party Plan, smart choice.

Fire Up!
Jan Ruhe

Walt Disney-A Creative Inspiration
by Stephanie Wetzel

To movie audiences of today, Steven Spielberg's name is synonymous with
creativity. From "E.T." to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," from "Schindler's List"
to his new release, "The Prince of Egypt," Spielberg has consistently found
new ways of impacting and inspiring viewers.

In the 1990's, Steven Spielberg's creativity is serving as the benchmark for
the next generation of filmmakers. But only a few decades ago, another great
filmmaker broke new ground daily, inspiring Spielberg's generation and
delighting audiences around the world. That man was Walt Disney, founder of
one of the most innovative entertainment empires in the world.

What was the secret to Disney's success? In his own words, "Most of my life I
have done what I wanted to do. I have had fun on the job." Disney enjoyed
every aspect of his work, from dream to realization. His success in the
subjective and competitive field of popular entertainment came from stepping
outside the lines. By age 22, Walt Disney had a multitude of dreams, so he
went to Hollywood to bring them to life. And over the years, he made them
happen with dedication and persistence. His vision took shape in several
important ways:

HE DREAMED THE IMPOSSIBLE.

"I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because
dreams offer too little collateral," said Walt. Most experts at the time
predicted failure. Even Disney's brother and business partner, Roy, considered
his idea of an elaborate theme park a "screwball idea."

Charles Shows, a former Disney writer-director, explained, "As usual, Walt was
way ahead of us--and ahead of his time." And while it took over 15 years and
$17 million to complete, 180 acres of family fun among the orange groves of
Anaheim, California, became a reality in 1955.

Disneyland was the world's first "theme park." But that was only one of many
"firsts" for Walt Disney. He also created the first sound cartoon ("Steamboat
Willie," 1928) and the first full-length animated feature film ("Snow White &
the Seven Dwarves," 1937). New ideas never stopped coming, and Walt never let
their seeming impossibility slow him down.

HE NEVER DID ANYTHING HALFWAY.

Disney didn't believe in taking small risks, even when conventional wisdom
said that his ideas couldn't succeed. When he was creating "Snow White," other
producers said that audiences would never sit through a full-length animated
feature film. Disney paid no attention and poured $1.5 million into the
project. And to everyone's surprise -- except Walt's -- "Snow White" became
the must-see film of 1937.

HE USED INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY.

Besides his own vision, Walt Disney paid close attention to what was happening
in his world. He decided to make "Steamboat Willie" a "talkie" right after
synchronized sound technology was made available. And when Technicolor was
just becoming popular, he created the first film of any kind in that medium
with his animated short, "Flowers and Trees."

HE ENCOURAGED CREATIVITY IN OTHERS.

It didn't take long for Walt Disney to realize that he wasn't the best
animator around. And he didn't always come up with the best ideas on his own.
He discovered that his talent was for "leading the charge," inspiring and
coaching others. So that's where he placed his focus.

Disney surrounded himself with creative people in every area. Employees who
knew him personally say that while Disney was a demanding boss, he was always
fun to work with. Since no idea was too silly or unrealistic to be considered,
Walt Disney's employees learned to think big, without limits.

HE NEVER STOPPED DREAMING.

After the success of motion pictures and Disneyland, Walt could have been more
than satisfied. But only a few years passed before he began talking about
"next time." Disappointed with the businesses that had built up around
Disneyland and that cheapened its image, he determined to have complete
control of the area around his next park. That's why Disney purchased 28,000
acres of marshland near Orlando, Florida, as he began drawing up plans for
Walt Disney World.

Today, over 30 years after Walt Disney's death, his model lives on. His
passion for excellence and innovation is still demonstrated in Disney parks,
in films, and even on Broadway in "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King."
Ideas Walt generated for including residential communities within the Florida
Disney property are even being implemented. Only now, more than three decades
later, are some of his cutting-edge creative ideas being implemented.

It all started with a mouse, and it's unlikely to end anytime soon. The Walt
Disney Company still flourishes under Walt's personal philosophy: "Think,
believe, dream, and dare."

Have a great day!
Jan Ruhe

Be willing
+++++++++++++++++++

Be willing to learn, and a teacher will appear. Be willing to
work, and numerous opportunities for making a valuable,
positive difference will come your way.

Your willingness is a key that unlocks life's abundance.
Your willingness helps opens your eyes to, and prepares you
for whatever you are willing to be or to do.

Your willingness is not merely what you say it is. True
willingness resides in the deepest part of who you are.

Be willing, and you wi! ll gain access to whatever you need to
get the job done. Be willing, and you will find a way.

Many things seem out of reach only because you imagine them
to be. Have the courage to be sincerely willing, and the
impossible can become real.

Be willing to make a difference in each moment, and your
world will overflow with possibilities. Be willing to
experience a life of richness and fulfillment, and that is
precisely how it will unfold.

Ralph Marston

The Scroll Marked III

I will persist until I succeed.

In the Orient young bulls are tested for the
fight arena in a certain manner. Each is brought to
the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks
them with a lance. The bravery of each bull is then
rated with care according to the number of times
he demonstrates his willingness to charge in spite
of the sting of the blade. Henceforth will I recog-
nize that each day I am tested by life in like
manner. If I persist, if I continue to try, if I
continue to charge forward, I will succeed.

I will persist until I succeed.

I was not delivered unto this world in defeat,
nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a
sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I
am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep
with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep
and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let
them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure
is not my destiny.

I will persist until I succeed.

The prizes of life are at the end of each journey,
not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to
know how many steps are necessary in order to
reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the
thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next
bend in the road. Never will I know how close it
lies unless I turn the corner.

Always will I take another step. If that is of no
avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth,
one step at a time is not too difficult.

I will persist until I succeed.

Henceforth, I will consider each day's effort as
but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak.
The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood,
nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself,
may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. Yet
from childish swipes the oak will eventually tum-
ble. So it will be with my efforts of today.

I will be liken to the rain drop which washes
away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger;
the star which brightens the earth; the slave who
builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick
at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated,
will complete any undertaking.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will never consider defeat and I will remove
from my vocabulary such words and phrases as
quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the ques-
tion, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless,
and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will
avoid despair but if this disease of the mind should
infect me then I will work on in despair. I will toil
and I will endure. I will ignore the obstacles at my
feet and keep mine eyes on the goals above my
head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green
grass grows.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will remember the ancient law of averages
and I will bend it to my good. I will persist with
knowledge that each failure to sell will increase
my chance for success at the next attempt. Each
nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea.
Each frown I meet only prepares me for the smile
to come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in
it the seed of tomorrow's good luck. I must have
the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to
succeed only once.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will try, and try, and try again. Each obstacle
I will consider as a mere detour to my goal and a
challenge to my profession. I will persist and de-
velop my skills as the mariner develops his, by
learning to ride out the wrath of each storm.

I will persist until I succeed.

Henceforth, I will learn and apply another secret
of those who excel in my work. When each day is
ended, not regarding whether it has been a success
or a failure, I will attempt to achieve one more
sale. When my thoughts beckon my tired body
homeward I will resist the temptation to depart. I
will try again. I will make one more attempt to
close with victory, and if that fails I will make an-
other. Never will I allow any day to end with a
failure. Thus will I plant the seed of tomorrow's
success and gain an insurmountable advantage
over those who cease their labor at a prescribed
time. When others cease their struggle, then mine
will begin, and my harvest will be full.

I will persist until I succeed.

Nor will I allow yesterday's success to lull me
into today's complacency, for this is the great
foundation of failure. I will forget the happenings
of the day that is gone, whether they were good or
bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that
this will be the best day of my life.

So long as there is breath in me, that long will
I persist. For now I know one of the greatest prin-
ciples of success; if I persist long enough I will win.

I will persist.

I will win.

by Og Mandino [original source here]

A Philosophy of Life
By Thomas Jefferson

In matters of principle, stand like a rock;
in matters of taste, swim with the current.
Give up money, give up fame, give up science,
give up the earth itself and all it contains, rather than do an immoral act.
And never suppose, that in any possible situation,
or under any circumstances, it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing.
Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were
all the world looking at you, and act accordingly.
He who permits himself to tell a lie once finds it
much easier to do it a second and third time, tell at
length it becomes habitual; he tells a lie without attending to it,and truths without the world believing him.

The Spirit of Opulence
By Thomas Troward,
Excerpt from The Hidden Power

"It is quite a mistake to suppose that we must restrict and stint ourselves in order to develop greater power or usefulness. This is to form the conception of the Divine Power as so limited that the best use we can make of it is by a policy of self-starvation, whether material or mental. Of course, if we believe that some form of self-starvation is necessary to our producing good work, then so long as we entertain this belief the fact actually is so for us.

But all this exists in, and is produced by, our belief; and when we come to examine the grounds of this belief we shall find that it rests upon an entire misapprehension of the nature of our own power.

If we clearly realize that the creative power in ourselves is unlimited, then there is no reason for limiting the extent to which we may enjoy what we can create by means of it.

Where we are drawing from the infinite we need never be afraid of taking more than our share.

That is not where the danger lies. The danger is in not sufficiently realizing our own richness, and in looking upon the externalized products of our creative power as being the true riches instead of the creative power of spirit itself. If we avoid this error, there is no need to limit ourselves in taking what we will from the infinite storehouse: "All things are yours." And the way to avoid this error is by realizing that the true wealth is in identifying ourselves with the spirit of opulence. We must be opulent in our thought. Do not "think money," as such, for it is only one means of opulence; but think opulence, that is, largely, generously, liberally, and you will find that the means of realizing this thought will flow to you from all quarters, whether as money or as a hundred other things not to be reckoned in cash.

We must not make ourselves dependent on any particular form of wealth, or insist on its coming to us through some particular channel - that is at once to impose a limitation, and to shut out other forms of wealth and to close other channels; but we must enter into the spirit of it.

Now the spirit is Life, and throughout the universe Life ultimately consists in circulation,
whether within the physical body of the individual or on the scale of the entire solar system;
and circulation means a continual flowing around, and the spirit of opulence is no exception to this universal law of all life.

When once this principle becomes clear to us, we shall see that our attention should be directed rather to the giving than the receiving.

We must look upon ourselves, not as misers' chests to be kept locked for our own benefit, but as centres of distribution; and the better we fulfil our function as such centres the greater will be the corresponding inflow. If we choke the outlet the current must slacken, and a full and free flow can be obtained only by keeping it open. The spirit of opulence - the opulent mode of thought, that is - consists in cultivating the feeling that we possess all sorts of riches which we can bestow upon others, and which we can bestow liberally because by this very action we open the way for still greater supplies to flow in.

But you say, "I am short of money, I hardly know how to pay for necessaries. What have I to give?"

The answer is that we must always start from the point where we are; and if your wealth at the present moment is not abundant on the material plane, you need not trouble to start on that plane. There are other sorts of wealth, still more valuable, on the spiritual and intellectual planes, which you can give; and you can start from this point and practise the spirit of opulence, even though your balance at the bank may be nil. And then the universal law of attraction will begin to assert itself. You will not only begin to experience an inflow on the spiritual and intellectual planes, but it will extend itself to the material plane also.

If you have realized the spirit of opulence you cannot help drawing to yourself material good, as well as that higher wealth which is not to be measured by a money standard; and because you truly understand the spirit of opulence you will neither affect to despise this form of good, nor will you attribute to it a value that does not belong to it; but you will coordinate it with your other more interior forms of wealth so as to make it the material instrument in smoothing the way for their more perfect expression. Used thus, with understanding of the relation which it bears to spiritual and intellectual wealth, material wealth becomes one with them, and is no more to be shunned and feared than it is to be sought for its own sake.

It is not money, but the love of money, that is the root of evil; and the spirit of opulence is
precisely the attitude of mind which is furthest removed from the love of money for its own
sake. It does not believe in money. What it does believe in is the generous feeling which is the intuitive recognition of the great law of circulation, which does not in any undertaking make its first question, How much am I going to get by it? but, How much am I going to do by it? And making this the first question, the getting will flow in with a generous profusion, and with a spontaneousness and rightness of direction that are absent when our first thought is of receiving only.

We are not called upon to give what we have not yet got and to run into debt; but we are to give liberally of what we have, with the knowledge that by so doing we are setting the law of circulation to work, and as this law brings us greater and greater inflows of every kind of
good, so our out-giving will increase, not by depriving ourselves of any expansion of our own life that we may desire, but by finding that every expansion makes us the more powerful instruments for expanding the life of others. "Live and let live" is the motto of the true opulence."

How I Raised Myself From Failure To
Success In Selling
By Frank Bettger
by Michael C. Gray

May 30, 2000

How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling is a self-help classic that everyone should read. This is one of a few books that I go back to for a "refresher" each year because it covers not only principles of selling but also principles for successful living.

Every one of us is involved with selling, whether we are selling our product or service, selling ourselves in a job interview, selling ourselves to a prospective mate, or selling our children on making good decisions in life.

The "lessons" revolve around the life experiences of Frank Bettger, who was a living American success story. Frank Bettger's father died without any life insurance when he was a small boy. His mother had to take in washing and sewing to feed and clothe her five children. Three of the children died from illness. Frank had no formal education after the sixth grade. He played professional baseball, and had to quit because of an injury.

He was working collecting accounts on a bicycle for a furniture store when one of his former team mates suggested he try selling life insurance. He was initially a failure as an insurance salesperson, and was ready to quit. Then he learned some lessons that enabled him to turn his career around and eventually become one of the most successful life insurance salespersons of his time. According to Dale Carnegie, author of How To Make Friends And Influence People, Frank became so successful, he could have retired at age 40. Dale Carnegie was a friend of Frank's and invited him to share his experiences in a nationwide lecture tour for the Junior Chambers of Commerce (now Jaycees), and finally begged him to write them down in a book, one of the most practical books ever written on the subject of selling.

One of the lessons Frank shares is how the power of enthusiasam increased his income by 700% in ten days.

When Frank was ready to quit the selling business, one sentence put him back in the business and turned around his career. That sentence was from Walter LeMar Talbot, President of the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company. "Gentlemen, after all, this business of selling narrows down to one thing - just one thing . . . seeing the people! Show me any man of ordinary ability who will go out and earnestly tell his story to four or five people every day, and I will show you a man who just can't help making good!"

Frank discovered that seeing four or five people a day was actually a big job. In order to keep on track, he found it was critically important for him to keep good records. By tracking the results of his calls, he was able to improve his closing ratio from one sale out of 29 calls to one out of three, and the value of his calls from $2.30 to $19 each.

On one of his sales calls, Frank hit a "home run." He made one of the largest sales in the history of his company to that point. In analyzing the sale, he wasn't able to determine what had happened. Then an "old timer," Clayt Hunsicker, pointed out to Frank the reason for this successful sale, and changed Frank's mission in selling. Clayt said, "The most important secret of salesmanship is to find out what the other fellow wants, then help him find the best way to get it. . . If you will always remember this one rule, selling will be easy."

Frank concludes the book by revealing a key secret of his success. As a resident of Philadelphia, he was fascinated with one of Philadelphia's most famous historical persons, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin only had two years of formal education and became one of the leading scholars and statesmen of his time.

When reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Frank noticed that Benjamin Franklin wrote about a system he used for his personal development. Franklin dedicated more space relating to this idea - fifteen pages - than anything else in the book, said he owed all of his success and happiness to the system, and concluded "I hope, therefore, that some of my descendents may follow the example and reap the benefit." Franklin described a system where he chose thirteen subjects and focused on improving on each one for a week at a time. At the end of thirteen weeks, he would repeat the procedure, completing four "sets" in a year. Frank Bettger found in Franklin's system a method of self-discipline and developed himself to be one of the greatest salespersons of his time.

Notably, in developing his "character based" system of personal development, Steven Covey also referred to Franklin's system in developing The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People. Franklin and Bettger gave the examples for one of the most popular personal development systems today.

Although many things may change, basic human needs and desires stay the same. Most people want to be healthy and happy, to have friends, and to provide for their families. The basic principles of appealing to human beings for their benefit remain the same. How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling will remain a valuable guidepost for the ages, that every person should read.

www.janruhe.com

~THE DAFFODIL PRINCIPLE~

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say,
"Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday, " I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly and said," We drive in this all the time,
Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.
"I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car. "How far will we have to drive?" "Just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."
After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!" "We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils." "Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns -- great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There
were five acres of flowers. "But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. "It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's
her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking"
was the headline. The first answer was a simple one.
"50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "one at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958." There it was. The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was a
life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met,who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun -- one bulb at a time -- to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. Still, just
planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time -- often just one baby-step at a time -- and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world. "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" My daughter summed up the message of the day in her direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"