Monday, February 25, 2013
Wayne Macnamara: Living LIFE
Here is a superb article by Wayne Macnamara, one of the PC leaders in LIFE Training. Orrin Woodward said Wayne is one of the hungriest leaders in the LIFE Business. So hungry in fact, that he would practically eat nails. :) What are you hungry to achieve in life? Here's the article.
In the LIFE community we celebrate the accomplishments of achievers by rewarding their efforts, what we have seen is that there are really 3 basic forms of recognition that people strive for;
1/ RECOGNITION- my business leader and mentor Claude Hamilton say’s, babies will cry for it and grown men will die for it. Recognition is important to the LIFE community because we want people to know they are appreciated for their hard work. Some of my favourite moments at a LIFE live event are watching my friends celebrated for their achievements and team effort.
2/ MONEY- do not buy into money is evil, money is not evil, what you do with your money makes it good or bad. So really if you are a good person you will do good things with money if your bad person you’ll do bad things. Money enhances the person you are. If right now we removed all the oxygen out of the room your in, what would be your main focus or thought. AIR !!!! Well today in our society money is on most people’s minds, many people are struggling with money and feel overwhelmed on just where to start. The LIFE business has so much great information on money views and how to tackle your financial depth load or how to start saving money. My friend and mentor Orrin Woodward has written in his book RESOLVED 13 resolutions for LIFE, (MUST READ) 10 financial principles that he has used and has helped many other people use to become financially free. When a person has financial freedom his priorities in life surface and his true passion and desires are known. There is an offence and defence to great money management skills, the LIFE business compensation plan is aggressive for those wanting to take to the offence and make more money.
3/ CAUSE/PURPOSE- “I know when my potential,passions, and profits intersect, my purpose is revealed.” Orrin Woodward. Most people are striving so hard to tackle the money situations in their lives that they very seldom get to a place in there heart and mind to just think about their purpose. Claude Hamilton has always said that the brave men in World War II never went to battle for a new Cadillac/BMW or a free trip, they risked everything to defend the freedoms of people and to give their families a better opportunity tomorrow then they had that day.
The best example I can use to put all 3 forms of motivation into perspective is to think of a situation where I ask you to walk across two buildings 300 ft in the air. The space between the two buildings is about 30 ft. Now I have a few of my friends on one side of the building waiting for you to do this, we will cheer you on and celebrate your victory when you make it. There is a light wind today and the wood plank you’ll be walking on is a little wet and slippery. Without a doubt if you slip and fall you are not surviving.
How many people right now would walk that blank for recognition ?
OK, me either , lets say now all situations the same, 300 ft in air, 30 ft apart from building to building, slippery wood plank and a light wind, death if you slip and fall. What if now I say, I will give you $10 000 to walk across ?
How many people right now would walk the 30 ft plank for $10 000 ? AH—NOT HAPPENING BUD.
Alright I agree, very few mildly sane people would risk their lives for this recognition or this amount of money. Now allow me to through another twist at you. Lets say all situations the same 300 ft in air, 30 ft apart from building to building, slippery wood plank and a light wind, let’s also add that it starts to rain heavy, one small misstep and your gone. Here is the difference, instead of some recognition and instead of $10 000 now on the other side of the 30 ft plank is your precious baby and the person holding your baby says to you, you have 30 seconds to cross this wooden plank or I drop your little one. OH MY !
How many people would not even hesitate for a second to walk/crawl/leap across that plank to save their small innocent child ? The motivation has changed dramatically, this is a cause/purpose ladies and gentlemen. It many times overwhelms your thoughts and controls your actions.
The goal of the LIFE community is to equip you with the necessary tools and thinking to come into this amazing business and as quickly as possible have you move through all 3 forms of motivation. When you discover your God-given purpose you will strive daily to get better and you will never feel like your wasting your days. Yes you will labour and yes you will fall and fail but the meaning of your work will take you farther then just recognition or money ever will.
Start today and strive to hit the first level of motivation, Recognition. Run hard to win any promotion your business support team is running. I love spending time with and ( recognizing ) the leaders that decided to get there. When we are loyal and reward the few, long term we will be blessed with the many.
Are you hanging out with your business leaders to gain perspective and belief in certain areas ?
When you hang out with your leaders are you seeking knowledge to grow your business or are you just there for the fun, are you hungry and lit on fire for your dream, what would you do to pursue your purpose ?
Create awesome experiences for your business leaders that are striving for excellence and reward them accordingly with specific promotions that recognize their achievements.
‘Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away’ Unknown.
Make today count, strive for excellence in all you do.
God bless
Wayne
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 2:52 PM EST
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Leaders Replace Themselves
Chris Mattis shares some excellent thought on leadership in the article below. The LIFE Business is filled with leaders the caliber of Mr. Mattis. Orrin Woodward's life is about creating a LIFE Leadership Factory. Are you hungry, honeable, and honorable? If yes, then perhaps you qualify to be part of LIFE's leadership team.
Replacement Driven Leadership
I’ve been asked, “What is the specific genius of Orrin Woodward, Chris Brady and Tim Marks?” Based on what I’ve learned from them, I would say it has to be their abilities to replace themselves at will. Let me elaborate.
All of us were raised with certain paradigms, ways of thinking about our world. Some of us were raised by self-employed parents. This was my experience. Others were raised by parents employed by others. Still others had parents that didn’t create or do any work, as a way to take care of their children financially. Regardless of what example we saw growing up, that example helped shape our thinking.
By their example our parents created a legacy or pattern in our lives. Wether purposefully or accidentally, habits, limiting beliefs, and even parts of our future got created without any thought from us. All of this is true, right up until we recognize that we have a choice to create our own futures.
What if you didn’t have to be dependent on the value that others placed on you? What if you could pick new examples to learn from and re-pattern your life after? What if you discovered you could have any future you wanted?
I started out life the son of a small business owner. My father owned and operated a packaging company. He was very “independent” in his thinking. He used to say, “If You want it done right, you do it yourself.” So Dad was Pharaoh, the top of his own pyramid. His future was based on his time, effort and thinking. If he couldn’t show up he didn’t make money.
He wanted security for me, so he told me to go to school and learn to work for someone else. Now, I was “dependent” on someone else’s thinking. I was in someone else’s pyramid. My value was being set by my new master. Based on others’ thinking, my shifts, wages and working conditions were set permanently. My future and many choices were made for me. I knew where I could afford to live, the cars I could drive, what time I had to go to bed, wether my kids could have braces, what kinds of clothes I could wear. I also knew that I could not get the best medical care or afford the time or money to care for my parents if needed, etc.
As fortunate as I’ve been, many of my friends grew up relegated to what others, with no personal interest in them, had chosen for them. They grew up with parents that got by on welfare, that rarely or never worked to create something for their family. As sad as this is, for reasons such as killing the human spirit or being controlled by others through dependency on the state, it is still only a starting point, not a death sentence.
Most Americans have been raised to be “independent” (top of the pyramid), “dependent” (in the a pyramid), or worst of all, “dependent on the state” (dictated to and controlled by an unrelated, uninvested third party).
Getting around best selling author Tim Marks and listening to world ranked Leadership Guru’s Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady exposed me to a new way of seeing the world. Not through a pyramid or win/lose thinking. For the first time I understood there were win/win realities. That you could “invest” time and not sell it; you could create “inter-dependent” relationships. Where, I actually need you and you need me and together we are way more than the sum of our parts.
This is called “Replacement Driven Leadership” or “Legacy Driven Leadership.” Purposefully investing in others to create a new future and making learning a discipline in your life are key parts to this kind of leadership. Three specific shifts in thinking must occur to create a culture that moves beyond you.
1st: Learning to see others in their gifts and not through our limitations.
2nd: Identifying what makes them great and systemizing so it is a learnable, repeatable skill.
3rd: Passing ownership in someway.
First: In my Christian world view I would call it, “casting our sins upon others” when we see others in our limiting beliefs. It is however human nature to assume if I do trust people it’s someone else’s fault if I’m incompetent or lazy. I better ride others because people are flakes, etc. A common statement I hear a lot is, “I don’t have people I can trust.” So why do others have high trust relationships and incredible results? Because they’ve learned how to extend, develop and build trust. That comes from growing our own character and heart change. Once we can see the genius and potential in others the world becomes unlimited through team work.
Second: Being good at something is not enough. We have to identify why we are good something or we can’t teach it to others and leave a legacy behind us. It is an art to discover why we are good at something. This is such an important issue that in Resolved Orrin Woodward has an entire chapter dedicated to “Systemized Thinking”. Jim Collins wrote Good to Great about companies that did not know why they were good at what they did and now all those companies are gone. How the Mighty Fall, about the collapse of those same companies, by Jim Collins was jokingly retitled, aptly, by Chris Brady “Great to Gone“.
Third: Starbucks is a company that is on the edge of this issue of not knowing what makes them great. The key to their operation is not the systemized way of making coffee or the hope to be our third favorite place to be. It is their financial incentives that keep managers focused on hiring, training and promoting great people. Starbucks has, on accident, created one of the best retention programs possible. If they ever change it they will also go by the wayside.
So much of our time in the world goes into training our competition and our replacements with no long term financial gain. Many times the people we train leave us and even take our customers. What if everyone you ever trained you got paid, four or five percent of their productivity forever? That is how 95% of the worlds wealth is created. Invest time into others, systemize what they are good at and pass ownership. Launching a Leadership Revolution by Woodward and Brady is the best manual written on “Replacement Driven Leadership”.
Better Information changes Thinking and Better Thinking changes Results, Every Time!
Hope this finds You Well
Chris Mattis
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 9:52 AM EST
Updated: Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:57 AM EST
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Greg Johnson: Servant Leader
Greg Johnson is a servant leader. His insights and perspectives are worth reading. In this article, he shares his thoughts on a book titled The Serving Leader. Greg, as leader of the Rhino organization in the LIFE Business, mentors with Orrin Woodward and it shows. His teams are growing throughout the country and his leadership is making a difference in many individuals lives.
Everyone loves a good story. Even better is a story that can be personal to you, where parts of the story are really parts of your story. Add to that story lessons that we can learn, that can move us to apply those lessons that are taught. That is what this book does, through a story of a father and son who have little it common or so it seems. How many of us have parents who we can’t seem to please, or who don’t recognize or acknowledge our efforts or accomplishments? This is a story of a father and son who are worlds apart but through tragedy come back together.
This book comes with some pretty powerful contributors with Forwards by Leadership experts Ken Blanchard and Orrin Woodward. Ken Blanchard best known for his book The One Minute Manager, and Whale Done is a legend in the leadership world. Orrin Woodward is the international best-selling author of Resolved and co-author of the NY Times Best Seller; Launching a Leadership Revolution. He is founder of The LIFE company and Independent Association of Business “Leader of the Year”.
The authors of The Serving Leader Ken Jennings Ph.D. and John Stahl-Wert, D. Min. both have extensive education, and a wealth of experience leading and teaching. Mr. Jennings is a past co-director of the Global Leadership in Healthcare Program at University of Michigan Business School, and has a Bachelors in Behavioral Science from the Air Force Academy, and was an adjunct professor at Columbia University Business School. John Stahl-Wert is President and CEO of Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation and on the faculty of Geneva College’s Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership.
“Five Powerful Actions that will Transform your Team, your Business and Your Community” That’s the tag line just below the title describing how this book, The Serving Leader, can impact us.
This book delivers. Read it, then give me your feedback.
I’d love to hear if this book impacted you the way it did me.
I’d love to hear your story.
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 9:52 AM EST
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Matt Mielke: LIFE Identity
Matt Mielke was a pharmacist, his wife (Michelle) was a doctor, and now they are both job optional, thanks to the LIFE Business. They mentor with Dan & Lisa Hawkins and Orrin & Laurie Woodward. In this article Matt shares the transformation in his thinking.
It was Saturday afternoon and my family was heading to the University of Wisconsin Badgers football game. It is a yearly tradition for us to don the Red and White and fanatically cheer with 80,000+ fans in celebration of a hopeful victory for our alma mater.
There was a season in my life when I believed that my entire identity was wrapped up in being a “Badger.” I was a face painter, I had season football, basketball, and hockey tickets. I was the first to be in line and last to leave the stadium. My moods would rise and fall based on if the Badgers won or lost.
Strangely though, if they won my joy lasted about 24 hours, but if they lost, I would be depressed for a week. Up and down, week after week, I allowed my identity and my emotions to be dictated by something I couldn’t control – a sports team.
My observations over the last 2 decades are that many people, especially the youth, are lacking a personal identity. As my children grow in age, knowledge, and curiosity, my wife and I spend more time trying to impress upon them the importance of developing a healthy identity in life and not just going along with the crowd. We often quote best-selling author Chris Brady:
“Whatever way the crowd is going, run the other way!”
How do I know people are struggling to find and express their identity? Look at the exponential appearance of body art (tattooing) in our country. It’s an individual’s way to express themselves and say, “Hey, look at who I am. I’m more than just what you see on the surface.” Look at the maddening fascination with sports, sports TV, MTV, fantasy sports leagues. People are trying to grab on to some team, or some symbol that defines who they are. Recently, we learned one of the most common admission’s to the adolescent wing in a local psychiatric hospital is sexual identity crisis. Wow, if that isn’t evidence of a lost identity for young people.
There are multiple directions I could go with this post, but I want to focus on one area in particular: the loss of our national identity.
What does it mean to be an American?
Recently I attended a lecture from best-selling author
Oliver Demille at a LIFE leadership convention in Milwaukee, WI. DeMille described the battle that exists, often undetected, for our families, the sanctity of marriage, morality, free enterprise and freedom in general. It is a battle that intends to strip us of our identity.
In terms of a national identity, a healthy nation is a group of people with a shared heritage of the past and a shared vision of the future. This, in essence, is the nation’s IDENTITY.
Demille described how every healthy nation has an identity. It looks like a giant tree with two main tap roots. One taproot is a national book (higher authority) and the other is the nation’s epistemology (understanding of truth). Without them, the nation has no identity and therefore is limited in developing a healthy nation and providing a foundation for the development of healthy individual identities for its people.
DeMille referenced a question posed to Americans over the decades:
“If you were kicked off the planet, what two books would you take?”
DeMille detailed the surprising and alarming trends that developed over the last half century. In the 1950′s, the Bible and Declaration of Independence were the predominant answers. In the 1960′s, the Bible was still the nation’s foundation for truth but the country was starting to lose an identity with a national document. By the 1970′s, the answer spaces were left blank, or filled in with a question mark. And by the 1980′s, people apparently had no idea what documents help us understand our national identity or what we could reference for universal truth. The deficit was glaring as Americans would answer with the title of their favorite song. In four short decades our source for authority and understanding of truth was stripped away.
Why Do We Need a National Book and What Really is Epistemology?
A national book gives the people a higher authority that people can turn to when questioned. It provides a foundation to rely upon in times of trouble. It can also give a historical road map to help a nation and individual to live by.
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge. Basically, epistemology helps someone determine if something is true. Below are some well known examples of how someone can come to understand truth.
- Pragmatism- If it works for me it must be true.
- Aestheticism- If it’s beautiful it must be true.
- Humanism- If most people believe it then it’s true.
- Empiricism – Scientific method has proved it to be true.
- Mathematics, Logic and many others.
The most powerful epistemology today is Credentialism: the “experts” with the most credentials determine what other “experts” say is true and right. These people are highly educated by other credentialists and have a lot of letters and titles after their names (My wife and I were the poster-children for credentialists). Doctor of flippity-flop, and director of such-and-such, PhD, MD, CDC, ABCDEFG. I beg to ask the question, “What if the credentialists aren’t right?” After all, we’ve lost our framework and foundation for what truth is and I would think that now more than ever, we need to question what the credentialists positions are, what is their message, and what sources are they using as their foundation of truth.
Credentialism is in direct conflict with another powerful epistemology known as Independent Thinking. Independent Thinking would state that an individual should listen, read and gather all the data themselves then come to their own conclusion. Independent Thinking, with the foundation of studying and learning from historical examples, is what established our republic and the prosperity of our nation for the first 150 years.
Where do get your national identity? Do you rely on someone else to tell you what it is, or do you gather the information and study it yourself to make your own conclusions?
In America people are struggling with an identity crisis as the national identity is divided into 2 camps: The Credentialists (CR) and the Independent Thinkers (IT). They are in a battle of epic proportions, yet very few see it, or even know it exists. The CR would have you believe the national truth and identity should come from Freud and Nietzsche, while the IT still believe in the Bible and the Constitution for our truth and identity.
Which nation do you belong to? Perhaps, it’s a little of both. For me, I was highly educated, but I had little awareness of the battle going on. Therefore I wandered around my world with the only identity I could grab – A University of Wisconsin, face-painting, Badger fan. My identity ran deep and my emotions rose and fell based on the weekly outcome. One season I’m a loser, the next, a winner. I was a face-painting credentialist that didn’t know how to lead my family or children. I learned a lot of book knowledge, but after college, TV took over as the teacher and gave me all the wisdom and examples of how NOT to raise a family and be a good husband. So I ran around confused, with a broken identity, like so many families and individuals in our world today.
Here’s the Good News!
The business of LIFE is here!! There is a way, a self-directed education if you will, to gain insight into this battle and most importantly what you can do about it. The LIFE business is specifically designed to walk the individual down a path of discovery in 8 specific areas in life: Faith, Family, Finances, Fun, Freedom, Following(leadership), Fitness and Friends. As the masses walk around grasping for an identity in all the weird places, there is now a map to help them find an identity and a much clearer path toward a life that they always wanted.
I spend less time at Badger games, but I do spend a lot of time with tens of thousands of friends that are filling up arenas and stadiums around North America celebrating “LIFE” victories.
I still enjoy a good Badger game, but the only thing I paint on my face is a smile for every “LIFE” victory I see. A true victory that lasts for generations. A male discovers he can be a “man” in this world and it’s cool. I love seeing a mother come home, guilt free, to be a stay-at-home mom. I love seeing someone start making tough decisions with their finances to get out of debt, or to break free from a life-long addiction. I love seeing marriages saved and extended families reunited after years of conflict. I love my new LIFE identity and I know you will too. I invite you to check out for yourself the life you’ve always wanted.
Godspeed on your journey.
Matt
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 12:15 PM EST
Updated: Tuesday, February 5, 2013 12:19 PM EST
Monday, February 4, 2013
Climbing the Mountains of Life
Dan Hawkins shares his perspective on climbing out of the valleys and to the mountaintops of life. The LIFE Business gives everyone a chance. That's it - a chance to succeed. No guarantees, no promise of easy, but a promise that everyone who achieves success would do it again for the results available. Orrin Woodward says, "We don't promise easy, but we do promise worth it." What would you be willing to sacrifice for? Here is Dan's article:
Hello everyone I wanted to share this article by best-selling author Orrin Woodward because it so accurately 
explains the success Lisa and I have been able to experience in the LIFE business.
It reminds me of a time when the owner of the company I worked for was teasing me about getting into a pyramid scheme. He said something to the effect “The guy on top always makes the most money and you will never really get successful enough to get financially free.” So I asked him a simple question. How can I, as a mechanic working for you, earn more money than you? I am willing to work 24/7, can I out earn you? He stared with a pause and then said, “no, I charge $100 an hour for your time and pay you $25 an hour.” “Even if you worked 24 hours a day I always make more….but thats different, he said.” Yeah, because you are on top of this pyramid! You would have a different perspective if you where in my shoes! You see, I had no way to advance, no way to make it to his position. I never met a mechanic who achieved financial independence in that field!
When I was introduced to the MLM profession the first thing I noticed was I have a chance. A chance to climb as high as I want with the only limiting factor being my ability to learn and grow my self and my craft. The LIFE business is that chance for you, giving limitless possibilities but requiring you to develop the skills necessary for success. I believe that is what scared me initially. I had a job that I could live a decent life, pay the bills and be comfortable. I did not even need to give it my all and I would get by. But deep inside, buried by fear, was the desire to climb out of mediocrity and win in life. I love the quote by Chris Brady, “There is no significance in a safe life and no safety in a significant life.” This profession is filled with people wanting to help you bring our your best. There are so many ways in this world one can achieve success by stepping on others, LIFE in contrast, you succeed by lifting up others.
I am so thankful that the founders of the LIFE business decided to launch a company that levels the playing field for everyone. Dan and Lisa Hawkins will be forever grateful to George & Jill Guzzardo and Orrin and Laurie Woodward for lifting us up and giving us a chance to climb!
Find and fulfill you purpose in LIFE, I dare you!
God bless,
Dan Hawkins
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 11:32 AM EST
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Marc & Kristine Militello: Clearing the Fog
Kristine Militello has a great post on the power of goals and vision here. The Militello's have climbed their way out of massive debt and into financial freedom through applying the principles taught in the LIFE Business Financial pack and building their LIFE community. Orrin Woodward believes that Adveristy Quotient is more important than Intelligence Quotient, but in the Militello's case, they have both! Kristine's post explains the rest.
This morning God decided to give me a visual lesson about the power of goals and vision, and it was so good, I couldn't just keep it for myself.
As many of you know, our oldest daughter, Kali, has owned a horse for 6 years. She's had a few through the years, but with that aside, she has had horses as the focal point of her life for 6 years. She talks about horses, wants to ride every horse she can, she loves her cowboy boots and her camo jacket. She has decorated her brand new bedroom in a western theme! She has horse shoes and a barn wood mirror, and her dresser and nightstand are made from beautiful, distressed wood that a true horse-lovin country girl looks at with love! Kali's life leaves a lot of clues about what she loves the most: HORSES.
Kali lives her life in such a way that a perfect stranger could identify her life focus. That's pretty impressive. However, for all the visual horse equipment on display there was no fire burning inside. She had all the outward signs, but inside it has been empty for awhile. Because of all the "gear" she has, only those closest to her would even know that the passion was dwindling down.
As parents, sometimes we forget that our role isn't just laundry, chuaffeuring and discipline. We're mentors to our children as well. We are our child's leader.
As Kali's
leaders, we identified our daughter had lost her way, and it was time for her to have an office visit with Dad. Last Wednesday Kali and I sat in
Dad's office for some mentoring. (It's so cool that what we do applies to our entire lives!)
We talked and listened and she talked, cried, expressed frustration and confusion and for an hour and a half we worked her through what the real challenge was: No focus. She had too many goals! She had no vision of which direction she wanted to go. She was immersed in the midst of her love and her passion and was absolutely lost and therefore, she was going nowhere.
So Marc left her with three tasks to complete:
1. Narrow her focus and choose which direction truly was her passion.
2. Decide if she was willing to do the work.
3. Set goals.
Four days passed, and Kali had listened to her Dad and done the hardest work: The thinking work.
Last night, Marc and I were heading home and I received an excited call from Kali. "Mom, I have to ride tomorrow!" she said. "So, I'm thinking 8:30am."
8:30 am??? Tomorrow? 8:30? hmmmmmm. "Ok", I said. But what I was really thinking is, "What happened to my daughter?"
Kali is awesome, and has many tremendous qualities, but getting out of bed in the morning isn't on that list! Kali equates the need for sleep with the need for oxygen! And she does NOT like getting up in the morning. So, to be honest, I thought, we'll see about this. Besides, she told ME to wake her up so we could go.
I set my alarm for 7:30am. The alarm went off, I checked the weather and saw it was 3 degrees and happily turned off my alarm. Kali doesn't ride went it's 23 degrees, there is NO way she's getting up this early and going outside when it's 3 degrees outside!!!!!!!!!! Awesome. My pillow felt great this morning, and I was happy to stay under the covers.
I was wrong. 1 hour later, my daughter stood next to my bed, fully dressed with a smile on her face saying, "Mom!" It's time to go! Get ready!"
I told her it was only 3 degrees thinking that would stop her. It didn't. She said, "So, I still want to go, and you said you'd take me."
I got out of bed and drove her to the barn. It was strange at first. My daughter, who is normally less than happy in the morning was talking my ear off telling me all kinds of stories asking me questions, smiling from ear to ear. She was so happy to be going to the barn!
When we arrived, she and her horse had so much fun. They were literally playing follow the leader in the arena! Running and playing and equally enjoying the fun they were having! (It's 3 degrees out remember!) She was laughing and smiling and fully alive! I had fun just watching them. Her utter joy-filled passion made me feel the same way!
The drive home was the same. She laughed and asked me questions and talked and smiled. She never once complained it was cold, though her cheeks were bright red from being out in the cold. She never once said anything about cold hands or feet. She had zero complaints and only smiles and joy!
What happened to my daughter? What changed so drastically and quickly? What relit the fire for her passion?
FOCUS. VISION. GOALS.
That's it. My daughter, through her mentor/father, was able to clear the fog and re-find her way! That's ALL she did. She got a focus, a vision of where she was going and she set some goals to get there.
Think about that. She had EVERYTHING she needed to be considered a true, camo-colored cowgirl! She had all the tools. She had all the right words. She had the skills and talent. She had the love for the sport. And she had no passion UNITL she got a focus, a vision and set some goals!
So, what about you? Do you have everything you need to play the game of LIFE and none of the passion? It could be that you're like Kali, and you've just lost your way a bit. It might be time for you to confront the brutal reality and realize, you can have everything and be going no where if you don't have a game plan to get there!
Don't let another passion-less day go by! Get FOCUSED! Get a VISION of where you are going! Set GOALS and make a game plan to get there! And relight your passion!
It's time to live the LIFE you've always wanted, and there is no better time than now to start!
God Bless!
Kristine
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 9:32 AM EST
Updated: Saturday, February 2, 2013 9:35 AM EST
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Dan Hawkins: Top 50 Blogs to Watch
Dan Hawkins blog received more recognition at the end of 2012 - it was ranked one of the top 50 blogs to watch! Dan and Lisa Hawkins have become one of the top leaders within community building by their hungry and teachable attitude. The LIFE Business is filled with hungry students seeking to grow personally and professionally. Orrin Woodward has a goal to reach 1 million people and I wouldn't bet against it. This is Dan's post.
Wow 2012 has flown by and we are ready for a great 2013. I hope you are planning and setting goals for next year. My wife Lisa and I have discussed many times the goals we plan on accomplishing in 2013.
One of my goals is to continue to improve my writing and sharing through this blog. I believe in the principle Orrin Woodward teaches: “Ideas have consequences.” The LIFE business and its founders have committed their lives to bringing better ideas to the world to make a difference.
While setting goals for my blog someone made me aware of some recognition this blog received that lines up 
perfectly with my goals! Evan Carmichael from The Entrepreneur Blog has picked Dan Hawkins Leadership as one of the Top 50 Leadership Blogs to watch in 2013! I would like to extend a warm thank you to Evan for picking this blog, and will continue to work at making this blog a great leadership resource. It is an honor for someone like Evan to take the time to point out my blog.
The goal of the LIFE business and the founders is to bring world class information to the masses, not only through competitive pricing, but a compensated community business model that allows everyone to share in the profits.
Here is what my business partner Orrin Woodward had to say about the first year of the LIFE business.
Amid much fanfare, several best-selling authors and top leaders partnered together in the community building business with a goal to end the decline of North American morale and productivity. When opportunity and preparedness meet, success must happen. The LIFE founders were prepared and, thanks to God’s grace, the opportunity presented itself to do something in the leadership field that had never been done before. With the LIFE founders, the LIFE business exceeded even my highest expectations for the first year.
I hope you have high hopes for 2013 and make it your best year yet! You can bet the founders at LIFE have big things planned and are looking forward to you joining us.
God bless
Dan Hawkins
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 7:49 AM EST
Updated: Thursday, January 31, 2013 7:52 AM EST
Monday, January 28, 2013
Leadership: Center of Influence
Bill Lewis shares an interesting perspective on centers of influence and centers of attention. The LIFE Business teaches people how to influence people in the direction of improved lives. Orrin Woodward says LIFE stands for Leadership Is For Everyone because improved leadership helps all. Here is Bill's article.
I just found some material that ties into a previous post that I did on layers. Are you a center of influence person, or are you a center of attention person? Don’t answer too quickly; wait until I explain and then think through your answer. In the previous post on layers, I spoke about people’s fears and how they start to build up protective layers because of those fears. Then they build up layers on top of those layers to keep anyone from even getting close to those fears. These layers determine the way people respond and act under different circumstances. This new information provides a great example of how to identify if you have built up layers and maybe don’t know it. It also helps show you how you will think when you minimize the number of fears you have, which in turn, will eliminate layers.
A center of influence person is aware that every thought, emotion, word, and behavior he expresses has an effect. If you are a center of influence person, you understand that you set the tone for your relationships. You take responsibility for how you interact with others and how they treat you. You cannot control what other people think or how they behave, yet your beliefs and behavior serve to teach others how they should treat you. If you are in a difficult situation with someone, you ask yourself, “What effect did my communication have on that person and that situation?” As a center of influence person, you see others in terms of their needs, not yours. And you acknowledge the way you feel and recognize that you are the cause.
As a center of attention person, you emanate fear and see other people according to what they have done to you or what they should be doing for you. Emotionally, you believe others should change to meet your needs and wants—that others should fit your ideas and beliefs in order for you to feel complete. The world must conform to your expectations. When it does conform to your expectations, you say that things are going well. When it doesn’t, you are unhappy. When your well-being comes from outside of you, there is always a fear that you won’t get what you need or want. You see the world as having caused you to feel hurt or angry.
If you are a center of influence person, then you operate with very few layers. If you are a center of attention person, then you still have many layers that need to be worked on and removed. It is easy to look at specific situations in our lives and say, “I get along great with people” or “I do think of others.” We think of people we like or situations that are in our favor, and we can easily convince ourselves that we don’t have many layers. But the way to analyze this is to think of people we don’t get along with, people that have different opinions than ours, and situations that are not in our favor. Does your opinion of those people change, or do you try to understand why they think the way they do? Do you blame the situation for why you didn’t do what you were supposed to do? Another way to analyze this is to look at your long-term relationships. Do you keep many, or do you lose most of them? People with few layers keep many long-term relationships because their happiness and self-assurance are not affected by other people. They can easily be around people that have different opinions and beliefs because they are secure with themselves and who they are. They don’t feel the need to defend themselves, so in turn, they don’t violate the relationship.
So how do we remove the layers we have? There are four steps that help accomplish this goal. 1) Start reading self-development books and gain an understanding of human nature. 2) Work at something and build your self-esteem. 3) Find a mentor that can help you identify your layers or blind spots. 4) After interactions with others, analyze why you reacted the way that you did. The purpose of these four steps is not to learn some new technique, but rather to give you a different perspective. People skills alone will not change you from a center of attention person to a center of influence person. Somewhere in you, there is a layer ( pre-supposition) that is affecting how you behave, and the goal is to root it out. Only gaining a new perspective and being secure with who you are will allow you to be confident in your interactions with others.
Bill Lewis
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 3:53 PM EST
Updated: Monday, January 28, 2013 3:56 PM EST
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Wayne MacNamara: Asked & Answered
Here is a post from new LIFE Business PC Wayne MacNamara. Wayne's enthusiasm and energy is contagious and has set all of Ontario on FIRE! Orrin Woodward first met Wayne when he was a Turbo 10 at a men's leadership. Wayne has grown so much since then. Here is Wayne's LIFE highlights for 2012.
The moment my eyes opened this morning I jumped out of bed excited for the New Year. There are so many great moments of 2012, but my goal today is to write my top 10 moments. There are so many special times last year, here are some of my favourites.
10. Lana Hamilton and Raylene going with the Kaizen Unified leading ladies shopping in Arizona. Check out this impressive list, 35 pairs of shoes, 22 accessories, 68 tops,1 bathing suit,17 bottoms, 3 PJs,4 bags, 4 suitcases, 9 dresses, 2 suits,1 skirt,1 straightener……NOW THAT’S FIRED UP LADIES!!!
9. Business partners sending me pictures of their OTCA checks! Thank you LIFE.
8. Achieving Major Conventions in Ontario, Canada. Great job to ALL the teams who made this a reality.
7. Taking my parents on a 5 day shopping trip through Niagara falls, Ontario, Pennsylvania, New York. I will always remember the look of my dad’s eyes when we drove up to Yankees stadium, it was priceless.
6. Flying Raylene’s family from Nova Scotia to Ontario to attend my father-in-law Gussie’s favourite country Hall of Fame singer Gene Watson. It was magical having all of Raylene’s siblings, her 2 sisters (Karyn, Vicky) and brother (Cally) together for a couple of days, we all had so much fun. I really do love my awesome in-laws.
5. Opp advance trip to Florida to hang out with one of the Top 10 Leadership experts in the world, Orrin and Laurie Woodward. This was an amazing day for our team to see what’s possible if you Dream Big, Work Big, Play Big.
4. Boston harbour Power Player cruise, Kaizen 300 was born!! I still get goose bumps as I’m writing this. Joce, Claude and I never flinched a second when we said let’s break 300 Kaizen power players. The ripple effect of this leadership moment is still being felt today all across the LIFE/TEAM business.
3. Kaizen’s Epic Top Gun sweep of the top 3 spots. Congrats to my friends Alex and Leighanne Nickerson, and Denis and Lisa Leger for competing so hard and pushing yourselves so much in your quest for excellence. The determination both these couples displayed, shows how much they respect and honour their mentors Claude and Lana Hamilton. The Unity of Kaizen is ALIVE!!! The moment I looked to my left on stage just before they called out the PP Top Gun winner, I seen my best friend Claude’s eyes light up with joy, being so proud of how ALL his team rose to the challenge at the same time to claim the prestigious PP Top Gun Trophy.
2. A Champion was born! 2012 started with an amazing blessing, the birth of Wyatt Claude Hamilton. This was a special moment for Raylene and I, seeing our best friends glow with excitement and anticipation for this new chapter in their lives.
1. Realizing a 10 year DREAM coming true!!!! Watching my beautiful wife try on her ____ dress/gown and lighting up brighter than the Christmas tree in Times Square. I’m so proud of my wife for suspending her disbelief and always believing in me. At 17 yrs old she trusted me and because of Gods grace, my Dad’s belief in me, and my best friend Claude’s continuous encouragement and correction when needed, today I am a husband she can be proud of. With lots of work for improvement our lives are absolutely a blessing.
2012 was an awesome year for Raylene and I , I hope today you have the courage to write out your 100 goal list and speak it into existence.
Thanks for reading and sharing in my highlights of 2012, so many other great moments never made the top 10, the LIFE/TEAM turning point of 2012 was the Boston harbour power player cruise .
God Bless
Wayne
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 12:27 PM EST
Updated: Monday, January 28, 2013 3:49 PM EST
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Leave a LIFE Legacy
George Guzzardo shares the importance of leaving a legacy in this well written article. So many people work hard just to get by when if they worked smart they could thrive. The LIFE Business gives this opportunity to everyone. Orrin Woodward dreamed of providing world-class information to the masses for a price they could afford so they could change their lives. LIFE has done just that. Here is George's thoughts on leaving a legacy.
What will move you into action this year? That which moves you to action is your motivation. In their best selling book ‘Launching a Leadership Revolution', Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, describe the 3 levels of motivation. Some people will be moved to action because of material gain. It appears that the majority of people in our society are motivated because of money. It maintains a standard of living. What else would account for the majority of people who take the most precious time they have and devote it to receiving a paycheck? Others move to action because of recognition. This might come from what we call status or a title. Looking around the society today it is clear that the majority of the population are not motivated by a sense of what Orrin and Chris describe as a third level of motivation called ‘Legacy’. Legacy is your contribution. It’s what remains after you’re gone. It is what you will be remembered for. It is what will be recorded about you. It appears that the majority of people today are not motivated by a sense of destiny which reflects the dominant world - view. Destiny comes from a sense of purpose and there is no more powerful motivator than detecting your purpose.
Whatever moves you to action on a daily basis is what the mind views as the most important motive. I think that the subject of motivation is very appropriate for this time of year when many like to reflect on why people will do anything. Many of us who join the LIFE business and use the Team system to build ‘compensated communities’ become aware of even deeper qualities of motivation. Motivation does not come from nowhere to go somewhere. It must come from somewhere specific to go somewhere specific
The first step is to ask ourselves who we are, and what is important to us? The second step to this very important piece is to associate with others who are learning and growing in this area. Who in your current association do you spend time learning from? I have found the type of people who are in pursuit of leaving a legacy are in attendance at the Team open meetings and the LIFE seminars. I felt the most powerful sense of destiny when I attended the Team leadership conventions. I also notice an immediate impact on my thinking when I listen to the CD’s on a regular basis, which allows me to associate with the thinking of the leaders. The CD’s influenced my thoughts by pulling the weeds of my negative thinking. I remember when I had a job and was immersed in an environment where most people never discussed destiny or legacy. I began to look at my thinking as a garden. I needed to decide what I wanted to grow there. I have lots of weeds in there so I needed to counteract the effects of those weeds with CD’s and frequent association.
Bob Buford in his book ‘Halftime’ wrote, “I’m convinced that many people never make it to a life of significance because they’re trapped in a lifestyle that won’t let them.” Leadership and Legacy connects when you mobilize others to serve a purpose. That is what’s missing in the world today. Each of us has the opportunity to become a character in someone’s story this year. Is your story filled with purpose and destiny? If you’re starting your LIFE business then the story starts with how you treat each day! The Roman historian Seneca wrote, “for all of us, the time is short and the span of life is brief. On top of that, our real human problem is not just that the span of life is short but that we waste so much of it – so that life ceases for us, just when we are getting ready for it.” If your life is your story, how will you finish it? This year, stop worrying, take hold and write your story! God Bless, George Guzzardo
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 8:53 AM EST
Updated: Thursday, January 17, 2013 8:56 AM EST
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