Rising above the rest

For the most part I stay away from petty disagreements on Facebook. It's never been worth it and nobody ever wins. Sometimes, however, I see something that effects me sufficiently that I am compelled to comment in a different forum.

Thus today's blog entry.

My friend Jim send me the link to a DISTURBING article about some dude that designs and sells his own supplements. Here is the link to the article:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/25/bodybuilding-supplement-designer-matt-cahill-usa-today-investigation/2568815/

Honestly the content of the article isn't what I want to talk about.

It is easy to sum up. There are people out there that want to make boat loads of money doing the WRONG thing. The supplement industry is just another place to find those type of scum bags.

Is it really their fault? I mean, who doesn't want to get ahead, right? Who doesn't want a "legal" edge? Supplements are the perfect place to do some "research" and find the latest and greatest product. Heck, if Lance Armstrong, Roger Clemons, Barry Bonds and so many others can do it..why can't I?

Unfortunately there are so many people out there that are willing to do what it takes to get ahead. Thus losers like Matt Cahill make millions. Why not start a supplement company while waiting to go to jail? Who doesn't need cash, right?

I'm getting away from my point. Squirrel!

I want to get back to the main point now. It's not about this guy. It's about another guy.

Here is what one of my Facebook friends had to say about the article: "This is why I stay away from supplements and urge all athletes to."

This ignorant statement was made a professional athlete and coach. I think it was a statement that, while well meaning, was unprofessional and myopic. 

What is a dietary supplement?  

Very simple supplements are used to fill in the gap of our basic nutrition. Yes? 

It's funny because as my occupation as distributor of supplements I have come across people that say, "I don't use supplements" yet drink Gatorade, coffee, eat bars and gels, drink chocolate milk after workouts and Monster Energy drinks pre-workout. 

These are low grade and ineffective supplements! I digress.

Getting back to the statement from my friend. The fact is that MOST PEOPLE take some sort of supplement on a daily basis. MOST PEOPLE, however buy these supplements from the convenience or grocery store or GNC or from ads in magazines.

Where is the quality? Where is the testing? Where is the proof of safety? Are the 10 different things that you take guaranteed to work in synergy? What was the main factor for your buying decision? Price? Labeling?

Pepsi produces Gatorade. Is Pepsi a nutrition company? Yet this is the drink that most athletes trust to keep them hydrated. To top off the insanity many athletes who "don't use supplements" trust Gatorade for their hydration. It's crazy to me.

So as many of you know I was like my Facebook friend for a lot of years. I was ignorant and to lazy to really look into "supplements". (Yet, unbelievably I drank Monster Energy Drinks before my workouts and struggled for years with cramping!)

One of the things that happened was I noticed that many of my clients were getting supplements and having good results. Not only was I missing out on a method of HELPING my people but also I was missing out on a way to earn income for my family!

Eventually I found Advocare. Now, before you stop reading and say "oh, here he goes again with the Advocare sales pitch" I want you to understand something. I am a coach and a trainer. I have spend my ENTIRE life in pursuit of a goal of helping others to succeed. I am not a flash in a pan person that found my golden ticket and I am trying to make a million dollars painting vision and singing people up. I want results and nothing more.

So if you want to see WHY I choose to represent a supplement company and why I chose the one I did then read on. If you with to be ignorant to FACTS and stick with Gatorade, Monster and Brand X vitamins then you may go do that. I am proud to stand for something and for a prestigious company. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. Guiding Principles. When Charlie Ragus started the company in 1993 the first this that he did was to lay out 10 Guiding Principle for his new company. He build Advocare slowly over the years. The first principle is "Honor God through faith family and friends". Is this a company that you would want to represent? Yeah. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bXR-_gkrs0

2. Sci/Med board. When you go into GNC to guy Brand X protein does the company that sells that products have a top of the line Sci/Med board? Likely not. Because of then men and woman we can feel confident that the products are the BEST of the BEST. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWBf2ZavWGo&list=PL742C6309906276FE

3. Drew Brees. Have you ever heard anything bad about this guy? Drew was a "non-paid endorser" for many years. After he won the Super Bowl in 2010 Advocare raised him to the post of "National Spokesperson". He get's "paid" but guess what? His "salary" goes to his charity: "Brees Dream Foundation". I want this guy representing my company for sure!

4. Non-paid Endorsers. Why would hundreds of professional athletes and entertainers stand behind Advocare, endorse Advocare and use the products yet NOT GET PAIN. Because the products are safe and effective. Period. Check out Jason Whitten: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9n3MMFeB9k&list=PL5E1E225B1321C8B0

5. Informed Choice. Advocare sends many of it's products (the ENTIRE Performance Elite line) to be tested by a company called Informed Choice. Think GNC does that? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV6L0du8KdM

6. Personal results. My wife Teresa started on products and GAINED 12 lbs of MUSCLE in 2 months. She also lost 3% body fat over that time. I haven't had a Monster since I started on products and feel better at 40 then 30 PERIOD. 

7. Results of people we coached. I could post dozens of pictures here. How about we do one...

8. Comp plan is SECOND TO NONE. My sponsor earns about $50,000 per month after 11 years. Working part time we are at a level that averages about $40,000 per year and our income is growing. So many people are having amazing results from a financial stand point. We have helped a dozen people to earn $500 to $3000 per month income in the last year and a half. It is really humbling. 

My sponsor: Kim and Z Buttar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2B8RbxeMos

9. 4 Relationships. Most people don't understand direct sales. Advocare makes it simple. If you want to be engaged with Advocare there are 4 ways. THIS IS YOUR CHOICE. You are never forced into anything that you don't want to do. 

1. Retail customer. Buy products and get them shipped to your house. No autoship. No further requirements EVER. 

2. Wholesale customer. For $79 you can become a "member" just like Cosco or Sam's Club. For this few you get $50 worth of product and a 20% discount for life. Easy please. NO AUTOSHIP, NO MINIMUMS. NO SALES. Period, the end. 

3. Distributor. If you want to earn some income then you pay your membership fee and sell some products. Your discount can go as high as 40% and you can earn as much money as you want. It is up to you.

4. Business builder. 40% discount and you earn income 5 ways. Discount is for life.

10. Integrated products and coaching. Same people design the Performance Elite Line and Trim line. This means you can take all the products and know that they work together! Don't know what products to take? Well we have your solution! You have a coach to guide you! Why would you go into a store and make a buying decision based on some ad you saw on TV, a sale price, or some fancy package? 

Why not make you decision based on reputation and based a company that had a prestigious track record, an untarnished image and products that are safe and effective? 

Hopefully I have done a good job in outlining why I choose to represent Advocare. It's not about the money. (I'm not going to lie, the pay checks are nice but I am a CRAPPY salesperson so it's not about that!) It's about helping others succeed. It's also about being able to tell someone, "I trust Advocare and here's why..."

I don't want to convince anyone of anything. All I can do it share my story and present what I have to present. It's up to YOU to decide the rest....

The Difference Maker

The above picture showed up in my Facebook feed the other night. Why did this simply picture make me well up with tears of pride and joy?

It's because I made a difference in these ladies lives.

There is more to the story though.

MUCH MORE.

The lady on the left is Delaney. We met her and her husband Gary at an AdvoCare mixer last August. At the time Delaney had just had her 6th child in 8 years and she was in desperate need of help losing weight. Gary needed to lose weight as well but he was a little more skeptical. 

I was hosting the mixer that night and said something that convinced them both that the AdvoCare program was worth the investment.

The both did the 24 Day Challenge and has some good results.

If the story ended there then butterfly effect that Delaney has created in her world never would have started and the impact that she and Gary are making on this world never would have been happening.

Thankfully that was not the end of the story.

They continued on products and got better and better results. To date they are both down over 50lbs and still losing! That is amazing but that is NOT what the story really is all about.

Back in January Delaney and Gary decided that making a difference in their own lives wasn't enough. They wanted to help others.  They decided that they were going to build a business based on helping others and MAKING A DIFFERENCE. 

In the past 6 months Delaney, working from home WHILE homeschooling those 6 kids, has started to earn a substantial income. As a matter of fact she is equaling her husbands income. 

That's right. In the process of helping people to lose weight and earn a pay check this family, who lives in a tiny Habitat for Humanity home, has doubled there income in 6 months AND in the process POSITIVELY AFFECTED dozens of other lives. They are building an ARMY of difference makers AND creating a legacy income that in going grow exponentially in the years to come. 

Teresa met Ashley Murphy at a bridal shower a few months ago.

They really didn't speak much then but a few weeks later Ashley contacted T and asked her about the 24 Day Challenge and losing weight. Ashley had set up a weight loss chart and was in the process of trying to lose weight though diet and exercise. In 3 months she was down 3 lbs.

She lost 7 lbs in the first 10 days of her challenge and she knew that the program worked and she decided that being a stay at home mom with no money was no good. As she likes to say, "Being a stay at home mom is no fun when you have to stay at home!"

Ashley kept losing weight and to this day is down 40 lbs and now a purpose that is MUCH stronger than simply to lose weight. She has gone about building an ARMY herself of people that want to lose weight, gain energy and earn income.

She now knows that this is her calling and she is determined to build a team and create a life for her family that is extraordinary. She also understand that in order to create this she has to help others to do the same.

Just like Delaney, Ashley is MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

When I started with Advocare 18 months ago the simple goal was to earn income. My business started to explode when I shifted my focus from earning a pay check to making a difference.

The emotions came to me the other night when I saw that I have started to make a difference in the lives of Ashley and Delaney, their family's and the legions of people that they are helping.

Is there anything better than knowing that you impacted someones life in a positive way?

Seeing these two ladies grow, mature and turn into leaders has been inspiring to me.

Seeing them develop a friendship based on mutual respect and admiration has really been the icing on the cake. 

All of this would not have happened if Teresa and I hadn't said yes to Advocare 18 months ago. Our lives may or may not have been different. I know that the impact that we have had on these two ladies just by introducing this business in a strong way is going to politely effect thousands of lives in the future. 

Wow. That is powerful.

Have you ever wondered if this could be for you? Just imagine for a moment what it feels like to have a hand in making someone smile like the smile you see in Ashley and Delaney. Thank about it.