Destroy Your FEAR

     THE WORLD IS CHANGING.  There is no statement more true than that.  Each and every day more people are finding out that they are required to do more for less pay.  The economy is still in shambles, regardless of what the experts say.  The job market is so tied up because of unemployment that people with college degrees and experience in their fields are having to take jobs far below the normal standard and the salary that accompanies that career isn't even enough to cover the student loans that are stacked up on their credit. 
     People that have worked their life to get to a great position within the company of their dreams are now finding themselves buried under the amount of work that is now required of them because of company cutbacks and layoffs.  The proportional balance of life is now leaning heavy to one side, taking way time from family, friends, home, and the other dreams that have been chosen to pursue.  What's even worse is that when the breaking point is reached and the time to quit comes, it's no longer an option because of the detrimental state of the economy.  Fear rules over our lives and we convince ourselves that if we stick it out just a little longer, things will get better.  That's not the truth of it, and the CEO's of these conventional businesses knows it. 
     Does this sound familiar?  It has been my life for so long.  I have lived in this state for over 6  years now.  That's when I found my breaking point, and instead of quitting, I decided that if I keep pushing, soon I would be transferred and things would be different.  I would find new life and new motivation within my career.  All that time, I was wrong.  I lost those years of my life to FEAR.  It wasn't until now that I find myself looking for an answer to my life's conundrum.  I chose to strike out, regardless of how tight FEAR squeezed me.  I want to life my life and not work through it and in order to do that, I have to follow the words of Thomas Jefferson.  "If you want something you have never had, you must do something you have never done." 
     I spent the last 8 months searching for my opportunity.  It took considerable time to sort through all the bogus get rich quick schemes and in a way, these tricksters effected my feelings towards the opportunities that I did take into consideration.  I began to feel that all of these opportunities were fake or pyramid schemes.  I found myself to be completely wrong.  I found Vemma and my life is now changing in unbelievable ways.
     As with any opportunity that presents itself, Vemma is nothing but a chance to make something for yourself.  The difference is with the structure and the support.  Unlike anything else on this planet, Vemma is a modern day miracle business in that it creates a team that is dedicated to your success just as much as you are.  As a bonus, it features several amazing products like Verve! energy drink.  This is an energy drink that is actually healthy for you.  Just ask  Dr. Oz on Verve! Energy.  At this point in my exploration, I still wasn't convinced.  It wasn't until I saw Extreme Weight Loss on ABC, that I truly made my choice.  I found out that the Vemma Bod-e program was designed by none other than Chris and Heidi Powell! 
     I had to push hard to overcome my FEAR of stepping out on my own but now that I have done it, there will be no going back.  With the support of my fellow Brand Partners and nothing but success in our path, I will be taking Vemma to a whole new level.

Want to know more?  Check it out
    

True Power Is In The Team

     No matter what you do or where you work, there has been a time when it was required to work as a team.  Sometimes the experience was bad, such as a college class where no one was necessarily excited about working as a team.  Other times, the experience is very positive.  Within those particular instances you form ideas about the people that were on the team.  The idea of who would be great to work with again will remain in your mind for as long as you know that person.  It is inevitable.  It is from these life experiences that business networks are formed.  Partners that do their best to support the team rather than only thinking of themselves become well known and sought after while those that tend to do their own thing are looked at as a burden.  This same logic applies to the world of business today. 
     It is too easy to work a lifetime and never achieve greatness.  The world revolves around those that do just that.  Wake up early in the morning, perform your normal routine, go to work for a decent pay, and then go home just to repeat the process.  The question remains, "Is this life?"  Follow that question up with this one;  If you could do anything you want for the rest of your life, what would it be?  Perhaps you are doing the job that you love and the elusive dream has been achieved all along, but maybe you aren't.  Maybe you are working a job that you hate because you have to pay bills on a home or a car that you also despise. 
     This is where the team comes in.  Why work your whole life alone when you can join a team that works for you, just as you work for them?  There are so many opportunities out there for a team that stays positive and works together to achieve anything determined to be a worthy cause.  Sure it would be work and the results would be limited and unimpressive if it wasn't hard.  The team is the backbone of support that gives you the assistance required to achieve your goals, just as you return the favor for the team.  Together the world is one giant opportunity. 
      This is why I have joined up with Vemma.  I have spent almost a year researching "at home" opportunities.  Each one promised to make large sums of income for little time and effort, but as the proverbial saying goes, if it's too good to be true, then it is.  The truth is that there is no success without work but why must you do the work alone?  I chose Vemma because, from the start, they were honest, truthful, and open about every aspect of their business.  At first I was skeptical just as every person should be.  Businesses like these are not always the right fit.  The largest selling point for me personally though, was the team effort.
     Throughout my search I have seen too many people get suckered into a business with large promises only to find that they were left alone to operate this beast that had no leaders or partners.  Before I joined Vemma, I observed.  I watched from a distance for almost 3 months just to see how everything and everyone operated.  Not all teams are the same, but the team that I did watch became a true positive force and during that time, I watched them create success from the world of negativity that surrounded them.  I am excited to finally be a part of a true team of Brand Partners that is dedicated to the success of those within the business instead of people trying to use the hard earned money of others to fill their own pockets. 

     If this sounds like something you would like to take a look at, check out http://prostrength.vemma.com/ for information on the products, as well as myself.  Feel free to contact me if you're interest goes beyond that.  We are looking for those that want to make positive moves and help others with both health and success. 

Achieving a Dream

            Why is it that we so often know what we want and where we want to be but we never pursue it?  We tend to forget that life is short and the belief that “there will be time for that later” takes hold.  This phrase is repeated to us so often that it gets included in our self-conscious thoughts.  We let time slide by and allow the flow of everyday life to take over.  After a few years of living in the world that everyone else has made, we let our own goals fall to the side and begin to follow the directions of someone else in hopes that their idea of success for us will be the right one.  We begin to indirectly think that the path that someone else has chosen for us is the right one because they know best.  The goals that we had when we began this journey take a backseat and eventually fade into the black if we allow them.   

Each and every day, I speak with people about their goals and their future.  I might be prying a little into peoples lives, but sometimes it is the push that they need to re-ignite that fire for the life that they so desperately wanted in the beginning.  Some have changed their goals and are happily chasing a new dream while others are just sort of following a beaten path.  Instead of writing the story of their own achievements, they are copying from the pages of someone else who is no more successful than themselves.  It is a sad truth but a common one and it happens because of a lack of self-realization. 

In order to be successful in this life, we must sit down and have an honest conversation within ourselves.  Ask the questions that excite you and write down the answers on something that you can read everyday.  The answer will be simple to start but develop it before you post it on the mirror.  The question will be “what is my goal?” and the answer may be something like “to be a lawyer”.  Short, simple, and to the point but now it is time to develop it.  Once it’s done, it should look like this: 

            “I am going to be the best family attorney in Los Angeles

by enrolling in the UCLA Law program, achieving my BA and then

transfer to Harvard law where I will maintain a 3.8 GPA and

earn my internship at Swartski and Johnson Law Firm.  I will

then earn my way to a partner position within 3 years and use the

experience to start my own law firm by the age of 37.”

Once it’s created and perfected, then post it in several places.  The bathroom mirror is a good spot.  The refrigerator door is another good spot.  A third idea would be on the steering wheel of your car.  You know yourself best so post it in at least 3 places that you will see each morning and each night.  Each and every time you see it, read it out loud to yourself.  It doesn’t matter if you have it memorized or not, but read it out loud, word for word, and feel it.  Imagine it being true.  See yourself standing at the front door of your own personal law firm with your name over the door.  Imagine the customers waiting in the lobby to see you for their court case.  Use this tool and it will open a whole new world.  

The Power Of Positivity

    I was recently inspired by a conversation with a friend of mine.  He is a man that lives and breathes the struggle of a true entrepreneur and I have personally seen the obstacles that he manages to overcome with ease.  He seemed to hold a secret that I just didn't understand until now.  It really wasn't a secret at all.  Everything seemed to be working for him because of his positive attitude.  No matter what was going on or how hard things were for him at the moment, it was always the "right time", as he put it, to get something going.  No matter what had happened to him, it was the reason that he had reached this point in his life and without the struggle, there was no triumph.  The place that he was standing was exactly where he needed to be and it was exactly the right time to be there.  With this attitude and positive way of thinking, the walls in front of him are deconstructed and rebuilt in whatever manner he desires.  What he doesn't realize is the effect that it has on the people that he encounters.

     Everyone has a person in their memory that seems to hold the world in their hands without so much as lifting a finger.  They could be homeless, sleeping on the street, and asking for spare change, but the positive attitude still remains and it carries them through.  In fact, it even supports them.  When they come into contact with another person, an unknown transaction occurs.  A light-hearted feeling of relief is secretly infused into the negativity and uncertainty and the day automatically becomes better.  It is life changing.  After several encounters and experiencing the same sort of change in their life, a realization is made.  The realization that positivity is powerful and when it is put into play, it can change the world for everyone. 

     Those that follow me on Facebook and Twitter know that I hold positive motivation close in a major way.  It is the lifestyle that I have chosen and I am working harder each day to be better.  Without a doubt in my mind, this young man even has an effect on me.  Each time I meet with him is a blessing and I look forward to our next conversation.  Soon, I will be working with him and together we are going to build the dream that we both have been wishing for.  There is no way to stop the power of positivity.      

Shout out to Patrick Hays.  When the team works, the dream works brother.

Consumers vs. Producers

            In our society, children are taught the power of money at a very young age.  We all learn that money can get us the material items that we need as well as the items that we want and when we get what we want, we are happy.  Without realizing it, each generation has indirectly learned that money can buy happiness.  The problem with this lesson is that it has already set us up for failure.  Life becomes a struggle to make more money because the connection between money and happiness has been made solid and is reinforced each time we make a personal purchase.  We learn to save our hard earned money to make large purchases and lessons on the power and importance of credit are few and far in between.  In this manner, we become life-long consumers.

            Have you ever heard the phrase “got to have money to make money”?  If you are a regular middle class American, then this phrase is probably spoken without regard on a regular basis.  It usually appears when someone is talking about a big idea that would put them on top, if only they had the money to pay for the start up costs.  As with many other things, this idea fades into the past and is never brought up again.  It may have been a true money maker but the lack of knowledge pertaining to currency and how money really works results in misunderstanding.  The knowledge is out there and if we take the time to re-educate ourselves in finances then success would come at a much easier rate.  You know need the motivation to seek out the information.  The time has come to change our beliefs on money and to reinvent our way of using it.  To succeed in life we have to become producers.

            In the eyes of a producer, there is never a lack of funding.  Money can be brought about from thin air if you have the right knowledge of how it works.  This makes business start-up possible.  The idea of failure always exists in a producers’ mind, but it never occupies his or her thoughts.  Failure is a way of life, but it is also a way of learning and a means of doing it better on the next round.  A producer may experience hundreds of failures on his way to success but that one successful endeavor could make him a millionaire.  Why waste energy on stressful thoughts like failure when positive thoughts of succeeding yield much better results. 

            Each and every day, you come in contact with many different people.  You have hundreds of people that you know and talk to on a semi-regular basis.  Think back on those people for a few minutes.  Did any of them ever seem like they always found money when they needed it?  Maybe they turned a home project into a small side business to cover some sort of cost that they incurred or maybe they managed to turn their garage full of junk into a nice chunk of change to purchase a new car with.  This is the undiscovered producer.  They don’t quite understand how they do it and it is quite possible that they don’t realize they are doing it.  They just have a natural ability to make money when the need presents itself.  They focus on what they need and the set goals to achieve it.  Each step they take may be small or it may be large, but it is all part of a master plan to succeed and they always manage to do just that.  I bring up the natural producers to make a separate point.  Everyone has weakness in life.  Some aren’t good at math and others can’t be social.  We have our strengths and a producer focuses on those strengths.  For weaker areas, we need support from like-minded producers.  If you surround yourself with the proper people, you can achieve anything. 

Keys to Success

     Throughout the journey to the top, there are always failures and disappointments.  There are always bumps in the road and at times, you will find yourself stranded in a lake of motivation-draining muck that seems to have no end.  It can be more than discouraging and if you allow it, the downward spiral of events can lead to turning away from the goals that you were attempting to achieve.  When this moment arrives, there is only one key to success that will be your saving grace.
     When your back is against the wall and you are ready to quit, then it's time to turn to consistency.  You may not make it to the finish line, but you when consistency is put into play, at least you will be choosing to continue the race.  Instead of calling it a day and moving on to something else, stick with routine and push forward with the march.  Don't let the hiccups of life take your dream from you.  Thomas Edison says it best. "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success."  When you hit the wall and you have no motivation to continue forward, then lean against the wall with consistency.  You won't break the wall down, but you will weaken it with the applications of consistent force.

What Is Your Motivation?

     Motivation is nothing more than a state of mind that bends and changes according to our will.  It starts with one small seed of an idea and with proper nurturing, it grows, matures, and produces beautiful blossoms of success.  Motivation will fill your life with a natural high that proves to be stronger than any drug.  On the flip side of that coin, it can also whither away and die if you don't feed and water it consistently by adding nutrition to the soil.  This is the period where true champions of success will emerge and those that lose their drive will fall in line behind those that can push up and over the wall of discouragement.
     That fire burning within us all remains in the form of small embers until we discover our driving force.  For me, the driving force is my ultimate goal of happiness and contentment.  For others, it can be individual goals and accomplishments or possibly even the challenge itself.  Your fuel depends on what sort of person you are but whatever it is, you must build on it.  Without growth you are standing still and allowing the world to turn while you watch and wonder "what happened?" 
     Farrah Gray once said "Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”  It is more true now than ever.  Technology has increased the speed of our world ten fold and information is easier to find and cheaper than ever.  All you need is the consistent motivation to search it out.  Build on your personal driving force, keep consistently motivating yourself, and continue to make moves towards your future, or build someone else's dream for them. 

Tearing Down The Wall

     The last few days have been a little bit of a struggle.  Motivation has escaped me on several occasions and I have had to fight hard to recapture it once again.  Discouragement seems to find me more often now and obstacles are beginning to form in front of me.  I am seeing the infamous wall grow out of thin air and it is working its way skyward to obstruct my view of the happiness to come. 
     It happens every time a person begins to make strives towards a better future.  There is no avoiding it and there are two options available.  I can break through it or I can let it break me and I refuse to steer down the latter path.  I've been working so hard on this and, even though the work is hard, I get so much joy from what I'm doing.  I am struggling throughout the day as I try to manage my Navy life, my personal life, and my future life, but I take comfort in knowing that soon enough the pressure and stress that I am enduring will all be worth it.  I gain momentum from knowing that I will never stop making positive changes in my life and with each step forward, I am moving faster.  The sun shines on my face and my faith shares the burden that I carry.  They say that if you work at something that you enjoy, then you will never truly work a day in your life.  That is my future.
     In a matter of weeks I have managed to changed so many aspects of my life that were making me unhappy.  I still have a long way to go on this journey and I have proven to myself that the will power was easier to come by than expected.  Faith is by far the strongest force on earth and I have learned to use it as motivation and wield it as if it were a tool in my hands.  With it, I will conquer my fear of stepping out into the open.  I will put myself out there and continue on my way no matter what obstacles develop in my path.  I will finish what I have started.

The Power Of thought

     An author by the name of Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich) stated that "an intangible impulse of thought can be transmuted into its physical counterpart".  It sounds like a lot of big words that someone wrote for a college text book but that one statement holds more power than anyone can imagine.  If you break it down, it says that if you imagine it and believe in it, then it will be so.  I know it sounds like more made up fairytale sayings but follow me on this.
     Each and every day we make decisions that effect our lives without even realizing how much of an effect that choice really carries.  You may wake up early in the morning feeling tired and truly hating the single fact that the only reason you're out of bed is because you are required to perform a job as some business that you may not even enjoy anymore.  Maybe you're on the opposite side of that coin and you sleep in every day because you have been unable to find a job even though you feel like you have struggled each day to get hired.  In both of these scenarios, you are already behind the curve and you have just set yourself up for failure. 
    Our thoughts are one of the most powerful forces that exists.  It closely follows behind faith and belief.  It took me a long time to realize just how wrong I have been all this time in almost all of my choices because I lacked the understanding of my choices and I did not know how much the faith in my decisions mattered.  One of the smallest changes that has made the largest impact on my life what in my morning and evening routine.  I have a small list of ultimate goals that is broken down into a larger list of achievements that I need to accomplish on my road to success.  Each morning, I read over this list 3 times before I leave my home for work.  Once upon waking, once after my shower, and then again before I leave.  It keeps the ideas fresh and reminds me that each day, no matter what the circumstances, I have achievements that I must accomplish.  I also read this list 3 times before I go to bed for the simple fact that it fills me with an unstoppable energy when I open my eyes in the morning. 
     The keys to success are always dangling just in front of our eyes but most of the time, we fail to see them because we don't possess full faith in our decision to unlock the doors.  Take the time to sit down and make your own list.  It will be the best investment of time that you have ever made once you start reading it at least once in the morning and once before bed. 

The Value Of Time

      When I speak of value, most people instantly imagine the dollar.  Money has become the number one driving force in this world and people have gotten to the point where they will kill for it.  While that might be extreme, the idea of money as a value is only part of the equation.  Money is only used to put a tangible trade value on your time, which is the real valued item.  We trade our time for an amount of money that will in turn be used to purchase goods.  As the world spins on its axis, we endure long hours of labor, doing jobs that we do not enjoy for money that will need to be replenished so that we may nourish our bodies and once again return to work.  A never ending circle that I am taking steps to break.  More on that later though, as I have digressed.
         One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to always sacrifice time at work for family, no matter how busy you are or how many other things you have going on in your life.  Family is the support system behind us, it is the reason we work towards our goals, and family can make or break you while you travel the road to reach your dreams. 
     This weekend, I am taking time away from dreaming and planning to spend some much needed time away with my daughter.  I'm not going to go into details but she is the reason that I have made such a major choice in my life and she deserves all the time I can give.  She is worth far more than my time is valued at and I believe that I am getting the better end of the bargain.
     Each week I go to work early and come home late because it is what the Navy requires of me.  I don't enjoy it and it causes way more stress than necessary.  My daughter endures so much because of my work and she deserves so much more in return.  I hope to one day honor my trade agreement and give her the time that she truly needs from a father.  With that being said, take my advice and get as much time as possible in with family.  You might not get another chance.