Memories, Meetings and Vision	1/11/07
The First Day of Winter	12/22/06
Roses for a Dime	12/21/06
Tears in my eyes...Merry Christmas	12/17/06
About Drinking Water	12/14/06
The Waterfall	12/4/06
Sharper Image Problems	1/20/07

01/11/07

Dear EcoQuest Leaders:

I didn't kiss an angel this morning (name of song), but I feel like I did after hearing this musical arrangement. I suggest that you click on the angel to the right and play the music while reading this email. It will warm your heart!

Thanks to Dorothy Brodine for sending this music. I met Dorothy & Gordon 35 years ago when they joined my Shaklee group in 1972. I gave their first meeting in the rec room of their trailer park in Kingsville, Texas. They had 50 guests and the ended up with 30,000 PV in their 3rd month (with a product line where a big order was $75). Wow!

I can still visualize the big sign in the front of the room welcoming Coordinating Manager Bob Giddens. I was 30 years old and soon I'll be 65. My, how time flies.

Gordon passed away a couple of years ago. He was a great friend and the EcoQuest Leg he started includes Key Managers Ken & Mary Dockery, Colonel Lee & Lisa Roper, Master Managers Alton & Janis Holt and Key Managers Barry & Ashley Durbin.

When you make an icebreaking phone call, you never know what will eventually come to pass. Gordon said he wasn't interested in looking at the business when I first called him. That call was made from Mike Jackson's office, because Mike had known Gordon from Shaklee. Mike offered to ship an air purifier to Gordon if he would try it. "Sure," said Gordon. "Send it down here and we'll see what it does in our home."

Three months later I showed up in San Antonio to do a meeting for Gordon & Dorothy. They weren't even in the business. "We like the machine," he said, "so we'll get some people to come hear what you have to say." Gordon went on to say, "Dorothy likes what the unit has done for her allergies by removing my cigarette smoke from the air."

That meeting led to half a dozen dealerships, one of which eventually led to the Ken & Mary Dockery Dealership several years later. You never know, you never know. My daughter, Michelle, was with me when I did that first meeting in San Antonio, and the date was June 5th, Michelle's birthday. Earlier that day we visited Sea World. (Restart your background music if it just ended!)

Three days later (after starting my Houston group on June 6th) I drove to Dallas and did my first meeting at the John & Jo Clements business office. The Houston group had a 2 guests in attendance and one of those guys later recruited Judy Ciesielski. John & Jo had put together a meeting of relatives just to humor me, but the day had a different result than they expected. That meeting launched a Leg that contains 3 Master Managers and one Key.

My Leg that originated in Houston has 2 Key Managers and one Coordinator. It's pretty clear that I had a banner week in Texas in June 1995. I ended that month with 50,000 PV (and pneumonia) and completed my qualification as Sales Manager. But the work was just beginning. (Restart your music one more time if you really love it!)

In the intervening (11.5) years I've done about 250 meetings in support of those 3 Legs, including meetings all over Texas, in Oregon, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Georgia, New York, Taiwan, Australia, Washington, Illinois, Hawaii, etc., etc.

Do you have a long range vision of what you want to do with your EcoQuest career? I came up with a theory about Meetings and Leg Building 35 years ago, and I've proven that theory to be valid. It goes like this:

If I can generate and conduct 50 meetings within a Leg

it will be almost certain that I will end up with

a strong and permanent Leg that contains

dozens or even hundreds of Managerships.

You can't judge the future of a Leg by the quality or character of any single leader or by a surge of growth over a few months. Nor can you build a Strong Leg with just a few meetings. It is possible to get lucky, but if you want to MAKE IT HAPPEN, you must involve yourself in a prolonged campaign to make that Leg as strong, as deep and as diverse as you possibly can make it. The Giddens technique? Set an immediate goal to generate and conduct no fewer than 50 meetings in many different homes and cities. In most cases that takes 3-5 years to complete.

Do you have that kind of vision? Do you have that much commitment? Do you have that much belief in EcoQuest? Colonel Roper and I had a conversation earlier today in which we said, "We need a new Bob Giddens to come along in 2007. Or maybe half a dozen new Bob Giddenses." Maybe I just imagined it, but in my mind I can hear him saying, "Heaven help us if we find 6 more Bob Giddenses."

The rewards of a career building campaign can be measured in travel adventures, stories, lessons learned, tears and hardships, friendships, big override checks and future security. I've spent a ton of money on plane trips, rental cars, hotels and so forth; but these Legs have generated over $2 million in overrides and they are still producing.

Much gratitude to all the people in those 3 Legs.

Sincerely,

Bob Giddens

Check this webpage: http://www.chippynews.com/FamousGiddensEmails.htm

This email will show up on this page on Tuesday, January 9th.

The First Day of Winter!

12/22/2006

Winter began on Friday, December 22nd, and the winter months are a perfect time to engage in soul searching and goal writing. Lots of new ventures become infused with momentum when the days start to lengthen and the northern hemisphere begins to warms up.

I recommend something like this:

YOUR WORDS TO YOURSELF...

1. We will transmit this presentation (or another presentation of our choice) to 2 new people per day, 14 per week, who have never seen it before. Our goal is to show this to no fewer than 120 prospects by the end of February, 2007. URL code for Brad Near's presentation is: http://thephoenixsystem.com/SummitClimbersConceptmmf.swf. [The company goal is to do 600,000 presentations in 2007. This will be accomplished if 5,000 people do 120 presentations each.]

2. We will ask these people to view the presentation (15.5 minutes) and immediately call us when they complete it.

3. We will discipline ourselves not to talk them to death. We won't even talk them into sickness. We will simply say, "What did you like about the presentation?" and "We'd like to help you check this out and perhaps take advantage of it. The next step is to try an air purifier and secure it with a credit card ... are you ready for a trial?"

4. We will also suggest, "In addition to sending you a trial unit, we can start sending this presentation to your prospects. We can help you track your first few exposures?"

5. We will make a CWT (Chinese Water Torture, a follow up plan) decision about each person. Some will never watch the presentation. Some will watch and say they are not interested. Some will say they don't like MLM or sales. Some will have a little interest but they will say, "Not now." In each case -- whether their remarks are warm or cold -- we will decide if this is someone we want to pursue on a weekly, monthly or not at all basis.

6. EcoQuest's most successful Master Manager, Bob Giddens. thinks this is a solid presentation and he points out that it is very adaptable. We can use our own methods right along with it. If we use this plan we will remind ourselves often to: [1] avoid talking too much, [2] take people through this specific sequence, and [3] use a specific follow-up system. When used in this way, it is a program that can be easily taught to others.

7. We will also look at Bob Giddens' presentation from chippynews.com: http://chippynews.com/career_opportunity1.htm. We will familiarize ourselves with all of its pages and with all the connecting links. This will take some time. It is part of our training.

8. After a prospect has seen the Brad Near presentation we will make an appointment to guide him through this by phone. The new person needs my help or he will skip over some of the material and not pick up its value. We have to bring these success stories to life.

9. We will relay this plan to our downliners and see how many we can get on this same project with us. We will check in with these people each day to help keep them on track. But we will always recognize their freedom to do things differently.

10. Where will we find our 2-per-day (or more) prospects? (Each person who adopts this plan must fill in half a dozen ideas here -- one possibility is outlined below.)

11. We want good prospects. [1] They have to have computers. We are looking for people who [2] can become excited about our products, [3] would like to improve their income or retirement security, and [4] understand the importance of planning and hard work.

12. We will carry a spiral notebook wherever we go and approach people with this opening: "We have to interview 3 people. Would you take 1 minute to do a brief interview with us?" If they say yes. [1] "Here is the first of our 3 questions. Do you have a home computer with speakers?" If they say yes. You will be writing their responses in your spiral notebook. Hand them a card with the weblink to the presentation you use and your phone number. [2] "Here's a web address. Its short message tells you how to earn $80,000 per year and a car. Would you be willing to listen to this?" If they say yes. [3] "Great, you've given the best possible answers so far. Here's the last question. My name and phone number is also on that card. Will you call me as soon as you finish viewing the 15-minute story?"

13. Next we will try to get more information. This is not 100% necessary, but it helps enormously. "Thanks, may I write your name in my log?" They give you their name. "And do you have email?" We will try for a phone number and mailing address if things keep going smoothly.

14. Efficiency. I will train myself to get 3 prospects in 30 minutes without being annoying and without getting myself in trouble with the mall management. Other locations besides malls can be used. Nick Wilhite uses garage sales. Mike Lee will vary the script a little and do it with cold calls. A person from a big church or company can gently hit on receptive people from that place.

15. Results. We'll expect to get one sale or dealer from each 10 contacts who agree to watch the video. The exact batting average is not important, but we MUST get results or change some aspect of our system. If we complete all these goals for 90 days we will have 18 new dealers. Our goal will be to have at least 1 in 4 of these to begin following in our footsteps.

16. When we get someone good we will meet with him in person. Again, we will not be overly wordy. The goal is to learn about THEM. We want to hear about their friends, their goals, their ideas. We will work in depth with the ones who are working. They must do their own work, but we will support them.

*** I sent this proposal to my daughter Michelle. Imagine how easy this will be for Michelle when she goes into a mall with Cody. George Innerarity can go out with his son Kody (left in photo). People who don't have a kid can walk in the park with a cute dog. Kids and dogs are like conversation magnets. Put a sign on your "recruiting dog" that says, "Conversation Magnet."

Roses for a Dime

12/21/2006

12 red roses in a box

Roses for a Dime [Music Link once this starts playing, move YouTube aside and read the email.]
Author unknown. Thanks to Sandra King for sending this to me.

Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. His thin sneakers did a poor job of keeping out the cold.

Bobby had been in his back yard for quite some time. Try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. Another thing was worrying him: Even if I think of something, I don't have any money.

Ever since his father passed, the family of five had struggled. His Mom worked nights at the hospital, and her small wage could only stretch so far. But what they lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the household in their mother's absence. All three sisters had made gifts for their mother. But it was Christmas Eve and Bobby had nothing.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and decided to walk several blocks to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father.

Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Many things were beautiful but it would be impossible for him to get enough money to buy anything.

As he turned to walk home, his eyes suddenly caught the glimmer of silver along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment. A warmth spread through his entire body and he rushed into the nearest store. His excitement quickly vanished, however, when the salesperson told him there was nothing he could buy with only a dime.

He ended up at the flower shop at the end of the street, figuring that flowers were not as expensive as clothes. Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy something small for his mother's gift. The owner looked at Bobby's offering. Then he stooped down until he was face to face with the boy. "You just wait here," he said. "I'll see what I can do for you."

As Bobby waited, he looked at the many flowers on display. He could see why mothers and girls liked them so much. Then he heard the door slam as the only other customer walked out, and that made him feel alone and afraid. I don't know if a dime will be enough money, he thought.

Suddenly the shop owner returned to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, all tied together with a big silver bow. The owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.

"That will be ten cents, young man," the shop owner said, reaching out his hand for the dime. Bobby hesitated. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime! Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I had these roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?"

Bobby hesitated no longer, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking proudly out the door, he heard the shopkeeper say, "Merry Christmas, son."

As the owner returned inside, his wife asked. "Who bought those beautiful roses?"

Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up for the day I heard a voice in my head tell me to set aside a dozen roses for someone special. I wasn't sure at the time who that would be, but I set them aside anyway. Then, a few minutes ago, a little boy came in and wanted to buy one flower for his mother with a dime.

"When I looked at him, I saw myself many years ago. I, too, had no money to buy a gift for my mother. I guess I looked pretty low, because a stranger stopped me on the street and told me he wanted to give me ten dollars. Right out of the blue. When I saw that little boy tonight, I was so happy I had saved those roses."

The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly as they stepped out into the bitter winter air. Somehow they didn't feel the cold at all. [Pretty Paper—one more music link.]

Tears in my eyes...

Merry Christmas

12/17/2006

I've always been an emotional guy about the Christmas customs and celebrations that go on in America. Although tragedies and problems still happen -- and not everyone is equally blessed, the general mood is at its best during this season. And now we have email that allows us to share even more good cheer.

This story came from Cheryl and Mike (whom I don't know) to my friend Joyce Hodges and I am relaying it to you. Merry Christmas. This story reminds me of a similar event in Austin, Texas, when I was in the 4th grade at Bryker Woods Elementary School.

My best friend wasn't going to attend my birthday party because his family couldn't afford a present. This friend was so important -- the son of a fireman -- that my mother and I drove to his house at the last minute to insist that he attend. My grandmother kept the other kids entertained during this short side trip. My friend's gift was a quarter. It was very important to him that he bring a gift, and I've never gotten a bigger one than that twenty-five cent piece.

This Christmas story is far better than mine! I know you will enjoy its message. And I'll bet you have a similar story in your past, too. It's perfectly okay to get emotional as you read it.

Santa Claus and an Adventure with Grandma

I remember a very special Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb:

"There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her because I knew she would be straight with me. Grandma always told the truth, and I knew the truth always went down a whole lot easier with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was amazing. "No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous, cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days.

"Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll go back to the car and wait for you." Then she turned and walked out. I was eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself.

The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: family, friends, neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was stumped, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.

Bobby didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always sent a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all the kids knew that Bobby didn't have a cough, it was that he didn't have a coat. I fingered my ten dollars with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.

"Yes," I replied shyly. "It's ... for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she bagged the coat and wished me a Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible). She added a card that said, "To Bobby from Santa Claus." Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to the small Decker house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by Bobby's front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door, and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

We waited breathlessly in the darkness for the door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Fifty years have not dimmed the thrill of that moment as I shivered beside my Grandma in Bobby Decker's bushes.

That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said: "Ridiculous." Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have Grandma's Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.

He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.

Christmas Shoes

Relatively new Christmas song. Watch out for this one!

This song and these lyrics will definitely make you cry.

About Drinking Water

12/14/2006

My wife, Barbara, just finished reading your email on drinking water. She said just reading this hit her hard and changed her life. She wants me to thank you very much for sending this information.

Bill Alerding
Fast Start Distributer
Indianapolis, IN

One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a university study.

Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

8 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen.

Drinking 5 glasses of water daily

...decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%.

...slashes the risk of breast cancer by 79%.

...makes a person 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

And now a marketing tip...

A blind man was sitting on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. The sign read, "I am blind, please help."

A marketing expert walked by and noticed that there were only a few coins in the hat. He dropped in a dollar and, without asking for permission, picked up the man's sign and wrote a better slogan.

That afternoon the marketer again passed the area. The hat was filled with currency. Recognizing the sound of the marketer's footsteps, the blind man asked if he would explain what he had done.

The marketer said, "I just wrote your message a bit differently. It now says, 'Today is a beautiful spring day and I cannot see it.' You are the same man, in the same location and it is the same day; but this message compels the emotions of your audience."

Sometimes we become trapped in old thinking and cannot see new ways without help. That's why you should listen to Mike Jackson's Lifeline Calls and attend company functions. One newly discovered phrase might make all the difference in the world.

This new Brad Near presentation has the potential to change the world for some of you: http://tinyurl.com/s9nk8

Here is the original URL. Both links lead to the same presentation:

http://thephoenixsystem.com/SummitClimbersConceptmmf.swf

Sincerely,

Bob Giddens

Christmas Songs - Click On Each Linked Letter.

The Waterfall!

12/4/2006

Dear EcoQuest Leaders:

A waterfall does not exist as a steady state thing. It has to be continuously replenished. Shut down the source and the river will drain for a while, but soon the waterfall will be gone.

Your EcoQuest group has be replenished with new recruits. New dealers can come from the original source—YOU—or from your tributaries. If the infusion of new recruits slows down, the business will flow for a while based on sales and consumption by your existing people, but eventually the source and/or the tributaries have to be productive again.

Enter the Summit Climber program!

Some people ask, "Bob, how can a person afford a Success Pack and a Summit Climber commitment at the same time?"

Answer: "That will be no problem for some people. If you are uncertain, don't let your bias influence your prospects. Worse yet, don't let your bias impact your entire group."

Another big question. "Should a new person join the Summit Climber program or buy a Success Pack?"

Answer from Bob: "I think the Summit Climber EASY Button should not even have the Success Pack as an option. It complicates the program. I'd rather have a new person join Summit Climber and add a Success Pack or Master Pack when he wants to."

Next question: "When will that be?"

Next answer: "A highly motivated person might buy a Success Pack the same day. Other people might make some initial contacts before they decide. Then, if they need additional demo units and have a high level of commitment, they should DEFINITELY get a Success or Master Pack. Less motivated people might stay in the shallow end of the pool for a month or two. When they are finally convinced that (a) the program is going to work and (b) they are going to work, that's when they need to carry more demo units."

What we DEFINITELY need are more and more new people. Let's make that our focus in 2007. I'll appreciate feedback on this email. Are you committed? Are you, by any chance, willing to build your Open Group 20 wide as Angelo Martino has pledged to do? Most of us are still feeling our way into the Summit Climber program. I'm ready to finally see a few fabulous leaders forget about past failures and begin fueling their fantastic futures.

Enthusiastically,

Bob Giddens