In early November 1970 (38 years ago) I attended my first Shaklee meeting in the basement of Jim Boyd's home in Minnesota. Mike Jackson was 15 years old; I was 28. Mike was just meeting and falling in love with Nata at a White Castle hamburger store. An incredible amount of water has flowed over the dams of our lives since then. The success I was hoping to find has been sometimes within grasp and at other times, evasive.

 

November 5, 1970, might as well have been yesterday. I remember how the meeting went. It was done in the round, with Jim Boyd as the only official speaker. Other people contributed. Gary Burke, then a neophyte but now one of the top people with Shaklee, was there.

 

That night I anguished over the situation I was confronted with. I had an Amway group of about 100 people, with six developing legs. Could I leave those people? I slept on it.

 

 

I'm remembering these events more than 35 years later. In the last year I had a good talk with Gary Burke (now 70) who attended that meeting 38 years ago. Gary was half a year ahead of me in Shaklee. As I recall, he was already approaching the rank of Coordinator. He was one of the many role models I met in that company. The reason we talked recently was that Gary had found my www.chippynews.com website. He spent two and a half hours reading through the links and then called and asked if he could subscribe to my newsletter for two years. He and Faye are one of the top teams in Shaklee, and there's no chance that they'll switch companies, but I appreciate Gary's enthusiasm for the material I've written.

 

I am telling this story for four classes of people.

 

[A] There's the guy who is not making it in EcoQuest (there are guys like this in Shaklee, too). Or maybe he's making progress but it's dreadfully slow. Negative thoughts crash into his head like meteors. Life is getting in the way: bills, debts, family duties, pressures, disappointments. I'm asking this guy to keep reading and to keep plugging away toward his life's goals. I'm thinking of a guy whose name starts with R and another whose name begins with J and two guys whose names start with T. These individuals will immediately know who I'm talking about. Among many others, I'm thinking of an M, a P, a couple more J's, and a B.

 

[B] I'm also writing for the guy who's made it to Sales Manager (or Key in a couple of cases) but feels stuck. "B" people are wrestling with self doubt. Negative thoughts are in their heads, too. They make enough money to be hooked into EcoQuest but they're not where they want to be. They pay their bills but they feel as broke as the broke guy. They're wondering if they can ever revive the glory they once felt. For the most part, they doubt they can.

 

[C] I'm writing for the leaders (including myself!) who are upline from some "A" and "B" types. How do we help these people? What words do we say? How can we help someone who, seemingly, has already tried everything he can think of? How can we boost the morale of someone who, for now, has given up?

 

[D] And I'm writing for people who are stuck in other careers and looking for something better—people who are in the same boat I was in when I switched from Amway to Shaklee and later when I left Shaklee and wandered in the wilderness for eight years before I found EcoQuest. The EcoQuest business might be for you.

 

There are ways to solve the difficult circumstances ([A], [B], & [D]) I have described. The ideas offered are answers that have worked, and they'll work again for other people. Maybe only a few of these ideas will apply to you. Maybe they'll all apply. Maybe the timing is wrong. If you are destined to suffer for a while longer, I feel for you.

 

Answer #1 — BELIEVE THERE'S A BETTER WAY. Say it aloud! "There definitely IS a way I can (fill in the issue you have to overcome)." Positive self-talk is crucial. Say something along these lines many times each day. Affirm what you believe every day for a year if that's what it takes. The more we say something (aloud!), the more our belief is strengthened. You'll surely say some negative stuff. That's understandable. You have to program yourself to say positive things just to stay even.

 

Answer #2 — PRAY ABOUT IT. Ask God or ask your version of a High Power to intercede and show you the way. Don't pray for a free ride or for a lucky splash of wealth. Pray for a good attitude. Pray that you will find a new direction. Pray for ideas. Pray that you'll use the wisdom and good sense you already possess. Pray that the gun you are using to shoot yourself in the foot is finally out of bullets. Pray for stamina. Pray for a sense of humor. Pray that you will be open and alert. When something good comes along, it's your job to spot it. 

 

Answer #3 — START WORKING ON SOME GOALS (a). Commit your problems, your needs, and some of your dreams to writing. Then list your resources. Then list some solution possibilities. Just let the ideas flow. Write down two or three pages of bullet points (problems, needs, dreams, possibilities, resources, solutions, techniques you'll try).

 

Answer #4 — CONTINUE WORKING ON YOUR GOALS (b). Sleep on the thoughts you listed during step (a). Think about how you can start the process of finding a solution. You aren't looking for a solution yet, you're just looking for a start. The solutions you seek will not reveal themselves all at once. You'll have to explore multiple possibilities. As your ideas coalesce, put them in sentence form. The guy who tries to scribble out a completed set of goals in a weekend will not have a very good set of goals. Like good wine, goal setting takes time.

 

Answer #5 — COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. As long as you have that paper on your desk (the Goal Writing paper), list of at least 50 blessings you can be thankful for. List people, skills, health, knowledge, ideas, books, food, modern conveniences, fond memories, the EcoQuest products and opportunity, the United States of America... Don't tell me you are in such deep trouble that you don't have any blessings. If that's how you think, no wonder you're in trouble.

 

Answer #6 — CONTINUE REWORKING YOUR GOALS (c). Goal setting takes multiple steps. A depressed guy's first draft is usually pretty lousy. Here's another chance for some positive self-talk: "These goals are just a start. I can do better." One of the best goal pieces I ever wrote is published in our 2004 Success Manual on pages 107 and 108. Its called "My Organizational Building Plan." Look it up. Read it. When a new Manual comes out it will probably still be there but on a different page.

 

Answer #7 — BECOME A GIVER. Do something good for someone else without expecting anything else in return. Even when YOUR life is in the pits, you can still help uplift someone else. You can help a total stranger just by being a more courteous driver. When you yield to another driver (whether he "deserves it" or not), it makes YOU feel better.

 

Answer #8 — FINISH YOUR GOALS (d). It may take a month to get your goals in the best form you are capable of at this time. Make an extra copy and send it to someone you respect. Don't ask for feedback. Just say, "Jo & John, I'd like you to see what I plan to do. No need to respond. I'm proud of these goals and I want you to see them."

 

Answer #9 — TALK TO 10 PROSPECTS DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU'VE DONE BEFORE. "Lou, I've been given an assignment to show my product in a different way from what I've ever done. Would you be willing to let me try a new approach on you?" "Carroll, if I could show you a way to make $200,000 a year (not just once but every year), would you give me 20 minutes so I can show you my plan?" [Both of these examples are probably different from what you currently do. I offer them as an option that might help you break out of your rut.]

 

Answer #10 — LAY OUT YOUR AMMUNITION IN PLAIN VIEW. If you are going to do retail placements, stack your cleaned up demo units in your living room where their presence will motivate you. If you don't have any demo units, buy some. Then move 'em out! If you're going to pass out Success Manuals, keep some on the front seat of your car. Wherever you go, you'll always be reminded of your prospecting project. If you're passing out DVDs, keep 20 in your trunk and half a dozen in your purse, Have your Spiral Notebook handy so you can register the prospects you give these things to. If you have a meeting coming up, make a written list (names and phone numbers) of 30 or more candidates. Post a copy on the door you pass through when you go to your car. Post one in your bathroom. Post one in the kitchen. Keep one in your car.

 

Answer #11 — STUDY THE GIDDENS WEBSITE AND REREAD SOME OLD ISSUES OF CHIPPY NEWS. There are nuggets in there. How many can you find? As you find the nuggets, put them to use. If you read an article two months ago, consider going back and revisiting it. Your perspective may have changed. You may discover that you missed some nuggets the first time around.

 

Answer #12 — REWARD YOURSELF. Some people dig this, some do not. Promise something special for yourself when you accomplish one complete week of moving toward your goals. Promise something for two weeks, one month, two months, etc.

 

Answer #13 — LIST THE 25 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE AND GIVE CONTEMPLATIVE THANKS TO THEM. I do this about once a year. It's fun and uplifting. The first dozen are family and other really obvious choices. Mike Jackson and Doug Jackson are on my list. The fun comes when I start listing the less obvious ones. Each time I redo my list I manage to come up with a few different ones. For example, I listed Walt Disney the first time I made this list. In the years that followed I didn't feel I needed to list him again. I once listed the author of "The Little Engine That Could" book. I once listed Carl Sagan. I listed Bob Holker and Jim Boyd (these names will be known to some of my readers) and counted them as one spot on the list. I've included Jim & Margie LaRue. I often include leaders from my EcoQuest downline ... the big ones have all been there. By rotating my picks I'm able to appreciate a larger number of people through the flow of years. The rewards are realized as I struggle to choose which ones to pick and as I contemplate the ways each person influenced me. I always find myself hoping that I can be influential in the lives of others.

 

Answer #14 — NEVER GIVE UP. Now we're back to belief. As long as you truly believe in EcoQuest, you are never more than half a year from significant success. Two or three new active legs can turn any group around. Let's do the math. As a Manager, if you have three 12,000 PV legs (major sellers or people working toward Manager) and 10,000 PV from miscellaneous weak legs you can expect a bonus check of $11,500. As a car qualifier it would be $12,300. Keep talking to people (go back and reread #8). Keep trying. Keep the faith (go back and reread #1). You never know when your big day is going to arrive; it could be today or tomorrow.

 

I began this essay with a story about my first day in Shaklee. Let me bring that story full circle by mentioning my last Shaklee day. It was 1987. I'd been in a 7-year battle with management (over the way the company was run) and it finally came to a head. My income ended, my bonus car was picked up, my friends all stayed with Shaklee, and I was starting a lawsuit that would wipe out my finances. Eight years passed before I got back on my feet. I tried starting a company, writing a novel, and exporting products to Russia. I tried a dozen MLM deals, using the above techniques over and over. In other words, this stuff isn't a quick fix. My debt zoomed up to $300,000. When I finally found EcoQuest, I was back on my feet within 6 months and my debts were 100% paid within 17 months.

 

EcoQuest isn't the right career for everyone but it's got all the potential a person will ever need. It beats exporting to Russia (for me). It beats starting my own MLM company (for me). It beats being a writer of novels and screenplays (for me). And it beats all the other MLM programs I've ever seen or tried. I give this company my highest endorsement.

 

Our opportunity has many unique features, our products help people, our biggest growth years lie ahead, and the timing right now is PERFECT.

 

Sincerely and with gratitude,

Bob Giddens