This is a powerful training from Danny McDaniel. Please read it. z
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What is it that you "really" want out of Life?
I am sending this out for a second time...I have received a whole bunch of responses from people around the world of Advocare about how it impacted them. But one particular response that I received was from one of our newest Diamonds, Karen Edwards. Karen spoke about this letter having a huge impact on her Diamond decision. Here it is... embrace!
(Keep in mind that this was written in the Fall of 2009)
Danny McDaniel
I am writing this to the I Am One group today, knowing that the vast majority of you will not read this entire letter. Many are called, but few are chosen. Many people talk about what they want to do in life, but few act upon it. Many say they are committed, but few decide to see things through. Therefore, I understand that only the truly committed will probably persevere and read this message of encouragement through.
There are multitudes of people that enter come in to Advocare as an independent distributor with high hopes and dreams; with aspirations of large financial payoffs. The truth is, there are a lot of large financial payoffs. This is a 16 year old company, literally at the "ground floor" stages of its construction. We will finish this year in the neighborhood of $100 million in revenue as a company, which illustrates the fact that we have spent 16 years "pouring" a foundation that will allow us to exceed $100 billion in annual sales one day. The term "ground floor" is terribly misused in the market place today, having been used a manipulative "pitch" for desperate people to attempt to recruit their friends and family in to some "start up" company that is going to help them get rich without putting out any effort. If someone is going to talk about "ground floor", there needs to be a foundation. Otherwise, it is just dirt! I have never stood on a ground floor of a building that did not have a foundation.
With that said, the real message here lies within the subject of what you are really looking for out of Advocare? If you came here to earn great money, you are in the right company. You will be hard pressed to ever find a company that rewards its distributors (or employees) with greater compensation than Advocare. The variable will always be the individual distributor; which means you are the variable! The products are a constant. The science is a constant. The endorsers are a constant. The leadership is a constant. The system is constant. The marketing plan pays consistently. You and I are the variables.
Many of you want to reach the Diamond level in Advocare, and some even want to reach Platinum. But how many of you are willing to achieve it? I have to tell you, in the grand scheme of things, its not really about "Diamond". It's about your purpose and reason for working Advocare. What are you willing to do to make your dreams come true?
Diane and I saw a different life for our family. We saw a different life for our boys than the "track" that we were taking them down. We had been shown glimpses of that different life by people in and around our lives at various times, yet none of them showed a keen interest in helping us have that same kind of life. However, when we saw Advocare, we saw hope. Charlie Ragus told us the he was bringing all of us hope...a hope for a better life, a better future...a life by design. You have the magnificent opportunity to design a life for yourself, and/or for your family. The choice is yours. The same hope exists today that existed for Diane and I back in 1997. If that's not true, how could we be a $100 million company on the verge of exploding on to the national scene, and about to be a household name? The only difference between us and you, is that we bought the story, and decided to do it...when no one else was willing to do it...we were willing.
You see, it doesn't matter what anyone else does. It only matters what you do. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. It only matters what you think. When a person decides what they want out of life, and they believe (truly believe) that they hold in their possession, the key to unlocking their dreams, there is nothing that can stop them...except themselves.
For 16 years, the concerns have been the same. Or, I could say the excuses have been the same:
1) "I can't afford it"
2) "These products are too expensive"
3) "I need to know exactly what is in it"
4) "I don't have time"
5) "None of those deals work"
6) "Is this one of those pyramid deals"
7) "When you start making some money, I'll look at it"
8) "None of my friends would want to do this"
9) "You should have gotten in on the ground floor"
10) "Don't you have to be at the top to make any money?"
11) "That will fall apart, and you are going to lose all your friends"
12) "That's just one of those get rich quick schemes"
And the list goes on, and on, and on. Diane and I heard every one of these comments, multiple times, in our first month! We faced the same hardships that you face. We faced the same rejections that you face, and probably more. Most of the time, if you are getting comments like this...you are bringing them on due to various reasons. You could be too weak with your message...too much information...they might smell fear on you...they don't feel that you believe...or you might not have been to enough trainings yet! Imagine that! You have to come to trainings in order to get wealthy here!
But we made a decision in 1997 that we weren't going to be denied. Many of you have read countless leadership books, with stories of successful people all throughout history that have built companies, or achieved greatness, and the theme is the same in every one of those stories. Every single person who has achieved success that you have read about believed so strongly in what they were doing, that they were not going to be denied. They were going to see it through! They were going to persevere to the death, because they knew that they knew what they had going for them was real, and it was going to work!
Diane and I have seen these products going all over the world one day. Diane and I have seen multitudes of people in Advocare walking the beaches of the world together. But we have also seen people come and go. And you know...people will come and go all throughout your life...but your job is not to worry about that. Your job is to MOVE FORWARD! We have always chosen to move forward. It hasn't mattered who stayed, or who left. We have never forgotten that we got in this for one main reason; a different life for our family. That same opportunity still exists, and it is stronger than its ever been in the 16 year history of this company.
I have seen people struggle with so many issues that hold them back from achieving their dreams in life, and those same people are always looking at someone else to blame. I have even seen my own family members struggle horribly with their lives because of their refusal to change. Charlie Ragus always told us, "For things to change, you have to change!" We bought in to that. He also said that, "The more you change and grow, the more your business will grow." In fact, he always said that your business growth was directly atttached to your personal growth and development. He always talked about the main job that we have in Advocare is to promote distributor growth and development. With proper distributor growth and development, product flows.
When Diane and I got our mind set on what we wanted, we understood that sacrifices would be made. If you are worried about holding on to things, then this business may not be for you over the long haul. You can not hold on to things that weigh you down from accomplish that in which you have set your mind to. It is impossible to achieve in that atmosphere; yet so many of us try to do it every day. It is analogous to a person trying to swim with a ankle weights strapped around their ankles. Sooner or later, you have to take the ankle weights off or you will drown! Diane and I gave up EVERYTHING that did not positively affect our Advocare business or family. We gave up television for over a year! I gave up fishing! We gave up alcohol! We gave up sloppy and inappropriate language! We measured every single action in and around our lives and asked ourselves, "Is this adding to or taking away from our business productivity?' That included people! This is the tough one for most people. You see...our business was directly related to our family, because we were doing this business because of the life we were going to build for our boys. In that case, there was no friend or family member that had a higher priority of importance than our boys, and where we were taking them.
I love all of my family, but I had to make a radical shifting take place in the amount of time certain family members now had with my wife and children. I realized what kind of time and energy they were literally stealing from my family, and I guarded the amount of time that would be allowed to visit certain family members. You see...my wife and children are my ultimate responsibility, and my obligation is to provide the best environment for my wife and children to thrive in order for them to reach their God given destiny.
You see... many of us are so worried about what our family thinks, or what our friends think, that we become paralyzed in Advocare. If this is the case, you have yet to truly realize what your purpose and reason is for doing this business. You may have caught a vision here for a better life, but you have yet find the CAUSE that will keep you in the game. For me and Diane, the cause was our boys.
I have seen so many people quit at so many different points in their business, from 24 hours in all the way to 8 or 9 years in. What causes someone to not fulfill their dreams here? There are so many reasons; however, two of the main reasons are fear of what others think, and lack of a desire to take risks. Some of you worry way too much about what other people think, and that will take you right out of this business because of rejection. Some of you absolutely refuse to take risks, and that will keep you from reaching the potential that God has placed in you. Nothing in life worth having has ever come without risks. Life is risky. Love is risky. Getting on an airplane is risky. Imagine how many headlights come at your vehicle every time you drive down the highway on a two lane road. That is risky! We take risks every single day, but we can't seem to muster up enough moral courage to take the necessary risks that it requires for one to build a thriving Advocare business.
I see people all throughout life that will continue to run around the same track every day, and cross the same finish line. Those same people will look at you square in the eyes, and ask you why their business is not growing like it should. Sometimes you have to jump on a different track! If the products work, along with the rest of the system, you have to get really good at self analysis. Diane and I were constantly analyzing our business and its growth. When our business wasn't growing, yet we were working just as hard, we had to find out where we needed to grow. And we did. Why? Because we were willing.
There are some people whose business won't grow without a geographical move. This does not apply to everybody; however, it applied to us on two different occasions. We chose at two different times to move out in to the country and build our "dream home", and we built two "dream homes". Both times, we experienced major plateaus in our business due to the geographical area in which we lived, and the overall mindset of the particular culture of people in that area. Granted, there are exceptions to this, because we met some great people in those areas and have some great friends from those areas; hence, the term "overall" was used.
This is why I put out a short message the other day on I Am One facebook which talked about the fact that I did not care what my friends thought...I can find new friends. I don't care where I have to live...I can find another place to live. You see...when you get a real revelation of what you are going to do with your life, no person and no place can stop you. But your own fear for security and relationships will weigh you down from achieving every single thing that God has in store for your life.
I want to give you a wonderful piece of wisdom about friendship. You don't have to be with a person every single to day for them to be a true friend. In fact, a true friend will speak to you today like they have been with you every day for the last month, even if you haven't spoken with them in 10 years. If I had to pick ONE and only ONE friend to call my best friend, it would be Mark Krimm in Kingwood, TX. Mark and I don't speak every day, or every week. In fact, up until last February Success School, I had not seen Mark face to face in over three years! But Mark is faithful to me, and I am to him. When Mark and Tricia came in to Advocare in 2000, I had not seen or spoken with him since 1985!
What you have to learn about friendships is that sometimes God will prune friends from your life for your best interest, so that He can get you one step closer to your destiny. That doesn't always mean that your friend is a bad person...it just means that you have to move on. But I will say this...if you have a "friend" that gives you guilt trips about your time allotments or investments in that friendship, you probably need to run away from them as fast as you can! You will never live up to their expectations, and you will eventually fail them...so end it now and alleviate your own pain! People get scared to take risks in this business because they are so worried about losing their friends, which is the weakest excuse I have ever heard. I had to lose friends in order for this business to work, and I thank God that my eyes were opened wide enought to realize that those people did not have my best interest or my family's best interest at heart. They did not support me or encourage me...they were not real friends. So...in many ways, this business can help your life in so many ways because it will literally expose what people really think about you, and how they value you. This doesn't mean that they all have to work Advocare in order to be your friend. No...No...No....they just have to value you and encourage you. I still have great friends that I talk to on a consistent basis that do not work Advocare as a business, that I have known since college.
To wrap things up, I want you to seriously think about what you have your hands on here with this opportunity. If you are reading this far in to the message, you are probably one of those people who see big things in store for yourself with Advocare. If this is the case, what is stopping you from Diamond? Perhaps a singleness of purpose? Perhaps distractions that don't pay you or advance your family? Perhaps fear of what others think? Perhaps the fact that you are not a risk taker? Perhaps you just haven't made that decision.
I encourage you today...to make that decision. Make the decision to be a Diamond in the world of Advocare...not for the pin...not for status...but to fulfill all the dreams that God birthed in you from an early age. It takes finances for most dreams to be fulfilled. As I am writing this letter, I got an e-mail this morning from a friend who has big ministry dreams and is asking me to pray about supporting him with large sums of money. You see..every dream takes money...from somewhere. What is going to fuel your dream?
One simple decision, today, can change your life forever. You have the power within you, today, to choose Diamond. If so...persist without exception. Forget about caring who says yes and who says no, and start caring about how many people you are going to talk to. You get paid to share your story. The more you share your story...the more you get paid.
This business is not hard...its just hard work. You must master your personally story, and those who have come before you. Then you must paint vision, and ask people to join you on your journey. Then you must ask them who they know and talk to everyone they know. And you keep talking to more people in the process. The fundamentals have never changed: Use the Products; Talk to People; Wear Your Colors; Follow Up.
You just have to learn to fish, and not just catch. You don't go out and catch the next Diamond. You fish, and you fish, and you fish...and along the way, you catch Diamonds.
The fisherman doesn't go through all he does just for the catch. Naturally, the catch is wonderful, but they stay out there because they love fishing and not just catching. Do you love Advocare? Or, are you just dating Advocare? If you are dating us, you will leave...because you are just a catcherman and not a fisherman. If you love Advocare, you will learn to be a great fisherman. You will love "fishing" in Advocare, knowing that every person does not produce a catch, and every day does not fill the boat up with fish...but over time there will be a massive amount of catches, and there will be days when the boat is completely filled with fish! Diane and I have always been ready to fish, at any time, and in any place. We love Advocare; therefore, we find ourselves talking about what we do at soccer fields, football stadiums, on airplanes, on vacations, and all kinds of other places that we go.
Also, if you love to fish here...teach people how to fish. Chase through the business with them. When you fish, you are adding to your business. When you teach others to fish, you are multiplying your fish; thus, multiplying your business. This requires YOU doing mixers consistently, 2 on 1's, 3-ways, and other methods of support. YOU have to be the ONE. You are ONE, and only ONE, but YOU are a differencemaker.
Now is the time! Why wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come. Seize your destiny and don't worry about what others think or say. Only Believe! Only Believe! If I could just get you to believe what I have seen...what I saw on February 18th, 1997 after 45 minutes of having Metabolic Nutrition System in my body. I saw the world! I've seen stadiums full with Advocare distributors! I've seen stadium parking lots full of vehicles with Advocare logos on them! I've seen Advocare distributors taking on leadership roles in our country that you may not have imagined yet. We will set the standard for excellence in business across America. We will be the difference making company in tough times. We will be the millionaire maker. We will fulfill the vision that Charlie Ragus had for this company to impact people's lives all over this nation...one life at a time! Grab the reigns of your business today, and start painting your dreams on the hearts and minds of all the people you know. Don't settle for anything less than them being on the products. If they won't even try the products, I have a hard time understanding how they can call you a friend. But this is going to take courage...undaunted courage! Be strong and courageous...and I pray that the Lord is with you.
Regards,
Danny McDaniel
Matthew 6:33,34
