Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Scoreboards Of Life!

Just got done reviewing the archives of Orrin Woodward's posts and found this one I had to share. In life it's critical that we learn how and what it means to keep score. Improving our results demands we understand where were are during that snapshot of time. Enjoy "The Scoreboards of LIFE."

God Bless!
Capt. Bill



Scoreboard and PDCA

When a person applies systems thinking to his life many times a seemingly small change can have a huge effect as Donella Meadows illustrates in her book Thinking in Systems:

Near Amsterdam, there is a suburb of single-family houses all built at the same time, all alike. Well, nearly alike. For unknown reasons it happened that some of the houses were built with the electric meter down in the basement. In other houses, the electric meter was installed in the front hall.

These were the sort of electric meters that have a glass bubble with a small horizontal metal wheel inside. As the household uses more electricity, the wheel turns faster and a dial adds up the accumulated kilowatt-hours.

During the embargo and energy crisis of the early 1970’s, the Dutch began to pay close attention to their energy use. It was discovered that some of the houses in this subdivision used one-third less electricity than the other houses. No one could explain this. All houses were charged the same price for electricity, all contained similar families.

The difference, it turned out, was in the position of the electric meter. The families with high electricity use were the ones with the meter in the basement, where people rarely saw it. The ones with low use had the meter in the front hall where people passed, the little wheel turning around, adding up the monthly electricity bill many times a day.

The Dutch families unconsciously used the PDCA process to improve their results thanks to an ever-present scoreboard: the electric meter. By changing the position of the electric meter-reader, or scoreboard, their electric bills were reduced by one third. Studying this example through the lens of the PDCA process one can see the scoreboard is part of the feedback loop within the system. Notice how a small change in location produced leveraged consequences. The meter then becomes the Check step in the process. When the families noticed the wheel in the meter turning faster, they were able to check and therefore make Adjustments in their electricity use ultimately reducing their electrical loads. Because the scoreboard was visible, adjustments were made quickly leading to decreased electrical usages thus conserving energy and money.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Success Keys!

This post is an oldie but a goodie from Orrin. Still valid and valuable advice nonetheless! Enjoy!


God Bless!
Capt Bill



Three Keys To Success!

In a home too cramped for our growing family, in a relationship where neither of us understood the other, in a time of increasing responsibilities and decreasing hope, in a desperate move to keep my baseball cards, Laurie and I started our compensated community. Can there be a more bizarre beginning to a destiny changing day? Your story is different in the details, but alike in the life-changing opportunity presented to you. Building compensated communities provides people the opportunity to take control of their futures and no longer swim with the current of the times. There are only 3 steps to master to accomplish nearly any goal or dream that you can imagine through the power of the of Community:

1. Define

2. Learn

3. Do

Life is not always a bowl of cherries as it pulls us in so many directions, requiring more than we would give in three lifetimes, forcing us to clearly define what we want to accomplish with the time God has given us. Clearly defining your objectives, narrowing your field of vision to the critical few, painstakingly visualizing, repetitively experiencing in your mind, and developing your game plan are essential features of all successful lives. DO NOT WORK THE BUSINESS, BUT CHASE YOUR DREAM THROUGH THE BUSINESS!! Businesses are not built with an employee mentality, but with an ownership mentality, meaning, to do everything with a specific intent. Why do you go out night after night to build this business? You didn’t have a dream as a young child to build a community did you? The business is just the vehicle to accomplish your dreams, just as you buy a drill if you need a hole. No one buys a drill because they have always dreamed of owning a drill. A drill is the specific tool used to get the specific hole you need.

Building compensated communities is the specific tool to give you the time and money to get your dreams. When you know what you want, learning and doing become the necessary steps to achieve what you desire. If you do not take the time to clearly define why you are in business, then you are setting yourself up to fail. Why share the product, why show the plan, why start the process, if you have no reason to? If you are not showing the plan 15 times a month, it’s not because you are lazy, it’s not because you are loser, it’s not because you are incapable, it’s only because you lack focus by not beginning with the end in mind. Where would you live if you could live anywhere? Who would you choose for neighbors? What car would you drive? What charities would you support? What vacations would you take? What random acts of kindness would you do? It must be defined, imagined, and experienced mentally before it will happen physically.

Learning is one of the most natural things that we do as human beings. Anyone with children has experienced the endless questions that your kids will ask you as they seek to learn. But daddy, why is the sky blue? Why do we drive on the right side of the road? How do our brains see the pictures from our eyes? We are born hungry to learn, but society quenches this hunger through ridicule and scorn. Building compensated communities has reversed societies rules and created a culture that is hungry to learn. No one is above learning and the quicker you learn, the quicker you will apply, the quicker you will have. Learning is not a part-time hobby, not a full-time job, but a life-time of joy. Have you experienced the joy of learning lately? Are you listening and learning from CD’s and your upline’s advice? Are you reading books, brochures etc? Are you pounding through the information from the best of the best? If you’re not, perhaps you need to revisit your dream.

Making contacts, picking up the phone, showing the plan, talking in front of people, were some of the most fearful things that I had to overcome. In fact, the only thing that helped me get over my unbelievable shyness and corresponding fears was the power of my dreams. It makes me want to gag when I hear people say, “Well you have to be a certain type of person to build a network,” assuming that you are born that way. Yes, you have to be a winner to build a network, but anyone can be a winner with the three steps that we are covering. Winning is simple, but it isn’t easy because you must swim against the current. It you want to win, then you must Define your win, Learn how to win and then JUST DO IT! No guts, no glory! We do only one conference call open for everyone in our organization and that is our Go-Getter call. 15 plans per month and you spend several hours listening and learning from the biggest leaders. Are you going to let 15 plans per month stop you from obtaining your goals and dreams?

Are you going to let the negative thoughts of others deny you from the destiny you desire? Laurie and I decided to follow our dreams, not our dreads and it made all the difference? Are you dreaming, learning and doing or dreading, lying, and dying? The choice you make weaves the strands of your destiny. Your posterity will either be blessed by your courage or cursed by your cowardice. Choose wisely, my friend. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Monday, June 18, 2012

"Dare to Dream!"


I love classic Orrin Woodward blog posts. I reposted this beauty for your enjoyment. I'd also like to invite you to visit these outstanding blog posts written by other LIFE founders. Just click on the name and it'll take you directly to the site!


Tim Marks
Claude Hamilton
Dan Hawkins

God Bless!
Capt. Bill

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.” – T.E. Lawrence



All dream; few achieve. Since everyone wants a better life, why do so few accomplish it? The answer: one must solve the problem of pain. It’s painful to dream of a better future and get shot down again and again. Success, although predictable over time, takes a massive amount of persistence to stay the course when results are not forthcoming quickly enough. In fact, I have watched many talented men and women surrender their dreams through the lack of one key attribute – Adversity Quotient (AQ). These people had all the talent; some even applied themselves for a period of time, but when the chips were down, they quit.

My fourth grade teacher’s favorite maxim, which he repeated daily was: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I am not sure of its effect on the rest of the class, but as for me, it transformed how I responded to challenges. Any time I ran into difficulties, I reflected back on my teacher’s words. I was fortunate to have parents who taught a similar philosophy to that of my teacher. For instance, most people surrender with little or no fight when they run up against a wall, but not my parents. Interestingly, my mom and dad used entirely different, although both highly effective, strategies in overcoming walls in life. Let me explain. If my parents were taken to a twenty-foot-high brick wall and told they had to bust through it, I am convinced they would both accomplish the task. However, the means to the end would be entirely different.

My mom is a worker. No, that doesn’t quite explain it. My mom is a fanatical worker. In truth, to this day, I have never seen anyone work as relentlessly as my mother on any task undertaken. She would announce a project, dole out various assignments to the five children, and off we went. If my mom needed to get over a brick wall, she would metaphorically lower her head and crash into the brick wall until it gave way. I am not exaggerating here; she would literally will herself through that wall. The amount of obstacles that I saw my mother overcome humbles me to this day. My mom, in other words, would do and then think about how she did it.

In contrast, my dad was a thinker. No, it’s probably more accurate to say he was a philosopher of life. In fact, to this day, I cannot recall an evening where he wasn’t discussing some concept or principle he was wrestling with in his head. I had no idea at the time, but my dad used the Socratic method to draw out how we thought on a multitude of subjects, forcing us to reason properly or be shot down around the kitchen table. Indeed, if my dad needed to surmount a proverbial brick wall, he would state the problem, count the bricks, and form a working hypothesis on how to overcome. Counting, analyzing, and theorizing would be logical steps in the achievement of his goal. My dad, in other words, would think and then act upon what he thought.

Somehow, during the fourth grade, I began adopting my mom’s work ethic along with my dad’s philosophical methodology and combined them together with my teacher’s get tough principle. What an empowering gift these mentors bequeathed to me! My dad taught me to begin with the end in mind. My mom taught me that a job well begun is half done, and my teacher taught me the importance of AQ in any worthy endeavor. I had no idea how revolutionary these concepts were to become in my life.

What does all this have to do with dreaming? Nearly everything! Dreaming is beginning with the end in mind, doing is moving towards one’s goals and dreams, and lastly, persistence is staying tough even when everything inside of a person is screaming to surrender. I have lost count of how many times, when I was on the verge of surrendering, that the winner’s voice inside of me said one more time, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Do you have dreams? Of course, you do because everyone does. Are you still pursuing them, or have you surrendered to the pain? I say get back up! If you are willing to run for what you truly want, if you are willing to get up every time you are knocked down, if you are willing to persist through every painful experience, then, and only then, will you win in the game of life.

Everyone is born into the race of life. Unfortunately, most have quit because they cannot handle the pain and choose passivity over activity. I, however, encourage you to reenter the race and press on to the end to receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. God gave us the gift of life; do not hand it back to Him unused.

Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward



Monday, April 30, 2012

LIFE And Orrin Woodward

There is power in knowledge when applied. Below is an inspirational message from LIFE founder Orrin Woodward for those seeking a better way. Click on the highlighted links for direction to information that will alter your destiny!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Marc Militello describes the Content and Commerce aspects of the new LIFE business in this informative video. I listened to four CDs yesterday, and I am blown away by the quality of the information flowing into the Compensated Communities. With almost 30,000 people subscribing to LIFE materials (an almost 50% increase in 5 months), LIFE is great! Even for those who have no desire to be rewarded through community building, the information is still making a huge impact in their lives. I am receiving daily email, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Empire Avenue messages. The best way to share LIFE is to hand people a CD and allow them to see the value of the information for themselves. Find out for yourself why nearly 10,000 new subscriptions have been purchased since November 1, 2011. Here’s the video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PkoOPNcA6YY#!

Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward



Saturday, October 29, 2011

Orrin Woodward Scams, Coercion, And Networking-Part 3

In part 3 of Orrin Woodward's piece on Scams, Coercion, and Network Marketing my favorite author points toward results attained by exercising your right to freedom. The "fruit on the tree" if you will! Nothing cements fact like principles applied and success achieved! Here is the proof that your detractors don't know what they are talking about. They simply apply negative so you don't reach a level any higher than their mediocrity. Here are the people who chose to ignore their critics, avoid their coercion, and set free the myth of networking being a scam backed by resluts.


God Bless!
Capt. Bill

Free to Win & Free to Lose


In America, one is free to win, free to lose, and, even free to blame. But unless one is forced against his will, a force that’s necessary for any real scam, one will look silly to blame his loss on anything but his own incompetence. It’s foolish to blame others, who worked harder, applied themselves more, and developed the skills to win. Calling winners names, calling the tournament (profession) a scam, pointing fingers at others, all in an effort to salve a wounded pride. This may take the focus off off his lack of skills temporarily, but it reveals more about the character of the sender of the toxic message than the receiver's character. It seems that ‘passing the buck’ is endemic in today’s society, but one of the goals of the Networking is to teach people personal responsibility. Accepting responsibility is the beginning of all leadership growth. In Networking, unless the person was forced to attend meetings against his will, forced to buy materials without a buy back provision, why is he passing judgment on others for his lack of results? The minute you blame others for your failures is the minute you surrender responsibility for your own life. In the Team, we teach that freedom is a gift and we support your freedom to win, lose or leave, voting with your own feet. The tens of thousands who are part of TEAM, were not coerced into joining, but joined freely by buying into the leadership culture. The TEAM leaders win by serving customers, not controlling them, even offering a 30 day, no questions asked, 100% return policy for any items purchased. No business would be foolish enough to publicly state that, unless they knew that 99.99% plus of their customers were happily served. All reputable Networking companies in our profession offer similar refund policies.

Stephen M.R. Covey is author of the New York Times bestseller The Speed of Trust

To me, the most interesting dimension of network market-ing is the focus on building relationships of trust. All parties must be able to trust one an- other, or nothing moves forward. Accountability, transparency and other high-trust behaviors clearly flow out of your character and competence, which in turn help to improve, solidify and create better relationships. Those relationships are powerful fruits that enable you to enjoy greater collaboration, a better reputation and shared accomplishment. When done well, network marketing is the speed of trust in action.

Team - Leadership Development Engine

My friend, John Maxwell, a top selling leadership guru, teaches that everything rises and falls on leadership. In my business ventures, I have focused on improving people’s leadership levels, thus improving their results. The many success stories achieved from this approach boggles the mind. Literally thousands of couples have reduced debts, improved relationships, and freed up their time from the mundane tasks, to focus on the important ones, by applying the principles learned from the TEAM leadership system. Does everyone get wealthy? Of course not, not everyone will discipline themselves daily to achieve that level of success. The key point is that those who do apply themselves, do achieve success. Similarly, those who don’t apply themselves consistently have no right to blame TEAM for their lack of discipline or poor thinking. Dan & Lisa Hawkins, a mechanic and day care provider, Chris & Danae Mattis, a counselor and dance instructor, and Marc & Kristine Miletello, both teachers, to name just a few of the TEAM leaders, all started from different walks of life, but all have achieved success through changing their associations and their thinking. Instead of sharing their stories for them, I let them speak for themselves in the following YouTube videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rtQ-IVcvAo&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32iwvGzGpgs&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16BGmUCV16U&feature=player_embedded

Two of the Top 30 Leaders in the World

The most recent Top 30 list of leadership gurus has Chris Brady, my co-author of the number one Wall Street Journal best seller for two weeks in a row - Launching a Leadership Revolution, and myself as Top 30 Leadership Gurus, making TEAM the only organization in the world with two of the Top 30. Gladwell’s 10,000 hours sure paid off for both Brady and myself. After five years, neither one of us had much success in Networking, but instead of quitting we chose to improve, leading to tens of thousands of satisfied customers. One either hates losing enough to change or one hates changing enough to lose. Brady and I chose to improve, as we hate losing, others may choose quitting, as they hate changing. I support their choices, because I support the freedom to choose. Giving people the freedom to make their own decisions, and the freedom to live with the subsequent results is the American way. If you win, you get the credit, but correspondingly, if you lose, you must take the blame. This is what made America great, and what my parents, along with competitive sports taught me as a young boy. No leader is good enough to make someone win against their will. In the TEAM, we commit to providing the best leadership training available for the dollar invested, but you must commit to the personal growth and the actions necessary to convert the training into results. People like Hawkins, Mattis, and Miletello applied the principles and changed their lives. What you will do, is up to you.

What Scams have I studied to date?

If you found this site looking for my research into the coercion based scams that I have studied so far, here is a partial list to get started.

1. Social Security Scam

2. Fiat Money Scam

3. Tariff Scam

4. Democracy Scam

5. National Bank Scam

6. U.N. Scam

God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Grandpa Know's Best!

Here's a repost of early Orrin Woodward that's absolutely touching. This is classic Woodward philosophy, learning from those with not only experience, but the fruit on the tree!

Enjoy!
Capt. Bill

PS. Check out the links to Tim Marks, George Guzzardo and Dan Hawkins leadership blogs. More great information with a timely message!
 
I read a great short story by Steve Brunkhorst called Grandfather’s letter. What incredible nuggets it had for climbers in life! Steve’s points out that in order to climb from peak to peak—we must endure the valley between the mountains. It takes courage to step off the peak and descend into the valley in order to climb the higher peak on the horizon. I feel many of us have walked through a valley for the last 5 or 6 months and arestarting to ascend to another peak. This is the year to count your blessings, break camp and start the climb to the top! Enjoy this wonderful story and follow the advice of Grandfather’s letter.- Orrin Woodward

One day, a young man was cleaning out his late grandfather’s belongings when he came across a bright red envelope. Written on the front were the words, “To my grandson.” Recognizing his grandfather’s handwriting, the boy opened the envelope. A letter inside read:

Dear Ronny,
Years ago you came to me for help. You said, “Grandpa, how is it that you’ve accomplished so much in your life? You’re still full of energy, and I’m already tired of struggling. How can I get that same enthusiasm that you’ve got?”

I didn’t know what to say to you then. But knowing my days are numbered, I figure that I owe you an answer. So here is what I believe.

I think a lot of it has to do with how a person looks at things. I call it ‘keeping your eyes wide open.’

First, realize that life is filled with surprises, but many are good ones. If you don’t keep watching for them, you’ll miss half the excitement. Expect to be thrilled once in a while, and you will be.

When you meet up with challenges, welcome them. They’ll leave you wiser, stronger, and more capable than you were the day before. When you make a mistake, be grateful for the things it taught you. Resolve to use that lesson to help you reach your goals.

And always follow the rules. Even the little ones. When you follow the rules, life works. If you think you ever really get by with breaking the rules, you’re only fooling yourself.

It’s also important to decide exactly what you want. Then keep your mind focused on it, and be prepared to receive it.

But be ready to end up in some new places too. As you grow with the years, you’ll be given bigger shoes to fill. So be ready for endings as well as challenging beginnings.

Sometimes we have to be brave enough to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Life isn’t just reaching peaks. Part of it is moving from one peak to the next. If you rest too long in between, you might be tempted to quit. Leave the past in the past. Climb the next mountain and enjoy the view.

Dump things that weigh you down emotionally and spiritually. When an old resentment, belief, or attitude becomes heavy, lighten your load. Shed those hurtful attitudes that slow you down and drain your energy.

Remember that your choices will create your successes and your failures. So consider all the pathways ahead, and decide which ones to follow. Then believe in yourself, get up, and get going.

And be sure to take breaks once in a while. They’ll give you a renewed commitment to your dreams and a cheerful, healthy perception of the things that matter the most to you.

Most important of all, never give up on yourself. The person that ends up a winner is the one who resolves to win. Give life everything you’ve got, and life will give its best back to you.
Love always,
Grandpa

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Butterflies Are Free!

Another great teaser from Orrin Woodward's new book, RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE, set to be released November 1, 2011. Who better to teach us about systems than the #1 community builder through the systems approach. Here Orrin cites his study of systems applied though out history! Who would have thought that someone else's experience from the past would be applicable today? Maybe someone could clue in our representatives in Washington!

Enjoy!
Capt. Bill

Butterfly Effect
RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE-Orrin Woodward


The Butterfly Effect, a part of the Chaos Theory, confirms the massive results that slight changes can have when applied to a leverage point within a system. The butterfly effect is such that a butterfly flapping its wings has the capacity to change the initial atmospheric conditions enough to trigger a series of changes that compound into a hurricane on the other side of the world. The same effect applies to human affairs in that subtle adjustments in initial conditions can create profound differences in results. In fact, according to the University of Bath, it was through studying weather patterns that the Butterfly Effect was first expounded:



In 1960 a meteorologist named Edward Lorenz was researching into the possibilities of long term weather prediction. He created a basic computer program using mathematical equations which could theoretically predict what the weather might be. One day he wanted to run a particular sequence again, and to save time he started it from the middle of the sequence. After letting the sequence run he returned to find that the sequence had evolved completely different from the original. At first he couldn’t comprehend such different results but then realized that he had started the sequence with his recorded results to 3 decimal places, whereas the computer had recorded them to 6 decimal places. As this program was theoretically deterministic we would expect a sequence very close to the original, however this tiny difference in initial conditions had given him completely different results.



Lorenz’s findings teach that slight changes running through complex systems compound over time, creating significant differences in results. For leaders who understand systems, a little extra “flapping of the wings” at key points of leverage can multiply with time creating major changes in the long-term outcomes. Although no one can predict the results in complex systems omnisciently (as in weather forecasting), leaders know that small variances in initial conditions can produce big differences in the finished products. History is filled with examples of how little incidences impacted the destiny of civilizations. The Great Courses series, taught by historian J. Rufus Fears, dramatizes this point:



January 10, 49 B.C.: Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon River into Rome, igniting a civil war that leads to the birth of the world’s greatest ancient civilization.



October 12, 1492: The Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus, weary after months at sea, finally drops anchor at the island of San Salvador and takes Europe’s first steps into the New World.



September 11, 2001: On a calm Tuesday morning, a series of terrorist attacks on the United States of America ignites a global war on terrorism that continues to this day.



History is made and defined by landmark events such as these—moments that irrevocably changed the course of human civilization. While many of us are taught that anonymous social, political, and economic forces are the driving factors behind events of the past, acclaimed historian and award-winning Professor J. Rufus Fears believes that it’s individuals, acting alone or together, who alter the course of history. These events have given us



* spiritual and political ideas,

* catastrophic battles and wars,

* scientific and technological advances,

* world leaders both influential and monstrous, and

* cultural works of unparalleled beauty.



Without them, human history as we know it today would be shockingly unfamiliar. It’s because of these events that our world will never be the same again.