There Is Enough To Go Around!

In just about all areas of the world, everyone thinks they have to approach life with a "dog eat dog" attitude. In school and sports as a child, everything seemed to be designed to teach us to do whatever we had to do to reach the top. There is NOTHING wrong with being willing to make personal sacrifices and follow your determination to reach a goal, that isn't what I'm referring to. The problem isn't in ambition, it's in the misinterpretation of the phrase "whatever it takes". I'm talking about the attitude that drives people to betray others and beat others down in an effort to elevate themselves. There are people that don't follow this mentality and I have nothing but respect for them. Sadly though, the "dog eat dog" attitude is way more common than the alternative.

I'd bet that almost everyone has been involved in a situation where they were faced with the dilemma "do I betray my friend/family/colleague or talk behind their back so that I can be seen as better than them or get a promotion, OR should I try to help them get the same thing I'm trying to get(at the risk of not getting it yourself).". If you haven't had to ever make this decision then you most certainly were on  the other end at some point. Here's the thing though...are there REALLY only 2 options? Is it really this or that. Me or them? Does one corporation have to put another one out of business in order to make a profit? Does one person have to betray a friend in order to climb the corporate ladder? Why is it that this is so common?

There is a certain mentality that I have come to love and try to incorporate into my everyday life. I don't know what it's called but I'm going to explain it here.

The first place I found this mentality is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. According to the scriptures, the only way to reach exaltation is by helping and serving others. Take a look at this response of Jesus to a question he was asked in Matthew 22:36-40:

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38 This is the first and great commandment.

 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

What does it mean to "love thy neighbour as thyself"? It most definitely doesn't include betrayal or talking behind ones back. It doesn't entail trying to make others look bad to elevate yourself. In fact, in Matthew 23:12 it says this:

12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

In other words, if you try to build yourself and ignore helping others, you will be abased. What does abased mean? Here is what Merriam Webster says about it:

Definition of ABASE

transitive verb

archaic :  to lower physically

:  to lower in rank, office, prestige, or esteem 

However, if you humble yourself (humility: the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people : the quality or state of being humble), you will be exalted (raised to a higher level). I'm not suggesting that this should be your motivation because that seems a bit counter effective, but the reality is that in order to raise your spiritual level, you do so by following the golden rule...by loving your neighbor as you love yourself. In other words, you build up others. Provide value for others and your quality of life will be improved. 

The second place I found this mentality is in a true network marketing company. The ONLY way to build a successful multi level marketing business is to help others succeed. It is literally the OPPOSITE of the corporate structure. Instead of trying to get ahead of others and "beating" them to the top, you try to help them succeed and get to the "top", and by so doing, create a great residual income for yourself. The best part about this is that you can't blame anyone else for success or failure in this industry. If you succeed, you did so by helping a lot of people. If you don't succeed, it's because you didn't help enough people. It's ALL ABOUT PROVIDING VALUE TO OTHERS! If I sign someone up under me in my business and they are more successful than me, it makes me happy! I want their business to be successful because it helps me be successful. It's like the business version of the gospel principles I already discussed! Anybody that tries to do it by tearing others down or following the typical corporate attitude, will undoubtedly fail and give up at some point, and then say that the MLM business model doesn't work because they tried it...but they tried it with the wrong attitude!

The third placed I've found this mentality is in the Ninja Warrior community (by that I mean people that train for the American Ninja Warrior type courses). I think this is why I'm so drawn towards it. It's not about beating other people in the competition. It's about beating the course! Everyone shares their tips and strategies with each other because it's like they are all on the same team and not opponents. The opponent is the obstacles, not the people. There is nothing but love and support that I've seen from the Ninja Community. It is ALL about building others and helping others succeed. 

Have you ever heard the term "Givers Gain"? Or perhaps you've heard about karma. The energy you put out in the world comes back to you ten fold. Don't believe it? Try it out for a week and see how the world changes! Spend a week focused on how you can help and serve others and your whole world and perspective will change. I promise you that! If you want to know the secret to happiness, you've found it. In voluntary service to others, you'll find yourself and helping create value in others lives, you'll find happiness!

Someday Never Comes!

I was driving and I listened to this song by Creedence Clearwater Revival for the thousandth time, but for the first time I listened to what the lyrics were actually saying. My wife was with me and she started crying. I'm hoping that others can learn from our mistakes. I know I have and I intend to make every moment count for the rest of my life! Here are the lyrics:

First thing I remember was asking papa, why,
For there were many things I didn't know.
And daddy always smiled and took me by the hand,
Saying, someday you'll understand.

[Chorus]
Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes.

Well, time and tears went by and I collected dust.
For there were many things I didn't know.
When daddy went away, he said, try to be a man,
And someday you'll understand.

Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes.

And then one day in April, I wasn't even there,
For there were many things I didn't know.
A son was born to me. Mama held his hand,
Sayin' someday you'll understand.

Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes
Ooo someday never comes.

Think it was September, the year I went away,
For there were many things I didn't know.
And still I see him standing, tryin' to be a man,
I said, someday you'll understand.

Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes
Ooo someday never comes.

Now let me explain why this hit us so hard.  We got married in 2010 and we had a lot of plans to do really fun things. We wanted to travel the world. We wanted to skydive together, scuba dive together, go climbing, hiking, swimming, dancing, etc. We were able to do some of that. We went hiking once or twice and swimming about as much. We always said that "someday" we'd get to those things. When we have money we'll start living our lives how we want...This is what we told ourselves. Or, when our kids are grown up, then we'll start doing those types of things. Seemed like pretty logical reasoning at the time. 

3 years passed and we were still basically living exactly as we were when we got married, except now we had a 2 year old and a newborn baby. We still wanted to do all those things but "someday" was still some day in the future. 

Then my wife got sick. By the time we had processed the fact that it wasn't going away, it had already progressed to a point that she was UNABLE to do a lot of those things. Her joints don't let her do anything high impact so skydiving is out of the question. It doesn't even have to be high impact....dancing and hiking are out of the question too because her joints will dislocate too easily.  Disautonomia (her nervous system disorder) doesn't allow her to get into water unless it's the perfect temperature. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome has also affected her digestive system so she can't even enjoy her favorite foods anymore without getting super sick!

All of a sudden, "someday" became never. We procrastinated too long. We thought we had plenty of time and that maybe in our forties or fifties, we'd be able to enjoy that type of life once money wasn't such an obstacle. There was no way of knowing that she had a genetic condition that would show it's ugly face at the age of 25. 

You never know what is coming in life. You can plan and hopefully your plans go through good! Unfortunately though, life usually throws curveballs at you that you don't expect and then you have to adjust your plans. 

Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. We didn't. It does happen though. The good news is that you can STILL be happy! You find new things to enjoy. You begin to enjoy the small things. You learn to appreciate things that you always took for granted. It's exhilarating! I wish it didn't take that hard of an experience to teach me that lesson though. 

That is my desire. I want others to enjoy their lives to their full capacity. Don't wait for "someday" to pursue your dreams or the lifestyle you want to live! Make TODAY that day! If you wait for someday, someday will never come! 

My wife and I have every excuse in the book to not pursue our dreams now. We've learned though, that we would regret settling for mediocre. This is why I'm dreaming big. This is why I'm willing to go stand in line for a week this April without a guarantee, but for a chance at running the course at American Ninja Warrior! I have no idea what will happen between now and next year. If I want to run the course and I'm physically able now, I have to seize the day and GO FOR IT! If I fail, SO WHAT! If I try and I fail, I won't regret it. If I fail to try, I will regret it. 

PURSUE YOUR DREAMS! Take your life back! Want to get in shape? START TODAY! Want to go on vacation? Start saving NOW! Want to have a family? Start now! Someday never comes! Today is all you have. Watch this video below RIGHT NOW! Carpe Diem!

What is Beachbody on Demand?

Have you ever wanted to stream your workouts directly to your computer or tablet? How about getting discounts on Beachbody  workouts or Shakeology? Or trying new workouts before you buy them on DVD?
There's a way to get exclusive insider access to these amazing benefits, and more. It's called the Team Beachbody  Club!
That's right. Team Beachbody Club allows you unlimited streaming access to hundreds of workouts in the digital library. That means you can stream many of the most popular Beachbody workouts—like P90X and INSANITY—right to your laptop, tablet, or mobile device—anywhere you have an Internet connection. Now you can choose your favorite trainer or type of workout, and take your workouts anywhere—to the gym, a friend's house, or on vacation! How awesome is that?
You also get a personalized meal planner to help you nail your nutrition, plus a 10% discount on purchases, from new DVD workout programs to fitness apparel—even Shakeology!

What I love about Team Beachbody Club is that you can even get insider "sneak peeks" to new workouts that aren't in the on demand library, so you can try them before you decide to buy the DVDs. It's so cool!

I really think you're going to love all the incredible benefits of Team Beachbody Club. You'll get to participate in live chats with celebrity trainers, make new friends on the Message Boards, and get fitness and nutrition advice from Beachbody's top experts!

Maybe you don't have the equipment to do some of the workouts but you have a gym membership. Well now you can get the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! You can go to the gym and you can use the well thought out exercise plans of your favorite trainers at the gym!

Maybe you have gotten a gym membership but you don't know what to do once you go there. I know that happened to me. It's pretty intimidating when you go to a gym and you don't even know where to begin because you are just starting and can't afford a personal trainer. Now you can basically get a variety of the world's BEST trainers ANYWHERE you want!

Here is a list of the different programs that you have UNLIMITED access too:

 P90X

 P90X2

 P90X3

 Insanity

TurboFire

Brazil Butt Lift

Ten Minute Trainer

ChaLEAN Extreme

Insanity: The Asylum Vol 1

Tony One-on-One (vol 1)

Hip Hop Abs
 

The part that I'm most excited about, is the club membership challenge pack! A challenge pack is usually one program plus one months worth of shakeology. So for anyone that wants to get shakeology, for another $10, they get 90 days of the club membership that includes everything I've already listed here! It's seriously a RIDICULOUS good deal! Click here to get the challenge pack!

       

To sign up for the club membership, just stop by the Team Beachbody website. Or contact me directly and I'll walk you through it, and answer any questions you might have.

The Greatest Lesson I've Ever Learned

This is a subject of which I have become EXTREMELY passionate about. I don't mean for this to be chastising anyone and I don't mean for it to be judgemental at all. I am writing this because it is an extremely valuable lesson that I've learned through watching my wife go through daily torture due to a health condition that she had absolutely zero control over or knowledge about beforehand. I feel like I have learned an amazing thing and I wish it hadn't taken what it did in order for me to learn it. I'm hoping that my wife's experiences can teach others as it has me. I hope that in sharing this, I can help at least one person to appreciate the small things just a little bit more. As I'm writing this, I'm holding back tears because I'm writing about something so difficult and at this moment, the song that we played at our wedding for our "First Dance" came on the radio. At that time, we had no idea what the Lord had in store for our lives. We were two carefree newly weds who thought we had multiple decades ahead of us before we encountered any type of major health issues. These things can happen to anyone at anytime. Because of that, I think it's of crucial importance for everyone to learn to appreciate what they have, even if what they have is limited to the ability to breathe.
I want you to imagine for a moment...What if one day you lost the ability to do all the things you love? How would you feel? This can happen in a single moment. One poor decision while driving (either by you or someone that hits you), or in a less common example, one morning you're perfectly fine, and then the next day you wake up with bacterial meningitis or some other disease that completely changes your life. Do you think that you would see walking as a blessing to others if it were taken from you? There are thousands of health conditions that can cause you to lose different functions of your body. Do you think you would wish that you had taken more time to appreciate these things while you had them? What about sight, hearing, taste, touch. What about the simplest of all bodily functions...breathing?

Side note: Here is a quote from my favorite roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. I found out yesterday that I'm related to him (among other super famous historical figures)! Yeah I was excited to find out...

 

 

Enedina has had different things taken from her one by one. I'm not going to go through every step in this blog, but I want to share a little so that you understand the situation. She was a stay at home mom and she loved it! Her whole life, she had hoped to be a stay at home mom with a lot of kids. She experienced that with Elena, and then for a few months with Eva. Then one day she started having these dizzy spells that made me start working from home so I could help to avoid her carrying Eva and dropping her during a dizzy spell. Next her joints started subluxing. That progressed really quickly. Then she started having these muscle spasms. There were a few times that we had to call the ambulance because she almost died from the spasms blocking her airways. In those moments, there was nothing I have ever wanted more than for her to be able to breathe. I'm sure she'd agree...Anyways, so at this point she had gotten to a point where she basically had to give up all of her favorite activities (yoga, running, etc.). Then the digestive issues started. The few things that were her absolute FAVORITES were sushi and chocolate. All of a sudden she couldn't eat rice or chocolate...so there goes that. Since then, we've found a way for her to be able to eat sushi and not get sick so we're grateful to have that back.
My point in saying all of that is this; Just about all of her favorite things to do have been taken from her because of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. She has gone through ups and downs in the process but she has learned to find happiness in the midst of losing all of these things. How? Well, the small things bring great pleasure.
Every day she wakes up is a blessing. Every breath she can breathe is a blessing. Every sensation and every experience is a blessing! Every moment she can spend with our daughters is a moment that we never want to lose!
I use her as an example because it is through her experiences that I have learned these important lessons.
We need to stop taking the AMAZING gift of an able body for granted and start treating ourselves with the respect that our bodies deserve. It is the greatest machine in existence. Why do we take care of our cars that might be worth $15,000 and yet we treat our bodies that are priceless, like crap? I did it for years and years and I didn't even realize it! If I had a Mercedes Benz, I'd be taking that car in to get the best fuel available and the best parts I could at every opportunity from the best mechanic I could find regardless of price. How much is that worth? Maybe $40,000? Can I even put a number on the value of an able body? How much would you pay to get an able body back if you lost it?
This is my point, we have the most amazing machine in existence that we literally live in, and we feed it crap, sit on our butts and don't exercise, and we let it get to a point where it can't even function correctly because we've neglected it for so long! WHY! Why did it take the most difficult experience of my life and watching my wife go through the most difficult experience I've ever witnessed for me to learn this?
I can go to a store and jump out of my car, run in and just get what I need and run out! Have you ever considered how easy that is compared to what handicapped people have to do? I can SEE what I'm looking for. How much value do you think a blind person would put on sight? I'd bet it's higher than the value of any car or other machine built by man.
If it were possible, we'd give up everything we have for my wife to get an "iron man suit" that would be a fake imitation of a repair for the body that we all take for granted. EVERYTHING WE HAVE! The value of health is far more precious than the mind can conceive. Problem is, you don't realize it until it's gone. I feel blessed that I didn't have to lose my health to learn to appreciate it. I wish I had learned it some other way though, because it's really hard to watch the woman I love go through the loss of body she has.
I think more than anything, this is why I love the new path that I've chosen. It is a different lifestyle. It's the second best change I've ever made in my life and it actually should have been part of the best change I ever made, I just didn't realize it. My explanation for that is found here.
I have basically devoted myself to helping others to learn these lessons without the terribly difficult experiences that it took for me to learn them. I'm devoted to helping others learn and then DO something about it!

PLEASE contact me if any of this inspires you to make a change. Maybe you aren't ready for change yet. If you even so much as have a DESIRE to make your life better, get ahold of me and I'll do anything in my power to help you, or if I can't, I will try to connect you with someone that can! I have found tremendous joy in helping others and I look for every opportunity I have available so don't be shy!

What is a pyramid scheme and what ISN'T?

Everybody knows that pyramid schemes need to be avoided. Everybody thinks they know what a pyramid scheme is as well. Here's the problem, most people don't actually understand what a pyramid scheme is! I did a quick google search to see how pyramid scheme is defined. The first thing that pulled up was a yahoo definition. Here it is:

1. pyramid scheme

                *n.noun

      1. A fraudulent moneymaking scheme in which early participants are paid of  money received from later recruits, with the final recruits putting money in and getting nothing back



Here is how the SEC (US securities and exchange commission) defines it on their website:

Pyramid Schemes

In the classic "pyramid" scheme, participants attempt to make money solely by recruiting new participants into the program. The hallmark of these schemes is the promise of sky-high returns in a short period of time for doing nothing other than handing over your money and getting others to do the same.
The fraudsters behind a pyramid scheme may go to great lengths to make the program look like a legitimate multi-level marketing program. But despite their claims to have legitimate products or services to sell, these fraudsters simply use money coming in from new recruits to pay off early stage investors. But eventually the pyramid will collapse. At some point the schemes get too big, the promoter cannot raise enough money from new investors to pay earlier investors, and many people lose their money.

There is another AWESOME article that the SEC put on their site and you can see the whole article here. I recommend EVERYBODY that is interested in any MLM read it. Here is just a small part of it and I'm going to highlight the part that I want to emphasize:

In an MLM program, you typically get paid for products or services that you and the distributors in your "downline" (i.e., participants you recruit and their recruits) sell to others. However, SOME MLM programs are actually pyramid schemes -- a type of fraud in which participants profit almost EXCLUSIVELY through recruiting other people to participate in the program.

In other words, it's possible for a pyramid scheme to masquerade as an MLM but that does NOT mean that all MLM's are pyramid schemes!
So how do you know the difference? Here's the biggest red flag: Are the distributors actually selling something of value? If so, is the commission generated just a PERCENTAGE and not more than the actual cost of the product of the retail sale? If you can answer yes to both of those, then chances are, it's a legitimate business. If you answer no to either, then you better take a serious look at it before joining. If anyone tells you that you can make a lucrative income by EXCLUSIVELY recruiting other people who recruit other people who recruit other people etc...then you're listening to a pyramid scheme. Here's why: There is a bunch of people transferring money but NOBODY is transferring any product. It's unsustainable because there isn't any actual sale happening!
Now I want to demonstrate how an MLM can be a totally legitimate business model and I'm going to use Beachbody as my example.
With beachbody, they sell an actual product. No money is made whatsoever unless a product is sold. I could sign up 15 million coaches and never make a penny unless at least some of those coaches (including me) are selling exercise programs and health supplements. In fact, I have some coaches on my team that I make $0 on ever. They signed up to get the coach discount with no intention of selling to anyone and then stopped ordering any products. Guess what happened? The instant they stopped buying products, I get nothing from them being a coach.
However, if I sign up a coach and they either buy products or sell products of beachbody, THEN I make money. I don't actually make commission from it, it's all through team volume points that I'm not going to get into in this blog because it will just confuse anyone that isn't familiar with MLM compensation plans. I only make commissions from my own personal customers.
In other words, signing up coaches CAN build an income for me but ONLY if they are selling products and signing up other coaches who are selling products. Do you see the difference? Sale of products=money generated. Recruiting coaches=no money generated unless there is a sale of products.

There are 2 ways to sign up as a coach.
      1. You can JUST sign on as a coach for $40. With that $40, you get a bunch of info about "coach basics" you get 3 different websites of your own (for team beachbody, shakeology, and the ultimate reset), and you get a healthy eating cookbook. So yes, there is a fee to become a coach but you actually get something for the fee...it's not just a fee for nothing. 
      2. You can get that $40 fee waived completely by buying a challenge pack! So for example, the brand new challenge pack called the "club challenge pack" costs $140. With that, you get one month of shakeology (normally $130 for a bag) and 90 days of a club membership that gives you a TON of good benefits, not the least of which being a LIBRARY of AMAZING exercise programs that you can stream on any device that has the internet. The price is $140 regardless of if you become a coach or not. However, if you buy a challenge pack, and you want to become a coach, then the $40 fee is waived!

In Both cases, you pay money but you actually GET SOMETHING. This is the best example I can give because it's the company that I'm most familiar with. There are so many good MLM companies out there though. There are sketchy ones. There are some that I've encountered that I don't want to touch with a ten foot pole. There are a lot of really good ones though that sell a lot of great products. I've talked to some other MLM companies and if I weren't already doing beachbody, I'd probably have signed up with them. We use products from multiple MLM companies and love them. Once properly understood, the issue isn't with the MLM business model; it's with the minority of "MLM" companies that are actually illegal pyramid schemes. I put that in quotations because a pyramid scheme is NOT an MLM. It is a sketchy illegal imitation of an MLM. I'm going to write another post in the future about why I think network marketing (MLM) is the greatest business model but this post has gotten long enough.
If you have any questions or comments, please comment on this post! If you want to know more about the business opportunity that is available with beachbody, check out my website or either comment here or reach me on facebook. I look forward to talking with you!

-Mike Stanger