"People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Abraham Lincoln

For thousands of years, men and women have searched for the secret that would enable them to live a more happy and successful life.  To this day, many people continue to look for this hidden secret, seldom ever finding its hiding place.  Most of us never realize that it lies deep within each of us.  As Orrin Woodward and the Team have proved and provided for others, lasting happiness comes from putting your heart into that which you enjoy doing and working at it with joy and enthusiasm.  Happiness grows out of harmonious relationships with others based on attitudes of good will, tolerance, understanding, and love.  Happiness is basically determined by the attitude you hold toward yourself and those around you.  Happiness depends upon a mind full of rich thoughts and a heart full of rich emotions.  As Orrin Woodward has taught, “The city of happiness can be found in the state of mind.”  A cheerful heart is one which grows larger by helping others.  “Help thy brother’s boat across, and lo! Thine own has reached the shore.”  Thanks Orrin for putting together the Team system by which each of us can help thy brother’s boat across and achieve true happiness in the process.

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”

Winston Churchill

Orrin Woodward and the Team have put together an opportunity for each of us to do exactly that… write our own history.  The Team system put together by Orrin Woodward gives each individual who utilizes it the chance to literally become whomever they choose through personal growth.  How does your story read?  Are you writing it or are you letting someone else?

I have a question here from a gentleman.  His name is Matt, in Alabama.  He asks, “Michael Gerber, what is the most important step an entrepreneur can take to begin setting up the system in his or her business?”

            The absolute most important thing you can do, Matt, is read The E-Myth.  Now, if you haven’t done that, you have to do that.  That’s the first thing.

            The second thing you do once you have read The E-Myth is to ask yourself the questions, “what do I want from my life?”  Forget about your business, Matt. Forget about your business.  It’s a complete unadulterated waste of time. Your life is your business and so you have to ask yourself, “what do I want?”  What I mean by that is, what is your primary aim?  Do you remember earlier, we talked about creating a story?  Telling the story.  Our life is a story.  The problem is we’re not writing our story.  So this is the very first thing we tell our clients to do.  Mike, the first thing you do when we get done tonight you go home and you imagine your C.O.D. Imagine your crap out date.  Imagine you’re at your own funeral and suddenly you’re speaking. You’re at your own funeral. You’re speaking to everybody at the funeral and you say, “listen, I have to tell you a story. Nobody else could tell you this story like I can. Nobody knows me like I do.” You’re dead, Mike, you understand? You made the recording before C.O.D., before you died. What story would you tell them?

            Okay, so today is the first day of the rest of your life.  What a cliché.  What a horrible cliché.  But the fact of the matter is, it is!

            Imagine going home tonight and writing this script for the tape you’re going to play at your own funeral and saying, “Hi. I want to tell you the story of a guy. His name is Mike. He was, you know, however old when he saw the light.  And that day he decided he was going to create by intention, absolute intention, the rest of his life. This is the story.”

            Telling it, telling it, telling it, and then living it, Mike. But nobody does that. Everybody is out there having accidents.

_____________________________________________________________

“It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.”

Abraham Lincoln

According to Psychology Today, by the time a child reaches the age of 18, the concept of "No, you can't!" has been reinforced 187,000 times, whereas the concept of "Yes, you can!" has been reinforced only about 25 - 30 times.

With this in mind, is it any wonder why so many people give up on their dreams and even themselves?  With no hope, what’s the point?  Today's society 'programs' us this way. We simply do not "believe" we can win.

There is great peace in the presence of God.  May everyone be blessed with such peace.

“I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said.”

-Alan Greenspan

This has to be one of my all time favorites.  Humor from an individual who is arguably the most powerful man in the world because he holds what is probably the most powerful position in the world.  After reviewing the Greenspan Series, perhaps we can take comfort in knowing that the man who holds that spot thinks the way he does. 

Orrin Woodward and the Team have shown that the simplest systems are the most effective & most productive.  Orrin has always said, “Major on the majors.”  The majors are always fundamental principles that produce results every time.  Clear communication is a big one.  A clear vision for the overall Team that gives direction and purpose for each team within it will provide clear direction for goals of the players on the Team.  Dale Carnegie has written Ten Common Sense Rules for Human Relations:

1         Speak to people.  There’s nothing as nice as a cheerful greeting.

2         Smile at people.  It takes 112 muscles to frown and only 13 to smile.

3         Call people by their name.  The sweetest music to the ears is ones own name.

4         Be friendly and helpful.  Radiate friendship and it will be returned tenfold.

5         Be cordial.  Speak and act as if everything you did were a pleasure.

6         Be genuinely interested in people.

7         Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism.

8         Be considerate with the feelings of others; it will be appreciated.

9         Be thoughtful of others opinions.  There are three sides to every controversy- yours, the others- and the right one.

10     Be alert to give service.  What counts a great deal in life is what we do for others.

Sound advice from another extremely influential, productive, successful individual who knew how to communicate.

The entries of this journalistic blog are intended to be particularly clear-  understanding is the point.

Thanks to Orrin, success on the Team can be simple as well. 

“I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday. “

Abraham Lincoln

The Team has taught that the biggest room in the world is the room of self-improvement.  Abraham Lincoln has also said, “I will study and prepare myself and someday my chance will come.”

Orrin Woodward has taught that we should constantly be seeking to improve ourselves.  We should continuously be sharpening our axe.  It means taking the time for self-examination in all areas of our life.  When we identify areas with room for improvement and development, we can then seek to acquire and develop qualities that will distinguish greatness of mind, spirit, and character.  Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living.  He advised us to, “Know thyself.”

In developing the Team system, Orrin created a process through which we can achieve continual growth and personal improvement.  Orrin’s system creates a success library of some of the world’s greatest thinkers and leaders that motivate, educate, and inspire toward continual growth for greatness.  The Team system also incorporates the success principles of others who have achieved significant success by listening to personal growth tapes taking advantage of the best teacher… the experiences of others in the pursuit of high achievement.  Orrin Woodward has also incorporated the most powerful force on earth… the power of association with likeminded thinkers seeking to pursue better teaching us fundamentals of success and winning.

Nourishing your mind is the best investment you can make and no one can take it away from you.  As author Burke Hedges says in his best selling book, You, Inc., it will be worth all the time, money, and energy you may spend because your mind is your biggest asset and any expense on it is an investment.

To achieve success in your professional as well as your personal life, take time out each and every day to sharpen your axe.

"I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod. "

Winston Churchill

Orrin Woodward and the Team know that self-motivation is what gets us going and keeps us trying!

Jump In! 

The Portable Pep Talk, Alexander Lockhart.

A wealthy businessman hosted a spectacular party in which he had filled his swimming pool with sharks, barracuda, and other assorted dangerous fish.  He then announced to his guests that he would like to challenge any one of them to try swimming across the pool, and he would offer a first prize of either a new home in the mountains, a trip around the world, or the position as president of his company.  No sooner had he made the announcement there was a large splash in the water and a man swam rapidly across the infested waters and leaped out on the other side.  The millionaire approached the dripping man and said, “That was a stunning performance.  What prize do you want?”  The swimmer caught his breath and then replied, “Right now I really don’t care about the prize.  I just want to find out who the person was that pushed me in!”

As Orrin Woodward and the Team have taught, sometimes we need a little push to get us moving in the direction of our dreams.  Sometimes exterior motives are necessary to get us started.  But, if you want to be successful, then the push must come from within.  We must become ‘self-starters’.  Self-motivation is the fuel that gives you the power to push through the walls of adversity toward your goals and dreams.  Orrin has quoted the philosopher Socrates who once reminded us, “A man who would move the world must first move himself.”  Start today and begin to excel in every area of your life!

“Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is; the tree is the real thing.”

Abraham Lincoln

”The true measure of a career is to be able to be content, even proud, that you succeeded through your own endeavors without leaving a trail of casualties in your wake.”

-Alan Greenspan

Orrin Woodward and the Team have made it possible to do just that!  The Team system provides us with the tools necessary to develop the skills through personal growth and the opportunity for financial gain through its unique model capitalizing on the most powerful and profitable economic trends.  The Teamhas harnessed the vast power and speed of the internet, the incredible wealth of the distribution industry, and the power of compounding through leveraging a duplicatable win-win system makes the Team the greatest business development system in the world.  Not only will you be content in knowing you endeavored to grow and achieved true success, but that you did so by helping others achieve their goals and dreams as well.  As Orrin has expounded, on the Team, the only real competitor you have is you.  It will only be a matter of time until you reach the top in all your endeavors if you can contrive each day to outperform the person you were yesterday.  Your true success in life begins only when you make the commitment to become excellent at whatever you do while helping others strive for and realize their very best as well.

Commit to your dreams.  Pursue them with all your heart.  Have your Victory!

And remember that on the Team…  Together Everyone Achieves More!

"The nose of the bulldog has been slanted backwards so that he can breathe without letting go."

Winston Churchill

The Team and Orrin Woodward exemplify commitment and determination.  Much of achieving and reaching a goal or dream is the sheer refusal to let go, to give in, to quit and accept failure.  Orrin has said, “the only way to truly fail is to accept failure as the result.”  Failure is not fatal and it is not final until we make it so.

Desire is key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal... a commitment to excellence... that will help you reach the success you seek.

-Mario Andretti, racing champion.

Success is being achieved here, through the Team, and it can be had by you.  Determine.  Commit.  Engage.  Pursue.  Fail. Get up.  Go it again.  Persevere.  Succeed.  Achieve your Victory.  Be a bulldog like Orrin and put on the ‘whole armor’ of the Team system.  In the face of adversity and challenges, grit your teeth, bite down hard, and don’t’ let go!

Orrin Woodward is a man  of Character, which is the third principle of leadership in The Proverbs of Leadership.

To build anything that will last, it must have a solid foundation.  A city must be built on rock, not sand.  A business must be built on integrity and trust, and with leaders that have character like Orrin Woodward.

“I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well.”

-Alan Greenspan

Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Now this is an awesome principle with which to adhere.  This is exactly how success and freedom is achieved on the Team.  Orrin Woodward has literally maximized the principles of franchising in such a way that the only way to truly achieve any significant level of success in this business is by helping those we deal with to gain as well.  As you develop yourself through the Team system, you impact the lives of others by your example.  Then you find that in the pursuit of success, perhaps on a monetary level, there is an incredible degree of satisfaction in seeing significant growth in the people around you, knowing the difference you are making in the countless lives of others.  The Team business model designed, constructed, utilized and modeled by Orrin Woodward is truly a Win-Win system whereby we achieve wealth by helping others achieve a victory of their own.  A better business model could not be designed.  Putting the interests of others first always creates a winning situation.  The best interests of a team are always consistent with the best interests of each individual player.  Like Orrin has repeatedly said, “There are no big shots on the Team.  We’re all just little shots that keep on shooting.”  So grab a spot, play it well, and start shooting! STP! STP! STP!

“You can have anything you want, if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.”

Abraham Lincoln

Persistence!  Persistent people begin their success where most others quit.  Orrin Woodward has led by example and has shown that one person with commitment, persistence, and endurance will accomplish more than a thousand people with just an interest.  The Team system is such that, if you’d begin with a million dollars’ worth of determination, you’d achieve a million dollars’ worth of success.  Orrin, in developing the Team system, has given anyone with the determination to persist, a vehicle to water and fertilize their dreams, knowing that of we do not quit, if we display perseverance and endurance, we will reap a harvest.  Around about 60-70 A.D., an unknown author wrote, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  The more diligently we work, the harder it is to quit.  Persistence is a habit… so is quitting.  Either way, it’s your choice.  Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us!  Work up a fever!

"If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future. "

Winston Churchill

Like Orrin Woodward’s writer points out in the previous entry… you cannot move forward in progress unless and until you can forgive your past.  Yes, stop long enough to learn the lesson that must be learned for the sake of avoiding the destiny of repeating it again.  Then... MOVE ON!  As Orrin Woodward and the Team not only teach, but do, focus on what you’re going to... not what you’re going through.  Some people continue to repeatedly focus on what they’ve already gone through, reliving it over and over again.  Listen, the funeral is over...  It’s time for the burial.  Orrin and the Team system have literally leveled the playing field for anyone willing to pursue a worthwhile goal or dream allowing them to leave their baggage of the past at the doorstep and enter with renewed opportunity to change the past by progressing into the future with hope and a new attitude for achieving better.  Whether it be in your marriage, with your children, perhaps financially, in your career or business, or maybe breaking the labels imposed upon you by society and trading them in for positive self-esteem, this is an atmosphere of encouragement where it's OK to reach for greatness, and if you stumble and even fall, you are supported, taught, and encouraged to get up and give it another go. 

From the book The Proverbs of Leadership by Stevenson Willis.

To find the way forward you must first find the way to forgive.

The only shame in failure is to neglect to learn from it.

To forget a mistake before seeking its lesson condemns you to repeat it and thus relive its pain.

To learn from error is to gain experience;  to forgive yourself the error, freedom.

This definitely reminds me of Orrin Woodward who always says, " The lesson continues until the lesson is learned."

Orrin Woodward says that everybody will fail, it is how we react that matters.  Do we learn from it and get ourselves back up and continue to strive to be the best we can.  I know that is what Orrin Woodward does and teaches his leaders on the TEAM.

“To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education--literacy, both verbal and numerical, and communication skills. “

-Alan Greenspan

Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Boy, Oh Boy.  Is this guy commenting on the Team system, or what?  And notice he didn’t say ‘public’ education.  Orrin Woodward and the Team certainly understand the importance of a solid foundation of education in sound principles of success.  The following is taken directly out of Robert Kiyosaki’s book If You Want To Be Rich & Happy- Don’t Go To School:

"Difficulties mastered are opportunities won."

Winston Churchill

Cripple him and you have a Sir Walter Scott, lock him in a prison cell and you have a John Bunyun. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge and you have a George Washington. Land him in poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Subject him to bitter religious strife and you have a Disraeli. Strike him with Infantile Paralysis and you have Franklin D. Roosevelt, the only President of the United States to be elected to four terms of office. Burn him so severely in a schoolhouse fire that the doctors say he will never walk and you have a Glenn Cunningham, who set a world record in 1934 for running the mile in 4 minutes 6.7 seconds. Deafen a genius composer who continues to compose some of the world's most beautiful music and you have a Beethoven. Drag him more dead than a1ive out of a rice paddy in Vietnam and you have a Rocky Blaier, that beautiful running back for the Pittsburg Steelers. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination and you have a Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman or Martin Luther King Jr. Have him born of parents who survived a Nazi concentration camp, paralyze him from the waist down at the age of four, and you have Isaac Perlman, the Incomparable violinist. Call him ‘retarded’ and write him off as ‘uneducatable’ and you have Albert Einstein. Amputate the cancer-ridden leg of a young Canadian and you have Terry Fox, who vowed to raise a million dollars by running across Canada with an artificial leg. Terry was forced to stop when the cancer spread to his hip, and took his own life several months later, but his spirit lives on. After losing both legs in an airplane crash, let an RAF fighter pilot fly, and you have World War II ace, Douglas Bader, who was captured by the Germans three times and escaped three times on two artificial limbs. Label him too stupid to learn, and you have a Thomas Edison. Label him a hopeless alcoholic, and you have Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Tell her she is too old to start painting at 80 and you have a Grandma Moses. Blind him at age 44, and you have John Milton, who 10 years later wrote Paradise Lost. Call him dull, hopeless and flunk him in the 6th grade, and you have Winston Churchill. Tell a young boy who loved to draw and sketch that he had no talent, and you have Walt Disney. Rate him mediocre in chemistry and you have Louis Pasteur. Take a crippled child whose only home was an orphanage, and you have Louis E. West, who became the first chief executive of Boy Scouts of America. Spit on him, humiliate him, betray his trust, say one thing and do another. Mistrust those whom he loves. Mock him, make him carry a heavy wooden cross, and crucify him and he forgives you and calls you a friend.

Thanks Orrin Woodward for the Team system which empowers us to grab a hold of life instead of letting life grab a hold of us.  More of us need to stop telling our God how big our problems are and start telling our problems how big our God is!

FOR RELEASE 10:00 A.M. EST, Thursday, February 24, 2005                                                                           CB-05-16