Category: success

We all want to be productive, industrious and have fun. When we are young, we think we have all the time in the world to live our dreams and thus we defer things to later under the belief that we have time. I though have always been a think big, dream big and go big kind of person. I now realize that I probably could have even gone harder.

I thought I was an industrious person growing up. I had dreams and desires that I wholeheartedly executed on in order to achieve within my life. I wanted to graduate college, so I did the work to achieve that dream. I wanted to play in the NFL. I thought I had done the work to get it but unfortunately it didn’t work out.  I had made a promise to myself to keep progressing to my next goal or goals once an item had reached its natural conclusion. I keep the habit of asking myself: “what is next to live my greatest life?”

I never really thought about starting or owning a business as a young man. It just wasn’t something you saw growing up. I did however want experiences and things that I had not seen like a successful corporate career as both of my parents and grandparents were manual labors. I wanted to make my parents proud and I did that through the actions and behaviors I exhibited in my maturation process. I also wanted to buy or build a home that represented the fruit of my labor. We have one we love.

We all can look back and see that some of our friends and colleagues hit the proverbial glass ceiling at the end of high school and others of us blossomed into completely different people beyond high school. I also sadly watch people aging and not challenging themselves anymore. They are just wanting to “retire and die.” Not me! So, when my wife said let us start this networking business, and it aligned with our values and also allowed me to think big, dream big and go big once again? I was fully committed.

We all laugh a bit today when we think about the gems of knowledge that were handed down to us that we probably couldn’t comprehend or digest at the time, but now we look at them and go “man if I would have understood back then how thing might be different”. I would have started my side hustle years ago. And if you are like me, a think big, dream big, go big person, you agree.

Life is a real-time adventure that ebbs and flows constantly. We all like our patterns especially the comfortable ones: a safe stable job, plenty and consistent pay, safety, and shelter. Here now Covid throws a wrench into so called “safety.”  Yet think big, dream big, go big people are always thinking about the next thing, the bigger plan, how to not let the world control their safety. That’s why network marketing makes sense to people like me.

As I mentioned before, you only have right now so if you are in the first half of you life I urge you to go hard towards your goals, and start thinking bigger than you are today- I wish I had. If you’re in the second half of life guess what? I urge you to reawaken the fire in your belly and go hard to some goals. Those Andy Griffith re-runs will still be there, but you should want to close things out like a Boss.

When I started my career, I thought I would work for as long as I wanted to for one (maybe two) companies and retire as I was told growing up. My elders, always said: “get a good job and stay loyal, then retire with that pension.” I started working at my post graduate school job in 1998. It was a great place, I had great colleagues and we worked hard. I routinely woke at 4am, drove to the gym and then to work. I also believe that Protestant work ethic: “Hard work pays off.” I made a good living and never genuinely wanted for anything. In 2003, my organization lost a landmark case which triggered downsizing and coupled with the emergence of technical out-sourcing. And I was one the list.

The world has changed and it continues to change at an ever increasing rate. The day’s of working for one company your entire life and retiring or working one job and being able to live the life you want as opposed to living the you can afford may be over. Even now, where my family also believe that “government jobs” were safe, they hire on a contract basis. There is no guarantee of hitting a full pension.

A year and half ago my wife and partner told me about an eCommerce business idea that she had and wanted to get my opinion. I immediately was receptive due to several items:

• Time: I only have so much time that I can physically be productive and that number declines as you layer on family obligations, commutes, etc.  so the opportunity to earn money while I slept was a compelling item.
• Finances: Outsourcing work and the use of contract labor has made a significant transference of financial cost to individuals such as benefit cost. No longer are the days of sick leave, paid vacation and benefits – those are all out of pocket for many.
• Competition: As an ex-collegiate athlete but it is still in me. I love to compete but when you talk about competing for jobs the selection process is very subjective. Also, I find work isn’t competitive anymore. I know my job and try to learn new things, but am even limited there. This would ignite that in me again- how do I win at this?
• Earning: Your ability to earn greater and greater amounts is limited not only by your skills but the politics, and various other social economic factors that are outside of your control. Once we talked through the business opportunity and the only thing stopping us form earning was us -it was obvious to me that we should do it.

There is a lot that goes into starting and running a business. There is tons of paperwork, meetings, cold calls, prospecting and business development, just to name a few. Part of the attraction to this business is it is turnkey so the administrative paperwork, and overhead was handled by the hosting group. The reduction in the administrative burden allows us to focus on the substantive which was business development, advertisement, lead generation, sale’s pipeline management, etc.

I’ve learned a lot and continue to learn daily in this endeavor. Four big things I have learned:

1. Be a better listener. There is a lot of noise in the world. People will talk which may give you the illusion that they want to do business with you and your ability to listen and quiet the noise and will go a long way in possibly closing a transaction or finding an ideal teammate that will duplicate what you do.
2. Always be in business mode. No matter the time or place you should always be ready to do business.  Social situation or social media an opportunity may arise to do business and you must be ready. Doesn’t matter how tired I am.
3. Adapt to a changing landscape. This is important with the advent of social media as people are paying less attention to their phones (especially unknown numbers) and email. In addition people’s attention is captured by video, fame, and social media platforms so you have to flow like water and find away to achieve your goal.
4. Lastly, business development is a lot like courting. You see a beautiful woman but you have to put yourself and what you have to offer on the line. Ok, masculine example, but I am a man! Point is you have to put yourself out there. You may win or loss but you have to take action.

If you want to live your dream you must take actions and do thing that will facilitate your dream. That means constantly tending and helping it reach its fullest potential. Often we get in the rut of work hard and stay loyal. Now the only people I am passionate about and working for is us. That’s why I said yes to this great opportunity.

Since the end of World War II, the United States has enjoyed a 75-year reign of global supremacy. This dominance has been based on the mobilization of industry, labor, labor unions, resources, as well as knowledge and production methods. One of the things this period of prosperity has brought about is a huge change in our value system. If you talk to anyone from the WWII generation, they will talk about the values of simple times and living. Let us not confuse those times with being easy! It is not called “The Greatest Generation” for nothing.  People still wanted for pleasurable things like a television, a car and a family vacation.

What you will find is that many of those same families also had agriculture roots and had gardens to help feed their families. During the war years, people were encouraged to have gardens often called “Victory Gardens”.  During the post WWII boom and migration to the suburbs the commitment to growing your own food faded. It was with the migration to “suburbia living” where we started to see the value system shift quite expectedly away simple living and saving for “the bling” if you will, toward one of bigger paychecks and ever larger wants and desires. For example, no longer was it a single car family, both parents had cars.  

In the last 20 years we have had two financial crisis- one around 2008 with the subprime, and our current COVID-19 pandemic. Personally, this is when we started Temple Terroir Urban Garden at our home as a way to offset and supplement our food needs reminisce of a long-forgotten time in our country’s history. If my 50-year-old self told my 20-year-old self: “one day you’re going to be a master gardener,” I would have laughed and said you are out of your mind! We made it through the sub-prime crisis but kept Temple Terroir growing food year and around, canning, pickling and giving our abundance away to those who needed and wanted fresh food. This became a part of our values that we hold dear today. Even since then, when one of our two cars needed to be “replaced”, we decided to try it with one car and have not yet purchased a second car.

Interestingly the COVID-19 pandemic caused the supply chains to be disrupted as companies physically distanced and even shut down. There is this this crazy phenomenon of people hoarding. This is where I recognized a heavy imbalance of our values. You can’t feed your family with the mansion, the Gulfstream G700, the red diamond or yacht no matter how many you have. You cannot hoard enough to feel like you have enough.

We all need food, water, sleep, shelter and sex. We all need to feel loved, valued and appreciated. Ron Finley the OG Gangsta Gardener from LA said it best “People have been valuing dumbshit, and now they see how valuable food is. The pandemic has hit the values-system rest button.” At least temporarily.

Trust me, I am not wanting demonize materiality and the pursuit of material things. My wife and I started our home-based network marketing business because we want more freedom and flexibility. And we only get that through building wealth, not by punching a time clock to collect a paycheck. When I think of resetting the value system, I think of bringing balance back to the system. Now is the time to establish that balance. Now is a great time to ask what you really value? Time with family and friends? Flexibility to travel or learn new things? Maybe just grow your own food like we do?

Many are missing that check right now during that shelter-in place even to the point of protesting but why not replace that check with an investment in yourself and values that truly matter? Now is the time to start your own business and victory garden. You can still have the grandiose car, house and vacation all bankrolled with your effort both in the business as well as the victory garden. Build health and wealth, and change the lives of those you love. Then the next financial crisis you will be in balance and ok. We’d love to have you work with us if this resonates for you.

I want to believe we all grow-up with an idea of what we want to be when we grow-up. Having a dream in our life is important, not only when we are young, but even as we grow older.

From my earliest memories I dreamt of making it to the National Football League (NFL). I recall watching the games and playing catch with Dad. My dad never pushed me toward the game, it was just something I thought I wanted. I always played with my friends in the neighborhood and I was surprisingly good. But my first test of actual football was my freshmen year of high school. My mother wanted me to focus on my studies but all my friends were playing so I begged her to let me play with the understanding that if my grades suffered I would stop immediately.

What an experience! In those days, we had no idea what went into playing football as the 24/7 news update cycle didn’t exist. YouTube didn’t exist. I find that most people, because they have not played a sport, have no idea the amount of work goes into preparing for any type of athletic competition. I can still remember the wind sprints and the drills. And I especially remember the first contact! Our coach brought the local pop warner team our practice to “hit” with us. That first contact definitely was a gut check for everyone who wanted to play, especially if you went against somebody with more experience! I as a saw several snot bubbles coming out of people’s noses some definitely quit right away. One of the pop warner players was a dear friend of mine. One I consider a brother and lifelong friend. He showed why they called him “Pound for Pound” that day practicing “contact”. He definitely wasn’t the biggest, but he always brought the ferocity! I was still invested in my dream.

Then the shear amount of effort along with drills like “The Oklahoma Drill” ended a lot of careers early, lol. The reason I mention this is because if you’re not truly invested in what you’re doing why are you doing it? It is really your dream, or just some silly little fantasy?

Although I was a child when I conceived of this dream when I arrived at my moment of truth, I was undeterred by the work related playing football. I love everything about the game. The camaraderie, friendship,  yes the violence,  hard practices and obviously the games. I learned some great life lessons on this journey, and I want to believe that I had an innate calling to the game, even though playing for the NFL did not play out.

When I ask whose life are you living, I’m referring to the vision and the dream. Are you going to work every day making someone else’s dream and vision come true? Or are you working towards yours?  Me I wanted to get to the NFL I tried my best it didn’t work out, but not once did I question why I was doing this because it was my dream and vision. Now I have a new dream, and just like wanting to play for the NFL, it is a big, hairy hard to reach dream. Starting my business with my wife. We are learning the drills, going to practice, and taking the hits, why? Because we want it. Because I want it. I am tired working for someone else’s dream!

When I first started working after graduate school, one of my main goals was to get to the right job, making the right money, get all my affairs in order. I had a very linear way of thinking about life. Granted, I was young, and life and been pretty good (and predictable) so far. This was before my mother got sick and passed, the house burned down, my father suddenly passing away along with being laid off. I look back on my younger self and laugh because other than aging and going to school there aren’t many linear paths through our existence.

Those events taught me an important lesson, and now I see something in a new light that we always said growing up in the streets of Richmond CA. We always said: “If you stay ready, you won’t have to get ready.” After losing my first career position, one that I thought I would retire and die in, I learned stay ready. Now I always look for new opportunities. Honestly, it is easier to say no when you have a job than when you don’t.

Like most people, we started off the New Year with clear linear plans for life: home, family, exercise, vacation and career. Things were going as planned on this linear path. Then, a Black Swan events like COVID-19 happens. It will probably send 2020 down as being one of the worse events in our history, but it is a great example of the non-linear path that life takes. It has been a great example of staying ready. For example we had been settling in to a great workout routine in the gym. But gyms are closed. We are actually down significantly in weight since Shelter in Place, because we stay ready and knew what the workout would look like.

Many people have had their retirements postponed, even completely lost. Job offers have been pulled back as unemployment skyrockets. Every plan is probably on hold or destroyed with COVID-19 and the financial crisis that ensued.

Personally, we will overcome this terrible time and new opportunity will be created from this chaos. You just have to be aware and see it for what it is. You have to be ready and flexible to keep going and growing. It was a famous song from a Claymation move “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” called “Put one foot in front of the other” by Jules Bass. This song encapsulates it never being too late to change yourself or your life. It is nearly impossible at this point predict how your life with proceed even with the best laid plans. Keep that in mind, rest assured that there isn’t a perfect time to start anything. If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.

I am grateful that my wife and I started our side hustle a year and a half ago. Although I am an essential worker with the Department of Public Health, Ann lost all her speaking gigs. She is now working the side hustle full time, and growing it faster than before.

I urge you to take this time to re-prioritize what is important to you and execute on whatever it is, be it the side hustle, a new career, downsizing, a simpler way of living, or even living healthy. Just know it all starts with you taking action and realizing that the path is winding but ultimately this is path you want to be on.  

We have been coached and indoctrinated in the United States in the Protestant work ethic concept. In my early career, I believed and prioritized work over many important things in my life including sleep. My days were long and hard as I was on the forefront of the technical revolution.

You see it throughout our society- people in the 24/7/365 cycle of constant work. People starting their commutes earlier, driving further and working longer. People checking work email from their personal phones, in their bed, morning and night. The line between work and leisure becomes more obscured. You hear people say: “Sleep is the new Broke” I think that should be rephrased to “The Lack of sleep will break you down”.  Our society is such that it is almost a sign of inferiority or laziness to mention that you get eight hours of sleep a night and wake up naturally.

There have been many studies about the high correlation between sleep quality and general health. Let this sink in: most people are killing themselves slowly by not sleeping enough. We all should know a few important things about sleep. Sleep helps us:

1. Process information
   1. Our brains may be the most complex thing in the known universe but as we sleep, short term memories are transferred to long term memories. Problems are solved.
2. Toxin removal
   1. Neurons (brain cells) are energy hogs and thus produce a lot more waste than an average cell. The Glymphatic system is more active when we sleep removing Beta and Tau Amlyoid from brain both associated with Alzheimers disease.
3. Immune system
   1. When we sleep our body releases cytokines which help our bodies fight infection and diseases
4. Promotes recovery
   1. Sleep is crucial in muscle and general body recovery. It is when the body heals form the wear and tear of the day.

I’ve only focused on the physical benefits of sleep so far, but one often overlooked benefit is our relationships with loved ones  and colleagues. You ever notice when you are tired you might become a little short or easily frustrated? That your tone changes or temper is shorter? This impacts your partners, friends and business relations.

I think many of us have heard how important sleep is to our general health and well-being. There isn’t a one size fits all model for our sleep needs, but I like to use the analogy “Worker harder Sleep Harder” (that would be an Earlism if you follow my wife on facebook). There are countless studies that have been performed showing the epidemic levels of sleep deprivation and insomnia in our society. 

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6473877/
• https://www.sleepdr.com/the-sleep-blog/cdc-declares-sleep-disorders-a-public-health-epidemic/

Instead of trying to stay up all night get a good night rest consistently. Prioritize it and this can become the basis of great physical health and productive relationships both personal and professional. Trust me, the job will still be there.