This is day 10 of our Shred. Wondering how we did?
For us, shredding is mostly about feeling better rather than weight loss. We’ve not had indigestion for the last 10 days. That’s big since it happens regularly and affects our sleep.
When I’m not active and don’t eat well, my joints hurt. Shredding is about eating more fruit and vegetables and also about moving your body. While not ache free, I am much improved and looking forward to doing some chores around the house.
Lastly, my mind feels clearer. By getting 8 hours sleep, moving my body, eating better and and drinking more water I feel sharper.
We thought a lot about this. Why not delay just a day to avoid the temptations of Easter ham?
Truth is, there can always be a reason not to start on the road to improved health. The trick and the major learning of Shred10 is to be mindful and make good choices.
My second takeaway from Shred10 is to implement a simple change every shred. There are 4 core principles of Shred10:
Eat whole food including Juice Plus+ capsules and complete.
Drink more water
Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
Exercise your body nearly every day.
There are some other minor points but think if you implemented just one of the major points every month along with 1 or 2 of the minor points. At the end of 4 months, you’d be a different person.
So we wish you to have a happy, healthy, Joyous Easter. By all means, enjoy your family and friends. Be mindful of what you eat if you choose to. If you don’t, do better Tuesday.
Working from home for yourself is not like working in an office. You have to set aside time to work on your business without distractions. Sounds simple, right?
My, there can be plenty of distractions to get you off track. Housework, children, the door, pets, family, phone, social media, the list goes on and on.
We’ve struggled with devoting time to our business for a couple of years. We’ve tried themes for days and fixed schedules. We are semi-retired now and when do we do the things we want to do to enjoy ourselves?
I did some research from some of the thought leaders I follow as well as very successful people in our team. Here are the highlights.
From Eric Worre
DMO has Massive power to build your business
Cornerstone skill for successful people
Skills need to be duplicatable. Success doesn’t matter, duplication does.
you won’t build momentum if your DMO changes monthly
From Ray Higdon
Consistency is key
Be happy and grateful
Start day positively
Take time for personal development
Check email social media later in the day. Don’t start your day with social media.
Practice gratitude
From Stacy Whitmer
have time for personal development
Be intentional with your time.
Develop daily themes
Use a Memory jogger
Be friends of your social media friends
Ask friends for recommendations.
Always send personal invites to events
From Alisa Herriman
Alisa asks herself these questions Sunday evening and from there develops her weeks DMO.
You need one. You need to remember the people you want to share with, the people that have ordered from you, the people that you simply want to further the relationship with.
Can you remember all their names, their important dates, (birthdays, shipping dates, start dates)? Do you worry that you will run out of people to talk to?
There are a variety of products for this on the market. Teamzy is one. There are others:
CityGro
Meeting Mapper.
HubSpot.
PowerDialer.
Nitro.
Opportunity Optimizer.
EchoSign.
FunnelSource.
Conga Composer.
I’ve not used any although I investigated Hubspot. I still prefer to use simple, inexpensive tools. I did attempt to use Address Book in our virtual office. I found it had limited methods of contacting clients. It does a great job of tracking dates, addresses though.
It’s all about building relationships with people. It takes time to meet and learn about people.
First, an exercise
take 3 minutes to write down as many names as you can.
don’t think about the person
don’t worry that you’ll have to call them immediately
get as many names as you can.
go
I recommend using Google Sheets to record your contacts and Google Drive for Cloud Storage. If your not technically oriented it’s time. Find a friend, attend a course to learn. Don’t let technology stand in your way. Why, while you can record and categorize people in a manual memory jogger, I can’t imagine doing it that way. An electronic system allows you to record, categorize and sort your list. Both Google Sheets and Drive are free for low volume users. I’ve used Excel and Dropbox but moved on to Google Products because they are available where ever you have access to the Internet. That can be on a laptop, tablet or phone. Again Go, Just do it.
Use your social media contacts, phone, clubs, volunteer organizations, use the 3-foot rule to talk to people, sports events, pick up a business card from boards, meetup groups, health-conscious places.
Categorize the people you enter in your memory jogger:
Green for friends
yellow for an acquaintance
Red for never met or you just follow them on social media
Star those that need Juice Plus Products or the business
Sort your list so that Green, starred people at the top and talk to them.
Screenshot of my Memory Jogger
The process is asking questions, identify connections and eventually invite to learn more. It’s a continuum. If you invite someone and they are not ready, step back to asking questions and identifying connections. Remember to be interested, not interesting, it’s not about you.
The big benefit to meet is that a memory jogger makes you more efficient with your time. Talk to the people that are starred and green.
A don’t miss event for us every year has become Banff Beavertail. It is Banff, my favorite place in the world. We had beautiful warm, sunny weather for our weekend stay. The Rimrock Hotel, half way up a mountain, just beside the Hot Springs pool and Gondola treated us like royalty.
Rimrock Hotel, Banff, Alberta
Mark Hair and Yvonne Cunningham always get world class speakers. Shelly Mackey from Kansas was hilarious and convinced us we can do anything. Dr. Jan Roberto told us about the rock solid science behind our product. Ron Watkins spoke of exciting developments from head office. Tim Banks told us of how Tower Garden and the fertilizer blends were developed from his experience at Disney Epcot for a proposed NASA Mars Mission.
I was so interested in hearing from Katie Ravey and Luke Wren, I didn’t get their pictures. I did get point after point of rock solid quotes. My voice and hands were worn out by the end of the weekend.
Shelly Mackey, If I can do it. Dr. Jan Roberto, The Science Ron Watkins, Head office Tim Blanks, Tower Garden Developer
I took 15 pages of handwritten notes in a weekend. Normally, I can keep up with notes. Not so, this time. It was note after note of incredible information, everyone a pearl that we want to incorporate into our lives and business.
Focus, Don’t wait for a CRISIS Food is Fuel Mineral Blend developed for a Mars Mission
A big part of the attraction of events is the chance to spend time with inspirational team mates. They’ve become our friends and mentors.
Drew Pasay, Team Synergy, Trina & Donna, Danielle Korol and Hazel
We met 3 week old Hazel Pasay who attended nearly every event. We can’t wait to check in with her every year. It’ll be so exciting.
Hazel Pasay 3 Weeks Old, Della and Hazel, Drew and Hazel Pasay, Della and Mark Boothby Hazel with Danielle Korol
It doesn’t matter if it’s your personal or business life. Your why will get you up in the morning, get you to the tough meetings, finish off those uncomfortable tasks and keep you going when you feel like you must rest.
Turn up the volume
If you have not found your why you’ll want to ask yourself:
What is it you want this business to do for you?
Why do you want this?
What are you willing to do to get this?
Remember, you are in business. Success will not fall into your lap. You will have to work for it. That sounds harsh, but it’s a harsh lesson we’ve learned over time. On the positive side, you’ll have to work hard for a few years but residual income is not like getting paid an income.
The last 3 questions to ask yourself are:
Is this decision financial?
Is this for fulfillment?
Is this for fun?
Not everyone has the same amount of time to spend. Whether its stolen time in 15-minute batches or 4 hours a day like Della and I a virtual franchise is a wonderful choice.
The next step is to link your Why to your Goals.
It takes some digging to get to your true why. It takes some digging and I expect it will be emotional when you find you’re true why.
Start by asking yourself What is important to you about having a successful business? Then based on that answer continue down 7 levels.
Your why will evolve over time. Ours has from simply wanting to improve our own health to telling other people about this amazing business, helping them to improve their health and their finances.
Let me know if you want these forms, I’ll gladly send you copies.
The first few minutes of the “Find your Why” video are TD Jakes Run video. Consequently, the “Find your Why” video below starts at 6:30.
We’ve spent our lives trying different nutritional supplements. We relied on recommendations from friends and what we hear in the media and advertising. We’ve tried a lot of products.
I can’t think of one we found prior to 3 years ago that we still use and recommend. We did find 1 three years ago that changed everything.
What’s the difference? Well, I retired early because my health was failing. I had serious inflammation, gout was non-stop and I feared I was on a path to a second heart issue. Of course, I relied on my Doctor. He sent me to a Heart Clinic and to a year-long weight loss and lifestyle choice course. And I was prescribed medication.
The year-long lifestyle course made me want to become an advocate for my own health and to become more knowledgeable. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t sceptical about nutritional products, my experience had made me doubtful.
I have learned there are some key points to look for in any nutritional product:
Bioavailability
Are the ingredients real food are ingredients? If your body doesn’t understand how to use the product, your body is going to eliminate it. Your money is wasted and your health won’t benefit. To be valuable, the product must reach your bloodstream.
What does the label say? It’s better to consume nutrition than man-made supplements.
Scientific Research
Does the product itself (not ingredients in the product) have third-party, independent, double-blind placebo-controlled, published research proving it does something good for the body? If it does, it’s probably worth taking.
It’s important the research is done by third parties. Research done on an ingredient of a product or in companies internal lab will not provide valuable information for you to make a choice.
Warning Labels
Who can take the product? If pregnant or nursing moms, children or those with immune system issues cant take it are you sure you want to?
Certification
Have you seen the news from New York about nutritional products not having whats on the label? There are third-party companies that certify whats on the label is in the product.
Company Rating
I’m sure you want to trust your health to a reputable company.
Over the years, the only company and product that have met my criteria is Juice Plus+ Yes, I’ve become a distributor. Why would I not tell my friends, family, and people I meet the benefits of a product that has done so much to improve my life?
I’ve listed a few of my favorite articles and videos about the benefits:
I regularly hear a couple things that I really don’t agree with:
aches and pains are a natural side effect of getting old
My parents, grandparents had cancer so I will too
I`m saddened when I hear people including Doctors say this.
Della and I have attended a lot of health seminars in the past few years. We’ve heard a lot of Doctors speak. Their theme is pretty consistent. What we eat and our environment are the prime contributors to chronic illness.
In the last 40 years we’ve focussed on easy to prepare meals. Most often this means packaged, pre-prepared meals. People don’t have garden anymore and rely on fruit and vegetables from supermarkets. Those fruit and vegetables are picked before they are ripened and likely transported hundreds if not thousands of kilometers. Their nutritional value is very low. Thankfully the use of market gardens and in home aeroponic systems are on the rise.
What’s the result, more and more people suffer from inflammation. Inflammation is the prime source of chronic illness. Diabetes, heart problems, depression and other issues like ADHD and anxiety are rising.
Your genetics does not necessarily determine your future. Life style is 80% responsible, genetics 20%. 4
The recommended servings of fruit and vegetables are 5-10 a day. While I try to achieve that, I seldom do. So I use Juice Plus+ as a bridge between what I should eat and what I do eat. This is supported by science including the following:
`The daily consumption of fruits and vegetables is a common dietary recommendation to support good health. We hypothesized that a commercially available encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrate (FVJC) could support functional indices of health due to increased intake of various phytonutrients. 1
`Fruit and vegetable consumption has been heralded for its ability to decrease the overall risk of developing cancer and other diseases. Mounting evidence supports the beneficial nature of antioxidants, carotenoids, and other phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables. One proposed mechanism of antioxidant protection is the shielding of cellular DNA from oxidative damage and therefore mutations. This may be especially helpful in older populations. We tested the concept that a daily regimen of supplementation with fruit and vegetable extracts (JuicePlus™) would reduce the amount of DNA damage in the peripheral lymphocytes of the elderly. In a blind study, a group of twenty elderly volunteers (mean age=68) were given supplements twice daily for 80 days with blood samples drawn before and after intervention. 2
`Chronic inflammation contributes to many prevalent diseases worldwide, and it is widely accepted that inflammatory molecules contribute to DNA damage. 3
There are three exciting medical developments to keep an eye on: Epigenetics. Functional Medicine and MicroBiome.
To be upfront Della and I don’t have medical credentials beyond advanced first aid
Sources:
Journal of Nutrition, Immunity and Antioxidant Capacity in Humans Is Enhanced by Consumption of a Dried, Encapsulated Fruit and Vegetable Juice Concentrate,
Meri P. Nantz,
Cheryl A. Rowe,
Carmelo Nieves Jr., and
Susan S. Percival*
Science Direct, Supplementation with fruit and vegetable extracts may decrease DNA damage in the peripheral lymphocytes of an elderly population
Micah J. Smith B.S.
Paula F. Inserra Ph.D.
Ronald R. Watson Ph.D.
John A. Wise Ph.D.
Kim L. O’Neill Ph.D.
Pub Med, Suppression of DNA damage in human peripheral blood lymphocytes by a juice concentrate: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
CUI X
Jin Y
Singh UP,
Chumanevich AA,
Harmon B,
Cavicchia P,
Hofseth AB,
Kotakadi V,
Poudyal D,
Stroud B,
Volate SR,
Hurley TG,
Hebert JR,
Hofseth LJ.
Take Healthy Back Dr. Richard Dubois, March 23, 2017
Sound hokey, I thought so too until I learned from my experience and coaches.
Example Vision Board
A Vision Board is just putting your goals and dreams on paper and looking at it every day. Your dreams and on paper are key.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always set professional goals. Less often personal goals. These goals were sometime imposed by bosses, never hand written and never did I allow myself to listen to my body and dream.
Our business introduced Della and I to Vision Boards. 2018 will be the second year we’ve held a session in our home.
Lessons Learned:
It’s important to set aside time to dream. Your dreams are what you should put on your vision board. Don’t let your intellect tell you what’s possible, let your dreams tell you what will make you happy.
Conversely, it’s always good to record what scares you too. The thing about that is not to record your fears but the opposite. For me, I have been worried about paying month end bills. My fear had been that I wouldn’t be able to provide the lifestyle my wife and I enjoy throughout our retirement. My goal for this year will be financial abundance. It’s always necessary to state your goal in the positive manner. Why, well no matter your beliefs, I’ve experienced that what you think, affects your actions and becomes your outcome. Stated another way, whatever you put out to the Universe you get back. Yet a third way, if it’s God’s plan.
Focus on the goal not the obstacles. No matter the size of the goal, focus on it. Don’t focus on the lack that you think may stand in your way. If you focus on the goal, you’ll find a way to overcome each obstacle. That leads to the next point.
Focussed energy creates powerful results. Your goals must be in front of you every day. You have to see them, remind yourself of what’s important to you to avoid the thousands of distractions you will encounter.
You have to be aware of conflicting beliefs. If you have a goal of financial abundance and spending more time with your family those goals may conflict. You”ll need to negotiate with your family or customers to achieve both.
Visualization is great for reinforcing that your goals are attainable. I understand that if you visualize an event that your mind is effected just as if you were at that event.
I’ve learned from our coach Eddie LeMoine that our thoughts create our actions, our actions create our outcomes.
Another lesson from Eddie:
Imagine the outcome in the present tense. For example if you have a weight loss goal, imagine yourself at your target weight and what you’ll have to become to be at that weight. Think about how good you’ll feel, how you’ll look, what clothes you’ll need to buy, what exercise you’ll be doing, how you’ll eat.
Another weight loss tip. Don’t set a specific weight goal, set a goal of the number of kilograms your going to lose. If you set a goal of losing 5 kgs you’ll likely gain then lose those 5 kgs ending up where you started. If you set a goal of reaching 50 kgs weight, your mind will cooperate and your goal is attainable.
Your goals must be hand written and on paper. It seems your mind connects when you write them out first then create a Vision Board. I used a computer program last year, not this year. My vision board will be on paper although I will likely take a photo and put that as my computer desktop.
Out front and visible
10. Another coach tells us that we must limit our goals to 3. She believes that keeps you on point and avoids distraction. I’m behind her on focus but the number concerns me. I’m suggesting you set attainable, meaningful, reasonable goals. I think more than 10 is too much, 3 may be to little.
11. Finally, you have to become receptive. You do deserve to achieve your goals. You do deserve compliments on how you look. You deserve what you desire. Put the work in and be receptive to the results.
Della & Mark's Retirement Adventures 