ACN President’s Club Retreat 2013

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Greetings from Miami!  A few weeks ago I shared some pictures from our Global Retreat in Mexico where we celebrated the successes of our ACN global RVPs and SVPs.  This week I am celebrating with our prestigious President’s Club IBOs.  While on these exclusive retreats, it is always exciting to share the vision of ACN with the future RVPs and SVPs of ACN.

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Our President’s Club members understand that the ACN opportunity is one worth working hard for, but also understand the need to take time to recharge.

See how we relax ACN style!

Until Next Time,

Greg

What We Knew All Along

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I came across an article recently that re-confirmed what a great industry we are in.   I shared it with our Circle of Champions globally and it occurred to me that all of our IBOs need to read it as well. The overall message of the article is that the MLM business model is the perfect example of mentoring and coaching and helping people grow.  It goes on to describe how this is done, but you and I know the answer to that. We do it every day.

By helping others at ACN, you become more successful monetarily, but more importantly personally. I am proud of the mentorship and coaching that the other ACN Co-Founders and I have incorporated into our business model, but I am even more proud when I see our leaders doing the same.  This article is a great reminder that we are truly in one of the best industries there is!

Here is the article: The Correlation Between MLM Success And Mentorship

Until next time,

Greg

Work Hard – Play Hard Mexico Style

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At ACN, we’ve always believed that a little hard work goes a very long way.  After all, when you are operating in a “no experience necessary” industry, one in which anyone from all walks of life regardless of background can be successful, hard work is really one of the few things that separates the best from the rest.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t – and don’t – play hard too.  After all, what good is all the work if you don’t take a break to celebrate your successes?

In fact, we’ve just returned from our annual Global Leadership Retreat in Mexico in which ACN’s Circle of Champions, newly promoted RVPs from 2012, and top producers from around the world enjoyed some much deserved “play time”.  It’s just our “all expenses paid” way to say thank you for an incredible year, for giving so much of yourselves to build your company within our company.   And this year’s retreat was certainly one for the record books.

2013 ACN Leadership Retreat

ACN's 2013 Leadership Retreat

ACN RVP retreat attendees taking time out of the trip to make a difference in the local community. The group spent time with the Cancun Kids Rescue, participated in a piñata building contest and donated gifts and school uniforms.

I once read that the “more we celebrate about our lives, the more we will have in life to celebrate”.  So make sure you are taking time to celebrate your successes along the way too, because if you aren’t stopping to pause, reflect and celebrate your success how do you expect anyone around you to notice your successes either. But remember, the reward should fit the work.  Celebrate small success, small stepping stones on the way to your ultimate goal, with small rewards – perhaps a dinner out, a movie, or just telling someone about your success.  Sometimes saying it out loud, giving yourself a pat on the back is all you need.  But save the big rewards for those major milestones, those business-changing moments.  Because when you do, the reward will mean that much more and the success will certainly be that much sweeter!

Until next time,

Greg

Sharing Our Story With An Entire Industry – The Privilege Was All Mine

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The other Co-Founders and I, along with our Executive Team, try to attend as many direct selling industry events as we can.  As stewards of our industry, we feel it’s important to stay on top of what other companies are doing in our space – both their successes and their failures.  I was asked to speak at one of our industry’s premier events this week in Dallas, Texas, which brings several hundred executives from direct selling companies around the world together for two days of training, networking and sharing – all with one common goal: to advance our industry as a whole.

Given it’s ACN’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, I was asked to provide some insights we’ve gained over the past two decades – insights that might help other company leaders as they set out on their journeys into the direct selling history books.  So I spent my time sharing the successes, failures and most importantly, the lessons learned during ACN’s 20-year history. See it’s easy for us to forget that for many new companies, where ACN today is a dream that seems incredibly out of reach.  Many new companies are simply focused on staying open one more day, month, year – and 20 years seems like a lifetime away.  Well, you know our story well and we have certainly been there, so it is my hope that I was able to impart some small piece of ourselves, of our history with these other companies as they embark on their next 5, 10 or even 20 years.

But regardless, I have no doubt that I gained far more than I ever could have given. In fact, it’s events like this that remind me just how proud I am to be a part of not only ACN but this industry as a whole – and how proud we should all be.  There isn’t another industry in the world that puts the needs of its people first, that gives people hope and allows them to finally start dreaming again.  In fact, as a company proudly operating in the direct sales space – it is a privilege for us to put “changing lives for the better” at the top of our priority list.  And there certainly, without a doubt, isn’t another company in another industry anywhere that I would rather be a part of.

Until next time,

Greg

It’s an ACN Three-Peat!

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Most people only get to celebrate an important milestone – like an anniversary – once, but at ACN, when it comes to celebrating our accomplishments, bigger is certainly better!  ACN kicked off our 20th Anniversary Celebration in Charlotte, NC, in February, and last week we traveled 4,892.5 miles to Budapest to do it all again with our European teams.  Here’s a quick sneak peek at how we jumpstarted the event Saturday morning – better than any fireworks display I’ve ever seen:

 

But we aren’t stopping there!  We plan to three-peat that celebration in two weeks in Brisbane, Australia, for our Pacific Convention, which will wrap up our tri-continent celebration.

And while celebrating is exciting, these events are really about so much more than just what happens inside those three days.  In fact, it’s the momentum coming out of events that really matters most, and I can tell you; momentum in ACN worldwide has never been higher than it is right now.  Momentum can best be described as “a driving power or strength.”  In fact, I think that perfectly describes what momentum should do in your ACN business.  See, momentum is what keeps you going when you think you can’t – and it’s what will keep you going long after others have quit.

Think about a snowball, for example.  If you release a snowball at the top of the hill, it will increase in both size and speed as it moves further down the hill.  It won’t stop or slow down until it either reaches its final resting place or gets knocked off course by an obstacle.  Take ACN’s events: I think we can all agree these are natural momentum creators – you can’t help but feel reenergized after leaving one.  But what do you do when that feeling has worn off?  How to you keep the momentum going?  There are lots of theories on this, but I have one of my own.  For me, the best way to keep momentum going is to continue setting aggressive goals for yourself.  If you accomplish one goal, celebrate that success, set a new goal and then use the momentum to carry you through to your next goal.  If you do this, your snowball won’t be able to help but increase in size and speed.  But if you allow obstacles to get in your path, to throw you off course, you’ll be left with nothing more than a pile of snow.

So set some aggressive goals, hold on tight, and remember, that the greatest of avalanches often starts with the smallest of snowflakes.

Until next time,

Greg

The Greater the Conflict, the Greater the Story

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What kind of day, week, even month are you having?  I certainly hope it’s a good one, but I know the reality is that many people are struggling right now – perhaps it’s with family, personal issues, even challenges in building your business.  And the even harsher reality is that even if things are great today, they can quickly go south tomorrow.  This is a little thing we call life.  The question you have to ask yourself is how will you deal with the challenges, the bumps in the road, without letting them completely knock you off track?

My three children are all young adults now but as they were growing up, my wife and I tried to teach them how to deal with challenges, how to rise above and overcome them – instead of being completely beaten down by them.  See it’s easy to have a positive attitude during the good times.  It’s easy to be a strong leader when things are going well.  But the real measure of a person’s character is how they react when the chips are down.

The first step to surviving – and more importantly thriving – through the challenges is realizing that conflict and tough times are all a part of life that can’t be avoided.  No one is immune to them and no one can hide from them.  Think of the happiest, most positive person you know.  I guarantee they have bad days too – perhaps they just do a better job of hiding them.  What you have to remember is it’s the conflict that makes your story worthwhile, worth telling.  In fact, the conflict has to be great for your story to be great.  Think about it this way: if the story line in a movie is about a guy who wants a new car and he doesn’t get the new car, no one would cry at the end of the movie.  In fact, no one would even watch the movie.

I recently read a story in SUCCESS magazine about Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester.  As a second round draft pick, he received the highest signing bonus of any second rounder that year – $1 million.  Jon had it all – until he was diagnosed with cancer.  But instead of quitting, Jon went on to lead his team to win the 2007 World Series, and in May 2008 he pitched a no hitter – all in less than two years after his diagnosis.

Jon is a true example of someone who didn’t fold when times got tough, nor did he give up on his goals.  In fact, he used his challenges, his conflict to push him to work that much harder to defy all odds.  And while he would certainly have a reputation as an outstanding major league pitcher, it’s his incredible recovery from cancer and his no-quit attitude that has people talking – and will keep people talking long after his baseball career is over.  It’s his conflict that makes his success that much sweeter.

So the next time an obstacle is thrown in your way, the next time the chips are down and the road seems long and impassable, remember that your conflict is part of your story – and it’s the part that will certainly make your story worth telling one day.

Until next time,

Greg