I read an informative article on the importance of staying healthy on your journey to wealth and wisdom.  What would a billionaire give for even one more week at the end of his life to say goodbye to loved ones?   At John Rockefeller’s funeral someone asked how much money did John leave behind?  The answer given was he left it all behind.  We too will leave all of our possessions behind.  Without getting into the spiritual things of value which I will save for a later post – let’s review the things of value in your earthly world.  Some of the major things of value that improve your quality of life are relationships, health, wealth, and wisdom.   If we look at this list we quickly realize that when we mess up our health, we hurt all of the others.  Without health, it is hard to build relationships because you are hurting and cannot serve.  Without health, wealth becomes meaningless.  Even wisdom is affected because pain and sickness hurt the ability to reason and learn clearly.  

Just as Stephen Covey teaches we need to put first things first.  Don’t wait until you have a stroke, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, or a heart attack to start taking care of yourself.  I love the MonaVie business because my goal has always been to enhance a person’s quality of life.  I can do this by merchandising a healthy product: teaching people how to build the MonaVie business and enjoy the best compensation plan in the business: providing training in the areas of leadership, relationships, and finances to improve a person’s wisdom.  I have never been happier in business because I feel I am able to help others accomplish these key goals faster than I ever did.  Here is the article and several links on why the MonaVie product is the best preventative maintenance plan for your health.  Like the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  Do you care enough about your friends to help them be Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise?  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

For the following links - Type in Google for the referrer site to see videos

MonaVie

MonaVie Product

MonaVie Anti-Oxidant Qualities

Without Health, There is No Wealth

By Yap Ming Hui

SINCE young, we are taught by our elders that "health is wealth".

This article, explores the role of health factor in wealth management and how our health affects our financial position.

Since the rising cost of medical care is a concern for everyone, we will look into the financial impact of ill health.

Many wealth management books talk about maintaining good health in retirement years in order to live life to the fullest. I cannot agree more with that. However, in my opinion, the relationship of good health and effective wealth management goes back much earlier than that.

The importance of good health starts when someone is still studying in school. Good health keeps the mind alert and fresh which helps you to concentrate more on learning.

Comparatively, someone who does not have good health will always have various pains as well as complaints of lethargy. This will affect his learning. Even though both persons may graduate with the same degree, a healthier person is definitely more employable.

The relationship between wellness and your personal finance is even more obvious when you start working after college.

When you are in good health, your mind is alert and your body is fresh and strong. You feel more energetic and upbeat physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You address the problems and challenges more positively and effectively. You would require less medical leave.

A sound mind and strong body will help you to perform your job well. When you perform your job well, you not only keep the job, but you also enhance your chances of getting promoted - all of which supply the income for your wealth management.

However, when you do not have good health, your mind lacks the alertness you need to be at your best all day, every day. Same thing happens to your body. When you are out of shape, your body lacks the stamina you need to be in your top form. This will directly affect your job performance.

When you are not able to perform the job well, you not only decrease your chances of promotion and increment, but you may also have difficulty in keeping your job. When that happens, the impact on your personal finance is direct and obvious.

Down the road, your bad health lifestyle may lead to critical illness such as heart disease, stroke or cancer if it goes out of control. The treatment of critical illness could easily eat away your financial reserves or even wipe them out.

In addition, you would also suffer the loss of income for not being able to work during the treatment and recovery period. When that happens, your financial position would definitely be affected. The consequence is that you are forced to adjust or postpone the attainment of your financial goals and dreams.

Even if you can afford all those expenses and income loss, wealth without health carries no value and meaning.

When you are bedridden or housebound, it is difficult, if not impossible, to pursue your dreams. Without good health, you would lack the energy and vitality for an active and fully engaged life.

You only get to fully optimise the value of your wealth when you are physically fit and mentally fresh. "Health is wealth. Without health, there is no wealth."

Even though you are blessed with good health now, you must not take it for granted. You may need to take some action to keep yourself fit. Your good health today does not guarantee you will still be in good shape tomorrow.

I have a client who was a sportsman when he was in school and college. He is always proud to show me his sport achievements. However, he did not continue to keep himself in good health. He skipped his exercises and was under tremendous stress as the business grew.

The last time I visited him, he told me that he had failed the stress test for his heart. The cardiologist told him that he had a minor heart attack that went unnoticed. The doctor put him on medication and warned him not to do excessive work.

Therefore, it is important to realise that our health could change in an instant. We must never take wellness for granted. It is an ongoing commitment, a never-ending series of moment-by-moment healthy lifestyle choices.

The message is clear. Poor health cost you good money, earned and unearned, now and in the future.

Practising healthy lifestyle to keep your body fit is definitely one of the best wealth management practices.

By taking charge of our health today, we can proactively steer clear of the unhealthy lifestyle that guarantees a reduction in quality of life and erosion of wealth.

In our journey to pursue wealth for financial freedom, we must never exchange it with our health. Always remember to watch your stress level and do exercises more regularly.

* Yap Ming Hui is the managing director of Whitman Independent Advisors Sdn Bhd, the first multi-client family office in Malaysia

Learning is critical to your success and is a lifetime activity.  This is why I spend so much time teaching others how to learn.  When a person learns how to learn - their only limit to their success is their hunger to keep learning.  Here are my favorite quotes on learning.

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards. - Vernon Saunders Law

If you take things for granted heres somethings to ponder about...

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.

If you can read this webpage, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

Take nothing for granted. - Unknown

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. – Unknown

Three lessons that will make you think about the way you treat others...

First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello".

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11.30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him.

Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely,

Mrs. Nat King Cole.

I was notified that the above story about Mrs. Nat King Cole is an urban legend and did not happen.  I have kept the story in for the principles taught and to notify everyone who has previously read this story that it is an urban legend.  Thank you, Orrin

Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 -year-old boy entered a hotel

coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. there, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip. - Author Unknown

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. – Mark Twain

I've Learned....

I've learned - That our background and circumstances

may have influenced who we are,

but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned - That sometimes when my friends fight,

I'm forced to choose sides

even when I don't want to.

I've learned - That just because two people argue,

it doesn't mean they don't love each other

And just because they don't argue,

it doesn't mean they do.

I've learned - That sometimes you have to put

the individual ahead of their actions.

I've learned - That we don't have to change friends

if we understand that friends change.

I've learned - That you shouldn't be so

eager to find out a secret.

It could change your life forever.

I've learned - That two people can look

at the exact same thing

and see something totally different.

I've learned - That no matter how you try to protect

your children, they will eventually get hurt

and you will hurt in the process.

I've learned - That there are many ways of falling

and staying in love.

I've learned - That no matter the consequences,

those who are honest with themselves

get farther in life.

I've learned - That no matter how many friends

you have, if you are their pillar

you will feel lonely and lost

at the times you need them most.

I've learned - That your life can be changed

in a matter of hours

by people who don't even know you.

I've learned - That even when you think

you have no more to give,

when a friend cries out to you,

you will find the strength to help.

I've learned - That writing, as well as talking,

can ease emotional pains.

I've learned - That the paradigm we live in

is not all that is offered to us.

I've learned - That credentials on the wall

do not make you a decent human being.

I've learned - That the people you care most about in life

are taken from you too soon.

I've learned - That although the word "love"

can have many different meanings,

it loses value when overly used.

I've learned - That it's hard to determine

where to draw the line

between being nice and

not hurting people's feelings

and standing up for what you believe. - Author Unknown

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he has already learned. - Anonymous

I sure am enjoying my new business venture with MonaVie!  It is very rare to capture all three aspects of business success in one enterprise: Healthy, Wealthy and Wise.  Let’s take a look at all three.

1. Healthy – How many of us are not eating the right amount of fruits in our diet?  Creating the habit of drinking MonaVie daily is the best preventative method to ensure people are getting the right amount of anti-oxidants.  I am blown away by the number of testimonials from using the MonaVie product.  Do you have a testimonial on how MonaVie has helped you?

2. Wealthy – I have never seen the amount of new people receiving $50, $100, $200 and even $300 and up their first week.  MonaVie has fixed the first circle and allows the new person to progress quickly and get a return on investment in weeks.  That is what we are in business for right?  It shouldn’t take years to make money in your own business.  Dallin Larsen developed the MonaVie Compensation to help people make money and to develop confidence in their new business.  How are your weekly bonuses coming in MonaVie?  I love the Star program, because it is a quick way to qualify for income and the building block of a huge team!

Update: MonaVie has released their new Income Disclosure Statement and it is better than the numbers I quoted!  Read the IDS at MonaVie!  I love a company who under promises and over delivers on a consistent basis.

3. Wise – All the health and wealth in the world will ultimately have no significance if it is not backed up by wisdom.  Wisdom is applying God’s principles to life and my whole focus is to add depth to a person’s life by teaching success and life’s principles.  What other business can you enjoy all three results and build teams of people that will be your friends for life?  I listen to CD’s and read books daily to enhance my ability to lead people.  Are you developing wisdom along with your health and wealth? 

I have personally seen people’s weekly checks be more than they have ever made in a month in other MLM’s.  By my count it looks like there will be 12 or more people qualify for Black Diamond in the next month.  That is an average yearly income of $1.353 million from the MonaVie plan!  That is more than twice the MLM compensation income that any of these leaders have ever been paid before in a year.  This does not include the hundreds of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Ruby’s that are achieving incomes never obtained before.   If you are in MonaVie, please share your success story.  Life is too short to play small.  Leaders have the courage to get their boats out of the safe harbors and into the oceans of success!  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Several months back I did a post on the power of Six Degrees of Separation.  The concept meant that through any six people everyone knows everyone else in the world.  I put the concept to the test by challenging our blog readers to send an email about this blog to as many other people as possible.  The blog readers responded enthusiastically and blog hits increased exponentially.  This week is the first week that the blog is rated in the top 10, not for a day but as its blog rank period.  This means that out of the thousands of blogs that Ice Rocket tracks that our leadership blog is one of the top 10 blogs.  I figured if we could go from not in the top 100 to in the top 10 then why not go for number 1?  Blog readers out there are you paying attention?  Let’s see if by email, word of mouth, or any other reasonable means possible, we can boost our reader audience to breakthrough into the top 5 and on our way to the top ranking!  I am absolutely convinced that this leadership community reading this blog can do anything.  Here is the chart tracking our progress and below the chart is a list of the countries visiting our site monthly.  Wow!  I don’t even know some of these countries and certainly do not know anyone from many of these countries, but obviously the readers did.  Great job and I will keep you updated.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Bahamas, South Africa, India, Haiti, Norway, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, Singapore, Switzerland, Philippines, Thailand,   New Zealand, Netherlands, France, Malaysia, Brazil, Japan, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Romania, Belgium, Korea, Aruba, Hungary, Ecuador, Turkey, Denmark, Portugal, Argentina, Israel, Egypt, Kenya, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Finland, Panama, Pakistan, Austria, Kuwait, Iran, Croatia, Jamaica, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Colombia, Bulgaria, Guatemala, Peru, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Dominican Republic, Slovakia, Ghana, Virgin Islands, U.S., Fiji, Lithuania, Taiwan, Latvia, Barbados, Estonia, El Salvador, Oman, Chile, Guam, Costa Rica, Qatar, Venezuela, Iceland, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Jordan, Cote D'Ivoire, Congo,  Morocco, Moldova, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ukraine, Iraq, Guadeloupe, Georgia, Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Namibia, Grenada, Slovenia, Monaco, Bhutan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Saint Lucia, Albania, Honduras, Cyprus, Macedonia, Europe, Bahrain,  Nicaragua, Mauritius, Serbia, Senegal, Algeria, Nepal, Bolivia, Malta, Belarus, Bermuda, Dominica, Seychelles, Maldives, Netherlands Antilles, Burundi, Afghanistan, Palestinian Territory, Virgin Islands, British, Cambodia, Zambia, Yemen, Myanmar, Libyan Arab, Jamahiriya, Martinique, Guyana, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Macau, Anguilla 

There is a major difference between the two concepts of loyalty and fealty.  I am a very loyal person and when I make a friend, I intend to keep them for life.  I don’t make close friends quickly because I like to see a person’s character under pressure which takes time.  But when a person has earned my respect, they have also earned my loyalty.  I believe true loyalty and respect go together.  I am very loyal to Pastor Robert Dickie because he has earned my respect, trust, and love over the last decade.  Remember, Pastor started mentoring me when I was a broke engineer with bad relationships in every category – family, friends, and associates.  Pastor Dickie had no idea that God would ever bless me in my business and personal relationships.  I certainly had no idea what God had in store for my life.  I had a dream and surrendered my family, business and life to Jesus Christ.  He has done a much better job of getting results than I ever did! 

Loyalty must begin with the proper principles.  I am loyal to mentors because they are loyal to the true principles.  A leader should never ask people to be loyal to them when they are disloyal to God’s principles.  But even when this happens, a loyal follower should confront the leader personally and not just abandon the leader.  That is loyalty to the principle and to the person.  Go back and read the Biblical account of Nathaniel confronting David.  He didn’t attack David’s reputation with other people.  Nathaniel had the courage and loyalty to confront David with the truth in love.  David saw the error in his ways and repented.  This restored David and proved that Nathaniel was a true friend.  Nathaniel did not just leave when he thought David was off track.  I say all this to point out a couple of things. 

1.  Even when a follower sees something wrong they should not just abandon ship.  Laurie and I had our share of issues when we were first married.  Neither of us came from ideal conditions growing up.  The key principle was that both Laurie and I were loyal to each other and didn’t cut and run at the first sign of trouble.  We stayed in our bad marriage for over five years until we learned how to get it right.  Not a perfect marriage, but one that honors the God we serve and provides a loving environment for our children.  I shudder to think of what could have happened had Laurie or I not been loyal to our bonds of marriage and the principles we espoused.

In the same way a follower should not just quit on their leaders.  Maybe the follower is not seeing the complete picture.  Perhaps the top leaders see more of the mountain side and with the same view they would do the same thing.  Maybe the leaders don’t understand what you are seeing and you need to confront them because you are loyal.  Confront with truth and love to restore your relationship.  I have been attacked by some for staying loyal for over 3 years to Quixtar after confronting Doug Devos with a letter addressing the severe business issues.  The critics say I should have just packed it up and left.  Like Nathaniel, I believed I needed to confront the issue because there was a problem.  I followed the loyalty principle by confronting the owners with the issues to ensure they knew the true facts.  The more I (and others) confronted the owners, the more of a pariah we became.  I would do the same over again and have no regrets.  I would rather be loyal and be injured by others disrespect than be disloyal and injure others by my disrespect.

2. When a follower has confronted the leaders directly and views the mountain from the same vantage point as the leaders, then they must confront reality.  If the leaders know the truth and will not change, then loyalty to the leaders is no longer loyalty to truth.  This is where you must choose between God and mammon.   On August 9^th a group of IBOAI board members confronted the Quixtar Corporation with the intent of a peaceful separation.  Our principles were in conflict and after 3 and half years of confrontation we had reached an impasse.  The Board members were not going forward with the new Amway and the Amway/Quixtar managers were not allowing any further dissent.  Instead of a peaceful separation the Quixtar Corporation chose to terminate and litigate to the detriment of all parties involved.  Our peaceful settlement proposal was ignored, our stand still agreement was ignored and we were told to, “Do what you have to do” when Quixtar would not come back to the table and mediate reasonably.

 I still do not understand how the Quixtar managers thought termination was a workable plan.  If a large church were to terminate the two popular co-pastors without the approval of the church congregation – what do you expect the congregation to do?  If the Church Board mistakenly assumed the co-pastors had started a competing church and announced this to the congregation without ever retracting their error – what would happen to the Church Board’s credibility and trust?  The Church Board clearly was not following truth or they would have admitted their error on the competing church.  If the congregation had any loyalty at all to the co-pastors and truth they would object to this Church Board action.  If the Church Board then sent threatening emails (we will excommunicate you from our church) to the congregation asking them to choose the Board or the co-pastors new church (that didn’t exist) - then they must expect people to choose truth over threats and lies.  When the congregation does not choose the Board, the Board then sues the former pastor’s for alleged interference with the Church’s business?   The co-pastors are incredulous.  Not only are they “fired”, but are they now to be held liable for the incompetence and the emotional decisions of the Church Board?  Sadly, this is the closest parallel I have found to describe the lack of leadership understanding that the Quixtar managers have displayed.

Continuing to stay in an environment where the principles of truth are no longer followed is not loyalty, but fealty.  Fealty is choosing to stay in a situation, not because of principles and truth – but for convenience, fear, money, or sloth.  When Nathaniel confronted David, he knew he was risking his name, finances, and life.  David had the power of life and death over Nathaniel.  If Nathaniel was not truly loyal to David he could have chose the easy route and slid into fealty instead of loyalty.  Fealty determines to follow the leader even though they have confronted the leader and know the leader is wrong or never confronted the leader out of fear and cowardice.  The follower sacrifices their principles on the altar of peace and affluence, not realizing the price they pay for compromising their character. 

Loyalty is a must for any team of people that are striving to accomplish great things.  Fealty must be rooted out or it is a cancer that will grow in the organization.  This is such an important subject and separates the true leaders from the ambitious pretenders.  Ask yourself, why do you follow your leaders?  Do you follow for financial gain regardless of the principles?  If you do – you are not displaying loyalty, but fealty.  Do you follow the leaders because both of you are loyal to the principles of truth?  If you do then you are loyal and will follow even if sacrifices are necessary.  Let every person examine themselves.  Loyalty or Fealty?   Convictions or Conveniences?  As for me and my family, I choose Loyalty, Convictions, and Truth regardless of the cost.  Laurie and I are proud to be associated with a group of leaders who have proven by their actions to be loyal men and women.  I believe we have assembled a team of people who can restore Truth into our culture.  I believe we have a group of people who will stand for Truth even when it hurts.  This team of leaders will never surrender their loyalty for fealty regardless of the personal cost.  I truly believe that the team has been assembled to do something great.  Pastor Dickie used to read to me from the book of Esther the verse, “Perhaps you have been brought into the Kingdom for a time such as this.”   I believed God then and I still do today!  God Bless, Orrin Woodward 

Here is a portion of an article on Loyalty and Fealty by Jeffrey Grandz.

Good leaders understand that there is a difference between real loyalty and a related but different concept--fealty.

Give me loyalty, not fealty

Both loyalty and fealty share some things in common; they call for allegiance, faithfulness, and fidelity. But they differ in one remarkable respect. Loyalty embraces the concept of allegiance to an authority to whom such faithfulness is lawfully and morally due. Fealty, on the other hand, describes the fidelity of a vassal, slave or feudal tenant to his lord and master or, in modern parlance, the unqualified fidelity of a person to his or her boss.

Fealty is dangerous in corporations as well as in other social organizations. It leads to unethical, corrupt and often illegal actions spreading to the many rather than the few, to covering up those actions sometimes to the point of obstructing justice. Loyalty, on the other hand, is a positive dimension of business since it provides a force of energy that binds people together in the pursuit of worthwhile goals.

Fealty can be coerced or bought. Consequently, when the power relationship no longer exists or a better "deal" is available elsewhere--from another employer, or a prosecutor offering a more lenient sentence--the bond of fidelity is snapped. This is not an act of disloyalty but, rather, a belated recognition that the bond was composed only of self interest. The more enlightened that self-interest, the more individuals will act in ways that are beneficial to them.

Loyalty is made of sterner stuff. It is built on sound moral foundations, of which lawfulness is one but is not the only one. People who are bound by common values and moral beliefs are not easily deterred from supporting each other. They are neither discouraged by adversity nor deflected by better offers.

It explains why many people do work for which there is little extrinsic reward, why they serve their countries or churches or other social movements as volunteers or in poorly-paid positions; why they choose to work for companies that pursue socially responsible and responsive policies; why they are attracted to companies that have reputations for treating individuals and groups with dignity and respect, who are committed to their development, who provide employees with the opportunity to speak up and speak out about things with which they disagree, who have good whistle-blowing policies and who do not tolerate leaders who do not support these value-driven actions.