The dream-come-true nature of those experiences permeated According to Bridgett posts earlier this week:

The first described the North American Growth Council trip to South Africa for Amway’s top North American leaders, and the second recounted some details of a spin-off trip to Dubai taken by World Wide DreamBuilder leaders Brad and Julie Duncan as well as Howie and Theresa Danzik.

But having dinner on a train as it chugs along tracks in Zambia? For me, that one was off the beaten path—until I saw how Greg and Laurie Duncan, Amway Triple Diamonds and WWDB leaders, had taken such an excursion.

Elegant, luxurious and memorable only begin to describe the Royal Livingstone Express. During their four-hour trip, the Duncans enjoyed fine dining as they glided through the country and watched the sunset.

The train ride was only one chapter on a weeklong trip in Zambia and Zimbabwe during which they rode elephants, walked with lions and took a helicopter tour of Victoria Falls, which borders the two countries.

Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world (in height and width) and is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

Of course, Greg and Laurie didn’t stay in a Motel 6. Their accommodations were at The Victoria Falls Hotel, a 5-star, Edwardian style structure that overlooks the majestic force of nature and is known as “the grand old lady of the falls.”

It’s inspiring to watch someone lead a life well beyond the confines of kids’ soccer games and keeping pace with the laundry and prepping family dinners, and then communicate it in a way that helps other people identify and expand their own dreams.

Through photos and stories that they relate at conferences like WWDB’s Family Reunions and Free Enterprise Days, that’s what Greg and Laurie do.

Whether our current aspirations are similar to theirs or completely different isn’t the point—sometimes you have to see someone else’s dream come to fruition in order to ignite your own.

Multi-tasking is an essential part of our day-to-day lives. As we buy some groceries, we realize that we should also fill up the tank and pop by the post office to deliver a package that has been sitting in the car for a few days.

But what do you call it when you tie in a fun side-trip on your way to or from your main vacation destination? How about multi-vacationing? Multi-adventuring, maybe?

Twenty-five summers ago, when I was vacationing in England with my mom and sister, it occurred to us that we were too close to Italy not to check out that beautiful country where some of my mom’s ancestors had lived.

So we hopped on a plane and spent a week primarily in Florence, visiting museums and enjoying the food and the architecture, with train rides to Pisa and Milan.

On a smaller scale, this multi-adventuring approach led me and my family to Niagara Falls five summers ago. As we headed back to Chicago in the family van after a visit with relatives in New England, we decided to make a detour and got a taste of a “bonus” experience.

I bet some of the top leaders with World Wide DreamBuilders (WWDB) have similar feelings after their recent “side trips.”

This came after their week in South Africa as part of the North American Growth Council trip for Amway’s top North American leaders. That included a safari with other WWDB leaders such as Greg and Laurie Duncan, Ryder and Nicole Erickson, and Jim and Kelly Puryear.

Thereafter, it was off to Zimbabwe and Zambia for Amway Triple Diamonds Greg and Laurie Duncan, while Crowns Brad and Julie Duncan and Executive Diamonds Howie and Theresa Danzik jetted to Dubai.

They stopped in the United Arab Emirates city on their way back home from their South African adventure.

Instead of flying straight back to the U.S.A., the two couples hung out in Dubai for several days.

Among other activities, the Duncans and Danziks visited a sheik’s palace, took a helicopter tour over the city and stayed at the Dubai Armani Hotel, inside the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

For many people, the closest they have gotten to the Burj Khalifa came through the world of make-believe when they saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. In that 2011 movie, which came out the year after the building was completed, actor Tom Cruise performed some breath-taking stunt work outside the building:

But for the Duncans and Danziks, this trip is no fiction.

While in Dubai, they not only took in some sensational moments more than 7,000 miles from home, but shared them with WWDB Independent Business Owners.

In the process, they truly embraced and embodied the role of “worldwide dream builders.”

First on the agenda were strategy sessions in Cape Town at the luxury One & Only Resort.

Then what followed was a week which included:

* shark diving
* a hot air balloon safari
* a cable car to Table Mountain
* a private game reserve, Kapama River Lodge.
* a Winelands tour

Here’s a sampling of the photos, with hundreds more posted courtesy of Amway Achieve Magazine.

World Wide DreamBuilders Diamond Leaders at Amway’s North American Growth Council in South Africa 2013

No less spectacular is to be reminded of how Amway is a legacy business. As World Wide DreamBuilders has long taught, this is an enterprise that you can pass on to your children.

On the South Africa trip were Jim and Kelly Puryear, the son and daughter-in-law of Founders Crowns Ron and Georgia Lee Puryear, as well as Ryder and Nicole Erickson, the son-in-law and daughter of Executive Diamonds Theron and Darlene Nelsen.

World Wide DreamBuilders – Jim & Kelly Puryear

World Wide DreamBuilders – Ryder & Nicole Erickson

They have developed solid businesses with Amway in their own right, and now they are in the process of taking over leadership of the organizations that their parents have developed since the 1970s.

But not just failure. In spite of those setbacks, it’s perseverance that enables you to develop the character and other attributes necessary for success.

That message is at the heart of “How to Fashion Your Own Brand of Success,” the second of 50 lessons in Og Mandino’s University of Success. Excerpted from Howard Whitman’s “Success Is Within You,” the passage explores the struggle that accompanies the path to success:

“…a successful life will have its days or even years of failure. It will certainly have its moments of utter washout. These are not blights upon such a life but merely the inevitable failings which bear testimony to the fact that success isn’t easy.”

That character-building process comes to mind whenever an individual or couple in World Wide DreamBuilders attains the level of success known as Diamond in the Amway business. When it happens, their growth is cause for a huge celebration at Free Enterprise Days.

This fall, when Dean and Marcie Whalen are recognized on a Free Enterprise Days stage for becoming WWDB’s latest Diamond Independent Business Owners, they will epitomize the same truth that has carried through for so many other leaders, from Ron and Georgia Lee Puryear to Leslie Wolgamott to Bill and Sandy Hawkins.

Dean and Marcie Whalen, new Amway Diamonds.

Here is the gist of it: the mark of their success is not what they get from the personal and business journey that they have experienced, but who they have become through it all. And who they have become, as with every other WWDB Diamond, is due in large part to their willingness to persist in the face of adversity.

Whitman addresses that theme with this statement: “In growing up each of must learn sooner or later that every day isn’t Christmas, and so in courting success we must learn, too, that every effort cannot be crowned with glory.”

To give you more of a taste of “How to Fashion Your Own Brand of Success”, let me close with these other excellent nuggets that I highlighted during my first reading of it:

“The trouble comes when we try to fashion our success to the outside world’s specifications even though these are not the specifications drawn up in our own hearts. For whom are we succeeding, for ourselves or for somebody else? Success, if it is to be meaningful, must be a personal thing.”

“…success and the price of it coexist as an inseparable whole.”

“Success must be enjoyed. It may be won with tears but it must be crowned with laughter.”

Related posts:

Urban Prep-We Believe

WWDB Book Recommendation: Success! The Glenn Bland Method

Know Thyself: Goal-Setting, 24 Hours at a Time 

It’s a declaration of the truth that the traditional classroom is far from the only place where learning happens. Knowledge and wisdom can come from an infinite variety of sources, as I am reminded with each passing day.

One thing that I have learned is that I miss some lessons. Fortunately, there are others that are clearly labeled—such as the name of a book that I saw years ago on the World Wide DreamBuilders’ recommended reading list: Og Mandino’s University of Success.

The title intrigued me and when I got my copy, I encountered a cover that makes some strong claims:

“The greatest self-help author in the world presents the ultimate success book.”

“This amazing volume contains a complete course on how to succeed—taught by fifty world renowned experts—and will advance you, less by lesson, into the world of exceptional achievement.”

In the 500-plus pages inside, those bold statements are backed up in essay after essay. Each is an excerpt from a different author’s book, ranging from Ralph Waldo Emerson, J. Paul Getty and Dr. Joyce Brothers to Rich DeVos, Benjamin Franklin and P.T. Barnum.

And because University of Success draws from the absolute top material from these experts’ writings, readers get the meat and potatoes–none of the fluff or filler that you might find in other books for the sake of filling pages.

In other words, if you like to highlight key points as you read, you may end up marking up most of the book.

As I came across University of Success on my bookshelf recently, Amway Diamond Joe Foglio came to mind. During a WWDB Family Reunion some years ago, Foglio mentioned how people are frequently impressed with speakers’ brilliance…for a while.

Joe Foglio and his wife, Norma.

Then, after reading some of the books on the WWDB Recommended Reading List, these same people discover that the speakers had simply gotten a head-start on reading some of these great resources.

That’s Joe Foglio in a nutshell—humble, humorous and genuine as he communicates a huge lesson: the path to greater knowledge is at our fingertips and all we need to do is invest some effort.

One of the strengths of University of Success is the diversity of authors, while a common thread is Mandino, as editor, playing the role of tour guide as he sets the stage for each “lesson,” as the chapters are termed.

In the book’s introduction, Mandino also offers counsel on how to get the most out of the book: “Read it from beginning to end. Do not skip any of the lessons. They were arranged in the order they are presented, after much deliberation, in order to assist you in making a gradual transition from the person you are today to the person you can become.”

With that sense of order in mind, over the next month or so, I will be creating more posts based on some of the lessons contained in the 50 lessons organized within the book’s 10 “semesters.”

Those posts will not be a substitute for reading the book. Instead, my hope is that if you don’t already own a copy of University of Success, the vignettes I share might inspire you to change that—and grow in your own pursuit of success, however you define it.

For WeDay Minnesota happening October 8th, Amway is sending five winners, each accompanied by a parent, to this life-changing event. All travel and accommodations are included.

In addition, Amway is rewarding  $10,000 to each of 10 winners for them to donate to a non-profit organization of their choice.

All prizes are through a contest, called Who Cares Challenge, which is open to those in the U.S. and Canada between the ages of 13 and 22 who have given back to their community either by volunteering or creating their own program.

When I was growing up, I never even heard about community volunteerism, let alone took part. The first I heard and (barely) participated, was in college through my sorority, Kappa Delta.

Many times I have heard Amway Diamonds with World Wide DreamBuilders say to adults like me, who weren’t taught this as children or as teens, “Take your eyes off yourself and put them on other people.”

It’s such a simple concept, but putting it into action takes guidance along with an awareness of our natural tendency toward self-centeredness.

Giving young people an alternative to their self-involvement, which has hit an all-time crazy high with social media like Facebook and Instagram, is desperately needed.

Rather than posting photos of themselves in that new shirt, or “awesome” pose in their bathroom mirror, how about photos of the local park they helped clean up?

Or the children for whom they are raising money to help find a cure for their disease? Or those whose lives were saved because of their service to fight teen suicide?

The 100 semifinalists of the contest are determined by popular vote. Until June 5th, you can vote daily for as many submissions as you want.

So even though my kids are too young to enter the contest this year, we will participate by reviewing the entries and voting. And in the process, my children will be exposed to a world where kids just like them are helping others and changing lives.

But an accurate understanding of the business model, particularly its compensation plan, shows that to be a misconception.

Do some people become Independent Business owners (IBOs) because they think it’s a path to easy riches? Sure, just like any other business, particularly in the world of multi-level marketing where simple and potentially swift are confused with easy and virtually overnight.

But reality sinks in and when it’s clear that it takes work, as with just about anything else short of a Powerball lottery ticket, those people either change their view or drop out of the business.

That “flushing out” process is something that Ron Puryear, the founder of World Wide DreamBuilders (WWDB), has frequently mentioned as one of the great things about the business: it’s just hard enough to weed out those easy-money types.

At the same time, the Amway business, especially when you have guidance from successful mentors such as WWDB’s Terry and Linda Felber, Matt and Sandee Tsuruda, and Bob and Shelly Kummer, is just simple enough to be accessible to just about anyone with a work ethic and the willingness to develop self-discipline.

As WWDB’s Dave Severn has taught so passionately, the biggest leaders are first the best followers whose self-discipline enables them to effectively lead themselves first.

The Amway business works by duplication as you train people, who see your example and then follow the same steps that you demonstrated as you provide guidance to ensure that they are doing it effectively.

That dynamic reminds me of my work, nearly 20 years ago, as a server at Leona’s, an Italian chain restaurant located throughout the Chicago area. For my training, I started by following a wait-staff person around and seeing what he or she did. I would help them out, but wouldn’t get paid for this phase.

After doing that a couple times, I became the lead server as the experienced server shadowed me and gave me feedback on what I was doing right or wrong. Because I was taking up their stations, they would get to keep all the tips that came from those customers.

Once fully trained, I would then get my own station and be on my own. The similarities with the Amway business, though, go only so far.

One way in which it differs is when a sponsor helps a new IBO, whether showing the business plan or retailing products via grand openings, a skin care or nutritional clinic, or an event booth. In those instances, any profits generated are kept by the new IBO—even if the sponsor is the one making it all happen.

And the Amway plan is unlike the long-term financial outlook at the restaurant. At Leona’s, those people who trained me did not make any profit from the tables I waited on beyond my brief training period. Once someone is trained in the Amway business, the sponsor (or trainer, to use the restaurant analogy) continues to benefit by earning income on a percentage of sales generated.

And here is an important distinction that sometimes isn’t very well understood: income for the sponsor does not come out of the new IBO’s pocket, but from the Amway Corporation, which rewards the sponsor for a training job well done.

My sponsor has not showed the business opportunity or helped me retail in my business in over a decade. But in those first few months of training and directly supporting me, she invested a lot of time and effort in training me and training me to train others.

And today, as my business “leg” continues to generate sales volume, she continues to receive money from the Amway Corporation, month after month, because of her efforts years ago.

Duplicate the process enough times and train enough other “servers,” to refer back to the restaurant metaphor, and that is how people make significant income in the Amway business.

Whenever I flip it back open and review one or more of its 111 short stories, I am inspired by the likes of Walter Cronkite, Hillary Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Paul McCartney.

The unifying principle that links this collection is that each individual shares a story of someone whose words helped shape their lives, in ways big and small. It’s a tremendous reminder of the power of the words we speak, as well as the words that others speak into us.

Interestingly, the “right words” that left their mark on these famous people were not always words of encouragement and belief. Instead, in many instances, they recall words that were intended to deflate and discourage.

In his essay, boxing champion Muhammad Ali tells how he and some of his high school classmates in Louisville were “always talking about being the next champion” and the reaction of one particular teacher.

“She kept putting us down and acting like she was disgusted with all these puffed-up boxers…She came up to us one day while we were sparring in the hallway, looked right at me, and said, ‘You ain’t never gonna be nuthin’.’”

Rather than embrace her harsh assessment, Ali believed in himself more than ever, converting the encounter into fuel to prove her—and any other naysayers he encountered—wrong.

A few years later, after he won an Olympic Gold medal, the first thing Ali did when he got home was head straight to the teacher’s classroom, dangle his Gold medal in front of her and ask her if she remembered what she had said.

“I am the greatest in the world,” Ali said, then repeated it, before walking out of the classroom.

It would not be the last time Ali made that declaration. He became a master in wielding the spoken word as a powerful force. He understood the potency of self-talk long before most had heard of the term, and that insight helped make him one of the most recognized and beloved figures in the world.

As his essay reveals, Ali is also an example of someone who was “negatively motivated.” He rejected others’ negative comments and replaced it with his own positive spoken word to forge ahead. For anyone seeking to achieve anything of significance, it’s an absolutely indispensable characteristic.

I first learned self-talk and how to implement it in my own life from Amway Diamonds working with World Wide DreamBuilders (WWDB). Through audios and books, I became equipped to combat the negative that came not only from others, but my own internal voice of doubt and criticism.

If there is a Diamond in the Amway business who has not had to deal with negative critics in their pursuit of success, then I haven’t come across their story. Time after time, especially when hearing the experiences of WWDB leaders, there is a point in every story when they relate how they bore the brunt of at least one individual’s negativity.

Some, like Dave Severn and Brad Duncan, come from the Muhammad Ali school—they are more prone to expressing an ‘in-your-face, told-you-so’ reaction.

Others, like longtime WWDB leaders Ron Puryear and Theron Nelsen, have taken a more low-key approach.

Although their external reactions varied, all share the same determination: to succeed.

What makes it so intriguing is that the two candidates, both of whom appear to be good, upstanding men,  could not be more different.

One is a longtime “insider” who has built up a resume that includes park district director, interim village manager and village trustee. In other words, on paper, he fits the mold of what you might expect in a candidate.

The other is a classic “outsider”—no political experience whatsoever. Instead, he is a longtime restaurant owner, including one in our town that has been a big success.

When he first announced his candidacy, I thought it strange. Didn’t he know that he had to pay his dues and serve in some lesser capacity before being a serious village president candidate?

Over the past month of this dynamic race, though, I have been much more impressed with the quality of this second candidate’s campaign. While the “insider” seems to be content to preserve the status quo, the “outsider” speaks from the heart about leadership and has inspired people to want to become involved.

He also has clearly done his homework and challenges governmental business-as-usual as he takes aim at many important issues, such as the escalating tax burden on residents.

Most of all, I am struck by his go-getter attitude. Sure, he has gaps in his experience and, if elected, would face a steep learning curve on certain aspects of the job. But with his mindset and determination to get things done, those are just details, not derailments.

When I think of this man, what comes to mind is a book that I read years ago, from the World Wide DreamBuilders (WWDB) book list: The Go-Getter.

Written by Peter Kyne, The Go-Getter is a great tale of a war veteran and amputee, William Peck, who overcomes a variety of outrageous obstacles to deliver a blue vase to an individual. As it turns out, rather than being some cruel plot, it’s a test of his resourcefulness and resolve to see if he is qualified for a job.

To be a “blue vaser” is to be someone who stops at nothing to accomplish a task.

Brad Duncan, Amway Crown & WWDB Leader

Brad Duncan, an Amway Crown and one of World Wide DreamBuilders’ (WWDB) top leaders, has often cited The Go-Getter as a great illustration of what you can achieve if you put all your mind, heart and soul into a cause.

Brad and his wife, Julie, embody that kind of relentless spirit, and it’s what has made them some of WWDB’s most sought-after speakers, teachers and motivators.

So, on the local political scene, as we approach the election in 11 days, I am somewhat amused by those critics who point to the go-getter candidate’s lack of government experience as evidence that he wouldn’t know how to do the job or how to solve problems.

That’s a massive misunderstanding of what’s at the heart of go-getters like him. They possess what is truly important—the mentality to figure it out and get the job done, one way or another…or another…or another.

From that humble beginning, it has turned into something truly significant in all four of our lives. Explaining that significance to those who ask has never been very easy.

Recently, though, I read this mom’s reasons for homeschooling. She’s an MD and her 18 reasons are my 18 reasons.

My shift to homeschooling didn’t start with such a long list. In fact, when I first heard the concept of homeschooling, I had a fairly narrow, ignorant view of it. Then I heard various Amway Diamonds associated with World Wide DreamBuilders talk about their experience with homeschooling and, more specifically, their reasons for making such a choice.

I would have thought that a private education would be the preferred choice for these folks. But what I came to realize, as with many aspects of their lives, is that when you are not tied to a location and you have the ability to make significant money in less time than most people, you tend to redesign your life. And that includes how you “do school.”

For me, the seed of homeschooling was planted when one WWDB Diamond couple, Greg and Laurie Duncan, decided to homeschool when they butted heads with their kids’ school because they kept pulling them out to travel.

What’s the point in the parents having flexibility if the kids don’t too? So while that was the impetus, over the last four years of our homeschooling journey the reasons and benefits have grown significantly.

In her list, Dr. Berchelmann eloquently and clearly communicates many of my thoughts—so much so that it’s hard to highlight just a few. Practically speaking, though, the major reasons/benefits were time and sleep.

On a warm April day four years ago, when my kids were in half-day kindergarten at the local public school, I stood on the playground and imagined what it would look like for them to attend full-day first grade in the fall.

They would be away for seven hours a day. I imagined all the time I’d have, what I’d do with all those glorious hours. Six years of caring for twins, and I was now going to get some of that time back!

But then I started to think about how early we’d have to wake up, and how early they’d have to go to bed, in order to get the 10 or 11 hours that they needed to be fully rested.

I reflected on how much time we’d actually have together as a family, squeezed in between getting ready in the morning, school, food prep, homework, after-school activities, shuttling around, getting ready to for bed, and sleep.

The more I thought about it, the more I kept going back to the reasons that attracted me to the Amway business. In particular, I value the flexibility of time and space that it affords, and how that flexibility positively affects my relationships, starting with my husband.

Based on all of that, when we had children it seemed that “normal” schooling would be not only awkward, but disruptive.

Still, I hesitated when making the move to homeschooling. The biggest factor, frankly, was my concern that homeschooling would be too much work for me. Would I be overwhelmed and fail at it?

So far, so good, and in the bigger scheme of things, the extra work has been more than offset by the reduced stress attached to this non-traditional way of living.

More work doesn’t have to equate to more stress. They are not one and the same. This is one of many life-changing truths that have come my way through the decision to homeschool.