Starting Today...

 

Are You Ready For Christmas?

Christmas is upon us. For many, this prompts the question, “Are you ready for Christmas?” What a question! How do you answer? And what does the question, and its subsequent answer, mean?    Christmas is celebrated each year on Dec. 25. If the date never changes, why do we question our “readiness” for it? The easy answer may be that we have to be ready for visits with family and friends, shared meals or the exchanging of gifts.    Looking a little deeper, though, are we any more ready for Christmas than Mary or Joseph or the innkeepers or the shepherds were?    Mary and Joseph knew Jesus was coming soon. But the innkeepers hadn’t reserved their finest rooms for the Savior and His birth. The shepherds had still gone out to watch over their flocks. No grand welcoming party celebrated the momentous occasion with lights, presents or special meals.    There were debts to be paid. There was travel congestion. There was rejection. There was a single new star in a vast sky. There was a lowly manger. There was an angel, followed by a host of other angels.    “Are you ready for Christmas?” Joseph could have asked the innkeepers.    “Are you ready for Christmas?” the angel could have asked the shepherds.   “Are you ready for Christmas?” Mary could have asked Joseph.   Generations of prophecies did not prepare the people for Christmas that night. Ready or not, the King of kings was born in the most humble of circumstances. And ready or not, He will come again.    The next time someone asks you, “Are you ready for Christmas?” think about the question a little longer. Are you ready for Him? By Ryan Jensen

Inspiring Leadership Characteristics

There are many more, but here are 1️⃣1️⃣.

Pick one or two you can work on today and continue to improve. 

Well done Utah, Florida & Texas!

Things that make you go hmmm...

 

A journey of a thousand miles...

 A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step,

but unfortunately, that's all most people take.

Fresh from our tree today.

 Does anyone know if the saying is still true or has this changed too?

An apple a day...

Tomorrow, October 1st, I'll be speaking about Digital Freedom at the Utah Bitcoin Summit along with several other ClearUnited executives and some of our top ClearUnited influencers. To get your FREE ticket which includes lunch, go to "Book My Place" on the top menu: https://www.decentralized.events/

"Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Jesus Christ said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you... 

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27 

This is one of the commandments that is universally disobeyed. When we live the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will find comfort and strength. 

Free download:

 https://darrenhardy.com/resources/darren-daily/DarrenDaily-5-Traits-To-Be-Exception-DarrenHardy.pdf

ClearUnited Names Gary Hasson as CEO.

 On August 25th, 2021, ClearUnited announced that its board of directors has appointed Gary Hasson as chief executive officer.

Michael Proper, ClearUnited’s Founder, has been serving as Chairman and CEO since the company’s inception, and will remain as Chairman. Michael invited Gary to be part of the formulation stage of ClearUnited back in 2019, to help create global awareness around current and future products.

Michael said, “Gary is one of the first people I contacted when it was understood that ClearUnited needed to be created to market all of the Clear Companies’ products together and expand on a global level. Gary truly cares about people and it is obvious that on many levels he resonates with our company values and cause.”

Gary is a seasoned entrepreneurial executive with a strong sales and marketing background of more then 31 years. He brings worldwide experience in developing and delivering sales and marketing plans. Early in his career Gary worked with several innovative companies in the software and financial services industries, with a large portion of his career spent in the nutritional supplement and wellness industry, marketing products globally through various national and international distribution channels. 

Gary said, “I am honored and excited to help ClearUnited lead in the emerging Decentralized Digital World – what we are doing truly matters to the people all around the world.”

2 minute ClearUnited introduction video: https://bit.ly/3mvu34r

ClearUnited provides the opportunity for people to succeed by simply sharing products they use with people they love. We believe in a world where we all work together, United as One, to see the change we all have hoped for. 
To learn more details about the company, please visit:  https://www.clearunited.com/

Press release: https://news.clear.co.com/clearunited-names-gary-hasson-as-ceo/

Christlike Parenting.

 "Good parents allow their children to exercise their moral agency, then calmly and patiently let consequences do the teaching.

Well-meaning parents who have tried their best should avoid the temptation of using their children's behavior as the measure of their success as parents. If children's behavior were the sole measure of good parenting, our Heavenly Father would not qualify.

We should never let Satan fool us into thinking that all is lost. If our lives are centered upon Jesus Christ...nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right."

-Dr. Glenn Latham, author of Christlike Parenting.

True Leaders.

 

Growth of Health & Wellness Channel

 The Direct Selling Association (DSA) released its Growth and Outlook Survey results for 2020 showing a record level of growth for the channel in one of the most economically challenging years in U.S. history. 

Despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and the subsequent shutdowns that ended the longest period of U.S. economic expansion on record, the DSA reported channel growth of 13.9 percent over the previous year, reaching a record $40.1 billion in 2020 retail sales. This is quadruple the growth of U.S. retail sales overall, which the U.S. Department of Commerce reported was 3.4 percent for 2020.

DSA President Joseph N. Mariano credits the adaptability and innovation of direct selling companies for the channel’s success during the worldwide economic downturn.

“The direct selling companies adapted quickly to a world with changing needs by empowering their independent sellers with the tools to serve their customers and fellow sellers—innovative technology, updated health and safety policies, and second-to-none business support. During this time of uncertainty, Direct Selling Association and its members also worked to ensure that customers and salespeople alike can rely upon the highest level of business ethics. 

https://socialsellingnews.com/features/channel-sales-soar-in-2020-report-finds/

There's a war against truth... and if we don't win it, intellectual freedom will be a casualty.

There's a war against truth... and if we don't win it, intellectual freedom will be a casualty.

The West’s commitment to freedom, reason, and true liberalism has never been more seriously threatened than it is today by the stifling forces of political correctness.

Dr. Gad Saad, the host of the popular YouTube show THE SAAD TRUTH, exposes the bad ideas—what he calls “idea pathogens”—that are killing common sense and rational debate. Incubated in our universities and spread through the tyranny of political correctness, these ideas are endangering our most basic freedoms—including freedom of thought and speech.

The danger is grave, but as Dr. Saad shows, politically correct dogma is riddled with logical fallacies. We have powerful
weapons to fight back with—if we have the courage to use them.

A provocative guide to defending reason and intellectual freedom and a battle cry for the preservation of our fundamental rights, The Parasitic Mind will be the most controversial and talked-about book of the year.

Perspectives.

 

The Pareto Principle.

The Pareto Principle is very simple, yet very important. It is named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who, in 1906, found that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.

What was most important about Pareto’s finding was that this 80/20 distribution occurs extremely frequently. For example, in general, 20% of your customers represent 80% of your sales. And 20% of your time produces 80% of your results. And so on.

https://www.forbes.com/pareto-principle-how-to-use-it-to-dramatically-grow-your-business/?sh=766b543b3901&fbclid=IwAR1JPp8bmwus4ZyHRAv6OP2U4luaeTAKWhZFJ0n0IEWymeiHj11eCcdoBjI

Disruption 2021

One thing is for certain if you are going to succeed in today's global, digital-first opportunity platform, connecting entrepreneurial networks together with a broadening consumer online-marketplace. We have to learn to love the disruption.

Our profession happens to have been through multiple cycles of disruption. We're in one now- one that is more exciting and transformational in a favorable way than any of the preceding disruptive periods.

This new one, Social Commerce, is the most exciting transition or disruption that we are seeing on our distribution channel, largely because of macro trends. When you talk about value creation in any industry, the macro trends that are driving that now with the gig economy, with social commerce, influencer and affiliate marketing---those all feed so nicely together with the traditional direct sales model. As companies and leaders lean into those macro trends, with the right strategy, there is enormous potential.

At Asili Global, we provide solutions to a world that is in need of work, health products, opportunity, culture and community. People are realizing that human connection, relationships and flexibility matter. We provide all of that! We provide the opportunity for people to interact one-on-one. We provide the opportunity for people to have more flexibility in the way we work, anywhere, anytime. And we provide solutions for their actual health & wellness needs.

There is so much more potential for success when we actually represent ourselves for what we have: a trusted person-to-person relationship, amazing products in an easily accessible manner, and becoming part of a community or a brand that actually values you instead of seeing you as a transaction.

Critical Thinking

It’s natural for people to group themselves together with people who think or act like them. This happens especially readily online, where it’s so easy to find a specific cultural niche. Social media algorithms can narrow our perspectives further, serving up only news that fits our individual beliefs.

This is a problem. If everyone in our social circles thinks as we do, we become more rigid in our thinking, and less likely to change our beliefs on the basis of new information. In fact, the more people listen to people who share their views, research shows the more polarized their views become.

It’s crucial to get outside your personal bubble. You can start small. If you work in accounting, make friends with people in marketing. If you always go to lunch with senior staff, go to a ball game with your junior colleagues. Training yourself this way will help you escape your usual thinking and gain richer insights.

In team settings, give people the chance to give their opinions independently without the influence of the group. When I ask for advice, for instance, I typically withhold my own preferences and ask team members to email me their opinions in separate notes. This tactic helps prevent people from engaging in groupthink.

While these simple tactics may sound easy or even obvious, they’re rare in practice, particularly in the business world, and too many organizations don’t take the time to engage in robust forms of reasoning. But the important work of critical thinking pays off. While luck plays a role — sometimes small, sometimes large — in a company’s successes, the most important business victories are achieved through thinking smart.

Excerpt from: https://hbr.org/2019/05/3-simple-habits-to-improve-your-critical-thinking

Outwitting the Devil

Have you read the book "Outwitting the Devil"? I just listened to the 3 hour audiobook recording below over the weekend, and it's amazing to think that it was written in 1938 by Napolean Hill, author of "Think and Grow Rich". In this book Hill uncovers the secrets to freedom and success by evaluating the greatest obstacles that humans face in order to attain their personal goals in life.

Three key principles (there are MANY more) from the book: 1. Making decisions based on faith, instead of fear. (i.e. thinking about what could go wrong rather than believing things will go well) 2. The necessity of definiteness of purpose. (i.e. having a focus and going "all in" on that focus) 3. The Law of Hypnotic Rhythm. (i.e. repeating behaviors that become habits) For those of you who have read it, what principles did you like the most?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_IynEEZvxw

Working Through a World of Misinformation.

For years, the critics of the Direct Sales profession have offered up ill-informed opinions that express a negative opinion about direct selling. Too often these negative opinions are based on incomplete data combined with individual anecdotes of dissatisfied former sellers that the propagators of the misinformation then apply to the whole industry.

What is not, or is rarely, acknowledged is that there are many, if not most, direct selling companies that have provided part and full-time income opportunities for decades without a single blemish on their record or regulatory action against them. Many of these companies sell products that have become will known brands with thousands of loyal customers. The undeniable fact is that the ethical companies who follow industry best practices far outnumber the bad actors but you almost never hear about that from the industry critics.

Some of the current and most egregious misinformation that is spread on social media are addressed in this article:

https://worldofdirectselling.com/through-world-of-misinformation/

The Grass Is Always Greener On Social Media

 

8 Great Reasons To Put Down Your Phone

 

Why Volvo Gave Away The Patent For Their Most Important Invention

We hear a lot these days about "for the greater good" or "doing the right thing". Here's a real example from the history books.

 https://www.arnoldclark.com/newsroom/265-why-volvo-gave-away-the-patent-for-their-most-important-invention

5 Essential Roles Of Knowledge

There are five essential roles that I believe knowledge plays in our competitive advantage and sustainable business success: 

1. Acquiring Knowledge: Acquiring the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary to make sound decisions and take effective action. 

2. Applying Knowledge: Using one's existing knowledge to independently make sound decisions and take effective action.  

3. Creating Knowledge: Adapting existing knowledge or creating new knowledge to improve performance and do things that have not previously been done by others. 

4. Sharing Knowledge: Increasing the productive capacity of others by sharing one's knowledge, skills and perspective with them.  

5. Leveraging Knowledge: Increasing the organization's productive capacity by converting personal knowledge into organization knowledge (i.e. embedding knowledge in the systems, structures, protocols and strategies of the organization) - thereby making it available to everyone in the organization who might need it. 

Given that knowledge is an organization's only sustainable source of competitive advantage, those people who master these five roles are the people who will make the greatest difference and be in the greatest demand in the future.

Distractions. Manage Them . . . or Fail.

Distractions can be poison to building a business. Manage them . . . or fail. DISTRACTION . . . something that prevents you from giving full attention to something else . . . like growing your business! All distractions are equal. Any single and specific distraction that prevents you from giving something your full attention is equal to any and all other single and specific distractions that do the same. Several years ago, I spoke with one of the network marketing industry's all-time top earners, who made his fortune back in the 70s and 80s. He said, "It's harder for a person to succeed in today's network marketing industry than it was back in my day. The reason is because today's network marketer is constantly bombarded with distractions. Most network marketers are consumed by all of those distractions., and it prevents them from doing what needs to be done to succeed. Those distractions are poison!" He's 100% correct about distractions. At this point in time, we are bombarded with more distractions than at any other time in human history. Smart phones are a huge distraction. The average person now checks their smart phone 150 times per day. That's equal to a person checking their phone once every 6 waking minutes. Television is a huge distraction. The average American is watching 37-40 of TV every week. The lust for notoriety and attention is growing, and is a huge distraction. More Americans than ever care about what other people think about them. This has fueled the obsession and addiction to social media. Then there are those things we must do each day, such as get dressed, groom ourselves, care for our families, care for our pets, exercise, do house and yard chores, and more. I could go on and on. You get the picture. In order to devote 3-4 hours or more each day to growing your business, you must manage all of the distractions you are faced with each day. Identify the distractions you don't need, the ones you can live without, and eliminate them from your life. Become better at managing all of the other distractions. We are all given the same amount of time each day to do stuff. Each day contains 24-hours, equal to 1,440 minutes. Each week contains 168 hours, equal to 10,080 minutes. We choose what we do during each minute of each hour. We either choose wisely, or we choose poorly. It's that simple. - Tracy Biller

A Better Measure of Success.

Happy Easter 2021

What a Beautiful Name - BYU Vocal Point & David Archuleta

The Value Of An Idea Lies In The Using Of It.

Factors that business leaders should keep in mind as they prepare for the next normal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, and its effects will last. Here are some factors that business leaders should keep in mind as they prepare for the next normal. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/the-next-normal-arrives-trends-that-will-define-2021-and-beyond

Best-Performing U.S. Cities Index

Article: These are the best performing cities according to the Milken Institute: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/these-are-the-best-performing-cities-milken-institute-173143107.html

Important lunch date!

The beauty of a launch is that you can do as many launches as you want.

Larry King and Eric Worre Discuss the Network Marketing Profession.

Reposting this video in memory of Larry King, who passed away January 23rd. Larry King and Eric Worre Discuss the Network Marketing Profession.

Very Important Attributes

Keep It Relevant

Good leadership requires you to...

Be Still and Know That I Am God - Psalm 46:10

This brings me comfort during times when all around us is in commotion. I believe to be still, is to trust that He has the power to overcome not only our mistakes but the pain we feel as well.

Social Media Platforms 2021

I will be using social media less in 2021, but I would love to stay in contact with all my friends and business associates, regardless of what platform you prefer. Please search: garyhasson or Gary Hasson on any social media platform or business network and you will find me. Or call me, I still talk! +1-801-785-0545

If Something We Think, See, Hear or Do Distances Us From...

 

Saturday in the snow.

 

Intelligence

How important is knowing what to say to whom, knowing when to say it, and knowing how to say it for maximum effect?

It's called practical intelligence and it is a kind of intelligence separate from the analytical ability measured by an IQ test. General or analytical intelligence and practical intelligence are different, and the presence of one does not imply the presence of the other.

Put them together...