What’s a new team mate to do?

Let’s say that you are new to this fun, crazy, inspiring, loving group of leaders called the Team and you became part of an opportunity called LIFE. Now what? Simple:

1. Read – Start with “The business of LIFE” in pack 1. If you’ve read it, ask the person you’re working with; What next?

2. Listen – Start with the 2 CDs in pack 1. If you’ve listened to them, ask the person you’re working with for pack 2.

3. Associate – Start with Tuesday night open/challenge group and meet your team mates!

For the record: We now have a business that pays us to read, listen and associate! Prior to LIFE, that was unheard of! If you want to make more money, get with the person you’re working with and ask them; How do I make sure I am being compensated in all 3 areas of education?

Want to make more money faster? Listen to the Team training system CDs and read the Team Builders Textbook. As you do that, let the person you’re working with guide you through the “5-step pattern” and be the best student you can possibly be. That will put you on the fast track for getting the life you’ve always wanted!

It’s that simple.

Sincerely,

John Graff

Got headache?

Just back from the Team/LIFE summer leadership convention! If there was ever a time in our business to truly believe one can attain their dreams; it’s now. How can I say that – you say? Because Orrin Woodward and the Policy Council of the team literally did what I wrote about in my last blog: They broke what was already good and made it great! They found a way to lower the “barrier of entry” cost to a stinking 49.99!!!!! Plus they added free association (the opens and challenge groups) for a full month!!!! Plus they made the training system part of the initial sign-up to get people understanding just how to attain their goals and dreams – not just learning life changing information.

My big take-away from the major was two-fold: The first came from Founder Tim Marks when he asked the crowd of 10,000+ “Who here is on MySpace?” and maybe 10 hands went up. vs “Who here is on Facebook?” where a vast majority of us folks at Bradley center raised our hand.  Then he made the point that the fate of MySpace was sealed once the company was sold and corporate got their greedy little hands on it. Then he asked if we were aware that Mark Zuckerberg (sp)? sold Facebook for 19 Billion last week.

If only there was a group of very high character leaders with a mission driven vision to create a community of people with a business model unlike anything the world has ever seen – where the very people within said community would be the ones to profit it the information age with great information….

My best friend asked me what will replace Facebook? It will take a little time, but Team/Life opportunity is the only group out there whose soul goal is not to make the most money, but to pay the most money to anyone willing to help expand the community.

Getting involved with a business with no monetary ceiling (we have no idea how high up is regarding the profits to be attained), yet get involved for less than a tank of gas!!! We are about to go viral!

The second thing I’ve never seen before was the speed of results people were getting. Instead of significant growth in months, people are getting those results in days!!!  What does that mean for you? The ability to have significant profitability in VERY short order!

So, don’t be like the fleas in a jar that have hit their head on the lid so many times, that they get conditioned to the point that they won’t jump any higher even after the lid has been taken off.

We are not fleas. You have the ability of free will and choice to live the life you’ve always wanted. It is now attainable faster and better than ever thanks to LIFE. So take the lid off and launch into a brighter future and alleviate the headaches if you dare.

God bless,

John Graff

If the system isn’t broke, why break it?

I’m currently re-reading Orrin Woodward‘s book Resolved: 13 Resolutions of Life (among other books as well). I’m in the 11th. chapter ; “systems thinking”, and was struck by this quote form Orrin: “In today’s competitive environment, if the system isn’t broken, then a person must break it to improve it anyway, before his competitors do this and put him out of business.”

It’s thinking like that, that has me constantly excited about where the leaders of this great organization are taking us! Change is not only good, it’s a requirement! By making frequent changes, we buy time to flesh out what does and doesn’t work. Thus putting us miles ahead of the competition who often lack the courage and will stay with the motto: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That mindset screams ‘don’t innovate’, which means over time, it will be obsolete.

The Team/LIFE leaders study systems ad-nauseum, and within that mindset, they are always studying how to get the most out of the leverage points of your life/business. Just one more reason why we learn and follow. We can all take a little comfort in knowing that with our leaders, we will be in business for a long, long time.

God bless, John Graff

Catch an Open/Challenge group, lately?

Great association is where it’s at. No one knows this better than Orrin Woodward. So the question becomes; How do you know if you are hanging with the right association? I believe the answer comes down to what you truly want out of the time here on earth that you’ve been given. I hear it’s a finite amount. Another question might be; How do you define happiness in your life?  What I’ve come to learn from people who have great results in ALL of the 8 F’s in LIFE, is that true happiness can’t be pursued directly, but rather, is a byproduct of serving others.

So what does that have to do with whom I associate, you might ask…. If you feel the quote “birds of a feather flock together” holds some degree of truth for you, then the answer is: everything!  They become your center of influence and affect your belief/value system of your life. So let me ask you: Do the people you hang with have your best interests at heart at all times? Do they have the knowledge, resources and love for you to help you get wherever it is you want to go? Do they encourage you regardless of how far fetched your ideas may seem? One would hope so. Do they ever pass judgement on you or criticize you or gossip behind your back? One would hope not. Sounds to me like the beginnings of a definition of a true friend.

That is the kind of association one often finds at a Tuesday night ‘open meeting’ (as well as the challenge groups that meet every other Tuesday). I learned a long time ago that where you will be 5 years from now, is directly connected to the books you read and the people you associate with! Choose wisely.

God bless, John Graff

P.S. Feel free to fill me in on how an open/challenge group helped you grow!

Care to ‘jumpstart’ your ‘elephant’?

I love the association of the leaders of the-life-business! Case-in-point: One Eric Blomdahl. He a phenomenal leader who has helped the likes of Dan and Lisa Hawkins, Steve and Jamie Leurquin, Richard and Jammie Fisher just to name a few. I would highly recommend checking out his latest blog if you are having any trouble finding motivation to build your business. Think of a category, and chances are , Eric’s got ya covered! Are you into planes, cars, yachts, homes, mission trips, charities, trips…. His list is extensive. Once you dig around and find something that whets your appetite, then go online yourself and dig deeper! get specific!

For a guy who at one time (not so long ago) had next to nothing and his life falling apart – to now flying his plane in to do meeting to show/teach people what he knows… The guy knows what he’s talking about. So go to Eric’s blog, hop on your elephant and let Eric take you for a tour of your future!

God bless, John Graff

Orrin Woodward: Whistleblower

O.K., let’s be totally honest here. Who would like to know the full “low-down” on Orrin Woodward?!? His past, his present, his affiliations… just what is the big deal (good or bad) about this guy and just what does he represent? This will likely be my shortest post ever, since I refuse to re-write what Dan Hawkins wrote yesterday! If you are at all serious/curious about what I’m referring to, go to: danhawkinsleadership.com and take the time to read his “article”. Then decide for yourself what kind of leader Orrin is.

Sincerely, John Graff

P.S. Please feel free to comment on his sight, he/we would love to get your honest feedback.

Orrin has the details!

Having just got back from the spring leadership convention, I was blown away by what Orrin Woodward and the LIFE founders have come up with for incentives to do what we should all be doing anyway: improving our lives and helping others improve theirs’ as well!  The craziest part is the extremely low level required to receive a FREE PAID TRIP!!! Not just any trips either. For most folks, these are once in a lifetime trips! What’s more; build your business a little bigger and LIFE will send you on an even fancier (did I just use the word fancier?) and longer trip than your first one!

Don’t take it from me. go to today’s post (May 2nd.) on Orrin’s blog for all the cool details… then you decide where you want to go and who you’re taking with you! Give it some serious thought because for many of our team mates, it is gonna become a reality. (enough already, John… where are these details!)   Go to orrinwoodwardblog.com

happy trails, John

“Mental Fitness Challenge!” Say what?

Hey everybody. Its here! Phase II of the-life-business.com. Orrin Woodward and the founders of LIFE are chomping at the bit to roll out the details at the spring national leadership convention! As good as the business of LIFE is, it’s about to add a bunch of turbo-boosters (pun intended) as the TEAM is about to go “viral”!

One of the key ingredients to cause that is the MFC or “Mental Fitness Challenge“. This will be a systematic self-assessment tool to help us all better understand where our strengths and weaknesses lie (for those brave souls who truly want to strive for the life they’ve always wanted). What the founders realize is that if we could raise our leadership ability even a little bit, the ramifications from that increase would surprise even the meekest of us. Why? Simply because leadership is the highest paid profession. Who wouldn’t be interested in being more effective with leading people, knowing that there will be people in your life ’til the day you die. Couple that thought with a quote that Orrin often says: “Your raise become effective as soon as you do.”

The wonderfully crazy part about this business opportunity is that it monetarily rewards us to get educated in those areas we choose to get better in! That is unheard of in any industry. Its the antithesis of college; I get paid while receiving an education! How cool is that.

The other part that cracks me up is that so many people pay good money (whether its gym memberships, sports, dietary related, cosmetic related as well as all types of apparel), all in the name of better physical fitness/appearance – and don’t get me wrong, that’s very important. But let’s be honest, how many of us make a daily effort to improve from the neck-up?

I’ve heard that the founders have put more time and energy and effort into this particular piece of our business than anywhere else. I don’t know of any group of men and women who are more respectful of the time they have than the Policy Council. If they have invested their time that heavily into this, safe to say it will be very worthwhile for us to do the same. So come on! Join me in taking the Mental Fitness Challenge on the backside of this weekend. Who knows; you might lead yourself straight to the life you’ve always wanted!

God bless, John Graff

Would you trust you?

I got the opportunity to talk about leadership to a group of executives and professionals in the real estate world this morning. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a lot about the field, but I have learned through thought leaders like Orrin Woodward and his contemporaries, that leadership applies to virtually everything involving people!

I decided to base my talk around a profound formula found in Stephen Covey Jr.’s book: The Speed of Trust. It’s a simple formula that states: as trust goes up, speed goes up and cost goes down. Conversely: as trust goes down, speed goes down and cost goes up.

I challenge you, think of any process you do or any contractual agreement you’ve been a part of. Think of the ‘players’ involved and the level of trust you felt towards them. If it was a fast, clean, cost effective process; than it virtually goes without saying that trust level was high. Another example would be those whom you have repeat business. Just how did that get established?

So knowing that someone’s level of trust in you directly affects time and money (your’s and theirs’), wouldn’t it make a lot of cents (pun intended) to increase our level of trust in all our relationships?

That’s where pure unadulterated servant leadership comes in! That’s where we all get to look in the mirror and ask; How’s my character? How effective am I at performing the tasks required of me? How good am I at building and sustaining relationships?

Most people tend to think they are well above average in the three catagories of the Tri-lateral Leadership Ledger of: character/task/relationship, which leads to Woodward’s law that states: 90% of the people think they are in the 10%. Do you see how that’s mathematically impossible. This means there’s a whole lot of folks who are self-deceived (me included)! So the best way to avoid that deception is to stay humble and always be learning and growing to become a better you, in order to better serve people and provide value in their life. You do that and just watch how people’s speed of trust in you increases!

God bless, John Graff

What are the “4-C’s”?

For those of us following Orrin Woodward and the-life-business founders, we understand Michael Dell’s concept of the “3-C’s”: Content , commerce and community. But Penny and I found it very intriguing that our pastor had wrapped his sermon around “4-C’s”.

The title of his message was called ‘Leaving a Legacy that will Last‘.  He posed each “C” within the form of a question. Then he elaborated on each question and added biblical references. For the record, it was an excellent sermon (as Pastor Brian’s always are). They are always Christ/Gospel centered, and we can’t help leaving Sunday’s service without pondering the wisdom within his Message!

That notwithstanding; here are the questions he posed and the order in which he posed them. See if you don’t feel as I do. That what we do regarding the TEAM/LIFE business, doesn’t directly corollate with his message.

1. What will be the CENTER of  life?

2 What will be the CHARACTER of my life?

3. What will be the CONTRIBUTION of my life?

4. What will be the COMMUNITY of my life?

Isn’t it cool that as we build community through the 8 F’s, we ask similar questions of ourselves and our team mates, so that we stay principle based and keep an eye on the things that truly matter in peoples lives. From my personal perspective, it appears that what the life business offers: information to improve peoples lives in  8 areas of a persons life (Faith, Family, Finance, Fitness, Following, Freedom, Friends and Fun), makes for a wonderful contribution to whatever community you are part of. For Penny and I personally, we feel that to strengthen our character, we seek to put Christ at the center of our lives. That’s why we go to church every Sunday: to strengthen our relationship with Him, and in turn, better serve our fellow man.

Please don’t misunderstand my intent. We are not attempting to take away from the church, that’s absurd. That’s simply not God’s will, nor am I personally qualified to preach the Word as Pastor does….

What I am attempting to point out is simply this; that we are standing on more common ground than we realize. If my faith gets strengthened even more so, by implementing the information in the faith piece of our business (in addition to) Sunday morning’s message… how is that a bad thing?

If someone says to me; What is it that you guys do? My answer is simply this: What Penny and I do for a living, is build communities of people through which great information flows, in order to give them the life they’ve always wanted, to improve their lives in whatever areas they want to focus.

May I end with a quote from the end of our Sunday sermon: “We were created for community.”

God bless, John Graff