The American Dream Needs Revisiting

The Statue of Liberty front shot, on Liberty I...

The big lie about the American Dream is the concept of upward mobility through dedicated effort to a career and a job. Statistics and surveys indicate THAT just doesn’t happen any more in America. The fact is great economic upward mobility comes from those who work not only harder, but smarter.

An article in the Seattle Times yesterday made us all aware of how bad things have gotten. “Problem With Paychecks” took much of its content from Parade Magazine’s annual “What People Earn” survey. Here are just some examples of what the story reported. The following list names the person, their location, and their annual income and descends from highest to lowest:

…11. Lorri Froid, Seattle
Office manager
$49,000
12. Heather Murphy
Woodinville elementary school teacher
$39,032
13. Anne Fogarty, Kirkland
Event planner
$37,760
14. Mary Purdy, Seattle
Dietician and adjunct college professor
$36,000
15. Nan Lammers, Skykomish
Forest services snowshoe ranger
$33,414
16. Curtis Hodgson, Burnaby, B.C.
Lacrosse player
$26,500
17. Ned Whalen, Seattle
Car sales professional
$26,000
18. Cara Sullivan, Seattle
Barista
$15,000
19. Betsy McPhaden, Seattle
Artist
$2,000

I didn’t list the Top Ten on the actual Seattle Times list since most of us are not them; i.e. Major League baseball pitchers, NFL running backs, CEO’s of billion dollar corporations, etc.

I know the income that my wife and I earn, and I know how much we struggle to meet our bills and live in what could only be described as a middle-Middle-Class lifestyle (8-10 years ago I would have said upper-Middle-Class, but that’s another story). Nine years ago when we bought our home in the Seattle suburb of Renton, WA it’s purchase price was exactly what the King County Association of Realtors was identifying as the median-price for homes being sold in King County at that time.

Map of Washington highlighting King County

Some up-grades may have pushed its price slightly above the local median price/value; but for the most part it serves as a pretty evident measuring stick for middle-Middle Class. My point is…for the people listed above…I don’t know how they make it.

The American Dream as it is defined by one on-line dictionary is as follows:

a·mer·i·can dream
Noun
The traditional social ideals of the United States, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity.

The term was coined in 1931 by historian James T. Adams. It’s changed over the years but basically came to represent:

Owning a home and a car or two

Raising a family, with kids that grew up to do much the same as you

Working 40 hours per week for 40-50 years in a job or career

Taking 1-2 approximately week-long vacations every year to Disneyland or the big regional beach

Retiring in comfort to regularly play golf, bingo, and visit the grandkids once in a while. 

It became:

Leasing (buying) your home from the bank who charges you a low-interest rate for the right to do so; a home of 2500 square feet or more, 2-3 cars, and an RV.

Have kids raised by someone other than Mom or Dad who are too busy at the office to be home for dinner, let alone after school (whether as a family or not is optional); or raised by your 55-inch tv, or by Facebook. Pay $15,000-$20,000 per year per kid for 5-6 years for them to get drunk at college.

Work 50-70 hours per week for a wage capable of allowing you to save for retirement, or (as with the people listed above) 40 hours per week to barely scrape by and have zero retirement.

Vacation every year for 2 weeks in some exotic location, paying for all of it on your credit cards.

Retiring in your 70s with a reverse mortgage praying the 20-30% equity you’ve managed to accumulate in your primary residence is enough to maintain your lifestyle.

That’s some lifestyle. That’s a lifestyle in which children are sacrificed in favor of “stuff” and “status”.

Today working a job that keeps you from your family, or your recreations, 50-70 hours per week is something people wear like a badge of honor. Why? Wouldn’t you be better off working only 30-40 hours per week, making as much money or more, and devoting the rest of the time to your children, your wife, your husband, vacations, etc?  The obvious answer is, yes. And you can do it. But the key is to get money working.  Get multiple streams of income. The earlier mentioned Seattle Times article points out that median hourly income has rose only 11-percent since 1973. Additionally, in 2011, wages for males with college degrees were JUST 5 percent greater than in 1979. For men with only high-school degrees, entry-level wages were 25 percent lower than in 1979. Your single-solitary job is making you poorer and requiring you to work more hours. The 1-job, 1-career American Dream doesn’t work. You need money coming in from elsewhere.

We used a very large sales-commission check to buy our first home in 1994. Two years later being home owners allowed for us to borrow enough to move-up into a bigger house and keep the other house as a rental. We did the same thing again in 2003. My wife and I acquired nearly all our most valuable possessions, went on our most expensive vacations, and spoiled our kids during the time we had the additional income stream from owning rental property from 1996-2006. Warren Buffett, among others, is one who cites multiple streams of income as key to being successful.

The Missus and I have finally re-learned what we knew before. In our case AdvoCare is already giving us a new income stream. Based on the $20-25-thousand per month incomes our friends achieved with AdvoCare in just 3-years, we expect it to be a sizable stream, growing into a river. We’ve met many others who also are earning over $1000-per month with AdvoCare while working a mere 5-10 extra hours per week. And it’s a growing business. And it has the added benefit of paying us while we aren’t even doing anything. It has the added benefit of only paying us when we genuinely help other people. And it has the added benefit of being a continuing inheritable business and income stream, meaning should my wife and I die the income generated by our AdvoCare business becomes our children’s. Then they will have multiple income streams too.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

Click to go to our AdvoCare website.

Click to go to our AdvoCare website.

March 11, 2013
Categories: Business, National Politics, Washington State, Weight Loss . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on The American Dream Needs Revisiting

My Weight Loss. How I did it.

Me

Me

I am proud to say I stand as a living breathing example of how you can lose weight and not dramatically change your life in doing so. If I’m right that there are a lot of people who are overweight because they don’t think they can lose weight, or haven’t reached a stage yet where they feel the need and don’t want to change eating, drinking and exercise habits in order to make it work have I got the solution for you.

As of this morning I weigh 208-pounds. I’m 6-foot 1-inch tall. And I have a 32-waist. Since I’m 49 years old and was 185-pounds in high school and know that I’ve added muscle mass since that time I’d say I’m doing pretty good. Nine months ago I wasn’t doing good. I was 245-pounds and had a 40-inch waist, a big ol’ pot belly.

46 years old, 240 lbs.

Me at my worst- about 245 lbs.

I thought a blog on specifically what I’ve done since my great weight loss adventure began would be helpful. So, here is what’s typical.

(With the mention of each product I use I provide a link for you to go to the website and see and read, purchase and try-out said product)

I wake at 5:30am, weigh myself and immediately have my AdvoCare Spark, Prostate Support, and Bio Tools.

At 6am I’m in my exercise room to begin my workout Mon-Fri. I was a member of LA Fitness for the first 6 months of this journey. But since I have much of the workout equipment already in my home I decided not to pay the monthly fee at the gym and just continue what I’ve been doing for 10 years at home.

The first 20 minutes of my workout consists of vigorous stretching.

In following a plan devised by a fitness trainer I conduct resistance training (weight lifting) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday its cardio workouts, or simply treadmill work.

Monday’s are “core” days. I do three sets of 60-second planking. Sit-ups. And most everything else on the universal weight machine we bought years ago. I do lat-pulls, bench press, and butterfly presses. I frequently do an exercise in which I hook on a single handle to the weights, hold it with my arm stretched fully down my side, and then I bend sideways at the waist lifting the weights while doing so. With all lifting I do 3-sets of 10-to-15-reps. Muscle building is not a goal. Thus the high reps. At this point I’ll then put in ten minutes on the treadmill to wrap up my hour.

Wednesday are “legs” days. And I hate legs days. After stretching I do 3-sets of 60-second squat-and-holds. Did I mention that I hate this? I do leg extensions, leg curls, and toe raises by clicking the lat-pull bar to the weight pulley near the ground. I grasp the bar behind my back and with my arms fully extended and NOT shrugging my shoulders I rise up on my toes and lift the weight simultaneously. I do 3-sets of 20-reps of this exercise. As with Monday and Friday I close-out with 10 minutes on the treadmill. But on legs day instead of jogging I wear 10-pound ankle weights and walk the treadmill with a steep incline. By the end of my hour on Wednesday’s my ass is kicked. Did I mention I hate “legs” days?

Whenever there is only 10-20 minutes left in my workout I take my packet of AdvoCare MNS pre-breakfast supplements.

Friday’s I work on arms and shoulders. Arm curls, arm extensions, and fly weight lifts (arms fully extended to the side. Raise weights up from legs to shoulder height, keeping arms straight and locked). And I also have a 10-pound weight tied to a dowel with a long shoe-string. I roll the dowel in my hands, lifting the weight. I do this palms up and palms down. Three-sets each exercise.

On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s I put in 40-minutes on the treadmill, after stretching.

Breakfast comes after my workout. Since my weight loss began breakfast 4-5 days per week is an AdvoCare Meal Replacement Shake; Chocolate. When I’m doing the 24-Day Challenge I don’t add anything to the shakes. When not doing the Challenge I might add something to the shakes like peanut butter, a banana, strawberries,  black berries, or raspberries. I’ve done the challenge three times, or every three months. And I have my breakfast MNS supplement packet, which usually contains OmegaPlex Fatty Acid pills.

About 3-4 hours after breakfast I have a late morning snack. It’ll either be a piece of fruit, nuts and seeds (unsalted), or an AdvoCare Snack Bar or Fruit and Fiber Bar. Love ’em. Sometimes I’ll have a celery stick with Adam’s All-Natural Peanut Butter (no salt, no sugar).

30-minutes prior to lunch I enjoy another Spark, AdvoCare Catalyst, and my MNS pre-lunch supplement packet.

I eat a late lunch so that I can watch one of my favorite TV programs, Pardon the Interruption on ESPN. At lunch I frequently eat dinner-left-overs. Lately, that’s included a lot of fish, and chicken breasts. The food items that are most frequently missing from my diet now, that were regular before, are cheese and bread and condiments loaded with sugar and salt. Also I have my lunch-time AdvoCare MNS supplement packet.

To help one’s metabolism nutritionists recommend eating 5-6 times per day. I never did this before beginning to lose weight. And now the meal I’m most likely to miss is the late afternoon snack. Since I eat lunch so late I often am not hungry, and merely forget to eat something. When I do it’s usually a piece of fruit, nuts and seeds (think trail-mix), or celery and peanut butter.

Throughout the day I have a glass or bottle of water with me at all times, and I drink it at all times.

Around 6pm I’m having a cocktail, usually rum and coke. Usually 2.

Dinner comes around 7pm. On Friday’s it’s almost always pizza. My wife will fix-up some pasta recipe most weekend days. But usually its something quick and sensible; again lots of chicken and fish. I don’t eat out often. I might have a fast-food meal once every 1-2 weeks. Salads are part of my dinner 3-4 nights per week. I use spritzers now instead of the italian or bleu cheese dressings I used to always pour over my greens. If I don’t have a salad I have vegetables of some kind.

I don’t avoid hamburgers, or other junk food any more than I used to. I still enjoy a fat, juicy burger, beef steaks, spaghetti with meat sauce and parmesan and lots of other “bad” stuff. I don’t think I eat as much as I use to eat. And if I had a big-bad lunch I have a very light dinner. And vice-versa. I don’t think I was previously as conscious about eating light during one meal because I had or was going to have something heavy in another.

About 2-3 times per week I enjoy a dessert; usually about 2-hours prior to bedtime. Dessert could be a bowl of ice-cream or 2 cookies.

How does this differ from the time when I was 40 pounds over-weight. Honestly? Not much. I added AdvoCare. Other than that most of what I just described I’ve been doing for at least 10 years. The only major difference is AdvoCare. And now I weigh less than I have in nearly 30-years. It’s the truth. You figure it out.

Sonja's lost over 30 pounds and even more since this pic was shot in July 2012.

Sonja’s lost over 30 pounds and even more since this pic was shot in July 2012.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

Go to our website, read our story and try some AdvoCare. You won't regret it.

Go to our website, read our story and try some AdvoCare. You won’t regret it.

March 6, 2013
Categories: Washington State, Weight Loss . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on My Weight Loss. How I did it.

Get Your Dreams Answered by Overcoming Disappointment

In the short time my wife and I have been involved in Direct Sales with AdvoCare I’ve come to realize that my friends, leaders and coaches were right. You must overcome disappointment in order to succeed. This is true of anything in life. But in the field of multi-level marketing it’s especially true.

I went from 245lbs in May to 210lbs in February with AdvoCare, achieving a weight not seen by my scale since 1987.

I went from 245lbs in May to 210lbs in February with AdvoCare, achieving a weight not seen by my scale since 1987.

Here is the most important thing to know. Your friends and family will not support your new business venture or your enthusiasm for it. And this more than anything else leads to people quitting and saying “Direct marketing doesn’t work”. Where we benefit in AdvoCare, perhaps more than other Direct Sales companies, is that we are told this repeatedly by those who have been successful representing AdvoCare before.

I know some will read this and scoff that I’m just expressing sour grapes over our failure to “sell” to friends and family. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Mrs. Blah Blah Blah and myself are truly enthusiastic about the health, energy, and nutritional products produced by AdvoCare. We really know and believe them to be the finest in the world. Using AdvoCare we have combined to lose more than 70 pounds of fat in only 8 months, we have more energy than ever before (or certainly in years), Prostate issues have been completely solved, arthritis pain has been eased, muscle toning has developed like never before, and we’re making a little money with every expectation that we’ll make even more. More importantly, we’ve helped a couple handfuls of people lose weight and feel great. And based on the fact they keep buying product without prompting is clear indication that they like/love AdvoCare too. No I don’t feel sour grapes for the naysayers, the deniers. I feel sorry for them. I only wish I could find the words to properly convey my feelings. My wife and I have a desire to help those who have similar needs or problems that we faced when AdvoCare was introduced to us. But if they won’t take the time to listen or try the products we can’t help.

Advocare solves so many solutions for so many people.

Do you want to lose weight? AdvoCare is unmatched in helping all kinds of people lose weight.

The 24 Day Challenge is cheap compared to what we all normally spend money on.

The 24 Day Challenge is cheap compared to what we all normally spend money on.

Do you have high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar? Are you pre-diabetic? While it’s important to state we’re not making any medical claims nor is AdvoCare I can say these issues evaporated in my case and in the case of many others after using AdvoCare.

Are you in debt and need an infusion of cash? By applying a mere 3-5 hours per week to AdvoCare; in only 6 months we’re making about $500 per month. By the end of our first year we have every expectation of making $1000 per month. Would you work an additional 3-5 hours per week for a year in your current job if it made you and extra $12,000 per year? Also, my friend and his wife who introduced us to AdvoCare built a business paying them over $20,000 per month in just three years.

Are you working long hours at your job and missing the opportunity to spend time with your family, your kids or grand kids? Is someone other than you raising your children? AdvoCare Distributors work from home and many do make full-time incomes.

Are you a hard-body? A fitness freak? A weekend warrior athlete who can’t get enough endorphins and is looking to take your physical fitness to a new exceptional level? AdvoCare is used by countless professional athletes and Olympic athletes. Our list of non-paid endorsers includes NFL MVP‘s, Olympic Gold Medal Winners, Heisman Trophy winners, NFL Man-of-the-Year recipients, and Super Bowl Champions. If it’s good enough for them, you better believe it’s good enough for you.

AdvoCare awards $20k in bonuses twice per month to the top Rookie Advisor-Distributors.

AdvoCare awards $20k in bonuses twice per month to the top Rookie Advisor-Distributors.

Direct Sales, or Multi-Level marketing companies, are not a scam. They are not pyramid schemes. They have existed proudly in this country for well over 100 years. And some of the finest producers of products in their respective fields are direct sales companies. Amway, in spite of its bad reputation in this country, is a billion dollar enterprise and sells the world over; and their products are top quality. Mary Kay and Avon cosmetics are wonderful (or so I’m told. My wife buys Mary Kay and has for years). Mary Kay Distributors sell $3-billion of product, Avon, $12-billion every year. The Pampered Chef, Party Lite, Tupperware and on and on. Many multi-level direct sales companies are household names with fine products and reputations.

Spark is loaded with 21 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It contains no sugar. And it works!!!

Spark is loaded with 21 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It contains no sugar. And it works!!!

But none of this means anything to the cynical friend or family member. And let’s face it, these are the people you will approach first when you decide to represent AdvoCare, or any other direct-sales company. And that is why this blog is titled as it is. You have to overcome what initial disappointment might come your way from the utter rejection you get from the people who are closest to you. You have to realize to be successful with AdvoCare you have to be open and eager to talk to STRANGERS. GASP! Here’s the good news…you’d have to do that in any other job also. So what’s the problem?

The Performance Elite line of products will develop muscle and help reduce the risk of injury.

The Performance Elite line of products will develop muscle and help reduce the risk of injury.

If you make the decision to try AdvoCare and grow it as a business you make a great decision. But you want to prepare yourself for meeting and enjoying new people. You will want to prepare yourself for working occasional evenings at PARTIES. You’ll have to prepare yourself for making more money and getting out of debt. And you will have to do all this while keeping your old friends who will probably not support your new venture, and making new friends who will.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

Go to our website, read our story and try some AdvoCare. You won't regret it.

Go to our website, read our story and try some AdvoCare. You won’t regret it.

February 28, 2013
Categories: Uncategorized, Washington State, Weight Loss . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on Get Your Dreams Answered by Overcoming Disappointment

People Don’t Know They’re Fat.

Me and My 2 Oldest- Easter 2011

Me and My 2 Oldest- Easter 2011

According to a 2012 study 35.7% of adult Americans are obese, and 16.9% of kids 2-19 years of age are. Basically it’s like this, if you have two friends and they are fit and not obese…then it’s probably YOU.

The comment is offered mostly in jest, but also with the intent of getting to a point. People really are not aware that they’re fat. For some it might be denial, for some it could be something else. Like an alcoholic who believes their drinking isn’t a problem over-weight people will continue all the bad habits that created their lack of fitness until such time they realize they have a problem.

I know what I’m talking about. At 47 years of age I finally realized that I was fat. I always knew I was overweight, but I would always say I was only 20-30 pounds from my optimal weight and that wasn’t too bad.

My wife and I watched the movie “Flight”, starring Denzel Washington, a couple of nights ago. (If you haven’t seen the movie skip ahead to the next paragraph because I’m about to reveal some aspects of the movie which aren’t a mystery, but that you may not want to know about in advance of seeing it). Washington plays an alcoholic airline pilot who’s drinking has caused him some embarrassment, and a divorce. But for the most part he remains functional, with the help of cocaine. Because he is functional in many parts of his life he continues to deny he has a drinking and drug problem. He says, “I drink because I choose to”, refusing a girlfriends efforts to convince him that he drinks because he “NEEDS” to.

Washington’s character finally does realize he has a problem when continuing to lie about his problem would have destroyed the reputation of someone else. It was then, as his character put it, “he’s free”.

Call 425-687-0100 if you finally realize what I did.

Call 425-687-0100 if you finally realize what I did.

I’m not a psychologist. But in my understanding of the word “denial” that’s not what most people with destructive lifestyles or habits are dealing with. Whether it’s obesity, or drug and alcohol addiction, or slothful laziness; people are not aware they have a problem. A lot of times it’s because they surround themselves with other people with the same problems and they compare themselves favorably to these other people. They convince themselves I’m not fat. Look at so-and-so. Or they say, this is just how I’m made. “I’m husky”. “I have big hips”. Please understand…no you are not. You’re fat. And you are fat because of what and how you eat and probably because you don’t exercise enough. But most probably it’s what you are doing in the kitchen or at the dining table that has led to your lack of fitness.

Sonja Comparison

My wife and I were in the same boat. When I finally tired of my size and feared the threat of dying young like my Dad, my Uncle, and my Grandfather I didn’t think I had much to lose. I was introduced to AdvoCare by a long time friend who told me I could have six-pack abs. At the time I was about 245 lbs. and said I’d just be happy to drop below 230. I still didn’t get it. I swear, I don’t know how my friend avoided laughing out loud at me. AdvoCare opened my eyes. I lost 30 lbs. And even more, though I reached a weight I’d not been in 25 years, I can comfortably lose 10 more pounds and possibly 20. My wife has dropped nearly 40 pounds thanks to AdvoCare and acknowledges the reason she always argued against my efforts to get her to lose weight was that she didn’t think she had so much to lose. From my perspective I hear that and think she must be nuts. But my wife is no more nuts than I am, or any of the millions of other Americans who are oblivious to a condition that will shorten there lives, and in some cases drastically affect the quality of what short lives they have remaining.

Nobody will change the mind or create awareness for someone who is over weight, or dealing with other negative habits, behaviors, or lifestyles by criticism. Criticize the fat person and they are more likely to think you’re a jerk than change anything they’re doing. Be it yourself, or someone else, be kind in realizing or explaining the problem. As stated earlier more than 1-in-3 are not only over-weight, they’re obese. So they, or YOU, have plenty of company. Plenty of enablers. Plenty of excuses. If it’s you please realize there is no reason you can’t be the size and shape you were after high school. Realize it’s possible. It’s lived every day by most, MOST Americans. You can do it too.

We can help. Call us to get started today. 425-687-0100.

Thanks for visiting. Comments are welcome.

Lead your industry with video. Call us.

Lead your industry with video. Call us.

February 8, 2013
Categories: Weight Loss . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on People Don’t Know They’re Fat.

Uncommon Friends and What You Can Do Together

uncommon-friends-life-with-thomas-edison-henry-ford-james-d-newton-paperback-cover-art

A book I have yet to read and has long been on my GET list is called Uncommon Friends: Life with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel and Charles Lindbergh. It is a 1987 publication that tells the story of the close life-long friendship that existed between these five extraordinarily accomplished men as well as James Newton the book’s author.

It has long been my belief that if you surround yourself with enough good people and discard the folks in your life who have a negative influence on you, you can’t help but be successful. These five men written about in Uncommon Friends could hardly be higher in achievement. Ford, Lindbergh, and Edison need no introduction to anyone educated beyond the 6th grade. Alexis Carrel and Harvey Firestone are less familiar historical figures, but nonetheless accomplished. Alexis Carrel was a French surgeon and biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for pioneering vascular suturing techniques.  Harvey Samuel Firestone was an American businessman, and the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires, and early investor in Henry Ford’s Ford Motor Company. These men set high goals for themselves and met regularly through life to discuss how to accomplish them.

It’s not an uncommon thing to have friends who together and/or separately accomplish great things. I believe it’s not unlike a leaf on the water being caught up in the wake of a fast-moving rowboat or canoe and subsequently moving along the surface of the water at the same speed as the boat…at least for a moment. I frequently take my canoe to nearby lakes where I fish; though, rather than a leaf I’m far more familiar with a lily pad getting caught…not in my wake…but in my fishing line.

My family is blessed to have several extraordinary people, who have impressive, even great accomplishments on their resume’s. For a middle-aged guy, with a middle-income life, from a lower middle-income single parent upbringing my connections to greatness or near greatness are, I believe, unusual. My brother, just one year older than I, is a millionaire several times over. He travels the world. He sets up companies for public stock offerings hopping from company to company collecting stocks and equity as he goes. My sister-in-law is an attorney at Microsoft. She’s educated at Cal-Berkley. And has made quite a name for herself in Seattle philanthropic circles. My father-in-law, George Fleming, is a University of Washington legend. He was awarded MVP of the 1961 Rose Bowl while leading the Huskies to a surprise victory over then Number 1 rated Wisconsin. He followed that with a 25 year career in the Washington State Legislature.

But despite my family connections and their accomplishments my wife and I are not unlike most people. We are on our own. And while grateful for all the support and help we’ve received over our 25 year marriage, what we have accomplished or failed to accomplish comes strictly from our own efforts. We’ve never hitched our wagon to another high-flyer and joined them for the ride.

I thought of the connection between high achievers recently since I had a difficult decision to make. My wife and I got into the direct-sales industry through an incredible company called, AdvoCare, only 4-5 months prior to this writing. We did so after first enjoying the benefits of using the AdvoCare nutritional products. They were fantastic and literally changed my life and the life of my wife. Our health has not been so good since decades before. In determining that we would try representing AdvoCare we agreed to give it 3-6 months of effort. If the company, the products and the income were worth continued effort after that then we’d certainly give it.

A trip to AdvoCare Success School in Dallas, Texas in mid-February is fast approaching. Finances are tight. And if I am to go to Success School I’d first have to determine, in conjunction with my wife, that we did want to continue working AdvoCare as a business. And secondly, I’d have to figure out how to pay for the trip. Because though my company, Total Broadcasting Service, is and has always been profitable in its 8 years and my wife makes a good living outside of our company, the economy of 2009-2011 impacted us to the tune of high credit card debts. And catching up is tough. A trip to Dallas and two-day hotel stay would just mean more credit card debt.

We made the decision to go, to make the trip, to incur the debt and to continue to help people by introducing more and more of them to AdvoCare, in part because of my belief in our friends who got us into AdvoCare. (I’m not sure they’d want me to use their name’s publicly here. So I won’t. But contact me and I’ll tell you all about them) My friend, to whom I refer is someone I’ve known since shortly after he got out of college. In age, he’s about 10 years my junior. I worked with him for several years at the same company. I only met his wife in the past year. But it’s clear that she, like him is special. And I intend to benefit from the association. I intend to be taken up in their wake and pretty soon make my own wake.

My wife and I live what most would term an upper middle class lifestyle. But we can do a lot better. By better I mean more income, more vacation time, more money to help our grown kids, more time and money to help and care for more people, and a freedom to do things we cannot currently envision. My friend may not be Thomas Edison or Henry Ford or Charles Lindbergh. But then again. He might be. And if he is I intend to gain from it.

Some cliche`s come to mind: Familiarity breeds contempt. And A prophet is never known in his own land. Too often we allow familiarity to blind us to a person’s true greatness and thus deny ourselves of that which is great about a person because we know what aspects about them or their history aren’t great. When you do so you only hurt yourself.

Thanks for listening. Comments are welcome.

January 19, 2013
Categories: Business, Washington State, Weight Loss . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on Uncommon Friends and What You Can Do Together

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