Janne's Blog of Five Pillars

Cancun in your Life Cycle Plan

2010-05-12T14:40:00.004Z

A nice photo from the HBM in Timisoara last weekend. It was a great success. We received several messages after the training on how wonderful the experience was and what a great job Winnie did.

The next HBM in Romania will be in Bucharest at the end of June. I will be there. When will you attend your next HBM?

And remember to put a picture of Cancun on your Life Cycle Plan.

Some important choices were made here

2009-07-16T15:27:00.004Z

This was a great and interesting meal. Last month in Copenhagen, at Bella Center. Poor us, we had to eat through a whole range of choices for the Gala Dinner at our Convention, as well as sample lunch options for general lunch boxes and the VIP lunch.

The chef is the young guy in the middle. Dynamic, friendly and looks healthy in a Nikken way. Wonder if he's got a magnet hidden somewhere. I missed to pitch him. Too bad... we should always take the opportunity!

Anyway, the service and the food was great. I think you will love this. Something very tasty, well composed and actually regional in a way is waiting for you.

Come celebrate Rhythm of Life with us.

Our Wellness Office

2009-07-16T14:39:00.017Z

With the hoopla surrounding the "swine flu", every responsible company has to take measures. Whatever the reality is. Seems like GPs are very liberally labelling anything that comes with a runny nose and a high temperature as swine flu for the moment.

Anyway, preventing disease is always a good thing. And doing it naturally. Common sense and some good products would go a long way.

This is why every home should have an air purifier that not only gives clean, energised, ion-rich air. But one that also eliminated bacteria and viruses. Seems like the right thing to do. That's why our AirPower 5's are running all over the place at the office. It's good to come to an office with clean "forest" air - shinrinyoku.

At Nikken we offer a very generous staff discount to encourage our staff members to use the products. We have also always Jade Greenzymes available to staff for free. Today, we announced that Lactoferrin and Ciaga will also be supplied to all staff free of charge.

Here are some photos from around the office, just proving that people are "on the products"!

I found these on my PA Veronica's desk. Good girl!

Here is a Nutri5 box in our HR Manager's office.

I think she has this for lunch.

Phil seems to be sipping Ciaga during work hours.

Interesting stats on HRT - and US warning text

2009-06-22T13:21:00.002Z

Dr. Lars Hoye has spent more than 20 years researching soya. The recent years his studies have focused primarily on the effects on menopausal symptoms. In his findings are some quite interesting facts about the difference in Europe and the US when it comes to how HRT is promoted. The question is - why is there no statutory warning on HRT drugs in Europe?

Here are some interesting facts:

- The Food and Drug Administration in the US demands that a health warning pointing out the serious side effects is given out with each prescription of HRT treatment.
- American Doctors are not required to recommend HRT as the first option to treat menopausal symptoms
- The research results on HRT have resulted in a 70 % drop in use of HRT in the US since 2002
- With the reduced use of HRT in the US, the occurrence of breast cancer has dropped at the same rate!

Isoflavones are safe and effective

2009-06-19T15:38:00.000Z

Isoflavones are safe and effective, say academics

Studies in isoflavones demonstrating the “modest but valuable benefit for menopause relief” presented at a symposium of almost 20 isoflavone experts in Italy should dismiss animal studies that have questioned the safety of the antioxidants, according to the US Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).

Read more at Food Quality News

The way to celebrate your Silver day!

2009-06-16T21:57:00.004Z

Else Ekkelenkamp from the Netherlands did the right thing. The day she was told that our bonus run would be finished and we should be able to confirm her as a new Silver, she took her car, the ferry over the canal, and drove from the English coast to our office in Milton Keynes.

Having toured the office I met her and had a chat. The bonus run had still not been confirmed when she was downstairs in Customer Services. So we popped into my room, had another look and ... YES! There it was... proof of her having completed her Silver month. Just leaving my office Tony was walking by so... great chance to be pinned by our European Managing Director literally a few minutes after confirmation of being a new Silver!

I think she set a good example to follow. When are you taking your next pin? Why not come over and see us and be pinned at the office? Else is coming to the Copenhagen Convention of course... and will be recognized again on stage. Will you?

In the photo below two people are actually posing that were pinned on the same day, Monday 16 June. Anthony Chaplin, our MD earlier in the day received his pin for 13 years of service at Nikken! So congratulations to both!

Impressive Nutri5 start in Finland

2009-06-15T13:14:00.002Z

Germany, expectedly, was the number 1 country in Europe when it comes to Nutri5 sales in May. More surprising was the fact that the second biggest Nutri5 sales came from Finland!

A lot of great preparation has gone into preparing the Finnish market for the introduction of the product and the volumes may have been helped by the fact that the focus has been on physical retail sales of the product.

Anyway - well done for a really strong start!

Nutri5 sales - top 10 - May 2009

1 Germany
2 Finland
3 France
4 Switzerland
5 Norway
6 Sweden
7 Belgium
8 Austria
9 Denmark
10 Hungary

The Menopause Ambulance

2009-05-27T13:53:00.006Z

After great product launch meetings in Nürnberg and Budapest I return back to England with lots of new information, ideas, impressions and... amazement of the potential we have with Nutri5.

Dr Lars Höye did a series of marvellous presentations and I can appreciate our new product more fully now. Personally, I take it each morning, mixed in a hand mixer with some fruit juices, optimized water and a banana...

In Budapest we had many medical doctors in the audience, all seemed happy with the information they got and some very influential doctors decided to join Nikken after the meeting.

But how about this... In Hungary they have just launched a "menopause ambulance". There are TV ads about it, promoting a toll free phone number that you can call if you are having menopausal symptom attacks. They will connect you to the nearest hospital or centre with a menopause ambulance that will come an help you out!

Pretty cool, ha? But what an incredible amount of money this must cost. And all it takes is a shake or two of Nutri5 per day and the problems are history.

Another great start... this year's Conventions!

2009-05-18T08:56:00.007Z

The Paris Convention on Saturday 16 March went really according to plan. It was fantastic to see the great culmination of many month's hard labour.

Can't tell you many details yet, since we want to keep elements of the event a big surprise to you when you attend in Copenhagen or Budapest. But it was brilliant, energetic, fun, colourful.

The the left - this is what it looks like when you put 30 Pi-Mag water systems next to each other. Below some other photos from our preparations on Friday before the big day.

Register for the Nikken Rhythm of Life in Copenhagen or Budapest today!

Great start on our Search Engine Optimization for Nutri5

2009-05-07T14:40:00.004Z

The Nutri5 web sites rank very high on search results for "natural solutions for menopause" around Europe. In Sweden, Consultant and corporate Nikken sites completely dominate the first page of results. In Holland the results are equally impressive and in Germany our corporate Nutri5 sites rank at all positions between 3 and 8 and the top one is a yahoo video posted by one of our Consultants.

Network Marketing is changing

2009-04-29T08:39:00.002Z

Well the headline could be applied to anything. Everything is changing. Nothing stands still. But sometimes people tend to think that there will be a new "normal" state of things. There won't.
The playing field has changed completely, will keep changing and we need to change with it.

Network Marketing. The name implies two basic functions that must be fulfilled. The "Networking" part and the "Marketing" part. This combination has huge potential.

But the generic view of Network Marketing has been different. The bad reputation that the industry has at times or certain places is partly due to obsolete high pressure recruiting methods. Traditional, old-school sales techniques have been applied to the recruiting process, leading to too many people being "persuaded" to join. That is not a good starting point for a long-term business relationship.

I think those of us in Network Marketing could learn a lot to learn from professional networkers in other fields. Networking is the art of expanding your circle of influence by people. People know people. We provide services. We offer products, solutions and a business. There are enough people that need what we have for us to find the right people without high pressure selling.

That leads to the other point. "Marketing" has not been emphasized enough in our industry in the past. Since direct selling / network marketing has acted as a direct channel to the customer, companies have seen Marketing as a support function in terms of production of catalogues and brochures.

But the world has changed. Competition is much more fierce than it was a few decades ago. Now we also compete for people's attention and time. This requires a much more orchestrated Marketing effort from the Network Marketing companies, since not all networkers can be expected to be marketing professionals on top of being the networkers.

Our Nutri5 launch has been an important journey in redirecting the company to focus much more on the retail customers and their needs. This journey will continue and we will keep developing strategies and materials that help our Consultants to build their businesses more effectively. You perform the networking function and we help with the marketing function.

Your ideas and feedback on how this should look like in the future are most welcome. We are building the future now.

The psychological effect of Shinrin-yoku proven

2009-04-17T13:35:00.007Z

A study on "Shinrin-yoku", or forest air bathing/breathing, was published in Japan in 2006.

The study doesn't reveal anything that we don't already know. Science is often like that. Only a few years ago was it scientifically proven that stress has an effect on our health...

Anyway, in this study, the psychological effects of being in a forest and breathing forest air was measured. And surprise, surprise, people were considerably less stressed and more energized.

Self-evident maybe, but definitely a good reminder. I'm thinking when was the last time I was in a forest? Can't even remember. I'm sure there are some forests somewhere in the UK...

In 2007, a more detailed study was published in "Journal of Physiological Anthropology" where physiological as well as psychological effects were measured. They found that "sympathetic nervous activity was suppressed and parasympathetic nervous activity was enhanced in the forest area, and that Shinrin-yoku reduced stress levels." Blood pressure and pulse rate was significantly lower, and salivary cortisol concentration was significantly lower in the forest, among the measured criteria.

An earlier study done in Australia in 2001 covered the more abstract subject of "TRANSCENDENT EXPERIENCE IN FOREST ENVIRONMENTS". Quoted from the abstract: "The paper discusses broad classifications of transcendent experience in forest and considers the implications for understanding the spiritual meaning of nature. "

I don't visit a forest very often. But I plan to now, being reminded of their existence. So I will find some nice British forests for a weekend retreat.

But until then, luckily, I'm doing my shinrin-yoku every day, be it at work or at home. All it takes is an Air Wellness Power 5 Pro. And you have clean, energized, ion rich air.

Breathe!

Fake studies in the pharmaceutical industry

2009-04-16T09:37:00.003Z

It is a well-known fact that fake studies have occurred in the pharmaceutical industry, since "profit at any cost" seems to be a philosophy among the medical mafia as I like to call them.

Here is the latest, Sven sent me this link:

Probe into faked studies rocks medical community

Ban the mass hypnosis of fear

2009-04-15T15:32:00.002Z

People around you are going into paralysis mode. Don't just stay out of that culturally acceptable trance, but help to lift people out of it.

The media bombardment of how bad things are and how scared we should be is working. Sadly, we all can see this. But who is going to be the "local hero" who refuses the doom and gloom, who stands for something different and keeps believing in and offering an opportunity?

Is it you?

How will you make every moment count? And I am not talking about mass recruitment here. Not everybody is your prospect. Some people have to get out of misery and into a "neutral" mode first before you even want them in your business. And for some people the business you offer will never be the right thing for them. But you can still become the person who always provides value. Always inspires a situation. Like Michael Breen, a world-class NLP trainer puts it: "lift every situation to its highest potential". Do that as a habit. Benefits will follow.

And by the way. You urgently need to get out of the mass hypnosis if you are in one... and get into a better kind of mind set. Next week we launch our Nutri5 web site, releaset the bulk packs. Time to be too busy to worry about the econonomy! Go create a new one instead!

See you at the Nikken Conventions.

Talk and earn trust

2009-04-14T10:28:00.002Z

Lately I have been studying "networking" outside of the network marketing business. The truth is that a lot of businesses are entirely built around networks in a very similar fashion to network marketing. Especially when you look at one-person businesses such as consulting, coaching, training, public speaking and a lot of free-lance businesses of various forms. Many successful people in these types of businesses started with very low or almost no financial resources and investments. Very much like many network marketing businesses start with very little cash injected as the start. But what they did start with was an intention, an offering and people.

The successful ones managed to leverage their network. They spoke with people they already knew. Started serving them, communicating regularly with them, and asking for what they wanted. Business and referrals. Not pushing their services down people's throats. But letting everyone know what solutions they could offer and what type of clients they were looking for.

Some of these consultants, coaches etc are brilliant network marketers. They follow up. They listen. They regularly stay in touch. And they don't chase. They do inform. They ask "who do you know who might need this?" And over time they build an incredible foundation of trust and a steady stream of clients.

Network marketers should adapt some of the things these people do. One of the is using your "data base" or your name list properly. Another one is keeping your communications simple. Don't make prospecting into a "thing". Talk to people! Serve them. Help them...

There is great opportunity in the marketplace. Those who serve will continue to win. No matter what the "general statistics" about our economy say.

Be one of those winners.

Mämmiä!

2009-04-08T10:23:00.006Z

It must be 10 years since I last had some "mämmi", a Finnish Easter Tradition probably going back thousands of years... to the ancient times when all the Finns had to eat was pine trees, fish, rocks and rye. So it's kind of like a desert. But like a rye bread pudding. Served with cream and sugar to sweeten it up a bit. Quite an experience. Riitta in our Finance department brought some to the office today and us Finns are celebrating this fine tradition...

Anyway, Finland keeps going strong as a Nikken market. Year on year they build a stronger and stronger business. At end of March, our newest President's Club members Ilkka and Pirkko Noso (in the photo) joined me and the first Finnish PC members Jouko and Mallu Saarinen for the Finnish 3rd annual DSA Gala. It was held at the Grand Casino in Helsinki and we had some great opera themed entertainment with our nice dinner.

The Noso's have an interesting and inspiring story to share. Be on the lookout on the portal and the Summer edition of our Family Wellness Magazine to read more about how and why they did it.

Belgium is another market doing really well. In recent months they have reached a fantastic momentum and are basically doubling sales compared to the same month last year. Way to go!

Many Belgian Consultants will be recognised at the first of this year's Regional Conventions that is coming up 16 May in Paris. The Paris one is quickly selling out, so secure your tickets! Also, it is about time to secure your ticket for the Copenhagen one on 29 August as well and why not join us in Budapest on 21 November?

Order your Convention ticktes at: http://www.rhythmoflife.eu/

Reality lies in the perception

2009-03-24T09:43:00.002Z

Royal Diamond Oddmund Berger often reminds that "perception is reality". What we perceive to be true is true for us. The problem being that what we perceive may not, in fact, be true. So how can we know what is?

If reality lies (ambiguity intended) within perception - then how is that perception formed?

What we perceive as being a problem, or the truth, or the current situation, is formed by what we can perceive first of all with our senses, but also by things that have happened in the past and how we filter that information, as well as our general perception of life, people, our values etc... Our abstract ideas about how things work, should be, etc... all those generalisation (genera-lie-sations) are part of formiong the perception we have.

So what?

Well. First of all, we may need to clear our minds at times. And see beyond certain illusions. More and more, media is becoming a medium of mass programming. It has always been that way but the global impact of unified messages is bigger than ever. And the type of stuff that we are fed by media does affect world views. Is there anything else happening in the world except scandals, wars, "lack" of money (where did it go?) etc etc.... If you look at mainstream media... it looks like not.

Nothing new here. Good news aren't the stuff for media. And talking about lying... media companies like to expose liars when it suits them... but they don't hesitate to lie themselves to create that type of stories... so where is the truth?

Anyway... I think you need to create your own truth. Don't believe most of the "bs" that you are being presented as truths through the news. Question the intention of what is being said. What are we made to believe?

It's easier than you think.

2009-02-23T09:44:00.002Z

One of the most valuable lessons lately I got from listening to a podcast interview featuring an aikido master. This time it hit me. And the installation was done. He was giving advice on how to get it done right. His two comments were: "Releax completely. Be focused on your center." That was it. Makes total sense, sensei.

It doesn't just apply to aikido. It applies to everything. Even if you don't know exactly what you are doing. If you are trying out a new technique or charting out a new path, relax! You will notice more, have better access to your resources and... enjoy the process more. The results will follow. It will be easier to achieve more in a shorter time.

This reminds me of something Mike Lewis mentioned in Tenerife last year. That everything you need is within your grasp. Literally. Just ask. People keep their issues for themselves far too much. Instead, you could have 20 ideas on how to solve a problem if you just let people know what you are looking for. Or find the right person just by talking to people you already know.

That applies to network marketing. The Royal Diamonds you want to find are already connected to people around you. They won't know you are looking for them if you don't ask.

The heat is on...

2009-01-15T23:48:00.002Z

It's gonna get hot this year. Or actually some people with hot flushes are gonna cool down. But the heat is on since our new product is HOT and the coolest thing in direct selling since... direct selling. The right price, proven, simple, effective, life-changing, simple, easy to talk about, with legal claims... you name it, it's got it.

And by the way. Anyone can take it. It's all good. But you gotta wait a while. For the product that means. But don't wait before you find yoursel recruiting a whole new growing and dynamic group of people to mobilise for the launch.

This is going to be big.

Paris and back again

2008-12-04T12:53:00.005Z

Lots of interesting meetings lately. First of all, this weekend in Paris with a fully booked event for 400 people, featuring Dave Balzer and Dr Naidu as well as Dave Rolfe among the speakers.

Dave Balzer gave a great presentation on magnetics and Far Infrared Technology. Dr Naidu presented OsteoDenx. Then we went for a little tour of Paris, including a visit to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica where a Sunday mass was in full swing.

Yesterday I was back in Paris again. The third of our three Executive Sales Board meetings this week. First Copenhagen, then Munich and yesterday in Paris.

Productive, insightful, exciting. Next year will be fantastic. Can't tell you why yet... but we are going to shift gears and reach thousands of new people.

The importance of practicing the basics

2008-11-12T16:40:00.003Z

A common challenge in Nikken and any network marketing business is that many Consultants don't allow themselves enough time in which to build the necessary competence to be able to really build successfully. They get disheartened by their results far too early, even before they are even "half trained".

Compare with some other professions. Yes, direct selling is a profession. How long does it take to become a fully fledged doctor, teacher, football player, singer... you get the point.

Here is some interesting information from an article that I just read. The link is further below but let's look at this first.

"The 10,000-hours rule says that if you look at any kind of cognitively complex field, from playing chess to being a neurosurgeon, we see this incredibly consistent pattern that you cannot be good at that unless you practice for 10,000 hours, which is roughly ten years, if you think about four hours a day."

Wow! I don't think it takes nowhere near 10 000 hours to get good enough to be Royal Diamond material. But what this quote does show is how crucial this element is. It is not only about talent. For some people, their road to Royal Diamond could be those 10 000 hours of consistent effort. For some the journey is faster. But comparing to other fields does put the expectations in our industry in perspective.

Read the entire article here:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/11/news/companies/secretsofsuccess_gladwell.fortune/index.htm

There is also an interesting comparison of American and Japanese school children and a theory that work and study ethics could culturally be based on habits going back to the agricultural days and the different requirements in the West and in Asia. Rice growing is really hard.

There is also a great video on the subject:

http://money.cnn.com/video/ft/#/video/fortune/2008/10/20/fortune.colvin.talent.fortune

Or as our dear Dr Naidu puts it, "there are no geniuses, only hard-working people or lazy people".

Change has come.

2008-11-06T13:21:00.004Z

Actually change is happening all the time. Things change. That's the thing. The question is whether we are part of creating the change we want or just observing as things change.

Anyway, what has caught my attention is mr Obama's public speaking skills. Here is obviously a very clever man, sharp, thoughtful and great at captivating an audience.

One thing that he does more consistently than a lot of other speakers is to open up the "command module" in the brains of the listeners by his very repetitive downward inflections. Try it out yourself. Make a command statement and notice how the natural language process will be to end it with a downward inflection, like in "Now I want you to go asleep." But when you ask a question, it is upwards like in "Did you go to sleep?"

Leaders need to create followers and getting acceptance for your statements or commands is a key part of getting there. But a lot of speakers don't use everything they have at their disposal to get their message across. Sometimes their language is incongruent. George Bush is incongruent a lot when he talks. To the point where most people can tell when he is being quite liberal with the truth so to speak.

Other speakers do a fairly good job but not consistently. McCain is not a bad public speaker, but he is not excellent. Obama is excellent and what he does much more is use the tone of his voice to his advantage and especially in hammering home statements and sometimes embedded commands by these downward inflections.

I'm not saying that you should think about this when you are doing your presentations. Or... think about it.

New man in Norway.

2008-10-09T20:44:00.003Z

The Direct Selling Association in Norway selected a new Chairman today. After 15 years of service, Nils Jakob Moen decided it was finally time for somebody else to take over the reins of our industry association in Norway.

And with great timing.

Just like Jan Fredrik Torgersen once took over the helm at Oriflame Norway from Nils Jakob, becoming his successor as the Managing Director, he now takes over the Chairman position of the DSA.

After 10 years at Oriflame, Jan Fredrik is making a change and moving to a freelance position which frees up time to engage himself in this important position, to which he brings a lot of experience, ambition and passion for our industry.

So the vote was unanimous and all member companies wish Jan Fredrik good luck with his new appointment.

I guess this is the first media to break the news.... so ... for the latest... check out Janne's blog!

Why does it have a camera?

2008-10-07T15:33:00.002Z

I have wanted to post some great photos here from Romania and stuff. But ... why does my Blackberry even have a camera? It's really bad. The photos aren't really worth publishing and the phone can hold only a few images before memory is full. So about time for me to get a trillion megapixel super trooper cheese on top camera that can take some decent pics of our great people all around Europe.

I had a fantastic trip to Romania. What great people we have there! If you think you have challenges and you are in any other country than Romania, just stop complaining and get to work. You have no excuses. By the way... I just had to remind somebody that the best way out of a rut and having lost your "mojo" is simply to get to work! It's that easy. Hard... but easy. It's all easy stuff. Really. Think about it. Now do it.

HBM in Miskolc and a quickie in Oslo

2008-09-23T16:23:00.004Z

Budavár Botond is quickly improving as a new HBM trainer and I was happy to see him do a great training last Sunday, day 2 of Humans Being More, in Miskolc, Hungary.

Set in one of Hungary's best high schools, the training was in a very nice room that has seen many famous Hungarians from across all disciplines throughout the years.

Before landing in Hungary this weekend, I also had a meeting with a mr Tuborg (!) in Copenhagen, discussing the details of our Mercedes deal for Germany. The night before I had some meetings in Oslo. The photo to the right is from the main shopping street and the royal castle can be glimpsed in the background.

Sissel Andersen held the business presentation in the evening. Great job. Some very promising Consultants joined us that evening.

Next stop for me will be Romania.

When banks crash - look for the opportunity

2008-09-15T14:23:00.004Z

Interesting start on this week. We have been fed another chance to worry, reduce our dreams, conform to mediocrity... you name it.

Or not!

It is easy to be positive in buoyant times. The challenge is to seek the good, seek the opportunity, keep pouring it on when circumstances go mad. Forget about the circumstances! Actually don't. But forget about worrying about them. Adapt to the circumstances. A lot of people will be needing to make money. A lot of people will be needing technologies to keep them healthy. Worrying creates stress. Stress creates opportunity. Opportunity for those who see that everybody needs our products.

In turbulent times, a good night's sleep can do wonders. Give more people a good night's sleep. Give more people just that little bit of extra energy that carries them through the day and makes them excel even when "the economy" is down.

Just don't be part of it. I mean the economy that is down. Be up.

Create change.

Be a Wellness Warrior.... winning battles for the Five Pillars of Health.

Global message from the heart of Paris

2008-09-07T13:24:00.003Z

What a weekend! 800 people in Augsburg yesterday, more than 600 in Paris today. The tour is on!

Left you can see the nice view I have from my room. Photo taken last night as we arrived at the Hilton in Paris, where today's meeting is taking place.

Dr. Naidu is amazing. He surprises with an updated and improved presentation with some really cool features. And the guy was up early this morning (hence, so had I) and we went filming by the foot of this famous tower.

Bennett is now on. Another impressive man. What a message he has. Keep promoting Nikken On Tour and bring everyone you can.

Sharon Weinstein had an interesting journey. 24 hours delayed, she landed in Europe this morning, will be up on stage soon and then head right away for an airport again... next stop Oslo.

But ... with Nikken everything is possible!

Personal Mastery

2008-08-30T15:05:00.003Z

Cool stuff going on in Oslo this weekend. 110 people attending Personal Mastery by Klemmer and Associates, almost all of them Nikken Consultants on a roll.

Interesting similarities to our dear Humans Being More at places, and a lot of exciting material that we don't have in our classic training. I'm enjoying the victim-responsibility part tremendously and the 3 R's were brilliantly covered by the trainer Brian Miller.

But still more than one more day to go. Will be interesting to see also what the folks in Stockholm thought. Interesting processes for many of us. This might lead to some new opportunities...

Lots of love to you all.

The Five Pillars of Health

2008-08-13T09:15:00.003Z

Our global CFO visited us the other day. What a great guy! It's so cool to have somebody at the helm of the financial planning in the company, who is such an advocate for the company's philosophy and values. He referred to the Five Pillars on numerous occasions when we were discussing the business, different markets and some future plans.

Sometimes people don't bring the idea world into reality. Values, goals, ideals and so forth stay within the mental mapping of the world and don't interact enough with daily life, weekly plans and activities.

And we should. Life gets so much better when you align it with your values and you live every day based on what is REALLY true for you. And what is important to you.

And sometimes values change as we grow and change. As an example, Freedom used to be my highest value. Now it's Family. And I can see how that change has affected my decision-making, my priorities and how much more peace it has brought to my personal life. But that's me. For somebody else, the list of values will be different.

The Five Pillars of Health is a philosophy but it also lists five values that most people would put very much on the top of their lists. Healthy Body for example. A lot of people state this simply as "Health". Things become quite difficult when you don't possess good health. So what are you doing, every day, to improve your health?

Do you use the Nikken products as much as you could? Do you take the nutritional products? Do you get enough sleep? And do you get some exercise. The last one is something that a lot of people struggle with. I think the problem is lack of imagination. Put your Healthy Mind into work and find out great and fun ways to get exercise that fits your lifestyle and your calendar! Everyone can do it! I love starting the day with a run in my original, white CardioStrides. And I end the evenings with QiGong. When I stay at hotels with a pool I go for a swim. Or use their rowing machines. But I just cancelled my gym membership since I didn't find it exciting enough to spend time locked into an industrial looking facility with lots of iron to push, pull or lift.

And Healthy Finances... what a great concept. Sell one more product today. Talk to one more person today. Keep a portion of all that you earn and make it the starting point of your fortune.

We are a company with a great heritage. And the Five Pillars philosophy is more relevant today than ever. The world may seem crazy at times but as long as there are people like you out there, spreading a good message and making people feel good... there is hope.

Keep it up.

Recession? We are not joining

2008-07-31T14:41:00.002Z

Lot's of propaganda again about rising costs. Interesting how suddenly this hits us from every angle. Energy companies are earning billions and raising prices like there is no tomorrow. That will understandably worry some people. But can you see opportunity?

This time, decide not to join the recession. Create something else. Create the life you want to live. Create the opportunities you want to see. Ask a different question, look for a different way.

with NIKKEN you can create that alternative.

Join us in ignoring recession and bringing health and wealth to more people.

Next year's Conventions

2008-07-15T08:54:00.000Z

The venues have been chosen for next year's regional Conventions. Initial plans have been made and some kick-ass entertainment chosen to jump start the events and set the tone for a lively and fun day, celebrating achievements and recognising lots of Consultants for their great work.

We are confident that next year's Conventions, yes, you've heard it before, will be the best ever. But these really will be. I mean it. You should only know.... what we have planned for you... and feel a growing sense of expectation... like when you are really looking forward to something so exciting... and think about all the great friends you will meet again from different places... and all the cool stuff you get to see and an unforgettable party... have you decided to be there yet, didn't you?

Now... before you book your tickets, which should be available around 1st October... you can go ahead and book your seats for the Nikken On Tour in September, themed "The Science of Nikken".

And in the meanwhile.... WORK! I know it's summer but there are Tenerife tickets to be won. The race is on.

Or Egypt.

Or Convention tickets for those of you in Spain.

Or just money to be made and Wellness Homes to be created and people to help. So stop reading now and make that phone call!

The tour is on

2008-06-13T13:27:00.002Z

What a start to the Dr. Naidu tour, organised by Team Europa! The Amsterdam venue on Tuesday night saw some 200 people stay late for a lot of information on OsteoDenx and answers to queries about the product, after a very thought-provoking introduction first where Dr. Naidu showed the state of the planet and what challenges we are facing on a global scale.

This was also part of the message on Monday evening's conference call with Curtis Bennett. Probably the best conference call we have done so far. What a promotion for Nikken and our technologies from this independent scientist who was himself first a sceptic but proved to himself the power of our technologies by measuring the effects with his thermal imaging equipment.

Both men will appear at September's Nikken On Tour. You better be there!

Curtis Bennett joins conference call

2008-06-04T12:05:00.002Z

Next Monday, 9 June, we have the honour of featuring the gentleman on this photo (yeah, the guy on the left) on our Rhythm of Nikken conference call.

Curtis Bennett is a Canadian scientist who currently spends a lot of time imaging and providing information related to climate change.

Actually, he will be on a tour, visiting many cities to assess and give missing information on global warming.

However, the discussion on Monday will also be very specific to Nikken products and their role to a health life and a healthy planet. Curtis is the scientist featured in the popular DVD "Thermografix" where he proves the effect of some of our magnetic products through thermo graphic imaging.

Read his blog here, scroll down to 27 June 2007.

Join our call on Monday at 7 pm UK time:

Phone: +44 (0) 203 0032 666

PIN: 3096166

Keep it simple!

2008-05-09T11:25:00.003Z

Spending time with children acts as a good reminder to keep things simple, pure and to the point. Adults often tend to complicate things for no good reason at all. Maybe it's too much formal education? Too many abstract ideas in our heads.

Children are cool. They tell you what they think (until we teach them not to). They ask for what they want. And they are good at it too. Children go for it! And they should. It's their planet as much as anybody elses.

After years and years of trying to find a good "system" to keep all my task and time management in one, good place... I finally solved all of those problems. And the solution was simple. I have tried all sorts of time management systems, the Tony Robbins one, the FranklinCovey, the David Allen. But good, flexible systems to support those methods have been failing. Their softwares have been unflexible and with too many bugs.

What if we could use a tool that we already use, every day? For many people Outlook isn't powerful enough. And it has not been built to act as a good time and task management tool. But you can make it one. With a few clever settings, and a few simple skills, your e-mail client becomes a very useful and powerful task management software. No to-do-lists that grow out of hand, no problems with scheduling follow-ups, checking projects, goals, roles...

What I'm promoting here is Michael Linenberger's book "Total Workday Control" which teaches you just how to do that in Outlook without any plug-ins or other needed software.

The benefit? More done in less time. Peace of mind. More time to enjoy on the Family Pillar. Like playing with your kids.

And talking about keeping it simple. Remember to do it in your business. Talk to people and ask what they want. Provide them what they want. Believe in what you do and be excited. Your excitement is contagious. We can learn that from kids as well...

The transformation gap

2008-04-24T09:20:00.002Z

"You will spend most of your life in the transformation gap."

was one of the key messages that stuck in my mind after Nikken On Tour. Visiting four cities, Nikken was on tour specifically on the topic of network marketing this month. Our guest speaker was none other than Jerry "DRhino" Clark. And transformation meaning change and growth - being in the transformation gap means power.

With humour and incredible presence, Jerry made clear what it takes to achieve success in network marketing, mastering the three angles of the Success Triangel: internal communication, external communication and technical know-how.

The meeting in Paris was an incredible experience. The venue was sold out and the number of attendants exceeded available seats. Almost 600 people joined us on this magical Sunday with great atmosphere and a lot of excitement. On Tuesday, in Budapest we had around 200 people turn up and it was an unforgettable evening, as we started the meeting by pinning Hungary's first Diamonds Arpad and Zsuzsanna Bilibok.

You should have been in Budapest. The training was among the best I have ever seen. Both fun, energetic and very profound.

Powerful launch of new HBM in Finland

2008-04-09T08:23:00.003Z

The new format HBM was successfully launched in Tampere, Finland, last weekend. 44 participants enjoyed a very focused, streamlined and brilliantly delivered training by our Finnish HBM Trainer Kristiina Harju, who is also an experienced international leadership trainer, author and corporate coach. Actually, in just a few weeks time, Kristiina will be in Paris to accept an international award for leadership development.

Four Platinum couples were present at the HBM to support their teams and the entire training ran smoothly and all participants reported how beneficial they found the training.

Finland is a steadily growing market. Year after year they keep improving. Keep up the good work! And welcome to the next HBM in September!

Healthy Body - and what I do about it...

2008-03-26T16:34:00.002Z

The Five Pillars of Health is really cool. So simple but the more you allow yourself to focus on the value of this simple philosophy, the more it makes sense and the more you find yourself making subtle changes that gradually but powerfully impact your everyday life and bring you more balance and joy.

Like the Healthy Body. So where do we start? Nikken products obviously so you get good sleep, pure water and air, nutrition .... and so forth.

And then? Relaxation? It's so easy to go for your goals and stay productive all the time.... so you don't take the time to relax. Or when you get overwhelmed to find a distraction to bring you a temporary feeling of relaxation when you are really building up tension in front of the TV or on the internet.

When you could engage in the simple act of giving yourself a massage with the Magboy. Not having a partner around is no excuse. You don't need another person and the Magcreator to totally re-energize your body with some bumpy magnets. Just take out your Magboy and start. Work on your entire body and notice the difference. Take a few deep breaths. And stop thinking. About anything. Not even your goals this time. Your brain deserves a rest.

Exercise is a fun thing. Hard to get started but hard to stop once you have... Like somebody intelligent said: "everything is hard until it gets easy". Once you are in the habit of taking a daily walk or run in your CardioStrides, it will be easier to do it than not to do it.

This morning for example, after just a few hours of sleep in my Nikken sleep system and an intense week, I got as usual at 6 am (no 4 am pick-up for an airport today...) Looked outside the window. Had a sudden thought to stay in bed for an extra half an hour and skip my morning jog.... But what amazed me today was how easily that thought just disappeared. The new habit has taken over. It takes more effort now for me to stay in bed than to go for a run!

And it was such a good decision. I will benefit all day from my morning jog.

Just like you will benefit for the rest of your life when you follow the simple disciplines of activities that match your values, your dreams, your goals. Like talking to new people. It does get easier when you do it every day. After a while you can not not do it. So just do it.

The World's Longest Hug

2008-03-19T15:24:00.002Z

On Valentine's day this year, Paul and Sandra Gerrard from London achieved a Guinness World Record by clinging to each other for 24 hours and 1 minute in the world's longest hug.

Both were wearing Nikken products to stay strong and balanced while spending a well earned 24 hours together. Both of them had a life long dream of beating a world record and had been leading very busy lives.... so the idea of this hug was the perfect combination for them.

For those of you who have attended HBM.... 4 4 4 !

Jan Carlsson gets DSA Award

2008-03-18T09:41:00.002Z

Jan Carlsson from Sweden is one of Europe's most successful Platinum level Consultants. He lives a comfortable NIKKEN life style on the "gold coast" outside of Gothenburg, and enjoys leading his productive team with a very coaching-oriented approach.

On 8th March, Jan was awarded the Swedish Direct Selling Association's award for "excellency in direct selling".

Congratulations Jan! Keep up the good work. And thanks for the wonderful testimonial you gave on stage. Nikken rules!

News from Brussels - NIKKEN joins FEDSA

2008-03-06T17:25:00.003Z

Two new companies joined the European Federation of Direct Selling Associations this week. One of them was telecommunications company ACN and the other one is NIKKEN.

FEDSA is a lobbying organisation in Brussels with one aim: to protect the interests of the direct selling industry in the European political arena. The members really consist of the national DSA's, but big, international companies such as NIKKEN can also join as corporate members in order to get a first-hand view of what is happening in the industry, and also in order to contribute both financially and with direct engagement in the different issues.

Of course, we were courted by many of the DSA's that we have not joined yet. We are already members in the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Russia and Turkey, and applying in France as well as with the German UV-DV. But they all want us ....

It will be interesting to follow some of the issues that are currently on the table. More on that later.

From Brussels: Big DSA day

2008-03-04T16:22:00.003Z

Belgium is quite an interesting country. It has always intrigued me and I'm sure many others. Also in the Nikken world, sometimes overlooked or seen as an outsider. But then, suddenly, people from both language groups start creating momentum and Belgium starts to climb the charts of top European countries. Belgium did a great February and almost, almost beat Holland that we usually hear more about.

The business knows no boundaries, really. Romania climbed nicely in February, beating Denmark. Hungary had a great month and established itself clearly as the third largest market in Europe after Germany and France.

Writing this in central Brussels, waiting to meet delegates of FEDSA, the European Federation of Direct Selling Associations. This is the industry organization that does lobbying for us directly at the EU level. They are doing some good work, including a recent study that really supports the industry and has been presented to EU politicians. Most national DSAs are members of FEDSA, but also some large, international companies as corporate members. We are applying for membership tomorrow and it will be interesting to hear what happens in the corridors of Brussels when it comes to Direct Selling.

Also tomorrow, our application for the new German counterpart, UV-DV, will be handled.

So by the end of tomorrow we might have joined two more strong forces to promote direct selling in Europe.

Speaking of which, the very active and well managed Swedish DSA has its annual gala in Stockholm on Saturday. NIKKEN is of course represented and there will be photos from the event available here soon.

The Rhythm keeps beating

2008-02-24T07:42:00.002Z

Another Rhythm of Nikken weekend has successfully gathered a few thousand Consultants together all around Europe. Now spreading also to countries where we have not launched the Rhythm events officially, events took place in 10 different European countries this weekend.

I had the privilege to visit one of the first Swedish Rhythm events - taking place in Stockholm. Well done everyone - you did a perfect job!

Now just keep going for the next 90 days and let's then celebrate our successes!

Congratulations Rosa!

2008-02-20T14:31:00.002Z

We have a new President's Club member! This time from Spain.

Rosa Montenegro Bernardez joined Nikken in 2002 and she lives in Pontcuedra. Rosa's business is international in the Spanish speaking world...her strongest leg being in Guatemala.

This is our second Spanish PC member. Rosa will be joining Sakita, who was one of Europe's first Nikken Consultants, to represent Spain.

Nikken products around the world, part 2

2008-02-18T13:29:00.005Z

Did you read my earlier blog entry about the Nikken Wellness Home products in a beduin village in the Israeli desert? Here is the second one in the series, part 3 to follow very soon...

The lady in this photo is Helen Turton who recently went on her skis to the South Pole. And as you can see in the picture... wearing something Nikken.

19-year old George Bullard, son to a UK based Nikken Consultant, happened to be on a conservation expedition on South Georgia Island, where he met Helen and gave her the sports bracelet which she said gave her "boundless energy".

George by the way will be using some Nikken products himself on his next expedition, a 1400 mile round trip walk across Greenland, the longest unaided walk ever to be undertaken in the Arctic. Visit http://tisogreenland.wordpress.com/expedition for more information.

And when George returns from Greenland, he intends to sign up as a Nikken Consultant!

The accelerated game of life

2008-02-13T13:38:00.004Z

Network marketing is sometimes called "the accelerated game of life". It is an opportunity to experience, learn and achieve success faster than in almost any other endeavour out there. It also points at the personal growth curve that can be very steep, and the emotional roller coaster that can be a source of frustration or fun depending on how you look at it. But if you stick with it, committed to learn from your experiences, you can't avoid experiencing quantum leaps of personal change as a result of building your business.

This, I find one of the most fascinating aspects of Nikken and the way our business is conducted.

Last weekend was no exception. Actually, it was one of the greatest reminders. The HBM in Amsterdam was an incredible learning opportunity. We have an amazing weekend, at times challenging, definitely emotional. But very rewarding. Only those who attended can understand and appreciate this.

Attend the events. Don't miss the opportunities to get insigths, meet old and new friends, and to develop the relationships you already have even further.

Humans Being More is a great opportunity not only to increase your awareness of yourself, where you are and where you want to go. It is like a mirror of life. It is also about building profound relationships. And that is they key not only in our business. It is a key to living a fulfilled life whatever your goals are.

Thank you everyone who attended this weekend for sharing a memorable experience. I look forward to seeing you soon again. Why not at the Nikken On Tour that is coming to Amsterdam in April...

Listen to Dr. Naidu on Lactoferrin on Monday!

2008-02-07T16:15:00.000Z

Dr. Naidu, one of the most brilliant scientist walking upon this earth, with an impressive list of discoveries and developments behind him, is the guest speaker of Monday evening's Nikken Conference Call.

Dr Naidu's research covers a wide array into:

Microbiology
Immunology
Cell Biology
Pharmacology
Biochemistry
Molecular Genetics

He will be presenting Lactoferrin Gold, one of his breakthrough developments, and answering to any questions on the subject.

On 14 April, he will appear on our conference call again, this time about a revolutionary product that has been clinically proven to incrase bone density.

Nikken Conference Call:

Monday 11 February, 7 pm UK time / 20.00 CET

+44 (0) 1452 550 883

(Our conference calls are broadcast every first, second and third Monday of the month with different topics)

In April we shall see you...

2008-02-06T16:20:00.000Z

In April we shall see you ... not only is there a huge Convention in Oslo taking place with great guest speakers such as Big Al and Brian Klemmer on top of all the Nikken leadership. Three great days, organized by Royal Diamonds Morten and Sissel Andersen and their team for all Nikken Consultants in Europe. Please find the details on their comprehensive Convention web site at: www.conv2008.com

Nikken On Tour brings you the latest in terms of Nikken's Vision, launch of new Wellness Home Packs, training and inspiration. Guest speaker Jerry "DRhino" Clark will not only effectively sell the big picture of what you can achieve by buildling your network marketing business, but will also provide a training workshop. Tickets are now available!

Nikken On Tour will be visiting Stockholm (18 April), Amsterdam (19 April), Paris (20 April) and Budapest (22 April).

All details on the Nikken On Tour website: http://www.nikkenontour.eu/

We bring you the experts

2008-02-05T08:47:00.001Z

Have you attended the Nikken Conference Calls lately?

The first three Monday evenings of every month we bring you the experts. The network marketing professionals that publish books and materials and do trainings around the world. People like Jerry "DRhino Clark, Tom "Big Al" Schreiter, John Milton Fogg and Art Jonak just to name a few. We provide you with insights and training from world-class sales trainers such as Michael Oliver and others. And more importantly, you hear directly from Nikken Consultants who have done it. European and North American Diamonds, Royal Diamonds and Royal Ambassadors as well as those Consultants that have newly achieved new ranks or been top recruiters or retailers.

Yesterday's call was so good. John Milton Fogg was interviewed by Sven Cirnski. I just hope more people would have taken the opportunity to listen to one of the most famous profiles in our industry being interviewed in a Nikken call.

Well... you do get the chance to download the audio file a few days later. For information on coming conference calls or audio files from past calls, visit the Rhythm of Nikken web site.

"There are no geniuses"...

2008-01-17T11:21:00.001Z

"There are only two types of people; hard-working people and lazy people." That was Dr. Naidu's response to the comment about him being one of the true geniuses of the scientific world.

So we were visited by a hard-working man with a tremendous history of scientific discoveries on our Kick Off in Tenerife on 9-15 January. The whole event was a remarkable success as Gran Hotel Bahia Del Duque on the Adeje coast filled up with Nikken Consultants, management, staff and guest speakers, creating a lively and fascinating mix of people. Did we have fun? You bet. Did we learn anything? Well I sure did. More than expected.

One of the dearest memories for me will be getting to know Dr. Narain Naidu. What a friendly, relaxed and fascinating man. Let's not even go into his credentials. There are too many. You can read all about what his company does on the web site: http://www.nterminus.com/. I look forward to his new book, published this fall on a very fascinating subject...

Not only is his product Lactoferrin Gold 1.8 a top seller with Nikken. In May we will be blessed to be able to launch his latest development, another global breakthrough product.

Dr. Naidu is back in Europe in April (Convention in Oslo) and June (a product launch tour). Make sure you take the opportunity to hear from a ge....a hard-working and truly inspiring scientist.

On the photo below, Felix Puzio from Team Europa, Dr. Naidu (sitting), Christine Scharrer-Nagel (Royal Diamond from Germany) and Cuno Müller (Diamond from Switzerland).

2007-12-10T09:24:00.000Z

Any home can be a Wellness Home

The lady on the left is a Silver Consultant, presenting products to this bedouin man in an Israeli desert. He is a Senior Consultant, happily sleeping on a Nikken sleep system, and in his village, there are already several new sign-ups. Isn't it amazing how the message of Wellness reaches people everywhere! Thanks Dalia Bergsagel for the photo!

Direct Selling and the EU

2007-11-20T11:02:00.000Z

Is the EU's stance on Direct Selling softening? After previous concerns on legislation and where the European harmonization would take the Direct Selling industry, there are now some signs that give hope to the Direct Selling community that EU politicians might be realizing the value of what we have to offer.

According to Richard Berry, the Director of FEDSA (The European Federation of Direct Selling Associations), the European Commission now supports Direct Selling due to how the industry supports three major areas that are high on Brussel's priority list:

- Coping with worsening job security in EU
- Widening gender attention to female and older age
employment and self employment
-The need to improve the business skills of the EU
population and encourage entrepreneurial activity.

Which other industry could support this better? And add to this the wellness concerns of an aging population and you have one company that is perfectly positioned - Nikken.

A recent Socio Economic Impact Study conducted, in co-operation with FEDSA, in seven EU Member States, by the international market research organisation, Ipsos MORI involved interviews with 2800 direct sellers and the companies with which they worked.

Ipsos MORIs study reveals that over 83% of these direct sellers are women, 70% are aged over 35 years and 30% are 50 years old and more.

Richard Berry states:
"This age profile is higher than those in conventional employment in Europe - a fact that is now appreciated and welcomed by the European Commission. Another valuable research finding is that 70% of all the direct sellers interviewed, for whom direct selling represents their first experience of business, reported that it significantly improved their lives and personal development. This is crucially important in encouraging entrepreneurs."

The study follows new FEDSA research which shows that directselling is now a € 20 billion industry, offering opportunities to nine million independent direct sellers.

To be the most respected wellness company in the world

2007-11-11T18:16:00.000Z

Mr Bob Richards, President of Nikken Global, inspired us all this week with his powerful message. With meetings in Turkey, the UK, Holland and Hungary during the last week, he met with hundreds of Consultants and shared his vision for the company:

"To be the most respected wellness company in the world."

Simple, powerful and backed up by numerous strategic initiatives, this vision is what guides Nikken as we proceed into a new era of growth and momentum. Sales are up, recruiting is up and excitement is building. Nikken has never been better positioned to take opportunity of the wellness revolution and the distribution revolution, two forces that are shaping our society and changing the way we work and do business.

One of the supporting pillars of this vision is the creation of the Nikken Research Institute. The activities of the Nikken Research Institute include publishing white papers on topics related to complementary medicine. You will hear much more of the institute in the future, I'm sure...

Below a shot from one of our several meetings in Apeldoorn, Holland on Wednesday 7 November.

More money

2007-11-11T09:32:00.000Z

There we go again! You have sold thousands and thousands of Sports Bracelets so that we can give another big donation to Autism Speaks.

Our contributions are doing a lot for this charity and their representative expressed their sincere gratitude on Monday 5 November, when President of Nikken Global was in Milton Keynes on a visit and we took the opportunity to hand over the second cheque to Autism Speaks.

Over 20 000 EUR this time again, totalling our contribution to more than 47 000 EUR. Well done everyone!

But we are not only contributors of funding. Autism Speaks has also started to do research on how our products can benefit the quality of life for those affected by autism.

Rhythm of Nikken DVD - almost there!

2007-10-26T13:10:00.000Z

The first DVD production for our Rhythm of Nikken events on 24 November is coming to its glorious end. After a few reviews and amendments, it is starting to look really good.

Providing an introduction to many of the ideas and concepts of Rhythm of Nikken, as well as news and information on products, promotions, incentives and what is happening in the world of Nikken in general, the DVD is the "framework" for the Rhythm of Nikken events and makes it easy for the host to keep his or her event together.

Mixed with live appearances on stage such as a Gold Panel, a success story by a guest speaker and recognition, the DVD gives the events a uniform look and feel and makes it possible for us to reach thousands of people across the continent with the same corporate messages - face to face.

We are already planning the second DVD. But first---- join the Rhythm of Nikken events on 24 November!

Humans Being More in Budapest

2007-10-04T07:54:00.000Z

Great weekend in Budapest with Humans Being More

The weekend of 29-30 September became memorable for many people, me including. Around 55 attendants participated in an HBM training at the Novotel Zentrum in Budapest with brilliant trainer Kjell Nilsson and our wonderful interpreters Zoltan and Laszlo.

This was the best HBM I have seen so far and a good indication on what is to come as we update and renew the concept next year, bringing in some fresh, powerful exercises. The spirit of HBM will be the same but the impact event more powerfu. So look out for more information on an upcoming Super HBM Launch Weekend!!

2007-09-11T10:18:00.000Z

What is this man doing?

Felix Puzio in action, working a few of his seven laptops to produce yet another brilliant show.

The Wiesbaden event last weekend was a great success. Thanks everyone for joining. Super speakers. Good to see Sonnenburg again, in top shape, after his world tour over summer.

Felix was awarded a prize for his outstanding service as a supplier (Team Europa) for many years. Well deserved.

We also announced the deal with DaimlerChrysler. In fact, the German sales manager for fleet cars was there to meet us and announce that they wanted to increase our discount on their cars with an additional 5 %! Thank you... this co-operation will surely prove fruitful. We already have the Nikken SmartCars as you see in a photo below. Now an army of Nikken cars will soon be out there in the form of some of the nice new Mercedes-Benz models.

Finally...some impressions from Gothenburg

2007-09-03T09:27:00.000Z

Yeah, yeah I know I'm late with this one but it was a busy week following Gothenburg. Right over to another event in Luton and then full speed ahead.

We did have a great weekend though. Great show. Sven did a great job as MC and all Consultant speakers were brilliant. We has such a good time that our plan to leave the party early... well, didn't happen.

470 sold tickets, we almost hit the 500 we aimed for. But a great start of a productive autumn period with two more months to go for joining us in Tenerife in January!

2007-08-23T16:15:00.000Z

This is where it starts

Here we are planning the first Rhythm of Nikken DVD that will be sent out to all the event hosts in advance of the 24 November Rhythm of Nikken events. These new quarterly events will eventually roll out to every corner in Europe, but we start by establishing them in the UK, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria first.

Around 15 events will take place in November and then the events will just grow and grow by numbers and countries...

Tony Chaplin, our MD at the left, then Phil Woodcock in charge for Operations and Marketing, John Bradford in the middle, who is our new copywriter, and then Wendy Bradley, from Marketing and very skillfully in charge of the production of this DVD, then me.

Join our events in November! They will be ... grrrreat!

2 days to go!

2007-08-22T21:14:00.000Z

Interesting things to be revealed in Gothenburg on Saturday. We have just agreed a deal with DaimlerChrysler that will benefit Nikken Consultants that want to take part in the car programme. We will be introducing the Rhythm of Nikken.

Products coming later this year will be revealed.

We'll have a great show ... see lots of inspiring speakers.

My old friend Jerry Clark will be there to do what he does best. Just seeing him is worth coming to Gothenburg this weekend.

So... we still have a few tickets left to sell at the door. Come to Gothenburg and join us!

Inspiration from Dublin

2007-08-20T08:36:00.000Z

Thank you Joan O'Callaghan and everyone else involved in organizing the Irish Showcase Day on 19 August!

This was an inspirational day with presentations of Nikken, the Wellness Home, great testimonials, recognition and an introduction to the Rhythm of Nikken. The Irish lot were also the first ones to see the images of the upcoming new TriPhase bracelets that will be available in about a months time.

On the top image, our keynote speaker Mark, who is blind but that didn't stop him from being an Iron Man athlete, running a marathon on the North Pole, on mount Everest, running the equivalent of five marathons in one week in the Gobi desert and many more amazing feats. Next to him Irish Consultant Peter Keehan.

Middle photo is of Joan O'Callaghan herself, a great host of the event who really put in some hard work and care to make sure the day was a success. Bottom photo - some of the attendants. Two new Silvers of the Russian community in Ireland. Analoty, the man on the right is an Olympic silver medalist in boxing and now also a Nikken Silver!

Nikken Europe donates 26 271 EUR to Autism Speaks

2007-08-07T21:37:00.000Z

Here we go! Recently we were visited at the office by a representative for the charity Autism Speaks. We were happy to be able to present quite a cheque to this noble charity, 26 271 EUR, based on a very successful launch of our new Sports Bracelet. Well done folks!!

You've promoted this amazing TriPhase technology product so well that we've run out of stock several times. Big shipments are expected to refill our stock later this month, so we can keep selling this good looking product that also makes you feel good!

We look forward to presenting the next cheque. I'm sure it will be even bigger!

Nordic top leaders meet in Copenhagen

2007-08-07T20:34:00.000Z

1 August - Nordic top leaders get together with me and Tony at Hilton Copenhagen to have a look at what the rest of the year has to offer, plan together and for us to get valuable feedback from our great leaders on the field who are changing the world one Wellness Home at a time.

The Executive Sales Board is our most exclusive "club", by invitation only. How to get there? Well... qualify for President's Club first... and keep going... and we'll see!

Recruiting in Paris

2007-08-07T20:30:00.001Z

Again... weather was perfect when I crossed the channel to spend a day in Paris. Was glad to leave rainy Britain to soak some sun by the Northern Station in Paris, a nice lunch at the Brasserie Terminus and good meetings with the top candidates for the job as Regional Network Development Manager for our French language markets.

One of the candidates seems very promising and is now scheduled for a visit to Milton Keynes to get more acquainted with the company and for further interviews. If all goes well... our team will be strengthened by another skilled person who will contribute to make Nikken even stronger.

Viva Espana!

2007-07-25T13:34:00.000Z

Big excitement over Spanish plans

Hola! From a great meeting in Milton Keynes this week with Spanish leaders.

The Spanish market is rockin' and rollin' and the next big event to shoot for is the Madrid Expo on 22-23 September.

Some added support is now planned with materials and customer services in Spanish is now up and running!

Thanks to Team Spain for visiting us and good luck on your efforts to create even bigger success!

Hasta... soon!

Enough water

2007-07-24T08:56:00.000Z

Do you drink enough water? The magic of Nikken Pi-Mag water never ceases to amaze me. It really is good stuff and something I miss a lot if I happen to leave home without the portable Magna-Tube for turning any nasty bottled water into easy-to-drink, good-for-you living water.

We have had a lot of water in the UK lately. Rain, rain, rain. To the point where this weekend it's been flooding. A lot of people affected quite dramatically. My share was only having a very long journey home on Friday night - seeing a lot of new scenery - since roads were blocked at several places. I was riding in a taxi and I don't know how many extra miles we did but we surely toured the countryside and finally made it home...

Next day I was glad to watch Victor Bischoff do an HBM training in Stanmore on the outskirts of London. It was great to see all the Pi-Mag water systems and Optimizers lined up.

Expecting visitors from Spain today! Sakita, Diamond and one of Europe's first Consultants, is coming over with a group of Spanish leaders who are really reviving the market and have created momentum there!

Enjoy your summer - hot or not. Did a trip to Brussels last week and it's interesting how the weather changes as you cross the English Channel. Great weather on the continent. UK ... naaah...

Nikken corporate planning the 2nd half of 2007

2007-07-11T08:05:00.000Z

Your corporate team planning some good stuff for the rest of the year

Here we are. Spending an afternoon at the office going through targets and plans for the second half of 2007. Good times are ahead and we are very busy preparing for the Rhythm of Nikken, new products, new business tools, improving operations, updating trainings, you name it. Nikken is changing and we have cancelled all vacations to serve you... well not all vacations but activity does not slow down the middle of summer in Milton Keynes. If we only could have some more sun... to provide some variety when we look out the windows. We kind of know what rain looks like by now.

We have a lot of us Finns here at the office. Don't know how that happened but it's great to have some "sisu" at the Nikken European headquarters. Here you see one of them, Marketing Executive Mari Daly presenting the support of the Marketing Team for the Rhythm of Nikken concept. She is really excited about it and very focused on the needs of our Consultants. As mentioned, good stuff coming, all released during the next coming months.

Tenerife contest for more countries!

2007-07-02T14:27:00.000Z

Good news to Consultants in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (German) and Hungary. Tenerife contest running as of ... well now!

Cancel your vacations and get your Nikken business booming so you can join us in the sun at Bahia del Duque in January! Visit the web site of this great hotel at: www.bahia-duque.com

You find the details on eNikken.

Holland rocks!

2007-06-27T21:08:00.000Z

If you want to see enthusiasm, go to Holland! The Dutch Nikken Consultants livened up the Stansted convention in May, a week later they added spice to the Paris event organized by Jean-Marie Gilbert and the Desroses. Last weekend they had 48 pumped up Consultants at an HBM and there is a new one coming up soon.

I very much look forward to trying our new 2 day format BDT in Busum next week.

Today, a leadership meeting with Platinum Danice Dorrepaal, Diamond Reini Beverdam and their team of key people. Tomorrow morning I meet Jo, Ann and Jantien at Schiphol airport. Also a very committed team with great leadership.

There is great promise for growth for Nikken in Holland. Keep going, guys! We believe in you and will support you all the way to the top.

Greetings everyone from Amsterdam.

Janne

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Polish eNikken coming...

2007-06-18T23:26:00.000Z

Csesz!

Great news for all of you who are looking into building in Poland or already have started recruiting on the Polish market. We are in the final stages of translation and proofing of eNikken to Polish and it will be released in a matter of days! Also... you can look forward to the launch of some nutritional products early fall. Finally!

Poland is a market with huge potential for the right person who takes leadership there. A lot of materials for Poland is in production and next we will be translating and setting up the Connect web site for Poland.

Another great event in Wiesbaden

2007-06-18T08:57:00.001Z

Wolfgang Sonnenburg did a splendid presentation in Wiesbaden this Saturday, just before leaving for his 2 month tour of "the beaches of the world". Enjoy Bahamas, Hawai, Florida and California, Wolfgang!

Gert van Briel, Diamond Consultant, did a fantastic job as a host of this business workshop. Christiane von Bredow gave a very inspired presentation on water. I don't know how many times I had to fill my water glass while she was explaining the importance of drinking a lot of PiMag water... but it did fell really good afterwards! Drink more!

This was the first time we gave a thorough explanation of the upcoming Rhythm of Nikken. I pointed out the benefits of the tools and concepts in development to support an orchestrated , company supported approach to building the business that will take the German speaking markets by storm and lead our success to new heights in the months to come.

This was also Steffi Heim's first official appearance in her new role as German Network Development Manager. She did it perfectly of course. Then we had to leave for the airport to embark on new adventures.

See you again next month! On 14 July, Sven Cirnski will join the show as a guest speaker.

Gunhild did it again!

2007-06-14T20:09:00.001Z

Congratulations to Gunhild Haga from Norway for doing it again! She has won all our incentive trips lately, includong a double win to Dubai when there were very few winners from Europe.

Now Gunhild is the first one to already have qualified for a first ticket to the Kick Off in January 2008 in Tenerife, at the fabulous Bahia del Duque.

You can also win your ticket to participate at the event on 12-15 January with half-board service at this luxury hotel. The competition runs until 31 October!

See you there!
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Nikken on YouTube

2007-06-14T09:09:00.000Z

I found myself on YouTube the other day... while searching for Nikken. It's the interview that was made after the events company who helped us produce the European Convention 2006 in Amsterdam had won several awards for the production.

Find this interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTGJU8HLohY

Tony forwarded this one to me, a clip about the Wellness Home:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKRLh6M_7GE

Another great evening in Germany

2007-06-13T10:15:00.000Z

The second event featuring Prof. Zacharias was a great success. This time we were in Munich and we also got to see Royal Diamond Claus Nagel use the new business opportunity Power Point from Nikken. He did a brilliant job presenting the business using this new tool. The presentation is still in a test phase while we are updating some of the images for Europe and doing a final check on translations and so forth... But soon you will all have access to a great new presentation tool that I'm sure will help you in your recruiting.

Thank you all for attending. See you in Wiesbaden on Saturday!

It's a small world after all...

2007-06-12T08:46:00.001Z

I bumped into Lars, a colleague from Amway, on Friday again. We always meet by luggage belt no 6 at Copenhagen airport after having been on the same flight from Heathrow. We even share the same executive travel company to drive us from Milton Keynes. Lars is doing really well, great guy. I just had to warn him about climbing the hills of Kullaberg in southwest Sweden which he should be doing today. Summer in southern Sweden doesn't start properly until a Dane falls off the cliffs there, usually with a fatal result! I guess Denmark is too flat for them to be able to cope with even the tiniest Swedish cliffs.

Steffi and I are on our way to the office right now. Good ol' Gary, the same driver that drove Lars on Friday is taking us there. Good traffic conditions today, the M1 can be horrible. Well, it is going southbound. Big accident and traffic just standing still but we are heading north.

Last week on return from my Hamburg trip, I called my sister. She works as a flight attendant and had just landed in Helsinki. She told me she had been in Hamburg for two days. Had she read my blog which I updated from a restaurant there, she could have joined us!

Small world...

I don't know what the bridge is here but I guess it is that there is no such thing as a co-incidence. Reminds me that I had the most amazing experience of the "law of attraction" a few weeks ago. You will have to ask me personally though. But the bridge here is to recruiting. The people are out there. They need you. They need the products and they need the business. Is it your fate to find the next Royal Ambassador? Create that fate. Go talk to them!

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Planning great momentum

2007-06-08T07:42:00.000Z

Some really groovy things are going on here... we are planning the future of the business. Specifically the next generation of business support from Nikken to our Consultants.

This fall English and German speaking countries will be the first to experience a new "rhythm of the business"... The Luton event on 26 August sparks this off and in November you will see more...

From left, me, then our Operations Manager Phil Woodcock who is also Head of Marketing, then Mari Daly, fellow Finn and Marketing Executive and on the right our Managing Director Anthony Chaplin.

4,2 million new Consultants!

2007-06-07T12:40:00.000Z

Professor Michael Zacharias is the leading academic authority in Europe in the fields of direct selling and especially Network Marketing. He has been teaching a course in Network Marketing at a German university for years and is the author of the definitive source book of information about our industry.

On 6 June Professor Zacharias was the guest speaker at a Nikken presentation. From a purely scientific point of view, based on his studies, he pointed out the enormous potential for recruitment of new Consultants in Germany. To match the US levels of number of distributors in network marketing companies as percentage of the population, Germany needs 4,9 million people in the business! Today the figure is around 700,000 which means there is 4,2 million distributors / Consultants to recruit for Germany to even match the US levels. Then we are still not comparing with the markets where the penetration is the highest in the world, countries like Taiwan and South Korea.

Also the statistics on the percentage of the population that is positive to buying through network marketing was good news. The potential is huge. The timing is right. Let's go get our share of those millions of Consultants and create even more millions of Wellness Homes!

Nikken on Channel 4

2007-06-06T19:59:00.001Z

My excellent PA Donna Russell just emailed me that Nikken products were featured on UK television tonight. PiMag Maxi, Air Power 5 and our life changing sleep system were shown as part of a "healthy home". Finally some intelligent content on "the electronic income reducer" called television. With this type of shows I would even take up TV again... By the way, Donna should be elected the PA of the year. I will certainly nominate her.

Emailing this from a dinner with Felix, Steffi and Prof. Michael Zacharias in Hamburg. They send their greetings, we had a great meeting tonight! Pics on my blog tomorrow, or check out Steffi's or Felix. Links below.

Don't miss München on 11 June and Wiesbaden on 16th.

Janne
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Our new recognition web site

2007-06-05T15:01:00.000Z

It's finally there! Our Nikken recognition web site is now functional and loaded with photos of all of you that have sent them to us. Can't find your photo? Make sure you e-mail them to recognition@nikken.co.uk

Please note that we have only uploaded those people so far whose photos we have on file. All the rest of the names will be up there very shortly, as soon as we have attached pics of the corresponding pins to their names... so within days or a few weeks all of you will be listed that have achieved new ranks or other achievements since our Amsterdam Convention last year.

Have you booked your tickets to this year's Love Life - Live Nikken - Nordic Convention yet? If not, please act now! The event is all in English so you might want to attend even if you are not one of us Nordic folks.

Yesterday we spent a good deal of time planning some really cool stuff to be launched later this year... maybe I can mention a few more words about it tomorrow...

My Team - Your Team

2007-06-01T09:28:00.001Z

Here you see some of the good looking and terrific members of my team... dedicated and professional guys and gals who work hard to support all of you out there who are making a difference through the Nikken products, technologies and business.

From left; Rod Greenwell, Training Manager and Regional Network Development Manager for UK, Ireland and Holland, Sven Cirnski, Regional Network Development Manager for Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, Telsche Reed-Simpson, our Customer Services Manager, then me, then Steffi Heim (welcome Steffi - good to work with you again!) who is the new Regional Network Development Manager for Germany and Poland, Felix Puzio from Team Europa, and the lady on the right is Gabrielle Haubner, Retail Business Developer and Regional Network Development Manager for Austria, Switzerland (German part) and Hungary.

We are still looking for a French speaking person to join our team... If you know anyone with direct selling experience, both from the field and corporate, is based in France, Belgium or Switzerland, and loves communication, training, challenges and is passionate about Wellness... let us know!

Check out the blogs of my team members and follow their adventures all around Europe!

Sven Cirnski has a Swedish language blog...
Steffi Heim has a German one...
...so does Gabrielle Haubner
...as well as Felix Puzio

Adventures in the World of Wellness

2007-06-01T09:00:00.000Z

Welcome to my new Blog of Five Pillars. Stay up-to-date as I travel the world of Nikken, live the philosophy of Five Pillars of Health, visit events, meet Consultants all around Europe and share my experiences from our mutual effort to create ONE MILLION WELLNESS HOMES by the year 2010.

When you want to know more about the Wellness Home and how it can enrich your life, you simply visit www.nikken.co.uk/connect or www.nikken.com. It's amazing how easily you could improve your life starting today by incorporating the latest Wellness technologies into your life.

Who shouldn't breathe clean, energizing air in their home or office?
Why wouldn't you sleep better every night and wake up feeling totally relaxed and recovered?
Why wouldn't you share these opportunities with others and start your own business in the booming Wellness industry?

Be back often for the latest news!