The importance of practicing the basics

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.

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.

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.

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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?

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.

J

HBM in Miskolc and a quickie in Oslo

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

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

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

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

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

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.