A lifestyle of the rich and famous is a common image projected by many network marketing leaders. It is extolled in video presentations. It is acted out at “major events” held in exotic resorts. It is seductive…a heady experience. We attend in droves, in hopes of an epiphany on the road to riches. We listen to the dream, with hopes the dream now includes us.
These sessions do inspire and encourage…but, if what follows is financial and relationship stress arising out of unreasonable business expectations and overextended expenditures, the inspiration backfires. A promise of vast, easily-acquired wealth, is seductive and destructive; both for the new person, and for the leaders who are under pressure to uphold the persona.
A Roadmap to Corporate Consciousness click larger image
corporate mindshift: management
CHANGING ONES OWN MINDSET CAN BE CHALLENGING – BUT CAN YOU SHIFT AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION?
If you have ever tried to make a lifestyle change, perhaps to exercise more, eat healthier, spend more time with loved ones and less time at the office, you know what a challenge it can be just to make a small change in behaviourial patterns.
If you think it is challenging to change behaviours, consider how much more challenging it is to make significant mental or consciousness shifts, for oneself, and particularly, for an entire organization.
Introducing Kiva.org, a Web 2.0 company focused on connecting generous contribution with the creative potential of those living in poverty. Kiva’s mission is simple: “to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.” I had the pleasure of listening to Co-Founder Jessica Flannery speak this past weekend at Jubilee in Pittsburgh. Her speech offered two valuable insights:
1) A glimpse of hope -the poor of the world have the talent and creativity to become self sustaining…all they need is a boost in the form of capital
2) Advice – on how to realize the dream of any company, Kiva’s Story has something to offer to all of us.
Today, we are celebrating the significant acts of two groups of people who are making a difference – first, a group of Canadians doing, 1 million right things...and secondly, 2500 Australians, who peacefully stood up for their beliefs.
My usual approach to this Friday post on Consciousness, is to recognize the inspiring efforts of an individual who is committed to doing something special to make a difference on the planet. We call this person an enlightenor. They are, typically, someone who is quietly going about doing the right things, for the right reasons.
It is exciting to see groups of people coming together – one dream – one team! On Wednesday, February 4th,2009, a Canadian team reached its goal!
We mentioned the great program, PopTech, last week. If you haven’t watched it yet, here’s another excellent presentation from the October 2008 conference. Debt-crisis expert Juan Enriquez diagnoses and prescribes a reasonable 10-point remedy to America’s pressing financial ills.
Juan calls it a “systemic problem“. Please understand what he means. Only if you do, can you be informed and educate your elected officials who you hired to act on your behalf. For all of our sakes, please listen carefully, then follow up at PopTech.
Do you have your head around what “our” Federal Reserve Bank, mortgage bankers, financial “experts” and insurance executives have done with derivatives? $531 trillion???
BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT MONEY REALLY IS AND HOW IT’S CREATED?
I like the quote from Andy Warhol, “They say time changes things but you actually have to change them yourself.” One of my best life lessons was coming to the realization that when I changed the way I looked at a situation – the situation itself seemed to change - when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change!
IT’S NOT HARD TO PREDICT, NOW THAT WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE
Thirty years ago, not many people were looking forward to this transition. Not even a few year ago. Otherwise, books like Michael Mandeville’s 2003 book, The Coming Economic Collapse, would have been best sellers.
Now that we’ve experienced the last quarter of 2008, detailed info what what comes next is available online if you want to read it.
Our focus is help folks get through the mess, but also to realize that life on the other side will be much different, and can become very positive and life supporting. Each Monday we’ll try to post a few articles touching on the immediate 2009 economy, what comes after the meltdown, and how to survive and thrive with your business.
Economist Paul Krugman was one of the few voices of dissent during the early Bush-2 administration when most everyone was in lockstep.
Welcome to the first Monday edition of Global Trends, focused on what’s happening today that is turning your life on its head. We can’t ignore it any longer. If we bury our heads in the sand, there won’t be any sand left within months, not decades.
“THIS IS GOING TO BE A HARD TIME”
PopTech (The PopTech story) has begun a series of video interviews, Diagnoses and Prescriptions: Global Economic Crisis. Here’s an insightful one with Robert Borosage on what to do to fix things.
Have you ever wondered about the real environmental commitment of hotels with those little cards telling you they are concerned about the environment,“so please don’t ask us to change your towels or sheets daily”… and then, they fill up the bathroom with little tiny packages of toiletries that get partially used -and then, become landfill?
Well, Greg Salloum, property owner, Best Western Inn, in Kelowna, British Columbia is an exception. This man is sincere and dedicated to his commitment to the environment and has spent the money to prove it.
It has happened again, not once, not twice, but three times, in just the past two days. I cringe at these current reminders of why people hate network marketers. It makes me want to scream out for all of you ethical, relationship-oriented network marketers out there, to stand up and demand professional standards, no different than any other industry or professional organization. That is an important step in professionalizing any emerging industry. When a code of conduct is laid out, and association standards agreed upon, the industry finally gains the credibility it deserves.
enlightened organizations: global trends: inspiration
“The Aura of the Lake”
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CONSCIOUSNESS TIPPING POINT
Since the US Presidential election, I have been contemplating that moment in history when your country exercised their Free Will and made a statement for change by choosing Barak Obama as President-elect.
Many people have since focused on the shattering of the ethnic glass ceiling as the most significant outcome of this election. But, I think, there is something else, more profound, and of greater global significance, that happened. To use Malcolm Gladwells term, I think the historic implication of this event is that we hit the “tipping point” on Consciousness.
enlightened organizations: global trends: inspiration
Conscious Business-3
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FROM “TAKERS” TO “GIVERS” – SLIDE 3
Whether you currently have a business, anticipate starting a business, or want to invest in a business; we believe this model will help you pick the winners!
Abundance, Inter-connectivity and Consciousness are the main characteristics of the emerging economy. Today, I present the third of our trio of slides explaining our TAO of Conscious Business(tm). You can use the links below to review Slides 1 and 2.
Vancouver, British Columbia’s, Alisa Smith, free lance writer and journalist, and partner J.B. McKinnon, author, challenged themselves to a one year mission to eat only locally grown foods from a 100 mile radius of their Vancouver home as a statement in support of the environment and local growers.
How do you decide if you should use network marketing to distribute your goods or services? Or, how do you decide if this industry is where you should build a business, as a source of either full-time or part-time income? What are the benefits?
Direct selling or network marketing is an industry that needs some clarification. In these blog posts, we aim to assist the reader in making these decisions by providing factual, unbiased information.
A big shift in all our institutions, businesses and governments is underway. The old power regime is struggling to retain control but, as in any evolutionary process, it must adapt or be replaced by a more adaptable system. In this discussion of Slide 2 of our TAO of Conscious Business(tm) trio of slides, we point out a few of the symptoms that confirm for us the decline is underway. Click to review Slide 1
Over the years, we created and managed a lot of websites for clients, and focused on creation of MutualGravity’s software platform, leaving some of our own sites to collect dust.
Until a few weeks ago, VanAmburgGroup.com was untouched since 1999. Yet that was our public presence, our 24/7 communications with the world. If you saw the old site, you probably thought we were on a long cruise or something.
Steps Count www.stepscount.com is a small Ontario company with huge inspiration. I have chosen them as the first company I want to profile as an exemplary Enlightened Organization. Located in an office building basement, off the main street in Deep River, Ontario, a little town 2 hours north of Ottawa, it is nothing like any basement office you have been in!
Our Thursday blogs are dedicated to a discussion of the network marketing industry, what it is, and what it may offer as a model for the future economy. We welcome comments and debate!
Network marketing is a six decade old industry which, in terms of the life of an industry, makes it not much more mature than a teenager – and like most teenagers – it is incredibly misunderstood. It is a model we want to pay a great deal of attention to because we think it has a great deal to offer for emerging marketing methods.
Speed of change today is exponential. In just a few hundred years, civilization moved through an Agrarian Society, an Industrial Society; and within that Industrial Society, a Manufacturing Age and an Information Age.
Since we began VanAmburg Group in 1977, we have worked with thousands of clients, mostly in North America. During those 30 years, we learned a few things, and developed a few more. Within confidentiality limits, we’ve decided to share many of them with you. Every week over the coming months, we’ll add multiple articles, templates, case studies, interviews with thought leaders and CEOs, and tutorials, along with trends and analysis on everything at the intersection of research, planning, marketing and technology.
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Ending the culture of financial PRETENSE
