MLM - Network Marketing Blog

My Brother on YouTube

No kidding, this is my brother...

Be Strong - Follow Up

A couple of close friends contacted me about my Be Strong Sunday Scripture posting.

They wanted to know if I was O.K.

When your friends assume that something is wrong because you post a verse from the Bible, that's bad and funny. These friends know that I am a Christian so you wouldn't think that a Bible verse would be that far fetched.

I called one of them back and said, "Can't a brother blog some scripture on a Sunday?"

And, we laughed.

Anyways, the verse was printed on the back page of Joe Magee's memorial service hand out. It was one of his favorites. I thought it was a good verse and wanted to share it with you.

Be Strong

Ephesians 6:10:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Joe Magee

My friend that passed away on Wednesday was former Quixtar/Amway Emerald in World Wide Dreambuilders and current Univera LifeSciences Diamond, Joe Magee.

Joe was a winner and uplifter in every area of his life and he was like an older brother to me in Univera, giving me ideas and encouragement.

Joe's enthusiasm and infectious laugh touched thousands and he was well on his way to reaching the highest level (Blue Diamond) in Univera.

God bless you, Joe Magee. You will be missed.

Joe was 43 years old and apparently died of a head injury as a result of a fall. He was in incredible shape.

A Good Friend Will Be Missed

A good friend of mine passed away yesterday. He fell while helping his mother move and hit his head. He insisted he was fine and when his wife returned home, she found him passed away.

He was 43 years old and in great shape.

I will post more later.

Texas, Cows and Starbucks

I got into Dallas, Texas today for a couple of Univera meetings and stopped by a Starbucks to check my email. As I looked out the window, I saw cows and horses, literally 100 feet from the Starbucks. That is pretty much a first for me...a cow standing a rocks throw from the front door of Starbucks.

It's pretty cool, really. Dallas is a big city so it's not like I am in the middle of nowhere.

I will be in Dallas until Friday afternoon. If you are a blog reader and would like to meet me, feel free to email me at ty (at) tribble.org. I make it a habit of buying coffee for any and all blog readers that look me up when I hit a city.

What Do You Value?

Ann Michael has a great blog on change. If I wanted to deal with and/or make some changes in my life, I might spend a few hours reading Ann's blog. Here is a recent post:

What do you really value?

My Cubicle

Thanks to On The Road With Dave via Aaron at Home Biz Today:

My 30 Seconds of Fame

Dane Carlson of the Business Opportunities Weblog interviewed me for his 30 Second Interview Series. The question was:

One man’s trash, is another man’s treasure. What product or service have you imagined would be a good business opportunity, but you’ve rejected because it’s too off the wall?

My answer.

Future Business People

My wife and I were having coffee with a group of people from our church and I noticed my kids (on the right) reading in the window seats of the coffee shop.

My son, Tyler just turned 6 and is starting to pick up words and read short books while I have to force my daughter, Emma (almost 9) to go to sleep at night because she won't put down her book.

I'm not sure if the camera phone pic will show the detail, but my son is reading the Wall Street Journal. Sweet.

Merry Christmas

I want to take this moment to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Luke 2:4-6

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Setbacks In Life

Pastor Mark Driscoll via The Seattle Times:

The barren apple tree in my front yard has become one of the most powerful metaphors God has ever delivered to me.

The tree had not been pruned for dozens of years and was so overburdened that its branches had drooped to the ground, producing but a few small sour apples. A friend recently pruned the tree so severely that the branches became stubs with no green leaves left at all. He explained that the tree, while traumatized, would again blossom and bear much sweet fruit.

His words reminded me of one of Jesus' parables about gardening and life. Jesus said that people, like trees, grow wild and, without pruning, become sick and unproductive. God is the gardener who prunes us back into health and fruitfulness.

The shears in God's hands include failure, hardship, discipline, suffering and illness, which can leave us in such shock and pain that we are unable to see ahead to better times. Sometimes the pruning simply hurts like hell, and keeping a positive outlook in the face of such trauma can seem hollow and trite.

Read the good news.

U2, Iraq, Human Rights, and the One Campaign

As Bono from U2 was making a connection between the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights and the One Campaign, my mind drifted to Iraq.

I'm not 100% sure that we went into Iraq with all of the information we should have but I get the feeling that anti-Iraq-war protesters have selective memory when it comes to human rights in Saddam's Iraq.

As promised, here is article 1 from the Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

I placed a banner about the One Campaign on the side bar of this web site. If you believe in the words of Article 1, take a moment to check out it out.

The ONE Campaign is a new effort to rally Americans to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. Each ONE of us can make a difference. Together as ONE we can change the world.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

After living in the United States for 35 years, roughly half of that time attending school, it took a U2 concert to alert me to this 1948 declaration:

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."

PREAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

I will be posting the articles (1-30) in the coming weeks as a semi-regular feature here and at my Work At Home Dad Blog.

Back and Well Rested

I am back from vacation and will begin regular posts tonight.

We stayed at Los Olas (the waves) and boy did it live up to the name. Los Olas is right on Costa Azul, the number one surf beach in Baja, Mexico.

Where Do You Think?

I guess I am a 6 percenter. Most of my brainstorming type ideas come in the shower, while the "thrown" is used for reading.

From Monster Blog via Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities Weblog:

"According to a recent study, 81 percent of people had their best ideas outside of the office. Top places for idea generation? The car, in bed and socializing. Six percent of us have our best ideas in the bathroom."

Money Back Guarantee

If you don't laugh at this, I'll give you your money back.

Be Back Soon...

This season is very busy for me. I promise to be back posting regularly soon. Don't just sit on your thumbs staring at the screen. Go read the archives.

Taking a Short Break

I will be back in the middle of next week. You can amuse yourselves by reading the archives or by trying to sell a Quixtar product at the retail price.

Kareem's Seven Signs of a Scam

This article comes from Aljazeera.com.

Dr. Kareem Bin Jabbar's Seven Signs of A Scam:

1. Advertisements for "envelope stuffing", "mail processors" and "home typists".

2. They're asking for a fee.

3. Job listings with typos and ALL CAPS.

4. The job description says, "no skills or experience necessary!"

5. Vague or non-existing job description.

6. No contact information.

7. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Happy New Year!

I wanted to take a moment to wish you all a Happy New Year.

"Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past."

-Henry Ward Beecher

Merry Christmas

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope that you enjoy the time with your family and I wish you all the best in 2004.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, I ponder some of the things that I am thankful for such as my family and friends. I don't mean to make a list of all things that I am thankful for but I am thankful for this outlet to share my thoughts and opinions with you. I am thankful for the Internet, where I found this picture under "Thanksgiving" and I am thankful for humor.

Mr. Peabody's Apples

I just finished reading a book to my daughter titled Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna, yes that Madonna.

The book is the second of five in a series of books that Madonna is writing for children, with proceeds going to children's charities.

According to the inside cover, the book is about "...the power of words. And how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to others."

Today I witnessed some name calling on the weirder by the minute MLM Survivor Yahoo Club. It seems that as long as you align yourself with the thinking of the people that run the board, you are apparently free to abuse anyone that doesn't align themselves perfectly with the MLM Survivor world.

Now I am not up on a soap box to say that I have never verbally abused anyone on a message board, I have and I can be pretty good at it. Going forward, I am going to try chose my words more carefully and think about the impact on others. But I am astonished at what is allowed to be said on a message board that touts itself as a place for healing.

I don't want to spoil the story of Mr. Peabody's Apples, but it has to do with thinking you know someone, telling people what your perception of the person is, and then having your perception turn out to be completely untrue. Perhaps we can all still learn from a children's book.

"It doesn't matter what it looked like. What matters is the truth."

- Mr. Peabody

Diddy Runs the City

The post today doesn't have anything to do with Network Marketing it has to do with Rapper Sean Combs, aka P Diddy. Today, P Diddy will run the New York City Marathon in hopes of raising $1 Million for "Daddy's House", a non profit that offers the following programs to inner city youth.

- Weekend Boys and Girls Club: Provides academic tutoring and life skills training to nearly 800 boys and girls every weekend througout the school year.

- On Wall Street: Three week course that teaches the fundamentals of teh stock market and practical financial skills.

- College Tours: A three week tour to various colleges for high school seniors.

- International Travel Groups: Offers students an opporuntity to travel to coutries such as South Africa and Ghana and learn about trade, culture, commernce, and international relations.

- Sleep Away Camps: Provides a retreat to summer camps on upstate New York for nearly 200 children every summer.

The other charity that will benefit is the Children's Hope Foundation, that works to improve the quality of life for children living with HIV and AIDS as well as New York City Public Schools.

Further information can be found at DiddyRunsTheCity.com

I have to admit that I don't really listen to Diddy's music or wear clothing from his Sean John clothing line, but I do admire the work he is doing with these charities.

Follow Up: 'P Diddy' Raises $2 Million