Category: N21 Era

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Another successful trip around the sun & love to Ken & Mary Elizabeth Christopher

Metaverse, NFT’s, Decentraland, dAPPs, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, Open Sea, wallet, dashboards, Covid-19, corporate buyout, pitch deck, body build, help the most around the world. Personal development, change, asking better questions, learning more of what I don’t know, understanding self, facing fears, staying in the now, defining intimacy, exploring the existentialism of death.

These are some snippets of what I have thrown on the wall while making some semblance of where I am at this time in the universe.

NFT Minted on Open Sea 2022https://opensea.io/assets/0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e/6789577114579760123006053497339153147295769668730186707121067491401769418753/
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First the exam, then the lesson

Ken Christopher made his transition on March 27, in a hospice unit of Grand River Hospital. Ken had a profound impact on my life. From introducing me to Peak Performance and the Phoenix Seminar to years of mentorship in developing a global Amway business, Ken, along with Mary Elizabeth became lifetime friends and confidants.

I remember sitting in the house on David St, in Elora, ON, and reading Success Magazine. Somewhere in the back advertising space was an ad for Brian Tracy Learning Systems in San Diego, CA. It listed a toll-free number. It occurred to me that perhaps I could sell Brian’s training material in Canada.

Brian’s sales material had come into my life by way of one of my sales reps at Lambda Crystal. A well-skilled sales rep gentleman out of Toronto, named Keith Howard, had loaned me a bootleg set of sales tapes by an unknown speaker.

Keith had been a senior buyer for People’s Jewellers in Canada, and also helped me design and buy a diamond wedding ring set for Molly McGregor – paid $7500, valued at $15,000. The tapes Keith loaned to me were on the Psychology of Selling. I transcribed a twelve tape series on my first laptop during a Montreal Gift Show in a gorgeous hotel in a Montreal suburb in the Quebec lake area, circa 1989.

After applying some of the skills I learned from those tapes, I increased sales in the subsequent gift shows that year by four and five times previous results – from $40,000 to $200,000 in the fall Toronto Gift Show. Molly did the same in Edmonton. The process invigorated Lambda Crystal and sparked 40% growth, year-over-year for many future years.

I learned Brian Tracy was the lecturer on those tapes. Shortly thereafter, I saw a set of tapes on my brother, Mike’s, bookshelf, still in the saran wrap. it was called the Psychology of Achievement on twelve tapes, by Brian Tracy. I borrowed the tapes and began to digest the material back on David St. in Elora.

I remember well the day I sat by myself, listening to those tapes and answering a set of questions, Brian posed, on finding a major definite purpose in life. One question was if you only had six months to live, what would you do? I remember thinking what if it was six hours, what would I do? My immediate answer was that if I was not with my loved ones, I would get to them as fast as possible, or call. It then occurred to me that if that is my value, why am I spending so much time away from my family to build my businesses?

Now back to the Success Magazine and the Brian Tracy Learning Systems. I gathered the courage to call the San Diego office to determine if I could get some Canadian rights to Brian’s material. I spoke to a sales manager. He told me that if I wanted to learn about Brian’s material in Canada, I should contact a guy by the name of Ken Christopher, who lived nearby in Kitchener/Waterloo. I soon called the number given and spoke to Ken for the first time.

Ken introduced me to the Phoenix Seminar by Brian Tracy as a corporate training tool. What separated Brian’s video-based, facilitated, workbook and audio program from other corporate training I had seen was its conciseness, duplicatable, multi-person approach to building the person to foster a more self-aware employee.

I went on to form one of my corporations to sell the program in Canada to corporations, Performance International. I sold over 40 programs and facilitated groups of attendees, including my daughter Mary and step-children Miranda and Michael.

Incorporating the personal development journey throughout my life has been a major focus and joy.

Ken & Mary Elizabeth as change agents

Ken & Mary Elizabeth with Molly & me in Hawaii, Kauai

One day I was at Ken & Mary Elizabeth’s on Beachwood. I noticed a box of Double X on a counter. I had heard of Double X as the Cadillac of vitamin supplements. I asked Mary Elizabeth where I could buy some as I was already taking a daily supplement.

She said to me, that depends. Do you want to pay retail for wholesale for it? I retorted that I avoided retail as much as possible, being in the wholesale giftware business. She said I can get these for you at wholesale. And, that’s how I became an Amway distributor, sponsored front-line to a Diamond.

Not long after, I sold a line of crystal giftware into the Canadian Amway catalog and went along with the Christophers to tour the Amway head office and factory facilities in Ada, MI. As a manufacturer, I was very impressed with their technology, distribution warehouse, and the enormity of their manufacturing capability.

I was there when Ken & Mary Elizabeth made the decision to join Network Twenty-One in Grand Rapids. Molly & I went on to become Q12 Platinum producers for five years running and were recognized in the top 25 Platinum producers in North America repeatedly.

Our business stretched into seven countries and I, along with a couple of close friends helped launched Amway India, but that’s a story unto itself.

Looking back over fifteen years of developing business with Ken & Mary Elizabeth brings only smiles of joy. They lived with us in Fergus while they were between houses. We drove together to Florida many times for seminars and to visit them in their Bradenton house on the golf course.

I am unable to count the weekend seminars we went together to. The weekly open seminars we developed together in several Ontario cities. The hours we spent with them along with other N21 leaders. Whenever Ken & Mary Elizabeth needed our help, Molly & I were the first ones to volunteer to help out. They poured their lives into ours and we poured our lives into theirs. It was always a win-win relationship.

Sayings from Ken. This too will pass. If anybody can do this, you can. You are looking for the people who are looking for you. Never leave the people who don’t need you. Always arrive early and stay late.

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Remembering Jim Dorman

In June 2004, Molly and I were asked to pick Jim Dornan up from the private airport terminal at Lester Pearson International.  We were given the tail number of the private plane and found the entrance to the secured area.

Upon arrival at the counter, I asked if they could tell me what time the flight was expected to arrive.  The agent said we don’t know.  This is a private airport.  I said, OK, then can you tell me what time this tail number was expected to arrive because surely they would have to file a flight plan.  Without looking up, she said, sir, people like the Rolling Stones do not want anybody to know when they will arrive. That’s why it is called private.

We watched as Jim’s plane came in and landed.  We were told to get our minivan and drive out onto the tarmac to the plane to get the luggage.  Now that was awesome.

When we returned Jim to the airport, his pilot came over to the lounge where we were, yes, lounging, and said, we can leave whenever you are ready.  Now that’s the way to fly when you are ready.scan0040

Jim’s passing

There is a lot of life wisdom encapsulated in Jim’s Blog at the following site that some of you may already be following:
Here is a profound eulogy from Doug Wead:
Here is an unofficial bio of Jim and Nancy’s accomplishments in the world of Amway:
Tribute Video to Jim & Nancy’s Network of Caring initiative:
Additional videos:
Job well done!
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N21 Speaking

One of the many things that I learned well, through practice while developing a large Network Twenty-One organization, was speaking in front of large audiences. It started in small meetings and grew into larger groups. My skills were well noted by the cadre of Network Twenty-One. It wasn’t long before the organizers asked for me by name.

One Business Building Seminar was being held in Connecticut in 1999. I was excited to speak on the east coast of the States.

You can hear my talk, some life story, and some training on business development.

https://youtu.be/C5Qe-MdrLZg

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India

When I was in sixth grade, age 12, I created two drawings that were selected to adorn the school walls during parents night – when parents came to meet the teachers and discuss how their child was progressing.

One of the colored drawings was of a Northwest Mounted Policeman on a house. The other was of the Taj Mahal. Interesting that I came to live in Canada for most of my adult life, and traveled to India for two and a half months to develop an Amway business.

My travel to India began when I sponsored my good friend Pankaj Chand into the Amway business in Canada. It must have been in the summer of 1995. He was referred by a nurse who worked at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener, ON. We hit it off immediately. Pankaj, and later his wife Rose, and son Arun have been in my life since, much to my blessings.

In a quip, I mentioned to Pankaj that India would someday be open for Amway development. He stated that when it did he would go there to develop business in his country of heritage. Without so much as a thought of what it would entail, I said, “Well, if you go, I will go as well”.

The date of Amway opening business in India became a reality in May 1998. Pankaj, Rajeev, and I traveled to India to prepare for the opening in March 1998.

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Rajeev and wife to be, Suzy at Toronto airport getting ready to board our first flight leg to London. Rajeev and Suzy had recently returned from Disney World. I had asked Rajeev to purchase three Micky Mouse hats to bring with us on our travels, which he did. When we arrived at Heathrow in London, we were required to disembark, clear customs and board a second plane to India. While standing in line to access the second plane, I ask Rajeev for the hats and the three of us placed them on our heads. As the line approached the security check, the officer could be seen stamping passport documents and then look up to peer at the three of us in line. We were in suits and everyone else was adorned with India garb. We stood out beyond comparison. As we finally reached the guard, he stamped our passports, then could not contain himself any longer. He burst out with, “What are you doing with those hats?”. Being as we were in England, my plan had gone completely noticed as I calmly remarked, “We are the three Mousketeers. traveling to India”. Although he saw the humor, he had to contain his amusement as he just shook his head and said please pass.

Nothing in my previous travels throughout S. America and Mexico could have prepared me for what became my India excursion. Upon arrival in Delhi, Pankaj and I booked a hotel, while Rajeev went to stay with relatives in the area. Here is a picture from our hotel room the first morning.scan0197 Pankaj did his best to help me acclimate to the sights, sounds, cultures, and extreme time change in the first couple of days before we went in separate directions across the country.

The day we arrived, I went to the American Express office to obtain some local currency. As the teller handed me my cash, he said, “Happy Birthday!”. I was dumb founded. How could he know it was my birthday, so I asked him. He flatly stated, that is the day your American Express card expires. The look on my face must have given away my chagrin. He said, you do have your replacement with you do you not? I had to confess that in the chaos of preparation, I had not opened the mail that contained my replacement card. What followed was a testament to perseverance and guts on my part. I had to get a new card issued through Delhi, New York, and Toronto. The challenge was that because of the method to have it replaced, every time I used it for airfare, hotels, etc, it would be declined and American Express had to be called to verify that it was me using it and then they would authorize it’s used to the person making the charge. Now realize how a hotel employee in India would react when I would be checking out of the hotel, and say, now when you put this through, it will be declined, but don’t panic. We are doing to call this toll free number and they will authorize its use. Where upon they would call, while being extremely suspicious of me and this scheme. It always seemed to get to the same person at American Express, Rajeev (another one, of which there are a lot), who would ask to speak to me. I would swoon, Rajeev!, and he would say, Mr. Frank, so good to hear from you again, please pass the phone back to the attendant, whereupon, he would authorize the cards to use. This happened for twenty-five airline flights and more hotels than I remember, across ten of the twenty-five states in India. Needless to say, Rajeev and I became good friends by the time I left India.

Here are a few reflective notes that I made on the way back from India.

Transcribed notes made during and after two and a half months in India, developing an Amway business.

India #1 word – flexibility Don’t look left, right – stay focused, no comparisons with anybody, 25 flights, 10/25 states visited. Pay the price, $10,000, over 2 months away from wife and family Drive 1 hr to get an initial kit. Went with a mission. 1-Create plan showers in depth, not show plan, 2-Create urgency – looking for business owners while I’m here.

You’re so blessed here in N. America, air, water. People here are same as there – everybody wants tomorrow to be better than today and their family to be looked after –  here the quiet desperation is exactly the same – just less obvious -they think they are OK   – in India, they can’t try to fool you as much – just know they all want to come to N. America

The people are desperately looking for leadership. That is why they question you and give objections. When they question, the game starts. Handle objections in Plan:4 shifts in thinking. Mkt vs. Elect. Dist.Product pricing. Next step is your house, or come back here

Unsung heroes – Molly at home. When a string is taught, when one end moves the other end feels it. Molly was in trenches here.

Greg Lalonde – don’t give me (Molly & I) time splits, we are just going all out.