Friday’s activities at the USANA International Convention consisted of a General Session in the morning and Training Stages in the afternoon. Having attended the early Training Stages Wednesday afternoon, there was some duplication this afternoon, so I allowed myself to head back to the hotel early. Of course, it was still a very long day, but not as long as Thursday, with the Awards Ceremony in the evening. I suppose I can catch up on sleep once I return home. 
The General Session in the morning included the following highlights:
- Patti Roney – Ruby Director (1 step above Gold) – She has added a sixth item to her “Circle of Trust,” which underscores the integrity on which USANA has been founded:
- Dr. Wentz’s vision of “a world free from pain and suffering”
- The USANA products, themselves
- USANA’s commitment to the Children’s Hunger Fund
- Sanoviv Medical Institute in Baja California
- The freedom afforded by USANA’s award-winning compensation plan
- The Healthy Home book, about which I blogged earlier this year
- Dr. Alberto Peña – Sanoviv Medical Institute – Expecting to hear a health-related presentation, I was surprised at Dr. Peña’s network marketing orientation. He stated an oft repeated fact that the key to success is duplication. The key to duplication is to follow the KISS principle. Keep it simple! You don’t have to be a cellular microbiologist to have a successful USANA business. Besides which, we already have one: Dr. Myron Wentz. For myself, I have in fact picked up a wide variety of health information over the years, and yet I am still content to rely on Dr. Wentz as the authority behind the efficacy of these products. Back to Dr. Peña. Part of duplication is to rely on tools to do a lot of the work for you. One of the best tools we have at USANA is the Health & Freedom Solution. This is a series of videos that can be presented in a wide variety of formats (DVD, Web, email), greatly simplifying the presentation process. I hate to admit, but I bought the Health & Freedom Solution at last year’s Convention and have yet to install it. It will be one of the first things I do over Labor Day weekend.
- Germain Lafortune – Diamond Director (3 steps above Gold) – Germain used athletic imagery to describe a successful USANA Associate: someone with discipline, focus, and a well defined goal, just like an athlete. It is no wonder that so many Olympians and other world-class athletes trust their nutritional supplementation needs to USANA. Duplication does not mean creating mirror images of oneself. Finally, I was familiar with “SW SW SW N.” Germain expanded on this with “SWSWSWSW SW N,” which stands for “Some Will, Some Won’t, Some Wait, Some Whine … So What! Next!” It certainly puts the fear of rejection in its place.
- Jason Ryan Dorsey – The Gen Y Guy®– Jason’s keynote presentation was hilarious and insightful. Check out his website. In recent years, USANA has been attracting large teams of ambitious twenty-somethings. I commented recently to some business networking friends of mine how I would love to have some Gen Y’ers in my USANA business, and one of them assured me that I wanted nothing to do with them. Clearly he has not seen what I have. In many ways, the younger generation “gets it” more than the generations that came before them. Jason’s goal, through humor, is to teach business people how to work with Generation Y. One hint: Learn how to text! And contrary to the idea that young people can’t afford to start their own business, Gen Y spends $214 billion per year. They can afford to shell out the up-front cost for a USANA business, especially once they see what’s in it for them.
- Bud & Bunny Barth – 2-Star Diamond Directors (5 steps above Gold) – I have had the pleasure of hearing them speak in prior years, and they played very funny roles in some video spoofs of a home-makeover type TV show. Have you ever been given the no-time excuse? Well, Bud & Bunny definitely had no time when they joined USANA. They were already working long hours each day in their own business in Hollywood. But as Bud says, you still have to eat. They built a very successful USANA business over their lunch hours. They still own their studio (and probably always will), but now they have the luxury of working only on those assignments that fit into their more leisurely schedule.
- Jeremy Stansfield – 9-Star Diamond Director (12 steps above Gold) – Your USANA business is an asset that you can sell, will to your heirs, or set up in a living trust as he has. The reality is that large residual income checks are only the result of hard work and dedication. In the beginning we are definitely overworked and underpaid—a large reason why the “failure” rate in network marketing is so high. When people don’t make the millions they’ve been promised in the first two weeks, they jump ship and join the next fad opportunity. The only way you can fail in network marketing is if you give up. I don’t know if I’ll ever join the ranks of the Star Diamonds, but I am definitely shooting for Gold.
- Kevin Guest – USANA’s President North America – Kevin’s former video company showed him how fake most celebrities are. When the camera is turned off, they become completely different. Not so with Dr. Wentz. What you see is what you get. Kevin quoted Albert Einstein to describe Dr. Wentz: “Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist.They are wrong: it is character.”
- Shawn Achor – author of The Happiness Advantage™– Yet another fabulous keynote presenter. (It’s no wonder that USANA’s International Conventions win awards!) Shawn loves escaping the cult of the average. As a psychology professor at Harvard, and now as a public speaker, he enjoys studying people who are quite high above the curve—positive outliers. Rather than bring them back to average, he prefers seeing them raise the curve. The absence of disease is not health. Instead of saying, “I’ll be happy when I am successful,” think, “How can I be happy now so that I can have more success?”
The afternoon had five Training Stages, of which I attended three. By Friday afternoon, my brain was getting quite full. Besides, having attended three Training Stages on Wednesday afternoon, before the “official” start of Convention, I was more than content with the presentations that I had already seen. Below are descriptions of these three.
- Shawn Achor– author of The Happiness Advantage™– Yes, his keynote presentation introduced a longer (45-minute) Training Stage, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Smiles and yawns spread; so do stress and negativity. We are all connected by the “mirror neuron network.” Genetics sets the initial baseline, but we can learn any new behaviors. So yes, we can make long-term gains in our happiness. Common sense is not common action. Information is not transformation. If you can reduce “activation energy,” you can increase the likelihood of people taking action. An example he used was that of long email addresses. A shorter email address is more likely to be used. He presented five habits and invited us to choose one and try it out for the next 21 days:
- Three Gratitudes – Think of (better yet, write down) three things from the past 24 hours you are grateful for.
- Journaling – For two minutes each day, write down every detail about a positive experience from the past 24 hours.
- Exercise – Especially in the morning, it trains the brain to believe your behavior matters.
- Meditation – For two minutes each day, simply watch your breath going in and coming out. This improves focus.
- Random Acts of Kindness – First thing each morning write a 2-minute email to a friend or colleague. This builds social support.
- Dr. Denis Waitley – “The Winning Edge: How to Take Me and My Team to the Top” – Denis is a master of aphorisms. You don’t break habits, you replace them. Your self-worth will greatly influence your net worth. Replace entitlement with empowerment. See the person in the mirror as your leader. If it is to be, it’s up to me. You are your best social security provider. Take responsibility for the outcomes in your life. Give your children responsibilities as early as possible. There’s a gold mine in your goal mind. Team goals foster accountability. Deadlines counter procrastination and excuses. Setbacks are target corrections. Failure is fertilizer. Give more in use value than you receive in cash payment.
- Leanne Grechalk – “Creating Leaders & Advancing” – According to Jim Rohn, “Leadership is the challenge to be something above average.” Leanne gave several lists of great ideas for growing your USANA business. Two stood out to me. The first was Your Team’s Advancement Plan. Your team starts with you. Have a clear team vision. Create a culture of leadership and results. Results always (never excuses). Focus on the internal versus the external environment. And develop emotional intelligence. The other was three things to start your new Associates out right. First, insist that they complete the BDS eApprentice (an extensive online tutorial) within the first 72 hours. (This advice prompted me to start going through the eApprentice myself.) Have them call or text you when they are done. Then, have them commit to Platinum PaceSetter in their calendar. They have eight weeks to achieve this milestone, and it can have a huge impact on their future earnings (and yours). Finally, have them put the next International Convention in their calendar. Everything you do, say, and are with a new Associate will duplicate. Expect excellence from yourself and your team.
One more day of highlights to go. Stay tuned!
