Let me start by saying if you are comfortable being “satisfied” this blog post is not for you…

Consider this, it is possible to be fulfilled in your career, have control over the amount of money you bring in each month, to love what you do and to make the world a better place while you are doing it. If you have always believed deep down that this is true, and are motivated to do whatever it takes to create that in your life, yet until now did not know exactly how, then this article is for you.

With the direct sales industry experiencing explosive growth over the last two years, the need in the marketplace for more business opportunities and the necessity for people to learn skills to better their lives, better their circumstances and empower themselves,  John Asaraf and Bonnie Bruderer saw a definite need and more importantly a definite opportunity in creating a different type of direct sales opportunity.

Now, just hearing the words “direct sales’ may have conjured a systemic response from within. Either you have had a terrific experience in the past and know the true benefits that direct sales offers such as more freedom, more financial rewards and the ability to create the lifestyle you truly desire and deserve, and are thrilled there is a new opportunity. Or perhaps you have a different opinion and like some fear the lotions, potions and pills that may have been pedaled to you from friends and family members.

Either way, let me explain what we mean by different and how by joining V.I.S.S. you actually can experience what it means to be in business for yourself yet never alone. With the tens of thousands of dollars spent on personal development for themselves, six books authored between them, and a combined three and a half decades in the personal development industry, John and Bonnie knew that they had knowledge, experience and access to training, support and information that can not be accessed anywhere else, all in one place. They also realized that what people needed most at this point were business opportunities, thus V.I.S.S. was born. V.I.S.S. stands for Vision. Inspiration. Strategy & Support. All of which you will experience in each and every aspect of the company.

The opportunity centers around joining our team as a distributor and learning how to teach Vision Board Experiences (VBE’s) to others through tele seminars and webinars, in-home settings and corporate settings. It is the perfect opportunity for empowered individuals that are looking to supplement what they are already doing, to add to a coaching or training practice and for those who are looking to make a big impact in the world.

If this sounds like you and you are wondering how to get involved, I encourage you to join one of our business opportunity calls on Wednesday’s at 5 P.M. to learn more. Only join us if you are serious about making a big difference in the world and your life and business as we are looking only for those who are empowered! We are looking for the first 100 Visionaries to join us at the ground level and are quickly approaching that goal, just three weeks after launch.

Visit www.ExperienceVISS.com and register for the call today if you know you are ready to finally experience a different type of business opportunity.

Asking someone, “How do you meditate?” is like asking, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” There are many, many different ways—all of which come easier with practice. Here I will briefly discuss some of the most common meditation techniques. Try them all and figure out what works best for you.

Learning How To Meditate

The most important element of basically any meditation style is breathing. You will breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose, hold it for just an instant at the pinnacle, then as slowly as possible release the breath out your mouth, compressing your stomach down to push the air out of your chest cavity.

Another key element to any type of meditation is focus. Naturally our minds only hold thoughts for a second or two and then they move on—we are easily distracted. Meditation is only effective when we can block out our mental fluttering. This is definitely a learned skill that gets easier with practice.

A few more meditation tips I can pass along are to make it a routine. Set aside a certain time each day to meditate—put it on your schedule if you have to. Have a quiet, comfortable place to sit. Remove any distractions from the area (such as silencing your cell phone and putting your dog in the backyard). Sometimes it’s nice to have a CD of relaxing music or nature sounds playing. This can trigger to your brain that it’s time to get in meditation mode.

As far as specific meditation techniques, I recommend these four: the stillness, the flow, the centering, and the void.

Let me explain the techniques:

THE STILLNESS
This popular technique involves focusing your vision on a single point until you get the infamous blank stare (or if your eyes are closed, a sort of internal space out). You might stare at a spot on a wall, a candle flame, or a religious or spiritual object. You can also focus on something auditory like chanting or a bell chime.

THE FLOW
This meditation technique is very much like the one listed above except that you will focus on an object in motion—such as a water fall, your own breathing, or something auditory like drumming.

THE CENTERING

This technique takes many different forms but ultimately aims to heighten your awareness of your place in the world. Centering meditation can be either outer (real) or inner (imagined) but the intent is to anchor your perspective in the center of a vivid image in which even the smallest detail is noted. With this technique, you will get into your meditation space then allow yourself to let in an outside noise or thought. This can be a great technique for beginners because of this (if you find it hard to quiet your mind and concentrate). By responding to  “distractions” by absorbing yourself in them and therefore dismantling them, you take their power away.

THE VOID
This technique is sort of the antithesis of the three listed above. Like the name suggests, here you will think about nothing. You will have no focal point. You could think of focusing on “the blankness” or “the stillness,” but nevertheless the void meditation is about the complete absence of any internal or external focus. It can be quite challenging but very rewarding and relaxing.

Good luck with whichever technique you decide to practice!
John Assaraf

Affirmations are so simple and yet so effective. An affirmation is a statement, often repeated in our heads—that’s it. There isn’t much concentration or focus required. The affirmation’s power, however, lies in its ability to re-shape our thinking and perspective drastically and quickly. Here are 4 ways affirmations can help you

1. Affirmations quiet our ego’s mental chatter

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to many of the difficulties and complexities we face is mental chatter. It is this constant stream of thinking and ideas that distracts us from being able to focus on what we want—be that stillness and serenity or a specific goal. Mental chatter is the voice in the head that screams, “I can’t do it! I can’t do it!” or “I’m ugly. I’m fat.” Affirmations soothe this wailing like a pacifier to a baby. In moments of fear, panic, or anxiety, repeating to yourself, “I can do this! I can do this!” or “I am beautiful. I am attractive,” is incredibly powerful at helping you do an emotional 180.

2. Affirmations can begin to transform our thinking instantaneously

When we are focusing on “I can do this,” instead of nerves and jitters, we have immediately taken control of ourselves. When we are in control, we immediately feel at ease. Sigh! When we feel powerless is when our fears and worries tend to spiral out of control. Instead of focusing on the fear, saying affirmations gives us a new focus. It is the same concept as women doing deep breathing when they are giving birth—it gives them something else to focus on than the pain they are feeling.  A slight change in focus can and does make a world of difference. This tiny little mental trick is a powerful one.

3. Affirmations put us in the driver’s seat

Affirmations can transform our lives by giving us a sense of power and control. Often it doesn’t take much to remind us of how powerful we are. Simply saying, “I am calm. I am cool. I am collected,” before a job interview can take us from nervous to confident in no time.

4. Affirmations can be effective when change is most difficult

True change comes in this manner: first our thoughts, then our words, then our deeds. First we get an idea like, “I’m tired of being overweight.” This gains momentum and turns into saying things like, “I am going to go to the gym 3 times this week.” What follows? Three trips to the gym. The problem arises when our thoughts still want to be couch potatoes. Stating affirmations like, “I go regularly to the gym. I exercise. I workout,” can shape our reluctant thinking. When change seems hardest, that is a sign that one needs to be using affirmations constantly to help change their lagging thinking. As you know, if you hear something often enough, you will start to believe it.

For more information on how to use affirmations to transform your life visit  Transform My Life With Affirmations!

John Assaraf

I think I have been asked at least 5,000 times what it really takes to be successful in business or your career, so I jotted down 10 questions you can use to gauge whether you already have what it takes, or if you need to do a little “work” to get there.

Many years ago I heard Jim Rohn say that you either pay the price of discipline or the price of regret. Discipline weighs ounces…regret weighs tons!

With that said, here are 10 questions to ask yourself:

1. Are you disciplined?
2. Do you take rejection personally? What about criticism?
3. Do you bounce back quickly from making errors or failing over and over again?
4. Are you a planner or do you do things by the seat of your pants?
5. Are you prepared to take risks? Moderate or Big?
6. Do you stay focused on one thing and one thing only until the result you want is achieved?
7. Do you have the stamina to keep going long after everyone else is tired?
8. Can you delegate well, or are you the only one who can do things right?
9. Do you wait for things to happen or do you aggressively go after what you want?
10. Do you do whatever it takes to achieve your goals or just what’s convenient?

These questions are critical for you to ask yourself in order to get a true picture of your nature and behavior. What I have found is that successful people are aware of the consequences of not being efficient in these areas, and find other ways, resources or people to manage for them. Good Luck!

When I was 21 years-old, a gentleman asked me what I thought the value of an hour was. I honestly did not know how to answer the question. He went on to teach me one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned.

He suggested that the value of an hour was priceless. This confused me some, so this is what he said to me.

“If you invest one hour each day in understanding yourself and your environment better, you will accumulate nine 40-hour weeks over the course of a year!”

Yikes! As you can imagine I was blown away when he put it to me that way.

Nine 40-hour weeks? This seemed impossible until I did the math. 365 days, times one hour each is…yup, nine 40-hour weeks!

He went on to ask me how good I could get at something if I did it all day, every day for just over 2 months. Well, you already know the answer to that.

I thought I could be awesome!

He went on to tell me that over the course of just five years, I would have invested the equivalent of 1,825 hours of focus on whatever I desired to accomplish my life.

Imagine for a minute, how good you can become at anything that you did one hour a day for the next year. How fit could you get? How much more in love would you get and give? How much more money could you earn?

Let me suggest that one hour is a small price to pay in comparison to the payoff. Just one hour a day may be the razor’s edge you need to really get the results you want in your life.

For me, the decision was easy. I have been studying human potential and the mind for over 20 years. Each time I think I’m getting a good handle on it, I am gently reminded of how much there is to observe and learn.

Is getting what you want worth an hour a day? I certainly hope so.

I still manage to set aside my hour to read motivational stories or listen to inspirational people. They are the fuel for my mind and it keeps me learning and yearning for more.

Please adopt an hour a day for yourself! Pick one area of your life that you want to improve and commit the next 90 days to that one thing.

I assure you that the results you achieve will be well worth the decision! And remember…you can’t take out of life more than you put in.

Here is another missing piece of the puzzle in achieving your goals.

Do what I suggest here and you will be healthier, happier and wealthier!

Do you set goals based on how much money you think you can make or based on what you have done in the past?

Many people never reach their goals because they do not understand a few small key factors I reveal in this two part video blog.

Enjoy and make all your dreams come true!

Part two will be out Monday.