I certainly have fallen victim to its efficient and almost fail-proof design and so have many of you. I don’t really know why it’s there, but it’s as real as our conscience, our instincts and our common sense. I don’t know where it is deep inside our brain, but its there, ticking as though it were a bomb and just waiting for the right circumstance to make its appearance.

I could use any one of many illustrations to make my point about how we’re programmed to fall victim to things that we know deep inside that we shouldn’t do, and we do them anyway, but I’ve selected one in particular on this day, November 18, 2011.

You walk into a store to buy two specific items, neither of which are at all expensive, and you’ve made the choice because you clearly need both items, and after you’ve found them, you begin walking toward the checkout counter, and then you innocently glance to your right and your eyes catch the large advertisement, hanging from the ceiling; “Special Introductory Offer – On Sale Today Only.”

And there it is, in all of its magnificence. You’ve never seen anything so visually captivating, and your senses become fixed upon what you see and you speak aloud the only word you can think of – “Wow!” It’s the new thin line, high resolution television that makes you feel as though you’re right there along the sidelines. And deep inside you, that secret emotion of which I shared a moment ago receives an emotional impulse and an electronic system becomes activated that starts the countdown sequence in your brain.

Now, what’s really happening at this moment is the conjunction of several different events within the same millisecond; it’s partially the display of colors with a three dimensional quality, but it’s also the fact that you’re seeing your favorite team, along with a special price today and today only; you’re close – very close – to being overwhelmed with an emotional force within you that cannot be controlled nor stopped, and the only missing part of the “decision formula” then appears out of nowhere; “Looks beautiful, doesn’t it? And you can have it set up in your home within two hours and catch the last half of the game, my friend, and we can arrange payments that will make it so easy for you that you won’t even notice.” The comment by the salesman neutralizes your ability to walk away, and you make an impulsive decision to make the purchase. The “I want what I want when I want it” circuit sends its signal to the part of your brain that makes decisions, and once again you’ve fallen victim to the act of doing something you would never do had you been in the mood to make a rational decision; but, too many factors were lined up against you, all in conjunction, including your mood that set you up for a reward that would make you feel good. And now, one more weight in the form of one more “plink” falls on the side of the scale that tilts toward being owned by this and all of your other trinkets. Be careful of your choices; that which is the most attractive is often the most destructive. Why not make an impulsive choice about doing something constructive with your life rather than destructive?

The views expressed on this post are those of Ron Reynolds and do not necessarily reflect the views of AdvoCare.

But, in the beginning, before a distributor in AdvoCare learned of the many attractions of AdvoCare, most were skeptical, reluctant and pessimistic about the need for them to embrace what we have to offer; that’s the way it is for anyone who is struggling to get by, who have no purpose that makes life exciting, and who have fallen into the trap of accepting things as they are – they allow those conditions to become “normal” and they object to anything that suggests that they submit themselves to stepping out of their “comfort zone.” It’s easy to fall into that trap that has built walls around us that cause us to reject the very thing that can change the things that need to be changed.

There is, however, somewhat of a “trap” that even a distributor can fall into and not even know that they’re in it, and that trap is the good feeling you can have just from having hope again. In AdvoCare, there are no limits on what a person can do; in AdvoCare, every distributor has access to a life plan that can make them free of debt, whether they earn a little income from their efforts or a lot of income. In AdvoCare, every person can learn to see what all is possible; they can get the help and the knowledge they may need from the people around them. In spite of all the benefits and high anticipation that comes from our “new chance,” the “trap” I’m referring to can find us doing very little about the new hope we’ve found in the opportunity we have.

Sometimes, good feelings, motivation and a new source of hope feels so good to us that we never really go to work – and yes, “work” is how we gain substantial new results from any new chance we may have found. In essence, motivation and the good feelings that come with a new motivation can act as an anesthetic that numbs us to the need to take action.

When I discovered the excitement of building a team of people, and read “Think and Grow Rich” that someone gave to me, I became so caught up in a new spirit that I didn’t want to have to engage in some of the uncomfortable activities that would convert my good feelings into good results; for me, the good feelings pushed my anxieties regarding my uncertain future into a distant place as thought they were no longer a threat. I often see that in new people in AdvoCare; they’re excited, they’re filled with good intentions, they have lots of dreams and goals, but they can’t even overcome their fear about picking up the phone; they don’t book Nutritional Mixers, they don’t put the people they know in front of their sponsor, and they don’t even compile a goal list or a list of the names of people they’re going to approach about our products and our opportunity; they mean to, they want to, and they certainly need to, but to them, feeling good is what matters. Don’t let that happen to you – whatever you have to do, force yourself to do the uncomfortable things until they start becoming more comfortable. Good feelings alone is self-delusion no matter how powerful an opportunity may be, so get off the couch and start talking to people, because you cannot just think, and grow rich.

The views expressed on this post are those of Ron Reynolds and do not necessarily reflect the views of AdvoCare.

Well, it’s that time again, except in our current generation, we start the political process much earlier, and those who run for political office spend much greater sums of money than they once did, and more people are watching more television than was the case back then.

One thing has remained the same, however; consider the following excerpt from a speech that Senator John F. Kennedy delivered to the Democratic National Convention in 1956:

“For we here today are selecting a man who must be something more than a good candidate, something more than a good speaker, more than a good politician, a good liberal or a good conservative. We are selecting the head of the most powerful nation on earth, the man who literally will hold in his hands the powers of survival or destruction, of freedom or slavery, of success or failure for us all. We are selecting here today the man who for the next four years will be guiding, for good or evil, for better or worse, the destinies of our nation and, to a large extent, the destiny of the free world.”

“I ask you, therefore, to think beyond the balloting of tonight and tomorrow – to think beyond even the election in November and to think instead of those four years that lie ahead, and of the crises that will come with them.”

Now, if I had not already revealed that this message was delivered fifty-five years ago, doesn’t it seem that those words are essentially those that are being spoken by the current group of candidates seeking the same office? Not much has changed, except for the fact that the American politicians – at least most of them – have failed to change and they have failed to learn from the events the past should have taught them. Someone once wisely wrote that “Those who do not learn from the lessons of past are condemned to repeat them.” I think it’s emerging very clearly that there’s a big difference between having political skills, public relations skills, promotional skills, and possessing leadership skills. In your business at AdvoCare, let me suggest today that you work very hard to make certain that your “people skills” and your leadership skills genuinely grow as your income grows and as your pin level grows; don’t let it be said of you that you have the pin but you lack the skills required for the task at hand.

The views expressed on this post are those of Ron Reynolds and do not necessarily reflect the views of AdvoCare.

Through all the days, months and years, I’ve been following the “pull of the future” – an undefined quantity of messages, a few of which might start a handful of people on a new life adventure by helping them, through the written word, see the limitless opportunity of AdvoCare, and the unlimited power they have within themselves, whether in AdvoCare or somewhere else that will lead to their own legacy.

Today marks mental vitamin number 2,900; all that number proves is that if you stay with something over a sustained period of time and repeat a discipline over and over again, whether you feel like it on any particular day or not, the “weight” of all those disciplines will accumulate; it works that way in writing something each day, and it works precisely the same way in building your AdvoCare business – a single brick each day can create an end result of monumental substance.

Over the past year or so, it occurred to me that every beginning must inevitably have its own ending – a time or a number when what was started becomes “finished.” I’ve had several “numbers” in my mind for when mental vitamins would simply end and fade in their value with the passing of time, to be read by no one who really cares or remembers, and today I’ve decided upon the “ending.” Of course if any of us are engaged in a building process of any kind, we often decide when the process will end, and we may often – when we reach the intended “end” – decide to just keep building, and I’ve done that many times, as will you as you go through the years ahead of you adding new people and reaching new objectives in the process of both building as well as leaving a legacy. But my “ending” is set in my mind – a number that I trust the real source of these messages will cause that source to say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” When that number is reached, there won’t be any fanfares, parties, horns, bells or whistles to signify the completion, because what I write finds its way only to a relatively small number of people, which would make for a very small celebration, and small celebrations can sometimes be embarrassing. So, if you happen to be one of that small number of frequent readers, be advised that the clock is ticking as the “end” is close at hand and the beginning seems so distant and so long ago. But, for you – and since the average age of an AdvoCare distributor is about thirty-two – you have many years in which to change so many lives, including your own, and this opportunity isn’t just about you, it’s about how many of “them” you can create. Let us together do something with the project that has been given to us that will astound even ourselves. To do any less is unacceptable.

The views expressed on this post are those of Ron Reynolds and do not necessarily reflect the views of AdvoCare.

“What then is the American, this new man”… He is an American who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds? Here, individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world … The American ought therefore to love his country much better than that wherein either he or his forefathers were born. Here, the rewards of his industry follow with equal steps the progress of his labor… without any part being claimed by, either by despotic prince, a rich abbot or a mighty lore … The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas and form new opinions… This is an American.”

Now, I present that assessment made over 200 years ago for you to read and to consider how Americans saw themselves then, and how we see ourselves today – just as you must, if you expect more progress than you now enjoy – must look at your own “then and now.” I was 32 years old, married and with four children when I really looked backward at my earlier dreams, and at what then was my reality, and it did not look good. I was living a quality of life that I never, ever intended to live, I was feeling life slip away, I was living where and how I didn’t want to live, and I was – as all those who helped “raise me” had lived; we were hoping but we were doing nothing that would give substance to that passive hope. All nations, including our own, must look inward, just as individuals must do, and we must then fashion a new vision for what we want to do, what we want to be and how we want to feel. Lacking that, we can only slip further into a dark and bottomless abyss of mediocrity, just as many Americans – and indeed, our nation – is experiencing today. Finally, while any one of us cannot change our nations’ current course, we can change our own, and by enough of us holding ourselves responsible for steering our life upon a new and better course, we can, over time, bring even our nation and our collective attitude about, and respect for, America back to where it belongs. We can do it!

The views expressed on this post are those of Ron Reynolds and do not necessarily reflect the views of AdvoCare.