The Escobar Group's Holiday and New Year Message
December, 2010
Written by Tony and Randi Escobar
What’s happened to “The American Dream?”
The term, “The American Dream” was first identified and used by James Truslow Adams in his fantastic book “The Epic of America.” Keep in mind this book was written back in 1931. James was a noted historian educated at Yale University. He eloquently identified “The American Dream” as:
"… that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement".
In the Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers said:
"… held certain truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness".
These statements are very profound and I believe they represents the foundation and the four cornerstones of “The American Dream” today.
Today millions of Americans are losing their jobs, their credit, their homes, their retirement, even their dignity. Many are losing their dreams and have even lost hope. Our great nation is paying the price for this. A nation is its people and a nation where its people are unhappy and have lost hope is a nation deflated and in big trouble.
I have learned it is never too late for hope. It is never too late to believe that things can change and it is never too late to expect and live an extraordinary life.
This nation is still the greatest nation on the face of the earth and “The American Dream” is still alive and well - more so today than at any other time in our history.
Despite the adversity of our economy, all of us must go back to our traditions and our roots, the roots that were planted by our forefathers, for this country was divinely created to be a nation of inspired, extraordinary, courageous and hard working people who relied upon God for divine guidance.
As most of you know, Randi and I were $650,000 in debt when Isagenix found us and as most of you know that amazing relationship turned out pretty well. We never lost hope because Isagenix believed in us as much as we believed in them. What a remarkable company Isagenix is. It is a very unique company that understands what “The American Dream” represents to the all Americans. Isagenix knows the Dream is alive and well as it continually helps people to discover, re-discover, embrace and enjoy it.
Past generations of Americans continually pursued “The American Dream” of success, fame and fortune through saving money and hard work. However, the massive industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries eroded the dream, replacing it with a philosophy, a philosophy of "get rich quick, “easy money," or “you have to be lucky.”
Many seductive strategies have evolved over time, and today the perceived 4 leading beliefs associated with becoming wealthy are, getting on a television game show such as “Who wants to be a Millionaire,” winning the lottery, winning a big lawsuit or being the beneficiary of a big inheritance.
How does one achieve “The American Dream?” today, especially when you consider the precarious condition of our nation’s economy and the present attitude of her people? The answer undoubtedly depends upon one’s definition of the Dream, and there are many definitions from which to choose. Two components of the American Dream seem, however, to be fairly consistent: the quest for identity and the quest for wealth.
Where your vision and focus goes, your energy will certainly flow. The vision of your dream and focus are magnetic as they attract and connect everything together.
Few will deny that most Americans are intently focused on what many call, “The Almighty Dollar.” In a nation dedicated to democracy and capitalism and the mantra that, “The one who dies with the most toys wins,” the ability to purchase a big house and a luxury car appears to separate those individuals who are considered successful from those who are not.
How can one really achieve success today? How is the Dream attained, especially now in an environment of unpredictability, uncertainty, financial crises and maybe even bankruptcy?
For most Americans the formula has become a simple one - one of instant gratification. Rather than adhering to a tradition of hard work, the ethic that built this great nation in the first place, far too many Americans are pinning their hopes on what they perceive as easy money.
The GAMS (Great American Marketing System), which is the media, has convinced people that a new wave of television game shows, lotteries, Internet gambling, and lucrative lawsuits are the way to great wealth.
Instant wealth has never been and never will be a major component of “The American Dream.” Your great, great grandparents, your great grandparents and your grandparents have traditionally focused all their efforts on frugalness and darn hard work!
Benjamin Franklin advised people, the "The Way to Wealth" was through hard work from sun up to sun down. Poor Richard's Almanac profoundly quoted;
"Early to Bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
For hundreds of years the key to wealth and fortune was always hard work: "Industry pays debts," insisted Poor Richard.
Early Americans expanded upon Benjamin Franklin's concept of industry into a labor ideology. His goal was never to get rich quick, or win the lottery or gambling through luck. His goal was never wealth without work, but, rather, economic independence and the opportunity for success and wealth through hard work, conservative spending and determination.
Abraham Lincoln insisted that the greatness of the American people in the North was that industry and hard work allowed all men to prosper. I quote,
"The prudent, penniless beginner in the world, labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land, for himself; then labors on his own account another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This…is free labor…the just and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way for all."
This is free enterprise! This is entrepreneurship! This is “Rags to Riches” the way it use to be - through thrift and hard work.
Hard work defines the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all.
The "rags to riches" mantra has and continues to be a cornerstone and the foundation of the American Dream. The traditional message taught that through hard work, frugality, self-discipline, self-sacrifice and accountability one could achieve identity, freedom and financial success.
Ben Franklin promoted industry, Abraham Lincoln sang the praises of hard work and frugality, and Horatio Alger instilled inspiration and hope into generations of Americans.
All three together helped to establish the formula for success in a land of infinite possibilities. This land is still a land of infinite possibilities.
Randi and I know this because we are the evidence and the proof of it.
There are unquestionably many Americans who continue to abide by such tenets - frugality and hard work and in doing so are generously rewarded for their efforts. Yet there are also those who have come to believe that the American Dream's promise of riches fast is just that, a promise and as such they feel entitled to instant gratification - instant financial success.
Savvy television marketing executives have taken advantage of the core that is the foundation of “The American Dream.” They understand that today Americans are enthralled with striking it rich quick. As a result millionaire game shows and lotteries as well as gambling casinos and attorneys are designed to make winning and entitlement seem easy.
Lotteries are marketed in such a way that one thinks they have a real opportunity at really winning. The reality in both instances is that achieving “The American Dream” through such means is like paddling a boat up river with a teaspoon.
Millionaire game shows and promises of lottery and gambling millions have eroded the ethic of work, frugality and self-reliance that once embodied “The American Dream,” replacing it with luck?
The darker side of this cultural phenomenon is how the sense of entitlement has spilled over into a lack of accountability and responsibility. The fact that so many Americans use litigation and gambling to capture what they think is the only way to attain “The American Dream” is disheartening, disappointing, discouraging and disconnected – I call this the 4 “Ds”.
Most Americans would love to achieve “The American Dream” of financial independence, but remember it is how we achieve it that is essential to this nation's ethical foundation. Americans do indeed covet the easy path to the Dream and in the process discredit the core values that established the Dream in the first place. Equally culpable are big businesses that capitalize on and take advantage of people and their quest for the Dream.
It is ironic how such big businesses are fulfilling the Dream for themselves while dangling the possibility of the Dream over the heads of unsuspecting people. There can be little doubt that the producers of the millionaire games shows, the lottery systems, and lawyers are getting rich on other people's yearning for the American Dream.
My message here is simple. There is only five ways “The American Dream” can be realized by each and every one of you in 2011,
1. Work
2. Hard Work
3. Working Even Harder
4. Working Harder Still
5. Even though you can say to yourself, you have worked yourselves to Death – YOU CAN STILL DO MORE!
I know this a special time where we have celebrated the birth of the Savior and we celebrate the New Year and perhaps this is a message that is unbecoming for this time of the year but I felt I needed to give each of you our gift and this profound message is our gift to you.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of distributors have come to Randi and I asking us, “How did we do it?”
Many of these distributors have read all kinds of “How To” books and have spent large sums of money attending many motivational and personal development seminars, purchased many coach’s and mentor’s books and CD’s and who knows what else.
Our gift to each of you is simple, down to earth advice to help you all build a multi-million-dollar business, a business large enough that you can enjoy life without financial worries and to generously give much away to those in need without looking back.
THAT ADVICE IS, GO TO WORK!
If you want to learn how to do network marketing, GO TO WORK and you will learn how!
There is absolutely no compromise for hard work. If your cycles are down, don’t complain, GO BACK TO WORK! Resolution is not blaming, judging, criticizing, and complaining about; what if, what could have been, what should have been, what someone did or didn’t do, etc. –
MAKE THE DECISION TO GO TO WORK AND WORK HARD AND WORK EVEN HARDER EVEN WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE WORKED HARD ENOUGH!
Network marketing is the only business to be in today and guess what? You are in it! It is the last bastion of extraordinary wealth available to the average person. The work you do today will greatly reward you today and those rewards will continue to benefit you in the future. Network marketing affords you the opportunity to be free to work when you want, how you want and with whom you want. It affords you the opportunity to be financially free. Network marketing liberates you from complacency and the bondage of that stagnant 8-5 job and it gives you the opportunity to earn residual income – that’s income that can pay you for years into the future, as a result of your efforts today.
Isagenix is an extraordinary company with a unique and extraordinary product line where the focus represents a new category of products never before seen in the network marketing industry. Isagenix is indeed, “The World Leader in Nutritional Cleansing and Replenishing.”
Isagenix has the perfect opportunity with the industry’s fastest paying and most lucrative compensation plan. Can you imagine working with a Billion Dollar Company!
Randi and I believe in each of you. You are one of a kind, you are as unique as your fingerprints and you are remarkably brilliant and talented beyond your wildest dreams – DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?
All you have to do is tap into those many talents that have been hidden from you for years and become the masterpiece you were born to be and the hero America has been waiting for. The time is now! It is your time to shine and Isagenix has provided for you the vehicle to propel you on your journey.
Don’t fall down on your way to the top. Yes indeed, people will disappoint you. So what! WORK EVEN HARDER with your team at developing and nurturing your relationships and never give up. Have faith that your team will perform for you, believe in them; reassure them that they are with the greatest company with greatest products on the face of the earth and you are a leader that sincerely cares about them.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy in America is when people quit never realizing just how close they were to succeeding.
Never lose confidence in those you serve no matter what. Dream with them and work hard beside them. Follow up and follow through as if the success of your business depends on it – which it does! You can't do this business alone and you certainly cannot neglect the customers and distributors you presently have - WORK HARDER AT GROWING AND SUSTAINING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS!
There is nothing that people can’t do, only things they don’t want to do
The rewards you will enjoy as a result of developing and sustaining relationships with these amazing individuals will be precious and priceless in your life.
As an Isagenix family of HARD WORKING distributors, we can all make a huge difference in this country’s economy and we can certainly create financial independence for our families and ourselves. It all begins in our own hearts, minds and in our homes across this great land.
America’s people “ARE THE AMERICAN DREAM.” It has always been that way and it always will be that way and we must continue to preserve and protect that DREAM for future generations by proving it through our own personal performance that it still exists. We must also preserve it for our posterity (our children and their children to come.)
Randi and I love each and every one of you and treasure your friendship. We continually hope and pray for your success. We believe in you! We admonish you to believe in yourself and in those you serve. It all begins with you. You are the example and catalyst for success in your life and in your team.
The year 2011 will be a new and exciting year for you and your families and you must believe this to be so. It is also the beginning of a new decade, a decade of adventure, challenge and a decade of opportunity never before seen in America especially for our industry.
Randi and I know that we have a 3-year-window of massive opportunity and all of us need to recognize this and WORK HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER WORKED BEFORE IN YOUR LIVES.
Everything in life is cyclical or a roller coaster – ups and downs. We just experienced a 10 year boom in real estate, mortgage banking, home appreciation, investments, construction and land development. Now those industries are at the bottom of the roller coaster.
It’s our turn now! Network marketing is on top of the world. Why? With almost 20 million people unemployed or underemployed, they are finding relief, financial security and a home in network marketing. Anytime traditional business is down, network marketing is up.
It will take some time for this economy to rebound that is why we admonish each and every one of you to capitalize on this opportunity and seize these very precious 3 years. It is your time! It is your moment! You will never see an opportunity like this again in your lifetime.
2011 IS YOUR YEAR; SO SEIZE IT RIGHT NOW AND BE THE BEST THAT YOU CAN BE BY GOING INTO ACTION – WORK HARD - THIS TIME WITH A DEFINED PURPOSE AND A REAL MOTIVE.
Happy Holidays
The Escobar Group
Tony, Randi, Sean, Crystal, Anthony, and Meleesa
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