It was one of those “accidents of fate” that brought me into partnership with the Shaklee Corporation. (This sounds better than “It was a dark and stormy night…”)
I was working as an engineer in 1980. I attended a Toastmasters meeting on the Navy base where I worked because I was interested in becoming a good public speaker. Another engineer named “Jim,” whom I didn’t know at that point, approached me and after some small talk asked me if I had ever thought about having my own business. I quickly replied that yes, I had, as a matter of fact. He asked me what I had in mind, and I told him that I was considering a “math tutoring business,” since I enjoyed teaching math.
He seemed delighted to find an engineer who was thinking entrepreneurially, and mentioned that my idea was great, but that in order to get paid, I would have to continue tutoring, and the moment I stopped, my income would stop. "Well, duh,” I thought, “isn’t that how all businesses work?” I was naïve.
He asked me if he could show me some business ideas, to which I readily agreed. We set the appointment.
At the appointment, he presented some very interesting ideas about making money that I had not heard before. I agreed to try a couple of the products (a multivitamin and a protein supplement). He assured me that if I didn’t care for them, I could get my money back, no questions asked. Shaklee’s compensation plan has improved over the years, and I’m still fascinated by the many ways that business people like me can develop, over time, a passive income stream that can grow to very comfortable levels with the Shaklee Corporation.
I started up some business with Shaklee, but then didn’t pursue it simply because my career at the time kept me so busy. However, I continued to use even more products on a continuous basis for the next thirty years, up to the present time. I had experienced near-instantaneous results using just the two products I had started with: my fingernails no longer chipped and broke all the time, and my hair no longer had split ends. I had a pretty good diet, but still I generally felt better. After 30 years of consuming and using even more Shaklee products, and now in my 60’s, I have to say that I feel better than ever. I gladly invest in my own health and that of my environment on a monthly basis. My immune system is stronger than ever. I no longer suffer from the colds and sore throats that plagued me throughout most of my life and often forced me to change my plans or just suffer. I also save money by using Shaklee’s concentrated, toxin-free cleaners in my home.
I receive excellent service from Shaklee. Their phone operators are always pleasant and anxious to help. I’m proud to represent the Shaklee Corporation through my own business, Real World Projects. The more I learned about Shaklee’s unparalleled, ethical quality control and its commitment to working closely with the scientific community and documenting its research, the more attracted I became to the opportunity being handed to me on a silver platter, in the finest American tradition.
There’s one other factor that draws me to this Corporation: the philosophy of its founder, Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee, Sr. I see on p. 23 of his booklet, Reflections on a Philosophy, the words that align perfectly with my deepest beliefs: “Thoughtsmanship will actually lead you into expression of a new life. You will produce thoughts in a more orderly and intelligent manner. You will demand and get what you want out of life, and without enduring hardships incurred by careless thought.”
There it is. We have the power to fashion our own lives. Most of us don’t even realize that we have this power. Dr. Shaklee and others have not only tried to make us aware, but to show us the way.
Life doesn’t have to be a “struggle” unless we declare that it is. I personally see the Shaklee Corporation as the best of many possible vehicles to create health and wealth in our lives. Many of us are conditioned to spurn "wealth." But I firmly believe that wealth is our birthright, something that we can use to make life better for ourselves, our families, and the people we love. We all have that ability; it’s simply a matter of waking up to this idea, and then carving our own path.