Tuesday, July 27, 2010

My Acres of Diamonds



My Acres of Diamonds, they are all around me.. they cover a pretty big regional footprint ... Singapore, Malaysia, Hongkong, Thailand, Indonesia ... Now, what (or who) do you think "diamonds" look like? ;)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Diamonds!!!! Don't miss those right under your feet!

In the course of building my Network and coaching new people in setting up their own global distribution franchise, specialising in products that address everybody's everyday health concerns, I often come across new distributors who get very excited about the potential of opening up exciting new markets. Like Thailand? Indonesia? India? China? Europe?

Whenever I have the chance, I'd advise these new apprentices against flying here, flying there and flying everywhere. Usually, the price of doing all that is disappoinment - massive costly disappointment. We're all familiar with the saying, "Rolling stones gather no moss". It is true. I've been there, done that. It's confirmed, as if I needed to :)

Besides, how can we build in other people's country if we don't first build well in our own? Furthermore, it takes a Turk, not a German, to build the Turkey market. I am quoting Gursel Ayikbaba, a handsome, battle-hardened Turkish leader sponsored into the business in Germany by the Diamond from Nurenberg, Gerhard Reuhausser, both of whom I had the privilege of meeting in Bangkok recently.

The story that captures and conveys, tells and retells, this advice best is the story about The Acres of Diamonds. Here, I quote a recent re-telling of the story in an email from Bob Proctor's Insight of the Day based on excerpts from a radio show, Our Changing World,
by Earl Nightingale, 1921-1989, author of The Strangest Secret.

"Acres of Diamonds

One of the most interesting Americans who lived in the 19th century was a man by the name of Russell Herman Conwell. He was born in 1843 and lived until 1925. He was a lawyer for about 15 years until he became a clergyman.

One day, a young man went to him and told him he wanted a college education but couldn't swing it financially. Dr Conwell decided, at that moment, what his aim in life was, besides being a man of the cloth - that is. He decided to build a university for unfortunate, but deserving, students. He did have a challenge however. He would need a few million dollars to build the university. For Dr Conwell, and anyone with real purpose in life, nothing could stand in the way of his goal.

Several years before this incident, Dr Conwell was tremendously intrigued by a true story - with its ageless moral. The story was about a farmer who lived in Africa and through a visitor became tremendusly excited about looking for diamonds. Diamonds were already discovered in abundance on the African continent and the farmer got so excited about the idea of millions of dollars worth of diamonds that he sold his farm to head out to the diamond line. He wandered all over the continent, as the years slipped by, constantly searching for diamonds, wealth he never found. Eventualy, he went completely broke and threw himself into a river and drowned.

Meanwhile, the new owner of his farm picked up an unusual looking rock about the size of a country egg and put it on his mantle as a sort of curiosity. A visitor stopped by and in viewing the rock practically went into terminal convulsions. He told the new owner of the farm that the funny looking rock on his mantle was about the biggest diamond that had ever been found. The new owner of the farm said, "Heck, the whole farm is covered with them" - and sure enough it was.

The farm turned out to be Kimberley Diamond Mine .. the richest the world has ever know. The original farmer was literally standing on "Acres of Diamonds" until he sold his farm.

Dr Conwell learned from the story of the farmer and continued to teach its moral. Each of us is right in the middle of our own "Acres of Diamonds", if only we would realize it and develop the ground we are standing on before charging off in search of greener pastures. Dr Conwell told this story many times and attracted enormous audiences. He told the story long enough to have raised the money to start the college for underprivileged deserving students. In fact, he raised 6 million dollars and the university he founded, Temple University in Philadelphia, has at least ten degree-granting colleges and six other schools.

When Dr Russel H Conwell talked about each of us being right on our own "Acres of Diamonds", he meant it. This story does not get old .. it will be true forever.

Opportunity does not just come along - it is there all the time - we just have to see it."