Richard Branson and me

I recently experienced one of the highlights of my life.

If any of you know me at all, then you'll know that meeting Richard Branson has been one of my biggest dreams. He's been a true source of inspiration to me and it's all because of how he defines business and entrepreneurship.

It used to be that the only things that defined success were money and the number of people working under you. Well, with Branson, that's not it at all. For him the definition of business means being ethical in all that you do, treating your employees right, and mostly -- having fun. Lots of it.

So how did I end up on his private island?

Alright, so back to my dream of meeting Richard Branson. I honestly thought it would take me 5 or even 10 years to do this. You know, to build up credibility and success as an entrepreneur, the typical way to meet anybody famous and wildly successful.

But things were about to go into high speed (little did I know). A while ago, I was at an event for speakers and authors in Vegas and fellow internet entrepreneur, Joe Polish, announced he was organizing a trip to Branson's private island, Necker Island for 20 entrepreneurs to meet and hang out with Branson. The purpose of the trip was to raise money for Branson's charity, Virgin Unite. To attend we had to make a substantial donation to Virgin Unite. I had already set aside a sum of money to donate to charity via my foundation, the MindValley Foundation, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I would donate to a good cause AND get to hang out with Branson and several other brilliant entrepreneurs on Necker Island.

So, I shot an email to my business partner Mike and asked him what he thought of the idea. He replied using the title of

Branson's most famous book. Mike's one-line email simply said, "Screw it, let's do it!"

Richard Branson with my business partner, Mike Reining and me

And so in May, we found ourselves on Necker Island hanging out and partying with Richard Branson. Out of the total 4.5 days on the island, we spent 2 and half days with him from early morning breakfasts to late night celebrations.

A typical day would include breakfast with Branson and 20 other entrepreneurs on the veranda overlooking the sea. This would be followed by a brainstorming session or Q&A with Branson on a variety of topics from entrepreneurship to philanthropy. Lunches were held on the beach. And then it was time for speedboat racing, water sports or snorkeling. Dinners would revolve around a theme, pirate night, 70s party, Casino Night and would end in a wonderful party by the sea.

Hanging out with Branson blew our minds. While most people have their 3-5 year goals, Branson was thinking bigger. I'm talking about space travel and world peace. He's already working with Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Muhammad Yunus and other world leaders on a project called "the Elders" to help guide countries and societies towards peaceful resolution of their differences.

Playing pirates with Richard Branson

Now the Elders is an independent group of highly influential global leaders. It came about with the leadership of Nelson Mandela and together the Elders offer their influence and experience to support peace building and diminish human suffering.

And as for space travel? Why not take a comfy seat aboard Virgin Galactic. It's the first of its kind, providing non-astronauts with the ability to go into space. Now that's a huge goal. But what's even better is that with Branson's vision, this may be affordable to everyone in the future so that people like us can get a chance to experience the Universe from a different perspective.

But beyond his ambition and vision what really struck me about Richard Branson was his attitude towards people. We tend to assume that the rich and successful have a certain sense of arrogance or distance to them. Not so with Branson. He's the kind of guy that talks to everyone, makes the effort to make you feel welcome and treats you almost like family. It was actually quite amazing to watch him. He was almost saintly in his approach to life and people. The way he treated his staff, the children on the island, and the visiting guest entrepreneurs, was with the utmost kindness and grace. The biggest thing I noticed about Branson was his generosity and humility.

The trip was unquestionably one of the most amazing things to have happened to me. It was literally a dream come true. After having hung out with Branson, I'm absolutely going to reevaluate my goals and make them just a little bigger. If Branson can bring about world peace and affordable space travel, I'm pretty sure we can all reach for the moon too.

In a future post I'll share more on what I learned from my experience on Necker Island.

In the meanwhile, here's a video I put together of the trip from the footage on my Flipcam.

And some photo highlights.

Sunrise from my room balconey. At 5:30 am in the morning.

Morning breakfast at the long table.

Brainstorming with Branson and other entrepreneurs

With the money we raised for Virgin Unite

View of Necker Island

Playing Pirates with Richard Branson

Cheers,

Vishen Lakhiani

P.S. What if you could meet Richard Branson? Can you imagine what he would say to you or better yet, what would you say to him? Drop a comment. I'd love to hear your thoughts on one of my role models.

P.P.S. The thought of meeting Richard Branson isn't completely loony. Stay tuned and I'll let you know what I mean.

a healthy abundance mindset.

I can personally attest to this. When I started FinerMinds' parent company, MindValley, business was slow. I hate to admit it but that's the truth. No matter what I did, how many articles or books I read on running a business, nothing was happening. Until I had a shift in my abundance mindset. From that moment on, FinerMinds skyrocketed and so did my personal growth.

So until your mind is geared towards abundance, nothing will happen for you. It's time for you to remove those mental blocks and let the Universe and you come together to welcome wealth and success.

So back to your super hero council, I mentioned earlier. Remember when you were young and you thought how awesome it would be to have Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman at your side, guiding you and of course helping you fight crime? Now picture this:

Having over 12 of the most brilliant minds in the fields of abundance and success in your room, just hanging out with you, brainstorming never-before-thought-of ideas, and telling you the secrets to achieving every financial, spiritual, and emotional goal you've ever dreamed of.

Sounds a little too good to be true doesn't it. Well, pinch yourself, it's real...What's going down is the Virtual Abundance Expo.

It's coming up this July 27th to July 30th and it's exactly as the name suggests. It's over 40 hours of phone and web access with top minds like Jack Canfield, Richard Branson, Bob Proctor, and even yours truly. There's even going to be 4 mystery guests!

Even as you listen to the exclusive talks, you'll feel your mindset start to change. Abundance will permeate every aspect of your life. From your health to your goals, you'll be able to figure out your passions and follow them for success and cash money.

I'm so excited for this event, it's gonna be out of this world and the first of its kind.

Here's a video from my friend Alex Mandossian. I think it's really important you listen to it to realize the need for an abundance mindset and just exactly what it is:

Click here to sign up for this revolutionary event that will revamp your mind for abundance in every aspect of your life>>

Cheers,

Vishen

PS: There's a cap on how many people are allowed to attend this event, so you better reserve your seat soon and the event starts in less than a week!

Click here to reserve your seat >>

I found this awesome article that breaks down the how-tos and whys of acquiring a healthy wealthy mindset.

One particular quote I really love and can be applied to all aspects of our lives is this one:

Believing you can accomplish something is the first step in actually doing it.

I wish this simple concept was instilled in our minds from birth and in our education system. But it's never too late to start and now is better than anytime.

In this article you will learn:

• What a wealth and prosperity mindset is

• Why it’s essential to have one if you want success in your life

• How to expand your mindset for wealth and prosperity

Enjoy! And let me know if you have any tips on gaining a mindset for wealth and success.

Building a Wealth and Prosperity Mindset

From MetaphysicalTeachers.com

One sure way to boost your odds of becoming successful is to have a mindset geared toward wealth and prosperity. Why? Because the actions you take on a daily basis – right down to the amount of effort you put toward your goals – stem directly from your state of mind.

Believing you can accomplish something is the first step in actually doing it.

Unfortunately many of us pay little attention to our mindset, and end up creating a whole lot of struggle and difficulty for ourselves in the process! The good news is that creating a wealth and prosperity mindset can be achieved quickly and easily with a little know-how and some determination.

This report will share some helpful insights on:

• Exactly what a wealth and prosperity mindset is

• Why it’s vital to have one if you want to succeed

• How to develop your mindset for wealth and prosperity

What is a Wealth and Prosperity Mindset?

The common definition of “mindset” is: a mental attitude or inclination, or a fixed state of mind. So, a wealth and prosperity mindset would mean an attitude or inclination that causes us to focus on abundance.

It may surprise you to learn that most people focus on the opposite. They focus on wanting more prosperity, seeking greater wealth, and pursuing both at any cost.

In other words, they focus on the fact that they do not yet have wealth or prosperity, which means they actually have a scarcity or poverty mindset. They focus more on what they’re lacking, the things they can’t afford to buy, and even worse – feeling resentful toward people who are already wealthy.

Does this describe your general attitude, too? If so, don’t let it get you down! It’s actually very common to have this mindset, and you can turn it around starting right now.

All you need is the willingness to start thinking in a different way and the courage to take actions based on this new way of thinking. Don’t worry; you won’t have to take groundbreaking actions; just one step at a time will move you in the direction you want to go.

Click here to continue reading >>

David Wood with FinerMinds Co-Founder, Vishen Lakhiani

David Wood is back by popular demand. His video blog post entitled "Are You An Undercover Coach? Take The 1 Min Test" still holds the record for the #1 most commented blog post on FinerMinds with over 185 comments.

This time however, he's not back with another video blog post.

He's back with a teleseminar and given his popularity at FinerMinds, it's sure to be a major hit.

If you took David's quiz already, and scored at least 4 out of 7, click on the big link below immediately, and register for his upcoming teleseminar with Brian Wong of QuanLife.

This live broadcast will give you answers you'll need to know to start your own coaching practice from scratch.

For those of you who didn't take David's fun and quick video quiz, do so now.

You might discover that you have some hidden coaching qualities that you could take advantage of to improve the lives of others and boost your own self-awareness.

Watch the video below, leave your quiz results and then register for the teleseminar if you scored 4 or higher.

Hope you scored at least 4 out of 7. If that's the case, then see you at the teleseminar!

It will be held on Thursday June 25th, 9pm US Eastern Time. The lines fill up fast so register early!

Get Your FREE Access to the Exclusive David Wood Teleseminar With Brian Wong NOW >>

Well, FinerMinds' parent company, MindValley, is looking for people who want to do just that. We are hiring people who are out to get their dreams, achieve their goals, and believe in personal growth and development.

First, a bit about MindValley.  We're an amazing group of individuals who are dedicated to learning, striving for higher achievement, and making a change in the world. We publish and work with authors and leading experts and gurus in the field of personal growth and business development.  It's almost impossible to be exposed to such great thinkers without having some of their ideas rub off on you.  We make a difference by bringing these amazing men and women into the public eye through various forms of new media.

We hire poets, writers, mathematicians, entrepreneurs, web application developers, DJs, programmers, video artists—from around the world. At MindValley, you find yourself surrounded by insanely bright people, with fascinating lives and hobbies, doing work that they’re passionate about.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, it does.  MindValley is based out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  We're talking sunny beaches, exotic food, a beautiful and diverse culture, and the opportunity to explore one of the most amazing parts of the world.  You can go off to Cambodia or Thailand for a weekend and be back on Sunday evening to watch the sun set over the Twin Towers.

MindValley isn't just about getting your job done.  We're changing the landscape of work itself.  We have been on The WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces twice in a row.  At MindValley, your work will enrich your life.  It definitely has with mine.  We believe that just one year here will give you more experience and education than 2 years at any master's program from a college.

Our culture lets our employees work on projects that make them happy and allows them to grow.   We give them the time and resources to pursue their own hobbies and move towards their own personal dreams.  MindValley is a testing ground for new ideas and principles on growth and transformational business.  Our founders, Mike Reining and Vishen Lakhiani call this Consciousness Engineering.

We have one mantra here and it's this:  Be Awesome, Deliver Awesome.

So if you're sick of the old 9 to 5 and are looking for a challenge, then I suggest you check out this video Hani Khaursar made about what work is like at MindValley.

Interested?  I thought you might be.  You can learn all about MindValley and the people behind it at our Careers page »

Kristin Morelli with FinderMinds founder, Vishen Lakhiani

I've got some really good news I want to share with you.

I managed to secure a live teleseminar with Kristin and David Morelli.

*Update* You can catch the replay here »

These guys have helped loads of people in terms of changing their lives around and getting them to attract incredible wealth and success.  And not to mention they're hilarious.

We'll be talking about using your energy to effortlessly get over your fears and bring in wealth. I've also been told that Kristin and David will be giving us the 3 Wealth Building Tips that they use and say works every single time.

This isn't any regular boring call. The energy's going to be insane. You're actually gonna be able to feel it.

Kristin and David are awesome people. And this teleseminar's not just about learning and change. It's going to be fun, exciting, and the atmosphere will be vibrating with energy.

The teleseminar's not till April 21st, but I recorded a preview that you can listen to right now.

I would love to open this teleseminar to everyone but we've only got 500 spaces available and it's first come, first served so you better hurry up and sign up!

Just click here to sign up to the teleseminar and listen to the preview »

Arjuna Ardagh

If you’ve watched the television news in the last few months, or listened to the radio, or been on the internet, or looked at a magazine… or even just talked to well… anybody, you must be aware that the general consensus is that this is a time of unprecedented challenge and transition. Economically, that often gets focused onto the United States, but actually in the wider implications, the transition that we are passing through is global.

I’m sure you don’t need me to spell out what that means. Whether we focus on sinking into a global recession--or even depression--or global warming, or peak oil, or the many unresolved political conflicts around the world: whatever parameter you choose to focus on, many people feel today fear that we are sitting on a bus heading over the edge of a cliff. Depressing, isn’t it?

Suppose for a moment that your house develops severe dry rot in the basement. The contractor comes, takes a look and says, “Sorry, there’s nothing I can do. It’s too far gone. Better to tear the place down.” This would be inconvenient, but not the end of the world. Now suppose that it was your neighborhood gone to seed, taken over by… what? Lawyers? Communists? White supremacists? Doesn’t matter. If you don’t like the area where you’re living you can always move to another part of town. Now what about if it was your city, or your state, or even the country? There’s always an alternative. You could move to Phoenix, or Alaska, or even Mexico or Europe. Bali is very nice, too.

But what about if it’s our planet in jeopardy? That is a whole different situation, because as far as most of us know, we don’t have any alternative. Some people claim to have had communication with the Pleiadees or life on Mars, but for the average Joe like you and me, this is it. This is home. Every memory we have is of life on earth, and every aspiration, too. When the balance of life on this planet is jeopardized, it’s quite natural to feel a little queasy.

On the surface it seems that every problem we face: environmental, political, economic is separate and disconnected from every other. The only thing they all have in common is that we don’t really know what to do. But look a little deeper. Every predicament we face; personally, in our family or community, and even globally, does have one thing in common. Us.

A few decades ago Albert Einstein said a wonderful thing. He said,

“You cannot solve any problem in the same state of consciousness in which it was created.”

You know this already, don’t you? Have you ever experienced that you go to bed one night having a fight with your partner, or a friend, and you absolutely know that you’re right and the other is wrong, and it seems like a war without end? And then you have a good night’s sleep, and perhaps you wake up and do a little yoga or take a walk, and the problem never gets solved. It is dissolved. You feel different in yourself. You see the other with fresh eyes and the love that binds you becomes stronger than the disagreement that separated you. You’ve just experienced a shift of consciousness. When we shift our state of consciousness, the problems that seemed real in one state disappear in another state. They don’t get solved, they get dissolved.

Just as from one perspective it seems like we’re faced with insurmountable global problems, so something else is also happening today, just under the radar, which is affecting millions of people. I gave you a hint of what that is all about two weeks ago in the article I shared with you about Dave [February 16, 2009]. Dave didn’t solve his problems. He shifted his consciousness and saw things in a totally different way, and his life reorganized itself around his new state of consciousness. Many people today feel this is happening to us collectively. And I’m not talking only about new age spiritual woo-woo people wearing Birkenstocks, eating granola and wanting to hug. I mean that well recognized think-tanks advising governments and big business are recognizing that there is a significant shift in collective consciousness. Roger Nelson, until recently a professor at Princeton, has even attempted to find ways to measure collective consciousness scientifically. This shift happening just under the radar is often referred to as “awakening.” It starts when an individual expands beyond preoccupation with “me” and recognizes themselves to be something much greater, deeper, more mysterious. When many people shift in this way, in a community or a company or a church, or even in the country, we can begin to also speak of “collective awakening.” My 2005 book “The Translucent Revolution” documents how this kind of shift is impacting both individuals as well as organizations and communities.

All of this is happening somewhat out of our control. There’s not much that you and I can do about the fact that old structures are crumbling apart--giving some people the feeling that the sky is falling. And there’s not much that you and I can do about collective awakening. It’s happening now on a vast scale. What is important for you and me is how we ’re going to relate to all this. Many people today sense that next few years will be a time of unprecedented change for humanity. Looked at from one perspective, it may seem like Armageddon, and from another it may feel like our wildest dreams are coming true. The difference is in your state of consciousness.

What is actually happening?

In order to understand what is happening for all of us, it’s useful to recognize a phenomenon that occurs in recovery from addiction called “bottoming out.” Perhaps you know someone who has been an addict and then entered into recovery. Maybe you’ve even experienced that process yourself. When someone is fully immersed in an addiction, they generally don’t even know they have a problem, and if someone tries to point it out they tend to argue. It’s called denial. I had some friends a few years ago who went through this process as a family. Jim used to stop at the bar for a drink or two after work and then come home. Susan thought nothing of it. But over a few months he came home later and later, smelling of alcohol. His temper became more volatile. If anyone questioned him about the drinking he became defensive. The kids, four and six at the time, started to become afraid of their father. When he came home one night and woke everyone up, Sue tried to reason with him, and he hit her. That was the final straw. She moved out the next week with the kids back to Michigan, and from there you know the rest of the story. Things spiraled down. He got into arguments at work and then he lost his job. He maxed out his credit cards. When he got too behind on the mortgage payments he lost his house, too. And he went on drinking. Finally, he ended up in hospital with a liver disease.

From Jim’s perspective things couldn’t get any worse. But from the perspective of anyone familiar with addiction, for the first time Jim was really ready to face himself. He got out of the hospital, joined a twelve step program, stopped drinking, and within months he turned his life around. Now Jim and Sue are back together, and he has become a support to hundreds of other people to recover from addiction. The way that Jim tells it is that he didn’t have to descend all the way down into the darkness and then climb all the way up the other side. He slipped down into the lowest point and then passed through a quantum shift. He flipped out of one reality and into another.

You could say that the process that we are in together today is very much like that: a collective bottoming out. If you’re very attached to business as usual, this could seem like the end of everything. Many well-respected commentators like Lynn Twist, Barbara Marx-Hubbard and Peter Russell recognize that over the last few years humanity, particularly the US, has been on a binge. Like Jim, we’ve been spending more than we earn, and of course most of us have been in massive denial. If you feel attached to the way that things have been, this next phase may be difficult. If, on the other hand, you’re open to a whole new paradigm, this can be marvelous. Wonderful. Liberating. The pivotal difference is in how we manage consciousness.

I am an awakening coach. That’s what I do. I support people to pass through the shift in consciousness from being contracted down into the story of a “me,” to the expansiveness of knowing yourself to be vast, silent, at peace, and not separate at all. I train other people to become awakening coaches, and to facilitate this shift. Here is some great news: these days waking up can be incredibly easy. You don’t have to change your beliefs or your diet or your lifestyle. You simply need to be willing to ask yourself some simple and fundamental questions and to be deeply honest with yourself.

Here are five simple keys for what you need to be able to pass through the collective shift with comfort and ease:

• Discover ways to be fully present: to shift your attention fully to what you’re experiencing in this moment.
• Learn to distrust your mind. Find ways to recognize the messages that your mind is giving you and then not to change negative messages into positive ones, but to free yourself from the limits of thinking all together.
• Transform your relationship from other people and the environment from one of getting to one of giving. Focus more on how much you love than how much you are loved.
• Find the right practices that work for you on a day-to-day basis to neutralize the habits that create feeling separate. Practices need to be tailor-made. It’s not one size fits all.
• Simplify your life. Find a way to discover what is really meaningful and fulfilling to you and what is just distraction. Let your life become a work of art.

I want to thank you so much for your generous responses to my last article and I look forward to getting to know you better. I’ve prepared 6 downloads from my "Leap Before You Look" book and CD for you to explore this at home. If you’d like to enjoy them, I’ll explain more on the attached video.

Please, post your comments and questions below, and I will respond to all of them personally.

See you soon!

Arjuna

Click Here to Access the Video and 6 Free Downloads from Arjuna Ardagh with Powerful Awakening Tips You Can Start Using Today

Many of us endeavor to be a better person and follow what we our heart's belief's and desires... but many of us often find our dreams hampered when the "rules of society" tell us this is not possible.

The late Dame Anita Roddick does not believe so. Cynthia Kersey, author of the bestselling book "Unstoppable", shares this moving story of Anita Roddick with us.

This story will inspire and uplift you to fight for your heart's dreams and desires, even if this means you have to fight the system.

The Creation of a Caring Corporation

If you want to start a successful business

• Don’t choose an industry that’s already dominated by several large companies.
• Don’t plan on selling products without an advertising campaign.
• Don’t mix politics with sales.

Any Harvard Business School graduate can tell you those rules. And that’s exactly why someone from Harvard Business School is the last person Anita Roddick plans to hire.

Anita broke just about every rule in the book when she started The Body Shop to sell naturally based cosmetics. She’s still breaking the rules today. Of course, such irreverence has its consequences. In Anita’s case, the consequences read like this: The Body Shop now has more than 1,500 stores throughout the world, is worth over $500 million, and has influenced the products and marketing of all its chief competitors.

And those are just the consequences in the business arena. The Body Shop is also a powerfully effective vehicle for social and environmental awareness and change; as far as Anita is concerned, that is the most important consequence of all.

From the moment in 1976 when Anita first conceived the idea of opening a shop to sell naturally based cosmetics, she was thinking in a most unbusinesslike manner. Most entrepreneurs set out to establish a company with growth potential that will make them wealthy someday. Anita was just looking for a way to feed herself and her two children, while her husband, also a maverick, was away on a two-year adventure, riding a horse from Argentina to New York.

Her first challenge was to find a cosmetics manufacturer to produce her products. No one she approached had ever heard of jojoba oil or aloe vera gel, and they all thought that cocoa butter had something to do with chocolate. Although she didn’t realize it at the time, Anita had discovered a market just about to explode: young female consumers who would prefer their cosmetics to be produced in a cruelty-free and environmentally responsible manner. When manufacturers failed to have the same foresight, Anita found a small herbalist who could do the work she required.

Since Anita was not the typical entrepreneur, she saw no drawbacks in starting her company with almost no capital. To save money, she bottled her cosmetics in the same inexpensive plastic containers hospitals use for urine samples, encouraging her customers to bring the containers back for refills. Because Anita couldn’t afford to have labels printed, she and some friends hand printed every one. Her packaging couldn’t have turned out better if she’d planned it that way. With the improvised packaging, her product now had the same natural, earthy image as the cosmetics themselves.

Anita opened the first branch of The Body Shop in her hometown of Brighton, England. When she first opened, neighboring proprietors made bets on how long the store would last. Less amused were the owners of local funeral parlors who insisted she change the shop’s name. No one, they complained, would hire a funeral director located near a place called “The Body Shop.” She stuck to her guns and the name stayed.

The first store was only minimally successful. Nevertheless, Anita decided to move ahead with a second one. The bank questioned the wisdom of her plan and refused a loan. So she found a friend of a friend who was willing to lend her the equivalent of $6,400 in exchange for 50 percent ownership of The Body Shop. Today that person is worth $140 million. Signing over half of her business was the only real mistake Anita ever made.

But it wasn’t the only decision that looked like a mistake. Here are three more:

• She has never advertised even when she opened shops in the United States. People told her it was suicide to enter a new market without massive advertising support.
• She doesn’t sell in any outlet other than The Body Shop stores. (Some of her Asian stores are the only exception and are located within department stores.)
• She resolved early on that her shops would be a catalyst for change, not just in the business world, but in the world at large.

These decisions turned out to be some of the most inspired “mistakes” in the history of retailing. Even though Anita has never paid for advertising, her unconventional ideas have inspired hundreds of articles and interviews generating tremendous publicity. Her first shop in New York was packed with customers from the day it opened. At one point, a thirty-five-year-old woman on roller skates threw up her arms and shouted, “Hallelujah! You’re here at last.” So much for advertising.

A new branch of The Body Shop opens somewhere in the world every two and a half days. Occasionally, Anita has had trouble opening stores in shopping malls. But having a past that was filled with challenges, Anita is accustomed to coming up with creative solutions. For instance, when one mall refused to lease her space, she organized every mail-order customer within a 110-mile radius to write letters to the management of that mall. Within a few months, a branch of The Body Shop was open.

Anita also had this nonconformist idea of putting ideals ahead of profit. From the start, Anita wanted not just to change the faces of her customers but to change the entire face of business. She envisioned a company that was socially responsible and compassionate. “I see the human spirit playing a big role in business. The work does not have to be drudgery, and the sole focus does not have to be on making money. It can be a human enterprise that people feel genuinely good about.”

Some of the raw materials for her products are harvested by groups of people in underdeveloped regions, thus generating an income for them. The Body Shop has launched campaigns to save the whales, ban animal testing in the cosmetics industry, help the homeless, and protect the rain forests. All of these campaigns have been eagerly supported by loyal customers.

Employees of The Body Shop are actively involved in these efforts. Each month, employees receive a half day off with pay to volunteer in the community. Some employees, for example, went to Romania to help rebuild orphanages. In the stores, customers are encouraged to register to vote, recycle their plastic cosmetics containers, and bring their own shopping bags to save paper and plastic. Because of all these activities, people have suggested Anita’s company should really be called “The Body and Soul Shop.” Customers emerge not only looking good but also feeling good.

“Business as usual” isn’t part of Anita Roddick’s make up. But as far as she’s concerned, doing what is not usual has made all the difference.

This story is authored and contributed by Cynthia Kersey, a highly-sought authority on perseverance, peak performance & achieving breakthrough goals, as well as a bestselling author. The story on Anita Roddick is one of the 45 powerful stories from Cynthia's bestselling book, Unstoppable, which sold several hundred thousand copies in 13 languages. Numerous Fortune 500 companies and independent distributors, including Xerox, Johnson & Johnson, Aetna, Home Interiors & Gifts, Jafra, Noevir, Quixtar and Primerica utilize Cynthia's inspiring message and unique strategies. Her message empowers individuals to build and maintain a successful business and to create a rich and meaningful life.

We had over 9,500 people sign up for a recent interview with Helene Hadsell. Starting from the moment that the first few people got a chance to listen to Helene's interview, her phone has been ringing off the hook and her inbox has been flooded with emails. I spoke to her this morning and she told me that she still had 350 emails to reply to.

Pic Above: Vishen, Melissa and Mike with Helene Hadsell

I don't know where Helene, who is 84 years old (a correction, in our last post we mentioned she was 83), gets all of that energy from!

I first heard about Helene Hadsell through my friend Kate Roberts. She told me about an out-of-print book Helene had wrote decades ago, and showed me a blog post on her by Joe Vitale. I was intrigued, so I Googled her name to find out everything I could about her life. Somehow I stumbled upon her email address and wrote to her to ask if I could interview her for FinerMinds.

She replied within 24 hours.

That first interview blew me away. Helene's stories mesmerized me. What was supposed to be a one hour interview turned into two solid hours. I decided I had to meet this lady.

Pic Above: Helene at Home

Coincidentally, it turned out Helene lived in Alvarado, Texas. And I was actually going to be in Whitney, Texas in 4 weeks for a charity fundraiser. Whitney and Alvarado are only 35 minutes apart.

And so on a beautiful summer day in September, Mike, our friend Melissa, and I drove to visit Helene. We planned on spending 6 hours with her before flying out to LA.

Helene was not happy to hear this. She was under the impression that we were going to stay the night. She had prepared her guesthouse for us and cooked a nice meal. "It's nice to have company," she said.

And then another coincidence struck. Our plans to LA got changed.

Turned out we were spending the night!

We spent all day filming Helene. We shot over 8 hours of footage and our encounter with Helene left us completely transformed. Helene's wisdom and knowledge are so profound and yet so simple and easy to apply to your own life, I was completely stunned.

In between the filming, Mike, Melissa and I each had private sessions with Helene where she told us things about our lives and who we are that only a close friend could have known.

Pic Above: Melissa interviews Helene for the film

She told me things about my son, my career, my way of doing business that were spot on. It was slightly eerie, yet amazing.

We left at 5am the next morning to catch our flights. Helene shakes up your view of "reality". She's an amazingly joyful, loving person. And after you've met her - you never feel the same again. During the trip, Helene shared some of her goals with me. She no longer needs to win contests. Now she's working on a play she wants to get on the Hallmark channel, a new bestselling book she wants to get into Borders, and she's aiming to get on the David Letterman show.

I decided to help her with her book.

The footage we took is going to be turned into a documentary.  And we'll be bundling this with her book and some CDs to create a product based on Helene's teachings. She can no longer do seminars. It's too tiring for her. But being able to spread her light via DVD, book and CD is the next best thing.

Pic Above: Mike interviewing Helene

Pic Above: Melissa and Helene

Dec 22 Update: Helene Hadsell's Book and DVD have now Launched. Please visit TheWinningSage.com.

Over the past couple of weeks on FinerMinds we’ve introduced you to a remarkable woman: Helene Hadsell. She’s the 83-year-old “Winning Sage” from Alvarado, Texas who literally wins everything she wants in life through contests. Helene is the Law of Attraction in action, and she’s been doing it for 50 years.

In our last piece about Helene we guided you through her life-long winning streak. Today, we want to share with you the story of Carolyn Wilman, “The Contest Queen”, who has learned a tremendous amount from Helene Hadsell.

Carolyn’s approach to entering contests changed radically after she met Helene, and so did her ability to win! Right now Carolyn just got back from enjoying a romantic trip in London with her husband (which she won in a contest, of course!).

Here is Carolyn Wilman’s story, in her own words, of meeting Helene and the how this meeting changed her life:

Hi,

I have studied many motivational, inspirational and spiritual teachers over the past 20 years. I first read about Helene Hadsell, author of The Name It & Claim It Game on Joe Vitale’s blog in the summer of 2007. He talked about how she used her mind to focus her energy and win every contest she ever entered. WOW! As a fellow contest hobbyist and author of You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter, I wanted to know exactly how she did that. I win a lot, but not every promotion I enter. I began writing an email to her, but for some reason it sat in my Drafts folder for months. While cleaning out my email in June of 2008 I finally completed it and sent that email to Helene. She immediately wrote me back and included her phone number. I rang her. We spoke for over an hour. I felt as if I had met a kindred soul.

During our conversation Helene agreed to be a guest on my online radio show. She was my guest on the August 4th 2008 edition of “From the Contest Queen.” (I include the date as it shows how fast you can manifest your goals, dreams, desires, and wishes into your life if you focus enough energy on them.)
During the show we talked about her entry method versus mine. She would select a prize, find a contest giving away that prize, enter, focus on it, and win. I focused on winning, but entered hundreds of contests on a daily basis. I asked her why I had not yet won a car yet. Helene said, “Dear, why do you disperse your energy over so many contests? Focus on what you really want to win and you will.”

The next day I created a new vision board, wrote up 3x5s with my new goals that I could focus on (I even hung one on the shower door) and changed my entire contest entering system.

The things I decided I wanted most in my life were:

• To own a very profitable business
• To be a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show
• To win a new car
• To win a week long romantic trip for two to London UK
• To win a week long family trip for four to Walt Disney World
• To win a home makeover
• To win a backyard makeover
• To win an big screen LCD HDTV
• To win a Wii
• To win a BlackBerry

I focused on each of these goals several times a day for a few weeks.  For the month of September, I still won my usual 5-15 prizes that month (apparently, I cannot, not win), but they were very small prizes in both size and dollar value. Where were the big prizes that Helene spoke of?  Little Miss Impatient (me) gave up. I missed entering heaps of contests. The hobby wasn’t as fun for me anymore. So I went back to entering heaps of contests every day. I began to have fun again. At the same time, I reassessed my goals. I was entering a lot of contests that offered trips as prizes, so I changed my goal of a trip to London to a romantic trip anywhere. I figured if the Universe saw fit to send me to the Caribbean, who am I to argue? I also stopped focusing on my goals every day.

On November 7th, almost three months to the day of setting my goals, I was notified I was the Grand Prize winner of the Smart Set “Meet Duffy in London” Contest!!  I was ecstatic.

The prize included:

• A chance to meet Duffy and two tickets to her show
• $500 spending money
• Roundtrip airfare for two
• 4 nights hotel accommodation
• $500 Smart Set gift card
• A copy of Duffy’s Rockferry CD

Two thoughts also went through my head: 1) WOW! This stuff really works and 2) Oh My Gosh, all the other goals I set for myself are on their way!

Hold on! Didn’t I ask for a weeklong trip? This was only 4 nights/5 days. I thought, “Close enough!”, and merrily made travel plans. Well, while making all the travel arrangements with the contest sponsors, Universal Music and Transat Holidays, I was informed we would be flying out December 4th and returning on December 11th. Wait, wasn’t that 6 nights/7 days? Yes. They chose to extend the trip by 2 days. So I got my week after all. I was amazed how well Helene’s SPEC Method (Select it, Project it, Expect it, and Collect it) actually worked! (Also, did you notice? I asked the Universe for what I wanted and it arrived via Universal. COOL!)

The adventure isn’t over yet!

As the information for the trip went back and forth, I realized we were not flying into Heathrow airport, but into Gatwick. (If you have never been to London, Heathrow is close to the city connected by the Underground. Gatwick is fairly far and one must take the train into the city, then changing to the Underground.) I thought OH NO! Not that I minded flying to an airport further out of the city, or even having to take the train, but our luggage is old (I bought it in 1990) and it wouldn’t be very easy to haul on and off trains. I said to my husband, we need new luggage. He started to shop around. In the meantime, I got the final travel documents. I realized Transat Holidays had included transfers to and from the airport to our hotel by car. I told my husband, since we are being chauffeured and with Christmas just around the corner, I thought we could manage another trip with our old luggage and purchase a new set in the New Year. He agreed.

Then on November 30th I got a call from Zellers. I had entered a contest way back in May and I had won. Could I come down to the store today and pick-up my brand new set of luggage? They apologized for taking so long to call me, but they had to wait for the two smaller pieces of luggage to arrive from the other contest sponsor. Incredible! That goal wasn’t even on the original list. The wish for new luggage was an afterthought and it manifested almost immediately.

I have since begun focusing on all the other goals again several times a day. Now, I wonder when my new car will arrive.
As you can well imagine, I highly recommend Helene’s book The Name It & Claim It Game to anyone who is interested in achieving their goals quickly and easily. Although the subject of the book may be based on contests, Helene’s techniques can be applied to any goal you may have: health, wealth, love, etc.

Enjoy!

Carolyn Wilman

NOW YOU CAN ACCESS AN INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNING SAGE, HELENE HADSELL.

» Click Here To Access The Interview

Update: Helene Hadsell's Book and DVD have now Launched. Please visit TheWinningSage.com