Rick & I, Boston Bruins, Miami Dolphins, and more . . .
Thursday, December 13, 2007
One of the little things I thought was truly cool growing up was that my brother and I shared a birthday. No, I'm not a twin, rather, I was born on his fifth birthday. Moreover, he was born on the exact same day as my cousin Carol, with our mom and hers going through labor together. AND, an uncle on my dad's side also shares the same birthday. Apparently March 9 was a popular day in our family (well, make that sometime around June 9).
So, growing up with several older brothers, I always chose to side with my brother Rick because we were twins, five years removed. Apparently Rick was at his most impressionable age in 1972, when he was 12. I only say that because he adopted the Miami Dolphins (perfect season) as his favorite NFL team and the Boston Bruins as his favorite NHL team (the Bobby Orr era and the 1972 Stanley Cup). Because he liked them, so have I ever since before I even really understood the games.
I don't remember the Dolphins' perfect season, but I do remember heartbreaking losses to the likes of Washington and San Francisco in later Super Bowls. I remain a fan even though the Fins are approaching perfection for losing even as the Patriots appear to be headed toward matching Miami's heretofore unmatched feat. Sigh. I can only hope that the Pats lose at least once, the Dolphins win at least once, and we pick up a high-impact player with the first pick in the draft. Meanwhile, the Bruins are surprisingly doing well this year, achieving with a team with few star-power names.
Later, I picked teams the more traditional way. When the Toronto Blue Jays entered Major League Baseball, I was a paper boy and I remember reading all the stories about our new big league team. When I began working for Amway, I became a fan of the DeVos' team, the Orlando Magic (who also are having an outstanding year!). And now that I've lived in Michigan for 20+ years, I also root for this state's various teams, with the best successes coming from the Red Wings and Pistons. The Lions are annual heartbreakers, and with the University of Michigan the highs are high and the lows are low. MSU chips in now and again with a basketball or hockey title. If my daughter goes there next year, I'll finally have a stronger reason to wear green and white rather than maize and blue.
Early on I picked a team Ibecause of a person whom I respected, even though it made no rational sense to support a team in Miami when I lived in Canada. Later, I picked teams based on the communities I lived or worked in, which would be the more traditional route. And at some point soon, I may develop new favorites based on my loyalty to people I love, my kids.
People pick teams because of the people they love and respect, and they pick teams for rational reasons. I think one of the things we're working on at Quixtar is to make sure that whatever team an IBO chooses to join, they will be exposed to the best practices that will help them succeed with their own Quixtar business. The promise that Quixtar makes to new IBOs is that they can achieve their goals with a Quixtar business of their own. That's the promise we plan to deliver on through our compensation plan, our products, our training and logistical support, and in the way we enable a thriving, healthy IBO community.
Post-Achievers, I'm excited by everything I saw and heard (and we were sooooo close to Miami) as well as the response from IBOs. We are in a time of transformation, and change can be scary. But just like in sports, rebuilding years create a strong foundation upon which an even stronger team can be built for future years. To me, that's exciting!