Author: bkwatson

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Five Tips for Beating Loneliness from St. Ignatius

A recent study revealed an epidemic of loneliness in America. Loneliness and social isolation isn’t limited to America, though; it’s a global scourge that Pope Francis has addressed:

There are no longer close personal relationships. Today’s culture seems to encourage people not to bond with anything or anyone, not to trust…At the root of so many contemporary situations is a kind of impoverishment born of a widespread and radical sense of loneliness. Running after the latest fad, accumulating “friends” on one of the social networks, we get caught up in what contemporary society has to offer. Loneliness with fear of commitment in a limitless effort to feel recognized. (Address to Bishops at the World Meeting of Families, September 27, 2015)

St. Ignatius Loyola knew from his experience of extreme penitence at Manresa that isolation is not healthy. By turning inward and focusing only on his own thoughts and the parts of himself that he despised, he neglected to recognize God’s love for him. Years later, when he founded the Society of Jesus, he ensured that his brothers would always remain in community so as to avoid this pitfall.

What wisdom might Ignatius share with us today as we contend with this epidemic of loneliness?

1. Know your worth.
St. Ignatius opens the Spiritual Exercises by inviting the retreatant to reflect upon self-worth in light of God’s unconditional love for us. Jesuit Fr. Mark Thibodeaux elaborates upon this mediation most beautifully: “Reflect on the staggering, almost unbelievable notion that all the things of the earth were created with my benefit in mind—that God, billions of years before my birth, considered my personal needs and my unique desires while creating the universe.” (God’s Voice Within, 140) Recognize that God created you out of love for you and has placed you on earth at this time and place for a particular purpose. You are important. You are necessary.

2. Discern your mission.
Pope Francis tells us, “I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing.” (Evangelii Gaudium 273) In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius offers effective methods to help us discern our personal mission in life, which will lead to us living with more joy and encountering others with similar missions as we work together.

3. Maintain a support network.
“It is absolutely crucial that I have a strong support network following close behind me, cheering me on, booing the false spirit, whispering tips in my ear, and passing me Gatorade. I will need good mentors, good companions, and a strong link to the church.” (God’s Voice Within, 73) We all need a trusted circle of friends and mentors who will keep us on track. And we need to keep our network strong by investing time in these relationships.

4. Build bridges.
Wherever he went and wherever he sent his brother Jesuits, Ignatius sought to build bridges. Pope Francis continues this tradition today when he speaks of his desire to build a “culture of encounter.”

There indeed we find true healing, since the way to relate to others which truly heals instead of debilitating us, is a mystical fraternity, a contemplative fraternity. It is a fraternal love capable of seeing the sacred grandeur of our neighbor, of finding God in every human being…and seeking the happiness of others just as their heavenly Father does…Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of community! (EG 92)

When we come into dialogue with a mutual respect for the other, listening deeply, we build bridges of trust and make our lives fuller and our communities stronger.

5. Live generously.
Ignatius missioned his fellow Jesuits to be men of service to others. Pope Francis continues to extend this call to serve today. We serve, he says, because “God created that person in his image, and he or she reflects something of God’s glory. Every human being is the object of God’s infinite tenderness, and he himself is present in their lives.” (EG 274) When we serve others, it helps us to gain perspective, inspires gratitude, and nourishes both giver and receiver, bringing us closer together.

As people of hope, we can turn the tide on loneliness. We might start by asking: What gifts do I have that God is calling me to share with others? In what way is God calling me to participate in God’s work by answering the prayers of another? Together, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can infuse joy into our communities and banish the suffering of loneliness.

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash.

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Letter of James 4:13-17.

Beloved : Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”– you have no idea what yo

ur life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.” But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.

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Direct Cellars – Wine Club Review

Direct Cellars – Wine Club ReviewThe wine deal that’s shaking up an industry.

Need Pic Here
Direct Cellars was a direct-to-consumer wine club when it first began a couple years ago, but in 2016 the company started a new approach, with great reviews – distributing their boutique wines through the network marketing business model. As of today, the company is still young, but I’ve personally partnered with Direct Cellars because I see the massive potential to completely change both the wine industry AND the network marketing industry.Update August 2017: Direct Cellars is now available in the United Kingdom and is the #3 wine club in the world, ranked by number of members! Click here to learn more.

The Wine

Well, how is it? How is the wine? I’m no connoisseur, but I do love wine. I used to be a cigar smoker and would often sip a glass of merlot while I puffed on a Padron. I can tell you that so far, the red and/or white wines (your choice) Direct Cellars sends out have been well reviewed.

Are they all my taste? Not necessarily, but that’s the fun of a club – I get to try a lot of wine I wouldn’t have otherwise thought about buying. Even my wife, who really doesn’t like to try anything out of her comfort zone, has found the wine she loves that she never would’ve tried otherwise.

This isn’t “two buck chuck” or the cheap wine you’d normally pick up at the corner store. Direct Cellars‘ wine is sourced from boutique, artisan vineyards from around the world. Mostly from small family-owned wineries.

Every shipment comes with beautiful tasting notes with detailed information about the wine, the vineyard and the winery that makes it.

Click here to see exactly why I chose this easy-to-share wine club.

When you become a part of my Direct Cellars team, you get access to our team training conference calls and private webinars, as well as our team Facebook groups for training with myself and Direct Cellars’ other top leaders!

The Wine Price

At around $20 per bottle, it’s no more than you would pay for an equivalent bottle of wine at the store. It’s quite extraordinary they’re able to keep the prices low when you look at the average up-charge on most network marketing projects. I’ll go into this a bit more later, but you can also get your monthly wine club for free just by referring a few customers (even if they pay less than you per month).

I often bring a bottle of wine to a client or as a party gift, and I’ll stay in the $20-40 price point. So, to have extra bottles around the house for myself AND to give as a gift is perfect.

As of February 2018 the wine club of the monthly subscription prices are:  $50/month for 2 bottles or $80/month for 4 bottles plus a small shipping fee.  And of course, you can do it all online!

It’s really one of the best wine clubs I’ve seen – regardless of the marketing plan.

Get Your Wine Club Membership for Free

Red and White WineWhether you’re a customer or affiliate partner with Direct Cellars, you can get your monthly wine shipment for free every month simply by referring 3 customers.

This, by itself, has caused many people to join as customers. People know they naturally refer people to wine anyway – why not refer them to the club where they can get their beverage for free?

I should also note, this is about all I knew before joining the business: It was a wine MLM business (genius), I could get my wine free by referring 3 customers, there was a payment plan, the company was stable, the opportunity was brand new and no one I knew had heard of it yet.

The Direct Cellars Business

Although I’ve had plenty of success in network marketing, I’ve seen over 95% of my partners struggle in other companies. I’ve seen one main theme between all the failure, though:

Sharing the product and the opportunity.

It’s a simple statement that’s complex to explain, but in almost all cases, my partners wouldn’t invite others to look at the business or the product because of any one of thousands of hang-ups. Whether that was not believing that the product worked, that the business worked, or both. Or fear of rejection, or fear of success (don’t laugh, many people fear it because of the unknown that comes with it!), or any other countless beliefs we all form through previous experiences and hold on to – usually for a lifetime.

I wondered if there would EVER be a product from an MLM company that would inspire confidence to share it.

  1. A product that wasn’t overpriced.
  2. A product that wasn’t too hard to explain (which makes most people sound like they’re begging someone to try it).
  3. A product that people would actually share anyway – even if there was no compensation plan attached to it.

I decided to stop looking and went back to consulting and SEO projects.

Then, thankfully because of the contacts I had from my previous MLM days, I saw ‘the wine deal’ before many others had the chance (right now is still that time – your friends haven’t heard about this, yet).

It struck me that not only was this a product that anyone could share… they were already sharing it. Some, every single day or week. It’s a business plan that doesn’t sell retirement or get rich quick, it focused on people who wanted to drink wine for free, so they refer 3 customers to the wine club.

People are already doing this. This is a complete disruption of an industry. Why would I continue to buy wine when I could refer 3 people I know who already drink wine (and many already in wine clubs) to join my wine club and drink for free?

The answer to me, was clear. This was an opportunity for people who didn’t have success in networking, to finally build a business they could love.

The Cost to Join Direct Cellars

One Time Cost:
SOCIAL LEVEL: $249.95 plus $9.99 shipping – 4 bottles of wine, personal website with one year of membership, and 20% savings on extra cases of wine.
ELITE LEVEL (BEST DEAL): $499.95 plus $14.95 shipping – 12 bottles of wine, personal website with three years of membership, and 40% savings on extra cases of wine.

Monthly Options:
2 bottles per month: $49.95 plus $6.99 shipping
4 bottles per month: $79.95 plus $9.99 shipping

Prices updated February 2018.

The Fast Start Bonus

Every time someone joins your wine club as an affiliate partner who wants to build a business for either $250 or $500, you get a fast-start bonus of $125 or $250, respectively! It’s a very easy way earn money quickly. With Direct Cellars, you’ll be paid commission weekly!

Note: The main difference between the 2 distributor options is you get 12 bottles for the higher price point instead of only 4 – highly recommended if you’re going to be sharing the wine!

The Binary Plan (Dual Pay)

Binary Comp PlanHistorically, the binary comp plan in MLM have been the flashy, quick-money plans that have attracted top talent to companies. In a binary, you have two “legs” of distributors and the sign-ups overflow and fill in the downline below you. This creates a team atmosphere in good scenarios. In a bad scenario, people are joining just to get that overflow and the entire team dies waiting for someone to do something.

This comes down to proper team and company training on how the binary system works. If it’s trained and supported correctly, it’s a good tool to build early income before your team starts to grow organically to fill out the uni-level plan.

The Uni-level Plan

A uni-level compensation plan is one I’ve always been attracted to because of the residual income it can provide. In it’s basic form, your personally sponsored distributors go on your first level, their distributors on your second level, and so on until the bottom levels of the plan are reached. I

The uni-level, over time, creates strong and stable growth that is where real residual income can come from.

As you advance in rank, you can also earn up to a 10% match on your team in the first 4 levels of the uni-level plan.

Whether you get into Direct Cellars early or you decide to wait and build – if you and your team are building hard, just this piece of the comp plan could earn you a big income.

The Business Review

  • Refer 3 customers and drink for free
  • Fast-start bonuses of $125-$250
  • Binary compensation on the front-end for faster earnings
  • Unilevel compensation on the back-end for long-term residuals
  • Check match bonuses up to 10% for helping your team

Direct Cellars Ranks

Not only is Direct Cellars a legit business and way to earn money, the strait-forward rank advancements help you get to the top of the commission plan quickly!

Each time you personally enroll an affiliate onto your team, you’ll rank advance – helping you earn a higher commission percentage.

As of September 23, 2017 the levels are Wine Enthusiast, Wine Critic, Wine Specialist, Wine Expert, Wine Connoisseur, Wine Aficionado, Wine Master, and finally… Master Cellar!

One you reach Master Cellar, you’ll earn 20% on the Dual Pay plan, and be paid 9-levels deep in the uni-level plan. The fast start bonus of $150 or $250 are paid on any rank level!

Learning About Wine

Direct Cellars provides opportunities for business partners and customers to learn from ‘The Wine Whisperer’ with full audio and video series dedicated to help you learn more about how to evaluate – and most importantly – ENJOY the wine you drink.

This not only helps if you hold a wine tasting and talking wine with your friends, but if you have ANY interest in wine at all – it’s very interesting!

Product education is important in any company, and the wine business is no different!

Join Direct Cellars

Now is the time. By the end of the year, Direct Cellars will be on the tips of many of your friends’ tongues.

Direct Cellars Availability

Direct Cellars is available in most of the USA and started pre-registration for the United Kingdom August 1, 2017. Click here for more details.

  • Direct Cellars does not currently ship to Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Utah, Rhode Island, and Oklahoma.

 

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St Jude time

http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Hours/Hours?px=2218929&pg=personal&fr_id=91257 Asking a thousand friends for $5. Can you donate to the kids today?

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Today’s Gospel speaks volumes of why works matter.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”

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