Lonnie Emard

I was one of the very first people to join Waiora back in the beginning. I remember coming in for the pre-launch event in 2004 and seeing and hearing the vision that Stan and Eddie had for the company. I can still feel the excitement at what we knew Waiora could be. Many of us there had the sense that we'd been there once before (with Rexall Showcase International) and perhaps because of that we knew that you don't get many opportunities to be with a company at the cusp of something big. It's not often you can have absolute confidence in the management and leadership of a company and that's what we knew we'd found with Waiora. It was an easy decision to join.

Back in 2002, I accepted a position as the Chief Talent Officer in Information Technology for Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina. It's a specialty field in that I'm responsible for all the recruitment, hiring, training and leadership development for IT staff for the entire company. In the five years that I've been here, we've gone from 1,200 people to 2,100 people so it's something that requires constant attention. Altogether, I probably work about 50 hours a week at my job, which is probably average. So like most members, I do my Waiora business on a part-time basis.

Even so, a lot of other people have passed me by – going on to Emerald and Diamond. I've been hanging out at Ruby for the past three years or so. I was enjoying the sizeable checks but knew that I wasn't optimizing the opportunity. My wife, Karen, started asking me when we were going to achieve Emerald. I realized that something was holding us back and that something was me.

I'm not exactly sure when the light bulb went on but it did. I realized that I wasn't committing myself to the business as well as I could. In addition to my job, I coach high school boy's basketball and have done so for the past 20 years. It is a passion of mine and I give it everything that I've got – dedicating about four months out of the year to the season and additional time during the off-season too, since building a successful basketball program takes a year-round effort.

In taking an honest look at my business, I had to acknowledge that I wasn't as available to my team or as diligent about following up with prospects as I could be, in large part because I spent all that time coaching. So I had a choice to make. I could still keep coaching and not have our future investment be all it could be (Waiora) or I could make a short-term sacrifice on coaching so that I could achieve our long-term goals. So I chose to not coach this year. I have to admit that on the first day of the season, it was hard not to be there.

But that decision freed up 2-3 hours a day that I was now able to dedicate in part to my Waiora business. I was able to use that time to be available to my team for three-way phone calls and provide coaching and support to them. It also allowed me to follow up with my prospects in a timely manner. Over the past 60 days, I went from a Ruby to an Emerald and have my sights set on Diamond. Once I achieve Diamond then I'll be able to look at cutting back at work, and I'll be back coaching again. And I won't just be coaching – I'll have the ability to make the choices that we can't always make today. The prospect of true financial independence is exciting.

Another key to my recent success has been the use of the Discovery DVD. With my list of 100 recent prospects I've kept track of those I share it with - and who said yes, said no or joined as a customer. Of those that I know have watched the DVD, more than 60 percent said yes and signed up! That beats anything else I've ever done. So I know the key is to get more DVDs out to more people. That's also what I'm teaching to my new team members so they can see the same results. Duplicating those efforts is the foundation for rapid, sustained growth.

None of this would be possible if it weren't for my wonderful wife Karen. It wouldn't be possible to put in the time on the business without her unwavering support. While not involved in the day-to-day activities, she is a true partner nonetheless. Karen knows what it's like to see people struggle with health issues (in our family history) and she is a great advocate for the products. While I look at Waiora and see an amazing business opportunity, it is an incredible feeling to hear the life-changing testimonials on the products. You can't put a price tag on how rewarding that feels.