This month, as winter finally becomes just a memory, and spring is already turning into summer, I want you to take a few moments to reflect on three little words – change, excuses, and security!

We are scared of change, we make excuses, and we long for security.  We are all guilty of habits that prevent us from reaching our goals, prevent us from being “all we can be”, and stop us from stepping outside our comfort zone.

But without change, there would be no spring.  We would be immersed in an endless winter.  We must embrace change, we must advance, and we must more forward.  After all, isn’t change one of the basic values upon which VitaMist® is built?  We do not accept the status quo; we do not accept that pills are the only way to take your vitamins.

This message of change is heard more and more on our conference calls and from those of you I talk with directly.  VitaMist® is evolving into the Company of change and innovation.  We do things a little differently, and we are proud of that.  We are not scared of change.

“Excuses” and “security” go hand in hand with “change”.  We’ve all heard the phrases – “stop making excuses” and “step outside your comfort zone”!  Well, now is the time.  Wear your lanyard, talk to people about VitaMist®, invite people onto the calls.

Take a moment to ask yourself why you are with VitaMist®?  Are you prepared to allow yourself to be successful?  If you are, then we want to hear your voices – the louder the better.

Here at the home office I always start a meeting with a “thought for the day”.  This thought usually takes the form of an inspirational quotation and this week I came across three quotes from Benjamin Franklin, the American Statesman and Inventor.

“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished”

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else”

“Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security”

What could be more appropriate?

Welcome to our family.

Sari.

To create a positive first impression, we need to know how to connect immediately with others regardless of their age, gender, ethnic background, mood, or the situation. How people perceive us during the first few seconds has a major influence on whether they will trust us, be attracted to us, or want to do business with us.

You know the power of first impressions. How people perceive us during the first few seconds of an encounter has a major influence on whether they will trust us, be attracted to us, or want to do business with us. To create a positive first impression, we need to know how to connect immediately with others regardless of their age, gender, ethnic background, mood, or the situation.

Let’s begin by testing your “first impression awareness.” What would you think of the waiter in the following situation? You’re having a business lunch with a potential client. She’s telling you about what she doesn’t like about her current supplier. You’re thinking, “This stuff is gold – please keep talking.” Suddenly, the waiter comes in and starts his canned speech, “My name’s Mike, I’ll be your waiter. And how are you today? Today’s specials are…”

Chances are, your first impression of the waiter would be negative. In fact, that waiter’s speech is a great example of what not to do when meeting someone for the first time. Ironically, he was probably doing just what he was told to do.

Unfortunately, most managers don’t provide competent training for their employees on how to establish rapport. Huge mistake – as we see in the waiter example. Instead, employees are given a script to read. Franchise operations love scripts. They think that this “systematic” approach to dealing with customers is their greatest strength – which is true. It’s also their greatest weakness.

The problem with the canned script approach is that the customer recognizes a script, senses that the employee has no genuine feeling or empathy with what the customer really needs, and therefore does not trust (or in the case of our waiter even like) the employee.

Instead of canned speeches, use a thirty second technique that generates trust, feelings of empathy, and makes people want to do business with you. Unfortunately, there’s been a lot of misleading information out there about this method. Let’s get the real story about how and why you can get such phenomenal results when you properly use technique known as mirroring.

The Mirroring Technique

Mirroring is based on the assumption that we tend to feel comfortable with people who communicate nonverbally the way we do. In other words, we are drawn to people when their body language (gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions, eye contact, dress, and so on) is similar to ours.

“Forget canned speeches. They have as much appeal as over-used pick-up lines in singles bars.”

By the same token, we tend to be “turned off “by people whose non verbal language is different than ours. For example, if you are engaged in a quiet conversation with a friend at a party, you will probably perceive the person who’s loud, boisterous voice bellows in the background, as being obnoxious.

The great news is we are in control of our non-verbal communication. So to create rapport with others instantly, we merely need to “mirror” their non-verbal communication. That means if the other person talks softly, then you talk more softy. If they lean forward, then you lean forward. If they talk quickly then you do the same. In other words, you ‘mirror’ the other person’s tone of voice and body language. The only exception is when they are angry. In that situation, you wouldn’t mirror anger; you’d instead mirror concern.

In the case of our waiter, if he’d been trained with the mirroring technique, he wouldn’t have started talking until his customers ceased their conversation and made eye contact with him. Then he would mirror the seriousness of the mood they conveyed, skip the opening canned speech, get directly to the point and ask something like, “Something to drink?” In this case his customers would have appreciated the waiter’s businesslike approach and felt good about their choice of restaurant.

There are a few things to keep in mind though when we use mirroring. First, mirroring does not mean “mimicking.” So, if the other person is sitting with arms folded across their chest, you may have yours crossed on your lap. Don’t mirror the person exactly; just similarly. That prevents people from thinking they’re being imitated.

It may come as a relief to know that you don’t have to mirror the other person for longer than a few moments. Once they become comfortable with you, you can actually start leading the nonverbal communication, and then they’ll start following you. So if you have a friend who’s tired or listless you need to start the conversation in a low slow manner. After a few minutes, you gradually pick up the tempo. Your friend will feel so comfortable with you; they’ll naturally do the same. This is great news particularly if you interact with lots of people.

Mirroring is easy and it works. When you use it properly, you’ll improve the impression you make on virtually anyone – regardless of his or her mood or the situation. You’ll also experience the personal satisfaction of making a stranger feel comfortable. That’s when you begin making truly important connections.

Are You Drinking Water When You Need It Most?

How do you feel about drinking water?

Naturally, you probably drink some water in the course of a day. Even if you don’t have a glass of clear water, you can find more limited sources of drinking water in beverages like tea and coffee, and in foods such as soups and stews.

Did you know that drinking water could be a lifesaver? Pure, clean drinking water does much to keep your body running smoothly and to guard your health.

Want to drink more water to benefit your health? Try these tips for identifying nine times that your body needs drinking water most.

1. Drink water when you first get up.
Imagine walking into a dark room and looking for something. Chances are you will stumble and maybe even fall unless you turn on the light.

Or consider starting your car in sub-zero temperatures and putting it into gear without waiting for the engine to warm up. Either situation can lead to problems or even disasters.

The same is true of the human body. Without water to “wake up and turn on” the body each day, you may be running on empty, especially if you skip breakfast altogether.

Have a glass of cool water right after you wake up in the morning to tell your body it’s time to get started. Like a gently flowing stream that pushes along debris and rocks, your circulatory system needs fluid to get rid of stubborn free radicals and residue from burned calories that were used during the night’s metabolism.

Refresh your system with a drink of water.

2. Drink water before each meal.
Drinking water before a meal helps you feel fuller, so you may be less likely to attack your meal like a starving person.

Water helps prepare the stomach for the food that will follow; waking up taste buds on the tongue and moisturizing the stomach lining so brittle or acidic foods won’t be uncomfortable.

Having a glass of water clears your mouth of dryness or leftover tastes from earlier dining, drinking, or smoking in anticipation of the food that is coming.

3. Drink water with a snack.
Between meals, if you feel hungry, try some fresh drinking water first to see if you are dehydrated. Sometimes people think they are hungry when they really are just thirsty.

If you shop at the grocery store or supermarket while dehydrated, chances are you are going to spend more to subconsciously fill that empty urge. Drinking water before a snack, or with one, will help you feel full faster and perhaps eat less, a habit that could benefit two-thirds of our nation that is considered overweight or obese.

4. Drink water before a workout.
Depending on the temperature, humidity, and your body’s fluid levels, you may need one or several glasses of water, each about eight ounces, to arm yourself against dehydration during an indoor or outdoor workout.

Whether you play for a sports team or simply jog for personal fitness, hydration is essential to help guard against heat stroke in warm weather and frostbite in cold temperatures, as your body’s circulation plays a protective role in both seasons.

5. Drink water after a workout.
Following your exercise session, drink up to replace fluids lost by sweating and physical labor.

Don’t drink too much too quickly, or you could induce stomach cramps. But make sure you drink enough so you don’t stay dehydrated.

6. Have water with your medication, if allowed.
If you are allowed to take water with your medication, do so. Water helps to dissolve the medication and spread it throughout your digestive organs for rapid absorption. Water prepares the tissues to receive the substance and put it to work right away.

Water also helps medicine work its way through your system and out the other end, which can be beneficial when you take harsh medications with side effects.

7. Drink more water to prevent illness following exposures.

If you are around sick people in the hospital or at work and school, drink a little more water than usual to wash away germs and viruses that your body may have picked up from exposure to these people.

A well-hydrated body helps to move along any invaders before they settle down and multiply in your system.

Drinking water each day before or after going out in public can help to prevent certain types of viruses, or lessen their severity.

8. Drink more water when you’re ill.

When you do become ill, drink plenty of fluids—the old-time recipe still works.

Most experts recommend drinking eight glasses of water each day (eight ounces per glass), in addition to other fluids like tea, juice, and soup.

People in the hospital often have an IV dripping water into their vein continuously so they can keep hydrated as well as maintain a line to your body if medications are needed.

9. Have a glass of water when you’re tired.

Feeling tired? Fatigued? Need a nap but can’t take one? Have a glass of water.

Because of its ability to move quickly throughout the body, water can reach your brain and activate it right before a meeting or other situation where you need to pay attention.

Cold water, especially, will wake up your body to keep you alert.

When to stop drinking water.
If you don’t like getting up at night to use the restroom, avoid fluids two hours before bedtime, and visit the restroom a couple of times before you go to bed.

You can keep a glass of drinking water close to your bed in case you wake up thirsty at night, but keep in mind you might have to get up and use the restroom before daybreak.

The active ingredients in Vitamotion are dimenhydrinate, vitamin B6 and ginger root extract.

There are numerous laboratory studies that validate the efficacy of the ingredients of VitaMotion in the control of motion sickness.   Briefly summarized below is some of the work on ginger.  Information about vitamin B6  effects on motion sickness are well-known.

Ginger:

Ginger is derived from the tuberous rhizome (underground root) of the perennial plant Zingiber officinale of the family Zingiberaceae. Also referred to as Jamaica ginger, African ginger, or Cochin ginger, ginger has been used as a spice, condiment and flavoring agent. For nearly 2,500 years ginger has also played an important role in Asian medicine as a folk remedy to promote cleansing of the body through perspiration, to calm nausea, and to stimulate the appetite. Ginger tea was also used as a carminative (agent which expels gas from the intestines) and in the symptomatic treatment of colds when given at their onset. It has been used in China and other countries for many years as a tonic.

Ginger contains gingerol, a ginger oleoresin (combination of volatiles oils and resin) that accounts for the characteristic aroma of ginger, and explain its therapeutic properties. Components of gingerol (zingiberone, bisabolene, camphene, geranial, linalool and borneol) have recently been studied and

found to possess beneficial properties for the treatment of poor digestion, heartburn, vomiting and preventing motion sickness.

A report appearing in the English medical journal Lancet in 1982 concluded that powdered ginger helped with motion sickness. Researchers conducted a double-blind study on 36 college students with a high susceptibility to motion sickness. Reporting on ginger’s ability to control motion sickness and alleviate nausea, they concluded that ginger could be as effective as dimenhydrinate in reducing symptoms of motion sickness.

On the basis of this and other studies German health authorities have concluded that ginger is effective for preventing motion sickness and is also useful as a digestive aid.  Any anti-emetic effects of ginger are due to its local action in the stomach, and not to any central nervous system activity.

B6 (Pyridoxine):

Vitamin B-6, or pyridoxine, assists the body in carrying out a number of important functions. B-6 helps the immune system produce antibodies that are needed to fend off disease. It may also relieve nausea in some cases, according to Medline Plus, a website published by the National Institutes of Health. Talk to your health-care provider before taking dietary supplements for medical reasons.

Considerations

Vitamin B-6 aids in the formation of red blood cells and helps preserve normal nerve function. B-6 is also necessary for the growth and development of the brain and skin. People with an overactive thyroid, congestive heart failure, cirrhosis and alcoholism may be susceptible to B-6 deficiency, says the Mayo Clinic. B-6 deficiency can cause confusion, irritability and mouth sores.

Possible Benefits

Some women take B-6 to ease the nausea and vomiting or so-called “morning sickness” that may occur in early pregnancy. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology considers B-6 as first-line treatment for pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. B-6 may be more effective for severe nausea rather than mild or moderate nausea, according to Medline Plus. B-6 is also used to diminish motion sickness, dizziness, seizures and convulsions due to fever.

Expert Insight

A study published in September 2003 in the “Journal of the American Medical Association-Thailand” found that healthy pregnant women with morning sickness during the first trimester got relief from symptoms of nausea and vomiting after taking 10 mg B-6 capsules three times daily for three days.

CAUTION: If suffering from gallstones, or if pregnant or nursing, consult a health care professional before taking large amounts of ginger. The German Commission E monograph opposes use for morning sickness during pregnancy. Daily consumption of ginger root may interfere with the

absorption of dietary iron and fat-soluble vitamins, as well as some prescription medications.

References

“Journal of the American Medical Association-Thailand”; A Randomized Comparison of Ginger and Vitamin B-6; September 2003

Mayo Clinic; Vitamin B6; April 1, 2011

Medline Plus; Pyridoxine (Vitamin B-6); Dec. 13, 2010

University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin B-6

Mayo Clinic; Nausea and Vomiting; May 16, 2009

The following medical literature references deal with the subject of ginger and motion sickness, and includes the “1982 study” (The Lancet).

Qian DS, et al.  Pharmacologic studies of antimotion sickness actions of ginger.  Chung Kuo Chung Hsi I Chieh Ho Tsa Chih. 1992 Feb; 12(2): 95-98. Chinese.

Stewart JJ, et al.  Effects of ginger on motion sickness susceptibility and gastric function.  Pharmacology. 1991; 42(2): 111-120.

Holtmann S, et al.  The anti-motion sickness mechanism of ginger. A comparative study with placebo and dimenhydrinate.  Acta Otolaryngol (Stockh). 1989 Sep; 108(3-4): 168-174.

Grontved A, et al.  Ginger root against seasickness. A controlled trial on the open sea.  Acta Otolaryngol (Stockh). 1988 Jan; 105(1-2): 45-49.

Timsit C.  These vestibular problems in the absence of gravity.  Ann Otolaryngol Chir Cervicofac. 1986; 103(4): 235-243. French.

Mowrey DB, et al.  Motion sickness, ginger, and psychophysics.

Lancet. 1982 Mar 20; 1(8273): 655-657.

What a great year it is to be in VitaMist®.

Have you noticed how everything is coming together in 2013?  Everyone is becoming more and more focused on our common goal as we are finding out what is working and what is not.  Because of YOU, our Distributor Family, and what they have suggested and look at how we have simplified some of our website VitaMist.com , all with the aim of helping you with your business development.

This edition of the View, as always, is full of great business building ideas and product information, this is a great networking and confidence building idea that is guaranteed to help your VitaMist® business blossom.

Here is a quick idea.  Small businesspeople are successful because they’re experts on something. YOU are an expert on VitaMist® – and don’t forget it!  So find a way to transform your expertise into an informative, concise and entertaining presentation that will help other people like yourself and at the same time grow your business and self-confidence.

How do you do this?  Start by contacting the meeting coordinator of your local Chamber, Rotary Club, Networking Group, Church, or Trade Association. They always need speakers. Offer the group a free 15-20 minute program and include valuable tips, stories, illustrations and examples from your own health and business experiences that are of interest to the members. By speaking, you position yourself as an expert, validate your credibility and increase your visibility.

The idea of making a speech may fill you with horror, but believe me, after you have done this the first time it gets easier.  As for the self-esteem and confidence that you get, well, nothing can describe the feeling.  And you will soon find that your new demeanor translates to all areas of your business and personal life.

When you have done this, and made your first presentation, I would love to hear from you and so would other Distributors.  So please make sure that you contact me and we will tell YOUR story on our Conference Calls and in the View.

God Bless.

Sari