The Dream Factory

15 Minutes to Better Health

I have been applying the 15 Minute Challenge to my health in several dimensions.

Along with the major changes in my life it had started to become apparent to me that I needed to do something about my body's condition or (A) die young or (B) become an invalid. (B) sounded worse than (A) and neither sounded good.

So I took several steps and one of them was to start using my gym membership more effectively.

I know the kinds of workouts we need for maximum aerobic effect, but I also knew I had to start somewhere - and I did - 15 minutes  - a little of this, a little of that, a little of the other, and a lot of hot tub.

It is a start. Now I am up to a longer workout and feeling positive results.

Don't let starting slow or with inadequate resources stop you from starting at all.

The Top 25 Home-Based Business Ideas

Here is a good article for people toying with the idea of developing a home based business from AllBusiness.Com and Yahoo Finance. Look it up as The Top 25 Home-Based Business Ideas first published April 11.

Of those listed, several might be of interest to network marketers or those who market primarily over the Internet.  All of them have some overlap, but I will highlight a few that were mentioned in the article.

# 1. Personal trainer. If you are marketing health and wellness products, energy drinks, or vitamins, one of your best resources is the army of personal trainers who exercise great influence over highly motivated clients several times a week. Recruit these folks as distributors and third party their sales for them. Be sure to find a reputable company for which to distribute quality products.

# 3. Tutoring. There are several tutoring companies that are headquartered online. Using SKYPE you can tutor remotely all over the world.

# 4. Business coaching and # 5 Consulting. Network marketing is an industry that is built on the concept of everyone having a coach/mentor with the "system" as the support and curriculum. In network marketing, your coach comes with the package and this is a tremendous selling point as you recruit people. They will have the opportunity to learn from successful winners in the industry.

10. Desktop publishing. This is one business that can be developed remotely over the Internet. Begin to develop some templates that will enable you to customize clients' work while expediting your own assignment.

# 16. Gift baskets and  # 17. Wedding planner. I am no longer an IBO with Quixtar, but they have a wonderful specialty business that, until recently, was called "The Gift Incentive Program." This is a wonderful, lucrative, and attractive product that includes many specialty items ideal for weddings and gift baskets as well as so many other applications.

# 18. Personal shopper. This is an ideal fit for Quixtar IBOs as well as people who have developed a sophisticated index/catalog of affiliate shops. You can  shop from your own stores for the best bargain and right fit for your clients.

There are other good suggestions in the article as well as some excellent opportunities not mentioned. Read it and learn. Then come back for some other recommendations for profitable, turn-key, home-based businesses with built-in coaching and support.

See also:  Income Opportunities

- Tom Sims, The Dream Factory

Network Marketing Update

I am here primarily to write and to encourage people in ministry, network marketing, and other entrepreneurial endeavors. If that is all I do, that is fine. A few years back while I was preparing to turn 50, I asked God what my life mission would be. The answer became clear to me that it was to encourage people to become all that they could be by His grace and power. I do that best as a pastor, writer, coach, and speaker.

I am also a network marketer  - for several reasons:

(1) I believe in creating multiple streams of income in this chaotic world.
(2) I have the entrepreneurial "URGE" in business and in ministry.
(3) I believe in the concept of creating residual income.
(4) I believe in time leveraging so that we work smarter as we work harder.
(5) I enjoy people and network marketing is all about people.
(6) Some of the best educational systems for encouraging people, on earth, are in network marketing organizations.
(7) It is a tremendous outlet for sharing my faith in Jesus Christ.
(8) It is one of the few ways i know for ordinary people to get ahead.
(9) It is something I can put in peoples' hands when I am encouraging them and  ministering to them that can help them with their goals, dreams, and personal finances. Much of my pastoral care during 32 years of ministry has touched to the financial struggles of families. Here is a practical way I can help them, plugging them into a support system while I focus on the more important spiritual issues in their lives.
(11) The field is full of positive thinking people who refuse to give up.
(12) The principle of helping others is vital to success in the industry. You focus on the success of others and your own success follows.
(13) There is an emphasis on teamwork.
(14) I need to be in it, at least somewhat, in order to teach about it.
(15) The principles are universal, transferable, and biblical.
(16) Extraordinary time freedom and flexibility.
(17) you are your OWN boss and it is YOUR business.

My business pursuits are decidedly not number one in my life - my relationship with Jesus Christ comes first, then my family, and God's specific calling on my life as a pastor and preacher - but supporting myself and encouraging others in business are a part of the mix.

I recommend that many people find a home-based business in the network marketing industry, be sensible about it, commit themselves to it, and incorporate it into their lives and ministries. I recommend this for families young people, retired people, and folks who need to supplement their income in ministry. I recommend that they find a product and system they can believe in, a team they like and trust, and a company that is credible.

Some will ask you to give yourselves exclusively to one venture. Others will allow for more.

I will encourage you no matter what organization you get involved with. After all, my life work is to encourage. I would also be willing to sponsor/mentor you in one of my affiliations or one with which I am indirectly associated through my company, Workshops to Go and its associates.

If any of my links intrigue you, check them out. These are good opportunities, but you need to find the one that is right for you. I am not adding any new ones at the moment, but I am happy to recommend you and yours if I see something powerful.

Let me say that every one of these companies owes a giant debt of gratitude to the vision of Amway and Quixtar in creating the concept of multi-level marketing and to Dexter Yager for inventing a training system that is second to none. While I am no longer affiliated with them, if you find a team that is right for you and their marketing plan appeals to you, go for it.

I would love to hear from some of my young friends as well  as pastors and my senior friends.

I am your pastor, encourager, coach, and friend,

- Tom Sims (559-647-2203, tomsims1@compuserve.com)

The DREAM FACTORY - PastorTomSims.Com 

Tom's Blogsphere - I have quite a few blogs on any number of subjects, lots of affiliates, and

My primary network marketing commitment is Prepaid Legal. it would be an honor to help you build a Prepaid Legal business. To find out more, visit this site: Getting Paid Daily.

I am now working with some people who are distributing ACT energy drinks as one of my streams of income and helping people set up profitable businesses in that growing industry. Visit this ACT site.

Health and Wellness Business - the Next Trillion Dollar Industry
Drink XanGo™  - Mangosteen Journal - a blog on the benefits of mangosteen for health.
Healthy Foods For You - A blog with news and views of nutrition and the nutritional industry.
Mangosteen Health Benefits and Business Opportunity - This company offers a patented product using the whole fruit puree of the mangosteen fruit, rich in Xanthones. They also have a powerful compensation plan and business model. This is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry.
The Three Hour Diet - An affiliate of mine.
Eniva - VIBE - It costs nothing to join and the products are outstanding. Everyone needs supplements. I was impressed with one of the distributors and what I read about the product and the company.
ACT Energy - a solid and growing business with a healthy energy drink as its core product.
 
PrePaid Legal
Get paid Daily on the Internet - Prepaid Legal is a wonderful opportunity, a solid  and unique product, and an extremely credible company. This is my primary network marketing venture.
Protect Your Identity
Identity Theft Shield
Legal Services for Less than a Cup of Coffee a Day

Other Business Opportunities
Free Ticket to Income for Life - An online business through Global Domains International building on the WS domain explosion.  This may be right for you.

The Towel Step

We use the term "throwing in  the towel" to describe quitting in the middle of a project or dream. It is

to admit defeat or failure.  The etymology of the term is based on the literal meaning of throwing a towel into the ring in boxing as a way of admitting that the boxer just can't go on.

I would like to suggest an alternative: Keep your towel. Don't throw it in. Take some steps toward renewal of your depleted energy.

Someone out there is ready to quit. you are drained and empty, discouraged and tired, baten and bloody from the fight.

I know it is true. Prove me wrong and make me a happy man. Otherwise, listen to me: Don't give up.

I believe this: Someone is discouraged beyond their ability to muster enough energy to make even one phone call, write even one card, or even think about their goals.

You want to throw in the towel.

Instead of admitting defeat, make just one phone call - just one, or write a note, just one, or spend one minute, just one dreaming your dream.

When I was in college 33 or 34 years ago, there was a great Palestinian guy on my hall who spoke with enthusiasm and power every time he said anything at all.

One day, toward the end of our Sophomore year, knowing that we would not be dorm-mates again, he presented me with a gift.

"Mr. Sims. You are my friend. I give you this towel. It is from Palestine. Always keep it and remember me."

I have kept it all these years. It is torn and worn and threadbare, but I will not part with it. I will not throw it in. I never pampered it; I used it.  It reminds me of George and of friendship, and of a dream I have to visit the Holy Land.

It is just a towel, but even though I have not seem George again, I do not give up friends and I do not give up dreams.

I feel like it sometimes, but I don't do it. The towel is a reminder to me not to throw it in. Don't throw in your towel. Instead, change your pace, give yourself a break, refresh yourself, renew your energy, and keep on keeping on. There are dreams in your heart and friends cheering for you. Don't give up either one.

Here are some suggestions:

Step Back - Just a little. Slow down, take a break, take a day off, or something to give yourself a rest from your self-imposed pressure. catch up on sleep, family time, a novel, or something you seldom do. Step back, a little.

Step Forward - Make a faith statement because that is all you have right now. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is substantive in relation to hopes and evidential in relation to the invisible realities that are coming to pass and already are. When you step forward you rededicate yourself to your goals and recommit your life to God's guidance and care. You say, "No matter how i feel, i will press on. I will not throw in the towel. I believe it when I cannot touch it. My dream is real."

Step Up - Do something during your down time. Move up and make some progress by reading a book you have not had time to open. Perhaps it is an inspirational biography. Listen to some heart warming music. Have a long cup of bottomless coffee with a friend who lifts you up. Take a walk. you may think you are stepping backwards, but you are actually stepping up. spend some quality time with God in prayer, reflection, and journaling.

Step Down - Ask someone to cover some of your responsibilities that are usually necessary tasks, but that can be down by someone else for a day or two. Lose some control and oversight. Step down temporarily from these. Step down permanently from the position of Lord of your own life and give that place back to the One to whom it rightfully belongs, the one who can handle the responsibility and do the job: Jesus Christ.

Step Around - There are some things you can postpone or even avoid all together. If you will lay aside a few things you often deem "urgent," and just do what is vital to your dream, you will find that they are diminishing in importance as a day or two goes by. As you renew and refresh, step around them and do not be distracted or terrorized by them. Step around them.

Step Toward - Step toward your dream - just a little with a very simple task, call, or activity that will help you accomplish a little bit. Add steps as you feel refreshed and energized, but without pressure or guilt. as you do your business or ministry this way, consider adopting a guilt-free approach every day. Embrace an attitude that prompts you to work a little in your business each day without the compulsion to break everyone's records all at once.

The joy of a home based business is that you can do it in the cracks of your life, as you are doing other things, and in moments you might otherwise be wasting with busy work. You can do it without guilt because you are your own boss. You can do it in such a way as to make it fun, enjoyable, and personally enriching.

Whatever your goals, however, there are alternatives to throwing in the towel. With some pacing and refreshing, you can come back stronger than ever. With God's help, the dreams that he has planted in your heart can stay alive and the people that come alongside you as friends and partners can be a source of energy and inspiration to you.

Don't throw in the towel. Don't give up.

Tom's Income Opportunities
Business Principles
Tom's Blogsphere
Thumbing Through Pastor Tom's Bible
Getting Paid Daily

How to Make Someone's Day!

Let me start by saying that if you chose to open this posting and read it, that is a good sign that you are on the right track and your heart is in the right place. You have already moved from the realm of unlikely positive outcome to likely positive outcome. You have identified making someone's day as an intention in your life and that kind of intentionality is a real key to accomplishment.

Proverbs 18:1 says,

"An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;
       he defies all sound judgment."

It is in the pursuit that our judgment is magnified.

So I may leave it at that for today. To be friendly and to desire the good for someone else today will move you far down the road of being a blessing. When you wish someone well, it is communicated in your attitude, your words, and your deeds. you cannot help but be an encouragement to all who are receptive and in need.

The Open Secret

My review of "The Secret" has been getting a lot of attention - much more than I expected. I appreciate all the comments including those that brought these links to other excellent evaluations across my screen:

The Secret's Out - from Thought Renewal by Lyn Perry - This blog is going into My Favorites.

Have you seen ‘The Secret’?   from Women by Grace

Don Whitney's Review from Baptist Press

I am still committed to not throwing out the baby with the bathwater, so i am writing an article to post later this week called, "The Real Secret."

News from Europe - Take it with a Grain of Granola and Some Fruit

JAMA has published a study on antioxidants based upon research in Europe. Before changing your eating habits, read these reports:

More on the Recent European Study on Antioxidants Reported in J.A.M.A.

from the U.S. Cancer Institute - Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention:

While you are reading, check out this:

The Anti-Inflamatory Diet

Health and Wellness Site

I have been updating my two main health and wellness sites with information primarily from governement sources.

• The Wellness Revoultion - A Yahoo discussion group are cordially invited to join and begin posting.
• Drink Mangosteen - my blog on Mangosteen and other health and wellness issues - much broader than just mangosteen. See the recent article on exercise.

Here is some interesting information on clinical research related to xanthones and mangosteen.
Download Clinical_Compendium.pdf

New Mangosteen Site

I have set up a new site affiliation for information about the health benefits of mangosteen. There are also some significant business possibilities.

Here is the site. It speaks for itself:

TOMSIMSMANGOSTEEN.COM

I am extremely busy with ministry, writing, and consulting and have not focused on this as a business. However, I believe strongly in the concepts of network marketing and I have found numerous personal benefits in mangosteen.

I have some partners and friends who would be superior mentors to anyone interested in this as a business and I will give asmuch personal help as possible,

Some Xango Stuff

Listen and learn why mangosteen is such a powerful fruit and Xango is such a great opportunity. Dr Walters is interviewd by Bob Scmidt.:

Click here for the Interview.

If you are still interested after that, return to:

Mangosteen Juice

Health Site

I have openned a new health products site for a line of nutritional supplements I recommend:

Tom Sims' Health Zone

I think you will be impressed with the variety of possibilities.

Be sure to check out the diet and fitness section and look at the XS Engergy drinks - delicious!!!

If you are interested in exploring this as a business possibility, click that option or contact me via phone or e-mail.

Why I Believe in Supplements

I have been discussing supplements with some of my Religion Forum friends.

The discussion arose after revelation of a recent study in San Francisco of Saw Palmetto indicating it may not be as efficacious a once thought in the prevention of prostate problems in men.

It was suggested that what separates the pharmaceutical industry from the health and wellness supplement industry is double blind studies. The implication is that drugs are better because they have been tested on humans for a few years in some sort of isolation and that the results from te tests are unbiased.

Don't get me wrong, I want drugs tested in double-blind studies.

However, double blind studies cannot anticipate the most serious issues with drugs: interactions.

They are appropriate for new products. Most supplements, if they are of quality grade and not faddish, are nothing new. They are based on decades of experience and previously examined scientific and nurtitional knowledge. They are not artificial for the most part and are also for the most part, not dangerous and seldom addictive.

In other words, nutraceuticals are products put together as naturally as possible from "products" that are taken from the earth and placed on earth by God for our food and health.

Granted, there are poorly made supplements, and kooky products with kooky claims. There are extracts being offered when whole foods are available. And there are vitamin products that are mostly filler. Beyond that, there are products that are synthetically produced with poor results.

We do know some things from research - at least I think we do.This is a layman's view, but I am my own primary care giver and these I assume.

As my own primary care giver, I am committed to educating myself. Here are some sources:

* Dr, Ray Strand - What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You.

What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You
By Ray D. Strand, M.D. / Thomas Nelson / W

After seeing tremendous results in patients receiving nutritional therapy, Dr. Strand started researching this controversial branch of medicine. His documented findings are dramatic. Discover what the evidence indicates about the real root cause of cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. Understand your body's silent enemy---oxidative stress---and learn to turbo-charge your natural healing power! 256 pages, hardcover from Nelson.

* Better Life Institute

1. The body needs nutrients to function properly.

2. Certain nutrients have certain effects. Some of the chemical compounds have been identified; some haven't. Some plants and herbs contain these nutrients and we have known that all along. Others exist in nature and we are not aware of them yet. As long as we can keep from destroying every habitat we do not feel is useful to our economy on this planet, we will keep finding them.

3. Not all of those nutrients are found in processed foods at the levels they used to be found because processing and time deplete the nutrient levels in food and failure to practice responsible agriculture has depleted soils of important minerals. In the healthiest of all possible worlds, we would all have our own gardens and practice crop rotation and natural farming without perticides.

4. It is possible to freeze dry plant products from organic farms within 45 minutes of harvest and capture the nutrients that are in danger of being depleted.

5. Those freeze dried plant products can be compressed under pharmaceutical grade conditions into the size of what we call "supplements."

6. We can swallow the product and get nutrients that promote optimal health by engaging the body's natural ability to heal itself. When we do this, we are eating food. It should not be a substitute for other kinds of food.

7. We have to beware that we trust the producer because what is says on the bottle may not be in the bottle. There are some farms and factories that are open for tours and scrutiny and submit themselves to thrid party evaluation of the quality of their products.

There will be quacks. But not everyone is a quack. Of course we should be careful, but we also need to be careful about drugs. Seldom is one practioner on top of all a patient's medications who actually understands the interactions of the chemicals. No one understands them all.

The national epidemic of diabtes among young people is related to eating habits and lack of activity. I don't want to see all of the kids on insulin and other medications for the rest of their lives. No one can predict the long term effects over decades of these drugs on their kidney and liver functions. And I don't want someone who is in immediate danger and needs medications not to have them.

We need to make ourselves aware and take charge of our own health issues. We may not have all the tools, but ultimately, we do have to make all the decisions.

My basic assumptuion is that God is smarter than us about these things and has provided most of what we need for good health in nature.

>>Or, he may linger, neither getting better nor getting worse.  In which case the remedy's enthusiast explain that as in the previous case. Either didn't take enough, or didn't begin soon enough.<<

I know - we all have blinders - but I think I am talking mainly of prevention and wellness and my friend was talking about big-time disease cures in a short period of time. Prevention is where it is Happening. Maximum health - no matter where we are in our current state of health.

I' may have to confess that I had a cheese sandwich for lunch and fried eggs with my coffee for breakfast if you confess to taking a multi-vitamin with your tomato juice <s>.

Health and Wellness Books

Discussions on Health and Wellness

I have a Health and Wellness folder in the Christian Fellowship Forum with a variety of subjects being discussed. Feel free to take a look and participate.

Here is some news we will be discussing.

LONDON (Agence de Presse Medicale) - The first inhaled insulin (Exubera; Pfizer) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission, but is likely to be launched first in the UK, a spokesperson for the company said Monday. Click to read the whole article.

I found this interesting:

Protein helps body fight off Legionnaire's diseasewithin the cells of the body, plays a key role in detecting and controlling infection with Legionella pneumophila, the bacterium that causes Legionnaire's disease, according to a new report.

Religious groups are getting a big piece of President Bush's 15 million dollar AIDS budget.

In an older news item: Jan. 18, 2006 -- Doctors will soon see easier-to-understand safety labels on prescription drugs, the FDA announced Wednesday.

There is always good, up-to-date health and wellness information at Better Life Institute's site. To get more information on the nutritional recomendations they give or access products from the finest vitamin manufacturers, contact me.

Prescription Drugs

With over half of all women and 40% of all men using prescription drugs, we have become a drug-dependent society. According to a report from Reuters on CNN  and Netscape, government statistics were published Thursday.

" This "snapshot" of information was based on a survey that found that 54 percent of white non-Hispanic women and 43 percent of white non-Hispanic men had used a prescription drug in the past month, the National Center for Health Statistics said in a statement."

Are we less healthy? Are we needier? Or is it just easier to answer our health issues with a prescription?

These are questions for society to ask and answer? What percentage of those taking prescription drugs might be better served by proper nutrition and nutritional supplements? Were they even tried first?

Every drug has side effects. In an effort to cure a specific problem, an artificial chemical introduced into a person's body with known and unknown side effects. The trade off is relief from a physical problem in exchange for potential cumulative toxicity. Often that is necessary and life saving. The question is whether or not it is neccesary as often as it is practiced

In a separate article, on Dr. John Grohol's Psych Central it is noted that 1.3 million Americans abuse prescription drugs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What alternatives do you see, if any, to this explosion in the use of prescriptions as a first line of defense in the quest for health?

Discuss it here.