The Cost of Diabetes

This article about the costs of diabetes was forwarded to me by Edward in Ops.

Here's the section that made me sit up in my chair:

Nearly 24 million Americans, 8 percent of the population, have Type 2 diabetes, which can lead to kidney failure, blindness and heart disease.

Current guidelines say doctors should prescribe metformin (about $30 a month) to lower blood sugar in newly diagnosed patients and urge them to eat healthy food and get more exercise. Other drugs can be added later, on top of metformin, to help patients who don't meet blood sugar goals. The updated guidelines don't include Avandia, which costs about $225 a month.

Dr. Susan Spratt, an endocrinologist at Duke University Medical Center, said she prescribes whatever it takes to lower her patients' future risk of blindness and amputations. That can mean coupling more costly drugs with metformin to hit blood sugar goals.

Ok... $225 for patients "who don't meet blood sugar goals"... to lower risks of blindness and amputation. Seems worth $2,700 a year. So does some change to diet and exercise.

For $99.95 - one time - Kathy Smith's Project You for Type 2 will help someone "meet their blood sugar goals" with exercise and diet. The American Diabetes Association saw the need for this type of product, and co-produced the program with Beachbody.

If you are a coach, this should make it difficult to sleep. Be relentless about getting the word out about this. RELENTLESS. People you know have diabetes. Or there are people you know who know people who have diabetes. Their are education groups. There are doctors. THEY ALL NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THE SOLUTION, CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ADA!

This is the ONLY product of its kind on the market. We could give every diabetic in the country this program for $2.5 Billion - one time - versus the $12.5 Billion spent on drugs in 2007 alone! People can save $10 Billion -- $2,700 a year for each person who uses lifestyle change with this program to avoid stepping up to Avandia.

It's amazing to me that we are in this position, but lifestyle change really is that hard. That's what is so powerful about the effect of peer support; friends helping friends. That's how change happens. That's why you are the solution! Let's help some people!

Need a Job?

While things get harder for so many people, still Beachbody coaches are thriving.

Today's headlines are telling: Chrysler Cuts 25% of White Collar Jobs, Goldman Sachs cutting 10% of workforce, Yahoo firing 1,500 workers.

How deep will job cuts get? We hit 6% unemployment in September. In the downturn of 1973 we got up to 9%. Total employment in the U.S. is about 144 million people. That means if unemployment rise another 3%, another 4.3 million people could be out of work. Brutal.

With the financial meltdown and layoffs/unemployment, people are saving money, and they need to find ways to make money.

Beachbody and its coaches are in the perfect position to help people who are currently spending an average $741 per year on dues (before parking, gas, clothes, trainer, etc.) That $18B gym club business is antiquated. Everyday someone signs up to be a Beachbody coach, it's as if they created their own health club in their family room for less than $200. That's the future, and the future is here.

Between our infomercial sales, $90MM in advertising, and 13,000+ distributors, how many people can we get to replace their gym dues with a solution to get results like the NFL cheerleader (below) got with P90X? And how many more people who never set foot in a gym will get started with programs that make it easy, like Slim in 6, Yoga Booty Ballet, or or Ten Minute Trainer?

Get the word out. Every time Beachbody airs a commercial we generate thousands of customers. But hundreds of thousands more see the ads and become prospective customers. That's opportunity for income for you and everyone you know. You get the word out to people you know and people buy from you. It's a home based business where we do the advertising, you just make sure people know you're a distributor. Every 40 sales of P90X makes you over $1,000 in commissions, not including bonuses, and saves your customers hundreds of dollars a year in gym dues.

Sign up today, and use the tools in the coach-back-office to email everyone you know that if they want to lose weight, you can get them solutions like P90X for 10% less money if they join the club, and even less if they become a coach (25% off).

Beachbody saves people money, makes people money, and gets you better results for less money and in less time than the gym. No boss. No employees. Set your own hours. What are you waiting for?

The P90X Cheerleaders

We're all aware that NFL players are using P90X to train, but now it appears that the ladies on the sidelines could step in and knock some heads if need be.



Jon Congdon got this signed 49ers Cheerleaders calendar, which features X-grad Amber on the cover (shot, as it turns out, on "Day 91" of her P90X journey)

Help me out here... Why are people still paying for gym memberships when you can get these kinds of results at home?

What's That Distant Sound?

"Cha-ching"

That's the Beachbody cash register ringing, off in the distance, every time one of your friends or contacts sees one of our shows on TV and orders the product direct from us, instead of from you as a coach.

"Cha-ching."

There goes another one of your contacts, buying from Beachbody, and another $20 commission that leaked out of your contact list.

How do you stop that leak, and turn those sales into your own loud, "Cha-ching"?

My suggestion is that you dust off your contact list today and send out emails, MySpace and Facebook bulletins and you get on the phone to talk to people; and say three important things:

(1) I am now getting in shape and helping people I know do the same as a Beachbody Coach, and my website is TeamBeachbody.com/________

(2) The next time you think about losing weight or you see a Beachbody product that you'd be interested in trying, please let me know so I can show you how to get the lowest price and get the fastest results.

(3) If you decide that you want to earn extra money like I am doing and help others, I can show you how easy it is to be a coach and we can build an income together!

"Cha-ching." "Cha-ching." "Cha-ching." P90X must be playing on CNBC. More of your friends are ordering - not from you.

I want them to order from you because you will help them get started and get the best results. You need to tell them those simple three things!

I know our fitness programs will get them in great shape. And if weight loss is the goal, you can show them how our Meal Replacement Shake is the best value and highest quality on the market compared to the awful cheap junk they sell at discount stores. Do the workouts (play), replace a meal a day to cut calories but maintain that metabolism (shake), and the results will happen. That's your message (share).

"Cha-ching." There goes another one. Why are you still reading this? You need to get the word out now.

The next time you are in the grocery store, at the PTA meeting, on the sidelines of soccer practice, pass out your business cards. Tell people those three things I outlined, and then keep reminding people. Tell them how it is working for you.

At some point this week, every one of the people you know will look at themselves in the mirror. They probably won't be too happy with what they see. You want them to remember you at that moment. When they see a Beachbody product (or any weight loss product on TV for that matter) you want them to think of those conversations or emails you sent them. The people you know are the people I want you to help!

"I'm ready" is what they'll say. They'll lose the weight, and you'll get "Cha-ching!"

"Remember My Name... FAME!"

Over the last 10 years I've appeared in some of our shows to promote products like Power 90, Slim in 6, P90X, and recently the Ten Minute Trainer. With all that exposure, not once have I been recognized, until now...

A friend of Tony Horton's spotted this photo about over-crowding in the Arkansas prison system... They must have been watching the P90X infomercial, giving a new reality to "prison cell push ups". I have found my audience!

The Answer Is Productivity

People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.

Norman Vincent Peale

We are surrounded by the news of financial meltdown. The credit crisis has yet to find its way through the system to the majority of us. And while I'm no economist, I believe that as the effects of the current crisis and the tight debt markets find their way to "Main street", there will be another wave of defaults, but this time in credit card debt, and we'll be looking at another series of "bail out" scenarios.

So you might be thinking, "What the heck do I do to survive this?"

The answer is, get productive. I have read many accounts of people who managed to build fortunes during recessions, even during the depression era. That's the safety of working with creativity, especially in an area that people truly need no matter what the financial picture.

That's what we have at Beachbody. Our product is not frivolous - this is something that will change the quality of life for everyone who participates. The health care crisis, which costs us billions upon billions of dollars, can be traced to choices, not to economics. When we lead healthier lives, we reduce the cost of health care to ourselves and our society. That is not something that will disappear during a rough economy, but something that will become even more important.

And to be in a position of offering that kind of opportunity for just $39.95, an opportunity that can generate hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month if you work it hard, is ideal - especially when times are tough.

Fortune favors persistence, regardless of the environment around us. We will continue to be smart and creative. And we will continue to help people. When anyone wonders why you are feeling so good and your financial situation is so solid when everyone else is struggling, tell them that you never quit, and you never stopped believing that helping people was worth the effort.

Now is the time to be productive!

You Do The Sharing, We Do The Rest

An acquaintance asked me what she would have to do to be a Beachbody coach:

I said "Play, shake, and share."

She said; "Right, but what about running the business and all that stuff?"

I said: "For the price of a coach kit, here's what happens: We build a website for you, we take orders you get on your website and handle the inventory, billing, shipping, and customer service."

She said: "So what do I do?"

I said: "Play, shake and share... Use a fitness program that suits you, and replace at least one meal a day with a meal replacement shake. The results will be visible very fast and you can still eat the rest of your meals with real food, with the rest of the family. Share means to tell some people what you are doing every day via email, message boards, blogs, in the line at the grocery store. People you talk to will start see you're serious. They will see you drinking your shake. You tell them how easy it is to stay motivated because you're going deep on this one. And they will soon understand that the motivation to turn your weight loss into a profit is HELPING YOU STAY CONSISTENT."

She said: "How will that turn into income for me?"

I said: "We spend over $1 million a week advertising these products. Other network marketing companies don't do that. That means people you "share" with likely know about Turbo Jam, P90X, Ten Minute Trainer, etc. Tell them when they're ready to lose the weight they should buy them through you and join the club, and they will save 10% off the TV price. And to conquer the food problem, replace a meal a day with a substantial meal replacement shake. They might not buy today, but eventually they will see a product from Beachbody that sparks their interest, and they'll remember you were the one who made it sound easy. They'll want to buy from you and get the best price."

She said: "But how do I recruit other coaches?"

I said: "You've told my how frustrated you are that you can never stay with a program. When I asked you if having a money motivation attached to getting fit and eating right would help you stay with it, you said it would. We didn't talk about you getting rich, or buying a new car. We talked about how the slightest hint of an extra income would be that extra ingredient to help you exercise and eat better. And you told me you know a couple other people who could use an extra income and to lose twenty or so pounds. That is the start of an organization, and the path to also getting a couple customers from Beachbody."

She said: "You do the advertising. You set up the website. I don't have to buy a bunch of product to sell. And I don't have to ship it and bill people. I just follow your program to exercise, eat better, and talk to people about it. How can I be sure it will work?"

I said: "There's only one way this will work: If you do it. If you finally get consistent with Play, Shake and Share it will absolutely work. Our walls are lined with pictures of proof. But you have to want it seriously. This can't be another light foray into a lame "diet of the day". Once and for all, you have to want to do what works. Do you think you really want it?"

She said: "I so want to feel better about my body. And I need to find a way out of this debt."

I said: "What's the one thing standing in your way?"

She said: "Me?"

I said: "You can think about it. You can think about it some more. Or you can commit. The solution for your health and your income is right here. You pick the program, get the shake, and start to share it."

She said: "I do the sharing, Beachbody does the rest?"

I said: "Let's get started"

The Team Beachbody Message Boards

When we say the heart of Beachbody Coaching and body transformation success is "Play, Shake and Share", the "share" part is where many people give me a blank stare. That's because, SHARE is what's unique here, so it takes a little creativity and a leap of faith. But we've seen the power of peer-to-peer support help people overcome obstacles over and over again. Sharing and supporting can be as easy as talking to friends and neighbors about what you are doing, posting YouTube updates or blog updates on your progress, or even visiting the Team Beachbody message boards and encouraging people as you share your own story.

Any small daily effort to reinforce your "play/shake" habits will do two things: Help you maintain your commitment and help others understand that this is for real.

Eight years ago, our message boards were the first evidence we had of the power of "sharing". (Think "Weight watchers" support meeting, but online.) The boards are the very soul of Beachbody. The power of the boards is not in their size, but in how it's possible to start a forum with your story and begin to support people and share success on the very same program you or your customers are using right now.

Use the message boards to journal your own process or to simply create a challenge of your own like ShawnMareS did with her PRE-NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION CHALLENGE.

You'll find that as a few others join in the conversation, the boards aren't a vast hoard of people and a tower of babble, but a collection of smaller groups helping each other succeed based on some common interest.


ShawnMareS
Posted 09-21-08 07:33 AM
"... I radically changed my body and my life in 90 days using Beachbody's Power 90 In-Home Boot Camp and Slimming Formula. I lost 54 pounds, 35.5 inches, 10% body fat, and 5 pant sizes in the first 90 days. It has now been a little less than 5 months and I have lost more than 72 pounds and gone from wearing 24W/22W to wearing regular size 14s. When I started I was morbidly obese and on the verge of scheduling gastric bypass, now my BMI is no longer in the obesity range!!! To go from morbidly obese to no longer obese before my 40th birthday was my main goal and thanks to Beachbody I have achieved that goal and my birthday is not until this coming Thursday. I feel so blessed that I felt compelled to share my story with you on this forum today for anyone who may feel discouraged. If I can do it - so can you!!!!!!! Hang in there, stick with it, it does and will work!!!!!Shawn Marie (screen name: ShawnMarieS)

A Tony Horton Gun Show

Month four of Tony Horton's monthly One on One series could be called the ultimate glamour disc, because it's all about the arms, the guns. You're going to LOVE this workout!