Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Mike and Michi Woods met while working at a large resort hotel on Waikiki Beach. “We were both career-oriented managers climbing the corporate ladder by working twelve-hour days,” says Michi. “However, the glamour of corporate life was starting to fade. We looked at the lifestyles of those higher up on the corporate ladder and didn’t like what we saw. They had no personal life, no time for family, and were expected to make incredible sacrifices for the company.”

Although they came to the realization that what they had chosen for a career wasn’t really what they wanted out of life, they had no idea what career could provide the lifestyle they sought.

A Balanced Life

“I was shown the business by someone I met at a Dale Carnegie course,” says Mike. “I got really excited about the potential earnings this business had to offer. But equally as important, I got excited about the balanced life I saw my sponsors living. These people weren’t the ‘living-dead corporate zombies’ I was used to dealing with. They were enthusiastic about life and about each other and were excited about helping us succeed.”

When Mike returned home and told Michi that he had seen a new business, she was less than thrilled. Michi says, “Mike assured me there was more to the business than what I was seeing, so I decided to check it out.” That was all it took. Once she met the people involved in the business, she was hooked.

Personal Growth

They both dove in head-first. “The most important part of our business,” says Mike, “was the personal growth we underwent by plugging into the incredible support organization of World Wide Group. We learned that to become truly successful you don’t have to be great people, you just have to make great decisions. We made the decision that we were in this business for life.”

Turning Point

The greatest turning point in their business was a Free Enterprise Day weekend. The Woods went into that weekend with no volume and no profitability, but they were looking for the key to success. They found what they were looking for: “To succeed in this business,” explains Mike, “you take your eyes off yourself and you focus on others by helping them achieve their goals.” With this new focus, ninety days later the Woods were in qualification as Platinum Independent Business Owners (IBOs).

Focusing on the Dream

Mike and Michi understand that true success is the character one develops during times of struggle. Mike explains, “the first two years of our business were a time of great personal growth for us. Although it appeared that we weren’t growing in our business, we were definitely growing as people. During times of despair we would do what we had been taught—focus more on our dream. I would walk up on a particular mountaintop overlooking the ocean and I would dream of placing my family in a dream home on this ridge.”

Full-Time Parents

The Woods moved into that dream home and live high on a hill overlooking the tropical Pacific Ocean. Both retired from corporate life, they have time to enjoy each other and their seven children: James, Daria, Britt, Brian, Tanner, William, and Noa. “The greatest blessing we have received from this business is our family,” says Michi. “Not only can we afford the nice things for our children, but we can give them something far more precious—lots of time with their parents.”

Sharing with Others

“The best thing of all is that we can share our lifestyle with others. By going out and sharing this opportunity with people, we can open up a whole new world to them—a world that isn’t controlled by time and money or what some corporate entity wants done, a world where people can choose the life they want and can achieve their dreams.”