I couldn't take the snow and cold another minute and am out this week in the warm and sunny Caribbean.  I'll be posting only sporadically this week (after all, who wants to be seeking out high speed access when the sun and sand beckons?)

I plan to visit Peter Island, the ultimate reward in the Quixtar Business Incentives portfolio and report back on all there is to do and see at this exclusive British Virgin Islands resort.

Until then, remember…spring started Sunday, so the weather has to get better soon!

I've removed this post but left the comments because it turned into something I didn't expect — an attack on me as a parent.

I've left the comments as they are, but I've removed the post because I'm deeply offended at the idea that I've exploited a situation in my personal life as a defense for aspects of a business powered by Quixtar.  I sought only to show a parallel between another person's struggle despite everything going in her favor and that even though many pieces are in place to help create success for IBOs, it doesn't always happen.

I know this is probably going to launch another round of attacks because I've changed a post.  In the words of Kurt Vonnegut, so it goes. 

I heard recently that one of the reasons Lance Armstrong is an exceptional athlete is purely genetic — his body pumps three times as much blood per minute as yours or mine.  He has a genetic superiority that makes his performance uncommon.

So I can ride, I can train, I can lift weights, I can eat only protein….but I'll never, ever, ride like Lance.  I can live strong and be strong, but not as strong as him!

Sometimes success is elusive or difficult….like mastering a skill, achieving a goal, conquering a milestone.  And some are impossible due to a physical, mental, or emotional barrier.  But redefining success can mean achieving something else equally important.

Years ago I got into orienteering, a rather obscure sport that combines hiking with mapreading.  You basically work with a very rough topographical map and compass to find your way from one spot to another and then back again.  These are generally areas without groomed trails so you're reading the map, reading your surroundings, watching the position of the sun to estimate time, etc..

I really stunk at orienteering.  I would eventually get from A to B and back to A again but I wasn't improving my time and mastering all the skills necessary to be successful.

Was it a waste of time?  No.  I did achieve some things.  I saw land that many people wouldn't because it was literally off the beaten path.  I got a sense of direction I lacked in the past.  And I got to know some cool people as I worked my way from here to there.

Was I successful?  Yes, I was, because I now have a keener sense of where I am and how to get from here to there.  I'd still be someone who used left and right and told people to turn at an old Amoco station rather than to head east 2.5 miles then turn north on an old dirt road.  And, after nearly an hour of being lost and asking for directions, I was able to take the wheel and get a tired band of travelers out of Dublin and to a castle in the Irish countryside.

So when you read about someone succeeding or not in a business powered by Quixtar, consider that success isn't always defined by the obvious — there may be gains that aren't so visible to the naked eye but that are precious to those who achieved them.  

Interesting comments here this week about the probability of success and why someone succeeds and someone else doesn't and whether choices made increased or decreased the probability of success.  Of course, this all ties to how, when, and if someone succeeds in a business powered by Quixtar.

Anybody with a school-aged child knows the current philosophy about organized sports — everyone's a winner.  In kindergarten soccer my daughter got a cute little trophy for being part of the team — even though the coach spent the whole season yelling at her to kick the ball (which she wouldn't do because she was afraid of kicking someone.)  You win just by showing up.  And, in kindergarten soccer, you don't even keep score so each team can say they won (even if they really didn't — the parents are always keeping score!)

There was an article in USA Today this week about how many youth sports organizations are abandoning this practice because it's bad for kids.  Why?  Because there are winners, losers, and also-rans everywhere.  In an election, there's a clear winner and loser.  In basketball one team wins, the other doesn't (even if you go into triple overtime to choose a winner.)  In a beauty pageant being chosen Miss Congeniality is a fine accomplishment, but it doesn't take home the crown.

Today's kids grow up thinking everyone's a winner and head into the world with unrealistic expectations which can't possibly be met.  I read an article about managing twenty-somethings that talked about how they are discouraged that they don't get more affirmative feedback and recognition of accomplishments by their bosses, who may be from the old school of "your paycheck is your thank-you."

I'm in the middle of the road on this one.  Inside Quixtar, we tend to be a supportive bunch.  Personally, I believe if you support and believe in someone's ability to succeed, that helps them get there.  Is it a guarantee?  No.  But setting the right atmosphere and providing support goes a long way in improving the odds someone will succeed.  And, making the right kind of commitment and investing the time and effort needed also increases the probability of success.

Having the right tools are important, but it all comes back down to the individual, what they want. how much they want to achieve it, and what they're willing to do to get it.  And those choices can lead to success.

PS to QBlog — Kia isn't Ken McDonald (Kia is younger and shorter.)  I've known Kia since he was a chick.

Yesterday I wasn't inside Quixtar….in fact I' was no where near Quixtar.  I was grouting tile as part of the company's commitment to providing volunteers to help with community projects.

I'm about as handy with a with a putty knife as a fish is good at riding a bicycle.  But I'm enthusistic and willing to help, which means with a few simple tips and some oversight I was able to contribute if not much muscle, at least some time.

That's what's great about working for Quixtar…a commitment to sharing its success with others.  That sometimes takes the form of a program like One-by-One, where Quixtar and its IBOs create successful fundraisers for Easter Seal.  Or, it's as simple as providing people power for a project for the day.

Either way, it says a lot about where this company's heart is at.  And another reason I'm proud to be part of the Quixtar team and the Alticor family of companies. 

Our business is known for recognition and celebration.  That's because Inside Quixtar and inside IBO businesses, we realize that the journey can be long and we need to recognize, commemorate, and celebrate the milestones along the way.

And share them with others.  When something wonderful happens, you master a challenge or you achieve something, if no one's around to share it, it just isn't the same.  Can you remember the last time you had good news and no one to share it with?  You probably picked up the phone and dialed everyone you knew until you reached someone so you could share it with someone else.

When my daughter lost her first tooth last year, we were home and Dad was out of town.  We did a celebration dance and then tried Dad's cell phone.  Voicemail.  We called Grandma's house.  No answer.  Then the other Grandma.  Answering machine.  On our sixth call we reached Uncle Chris, who shared her joy but then unfortunately told my daughter that the tooth fairy left $5 for the first lost tooth.  Sometimes you have to be careful who you call!

Sharing success makes the achievement even richer. Shouting "I did it" to an empty room isn't as gratifying as sharing the same news with a group of supportive friends and colleagues.   It's like the old saying….if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?  Success in solitude just isn't the same as sharing it with others.

Inside Quixtar this week there's been lots of sharing of success as we continue to name finalists in the All Quixtar Chili Showdown.   Lots of clapping, lots of cheering for those who created successful chilis.  And lots of fun watching someone succeed!