Back to Nature: A spiritual gathering with Mark Stevens at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation

Location: Ward Pound Ridge Reservation

Meeting Place: Trailside Museum Parking Lot

Date: Saturday January 26, 2008

Time: 12 noon - 1pm

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation means something special to us all. It is a place that helps dreamer’s dream and lover’s romance. Those with a heavy heart walk free from their sadness and melancholy if just for a moment. So magical is this place that something spectacular happens at the reservation everyday.

Something magical happened to Bedford resident Mark Stevens on a cold blustery day in 2005. He experienced an epiphany. Under a lone tree that soon became Stevens’ inspiration for the next year, he sat down and feverishly tapped the entire contents of his latest book, “God Is A Salesman” into his Blackberry.

Inspired by Ward Pound Ridge and in particular one tree, Stevens wrote a business book that illustrates how the power of faith can be cultivated and employed in all aspects of life and business. Referring fondly to this spot as the “God Tree” Stevens sees the miracle of worship brought out from the houses of prayer, away from the formalities of a sermon and laid bare in nature right here at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

Join him in the wilderness at Ward Pound Ridge, one of the most spiritual places on earth to experience the wonders of freedom, having faith can bring. Hear the story of how our beloved Ward Pound Ridge led to one of the most widely anticipated books, worldwide and how Stevens believes a great and genuine life is built on five key pillars.

This is a meeting with a difference…. it will be held at the reservation. There is no fee but please wear clothing suitable for the outdoors. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Melinda Mullin at Tel: 914 251 1500 ext 14.

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www.godisasalesman.com
MSCO 800 Westchester Avenue, Rye Brook, NY, 10573Directions to Trailside Museum Parking Lot

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation
6 Reservation Road,
Cross River, New York, 10518
Telephone: 914-867-7317

Interstate 684 to exit 6 (Katonah/Cross River). Turn onto Route 35 East for approximately 4 miles to Route 121 South. Turn right the entrance to Reservation is on left. The Trailside Museum Parking Lot is located inside the park about a mile and a half from the entrance.
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Guest Blogger Lewis Green from Biz Solutions Plus

-Excerpted from Lead With Your Heart by Lewis Green

Happiness is the driving force behind everything Americans do. It is the key to determining their wants, needs and desires. It is the essence of the American Dream and is as important as the air you breathe. Even our Declaration of Independence calls for the pursuit of happiness. And yet a 2006 study by the Pew Research Center found that only 34 percent of Americans consider themselves “very happy,” 50 percent “pretty happy,” and fifteen percent report that they are “not too happy.”

One of the most popular courses at Harvard University teaches happiness and creating “a fulfilling and flourishing life.” In fact, the course on “Positive Psychology” outdraws “Introductory Economics.” That scares me. Have we have gone so far down the road of work, power, and greed that we need to be taught about happiness?

I believe these examples point to an overactive, overachieving, over-stressed population chasing after broken dreams. On the other hand, this information points to an untapped market your business can penetrate. The savvy businessperson will do everything possible to ensure that his or her business is people-centered and not primarily focused on the bottom line. My belief is that if you do good, your business will do well. Here’s one reason why:

From the various reports I’ve read, it seems that at least 65 percent of all Americans want great business experiences that will help make them happy. Even the “very happy” folks can be moved to a higher happiness level, creating even greater customer-conversion opportunities for business.

Research also tells us that happy people are more productive and they live longer lives. One study on a Catholic religious community concluded that nuns who had a positive outlook in their 20s lived as much as 10 years longer than those who are less positive. Another research project focused on a group of people who kept a daily diary for six months recording only those things that went well on any given day. The conclusion was that these participants were happier and healthier than those participants who did not focus on positive thinking. Both studies imply that businesses could increase productivity and work attendance by focusing on happiness in the work place.

I do not suggest that happiness waits just around the corner and it is easily within our grasp. Happiness defined in the Lead With Your Heart business model looks like this:

• Business is people-centered. People come before profit in every instance.
• Its values talk to making the world a better place to live and work.
• Business understands the wants, needs, and desires of it employees and its customers.
• It creates products, services, value, prices, and most important, experiences that meet or exceed people’s wants, needs, and desires.

Only a blind, dumb, and extremely arrogant business community would ignore the data and the business potential inherent in making people happier—and not just consumers. In fact, I argue, as have a few others before me, that your employees must first feel as sense of happiness about the company they work for and the work they do if a business’s customers and clients are to experience levels of happiness that keep them coming back.

Lewis Green
Founder of L&G Business Solutions

 

What Are You Doing to Ensure Happiness in Your Business Community?




Click here to read the full interview with blogger Lewis Green.

By Chris Kieff Sr. Blog Editor for Unconventional Thinking

As most of you know, Mark is currently writing 2 blogs, Unconventional Thinking (this one), and the Digital PR News Online Blog. However, what many of you may not know is that he’s been writing blogs as a companion to his new book “God Is A Salesman” (Shameless plug: Pre-order your own copy today online.) So Mark is now writing 3 weekly blogs in addition to his normal duties of running MSCO.

 

On Monday you will receive the first blog post with an invitation to subscribe. If you would like to receive the God Is A Salesman blog via email YOU MUST RESPOND TO THE MESSAGE or you will not be subscribed to the blog. This will be your only chance to become a Charter Subscriber to the God Is A Salesman Blog.

 

MSCO is proud to announce the brand new blog:

God Is A Salesman

You are invited to become a Charter Subscriber.

 

I’ll leave the explanations of the principles in God is a Salesman up to Mark, you can learn all about it here: www.GodIsASalesman.com. As one who has read the book I’ll tell you that it can be a life changing experience. (And those of you who know me, know that I didn’t have to say that.)

Back here at Unconventional Headquarters we’ve been doing a lot of work getting ready for the launch of the book and some new business ventures for MSCO. We are going to offer several new products and services based on the principles in God is a Salesman in addition to the new blog. So exciting things are a-foot here and we know that you will find them interesting. We will be making announcements about the new products and services as soon as they are available.

One thing I want to say as the UberGeek, to those of you who read the blog only via email; You are missing half of the action! Most blog entires get several people writing in comments or observations as comments. Unfortunately you can’t see the comments in the email version of the blog. So don’t hesitate to click on the blog button in the email and go to the online version of the blog where you can check out the comments and leave one of your own www.MSCO.com/blog

That’s all for now. We at Unconventional HQ (aka MSCO) want to thank you for your time and support in reading and frequently commenting on the blog. Don’t ever hesitate to let us know what you think.

Sincerely,

Chris Kieff, Director of Internet Marketing, MSCO
Sr. Blog Editor, Unconventional Thinking, God Is A Salesman Blog
UberGeek of MSCO

Mark Stevens latest book “Your Management Sucks” was chosen by Entrepreneur.com to be featured in their list of 10 Biz Books to Read This Summer.

Buy It Today!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-a-Million
Powells | Wal-Mart | LeaderShipNow | eBay

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