Dwayne Dyer

Known throughout the world as XANGO’s Master Distributor, Dwayne’s XANGO organization now exceeds 2+ million distributors in 43 countries. His XANGO titles include 500K Premier Select (top achievement level), Sweet 16 Premier, XANGO Legend, Million Dollar Club Earner, Emmissary of Life, Hope and Goodness. Dwayne was honored at the 2010 National Charity Awards held in Washington, DC for his charitable contributions to global children’s organizations.

Dwayne has been a featured speaker in 35 countries, and has authored several key training and educational materials including “Go Time Training”; “Path to Premier, The Compensation Plan Explained”; the audio CD “Maximize Your Income”; the audio CD “The Gift of Finance”; the booklets “Think Global, Act Local”; “The Fifteen Second Kiss” and a recently released DVD training tool titled “The Best of Dwayne Dyer”. Dwayne’s materials have been translated from English into Spanish, Japanese, German, Chinese, and Russian. He has been featured in several publications including NMBJ Business Journal.

Background

Dwayne has substantial experience in both national and international markets. A graduate of Brigham Young University, Dwayne completed a management internship at the J.C. Penney School of Management in Southern California. After his internship, he accepted employment as an Operations Manager for the New York based W.R. Grace Company.

Four years later, Dwayne joined Proctor and Gamble’s Richardson-Vicks Home Care Products Division headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, as a Key Account Sales Representative. During his time with RVI, Dwayne successfully implemented new business and marketing plans to exceed sales objectives, and as a result won the New Product Sales Competition Award in both 1984 and 1986. In the fourth quarter of 1985, he was recognized for attaining the highest Corporate Sales Performance at RVI.

Industry Background

In 1987, Dwayne accepted employment with Nature’s Sunshine Products located in Utah in International Operations. Dwayne oversaw the company’s international subsidiary operations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Revenues increased substantially during his administration, and in 1989 the international division won the Ridge Top Ruler Award, the first time this award was given outside the United States for outstanding growth and fiscal management performance.

In 1990, Dwayne co-founded both The Food Connection and Enhanced Living International, and in 1992 successfully merged both companies with Enrich International, a large international nutritional supplement manufacturer and distribution company. As VP of International Sales and Marketing, he focused his efforts in the Asia Pacific Rim, including Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia. Sales increased substantially and in 1996, Enrich International was named the 65th fastest-growing privately held company in America by Inc. Magazine. In 1997, Dwayne joined Team Paragon, the largest global distributorship of Enrich International, as a Partner.

In 2000, Dwayne joined Excel Communications as Executive Director of Sales and Marketing for European Operations, with annual revenue exceeding 1.8 billion. During this capacity Dwayne was the recipient of the Excel Super Star Achievement Award for exceeding new market expectations in the United Kingdom. Excel was recognized by the UK Direct Selling Association as the fastest growing company ever in the history of the United Kingdom.

Dwayne next joined the Shaklee Corporation, a 56+ year old well respected leader in the industry. In this capacity, he was responsible for planning and executing all global company sales and distributor sales support programs.

During his tenure at Shaklee, he received a telephone call from his long-time friend and business associate, Gordon Morton, who asked him to help launch a new company called XANGO, now a major success story in the industry. XANGO is the first company in the industry to reach 200 million in annual sales and over 2 billion in accumulated sales in under 9 years.  Dwayne has been associated with XANGO since its inception.

Dwayne can be reached by email at dwaynedyer@dwaynedyer.com.

Earning My Iron Butt Saddle Sore Patch - A One Day Ride Experience

“The World’s Toughest Riders” is the official tag line for the Iron Butt Association (www.ironbutt.com). I am 56 years young, and starting a motorcycle passion at age 10 means I have done a lot of things with motorcycles. I have ridden around the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand and up the very scenic Sydney to Perth highway in Australia. I have ridden in several amazing places in Asia, including a back jungle of Malaysia. I have ridden in North America, the UK and France. Recently I rode the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Yes, lots of motorcycling miles but earning the distinction of being among the world’s toughest riders as designated by the Iron Butt Association was not officially on my motorcycle resume.

Earning the Iron Butt Saddle Sore award means riding 1,000 miles in under 24 hours. A thousand miles in a single day is a push for me. Occasionally I will ride a 500 mile day, but this is usually because our small riding group couldn’t make up our minds on where to stop or all the cheap hotels were already taken.  I much prefer to piddle away the miles at a scenic pace, enjoying weekend canyon rides with friends, stopping to take a photo or two. Not much chance for this on an Iron Butt ride plan. 

So last month I set out to make a plan to complete 1,000 miles in under 24 hours. I call my friend Scott who has completed an Iron Butt ride and get his counsel – he suggests a route that would be the most direct and cover the most straight-line distance. After studying a map of the western USA and considering where I would like to go and places I would like to visit, I choose a route from American Fork, Utah to St. Joseph, Missouri.

A few generations back my ancestors on both sides of my family came out west to California from Missouri (just ask where my “Grandma Zura” got her name) and since St. Joseph is the birthplace of the Pony Express and this is part of their route, I thought this would be a great destination – surely those Pony Express riders also experienced an “iron butt”. A Pony Express rider back in those days must have been an amazing experience - an advertisement in the March, 1860 Alta California newspaper stated: “Wanted young skinny wiry fellows. Not over 18. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25.00 per week.”

St. Joseph is also the death place of Jesse James (aka “Mr. Howard”) and I’m hoping that this is not some sort of a sign. The city of St. Joseph is identified by the slogan “where the Pony Express started and Jesse James ended.” 

According to MapQuest, St. Joseph, Missouri is 1,034 miles from American Fork, Utah with an almost straight Interstate 80 travel time of approximately 16 hours without stops. I figure a couple of hours in downtime should still comfortably allow me to cover the distance in under 24 hours.

I have 10 street licensed motorcycles in my garage; gassed, charged, and with a little air they are all ready to ride. Actually they sit in my “offsite” garage so that my beautiful wife Melody of 33 years doesn’t have to be reminded too often of this other passion. If I were asked what constitutes a successful marriage I would say it is directly linked in part to how good your ability is to be discreet (as in hide) your garage toys.

From my 10 street licensed motorcycles there are 4  I would consider for a fast interstate ride like this – and I choose my faithful BMW R1200GS. It vibrates a bit and can cause a little tingling after about 6 hours in the saddle, but she’s faithful and dependable, and on an Iron Butt those are the priorities. The Beemer’s opposed twin reminds me of the motors used in early aviation: air-cooled, reliable and easy to service. 

Charles Lindbergh traded in his motorcycle to purchase his first airplane, and I remember reading his journal about his 34 hour solo flight across the Atlantic, when he wrote “my legs are stiffed and cramped. But that won’t last more than three of four hours. The dull ache will get worse for a time, and then go away altogether. I’ve experienced the feeling before. It begins after about three hours of flying, and ends at about seven.” I figure if he can fly solo for 36 hours across the Atlantic, I should be able to ride from Utah to Missouri in a single day on my faithful BMW with no problem.

At 5:01am MDT on Thursday, August 16^th I get my first start receipt and witness signature at the local Conoco gas station and I’m off. The instructions for the Iron Butt state that the start and end receipts are the most critical. The air is a nice morning cool but I quickly realize that I’m riding from a comfortable mid-August temperature to “what was I thinking leaving this early” over the I-80 pass near Park City, Utah climbing more than 3,000 feet in elevation before heading into Evanston, Wyoming.

The Beemer is humming right along and the first gas stop is in Green River, Wyoming, a distance of 188 miles, and I’m averaging 40.45 miles per gallon. If the BMW is one thing it is pretty consistent. I almost always average between 38 and 40 mpg. So I calculate that at this rate it will take me six to seven gas stops to complete 1,000 miles, so I mentally use gas stops as my internal goal ticker. To me it’s like hiking to the next visible distant object and then taking a rest when I get there. I mentally note that I can do 6 gas stops in a single day.

And the gas stops begin to click by: Green River, Elk Mountain, Pine Bluffs, Ogallala, Wood River, Nebraska City. The ride is along the Platte River, and I witness where the North Platte and South Platte converge – or is it diverge – back into just The Platte. My destination city, the city of St. Joseph, was the jumping off point for the early pioneers following the Oregon trail, and I can’t help but imagine miles and miles of pioneer handcarts and wagon trains following this same route just a century ago.

Wind, wind, wind! I can handle riding in rain, but wind just drives me a little nuts! I find myself sort of leaning into the wind, then trying to react quickly when the gusts leave you alone for a moment, trying to stay in my lane. It’s the cross wind and the wind buffeted by trucks that is the most noticeable. I’m thinking those Pony Express riders must have enjoyed a little wind on a hot summer day, but on a motorcycle I’m tensing up a little too much, my hands are gripping the bars a little too tightly, so I relax and then just sort of “play” with the wind gusts. I wave out to those early riders and they wave back. You do some interesting things on a 1,000 mile timed ride. After a lot of miles like this I actually begin enjoying playing with the wind.

It’s 8:30pm and I notice darkness sets in earlier than out west and it soon becomes pitch black. I’ve had a cloud cover all day and this means it may be a very dark night. I still have about another 150 miles or about 2 ½ hours to St. Joseph. Hands feel good but the legs have cramped up long ago. I thank whoever it was that invented heated grips, one of the greatest inventions on a motorcycle.

Leaving I–80 and the Platte River, my GPS is showing me I’m now riding along the mighty Missouri River, which will soon parallel I–29. This part of the Missouri River helped create the state lines between the boarding states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

At 10:52pm CDT and an odometer reading of 1,033 miles I have arrived into St. Joseph, Missouri. I have done it - I have ridden for 14 hours and 51 minutes and accomplished a 1,000 mile ride in under 24 hours. The Iron Butt Saddle Sore experience is now officially on my motorcycle resume and checked off my bucket list.

Now I have the thought this morning that I’ll begin the return trip home, only this time I’m going to piddle away the miles at a more scenic pace, stopping frequently to take a photo or two and taking a side trip here and there to explore the “scenic stops” as outlined on the local hotel lobby brochures.  I’m going to visit the birthplace of the Pony Express and the home where Jesse James met his fatal end. It may take me a few extra days to get home because after yesterday’s ride I am reminded that I really don’t have an iron butt…!

What a great ride, from Anchorage to Denali National Park, then up to Fairbanks, up to Coldfoot, then on to Prudhoe Bay (also known as Dead Horse Point). Then the return ride through the Old Richardson Hwy (the original old mining pioneer trail) through Glenallen over into Palmer then the bike return back in Anchorage. The BMW ran like a champ - 2,500+ miles in 6 days without even a whimper. I loved this ride!

Great friends: Joe and Caryn Morton, Dwayne and Melody Dyer, Gordon and Rachel Morton posing in the Dubai Sand Dunes, September 2011.