Want a Fish? Go to Wal-Mart

Less than a year ago Wal-Mart super-sized their store here in St. Croix Falls, so now we have one of those huge super-centers with “everything”. But every time I go there I feel like I’m in another part of the country. I don’t know where anything is and I don’t know anybody I see. It’s almost Twilight Zonish.

Shortly after it opened, Lisa went to pick up some thread. I asked her what she thought.

“Icky,” she said. “It’s just too big.”

Wal-Mart is big. According to a recent article in Inc. magazine, if Wal-Mart was a country, it would be China’s 5th largest exporter. I know a lot of people with opinions about Walmart. To be honest with you I’ve never had much of an opinion either way. I never thought I new the whole story.

Which was why I was happy to stumble upon a PBS Frontline Special entitled, Is Wal-Mart Good For America? I’m guessing it was an hour-long program, but I was (unsuccessfully) getting Nora to bed, so I only saw the last half. It was interesting.

Regardless of what you think of Wal-Mart, you have to admire the efficiency of an organization that can grow so quickly. And that got me thinking about Shaklee’s organization. Sure their products and manufacturing processes work with nature. Sure they pour more money into research and quality than anyone else. And their stuff really works. And that’s all great. Really. But, honestly, it’s not why I’m passionate about Shaklee. It’s something else.

When Lisa and I were still new to the whole home improvement thing, we stopped in to Wal-Mart to pick up a drill bit extension and a one-inch bit for our drill. We got the bit, but upon asking about the extension we were told that there nothing like that we could actually buy. Most people just weld the bit onto a metal rod.

Well, luckily, before investing in arc welding tools, gas, and classes at my nearest technical college, I stopped in the hardware store downtown and talked to Mark. He just gave me the extension. He’s also answered countless questions for Lisa and me on topics ranging from paint to electrical wiring, water heaters to toilets.

Want to Learn to Fish? Come to Shaklee

And that, right there, is why I think Shaklee is so cool—I love to learn. Wal-Mart is fine if you know what you want before you walk into the store. But in an age of information where technology is rapidly improving (and complicating) choices, when you realize that you want the best for your health and only you can control that, Shaklee makes sense. Why? Because the organization is set up to actually HELP you figure out what you need in order to get the results that you want.

Just as much as it is built on quality, Shaklee is uniquely built to teach. It is a true information company. So when you know what you want--when you’re hungry and you want to eat for a day—you go to Wal-Mart.

But when you’re not so sure . . . but you’re ready to learn. When you want a relationship that you can turn to again and again. When you want effective, powerful knowledge—when you want to eat for a lifetime—you come to Shaklee.