Bob Kummer is someone who is familiar with hard work. As a young man, he worked very diligently and gave it his all in an attempt to make the 1984 U.S. Olympic Track Team. Later, he put forth that same effort in his career as an executive in the telecommunications industry and quickly moved up the corporate ladder. When he met Shelly at a hospitality industry function, he fell into “like at first sight”… and found he had to put 100% effort into getting her to go out with him. His effort finally paid off – Bob and Shelly have been happily married for 17 years.
When Bob came home one night and explained to Shelly that he was going to build a big business, she was less than enthusiastic. Shelly had grown up surrounded by affluence but had also seen the down side of wealth. She perceived that often the wealthiest people were the most miserable because they had sacrificed their time and relationships in order to achieve a certain standard of living. As a successful executive herself, time was the most precious commodity in Shelly’s life. “Where are you going to find the time to do this new thing?” she demanded of Bob. “We’re working 80-hour weeks as it is!”
Today, Shelly looks back and is intensely grateful that Bob persevered. He kept at it with his high-powered work ethic, but when he attended a particular Free Enterprise Day weekend it put him over the top in terms of motivation. “I decided then and there that I was going to be the sixth leg – the sixth Platinum that would put my upline, Dave and Darlene Duncan, into Diamond qualification. I just loved them so much, respected them so much, that I would make a total commitment in order to make that happen.
We put our hearts into it and within three months we crossed stage as new Platinums. That’s what this business is all about. When you put that kind of energy into it, upline, downline, everybody wins!”
Shelly reflects, “I know I was negative in the beginning, but I’m so glad Bob didn’t let me steal his dream. I can’t describe how much I appreciate the blessings that we enjoy from this business.” The Kummers have reached their financial goals, and no longer report to a boss. Since retiring from their corporate careers, they now focus full time on the continued growth of their Quixtar business.
Shelly enjoys telling about her last day at her job. “Our upline Diamonds, Dave and Darlene Duncan (in fact the whole Duncan family) showed up at my office to help escort me out that door for the last time. There was confetti… balloons… a limousine. In fact we created such a sensational procession through downtown Spokane, that some folks actually thought I was a presidential candidate! People on the streets were cheering and yelling – just getting into the spirit of jubilation. Oh, man it was fun! But touching and poignant too… like when we finally pulled up at our house and I saw 700 miniature American Flags in my front lawn. I cried. I just cried. I thought, ‘This really is what the American Dream is all about!’”
“Going Diamond” is another exciting milestone for the Kummers but they count their successes not in PIN levels but in numbers of people helped, other lives touched. “We love being able to help other people realize their dreams through this business. That is so exciting. So motivating! We tell people, “Hey, we’re really nothing special – if we can do this, you can do this!”
Despite their personal success, Shelly Kummer considers her greatest treasure to be a small book. It is a journal she keeps these days – a record of the daily adventures that she is able to share with her children. “To be here, to be able to spend time with my kids, that is the most amazing thing this business has given me. My corporate job would have never allowed me to do this. And that’s the big difference: as a business owner, you don’t sacrifice your family at the altar of success. Your family, your relationships, your time – those things can be given priority again. To Bob and Shelly, that is the true meaning of living a fulfilled life.”