Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Things I learned in High School


Today is a
Great Day!



Go ahead, Say it out loud.


Does it feel "good", or do you find yourself hesitating a bit as you say it?

My mentor, Big Al, says,

"People don't have any free will, they just react to the situations around them."

Don't believe it... think about this. You, or your spouse go to work today and get a nice big raise!
How do you feel? Happy, Excited, Positive, Optimistic? Of course!

Now.. think of this... You, or your spouse go to work today and the boss tells you you have to work an extra 10 hours a week to keep your job, and they are lowering your pay 10%....
How do you feel now? Angry, frustrated, trapped, depressed? Of course!

See, people are reactive... but if we KNOW THIS, we can CHANGE THIS!

When I was a teen, I was fortunate enough to get involved with a group called Campus Life. They came into the schools and held fun events for teens, geared towards helping them stay out of trouble, build friendships and become grounded in a spritual life. Best thing that ever happened to me!

One thing they talked about that has stuck with me all these years was the concept of FACTS, FAITH, FEELINGS.

We have to keep things in order.. FACTS come first.
FACT: This is an challenging time for many people.
FACT: People are looking for ways to make extra money.
FACT: There is no other business around that you can start while still keeping your day job, that, if you do the job right, will pay you extraordinary income for a very long time!

Next comes FAITH – I have faith in our industry and opportunity and in the FACT that..

if people like Art Jonak, who started off as a Pizza Delivery man, and now has a successful multi-million dollar network marketing business that circles the globe, can do it....

if people like Lisa Wilber, who started out in a trailer park, chasing down the guy from the electric company to give him cash so they wouldn’t shut off her lights and has now build an army of thousands of successful Beauty Consultants, can do it..
if people like Jerry Clark, who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, can become a self-made Millionaire in his 20's, can do it...

if people like Becky and Bob Dorsey, who replaced their income from their pest control business and have a growing business with multiple millions of dollars in sales every year in their company, money that keeps on coming, even after Bob had a head-on crash that left him paralyzed for months, can do it...

or people like Sylvia Tamayo, who came here as a single mom from Mexico,without speaking any English, and now has built a 6 figure income with more “job security” than most CEO’s of fortune 5000 companies, can do it...

if every day people like them can succeed... we can too!

Last, the FEELINGS… There is so much negativity in the news today that it’s hard sometimes not to get caught up in it.
But, in spite of the media crying, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” , there is lots of good news out there! And much of it, like the stories above, in our own circle of influence. Let's start spreading some GOOD NEWS!
Let us build our business, based on the facts – FACT - there are many wonderful, reputable companies with products and an opportunity to change your life for the better!
People are starting their own businesses at record rates! Do they know about your opportunity?
Based on the faith, that if Art and Lisa can do it, and, Jerry, Becky and Bob and Syliva, you can too! Whynot You?

Based on the feelings… The “feelings” , well, there’s a reason they are last in this little equation. Feelings are just that, feelings. We can’t base our business performance on them.

We all must choose which way we want to feel.. and stick with it.
If you think you can, YOU CAN! And if you let yourself think you can’t, well you’re probably right there too… don’t go there! Don’t let yourself be swayed by what others say or are doing.

Remember, a BIG SHOT, is just a LITTLE SHOT WHO KEPT ON SHOOTING!
Here's to Your Success!

Saturday, November 8, 2008




Selfish Philanthropy

Thursday morning started earlier than normal for me.

For over 15 years, I’ve been blessed to live the great life of a networker. Although I don’t wake to the sound of an alarm clock because I have to go to work, one of my greatest blessings as I’ve built my Direct Sales and Network Marketing businesses has been to be available to my family. Every day, almost without fail, I get up early and make sure my family is ready to start their day.. at school, work, in their business endeavors. Trust me, some mornings, it’s hard to be an early bird when at heart you are a night owl!

Could I sleep in? For sure, but I have the FREEDOM TO CHOOSE! And I choose to put my family first!

This Thursday, however, I rose an hour earlier than the norm. I had bribed (literally) my high-school-aged daughter to let me take her to school early and headed off to a business networking meeting, starting at 7 am. I knew I had a long day ahead of me – I had scheduled appointments with new and current distributors and prospects all the way through until my final appointment at 9 pm and was excited for a busy and rewarding day.

I entered the conference room of the bank at which the networking event was hosted and smelled the fresh coffee waiting for me! Good start, I thought!

I mingled among the early morning guests, introducing myself and meeting new friends.
As the event began, everyone had an opportunity to introduce themselves and their businesses.

I was prepared, ready to share a great lifestyle Magazine about FREEDOM and some samples with all my new networking friends. As the introductions went around the room, I heard people sharing, with varying levels of presentation skills, about their business. Some more casual, some practically climbing on top of the table with enthusiasm for their product or opportunity. I listened, hearing many familiar sincere declarations and industry catch-phrases and thought a bit more about what I would say.

Half way through the bakers’ dozen, it was my turn. Like many people there, I had more than one interest in my business life. An established, successful business that had provided me with a great income, the free cruises and trips, recognition and awards that come along with being at the top of your game, and a newer adventure, already well on it’s way to surprising personal growth and success.

I shared a bit as I passed around some of the magazines (labeled with my contact info of course) and some product samples (labeled as well) and then moved into a concept I had been contemplating for some time.

What exactly do I do?, I mused aloud to the group? I’m a business and personal coach… like some of you here do as a fulltime career. And I share some fantastic products that people love and benefit from all over the world. We may start off in our business thinking we are an upline, but as we impact individuals’ lives and help them move from the point of entry into our business towards success in their life and career, we become much more. Coach, Cheerleader, Mentor, Friend, Leader, Teacher, Workout Partner, Nag, and so much more .. we impact the lives of those around us more than we may think!

It’s been said that Network Marketing is a great personal development journey with a bonus check attached.

That couldn’t be more true.

We give of our knowledge, experience, compassion, time and resources freely to help other people change their lives and fulfill their dreams of personal and professional achievement and freedom.

And in return – and in proportion to how much value we provide in peoples’ personal and business growth, our companies pay us a bonus. The better we do at providing value, the more we can earn.

So… are we generous? Giving our all to all who ask… rejoicing with the few who are brave enough to change their attitudes, their actions and their lives… and sadly watching the many …. who are unable or unwilling to do what it takes to achieve success… but continuing our mission regardless to impact lives –

Or… are we selfish? As we give, exponentially our income grows. As our influence impacts others for good and they duplicate and expand their sphere of influence, our bonus checks grow! And the more we teach others, the more we can earn with the right compensation plan and company!

I guess it’s a little of both. I call it Selfish Philanthropy. Works for me.

My new networking group seemed to like my story - and they loved the cookie samples I brought to share.

I told them, I’ll tell them another great story the next time we get together. And, as they asked for, maybe bring some more cookies. That got smiles all around. I love the Freedom of being a Rich Networker!

Friday, November 7, 2008



You can't Hire other People to Do your PUSHUPS FOR YOU!


This quote is from one of my favorite trainers, Jim Rohn (http://www.jimrohn.com/)
We can hire people to do all kinds of things for us in our business.. pass out our brochures, samples and magazines, make phone calls, even deliver our orders for us.

But some things, we have to do for ourselves. As much as I (and we) get excited by ideas I learn from great trainers and motivators like Jim Rohn, or Tom "BIG AL" Schreiter (http://www.fortunenow.com/ ), that motivation only lasts a short time.
If you are at all like me, we encounter challenges in our business sometimes that take the wind out of our sails a bit. Maybe a customer doesn't place a re-order, or a new team member doesn't follow through on her plan.

Sometimes "life" just gets us down.
But, we can't hire someone to do our pushups for us!

But the key to getting results from our "pushups", and seeing results in our business is to move into action. Do the first pushup.. then another. Go pass out a few more samples, or stop into the video store on a Friday and Saturday afternoon and leave some company literature! (Hint - Don't leave too many or go on other "slow" days or someone might re-fill that rack by the "out" door and toss them, but the stores are busy on Fri and Sat and it's a great time to leave them there then!)

Set aside 15 minutes on Sunday night to plan out your week, for both personal and professional events and actions. Then be sure that you are prepared to take action. Got biz cards and labeled materials in back of the car, ready to go? It does you no good sitting on your shelf!

Make time for personal development - the most important "pushup" of all!

Schedule your web office to send out emails to customers and your team for important specials, announcements and events so that people can learn about your products, services and team even while you are sleeping!

Find a mentor, or a "workout partner" with whom you can share ideas and be accountable with... it's always easier to "workout" when you have a partner!

Most important, as A. L. Williams says: JUST DO IT!