I spent the day talking to business owners of convenient stores about carrying a product that my network marketing company sells.  And being that I’m not always the first one to catch on to really important concepts offered by my personal friend and mentor Michael Dlouhy, it took the better part of the day to realize that business models really do drive the behavior in the field.  As this settled in it was like a video in my mind and I could imagine Michael saying, “Man, I hope you guys get this!” just like he says in this recorded audio. This behavior recently became more obvious with the new enhancements to the compensation plan-adding more money back into the hands of the distributors was sheer genious if I say so myself.

This got me to thinking about how this plays out in leadership development and continuing to educate oneself in your industry.  For example, I went to a workshop by Tom ‘Big Al’ Schreiter in Houston, TX. July 7th, 2009 to further educate myself.  Needless to say it was a life changing experience.  But it occurred to me today that being on a personal path of leadership drives a certain kind of behavior as well.  I believe that Jeff Olsen said it best in his book, ‘The Slight Edge,” when he said that successful people do what others are not willing to do.  Could it really be this simple?  Is it really as simple as going to a workshop instead of watching TV on a given evening?  Is it as simple as following through on a decision to stop at just one more convenient store to ask if it would be okay to speak with a manager or the owner to see if they might be interested in what you could offer?

This leads me to my next question, what does it take to be a leader?  I mean really, is it something you are born with or is it the natural behavior, by-product if you will, of a person’s desire to achieve success?  If the truth be told I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “I want to be a leader!”  But I have been drawn to people who seem to fill a room with their presence sort of like a moth to a flame.  And being able to admit certain traits of my dominant personality type I found that I tend to ask a lot of questions-did I say a lot of questions?  Just knowing about my personality type through education has answered many questions and has taken my interactions with everyone I meet to a new level.  For example, I was speaking with Art Jonak and Don Standard about leadership and I shared with them about an experience I had with a family member.  And it dawned on me that things that I might feel are necessary to say in a difficult situation might not ever feel comfortable to someone else with a different personality type.

All of this leads me back to one very simple concept which is the dominating filter by which I view the world and that is gratitude.  I adopted a practice a few years ago that upon waking in the morning I would wriggle my fingers and toes, then my arms and legs, and then walk a few steps to drink clean water.  The ‘limb check’ that I have come to call it was inspired by a dear friend who has Multiple Sclerosis.  And every single morning I am almost in tears of gratitude, for many things but especially, for my health and for the great fortune of being one of a small percentage of humans on this planet that have the luxury of clean water on demand.  It doesn’t take very long to take notice of all the things that one could be grateful for if any effort is afforded at all.  I still have some friends that have a hard time understanding how a person can be grateful every single day, but the challenges I have overcome in my life leave me little choice. And I say that sincerely and in all honesty.  And I guess it all fell in line when I finally accepted the fact that I didn’t have an average experience growing up and I will not settle for average success in my life. Besides, I am committed to creating a life that most people can only dream of having.

Most of today I spent with friends I haven’t seen since moving to a nearby city to fulfill, it turns out, somebody else’s idea of being successful by getting an education.  Now I’ve been educated in many different ways in the course of my life and ‘higher education’ has been more enlightening than most-but for different reasons than one might expect.  Thinking in terms of relationships, my education finally came full circle in a way that has given me purpose, focus, and direction.  A direction I didn’t find in any of my textbooks.

So many times we have the opportunity to change someone’s day, week, or entire life by striking up a conversation at a restaurant, grocery store, or even at the gas pump.  For example, I pulled over to get gas in my motorcycle after spending some time with friends.  I noticed a sign on the car next to me that said, “computer repair.”  So I asked the guy if he had a card because I don’t work on computers running Windows or MacIntosh for personal reasons.  Well, except for my mother of course.  He gave me his card and we started talking.

It turns out that he used to be employed at a company called Dell and had been laid off and now worked on computers, did odd carpentry, and light electrical work-basically whatever comes his way.  Which is just the person I’ve been needing to handle jobs that I can’t take.  I also got to tell him a little bit about my company and about our online trainings at Mentoring for Free.  The conversation lasted as long as it took to fill up my gas tank, which isn’t very long.  But it was long enough to exchange ideas and make a connection, as well as find out a little bit about someone who might become a business partner in the future.

I am not new to the concepts of network marketing as I have done it all my life.  It’s so thrilling for me to know that I will have the time freedom to continue writing, speaking, and possibly raise a family while building a fortune.  My reasons for being alive are to open the conversations I’m supposed to, for the reasons God intended, and I believe for the purpose of passing along all of the love and support I’ve received to get to this exact point in my life.  And I am excited about being able to say when asked, “What do you do for a living?” that I help people find their dreams.  And I am so grateful for the education I have received and continue to receive from My Loving Family-Mentoring For Free.

So this leads me to the obvious question of someone, like myself, who was being dragged under the bus by a company whose management doesn’t even know how to spell M-L-M.  For example, here’s how the training went…

1. Make a list of friends and family

2. Make a list of the most successful people you know

3. Make a list of the people you are afraid to speak to about the business

Now, I know-I’ll wait for the side splitting laughter to die down before I continue.  What, that wasn’t funny?  You mean you heard something similar to this in your training?  Guess what?  That’s not training, that’s what they call ‘leading with the chin.’  That’s definitely a way to alienate yourself from friends and family and while that may be a good thing, usually it is not.  So, did I succeed in my first MLM opportunity? No.  That was way back in August of 2008, I am so very fortunate that I saved myself years of failure and frustration in this wonderful industry by finding what I call My Loving Family.

Now that first company cost me some time, money, and loads of frustration but it also served as a valuable experience.  It helped me understand how valuable a team of professional network marketers can be to someone like me who wants a lifetime of residual income.  Not only do I not want to struggle and alienate myself from family, I don’t want to be drug under the bus by every ‘Heavy Hitter’ in the industry.  You know that I’ve called almost every single person in my upline genealogy and they actually call back and help me to succeed right where I’m at in the process.  My team cares enough about the relationship they have with me that they will tell me the truth as well as point me in the right direction to become a professional in the industry.

Our industry is amazing and many traditional companies are investigating how to restructure to lower costs in these exciting times.  What they will have to keep in mind is that the quality of the relationship with their distributors will ultimately determine their success. I say these are exciting times because as Jim Rhon once said, “After recession comes expansion-not to think so is naive.”  I have been naive about network marketing in the past but I know now that with My Loving Family, I have all the tools necessary to succeed.  Day by day, in every way, I awaken to a new world of limitless possibilities for service and inspiration; sharing this energy with all the wonderful people I meet.  It is a pleasure to say, when asked what I do for a living, that I help people.  I mean, how cool is that?  I have been helped over the years by some of the very best people I’ve ever even heard about.  And they did it without an agenda, they helped me because they had been under that same bus.  There was a time I just needed someone to give me the right words like, “please stop the bus,” and “help people with the right agenda.”  What time is it for you?

How does self-improvement create opportunity you might ask?  Well, in network marketing it’s not wholly about the products, just about every network marketing company has excellent products, it’s about the relationships you build with people.  A personal friend and upline sponsor of mine makes the qualification for sponsoring someone into your organization, “would you want to spend a month with them on a cruise?”  So how would you know if this is something you would consider if you haven’t taken the time to build a relationship with them?  How cool is it to pick the people you want to work with?  I personally think this is greatest thing about the network marketing industry.  So if I’m not in a daily habit of self-improvement who will I be attracting into my business?  Everyone knows the answer to this question, if you don’t then click here for more information on the subject.

One of my favorite sayings and the motto I live by is, “I want to be a little bit better today than yesterday, and even better if I get to experience tomorrow.”  Day by day, every little self-improvement increases the possibility of achieving one of my personal goals: creating a wildly successful, highly prosperous, fun loving-and having, network marketing organization.

“A leader is not measured by how many followers they have, but how many followers they have inspired to lead.”

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And when dealing with people it is not possible to form a lasting, quality relationship with them by ‘getting them in’ and moving on to the next 350, 000.  Some will need mentoring, some will need technical training, some will need personal development, and all of them will need to have a relationship with YOU, the leader of your organization.  So how is this possible if you have hundreds maybe thousands of leads in a short period of time?  It’s not, and so many people miss the opportunity to follow their dreams in this amazing industry because of this very failing.  They become jaded, they get burned, used up, and cynical.  It happens for two main reasons: greed and ego.

So, it would stand to reason that there should be a checklist when looking for a network marketing organization.  The most important is, almost always, buried deep within a lengthy document written by lawyers-it’s called the policies and procedures.  Here is the first time the upline relationship needs to be solid, accommodating, and accurate.  Second, is the compensation plan.  Sometimes this one can be harder to decipher than Egyptian hieroglyphs so having a sponsor to explain exactly what it’s going to take to make the kind of income you want is vital.  There should be no stuttering or evasion when asking questions about the compensation plan, and it should be easily found along with the policies and procedures BEFORE you sign up for anything!  Why?  Because how can you expect to be successful without ALL the information?

There are several other things to consider about any MLM company or opportunity but for me the relationship and support from your upline and your team are crucial ingredients.  I like to think of success like baking a cake.  Mmmmm….cake.  What happens to a cake if you use salt instead of sugar?  You might get a cake that looks good but tastes like, well you know what.  And if there’s not a supportive upline relationship then you might end up like thousands of people who wander from one MLM scam to another like a junkie wondering what’s wrong with me that I can’t succeed?  Like the casinos in Las Vegas the ‘House’ has an edge and the cards are stacked in their favor.  And without a team working together to help each other to reach success and good upline relationships the cards will continue to be stacked against your possibility of achieving your dreams.

Infectious enthusiasm! Repeat after me, Infectious enthusiasm. Infectious enthusiasm for health, infectious enthusiasm for prosperity, infectious enthusiasm for family, for community, for our world, for our children. As a drop on the calm waters of much needed change for humanity we will ripple through through the world’s communities with this infectious enthusiasm-the vehicle is my loving family-Mentoring for Free.

What a gift to give to a spirit starved world-one leader, one dreamer, one person at a time as a community-the truest altruism! I am so grateful to be a part of the greatest movement in network marketing. Network Marketing, the opportunity that will pay my children’s children and inspire the next generation of leaders.

I’m a Motivational Speaker, Network Marketer, Writer, and Mentor for MLM Relationships.

Nothing is as exciting as becoming a professional in a field that offers the many opportunities found in this great industry.

My Loving Family and I provide generic training for success in any online business.  We have 10 training calls a week and by helping others we are able to give back to the industry.

To find out more click here.