When I first started in network marketing I assumed that much like other professions I had worked in that there would be training and a learning curve. Well, as some have found out the hard way that there are many so called ‘gurus’ that cast in the light of integrity would smoke and shrink away hissing like a vampire. Most people who have worked for a traditional company, even fully qualified for the position, expect that their employer has an interest in making sure that any information or training you might be lacking is provided. Not the case here in this crazy business of network marketing.

I’ve heard it termed that it is like trying to herd cats, that is, trying to get distributors to work together and share what is working today. I mean, one of the most respected authors in the industry isn’t even a network marketer! Nice. How’s that for a selling point for building your down-line? Especially, if you take the advice of the majority of companies that chant the mantra “make a list of your friends and family.” My friends and family don’t have an interest in network marketing and if they did they would have no trouble finding an ‘opportunity’ by sifting through their spam folder. So where does integrity come into play in all of this?

Integrity has its first and most important task in looking at the track record of the company owners and the up-line leaders in the organization. I’ll give you an example, I have worked in the construction field for many years and know many contractors and company owners in my home city. There are those that have a reputation for not paying their employees on time-or sometimes not at all. And why is that? Too much overhead? Haven’t been faced with strong enough consequences? For instance, some owners of network marketing companies are serial offenders when it comes to starting a company, riding the profit wave, and then changing the compensation plan after the company is built by guess who? You. And do they do it just once? Not a chance, start, rinse, repeat-as it were.

So if the top ‘experts’ in the field are not even ‘in the field’ and the ‘gurus’ are out to sell their own down-line useless programs to supposedly replicate their success on ‘auto-pilot’ how can one know who has integrity? I myself resorted to prayer, and as funny as that sounds it is the truth! I asked for a mentor and a company with integrity-I mean if you’re going to pray you might as well go all out, right? I was almost frightened by how quickly God answered that prayer, and have found the company that is right for me. I have met two of the three owners as well as the master distributor and every other leader in the company, which is really nice to know that they aren’t afraid to mingle with anyone and everyone in the company. I also know that I am with the right company because for 5 out of the last 6 years they have been in business the have added money back into the compensation plan-I haven’t met any other network marketer that can say that!

So, for integrity the first thing that I would watch for is the selling of tools used to build your down-line. Next, I would suggest making it a point to do your due diligence by finding the names of the owners of the company and researching their former business associations-can’t stress this one enough. And finally, meet them face to face and find out what their philosophies of business are and how they run the operations of the company. If you are just starting out in the industry and need the nuts and bolts of building your team, download the free e-book Success in 10 Steps

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.