What are the elements of a burning desire? Can you just say I want to be the superstar affiliate for my company then POOF! It just happens? Not in a 5 pillar company it doesn’t. A burning desire has to be definite, measurable, and take effort to achieve. How many times have you been told to make a list of friends and family? And have any of your friends ever looked at you the same way since? Now you just don’t mention the words ‘opportunity’, ‘work from home’, ‘groundfloor’, or ‘home-based business’ in their presence. Was it your fault? Did you think that the suggestions you received from your upline were comparable to what you would receive getting training in any of your past jobs in the ‘real world’? Are you ready for the truth? Can you handle it? They lied to you, or at the very least they told you what the were told to tell you when they were given the ‘deal’.

Network marketing is about building relationships with people not about buying leads, promotional materials, paying for the tools (like replicated websites) to build their business for them. The question that you should ask yourself, “Can the average person work to achieve above average results?” Is this even possible in your company? How can you know for sure? There are a few ways to tell. One, read the policies and procedures and decide by asking your upline about them (hint: if it’s changed often, more than 12 pages long, or you need a lawyer to understand it-there might be a problem). Two, is there a proven, duplicable system that is provided for free to help you every step of the way? Three, what kind of compensation plan do you have and does it drive the right behavior in the field? And most importantly if you don’t understand it can anyone in your upline team explain it to you?

I came into network marketing with a few assumptions. The biggest and most costly assumption was that my upline superstar, space commander guru was actually doing it themself. What am I talking about, you might ask? Are they building a network marketing organization by training their organization how to be successful? I mean, charging you hundreds of dollars for a collection of cd’s in a shiny folder and telling you to make a list of friends and family is NOT training you to succeed. It is a good formula to become alienated from family and in some cases that might actually be beneficial but that’s not the point. Next, I assumed that since my company was publicly traded that this made them credible. And finally, that I would be able to follow the techniques they did offer to success instead of being offered every affiliate scam disguised as a viable tool.

Again I find myself grateful and consider myself VERY lucky that I haven’t been in this wonderful industry long enough to experience all of the horror stories told by some of my team members. I mistakenly thought that MLM is about the lifestyle, then I thought it’s about the money, now I understand it’s about the people. In the words of my personal friend and mentor, “Build the people and the people will build the business.” I know that building a house is easier to do with construction workers, so building a network marketing organization will require training network marketers to be successful. I sure am glad that recruiting friends and family didn’t make sense to me and that I found a 5 pillars company that is owned by people who understand the nuts and bolts of this wonderful industry.

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.”

I’m feeling a curious sense that like most people who have made a one year commitment to a specific goal I will be amazed before I am halfway through the year as to the power of this process. What will it mean to my personal life, business life, or spiritual life? What will it do to my motivation in my day job, my on-line business, wellness, or more importantly to my self-confidence?

I believe that the first opportunity it will provide me with is being accountable to myself, my team, and help with focus as I work from home. I can see that it will also allow me to free up time for self-improvement, time for meetings, and increased productivity. And who couldn’t use help in these areas while building a wildly successful, highly profitable, fun-loving/having, network marketing organization?

I suppose it’s the difference between a professional and a wannabe home-based business builder. There’s no doubt my upline will agree that being coachable, having a yearly commitment to self-improvement, and a definite business plan are the essentials that lead to success. I will commit to a year for these reasons, and besides what’s to lose? A few bad habits, a few beliefs that weren’t mine to begin with, or more importantly fear of failure. Can you imagine a year with commitment and purpose-I can, starting today!