A Definite Plan: Network Marketing

Who is the ultimate network marketing guru? Well, I am absolutely positive about one thing, it depends on who you ask. I am definitely a wannabe in the MLM industry. Just yesterday I added a new friend on Face Book using the friend finder application. And I added a man named John Fogg, no big deal right? It turns out he's a writer who has been in the industry for many years. Still, I had no clue as to who he was before asking him, "What do you contribute to this fine world?" I will remember his response for the rest of my life...his response was a priceless gift to someone standing in my shoes. Someone once said something that now has finally made the longest journey any human can experience, from their head to their heart. And that statement was, "Most people are as successful as their five closest friends." Needless to say, I'm making new friendships with successful people because working in a university is not my vision of being successful-no offense to anyone working in higher education.

I am confident I am becoming the person who success can deny no longer, and without the use of superstition, affiliate scams, or magic MLM superstar potions. So how to go from wannabe to mentor, to leader, to successful in network marketing? Being coachable, having goals, a definite date for those goals, and a definite plan. Simple, but not easy-a price has to be paid. And that price is action. What's even more difficult for me is asking for help. A wise man once told me, "you can't use the problem to fix the problem." So if I'm going to make any significant progress it will be by continuing to learn from others. And who better than successful others? It has been very helpful to follow directions, and build quality relationships sharing ideas to help each other. That is where My Loving Family comes in. That's not what they call themselves, but it's the family I have chosen to align myself with and grow with into the person that truly is a servant leader in all areas of life. My upline models this, My Loving Family models this, my new friends model this, and I model this from this day forward in all my affairs.

A Definite Date

Now that I look at the title, imagine me with a big toothy grin spreading from ear to ear. I'm not talking about the beginnings of a new relationship 'a definite date' but one of the six practical steps to wealth. I've been thinking about those compensation plans with the legs-you know strong leg, weak leg. Someone on my team was giving a training on compensation plans and I realized that I'm sure glad I got into network marketing when I did and with the company I'm with. I mean it can get kind of confusing with all of the stairstep breakaway, Aussie 2-up, matrix, pyramid, and binary-that's it! It was the binary plan. Excuse me if I'm rambling but I'm the kind of personality that gets easily distracted-that's why I needed to commit to a definite date.

My definite date is September 17, 2014, God willing on that date several things will happen. One, is that I will turn 45 years old. Two, I will have achieved my financial goal. Having the definite date makes it real as well as helps my mastermind group hold me accountable for my progress to get to that point. If not, I could easily get distracted by the latest and greatest income opportunity offering a turnkey, 'just enter your name and e-mail', 'we'll do all of the work', 'the industry has never seen before'-dare I say it? SCAM. So I've got a checklist which consists of action, self-improvement, upline accountability, proven system, and conference calls. I have a personal mentor that is not bending me over, er um-I mean charging me for their experience of what works in network marketing-how cool is that?

I don't buy leads, I don't sign up for affiliate programs, no cold market calls, and no friend and family recruiting. So what is my job in my mastermind group? Participate. Yep that's all they'll give me right now. But little do they know, I'm in business with them, and I'll be moving on to the things that I excel at-just as soon as I figure out what they are-just kidding. Obviously I'm good at not knowing everything, especially about products. My company has amazing products! Haven't tried all of them but what I have tried are top notch quality. I can let you in on a little industry secret-ALL MLM's have good products-yessir it's true as I'm blue. Blue as in my dominate personality color-not blue like I just maxed out my credit card on the latest get rich quick pyramid scheme. All of this stuff, the training, mentoring, definite date, all of it has come in trade for my most valuable asset-my time. Otherwise free, er um I mean priceless!

Something for Nothing-"Just become an affiliate..."

"Just become an affiliate and watch the $$$ come rolling in, I made $652,287.47 last minute and so can YOU!" I love this stuff. Today I just have to say it, WTF? Sorry for cussing but sometimes there's just no other way to get the point across with the same emphasis. I know some will disagree but that's why there's a comment button at the bottom of the post. I mean, really? Last minute? On autopilot? Without talking to anyone, doing anything? I've been looking for a way to make money without doing anything for quite some time now, I found only one persistent obstacle. A conscience. Yes good old fashion I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror, sleep at night, constantly afraid to give out my home address-conscience.

I can't bring myself to ignore this for the accumulation of money. And the truth is that I wouldn't want to be without the satisfaction that I provided the world with the necessary contributions to acquire it. What does it mean to me at the end of the day? I'm right with God and myself. I used to spend a good deal of time caught up in the fear of criticism of others-not a good way to live life or do business. But over the years this has been replaced with a definite purpose, goals, and the understanding of the wonderful industry I will be a part of for the rest of my days. What is this going to require of me? First, it will require training in network marketing. And guess where that starts? You guessed it, with me.

To be successful I have to know a little bit about people, and if I don't know about myself I will flounder from one affiliate scam to the next. Self-improvement leads eventually to self-confidence, or at least it better! Is that all there is to it, definitely not. Having a plan might be helpful in checking to see if you are indeed making progress. Some of this is beginning to sound like work. Hence the saying you don't get 'something for nothing' I think our government is in the process of finding this out too! Yes, I had to go there too, but you know it's progress and today that's where I'm at.

So how does all of this affect my motivation? Definitely in a positive way. I know why I'm in this industry, why I want to be successful, and why it is I'm still alive and healthy-the most surprising of all. It's because of the people who took the time to help me. Call it a debt of gratitude, but this is what moves me beyond the objections of family, friends, and former colleagues. This is what will push me beyond my current capabilities to realize legitimate royalty income, to say nothing of the residual income. I have never been averse to hard work, but I can say in all honesty that working on myself has been the most difficult and rewarding.

So while $652,287.47 a minute did catch my attention and seems inviting enough, at the end of the day if it doesn't push me beyond my current capabilities it could never be worth it. Why? Because leaders don't inspire without motivating others to become more than what they are now. And also is there the possibility for duplication? Can I mentor the people in my organization to take action to develop the leader relationship with themselves so that they can mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs? Cause network marketing is NOT a sales business, if it was then I'd be able to make $652,287.47 a minute and be able to sleep at night. The truth is it's a people building business that takes commitment and yes, some hard work.

Desire in MLM

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.

MLM goals

What might you need to remember?

This is a question that a friend asked of me recently. We were talking about supplements and he was talking about a company his sister was involved in and I tuned in to find out more. Why? Cause in all honesty I'm an MLM wannabe. And once upon a time I was a wannabe in construction as well as in the concert lighting industry-but I persevered to becoming an builder and going on tour- but anyway. I guess becoming a student of the industry coupled with persistence makes success possible-at least it has for me. This awareness is golden because many people I mention my occupation to have either been burned or make reference to ponzi schemes. A quick Google search returns information on the most notorious and the man who is credited with the name Charles Ponzi an Italian emigrant to the US in the early 1900's. So as I listened I thought about how thankful I am that I didn't have large amounts of cash to lose going from one guru to another being passed around becoming a literal junkie of lead buying scams and endless failures.

Just being grateful doesn't lead to a good opportunity to help others see the reality of their superstar, heavy hitter, pushy, pyramid scheme distributors' dream killing tactics. But it does leave me in a good position to learn from the mistakes of others and really utilize the proven, duplicable system developed by the successful members of my mastermind team. The best thing about my team is that there is no 'agenda' as we represent many different companies in the field and there is never any products or companies mentioned. Just a genuine altruism, which is a refreshing motivation to continue to take action in building a successful network marketing organization. So what does this all mean to me and what do I have to remember?

I must always keep in mind what a wise man once said to me, "If it's difficult, you're doing something wrong. Step back and look for a different approach." Difficult is not to be confused with strenuous. If I am continually running into roadblocks that come from inside or from outside, I can take a breather and stop taking myself so seriously. I have no problem with learning and working hard towards a goal-provided that I can help others and have fun along the way! I mean, if it's not enjoyable why do it? The last time I checked, THIS IS IT! This is our one time chance at this life, so having fun is imperative. That was one of the first things I learned in this mastermind team, what kind of personality I have-or at least which is the most dominant anyway. Blue, blue, blue blue blue blue! And not the sad, staying inside the house on a sunny day blue. But the dream the bigger dream blue; while having fun painting the picture, helping others, and enjoying the gift of this wonderful life blue.

Traffic, where are all the people?

I spent some time last night following some suggestions for target marketing, which entailed creating an account on a service called Traffic Swarm. If you've never checked it out, it's interesting to say the least. As with any other online business they have a 'pro' version or a 'free' version or its equivalent. The free version allows for you to activate your account by simply browsing ads for home based business, network marketing, multilevel marketing, income opportunities, passive income, wealth, wellness, lead generation, you get the picture.

So as I went through and checked out the different sponsored/listed sites I got to thinking about how many people are looking to create income opportunities on the internet. There is definitely an aggressive market for working from home, firing your boss, residual income, completely automated-you don't have to do ANYTHING! opportunities. Wow, nothing? Really? I was raised by a single mother and didn't have my father a part of my life due to alcoholism, so there was not a lot of money to buy luxuries like nice clothes. This is something I am extremely grateful for today.

I wanted a few things that my mother couldn't afford as a teen and petitioned the great State of Texas for a working permit at 13, which they granted with conditions. My first job other than chores was working for Arby's a sandwich shop. I don't remember much about the day to day stuff but do remember the people involved. I know that it was during that first job that I really started to form an understanding of what I would do for the rest of my life-helping people.

So as I clicked through enough links to activate my account on Traffic Swarm I got to thinking what am I doing here? What will I write that hasn't already been written? And it dawned on me that all of these superstars with their turnkey, recruit...recruit...recruit!, replicated websites, scams, and automated downline builders-where you NEVER have to call any PEOPLE! I came to a realization that it is about the people for me, it's about hearing their hopes, their dreams, about their experiences, their children, their successes and failures.

I had a man once ask me if I wanted 10 years of success, right now? And being at a low spot in my life I said, "of course!" And he told me two of the most important things I have ever heard. He said, "first you will miss all of the miracles along the way. And second if you didn't have to work for it, then it won't have enough meaning to fight to keep it flourishing." I now understand about not missing all of the miracles along the way-10 years later. And I have no problem learning and working and growing to build a wildly successful, highly prosperous, fun loving and having, network marketing organization.

And I know in my heart that I could no more join an automated opportunity that adds 10,000 people to your organization before you can fall asleep than I could rob a bank, or gamble and lose someone's retirement in the stock market. I'm just not concerned with any opportunity that doesn't value the people who are willing to work to improve themselves and this world one person at a time.

Why I Will Commit To One Year

What can be accomplished in one year? When thinking about this question what comes to mind is that I have never measured my progress over a defined period of time. Wow! That's taking a few moments to sink in, and why is that? Lack of focus on a set, determined, measurable goal. It seems that some questions come harder to answer than others but this one comes with more power than most.

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!