Hey, I lost my job: update
Filed under: network marketing, overcoming fear, overcoming obstacles, positive attitude, solving problems
You may have read my posts from a few weeks ago (Hey, I’ve been fired! Day 2, Day 3, Week 1, Week 2), about the aftermath of being fired from my job. There have been so many ups and downs along the way, but all in all? Things have been going really, really well.
One of the biggest changes was that my husband and I moved out of our townhouse and into the studio space that I was using as an office, body-work treatment room, meeting room, and art studio. I also canceled some of the financial commitments that have been a significant part of our overhead each month. Our overhead is still about twice my husband’s salary, but the gap gets covered by my network marketing income, and little surprises from the universe that wander into our lives just at the right time.
The extra time each day has been an unbelievable blessing. I know so much about twitter and facebook, blogging, videos for youtube, and next on my list, myspace. Being able to plug into all of these social networks, to learn the ins and outs, and have fun along the way, has brought me to the point where I really get it now. All of the mysterious (what??? why?!?) nuances have cleared away, and everything makes sense now. I would never have tackled all of that while holding down a J.O.B.
I’ve learned a lot about me, too. I’ve gotten pretty good at keeping my spirits up, watching my attitude, moving the energy so as not to get bogged down in a pity party. There have been only a couple of occasions where my husband has had to pat my shoulder, giving me the space to whimper “poor me, poor me”, but even those have been pretty entertaining.
The biggest experiential lesson has been that simpler is better. We fit nicely into this studio space. We have lots of windows. We have everything we need even though we got rid of tons of stuff. We don’t do much cooking, so the teeny kitchen is just the right size. Our cat likes it, because now he doesn’t have to wander back and forth between our former townhouse and my former office/studio. We’re always here in this spot, and he can sleep soundly, guarding his humans and his pint-sized yard. His job has become manageable, too. Life is good.
I’ve learned that if you take away the big financial burden, life can feel safe again. You can start to uncurl, grow, blossom. Peace of mind is a huge reward for keeping a positive attitude, so the lesson is much easier than it used to be.
Taking away the big financial burden also took away the imperative of making this business work! This week! Now!!! Instead, I can nourish its growth at a pace that is truer to who I am and how I interact with people. I have more time to meet people for tea, networking in a way that’s fun rather than scary. I have more time to read all of the training stuff floating around out there. I had enough time to meander down to Anaheim for our quarterly corporate training weekend. It was a glorious week, and I’m looking forward to the next one enthusiastically.
So, if you find yourself in a tight spot, let go of the complexities of life that have become burdensome, and let yourself breathe again. Move somewhere cheaper, and if that means smaller, then hold each object in your hands, close your eyes, and feel whether the object fills you with guilt, pulling you down over things left undone, or lifts your spirits and fills you with delight because you love using this silly thing every day. Get rid of the downers and pack up the uppers. Your new space will be freeing and invigorating. You’ll be able to accomplish miraculous things, in joy and harmony, with a calm heart and a free mind.
Gifts abound.
Women are the Power
Filed under: dreams into reality, network marketing, women entrepreneurs
At the Rising Star Academy in Anaheim on November 6th and 7th, Marci Shimoff (http://www.happyfornoreason.com) spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of about 400 women, with a sprinkling of men. She shared many facts that were news to me. Here’s a sampling.
The actual spending power in the average American household lies in women’s hands. Eighty percent, 80%! of all purchase decisions are made by women. If you are creating a business that revolves around products or service, you want to be talking with the women. It stands to reason that it would be wise to know how to talk to the women.
Research has shown that women have much greater brand loyalty than men. Once a woman falls in love with a product, it is very hard to get her to abandon it. If your product or service is new on the market, you want to be talking to the women. Gain their loyalty, and they will stay with you for a long time. Again, it stands to reason that it would be wise to know how to talk to the women.
If you’re looking for business partners, you should know that women start more businesses than men; in fact, 50 times more! And you’ve probably already heard or perhaps noticed that 70% of all network marketing professionals are women. So, if you are creating your own amazing business in network marketing, you want to be talking to the women. And you know what? It stands to reason that it would be wise to know how to talk to the women.
Women process information and make decisions differently than men. Women are more innerpreneurial than men. For women, it’s not just about the money and climbing the ladder. There’s more to success, in a woman’s world, than money and recognition. Women care about the impact they have on society. We are cultural creatures. We are inspired to share our mission of bringing health, wealth, consciousness, authenticity into our everyday business relationships. We are cultural creatives, interested in personal development, making the world a better place, a greener place, a more highly spiritual place.
When you are talking to the women, show them how they can combine their desire to make a difference, with their desire for financial freedom. It’s there, hidden in your prosperity plan, your products, your business culture. Bring it out, sculpt it into a blossoming possibility, show them how they can turn it into a reality. Show them how they can make a difference in their family’s lives, in their friends lives, and the steps they need to take to transform those desires into reality.
Genuine inner freedom is the unspoken goal of our every action and thought. When women are safe to blossom into the nurturing, generous, loving souls that they habitually keep tucked away in their hearts, they CAN change the world. They WILL change the world.
The Dalai Lama said, “The world will be saved by the Western woman.” There is NO force equal to the strength of a woman determined to rise.
Top 10 Characteristics of Success
Filed under: building your business, entrepereneurs, learning network marketing, network marketing
At MM5, the MasterMind Event #5 in Houston, Ken Dunn (www.kendunn.com) spoke of how he researched successful people whom he greatly admired. He included Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, John F. Kennedy, Bill Gates, and many others. He concluded that these successful people all shared 10 identical characteristics. He reasoned that if you apply those 10 characteristics to yourself, then you could be successful at network marketing.
- Rely heavily on mentorship. Find someone who has achieved success in your profession. Read everything you can about that person. Establish the relationship. Listen to her advice. Emulate him. Look at the world through the same lens. Be open to having several mentors. Choose mentors that have the same core beliefs as you.
- Incredible communicator. Learn how to get your point across. Practice talking to people. Know when to hit your off switch. Practice listening to people. Practice writing to people. Articulate the nuances of your point. Be clear. Don’t ramble. Listen. Focus. Inject humor.
- Solid self-confidence. Exude confidence. Confidence stems from belief. When prospecting, walk the person through the 5 levels of belief. What’s the #1 belief? Belief in YOU; belief in you as a sponsor. Next, shift to belief in the product, then belief in the profession, then belief in themselves.
More later!
Tell me 5 things
Filed under: network marketing, solving problems, talking with friends
There are two main secrets to obtaining success in network marketing: work on yourself and keep talking to people. If you haven’t a clue on what you need to work on to improve yourself, a powerful tactic is to ask 10 of your friends to tell you 5 things that you need to work on to make yourself a better person.
You could do this with an email. That approach let’s them take some time to think it through. It also gives both of you a little distance, which helps minimize any awkwardness, for them and for you.
“Tell me 5 things about me that I need to change.” It’s a very simple request, and most people will be honest and won’t mind helping you out. People like to help their friends. People like to see their friends improve themselves, whether it’s financially, socially, or personally. It makes you a better friend, so there’s something in it for them, too.
Now it might be that you read the same things from each friend, repeated 10 times, again and again. It might be that you read 97 different things, because they all see different things, and they didn’t want to stop when they got to #5. Regardless, you’re going to find out where you should start and, with introspection, you’ll have a good idea HOW to start.
AND, by working on yourself, you’ll start to feel more comfortable about talking with other people, new acquaintances as well as old friends, so you’ll be feeding two birds with the same seed. It has the element of leverage, doesn’t it? Leverage helps you get to that successful spot more quickly. So this tactic helps you move forward on several fronts.
See how it all comes together?
Learn to communicate
Filed under: MLM, building your business, finding new prospects, learning network marketing, network marketing, overcoming fear, perfect business, positive attitude, prospecting, talking with friends
With any business, you have to learn how to communicate with others. If you make fabulous jewelry, you’ll have to wear it all, unless you can tell others all about it.
There are lots of options for getting the word out, and those options exist whether you’re an artisan, a dentist, a massage therapist, a CEO, or a network marketer.
So, if you want to move from the world of employees trading their time for some money, into the world of business owners, where your time and money expand while you sit on a beach, you have to learn to communicate.
Luckily, communication is a learned skill. I know, because I used to be lousy at it. I couldn’t think of what to say after “Hi, I’m Marilyn.” Most of my mind then switched to the theme of “How do I get out of this conversation without mortifying myself.” I was wooden; I was shifty-eyed, I was shallow, I was frozen.
Now, I can pretty much chat away with anyone I choose. It’s pretty cool. And a HUGE relief.
The key is to keep the focus of the conversation on the person to whom you’re speaking. If you can keep a person talking about himself, he will come away from the conversation thinking that you are fascinating. If you can keep a person talking about himself, you will come away knowing whether or not what you have to offer is a good fit for that person. Perfect.
Most of the time, the initial conversation isn’t about your business or product at all. It’s about establishing a connection. Some people only need a slight connection before they’re ready to talk business. Other people need a long long time before they can open their ears.
Follow their lead. If their need is strong, right there on the surface, they’ll bring it up long before you have to pry it out of them. If their need is minimal or doesn’t carry a relationship to what you have to offer, then you don’t need to talk business after all. It’s not the right time yet, or it’s just not for them. Either way, you know where to go, because you’re just following along after them, asking questions that let you know what’s up with THEM.
Practice where it’s easier. Tell the cashier that you like her earrings. See if the conversation has good energy around it. Then be on your way. Ask the couple in front of you in line if they’ve ever eaten here before, what’s their favorite on the menu. See if it goes anywhere. Follow their lead.
Practice every day, in small ways. Then when the right opportunity for a business conversation comes along, you’ll be a well-oiled machine. You’ll be open to the possibilities each person presents to you, and it will all be natural and fun.
If it’s fun, you’ll do it more often. The first dozen might be awkward, but soon you’ll get to the fun level, and then you’ll be on your way. You’ll have crossed another hurdle, and you won’t need to look back.
Hurray for you!
Too busy?
Filed under: MLM, building your business, direct sales, entrepereneurs, learning network marketing, network marketing, perfect business, talking with friends, time management, women entrepreneurs
What are you doing right now, that is going to gain you more time a year from now?
Of course you’re busy; everyone is. Is that ever going to change, given the course you’re on now?
Everyone has 24 hours each and every day. Most people spend all of their time making all of their money. The treadmill loops around and around, and they can never get off.
Some people leverage their time, so that a year from now, they’re not working so hard; five years from now, they’re kicking back; ten years from now they’re sitting pretty.
If you work harder at what you’re already doing in your job, you’re just going to keep working longer and longer hours. Jobs can eat us alive, especially those of us who are motivated to do a GREAT job.
But do the GREAT job for yourself, and for your family, and for your friends. Don’t do it for some corporate board of directors, or the neighborhood hardware store. Do it for yourself and the people who are important in your life.
Network marketing lets you train yourself and learn from your leader, then train and lead others, who then train and lead others, who then train and lead others. The harder you work, the less you have to work next year or the year after that, and that trend just keeps on going.
Network marketing is the PERFECT business for people who are too busy, who have no time. Because it gives you the gift of time. It gives you back your life, so you can spend it with your kids with your wife, with your husband, with your friends.
I’ve been fired, Day 3
Filed under: MLM, finding new prospects, giving up, network marketing, overcoming fear, overcoming obstacles, perfect business, positive attitude, solving problems, try try again
Day 3 hit me hard. It was a day of anxiety and disappointment, but now that I’m sitting here in Day 4, I can see that it was a reality that I created for myself.
Huh?
What I mean is that I had huge expectations. I envisioned my conference room filled to the brim with 40 people, that they would all enthusiastically fill out the enrollment forms after hearing my brilliant presentation, and that they would each run out and find 5 of their friends for our next meeting and the avalanche would carry us all along to the promised land.
Well, there were less than 40 people, and although the presentation was brilliant, not everyone signed up and rushed out to find their friends. So I slipped into a slump and landed in a great big puddle of fear. My poor husband; he helped me limp along while I gave in to despair and waited until there was a glimmer of positive thought and blew gently on that ember so that it could start to warm my soul.
In actuality, I made 3 extremely promising contacts that have become even more promising this morning, only 18 hours later; I have a list of 20 new emails and phone numbers for follow up from enthusiastic people who weren’t able to make it to last night’s meeting, and I have a clear idea of my next step. Oh, and did I mention that I have 3 new enrollees?
And yet that icky fear is still clinging to my ankles, threatening to rise up and swallow my heart, and render me incapable of motion.
It’s all in my head. Yesterday was a GREAT success. At any other point, my heart would be dancing a jig, and I would be grinning at everyone within radar range.
Thank goodness for self-honesty. It’s important to be able to look inside and discern the source of discord. Stress is the difference between the way we want something to be, and the way it actually is. Stress diminishes when you work with things the way they are, instead of the way that you want them to be.
So when I look at what really happened yesterday and my reaction to what happened yesterday, it’s easy to see that the cause of my stress is this impending deadline of needing to make this work within 2 months. I felt that my very survival depended on the presence of 40 enthusiastic enrollees at one meeting. I created this reality for myself that told me I failed, when actually, I succeeded.
Being in business for yourself is more than just making things happen, like getting people to a meeting, training them, mentoring them. It’s also about personal growth, managing yourself, taking responsibility for your reactions, monitoring your world view. I’m a much stronger person today than I was yesterday, because I had to lift some pretty heavy weights, and I did it. I’m a bit bruised, but even that is evaporating as the minutes tick by.
Despair doesn’t get you anywhere. Clear thought, positive attitude, taking action: those get you wherever you want to go. So, I’m leaving despair behind, and turning my face toward my next positive action, which is to follow up with the 25 people that I met yesterday.
Day 4 awaits!
In at the beginning
Filed under: MLM, building your business, direct sales, earn money from home, learning network marketing, make money online, network marketing, perfect business, timing
Do you have to get in at the beginning???
NO!!!
Amway and Mary Kay are still producing millionaires, and look how long they’ve been around?
I got in on the ground floor of one company and no one, NO ONE helped me build my downline.
The important thing is to get in early on the TREND. How early join the company isn’t the issue.
The concept of “get in early” applies to the investment industry. There, you want to buy stock or property before it comes to other people’s attention, and then sell when everyone else is talking about it and trying to get a piece of the action.
In network marketing, it’s important to pay attention to the trends. Take the wellness industry; baby boomers are just now starting to feel their age, and looking around for ways to feel young, to stay young, so they can continue their active lifestyle. If you wait another 30 years, funeral homes and cemetery plots will be the hot commodity.
I mean, look at real estate. Thirty years ago, the baby boomers were starting their careers and looking around to settle down and raise their families. Thirty years ago, I bought a 3-bedroom condo for $29,000. Five years later, I sold it for $79,000. My initial investment was $2,000. My monthly overhead was $300. My friends gave me a LOT of grief over that one, because they couldn’t imagine paying $300 a month for housing.
Do you think that you could invest $2,000 today and make $50,000 in five years, in real estate? You know why not? The boomers already own their houses. They’ve moved on.
Get in on the trend. Stay ahead of the boomers, and you’ll ride the wave, all the way home.
I’ve been fired! Day 2
Filed under: MLM, building your business, dreams into reality, entrepereneurs, giving up, network marketing, overcoming obstacles, perfect business, positive attitude, solving problems, try try again
The aftermath of being fired can start to set in a day or two after the main event. I’m focusing on all of the positive things that come to mind. Like, it’s a gorgeous blue-skied day out there, and I’m not stuck in a cubicle, oblivious. I’m still sitting at a computer, but it’s my computer, and I’m working on MY business.
My business partner and I planned a big meeting for tomorrow. We planned it last week, got the room reserved, checked our slide shows and music mix, printed out fliers and put in motion all of the little details that ensure a successful meeting.
I was planning on taking the day off anyway, to really focus on the meeting, but now I have a whole extra day to get things in order. Also, it’s not a huge, late-night push to get it all ready, so I’ll be well-rested and full of genuine enthusiasm tomorrow.
Everything is working out for the best. I feel great! I envision a large turnout for our meeting. We have a powerful slide show, and great pre- and post-meeting activities. We did a run through last week, so both my partner and I know exactly what to do at every step of the meeting. I’ve had time to think everything through and pick up last minute oversights that might have involved some fancy footwork if they’d gone unnoticed.
I am so thankful that I’ve been working on my business part time, so it’s there for me to step into full time when I really needed it. I knew I would be building my business full time at some point, I just hadn’t planned on it being now. But just like starting a family, there’s not often the perfect time. Sometimes you just have to jump and swim as hard as you can.
I am surrounded by supportive, positive people; I have everything I need for tomorrow’s meeting, including a great business partner. We’ve been working together almost a year now, so we really know each other’s style and strengths. We’re a good team, and we’re so lucky to be in this together.
She still has her full time job, and my lay off scared her a bit, but that just motivates both of us to make every moment successful, positive, and full of focused activity and fun.
I keep going back to the fact that it is so important to have something that you can fall back on and build on your own, because corporations are crumbling all around us. Be ready for when it hits you, and your life will blossom instead of collapse. You can do it! I’ll show you how, because, whew, I’ve been there.
Pyramid scheme? Nope! How do you KNOW?
Filed under: MLM, building your business, direct sales, earn money from home, earn money online, learning network marketing, make money online, network marketing, perfect business, women entrepreneurs
Network marketing companies simply offer effective management.
In every corporate business, the guys at the top earn the vast majority of the money. The executive assistant NEVER makes more money than the executive. Middle management NEVER make more money than upper management. The worker bees NEVER make more money than the guys at the top of the heap.
In network marketing, every person has the potential to earn scads more than the people above them.
Each person earns money based on his or her ABILITY, rather than where they’re placed in the company. I make quite a bit more money than quite a few people in my upline. I’m paid according to my ability, my enthusiasm, my belief in what I’m doing. It doesn’t matter one whit that I joined months and months after other people. I’m doing just fine, thank you very much.
Let’s face it, every business is a pyramid. One person can’t do everything, once the business starts to grow, so you always hire others to help with the work. A child care center doesn’t have one adult and 88 children. Not a successful (or legal) one anyway. A successful child-care center with 88 children would have administrators, teachers, interns, volunteers, and usually one or two people making sure it all hangs together. It’s a pyramid of responsibility; it’s a pyramid of pay scale.
The same applies to hospitals, dentist offices, Microsoft, golf courses.
The only ones calling names are the people who expected it to work without effort, wanted someone else to do it for them, or just, quite simply, gave up.
There are a LOT of people out there who are making it work just fine. And they’re making it work because they’re able to teach others how to make it work.
Find one of them. Find someone who has been successful, and get them to teach you.
It’s not a pyramid SCHEME! It’s simply effective management.
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