Network Marketing Today and Beyond

The Business Wisdom Of Francis Bacon

Read not to contradict and confute, not to believe and take for granted, not to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.- Francis Bacon

Is Social Media A Fad?

Throughout my past 6 years as an online entrepreneur, I have felt like I was swimming upstream again conventional business wisdom which told me to "walk and talk". That was the only way. There is nothing wrong with this method, but the world of business is changing. My frustration is released and I know that I am on the right path of successful business building using the social media revolution.

Are you?

Sunday's Proverb

Proverbs 3: 13-18

 ¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
       the man who gains understanding,

 ¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver
       and yields better returns than gold.

 ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;
       nothing you desire can compare with her.

 ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
       in her left hand are riches and honor.

 ¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
       and all her paths are peace.

 ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
       those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Sunday's Proverb

Proverbs 1: 1-3

 ¹ The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

 ² for attaining wisdom and discipline;
       for understanding words of insight;

 ³ for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
       doing what is right and just and fair;

The Blue Sweater

Image via Wikipedia

Have you ever forgotten something while traveling? Traveling with three children can increase the forgetfulness times 3!

Recently, flying home from my company convention, my daughter was feeling very cold. It was a 6:07 am flight and after getting up at 4 am, she just could not get warm and unfortunately, she had packed away her sweatshirt.  She politely asked the stewardess if she had any blankets. The stewardess looked puzzled and said, "no, but we really need to get some." Instead of walking away, she proceeded to unbutton her blue sweater. My daughter was quite surprised when the stewardess said she could wear her blue sweater for the rest of the flight.

What kind of impact did this small act of kindness leave on my 10 year old daughter? 
What impression did this leave on her jaw dropped parents?  In both cases, the impact was ever lasting.

Showing kindness is a key to business success. Not only did Joy, acting as our hostess on the Canadair Regional CRJ 200 jet out of Wilkes-Barre, PA, do her job efficiently, she went above and beyond it. Being a flight attendant was more than a job to her. She smiled, had great eye contact and gave up her sweater to a teeth chattering 10 year old who was cold and very, very tired.  She also made her day. 

Offering a wing tipping salute to Joy and those who give of themselves to impact the lives of others!

If you are not using it, you are missing out!

Any professional networker knows that the basis of our business is  Word of Mouth.
We are a "walk and talk" business where success comes from finding people who are interested in what we have to offer.  We do that by asking questions, developing trust so that the next step of offering a presentation is accepted.  The goal:  to leverage your efforts and your income through building a team of others who do the same.

How many people can you reach each day through traditional "walk and talk"?   10?  20?  Or maybe more like 2?

Today one of the many buzz words is "Social Media" and for those of you who have read my posts before, you know that I LOVE the potential social media offers.  Tonight, I had the pleasure to learn from Perry Belcher. He offered a few statistics about my favorite social media venues which blew me away.

As a professional network marketer, how will this impact your business?

Statistic #1 - 355,000,000 users worldwide use Facebook   Each day, there are over 350,000 Facebook newbies.  The fastest growing age group now embracing Facebook - 50 years and older!

#2 - Roughly 60% of every computer user has a Facebook account!  Do you?

#3-  Twitter doubles its size every 90 days! Astounding!

#4 - People read an average of 6 blogs a day.  Many are doing so while mobile - via cell phone.

#5 - 75,000 video views on YouTube (this is more than ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox network combined).

The question every professional networker needs to ask themselves is, "how will I harness the power of social media?"  If you choose to stick your head in the sand and ignore these statistics,  you will be left behind.

Image by fredcavazza via Flickr

The Invitation

Image via Wikipedia

I listened to this being read on the CD set of Mach II by Richard Bliss Brooke and was touched to tears.
So often we make a blanket statement of what we "desire, dream, envision" but Oriah cuts to the bone with "what you ACHE" for. A longing so deep it hurts.

Have you dug deep enough?

Enjoy!

Kelly Wissink

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

© Mountaindreaming, from the book The Invitation published by HarperSanFrancisco, 1999
http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/

100 Bite Sized Pieces

What is it about the number 100 that has caught my eye and has me fascinated by the potential?

While reading a local paper on health and wellness, I noticed a challenge,
"Walk 100 miles in 100 days". Besides my running regiment, my children and I created a 100 day chart and have all agreed to walk 100 miles in 100 days. Even my 8 year old son said, "That's easy! That is only 1 mile a day. I can do that!"

What has my head caught up in this concept is that any seemingly HUGE task is manageable when you break it down into small, bite-sized actions. I know, I know, YOU know that all ready. Right? Are you doing it?

Today, that is my number one priority - take my big ugly frogs, my goals for the summer, my "I really don't want to do this BUT, I know it will benefit my business, my health, my ______ (you fill in the blank)" and break it into 100 (or less) tiny, manageable daily steps that will be painless.

I challenge you to do this activity as well.

What activity/goal feels so very big that it is virtually impossible to you right now?

What steps/actions will you need to do to finish this goal?

Take a sheet of lined paper, and number it 1-100.

Now, write down those steps that you may have outlined in your mind but have not gotten down on paper.

Each day for the next 100 days, or however many days it takes to complete it, do just one activity on your paper each day. Just one.

Look back on what you have accomplished after one week and celebrate the accomplishment! You deserve it.

A wise philosopher once said that a cow is best eaten "one burger at a time".

Join me?

The Network Marketing Race

I started “running” this morning. I had set an intention to do this last week but I…

*didn’t have time.
*the weather was too cold, too hot, too rainy, too sunny…
*the road was too busy.
*I didn’t have anything to wear.
*(Insert an excuse – I would accept it)

My goal, a 5K in our cozy town of Caledonia at the end of June.

My reasons are many – get in better shape, lose some extra pounds, discipline, and focus.
While I was gutting it out and dragging my dog who was wondering what in the heck I was doing, I found myself trying to think positively when I really just wanted to quit, go home and eat a bowl of Rice Krispies. With each pounding footstep, and yes, pounding is the correct word, I kept repeating, “I am strong!” “I am healthy!” and surprise, surprise, I did feel healthy and strong despite the pain.

Now, I would love to say that when I got home I was thin, toned and looking like a model but nope, didn’t happen. I didn’t even step on the scale because I knew that I may not see a difference there either. Not yet, that is.

Time after time I see new distributors getting started in their business and they want to avoid the pain or to see immediate results and that just isn’t how it works. Setting a goal for each step of the journey and making it realistic is so important. Starting to run at one stop sign and setting a goal to run to the next sign, tree or land mark made me feel successful. I was thrilled with my progress! Those little steps of success will help these new distributors get to their ultimate goal in such a way that they don’t realize the difficulty of the journey along the way. Being successful and achieving a goal is hard. If they don’t realize that from the get go, their chances of dropping off along the way side have just doubled and they will become just another statistic.

I didn’t read a book to figure out how to run because I have been walking for quite some time now. I did however consult an expert and get a schedule of what I needed to do to work up running consistently for 3.1 miles, my ultimate goal. I learned what type of shoes are the best for running, that clothes “wick” sweat…cool; and that if I go out expecting to run 3.1 miles on day one, I will die. Well, maybe not die, but be really sore and not able to get out of bed the following morning.

Being honest about what it takes to build a successful business and then sharing the action steps needed to get there will help your new distributor finish the race.

As I came up to the last hill before home I was laughing.

Why?

Eddie Money was teasing me with, “Gimme Some Water “, a classic!

What we do is hard; and the rewards are fabulous!

Telling your new distributor that they need to take care of and nourish themselves is
so important. They need to get to local, regional and national events; read books that will encourage them when they are dry and think positively, “I am successful!” “I am confident” though
out their training.

Network Marketing is a race, an individual race of training, patience, persistence, discipline, goal setting and positive thinking. Only YOU can drag or sprint yourself over the finish line!

Ready?

The 100 day Challenge

Image by Stephen Poff via Flickr

Kuddos to Tim Sales who asked this excellent question,
"Do you want to be in the same place 100 days from now?"

Do you?

If the answer is "yes", then you are either in a great place, or you are in denial.

If the answer is "no", good for you!

What is lacking in the place you are now, physically, financially, spiritually?
Or for that matter, what is overabundant that needs to be thinned?

Where would you like to be 100 days from now? If you can create a plan by tomorrow,
April 27th, you could be in a new "place" by August 4. For many network marketers, the months of August through December are the "ripest" months. Imagine where you could be with a 100 day plan and a belief to go with it prior to this incredible time.

Do you actually believe that where you want to be can become reality?
This is the key now isn't it.

For changes to take place and stick, you need to "Act as though it were impossible to fail",
Dorthea Brande. Do you have the FAITH to believe?

What will it take to drive you to this new place 100 days from now?
What actions, changes, thoughts will you need to create or eliminate to get you to your new destination in 100 days?

I have my new "place", my new belief and my actions to drive me there.

Want to meet me on the "other side?"

LET'S GO!