Little steps, long journeys

Often times people look at a goal that seems so far out of reach and give up too early. It's important to remember that a little bit over time adds up to a great deal. I remember someone that wanted to loose 128 pounds in eight months. He broke it down to just half a pound per day and he accomplished his goal without a problem. Find a way to make something big, manageable and there is no telling what you can do.

Recently, I decided to run in the Chicago Marathon. I was in pretty good shape, but I had a couple hurdles.

• I had never run in an organized race before.
• I had never run more than 5 miles at a time, in my life.
• I didn't have any sort of plan to train for, yet accomplish, this feat.

However, with most dreams and goals, you have to set the goal first and then come up with the plan. Many people from my church were running and decided that if we could run as a group, on the weekend when we did our longer runs, it would be easier and maybe even fun.

We were running with Team World-Vision, raising money with about 1000 others that would show up at the starting line and since they had done this in the past, they had a training program in place, that would take all of us through the summer and prepare us for race day. During the week most of us ran on our own, but on the weekend, a group of about 40-60 runners would show up at a nearby bike path and we would do our long runs together. Several others from our church gathered along the lake shore in Chicago and at other paths depending on where they lived

When I started, I could barely run 3 miles without having to take a walk break at some time, but over a four month period, we all worked our way up to a 14, 16, 18 and a 20 mile run. Everyone got stronger, though there were a couple injuries and it was actually fun running for two and three hours on Saturday mornings in the rain, the cold or the heat, whatever came our way. The relationships that were formed and the stories shared along the trails were what brought most people back every weekend.

Most of us ran three times during the week as well and it was those small steps along the way that prepared us for the longest journey we were about to go on. If any of us would have thought about running a marathon a week beforehand and just gone out and tried to see if we could do it, there would have been a great many defeats, but since we trained and prepared our bodies and minds for that day, almost all of the 1200 people on our team crossed the finish line.

If I never put the goal out there, I would never have known the feeling of crossing that finish line and being part of something that big. The runners from my church raised over $180,000.00 to date, and the entire team raised over a million dollars to fight poverty, starvation and disease in Africa. Each of us did a small part to accomplish something greater than we could ever do alone. How? We set the goal, created a plan and worked together for something beyond ourselves.

I was injured going into the race and wasn't sure that I'd be able to complete it. I'll never forget the race or the people involved in helping me cross that finish line. Some of them I knew and some I'll never get to thank because they were just random spectators cheering me and 40,000 others along the way. I've set goals to run in several more races and will do my best to create more awareness that making a difference in global poverty is possible.

Living Beyond Yourself In Business and Life

In the past couple of years I have seen some real growth in myself and in many of my dear friends and business associates. The more I surround myself with selfless individuals, I see a whole aspect of life that I was not aware of for a long time.

I've been involved on some level or another in network marketing, mlm, direct sales and franchising for most of my adult life and felt that a good sales transaction was when both parties were better off at the end of a transaction than before. In business, I know that when I help someone get what they want, my business will eventually be rewarded usually five or ten times over by future purchases, referrals and long term business deals. In networking and mlm, it's about helping others first so your rewards will be seen down the road.

It's goes without saying that if you are only interested in yourself, your business will be short lived and true success will never come. You may have the portfolio, but you don't have the honor and respect of those people in your field or maybe not even your family and close friends.

What I find myself doing now more than ever as I make decisions in all areas of my life, is asking what impact is this going to have when I'm done. It just doesn't seem worth it to doing things strictly for profit or short term gain, whether in business or relationally. If I spend an extra ten minutes on the phone with a collegue and listen to them beyond the business at hand, I usually discover a need for a open ear, sometimes to vent or share a trouble in their life or sometimes even to celebrate something great going on at home or in their personal life. I want every interaction with people to end with that person feeling better about themselves, then before we connected.

I'm sorry to say, it doesn't always happen. I've left many in the dust, feeling the same or worse after an interaction because old habits of self preservation and pride. The best part is that I am aware of it and as I pick up on it more often, the more attuned I am to what my goal is, prior to the interaction.

Lately, I have found myself looking for more opportunities to give of my time and money to causes that used to seem non-existant, but are now blatently right in front of me and I can't ignore. Though I struggle sometimes in my personal financial planning, I'll give without worry that everything will be fine for me as it always is. God provides not only for my daily needs, but for so much more and I look at some that are looking for just a little dignity and a helping hand to get them through tough times.

Many of my friend are succesful financially, but still get caught up in the next best thing they can buy that will be gathering dust in 6 months or traded in for the newest model. Time and time again, they end up throwing money after money, for what, I don't know.

I have come to the understanding over the past couple years, that I can't take anything with me when I die, but I can leave behind me something better than an inheritance of cash and stuff, by providing life to a starving child, a new home for someone that had theirs destroyed by nature or maybe just enlightening others and having a huge impact on the world.

When all is said and done and I look back, I need to know that I did more than partied more than anyone else, had the biggest house or the fullest garage of toys. Maybe today, this will touch your heart in someway and my life will have impacted you and in turn will change the lives of others that I would never have come in contact with. I hope so. Pay it forward.

Success In Network Marketing

So you are wondering if success in network marketing on the internet is really possible.

First off, yes.

Is it easy? No.

Is it simple? yes

The first thing people need to realize is that in order to have success in network marketing on the internet, is that it isn't get rich quick. Anyone selling you on the idea that for a fifty dollar start up cost and a great website already set up for you is all you need and 60 days from now you will be rolling in the dough with a paycheck, is probably making money for sponsoring you, which falls into some illegal pyramid laws that we won't get into here.

Network marketing is a relationship business opportunity. It is not a sales business, although product certainly has to move through your business, you don't need to focus on selling your products door to door or put on presentations, having a "party plan" style get together. The big hitters out there will tell their downline that you that you need to jot down a hundred of your closest friends. Go through your cell phone or address book and write down everyone you know. Give them a call and without telling them anything, see if you can get them to the next Opportunity meeting and some hotel where a slick talker will put on a presentation, get them all pumped up and will help you build your business for you. The only problem is that your friends and family will probably start to disown you because they feel like your trying to make money off of them and they in turn will have to go out and make money off of their friends.

Rather than alienate your friends and family, it's best to learn a bit about your company, the income opportunity, your products and the compensation plan. Find someone successful in your organization that can help you determine who the best prospects for your business plan are and slowly introduce them into what your doing, not by dragging them to some meeting, but maybe giving them access to some information online via video or an e-book. Ask for their opinion, not if they want to "Sign Up". Tell them you are checking something out and you wanted their feedback because you trust their opinion. If they like what they see, they will tell you and ask for more info. This isn't for everyone and if you convince them to get in your business you will have to keep convincing them month after month to order products or stay involved with conference calls, etc. That's a waste of your time and theirs.

People are looking for businesses they can run from home and make money in their spare time. They have heard about success in network marketing and are looking for the right company and opportunity to align themselves with. Seek those people out. They are everywhere. Would you rather run an ad for a carpenter to build your house or run an ad for a teacher that you could show how to build a house and hope for good results? It's a no-brainer! On one you spend hours teaching them how to do what you want, but with the other, they have the basic knowledge and skill and will look forward to educating themselves further if they need it.

Find a reputable company, with a product that people want and buy in some form already, with an easy to understand compensation plan and preferably an online presentation that does the work for you. When the person you send the information sees that you didn't need to learn a bunch of facts and figures and be some great presentation guru who has no fear of getting up in front of a hundred or more people and talking for an hour, they will be much more open to your idea, because they realize that anyone can do what you did. You sent them to a website, followed up to see if they had any questions that weren't answered there and introduce them to some other members of your team if they are interested. If they are, great and if not, no big deal. How much time did it take you to send them a link to your site and do a follow up call? On the other hand, driving to a meeting, hoping the person will show up, leaving your spouse and kids at home, spending money to get in the meeting cause they have to pay for the meeting room somehow and getting all dressed up is insane.

There are many ways to get people to your website and learning about them can be done, sometimes for free through videos online, blogs and articles. There are many people willing to share their success tips.

How would you like to be mentored for free no matter what organization you join?

What's On Your Mind?

My mind is a sponge and whatever comes near it, will be absorbed. It is my choice what I put into my mind and the impact that it will have on my life will be determined by me and only me. I have strong faith in my Creator and in myself. I believe that I have been endowed with seeds of greatness and I need only to water them in order to reap the harvest.

For too many years I've neglected to nurture my mind and weed out the bad infestations that I have allowed to corrupt my thinking. In all that time I have reaped many small rewards in my business deals, relationships and spiritual growth, but now I have decided to not only plant, but to water, fertilize and put up a fence to keep the intruders out that seek only to destroy that which i am seeking to have flourish.

I will have my reward in return for my efforts. I not only see my harvest, but I can also see how I will be able to bless so many with what comes my way. I will not store up my rewards, but give freely to those in need. My gifts in turn will encourage others to do likewise and the recipients will know that Love has no boundaries.

Recession Proof Your Life

What do I mean when when I talk about making your life recession proof? First off, Zig Ziglar says, "Choose Not To Participate". That sound simple enough, but does it make sense and is it really that easy? Certainly, we all feel the effects of what's going on in the economy around us and one way or another it will touch our lives, either directly or indirectly. How we let it effect us however, is completely up to us.In this day in age, if you are relying on a single source of income or even on a second if your married and your spouse works, you're not in a good position. If you haven't developed enough investment income that can sustain you in times of need, then you are vulnerable to small and large storms alike. As we can see in this current time that having investments in real estate or the stock market doesn't always mean security either.

If you listen to people like Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki or even Warren Buffet, they all agree that to position yourself above the curve, Network Marketing is the way to go for those that don't have the cash to buy an existing business that is already profitable or to buy a franchise that can cost from 10's to 100's of thousands of dollars, only to require much of your time managing it for the first few years. Certainly not something that you could do part time to create a secondary source of income. Network Marketing has been a proven success for over 100 years in this country. Avon started in 1886, more of a direct sales company, but still had the concept of recruiting other like minded individuals and paying bonuses for all dollars going through the group. 122 years later, Avon is the number one direct sales multi level type marketing company out there and many people earn substantial income part time and full time.

If you look at what it takes to participate in legitimate MLM or Network Marketing Company, you realize that the rewards far outweigh any of the risk. For between thirty and one hundred and fifty dollars, you can start your own business that has the potential to out perform most well played stock portfolios and real estate empires that are loaded with risk and headaches from tenants and down markets. With the right company and support you can create the freedom to walk away from the traditional 7-5 work day and take back some of your life.

There are many companies to choose from and there are also many scams out there. When researching, do yourself the favor of making sure there is a real company behind the product. There has to be a product of some sort. Make sure it's a company that you can go visit and walk through the lobby, meet the staff and see the production and shipping areas. Companies like Amway, Xango, Herbal Life or Avon to name a few, have huge offices, and distribution centers that are available to visit and learn about. They continue to grow in countries around the world and have stayed afloat during all kinds of economic down turns. In fact most network marketing, direct sales, companies have extreme growth when the economy is bad.

So if you can start a business from your home for about one hundred dollars, what's stopping you? The tax write-offs alone are worth having a business. You may be able to deduct part of your home, your utilities, your new computer, your automobile expenses and even travel if your business reaches beyond your own state and you go to visit one of your partners. I personally know couples that travel about one week per month, year round, visiting with partners in their businesses around the world. Below is a video of a trip to Hawaii that we went on with a dozen close friends in our business along with a couple hundred others that we met there from around the states.

The key to having success in network marketing is friendships. We all know people that know people that we don't know. If we have something that can benefit us, it would make sense that it could benefit others. As we share the idea and product with people that we know, that trust us, they will in turn share with others that know and trust them.

Most people can easily generate an extra five hundred to a thousand dollars per month in a very short time and when they do that, they want to show others how to do the same, which will reap them even more rewards. In as little as a year, many people are earning residual incomes over two thousand dollars per month which is the equivalent of having five hundred thousand dollars in the bank earning 5% interest.

So you tell me, how fast are you going to get that extra 500K saved up? Do you think it might be easier to start a small business for a hundred bucks, dedicate some time to tell a few friends about it, invest in some information on how to utilize the internet to drive traffic to your business opportunity and create some new friendships with people around the globe.

Not everyone will be a million dollar earner in MLM, it does take the right individual with the right leadership and the right system in place that can be duplicated by others. How much you earn will be reflected by how much effort you are willing to put in, just like everything else, but when the business grows beyond your reach through geometric progression, that's when the real money comes.

Don't quit to early. If you double a penny every day for 30 days you would have over 5 million dollars, however on day fifteen you would have only about 163.00 that's the power of duplication.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE

ARE YOU WHO YOU WANT TO BE

If You Want It, Let It Go

While running the other day I heard a song on my Ipod by a band called Day of Fire. The song was Detainer. It had a chorus, that said over and over "If You Want It, If You Want It, If You Want It, Let It Go". I can't remember most of the other lyrics, but the chorus tempo was good for a 7 mph run. Hearing it over and over again got me to thinking about relinquishing things that are out of my control over to God.

Looking back at different periods of my life, I realize that when I "thought" I was in control, those were the most destructive and stagnant times in my life. Don't get me wrong, some of them were fun and free, but I didn't really move forward in my relationships, my career or my marriage. But when I realize that most parts of life really aren't in my control and let them unfold naturally, I see rewards overflow.

Take work for example; I'm a salesman and l can honestly say that I am pretty good at it. When I start gearing up for a goal and start looking at everyone as the next sale and start thinking about what I'm going to do with the money i'll make on the deal before they even agree, usually those deals don't go the way I expected. I move on to the next one and do the same thing with more force because I know if I don't sell the next customer, I might miss the goal and so on. But when I let it go by taking a step back and just expose my business or product to more and more people, as more of a tour guide and don't focus on "Closing" them, calls start coming in to me to do business. Those new exposures turn around much quicker and ones that have been on the table awhile seem to fall into place.

It's easy to see in your marriage or in your relationships with your kids. If you want them to change or do something different from the norm, and you tell them over and over what they are doing wrong and that you want them to change a particular behavior, it never fails that your relationship grows apart and disdain for each other starts to show its ugly face. However, if you express your opinion once and don't press the issue, but turn it over to God, pray about it and let it go, you either come to the realization that maybe you were making a bigger deal about it in the first place or sometimes, miraculously, your children or spouse come around to your way of thinking on their own.

I have found that when business wasn't going well and bills were tight and I focused so hard on how I was going to fix it, I got depressed and started to believe that it was useless to try and felt like giving up. On the other hand, when I let it go and just kept doing what I knew needed to be done and didn't focus on it, things turned around. Opportunities would present themselves, bill collectors would call and settle for less than I owed, insurance that I didn't think would cover something took care of the largest portion.

Control is an illusion that we, with our grandiose ideas, have bought into. We have so called gurus telling us that we have the power within us to control our own destiny in order to sell their books. We buy into it and when it doesn't work, we buy the next book or audio cd that will have the right answer, only to find we are still failures. It's an endless circle that makes many people millions of dollars each year. 

Trying to control your life is like fighting through a storm in a boat, at some time you realize it's better to let go of the rudder for your own safety and that of your passengers. Don't let your ego get in the way of your life.

I don't believe we should just float around like feathers in the movie Forest Gump and just see what happens in all areas of life, but I know that when we focus so hard on getting something right and fear failure, we usually let ourselves down.

Ask yourself, Am I an encourager?

I mean, what kind of an effect do I have on people that I know and meet? Is the room brighter after I leave because the impact I had, or is it darker? We've all met people that can suck the life out of others.

As a leader, part of my job is to encourage and lift up those around me. You can think about it like everyone having a bucket that starts empty each day. As they get positive input, their bucket gets filled up. When their bucket is full it overflows and they too, become encouragers. On the other hand, when they receive negative comments and feedback or sarcasm, their bucket gets emptier.  So, what about you? Are you a bucket filler or a bucket dipper?

Maybe a simple comment on a piece of clothing or jewelry. Maybe just showing a slight interest in the person. People are hurting and are under a lot of stress these days. When we stand in line at the grocery store, are we so focused on ourselves and getting out of there and making frustrating sounds when the line isn't moving fast enough, or do we take a moment to look around us, at the people in line or maybe the cashier and get an idea of how their day might be going.

Telling the checker that you could never do her job and stay so calm when the lines get so long and people start to get irritated, might give them a brief moment of connection. Maybe the women in front of you looks like they took a little extra time to throw their look together and, if your a guy, you can comment by saying something about how your wife or girlfriend would love whatever it is you find stylish. If your a women, it's easy enough to just offer the compliment without it seeming like flirting.

When you introduce someone to another, do you just say this is my friend so and so? How about the next time you introduce two people, tell them each something positive about each other. It may seem strange, but If I were to say "This is my friend John, we've known each other for over 10 years. If you ever need work done around your house, this is the guy to call. I've seen him create awesome decks, basements, kitchens, you name it. If it requires a tool belt, this is your guy. I mean, I like to build stuff, but he really knows how to make it look good."

How do you think your friend John would feel? What would the person you introduced him to feel like?  John's bucket would be getting filled and the other person would see the respect you have for him and maybe learn something about him that might not come up in basic conversation. 

I know that i'm not the best at this and definitely fall into the selfish, what about me attitude sometimes, but when I make a conscious effort to lift someone up, I see the positive effect that it has on them in the moment, and possibly the rest of the day. It also has a "pay-it-forward" effect on others they interact with throughout the day. I also know how it makes me feel.

So give it a try. As you go about your day, look up around you and notice people. You will find that as you become a bucket filler, people around you will begin to fill your bucket as well.