Let’s take a moment and recap before we go further.  We have this day-long training event, hosted by this power couple who are top company leaders.  When it comes time to decide where to fellowship, they call across the room in front of everyone to a new distributor, and ask her ‘Where do you want to fellowship’?   I want to be clear, her responses were always respectful, courteous and seemed to be helpful. What I noticed was the climate of the room.  It seemed to me, everyone paid attention to her answers. The people I observed seemed to constantly rally around her, asking her questions about the local area, what were the best places to do numerous things, even outside of Networking.  One of the guys even asked her a question about hot yoga (I hope I remembered that correctly). Two people who were brand new asked her about her young team of 16 people, and for her opinion on how she was building her organization so quickly.

Now I found...

There were over 50 of us together at a training in Michigan. After about 6 hours of sharing, testimonials and a non-stop Q & A., we went to eat and fellowship.  As you probably already know, there is always an official and unofficial ‘Leader’ at every gathering or get together.  There was a couple who were the ‘Leaders’, (on paper) they hit the top company position and were poised to set a few company records in the near future.  As we were winding down, I noticed something out of the ordinary.  When it came time to pick the place to fellowship, they asked a very charismatic young lady who was relatively new to the company, where she wanted to go. 

I was impressed for several reasons as I watched the interaction between the leadership couple, and this young dynamo. Let me touch on a few of those reasons I was impressed and then let’s get to a few learning points. First, because it takes so much to hit the top positions in...

I made a decision to practice what I teach (and preach) years ago.  After mentoring with so many great people who consistently shared with me that this industry has value, it is driven by opportunity which is a have, not a have not!  I did what I was taught to do and what I still teach now. I asked him a ‘Make or Break’ question for me to determine, if I was going to work with him going forward. When he enrolled I remembered he told me he was ready to get started because he needed to find a way to get a new car.  He said he was tired of not being able to make his children’s games because his current car wasn’t reliable.  So after not interrupting him in the middle of his excuse game (all excuses are equal anyway) I asked him to give me a moment and answer this for me; ______ would it be worth missing one Saturday of bowling to find out the information you’re going to need to be successful, and create the kind of income required to...

This story is about attaining ‘Time & Income Freedom’, not maintaining your corporate world dependence.  To become the best distributor, you can, focus on being a ‘Pro’ (Positive Reinforcement Operative) early in your Networking career.  Be strong enough to tell the truth to the hardest audience, the people in your ‘Trusted’market.  The ability to do this will make you a better person, distributor, teammate and family member!  Lets continue, (his) excuse number two; we had a very special Saturday event scheduled the next week.  All (OK most) of the distributors were excited, discussing how many guests they were going to bring and what role they would play in making the event an incredible success.  To be transparent here, it was one of the first times I really had FUN, while building my business.  I was guilty of being swept up in the hoopla and to this day the folks who remember this event still talk...

Back in the 1980’s there was a very popular rap song with the lyrics; ‘Friends, how many of us have them’? I want to share a story about enrolling a ‘Friend’ in a company I was a distributor in, I had the great fortune of enrolling a very close friend of mine.  Many of us in this industry never have the chance to say that.  As a matter of fact, many of us in this industry of freedom never get a chance to experience any of the ‘Perks’ with the people we desire to be free with.  I remember telling an audience at a national convention once that being home at 11:00 am on a Tuesday morning or at 2:00 pm on a Thursday afternoon means nothing unless we can be home with the people we love, and enjoy being with.  I meant every word of that speech.  Here’s an interesting situation that happened to me when I enrolled my friend into a company I was in.  

The very first day he enrolled, the reasons for not fully...

1.    The Leader as ‘Lead Learner’

       -The ‘Lead Learner’ commits to and continues to grow and absorb information, while leading their organization.  The most effective leaders are consistently open to receiving information which feeds their personal and organizational growth.  They invite and and promote feedback from their organizations.  They do this while continuing to personally develop from reading books, listening to CD’s, viewing the DVD’s and url’s of their mentors and leaders.  The Lead Learner knows this is crucial to staying ahead of the group called average which achieve average results and never become legendary!

The Leader is the ‘Lead Learner’!

 2.    The Leader as ‘Coach’

- The ‘Coach’ is willing to put their own interest to the side   while dedicating themselves to assisting others in building their...

OK, lets get to the conclusion and the point of this story. There are so many learning points here both subtle; opportunity will only knock on a door that is ready to be open, when in doubt choose the path of leadership, etc. Then there are the more obvious; strike while the iron is hot, etc. I learned those lessons and another very important lesson I’ll share now. I watched a documentary on the Chicago Bulls of the 90’s. Their coach Phil Jackson was talking to Michael Jordan about their inability to win a championship, up to that point. Michael told Phil he was frustrated at the team not winning the ‘big one’ and Phil Jackson told Michael that an important ingredient to winning, is developing the ability to ‘Learn to trust your shooters’.

You see I had no idea that with all the success we were having I wasn’t really growing in this area of understanding and trusting my partner (shooter). Up to that point it was easy; I had the freedom and...

You know when you’re building your legend in our industry it’s important not to make the same mistakes over and over. I remember eary in my career a situation where someone asked me to talk to their prospect because they felt that I would relate to them better. I spoke to my mentor at that time and asked him for his opinion and he told me that he really didn’t think it was a great idea. He told me that the best distributors make mistakes going forward. My mentor used terms like ‘No Guts, No Glory’, and ‘You can’t carry someone else across the finish line’. So I believed it’s better not to speak to a Prospect ‘For’ someone else.

What I didn’t realize was my partner wasn’t asking me to speak for her she simply wanted my advice on what I would say if I was speaking to the prospect.  Because I didn’t listen and I was practicing that fine lost art of ‘Assuming’ I began giving her advice;...

After being in the industry for 12 years I learned one of the biggest lessons that has stayed with me to this day.  Winners know that opportunity is always available. Because winners are consistently looking for an edge, they seldom miss the low hanging fruit that is right in front of us everyday. Here’s the story; years ago I enrolled in a company and like lightning in a bottle I began to achieve the unlimited potential others said I was destined to have. I began to attract the key people who empowered us to go from ‘Good to Great’ in the flash of an eye. I’d never earned a six figure income in anything I’d ever done (because I mentored under some of the best minds in the industry I carried myself like a millionaire because I saw it before it happened, story soon to come).  It felt like life couldn’t have been any better but lessons are often learned along the way and it was my turn to learn a huge one.

My business partner and I had...

I picked this story first in this series because there are so many learning points. Here’s how it turned out; first I asked him did he tell his sponsor exactly what he shared with me? He said most of it; I asked why not all of it since you’re this angry? He didn’t answer at first, then he said as he thought about it he realized just how upset he was. My response to him was now you know the next time something like this happens decide early to take a moment before you respond. Your real wisdom tends to kick in after you’ve given yourself a few moments to reflect. Next I asked him; are you sincere about this business?  He asked me why? My response is because you said it yourself you’ve been in three companies in the last four months, this industry is about attraction, success, enjoyment and it can become a bridge to accomplishing your goals and dreams!  If you’re still looking for a vehicle to give you the success you’re looking for,...