Mindset of an Entrepreneur

I get asked quite often what it takes to be successful in network marketing. How do you grow a big business? How do you systematically recruit, train, retain, and inspire a volunteer army? We have all seen and heard the horror stories about network marketing. We have heard the sob stories about how people invested so much money and nothing happened. We read statistics about how many people hit it big using this business model. Most use the statistics as an excuse to quit, give up, or blame something outside of themselves for their lack of results. What statistics do not take into account is that many people who join MLM organizations do not desire to become millionaires and live lavish lifestyles. The vast majority of people who join MLM companies do so to make an additional $200-300 per month. By that definition (using the average income goal), success rates of legitimate MLM companies are much higher. The assumption and philosophy that "if you aren't making millions, then you were lied to or done wrong" is contrary to the principles of freedom, liberty, and free enterprise upon which this country was founded!

You will be hard pressed to find a more brilliant model of free enterprise than network marketing (or referral marketing, affiliate marketing, multi-level marketing...whatever you want to call it). Network marketing creates individual accountability based on your ambition, persistence, and personal growth. A lot of people don't like that. We live in a society that doesn't like failure to be a black and white issue. We like to blame everything and everyone else for why we are where we are. It's the ex that left us with nothing, the business partner that did us wrong, the home life we had as a child, or the business or investment that went bust.

Look, network marketing is not like your job. You do not get paid on effort; you get paid on results. Non-entrepreneurial people do not comprehend this concept, which is why some resent it. They think the company is ripping people off or getting low cost labor, but the best thing and worst thing about network marketing is you get paid on results. Unfortunately for some, it doesn't matter what you look like, how much education you have, or who your family is. Some people who have more degrees than a thermometer still struggle building this business. But anyone, with any background, can be successful—maybe not as they currently are but certainly by who they can become. People want to be successful in MLM without changing who they are, but that is impossible. There is no growth (revenue or income) without change. If you want something you've never had, you must do something you've never done. If you continue life's journey staying who you are today (as opposed to growing), then you will continue to reap the same rewards.

So if you put in 100 hours this month and make $20, no one did you wrong. If you put in 100 hours for a year and are making $100, then no one did you wrong (although I would suggest getting plugged into a mentor and success training system for continued personal development!). I'm reminded of the story of the residents of an ancient village who used to spend their days carrying buckets of water from the river back to the village. They did that all day, every day. Let's suppose that they made $1 per day. Now, there was one villager who chose not to be employed by the village. Instead, he went to work on building a pipeline that would pump water to the village so he didn't have to carry water for the rest of his life. Perhaps this was his motto: "I will be temporarily ambitious so I can be permanently lazy" or "I will do today what others won't so I can do tomorrow what others can't." Every day, his friends who made $1 scoffed at him. They kept asking him how much money he had made—then showed him the $1 they had earned. They showed him the $5 after a week, the $20 after a month, and the $1040 after a year that they had earned. He had spent everything he had on the pipeline—all his time, money, and energy—and not a single drop of water to show for it. After several years, he finished the pipeline. At first, nothing happened. Then there was a trickle (a small MLM check). Then there were some drops (we're up to a $20 bonus check). And then it happened. All of a sudden, there was a gush of water flowing into the village (blank check)! Now this man started to employ many of the townspeople who had ridiculed him because the main industry (carrying water) in the village was no longer needed. That's the best way I know to explain network marketing. We are building pipelines to protect and insure our futures as opposed to relying on someone else to do it for us (company or government). We are accountable for our results and destinies.

So here's what it takes: you must be dedicated to growing as a person. The person you are today is what has gotten you the results you have. To get the results you want will require you to grow in some areas. Our Success Training System (STS) is the secret. It's a continuous personal development program that will systematically take you from where you are to where you want to be. It works. It's duplicatable. There is no question that this is the main requirement for building a big business. The pain of discipline is temporary; the price of regret is permanent. You can do it.

I love you and believe in you!

RR2