This classic is referred to continually in the literature of the Network Marketer. I decided to include a link to the original version. The link will take you to a download site, where you can download the book for free. There is a permanent link over on the left side of the page that will take you to the same place.
Download the book here.
My business opportunity
Have your Network Marketing Prospects Come to YOU!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
It's All Too Much
It’s all too much for me to take
The love that’s shining all around me.
All the world is birthday cake
So take a piece but not too much.
These words from the late George Harrison were first sung in the soundtrack to 1969’s Yellow Submarine. (Even my deaf five-year-old loves that movie, and can sign some of the songs.) I am often amazed at the profound lyrics that come out of young singer-songwriters. I guess I thought I was pretty profound back then, too.
Okay, that was a serious digression.
“It’s all too much.” Is there a more appropriate sentiment for this time of year in the modern world? Too many parties, too much food and drink, too much spending, too much advertisement, too much co-opting of symbols in the name of commerce. People not interested in hearing about your business.
So what to do? Take a piece, but not too much. Start experiencing the tiniest things, and work up from there.
The sparkle of a bright light off of a strand of tinsel.
The smell of a Noble Fir when you stroke the soft branches.
The sound of boots squeaky-crunching on sub-zero snow.
The feeling of frosty air entering your nostrils and being warmed by your body as you breathe deeply.
The giggle of a child hiding behind a Christmas tree.
The pattern of frost on a window pane.
The way that crystalline beauty can come from freezing a mud puddle.
The whisper of wind through dry grass and trees.
The immense solitude of a northern beach
The smell of sunscreen and sensation of warm sand between your toes on a southern beach.
The smell of sunscreen on a beautiful bluebird powder skiing day.
The sound of your own breath as you snowshoe through woods.
The play of lights reflected on a storefront window, regardless of what’s inside.
A cookie.
Eggnog. (Okay, I personally dislike the stuff, but some people love it.)
A crackling fire, even if it is that one on TV.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (in black and white) for the 100th time, complete with teary eyes at the end.
Finding last year’s Christmas cards from friends.
Re-using last year’s Christmas boxes and recalling what was in them before.
Conspiratorial children who can barely contain the secret of a present they got you.
The long-suffering dog that lets you put those stupid reindeer antlers on his head one more time.
Breathing deeply in the silent glow of the night, after all is calm.
Breathing.
Breathing.
So take a piece, but not too much.
So take some peace – all you want.
Earn A Free Vacation
Get Internet MLM Profits
________________________________________________________
The love that’s shining all around me.
All the world is birthday cake
So take a piece but not too much.
These words from the late George Harrison were first sung in the soundtrack to 1969’s Yellow Submarine. (Even my deaf five-year-old loves that movie, and can sign some of the songs.) I am often amazed at the profound lyrics that come out of young singer-songwriters. I guess I thought I was pretty profound back then, too.
Okay, that was a serious digression.
“It’s all too much.” Is there a more appropriate sentiment for this time of year in the modern world? Too many parties, too much food and drink, too much spending, too much advertisement, too much co-opting of symbols in the name of commerce. People not interested in hearing about your business.
So what to do? Take a piece, but not too much. Start experiencing the tiniest things, and work up from there.
The sparkle of a bright light off of a strand of tinsel.
The smell of a Noble Fir when you stroke the soft branches.
The sound of boots squeaky-crunching on sub-zero snow.
The feeling of frosty air entering your nostrils and being warmed by your body as you breathe deeply.
The giggle of a child hiding behind a Christmas tree.
The pattern of frost on a window pane.
The way that crystalline beauty can come from freezing a mud puddle.
The whisper of wind through dry grass and trees.
The immense solitude of a northern beach
The smell of sunscreen and sensation of warm sand between your toes on a southern beach.
The smell of sunscreen on a beautiful bluebird powder skiing day.
The sound of your own breath as you snowshoe through woods.
The play of lights reflected on a storefront window, regardless of what’s inside.
A cookie.
Eggnog. (Okay, I personally dislike the stuff, but some people love it.)
A crackling fire, even if it is that one on TV.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (in black and white) for the 100th time, complete with teary eyes at the end.
Finding last year’s Christmas cards from friends.
Re-using last year’s Christmas boxes and recalling what was in them before.
Conspiratorial children who can barely contain the secret of a present they got you.
The long-suffering dog that lets you put those stupid reindeer antlers on his head one more time.
Breathing deeply in the silent glow of the night, after all is calm.
Breathing.
Breathing.
So take a piece, but not too much.
So take some peace – all you want.
Earn A Free Vacation
Get Internet MLM Profits
________________________________________________________
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Integrity
Integrity:
1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility
2 : an unimpaired condition : soundness
3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completeness
synonyms see honesty
I got an angry email this morning from a guy I had contacted as a prospect for my Network Marketing business. He had seen my web cast presentation. Something, and I still have no idea what, set him off. His email was scathing, vituperative, foul-mouthed, scatological, and any other words you might think of for something rude, crude, and completely unnecessary.
My first reaction was, “Oh yeah?! I’ll give him an earful.” I quickly thought better of that. Seldom has anything good come of an angry email. As some wise person said, “If you wrestle with a pig, win or lose your getting’ filthy.” So I restrained myself.
My second thought was to construct a detailed reply, showing him the benefits of the Network Marketing paradigm, the honesty of our company, and the help I would be providing him in building his business. Then I thought about what that would do. Would I convert him to my way of thinking? Not very likely. Would he become a banner-carrying evangelist for my company and our business. Not in a zillion years. Would it be a monumental waste of my time, emotion and energy? Yep. So I restrained myself again.
DELETE. End of episode. That email is now banished to somewhere in the nether regions of cyberspace. I suppose the anger and rage it contained are still spinning around in the head of the guy who wrote it. Sad for him, really.
The first time I got one of those emails it really upset me. I was angry. I was insulted. I was even a little scared. What if he was right? What if I had signed up for a scam? I called my sponsor, who chuckled in a “been there done that” way and filled me in on all the ways that people were going to try to tear me down. He went through all the ill-informed objections people would present me and basically said, “Let it go. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Some times it takes a lot of confidence to keep doing what you believe is right. That is where the integrity comes in. We usually think about integrity as being that first definition, firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. This is essential for us living a life of self-respect and honesty. But the third definition, the quality or state of being complete or undivided, becomes a truly spiritual value.
We know that we are doing something of value. We know that we are acting within a code of moral values. Time, knowledge, and self-knowledge allow us to be complete and undivided.
“I am a person of integrity.” We hear it often. Let’s just silently live it.
____________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
____________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
____________________________________________________
Monday, December 10, 2007
So I’ve been doing some reading about blogs, and how they are ultimately a reflection of the person maintaining them. I realized that mine have been a little impersonal. I really haven’t put a lot of myself out there for people to know.
So this will make up for that previous lack. Be forewarned, it’s not a 100% happy tale.
In the beginning of my network marketing career (Okay, it’s been only about 8 months.) my intent was simple. I wanted to be able to make enough money to be home when my kids left for school and when they arrived home. Seems simple enough, right? The reality is a bit more complex. My reasons for wanting this business to succeed are extreme.
In 2002 my wife, Lynn, and I were blessed to adopt a beautiful newborn boy. (We aren’t the youngest parents in the world. I am now 52, and Lynn’s 43.) Robbie is an amazing personality, full of life and waking up happy every morning. He’s also devilishly handsome and charming and at age five has the girls eating out of his hand.
When he was 14 days old we learned that he is deaf. There was the initial denial and shock, and then some sadness at “what he’ll miss”, but he seemed to be doing fine. We later learned that he has some residual hearing in his right ear and that with the latest and greatest hearing aids he can distinguish a lot of speech.
He’s learning to talk now, but has recently stated his perceptions of his own limitations by telling us that he can’t take a ski lesson because he can’t talk. It was sad to hear, but he didn’t have any sadness – it was just a statement of fact, and some concern about how a specific thing would be accomplished. When we told him that one of us would be there to help him talk, he was fine.
Fifteen months after Rob was born, in July of 2003, we received a call from the adoption agency. Robbie had a new, full-biological sibling. A tiny baby girl. Less than two and a half pounds tiny. She spent 84 days in the neonatal intensive care unity, endured heart surgery and a necrotizing bowel infection, addiction to Fentanyl and morphine, but came home with us. She was a struggle, going through a lot of pain and withdrawal, sleeping fitfully, and mostly scaring the heck out of us.
How were we going to deal with a deaf son and this super-preemie who all the doctors predicted was going to be a lot of work? I don’t know. Some times you don’t have a choice. You deal with it. People have dealt with lots worse.
So we got to deal with worse. In late 2005, after going from doctor to doctor to doctor to try to get some resolution to severe lower abdominal pain, Lynn was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. After radiation and chemo, she had surgery. The surgery revealed cancer in a large number of surrounding lymph nodes. Subsequent PET and CAT scans showed that she had metastases in her liver and elsewhere. The diagnosis was terminal. The medical professionals gave her 6-20 months.
The good part is that she’s already lived beyond that. She is relatively healthy by cancer-standards, getting out for a few hours of skiing or fly fishing once in a while, and still able to enjoy the kids. Her only outwardly visible sigh of disease is that she requires a lot more sleep and doesn’t have her old stamina.
Lynn is considered “permanently disabled” and her cancer is still terminal. We are happy that she’ll get through the holidays without starting chemo, but no one knows what the future will bring. Her drive and focus are to be there as much as possible for the kids, and to have as positive an influence on their life as possible.
So that is just about all of the stuff going on in my life. I maintain a full-time job as a project manager while I try to grow my network marketing business. Remember, that goal is to be able to afford to be home when the kids leave for school and when they get home from school! I also think that I’ll need to be ready as a sign language interpreter for Rob at a moment’s notice. How’s that for a “Why” I’m in the business?
I’m posting this to my blogs. My other one is www.MyPotentialNow.com
If you’d like to see more about my business, check out www.earnafreevacation.com
Forward this to friends if you like. I’m not looking for charity. I believe in my network marketing business and love to help others be successful in it. There’s plenty of success to go around. If you get a chance to come to my blogs and comment on this, I’d love to hear from you.
Making the world a better place, One smile at a time
Joe Laberge
So this will make up for that previous lack. Be forewarned, it’s not a 100% happy tale.
In the beginning of my network marketing career (Okay, it’s been only about 8 months.) my intent was simple. I wanted to be able to make enough money to be home when my kids left for school and when they arrived home. Seems simple enough, right? The reality is a bit more complex. My reasons for wanting this business to succeed are extreme.
In 2002 my wife, Lynn, and I were blessed to adopt a beautiful newborn boy. (We aren’t the youngest parents in the world. I am now 52, and Lynn’s 43.) Robbie is an amazing personality, full of life and waking up happy every morning. He’s also devilishly handsome and charming and at age five has the girls eating out of his hand.
When he was 14 days old we learned that he is deaf. There was the initial denial and shock, and then some sadness at “what he’ll miss”, but he seemed to be doing fine. We later learned that he has some residual hearing in his right ear and that with the latest and greatest hearing aids he can distinguish a lot of speech.
He’s learning to talk now, but has recently stated his perceptions of his own limitations by telling us that he can’t take a ski lesson because he can’t talk. It was sad to hear, but he didn’t have any sadness – it was just a statement of fact, and some concern about how a specific thing would be accomplished. When we told him that one of us would be there to help him talk, he was fine.
Fifteen months after Rob was born, in July of 2003, we received a call from the adoption agency. Robbie had a new, full-biological sibling. A tiny baby girl. Less than two and a half pounds tiny. She spent 84 days in the neonatal intensive care unity, endured heart surgery and a necrotizing bowel infection, addiction to Fentanyl and morphine, but came home with us. She was a struggle, going through a lot of pain and withdrawal, sleeping fitfully, and mostly scaring the heck out of us.
How were we going to deal with a deaf son and this super-preemie who all the doctors predicted was going to be a lot of work? I don’t know. Some times you don’t have a choice. You deal with it. People have dealt with lots worse.
So we got to deal with worse. In late 2005, after going from doctor to doctor to doctor to try to get some resolution to severe lower abdominal pain, Lynn was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. After radiation and chemo, she had surgery. The surgery revealed cancer in a large number of surrounding lymph nodes. Subsequent PET and CAT scans showed that she had metastases in her liver and elsewhere. The diagnosis was terminal. The medical professionals gave her 6-20 months.
The good part is that she’s already lived beyond that. She is relatively healthy by cancer-standards, getting out for a few hours of skiing or fly fishing once in a while, and still able to enjoy the kids. Her only outwardly visible sigh of disease is that she requires a lot more sleep and doesn’t have her old stamina.
Lynn is considered “permanently disabled” and her cancer is still terminal. We are happy that she’ll get through the holidays without starting chemo, but no one knows what the future will bring. Her drive and focus are to be there as much as possible for the kids, and to have as positive an influence on their life as possible.
So that is just about all of the stuff going on in my life. I maintain a full-time job as a project manager while I try to grow my network marketing business. Remember, that goal is to be able to afford to be home when the kids leave for school and when they get home from school! I also think that I’ll need to be ready as a sign language interpreter for Rob at a moment’s notice. How’s that for a “Why” I’m in the business?
I’m posting this to my blogs. My other one is www.MyPotentialNow.com
If you’d like to see more about my business, check out www.earnafreevacation.com
Forward this to friends if you like. I’m not looking for charity. I believe in my network marketing business and love to help others be successful in it. There’s plenty of success to go around. If you get a chance to come to my blogs and comment on this, I’d love to hear from you.
Making the world a better place, One smile at a time
Joe Laberge
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
How Soon Is Now?
Where do you want to be five years from now? Have you ever asked that question and had someone look at you like you have two heads? (I apologize if I have offended any of the bi-cranial in the audience.)
"Five years," they say. "I can't tell you where I'll be in five WEEKS!" Yep, heard it myself. Heck, I even used to say it. But here's the big non-secret: It doesn't matter whether you plan it or not, five years from now is coming!
Planning for retirement, planning to pay for your children's' education, planning to buy a home, planning to drive to work. You can ignore the future if you want, but the future doesn't care; it's coming anyway.
If you want to have three million dollars in the bank in 2010, you need to be putting aside way more than $20,000.00 per month starting now. That's one way to plan, but it scares the living daylights out of most people, so they do nothing. And you know what? That three million never shows up.
Here's a much better idea. DO SOMETHING NOW! You may not make $25,000 this month, but if you don't do something toward your goals you'll never get there.
Make a plan for today. Just today. Just the next hour, even. Just right now. Now is the only moment you have, but how you use this now will make a difference in how you feel in the next moments. What you do in the now will make a difference in what you are able to do in the next moments.
What was that excuse? You're too old? Nonsense. You have just enough experience to get it right. You're too young? Nonsense. You have enthusiasm and vigor. Not enough time? Everybody has the same 168 hours each week, the same 24 hours in a day. Time is not the issue. Doing things is the issue.
Do it now! What have you got to lose? You might possibly regret doing something. You will definitely regret doing nothing! And remember, an object in motion tends to remain in motion, so overcome your inertia and get moving.
Five years from now is now a couple of minutes nearer.
______________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________
10 Weeks to Network Marketing Success
________________________________________________________
"Five years," they say. "I can't tell you where I'll be in five WEEKS!" Yep, heard it myself. Heck, I even used to say it. But here's the big non-secret: It doesn't matter whether you plan it or not, five years from now is coming!
Planning for retirement, planning to pay for your children's' education, planning to buy a home, planning to drive to work. You can ignore the future if you want, but the future doesn't care; it's coming anyway.
If you want to have three million dollars in the bank in 2010, you need to be putting aside way more than $20,000.00 per month starting now. That's one way to plan, but it scares the living daylights out of most people, so they do nothing. And you know what? That three million never shows up.
Here's a much better idea. DO SOMETHING NOW! You may not make $25,000 this month, but if you don't do something toward your goals you'll never get there.
Make a plan for today. Just today. Just the next hour, even. Just right now. Now is the only moment you have, but how you use this now will make a difference in how you feel in the next moments. What you do in the now will make a difference in what you are able to do in the next moments.
What was that excuse? You're too old? Nonsense. You have just enough experience to get it right. You're too young? Nonsense. You have enthusiasm and vigor. Not enough time? Everybody has the same 168 hours each week, the same 24 hours in a day. Time is not the issue. Doing things is the issue.
Do it now! What have you got to lose? You might possibly regret doing something. You will definitely regret doing nothing! And remember, an object in motion tends to remain in motion, so overcome your inertia and get moving.
Five years from now is now a couple of minutes nearer.
______________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________
10 Weeks to Network Marketing Success
________________________________________________________
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Where Does 'Moral Law' Fit Into MLM?
C. S. Lewis, the renowned Oxford scholar and author (Think Chronicles of Narnia in addition to many scholarly works.) wrote of The Moral Law. He described it as the aspect of being human that makes us jump into a raging river to save a drowning toddler, even if our own life might be endangered.
It seems that as humans we are hard-wired to help others. Unless we suffer from sociopathic tendencies, we can't do otherwise.
In this holiday season, with its suggestion of giving and charity, that helping characteristic is even more pronounced. Charities report most of their donations are received this time of year.
In our Network Marketing businesses we are given an endless stream of opportunities to help others. When you think about it, if we don't help others, our own business will stagnate and die. What a great deal! We get to share 'enlightened benevolence.' We get rewarded for our helping others succeed.
There is a flaw in this whole scheme, though. There are always people who want way more help than others. These squeaky wheels seem incapable of helping themselves. They expect that you, as their sponsor, are going to build their business for them.
It is a hard reality that you cannot possibly help these people. If you focus on them, you won't have enough left to give to the people who will grow their businesses and themselves.
The airline attendants always tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first, and then help others. This is good life advice, good business advice. Take care of your business first, and that will allow you to take care of others.
This time of year we all tend to try to pack in too much. Too much activity, too much family, too much food. It is vital for us to take the time to reflect on our lives and business, and to make smart choices. Give yourself a rest. Breathe deeply. Help where you can but know when to say no.
Your business is worth it. You are worth it.
______________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________ http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
________________________________________________________
It seems that as humans we are hard-wired to help others. Unless we suffer from sociopathic tendencies, we can't do otherwise.
In this holiday season, with its suggestion of giving and charity, that helping characteristic is even more pronounced. Charities report most of their donations are received this time of year.
In our Network Marketing businesses we are given an endless stream of opportunities to help others. When you think about it, if we don't help others, our own business will stagnate and die. What a great deal! We get to share 'enlightened benevolence.' We get rewarded for our helping others succeed.
There is a flaw in this whole scheme, though. There are always people who want way more help than others. These squeaky wheels seem incapable of helping themselves. They expect that you, as their sponsor, are going to build their business for them.
It is a hard reality that you cannot possibly help these people. If you focus on them, you won't have enough left to give to the people who will grow their businesses and themselves.
The airline attendants always tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first, and then help others. This is good life advice, good business advice. Take care of your business first, and that will allow you to take care of others.
This time of year we all tend to try to pack in too much. Too much activity, too much family, too much food. It is vital for us to take the time to reflect on our lives and business, and to make smart choices. Give yourself a rest. Breathe deeply. Help where you can but know when to say no.
Your business is worth it. You are worth it.
______________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________ http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
________________________________________________________
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thanksgiving - Now More Than Ever
We live in the greatest of times. If you look around and see destuction, fear, and impending doom all around you, stop! Look again.
See the greatest level of prosperity that the world has ever known. We live in a time when we take for granted such things as computers, televisions, refrigerators, cars. Only two generations ago those things were luxuries. Heck, two generations ago there weren't computers and the televisions were all black & white!
See medical miracles. See the lowest infant mortality rate in the history of humankind. See people regularly living well intho their eighties, nineties, and beyond.
See happiness. It's there if you look. See love. It's impossible to avoid - if you look. See things everywhere for which to give thanks.
Our Network Marketing business gives us the opportunity to be a part of helping so many others be successful in their lives - to reach their dreams. What a wonderful thing that is to be thankful for.
On a completely seperate note, I have been an avid student of Network Marketing since I started in the business. People in my organization have received books from me, PDF files, and lots of links. I wholeheartedly recommend the work of Dr. Joe Rubino. His books are awesome, and his CD collection 10 Weeks to Network Marketing Success is absolutely amazing. If you get a chance, please check it out. 10 Weeks to NM Success here for more
___________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
___________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
___________________________________________
See the greatest level of prosperity that the world has ever known. We live in a time when we take for granted such things as computers, televisions, refrigerators, cars. Only two generations ago those things were luxuries. Heck, two generations ago there weren't computers and the televisions were all black & white!
See medical miracles. See the lowest infant mortality rate in the history of humankind. See people regularly living well intho their eighties, nineties, and beyond.
See happiness. It's there if you look. See love. It's impossible to avoid - if you look. See things everywhere for which to give thanks.
Our Network Marketing business gives us the opportunity to be a part of helping so many others be successful in their lives - to reach their dreams. What a wonderful thing that is to be thankful for.
On a completely seperate note, I have been an avid student of Network Marketing since I started in the business. People in my organization have received books from me, PDF files, and lots of links. I wholeheartedly recommend the work of Dr. Joe Rubino. His books are awesome, and his CD collection 10 Weeks to Network Marketing Success is absolutely amazing. If you get a chance, please check it out. 10 Weeks to NM Success here for more
___________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
___________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
___________________________________________
Friday, November 16, 2007
The Noble Quest – Metaphor for MLM?
"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to conviction of honor and good sense."
Sir Winston Churchill
Sometimes the best way to get a point across is to tell a story. You've already heard this story. It has taken shape in every culture and every language. It has become its own genre. It is the Noble Quest.
Our hero or heroine takes on the task of seeking a specific goal – a golden fleece, holy grail, goose that lays the golden eggs, fair maiden held captive in a tower… You get the picture.
The Iliad, The Odyssey, Jack and the Beanstalk, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Othello, The Sound of Music, just about every Disney movie ever made. The heroic Noble Quest.
Our protagonist is beset by a seemingly endless array of obstacles and challenges. Ogres, dragons, intergalactic distances, demons, desert sands, wide oceans and tall mountains stand in the way.
When we pick up a book like this, or sit down to such a movie, we expect our hero or heroine to prevail. By the end of the story our quest will be completed and the people involved will have undergone profound personal change, emerging nobler and stronger for the experience.
Of course these stories are metaphorical. Our lives are quests in their own right. The things we want are achieved through effort. Hard work, sacrifice, fear – these are the things that stand between us and our goals.
Why is it that when we sit down to the movie of our own life we are willing to accept that we might not fulfill our quest? Why are we willing to fail?
Pick up your metaphoric sword and shield! Mount your metaphorical steed! Feel the wind in your face and the sun in your eyes and charge off in your quest to reach the unreachable star!
I don't care if it means you make one phone call today. You have the power to do it. And doing it gives you even more power.
______________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
______________________________________
Sir Winston Churchill
Sometimes the best way to get a point across is to tell a story. You've already heard this story. It has taken shape in every culture and every language. It has become its own genre. It is the Noble Quest.
Our hero or heroine takes on the task of seeking a specific goal – a golden fleece, holy grail, goose that lays the golden eggs, fair maiden held captive in a tower… You get the picture.
The Iliad, The Odyssey, Jack and the Beanstalk, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Othello, The Sound of Music, just about every Disney movie ever made. The heroic Noble Quest.
Our protagonist is beset by a seemingly endless array of obstacles and challenges. Ogres, dragons, intergalactic distances, demons, desert sands, wide oceans and tall mountains stand in the way.
When we pick up a book like this, or sit down to such a movie, we expect our hero or heroine to prevail. By the end of the story our quest will be completed and the people involved will have undergone profound personal change, emerging nobler and stronger for the experience.
Of course these stories are metaphorical. Our lives are quests in their own right. The things we want are achieved through effort. Hard work, sacrifice, fear – these are the things that stand between us and our goals.
Why is it that when we sit down to the movie of our own life we are willing to accept that we might not fulfill our quest? Why are we willing to fail?
Pick up your metaphoric sword and shield! Mount your metaphorical steed! Feel the wind in your face and the sun in your eyes and charge off in your quest to reach the unreachable star!
I don't care if it means you make one phone call today. You have the power to do it. And doing it gives you even more power.
______________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
______________________________________
Thursday, November 8, 2007
MLM Recruiting - Can You Hear Me Now?
I was talking to one of the folks in my downline yesterday, and he was disappointed that people didn't want to listen to his presentation. That got me thinking about how to get people to listen. And I remembered:
You can't.
As a matter of fact, it isn't even a good idea to try! If you are fortunate to have a chance to speak with a prospect there is one irrefutable rule: Shut up and listen! It's not about you, it's about THEM!
Ask questions. Not yes-or-no questions. Open, leading questions that get the person to talk about themselves and their needs and their desires and their dreams.
Bad: You don't really like what you're doing, do you?
Better: What would you change about what you're doing?
Best: If you could do anything in the world, what would that be?
Really? Tell me more about that!
The idea is to let the person talk about how your Network Market proposal fits into their hopes and dreams of the future. If they had the power and money, what sorts of things would they like to be able to do for their family? What kind of exciting hobbies and interests would the like to spend more time on? If they could go anywhere, where would they go? Who would they take?
If your prospect has any idea about what your business is all about, they have already thought about how it doesn't fit into their life. They may have let some ideas filter through about how cool it would be if only… Now let them expand on those. Encourage them to dream.
Network Marketing is a unique business in that the thing we really offer to others is an opportunity to make their dreams real. That's what got you and me into the business, not the cool products – the dreams. That is what we help others to realize. How much better could it get? You are a purveyor of dream-fulfillment! A vendor of destiny!
Okay. Maybe I got a little carried away. But maybe not!
______________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
________________________________________________________
You can't.
As a matter of fact, it isn't even a good idea to try! If you are fortunate to have a chance to speak with a prospect there is one irrefutable rule: Shut up and listen! It's not about you, it's about THEM!
Ask questions. Not yes-or-no questions. Open, leading questions that get the person to talk about themselves and their needs and their desires and their dreams.
Bad: You don't really like what you're doing, do you?
Better: What would you change about what you're doing?
Best: If you could do anything in the world, what would that be?
Really? Tell me more about that!
The idea is to let the person talk about how your Network Market proposal fits into their hopes and dreams of the future. If they had the power and money, what sorts of things would they like to be able to do for their family? What kind of exciting hobbies and interests would the like to spend more time on? If they could go anywhere, where would they go? Who would they take?
If your prospect has any idea about what your business is all about, they have already thought about how it doesn't fit into their life. They may have let some ideas filter through about how cool it would be if only… Now let them expand on those. Encourage them to dream.
Network Marketing is a unique business in that the thing we really offer to others is an opportunity to make their dreams real. That's what got you and me into the business, not the cool products – the dreams. That is what we help others to realize. How much better could it get? You are a purveyor of dream-fulfillment! A vendor of destiny!
Okay. Maybe I got a little carried away. But maybe not!
______________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
________________________________________________________
Monday, November 5, 2007
Size Matters! Is your 'WHY' big enough?
In the Network Marketing world there is a cliché' question: “Is your WHY big enough?” The idea is that if your WHY is big enough, you'll find a way through the HOW. It's a nice enough sentiment, but does it go far enough? No.
As a result of this cliché, we see a lot of Network Marketers frustrated and on their way out of the business. “My WHY was plenty big,” they're thinking. Well, here's the real problem. Their WHY was plenty big. It was just nothing like clear. A fuzzy WHY is as bad as none at all.
Why are you in this business? To make your family more secure? To buy more toys? To improve your living conditions? Sure, those are all good reasons, but how will you know when you get there?
As a certified Project Management Professional my days are full of the question, “How will we know when we're done?” If it isn't measurable, it isn't a project… It's a dream. If it isn't specific, measurable, with clear conditions of satisfaction, it isn't a goal, it's some sort of wish. If it isn't written down, it's just a fantasy.
So what to do? Get something to write on, and let's get started. Picture yourself three months from now. You've had this plan in place and all of the tasks on it are complete. What does this look like? How many new distributors have you brought into the business?
Be specific, but realistic. If you say 90, you may be realistic, but that would be foolish for me. Make your goals realistic. Challenging, but realistic.
Okay, how many distributors? What is your monthly income from your Network Marketing business? How many people in your network are you developing as leaders? What is your “rank” in your company's compensation plan? (if your company has such a thing.) What bills have you paid off? How much were they? What have you invested? What have you given back?
Every answer must be vivid and clear in your mind. You must write them down and commit to them. Your goals give you information that you need to decide on the HOW. If you say you're going to add 12 distributors in the next three months, you need to add one a week. How many people must you speak with to enroll one a week? Where will you get the leads? How many calls is that? How many specific and measurable actions must you take each day to reach those goals?
How much money are you making? What does it take to get there? How much must you do in sales and recruiting each day?
How many leaders are in your group? If you add twelve people, how many of those will be leaders worth developing? (You can't grow apples on a pear tree. Some people are never going to be leaders. Accept it and move on.) How many hours will you need to spend developing them? What are your specific and measurable actions?
See what I mean? Now you're talking about a HOW! Now we're looking at an achievable, measurable, exciting plan!
Okay. Now go do it!
_____________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
________________________________________________________
As a result of this cliché, we see a lot of Network Marketers frustrated and on their way out of the business. “My WHY was plenty big,” they're thinking. Well, here's the real problem. Their WHY was plenty big. It was just nothing like clear. A fuzzy WHY is as bad as none at all.
Why are you in this business? To make your family more secure? To buy more toys? To improve your living conditions? Sure, those are all good reasons, but how will you know when you get there?
As a certified Project Management Professional my days are full of the question, “How will we know when we're done?” If it isn't measurable, it isn't a project… It's a dream. If it isn't specific, measurable, with clear conditions of satisfaction, it isn't a goal, it's some sort of wish. If it isn't written down, it's just a fantasy.
So what to do? Get something to write on, and let's get started. Picture yourself three months from now. You've had this plan in place and all of the tasks on it are complete. What does this look like? How many new distributors have you brought into the business?
Be specific, but realistic. If you say 90, you may be realistic, but that would be foolish for me. Make your goals realistic. Challenging, but realistic.
Okay, how many distributors? What is your monthly income from your Network Marketing business? How many people in your network are you developing as leaders? What is your “rank” in your company's compensation plan? (if your company has such a thing.) What bills have you paid off? How much were they? What have you invested? What have you given back?
Every answer must be vivid and clear in your mind. You must write them down and commit to them. Your goals give you information that you need to decide on the HOW. If you say you're going to add 12 distributors in the next three months, you need to add one a week. How many people must you speak with to enroll one a week? Where will you get the leads? How many calls is that? How many specific and measurable actions must you take each day to reach those goals?
How much money are you making? What does it take to get there? How much must you do in sales and recruiting each day?
How many leaders are in your group? If you add twelve people, how many of those will be leaders worth developing? (You can't grow apples on a pear tree. Some people are never going to be leaders. Accept it and move on.) How many hours will you need to spend developing them? What are your specific and measurable actions?
See what I mean? Now you're talking about a HOW! Now we're looking at an achievable, measurable, exciting plan!
Okay. Now go do it!
_____________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
________________________________________________________
Friday, November 2, 2007
Law of Averages or Load of Bull?
I was listening to Jim Rohn today, and he made a point that hit me. I’d heard it before, but today there must have been a Velcro patch or something in my brain, and it stuck. There is a lot of potential to this idea, and I thought of a way to put it into action.
Here’s the email I sent to a heap of people. I’d love to hear what you think.
Hi. I hope this finds you well. I have a favor to ask. I’m doing an experiment (actually I have a bet with a co-worker) with what he’s calling the Law of Averages.
Here’s the deal. I started in a home-based business in June. The target is to get to the point where I can do that business full-time and be home with Lynn and the kids without sacrificing food, clothing and shelter. A noble goal and I’ll get there eventually. The business is a cool travel website and is promoted through direct sales and multi-level marketing.
Okay, I know that the second you mention Multi-level marketing people’s eyes glaze over, they think “AHHHH, Amway! Run for your life!” and head for the hills. The good part of all of this is that I’m taking an internet approach to presenting this. I don’t trap people into awkward situations and jam my presentation down their throat until they scream, or anything of the kind. I’ve found a way to do it so that everyone has a chance to just say “no” without any hard feelings or guilt.
Here’s where the Law of Averages discussion comes into play. My friend argues that you can reliably predict that there will always be 2-3 people out of 10 who will watch the presentation and decide that they want to become involved. I counter that such generalizations can only be made about a random population, and that my address book is far from a random sampling.
So I’m making this leap and sending this out to people in my address book. Okay, I have two favors to ask. If this seems way out of line, and you want to delete me from your email life, favor #1 is please forgive me and refrain from mocking. Favor #2 is this: Please pay a visit to my web site at http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com and watch the presentation there.
If Brent is correct, 2 or 3 out of ten will decide to get involved. If that’s the case, I need the other 7-8! So even if you think it’s crazy, I need the numbers to make the argument. Make sense? Not to me either, but help me out here, okay? When you have some time and can sit in front of your computer, just visit the site, and watch the presentation.
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
And thanks for taking the time to read this far.
So that was it. I am eager to see what sort of response I get, and I’ll post the results here as they come in.
______________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
________________________________________________________
Here’s the email I sent to a heap of people. I’d love to hear what you think.
Hi. I hope this finds you well. I have a favor to ask. I’m doing an experiment (actually I have a bet with a co-worker) with what he’s calling the Law of Averages.
Here’s the deal. I started in a home-based business in June. The target is to get to the point where I can do that business full-time and be home with Lynn and the kids without sacrificing food, clothing and shelter. A noble goal and I’ll get there eventually. The business is a cool travel website and is promoted through direct sales and multi-level marketing.
Okay, I know that the second you mention Multi-level marketing people’s eyes glaze over, they think “AHHHH, Amway! Run for your life!” and head for the hills. The good part of all of this is that I’m taking an internet approach to presenting this. I don’t trap people into awkward situations and jam my presentation down their throat until they scream, or anything of the kind. I’ve found a way to do it so that everyone has a chance to just say “no” without any hard feelings or guilt.
Here’s where the Law of Averages discussion comes into play. My friend argues that you can reliably predict that there will always be 2-3 people out of 10 who will watch the presentation and decide that they want to become involved. I counter that such generalizations can only be made about a random population, and that my address book is far from a random sampling.
So I’m making this leap and sending this out to people in my address book. Okay, I have two favors to ask. If this seems way out of line, and you want to delete me from your email life, favor #1 is please forgive me and refrain from mocking. Favor #2 is this: Please pay a visit to my web site at http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com and watch the presentation there.
If Brent is correct, 2 or 3 out of ten will decide to get involved. If that’s the case, I need the other 7-8! So even if you think it’s crazy, I need the numbers to make the argument. Make sense? Not to me either, but help me out here, okay? When you have some time and can sit in front of your computer, just visit the site, and watch the presentation.
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
And thanks for taking the time to read this far.
So that was it. I am eager to see what sort of response I get, and I’ll post the results here as they come in.
______________________________________________________
http://www.EarnAFreeVacation.com
______________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
________________________________________________________
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Personal Development - Key of Just Hokey?
As an avid student of Network Marketing I have had an opportunity to read and re-read a pile of books, e-books, magazines and articles on the topic. A pile large enough that my wife sincerely wonders what they could all possibly say that is so different from one another.
The truth is that they don’t often have all that much different to say – it’s just that they say it differently from one another. Have you ever had the experience of having someone explain something to you and leaving you more confused than before? And then someone else comes along and explains the same thing and it all makes sense? That’s the result I’ve gotten from all of this study.
One thing that every author, speaker, DVD guru agrees on, though, is this: there is an element of personal development that is essential to MLM success.
At first I thought that this was really corny, carnival barker-type stuff. Raise up the tent for the big revival rah-rah meeting! I completely discounted it. After reading, listening to, and watching all of these very sincere people tell me about it for so long I thought I was immune to it.
Then something happened. I was driving down the road, talking to a new recruit in my organization (Hands-free cell phone. I promise.) and I realized that I was talking the same talk!
After the call, I spent some time in real soul-searching and discovered that all of this communication with people, all of this learning about their needs, all of this encouraging their success had been somehow transformative. “Oh, NO!” I thought. “I’ve become one of THEM!”
Well, I’m happy to have made the change. This MLM thing has helped me listen better. It has helped me be more encouraging and solution-oriented. It has made me pay more attention to the needs of the OTHER person.
Not bad for a business that was only supposed to make me money.
__________________________________
http://www.earnafreevacation.com/
__________________________________
http://www.joelaberge.getnetmlmprofits.com/
__________________________________
The truth is that they don’t often have all that much different to say – it’s just that they say it differently from one another. Have you ever had the experience of having someone explain something to you and leaving you more confused than before? And then someone else comes along and explains the same thing and it all makes sense? That’s the result I’ve gotten from all of this study.
One thing that every author, speaker, DVD guru agrees on, though, is this: there is an element of personal development that is essential to MLM success.
At first I thought that this was really corny, carnival barker-type stuff. Raise up the tent for the big revival rah-rah meeting! I completely discounted it. After reading, listening to, and watching all of these very sincere people tell me about it for so long I thought I was immune to it.
Then something happened. I was driving down the road, talking to a new recruit in my organization (Hands-free cell phone. I promise.) and I realized that I was talking the same talk!
After the call, I spent some time in real soul-searching and discovered that all of this communication with people, all of this learning about their needs, all of this encouraging their success had been somehow transformative. “Oh, NO!” I thought. “I’ve become one of THEM!”
Well, I’m happy to have made the change. This MLM thing has helped me listen better. It has helped me be more encouraging and solution-oriented. It has made me pay more attention to the needs of the OTHER person.
Not bad for a business that was only supposed to make me money.
__________________________________
http://www.earnafreevacation.com/
__________________________________
http://www.joelaberge.getnetmlmprofits.com/
__________________________________
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Revolving Door
Have you ever known someone in network marketing who recruited and recruited and recruited, and then wondered why his or her recruits quit?
We have an obligation to our downlines to make sure that they are supported and trained to grow their business. Most people who leave the business do so because they've gone 60-90 days and see no way that they are ever going to make any money at this. We need to develop our people quickly, so that they can see that the opportunity is real and that they, too have a chance to make it in Network Marketing.
Just think how much faster your team will grow if you have a handful of leaders who are building THEIR teams!
__________________________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
__________________________________________________________________
We have an obligation to our downlines to make sure that they are supported and trained to grow their business. Most people who leave the business do so because they've gone 60-90 days and see no way that they are ever going to make any money at this. We need to develop our people quickly, so that they can see that the opportunity is real and that they, too have a chance to make it in Network Marketing.
Just think how much faster your team will grow if you have a handful of leaders who are building THEIR teams!
__________________________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
__________________________________________________________________
Monday, October 29, 2007
Network Marketing on the Web
One of the greatest things to happen to Network Marketing has been the arrival of web technology. Social network sites, blogs, email, IM... You name it, and it can be a tool for the Network Marketer.
But is it enough? Can you completely automate your recruiting, training, and team development? I don't think so. Even with the most complete web-based system going, this business is about people. Human beings. We have an awesome opportunity to help one another succeed, and that deserves real conversation.
I do a lot of recruiting over the phone, following up on warm leads from a website. The internet gets folks "in the door." I still need to be a sponsor they can believe in. Their success is at stake.
___________________________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.getnetmlmprofits.com/
___________________________________________________________________
But is it enough? Can you completely automate your recruiting, training, and team development? I don't think so. Even with the most complete web-based system going, this business is about people. Human beings. We have an awesome opportunity to help one another succeed, and that deserves real conversation.
I do a lot of recruiting over the phone, following up on warm leads from a website. The internet gets folks "in the door." I still need to be a sponsor they can believe in. Their success is at stake.
___________________________________________________________________
http://joelaberge.getnetmlmprofits.com/
___________________________________________________________________
Friday, October 26, 2007
When Good Sponsors Go Bad....
So, what do you do when the key people high up in your upline start having "disclosure problems?"
My solution is to maintain my integrity and make sure that all of my dealings with my downline are straightforward and honest.
Perhaps that candor makes for slower growth than the rah-rah hype that passes as enthusiasm, but it makes for a much more stable and productive downline if people have a sense that they are being dealt with honestly. Retention issues become non-issues, as people feel like theyare part of something bigger than themselves. That something is the other human beings in the organzation.
When people know that they can trust you and that you will be there when they need you, they believe that there is hope for them in this business. The may get discouraged as things go more slowly than planned, but they will persevere if they can see that they have company.
Nobody wants to feel like they've made a mistake, and with all the nay-sayers a new rep encounters, hiccups in the organization take on the color of disaster. Stay honest. Stay true to your values and beliefs. Help your people grow, and you will prosper.
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
My solution is to maintain my integrity and make sure that all of my dealings with my downline are straightforward and honest.
Perhaps that candor makes for slower growth than the rah-rah hype that passes as enthusiasm, but it makes for a much more stable and productive downline if people have a sense that they are being dealt with honestly. Retention issues become non-issues, as people feel like theyare part of something bigger than themselves. That something is the other human beings in the organzation.
When people know that they can trust you and that you will be there when they need you, they believe that there is hope for them in this business. The may get discouraged as things go more slowly than planned, but they will persevere if they can see that they have company.
Nobody wants to feel like they've made a mistake, and with all the nay-sayers a new rep encounters, hiccups in the organization take on the color of disaster. Stay honest. Stay true to your values and beliefs. Help your people grow, and you will prosper.
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Greetings, friends and fellow network marketers.
I invite you to enter into lively debate, ask difficult questions, pose hypothetical situations, and generally help one another to succeed in the big dysfunctional family that is Network Marketing.
I promise candor, sincere belief, and flat-out honesty about things that I find in the real of MLM. I will bring together resources from around the web (and elsewhere) to add value to your blogospheric experience!
To the top!
_______________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
_______________________________________
I promise candor, sincere belief, and flat-out honesty about things that I find in the real of MLM. I will bring together resources from around the web (and elsewhere) to add value to your blogospheric experience!
To the top!
_______________________________________
http://joelaberge.GetNetMLMProfits.com
_______________________________________
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