Attitude Is Everything

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Attitude is everything in getting to the results you desire.

If you go in with a winning attitude more times than not you will get what you are after …or even better. I can’t count the number of times that having an attitude of helpfulness or gratefulness or simply kindness have created circumstances where I received a much greater benefit than I originally intended.

Being pleasantly surprised is often a wonderful byproduct of having the right mindset.

This mindset consists of being open, having flexible thinking, and knowing that if you are kind and helpful good things will come to you.

You must be willing to give. It is that willingness that is the attitude you are looking for in yourself.

The simplest thing to give is a compliment. It must be genuine.

In order to be able to give out a true thoughtful compliment that the recipient will appreciate, simply take your focus off of yourself and shine the spotlight onto the other person. If you pay attention, you will surely notice something that will make them feel good when you point it out.

Most of the time, people do not receive enough praise or acknowledgement. Everyone likes it (whether they admit it or not).

It does make the world a better place. It’s like a chain reaction. Brighten one persons day and they will most likely pass it on. Attitude is everything to everyone you meet.

It doesn’t cost anything to be nice. It can really cost more than you realize if you choose not to be. When you are nice, others will be likelier to be nice to you in return …even those that have a reputation for being unkind. They are the ones who need TLC more than most because they are usually inviting harshness to themselves.

In all that you do, just remember that attitude is everything and you can’t go wrong!

How To Be Successful In Network Marketing

How to be successful in network marketing is a very common question. The first thing to gain control over is the ability  to maintain the correct attitude (otherwise known as posture).

What is proper posture and how do you achieve it? It is all about putting on a powerful dynamic persona. It definitely isn’t fake. It’s different and unique for each and every individual. It’s something you already have within yourself and only you can bring out. You might have to dig deep to find it, though.

It’s an inside job.

I once heard a story that I think illustrates this concept pretty well. As I recall, it went something like this:

Two ladies went out shopping for the afternoon. There probably was a fantastic sale going on because the store was extremely crowded. As Norma and her friend (I forgot the other  friend’s name) shopped, they were having a great time together. It had been such a long time since they had gotten to have a day to call their own.

As the day went on, the friend was perplexed by what the other shoppers were doing. She couldn’t get over it. She asked Norma what she believed was going on. Why was everyone all around them acting so…normal? …As if they had no idea.

Then, Norma Jean asked her friend to watch as she put on the persona of…you guessed it, the one and only, Marilyn Monroe.

Suddenly, throngs of people were shocked to notice just who was among them that day. Within seconds, she was mobbed with autograph seekers and other fans.

Everyone has their own special strength inside of them they can bring out at will, with practice. The kind of presence that makes others take notice…commands their attention.

Seek it out. Find yours, and you too will know how to be successful in network marketing.

Using Empowering Language

What is the difference between using empowering language and the way that most people speak? It’s enormous! It is the difference between winning and losing. Getting to your goal or not.

One of the huge differentiating factors comes from the questions we ask. Most important is what we ask ourselves and secondly, what we ask of others.

Asking good questions is the key to success. Good or even great answers can come only from good questions. For instance, listen to the difference between the following: Why am I so broke? vs How can I make more money? Do you hear the difference in the attitude?

Question one is asked with a sad-sack attitude. Furthermore, it leads to all kinds of answers, none of which are helpful at all. Who even really wants to hear all of the deflating answers to that line of questioning?

Question two is full of hope. It leads to many answers full of possibilities that will make a great difference in the life of the asker, if implemented.

When beginning to ask yourself better questions, it can seem to be overwhelming. If you have had the habit of asking yourself unhelpful questions up until now, a really good question to begin to ask yourself is: What is the next step for me to take to move me closer to my goal?

The truth of the matter is that you don’t have to know everything in order to make progress. You only need to know what the next step is and then take it. Each new step sheds new light on what the next step should be.

Very important to understand: Some of your steps will seem to be missteps. The reality is that each step creates a new vantage point from which to assess the situation. You will be able to see new possibilities from each new spot where you stand after taking yet another step (even baby steps). You might just have to take a small detour off of your current path in order to see a much more expedient way to get where you want to go. Something you never would have seen from where you were before. These are called happy accidents. Most (probably all) profound discoveries came from experimentation.

An overview is good, but you can’t possibly see every alternative before you turn each new corner. Continuing to ask what is my next step and then taking it will get you where you want to go (or possibly somewhere better) so much faster than trying to plan every moment of trip in advance.

Speaking of trying, try is an extremely dis-empowering word. Trying is not doing. Doing is the only way to get anywhere. The word try implies a built in excuse for not achieving.

When you begin using empowering language, you must banish certain words from your vocabulary. A good list to start with is try, should and could.

Should and could are also excuse words. Either you will or you won’t. Be decisive.

Pay attention to the way that successful people speak. They are not wishy washy. They speak with authority. You can too! It just takes practice.

The more you keep asking, answering and taking action, the more you build up your decisiveness muscles. The first step toward getting where you want to go is using empowering language. It will help get you there!

Be Do Have

Be Do Have.  What does it mean?

It is the correct order of things. It is the way things truly are.

Most people have it backwards. Most people want to have…things.

This is the lottery mentality. The reason why most lottery winners end up more broke after they win big than before their “good fortune” is because of this way of thinking.

Millionaires and billionaires are rich first. They Be it in their minds. This part is critical. It is the catalyst for everything else.

The second part of the formula is to Do. In order to do what rich people do (if that is your goal) you must first Be rich in your head. If you believe you are poor then you will do what poor people do, just as believing you are rich will lead you to do what rich people do.

The third and final step in the Be Do Have process is to Have. This is the natural by-product of the prior two steps.

The way that everything comes to fruition is always the same. Believing is first…and then second you will see. If you wait to see something before you can believe, I’m sorry to say that you will never see the results that you desire.

The building isn’t built and then conceived of. That makes no sense at all. Somehow people think that they will magically begin acting the way they think they ought to once they have the things they want to have. It has never worked that way and it never will.

In order to Have, one must first Do. In order to Do, one must first Be.

Be Do Have: this is the eternal formula to use to get to where you want to be.

Broken Leg Networking

Well, here I am sitting with my broken leg elevated. Not exactly what I had in mind when thinking about how to spend my springtime. I have recently discovered while speaking with my brother-in-law, I’m not even going to be able to stand on my leg once my cast comes off…much less walk. It’s going to be quite a while before life is back to normal. Thank goodness for the Internet!

Even when you can’t really leave your house, networking is still possible in these modern times. Of course you can (and should) interact with others on the web even if you aren’t laid up.

Working your network marketing business from your computer is definitely efficient and cost effective. There is no need to be forced into it. It should be embraced. You can reach people you would never have had any other way of meeting.  How wonderful is that? There are no boundaries!

Your business can even expand to other countries using this medium. The possibilities are practically endless.

They are always coming up with new sites where you can connect with like minded people.  Each social networking site attracts all kinds of different folks with a wide variety of interests…and most have many subsets within each category. There is something for everyone.

Don’t wait to break your leg to get involved in networking with others beyond your own backyard.

What is Good Karma?

You may have asked yourself, exactly what is good karma?

Well, if we consult Wikipedia about karma, we find “Karma is not punishment or retribution but simply an extended expression or consequence of natural acts. Karma means “deed” or “act” and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction that governs all life.”

This would seem to be saying good deed doers receive good in return in their life.

I believe this can be as simple as giving a smile to another person.  Have you ever noticed when we flash our pearly whites at another person, whether we know them or not, both spirits seem to be lifted up pretty much immediately. This appears to be a universal truth.

Isn’t it great making someone else’s day brighter?…then as a natural byproduct, our own life is enhanced also. Cheering others up make us cheerier.

What is good karma? If you ask me, it’s like the boomerang effect…what you throw out comes back to you in kind.

Internet Prospecting For Success

The Internet is such a vast and varied place that you need to know what you are after in order to be effective.  Of course, it is entirely possible to find a new destination that you weren’t aware of originally.  It may be possible that changing  your direction would be the smartest thing that you could do.

Use the Internet!  Seriously, where else are you going to be able to meet more people?

Since part of the equation for success is a numbers game, wouldn’t you think it was a smart move to be able to increase those numbers?

If you had your choice of being in a room full of like minded people at a networking event or being the one on stage at a networking convention, which one would you select to get your message out?

The internet has the very real potential for you to be able to have the same effect as getting to speak in a stadium where people have gathered from all over the world!   There is one important difference though, you get to speak to each potential candidate for your business as though you were speaking directly to them, one on one.

In many ways the internet can actually seem very personal.  You get to connect with others through articles and videos and your audience has an opportunity to connect back with comments.  You can then comment back to them and a dialog is started.  Others can also enter into the conversation adding their take on it.

Everyone has their own unique way of communicating their thoughts and feelings.  No two of us are exactly alike.  The diverse opinions and perceptions of everyone weaves a beautiful tapestry of humanity that is displayed all over the internet.

It doesn’t take much looking to see that you can learn a lot about others if you just know how to put yourself in the other guys shoes.  Look at things from their perspective.

Adding value to others is the only way that you will deserve their attention.  This is where your focus must be.  Give to others.  Pay attention to what they want and need and you will be amazed at how much they will pay attention to what you have to say.

Don’t just guess what the issues are.  Let your prospects lead you in the direction where they need help.  The journey will be worth it.  Your destination will be success!

Fire Up Your Networking

I’ve always been sort of a pyromaniac. Is there anyone who doesn’t actually love a good fire?

As  a child, when my family went camping, I always looked forward to the irresistible  nightly  bonfire that my dad built.

I’ve also always been kind of a goody-goody too.  Which means that when I was a kid and I wanted to play with fire, I did it in the safest way that my child mind could think up.

So, my sister and I took a book of matches and our little beach bucket with us to the neighborhood park.    For safety’s sake, we filled our pail in the lavatory sink.

When we arrived, we were happy to see that no one was playing basketball on the asphalt court.

Even though I’m tall and was always asked if I played basketball, at the time, I wasn’t coordinated enough  to walk and chew gum at the same time.  So I had no business being near any hoops…except maybe hula hoops.

Off we proceeded to center court, with our water filled bucket, matches ready.

Since it didn’t take very much to amuse us, we were having a great time lighting one match after another (over the bucket) when we were caught.  Not by a grown up, but by the older brother of one of our friends.  He threatened to tell on us…unless we became his servants.  So what else could we do?  We agreed.

For some reason, our main duty as I recall was to stand with our arms out to our sides, keeping them up as long as we could.  I guess he thought that was funny.

Well, that brings me to this past weekend.  Since it was cold out and my husband was gone, it was up to me to get the fireplace going.

The first day, everything went perfectly.  My fire was roaring in no time.  On the second day…not so great.  I did finally get it going, but only with a lot of tending.

What was the difference?

This started me thinking about fires.

I wondered about Smokey Bear (he dropped his middle name, you know) and his cause of saving the forest from fires.

“Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”

Did that mean that only I could start a forest fire?

How exactly does one dropped match burn down a whole forest when I had a hard time get my fireplace to light with quite a few.

I had carefully placed the kindling in a tee-pee shape with crumpled newspaper underneath.  I then lit the paper in several spots, several times.  A bit of fanning and nice little fire erupted…and then died down to basically nothing.  More kindling, more paper, more fanning…ablaze again.

Of course, I hadn’t even put any real wood on there, yet.  It was too soon to pile on the big stuff.

After rearranging the log placement many times and adding to it, it seemed that I had a real fire going.  It couldn’t be neglected or it would surely go out.

It finally got to the point where it only needed tending from time to time and stoking occasionally to keep me warm.

You are probably wondering what any of this has to do with network marketing.

One thing that comes to mind is that when someone is really making things happen, we say they are on fire or that they’re all fired up.

Fires and networking businesses (or any business for that matter) actually have many similarities.

They all start out small.  They are all unique.  Some grow into a big blaze, maybe even to epic proportions…out of control.  Others fizzle and die for lack of trying or lack of understanding what it takes to build it in the proper order.

Even though some fires are started accidentally, they all begin with a combination of circumstances (intentional or not).

The electrical fire is started when there is faulty wiring that is plugged into an outlet that has power running through it.  No fire ever begins with a carelessly tossed unlit cigarette.

There is always some sort of initial cause.  Cause and effect go hand in hand even if we can’t always figure it out.

I suppose it might be possible to accidentally sponsor someone.  I guess that someone might see something about your business and ask you if they can join, but I’ve never heard of it happening.  It definitely never happened to me.  Come to think of it, I also don’t know anyone who accidentally burnt down a forest.

When you look at anything that is past it’s infancy stage, it becomes more difficult to decipher how it got to where it is.

In the case of actually doing anything well on purpose, there is usually some sort of small, imperceptible trick to it.  Something that was done at or toward the beginning that made it either possible or at least easier to do.

Learning from someone who has done the thing that you would like to do is the fastest way to speed up the learning curve.

It takes some different skills to start something up from scratch than to keep it going or grow it.  It really helps to have some tools to work with.  The fireplace broom and dustpan were excellent for removing the old ashes to start fresh and have room to grow my fire without smothering it.  The poker and the tongs were indispensable for moving hot logs around to create a hotter fire.

It takes more than one log to build a bonfire but you can get a nice one started with a bit of kindling and just a few logs.  The same is true of your business.  You must start with the fundamentals and then it only takes a few good builders to get it red hot.

The Recipe For Success (Part 2): Take Action

Part 2

The second part of the recipe for success equation was eluded to in Part 1. It is simply this:  TAKE ACTION.

As we all know, nothing ever happens until we take action. You could have the greatest ideas in you head, but who would benefit from that?

Even though it is simple, it’s not necessarily easy. Putting one foot in front of the other is easy once you know how to walk, but in the learning stages everyone falls down…a lot. If you gave up trying to figure out how to move using your own power in an upright position, you would either still be crawling or you would be a tremendous burden on others.

Some people don’t have, or have lost the capacity to walk.  That’s not what we’re talking about here.   Even so, most of them have found other means of getting around. They serve as a great example. An awesome lesson can be learned from so many of these valiant souls. They have a lot to offer and have chosen to rise to the challenge.  They are productive.  They contribute.  They don’t use excuses. They take action!

The ability to take action is in everyone.   Start small.  Celebrate each success…no matter how small. Build on your successes.

Everything counts…even the mistakes!   Maybe, especially the mistakes. They are quite frankly unavoidable when working to achieve anything.

Notice what doesn’t work but don’t dwell on it, just adjust. The only way that you can really know for sure what works and what doesn’t is through action. Trial and error. Each and every time you make an attempt, you are making progress. This gets you closer to the prize.

The process is really quite simple. Take an action. Notice the result of taking that action and then evaluate that result.

If it is a pleasing result do more of it if that is appropriate. If the result is unappealing to you, then go back and make any adjustment that seems appropriate to you and begin again. There is always something that you can do to improve your result.

It helps to know your destination. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there.

When measuring the accuracy of each attempt, there must be a yardstick to measure against. You must know your desired outcome in order to determine what new action will be required.

The formula is really the same as the one that you use to drive anywhere. When driving you are constantly making little course corrections in order to stay on the road, moving at the rate of speed desired to reach your final destination.

In fact, once you become proficient  at driving, you can do a multitude of other things with ease as you continue on your way.             .

The Recipe For Success (Part 1): Learn and Grow

Part 1

There are many factors that create the recipe for success. Being a constant student of life is certainly one of the most important.

Remember when you were in high school, well as you probably realize, some people are still there mentally. The fact that you are reading this now, confirms that you are absolutely not one of them.

When people decide to stop their self education either consciously or unconsciously, they will be suspended in time…stuck wherever they had stopped. They don’t need to stay there though, it is always possible to pick up and continue the journey at any time.

A necessary ingredient for success requires a commitment to lifelong learning. In order to grow your business…you must first grow YOURSELF.

The ability to handle all of the different issues that will inevitably come up will be determined by your willingness to learn what must be done.

This increases your ability to add value.

The better the foundation that you have laid, the faster you will be able to figure out what course of action to take. Each new piece of information is a brick to build with. You can erect an enormous fortress in your mind that can be accessed to create whatever you want.

When first embarking in a certain direction, be alert for signs as to whether you have chosen the right path. Nearly all of the time, there will be some course correction in order. On occasion, a whole new strategy will be necessary.

A steady stream of general self improvement fortified by specialized knowledge will equip you for the challenges that arise.

It’s been said that whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. It’s also been said that we are never given more to handle than we can bear.

Through continuous learning, you will grow and build confidence. This is a very attractive quality.

People are always looking for someone who can show them the way to where they would like to go. The only way that anyone is able to lead another somewhere is to get out in front and be at least one or two steps ahead of the follower.

We can all be leaders and we should all be followers at different times for different things.

Everyone knows something that can help someone else. This means that your learning should not be restricted to books, you should keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to learn from others.

You never know who or what will give you that crucial bit of information that propels you to the next level. Be open to help anywhere that it comes from.

Adding a twist to something that is from a source that is unrelated to what you are doing could be the answer to whatever is blocking your progression at the moment.

You can also be encouraged when things don’t seem to be working out because what may appear to be a step (or even a few steps) backward, may be just what is necessary to put yourself into a position to steamroll forward. It’s smarter to move to a different vantage point so that you can be prepared to catapult yourself ahead instead of continuing to wear yourself out banging into the roadblock trying to force your way through.

In order to succeed, you must keep your inner child-like curiosity, but loose the childish attitude that holds you back.

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