I year ago, close to this same time of year - I was waiting in the airport to head back home from the Breeders Cup in Louisville Kentucky. I began reading about the story of Zenyatta’s most anticipated race to date which I had just witnessed the day before.
The day of the big race, there were posters and t-shirts and hats and pins with the Zenyatta name sparkling across them. Little girls wore her signature pink and white attire and carried stuffed horses under there arms. The racetrack was a buzz about her.
The 5 Million Dollar Breeders Cup Classic Race race would have taken her down into history as the first American horse to win 20 races in a row.
Undefeated. The perfect way to retire. Zenyatta has been incredible for the racing world! An inspiration to so many in such a time of uncertainty. A story of hope, faith, belief and of Girl Power!
In the final moments as we held our breath at the finish line- she had missed it by a nose! One more stride and she would have won it. The crowd stood in silence for what seemed like forever. It was like one of those feel good movies, but it didn’t end in the predictable way.
As the winner, Blame, took it’s victory walk back to the winners circle - but nobody cheered. The jockey for Blame, Garrett Gomez appealed for support for Blame - but nothing. How bad would you feel? A history making opportunity stolen, by a horse named Blame. How appropriate.
What would you do? Would you retire at this point? I know I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want to finish on a loss. If Zenyatta would have won she would have retired and gone down as one of the greats, however I believe that because she lost we, will see her again, and again.
Mark my words, she will do way more than we ever believed for years to come. She will continue to inspire as she has and will remain a favorite in the hearts and minds of millions of fans around the world.
What can you learn from this story? I believe these things happen for a reason. If you can have the attitude of gratitude and accept the things you can’t control, but learn from them - there is always a silver lining.
I have hovered at the same level in my business for over a year now. I will make one step forward and slip two steps back. I will bring on some new excited team members who are jazzed and reaching their goals, but one or two of my veterans will get busy with life or get discouraged and decide not to work the business.
Everyone has a right to how they feel. They also are the CEO ‘s of their own business and make their own decisions if they will work their business or not. I cannot control how they feel or make them do something they don’t want to do. That is one of the reasons I love this kind of business. I am my own boss.
I don’t need to do this business. I could easily decide to spend my time with non-profits and/or volunteering at my kids school. I could go for lunches with girlfriends, shop for pleasure and really work on my golf game, maybe get my handi-cap down to a 15.
All very respectable. However, I’m personally not ready for that yet. I truly believe, I haven’t hit my goal because I have more people to help get to their goals first.
It’s more fulfilling for me to reach a goal when I can bring people with me. That is why I love this industry. It’s a perfect fit for me. I wake up in the morning excited about life and what I do.
Once I reach my goal, I won’t stop there. I have already thought about the new doors that will be opened when I finally reach it. It will be as sweet, in fact probably sweeter, because I worked hard for it and I got to meet some awesome new people whom I may have not met otherwise.
I know that I need to stay in the game for my own sanity - to keep sharp, excited, motivated and interesting!
Finally, I want to be an inspiration to my kids. I’m a mom first but I am also building a business that they will inherit one day. Something I can leave that is from me. More importantly, a business that they will want to be a part of with me.
Commitment, loyalty and a burning desire to reach a goal. These are the things that keep my feet to the fire. What is keeping your feet to the fire?
Sandi
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Recipe
How do you build a successful business in the Direct Sales/ Network Marketing Industry?
Start with:
The Basic ingredients, Make your plan, Work your plan, mix in some patience and a little luck and you have a winning recipe for success. Two of my favorite quotes - “The harder I work, it seems the luckier I get” and another - “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity!”
And the icing - Don’t quit too early!
Most people who fail here are those who think they have worked hard enough and should have reached their goals by now.
Truth is, most don’t really pay thier dues or build up their credibility long enough to get respect to get the Lucky part - which is essentially the Reward!
Sandi
Start with:
The Basic ingredients, Make your plan, Work your plan, mix in some patience and a little luck and you have a winning recipe for success. Two of my favorite quotes - “The harder I work, it seems the luckier I get” and another - “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity!”
And the icing - Don’t quit too early!
Most people who fail here are those who think they have worked hard enough and should have reached their goals by now.
Truth is, most don’t really pay thier dues or build up their credibility long enough to get respect to get the Lucky part - which is essentially the Reward!
Sandi
Tools for Success
If you aren’t texting yet - you should be. No, It is not impersonal. It is efficient, a huge time saver. I am able to do this business well in my part time because of things like email, internet, the cell phone. However, with so much technology at our fingertips that is supposed to make us so much more effecient - it also has made us less productive on the other hand.
Why? We spend hours using this technology tinckering and wasting our time away! Facebook for instance, how are you using it? Personally, I don’t want to know your every move in your day. Seriously, I don’t need to know how much you enjoyed your triple espresso icecream cone just now. If you are sharing this kind of stuff - you have too much time on your hands. ;-/
Back to texting — My advice is get on it! Parents complain that their kids won’t pick up the phone but if you text them they will text you back immmediately. Why is that? They have no time to waste. They like to get to the point and respond with quick, one liner questions and answers. I am in more contact with my kids this way than I have ever been. Sometimes a simple lLUVM can carry your through your day.
Same goes for business. I can be on the stationary bike and be texting with 3 or 4 people at a time. I can get a lot of things off my to do list in that 30 minutes. Maybe you think that I should not be doing work during exersize. To me, Keeping fit is like brushing your teeth every day — a neccessity, not something you want to do — but must do. I would rather look fabulous laying on the couch eating chocolates all day — that does not work!
I catch up on news and reading and I save a lot of talk time with texting. So will you. Its effecient and you should encourage your team to get on with it too. :-)
NOTE: DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE! EVER, NEVER!
Sandi
Why? We spend hours using this technology tinckering and wasting our time away! Facebook for instance, how are you using it? Personally, I don’t want to know your every move in your day. Seriously, I don’t need to know how much you enjoyed your triple espresso icecream cone just now. If you are sharing this kind of stuff - you have too much time on your hands. ;-/
Back to texting — My advice is get on it! Parents complain that their kids won’t pick up the phone but if you text them they will text you back immmediately. Why is that? They have no time to waste. They like to get to the point and respond with quick, one liner questions and answers. I am in more contact with my kids this way than I have ever been. Sometimes a simple lLUVM can carry your through your day.
Same goes for business. I can be on the stationary bike and be texting with 3 or 4 people at a time. I can get a lot of things off my to do list in that 30 minutes. Maybe you think that I should not be doing work during exersize. To me, Keeping fit is like brushing your teeth every day — a neccessity, not something you want to do — but must do. I would rather look fabulous laying on the couch eating chocolates all day — that does not work!
I catch up on news and reading and I save a lot of talk time with texting. So will you. Its effecient and you should encourage your team to get on with it too. :-)
NOTE: DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE! EVER, NEVER!
Sandi
Monday, October 17, 2011
The Time Factor
I am a wife, a mother, a step mother, a daughter, a sister, a sister in law, a Friend, an ex-wife, a Volunteer, a Prayer Warrior and a business partner. These are just a few of the things I am. If you really think about it, we are all variances of these things. So how do we think we could ever balance it all and reach our business goals at the same time?
The one big question that you need to ask yourself is “Why am I doing this business?” The second question is “What am I willing to give up? I am not talking about giving up who you are, I’m talking about the peripheral things around all the things that you are. Does that make sense? The following may help you to see what I am saying…
.
The television would be a peripheral thing. How much time could you free up if you managed your time in front of it? You have heard of TiVo - right?
How about your social life — A few less lunches or coffee hours with the girls, or one less class at the health club? Sports, whether you attend them or do them, what could you sacrifice there even for a time?
Has volunteering become your excuse for not getting to your business? On the other hand, an association with something like golf or tennis can lend tremendously to your business because of the relationships you can build. Volunteering does have its place, we should give back and lend a hand. Everyone appreciates a giver so in turn it can build credibility and lifelong friendships. It all depends on how you manage it.
My husband is someone who amazes me. He runs a multitude of businesses, he sits on various boards, he invests in new ventures, he donates his time to worthy causes, he is an avid golfer, he travels endlessly and he is the family Patriarch. How does he balance it all?
He “delegates” and he relentlessly manages his time. He trusts people to do the job they are assigned to do. If they don’t do their job, they are done. Easy as that! He has a reputation as be tough minded, but he is really just able to cut to the chase real fast so save everyone time and money.
He is in traditional business, however the same principles apply in our industry.
He says it comes down to the character of a person. You can go through a list of disappointments but eventually you get good at finding the right people. If they have the right stuff and you let them know you believe in them, they will work hard to achieve their goals and won’t let you down - let alone themselves.
We all can learn from this and apply the principle to our own business. In my next entry I will share how to prepare yourself and those around you to accept your commitment to your goals.
Trust me, when you start to focus on your business, it will affect those around you. I will then show you how to calendar successfully so to create the balance you are going to need to succeed.
Sandi
The one big question that you need to ask yourself is “Why am I doing this business?” The second question is “What am I willing to give up? I am not talking about giving up who you are, I’m talking about the peripheral things around all the things that you are. Does that make sense? The following may help you to see what I am saying…
.
The television would be a peripheral thing. How much time could you free up if you managed your time in front of it? You have heard of TiVo - right?
How about your social life — A few less lunches or coffee hours with the girls, or one less class at the health club? Sports, whether you attend them or do them, what could you sacrifice there even for a time?
Has volunteering become your excuse for not getting to your business? On the other hand, an association with something like golf or tennis can lend tremendously to your business because of the relationships you can build. Volunteering does have its place, we should give back and lend a hand. Everyone appreciates a giver so in turn it can build credibility and lifelong friendships. It all depends on how you manage it.
My husband is someone who amazes me. He runs a multitude of businesses, he sits on various boards, he invests in new ventures, he donates his time to worthy causes, he is an avid golfer, he travels endlessly and he is the family Patriarch. How does he balance it all?
He “delegates” and he relentlessly manages his time. He trusts people to do the job they are assigned to do. If they don’t do their job, they are done. Easy as that! He has a reputation as be tough minded, but he is really just able to cut to the chase real fast so save everyone time and money.
He is in traditional business, however the same principles apply in our industry.
He says it comes down to the character of a person. You can go through a list of disappointments but eventually you get good at finding the right people. If they have the right stuff and you let them know you believe in them, they will work hard to achieve their goals and won’t let you down - let alone themselves.
We all can learn from this and apply the principle to our own business. In my next entry I will share how to prepare yourself and those around you to accept your commitment to your goals.
Trust me, when you start to focus on your business, it will affect those around you. I will then show you how to calendar successfully so to create the balance you are going to need to succeed.
Sandi
Reach down and Reach out!
Is it Monday already?
Wow, this is the problem with a building a business in Network Marketing! You are your own boss and you are accountable to mainly yourself. You can get so busy with life and busy work that you don’t do the things you need to build a successful business. Time has flown by since I first blogged on Saturday, but it has been adventurous to say the least. Being the weekend, we rested from our labors, and accepted an invite to overnight with friends on their 56 foot boat. Instead we we spent Saturday evening stuck on a sand bar in the middle of the intercostal. Our friend was so embarrased! What started out as a casual evening cooking steaks and camping out on a small island (on the boat) turned out way different. Thankfully the boat was way to big to get us in a life threatening situation. We were all patient though and ended up cooking steaks and having a good laugh about our evening back at our friends beach house way later that night. What I learned from this was the patient part. We sat out there with no power for over three hours until we were released from that sand bar. Sometimes we set out with the perfect plan and things go arwy, like they do in our business. I see it all the time. We set our goals and if things don’t go as planned — we bail. Usually too soon. We couldnt bail or we would have drowned. There was no use complaining, blaming the boat, the sand bar or our friends. That would have been wasted energy. Instead wisdom taught us that with a little help from a tow boat and nature, the tide would rise and we would move forward again.
We all will go through times where we feel stuck in life and in our businesses. If you are in the right vehicle and you are committed to it (we trusted the boat wouldn’t capsize), you need to be patient and do the things that need to be done to get un stuck.
What do I do when I get stuck? I go find some new people that will give me the outside energy needed to get me moving forward again. Today is October 17th and my outside energy is my team memeers who are motivated to reach their goals this month and beyond. Reach down and Reach out, and do the things required to move forward and you will “eat steak”!
Sandi
Wow, this is the problem with a building a business in Network Marketing! You are your own boss and you are accountable to mainly yourself. You can get so busy with life and busy work that you don’t do the things you need to build a successful business. Time has flown by since I first blogged on Saturday, but it has been adventurous to say the least. Being the weekend, we rested from our labors, and accepted an invite to overnight with friends on their 56 foot boat. Instead we we spent Saturday evening stuck on a sand bar in the middle of the intercostal. Our friend was so embarrased! What started out as a casual evening cooking steaks and camping out on a small island (on the boat) turned out way different. Thankfully the boat was way to big to get us in a life threatening situation. We were all patient though and ended up cooking steaks and having a good laugh about our evening back at our friends beach house way later that night. What I learned from this was the patient part. We sat out there with no power for over three hours until we were released from that sand bar. Sometimes we set out with the perfect plan and things go arwy, like they do in our business. I see it all the time. We set our goals and if things don’t go as planned — we bail. Usually too soon. We couldnt bail or we would have drowned. There was no use complaining, blaming the boat, the sand bar or our friends. That would have been wasted energy. Instead wisdom taught us that with a little help from a tow boat and nature, the tide would rise and we would move forward again.
We all will go through times where we feel stuck in life and in our businesses. If you are in the right vehicle and you are committed to it (we trusted the boat wouldn’t capsize), you need to be patient and do the things that need to be done to get un stuck.
What do I do when I get stuck? I go find some new people that will give me the outside energy needed to get me moving forward again. Today is October 17th and my outside energy is my team memeers who are motivated to reach their goals this month and beyond. Reach down and Reach out, and do the things required to move forward and you will “eat steak”!
Sandi
Blogging my Way through Network Marketing
Welcome! I am starting what I hope will be an inspiring and informative blog for the Brand New or the Experienced Networker! I have been in the Network Marketing/Direct Sales Industry for 20 years now and as I look back on my career, its hard to beleive Ive been at it for that long- or that I can even call it a career! I have had amazing success in the long haul, but my first experiences in the industry turned out to be a big failure. Luckily rather than giving up (I almost did) I decided to label it as my Harvard Education in Network Marketing and I was able to move on with the right tools to evaluate the industry and find the right vehicle to put my time into. Over the coming days, weeks, months and maybe even years to come — I hope to share insights into the real life of someone who does what we do for a living (a real good one!) I promise to share openly and honestly what it takes to build a business of your own so you can experience the income, time-freedom, flexiblity and sense of accomlishment that I have come to realize.
I promise to be as consistant as possible with a goal to blog as much as I feel like it. I have set up all the tools to help make that possible such as twitter, and facebook. As you will learn along the way, I have a very balanced life. So with that I, encourage you to have an awesome weekend. I don’t work weekends as a rule - so Im off to the beach with my family. Enjoy
I promise to be as consistant as possible with a goal to blog as much as I feel like it. I have set up all the tools to help make that possible such as twitter, and facebook. As you will learn along the way, I have a very balanced life. So with that I, encourage you to have an awesome weekend. I don’t work weekends as a rule - so Im off to the beach with my family. Enjoy
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