Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Building a Financial Wall - Part III

Part I 

Part II

 

Training fleas - Why you may be having a hard time of it.

If one takes the time to learn about them, fleas are amazing creatures.  They have the ability to jump 200 times the length of their own bodies!  This would be equal to a six-foot tall man jumping 900 feet.

Years ago, circus sideshow's used to have a "trained flea" act.  The interesting part was how the flea trainers trained the fleas.  They would keep the fleas in a big glass jar with a lid on it.  Now this jar was only 10 or 12 inches tall and the fleas could easily jump out if there were no lid.  But strangely enough, after a period of time, being kept in the jar with a lid, trying to jump out and continuously banging their heads on the lid, the fleas gave up.  Now, although they could easily have done so they did not even attempt to jump out even with the lid removed.  They had learned a "life lesson" that trying to jump out of the jar was just a big headache.

The analogy here is that life treats us much the same way.  If one does not take the risk of "banging oneself on the head", one won't get injured.  Stated another way, if one does not take the risk of freeing oneself from one's present situation, one will not feel pain.  Let's face it.... We humans like to avoid pain at any cost.  That includes emotional pain like rejection and failure.  It also includes financial pain like losing money.  And so we train ourselves to stay in emotional and financial bondage (the jar) and never allow ourselves to experience the rewards we could gain by jumping out of that jar.

With focus, dedication, belief, commitment and a willingness to follow a proven path you can achieve your goals in life however you have defined them.


The philosophy is simple--- if you have the desire to succeed, then you will succeed.  Don't over think this concept.  It doesn't mean the road ahead won't have a few potholes or dangerous curves along the way.  What it does mean is that if you are clear and firm in your commitment to your own success, with no if's, ands or buts, you can succeed.

The first thing you must do with this or any business for that matter, is to DECIDE to do it, no matter what you have to do or what you have to learn.
If you don't make this decision first, you will constantly be doubting or questioning yourself.  You will also not attack every problem with a "solve it" mentality.

To quote Yoda from Star Wars - "Do or do not.  There is no try."

 Make a single decision to do it, and a single decision to learn whatever you must to get effective at doing it.

Borrowing from Anthony Robbins, a fantastic motivational speaker:

The past does not equal the future - A past experience of failure can be a strong de-motivator for some people.  They can use the excuse that they tried something once before and failed at it so they never have to try again.

There you go, being that trained flea again!

Decisions shape destiny - You really must decide to do something.  Once you do, half the battle is won a you are on your road to your destiny.

Emotion creates Actions - An unwavering strong desire creates emotion.  Emotion creates attention.  Where you put your attention, you will get action.
Many years ago I was taught the mechanism called "Wish-Want-Need-Got"
  • Wishes are part of fairy tales.  Life is not a fairy tale.  Wishing for something won't make it happen.
  • Wanting something is a little stronger emotion but it still will not likely accomplish your desires.  As my father used to say "People in hell want ice water."  They are not likely to get it.
  • Need - Need is a very powerful Motivator.  You need food, you need a place to live, you need gas for your car, clothes for the kids etc. etc.  Oddly enough, we tend to put in the action necessary to actually get the things we need.  If we need it, we somehow get it.  Turn your wishes into wants then turn your wants into needs and you will do the things necessary to get them. 
It's a fairly simple concept and mechanism but it works.  Effectively, it's a mental exercise that can pay off with huge benefits.
The 6 "needs" that drive us:
  1. Certainty - We need to know the rules of the game that we are playing.
  2. Uncertainty - Variety - Surprises - As they say "if winning were easy it wouldn't be a race."  Overcoming an unexpected obstacle makes winning that much sweeter.
  3. Significance - the need to feel important-special.  If you feel that what you're doing is pretty trivial, it will be all that much easier to quit.
  4. Connection - Connect with your clients/customers on an emotional level.  Engage, be real.
  5. Growth - Like anything else in nature, if you are not growing you're dying.
  6. Contribute beyond yourself.  This is a big one!  If your entire focus is all on you, people will soon recognize that and become rather uncooperative, making your struggle that much more difficult.  If on the other hand you focus on what you can do for them they will be much more open to your ideas.

So how does one focus?  

  1. Get a clear and compelling vision of what you want. Maybe you just need an extra $500 a month to make ends meet.  Maybe your need is to build that financial wall around you and your family and actually be free to live your life as you choose.
  2. Get a map - I'm not talking about if physical map.  By map I mean a proven path to follow, laid down by somebody who is already followed the path successfully. You may want to call it a business plan.
  3. Get a Mentor - This is extremely important.  A Mentor is someone that has been successful in the field that is willing and able to take the time to train you.  If you talk to any successful person, you will likely find that they had a Mentor to guide them, at least when they first started.

 Using MLM or "Network Marketing" To achieve financial success. Building that Financial Wall.

Multilevel marketing or network marketing as it is sometimes called has a proven track record.  It is simply one of the most effective means of moving products to consumers that has ever been devised.  Yes, there have been instances where this business plan has been perverted and used by less than ethical people to scam others out of their money.  This in itself does not invalidate this method of doing business.  As in any other business, there are Jerks out there that can ruin anything.  Have you ever met a crooked businessman?  Does that mean every businessman is crooked?  Does that mean that every business plan is flawed?  I think the answer is no.

This business plan has been around a long long time.  It has been proven to be legal in the Federal court system.  30 years ago, a large multilevel company was sued by the federal government.  The Government tried to assert that multilevel marketing was a "pyramid" scheme and was therefore illegal. The Federal government lost.  After a 3 Year Court battle, the company proved that multilevel marketing was a legal business. Today, this company is still around and is one of the biggest multilevel marketing companies in the world.

The critical point that the entire case turned upon was whether actual products were sold to consumers.  As long as products were moving along the supply chain and made it into the hands of consumers, it was considered a legal business.  

There have been countless businesses over the years that attempted to pervert this network marketing or multilevel marketing concept to their own ends.  Their main focus was on recruiting.  Once someone was recruited into the business (which usually included a large cash outlay), they were trained to attempt to recruit others and only lip service was paid to the fact that there was a product to be sold, if there even were any.  

This is a classic "pyramid scheme" where the people on the top made a boatload of money off the fresh meat that came in on the bottom.  One's only hope for success was to recruit, recruit, recruit and get off the bottom level yourself in the hopes that you could partake in some of the juicy profits that were happening at the top. Just to be clear, these schemes are highly illegal today.

To be totally clear here I must disclose that I have an agenda as it were.  I am involved personally in multilevel marketing with one of the oldest and strongest companies in the world.  Back in the early 80s, I gave Amway a shot.  After three years of effort and a lot of personal growth, I ended up quitting.  

Important to note here, the business didn't fail, I QUIT!  I just couldn't seem to make it happen and I was killing myself trying.  The problem was, at that time, there was no really effective way that I could find to move these very good products into the hands of consumers in enough volume to make a go of it.

So now, 30 years later, the means to reach out to potential consumers has been placed in our hands.  It's called the Internet!  Now I am no longer dependent on where I live, how many friends I have or how many family members I can badger into buying products from me.  Through the use of the Internet, I now have a viable, online business that I run from my home that can effectively reach anyone in the world.  The company I'm working with (not Amway) has been around for over 30 years and has annual sales in excess of $4 billion.  They operate in 84 countries and over the years have produced thousands of millionaires from their pool of distributors.  I intend to be one!  Will you join me?  My mentor and I would be more than happy to teach you how to do this and hold your hand while you take your first steps and for as long as you need it. 

I'm having a blast.  You to deserve to "Fire your Boss" and join me in a business that can produce a long-term, 6 figure residual income that you only have to earn once and it's yours forever.  It even becomes part of your estate and can be willed to your heirs.  Now that's a financial wall!

If you are truly serious, not just curious, would like to make an extra $500 to $2000 a month part time or a 6 figure residual income working full time in your own online business go here:  Your Future
If you are just curious, you're welcome to take a look but contact me when you are serious about your financial future and actually wish to do something about it.
Dana