The video I watched this evening was ‘90 Day Blocks of Time‘.  It talks about how we, as humans can basically tolerate anything for 90 days at a time….and God, in his infinite wisdom recognized that.  The 4 seasons, 3 months of each, a pregnancy, 3 trimesters of 3 months (roughly 90 days each), etc.

When I started working out again this summer, I set a goal to be in much better shape in 12 weeks.  3 moths.  Without even knowing it, I had set my own 90 day block of time.  It just made sense at the time.

I can do this in my business also.  Set my goals in 90 day increments.  Instead of looking into the future 5 years and working my plan from there…start closer, 90 days out, and work toward those goals that will eventually lead me to the 5 year goals.  If in 90 days, I’m not where I wanted to be, it’s ok, I’ll rewrite my goals to motivate me more, and start again.

When I was done watching two of Michael Clouse’s videos, on the sidebar under ‘related videos’ was ‘The Story of Self Talk‘ by Dr. Shad Helmstetter.  I’m sure, if you’ve been in Network Marketing or Direct Sales for long, you are aware of the power of self talk/positive affirmations.  From the moment we are born, who we are is determined by what others tell us, and what we tell ourselves.  Our parents did their very best to protect us from the dangers of the world, just as we do our best to protect our children.  But this tends to lead to very self-limiting beliefs.  Beliefs that have to be undone later in life when, as adults, we realize that we are capable of so much more, if we can only change our beliefs.  But do we believe that we can?  Whew…I’m a little skeptical.   I know it works for others, but will it work for me?  I don’t know.  The only thing I do know is that I’m not getting better by thinking about it, and doubting myself.  I will only learn the truth if I commit to doing it.

So, I was going to write my positive self talk on note cards tonight, and start repeating them tomorrow…but it’s getting a little bit too late, I have crossfit in the morning.  This could be a little bit of procrastination setting in, who knows..but I’m choosing to go to bed now, and write them tomorrow.  I will have extra time this weekend to work on these things.  I’ll listen to some more of Michael Clouse, and write my affirmations.

I will most likely return later today to blog about network marketing

Gotta go mow and take the kiddos to the pool.

Enter now for your chance to win a fabulous 16oz. jar candle, and an all-natural soap alternative.  Drawings are held weekly, enter as often as you like!

This led to two great emails from the Director of my particular team (the Free to Relax team), and an up-and-coming leader also in my team. Jakie’s post is great, and if you have a moment, please read it, and come back to see what Kathy and Jordan had to say.

It takes some Time

It takes some Money

It takes some Faith

It takes some Dreams

and it takes some GOALS

It takes some TIME

Do you have time? Yep. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. People often think that they ‘don’t have enough time’ for a business from home. In between getting to work in the morning, making sure the kids are fed and off to school, soccer practice, dance rehearsal, dinner, homework, dishes, laundry, the list goes on and on. We have responsibilities. We also have extra time, time that slips by, without using it to it’s full potential. Multitasking-where it can work for you, and where it doesn’t. Do you go to work each day? How do you get there? Do you drive? How long does it take you? Can you listen to a self-development cd/tape on the way there? Chances are, you have some sort of audio system in your vehicle, and it’s much safer than being on your cell phone. There’s probably 15-45 minutes of time you just picked up. While you’re at work, during your breaks, can you call your leads/prospects? Most likely you’ll just be leaving voice mails anyway since they are probably working also. Maybe not all of your breaks, but at least one. There’s another 15 minutes of time that you’ve gained. On the way home, listen to your audios again. While at the kids games/rehearsals/practices…can you bring along an mp3 player and listen while watching? You will absorb what is being listened to, without even realizing it. Or if it’s an event that doesn’t require you to be right there watching, you can make calls to your leads/prospects. Time is what we make of it. It’s up to us to use it to it’s full potential, and make the most of it. You can never get it back.

It takes some MONEY

People are often told when they arrive at a Network Marketing company they are looking at that they don’t have to make an investment, or at the very least just a small investment to get started. Ok, that may be true, and they may get along just fine selling product, making money and working their business that way. Eventually though, they will probably see the bigger picture of Network Marketing, beyond the quick paycheck of retail sales, and to the bigger paycheck that having a team can bring. This is where money comes into play. College educations aren’t free. Last time I checked (about two minutes ago), tuition at a private 4-year college is over $23,000 per year, and a public 4-year college is $6,185 per year (source). Wow! An education in Network Marketing and self-development isn’t free, either. There are tons of very useful websites, blogs and books that offer a wealth of information. Some are free, some are not. If you are going to take being a Professional Network Marketer seriously, you’re going to have to spend some money. Develop yourself. You should be striving to know more, grow more, and be more..unless of course, you are already exactly where you want to be. In which case, you’ve arrived, and good for you! Now let’s get back to those of us who have not arrived.

The old adage still holds true-It takes money to make money. Do you have money? Probably. Most people have some sort of income. Of course, how much we have varies greatly, and the basic way to get more is to earn it. Whether you go to work for someone else that tells you when you have to be at work, what days you get off, and that you can’t go home to care for your sick child, or you go to work for yourself….that is your decision. Are you looking at a Network Marketing company, and thinking you don’t have enough money to start? That usually is not the problem. The money is there, you just need to find it.

How much do you pay for your cell phone? How much do you pay for your cable t.v.? How much do you spend eating out, or going to the movies? What if you took $20 from each of those, and put it into your business? That’s $80 of available income you could put to your business in books, audio cd’s, etc. Is it worth it to you? Is having a life you DREAM of worth it?

It takes some FAITH

It might be God, Buddah, a higher power, or anything else that you want to call it. It might just be the faith you have in the company, and people you represent. Whatever it is, you have to have FAITH. If you don’t believe in your company, it’s values, it’s structure, it’s products, you’re in the wrong company. If you don’t believe in the people around you, it’s probably not going to work for you. If you don’t believe in yourself, LEARN to do so. You won’t get very far if you have no faith in yourself. It will only be a matter of time before objections, stinkin’ thinkin’ from your family/friends/loved ones, or just a couple bad days get you down, and you quit.

Faith in yourself will get you through it when no one else believes you can do it. Faith in your company allows you to feel secure that they are doing the right thing for you and all of the other representatives they have. Faith in your products allows you to present them to people knowing that they are of quality and value. Faith in your team allows you to ask for help when you need it, and knowing that someone will be there to support you when you have a bad day…week….or even a month.

You’ve got to have a little faith.

It takes some DREAMS

Dreaming allows you to envision where you want to be. Dreaming allows your heart to believe when no one else does. Dreaming awakens emotions in you that can be harnessed to propel you forward.

Everyone has dreams. Whether they believe it will ever ‘happen to them’ or it’s ‘nothing more than a dream’ largely depends on where they are at in their personal development. Dreams really do come true….unfortunately most of us don’t wake up from a dream and have it become reality overnight. We have to work to make those dreams come true, we have to learn, and we have to have a way to make them come true. Enter GOALS.

It takes some GOALS

I never understood the importance of goals, or goal-setting.

I grew up in a typical blue-collar household. My dad worked until my youngest brother was in school, then my mom went to work also. She had her own cleaning business, so she could somewhat control her schedule, however she worked really, REALLY hard, and still does to this day, as a matter of fact. My dad went back to school while I was growing up, to get a degree to become a teacher. He graduated, but never went on to get his teaching certificate. He never lived that dream, despite having worked so hard for his education…not to mention the money he paid. I had never heard of goal-setting until I was an adult…probably half way through my 20′s.

Did your parents teach you about goals? Did your schools teach you about goals? Probably not. If you got this valuable lesson early on in your life, I think you are lucky. It seems much easier to grow up in an environment where you learn that goals serve a great purpose in our lives, than to try to figure out how to believe that as a stubborn adult.

Brian Tracy brings the importance of goals to light in his book ‘Goals’. (I know…what else would it be called, right?) He tells a story about the students in a 1979 Harvard MBA program. That year, the students were asked “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” Only 3% of had written goals and plans; 13% had goals, but had not written them down; and the rest….84% had no specific goals at all.

Ten years later, the members of that class were interviewed again. The findings were astonishing. The 13% of the class that had goals (not written down) were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84% who had no specific goals at all. Ok, so maybe not totally surprising, right? How about the 3% that had clear, written goals, and a plan to accomplish them? They were earning, on average, 10 times as much as the other 97% put together. 13% were earning twice as much as 84%, and 3% were earning 10 times as much as the 13% and 84% PUT TOGETHER!

That was a wake-up call for me. I had been told time and time again to write down my goals. But I never ‘got it’. I never understood why, I never understood how. I was told it was important, but no why. I need a WHY! Now I have it, and now I have goals. I will teach my children how to have, and achieve goals.

Where do you want to be? The 84%? The 13%? Or the 3%? I’m going to be in the 3%. My goals are written, and I am working on a clear, concise plan of action.

Leaders and top-level executives work to get where they are. It is not handed to them. They work, and they learn, and they build. They work on what they know, they learn what they don’t know, they work on learning what they don’t know, and they build on that. Work, Learn, Build, Achieve.

It takes…..

Success does not come overnight, but people often get into Network Marketing thinking that they are going to be at the top with little or no work, without spending any money, and without learning anything. It would be nice if that were true, but it’s just not. If that is what you are expecting upon joining a Network Marketing company, you probably should quit looking. You are going to be disappointed. If you are already in Network Marketing, and scratching your head wondering why you aren’t getting anywhere, it takes some time, money, faith, dreams, and goals. Do you have those?

I’m not a Network Marketing master, in fact, I’m not even a leader, but I am working. I am using my time more effectively. I am investing money into my education and self-development. I have faith-in myself, my team, and my company. I have dreams, big dreams. And I now have goals, so I can reach those dreams. I want to be able to look back at where I started, and have great memories of how I got to where I am going.

This business is about constantly educating yourself.  If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.  I want more, and am going to do more.

With that being said…here’s my first ‘real business’ post.

A little over a year ago, I quit my job to stay at home with my kids.  I had my business then, and was supposed to be working on it…and I thought I was.  But I really wasn’t.  I was doing a lot of busywork, without actually being productive.  I find myself falling into that trap often.  I want to be better, to create a real, lasting income for my family….but I procrastinate, and I spend too much time on things that aren’t really going to move me forward.

A couple months ago, my team (the Free to Relax team) decided to have a ‘promotion challenge’.  This is for those who want to move their business forward, no excuses.  Just do what it takes, everyday.  If you didn’t do it yesterday, that’s ok because today is a new day.  It’s not about where you are coming from, only where you are going that matters.

I often find myself dwelling on what I didn’t do yesterday, and allowing it to overwhelm me, which in turn, causes me to procrastinate.  It is my personality, that when I am overwhelmed I will just procrastinate.  This is a horrible, horrible cycle, and if I let it, it will consume me.  I have to let go of what I didn’t get done yesterday, and start new today.

Tracking is something that is important in network marketing.  Why?  Because it allows you to see where you truly are.  I can say that I spent 5 hours today on my business, but accomplished nothing, and cannot figure out why.  If I track it, I KNOW exactly why I didn’t get anything accomplished.  It is about being accountable and having no one and nothing else to ‘blame’.  There is a reason I’m not as successful as I could be…and it’s me.  It’s not my company, it’s not the product, it’s not my upline.  It’s me.

I understand that I need to track to see where my business is, and isn’t working for me.  Do I do it?  Nope.  Why?  Because it scares me.  It scares me to see where I’m actually ‘failing’ (in my own mind, of course).  It also overwhelms me….thus leading to procrastination.  I made a goal the week before last to listen to a team-specific training call on tracking.  I got about half way through it, and had to leave the house to attend an event at a friends house, and never turned it on again.  This disappoints me.  It makes me feel like I failed.  When, in fact, I did not.  I simply delayed my success.  Because I didn’t take the time to learn to track, does that mean I won’t ever do it?  No.  Does it mean that I might as well throw in the towel, because I’ll never be successful?  No.  It means that now I am nearly 2 weeks longer to earning the success that I want.  That’s ok.  It’s not about where I was a week ago, or even tonight, it matters where I am going.  And I am going to be successful.  I will listen to the training call tomorrow, and I will start tracking immediately.  I will be accountable for the time and actions responsible for making me successful.  I will be accountable.