So many opportunities....

Written by Dez Futak on Oct 13, 2008 1:29 am

Read More: Prospecting | Sponsoring and Recruiting

Hi all

I'm fairly new to network marketing & internet marketing. I don't mind being open about this - we're all on a learning curve in this business, whether we've been in it for five minutes or five years.

In the last few months since stumbling upon both online & offline marketing, I've come to the conclusion that there is alot of hype, and some substance.

I'm looking for the substance.

I've joined a fairly traditional UK-based mlm company that is very good, with people who are seeing success, and I've come to the following conclusions so far (I might modify/change what I think down the line, but this is where I'm at for now):

Being successful in this business depends most heavily on myself, my attitude, my efforts, and less on the company, the marketing strategies online & offline.

"Hang on!" you might cry, "What about skills development, upline support, personality types, goal-setting...?" (etc.).

Well, I agree that these are all important. The most important thing for me, however, is believing that I've got something to offer that will help others, and having the courage to get out of my comfort zone and talk to people, spend time with people. Face to face.

"Hmmm, what about blogs, Facebook, free lead-generation systems, forums...?"

Well, yes, they all have their place. But I mustn't use them as an excuse to avoid meeting people, interacting with real flesh & blood. At the end of the day, my success, as Mike Dillard, Mark Wieser and many others are so clearly saying, depends on my value to others.

That's what I love most about network marketing, or whatever we want to rebrand it as in the twenty first century: the bottom line is that it's to do with human relationships, connecting people together, offering something that you have to others.

The difficult thing - and it's oh so tricky to get right - is the monetization process...and this is the part which deserves the most careful attention.

At the end of the day, we've all got involved because we see this business model as a way towards financial independence, so that whatever dreams we have in life can be fulfilled.

We want to avoid being slaves - we want freedom. The lovely paradox is, that being others' servants in this business will get us the furthest. So we can only be free by being others' servants.

I love this idea. It's hard to do right. It's easy to get it wrong. It's worth trying and failing, and trying again. Paraphrasing what I've read recently in Jeff Olson's book The Slight Edge "Gain success by doubling your rate of failure".

What about the money then? As someone once said "You can't serve two masters. You'll love one, and hate the other." Although the dramatic use of the contrast here is in-yer-face, I think the teacher was trying to hammer home the point about money & relationships. As I say, this is sometimes very tricky to get right, as the powerful effect of financial freedom can mean a loss of sobriety - we can be easily made drunk by the apparent power and independence that for the very first time so many of us experience as a result of having more money than we know what to do with.

Some people learn to moderate it's effects - their relationships with others remain intact. Others forge ahead, sacrificing people along the way, bringing broken-ness and greater slavery to others in their pursuit of freedom.

So it's a big responsibility. I'm a the beginning of this new pathway in my life. I know it will require discipline, comittment, loss of comfort, and some pain. Anything worthwhile in life requires these things. But I also know that I need wisdom, others' advice, and a much higher set of ideals/philosophies to steer me through the potential minefields along the way. I don't want to break valuable relationships on this journey. I want to bring others alongside with me, learning from them, as well as leading them.

So I won't be running as fast as I could be, compared to if I was on my own. But I know that in taking the journey more carefully, at the end will be many others with me. And many more cheering me on who've already got to the finishing line.

That's the biggest dream I have. I hope it's yours too.

Dez.