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[Lynda Cromar Company: Empower Network, LLC Contribution Level: 9]

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Great question Lynda...

Generally speaking, its very easy to fall into an attitude that sees this season of business as a negative.
Thats the funny thing about us humans... we tend to default to drama, negativity, etc. by nature.

So the fix is to proactively reprogram, brain wash [wash our brain] and train ourselves to default to the other side of the spectrum to begin viewing things in a different frame of reference; more positively, more optimistic, more grounded, as our default.

As it pertains to this specific conversation, there are seasons in business just as in nature.
There is a time to sow, a time to grow, a time to harvest and a time to rest.

Slumps are a great time to pause for a moment and reflect.
Some things to allocate some attention to and questions to ask would be...

Do we know why business is slow?
Are we on schedule with our annual promotion schedule?
Did we miss the timing in our sowing season?

Is it time to rest, step back and calculate where we are exactly?
* That's a big one. Its very easy to lose sight when we're in the heat of it.
Sometimes a good slump is God's (the universe, nature) way of sending us a signal that it's time to take a breather and regroup; get ready for the next wave.

Speaking of waves...
Here's another perfectly natural example:
When I lived in Santa Barbara I was an avid surfer.
We would check the surf report, prep our board with the right wax for the conditions, get out early, and hit the water. Some days we'd find waves, some days we wouldn't. And some days we'd find waves, but nothing huge. Days we found waves we would just exhaust ourselves. Set after set paddling through the whitewater, carving wave after wave. We'd sit out in the water between sets scanning the horizon for swells... all of sudden we'd see something and pop down to paddle and get positioned. It was awesome.

But after awhile we'd get pretty tired and duck diving under the big waves, or smashing through the white water and fighting the undertow current would make us start to be sloppy and weak. It was time for a break.

The same goes for business...
You can only push and push and push for so long before you begin a decline in effectiveness, excitement and drive in what you're doing. Could be it's time for a break.

"Slumps" are also a great time to cozy up with your existing customer base.
This another area the majority of inexperienced entrepreneurs overlook unless they have a foundation in traditional business of some sort.

In fact tapping into your existing customer base for referrals, promotions, building rapport etc., is something I would recommend everyone focus 100% more attention to than they are doing now.

You can easily drum up new business by doing this and it's a great opportunity on solidifying a sense of community - if that's a focus for you.

Finally, don't forget to rest.
Know the season of your business.
Know where you are in that season and identify the appropriate work for that season.

When you have a "seasonal calendar" like that it will help you identify when its ok to rest; to give yourself permission and enjoy it without feeling pressured or guilty and feeling like you have to get back to work.


That's my insight on the topic, Hope it helps.
~Richard
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This is beautiful Richard thank you!

[Monique Jaramillo Contribution Level: 1]

Hi Lynda,

This is such a great post, because it happens to the best of us.

When I start to lose my momentum or things ultimately fall "flat", i try extremely hard to
look at it as an opportunity. An opportunity to sit and reflect to what is truly going on around me.

I often lose my momentum because I am getting bored and I am becoming too comfortable in my position.
This has its downfalls because others can notice it, and see the lack of the "it" factor you once had.

When this happens, I know that I need to take a weekend, to think and to brainstorm, and
to research a different approach, a different angle, and maybe new resources. Changing
whats going on around me has always worked.

But its important to take time to get to the root of what is exactly causing that lack.
Yes it does happen, we don't want it to happen too often, right!?

[Mario Sanders Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 6]

Basically, when things fall flat in the virtual world, I have to stop and get out of the house and find out why and listen to people tell me how they are living. You can't sell anything until you can understand what motivate people to do what they are doing.
By getting out into the real world, I learned that every big person is not fat. There are people who may just have a thyroid disorder. But we on the outside see these types of people as being fat by years of overeating. All the advertisements are about weight loss and dieting unstead of addressing the problem of why people are big.
Listening to people you can learn a lot without trying to sell a product to an unsusceptible prospect before you get to know them.
We visit the virtual world but we live in the real world. A lot of people do not have access to that kind of connection. We have to find other ways of communicating with people. One of the better ways is by simply listening more!

[Jireh Manzano Contribution Level: 2]

I think we need to change our attitude about momentum. Our output should not depend on momentum, we should be able to control our own momentum and dictate our output.

[Lynda Cromar Company: Empower Network, LLC Contribution Level: 9]

Hi Lynda,

This is such a great post, because it happens to the best of us.

When I start to lose my momentum or things ultimately fall "flat", i try extremely hard to
look at it as an opportunity. An opportunity to sit and reflect to what is truly going on around me.

I often lose my momentum because I am getting bored and I am becoming too comfortable in my position.
This has its downfalls because others can notice it, and see the lack of the "it" factor you once had.

When this happens, I know that I need to take a weekend, to think and to brainstorm, and
to research a different approach, a different angle, and maybe new resources. Changing
whats going on around me has always worked.

But its important to take time to get to the root of what is exactly causing that lack.
Yes it does happen, we don't want it to happen too often, right!?

I hope everyone reads this Monique has discovered the secret to fixing the problem. There is usually a cause and if you can get to the cause you change change it.

[Michelle Melson Mock Contribution Level: 2]

Sometimes for no apparent reason we can see a spell of lack of momentum or activity.
<snip>

Hi, Lynda!

When I look back at the times I've had a personal spell of lack of momentum or activity, it is usually a time when I have allowed myself to be surrounded by too much negativity. And a personal spell of lack of momentum or activity will start to show in my business if I don't nip it in the bud.

What I've done to overcome this is to step back and identify those things that aren't positive. If I've allowed myself to hang around people who tend to be on the negative side (not just about network marketing, but life in general) I disengage from them...or at least limit my time around them if disengaging isn't possible.

If I've slacked on personal development, I kick it up a notch and listen to positive personal development audios...ALL THE TIME. (Well, not while I'm in the shower!) My kids don't even bother asking to watch a movie on the DVD player in the car because I'll be listening to something good. I know it is rubbing off on them. I catch them listening and commenting to the speaker on the audio.

And if there is an event scheduled that I can get to, that always helps move things along since I'm surrounding myself with positive people.

Take care,
Michelle

[Lynda Cromar Company: Empower Network, LLC Contribution Level: 9]

Sometimes for no apparent reason we can see a spell of lack of momentum or activity.
<snip>

Hi, Lynda!

When I look back at the times I've had a personal spell of lack of momentum or activity, it is usually a time when I have allowed myself to be surrounded by too much negativity. And a personal spell of lack of momentum or activity will start to show in my business if I don't nip it in the bud.

What I've done to overcome this is to step back and identify those things that aren't positive. If I've allowed myself to hang around people who tend to be on the negative side (not just about network marketing, but life in general) I disengage from them...or at least limit my time around them if disengaging isn't possible.

If I've slacked on personal development, I kick it up a notch and listen to positive personal development audios...ALL THE TIME. (Well, not while I'm in the shower!) My kids don't even bother asking to watch a movie on the DVD player in the car because I'll be listening to something good. I know it is rubbing off on them. I catch them listening and commenting to the speaker on the audio.

And if there is an event scheduled that I can get to, that always helps move things along since I'm surrounding myself with positive people.

Take care,
Michelle

I have to highlight Michelle today because not only did you give an excellent answer her but she went on to share a video about it you can see it here: http://www.betternetworker.com/videos/v ... ets-burned

[Mario Sanders Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 6]

These are all good things to work on as when things fall flat.
When things falls flat for me, like I said before is to try something new. A new approach refreshes everything that I have been working on and keeps me focused.
When things fall flat, as if they ever picked up, I found doing surveys keeps my mind focused and doing something different.
Surveys brings in quick money and it is interesting to enter the quarterly sweepstakes. There are no customers, no training, no special tools or techniques to manipilate or any product to promote. The surveys can fund some projects especially when things fall flat and you have not quit your goals. This could be another way around it.

[Lynda Cromar Company: Empower Network, LLC Contribution Level: 9]

These are all good things to work on as when things fall flat.
When things falls flat for me, like I said before is to try something new. A new approach refreshes everything that I have been working on and keeps me focused.
When things fall flat, as if they ever picked up, I found doing surveys keeps my mind focused and doing something different.
Surveys brings in quick money and it is interesting to enter the quarterly sweepstakes. There are no customers, no training, no special tools or techniques to manipilate or any product to promote. The surveys can fund some projects especially when things fall flat and you have not quit your goals. This could be another way around it.

That is interesting Mario. So the thing to get here, is generating some quick cash-flow.

[Lynda Cromar Company: Empower Network, LLC Contribution Level: 9]

I think we need to change our attitude about momentum. Our output should not depend on momentum, we should be able to control our own momentum and dictate our output.

Would you like to clarify what you mean? My definition is momentum is when the action I take creates some flow both of money and of new people to talk to, do you mean something other than that?