Karen Sielski

Good Kid or Bad Kid???   For the most part, good, until I learned to drive!   I grew up on the right coast, in Baltimore, Maryland, land of scrumptous seafood and the wonderful Chesapeake Bay.   I did what was expected of me as a kid and got great grades and had lots of fun helping my Dad build sailboats and race them on the bay.   We won high point for the entire season in our division several time, competing against much more expensive boats with fancy equipment and expensive sails.  I learned many important lessons about commitment and teamwork in my racing days.  As expected, I went to The Johns Hopkins University and got a masters degree in Mathematical Sciences, which meant I got a good job as a computer programmer when I finished my studies.  

The Nonconformist.  This is when life got a little bit more interesting. Instead of getting an apartment like most people, I bought a 37 ft sailboat and lived on it in Annapolis, MD.   It was fun having a portable home, except for the winters when it was very, very cold.   I even raced my boat, Tally Ho, in the Annapolis to Bermuda race one year!    While working, I went to school at night to get my MS in Computer Science from The Johns Hopkins University and worked for a telecommunications company in Washington, D.C.

The Big M.   After having some fun single years where I worked hard and played hard, I met my future husband, Hank, on a group camping trip at the Outer Banks.   I can tell you first hand that first impressions are not always correct.   I told a mutual friend that he was not my type.   We ended up going out to dinner because I figured it won't hurt to go out to dinner once and that will be it.   A month later we were inseparable and we got engaged the following year on the Outer Banks outing.  His job in the aerospace industry took us from the right coast to the left coast.   We figured we would live in CA for a few years to see the west and then move back in a few years.   That was a long time ago!    We were quickly spoiled by the beautiful weather and scenery.   It was also great for my computer career to be in Silicon Valley and I had many fun and exciting years working at computer start-ups.

Italy calls.  Our next big adventure was a planned 2 year stay in southern Italy while Hank worked on the international space station.  I worked for a great company that let me work remotely and present technical papers at conferences in Europe so we took advantage of our situation and did some travelling.   Unfortunately, the international space station was facing serious funding issues and our stay was cut short at 6 months but it was a wonderful experience.   We had also planned to start our family in Italy and got good news soon after our return.

Work Family Struggles.  The next 12 years were all about trying to balance work and children.   When our daughter was 4 we had a son, and then 2 years later another son.   Having a demanding career in high-tech and trying to raise 3 children was very tiring and took it's toll over the years.  I never felt like I had enough quality time with my kids, and was always torn between putting in the long hours that were necessary at work and having time with my kids while they were little.   Unfortunately, the demands of work usually won.  

The Big Change. Then the computer industry suffered a big downturn and I had to lay-off my entire team of engineers due to our project being outsourced overseas.   Laying off my team, which was like a second family to me, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  I took some time off and then went to work for another company.  After 2 years they decided to outsource our project.  Another team I had to lay off.  Sigh.  I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and went to work for another company.  They were also starting to build a big team offshore so I saw the writing on the wall and decided I was going to be proactive and have a plan B ready. 

Plan B.  So after going to school, getting good grades, getting advanced degrees, and climbing the corporate ladder, I had had enough.   It was time to have my own business and control my own destiny.   I didn't want to start a high-tech company, because it completely consumes your life.   I wanted and needed balance as my kids were getting older and I was missing out on their youth.   The thought of doing network marketing never even entered my mind.   Hey, I had a masters degree in computer science, there was no way I was going to do MLM!  I started using my companies product for better health, loved the results I was getting, and decided to check out a local meeting to learn more about it.   Bingo.   The light bulb went on.   I decided right there and then that this was my plan B and even though I didn't have the skills I was going to get them.

Success.   I got started and did exactly as instructed.   I wrote my list of friends and family.   I had home tastings.  I talked to anybody and everybody about my product.   Many friends joined me because they too wanted out of the computer rat race.  They had home tastings and made their lists.   Things were going great and I left my high-tech job to work less hours and have more time with my kids.  Things were going really well until people "hit the wall" with their warm market.   We just weren't getting enought people to talk to about our opportunity to keep it growing the way we needed to.   They attrition set in and we weren't even able to keep even. 

Don't Do It.  My sponsor and I looked into online strategies but our upline told us, "Don't do it, this is a relationship business.   Do what the people being successful are doing, get out there and talk to people and get them to home tastings".   So I aborted my first attempt at online.   My team continued to struggle and people really trying to make the business work were not being successful.   Meanwhile, I kept learning more and more about online methods and bought every Magnetic Sponsoring product.

The Breaking Point.   After watching my team struggle for months, I snapped and figured I had nothing to lose by focusing on online methods.  I attended seminars, teleseminars, got on email lists, studied other online gurus like Daegan Smith, Dave Sherwin, and of course Ferny and Raymond.  I have started to put into practice the wonderful strategies I have learned from these great leaders.   I'm creating a website and a blog.   I'm writing articles and hub pages.  I have a lead capture page and sales page. I have an autoresponder with email campaigns.   And guess what, the leads are starting to flow.

The Future. It is now up to me to continue to apply what I have learned, to think big, and to take massive action.   I don't expect the journey to be easy, or everyone would be doing it, and then the reward would not be as big.   I am determined to persevere and help my family and my second family, my team, achieve the lifestyle they deserve!