A new start for artful art works and artful decor tapestries!

I have to get some income working from home and I have been wanting my art making career back. Lately just have had the yerning to work on my art and crafts more than anything. Here is a little update on my situation as it is now...

I am pretty much home bound.. that is I take care of my mom full time. She cannot be left alone so I can only get out for a few hours a week when I have someone here to take care of her. This limits my money making ablilty outside of the home, and even then I am interrupted in order to care for her so many home jobs that require my undivided attention for a certain amount of time would not be available to me as well.

I have been getting my websites streamlined and hopefully in better shape.  www.ArtfulDecorTapestries.com for instance is now only for custom tapestries and holds links to other sites where my fine artwork is available for view.  If you have any suggestions on making it more user friendly I would be interested. I want to make it a place my customers enjoy going to.
http://artfulcashenterpri.wixsite.com/designeruth  is a new site that I am just getting started to refernce my one of a kind crafts and fine art. I will be developing it more as I go along. It is full of contact info for the other sites where you can view art work and links to the tapestry website.  https://www.facebook.com/designeruth/?ref=bookmarks is my facebook page for the artwork. I will post new work there as well and welcome some feedback to what I am doing.

I value my customers and really would like to hear what you all have to say. Please do share this announcement and let me know what you would like to see, what may make it more enjoyable for you to view my work.

I still have the websites for the Young Living Oils religously so if you have any questions about them please don't hesitate to ask. I also am still involved with the vstream tv streaming boxes.... they are the best money saving way to see really great content on tv with no subscription charges.

I thank you for your patronage!

Sorry I Haven't Written Lately....

Although I still truly believe in the network marketing concept, I admit I have lost some of my enthusiasm for
marketing in general. I take care of my aged mother and as she needs more and more care, I have less and less time, and probably even more, energy for business. I am sure I am not the only one finding themselves feeling burnt out, and looking for a way to energize again.

For the longest time I just did the
motions and not very well. The company I believed in merged with another company that I didn't identify with. I lost touch with many of the motivating people that I was listening to, and felt too tired to put forth the effort to keep in touch with those that were there for me before. Eventually I did find a company that had products that I liked and replaced the products that were important to me and did me the most good. I have been doing my best to be as healthy as I can in what I eat and what I use, and I found Young  Living Essential Oils. 
This company gave me a new platform to work from, products that I believe
in and find most helpful on a personal basis.  For Essential Oils they are the Cadillac in thier field.  But still there was something missing,



I thought I just need the right product to promote.  I found a great way to reduce or eliminate your cable and/or TV bill. I bought a box called Vstream and was able to find all the programming I needed without satellites or cable, just needed a high speed Internet to hook it to and my TV!  I was able to reduce a bill and diversify the things I could market online and elsewhere, saving money in the process.  I get to help other people save money! But still not enough.

I was lacking an enthusiasm for life in general.  I wasn't having much fun. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that taking care of my mom hasn't been a great journey and I much appreciate the closeness and friendship we have cultivated during this time.  I wouldn't change it if I could. Making someone you love comfortable and as happy as they can be, providing for them is a great feeling and very satisfying.  But in the process I was starting to lose a little of me.

Then I was surfing and found something that intrigued me. I found handmade books!  I have had a fascination with bookmaking but never really tried it. This time I did try some of the tutorials and found it fun and something that I could do sitting with my mom.  The part that was missing in my life was making and creating art!  I had done things that were close but not really went back to the roots. With the bookmaking interest I began to draw again.  I began to look at art and experiment with materials that I could do sitting with my mom. I stopped being so bored!

 

So much fun!

My point here is that as great as it is to do something for someone else, you still have to do something for you. You still have to have something, an interest or hobby or work that you can so just for the joy of the PROCESS, not for the OUTCOME.  Not just for the money.  Everyone would tell me that I had to take care of me too, but there never seemed to be room. With the re-awakening of my interest in being an artist, I now felt I was doing something for me!

More Fun!

So rule number one, find something important and stimulating that you would do even if no one paid you for it, and the money will follow.  I have a new source of revenue that I do no matter if someone likes it or pays for it, it is just for me and makes me feel good about me. Self image is so important, and you can tell yourself you like yourself but you also have to feel it and doing what you love gives you that feeling.

If you found yourself in this position and worked you way out. let me know what you did to revitalize you.  It may help someone else to find themselves!

              

Network Marketing - Change is the key!

It is normal to be uncomfortable with change. Most of us like our comfort zone, and we get nervous when we have to leave it. But unless we do something different, leave our comfort zone, nothing different will happen. We want things to change, more money, lose weight, better job, better relationship, but we don't make any changes to make it happen. Change is scary for most, and sometimes we just don't know what change, to adjust... but doing the same thing is not going to get the result you want.

     I found that baby steps, "the slight edge" is the best way to go      when you are wanting to make a change but not sure of                yourself. If you go for completely rearranging your life, you      are more likely to not be able to keep it up. Small changes made and kept for 30 days will form a new habit and from that new habit you will find other things to change, one at a time, and 6 months later you will be surprised at how much you have changed, and how many changes you have kept!

That is not to say that if you make the change and 30 days later you see that it was not what you wanted, after all you can adjust, the theme here is change, review the change, and adjust if necessary, and do it over and over again until you get what you want.

Is it slow? Not at all... because the changes you make are more permanent and lasting. So the changes stick. Don't spend a month trying to decide to change... change one thing and evaluate the results, ten adjust, and repeat the process.  If you spend too long thinking about it,
nothing will change.

Network Marketing - There are plenty of prospects out there for us all!

I recently had a comment from a friend on my facebook page asking me to not post comments about my company on her page, since she is a friend my posts will appear on her page automatically.  I am still a bit of a novice at Facebook but this was a little surprising.  She was obviously feeling a bit threatened that her contacts would come to me and she would lose them.

When I first started doing MLM I also felt this way.  I felt like I had to guard my prospects from being "stolen" from some other entity. Luckily I have grown to understand that no one can "steal" my prospects, if they go to someone else they weren't mine to begin with!  This is actually a salesman mentality.  And network marketing isn't a sales business, it is a relationship business. So my contacts that have come to have a relationship with me will choose me all else being equal because we have cultivated the friendship and collaborated together to find what works best for them.

The big guys, the real great mentors in this business all give their information and help for free. I know because I have met several of them and they truly do want to give what they can to the people they are helping because they know it will come back to them in spades.  From a philosophy standpoint, I have always believed you get what you give, basically if you give of yourself, you will prosper and there will be friends there for you when you need it, because you have been a friend to someone else.

So as you work on your business, remember that we are cultivating friends and colleagues, not "marks".  I remember being told by one of my sponsors from a company a long time ago that when I talk to someone to think of them as dollar bills because that is what they are worth to you.... wow, what a way to treat someone!  No wonder I couldn't do anything with that company!  The golden rule is the way to grow both yourself and your business, so just think how would you like to be treated if you were in the other persons shoes, and you will find like minded people to join you and you will prosper!

Network Marketing - Things I Wish My Sponsor Had Told Me... BEFORE I Spent the Money!

Most of us who have been doing Network Marketing for very long have had some similar experiences, most  were not positive. Unfortuneately, some will quit with the idea that the business model doesn't work. But it is kind of like if you went to play baseball, and gave you a bat and said to step up to the plate and hit the ball... with no instruction or practice or ever having seen anyone do it, you have very little chance of hitting the home run!  To hit a home run in Network Marketing, it doe's take some skill and some training, but unlike baseball, anyone can step up to the plate with the right training and hit that home run consistantly.

You do need some basics. As in baseball, you need the correct bat. That is a stick off a tree, will not allow you to hit the ball well enough to get it out of the park! You need a regulation bat, and the pitcher needs to use the correct baseball, if they are throwing you a basketball instead... how far do you think it will go!

So when we look at a company the first thing I now know I have to see is not the flashy fun website or

signup page, or the rah rah meeting where they show you all the people that are making 6 figure incomes in just a few months, but my contract. If I am going to interview for a job, I want to know what I have to do and what I can't do if I decide to work for them to make my money. I don't want to know if I am 'good' and come in everyday, I may be able to make $1000 dollars a day, I want to know my base rate and  what the commissions are and what I have to do to earn them. I want to hit that home run but I want to know it is possible and just what the pitfalls are, if any. I WANT TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION, NOT A EMOTIONAL ONE!

So the next time you are looking at a company, look at the POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, AND THE PAYPLAN.  There should be a pdf, word document or a webpage that spells it out in black and white without the videos and hype. If the contact can't provide it, it should be a red flag! Chances are the contact is  a honest person, but uninformed and they just don't know. Make them find out, you may make a friend that you can help get into the company that you do find that provides the correct bats and uses the regulation baseball, and provides a path that is not filled with pot holes so you can run all those bases when you hit your home run, and you will both win the game!

If you need some help evaluating the companies you are interested in, you can contact Mentoring for Free,

They will help you at no cost to you. All training is generic and no companies or products are mentioned in any of thier training calls. If you are new to the game, or if you just never have looked these documents, you may want to get another paid of eyes to make sure you understand, they should NOT be 30 pages of lawyer talk, it should be in plain english. Don't agree to somethng you don't understand. Give it the same attention you would if you were interviewing a company that wants you. You are worth the extra effort to make sure you have a company that is there for it's distributors, not the other way around!

Network Marketing - Keep it positive!

When you post comments on your face book page or you blog, one cardinal rule is to not use personal information or situations, UNLESS it is a positive experience. It does your image no good to complain about the last time your business obligations made you miss something you wanted to do or got in the way of a family happening. We all make sacrifices for our business but making the point with the negative is not a good choice. If you want to convey the idea that we do have to make time and sometimes sacrifice something now for the advantages and rewards of a successful business, you need to keep it on the positive side.


Judy Narum, from Diamond Dream Builders has this to say about posting personal information... "Never EVER post on your network marketing blog or face book forum about personal issues unless they relate to your business in a positive manner. For example, posting that you were able to attend your daughters baseball game today because of the flexibility of your job is fine. Posting that your wife/husband is leaving you because you're a penniless hack is NOT. Watch what you say on line, it's there forever."


For example, your son or daughter had a baseball game or played in a concert and you missed it because you had a meeting that took you away at that time... instead of saying how disappointed your kids were that you missed something because you are taking your business seriously, you could say how proud you are of the kids for supporting you in your new business, and how they are learning valuable lessons as you gain both monetary and personal growth while building your business. You want to show a positive attitude and really share the best of what you are learning as you grow your business.

We all have our doubts and there is a place to discuss them but not when you are talking to potential customers or partners. Hopefully you have a mastermind group that you can discuss any problems you are having and get advice from those that have been there. If you are looking for a forum, check out Mentoring for Free. They have free training calls and a great forum on Saturdays nites where you can get questions answered without being pitched. 

It is good for people to know some personal information about you, it helps them to identify with you.  Network marketing is a relationship business, and while you don't have to paint an unrealistic picture, you do want to show how you are growing and changing, and profiting personally as well as financially from your involvement in this great business model.

Network Marketing - Are We Still a Land of Opportunity?

I just happened to hear a blurb on tv that a couple of our politicians were questioning the ability of people that have less than ideal situations growing up to rise above their beginnings and make a life for themselves. Our country has been called the 'land of opportunity' ever since I can remember. It was more important what you did with what you had than where you started from. The journey was the thing and the prize was getting there and starting your next great journey!

It would be a sad place to be if you were destined to be what you started with. I was not impoverished or terribly mistreated as a child but I still struggle with a lot of things internally. I have an internal 'life should be fair' monitor and even though I know that a lot of time it doesn't look that way I believe it usually is. We make choices every day that determine our outcome later in life, most are small things but they all add up to what we have and where we are now.  I always loved seeing the stories where someone gets to do a 'do-over' and see if they can make a better outcome if they just did or said something different. We can' t do that in real life but if we just paused for a second to consider what we are about to do or say, it could make the biggest difference down the road.

I believe this IS the land of opportunity, we have the ability to make great changes in small ways.  One kind word to someone that is not being considerate could make his or her change their attitude just enough to not say the next cross word to someone that is at the end of their rope, and instead of a fight they can do the same to calm someone else, and the chain reaction would continue to be positive, not negative.  Just one kind word can really make a difference to someone ready to take a desperate act. If the right words would have reached that horribly disturbed boy that killed all those kids at Sandy Hook, would they still be here?  I don't know but isn't it worth the effort to choose being kind over being right? We know what happens when you leave someone alone that is unhappy, never is the outcome good. Isn't it worth the chance to make the effort to let then know as soon as you notice them that they have options other than striking with in thier pain  before they reach that horrible end?

I know it is idealist thinking. So I am an idealist. I think that anyone can change their life for the good, and network marketing is the one place where anyone can make it with a little effort and the right support system to aid them. I used Mentoring for Free, because of the personal developement attached but you can use whatever resource you find to help you. But you need help and support to make it. A good idea can either die without ever getting off the ground, or can be improved on and be brought to the world to make a great change, maybe all someone needs is a little encouragement to believe they can do it! Just one kind word can turn a decision to do good or bad.

As a network marketer you have a tool that can really change lives, but you do it by making relationships. Your 'prospect' most likely needs to believe he or she can do it! Most of us are greatly lacking the belief in ourselves more than anything, so that once the excitement wears down and we are met with obstacles we have the belief in ourselves to continue. Many people stop just short of the gold, if we just would have gone one to dig a few more feet, we would have found what we were looking for. If we don't every quit we will get there.

So help someone to believe in themselves and you will have a star. They will go on and you will both prosper. Remember Zig Zigler's famous quote, 'If you help other get what they want, you will get what you want'. It is true, the way to pay your bills or get that trip you want to win is to help someone else to do the same, your problems will disappear along with the people you help.The land of opportunity is here, and it lives in you and me, in our willingness to help and support each other.

Network Marketing - Success or Failure, whose fault is it?

I get many different kinds of ideas and pictures on my face book page as many people do, and once in a while I find a really good idea, not new one mind you but something said in such a way that it sparks a recognition, and seems to be sent to me as reminder to help me in what ever I am working on at the time.  The sender has no idea they are sending me a much needed nudge, but I do believe that we all get what we need when we need it, we just sometimes don't pay enough attention to notice it.  

This time I noticed and this is what I saw.

I have been feeling a bit inadequate lately. I am taking care of my aged mother, working a close to full time job, working on a vitamin and nutrition business, and working my crafts and artwork when I can. Yet all I do, never seems to be enough for everyone and I have been feeling 'not good enough' at my many hats.  It has been pointed out to me by many people that I am doing the best I can, and trying to be everything to everybody is plain impossible. I know it in my head but my heart has not been agreeing! The 'shoulds' have been taking over!

When I read this it was perfectly clear to me that I was thinking only of me, not of other people... even though I FELT I was somewhat of a saint and must the able to provide for everyone and if they didn't get what they needed or didn't succeed at whatever I was helping them with, I was inadequate... WRONG!  I am human.. and as this saying says, what other people do even with your help is what they want to do. You are not responsible for anyone else's success. You are responsible for being the best you can be, and that is enough. It is enough for God, so it is enough for you. NO ONE WILL FAIL BECAUSE OF YOUR EFFORTS, NOR WILL THEY SUCCEED. They will do what they do because of themselves.

Wow, does that take the load off or what!  I know, easy to say, not so easy to feel, especially if you are coming from a negative feeling, guilt maybe or fear...?

I will relate this to business, all of us have had that person we sponsor that we have such hopes for and want to help so bad, we try to do it all for them, and then blame ourselves when they do nothing and quit, sometimes blaming us in the process. But some people are still learning, not everyone is ready to succeed. We have to be ready for success, and I believe  that as we grow personally, we will grow financially as well. They weren't ready, or they would have done it in spite of anything we do, because no one succeeds because of us or fails because of us, it is because of themselves. So if you find yourself looking at yourself in the critical light, think about this quote. You are a perfect creation of God, and you are on a never ending and exciting journey, and you will get there as long as you keep working at it. Just be responsible for your success and the people you are helping will be responsible for theirs.  I believe in you, and ME!

network marketing - Policies and procedurs... why is it important?

As a Network Marketer building a buisness, I have several ads out in some of the social networks looking for people that are interested in educating themselves about the great industry we are working in. Periodiacally I get calls from someone trying to recruit me into thier business. They almost always tell me how successful they are and that they can train me to be successful too.  Sometimes I listen but always tell them up front that I am not a prospect. some don't believe me and still try, mostly the 'red' personalities.  

Just a few days ago I got one of these calls, and it struck me that even though this person was one of the successful ones, he admitted he didn't understand why Mentoring for Free would train people for free. He continued to tell me that if I sign up with him I would get the benefit of his training and experience. It all sounded very exciting and site he took me to looked nice, but when I asked him for the the policies and procedures he said he was surprised that I asked and admitted he hadn't read them himself!

To his credit he did direct me to a link, and I read them.  This is his contract, this document tells him what he can and can't do to build his business, and in that 30 min of time that we talked, I saw that he had violated the policies and procedures at least twice.  He did a quick overview of the binary pay plan, something I know will not pay me for all the volume my organization generates, so I don't get paid for all of my work, and left out the fact that I can never retire, because his CONTRACT says he must have so many customers and so many new people sponsored EVERY MONTH to earn a check.  This I found out just by reading something he should have known before he even talked to me.

I write this because I have heard from several people that did just what this person is doing, they built a big organization, made a nice income, only to have the company come back to them AFTER they are getting a decent size check and take it away because they violated the policies and procedures, and they did it because they DIDN'T READ THEM! 

So please, know what you are getting into.  READ your contract, you would want to know what is expected of you if you were applying for a job, know what the company rules are before you build it. Save yourself failure and frustration by being educated, know what to look for and what to avoid so you stay successful!

Listen to this training call, no one will recruit you, but it will educate you on knowing what is legal and what is not. I invite you to be my guest... call me or email me Sat. 2/2/2013 before 10:30 est 

and I will get you on the call. 

ECUCATE YOURSELF... the truth will set you free!  LITERALLY!

Network Marketing - Low Cost, No Cost Prospecting Ideas

Everywhere you go, you see ads for someone wanting to help you get leads... for a price, and then you don't know what you are going to get.  Thing is, you can generate your own leads/ prospects better and cheaper than any company ever could. After all, you know what kind of person you want to work with and what you have to offer, and remember, people join people, not companies.

That's right, rule number one, people you meet may be asking how to make money on line, but the final decision is based on the prospect thinking "can I do this and can you show me how".  If they like and believe you can help them, they will be the best prospect for you, and that only happens if you start a relationship with them, something that doesn't happen with an ad or website.

You are creating a warm market, you are making friends. One way to make them is to ask for advice, that's right, ask what they think about something, preferably about your business.  Everyone likes to talk and most like to talk about what they know, so getting an opinion is a great icebreaker.

Idea 1:  How about making up several difference business cards, each one featuring a benefit you offer. Ask your possible prospect what do you like better and show him maybe 3 different cards. He is sure to tell you what he thinks and while he is looking at them just might ask for more information. Now you have a prospect and he came to you... zero rejection!

Idea 2:  How about making up a quiz, everyone likes to test their knowledge and if you do one for network marketing, you will attract people that already have an interest or they probably wouldn't take the quiz. When you make up answers do multple choice so they can choose and make some of the answers fun, like Who makes the best network marketers.... A. houswives,  B. businessmen,   C. comedians   When you give them the answer you can explain why that is the best answer, but don't give it to them right away.  If you are posting it online, give them their score as a percentage of right answers with some fun  facts or something that will make them smile. Everyone is more open when they are smiling, it is much easier to get someone to listen to you in this frame of mind. Then ask for contact info with the answers, they will most likely wnat to talk to you anyway and give it to you. This can work at a fair or convention, you can even have a contest for product for the highest grade!

There are many more, if you have something you would like to add, please comment below and let us see what you are doing. There are as many ways to find people and get them to open up and talk as there are people, so don't  think of yourself as a salesman, think of yourself as a good will ambassador. You will have much more fun, meet some super people and have much more success.

Network Marketing - How to get followers... and friends!

I have been guilty of alot of things lately, and one of them has been wondering where all the leads went. Why is no one clicking thru to get my info?  I have myself planted out there, I am branded, I have sent out good feelings and have visited my social networks once in a while.. so where is everybody?

Well, I have to blame myself. People come to see what you have to say, and if you stop having anything new they move on. I put out my name on the social networks, made up ads that run continually, and would visit with much irregularity the sites and blogs I have set up including this one, but would not have anything to say.  I was looking for some inspiration, something that would bring people around to what I thought was obvious, that is I can help them to be successful in network marketing!  I know what to do... but don't do it with regularity. I listened to all the positive thinking tapes and would do some of the exercises I was told to do but didn't follow thru with consistancy on anything I did. 

I had a good reason... life and family got in the way.  I was still telling myself that people would find me anyway and I could step it up anytime I wanted. But when you stop, you don't start from where you left off, you start from the beginning. I have found it is ok to stop or slow down... sometimes you have to, just don't let it stop you from getting up again and moving on. As long as you don't quit, you will succeed.

Because the good news is, no matter what you have done in the beginning, or the last year, month or week... you can start again and be even more successful the next time around.  Listen to this video now....  http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

If you stop and give up, you will fail. But isn't it a great country we live in where we can always begin again?  No matter where you stopped, years ago, months ago or even days ago, you can get back up and go again. As he says in the video, it matters how you finish.  You can finish strong no matter how you began or how long it's been since you fell down, as long as you keep getting up!

I am getting up again.  I have been on a weight loss journey which I am going to finish and I still have a passion for network marketing. It is still the best way for anyone to build a business with little to no experience or capital and it is by far the best way to self improvement as you work, no job I ever had included a course in self developement like I have received from my network marketing company.  I have the knowledge to build it and I now have to commit to doing the things I need to grow the business. 

So stay tuned... and learn how to build a life, not just a business. Build it so it lasts and you don't have to do it again!  Build relationships first, and business will follow. We are here to help each other. Alone any task is difficult to complete, but together we can do anything we set our minds to!  Check back or contact me and we will get up and get going... together!  Let's finish strong!

Thanksgiving.... a day for giving thanks.  But this shouldn't be something we do only one day a year, being grateful, giving thanks should be something we do all the time.  Positive

Network Marketing - Auto Suggestion

One of the best ways to boost your business and grow yourself is to use auto suggestion. I had tried this many times with limited success, but only recently  had an insight that made me understand why.

Auto suggestion is a term 
bandied about by a lot of people, and has had a lot of articles and books written about it. What I had always read about it or maybe interpreted was that it was something you listened to over and over again so your brain would hear it more than the negative and take it for truth. I listened to all kinds of tapes and spent time repeating what I wanted over and over, trouble was I didn't believe it nor did I put any emotion into it except maybe doubt. What I didn't know was without faith, without emotion and a belief in what I was saying it wasn't going to be effective.

Think for just a minute about what faith is...  it is BELIEVING something without proof, so it is a CHOICE to believe something. We operate so much on remote control, that we don't even consider that we can CHOOSE OUR BELIEFS, thereby creating FAITH!  

So auto suggestion is most effective when accompanied by the emotion that can be fueled by FAITH that what you are saying is TRUE and WILL HAPPEN if you just keep saying it and thinking it and CHOOSE to believe it to be true. 

The idea that I could CHOOSE what to believe and what to let in to my mind was something that I never heard before listening to Michael and the mental cleanse.  I find that I am using this idea not just with my business but with me, what to believe and hold true about ME.  My opinion of myself and what I can do is totally up to me, it is my CHOICE! I believe I can get what I want, it may take me a month or a year, I may make changes in my plans and falter at times, but I will never give up and as long it is my truth, nothing anyone tells me can change my plans and my belief unless I let it.

So my auto suggestion or my self talk has the emotion of my faith in other people and myself, and it not just a wish or a dream, it is TRUTH. A great byproduct of this idea is that other people's opinions and criticisms of what I believe no longer causes me to feel so uncomfortable, I can look at what they say and consider it and DECIDE to agree or not, and not feel threatened by it.  My truth is mine and totally up to me... a great comfort and relief, and a great KNOWING that gives me confidence that I didn't have before. I can make changes but they are mine, I am not at the mercy of all the hype. I use my auto suggestion to fuel my DESIRE OF CHOICE, and I will succeed.

Network Marketing - What is Network Marketing?

Bet you have heard "I don't want to do 'network marketing', that is an illegal pyramid! Or I can't sell stuff, or I don't know anyone that makes money at that! There are so many incorrect ideas about this industry that it can be difficult for the person new to the industry. But when it comes down to it, WE ALL DO NETWORK MARKETING, SOME OF US JUST DON'T GET PAID FOR IT!

 So, just what is Network Marketing?!

Network marketing is just promoting and recommending products and services that you like to other people.  We have been doing this since about age 5, when we told a friend what kind of candy to get our parents to buy or what tv show to see. Network marketing is just doing something right one time, and getting paid for it over and over again. J K Rowling, wrote her Harry Potter series of books once, did it right and now gets paid for it when other people promote the books and movies. If you told anyone about the last movie you saw and told them to see it too, you were promoting the movie for the actors, directors and writers that made it. Did you get a check in the mail for you help?  Of course not, BUT YOU WERE DOING NETWORK MARKETING, YOU JUST WEREN'T GETTING PAID FOR IT!  If you explain it to people properly, they will see and understand the concept and can't help wanting to get involved!

Pyramid you say... how about this picture.  The large corporation has the owner at the top. the ceo and his secretary under him, department managers under him, more department heads under each to those, more employees under them and so on.  Familiar shape isn't it?

Use stories to tell people what you want them to understand, with a story they will put themselves as the star character and see your point without you 'selling' them on it. Remember no one wants to be sold. You are building a relationship and you are teaching a marketing system to those that are unfamiliar with it.

Start with questions about them. The theme should be "How can I help you?", not how much can you spend so I can make money. Remember the old quote, help other people get what they want, and you will have everything you want!

I love this business, it is the only level playing field no matter what kind of education you have, what kind of background you come from, or what you have been doing for a living. A company CEO has the same chance that a grocery store clerk has or a construction worker, or a kid just out of college! We can all be successful and build an income with this business model no matter what our background or education, or financial situation.

Network Marketing - What you need before all else to be truely successful!

Organized Planning is necessary to get anything done but for people like me, it can be a scary thought!  I probably am not the only one that feels like being organized is one of those genes that I didn't get at birth.  My desk is most of the time buried in papers and art projects and other stuff that is equally important to me, and gets kind of cleaned off when I get irritated because I no longer have any space to write something down. I plan but most of the time the plans fall short of completion because I run out of time to finish all the things I planned to do. I have felt scattered and frustrated at times, less now than before finding mentoring for free and following the mental cleanse.  But my progress always seems to me to be slow and at times non existant and I take the failures personally.

Finding your mastermind group and making a plan, and acting on the plan using a burning desire to reach a goal is all important in getting what you want. I have a great mastermind group. paramount in helping me to carry out my plans, and always there when I reach out to them. All the emphasis in my mind was on being able to organize a plan of action and carry it out. Finding more time to devote to finding prospects and customers, working on the quantity and sometimes the quantity so I would find success as fast as I could, and being irritated with myself for not doing all the things I know are important...enough. Very important, but all that planning and executing your plan is pretty worthless if you don't have another just as important thing going for you.

Think about the statement “QUALITY AND QUANTITY of service is not sufficient to maintain a permanent market for your services. The conduct or SPIRIT in which you deliver service is a strong determining factor in connection with both the price you receive and the duration of employment.”  ( From Napoleon Hill's book  'Think and Grow Rich". )

In other words if you don't conduct business, even though you deliver quantity and quality in your business, with the right spirit, your business won't last. You will crash and burn because you weren't ready for success.  

So I take solice when I am frustrated with myself for not moving along at the rate I would like, in the fact that I am still so to speak growing up and success will come when I am ready for it, and in the meantime I just have to enjoy the journey and learn as much as I can along the way, so I am ready for success WHEN IT COMES.  I keep going no matter what, failures along the way are eminent and that is where persistence comes in.  We just have to keep improving our quality and quantity of service to others, work toward success in the spirit of being of service to our prospects and customers, and success will come. So don't be so quick to give up when you feel you aren't doing as well as you think you should, take it as a challenge and a chance stretch a little.  The journey is the fun part... and the best is yet to come! This is not always easy for me, but I a
m certain the outcome will eventually be success.

The spirit of service has always been easy for me, maybe for you as well...  when your self image is low you are quick to help others at your own expense to compensate.  This isn't the spirit that you need either. The spirit is to help others when you can, but to include yourself in the equation so that you have the strength and balance, and enthusiasm to be of service without your happiness being dependant on the outcome.  

  I may not have the organization part down yet, but I am working on it and understand that as long as I am in service to others to help them independent of that service making me feel like someone, because I am someone in the first place, I will make
 progress and succeed. Then the service to others is truly selfless and in the true spirit of giving.

network marketing - We all have a mastermind group, just didn't choose them consciously... But we NEED TO!

We all have a mastermind group, several I think. We just don't always choose it consciously.  A mastermind group is people that you hang out with, people that share a common goal, have similar wants and desires, and participate in the same activities.  Their thoughts and attitudes combine with yours and form a power to get whatever the group seems to be going after. A football team works together to form a winning team, they work together on a common goal. They work together in harmony to win a game, and band together even off the field many times as friends, participating in the same activities. They form a mastermind group just as a company of people do that are working for any common goal. 


Take a look at your circle of friends growing up, if you hung out with kids that got in trouble, you probably did too. Growing up I was crazy about horses and art and generally not interested in the dances and the popular crowd, when the prom came around we had our own party and celebrated without the crowds. My friends were the animal lovers, the ones that were more prone to go camping than to dances. We had similar interests and participated in the same kind of activities. They were my mastermind group, they gave me power to pursue my interests in art just by supporting me and giving me positive reinforcement when I needed it. They gave me energy.  


When it came to money we had the same idea in art school, nobody thought we could ever get rich. Worse when I went to art school, most of us shared the same starving artist mentality. I don't think any of us ever got rich and famous, now I think because we didn't think we could. After all there are wealthy artist, wealth can come in any profession, and not necessarily to the most talented one, I went to school with many very talented people, and none of them that I know of have gotten past a middle class income, even though they truly were creative people.  Money only came to those that sold out and didn't stay true to their art, they went commercial, we stayed pure. What egos!


I participated in an outward bound climbing class for 14 days when I was in my late 20's, we climbed mountains and camped out in the Rocky Mountains. I was generally the last one to get anywhere because of my weight and not so great physical shape. But I persevered and caught up to them at the end of each hike. The last thing we did was a seven mile run (in my case a walk). I was so tired and sore, I just kept putting one foot in front of another, setting my sites on the next five minutes or the next tree to get thru it. Even the person that waited 3 hours to leave and make sure no one was lost passed me up... but when I was almost there, I spied my group, my mastermind group there ahead of me. They came out to meet me as I hobbled into view. They came to walk/run with me the last mile. All of a sudden I had energy I didn't know was there and I actually trotted the last mile with them, something I couldn't do by myself. I was really touched and empowered by them. That is the power of a mastermind group.


I think one of the greatest thing a mastermind group can do is give you energy, fuel that burning desire for success. When everyone is working towards that common goal, working as a team to get where they want to be, the universe responds just like it did when we were telling ourselves we would be starving artists for the rest of our lives, and gives us what we want. The mastermind group fills that physic river with positive energy if we can just align ourselves with it and gives us power that we can't get alone. We need each other to get the energy, the power we need to be really successful. We need to consciously choose this group, not just take whoever comes along. We need to get the best 'batteries' we can to help power our dreams.


You need to consciously and with purpose pick your mastermind group. Pick people that you look up to, that will inspire you.


I found is mentoring for free and they tell me I can own my life, I can make lots of money if I just believe I can and I can fulfill my dreams. I never thought I liked money, I have the same negative ideas given to me by my past mastermind groups from the past that I just fell into. I now consciously choose who I am hanging out with and most importantly listening to, and when I hear well meaning friends and family both past and present, sometimes just in my head, tell me I am not supposed to have money and my dreams are just wishes that I will never see fullfilled,  I know to tell them and me they are wrong, I own my life and will get what I am after.  


The power of prayer is a great example. It has been prooven that when many minds gather to pray for the same thing, it creates a real powerful force. When we get together and all start to work to a common goal, we form one powerful mind, with more energy than one can ever produce by themselves. It's true you can't get what you want alone, we need each other, we need our mastermind group to succeed.


So think about it, think about what you really want, what your goals are. You need to pick a group of people that will uplift you. Leave the negative people behind, as hard as it may be, they just drag you down and you will stay where you are.  You can do it if I can and I am doing it.


See you there!

Network Marketing - The most important thing... Why?

If you are working on building a home based business, one of the most important things you need to figure out is WHY!

Knowing what you are working for will keep you going when you meet those bumps in the road.  It will make them just that, a little bump, not a chasm to fall into or a mountain to climb.  Growing any business is at best a challenge so you need something to get you going and keep reaching for what you want.


Recognize and believe that You have the power to become anyone you want. If you are willing to lay out the plan, plot the course, and work at it, you can become the person you want to be. Your "why" will keep you on course.

To craft your 'why' think about who you have been, what you have done, and what is important to you. What do you do when you have free time?  What makes you energized, and what brings a smile to your face?  What would you 'give your right arm for!'

Think about places that you have been that really made you feel good.  How did you feel, that can be the first part of your 'why'.

All of these things will help you to figure it out. It is a work in progress, and will change and grow with you.  Try not to make it about things, make it about people and goals, and what you want to be remembered for. Make it something that you feel so strong about it makes you cry.  You will be glad you did.

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If you want help with this exercise, contact me for a really neat worksheet to help you out!
I am here to help if and when I can!

Network Marketing - Knowledge is important, but Specialized Knowledge is essential!

One of the things we need to succeed in network marketing is knowledge, not just any knowledge, but specialized knowledge. We need to know how to do a business that is not like any other. Just like a surgeon needs to know a special kind of medicine, we need to acquire a special kind of business knowledge.
In the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, one of the principles he talks about is specialized knowledge. We need this education and need to apply it with emotion and desire. Dry knowledge without application will not make us successful. It needs to be applied with emotion, with a burning desire and with the support of a mastermind group.

I recently attended a seminar for my company. What a way to get the specialized knowledge you need to succeed! It was a gathering in essence of some of my mastermind group. When you meet with like minded, positive people and come together to learn and exchange information, there is a natural energy that really charges you, and you are bound to leave with a burning desire to apply the knowledge learned. Attending your company's functions is a really good way to acquire this knowledge and in a fun way you also get that burning desire and emotion to make you want to apply what you learned when you get back to working your business.

So become a student of the industry. Learn all you can and never think you know it all. There is a multitude of knowledge out there and all of it helps you get better at what you do. Success comes from work but from working smart not hard. Be coachable, find a mentor, a mastermind group and an organization with integrity that puts the distributors first and attend as many meetings as you can. Don't spend all your money on books and training, you should be getting that mostly for free. If they are making the money by having you buy books and tapes and training manuals, you need to find another mastermind group and another company. Most of the best training is free or nearly free, just be a critical thinker and don't blindly accept all you see and hear. Knowledge will get you there and your good instincts will keep you on track.

See you at the top.  We are all winners, you have left the mundane and ordinary because you are seeking something better. You can own your life, just don't give up!


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One good source for knowledge for anyone in any company is Big Al seminars. Check out his schedule for a seminar near you!  Here is the link to his schedule... http://www.fortunenow.com/public/department33.cfm   Let me know if you want to attend, I can get you in for free!

Recently I recieved this email, it was so good and to the point I want to share it with you.  It is from my mentor and friend, her wisdom and advice has proven very valuable to me.


Hello, Judy here~

Recently I was on a Leaders call that was full of powerful information about why you need to read your company Policies & Procedures.

In 27 years of network marketing, we've learned the #1 feature you must have in place for success:

Company management experience with integrity.

People ask all the time, "How do I know if my company has integrity?"

The answer is simple: read your company Policies & Procedures. If you can't find them on the website, it's a big red flag. Some companies say you can't read them until after you join. Big red flag.

Why are they ashamed of their P&Ps? Why don't they want you to read them? The P&Ps are YOUR contract to be in business with them - written by the company lawyers! Every time any distributor ever gets a termination letter, it says, "You have violated the Policies & Procedures." They never say you violated "Terms & Conditions." It's always "Policies & Procedures."

Most reps never actually read their P and P's. You need to do it ... it may really open your eyes. At least you'll know exactly what to look for and how to protect yourself.

To Your Success,

Judy Narum


So think about it.  I too joined many companies without even thinking about the p & p's but have since heard some real horror stories about how  you can be affected by them.  If you were getting a job you would want to know how you were paid, what you were paid and what you had to do to get paid... and most employers will tell you what will get you fired!  Shouldn't you have the same knowledge if you are building a business that you want to pay your children's children... you want security!


The only way to be sure is to read them, not take someone's word for it, but read it before you sign on. You will be doing yourself a favor and practicing critical thinking.  Protect yourself and your family by being informed.




Tell me what you think... any experience that would benefit my readers?

network marketing - Staying positive in a negative world!

Sometimes it seems like all we hear is how the glass if half empty. We know we need to view the glass half full but how do you keep your mind focused on the full side if all about you are talking about the empty side!

It isn't easy but you can beat them and show a good example in the process. They are part of your 'self talk' but you can drown them out and just refuse to join them!  You can decide if you want to embrace any idea, take it as truth or reject it and give your mind what you believe or want to believe as truth. If you do this enough, the half full glass will be what your subconscious remembers, not the half empty one.

Here are some ways to do this.

1. Use affirmations, say them at least 100 times a day.  This amounts to maybe 15 or 20 minutes a day, a small investment in yourself that will really payoff! 

2. Find a group of people that you keep in regular contact with, people that are positive, like minded and have similar goals as yourself that you can go to to talk IDEAS with. If they talk about people, find another group! Gossip has no place in your mastermind group. 

3. READ BOOKS that are positive. They should be about people that have grown and been successful in what ever they are working in. If you are a mechanic you don't have to read just about successful mechanics, anyone that has reached their goals and is sharing how they did it may have an important idea in it for you. Be a critical thinker and don't take any ones word for absolute truth. Ideas are what you will grow with, sometimes they are opposing but as a critical thinker, you can also grow from rejecting them. An idea never challenged will never grow strong. The more you have to stick to your guns, the stronger you will get and the more desire you will have to reach your goals so don't be afraid to encounter an opposing viewpoint.

4. Stay with the positive emotions. Most of the downtrodden you hear are coming from the negative emotions, they just see the half empty glass. If you can keep the half full glass in your mind, not only can you keep their negativity from invading your mind, you can uplift them. Remember if you focus on the negative, it tends to build more negative. All you have to do is to think the opposite, positive emotion until you feel it. Visualize, mind pictures are a strong replacement for the negativity of someones words. Make up your perfect day and use it when confronted with a situation where you can't get away from a flood of negative talk. You can be sympathetic without joining in. Our thoughts are things, so make sure you are armed with all the good things you can think of when faced with someone that is not as strong, They can feel your state of mind, so keep it in the positive as much as possible and you will feel the results and so will they! Be a 'Mentor with a Servants Heart' and a voice for the good in life.  Everyone has it, sometimes they just have to be reminded of it. 

5. Find a positive meaning in what you see and hear. Rethinking adverse events in a positive light and giving ordinary happenings a positive value will lift you and everyone around you. Pursue realistic goals, you do yourself no good to reach for something that is so big you can't see it. Having a big goal is ok but you need to break any large undertaking into attainable steps. Be mindful of the positive in your life, look for it, it is ALWAYS there!

6. Do something you love. Take time for you and enjoy yourself. Playing a game with friends, drawing, painting, playing and listening to positive music... these are all things that will keep you happy and relaxed.

7. Smile even if you don't feel like it. Your brain doesn't know the difference between a genuine smile or a fake one, the fake one can do the same job of getting those positive chemicals working in your brain. Fake it till you make it works in this case!

So next time you feel like the negativity around you is closing in. keep these strategies in mind. They work! You can make a difference in you and when people see it they will be positively affected as well. You can make a difference in your life and everyone around you just by being positive, by keeping that half FULL glass in your mind all the time!