One of the saddest aspects of what I do as an Empowerment Coach and Trainer in the Network Marketing Industry is coming across people who simply don't know what they don't know -- especially when they really think they know...   

Yep, that's right...  I'm about to Celebrate my 18th year in this industry...  During this period of time I've operated within this Industry as an Independent Distributor and have earned overrides on organizations of thousands upon thousands of distributors worldwide, I've Consulted with Multi-Million Dollar Multi-National Network Marketing Companies, I've coached distributors who have gone from flat broke to flat out rich, I've earned as much as $100,000 for conducting 90 Minute Training Sessions at MLM company events, I've built one of the Top MLM Training Companies in the entire World, and most of my friends that I hang out with are distributors, trainers, and company owners in this industry who earn Millions of Dollars per year... 

We ALL agree with the basic premises of the discussion that's contained in this article...

And even with all of this "History" and "Connections", and "Collaborative Multi-Millionaire" agreement, etc. I still come across people who choose to get "Creative" and use there "Brilliant Thinking Abilities" to completely "Reinvent the Wheel" and "Do It Their Way"...

We say, "Go To An Event", they say, "I've already been to one"...

We say, "Read a Book", they say, "I don't like to read"...

We say, "Talk to People", they say, "I wouldn't be interested"...

We say, "Consult with your 'Successful' line of Sponsorship", they say, "I know more than they do"...

We say, "Listen to a Tape", they say, "I don't have a tape deck in my car"...

We say, "Engage in Personal Development", they say, "That stuff doesn't work"...

We say, "Ok... Then why don't you simply Engage in Action", they say, "I don't like the System"...

We say, "Do you really want to make this work?", they say, "Yes, but I don't really believe it will"...

We say, "We can show you Dozens, even Hundreds, even Thousands of people it has already worked for", they say, "Yea, but they were lucky"...

We say, "What if we can show you how they 'Got Lucky' and how you can do the same?", they say, "I don't believe in Luck"...

We say, "Do you really want to Monetize this opportunity or do you only want to Philosophize it?", they say, "What does Monetize mean?"

We say, "Listen to this tape and it will explain it to you in detail", they say, "Remember, I don't have a tape player."

We say, "Ok, we also have it on CD", they say, "I don't have time to listen to it, can't you just tell me"...

We tell them... They don't hear it...

We show them... They don't see it...

We demonstrate it for them by doing it... They don't appreciate it...

We say, "Ok, you missed the last event, how about registering for the next event", they say, "Nah, it's just another one of those Rah, Rah sessions --  Remember that Personal Development stuff doesn't work anyway."

We say, "With all of that thinking you're doing, have you ever stopped to think that the thinking that you have been doing has produced the bank account you currently have?", they say, "Yea but I don't know any other reason why I'm broke, busted, and disgusted so it must be because this, that, and the other doesn't work because I've been doing this, that, and the other for 3 years now and I'm still broke, busted, and disgusted." {Ok, they really don't say that, but that's probably what they're thinking}...

I'm sure by now you get the point...

Some of you may have even come across a few of these people in your organization... 

Many of them are very Intellectual; however, it could be that very intellect that's creating the thinking that they currently have which is creating the results they are currently producing...

The sad part -- once again -- is they simply don't know what they don't know...

UNDERSTAND THIS:

YOUR BEST LEVEL OF THINKING HAS GOTTEN YOU TO

WHERE YOU ARE TODAY!

This realization was the moment my life started to change...

I mean, when I first got in Network Marketing, I felt like I was a pretty "Smart" guy...  I was in University and was getting all A's and an occassional B; thus, I knew I had some intellectual fortitude... 

Nevertheless, I was broke, busted, and disgusted... 

Why?

BECAUSE I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT SOMETIMES THE BEST WAY TO GET WHAT YOU WANT IS TO BE WILLING TO LET GO OF WHAT YOU HAVE...

I had a lot of preconceived notions about what it took to become successful...  And my preconceived notions had me working at a 7-11 store making about $1,500 per month...   Being Exposed to Personal Development at the age of 18 (a year BEFORE I got started in Network Marketing) was what started the process of having me realize that there was a lot of things that I didn't know that I didn't know... 

For Example... I didn't know that the following was a major part of what determined whether or not someone became a "Victor" in life or a "Victim"...

Here's the Short Version:

1.  VISION...  A person's Vision of what their life was to be about greatly determines what their life was actually going to be about...

BUT VISION WASN'T ALL OF IT...

2.  VEHICLE...  A person could have a great Vision and a great reason "Why" they desire that Vision; however, without the proper Vehicle that could allow them to efficiently and effectively manisfest that Vision, their probability of making it happen decreases tremendously...  For example, if I had a dream of going to Australia from the U.S., no matter how powerful that Vision was, the Vehicle of walking or riding roller skates or even driving an automobile wasn't going to get me there...  [Of course, other things could occur that could make it more probable for it to still happen, such as a bridge could be built from the U.S. to Australia that could eventually allow me to drive the Vehicle of a Car over there; however, I probably wouldn't want to wait for 200 years for that to take place.]

BUT A VEHICLE REQUIRES SOME FUEL IN ORDER TO PROPEL IT FORWARD...

THIS IS THE PART WHERE PEOPLE FALL OFF OF THE SUCCESS EQUATION MAJORLY...

3.  VOICES...  The Voices that are constantly in a person's mind will ultimately determine whether a person MOVES [Moving is the ACTION PART of the equation which of course we all know that if there is no ACTION there is no trip from the U.S. to Australia...]  Thus, the ACTION part is basic logical common sense... The KEY is what TYPE of ACTION will a person take?  EMPOWERING ACTION or DISEMPOWERING ACTION?  That will depend, in a greater amount than most people understand (or are willing to understand) on the type of VOICES that are constantly entering their consciousness...  [THIS IS WHERE STUFF LIKE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT COMES INTO PLAY]... Ouch, not the "P" word...  Yep, the "P" word...  And I'll say it again... PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT... 

There you have it... 3 Quick Steps to the "SUCCESS EQUATION"... Yes, it's basic and elementary, and there is a lot more that goes into each step... However, there it is in a Nutshell...

Now since we've exposed the "P" word, here's a quick point about Personal Development...  We CANNOT, NOT PERSONALLY DEVELOP... The question is whether or not we are Developing in a way that is moving us more towards a "VICTIM" or more towards a "VICTOR"... That, of course will be based on the type of VOICES that are constantly entering our Consciousness...  EMPOWERING OR DISEMPOWERING...

Now of course, even saying all of this, there are still people who have already made up their mind that PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT doesn't have anything to do with the outcomes that people create in their lives...   Remember, many of them simply don't know what they don't know and as I said in the beginning of this article, it's one of the saddest aspects of this business for me...

For the record, let me add that most of the people who think this way are good people... They are intelligent people...  They are people who would like to be "Victorious" in life and they have every ability and right to do so just like anyone else... However, in the end, they may allow what they don't know that they don't know to stop them from creating a Mega Masterpiece in the Industry of Network Marketing...

Here's a Key Point for you all to understand as it relates to Personal Development and Action...  

Action is the Physical Breathing, but Personal Development is the Oxygen...

Without Oxygen, the Breathing part will only last for a short period of time...

However, without Breathing, the benefits of Oxygen will not do us much good...

Thus, when it comes to people who desire to "Live" in this "Environment" it appears that these two (Breathing and Oxygen / Action and Personal Development) are indistinguishable...

Oh, but Jerry, which one came first... 

Hahahahahaha...

As Jim Rohn said, "I wouldn't sign up for that Course"...

Why?  Because the question is not which one came first, the question is what produced the result of "success" in Network Marketing...

The Answer of Course is...

Continued Life...

You get Continued Life via the Critical Combination of (Breathing and Oxygen / Oxygen and Breathing), regardless of which one came first, one without the other is what we will call "MLM Suicide"...  Or "MLM Homicide" for those who do not Feed their Organization with a constant dose of "Oxygen"...

Remember...

Breathing = Action

Oxygen = Personal Development

Ok, Jerry...  Why in the World are you Drilling this in over and over and over?

Good Question...

Answer...

Because I'm Attempting to "Save (Network Marketing) Lives" here...

What do I mean?

It would be a pity for someone who may be reading this Article to think that they themselves and their group doesn't require Oxygen in order to effectively make their Journey through the Network Marketing "Jungle"...  I'm simply doing my best to eliminate as many C.O.Js (Casualties Of the Jungle) as possible...

Remember... Some people simply don't know what they don't know -- even when they really think they know...

I once heard that sometimes it's not what we don't know that gets us in the most trouble, it's often times the things that we think we know that just isn't so...

My plea to all of you is this:

"Don't Let Your Ego Get the Best of You."

Trust me, it will definitely try...

Anytime someone tries to "Sell" you their "Brilliant Ideas" (this includes me) always remember this:

"YOU SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS"

Also... Something that Andrew Carnegie (who had a Lot of Fruit) once said,

 "What you do Speaks So Loudly That I can Hardly Hear what You're Saying."

So to Sum Up...

Breathing (Action is Critical) in this business of Network Marketing if you are going to be Massively successful...  Remember, in the same book that it says "You shall know them by their fruits" it also says "FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD"...

However, The "WORKS" in this business will be Short Lived without a constant flow of OXYGEN (Empowering Personal Development) flowing through your "Network Marketing Veins"...

If all of the people who have become Successful In Network Marketing (ALL OF THEM... REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY GOT THE OXYGEN OR STARTED BREATHING FIRST) used a combination of Breathing and Oxygen that is what we call a CLUE!

Remember... "YOU SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS"...

It takes BOTH of them...

Don't Try To Fight It...

The Quicker You Surrender to This the Better Off You Will Be...

People who come into this business and simply are not willing to accept this...  Simply Don't know what They Don't Know... 

Once again, that indeed, is one of the saddest aspects of this business for me...

But hey... Just like in Network Marketing or in any Business or Personal Endeavor... You Got To Respect The Numbers...

Ok... I will now go and pray for those who are considering unplugging their "Oxygen Tanks"...

Until Next Time...

Go, Go, Go!!!

DRhino

P.S.  People attempting to be "Successful" in Network Marketing without combining Personal Development with Action are like the people who attempt to be "Successful" by skydiving 10,000 feet from an airplane without a parachute...  They just may prove their point, but I wouldn't want to be around to see the results... : )