Thrival from Ordinary to Extraordinary. Mark Mandela
putting together a clinical review with an internal medicine doctor (Wanda Dyson) with whom I was working, I found this product to be the most amazing product that I have ever seen in twenty years of clinical practice. Every patient who we put on this product over the next four months had amazing results. That is when I knew I was going to pursue this company full-time. The product was so good that Wanda told me if anyone ever asked me about the product that all I should say was this is the best product I have ever seen PERIOD.
My plan was to work this business full-time for one year starting in September 2009. My one problem was I needed to make money quickly. When Thanksgiving came, I needed money for Christmas, so I took a full-time job in order to have money for Christmas. As the new year began, my business showed promise. I increased my income by thirty-five percent monthly for the next four months. After developing an average, I realized if I continued this average over the next four months, I would have a decent monthly income.
The company created some amazing promotions through the summer to stimulate growth through the summer months when traditionally, MLM companies experience a slump. My organization continued to break records. I could now see myself being one of the top leaders in the company by the year’s end. I was able to reach the emerald profit-sharing pool one month later than I had projected. This was very important to me because the company had just offered a 5% profit-sharing to the first 100 emeralds. This was a dream come true—owning a piece of the rock—part of the company instead of just being a distributor. I also declared that I would be a diamond by the national convention on October 23, 2009. I did obtain that goal.
All the planning and building that I did over that year created an income that will take care of my children and their children. When I look back at the previous sixteen months, I realize that this long-term gratification was worth the wait, matter of fact; it was worth its weight in gold! I always knew that I could become great in network marketing providing I had a company and a product that I could trust. I fulfilled both of those criteria when I was introduced to this new company and the founder! Those were the two things I needed to become great; to go from ordinary to extraordinary!
Today I continue to train other leaders every morning at 7:00 a.m., five days a week as I have been doing for the last fifteen months. I believe that our minds are filled with “stinkin’ thinkin’ ” which are the many negative thoughts that have been in our minds since we were young. I believe that this early morning time is the most formidable time of the day not to mention it is when people are stuck in traffic. You have a captive audience. That is how I started with one of my leaders on the left side of my business and one of my leaders on the right side of my business. This made sure that both sides of my business were developed evenly.
One concept that I teach is overcoming the toughest obstacle in the business—people thinking in order for them to be successful in network marketing, they need to sell. That cannot be further from the truth. If you really care about someone and they are down-and-out, you will share with them a solution for their problem if they let you. With a product-based networking company, and there are many to choose from, you are able to care and share without selling. This is how most people are wired; they really do care about people.
As I have continued to care about people, my old friend who first introduced me to the product with which I now share used the open line of communication that I had established with him to communicate to me an interest in my current business. It took him two years to realize that this company was the company that will create the income for which he has been searching for thirty years. It is ironic that the person with whom you began is the one who rejoins your team after many years of separation. When he contacted me, he was willing to acknowledge and be amenable to all the teaching that has made me very successful as a network marketer. For this to happen, a person has to realize inside himself that his way was never going to bring the success for which he had hoped. When one person considers himself an expert over another person, it is almost impossible to work out an amenable relationship. In order to make this relationship work successfully, there must be submission. The bottom line is you cannot argue with success.
It will take at least four to six months before I will be able to determine if this renewed relationship will work. There are a couple of dynamics that have to align themselves for this relationship to succeed. The first one is timing in my life. If the timing is not perfect, it will not work. I do have the necessary time now to devote to this person. The second thing that has to align is the relationship from the past being resolved and whether this person is worthy of the time it will take to integrate him into my established team. If a person is not completely coachable and the relationship between the mentor and newbie is not growing, it is doomed. Getting all of your past problems resolved and behind you and starting anew is very important.
As we start anew, it is critical for my friend to get off to fast start and for the two of us to have fun as we advance. If two people are having fun and being successful simultaneously, this is a good sign. One aspect of success in a business or a relationship is passion and persistence. If either of these two traits are absent at any time, there will be problems. Avoiding problems in the first few months will allow you to build on every success. If you can avoid the early pit falls and surround yourself with success, your relationship will flourish. I believe it all begins with both parties having the right attitude, and that will get better as you grow your business together. Working together on a regular basis allows for more communication, and any relationship counselor will tell you that communication is the most important aspect in rebuilding any relationship.
My story is far from finished; in fact, it is similar to the never-ending story because I will continue to add to my story each year. I will be developing new relationships while strengthening the ones that I already have. Also, I will participate in exciting adventures in different locations around the world as I obtain my goals in network marketing.
As I look back at the style and experience I have developed in network marketing, I would be remiss if I did not reflect on the experience I gained through working in the church bus ministry. In the bus ministry you had to find someone to drive the bus and someone to help you with the kids on the bus. This was a difficult proposition. Most people are either too busy, they do not know how to work the bus ministry, or they do not want to commit. These are the three hardest objections you have to deal with. In the beginning, you will take help from anyone who is willing to help you; normally it is a young and inexperienced person. This is the same way you start your networking business--with anyone that you can find.
Every Saturday I went to certain neighborhoods on bus visitation knocking on doors. In time I would find someone who wanted to ride the bus to church. Once that person committed, I then asked them who they knew, and we knocked on their door. Little by little we had a group of children riding the bus. Every week I asked them who they knew and would go to their friends' houses to see if they were interested in riding the bus.
After the bus route was developed, we started planning activities on Saturday in order to attract more people from the neighborhood. After promoting football, soccer, and cookouts in the neighborhood, the bus routes grew like crazy. The longer we ran the bus routes, the easier it was to attract new riders.
When that route was developed, I found an adult to take over it while I started a new route. Over the next six years, I started five routes that averaged over thirty people per route. Finding and developing new leaders was the key to starting new bus routes. I have developed a similar system while developing core training cities within my networking group. Starting a new route was the hardest part of the bus ministry but finding the right person to take over was critical for the continuation of the bus route long-term.
Starting a networking business is tough, but finding the right people to continue the business is the difference of your business lasting six months or ten years. Looking at things long-term is what the rich dad would recommend and that is how I recommend you build your business.
When your why develops into a big why as mine did, you need to find the right person who is passionate about building a network or about building anything because he or she will persist. The best advice that I have for anyone who is trying to build a networking