How to Add Value to Others

Every day I read a daily devotional from John Maxwell (Leadership Guru) called "Leadership Promised for Every Day". This one was too good not to share...I truly believe that if we are going to grow our at home businesses that we should also grow as leaders. So, here goes...

"And Jesus went about all Galilee, taching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people."

~ Matthew 4:23

When people think about you, do they say to themselves, "My life is better because of that person?" Their response probably answers the question of whether you are adding value to them. To succeed personally, you must try to help others. That's why Zig Ziglar says, "You can get everything in life you want if you help enough people get what they want." How do you do that? How can you turn your focus from yourself and start adding value to others? You can do it by:

1. Putting others first in your thinking.

2. Finding out what others need.

3. Meeting that need with excellence and generosity.

(Failing Forward)

I'm Ready to Be There for YOU,

Book Review - Parable of the Pipeline

The Parable of the Pipeline
(How Anyone Can Build a Pipeline Of Ongoing Residual Income In The New Economy)
By Burke Hedges

From the Back Cover:
One Pipeline is Worth a Thousand Paychecks!

We’re living in the most affluent economy in decades. Yet millions of people are still living from paycheck to paycheck, working longer and longer hours just to stay even.

Why? Because they bought into the wrong plan! They’ve fallen for the Time-for-Money Trap. You know, a day’s work for a day’s pay. A month’s work for a month’s pay. Sound familiar?

Whether you’re a $10,000 a-year dishwasher or a $100,000 a-year doctor, you’re still trading one unit of time for one unit of money. You’re still living paycheck to paycheck. As for “job security” – if you can’t do the work because of layoffs…illness…injury…or retirement – the paychecks stop!

Where’s the security in that?

How do you escape the Time-for-Money Trap? By building pipelines of ongoing, residual income. With residual income, you do the work once and get paid over and over again. That’s why one pipeline is worth a thousand paychecks. Pipelines keep pumping day after day, year after year, whether you’re there to do the work or not.

Now, that’s security – true financial security!

The Parable of the Pipeline will teach you how to build pipelines so that you can make the leap from earning a living today…to enjoying a lifestyle tomorrow!

From Me:

I never fully understood the importance of the “pipeline” until I finished reading this book. It was like the lights had been turned on in my head and all of the sudden I knew what I had to do next.

I would strongly encourage anyone, whether you are in network marketing or not, to read this book and grasp the importance of stepping out of the Time-for-Money trap that the author talks about. Once you grab a hold of that information it will radically transform how your look at your job, your business, and your life.

Keep Reading, Learning, and Growing,

Book Review - 5/2/08

Network Marketing is an interesting field to work in. It can be the life you've always wanted but it can also take a lot of work and time. Every so often I will do a Book Review here on this blog to let you know about some REALLY amazing books that I have read about this phenomenal industry.

Knowledge is POWER and I truly believe that we can all grow to be at our absolute BEST if we continue to learn, grow, and care for others. The first book I want to tell you about is probably one of my ALL time favorite books about Network Marketing and that's because it is told in a parable in which you become intertwined into the characters of the story's lives.

Let me share with you what I found about the book on the Random House web site.

Network marketing is a burgeoning field, and it can be a frustrating and difficult experience. There are many who have achieved minimal success, and many more who have made no money at all. With these discouraging figures, how can one become a member of the successful elite? Millions agree that the best way to do this is to spend some time with The Greatest Networker in the World.

John Milton Fogg’s extended parable is the story of a young man on the verge of quitting the multilevel marketing business. As he prepares to give his final opportunity meeting, he meets the individual everyone refers to as The Greatest Networker in the World. This warm and wise man takes in his young counterpart and shows him the trade secrets so he too can become a successful network marketer.

The young man soon learns that the trade secrets have very little to do with conventional marketing techniques. In fact, he has to unlearn everything he thought he knew about business. "The paradigm of network marketing is so fundamentally different and distinct from all other paradigms of business, that it requires a pretty complete shift from the way we normally view business to appreciate and understand it."

The new paradigm is built around one’s habits of thought and discovering that the secrets to network marketing success are within oneself. The values of responsibility, team building, and caring for one’s downline play a much more important role than competitive promotion and advertising. A critical skill for all marketers is the ability to teach people to teach others.

Once one has mastered the new paradigm of multilevel marketing, he needs to not only show his downline how to master it, but also how to teach those techniques to others. This leads to greater leadership within the organization, more stability, improved productivity, and as a result, long-lasting success.

About the Author
John Milton Fogg is an international speaker and the author of more than two dozen books and tapes, including The Greatest Networker in the World. He is the founding editor and chairman of Upline and Network Marketing Lifestyles magazines. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Take a minute right now and head over to Amazon.com and pick up a copy of the book, you won't regret it!

Have Fun

There are basically two types of activities; those you enjoy doing and those you don't. From the grim faces of the office warriors commuting to and from work each day, it's safe to say that for most people work falls into the second category.

No so in this business. Network marketers enjoy what they're doing - mostly because they have control over their time, their incomes, and their life. They know that when the going gets tough, they are still better off than the average worker, who is pummeled by long hours, demanding employers, office politics, and salary increases that trail inflation.

If you are an executive or employer, you know that the tensions don't subside just because you're on the management team. Many will argue it gets worse, not better, because the pressure to compete is greater.

Either way, you will discover that working for yourself is a dream in itself. Not least because of the two-second commute to your office; working in the clothes you choose to wear; making appointments that avoid rush hours; enjoying quality time with your partner; playing your favorite CD in the background; being home for the kids after school; and, above all, having the freedom to decide how and when you will work.

When you work for yourself, you have no excuse not to be happy. And researchers are quick to point out that happy people are more likely to be successful.

Happiness is a mind-set. You can choose to be the type of person who lights up a room when you enter it, or you can choose to be someone who lights up the room when you leave.

Decide that building your business will be a fun experience.

Start with expectations. If you expect a Fantasy World where nothing goes wrong, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment. If you commit to succeeding on Planet Reality, where the best plans come unstuck, appointments get cancelled, you drive ten miles in the rain to a no-show, your star recruit leaves, your brilliant prospect turns out to be a turkey, your partner phones to say he's working late when you are counting on him (or her) to babysit...you'll make it to your destination.

We get what we give. Be warm and respectful to difficult and delightful customers alike. Love your demanding recruits as much as your gems. See difficult situations as character building! Don't rush. It takes just one minute to make someone feel special with your undivided attention.

Liven up your presentations. Most people would rather be entertained than lectured to. Hold fun meetings. We learn best when we're having fun. Actively seek out happy people, and cross the street to avoid the miserable and mean-spirited ones. Celebrate every milestone, no matter how small.

Stress is a major turnoff. Make sure you come across as relaxed, no matter how busy you are. Not only will you feel better; you'll look better too. There's nothing like stress for digging lines into the face, and nothing like relaxation for ironing them out.

Look for ways to increase the "fun factor" in your life and in your business, and you will become a beacon for other enthusiastic, fun-loving people who want to enjoy what they do.

Taken from the book, "Be a Network Marketing Superstar" by Mary Christensen (with Wayne Christensen)

Exponential Growth

A lot of the time I get a glazed over look when I start talking to people about the benefits of EXPONENTIAL GROWTH and how it can greatly benefit their families to build a business this way. Here is a short, sweet, and simple illustration on EXPONENTIAL GROWTH I found in a book called, "Shoot for the Stars", by Pete Billac.

In this business (YTB calls it REFERRAL MARKETING) you will hear the words "duplication" and "exponential". Let me tell you how POWERFUL these two words are. Here's my favoritre "for instance" concerning exponentail growth. It has to do with playing golf.

If you wager ONE PENNY on the first hole, then DOUBLE IT on the following 17 holes, that last BET is worth over TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS! Grab a calculator and see for yourself.

What this REALLY means is that if you TELL a few people each day and they tell a few who tell a few, SOON you'll have a lot of people who are working for themselves (but ALSO working for you) to help you succedd. It's so simple yet totally awesome.

By "telling" others and "training them" to tell others, you are duplicating your own efforts, and this exponential growth just happens. And your business can skyrocket.

The results can be simply amazing...I am not saying that it is always easy, but the opportunity is definitely there, for me, for you, for everyone.

The choice is yours...
what will you do?
what's stopping you from starting your new adventure right now?

Residual Income

I've mentioned product several times, and will probably get "back" to it again. The product must be what "the masses" want or need. It must be a consumable (or something that "the masses" use over and over again). THAT is what brings in RESIDUAL income.

Let me "touch" on HOW a good product works as far as RESIDUAL INCOME. I write books. MANY people read books. My books are listed on just about every computer in the world and are in thousands of book stores; some are in a dozen or more languages.

A few years back I went to the hospital for three days for a complete check-up. While I was AT the hospital, my books were selling. When I got out of the hospital, I had earned seventeen thousand dollars!

BECAUSE, I had a PRODUCT that "the masses" buy and I was earning RESIDUAL INCOME; the income that goes on and on if I'm asleep, on vacation, just don't "feel" like working or in the hospital for a check-up.

This doesn't happen EVERY three days, mind you, or I'd go back in the hospital for a YEAR! But it happens when you have a PRODUCT that is good. It can happen to you with these TRAVEL products.

This "word of mouth" stuff truly works. By TELLING others about your travel business, they save money and they in turn will tell others. It actually can go on and on and ON, and YOU make a REP or RTA commission EACH TIME anyone you tell, those they tell, and those THEY tell. This is called...EXPONENTIAL GROWTH. (which we will talk about more later)

~Pete Billac, "Shoot for the Stars"

Who wouldn't LOVE to make some extra money while they are sleeping? With travel on the internet it can happen, and it does happen each and every day!

There's more to come about RESIDUAL INCOME in the coming posts...

The Big Deal

It's unthinkable that YTB was able to get the SAME "deal" as Barry Diller offers on the Internet. But it's TRUE! It took some smart thinking, maneuvering, action, perserverance and substantial money but NOT 5.1 billion dollars.

The YTB "booking engine" is similar to Mr. Diller's but YTB paid $30,000 down and $700 per month for a franchise booking engine from REZconnect. They then upgraded it with "a few million bucks" and can deliver it to YOU over your computer with the push of a few keys.

Yes, YTB has the SAME destinations and discounts on flights, cruises, and hotels. And YOU, as a YTB Referring Travel Agent/Affiliate (RTA), can begin earning a commission on anyone you "lead" to YOUR web site.

Most families spend about $4,000 on vacations each year. If just 10 families book their vacations on your website each year, you will earn between $1,500 and $4,000.

Plus, I'LL help you with your business, if you're willing to put forth effort, and ask for my help. I am always available, and my help is FREE. Just e-mail me for FREE information. Are you INTERESTED in finding out more?

~ Pete Billac, "Shoot for the Stars"

If you want to learn how to be a part of this amazing adventure just e-mail me (or click on it) at mashburntravel [at] bellsouth [dot] net. I am looking forward to showing you how to be a part of this Big Deal!

Melissa Mashburn

Change Your Life in Only Minutes a Day

I'm going to ask you to this next part on faith alone. When you do, I believe you'll see amazing results. You're going to set goals like you've never done before. You may be saying to yourself, "Not that goal stuff again." Think about it. Since successful people talk about goal setting over-and-over, perhaps there's something to it. Look where they are and then look where you are. If you see them and wish you could change places, get out a pen and a piece of paper.

What you are about to read is probably different that anything you've ever been told about setting goals. Many of you who have heard the "goal speech" before, remember being told to set realistic and attainable goals. Unfortunately, that often keeps you from driving toward what you really want.

Ask yourself, "was landing on the moon a realistic goal?" "Was finding cures for polio and other diseases realistic?" How about skyscrapers, jets, submarines, Olympic Gold medals, or any other accomplishments? Were any of those, or thousands of other things that make your life better, realistic? Then, if you were to go for great success like those who accomplished the preceding did, why would you set a single "realistic" goal? Realistic is whatever you believe!

Open your mind. Set aside 20 minutes tonight before you go to bed. Take a few pieces of paper and a pen and write 101 of the most outrageous goals your mind can come up with. Don't concern yourself with any details. Just keep on writing. When you clear your mind and focus on what you want, you'll surprise yourself with what you come up with.

Keep the list handy and review it often. Whenever you are deciding whether or not to do something, take out the list, read it, and ask yourself, "Will doing this bring me closer to any of my goals?" Once you determine whether or not doing something will help you reach your goals, your decision becomes easier. Will taking that action keep you on-track or take you off-track.

The above is from the book, "If they say No, just say Next!" by John Fuhrman

What's stopping you from making your list right now?

What's stopping you from achieving every single one of the 101 Outrageous Goals on your list?

Chase the Dream and Enjoy the Journey,

Melissa