Abundance Comes From Living On Purpose

Friday, January 15, 2010

Ignorance, Elitism, and Network Marketing

I happened to observe two moderately successful middle-aged women having lunch yesterday. One is a family nurse practitioner and the other a pharmaceutical sales rep. They are both married with children but their family time is limited because of their professions. Both have better-than-average incomes but are employees of big corporations. One recently saw her pay decrease because of powers outside of her control. Their conversation indicated a feeling of elitism about what they do.

The conversation turned to the social media phenomenon, Facebook. The nurse practitioner was lamenting the fact that her mother requests and accepts Facebook friends indiscriminately. In her view, one must be very careful about the traits of those we associate with, even online. There is some truth to that but this woman expressed disdain at choices other people make.

It seems an old acquaintance asked the nurse practitioner to be his friend. She was aghast when she visited his Facebook profile and discovered that he had a left a corporate banking job to pursue network marketing. She said his posts state that he is ready to assist people to earn money working from home. Her disgust at his decision was obvious as she laughed and made fun of the man.

Then the pharmaceutical rep chimed in with laughter as well. She stated, “He’s trying to get you in his pyramid.” They laughed a few more minutes about the foolishness of such an idea and then returned to their respective “business” discussions. The pharmaceutical rep had bought lunch for the nurse practitioner in order to offer the benefits of “her” drugs. In this case, she was selling an anti-depressant and a new version of an anti-depressant designed to help people with fibromyalgia.

As I said earlier, both women work for big corporations which have a lot of control over these their lives. I wanted to ask them about the “pyramids” they have chosen to join. Neither of them are anywhere near the top. Rather, they are both very near the bottom of the corporations they work for. They both have to work long hours every day to make money for their “upline” with no hope of ever reaching the top themselves.

Network marketing, on the other hand, is a much nobler profession in the opinion of this veteran nurse. Those at the top succeed by assisting others to also reach the top. The products are simple and in high demand. They have no unwanted side effects nor are long years of schooling and licensing required to sell them. Within a short period of time, any committed entrepreneur can achieve greater financial rewards than either of the above mentioned women.

It is unfortunate that people make judgments without knowing all the facts. Elitism and arrogance impede many people’s progress in life. Learning the facts is essential to making a good decision. Unfortunately for the nurse practitioner and pharmaceutical sales rep, they have currently dismissed some very lucrative options. These options could give them the time and financial freedom they both lack. Network marketing is growing in popularity worldwide for these very reasons.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Being Spiritually And Socially Connected Today

With Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and other social media tools, people are more spiritually and socially connected than ever before. Is there risk in opening yourself up to online relationships? There is no more risk in social media connections than in other types of relationships, in my opinion. Anytime we share information about ourselves, or even take time to introduce ourselves to another, we are taking some risk.

To me, the greater risk lies in being too fearful to trust anyone in the world. Our souls yearn to connect with other human beings. We hunger for love and acceptance. We hunger for touch and affirmation that our being alive matters to someone. Our very human nature compels us to seek out companionship and friendship.

In business, no one can succeed if they are too fearful to connect with others. A business owner who offers a superb product or service has to meet and interact with others for a beneficial exchange to occur. This is the basis for free market enterprise. Offering more in use value than we receive in payment from our products and services.

Today, a lot of people are very afraid to take risks. The news media exists by bombarding our lives with how much risk there is in the world. Negative news sells far more than positive news does. The millions of people who safely reach their destinations and enjoy traveling are never interviewed. It's the isolated incidents of terror and tragedy that make the news.

As a successful network marketer, my chief goal is to empower others to break free of fear. I have tremendous faith in human goodness. When I purchase goods and services, such as a car or an airline ticket, I expect to receive more in use value than I pay in cash value. I have never been disappointed.

As a result, I believe that more good things are available for us all to enjoy. This is a mindset of abundance. My biggest challenge is to choose. I cannot live everywhere so I must choose a place. I cannot drive every car, so I must choose one. I cannot participate in every lucrative network marketing business, so I must choose the one that appeals most to me.

Let's make the most of today's opportunities. Life is too precious to miss out on meeting new people. With so many ways to assist others and be assisted in return, we cannot afford to live in fear. Success belongs to the courageous, the decisive, and the connected. By being more spiritually and socially connected today, we set the stage for becoming more abundant tomorrow.