If you work for a boss, picture this:

It’s 2 p.m.  Your morning evaporated in a flurry of phone calls and interruptions.  You worked through lunch on plastic coffee to get an urgent job finished.  Now you breathe a sigh of relief, grab another coffee, and reflect on your life as it is at this moment.

On the whole, it’s fine on the surface, but… a few things are nagging at you.

Four years into this job, and despite doing everything they asked, and more — something just doesn’t feel right.  For one thing, you’re not as enthusiastic as you were when you started.  You’re in a rut, the bills are piling up, and you don’t feel that you’re being paid what you’re worth.

“Hey,” you think, “this isn’t what I signed up for.  How come Riley got that promotion — I should have MY name on that door.  Just because he’s been here longer!  I get in early, I stay late, I’m loyal, I do good work, but nobody notices.”

“What’s wrong with these people?” you ask yourself.  “Unless you serve your time, and toe the company line, there’s no way forward.  Creative solutions don’t seem to count.  Being a little bit entrepreneurial just seems to make the higher-ups feel threatened.”

You think about your home life, and your career goals.  About how much you’ve had to compromise over the last ten years.  (Or twenty years.  Or thirty.)  What happened to the comfortable income, the snazzy sports car, the exotic vacations, the ideal relationship you used to imagine?

Your look at your boss, and his boss, and hers… 

Is that who you want to be, after you’ve got to their age?  (Or have you passed their age already?  In which case, I hate to tell you… if it hasn’t happened by now, it’s almost certainly not going to.)

You frown, shake your head and head back to your desk.

You can’t see tomorrow being any different…

Or picture this, if you own your own business:

It’s 8 p.m.  Your day’s almost over.  You rock back in your office chair, breathe a tired sigh, and reflect on your life as it is at this moment.

On the whole, things are looking pretty good.
 
It’s been tough going, but four years in, you’re starting to show a modest profit.  Of course, you’re still in hock for your setup investment and some of your running costs.  And the staff… sufferin’ cats!  You sometimes feel that you’re running a day-care center for adults.  

The public can be a pain in the rear end, too — but that’s life, and it’s all been worth it to be your own boss.

What’s more, you can see that in a few more years, you’ll be able to cut back to just five or six days per week, and maybe spend some daylight hours with your family.  Right now, you can’t afford to take time off, and as for chasing that little ball around the fairways (or the court) — well, for now the memories will have to suffice.

You drop a Rolaids to quell your heartburn.  Naturally, you’re a bit stressed-out. 

It’s still a big job to manage the cash flow… pay the bills… keep the customers happy… put out the fires… plan ahead… deal with suppliers, the bank, and the regulators… bring in new business… keep your spouse onside… stay abreast of the latest developments… keep one jump ahead of the competition — phew, who wouldn’t be stressed?

You notice the time, and turn back to the pile of bills on your desk…

Now picture this…

It’s 11 a.m.  You lean back on your poolside lounge, breathe a contented sigh, and reflect on your life as it is at this moment.

On the whole, things are looking very good indeed.

Whatever your past, you now own your own marketing business.  An international network marketing business, distributing great products to happy users in numerous countries.

It’s been a fair bit of work, and a big learning curve — but four years in, you’re closing in on a six-figure income.  Moreover, your costs are low, so it’s 80 to 90 percent profit.  You’ve finally fired your boss (or sold your other business).

Of course, your cash hasn’t been idle.  You’ve made some extra inroads into your mortgage, and paid down that burdensome credit card debt.  But it hasn’t all been catch-up — you’ve traded in that old clunker on an immaculate, late-model sedan.  Plus you beautified the house, landscaped the garden, and put in a pool.

Not to mention those all-expenses-paid trips you and your spouse have enjoyed, along with other high achievers and executives in your company.  Plenty of time to play and shop, great memories, and lots more to come!

You think back to when your traditional business (or job) consumed your every waking hour.  And even robbed you of sleep, at times.  “How did I do it?” you ask yourself silently.  You shake your head; a smile creases the corners of your mouth.

Now you have neither a boss, nor employees… you only work with principals.  Your sprinkling of customers mostly service themselves.  You’re not tied to a fixed location — instead, you work rent-free at home.  (Or wherever you happen to be in your travels.)  You don’t have to worry about paperwork, stock, debtors or creditors; you just check your volume reports online to see how your sales organization is doing, and where you can inject some assistance.

Your business is not in hock to the bank — in fact, you’re well and truly cash-flow positive.  Every week or month, like clockwork, your bank account is credited with commissions and bonuses, or your check arrives in the mail.

And best of all… you have a brand new set of clubs that you actually get to USE regularly!  (Or mountain bike, or boat, or fill in the blank.)

You notice the time, and call to your spouse, “Honey, did you reserve us a table for lunch?  Don’t forget, we’ll be taking Fred and Jan to congratulate them on reaching ruby exec…”

Now I’m not saying any of these scenarios is best for you — but excuse me if I love the network marketing business!  You see, it’s not the MLM concept that’s wrong:  it’s the pre-modern world of traditional business and jobs.

My only comment to you is this:  if YOU feel that scenario three is more appealing than one or two — or whatever your own situation is right now — then you owe it to yourself to investigate ways where you could put yourself in that picture.

In the popular Reality TV show, "Fear Factor", contestants recruited from across the USA compete in both physically and mentally challenging stunts for the grand prize of $50,000. These brave hearts dive through underwater mazes, jump from helicopters, and eat the most disgusting dishes served up with maggots, rotting cheese, pig's eyes and such. The natural question that comes to you as the viewer is, "Would I do that for $50,000?"

In fact, many contestants walk away from a chance to win the final prize out of sheer fear or disgust at the challenges. Yet the lucky winner often walks away with just a few bruises and an upset stomach but $50,000 richer than before.

The viewers get a peek into the mindset of the contestant through the answers given to the host's questions about why they wanted to be on the show. Many times it's just for the money-no surprises there- but other times there are 'more noble' reasons such as to get out of debt, pay for a child's college, or prove to other family members their stoicism.

When preparing for a stunt and during the performance itself, the host will often shout to the contestants a reminder of the prize they are working towards and their reasons for being there. This often proves a great motivator for some contestants who were about to give up.

This may just be Reality TV but there are many lessons here that can be applied to having a successful Network Marketing career. Just from viewing a few episodes of "Fear Factor" it becomes obvious that there are many contestants who entered just for the chance to be on television. Elimination at the first round is inconsequential because they would have accomplished their 'dream'. In the same way, there are many people who join a MLM opportunity just for the fun of it. They have no set goals, plans or burning desire to succeed. This is a sure recipe for failure.

Your chances for success in Network Marketing are only as strong as your "why". When faced with the challenging moments it's your "why" that will keep you going.

Even though money is a great motivator I can boldly suggest that it's not enough. Just think about it: we don't really need more money just what that money affords us. In fact, the most important things in life-family, health, love, freedom-can't really be bought. There is many a rich man who would pay his entire fortune to regain his health sacrificed to gain his wealth.

At the same, time there are many people who continue working into their retirement years because they enjoy the work even more than the monetary reward. Money is a lot, but it's not all.

Here is where goal setting becomes paramount because your goal is intimately attached to your reason for doing the business. If your 'reason why' is to get your kids through college then your goal will be proportionate to that reason. When obstacles get in your way then these setbacks are measured against your ultimate goal and your priority will become apparent in whichever wins: your goal or the temporary setback.

Many people approach network marketing with a lottery mentality. They hope that their investment will luckily pay off in some grand stroke of luck. But no business works that way. A good sponsor versus a recruiter understands their people's "why" and can use it to help them achieve focus and a long term plan. A strong "why" becomes like an anchor that sees network marketers through the highs and lows of doing the business. As Winston Churchill said, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm".

We are often charmed and inspired by the 'rag to riches' story of people who overcame great odds and abject poverty to become very wealthy. What drove these people to financial success were not so much the prospects of wealth but the disgust with poverty. They hated their situation and they converted this hatred into a positive force that motivated them to take action. There was no looking back because they were too familiar with what was behind them.

History is replete with stories of people who overcame great odds to excel in their fields. Only recently, Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France for the seventh consecutive time despite his battle with cancer. Did you know that Beethoven was deaf and John Milton was blind?

A classical example of the results of having an unconquerable "why" is found in the life of one of greatest presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. He failed as a business man, a farmer and in his first attempt to obtain political office. When elected to the legislature he failed when he sought the office of speaker. He failed in his first attempt to go to Congress. He failed when he sought the appointment to the United States Land Office. He failed when he ran for the United States Senate and failed when friends sought for him the nomination for the Vice-Presidency in 1856. But he was finally elected president in 1860.

Passionate desire and a strong will to succeed in spite of obstacles are far more important than raw talent. In network marketing it's not the gifted leader or speaker that reaches the pinnacle of success but ordinary people with extra-ordinary "whys," they MUST succeed.

Unlike in the "Fear Factor" TV show, to succeed in your own business you won't have to jump out of moving helicopters, eat beetles and slugs or walk a tight rope stretched between thirty-story buildings, but you must possess the same passion of a $50,000 winner. The great thing about Network Marketing is that there is room for more than just one winner … and $50,000 is a joke when you really consider the number of millionaires this industry has produced.

So how strong is your "why"? Your answer to this simple question will determine your success in this home business venture more than any other single factor.

Take it or leave it but all big MLM earners follow a marketing system. They find a system that works and stick to it.

You’ll find that success in almost all areas of life comes from doing what works over and over again. A pianist perfects a classical piece by playing the same piece several times. The baseball player practices his strikes by swinging the same bat multiple times. When life is all boiled down to the basics, we all sleep, eat, brush our teeth, go to work, play and the same routine starts all over again.

Not very exciting when you think about it. But it works.

This doesn’t mean that there is no room for creativity or growth. But there is a basic structure that is in place that if you try to circumvent, it will leave you flat on your face.

One of the gravest mistakes made by those new to the network marketing industry is they try to reinvent the wheel. Instead of following the proven system that is already in place and used by the heavy hitters, they may think that the system is not creative enough. After several fruitless months of trying it ‘their way’ they often give up and blame the whole industry.

After working the network marketing industry for this long I discovered that there are some critical elements that any successful marketing system must have.

1. Lead Generation. Fresh leads are like the lifeblood of any MLM business. As soon as you stop generating new leads then your business will start to suffer. You may choose to generate these leads for yourself through a website, newspaper and magazine ads or from just working your warm market. You may also buy these leads from a reputable company. However you choose to supply these leads, the fact is, it must be done.

2. Training of new recruits. A training program must be in place to prepare those distributors who are new to the company and network marketing. This may be in the form of literature or multimedia presentations but this training is essential. Distributors that are left on their own to find their way often get lost. Proper training builds the confidence in the new distributor to share the program with others.

3. Marketing Tools. This includes websites, autoresponder series, conference calls, display ads, telephone scripts and audio products. These should all be prepared by a professional marketer so that the distributor has little to do but to use them ‘as is’. Often when the company provides these tools they are too generic to be as effective as when a group of distributors invest in creating their own. Most MLM companies concentrate more on product development and day to day running of the business than helping their distributors market the product.

4. Telephone skill development. This could be included under ‘training’ but is of such significance that it deserves a place of its own. Network marketing is still really relationship marketing and even with the advent of the internet and other new technologies nothing beats the human voice and actually talking to your recruits. Even if you use email, for example, the decision often comes from a phone call. The skill of using the telephone to recruit new distributors is therefore an invaluable one.

5. Achievement Recognition. Most MLM companies have a program in place to recognize those who have reached a certain level in number of distributors in their downline or income. This provides motivation to the network marketer as well as a goal to aim for. As an independent distributor it’s encouraging to get recognized by your peers along the way. Running a home business can become very lonely at times since the business owner is away from the typical office environment.

There is no escaping the fact that MLM involves selling. Most network marketers try to downplay this aspect of the business because most people are fearful of selling. Most people think of selling in terms of the used car salesman trying to get them to buy a car that doesn’t work as well as it is shiny and they freeze up.

But selling is the only means by which products will reach the hands of the consumer. The burden of the marketing system is to make the process so easy and foolproof that it can be easily duplicated by anyone. If the ‘system’ becomes so complicated that it needs a professional to explain it then duplication becomes more difficult and the business will fail to grow.

I have been able to grow strong teams in my network marketing career because I set a system in place for all my distributors and those who work the system are rewarded handsomely.

Those who ignore the system and try to be creative often blame the company, the product or the whole industry when they fail to achieve their goals. Everything, except their failure to walk the trodden path rather than go wandering in the woods.

Want to be a big earner? It’s simple. Follow a proven system and don’t get sidetracked.