"Whether it's better to suffer in the mind
The slings and arrows of terrible luck
Or to fight a sea of problems with arms,
And by going against them, you can stop them."
- Hamlet, Act III, Scene I, by William Shakespeare (58-90)
Even though Hamlet wasn't talking about network marketing, what he said is still true. Almost every network marketer has been hurt by the "slings and arrows" of naysayers, who are often well-meaning friends and family who try to stop us from making a "outrageous fortune!" Network marketers with more experience and a track record of success are less likely to be affected by outside forces. But the new distributor is weak, and that "sea of troubles" can stop them from reaching their full potential.
What did knights do to keep from getting hurt? Yes, they did arm themselves. They needed a squire to help them get ready for battle because their armour was bulky and heavy. Well, your new distributors are the same way. Even though the armour they must wear isn't as heavy as the knights', you must help them get ready to win. That is, you have to be their squire.
What do I mean by "getting ready to win"?
When a new distributor joins your network marketing group, they move into a place that requires them to have strong armour. There are a lot of "slings and arrows" that can hurt their chances of success and cause a sea of problems, like doubt, disbelief, and even failure.
Robert T. Kiyosaki, who wrote Rich Dad, Poor Dad, says that most people are afraid of being successful. They can't move forward because they think negatively, so they have to deal with the pain of being average. Because they haven't been taught how to be successful and are more concerned with safety and staying alive, they make themselves vulnerable to a life of servitude, poverty, and working for someone else.
Prepare your new distributors for bad luck and negative thoughts. How? By knowing why so many people are negative about network marketing and the chances of success it can bring, you can change their minds.
Let's face it. There are many people in the world who don't want you to be successful. When you do well, you show other people how bad their lives are. When you take away their excuses and make them look at their lives as they really are, it makes them feel very uncomfortable. "Misery loves company" is a well-known saying. Yes, that's right.
Doug Firebaugh, an expert on network marketing, calls it the "Unspoken Understanding." It's just the silent agreement that most people have, which is "don't talk about my average life, and I won't talk about yours." Your success and that of your new distributors just show how bad the people who don't believe in you are.
Leaders help people. If you want to be successful at network marketing, you need to prepare your new distributors for the people who will try to tell them their business won't work. Show the people in your downline that you want them to do well. Help them out. Show them how the most successful network marketers got where they are and teach them to copy their attitudes, habits, and actions. Remind your distributors that they are the CEO of their own lives. Give them the power to think positively so they don't let other people's bad attitudes run their lives for them.
To put it in Hamlet's words, when we fight against negative thoughts, we stop them.
Bruce Bailey has a Ph.D.
