They love me in India.

Some cold hard truths about network marketing.

This isn't an article that bashes mlm, but it is one that will lay out some truths that many in the industry choose to ignore. You may not agree with every one right now, but stay in network marketing a while longer and I think you'll eventually agree with me.

Truth #1: It doesn't matter what company you join, how great the products are, or how lucrative the pay plan is if you're not willing to talk to people about it. You only make money if you move product from your company's warehouse and into customer's hands. And the only way you will do that is to talk up your business to receptive prospects. If you want to hide behind your computer screen and hope your replicated website pulls in even one person to your team, you're going to be very disappointed. Same goes for those prospecting systems you can subscribe to for up to $49 a month. They can be great supplemental tools, but they won't build your business for you. There is no Easter Bunny, and there is no fully automated way to build a downline.

Truth #2: If you wouldn't buy it, you probably can't sell it. If you want to be in this for the long haul, make sure your company offers products that people want even if they aren't interested in a business opportunity. You might be able to convince a few highly motivated entrepreneurial types to buy $150 a month in hyped up fruit juice, but as soon as they realize the profits you promised aren't coming to them, that autoship is going to be dropped. You've got to have products that stand on their own in the retail market, because your prospects will compare them to what they see at Walmart or their local health food store. How will you sell a bottle of fish oil capsules for $50 plus tax and shipping when it can be bought at CVS for under $10? Yours is better? Can you convince your prospects of that?

Truth #3: Companies shouldn't see their distributors as endless profit centers. I'm not opposed to buying a start up kit if it contains real value, but many don't. And I understand the need for autoships: it helps the company forecast demand and budgets and shows you're serious about your business. You have to be a product of the product, after all. But I get more than a little annoyed when I have to pay up to $25 a month for a replicated marketing website, $3 to get paid for the hard work I've done, 75 cents for a brochure to hand out, or $1.50 for a catalog to mail to a prospect. My company and I are partners; I'm not going to be used as an ATM to boost their cash flow. Fortunately, some companies provide free websites and sell marketing materials at their cost rather than trying to profit off of them. Those companies understand that the money we're saving on websites and printed materials is money we can use to actually get viewers to our websites and to put catalogs into the hands of potential customers.

Truth #4: Image matters. If you get caught up in the hype of a network marketing company, you may not mind or even notice that your $50 bottle of fish oil capsules has a label that looks like a third grader drew it, but your prospects probably will mind (unless they too are caught up in the hype).

There you have it. Four simple but totally honest truths about network marketing. Believe them and you could save yourself years of grief and keep thousands of your dollars out of the pockets of some mlm corporate executive. As always, the choice is yours!

http://reasonsorresults.com/

Fight colds naturally.

When we feel a cold or sinus infection creeping up on us, often we go into denial, hoping it's just an allergy of some sort. A few days later it's obvious that allergies are the least of our problems. We're sick. Really sick. And we're miserable at work if not missing it completely. If only we could have done something to stop the cold before it completely took hold and immobilized us.

Well, we could have.

Science has proven that certain foods have the power to fight disease. For colds, here's what I do and also strongly recommend:

At the first sign of a cold or similar infection, immediately begin adding large amounts of the following ingredients to your food (assuming you aren't allergic to any of them):

Garlic: In addition to being good at reducing cholesterol, garlic contains allicin. Allicin is powerful as an antibiotic and a potent agent that helps the body to inhibit the ability of germs to grow and reproduce.

Onions: Like garlic, onions also contain allicin, although in lesser amounts. But onions have quercitin, a potent antioxidant known for its anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and antiviral properties.

Curry Powder: This strong but tasty spice contains turmeric, a potent antioxidant, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory that has been studied in relation to several conditions including cancer, wound healing, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Cayenne pepper: Cayenne is a powerful and versatile substance that is useful in treating respiratory infections and helps in controlling allergic reactions, headaches and colds, and sore throats caused by scarlet fever

To stop a cold in its tracks, add all of these ingredients to every meal you eat as long as symptoms persist. Don't be shy or frugal: load up with large amounts of these spices and foods even if your taste buds tell you it's too strong. After a couple of days you won't even remember you ever had that drippy nose or scratchy throat.

I do it. It works. It will work for you too.

Let's get this straight.

Find a mentor. Find success.

If you're ready to break from your past and become all you can be, you probably already know that you have to let some people become memories rather than remain active participants. It's been said that you can't soar with eagles if you're flying with turkeys. But you have to take it a step further. To be successful, you have to see yourself as successful, and that can mean you have to make uncomfortable decisions.

Your first step is to identify someone you admire, a person who can be your role model, who embodies many if not all of the things you want to be when you finally reach the top. Choose carefully. You're looking for someone with strength, honesty, compassion, intelligence, and ethics.

When you've found your role model, think of that person as a mentor, even though you may never actually meet him or be personally advised by him.

Now here's how your new mentor will help you find success: As you go about your day, before you take action think,

"Would _____ do this? Would _____ wear this? Would _____ say this? Am I about to take an action that my mentor would never take? If so, why am I doing it?

Even mundane household chores can be affected by this. One of my mentors was the recently deceased Zig Ziglar. If I walk into my kitchen and find dirty dishes piled in the sink, I could take the lazy way out and leave them there for later, or I could think, "Would Zig live like this?" Probably not, so I wash the dishes before I head out. When I come home later, I come into a clean home rather than one that's beginning to smell like last night's decaying roast beef. Believe me, it makes a difference in how you see yourself, and that makes a difference in how fast you reach the top.

After a while and with a bit of practice, you'll find you're making the right decisions on your own without ever thinking about your mentor. And that's when you'll realize you're already becoming the person you want to be.

Zig Ziglar: 1926-2012

The undisputed king of motivational speakers, Zig Ziglar, died Wednesday November 28 2012 at the young age of 86. Ziglar, author of "See You at the Top" and several other books, inspired millions of people and taught that you could "get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want."

For me, Zig's homespun advice kept me afloat during many times of self-doubt and depression. His advice came from the heart, and it spoke to the heart as well. Whether you were a bank president or a school janitor, Zig's words hit home and let us all believe a better life was waiting for us, not miles away but just a few easy steps away.

Some years ago I saw Zig in person at a motivational seminar in Winston-Salem, and even though I'd read all his books and listened to all his recordings, seeing him live was transformational and unforgettable. No one did it like Zig. And I'm not sure anyone ever will again.

RIP Zig Ziglar. You've touched lives. You've changed lives. You certainly changed me.