MLM Success and The Power of Two

MLM Success is contingent upon many factors, not the least of which is the ability to build a large and successful downline. Most MLM practitioners are unable to recruit enough people to sustain their business long enough for it to succeed. The industry average is something like 2.7, meaning that the average person can recruit 2.7 people. Sure, there are gifted men and women who seem to be able to recruit at will but they are the exception, not the rule. So, if a large and thriving downline is critical to Network Marketing success and the average network marketer can only bring in 2.7 people, how can anyone succeed in this industry? The answer lies in a very simple concept, "The Power of Two."

Simply put, recruit two people and help each of those recruit two people. Then teach the first two to help their people recruit two and so forth. This strategy sets the average MLM distributor up for success instead of failure. There are some very good reasons for this. First, you have simplified the whole recruiting process. All they have to do is recruit two. Second, it creates the momentum necessary to achieve sustained growth. And as the team grows, your support system grows along with it because now everyone is helping everyone below them to get their two. Building with The Power of Two enables your team to work together to grow a solid downline that will make the business profitable for everyone.

The numbers are truly staggering! They may seem small at first but watch what happens as The Power of Two takes over and the business begins to grow. If you start with one person recruiting two people in their first month and each person thereafter recruits just two in their first month and if everyone on the team follows through with the plan, in four months there will be 63 people on the team. In Six months it will grow to 127, in eight months it will be 511 and in one year, with everyone only expected to recruit two and help their two recruit two, your organization would grow to 8,191 distributors. Now, in any MLM compensation plan I know of, that translates to success and a boat load of cash! And it was accomplished in just one year.

Of course it's a given that no system is perfect and there will always be folks who drop out or who refuse to do their part, that's MLM. It doesn't matter. You simply bypass those weak spots by recruiting another distributor and help them get their two. Problem solved. MLM Success is not always easy but it is incredibly simple. Achieve success by helping others succeed. Help others succeed by building with The Power of Two.

Developing A Business Mentality is Key to MLM Success

So you found the MLM business you want to get into, great products you can believe in, a lucrative compensation plan, impressive training and marketing tools. You have a real connection with the person who will be sponsoring and mentoring you. The company is just beginning to hit the explosive growth surge that will make it's distributors a fortune over the next several years. All the ingredients for success seem to be in place. It truly is a "right place, right time" opportunity. But none of this matters if you don't have the right mindset, if you don't enter into it with a business mentality. Without that key ingredient, you are destined for failure.

Too many people get into MLM thinking it will be all sunshine and roses. They're told that the product and business opportunity will "sell themselves." All they have to do is show it to people and they will be beating down the door, to get in. The truth is, good products will sell themselves but not everyone is going to buy. And when it comes to sponsoring new members, things can become even tougher. If you don't have a business mentality, prepared to deal with hearing the word "no" more often than you will hear the word "yes," you will quickly become discouraged and quit. Rejection is part of the game so you need to be prepared for it.

Another problem is what I call the "Hobby Mentality." Hobbies cost money, businesses make money. But all to often, people get into an MLM and don't take it seriously. If it takes off right away and makes money, great. If not, it's on to something else. MLM success takes work. It requires training, planning and preparation, goal setting and taking deliberate action. It requires time spent talking to people, getting your product and opportunity out there so others can see them. Success not going to just happen, it's the by-product of hard work and determination. You have to DO something if you want something to happen, even with today's online automated tools and systems. They won't work FOR you unless you work WITH them. And success takes time to achieve. It won't happen overnight.

In summary, if you desire MLM success, long term residual income, financial freedom and security, find a good MLM with a profitable compensation plan and products you can believe in. Then if you don't have one already, you must develop a business mentality. Educate yourself, set measurable goals, expect and be prepared to handle the ups and downs associated with any business endeavor and grow a thick skin so you can handle the word "No." Be prepared for the long haul. Business is a marathon, not a sprint. Do this and you will achieve MLM success.

Stay The Course

People are lazy. In this credit based, I want it now, microwave oven world we live in, the concept of delayed gratification is a forgotten ideal. Analysts and philosophers alike debate the reasons behind the recent economical recession. I propose that at least in part, the problem can be attributed to the all pervasive "I want it now" mentality. If we want something we charge it to a credit card or a line of credit from the bank. People used to work hard and save their money and when they had enough to make the purchase, they bought whatever it was they wanted. They payed in real money, too. Not anymore.

Now we can whip out a piece of plastic or sign our name on a piece of paper and the desired purchase is ours. We may not even have the funds to repay the bank or credit card company, but that doesn't matter. We want it, we don't want to wait to get it, so we charge it. Now, extrapolate this concept so as to include the entire world and it becomes clear what is playing a major role in the downturn of the global economy. The culprit, at the very core of it all is greed and it's sidekick, impatience. The global economy is based on debt. Not a very sound foundation, would you agree?

So how does this apply to running a home based business? As I said before, people are lazy and they're impatient. They want success but they aren't willing to work for it, let alone be patient enough to wait for it. In the MLM world, people jump around from one home based business opportunity to another almost as often as they change shirts. If they don't make it rich in a month or two, they begin to grumble and complain and within a very short time either quit or jump ship. Very few will invest their time, money and energy and then stay the course, giving the plan time to work. If you've ever had a vegetable or flower garden, you understand that it's rediculous to assume that you will sew one day and reap the next. Just ask a farmer and see what kind of answer you get.

No, you have to till the ground, mix in some fertilizer and plant your seeds. Then you have to water the garden regularly and get rid of the weeds that will crop up every few days, or so. It takes weeks sometimes, especially in a vegetable garden before you begin to see the first sign of growth. If this were an MLM and after a week or so, there was no visible evidence of anything growing, most people would give up. Or they would just dig it all up and start over. How utterly absurd! Yet, that's the pervasive mentality among Network Marketers. That is in part, why 95 percent of the people who start out in an MLM, fail. They either don't know how or they don't want to stay the course. They want it now.

If you're in an MLM like The Berry Tree, my particular business, and you're prepared to do the things necessary to succeed and if you're willing be patient and wait for the results, those results will come and they will be incredible! The true gem in MLM is the achievement of a long term passive residual income that will enable you to live financially free and comfortable, for the rest of your life. The best part is, you will eventually reach the point where you don't even have to do anything to perpetuate it. It will just keep on coming.

No, you won't get there overnight. You may have to work hard and invest into your business for a year or two or three. So what? Can you achieve that in your current job? Not likely! What if it were to take five years to get there, would it be worth the wait? If you can answer that question with a resounding yes, then you have what it takes to stay the course. You have what it takes to succeed and succeed you will, and you will become very wealthy. The others? They'll just keep on grumbling, complaining, dropping out or jumping ship. So work hard, give it your all and by all means, stay the course!

The Secret to MLM Success

What's the secret to MLM success? Now, there's another good one for the "If I had a dollar for every time" category. Do a search on the subject and you'll see any number of ads, blog posts, articles and you-tube videos offering their amazing secret short cut to wealth. They all start off with "MLM Lies" or "The truth about MLM Success your upline won't tell you" or any number of variations on that theme and then try to sell you their "Secret Formula" or DVD set or a membership in their "Millionaire Club" or whatever gimmick they're pedaling. The truth is, there is no secret formula. There's no magic bullet. There is no gimmick or short cut that will make you successful. I'll tell you the secret to MLM success. Get ready, this is deep. The secret is you. It all begins and ends, with you. Success, no matter what endeavor you undertake in life requires work, a lot of work. It's not easy. It takes time. It takes practice. It requires patience, resolve, dedication and commitment. No mentor, no DVD set, no seminar, no business system can supply those things. The only one who can, is you.

Now, I'm not saying someone should not take advantage of legitimate seminars, instructional DVD's and mentoring by others who have achieved success. Of course they should. I spend a good bit of time myself, reading or listening to people who can inspire or teach me. I participate in several online MLM or Network Marketing forums, lots of wisdom in there. I study successful people and what made them successful. I have people on my team and in my upline who teach me something just about every day. But in the end, the one person will will decide your MLM success or failure, is you. You have to put the teaching, the mentoring, the systems to work. You have to DO something. You must make a commitment and dedicate yourself to success, no matter how long it takes. You have great products and an awesome business opportunity to offer that can make people's lives better. So get off your sofa, turn off your TV, get on the phone and, now here's the big secret, talk to people.

MLM success is a numbers game. If you're not sponsoring anyone, if you're not selling enough product, you're not talking to enough people. It really is THAT simple. No, it's not easy. Sometimes it can be downright frustrating. You'll have days when you couldn't sell a bar of soap to someone who just got out of a mud bath. But talk to enough people and you WILL find those who want what you have to offer. "Pistol Pete" Maravich was one of the greatest scorers I ever saw play college basketball. He would score 50 to 60 points in a game, and that was in the days before the three point shot. But he would also take 40 to 50 shots a game, sometimes more. Did he get frustrated if he threw up 10 or 12 or more without a basket? No! Did he quit because he was having a bad game? No! He just kept firing away. His success depended on it. He believed in himself. He knew that if he took enough shots, the law of averages would turn in his favor and the points would come. Of course he had great skill and an incredibly accurate shot. But even the great "Pistol Pete" couldn't make every shot he took. So he kept on shooting.

The same principle applies to MLM success. If you keep talking to people, enough people, even when you don't feel like it, even when no one seems to be interested at the time, the law of averages will eventually turn in your favor and you will be successful. It's true, you do need to acquire the skills and the knowledge to know what to say and how to answer questions and objections. You need be able to present your products and opportunity with confidence. That comes with time, patience and lots of practice. So, practice. And you do need to talk to the right people, people who are as driven and as hungry as you are. But you never know where you will find them, so you can't prejudge. Appearances can be deceiving. For all you know, the person you're talking to right now could be the very one who will go crazy, sponsor a ton of people and explode your downline. You just don't know. So, you have to talk to people, enough people, period. If there is a secret to MLM success, that's it. Talk to people. Your business and your success depend on it.

What's the Greatest Obstacle to MLM Success? It's Not What You Might Think.

Something like 95 percent of the people who start out in MLM, fail. That's an alarming statistic and it begs the simple question," why?" Any number of reasons have been postulated by some of the best analytical business minds. What you believe, largely depends upon which circle you run with. If you are in the pro MLM crowd, you will hear things like; lack of support, poor compensation plan, lack of knowledge about the business or products. The list goes on. If you are in the anti MLM crowd you are likely to hear things like; MLM's don't work, they're nothing but pyramid schemes, only the guys at the top make any money. This list goes on, as well. But I'm here to tell you that none of these is the answer to the question posed. None of them is THE reason that most people fail. So, what is the answer?

The number one reason most people fail to achieve MLM success, or success in any endeavor in life, for that matter is embodied in one very simple, yet very powerful word. Excuses! That's right, excuses! I don't have any money. I'm no good at sales. I don't have the time. I know someone who tried one of those businesses and they didn't make any money. I need to wait until ____ fill in the blank. This list, like the ones above, goes on and on. In fact, ALL of these so-called "reasons" are nothing more than excuses, every last one. These excuses either prevent someone from taking advantage of a legitimate business opportunity that could change their life forever, or they are pointed to, in retrospect, as the reason the business failed. We humans are good at making excuses. It's a habit that has been ingrained in us from our youth. Like an infectious disease, this habit has been passed down from generation to generation, in all cultures and in all walks of life. No one is immune.

It's much easier to make excuses as to why one can't do something than it is to have the courage to to attempt it. It's much easier to excuse away failure than it is to take responsibility for it. The truth is, if someone REALLY wants something, if the desire or the need for it is strong enough, they will do whatever it takes, to get it. No excuse, no obstacle will stand in their way! Let me prove it to you. Suppose I handed you a small hand shovel and told you that buried in that one acre, ice and snow covered field over there, is a chest. Inside that chest is a treasure worth one million dollars, find it, and it's yours. What would you do? Would you say, "it's too cold out here" or "this shovel is too small" or "the field is too big" or "I don't know how to dig" or any other lame excuse? No! You would start digging and you would not quit until you found that chest! What if Instead of giving you the shovel, I offered to sell it to you for one hundred dollars? Would you argue with me or would you find the hundred bucks and buy the shovel? You'd buy the shovel!

The secret to MLM success is simple. Want it badly enough and do whatever you have to do to achieve it. Your company has the tools, the support, the training, the marketing plan, the product or service and the compensation plan to enable your success. What they don't have and what only you can supply is the desire and commitment to succeed. Look in the mirror, you're looking at the one variable you have control over, you! Stop making excuses, get in the game, commit, refuse to fail, refuse to quit. Your dream is worth it, your desire is worth it, you are worth it. So, in the words of that crazy comedian, "Git 'R Done!"

Life is Short, so Live It!

I recently went through a period of being just completely emotionally and physically drained. There were several family issues, nothing really big, but lots of little ones all hitting at once, compounding their effect. In addition to that, my mother has been having heart problems, and some other medical difficulties as well, and that was weighing on me. In fact we went out to Texas just last week to see her and my Dad. She had an operative procedure done this afternoon that should get the heart problems back in line. Things went well, and that provided some stress relief.

In the midst of all this, I was experiencing somewhat of a dry spell in building my home business. I was having difficulty recruiting new members, and in an MLM business that can be quite discouraging. Looking back, I can see that more than likely the trouble recruiting was largely attributable to the fact that all of the above was coming through in my voice and potential recruits were being affected by it and driven away. I'm not by nature a negative person, but the past few weeks or more I know I have been. It had to be having an effect on my prospecting efforts. What, you might ask, does all of this have to do with MLM or Home Business? Everything. It really put things in perspective for me. Perhaps it can do so, for you.

You see, life is short, very short. It's much too short to lose sight of the important things, like family, friendships, even our goals and dreams. It's much too short to spend complaining, whining, worrying, things I had been doing quite a bit of, recently. We spend far too much time in MLM, talking about the negative. We lament over things that hinder our success, people who just don't get it, who can't see or won't see the power of the opportunity we are putting in front of them. We discuss all the negative press our industry gets from people on the outside who, quite frankly, don't know what they are talking about. And we complain about how it affects our recruiting efforts. We gripe about success not coming quickly enough to suit us, when all along the greatest gift of all has been given to us, for free! That gift is life. And that life is very short.

We have so much to be thankful for. I know I do. No, I'm not making as much money as I would like, one never does. My business is not growing as fast as I would like it to, and even if it were, I would just want it to grow even faster. It's amazing what things we allow to upset our apple cart, things that when put into proper perspective when we or a loved one becomes ill, or worse, really don't matter. I'm not saying our dreams and our goals are not important or worthy of our commitment, our determination and effort. I'm not saying that the obstacles in our way are not real. I'm just saying that we need balance. That balance for me comes in the form of my wife, family and friends, my church, my faith, and yes, my life. If we lose balance we lose perspective. If we lose perspective we are lost, adrift in a sea of confusion and uncertainty, like a ship with no rudder. If we lose balance it will affect every thing in our life. Nothing will be truly right, for us, unless that balance is restored.

I apologize if this is a bit too metaphysical, but I do believe it is important. Maybe it will help someone else who is going through a crisis of balance and perspective. If you have lost sight of what is really important in life, my suggestion is to take the time to get alone with yourself, take time out to be thankful for the incredible gift of life you have been given. Find that center, find that balance and let it put everything else back into perspective. It will, if you will let it, I promise you. It did, for me. And now, with that balance restored, I can get back to the business of growing a successful organization that will continue to change my life and the lives of those who will come along. I can focus on my dreams and goals with much more clarity of vision and I can work toward them with much more commitment and determination. Yes my friends, life is short. So live it.

Are You a Good Listener?

There are a couple of inside secrets that all successful sales people know that the unsuccessful do not and I intend to share these secrets with you, here and now. Secret number one, sales is not about your product, your business opportunity, your compensation plan, none of that. Sales is about you. The sooner you figure that one out, the better. People don't buy your product, they buy into you. They don't join your MLM or home business opportunity, they join you. You are not selling any of the above. You are selling yourself.

The second secret, just as important as the first, is this. Successful sales people are good listeners. They are able to discern their customers need, want, desire, or the source of their pain and they recognize when the customer is giving them cues to close the sale. Successful sales people listen more and talk less. So what are the skills that make one a good listener? Let's look at a few.

Before you pick up the phone to call a prospect, find a place of inner calm and quiet. Do some breathing exercises. Say a prayer. Sing a line or two of your favorite song. Do whatever it is that helps you to get centered, inwardly calm and allows you to tune out any distractions, even your own misgivings or fears. If you are not in a place of peace, your customer will pick up on it immediately, even over the phone.

Next, you should have no agenda other than to find out what your prospect needs wants or desires or and to discern if your product or home business opportunity is right for them, and they for it. Don't enter into the conversation trying to sell, enter in trying to listen. Remember how you have felt when you pick up the phone and that annoying telemarketer is on the other end cramming a bunch of information down your throat, bludgeoning you with all manner of questions and not letting you get in one word edgewise? Don't put your customer through that same torture.

Start off with some small talk, allow them to open up to you and begin to identify with you. If you pay attention, you will know when this has happened. Then start off with a question or two that can only be answered, yes, like "it would be great to have more money at the end of the month wouldn't It?" Get them agreeing with you, then move on to more open ended questions that encourage them to give you their need, want or desire. At this stage, listen, pay attention. Accept their answer, don't judge, don't rebut, and by all means don't interrupt. You've got them talking, now let them talk. Acceptance does not mean agreement or validation. By accepting their answer you make them feel you are genuinely concerned about them. Of course you had better be. If not, they will pick up on that one as well.

Now, here is the real meat of the subject. Once you get them talking, if you will really listen rather than try to formulate a response or an answer, you will know when they are giving you cues to close. Unsuccessful sales people begin to offer answers, rebuttals and talk themselves right out of the sale! Don't sell past the close. When they give you the opening, offer them the solution to their need want or desire, be brief, and then shut up! In that moment, silence is golden. If you have done a good job, they will feel as if they have solved their own problem, found the answer to their desire. You have successfully sold yourself, and they have bought into you.

In summary, sales, MLM or otherwise, is about selling yourself and getting customers to buy into you. It's about making them feel they have solved their own problem, answered their own need. Successful sales people know how to listen more and talk less. They know how to accept their customers answers without necessarily validating them, especially with objections. They have no agenda but to find out what their customer needs, wants or desires and to see if what they have to offer will meet that need. Successful sales people listen for cues to close and then do so, they don't sell past the close. Successful sales people know how to listen. Are you a good listener?

Home Based Business Success is Never an Accident, part 3

In our last two installments we discussed how we must become students of success in all it's aspects, and how we must make success our plan. Now we will see how in order to succeed, we need to take action, not some half-hearted action, ALL OUT MASSIVE ACTION! It must be action fuled with an all consuming desire to succeed. Nothing short of this will do. MLM and Home Based Business Success must be worked for with determination and resolve.

We've prepared properly, we've formulated our plan, now we need to implement. You may have seen the IBM TV commercials with "Innovation Man," the caped crusader with the big "I" on his chest all fired up for innovation, with no concern for implementation. My favorite one ends with the slogan, Stop Talking, Start Doing!

So, how do we implement? I suppose we must first define our term, "All Out Massive Action!" There are any number of good articles and books on how to do the tasks and what those tasks are, that bring success. In this article I want to focus on the principles of massive action. Get those down and the tasks will come much easier.

While researching this topic I came across this quote by well known MLM success mentor and author, Sean Mize, "Massive action is doing one thing with a fervor that is one hundred times that of anyone else doing the same thing." I think that pretty well sums it up. What Sean is talking about is passion. Get to the head of the class, break in line, climb over the top, whatever you have to do, but get there! When you think you're working hard enough, work harder! When you think you've done enough, do more! That's passion. Never say die, "Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!"

So what's step one? In her article on this subject, "How to Motivate to Massive Action," Tina Su, another incredible home business success mentor, says, "The decision is the first step towards change. Regardless of the decision, every change requires some form of action." Those are powerful words. Make a decision and stick to it. Simple. Not easy, but simple.

Next you must set your goals and set them high! Or as Tina puts it, "Start with the end in mind." Don't sell your self short, either, dream big! Once you have set your long term goal, establish some short term goals that progress toward your primary goal, I call them bench marks. It's a much less daunting task to move from one small goal to the next, plus you can celebrate along the way each time you hit a mark. It's more fun, that way for sure.

Author and success coach Bob Proctor says, "start doing a thing to have the energy to do the thing." Take that first small step and the subsequent steps will come easier. Build momentum, keep moving forward, resolve to hit that next goal. When you get to that one, resolve to make the next one. If you know your physics, you know it's much easier to keep an object in motion, moving, than it is to start it moving. That principle applies, here. Keep Moving!

One last piece of advice, surround yourself with successful people. Successful people are motivated people, people with high goals and aspirations. Find out what they do, and do that. Lastly, don't hang around negative people, rather, avoid them like the plague! I call those people "dream killers." They will suck the life out of you and hold you back. Don't listen to them, don't even hang around with them. MLM success is not easy. It's simple, but it's not easy. Successful people will keep you motivated and focused.

In summary, we've studied, we've planned, now it's time for action. It starts with a decision to get going, to take All Out Massive Action. Set your goals, long and short term, set them high, dream big, then work for them with passion, fervor and a never say die attitude. Take that first step, whether it's getting on the phone, digging into your company's training materials, meeting with your sponsor, whatever the step is, take it and don't look back. Make momentum work for you, not against you. Surround yourself with successful people and avoid those "dream killers." Do these few things, stick to your plan, and MLM home business success is yours. I guarantee it.

The Berry Tree Scam

As I spend time in Internet forums, various blogs, researching and publsihing articles in various ezines and on other social networking sites, I find this recurring theme being played out like a broken record. The Berry Tree is a scam. This complaint is due, for the most part, to a few supposed problems; they charge a membership fee to join, the bonus pools are too small, it takes a too long to make any significant money and too many people fail with the business. In this article I will address these complaints, as well as the accusation that MLM's in general and The Berry Tree in particular, are scams.

I'm intrigued by how freely the word scam is thrown around these days, focused and aimed like a sniper's rifle at anything that smacks of MLM, The Berry Tree included. In most cases these accusations are by people who are simply misinformed. Or, they are by people who feel they've been burned by MLM and they're on a mission to bring the entire industry to it's knees! Not exactly what I would call credible witnesses. I wouldn't build a court case based on their testimony.

To determine the truth of such accusations, I suppose some definitions are in order. I turned to our good friend, Mr. Webster, and what I found was both interesting and informative. The definition of the word scam is "a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation," or, "an attempt to make money by fraudulent means." Fraud. Scam. Deception. Those are strong words and should derinately not be spoken lightly! If someone is going to hurl those words like a cannon ball at the MLM industry, and more specifically, at The Berry Tree, they had better be sure of their facts.

Let's take a closer lookat the above accusations in light of these definitions. MLM's like The Berry Tree, charge a membership fee in exchange for which the distributor receives products, marketing and training tools, mentorship, etc. They in turn, get the rights to profit from the business. That sounds pretty fair to me. It's not unlike buying into a McDonald's, or Starbucks Franchise. To own a franchise, one will have to pay franchise fees. So what's the difference?

If a membership or start-up fee makes The Berry Tree or any MLM a scam, then by definition, charging franchise fees to open a McDonald's or Starbucks is also a scam. Now, the start up cost for most MLM's is under $100, whereas the franchise fees above are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Which of these do you suppose would enable the average person to become a successful business owner and realize great wealth and financial freedom?

If promising someone they will make money with an MLM, only for them to end up in failure, is a scam, then the same is true with traditional business owners who start out with that same dream, only to fail, and go out of business. It happens every day. Most often that failure is attributable to failure on the part of the business owner to do the things necessary to succeed. And, in those cases where it was the fault of the company, insufficient training, poorly designed compensation plan or whatever, it's still not fraud, and therefore not a scam.

Remember, scam means "by a fraudulent or deceptive act." Just because the business owner doesn't make the money they or the company thought they would make, either by their own fault, the company's fault, or some combination of the two, this is not a scam. It's not fraud. It's a bad business business model, maybe, bad luck, maybe, but it's not fraud.

I'm not implying that there are not real scams out there, there certainly are. There are those phony envelope stuffing schemes, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and perhaps the most successful one of all, that inheritance that suddenly has become yours from some rich philanthropist in Nigeria who has passed away and somehow their attorney or a family member has found you and wants to give you a large sum of money, yada yada yada. Now, pay attention class, those are scams. Remember, "by fraudulent means?"

So why is The Berry Tree being accused of being a scam? Several reasons. They charge a membership fee to join, we've already addressed that point. It takes time to make money and the bonus pools are small. The Berry Tree is not intended to be a get rich quick scheme. It is a compensation plan based upon growing and developing a deep and stable downline. The idea is not just to build numbers, but to build quality, distributors capable of reproducing themselves and duplicating the process downward. It takes time to accomplish this.

Sure, this will pay less in the beginning, but over time, this process will produce significant long term passive residual income. The small bonus pools do not indicate a problem either, but quite the opposite. The company is entering a phase where more people are qualifying for those bonuses, which of course will deplete them somewhat. However, those same people are sponsoring new members and growing the business, which will in turn increase the bonus pools, over time. This perceived problem is in reality evidence of growth and stability.

In summary, a scam is a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation, an attempt to make money by fraudulent means. It implies intent. Poorly run companies, bad business models, people not making money due to their failure or their company's, are not scams. They are problems for sure, but they're not scams. Membership and franchise fees are not scams. Businesses fail, people fail, this is a fact of life. This does not make the company a scam. MLM is a solid business model and The Berry Tree is one of the best this author has ever seen. It certainly has been successful for us. The only way to fail with The Berry Tree or any good MLM is to quit.

Look for The Berry Tree on CNBC, coming this fall on Eye on America with Diane Sawyer.

Home Based Business Success is Never and Accident, part 2

In our previous discussion we examined how Home Business Success must be studied, much the same as in any other business or vocation. In this article we will discuss how success must be planned. No successful venture is ever entered into without a plan. Sports teams enter into a game with a game plan. Corporations enter into business with a business plan. Medical professionals develop a care plan for their patients. So why should it be any different when entering into a Home Business? As the saying goes, "failure to plan is planning to fail." How true. So how does one plan success?

First and foremost, you have to know your marketing plan, how your company goes about selling it's products and business opportunity. In order to work a plan you have to understand it. Your company and your upline will have a plan that is tried and proven. Learn it and follow it. As I said in my previous article on this subject, "don't try to reinvent the wheel." Your upline are successful for a reason. Find out how they did it, do what they did and you will succeed, as well. In other words, duplication. It works.

Next, you need to establish a budget. You need to know how much you can spend on advertising, office supplies, training materials, etc. Set a budget and stick to it. Keep a record of expenses and income. If you don't know how much you can afford to spend compared to how much you are spending, you will have no idea how much money you are really making. Also, because this is a business, most if not all of your expenses will be deductible. Find out what expenses are deductible and keep track of them for tax purposes. Save your receipts.

Another thing you must budget is your time. Decide how many hours per day, per week, you can devote to your business, and stick to it! Within this framework, you will have to allocate time for studying and training, calling prospects and following up with them. You will need time for record keeping and scheduling appointments. As your business grows you will need to spend time training your new people to duplicate your success. All of this is time consuming and you need to plan for it. And, very important, plan and schedule some down time and family time. You and your family will need it.

Next, you need to know how to talk to your prospects. If you know ahead of time what to say and how to say it, you will be much more comfortable talking to people. With the help of your Mentor and some pre-written scripts, practice first time prospecting calls and follow up calls until they become second nature. Practice handling objections, you will get them. Listen in on live calls with your mentor, then have him or her listen in as you do the talking and then have them give you feedback afterward.

A point worth mentioning here is the need to be prepared for rejection. Not everyone you talk to will be receptive. Count on it. Some of them will be downright rude. Also, be prepared for people in your business to drop out, some for valid reasons and some for poor ones. Some of them will even blame you for their failure. Be prepared to feel discouraged at times. It will happen. If you are prepared ahead of time for these setbacks, you won't be blind sided by them, and you will be able to deal with them.

Having said all of this, no plan is perfect and no plan can foresee all the obstacles you will encounter. You will have to be flexible and will need to make adjustments to your plan along the way. Don't be discouraged when this happens. If you have a framework to work within and have set some goals to strive for and if you keep your eye on the prize, your financial freedom, you can adjust your plan and keep right on going.

In summary, no business, your own Home Business or any other venture entered into haphazardly will ever succeed. Fail to plan and you are planning to fail. So, make a plan and follow it. Budget your money and your time. Know your company and your products. Practice your prospecting techniques until you have them down pat. Listen to and follow your mentor. Expect setbacks and obstacles and when they come adapt and adjust. Stay focused on your goal. Do these few things and you will be successful, I guarantee it.

MLM Home Based Business Success is Never an Accident

It never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I see it happen, how so many people enter into an MLM Home Business unprepared and without a plan, expecting to be successful. And when they fail, which unless they are very lucky, they eventually will, they blame their failure on the industry, on their company or on their upline. Home Based Business success does not happen by accident. Success must be studied, planned and worked for with determination and resolve. I'm reminded of the old adage, "nothing of lasting value in life happens by accident." Success in business, in any career, in life even, is no exception. In this three part series we will examine the three components of Home Business success mentioned previously. This list is by no means exclusive, there are other components as well. We are just going to focus on these three.

Success must be studied. If you want to be successful in any venture whether it be business or any other vocation, you must study every aspect of the endeavor. If you want to become a physician, you must first study medicine, and then apprentice under skilled and experienced physicians before you can be licensed to practice on your own. If you want to become an attorney, the same is true. It is true for any chosen profession. Can you imagine men like Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein or Marshall Field becoming successful inventors, scientists, businessmen, without being thoroughly educated on every aspect of their field of expertise? Absurd! Why would it be any different in a Home Business, MLM or otherwise? It's not.

In business, you need to know your product, your marketing and compensation plans. You need to know how much it will cost you to do business and the profitability of your business and products. Those costs include but are not exclusive to; advertising and lead generation, advertising materials, business and office supplies, telephone charges, and very important, your time. Time is the one resource you have that is non-replenishable. Once spent, you can never get it back. So, time spent learning the business, learning the products, advertising, calling leads, following up on prospects and customers, training associates or downline, must all be taken into account. Your time may be your most costly resource, because as I stated earlier, it's non renewable.

Additionally, you need to know who your target market is and how best to reach them. Products fall into some kind of niche, you need to know what that niche is for your business. You need to be able to fine tune your advertising and sales efforts to be most effective for reaching the demographic for which your particular business and products are most suited. You cannot do this unless you thoroughly understand your product, sales and marketing strategy, and your niche market.

Another important aspect of studying for success is mentor-ship. Why re-invent the wheel? Once you decide upon a business, one of the most important things you can do is to seek out a mentor, someone who has been there, done that, and knows the quickest and most efficient path to success and the pitfalls to avoid. You need to attach yourself to this person and soak up every last drop of knowledge and wisdom he or she has to share with you. Obviously you should seek out someone who is very successful and learn how to do what they do the way that they do it. Don't cut corners. Don't resist the training. They are successful for a reason. Find out what that reason is and duplicate it. It has been said the shortest path to any destination is a straight line. Well, this person can show you how to walk that straight line, in the least amount of time, with the least amount of pain and frustration. Follow them.

Lastly, and very importantly, prepare yourself for setbacks. Discuss this with your mentor, know ahead of time what those set backs can and will be, where you can expect them crop up, and be prepared. This won't prevent setbacks from coming, but it will prepare you mentally to "tough it out" and work through them. They won't catch you by surprise and you will know how to deal with them. Trust me, you will face obstacles and difficult times. You will go through periods where you couldn't sell soap to someone covered in mud! It just happens. It's not you, it's not the company, it's not the marketing plan, it's just life, Murphy's law. And Murphy was an optimist. Knowing there's a boogie man about to jump out of some doorway or dark alley makes it a lot less frightening when it happens and prepares you to respond in an efficient and effective manor.

To summarize, success must be studied. Prepare, apprentice, anticipate obstacles and setbacks, and you will succeed. You won't be able not to. In your Home Based Business as in any career or chosen endeavor, the ones who succeed are the ones who have prepared. The ones who have prepared are the ones who have studied. The ones who have studied are the ones who are serious, dedicated, focused and determined and who have decided ahead of time, failure is not an option and success is not an accident.

Get In Touch With Reality

This outstanding article was written my good friend, Michael Lemm aka FreedomFire, administrator of the Home Based Business Forum, an excellent resource for all Home Business professionals. I highly recommend this forum to those of you striving run a successful business venture. His articles and posts always inspire me, and this one is no exception. I believe we can all benefit from what it teaches.

Enjoy!

One of the traits of current television programming is the various series of "reality" shows. While I am not sure how much any of these really depict the "reality" of anyone except a select few, the trend does raise the question:

Are you in touch with your own reality?

Your reality might be that you are where you want to be in life, and you want more of the same. Or at the other end of the spectrum, your reality might be a severe financial hardship that you do not know how you are going to recover from. Or your reality might be somewhere in between these two extremes.

Whatever your reality is, be aware that it is only human nature to want good things and be comfortable. If you don't have that, then that is what you want. If you already have that, then you want more of that. But the REALITY of the situation is, some say, "what it is is what it is, and you cannot do anything about it."

The problem with that picture of reality is that it is the most blatant LIE on the face of the planet. If you do not like where you are in life, then the power to change that is within your grasp. There are rarely any exceptions to this rule, yet people would have you believe otherwise, perhaps only because they themselves have already long ago given up on the dreams and goals they had in their younger years.

The following is a story which I would like to share with you to further drive home this point:

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see." "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which are you? Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength? Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did you have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have you become hardened and stiff? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. You can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and learn from them to make your future better.

Your Home Business is what you make it and is a direct reflection of the amount of time and energy you put into it. If you treat it as a hobby, your commission checks will be "hobby sized", but if you are serious about it, then have your seriousness be reflected in your actions.

May we all be coffee!

What Is an Opportunity

I came accross this article on my good friend Josh Bradley's Blog. Josh is CEO of Big Cash Creator, a company who's business is providing Home Business marketers state of the art tools for marketing their business opportunities. I believe this article addresses a valid concern and represents somewhat of a paradigm shift in how we should be marketing our MLM opportunities. Our economy, in deed the whole world's economy is changing drastically. These changes are having a significant effect on how prople approach the whole "work from home" idea. I believe if we can adapt our approach, how we try to "sell" our products and opportunities, these changes can work in our favor. Alan Kuykendall, the author of this particular article seems to agree with this way of thinking. I hope you will benefit as much as I did from reading this article. I cleaned it up a bit gramatically and changed some of the wording to make the article flow a little better, but the author's ideas remain intact. Enjoy!

Once apon a time MLM or Network Marketing companies and direct sales organizations would tell you that their opportunity was something that the average individual could take part in and could become a multimillionaire virtually overnight. The greatest pitch and almost standard tag lines used, were by people who have made and who continue to make millions from this industry. Through the years of network marketing using the internet as it's primary marketing medium, this approach has remained fairly successful!

Why wouldn’t it be? Becoming instantly rich by signing up with a company that everybody else was part of, seemingly making tons of cash, always looks good! As I am writing this article I can remember back to the time when I got the fever for MLM. It was based on the same principle. I was broke and tired of scratching for every dollar just to make ends meet. My rent was late, my family and I ate at home every day and our meals were something of a bore because of the tight budget we were on. It cost me so much money just to keep the 7am.-7pm job at the time as well. Gas, uniforms, insurance, union fees, tools, etc. had to be taken from my check every week and it was amazing what that amount was.

It was that same old “pitch” of getting rich overnight that gave me my original fever and it has not left me to this very day! But in all actuality, did I get rich overnight? No, and just like 75% of all people who come into network marketing, I failed at my first attempt. I did make a few bucks, but not nearly enough to pay for all the products I was buying, let alone enough to allow me to stop working. As I aged through the years, I kept at it with this industry and eventually figured out everything and started to make enough money to finally quit my day job. And from that day forward, I have always worked for myself from my home except for a short 3 year period when I went to work as the Director of Operations of our city’s biggest nutritional MLM networking company. That was 5 yrs ago and now, as everyone knows, I am cofounder of Big Cash Creator, LLC.

My point is, that I did not become rich over night. It took me several attempts, several thousand dollars and almost 2 yrs before I could honestly say that I was one of those persons that could boast about making gazillions. It took hard work, practice and a ton of learning to finally achieve the success that a lot of companies pitch today, that anyone can do it and in a very short time. Now, don’t get me wrong. There ARE individuals out there that have made a ton of money overnight without having any experience whatsoever. And that is the dream of MLM, make no mistake about it! But in this article I would like to suggest to you a change in our marketing strategy, that the opportunity is NOT about making a million bucks over night but is instead about something a little more reasonable, something people can more easily identify with.

At Big Cash Creator, LLC, we pay attention to the economy as well as to what is going on in the world politically and to the general attitude of society. The truth of the matter is that these factors play a very important role in the success of Network Marketing. Success relies solely in the hands of what we call, “The Masses." Most companies out there will tell you that without the masses there could never be a successful multimillion dollar company. If a company is not bringing in tens of thousands of regular people, like you and I, they will ultimately fail. If you ask any leader in any company with the 10K sized down lines, they will tell you that the majority of people in their organizations are simple people with a dream.

Now if we look at any major news network, newspaper or nationally circulated news magazine, a good part of their stories and topics are based on today’s economy and where it is going. Even with the current political change that is about to take place in the United States, the economy is starting to play a major role in that change. And if we dig deeper we will also see that there are quite a few people out there that feel that our economy is only going to worsen before it gets better. These days in America, most people do not see the possibility of being a millionaire in their future. Even though we are telling people that “Anyone Can Become a Millionaire,” more and more people are hesitant about taking anything out of their budget to try it out.

Recently, on CNN news, there was a story by their financial news anchor about how to budget the family income so that it would be possible to keep up with the rising cost of food. Just with the high cost of fuel, they are already predicting that there will be a whopping 37% fewer people traveling this upcoming Memorial Day weekend. With that in mind and with everyone really trying to stretch every dollar they earn, it is only reasonable to assume that more and more people very well may not buy into the whole “Earn a Million Dollars in Your First Month” hype. Only a few years back, statistics show, people would take a chance with a few dollars out of their paycheck or income tax check and take a stab at a Home Business Opportunity and give it their best shot.

Today however, especially if what the financial experts are predicting comes true, we are going to find that people are not going to be willing to take that chance. The truth of the matter is that our society can see through that hype and basically figure out that if anybody could do it, why is our economical outlook so bleak? As I said, I would like to suggest a change in our marketing approach from that of promoting the great opportunity hype to one of selling an opportunity to make a few extra bucks, instead. It is because of our current economical status that I have already started to employ this in my day to day prospecting efforts. I no longer tell my prospects that by joining my opportunity they will become rich like me. Instead, what they really respect and take to heart is, that I tell them this is an opportunity to make some extra cash for the possibility of troubled times ahead.

When I ask someone if they are going to travel this Memorial Day weekend and they tell me that they just can’t afford it, then that is my time to shine. I love to tell my prospects that I won’t lie.. It is not everyone that can be another Donald Trump. But what I can tell them and show them is how they can add an extra 100-200 dollars to their family budget by getting into my opportunity and utilizing the tools that I have. And that folks is GOLD, right now. One of the biggest reasons prospects fail to upgrade in your business is that they simply feel they cannot afford to and are unwilling to take that chance, with the small budget they have now. But the truth of the matter is, with most opportunities today, the average person really can add that extra income to supplement their budget. Who would not want to do that?

When someone tells me they cannot afford to take a camping trip or take the family out to dinner, I will go to great lengths, laying it out on the table for them, how my opportunity can allow them to do just that! And by joining my opportunity they will be able keep everything they are doing for their budget. No chances taken so to say. The thing is, it really is true that people do become extremely wealthy in MLM and by starting out with their only goal being to add more money to the budget to compensate for the small things like gas, food, and entertainment they are presented with the ability to become one of those millionaires, over time, with effort and motivation.

With this concept of creating a smaller opportunity for today’s financially difficult times, we will soon see that these new type of prospects that continue to work for their current employers are actually able to bring in more prospects because of what they are doing. While standing around the company water fountain or copy machine, your new team mate is telling his or her colleagues that he just came back from a weekend long camping trip with the entire family. They will be approached by co-workers who want to know exactly how they could afford such a luxury, working at the same place. And guess what they will offer in response? The same sort of opportunity that you presented.

Yes, anyone can become a zillionaire in this business. But only if they are able to bring in the masses. The masses are not going to take a chance with the current opportunity hype, but they will do almost anything including working 1 or 2 part time jobs just to make ends meet. Remember that gas alone to drive to yet another part time job costs the same as most opportunities cost on a monthly basis. But your opportunity not only provides the freedom of not having to buy gas, it allows people to enjoy the little time they currently have with their present full time job. Which would you prefer? I know that my prospects prefer the comfort of their own home and the ability to spend time with their families and especially going into the woods for a couple of days because it can be afforded!
- Article Written By Alan Kuykendall, C.O.O. and Cofounder, Big Cash Creator, LLC

"The Inside Secret to Why Network Marketing will ALWAYS work!"

My good friend Michael Lemm, AKA FreedomFire on the popular Home Based Business Forum, and author of Best MLM Resources Blog posted this article on his Blog, back in April. I found it to be both insightful and very educational.

How often do we hear that tired and worn out objection, "MLM is dead, it doesnt work anymore," or some derivative thereof. Here is a very concise and effective way to counter that objection and silence your critic. I hope you all benefit as much from reading this as I did. Enjoy!

Jose Valentin of SpinSuccess.com shared this recently....quite thought provoking. Read, take it to heart, and believe that you ARE in the right place.

========

Some people believe that network marketing really doesn't work. To put it lightly, they're WRONG. I am going to take the next few minutes to explain to you why network marketing will always work so that the next time someone takes the time to tell you that network marketing doesn't work you explain to them how misinformed they truly are.

Here is why Network Marketing will ALWAYS work:

Even in a strong economy people will ALWAYS need supplemental income:

The truth is most people live pay check to pay check. They aren't able to buy the nice things that they want for themselves and their families. There is and will always be a constant DEMAND for more money. Network marketing is a simple, part time and low risk way for full time workers to fill this need. To put it simply, as long as people need money network marketing will ALWAYS be there to fill that need.

People will ALWAYS want freedom from jobs they don't enjoy:

Despite what you may think, there are people out there that truly don't enjoy their job. They go to work because they have to and not because they want to. Network marketing offers a promise of true financial freedom. The ability to leave the 9 to 5 working world. This freedom will ALWAYS be to tempting to pass up.

People will ALWAYS want more free time to do with as they please:

Did you know in a past poll conducted by Money magazine that 64% of American men and 68% of American women polled said that if they had a choice between more money and more time off they would choose the time? People covet their free time.

Network marketing offers the promise of working from home and making your own hours. Again, the opportunity to create free time will ALWAYS draw people to network marketing.

Conclusion:

As long as people crave time, money and freedom network marketing will ALWAYS exist.

The next time that someone tries to tell you that network marketing doesn't work you know that they couldn't be more wrong.

All you have to is ask your accuser 1 of 3 questions:

Do you want more money?
Do you want freedom from your job?
Do you want more time?

I guarantee they will answer yes to one of these questions. When they do they will have proved exactly why network marketing will always work!

Great Article! I hope you all benefit from it as much as I have.

Mitch

==============================
Guaranteed MLM Success with The Berry Tree
==============================

This Business is About People

I read a great comment in The Work AT Home Forum just the other day. The discussion was about building a successful downline. There were lots of very good comments on the subject. But then I came across this one by Rob and Rayvin Nyte. Simply put, I was blown away! You will be too.

To Quote:

“I don’t like the word Downline. It’s too impersonal. These are people with families, hopes and dreams, with goals for the future, with people who love them. How much do you know about the people dowline from you? Do they have any pets, hobbies, aspirations? We don’t know of any better way to build a successful downline than to build the people who are in it (emphasis mine). Our mentor is right. He never tires of repeating to us, “Build people and you will build your business.” Those words have become a mantra for us. May they help you transform your people as they have helped us.”

You see, we are not in the MLM Business or the Health and Wellness Business. We are not in the Vacation and Travel Business. We are in The People Business! Forget that when dealing with potential customers and business partners and we begin to sound impersonal, pushy, like a salesman. Forget it when we are working with our downline and we lose the ability to lead. Relationships build a successful business, not your product or compensation plan. To quote that silly insurance commercial, “Human Beings, acting Humanly, Brilliant!” But it’s the truth. Treat people with compassion, dignity and respect, become genuinely interested in their needs and concerns, their hopes and aspirations, and they will reward you by purchasing your products. They will reward you by not just joining your opportunity, but by excelling and building your business. Why, because you have made it Their Business as well. You have created a true Joint Venture.

Success in your Home Business isn’t measured by how big a downline you can recruit, or how much product you can sell. It’s not even measured by how much money you make. Those are all important benchmarks, to be sure. But true success, the kind that will build a strong, viable long lasting and profitable business, lies in how well you build people. It lies in how well you are able to help other people succeed, achieve their dreams, live a better life, and so on. If you don’t own a copy of Tim Sales’ Professional Inviter series, I suggest you purchase a copy. I won't benefit one way or the other by your purchasing a copy, but then agan, I will. If we all endeavor to be more professional, more ethical, More Human, we will give this industry a much better image, and likely as not, we will all reap the benefits of that.

In his own insightful way, Tim teaches you how to get in touch, how to connect with your potential customers and business partners. He teaches you how to identify with them and their needs wants and concerns, and sometimes, their pain. You've heard the old addage, "People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!" You can’t get around that one. It's just human nature. You have to know how to Invite people in such a way that they feel invited, not sold. They need to know you care and that you truly want to help them. You lead and build your organization, the same way. "Build People and they will build your business." Simple, but Powerful.

Mitch

There is NO Plan B!

For my first post, I would like to share a short article i posted in one or two of the forums I frequent on a regular basis. I recommend you do the same, especially if you are truly serious about getting involved in a Home Business Opportunity. Forums and Blogs are some of the best resources available to those of us who have embarked upon the journey that is a Home Business. This is a marathon, not a sprint. The prize goes to the one who perseveres when all the odds seem to be stacked against them, thus the reason for my title, "There is NO Plan B." So, read on, and I hope this will inspire you, encourage you, give you a sense of purpose. To your success and mine!

I was having a discussion a while back with a good friend, a very successful member of my organization. His name is Martin. We were talking about motivation, about selling out, doing whatever is necessary to succeed in this industry. I asked him what had made him so successful and his reply almost bowled me over in it's simplicity, yet it was such a powerful motivator that it became a defining moment in my MLM career, in my life, even. "Mitch" he said "there is No Plan B." For a moment, all I could do was just sit quietly and reflect on what I had just heard. What power, what insight was contained in those simple words. He's right, you know, there really is No Plan B. For those of us who are endeavoring to walk this path, an MLM Business Opportunity is our one shot at creating a secure financial future. For whatever reason, lack of planning, calamity, sickness, poor financial decisions, we have no other means with which to build enough wealth to retire securely and comfortably.

At that moment, the epiphany that exploded in my mind defined me and set me upon a course not unlike Cortez, when he came to the New World. He commanded his troops to "burn the ships." Why? It left them with No Plan B. They were sold out! They were committed! They had to be, there was no going back. For me, there is no going back. There are not enough years nor is there enough strength left in this 54 year old body to do it the old fashioned way, invest, save, etc. My personal situation is not unlike many of you, I imagine. Life has dealt me enough curves, some of which I dealt myself, I might add, that I have too little savings, no investments, not enough in retirement, pension plans, to survive on, let alone live the "good life." And I don't want to wind up a Wal Mart greeter, or bag boy in some supermarket at 65 years of age. Not even!

No, this is it for me. It is my one and only plan, my one and only course of action, my one and only means with which to secure my financial independence and freedom. One cannot succeed in any venture, especially Online Marketing unless one has a powerful and all consuming "why." This is a major component of my "why." If this doesn't work for me, nothing will. So it's "damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!" It's sell out, give my all, whatever it takes, I will do, because there is no other option. Sure, I want to get out of debt. Sure, I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck. Sure, I want to have a legacy to leave my kids when I am gone. But those motivators, powerful as they can be, pale in comparison to the realization that, the ships have been burned, the old world is an ocean away, my future is in my hands, no one Else's. It's succeed or else. I'm not being melodramatic here, it's the absolute truth.

Fortunately for me, and for many of you in the same boat, oh, I forgot they were burned, just kidding. As I was saying, fortunately for all of us, MLM is a great industry! We truly are in control of our own destiny, or own financial security, our own financial future. I'm thankful that there is No Plan B. If there were, I would have been tempted to give up, quit, because contrary to what many people believe, this industry is not easy. It's simple, unbelievably and amazingly simple, but it's not easy. It requires resolve, a thick skin, determination, commitment. It requires a strong enough "why!" So, in the words of Cortez, I say BURN THE SHIPS! Leave yourself no way back. It will change your whole approach to this business. It will change your heart, give you the strength to go on in the face of all the doubters, Nay Sayers, critics, self professed pundits who will try to tell you to just "get a job, take the easy way, MLM doesn't work," or whatever they are saying that has you spooked.

Just remember, burn this into your consciousness.

THERE IS NO PLAN B!

Respectfully submitted,

Mitch

The Berry Tree Is The Better Way!