It has been more than 50 years since The Beatles captured the world attention with their music on the Ed Sullivan Show, launching their career.  Yet the band almost never got off the ground because they flunked an audition at Decca Records because “Guitar groups are on the way out.”

Jack Canfield’s best-selling book “Chicken Soup For The Soul” was rejected by 144 publishers.

World-famous opera singer Enrico Caruso once had a teacher tell him he had no voice at all.

Dancer Fred Astaire, who mesmerized generations of adoring fans, was told in 1933 after his first MGM screen test: “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.”

Walt Disney was blasted by a newspaper that said he was lacking ideas. (Huh? Disney?)
Gritty Green Bay Packers coach, Super Bowl champ, and NFL Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi was described this way by one ‘expert’: “He possesses minimal football knowledge and lacks motivation.”

The Wright Brothers were the first to successfully invent pilot-controlled flight. But they endured years of criticism and doubt from a skeptical community when early attempts failed.
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Robert Fulton’s plan to build the first steam-powered boat was met with much ridicule and laughter from doubters. But the skeptics were silenced, standing dumbfounded on the riverbank, as Fulton’s boat steamed by.

So what’s the one unifying thing that could have derailed all their success? Very simply, it’s the negative opinions of so-called experts yet they didn’t listen. 

ACTIONS FOR YOU

How does this relate to you?
Every day, someone will attempt to dampen your enthusiasm with words of doubt, hesitation, or disbelief. Maybe even a close friend or loving family member — a person you trust to tell you the truth. Someone you cannot easily or hastily disregard.

Right now, do you have an idea, a dream, a goal, a wish — something you want passionately — but someone — or several someones — are casting doubt, raining on your parade, calling you nuts, urging you to quit?

If so, it’s decision-time. Do you listen and halt? Or ignore and press forward?

My suggestion: Never let another person — even a loved one — choose your path, or control your life. Or talk you out of the one you’ve already selected. They may doubt it can be done… underplay its importance… or have no passion for it.

They are not you. And they don’t have the dream or the flame that burns inside you.
Decide and have confidence in yourself.

 How does this relate to you?

Every day, someone will attempt to dampen your enthusiasm with words of doubt, hesitation, or disbelief. Maybe even a close friend or loving family member — a person you trust to tell you the truth. Someone you cannot easily or hastily disregard.

Right now, do you have an idea, a dream, a goal, a wish — something you want passionately — but someone — or several someones — are casting doubt, raining on your parade, calling you nuts, urging you to quit?

If so, it’s decision-time. Do you listen and halt? Or ignore and press forward?

My suggestion: Never let another person — even a loved one — choose your path, or control your life. Or talk you out of the one you’ve already selected. They may doubt it can be done… underplay its importance… or have no passion for it.
​
They are not you. And they don’t have the dream or the flame that burns inside you.
Decide and have confidence in yourself.

NEVER LET ANYONE STEAL your DREAM!!!

I love it when someone says they think they know all about something.  Or they say they don’t want to learn to be a sales person.  Everyone is a sales person and has been since they were in diapers.  If you doubt that tell me you have NOT done any of the following: 

• a few extra dessert cookies,
• staying up past bedtime,
• ice cream for the team (after losing!),
• after-school snacks even if you brought home a bad grade,
• borrowing the car,
• begging 25 or 50 bucks for a date,
• shoes and a purse to go with that new dress,
• a lighter sentence after missing curfew.

Do I need to add more – every adult has done one or more of these as a child and I suspect several times.  As a child you continued to grow through learning.  Even at a young age YOU ARE A SALES PERSON.  You achieved results without any formal sales training.  Imagine what you could have accomplished with training.    

It baffles me that most adults flatly refuse to grow, develop, or polish essential life skills thinking they are beneath them. They become stagnate and fail to grow as a person. When you get down to it – YOU are the only asset you own and have complete control over the outcome – why wouldn’t you want to improve. 

Continuing Education is the key to that improvement.  I do not care if you ever build an Amway business, you owe it to yourself to grow as a person.  Network 21’s CEP offers life lessons on dealing with adversity, overcoming obstacles and life setbacks, setting goals and taking steps towards those goals each day.  The books provide a positive reinforcement to help you deal with everyday issues that we all face. 

You have a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips.   Nancy Dornan has often said, I can tell you what it may cost to purchase CEP but I cannot imagine the tremendous cost for NOT investing in yourself using CEP. 

Don’t be one of those persons that let years go by only to have a midlife crisis saying
”I’m not where I thought I’d be at this point in my life… my career hasn’t taken off… I haven’t accomplished much… too little in savings… don’t have a lot to show for my age.”

Get up off the couch and order CEP today.

ACTIONS FOR YOU

There are two: (1) Learn to improve yourself and never stop learning. (2) Teach your kids and never stop teaching.
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There’s an infinite supply of available learning resources: books, CDs, downloads, magazines, newsletters, workshops, seminars, webinars, peer groups, search engines.
I don’t know where your life will go from this day forward, nor where you wish it to go. But this I do know: The likelihood of you achieving all or most of what you desperately want is greatly enhanced if you continue to grow and learn as a person.  Then teach others.      

Why anyone would deny, ignore, or run from this, is beyond me.  You are the only asset you have complete control over – make something out of it.

In 1940, Albert Gray gave a profound speech to a convention of insurance associates where he defined the common denominator of success -- the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful -- lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things failures don’t like to do.

Think about those words – they are life-changing – if you choose to embrace them.   

To lose weight requires forming the habit of doing what failed dieters don’t like to do:  eat healthy (Body Key), stop eating unhealthy, exercise regularly, stop not exercising.  It’s a simple formula… it’s worked for centuries… no shortcuts.

To learn a new craft or skill requires forming the habit of doing what failures at that skill don’t like to do:  find a qualified learning source (or several), study relentlessly, practice diligently, and sacrifice other things that get in the way, even some things you enjoy. 
The simple decision to do what it takes, do the work and get it done, is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful people.  

Should you decide to climb the ladder in business – successful people courageously tell management where you’d like to go in the company, map out a plan to get there, find a coach or mentor to teach necessary skills, aggressively and eagerly tackle all tasks laid out, work over lunch hours, read books, attend seminars, join a peer group, network to create relationships, scour the internet for ideas, listen to learning programs in your car, arrive early and stay late, and for goodness sakes, be willing to devote lots of personal time (evenings, weekends) and personal expense to your own growth.  Sound familiar? 
​
Success in our business is making a decision on building the Amway business, counseling with your upline to map out a plan, use your upline as a mentor, listen and study the CDs on how other successful people in our business have reached their goals and then simple do the tasks laid out by your mentor.    

Name an endeavor in business, sports, civic, coaching, spiritual, wealth, a hobby, or anything in life - if you want to be successful at whatever you decide, make your plan and do the work. 

Oh, and by the way, Albert Gray also discovered that successful people ALSO disliked doing some of the needed tasks but did them anyway to obtain the desired result.  The difference is they suck it up, gut it out, and create the self-discipline to get them done.

ACTIONS FOR YOU

​Maybe you’ve been unwilling to shed those behaviors or negative beliefs, and haven’t eagerly adopted successful ones.

You can make a different choice.  Starting today, starting right now make a decision on WHAT YOU WANT.  If you want it bad enough, you have to be willing to do the unpleasant, the thankless and the mundane to achieve your success.

You may even get frustrated with yourself and maybe with the closest people to you.  Get over it.  Just do the activities necessary to be successful to achieve what you want - never be arrogant - just do the tasks needed to achieve the goal.

None of this is new or surprising to successful people.  Recognize that success always comes at a price if you’re willing to pay it.  Do the necessary tasks even if you don’t like doing it them - you dramatically increase your odds of achieving success.

It takes work to succeed.

I admire people who pitch in and grind it out and give it their all.  They fight off adversity, don’t complain and stay focused on their dream.  Sometimes they may miss, falling short of the desired outcome but they remain vigilant and set a new target go again. 

I have no sympathy for those who whine and moan about not winning the fruits of success… when they put in no effort. They got what they deserved.

Each one of us is like one of the two villages in this story – which are you?

Two small villages lay on the outskirts of a great kingdom, fearful of attack, each appealed to the king for help. Unable to spare men or horses, the king sent each village several boxes.

The first village opened the boxes eagerly and found shields, spears, and swords. They were in pieces, so they put it all together. Each piece was heavy and cumbersome but they assembled them and practiced diligently every day until they were expert swordsmen, accurate spear throwers, accomplished fighters. They developed strength and skill and were confident in defending their homeland.

The second villagers didn’t open the boxes and stored them in a safe place.

One day a party of bandit marauders attacked the first village. The people hurriedly grabbed their weapons and met the attackers head-on with a fierce defense. They fought bravely, skillfully, confidently, and succeeded.

Defeated, the marauders retreated and moved on to attack the second village.

The people there ran for the boxes and quickly opened them. Inside lay their weapons, in pieces. They were horrified to find a large note: Some Assembly Required.

Our Amway/N21 business is like those boxes.  We have all the tools.  When we take time to learn from the CEP and do the work, we will have a growing business that will provide for us.  If we just store the information in boxes, they will be useless to us when we need the skills.

To develop ‘mastery’ at anything, behavioral scientists say, requires 10,000 hours. Do the math — that’s 40 hours a week for 5 years, or 20 hours a week for 10 years. 

In our business it is registering 20 people in 6 months and working their lists to create an income of $80,000 per year.  Think what $80K would do for your lifestyle or maybe just your savings account.  And like most learning, the learned knowledge and skills can never be taken away.

Yes - Life, in general, has an ‘assembly required’ proposition. And rewards come to those who dig in and practice and make it happen!

ACTIONS FOR YOU

Decide if you are part of the first village or the second.  If you want big results, are passionate for them and willing to pay, learn and do the work then join the first village.

• Joining the first village requires you to sign up for CEP on N21. 
• Joining the first village requires you to show the plan 8 – 15 times a month
• Joining the first village requires being a 100% user of the product
• Joining the first village requires attending every BBS and Weekend Conference

​So when the marauders come to your village you have the resources and talents to fight them off.

Stop tolerating your partial effort – the speed of the leader is the speed of the pack.  So set the speed and lead your team by your actions. 

What I’m about to reveal is a most unpopular and unpleasant notion.  It is an opinion unwelcome by the masses. 

Here goes:  Most people believe the company they work for owes them job security.   Wrong.  Erroneous.  

People believe job security is an inalienable right they, as an employee, possess.  They believe:  if I just show up for work every day, I should have a job for life.    Flawed thinking.  Pure fiction

Let’s set the record straight.  Here are 3 truths about job security.  

1 – IT DOES NOT EXIST.  It’s a myth.  There is no such thing as job security.  

In a free market system, one that responds to the ebb and flow of market fluctuations, there are good times when companies prosper, demand for their product or service is high, and they will likely maintain or add staff to satisfy the demand.
 
There are other times when companies have extended down cycles, demand is low, revenues diminish, and they must reduce expenses.  Sometimes this means cutting jobs.  It’s horribly painful for all -- even for the leaders and managers who make those difficult decisions -- but it’s reality. 
 
Jobs simply are not guaranteed.  It’s the law of the jungle.  You can argue this till you’re blue in the face, but you might as well argue with gravity.  Or the sun coming up every morning.  You’ll be wrong there too.  Those are universal scientific constants.  They are irrevocable.  And just like them, the ups and downs of a free market -- which eradicates job security -- is an unalterable law of the marketplace.  

2 - The purpose of a business is NOT to create jobs - though some like to think it is.  Employers don’t owe people jobs, and certainly don’t owe employees job security.  

The purpose of a business is to PROVIDE A PRODUCT OR SERVICE of significant value that people or businesses will pay money to have it -- and sometimes this creates the need to hire employees to create and deliver the product or service.  But it’s neither ‘given’ nor requirement that employees will be needed.  

3 - Everyone, must get used to living in a marketplace of job IN-SECURITY.  Your job today offers you no guarantee of employment tomorrow.  Customers can leave anytime they want -- for nothing a company did wrong -- taking their money with them, reducing revenue, and maybe, just maybe, eliminating your job.  

It’s cold.  It’s harsh.  It’s uncertain.  And it’s life.  Deal with it.  

So, what exactly CAN you do about all this?

ACTIONS FOR YOU

​As the wall sign in the self-help seminar said:  ”Your career is your own responsibility.  Your employer is not your mother.”   Here are 3 plans of attack.  

1 - The closest thing to job security is something you give yourself.  It’s being constantly engaged in self-learning skill-building activities on your own time at your own expense -- never letting up. 

Start your own business and generating your own income – YOU HAVE THE CHANCE WITH YOUR AMWAY BUSINESS.  See yourself as the CEO of your own business -- 100% in charge of and responsible for your own future!

2 - Have the guts to tell your team members this unpleasant truth about the non-existence of company-provided job security.  Don’t ignore it or assume they already know. 

3 - Teach your kids - that job security from an employer is pure fiction.  That they create their own security by the sweat of their own brow, their own initiative, their own grit.  Not from handouts, not by income redistribution, not by mooching off others.  Set them up to be self-reliant, personally-responsible winners. 

This is no surprise to high achievers.  They already know it, they plan for it, and take action on it daily.  But they are in a minority.  The vast majority reject it, preferring their success to be assured and guaranteed by someone else, through little effort of their own.  

Which group are you in?

When Walt Disney built Disney World in the murky swamplands of central Florida in the early ‘70s, he insisted on building the Magic Kingdom — the magnificent centerpiece of the entire park — first. Before all the rides, restaurants, show halls, and other attractions that would surround it.

This created concern for construction crews. They begged to build the outer portions first. But Mr. Disney, there’s snakes and alligators and other scary critters in these swamps. Please don’t make us trudge through all those slithery predators to build the center first. Let us work our way in.

No. Disney was adamant.

You see, the Magic Kingdom, with its turrets and spires and majestic grandeur, was one of the most visible and iconic symbols of Disney.

In the 1960s — the years preceding the opening of Disney World — American families gathered in front of their TV sets on Sunday night to watch “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” — and the show opened every week with a vivid and colorful illustration of the Magic Kingdom in all its glory and splendor.

Walt knew the power of a vision — and the Magic Kingdom was that vision. He knew the workers would be more inspired to build the entire park brilliantly — if they could clearly see the vision every day as they built it.

Now, stop for a moment and think about the significance of his genius: See the vision as you work. So simple, yet so seldom done.

Then ask yourself: How many times have I begun a major project or undertaking without first having a clear picture of what I wanted in the end?

I’m willing to bet, those projects, when complete, took you longer than needed, cost more than they should have, generated more false starts and re-dos than necessary, caused irritating frustration, and may have had a less-than-satisfactory outcome.

And maybe you pondered to yourself: I should have thought this through better in the beginning. Translation: I needed a clear vision of what success looked like before I started.
In May 1961, President Kennedy declared this bold vision for the U.S. space program: By the end of the decade, we will put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth. Clear, concise. And in July 1969 — true to the vision — we did.

Many years ago, when I was building Boyken International, I set a target to beat one of my competitors at everything.  In a two short years we were better known and grew faster.  Teams like vision and need that vision to grow. 

Bottom line - Never underestimate the power of a vision.

ACTIONS FOR YOU

​It’s important to create visions - for your life, for your business, on your team, with your family, and for yourself as an individual.
​
I use 4 basic steps for creating a vision.

• It must paint a clear picture of what lofty success looks like for you. Be specific – this will be your target.
• It must motivate, inspire, energize, and electrify you. If it doesn’t, start over because you will lose interest FAST.
• You can create multiple overlapping visions — one that is overarching to everything you do, a second one that defines an individual project, and a third one that clarifies daily actions.
• Put it in writing, display it, take it with you, read it often, memorize it.

What crystal clear, electrifying visions do you need in your life... that are missing? Get busy.

Atlanta Marriott Buckhead
April 29 – May 1, 2016

Reach a pin level at Summer Conference 2016
Don't forget about our PlusOne Challenge for Summer Conference. Personally bring one new person to Summer Conference and receive the following incentives:

• Leaders Meeting Stage Recognition
• PlusOne Button for Lanyard
• Reception with Guest Speakers
• Entrance for a Drawing of Prizes

 If you lined 100 people up against a wall and asked “Who among you wants a lot of money in your life?”… they would all raise their hands. Young or old, male or female, in any city, doesn’t matter. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, everything right about it. My personal belief is, there’s plenty for everyone — no one has to be without. Getting there is about the behaviors and habits you choose to live. But not everyone is willing to do what it takes to earn the money. In fact most will not do anything.
 
As a result, we have the ‘redistribute the wealth’ movement. In other words: you make too much, I don’t make enough, you’re just lucky, I’m unlucky, it’s not fair, give me some of yours.
 
Frankly, I believe that if you want Money then go earn it. Honestly and respectfully, but earn it. The Amway business opportunity enables anyone with a desire to build a business and have financial peace of mind.   There is only one question to ask yourself “Are you willing to do what it takes?”
 
What are the habits of successful people? Thomas Corley CPA did a 5-year study that has gained international attention in numerous magazines. Corley observed the daily habits of 233 wealthy people and 128 living in poverty. Their habits were profoundly different. Here’s what he found:
 

• Who knows their credit score? 72% of the wealthy; 5% of the poor.
• Who plays the lottery? 6% of the wealthy; 77% of the poor.
• Who spends less than 1 hour per day on recreational internet use: 63% of the wealthy; 26% of the poor.
• Who listens to audio books on the commute to work? 63% of the wealthy; 5% of the poor.
• Who watches 1 hour or less of TV per day? 67% of the wealthy; 23% of the poor.
• Who watches reality TV shows? 9% of the wealthy; 78% of the poor.
• Who networks 5+ hours per month? 79% of the wealthy; 16% of the poor.
• Who believes wealth comes from random good luck? 8% of the wealthy; 79% of the poor.
• Who believes they are responsible for their own financial condition? 79% of the wealthy; 18% of the poor.
• Who was taught the 80/20 rule? (Live off 80%, save 20%) 73% of the wealthy; 5% of the poor.
• Who is focused on at least 1 goal? 80% of the wealthy; 12% of the poor.

 
This research is irrefutably convincing and sounds like what comes from successful people in the Amway business. 

ACTIONS FOR YOU

Want more financial wealth and security in your life? Want to teach your kids or someone you’re mentoring how to get there? Then here are 3 pieces of advice for you and them:
 
First… alter your behavior to match the wealthy in Corley’s study above. Don’t compromise this. Listen to CEP, read a motivational book, network 6 hours per month.  Be interested in people, ask their names, about their family, what they do and their contact information.
 
Second… buy 3 books on achieving wealth and financial security. Devour them. And relentlessly apply what you learn.
 
Third… show the plan at least 8 times a month (more if you want to grow).  If the prospect elects not to participate, ask them to be a customer
 
Start today working on your thinking and plan to be successful:

• develop and maintain an ‘I’m worthy’ wealth mindset,
• adopt the saving, spending, and time use habits of successful people who come by their money honestly,
• read incessantly about achieving prosperity and abundance,
• ignore critics and naysayers, and
• resist temptation to engage activities that take you off your wealth-building path.

It’s all about the habits you choose. Where are yours leading you? Toward abundance — or scarcity?

Article from an interview with Doug DeVos that was included in Forbes Magazine. 

"This is a great article that speaks about the [sic] most successful Network Marketing company that has ever been developed." ~ Jacob Morgan

Imagine waking up in the morning, and as your coffee is brewing, reflecting on the work that needs to be completed for the day. For many of us, this can include a long commute to an office, sitting down at a desk and working within restrictions that are set by management or an organization. Oftentimes these types of people want and need something where they are not tied down or working within the confines of a traditional organizations, they want to cultivate their entrepreneurial spirit.
With today’s technology advances there are many options available for different types of freelance work.  Sites like Upwork and Fiverr allow people to post and bid for tasks and jobs, Airbnb allows a homeowner to turn their spare bedroom into income, and an Uber driver can make a living while traveling all across their city. What if you want to tap into the freelancer economy, but are not sure where to start? How does one use these new tools to their advantage to actually become successful? Today we look at cultivating entrepreneurship in the age of the freelancer economy, with my guest, Doug DeVos, the president of Amway which has over 21,000 employees in over 100 countries and territories around the world.
​
Amway was founded on the spirit of entrepreneurship. Starting in 1959, the founders, including Doug’s own father, believed in a model where people could have their own businesses. Clearly a lot has changed since 1959 and that’s exactly what we talk about. How do we take the same principles of wanting to be an entrepreneur or a business owner and adapt them to the new world of work we are living in now? In fact, one of the things we explore in this episode of the podcast is the Amway 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Report which clearly shows that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.

Tune in to the podcast and make sure to subscribe on iTunes for more episodes.

What you will learn in this episode:

• Amway’s 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Report
• Hurdles and risks in entrepreneurship
• Life stages and entrepreneurship
• Difference between being a freelancer and an entrepreneur
• Entrepreneurial characteristics
• How people without an innate entrepreneurial spirit can grow in their organizations
• Innovation ecosystems
• Technology in entrepreneurship
• The freelancer economy and the future
• Advice for new employees

​Jacob Morgan is a keynote speaker, author, and futurist. For more, visit The Future Organization.

There are two Action Steps everyone should be doing: 

1 - Learn to sell and never stop learning. 
2 - Teach your kids and never stop teaching.  

There’s an infinite supply of available learning resources:  books, CDs, magazines, newsletters, workshops, seminars, webinars, peer groups, search engines.

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE KEEP LEARNING

The late business icon Paul Meyer, founder of Success Motivation Institute, never introduced himself as a company president, founder or entrepreneur -- though he was all.  When asked, he proudly answered “I’m a salesman.”  

He’s not alone.  The world’s most successful people -- by any definition of success -- have in their toolkits profound selling abilities, honed and sharpened daily.  They embrace selling, take pride in it, seldom hide it.  

I don’t know where your life will go from this day forward, nor where you wish it to go.  But this I do know:  The likelihood of you achieving all or most of what you desperately want is greatly enhanced if you possess superior selling and persuasion skills.  

Why anyone would deny, ignore, or run from this, is beyond me.

ACTIONS FOR YOU

Dan Kennedy observes that “The marketplace is perfectly willing for anybody to be as rich as they decide to be.  Also as poor as they decide to be.  Most people see success all around them while giving no thought to principles behind it or to duplicating it for themselves.” 

We are all in charge of our own personal work ethic, our own level of determination, our own willingness to learn and apply, and our own financial earnings.  Going Platinum, Emerald or Diamond is just a decision to focus our efforts.  Certainly investing two hours a week to show two plans a week and reach your financial freedom is easier than a career in football or as a comic.
 

What are your DREAMS of freedom?  Are you willing to invest some time for years of success and freedom?