Guest post from Dustin Taylor at DustinGTaylor.com

Have you ever had one of those days where you just want everything to go away?  Wondering why life isn’t better for you?  Wondering if it’s something that you did wrong or if it’s just because that white corolla didn’t signal when he cut you off on the way home from work?  I mean, whose fault is it really?  The guy driving 30 down the highway on a scooter or you for being in such a hurry?

I’m talking about one of those days (or weeks, or years) where you just can’t do anything right.  Where you may be trying to please everyone, but end up pleasing no one.  What then?  You’ve wasted your life hoping, even expecting, to please others so that one day you will be happy, but it all ends up backfiring.  Can you really please everyone around you?  Is it possible?

Have you ever woken up to the same routine that you told yourself last week that you were going to leave behind?  The same thing for breakfast, the same to-do list, the same way to work, the same time for lunch and then you try and add some spice to your life by driving home a different way just because?  Yup, I know you have.  I have too.

So how have I decided to get out of this?  I’ve decided to stop tricking myself into believing that I’ll change if I keep trying to do the same thing over and over.  The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over and expect a different result.  Are we really naive to believe that hoping for change will actually effect the change?  Gandhi may have said it best, yet so simple,

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

It’s true.  You have to change before you can see the change in others.  You have to give more for others to be able to give more.  You have to be who you say you want to become for others to be who they want to become.  The cold, hard truth, is that it starts with YOU.  And you are the only one that can do it…not only that, but the only one that should do it.

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?

If you gotta start somewhere, why not here?  If you gotta start sometime, why not now?  If we gotta start somewhere, I’ll say here.  If we gotta start sometime, I’ll say now. – Toby Mac, City On Our Knees

Man up.  Stop whining.  And please don’t wait for someone else to fix themselves or fix you.  Do something different.  Do something different today.

I wanted to share an article I happened upon by a very successful Network Marketer, Randy Gage.  I do not take credit for anything below and it is quoted from his site.  Please visit his site for more information.

Wow, what a firestorm created from the comment from anonymous in yesterday’s post. If you haven’t read all the replies, I suggest you do so.  Powerful opinions on both sides.  And some good marketing insights.

Rather than responding to so many individual comments, I thought it better to share my thoughts on the issues here.  So here goes:

Many years ago I received a challenge to appear on a nationally syndicated radio show debating Network Marketing.  The host was up front and told me that he felt MLM was a scam and wanted someone to debate him live on the air.  Naturally I jumped at the chance.

A lot of what was said there is completely relevant to the discussion we’ve had on the blog over the last few days…

The host pounced right away with the argument, “Randy, isn’t it true that only five percent of the people get rich in network marketing?”   I responded that this was very likely.  And also challenged him to name other businesses that had a higher percentage of people that became wealthy.  I reminded him that most businesses would have a smaller percentage.  Things like real estate, which certainly had created many millionaires, probably had a rate less than one percent.   The host was forced to concede this.

Then to explore it deeper, I raised the following scenario:  Let’s suppose someone joins Herbalife, Shaklee, USANA, or some other nutritional company and doesn’t get rich.  But they do use the products every month, and become regular nutrition disciples.  They lose some weight, lower their blood pressure or cholesterol, or prevent diabetes.  They have more energy, can play with their kids, and maybe they live five or even 10 years longer.  Suppose they never earn more than $100 a month in their business, but they get those health benefits.  Isn’t this a good thing?  A very good thing?   (Of course we can make the same argument today with Mona Vie, Vemma, Xango, Agel, and a host of other companies.)

He acknowledged that, and then suggested that the profession was corrupt, because new people were being front loaded to buy $50,000 worth of products when they began.  I thanked him for raising the issue and admitted that this had been a problem in the past.  Then I went on to tell him about the Direct Selling Association (DSA) and their code of ethics.  I explained that any reputable company would be a member of the DSA, and to do so required a one-year probation period, and their compensation plan would have to abide by the DSA code.  And the code required that no one be allowed to purchase more products or services then they could reasonably re-sell with 30-60 days, and that they must offer an inventory buy back policy.  Of course he was unaware of all this, was glad to hear about the DSA, and agreed that this would prevent the front loading.

It went on like this, issue for issue.  Finally by the end of the program he actually came around and agreed that legitimate network marketing – not illegal pyramids and chain letters – was a good viable option for people looking for a better life.  And I believe that is truer today than it has ever been.

And by the way, if anyone is worried about being victimized by a Ponzi scheme, they should be much more worried about their banker, Wall Street broker or their government than a network marketing company!

Regarding some of the other issues raised on the blog…

Personally I don’t find MLM products over priced as a rule.  There are skin care lines that are vastly superior to the gooky junk being sold in department stores at a fraction of the price.  Companies like Shaklee, Amway, and Melaleuca pioneered good value, concentrated cleaners with green packaging many years before it became fashionable.

Other products are certainly not the cheapest, but offer quality and value not available elsewhere.  I’ve been buying Oxyfresh mouthwash and toothpaste (at $9 a tube for years) as a retail customer, because they have a scientifically proven process to prevent halitosis that no store brand can compete with.  As I mentioned in the MLM Manifesto, our profession has brought many helpful products to market that need to be conversationally marketed, and never would have made it in a traditional retail environment.

It is true that some companies in our business have products priced higher than equivalent ones.  But those products eventually die.  The free enterprise system self cleanses anything like that.

As far as the cost of entry, that dog don’t hunt with me.  I have failed in numerous traditional businesses, including two restaurants, a hairstyling salon, and a retail store, because I didn’t have the tens of thousands of dollars necessary to start them up successfully.

My friend has three Burger Kings and he has millions invested, personal guarantees for hundreds of thousands of dollars more.  He has hundreds of employees to worry about who will call in sick, quit without notice, and steal from him.  He’s the guy the police call at 4 am when the alarm goes off.

I have a business I started for about $1,500, I earn $1.5 million a year, and have no employees and can run it from a laptop under a palm tree anywhere.  And I don’t have to wear a paper hat.  Tell me who has a better business!

Especially in difficult economic times like these, the opportunity we have is meaningful to many people.  And becoming helpful to many more by the day.  Let’s not get jaded with all the big numbers.  The truth is, even bonus checks of $400 or $600 a month would help millions of people right now.  And the checks of $1,000 and $3,000 a month are transforming lives.  They pay for better schooling, medical care, car payments, mortgages, charitable donations and much, much more.

The best thing you can do for poor people is not be one of them!  So I’ll go back to what I said in the original post.  Go out and get the money thing out of the way.   And I don’t know a better opportunity for most people than network marketing.

Now if you still think network marketing isn’t for real, feel free to look for something else and we wish you the best of luck.  And if you agree that what we do is important, get out there and spread the word.  Talk to five people about your business today.

Hope you guys in Canada and the US have a safe and fun holiday weekend and celebrate your independence.

-RG

I would bet that when you decided to join Kyani you had a vision. That vision can cross a wide span of possibilities, but wherever your goal falls, one thing stays consistent.  Every day you have a choice. You can become the person you envisioned becoming or not. You can reach your goal, or not.  I challenge you to become the person you envisioned becoming in Kyani. Rise up to the level you imagined reaching. It is time to become extraordinary!

• Contact a certain number of people every day.

Do not be afraid to share these amazing products. Set a goal of how many people you will talk to. It could be three, five, or ten. Whatever it is, stick to it every day. You will see results. Sooner or later people will recognize the potential and want to be a part of it.

• Learn the Products

Kyani has provided three amazing products. I guarantee the more you learn about these products the more excited you will become. You will gain more confidence as you talk to people. You will understand what these products will do for your friends, family, and anyone you introduce to it. You will be able to show them how the product will help their life, and the lives of their family and friends.

• Learn the Compensation Plan

I have never seen a compensation plan like the one Kyani offers. I am sure that is one of the reasons you joined. As you instill the principles of this plan in your mind, you will begin to explain to people in very simple terms how they can create revenue that changes their life.

• Attitude is Everything

Commit to doing at least something little every day. Believe in yourself, believe in the product, and go fulfill what you have always desired. Do not get discouraged! Trust in yourself, your team, and your ability to succeed.

I recently read an article entitled, “Stop reading about it and do it.”  First, the quote:

You cannot be successful without passion, but passion alone will not make you successful. ~Chelsey Rippy~

So very true!  Passion, enthusiasm and excitement are very necessary to success, but true learning, experience and the actual end result of success comes through doing.  Here’s the article!  It’s not very long, so don’t whine about reading it.

We learn more by doing than by reading.

That’s a simplified statement, of course, because reading teaches us a lot, but it’s in the actual doing of things that we do our real learning. It may be a fairly harmless statement for most of us, but think about this: do you actually put it into practice? How about in your efforts to improve your life?

It’s easy to see how this applies in a school situation: In an article in the Chronicle for Higher Education, studies show that the best way to study for an exam is not to read and re-read, but to put the book down, try to recall what you read, then write it down. Much more effective.

But how about in your everyday life? This isn’t as obvious, but it’s just as effective.

When you want to improve your life in some way — by simplifying, by being more frugal, by starting to exercise or eat healthy, by learning more productive habits, by being a more positive or compassionate person — you are learning a new skill.

And when you learn a new skill, all the reading in the world won’t teach you the skill. You have to learn by doing.

So reading countless self-help articles and books are great — I’ve written a few myself — but remember that it’s only the first step.

You have to put the personal development posts away, get away from the computer or book, and start doing it. Today.

Only in doing it will you actually learn.

Reading does help though: first in helping you to understand what to do, and second in keeping you motivated as you actually do the skill. But it’s not a substitute for doing.

So stop reading this post, and go do what you want to learn to do!

- Leo Babauta, Stop Reading About It and Do It

So what’s the end result to us doing instead of just being passionate about something or reading about it and thinking it’s a good thing to do?  We learn, gain new experiences, and actually grow, instead of rely on a roller coaster of emotion that is bound to have peaks and deep valleys.  When we are doing, there is no time to dream, because we enable ourselves to live the very dreams that we are passionate about.  Apply this to your Kyani business and you will never have time to whine about how it’s not going so well, because you won’t have time to remember when it wasn’t going so well!  It will go well!

I happened upon this a few days ago…

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.  To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.  To reach out for another is to risk involvement.  To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.  To place your ideas & your dreams before the crowd is to risk their loss.  To love is to risk not being loved in return.  To live is to risk dying.  To hope is to risk despair.  To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.  The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.  He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love … live.  Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave, he has forfeited freedom.  Only a person who risks is truly free.

This hits huge with Kyani.  Risk is the building block of success!  This has become my favorite quote on risk.  Take a look.  Realize what you lose when you DO NOT take risks.

The less you bet, the more you lose when you win.

If you don’t risk something in this life…in Kyani or not…you are losing.