The ABC's of Accelerated Success.
by Ray Gebauer
If you master the fundamentals of the game, you will win. You will accelerate your success, and it will be inevitable.
It is not the advanced techniques that make the biggest difference, it's the basics. The basics are fairly easy to learn and implement. However, let me warn you, that they are also easy not to do.
So here are the ABC's of how to play to win on an accelerated basis. Follow and internalize these simple ABC's and you've got it made! It will only be a matter of time, I promise you!
A - Attitude
An attitude is a particular mindset, a particular perspective and point of view. Attitudes are like filters, they determine HOW you see things, much like red tinted glasses make everything appear red, or glasses (corrective lens) help a person see something more clearly.
Attitude is where the game starts, it's your inner game. Winning is an inside job, and it is more a matter of the heart than the mind!
Positive attitudes, including a positive expectancy, will enable and empower you, and virtually guarantee your success. A poor attitude will disable and disempower you, and absolutely guarantee your failure. It is that black and white. Your attitude determines your altitude.
"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes." Hugh Downs
Associate with positive people whose presence and conversation improve your attitude, and avoid people or situations that do not support a good attitude. A good attitude is characterized by faith, enthusiasm and confidence, and will ultimately create action and results. A poor attitude is revealed in doubt, negativity and not keeping commitments, and results in inactivity and failure.
You get to choose what kind of attitude to have, it is a choice. Make positive attitudes your "default" setting, where you are normally --- make them your home address. If you get infected with a negative attitude, all you have to do is decide to immediately shift to a positive one. Treat it like a computer virus, just delete it. It is effective to even say out loud, "Delete! Delete! Delete!"
You can be a person that infects, infuses and imparts into others a positive empowering perspective. Be the light in a person's dark world that dispels, rather than spreads, darkness.
Living your life empowered with positive attitudes is the essence of wisdom. In contrast to wisdom are negative attitudes which are the esence of foolishness.
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude of mind." William James (1842-1910)
"The good news is that the bad news can be turned into good news when you change your attitude." Robert Schuller
A - Action
"The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention." Duguet
There is no substitute for action. Wishing, thinking positive thoughts, having a big dream, saying affirmations and setting goals mean nothing unless they result in being in consistent action. Belief that does not produce action is fake-pretend belief and totally worthless.
Action is the evidence your faith is real and alive. In your business, your action needs to be planned, productive and consistent. The best action is when you are in massive action and are taking action as part of a team.
If you are unable to start off with massive action, take consistent action, everyday! Daily consistent action will give you a superior pay day over occasional massive action.
"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." Mother Theresa (1910-1997)
"If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves." Thomas Edison
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems." Gandhi
A - Appreciation
Most people live their lives full of anxiety, out of a place of fear and a sense of being inadequate. As a result, they have small lives. You do not have to be like most people, you can choose to live your life out of a place of appreciation, and live a life that is ever expanding.
It has been proven scientifically with medical electronic instruments that monitor your heart, that the most powerful life enriching and expanding emotion is appreciation. Feeling appreciation in your heart is one of the secret ingredients to being powerfully effective with people, not to mention having peace and less stress!
Appreciate who you are and who you are becoming; appreciate this opportunity to make a difference for others; appreciate this opportunity to make money using the principle of multiplication and leverage; appreciate the challenges; appreciate the personal growth you will experience; appreciate the products; appreciate the company; appreciate your downline and upline (including your ultimate upline, God!); appreciate your family and friends; etc.
Tell people often that you appreciate them, that you appreciate something about them, or something they have done. You must genuinely feel appreciation and gratitude, and you must express it verbally. Be known as a person who appreciates and values people.
Say "Thank you!" often, and strive to live continually in a state of appreciation. Start the day, before you get out of bed, reflecting on who and what you appreciate; and certainly end the day by feeling appreciation and gratitude, and saying thank you from your heart just before you fall asleep.
When you encounter the inevitable problems, challenges and inconveniences, instead of getting frustrated and irritated, look for creative ways to be thankful during, in spite of and for lessons learned in those problems. I live my life out of the point of view and belief that God is working EVERYTHING (including problems) out for my good --- this empowers me to enjoy the benefits of feeling appreciation in virtually any situation.
"The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated." William James
A - Accountability
Everyone does better when they have someone to whom they are accountable, including the CEO of a company (to the Board of Directors), the President of the United States (to Congress, the laws and to the people), a star athlete to his or her coach and team.
Trying to avoid accountability is shortsighted and foolish, and will only diminish your results. Without accountability, you will be handicapped and the very independence you enjoy in your business can be your downfall.
Be accountable to yourself. Set daily goals and reward yourself when you achieve them. Accountability is a powerful tool and a gift that only helps a person be more consistent with what they want to do.
B - Belief: You must develop a strong belief in five areas:
1. Belief in the products. This is usually the easiest, since it is so easy to see phenomenal results in yourself and/or in others. One of the most important ways to become a strong believer in the products is to get the full benefit yourself by using the products, and by using enough of them. "Be a product of our products." Be a walking advertisement for their effectiveness.
Yes, the products may initially seem to you to be expensive, but isn't your health worth it? You pay now for your health (to protect and maintain), or you pay later trying to recover it! If you use the products consistently and properly, you will love them and believe in them. And when you really BELIEVE in them, you will be BOLD about sharing them.
2. Belief in the company. Believing in our company is also very easy since we have a track record of many years, millions of dollars of business and millions of dollars already paid out in commissions and bonuses. In addition to that, we have a reputation as a company of destiny where God has been involved from before the beginning. To fortify your belief in the company, I strongly urge you to attend the next National event and visit the world wide headquarters as soon as you can.
3. Belief in network marketing. If you have seen a lot of people have success in the network marketing profession, or if you just simply understand the basic mathematics of multiplication, geometric progression and leverage that this model harnesses so brilliantly, it is very easy to believe in and be excited about this profession.
First, let's look at the two dynamics of how people earn money. Take a close look at these two sets of numbers:
10 + 10 + 10 = 30 (example of addition)
10 x 10 x 10 = 1000 (example of multiplication)
Even though the same numbers are used in each example, the difference is dramatic isn't it? Why? Obviously because multiplication is more powerful than addition!
Which dynamic would you rather have working for you?
Here's another way to illustrate this. If I were to give you a choice between getting paid $1000 a week for one year, or getting paid a penny the first week, and then doubling that every week for 30 weeks, which would look better to you?
The second option ilustrates the power of multiplication over addition. The first few weeks of doubling that penny is not very exciting --- in fact after 15 weeks, half way through, you'd have only $163! But at the end of 30 doublings, you'd have over FIVE MILLION DOLLARS.
It is because network marketing so uniquely and powerfully harnesses this power of multiplication and leverage that we are so excited to be in this profession.
The facts are that thousands of people have experienced phenomenal success in this profession, including many millionaires created in it. If you create and maintain your belief in the dynamics of multiplication and leverage, your confidence in this profession will be unshakable, and you will be positioned for success.
4. Belief in yourself. For most people, this is the weakest link in the chain of belief. This is where people need the most support, because most poeple do not have a lot of confidence that they can do this.
I say that a lack of confidence is the main reason people do not even get involved, because they do not believe that they can do this; and the primary reason people quit and give up is for the exact same reason, they lack confidence and decide prematurely that they can not do this. They just do not have belief in themselves.
The best and primary way to fortify and build up your confidence on a daily basis is to read out loud your top three reasons that you are doing this and your list of goals. Consider this to be your mental vitamins! Investing just 60 seconds into yourself everyday in the morning is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself to build up your confidence. Tell yourself often, "If ________ can do this, I can too!"
The third way to build up your belief and confidence is this: it is absolutely critical that you engage in daily personal development (books, cds and workshops), attend meetings and events, and listen to conference calls. Just like you need oxygen, you NEED to stay plugged into personal development!
5. Belief in others. Almost as important as believing in yourself is believing in others, that they too can be successful. Just like you need to tap into and "borrow" confidence and belief from others, they will need to do that with you. When you have any concerns or doubts you need to immediately contact your sponsor so that they can be addressed and they can "loan" you some more faith.
You also need to believe in your upline. Also ask God everyday for whatever you need, such as wisdom, grace, favor, influence, strength, success and whatever you most need.
C - Commitment
"Success is like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired, you quit when the gorilla's tired." Robert Strauss
Most people get faked out with thinking that power is in figuring out what they want and then writing it down as goals. They often discover that goals can be more a point of embarrassment then a point of empowerment IF they lack the critical dimension of commitment.
What interferes most with making a commitment? The fear of failure or the fear of not being adequate or good enough.
People universally, to one degree or another, are very committed to:
* Being right and avoiding being wrong
* Looking good and avoiding looking bad or stupid
* Playing safe and avoiding risk
* Avoiding being dominated, or to be in control so as to avoid being controlled
These unconscious commitments, all of which are fear based, don't leave much room to take on a new venture where there is a possibility of not being right, not looking good to your friends, not succeeding, etc. So with these competing commitments already in place, the new commitment must be so much stronger that it overrides the ones already in place.
Remember Babe Ruth? He was committed to hitting the ball every time he swung the bat. He didn't play safe, and only swing at the easy ones. As a result, he was the strike out king, and he was also the home run king.
So if you let your fear of striking out keep you from swinging, or even from being in the game, you will have a small life.
Promise/commitment is the source of perseverance that makes you UNSTOPPABLE!
"Commitment is the stuff character is made of, the power to change the face of things. It is the triumph of integrity over skepticism. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kill countless ideas and splendid plans: That the moment one deifnitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents no man would have dreamed was possible. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: "Whatever you can do or dream you can do begin it. Boldness has beauty, magic and power in it.""
William H. Murray, Scottish Himalayan Expedition
C - Conversation
It can appear that your enterprise is a very complicated business (remember that you empower yourself thinking of it as a game or adventure). The reality is that the main and primary thing you do is the very thing that you have been doing your entire life: just having conversations with people. That is 99% of it. You don't do convincing, selling or anything really new or different, you just have conversations.
However, do not assume that a conversation is the same as talking. Talking too much is one of the most common and most costly mistakes you can make. A lot of talking on your side will look like a sales job for the other person, and push them away. A conversation involves more asking questions and listening on your side than it does talking.
A conversation involves an authentic interest in the other person and in their concerns and issues.
You ask questions, you listen and then you share from your heart more than from your head. In your enterprise, your focus is not on building a business, it is on building up people. You express your faith and confidence in them. You ask questions, find out what is important to them, you listen, encourage, support, educate, and just be there for them.
Focus on benefits. A benefit is what is in it for the person you are talking to.
Perhaps most important is that you share yourself in your conversations, connect by being real and authentic. Be yourself, don't pretend! Be real and normal and care about people. The gift is not just the message or the story of the opportunity we have, YOU are a gift to people as well, just as they will be a gift to you. So honor people by sharing and expressing who you are with people, and discover some of the hidden treasures buried inside of you and others!
D - Desire
Desire is critical. It is your first step. Identify what your desires are (your goals), write them down, review them daily, and feed and cultivate your desires with pictures to support you in visualizing what you desire. But most people give up on their desires, and settle for far less than they could have had. Why settle for something less than what you desire?
D - Dream
Most people had a dream at one point, but decided that they needed to live in reality, and gave up on their dream. It is time for you to revive your dreams, and expect them to come true. Of course, you need to have a plan and stay in action, but guard your dream and keep it alive.
3000 years ago a wise king stated, "Without a vision, people perish." So evidently having a dream or vision is not just a good idea, it is vitally important. Your future depends on it! You can perish or prosper!
D - Determination
Determination is a major ingredient in your formula for success. Without it, failure is virtually inevitable. Determination will keep you going when you are tempted to quit.
If there is even one area in your life where you have had determination, take that energy of determination from the one area and apply it to this new enterprise. Hold yourelf as a person of determination and perseverance. Don't try to become determined, just BE determined. It is a choice.
Strengthen your determination by reminding yourself what is at stake if you quit and do not persevere to make your dream come true. What will it cost you if you give up? Who else will be hurt? Decide right now to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER quit! The reward for being a person of determination is incredible!
E - Energy
People are good at thinking about things, but it is energy that makes things happen. You must put energy into your business. Some people seem to think that all they need to do is "think and grow rich."
Yes, your thinking is where it starts, but it can fake you out if you assume that thinking is all you need to do. You have got to put energy into your enterprise, just like you have to put gas into your car if you want it to move.
In your business you are on an exploration, looking for people who say yes to you. Be careful to come from an inviting mindset, not a selling mindset. Enrollment is helping someone see that what you have to offer helps get what they are already committed to having. You are merely showing them a new way to get what they already want.
F - Fun
This enterprise can be the most fun you have ever had in your life. It certainly is for me and is for thousands of other associates. If you are too serious all the time, you will squeeze the fun and enjoyment out of it. and that would be a shame. I invite you to fully enjoy your enterprise of helping people and making a difference and have fun. When others see you having fun, they are more inclined to want to join your team so they can join the game and have fun too.
F - Fulfilling
You will discover that playing this game is one of the most fulfilling things you have ever done. In this business you get to be someone! You are making a difference, saving and enriching lives, and as a result, you feel really good! You feel like you are here for a purpose and you feel satisfied and fulfilled. This for many people is far more reward than any amount of money!
G - Giving
In essence, what you will be doing is giving. We are in service to others, making a difference in their lives. Many people think of this as a ministry.
Do not think of this as a selling business for two reasons --- it is NOT about selling, and if you think of it as selling, people will not want to get involved, because most people are terrified of selling. So do not make this into a selling business.
This is an enterprise based on GIVING, where we provide people with...
* free information
* free support
* free training
* free coaching
* free products with our essential rewards program
When are you happiest?
I say that you're most happy when you are in a giving mode. Remember how happy you felt when you watched someone open a gift you gave them at Christmas or on their birthday?
If you want to experience a lot of receiving, you need to do a lot of giving. If you sow (give), you will reap (receive). You will be remembered in life not for what you gain, but for what you give.
H - Honor
For me, this business is about honor. It is about honoring your body by supporting it with a lifestyle that gives you health.
It's about honoring others by sharing the gift of the products and the opportunity. It's about honoring yourself by being all that you were meant to be. It's about honoring yourself and others by making a commitment and keeping it.
H - Habits
It is easy to make the mistake of thinking that the right action will bring success. The larger truth is that it is your habits that will determine your future. Habits are good and essential, but some habits will keep you stuck where you are, and some habits will be your key to freedom.
Make a list of habits that do not support your better future of your dreams, such as complaining, worrying, watching TV, just hanging out, etc.
Create a list of habits that can propel you into the future of your dreams such as: reading your top three reasons and goals out loud every day, reading a personal development book for 20-30 minutes a day, keeping in contact with your sponsor, consistently sharing with others every day, etc.
Appreciate the power of your habits, they will either keep you down or take you where you really want to be! In a real sense, we are a slave to our habits, but because we have the power to choose our habits (like choosing your master), it is critical that we choose the ones that will best serve us and our purposes. Very few people consciously do this --- you be different and choose yours, and you will make a far greater impact in the world!
H - Heroes - You can be a perpetual hero.
I say that you are hero material, and that you have an incredible opportunity to be a hero on a daily basis in your business:
1. You are choosing to make a difference, even on the level of saving someone's life. Sometimes it is very obvious, like when a person has a terminal disease, and after some time of using our products, they recover their health (because the products empowered the body to heal itself). More often, the results are not as dramatic, because they do NOT get a disease that perhaps they would have gotten, or they just live longer --- but that counts just as much! You are a hero because you are making a meaningful difference in the lives of people.
2. You are choosing to take a risk that others will judge or ridicule you, not support you, not believe you, not want to be on your team, etc. You are a hero because you are willing to take a risk for the benefit of others.
3. You are willing to take a stand for something that is right, even when most people will not join you in your mission. They may think that they are beneath doing what you are doing, and that you should "be like everyone else and have a real job." You are a hero because you are willing to take a stand for what is right for the benefit of others even though it is sometimes not understood or appreciated, and not the politically correct thing to do.
By making a difference for people everyday, you are a perpetual hero.
Even more important than being a hero for others, you get to be a hero for yourself, you get to be somebody. Everyone wants to be a somebody, because deep down, we often feel like we are a nobody.
Every zero can be a hero, every dud can be a stud. I used to be a nobody, now I am a somebody, and you can be too! I say you NEED to be, and that it is your calling and destiny, not only for your own sake, but for the sake of others. People's lives are at stake in you being all that you were meant to be.
I - Intention
You must have 100% intention to be successful in finding/creating your treasure. Anything less than 100% is like having a hole in your car tire, it will eventually go flat! Giving this a TRY, or doing the best you can does not qualify as 100%. Full intention is a solid commitment to do whatever it takes as long as it takes.
I - Impact
For me, this enterprise is about impact, it's about making a difference. In the beginning, for me and for many people, it was about making money, especially the residual income. Let it be that and at the same time, let it be about making a residual impact!
To me, MLM used to mean "Making Lots of Money." Now that I've been there and done that, MLM means "Making Life Meaningful." I invite you to see it as BOTH, right now!
I - Inevitable
You must believe that your success is inevitable, not just possible or probable, but absolutely inevitable! This is not based on any proof or evidence, it is based on you believing and saying so. Like when David ran toward Goliath, he knew in his heart that his victory was inevitable, not based on any direct evidence, but based on his belief in what he claimed he was about to do.
Even though you have no proof or evidence that your success is inevitable, if you declare it to be inevitable, you will be empowered to make it inevitable.
