Monthly Archives: November 2008

November 30, 2008

Adopting the Immigrant Mindset

My parents brought us to America many moons ago,

I am an immigrant, and I hope that gives some credence to my theory that immigrants can teach us something about focus and being successful in business.

I wrote a little e-book that I will tell you about some other time, and I devoted an entire chapter to why first and second generation immigrants tend to be such go-getters (and conversely why it took me so long to embrace this).  Without further ado, here are some tips on how you too can be like Mikhail, Miguel, Mike or even me-:)

  1. Accept a certain level of risk Don’t just think that you can, know that you can do anything that you set out to do. Otherwise, why would someone leave behind a fairly successful life, family, the familiar?
  2. Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your career or business won’t go boom overnight. It took my mother almost 4 years to gather the necessary paperwork, apply for and get a job, and finally receive government approval to come to the United States. It took an additional five years of struggle (yes that means working two, sometimes 3 jobs) to get her 5 kids, one brother and one niece out of a two-bedroom apartment and into a six-bedroom brownstone.
  3. Be willing to make sacrifices. Personal, emotional, and financial. You may have to sell your car or move back in with your parents, or deny your children that Nintendo Wii they’ve been wanting. There will be bigger better cars, a home of your own, and a gaming system for each child at the end of the day. On the average immigrants leave behind a major part of their family, all of their friends, and have sailed out of their comfort zone into a language and culture that is absolutely foreign to them. My mother and uncle were not there for their mother when she took sick; my uncle was on a student visa at the time and could not go home to bury his mother – and he was her baby boy, so imagine his pain and sacrifice.
  4. Make your business a family affair. Ever notice who is working the counter at your favorite Chinese restaurant, neighborhood grocery store, or cleaners? Involve your kids as your first employees, but make sure that they don’t neglect their school work.
  5. Don’t be afraid to fail at least once. Don’t prolong your failures, learn from your mistakes and move on to bigger and better things.
  6. Stay focused on your goals and on the reason that you have for achieving those goals. If you know where you want to go and why you want to get there, it will be that much easier to stay the course

These are just a few things that I learned from watching my family and the other immigrants in the neighborhood where I grew up. Of course I probably missed quite a bit, so do me a favor, leave me your thoughts on and I will do a second post.

Read My Ezine Articles About The Immigrant Mindset

  • What Do Immigrants Know That You Don’t?
    [Home-Based-Business:Network-Marketing] Why do immigrants flock to America in droves? Why are they willing to sacrifice so much just to be here? Why are they and their children so often entrepreneurial success stories? What the heck are we missing?
  • Adopting the Immigrant Mindset
    [Home-Based-Business:Network-Marketing] Okay so now you know a little bit about what creates and drives the immigrant entrepreneur. How can you bottle that and spray it all over yourself like perfume? Here are a few tips I picked up by doing some research.

    November 27, 2008

    Today I Am Thankful

    1. For the “5,10,15,20…25, 30 years of love” that I have had and will have with, my best friend of 18 and husband of 10 years, the one and only Woodchuck.
    2. That my two oldest boys are well adjusted and as successful as they want to be even though I had them young and was still growing up when I should have been parenting. God really does take care of the babies.
    3. That my baby (who is 15) did not turn out to be a brat, even though I have spoiled him since the day he came into this world. See it is OK to love your kids to pieces.
    4. For my 72 year old Mom who is still here and still bakes bread that’s to die for. Mom i promise that this year I will watch you cook all of the holiday dishes so that I can help you next year.
    5. For my Dad who has been gone from this plane for 11 years now, but loves me to pieces still.
    6. That my sisters and I are still as close as we were growing up; and that they have chosen to share my network marketing journey (note to newbies, prospect your warm market, because someone else surely will)
    7. That my grandson Sheenie is healthy and happy and will someday have the balance that he needs in his life.
    8. For my 3 beautiful grandchildren ( I know they’re beautiful because I’ve seen pictures-:) and the hope of more to come.
    9. That I woke up this morning and have 24 hours to make someone happy.
    10. For the many things that I can be grateful for every day that I am gifted with.

    November 26, 2008

    Where Can I Find the Best Leads For My Business Opportunity?

    All across America (and probably the rest of the world too) network marketers are wondering where they can find the best leads. Should they purchase leads and if they do, where can they find leads that don’t suck?

    Well, let me begin by saying that there are no bad leads, there are just people who aren’t ready for what you have to offer. If I purchase ten leads from generic marketing company.com I am sure that if I give them to a top recruiter on my team they will sign 5 of the ten, a midlevel recruiter will sign at least 3 of the ten, and a newbie will sign none or zero and then whine to me that the leads were not very good.

    What am I saying?

    It’s not the leads that suck, it’s probably you.

    What can you do about that? Well, you should make a minimum of 50 calls a week, whether you want to or not. This will thicken your skin, teach you how to handle objections, and polish your presentation as well as your overall posture.

    If you think that paying more for leads will help you to sponsor more people, I say you are dead wrong. Why? Because, if you are afraid to pick up the phone you will never call your shiny expensive and highly qualified leads. If you couldn’t close your Mom, much less a prospect, then the cost or quality of the lead isn’t going to make much of a difference. Finally, if you don’t come across as the leader of the back, none of your prospects will buy into your spiel.

    To answer your question, grasshopper, there are no “best leads” as one of my upline mentors is fond of saying “a lead is a lead is a lead” and it’s you that makes the difference.

    November 25, 2008

    Are Americans Thinking Their Way Into A Recession?

    My husband and I had an argument the other day because someone on one of the forums he frequents said that we are not in a recession, we just think we are. I agreed with Mr Anonymous, hence the argument. So to clarify for my husband and anyone else who cares to listen in, here are my thoughts on the subject.

    ” If you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.”- Henry Ford

    This one sentence describes exactly what is happening to this economy right now. The television tells us the economy is bad, the DOW is down (who is this Dow guy and what does he have to do with me anyway?), retailers are quaking in their boots in anticipation of a bad holiday season . So what can we do but hold on to the money we have for the “just in case scenario”?

    1. Just in case we join the ranks of the jobless
    2. Just in case we are unable to pay holiday bills
    3. Just in case gas prices go up again
    4. Just in case our 401K continues to decrease in value

    And what does all this just in casing (yes I know that’s bad grammar but bear with me) lead to? Retailers don’t make any money so they don’t hire as many seasonal workers, they pay less than they did last year to the ones they do hire, and they will definitely let people go when January rolls around.

    Did I mention that they probably don’t order anything from their manufacturers, who then don’t order from their suppliers, who have to cut costs probably via layoffs and so on, and so on until our deepest darkest fears become reality and we have to take a pay cut or join the ranks of the unemployed.

    Bottom Line – Our thoughts and beliefs, decide our fate. If we think that we live in an abundant world then we do. If we focus on what we fear the most, then it will come to pass.

    Go out and spend some money on toys and clothes and stocks and jewelry. It will boost the economy and cheer you and someone else immensely!

    November 22, 2008

    6 Reasons To Purchase an Ameriplan Discount Benefits Plan Before 12/31

    I don’t want this blog to become a huge advertisement for my business, but…recognizing that at least one-third of the American population is uninsured and a percentage of the rest are underinsured002

    I did feel a need to at least let my readers know what we offer to alleviate these issues and about our special promotion in the month of December.

    1. Dental, Vision, and Prescription are often offered separately from medical at an additional cost to you. Ameriplan offers a plan which includes all of these as well as chiropractic (which is often not covered by insurance at all) for only $14.95 for an individual or $19.95 for a family of up to 20 people
    2. Discount Plans do not have any exclusions – you can be 1 or 100, healthy or sick, having your baby at home or in a hospital- no problem.
    3. If you are on maintenance medications or are spending more than $100 per month on prescriptions our prescription Advocacy Program allows you to spend only $82 per month and receive all of your meds for FREE!
    4. Our hospital advocacy program has helped many of our members to reduce or eliminate their medical.
    5. If you have insurance, many of our providers will use our plan to discount your bill first and then bill the insurance company the remainder. This means less out of pocket for you.
    6. And last but not least , you can purchase any one of our plans for only $20 until 12/31/2008

    There you are short and sweet, so:

    • if you’ve been overdosing on aspirin because you can’t afford to go to the dentist
    • or haven’t had a mammogram or check-up in years
    • or are just tired of paying for insurance and then still having to come out of pocket for what your insurance does not cover
        Click here to learn more or sign up.

        P.S. Did I mention the 30 day money back guarantee? The $300 Gas Card? The Vacation for 2 with airfare? The Cash Back program for online purchases?

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    November 18, 2008

    Don’t Try This At Home Kids!

    I was speaking with a prospect the other night, great conversation, cool dude. We finally got around to talking about why I had called (hey, I work from home so I get in some human contact when/where I can) and he said “Oh, I think I tried that already, I got my kit and looked inside and just decided that I didn’t want to do it”.

    Note bien kiddos: “There is no try, there is only do..or do not” this from the first dog whisperer, Yoda. Either do the thing or don’t do it, you’re in or you’re not – there’s no fence-sitting allowed when it comes to being an entrepreneur. And that applies double if you’re a network marketing entrepreneur you have to make a commitment to do whatever is necessary to be successful.

    OK, so what if when you were born your parents said “we’ll try this parenting thing” What does that imply? That if it doesn’t work out they’ll drop you off at the hospital the way some parents dd (with kids as old as 17) in Nebraska recently? That they’ll give it a shot but your grandparents have to promise to take over if they screw up? That they’ll do it only as long as it’s fun, rewarding, and doesn’t take too much time away from what they really want to do? Or maybe just that they need an exit clause on your birth certificate?

    You know of 100 people who start in a home based business, only 3 (yes THREE) will actually continue to do the business to the point where they are making a beyond comfortable living at it.

    What happens to the other 97? Well, some quit because it’s just not for them (can’t get over the phone fear, their Mom said it was stupid, they didn’t have the time they thought they would have) which translates to “Just way harder than I expected” and others (ignoring the advice from their upline) throw too much money at their business and end up broke and disgusted. Then there are the business straddlers who are in 4 or 5 different businesses and never quite make it to the pinnacle of any one single business – because “trying” isn’t the same as “doing”.

    Well I went on that rampage just to say – if you will stop “trying” to be in business for yourself and instead give proper time and effort to the business that you are in… well you just might be successful.

    November 16, 2008

    Words Have No Meaning When You Don’t Know the Meaning

    I’ve been spending way too much time in the blogosphere and on the internet in general. In my travels I’ve read a lot of political stuff that was linked to by folks who were scared by the ideas put forth in these articles. I thought I knew what some of the scary words  meant, but , just to double check myself, I thought I’d whip out my Lincoln Writing Dictionary for Children (copyright 1988) and look up some stuff:

    Conservative- 1. wanting to keep things as they have been; against change. In politics people who are conservative generally believe that the government should hold to the values of the past and take a limited role in human affairs. 2. not taking chances; cautious or careful. 3. Following a modest style, not showy.

    Liberal – 1. wanting to make changes in something with the goal of improving it; in favor of change. In politics, people who are liberal generally believe that the government should take an active role in human affairs and create new laws and programs tha will solve social problems. 2. willing to give freely; generous 3. not exact or strict

    There was no definition for Marxism, maybe I need a grown-up dictionary for that one.

    Socialism – a system of economics and government in which the factories,land, businesses, and other means of producing goods are owned by the government rather than by individual people or companies.

    Since I’m in the dictionary already I am curious about the definitions for capitalism and communism:

    Capitalism – a system in which individual people and companies rather than the government hold and control the money, or CAPITAL. Under capitalism, the things needed to do business, such as land, factories , and goods are privately owned and are operated to make money for the owners.

    Communism – an economic system in which all property, goods, and services belong to the government rather than to individual people or private companies. Under communism all people are supposed to share equally in what is produced.

    Very simplistic and yes I could have found more complicated and up to date definitions on the internet (and maybe I will another day), but I wanted a Sunday afternoon take – easy.

    November 11, 2008

    Home-Based Business Misconceptions

    Whandshether you are already in a home-based business/network marketing opportunity or just looking to get started, there are some things you need to know.

    1. When your enroller said that you can make $100,000 in residual income – he/she didn’t mean this month. Which is not to say that you were scammed and will never make that 100K, it’s just not going to happen overnight, so get back down to earth and get to work.
    2. Systems are great, and systems do work, but if

      someone told you that you would “make money in your sleep” because the system will automagically sell your product and enroll new business partners – well…they may have told you a tiny white lie.

      Systems do work, but guess what? You are the main component of the system and you have to make it work. That means prospecting, marketing, advertising, basically investing a lot of time into your business. And no matter what anyone tells you, no business ever works on auto pilot, if it did your inbox wouldn’t be quite so full of emails from “gurus” and “top earners”. And trust me I don’t mean that in a bad way, I just don’t want you to think that there is a business somewhere that someone else works for you!

    3. There is a learning curve. Your first year or so in the business is all about learning and making mistakes. You’ll have highs and you’ll have lows; you’ll hear the word “No” a lot; people will hang up on you and avoid your calls – unfortunately they will continue to do that even after you’ve made your first 100K. The good news is that you can take what you learn and build your current business or you can apply it to your next “big thing”.
    4. There are just some things that are lunacy, and not the consistency you were aiming for.

      When your massive action doesn’t bring massive returns, you’ll probably burn out and quit your business in the first year

      So pace yourself, if you’re going to put out marketing materials, don’t paper 3 WalMart parking lots in one night! Bottom line is, don’t do anything once that you can’t repeat on a weekly basis.

    5. DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB at least not until after your earnings from your business equal your income from your job for several months. While you are still working reinvest your business earnings into the business – you’ll need leads, a small ad in the paper, and advertising co-op etc. This is the single biggest mistake I’ve seen first timers make, so don’t do it.
    6. While it’s good marketing practice to keep your business on the tip of your tongue, don’t push it to all of your friends, all of the time, you’ll end up in the NFL (no friends left). Your friends and family care about you (and are probably wondering what crazy scheme you’ve gotten yourself into now) and if they want to help you out they will. But for the love of Mike, go buy some leads and quit bothering your Mom!

    November 9, 2008

    Stop Worrying…Be Flexible

    In my last post I discussed how to stop worrying. But there is more to say on the subject.

    If you want to chase your stress and worries away you must learn to be flexible. All of our lives we’ve heard “Stand up and take it like a man” or “You’ve got to face your adversity”. On the contrary, I say that when life throws a punch at you – duck. Don’t agree?

    Well let’s consider a tale of two trees the palm and the oak. Both trees are standing by a roadside in coastal Florida when a hurricane comes ashore. Both are tossed about by the strong winds and the palm tree bends to touch the ground. The mighty oak stands tall against the storm.

    Morning finds

    the palm tree standing stronger than before, but the oak has been uprooted and lays on the ground

    Be flexible like the palm and that which doesn’t uproot you will certainly make you stronger.

    It’s also important to know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Yep, in debt, or jobless, power or gas turned off, cold canned food for dinner or wherever it is you are right now, it’s where you are supposed to be – right now.

    Your thoughts and your words have created the life you are currently living; if you don’t like where you are, fix your thoughts and change what comes out of your mouth.

    November 6, 2008

    Stop Worrying…Please

    “If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.” -George Burns (Comedian)

    With a recession upon us, uncertainty about the safety of our jobs, the possibility of higher taxes on our businesses, we have reason to worry. But

    stress leads to heart disease, cancer, stomach problems and eventually death. What we think affects how we feel and eventually it affects whether we are here – or not here.

    How can you stop worrying and get back to your goals of achieving financial freedom and having a better life?

    I am glad you asked, because I have got a couple of tips that will help you to do just that.

    Number one, you must recognize that there is something greater than you, a force inside of us which must be acknowledged. When we descend into worry about the little things as well as the big things, we abandon our spiritual power and leave all to our reasoning mind. Naturally, the reasoning mind tends to move away from ease and into struggle.

    The reasoning mind does not recognize or understand the power of our spoken words and thoughts and instead of letting go and letting the answers come, it tries to create solutions.

    The reasoning mind tells us what we cannot do, cannot achieve, cannot dream and why this is so.

    The reasoning mind is your own personal dream stealer and a major cause of worry and stress.

    Please believe me when I say that everything you need is already at your disposal. But you have to let go and let the power within work through you.