Will the Fear of Failure Prevent You From Reaching Your Goals?

I just got done filling my brain, as well as a notebook, with the fantastic information found in Mike Dillard and Mark Wieser's Black Belt Recruiting course.

Once again, Mike has risen the bar in network marketing and hits on every single aspect a person needs to properly speak to a prospect.

From the basic psychology of the interaction between you and your prospect to how to qualify each of your prospects, to how to cut loose an abrasive person to smoothly overcoming some of the most frequently-heard objections in this industry, Black Belt Recruiting takes you right into the trenches with Mike and Mark and shows you everything you need to master prospecting.

But you can read more about Black Belt Here ...

The purpose of this particular post is not to promote Black Belt Recruiting. It is to share a very important lesson I took away from this powerful course.

One of the points Mike and Mark delve into is a person's fear of failure and how it hinders their success in this industry.

In relation, they talk about a person's fear of SUCCEEDING and how that also hinders their success, but that's a story for a different day.

Human beings make decisions based on two instincts: Pleasure and Pain.

Every single one of us gravitates towards the things in life that give us pleasure. And for good reason.

But, the driving force behind a person's 'pain' is the simple fact that they may fail.

They also may succeed. But it's the fear of failure that overpowers their thought process and makes them avoid even trying.

As Mike and Mark discussed how a person's fear of failing prevents them from taking risks and going outside their comfort zone to get the pleasure they desire, I instantaneously related it to a portion of my life.

When I was in junior high and high school, several of my friends skiied. They tried to get me to come with them almost every time they went, and every time I said the same thing:

"Are you crazy? There's no way I can do that! I'll do nothing but fall and make an ass of myself! I might even break a leg."

My fear of failure kept me off the slopes for a good five years. It wasn't until the winter of my junior year of high school that I finally worked up enough courage to give it a shot.

And guess what? My first time out, I fell...a lot.

My second time out, I fell...but not as many times as the first.

By my third time, I started to get the hang of things. I still fell, but I continued to improve each attempt I made.

And throughout the entire learning process...I had a blast!

As time has passed, I've gotten to be pretty good at the sport. Certainly I'm no professional downhill racer, but I do pretty well, and greatly enjoy it.

But my fear of failure kept me off skis for a five-year period that I could've been using to reach outside my comfort zone and try something I knew was fun.

You need to approach your goals in life the same way. If you hate your job, despise your commute, or can't stand being away from your family while you trade your time for wages, and you decide that it's time to make a change...

THEN DO IT!

Don't let the fear of "what ifs" and potential failures cloud your judgment.

If you're in a position where you've found a business opportunity you like and could set you up for years of financial freedom if you apply the proper dedication, don't let the idea of potentially NOT succeeding stop you from taking the chance.

Because if you do, you might find yourself looking back, five years down the road, while you're still stuck in the same situation of no time and no freedom in a dead-end job that makes you miserable...

...and wished you had "strapped on those skis" and taken a risk.

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Work Smarter, Not Harder: The REAL Definition

Companies talk about it all the time, and employees buy into it.

Any organization I’ve ever been apart of has stressed one credo:

Work Smarter, Not Harder.

It’s a statement that, by definition, is a way for every individual to find more ways to be creative and productive while exerting less energy.

But here’s what those companies don’t tell you: it’s usually harder for YOU, and smarter for the corporate bigwigs who count on your work and your ideas to become rich.

When people find new, innovative ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder, 9 times out of 10, it’s predicated on the belief that maybe, just MAYBE, their hard work will get them a promotion.

And what comes with promotion? A salary bump, sure. But more than likely, more responsibility. Which means you’re working twice as hard to line the pockets of the bigwigs.

But they’ll still preach it until they’re blue in the face: Work Smarter, Not Harder.

Working Smarter, Not Harder, usually means multi-tasking.

I’m going to be completely honest. I hate multi-tasking. I can’t stand it. I have the ability to do it, but it doesn’t mean I like it.

And it’s not laziness either. Much to my shigrin, I multi-task all the time. We all do it. We live in a world that feels we can’t function without it.

Most companies would be in utter shock if their employees didn’t multi-task. But in my opinion, it’s counterproductive.

Why? Think about it. Instead of 100% of your attention devoted to one assignment or initiative, 35% of your attention is on this assignment, 20% of your mind is thinking about a deadline for another assignment, 15% may be thinking about a meeting, 10% of your mind is preoccupied with something else, and the other 20% is wondering if there’s anything else you could possibly juggle in a day’s work.

Do you see how this can be counterproductive? Instead of one particular assignment getting your full attention, it’s only getting half, or even less. And all the other assignments are getting the same sort of attention as well, and this leads to poor results.

And supervisors and managers wonder why their employees get burnt out at work. It’s not laziness. It’s the fact they can’t focus on one subject at a time. Their mind is so consumed with what’s next, they forget about what’s now.

This is a major reason so many fail at network marketing. They over-complicate things by trying to juggle too many activities. Instead of focusing their full attention on one area of their business, they're all over the map, and their efforts suffer because of it.

Based on these principles, I’ve developed two schools of thought that drive my success on a daily basis:

1) Whenever possible, I give 100% of my attention to one specific subject so I ensure it’s done correctly. I prioritize my projects and work on one at a time so I know my best efforts are being poured into them.

This requires organization. But it’s amazing what you can do when you set up a schedule of events and focus on the task at hand.

2) I Work Smarter, Not Harder every day. But I don’t do it to line the pockets of someone else. I do it for myself and my family.

I reached a point where I realized no matter how much I worked, no matter what company it was, if I wasn’t at the top, I was working smarter AND harder to make someone else wealthy.

If you share this same mentality, and you’re not thrilled with listening to CEOs and managers drone on about working smarter, not harder, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

There are several ways you can create income streams that can fatten your bank account. The key is taking action and getting started, not sitting on the sidelines hoping someone else will come along and save you.

The most lethal action in the world is inaction. I listen to people every single day talk about how much they hate their job or wish they were somewhere else. But they do nothing but complain about it!

If you’re not happy with your situation, step up and do something about it! There’s a lot of opportunity out there if you open your mind and think outside the box.

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A Great Tip on Utilizing Social Networking to Grow Your Business

The fastest-growing sector of the Internet these days are the social networking websites that allow people to connect with friends, family, co-workers, and like-minded individuals.

Services like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Linked In, and many, many more are being frequented by web surfers young and old on a daily, even hourly basis!

And the best part about these sites is that most of them are free!

DID YOU KNOW: The average person spends 19 minutes a day on any given social media site in which they have an account established.

And most people are active on at least five sites, and in many cases, many more than that.

So if you crunch the numbers, if the average person has five accounts and is spending 19 minutes a day on each account, that's almost two hours a day spent on their social networking accounts.

The popularity, ease of setting up an account, and lack of a price tag has led several business owners to network their businesses on these sites as well.

And while this is a very powerful medium in which to leverage yourself and network with like-minded entreprenuers, there's many people have have chose to use these sites to SPAM their business to the masses.

If you're one of the ones who's been doing this...STOP.

Social networking sites should not be used to shove a business opportunity in someone's face.

Rather, get to know people. Share ideas. Make new friends. Provide insight on what's worked for you and what hasn't.

The video below by Perry Belcher provides a fantastic breakdown on how to view your social networking sites. All of Perry's videos are packed with excellent content and will give you a great understanding on what you should do with your Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking websites.

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In The Face of a Struggling Economy, More People are Turning to Network Marketing

As we moved into 2009, many of network marketing's top earners predicted we were in for a very big year.

And they couldn't be more correct.

Because as we continue to face economic struggles in our country, more and more people are losing their jobs due to outsourcing, cutbacks, and companies shutting their doors altogether.

That being the case, many people are turning to the Internet to start generating extra income.

Check out this video article from NBC that illustrates the growing popularity of network marketing.

http://tinyurl.com/bq53he

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How To Generate MILLIONS of Visitors To Your Websites...FREE!

Your business opportunity may come with some of the greatest bells and whistles known to man…

Unbelievably generous comp plan, beautifully-produced and maintained rep sites, state-of-the-art website designs, amazing income potential, killer, popular product, and much more.

The problem is, without traffic going to your website, how are you going to sell your products and promote your opportunity?

I’m a HUGE Seinfeld buff. And if you recall, one of the earlier episodes in the series featured the new-to-America entreprenuer, Babu, and his new restaurant, The Dream Cafe.

Long story short, Jerry took it upon himself to convince Babu to switch his entire menu to Pakistani, but the customers didn’t come. This led to Babu’s restaurant being closed down.

As network marketers, we face similar problems with our Internet businesses as well. If people don’t visit our websites, opt-in to our newsletters and giveaways, get introduced to our opportunities, or buy our products, we don’t make a nickel.

And if we paid money through a pay-per-click service to generate leads that visited our sites but didn’t opt-in, it actually COST us money to have that person visit our website, then vanish like a thief in the night without so much as a “how do you do.”

There is so much to be said for having effective ad copy on your sites. If you are driving traffic to a capture, or squeeze page, which is a 110% necessity if you’re looking to be successful in this industry, you’re getting just one chance to make a first impression.

You want them to opt-in to your newsletters, ebooks, reports, or systems. Above all, you want to provide value to your visitors. You want to be the leader that shows them the means to success.

Today’s Golden Tip: Providing value to your visitors right off the bat is CRUCIAL to your success!

Now, imagine what it would be like if you could expose your business to 100 people a day.

How about 1,000 people per day?

Or, 5,000?!

This allows you to play the ultimate numbers game…and come out a winner every time!

My message today is quite simple. I’m about to share with you a new system that will allow you to expose your business to a MILLION people per month. Yes…a MILLION!

This system allows you to build exponentially the amount of exposure your website gets. In order for new people to sign up for this easy-to-use service, they will be taking a look at your webpage.

And as more people come aboard, your site will continue to gain more exposure as the process continues to repeat itself. Thus, exponential growth!

And if your visitors like what they see and opt-in, you’ve just generated a new lead!

Now, it’s up to you to turn them into a paying customer or distributor!

The best part about this marketing system? IT’S FREE!!!!!!!!

Click Here to learn more!

You’ve got nothing to lose…except for TONS of FREE traffic pounding your website every single day. Enjoy.

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What Does It Take to Become Boss-Free?

Living in a boss-free world may seem impossible. Despite the bad day you just had, the constant micro-managing your supervisor puts you through, and the monotony of the daily work routine, it may seem like there’s no other alternative.

So you continue to tell yourself that it’s just a rough patch. “Once we get through this busy period, things will improve.”

So the days go on, and on, and on. But nothing gets better. Every day, your attitude declines, and your disengagement skyrockets. But you keep going to work every day because in today’s competitive job market, it’s not always easy to just switch careers or companies on a whim.

And even if you did do that, what’s the guarantee that your new company, or new boss, is going to be even better?

Do you want to know when I finally reached my breaking point with my J.O.B.?

I was sitting at my desk, doing my work like normal. And I found myself looking at the clock. And I asked myself, “What task can I do that will kill the most time?”

Kill the most time?! Was this why I was here? To watch the days of my life pass me by as I slaved away on mundane tasks that consumed the minutes of my day until I could clock out and go home?

This is not how I want to spend the rest of my life. And instead of complaining and making excuses about my lot in life, I decided to do something about it.

So I started my home business, and having had experience running a business in the past, I knew I wasn’t going to become successful overnight.

I knew it was going to take time, effort, and a positive attitude. And over time, the results I’m looking to gain would come.

You cannot fake your way to the top. That sort of behavior, in my opinion, is reserved for the corporate world brown-nosers who operate under the adage of “It’s not WHAT you know, but WHO you know.”

Call me traditional, but I feel hard work, dedication, and absorbing knowledge and applying it should be the keys to your success. Not the fact that you play golf with the boss every Sunday and laugh at his outdated jokes.

But I digress. Here are some tips you can apply to any business to begin building success:

1. Set Goals and Commit To Them. In order to achieve success, you have to define it first. To do this, you must set goals from the very beginning, and keep those goals in focus. It is important to set short-term and long-term goals.

To achieve your goals, it’s important to revisit them as often as possible. There are several things you can do to make sure your goals are always in front of you so you don’t lose sight of what you’re working towards.

Type them out and paste them where they are always visible. i.e., your computer monitor, bathroom mirror, day planner, etc. My goals are in a Word Document on my Centro. When I turn the phone off at night, I pull up that document so when I wake up and turn my phone on, it’s the first thing I see.

It doesn’t matter what your goals are…as long as you have them. Your reason why is going to be what makes or breaks your level of success with your business.

2. Develop a positive mindset. When learning something new, there’s no doubt there’s going to be mistakes along the way.

Think about it. When you learned to ride a bike, did you hop right on and take off at full speed? NO! You started with training wheels. And when those training wheels came off, you fell. Chances are, you fell alot.

But you kept getting back on, and trying again, because you were committed to riding that damn thing! You stayed positive because the more times you fell, the more you learned.

And what about your current job? Did you walk in the door on your first day and set record numbers? NO! It took time to learn your trade. And during that learning period, chances are you made some mistakes. It’s natural. It’s human.

And even as you progressed through your company and gained experience, you made a few mistakes along the way.

But you didn’t stop going to work because of it. You learned from your mistakes and stayed positive as you moved forward.

That’s what boggles my mind about the network marketing industry. Despite having to work for everything their entire life, people enter this industry and instantly expect to rule the world.

And when that doesn’t happen overnight, they quit. Or, they try another opportunity. Because they feel they are ENTITLED to a fortune simply because they signed up.

It simply doesn’t work that way.

But what DOES work?

The same thing that’s worked your entire life! Developing a mindset that allows you to stay positive through the growing pains.

If you are willing to develop a positive attitude and can keep that attitude in tact as you LEARN how to be successful, you’ll open yourself for great opportunity as you strive to reach your goals.

3. Treat Your Business as if it’s Your ONLY Source of Income. Today’s world constantly reminds us of a struggling economy, outsourcing, and people losing their jobs left and right.

The days of “recession-proof” companies are long gone.

To that end, many people are turning to home businesses and the Internet as an additional, or primary, source of income.

So ask yourself: How much harder would you work on your home-based business if it was the only source of income you had?

I think the answer to that is very simple. At least it should be.

So if your true desire is to build a business from your living room that can sustain you and your family, that will allow you to reach all of your goals, fire your boss, and escape the “9 to 5” world, act as if the only income stream you have is through that business!

Don’t become complacent and say “You know what, I worked some overtime at the office this week, so I can afford to not update my advertisements for my business.”

Do that once, and it’ll become routine. Avoid this trap at all costs.

If you put the same type of effort into your home business as you do your “9-5,” your business will grow by leaps and bounds.

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Join The Boss-Free Revolution!

The Objective: To help you develop a five-year, long-term plan to build your home-based business to the point where it becomes your primary source of income, thus empowering you to fire your boss and live a life of financial freedom!

The Reason: When I joined the network marketing world, I was 28 years old. I immediately committed to this industry and set some short and long-term goals for myself. The long-term goal I set for myself was to be boss-free by the age of 33. That’s a five-year plan for developing my business. Hence the name of this revolution: BOSS-FREE BY 33!

When setting out to do anything in life, it is crucial to have a reason why. In addition, you have to have goals for yourself.

When a football player enters training camp, his goal is to begin preparation to win a Super Bowl.

When Tiger Woods hits the first tee at Augusta for The Masters, his goal is to wear the Green Jacket come Sunday afternoon.

Starting a new business should be attacked the same way. You need to set goals for yourself, both short and long-term. When you open your doors, you should have a way of attracting customers and creating revenue.

You need to have a reason “why” you are doing what you’re doing. If you don’t have a goal to reach, why are you in business in the first place?

Not having goals will lead to a loss of focus, complacency, and lack of growth and revenue potential.

It should go without saying that growing your business does not happen overnight. The best business owners realize the smarter they work, the more likely they are to find success.

It may take a month. It may take a year. It may even take two, three, or more years. But if you set attainable, long-term goals, and commit to reaching those goals, it will make all of your hard work worthwhile when you enter a boss-free world!

And, if you meet or exceed your goals ahead of schedule, well…that’s even better!

What’s Scary About the “9 to 5” World?

There are several factors that led me to start this goal-setting initiative and begin building a boss-free lifestyle:

• No matter how hard I work and how much extra effort I put in, I could NEVER make more money than the bosses above me.
  
• In today’s job market, people are losing their jobs left and right, despite length of tenure, education, and experience. I refuse to get left out in the cold without a plan
  
• People have absolutely no problem moaning or complaining about how much they hate their job and/or their boss. But, they get up every day and go back to the same job, the same boss, and do absolutely nothing to improve their situation. I saw my problems with micro-managing bosses and corporate structures and instead of complaining about it, then accepting it, I decided to TAKE ACTION
  
• I had a conversation with my boss over lunch one day, and he proceeded to tell me how many golf outings he skipped, how many social functions he missed, and how he didn’t even go on his own honeymoon, because of his job. While I will never question his devotion, I knew then and there my value of time would never allow me to be happy in a “job” where I didn’t have a healthy work-life balance
  
• We are led to believe the best years of our lives are after we retire. The problem I have with that school of thought is the fact that by retiring based on traditional timeframes, we’re too old to do the activities we could do today if it weren’t for trying to get time off from our “9 to 5.”

Ask yourself this question: Wouldn’t it be better to have your younger years available to you instead of trading your time for wages until you’re “OLD” enough to retire?

Being your own boss allows you to do just that, and then some. Does it sound unbelievable? Trust me, it’s not. It’s definitely exciting and attainable!

If this goal was not attainable, I wouldn’t be devoting so much time to my Boss-Free game plan.

Adopting this school of thought is a different way of thinking. It’s not “the norm,” which is why so few people choose to venture down this path.

But if you are willing to commit to setting your own hours, working from the comfort of your own home, making the morning commute a thing of the past, handing your boss his or her pink slip, and FINALLY living life on your terms, then becoming Boss-Free and reaching top-notch levels of success are initiatives you should definitely get on board with.

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Be an Expert Without Being an Expert

So how long have you been in business? Five years? Five months? Five days? FIVE MINUTES?!

Honestly, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been running your business, you know more about it than I do. And more importantly, you know more about it than any of your prospects.

Therefore, when you’re talking to someone new about your opportunity, regardless of the length of time that you’ve been building your business, you are in the unique position of “expert.” Whether you know your company inside and out, or are just getting started, having the CONFIDENCE to talk about your opportunity is what will help you find success.

Your prospects aren’t buying in to your opportunity, they’re buying in to you!

And your ability to speak confidently about your product and/or opportunity will position you as a leader.

The stone-cold reality of network marketing is the majority of people are looking for a get-rich-quick opportunity. These are the lazy people who believe they are entitled to a fortune because they signed the dotted line and invested their start-up cost.

They have no ambition to put the necessary work in to building the business. And when the money doesn’t magically appear in their bank account, they quit, or jump to another opportunity thinking IT’S the answer to their financial struggles.

These are the people I stopped wasting time on a long time ago. And you should do the same, because it’s not worth the struggle.

The key is finding the individuals who are eager to build their business, build their downline, and become financially successful, without taking shortcuts to get there.

And how do you find these people? Not by flaunting your opportunity all over the place. People don’t care about YOUR opportunity because there are thousands of network marketing opportunities out there.

What people care about is HOW this opportunity is going to HELP them. And if you present yourself as an “expert” to your prospect, with a legitimate, PROVEN, system that will help build their business, your prospects will see you as a leader in the industry…regardless of your tenure in the network marketing world!

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Always, Always, Always Be a Student!

Since I began building my business, I’ve associated myself with many different experts and learned as many techniques as possible.

There is nothing worse than PRETENDING to pass yourself off as an expert on something when, in reality, you have absolutely no clue about it. There is nothing long-term that can be gained from this.

Eventually, the truth will come out, and your credibility will be lost.

If you are surrounded by a wealth of knowledge, you have to take full advantage of it by absorbing everything you can like a sponge. If you want to be successful with your MLM business, you’ve got to be willing to learn from those who have been successful before you.

That is why I live by a simple motto: Always be a student.

You have to be willing to take a step back and analyze your situation for what it is. Honestly, coming into the MLM world, I hadn’t a clue where to start.

But I took it upon myself to find education and literature and begin positioning myself in a way that I can utilize what I've learned and share it with others.

I have been a student of the teachings of Mike Dillard for several months now, and an important point he touches on in Magnetic Sponsoring is this: Network marketing is comprised of business owners who have never been business owners.

Because of the relative ease of starting a home-based business, this is many people’s first shot at running a business. Unfortunately, a high percentage of those people lose sight of the fact that it’s just that: a BUSINESS.

And when they lose focus and start treating it like a get-rich-quick deal, their business fails, and they are left with a sour taste on multi-level marketing in their mouths forever.

And those are the same people who have no reservations telling you what a waste of time your business is. Because they failed to learn effective ways to market their business, because they stopped treating their business like a business, because THEY NEVER BECAME A STUDENT, they feel they can openly criticize you.

Pay them no mind.

Build your business by absorbing all the knowledge you can from those who have been successful and to hell with the naysayers! Because, last time I checked, their opinions don’t put cash in your bank accounts.

No longer am I plagued by the opinions of others. No longer do I care what people think about my business. If it’s not right for them, so be it. I move on. Because it’s not for everybody…and only a fool believes that EVERYONE will want a piece of their opportunity.

It just doesn’t work that way. If everyone was guaranteed they’d make a fortune from an MLM business, then everyone in the world would have one.

But there is no guarantee. You only get out of your business what you put in. Those who take time to learn effective ways to market their business, grow their business, and become a leader in the industry…those are people who will be successful.

Those who become students of the game will one day enjoy the fruits of their labor.

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Expecting Success Without Working For It Will Get You Nowhere...

You see it every day, in every facet of life. People just EXPECT something to be handed to them without working for it.

People who don’t receive a promotion rarely blame themselves. It’s always the boss’s fault! If a student doesn’t get a good grade on a term paper, it’s the professor’s fault!

We live in a society that firmly believes in “entitlement.” This is especially true in the network marketing business. “I paid my X amount of dollars to get in, now I expect to be handed the golden ticket to fortune.”C’mon.

I know it’s unfortunate, but this is what over 95% of our business consists of. Which is why 95% of network marketing businesses fail. People want a written-in-stone guarantee that they will make money, but they don’t want to take the time to learn HOW to do it.

They just expect it to be handed to them. And when it doesn’t get handed to them, instead of LEARNING A SYSTEM to make their current business work, they jump to the next shiny, laced-with-promises opportunity that hits their inbox.

Undoubtedly, there’s a million opportunities out there, but every single one of those opportunities isn’t worth jack if there is no system in place to market it.

One of the biggest personal successes I’ve had since joining the network marketing industry was teaching myself to learn how to market it. From day one, I never took an “entitlement” attitude about my business. I never felt I should make money just because I signed up.

I knew I had to put the blood, sweat, tears, and time into growing it.

Think about it. You don’t put a small plant in the ground, go to bed, and wake up the next day to find a tree in your yard. It takes time and patience. And your business is no different.

It takes time, patience, and the ability to absorb every bit of useful information made available to you. Treat it like a business, RUN it like a business, and it won’t run you.

When I first got started, I used to present my business to people (who, quite frankly, didn’t want to hear about it to begin with) and immediately got hit with “I’m not going to do that unless you guarantee me I make X amount of dollars.” Or, “I’m not going to pay that kind of money to get involved in this business.”

I used to fumble and bumble an answer, immediately going on the defensive and scrambling to find anything to reassure this person what a great opportunity it was. In their eyes, I had to look like a total idiot.

And I was.

By letting them take control of the conversation, I lost all the power. Forget the opportunity altogether. I no longer looked like a leader to this person. I just looked like another schmuck with a “get-rich-quick scheme.”

Finally, I discovered ways to market my business that didn’t involve having to put up with people who felt entitled to make a fortune just because they joined the business.

You want to work with people who believe in the opportunity. You want to work with people who realize they aren’t entitled to a paycheck just because they signed the dotted line.

And, most importantly, you want to work with people who believe in YOU as a leader.

The bottom line is this: People don’t buy your opportunity, they buy YOU.

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