I want to talk more about the important information I learned at the regional Xango convention. Les Brown was the keynote speaker and here are some highlights from my notes. He has the same take on the unemployment numbers as Paul Zane Pilzer does. They both feel that the high rate of unemployment is a sign that our economy is moving in a new direction and people losing jobs is actually a good thing to free up more people to learn new skills that will help them be more successful and move our economy forward. His take is that recession stimulates resourcefulness and setbacks are a setups for recovery. This makes so much sense to me.

I know it is hard to be without a job. I lost my job at an equine clinic I had helped build back in the 1980 recession. At the time the loss of my salary and livelihood seemed devastating. I was not prepared to be on my own and start a practice with no capital or client base. Banks simply laughed at me but I finally found one that would give me a small loan and the rest is history. I would never again trade the freedom of being self employed for a job. Having my own veterinary practice gave me control of my own destiny but it did not give me time freedom. As my practice grew I had less and less free time. I am taking the step now to move fully into the place of building a business that functions even when I am not working full time on it. I am learning to leverage my time and this is why I listen to people like Les Brown who speak about the emotional shifts that need to happen to make changes in life.

Les Brown spoke about the need to invest in yourself and that is exactly what we ask people to do when they join a network marketing company. We ask them to put in time and money in the short turn that they may not see returns for until much later. That is what investment is all about. Les Brown talked about how successful people spend their downtime compared to those who are stuck in a pattern. Are you spending your downtime watching television or playing video games or are you reading and advancing your knowledge and planning your future?

Les Brown talked about the company we keep. Do your friends encourage you or hold you back? Are you moving forward or adjusting your step to stay in time with your friends? Wouldn’t it be better to steer your life in the right direction and encourage your friends to keep up with you? Is your life a warning to someone watching you or a positive example? Who in your life can you count on and who should you count out?

Last but not least, Les brown talked about what holds us back. It is mostly our thoughts. What you focus on the longest will be the strongest. It takes courage to S – Shut down negative thinking, O – Own our talents and S – Stand in our power. As important as our thinking is moving forward is also about learning skills. In network marketing this means learning how to interact with people. According to Les Brown the best speakers make the fewest words go the farthest. I am slowing learning this. Listening is a skill that is worth a fortune because people are not looking for the most talented presenter but someone they can know, like and trust. People are looking to be connected, accepted and respected and listening to them is the way to show you care.

People often fail in network marketing because they don’t realize they don’t have the skills and they don’t know what they don’t know. They either don’t have a good mentor or reject the mentor’s efforts to guide them. Good mentors want to teach their people because they want them to take the knowledge down the their people. In network marketing you can’t be successful without helping others be successful. Les Brown said that especially in network marketing success without successors is a failure. I was impressed. Madalyn