Category Archives: Determination

Last week I promised you some interviews with great MLM/direct selling and party plan companies.  Every few weeks, we will highlight one of these great companies.

To start off the series, I interviewed AJ Deeds of Loving Works.  They are a relatively new company that just celebrated their second year in business.  When I first met AJ, I was very impressed by his dedication to his products.  He told me what a difference the products had made in his life and he wanted to share that with others.    When I asked him why he started Loving Works, he said it began as a way for him to provide products, tools and experiences that could help others  grow in body, mind, heart and spirit. He said, “When I met Dr. Kyle Morgan (formulator of the Weight Balancing System, Sleep Balancer and other products), Loving Works was the ideal platform to bring forward her amazing inventiveness and help others to grow.”

There are many different ways to sell products.  Why did you decide to go the MLM/Direct sales model rather than traditional retail?

We chose the MLM model for several reasons. When people lose weight quickly on the Weight Balancing System, friends and family want to know how they did it. A network appears naturally. In addition, helping families and individual households increase their sources of revenue matched our vision. When people have more resources, they have more choices and can better live a better life and fulfill their own visions.  As one household, then two, then ten make better choices, they affect a neighborhood, a town, a community, a region, a country. Want to change the world? Start by helping local people. You’ll change the world, or a significant piece of it, before you know it.

What lesson have you learned that has changed your life?/business?

The underlying message from the most successful network marketers is to never give up. Distributors who are successful could have never predicted what a difference a single day would make until they reached that day. We’ve found this applies to network marketing company leaders as well. We like to use the term “keep going” as that has been the mantra through many difficulties we’ve encountered in this business journey. Knowledge comes from applying learning gained via experiences that are based on mistakes. We know quite a bit as we celebrate our second year in business.

If you could change one thing what would it be?

Since you can’t change the past, it’s not important what could have been done. What’s important is what we are choosing to do right now, today. The experience of network marketing is truly about acting, about taking action. Plans are important. But taking rapid action to recruit, to communicate, to motivate is much more important.

How do you deal with change?

The marketplace, the technology, the channel all change very quickly. One must have both flexibility in method yet steadfastness in principle, in vision, to do well.  You can’t chase a dream as you’ll never catch it. You have to create the future you desire. Keep going.

AJ, Thank you so much for your time and sharing your wisdom with ByDesign Technologies and others!!!

Are MLM, direct sales and party plan executives money hungry scammers or are they generous and giving?  I think this a question that must be answered. The industry has been hurt by pyramid schemes and people who speak loudly but have little insight.   I think, as with most businesses in the world, there are definitely bad apples out there.  But as a whole, I have found that individuals that start or lead a direct selling company are very generous.

For the last twelve years, ByDesign Technologies has had the privilege of working exclusively in this industry.  In 12 years, you see a lot and you learn a ton!  One of the things I love about this industry is the executives that we get to work with. We have had the honor of working with some truly fantastic business owners.  These people are innovative entrepreneurs with a passion to make the world a better place.

We have such an important job!!  We know that companies are depending on our software for their success (and the success of their field)!

We serve startup companies, emerging companies and multi-billion dollar, public companies.  This  is a large range in company size.    Learning how to meet the needs of each has taken flexibility and time.  In dealing with these companies, we have found one remaining truth.   Regardless of the size of the company, the executives really care about their products and their teams.  They want high quality products and they want their field to be successful.    They want to help the field make a mortgage or car payment.(or more)  They want to empower people to become leaders.  They want to change the world for good.

What an awesome job!  We are so lucky to be a part of it.  In the coming weeks, I will be blogging some interviews with a few of these executives.  I think you will enjoy learning from them and seeing their perspective on this great industry.  Don’t miss it!!!

 

As I was thinking about this post, “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers kept running through my mind.  It’s an oldie but goodie, and I am probably giving away a little too much about my age and background by sharing it!  (my sons would be sooo embarrassed!!).  The Gambler, Kenny Rogers

Here at ByDesign Technologies (www.bydesign.com) we deal with all kinds of companies; mlm, party plan and direct sales.  Some are billion dollar companies while others are start-ups.  We have had the great pleasure of watching companies grow from absolutely nothing to huge successes and unfortunately we have also seen many crash and burn.  If things are not looking positive, how do you determine if you are in an uncomfortable learning or growth curve or if you are in a tailspin you won’t recover from?

Is there ever a time to throw in the towel?  Here are five ways to know it is time:

1) Have you invested more than you think you can possibly recover?

2) Are you no longer passionate?

3) Are working outside of your strengths?

4) Are you holding on so that you do not have to admit failure?

5) Have you tried everything you know to do and it is still not working?

 Deciding to quit  is never easy.  Some quit when the ovation is the loudest.  Others persevere to hear another!  The best advice I can offer is to seek wise counsel.  Ask someone who has gone through a similar situation and be honest with yourself.

Some trials we must walk through.  Some we are not allowed to quit on, like illness or the death of a family member. (though we would all like to opt out of those!!)   Others trials, like a job, a business, or a relationship give us a choice in our actions and reactions.  If you decide things are not going to work out, handle it with grace.  Give the decision a lot of thought and be completely at peace with the situation once the final decision is made.

Deciding to quit anything you have invested yourself (or your money) in is difficult but recognizing that quitting does not equate to failure is a great gift to yourself.

You can believe like Homer Simpson, “Trying is the first step towards failure,”  or Mike Dennison, “It is better to have tried and failed than to have failed to try.”

 Give me your thoughts.  How do you know when it is time to quit?

You have to try!!

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan

I love that quote by Michael Jordan.  A fantastic basketball player and a great leader.

Are you afraid to try?  Recently I was talking with my son and shared a quote with him from Wayne Gretsky, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  We were talking about just trying.  Whether it is sports, work or just life in general, you have to put yourself out there and try.

At ByDesign Technologies (www.bydesign.com)  we are offering a Spanish class twice a week during lunch hour.  I have been attending and trying to learn.  This week, the professor said, “Ok, next week we will have a quiz.”  My heart sank, “a quiz?  This is not good, this was supposed to be fun…a quiz? I gave up my lunch hours for a quiz? I don’t have time to study, what am I going to do?!?”  Breathe…..Then I realized that it was ok, if I failed the quiz, at least I could say I tried.  I didn’t back out, I didn’t walk out, I didn’t kill myself trying to cram…I simply tried.

How do we balance what we want to become with who we are?

I believe it comes in the trying, the failing and the getting yourself up off the ground and doing it all over again.  As Michael Jordan said, that is why I succeed.

Lead and Follow

I believe that everyone can be a great leader.  Some might argue that there must be followers but if everyone led one, wouldn’t we all be leaders AND followers??

Here are my top 10 list of skills for good leadership

 

Openness-Good leaders listen to others.  They know people’s opinions matter and love to have their opinions challenged.

Encourager-A good leader loves watching their team and others succeed

Forgiving-a leader must recognize that holding on to hurt or bitterness hurts them and the organization

Risk-taker-a leader recognizes when a risk is worth it, takes it and encourages others to follow

Honest-a good leader is true to themselves and the organization and understands that transparency wins people over

Dreamer-Good leaders think about tomorrow and all the days afterward

Thankful-great leaders recognize that they can go nowhere without a good team and constantly remind their team how valuable they are

Humble-Good leaders are not self-seeking

Flexible-Leaders are open to new ways of achieving their vision

Hard working-No one becomes a great leader without investing time and effort into their mission.

What would you add to the list??? Leave me a comment and let me know.

I saw a great quote today by Tom Robbins.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”

I thought that this was exactly the point that I try to make to people, (but said so much better than I ever would have!!) So many times we get caught up in “the way we do it.”

Have you ever gone to church or a had a meeting you attend regularly? Have you noticed that everyone seems to always sit in the same seat? I am one of those that thinks it is fun to move around and throw everyone off.

We have a management meeting every Tuesday and my managers always come in and sit in “their” seat. If I get there early enough, quite often I will purposely pick to sit in one of their chairs just to throw the whole room off. We are creatures of habit. Most of us like to sleep on the same side of bed, have our coffee the same way and drive our car on the same road every day.

Sometimes those regular schedules or habits provide us with stability, other times it will kill us. There is another phrase I like that says,

“If you always do, what you have always done, you will always be, what you have always been.”

We should always be in a state of growth; personal, professional and spiritual. We should never be comfortable with the way things are because when we become comfortable, we stop moving towards greatness. How does one achieve greatness?? I think it is by staying committed to the decisions you have made for your life.

So many of us decide to do things (me included) and when the going gets tough, we give up.  I am sure many of you are like me and decided to “be healthier” this new year.  Sometimes at 6 am when I would rather be in bed than working out, it is hard to be committed.  When that chocolate brownie looks better than my salad, it is hard to be committed.  So, we must be flexible in our approach, sometimes I get up at 6:10 but I still get up, sometimes I eat a bite of that chocolate brownie…flexible, but still committed.

The same is true in business.  As a company we know our anchor, “To empower Direct Sellers worldwide with the best software and customer service in the industry.”  We have to constantly be flexible in how we view our “best practices.” Are there things we are doing that are outdated? Undoubtedly there are. We recently made the decision to not send out a printed manual. It seemed that as quickly as we got a new version printed up, it was outdated. While it is uncomfortable for us to give up this old familiar way of doing things, we must if we are going to be a state of the art company.  If we know what we are committed to, we can strive towards it.

Take the time today to examine your life and your position in your company and see if there is anything that you are really comfortable with. If so, look at it critically and find out if there is anything about it that is hindering your future growth. You might have found your sweet spot, but even sweet milk can go sour if it sits for too long.

Comfort and stability are good things but so are growth and flexibility. The balanced individual and company are able to create enough comfort and stability so that maximum growth and flexibility can be achieved. (over and over again).

Do you know your strengths?

I do a lot of interviewing for our company and I am shocked by the number of people who come in and don’t have an answer for the common interview questions, “What are your strengths?” and “What are your weaknesses?”.  Knowing our strengths and weaknesses is a key to our personal development.

I have several strengths. One of my strengths is that I am a maximizer which means I love to help people find their strengths.  If I find a shred of excellence in someone, I want to build it until they become something greater than they thought possible.  Good to better is not enough, better to incredible is extremely motivating for me.

I have weaknesses also. I can be quite critical and my directness can be seen as abrasive.  But, I know these things about myself so I try to control them to present a better me!!

If you know your strengths and weaknesses you can begin to build a better you.  If you don’t know them, do me a favor and spend some time figuring them out.  There are many books and online tests to help you if you want to do it independently. If you are brave enough, ask your friends!  Just be prepared for their honesty!!

We can never become great leaders who affect change if we do not recognize our potential.

Find yours today!!


What is it inside of a person that causes strength or weakness when faced with challenges? I was recently reading some information about Eleanor Roosevelt and began to consider this question. Eleanor Roosevelt said some great things:

• “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”
• “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”
• “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along”
• “You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give”

Eleanor Roosevelt had a really tough life by most standards. Though she was born into a very affluent family, her mother died from diphtheria when Roosevelt was eight and her father, an alcoholic confined to a sanitarium, died less than two years later. Her brother Elliott Jr. died from diphtheria, just like his mother. Roosevelt was raised by her maternal grandmother until she went to boarding school in London.

So, what is it in some people like Mrs. Roosevelt that causes them to stand strong to trials while others fall apart like a piece of wet paper? I think it comes down to determination, courage and belief.

Trials are going to come, that is a given. We must make a conscious decision of how we are going to react to those trials. Do we look at them at as opportunities to strengthen ourselves or as heavy weights that will crush us?

As Ms. Roosevelt states so clearly, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face…” Don’t be afraid. You can do it. You are stronger than you think you are. You can make a difference today.

Can you think of other reasons why some people are so resilient?  Leave me your comments.  I would love to hear from you!

ByDesign Loves It When Their Clients Are Growing

I am super excited!! I was just going over some of our internal reports and am so thrilled with the success that some of our clients are having. At the current sales rate, we have many clients that are having record-breaking years!

We also have a good number of clients that have been on our system for years that are experiencing sudden growth. It is amazing to me to see how little things make a big difference in a company. Sometimes it is a tweak to a comp plan, sometimes it is just being patient and building your business slowly and steadily.

I am going to be putting calls in to all these that are experiencing such great growth and see what insights I can gain and share with you.

In the meantime, what can you tweak to make a better you??

Determination

20 Sep

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Categories: Determination

The butterfly can fly

One of my boys is brilliant but struggles with reading. I have been working with him on an advanced phonics intervention. It is so hard for him and me. As parents, we don’t like seeing our children struggle, but when life is easy, there is no growth, no self realization, no pride in discovery and no personal accomplishment.

When he is sitting there with the tears running down his face, all I want to do is bundle him up and protect him from this cruel world that says he has to learn “their” way. But I am reminded of the caterpillar that turns into a butterfly. If the butterfly starts to come out of the cocoon and we help it by removing the casing, it won’t develop strength in its wings and therefore will never be able to fly. It has to push its way out of the cocoon by itself. In doing so all the fluid in its body goes into the wings and they become strong.

So, I gently take my son’s head in my hands, wipe his tears and tell him I know it is hard. Life is hard but we will keep working and one day he will fly!

What challenges are you afraid to face? It may be hard but in the end you will be a much stronger person.