Tag Archives: Success

How To Make 2013 A Great Year

It’s GrOw Time
Greetings,

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! The past few weeks always seem to be super busy. Now it’s time to get our focus back on our visions and dreams so 2013 can be a terrific year. Thanks to Keith Patterson for sending me the following 5 possible barriers all of us might face during the coming months.

Enthusiastically,

Gary Burke

Why do some people achieve their goals while others fail? I believe it’s because successful people manage to overcome five barriers that, in many cases, guarantee failure. Here are those barriers and how to overcome them:

1. Uninspiring Goals

When most people set goals, they envision a “thing,” such as a particular amount of money, an object (like a new car), or a specific achievement (like writing a book). Unfortunately, these “things I’m gonna get or do” goals don’t appeal to the core of what motivates you, because they miss the point that what you’re actually seeking in life and work is the POSITIVE EMOTIONS that you believe those things will produce.

Fix: Rather than envisioning a “thing” as your goal, envision–with all the strength in your imagination–how you will feel when you achieve the goal. That way, you’ll be inspired to do whatever it takes (within legal and ethical bounds) to achieve that goal.

2. Fear of Failure

If you’re afraid of failing, you won’t take the necessary risks required to achieve your goal. For example, you won’t make that important phone call, because you’re afraid that you’ll be rebuffed. Or you won’t quit your dead-end job and start your own business because you’re afraid that you might end up without any money.

Fix: Decide–right now!–that failure, for you, is a strictly temporary condition. If things don’t go the way you’d like, it’s only a setback that, at most, delays your eventual success. In other words, accept the fact that you’ll sometimes fail, but treat that failure as an unavoidable (yet vital) component in your quest.

3. Fear of Success

In many ways, this fear is even more debilitating than the fear of failure. Suppose you achieved something spectacular, like enormous wealth. What if it didn’t make you happy? What then? What if you ended up losing all of it? What then? Would your friends start acting weird? Would your family be envious? Such thoughts (and they’re common) can cause even a highly motivated person to self-sabotage.

FIX: Decide that you’re going to be happy and grateful today and happy and grateful in the future, no matter what happens. Rather than focus on possible problems, envision how wonderful it would be to be able to help your friends and family achieve THEIR goals.

4. An Unrealistic Timetable

Most people vastly overestimate what they can do in a week and vastly underestimate what they can do in a year. Because of this, most people try to cram too many action items into the short term rather than spacing out activities over the long term. The inability to get all the short-term steps accomplished creates discouragement and the impression that the final goal is slipping away.

Fix: As you list the activities and steps required to achieve a goal, schedule only the 20% of the activities that will produce 80% of your results. Beyond that, set ambitious long-term timetables, but always leave some “wiggle room” when you plan short term.

5. Worrying About “Dry Spots”

It’s easy to get discouraged when you reach a point at which nothing you do seems to advance you toward your goal. For example, suppose you’re trying to master a certain skill. You make swift progress at first but then, after a while, it seems as if you’re not doing any better, or maybe a little worse. Some people use these “plateaus” or “dry spots” as an excuse to give up and therefore fail.

Fix: Whenever you reach a plateau or dry spot, it’s time to celebrate rather than give up. A plateau is almost always a sign that you’re on the brink of a major breakthrough, if you just have the patience to stick with it and trust that you’ll eventually achieve your goal.

Got milk? Want to lose it?

Losing weight means different things to different people. I think of it as shedding gallons of milk.

How much does a gallon of milk weigh?

One gallon of milk

That seems like plenty. How about two gallons?

Two gallons of milk

That starts to add up fast. Three gallons?

Three gallons of milk

This is more than I can carry in with the groceries. Four?

Four gallons of milk

Now that is quite a load. Almost 35 lbs. just from those four gallons of milk.

What does this mean for losing weight?

For each 8.6 lbs. I can lose, it will be as if I no longer have to carry a gallon of milk around with me all the time. So if I can reach my weight loss goal it will be like I have shed several gallons of milk. So I no longer have to carry it with me every where I go. That has to be easier on my body, on my joints and back.

And the best part will be that the majority of this unwanted weight will come off abdominal fat. And that is what I want to lose most of all.

So where am I now?

I have been using Shaklee Cinch for 9 weeks now and I have honestly lost 30 lbs. So I no longer carry 3 1/2 gallons of milk!

Three and a half gallons of milk = 30 lbs.

But I am not finished there. I want to lose another 20 lbs. and have a BMI (Body Mass Index)  under 25.  And for the first time in years I will no longer be in the “Overweight” or “Obese” categories.  I know that I will feel better and that it will be a good trip to the doctor next time.

From personal experience I can recommend Shaklee Cinch. It has worked for me – when nothing else has – and I feel confident that I can reach my goal.

If you want to know more about Cinch,  and if you want to start losing those gallons of milk, let us know by contacting us here or heading over to our site to get started with Cinch.

Good luck with your program!

10 Reasons a Real Estate Agent Can be a Successful Shaklee Distributor

The current economy nationwide has made it difficult for many successful real estate agents to earn a living. The real estate market in 2010 is not what it was just a few short months ago.

An attractive alternate income can be built by these under-utilized agents can be found in building a Shaklee business. What skills do they already have that will give them an advantage?

10 Reasons to be Successful

Real estate agents are:

  1. Selling Machines. Every good real estate agent is already an expert in selling. They know the process of prospecting, creating a relationship with potential customers, and how to put together a winning deal.
  2. Deal Closers. Most agents that are successful know how to close a deal. Identifying the concerns of potential buyers and knowing how to “cross the finish line” are second nature.
  3. Networkers. These successful individuals know how to build long lasting relationships and networks. They understand that it is more important to keep the clients happy so they will return in the future and be a valuable source of referrals.
  4. Accustomed to Rejection. No one is immune to impact of rejection. But in any selling profession the winners will understand that it takes a lot of “no’s” to get to those few valuable “yes’s”.
  5. Experts in Matching Customers with Products. With the experience of matching home-buyers with properties, the agent has valuable experience in presenting the right product at the right time to the right prospect.
  6. Positive. No one with a negative attitude makes it in the selling world.  This can-do attitude works well in selling almost anything.
  7. Possessing Local Networks. A good real estate agent already has access to an existing network of people who are going through changes in their lives. They know their local area and many well-connected individuals that can be invaluable in building a Shaklee business.
  8. Competitive. A real estate agent typically has that drive to succeed. They seek out opportunities where the rewards are available based on the amount of work applied. There is no such thing as blind luck in a long-term sales career. It is only hard work that makes a real difference.
  9. Part-timers. Many agents work in real estate on a part time basis. That is also an approach that can be used in selling Shaklee products. In fact many of the top performers started out in their career almost as a hobby to earn extra income and learned how to be successful.
  10. Motivated by Money.  All good sales people are motivated by monetary rewards. There are other great recognition opportunities, but the freedom that significant income provides opens all kinds of doors.

Will every successful real estate agent be able to be a successful Shaklee distributor? Of course not, but they already possess several advantages that can be used to get started right away. And as the economy continues to struggle, everyone can use a fresh opportunity.

Contact us if you would like more information on how to get started in a successful Shaklee career. We have decades of experience we would like to share.

5 Steps for Online Marketing Success

Take Something You Like and Make it Your Own.

This can be a powerful tool when building any business. There are many marketing programs, techniques, and processes that can be implemented to grow your online business. But one key to success is to build on something you like.

Traditional direct marketing has always been based on the concept of checking out what the competition is up to. A good direct marketer will be interested in seeing what others are doing and if something shows up over and over, you can be assured that it works. The next step is to adapt your marketing program to use that information to build your own business.

For example, if you see your competition using online webinars to build their business, then it is worth checking out. If they are using Google AdWords to beat you to the customers first, then it is going be valuable for you to learn more about online search marketing. And if you see a similar program using Twitter to reach out, you should also see if Twitter can work for your business.

Do you just copy someone else’s program? Is that okay to do?

Exactly copying the online marketing program that someone else has developed rarely meets your needs. Maybe they are trying to attract a different audience. Maybe their products are different than yours. Or maybe they have just duplicated someone else’s program in hopes that it works for them.

Five Steps for Online Marketing Success

1. Identify the Competition.

You should already know who your online competition is. If not start researching now. See who is appearing everywhere online marketing the same type of products and services. And make sure you have found the entrepreneurs or businesses that are successful to study.

2. List the ten things you think make them successful.

Of course there are going to be many things that a successful business – online or offline – will be doing to promote their business. But rather than trying to figure out everything just concentrate on the top ten things that you have determined to be their keys to success. And see if these programs are used by more than one successful competitor.

3. Narrow that list to the top three things that you would like to be doing.

Your most valuable asset is time. And since you can’t be doing everything, you should focus on the three things that you feel are productive and that you would like to be doing. If they are using Facebook and you like spending time there, put that on your list. If they are using Craigslist.org ads but you don’t like all that detail work, leave it off.

4. Map out a plan on how you can start using those three techniques yourself.

You already know your products and services; your strengths and weaknesses; and use that information and your imagination to determine how you can apply these proven methods to your business. Create your map using a timeline showing what you can do this week, this month, and this year.  Be as detailed as possible in your planning.

5. Try these new programs out for yourself.

Start right away so you have time to test things out. As you continue to develop your marketing plan you will be able to test and learn. If things are working, build on those techniques. If some programs are not turning out how you would like, make adjustments and keep at it.

This may sound like just common sense. But most successful marketers don’t have a magic formula. They are continually learning about what works for them in their business. You can use that same technique to grow your business as well.

Good luck!