Living With Purpose: Network Marketing the Vehicle

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Network Marketing is a profession intended to provide us with the means to achieve our end. It is not designed to absorb our entire lives nor continue for the rest of our lives. Rather, it is a vehicle that, for many of us, after a few years of intense effort, can provide the time and financial freedom to pursue our real life purpose.

It is all part of a magnificent telescope that allows us to bring into focus the big picture vision we have for our lives, our pre-eminent life purpose, our long-range goals, then our shorter-term goals, then the specific mission we are undertaking, and finally a business plan for making our venture serve our ultimate purpose and bring our vision into reality. As we focus our immediate attention on implementing our daily action plan–still able to see our vision out on the horizon–we find a compelling reason that drives us to endure the hardships and daily challenges that we will inevitably face in our business. Compelled by our larger vision and driven by the desire to fulfill our ultimate life purpose, all our goals, our network marketing business, each daily action supports us in the effort to become the kind of person we envision ourselves being.

If you haven't given much thought to your preeminent life purpose, let me share a definition I have developed over the years:

Preeminent Life Purpose is our primary, ultimate, lifetime objective toward which all life's experiences lead, the accomplishment of which determines our true identity, the importance of which supersedes all other endeavors, giving overall direction to our lives.

Imagine, hypothetically, that you have just come from seeing your family doctor. After getting a second opinion, you learn that you have a terminal illness and are given no more than five months to live. Would you make a change in your life? Would you, perhaps, quit your job, spend more time with the people you love, travel more, or make amends with someone?

Now, leaving the hypothetical world and coming back into your real world, do you have a five-month guarantee now at this very moment? Of course not. So why wait for a life-threatening crisis to make wanted changes in your life?

Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Saturday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide there is no better time than right now to go for the things you really want.

One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, driving home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers, he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is the jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes."

Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered.

"Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted.

Once again, he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you really try hard you can always fit some more things in!"

"No," the speaker said, "that is not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. What are the 'big rocks' in your life? Time with your family or someone you love? Your faith, your education, your dreams? A worthy cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you'll never get them in at all. So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the big rocks in my life? Then, put those in your jar first."

The process of transforming our vision into reality is a slow but steady one. And there are always practical steps to be taken. If there are real hurdles to be faced, work through them. If you need a babysitter, hire one. If you need to take a part-time job or drop one, create the necessary structure or space in your life. If you need to carve out time by giving up something else, just focus and do it. When tangible impediments stand in the way of pursuing your purpose, do whatever it takes to rectify them.

With that in place, then utilize the art of visualization with affirmations to keep you on track with your purpose. Say to yourself, "It's possible that this positive outcome could happen . . . even though it isn't happening now." Focus on the end result and don't let your mind get bogged down with how it will happen. The only thing that can suppress growth is if you are locked into your present reality so strongly that your vision of what you really want cannot overcome it. It is only when your vision is stronger than the reality in which you find yourself that change can be effected. Unless we can first see ourselves achieving something in our own minds, we will never get there in real life.

Attitude is far more important than ability in our lives and in our work. You may have heard about the two shoe salesmen who were assigned to check out the outback of Australia as a possible location for a new branch of their company. Within 24 hours, the first rep called back.

"Forget it! Don't even think of expanding into this part of the world. These people don't wear shoes."

Another couple of days passed before the second agent was heard from.

"We've got a gold mine here," he shouted into the phone. "You won't believe it. Send every shape, size, and color. These people haven't even heard of shoes yet!"

There will always be both kinds of people who look at our industry and respond in much the same way. "It's a pyramid scheme!" cry out the non-believers. "It's a cash cow just waiting to be milked!" exclaim the supporters. The facts are the same; only the outlook varies.

Everything else in our lives can come and go: houses, cars, even life savings. Only our attitudes are entirely ours and can never be taken away from us. At every moment of our lives, the power is within us to choose our attitudes, and learning to exercise control over our attitudes is the key to life. Disappointments come readily and inevitably in this business. Our attitude has to be one of appreciation for all the good that comes and not be held captive by the letdowns.

For years I have been saddened by the attrition factor of our industry. I somehow wanted to blame it on some lack within the industry. Until I finally realized that success in our industry is there for the taking. It is an option that people may or may not choose.

I predict that we will see massive growth over the next decade. Because of the Internet and the ease of technology, the industry will be overwhelmingly successful on a worldwide scale. Neal Offen, president of the Direct Selling Association, predicts that we will see 200 million new networkers join our current 31 million over the next decade. Much of this growth I'm sure will be in the form of people joining Internet communities.

Success is on the horizon for the industry as a whole. But who among us will be living that success story? I believe it will be those who understand that the industry is merely a vehicle–a means of fulfilling our vision and our life purpose. It is those who have such a compelling, driving personal vision, who have a true sense of direction in their lives, who are creating unlimited altruistic dreams, who realize they have the chance to leave a legacy–it is these men and women whom I believe will be among those who experience the joy of success as network marketing leads the way into the 21st Century, what will clearly be known as the entrepreneurial age.

From Catholic nun to elected politician to businesswoman, Rene Reid Yarnell is a well-loved international speaker and writer. She co-founded the first Certificate Course in Network Marketing, which she continues to teach both domestically and abroad. With her partner, she created a 200,000-person organization, moving some $70 million in products through twenty-eight countries. She is co-author of the national bestseller Your First Year in Network Marketing and author of her most recent book and audio program, The New Entrepreneurs.

You will find support by visiting her web sites: for prospecting, TheNewEntrepreneurs.com; for training and resources, NetworkMarketingInfo.com; to reach Rene, Yarnell.com.

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