Challenge Yourself Every Day

By Ralph Marston

Ever notice how people with too much to do always get the most done? We seem to adjust our efforts to match our needs. If you have 15 tasks that you absolutely must complete today, you'll probably get them done. But tomorrow, if you have only 5 things to do, you'll probably spend all day working on just those five.

There are so many things that distract us, it is often very hard to stay focused. If we don't set absolute deadlines for ourselves, it is easy to wander off track.

This is especially true for network marketing. The real work of network marketing -- contacting people and telling them about the product and the opportunity -- is not something that must be done on a deadline. If you don't call your friend Jeff today, you can always call him tomorrow, or next week, or next month. But, the problem is, you'll probably NEVER call Jeff. There will always be something else to do, such as clean off your hard drive or read the paper.

Time has a nasty way of getting away from us if we don't watch it. We set goals at the beginning of the month -- "I will get 20 new customers this month." We write it down and figure out how many of those will probably become distributors, and how much more money we will make. Then we spend the whole month getting distracted by all the little things that come along. At the end of the month, the 20 new customers are nowhere to be seen.

It is important to have goals, and to write them down. But just having the goals is not enough. You must also have a plan of action that will make you achieve those goals. So, in addition to your goal -- "I will get 20 new customers this month" -- you establish a plan of action -- "I will talk to 5 people every day about my products."

Great. Now you have a realistic goal and an action plan that will achieve that goal. But there's still a problem. As an independent business person, you have no pressure to perform. No boss looking over your shoulder, no stockholders watching your performance. In many ways this is good. But a lot of network marketers lack the internal motivation and discipline necessary to carry out a plan of action.

So, here's what you can do. Create that pressure. Force a challenge on yourself. How to do it depends on your personal situation, but here are some examples:

• Tell your sponsor about your goal and your plan. He/she will help you to stick with it. Plus, by publicizing your goals you are putting pressure on yourself to achieve them.
• Purchase from the company the amount of product you intend to sell. This will put financial pressure on you to reach your goal.
• Make commitments to your downline -- "I'll help you sell $2,000 worth of products this month."
• Put down a non-refundable deposit on a vacation trip. This gives you a double incentive -- a vacation if you work hard and meet your goal, or a loss of the deposit if you don't. You'll be surprised at how this will motivate you.