Joseph: A Network Marketing Tail

"The number one reason people fail in life is they listen to their friends, family and neighbors." Napoleon Hill in Think And Grow Rich.

The words of Napoleon Hill are of particular interest to people in the network marketing profession. Many network marketers fail by paying heed to the words and plans of family or friends. Besides Napoleon Hill's work, there is another place that this lesson is so very clear: The story of Joseph in the Torah. Join me on a trip to investigate this story and its relevance to network marketing and success. I sincerely hope you enjoy this journey and find it as valuable as I.

Let me state at the onset that I am not a theologian. I am not a scholar of the Bible nor am I advocating any belief or disbelief in any system of thought. Enjoy the story for what it is--neither polemic nor proselytization.

Joseph seemed to have it made. His father loved him, he had a smashing wardrobe, and daddy was the leader of a nation. However, it wasn't that easy. Joseph's brothers hated Joseph and were totally jeallous. However, Joseph was a visionary, a dreamer and seemed unaware of his situation. He told his brothers about his dreams, and they hated him still more.

This is not unlike what we face as network marketers when we contact and invite our "warm market" into our special opportunity. Often we become dreamy about the possibilities that network marketing offers us; however, we do not see the danger in how presenting this information and invitation. Remember Joseph's father loved him; nevertheless, you will see he did not support the opportunity. Actually their love relationship ensured that Joseph's opportunity would not be respected. We need to remember that our family and friends love us. However, they are where they are today because of what they know and understand. While network marketing may make perfect sense, no one is born with an intuitive understanding. Since this is a new idea we need to expect advice, perhaps strong feelings, when we "shake the boat" and reach for the stars. Joseph tried to explain the deal personally to his family and look what happens.

Joseph said to them, "Listen to this dream that I have dreamed: We were binding sheaves in the field and my sheaf arose and stood upright. Then your sheaves stood around my sheaf and bowed!" His brothers said to him, "Oh, come on. Or are you going to put us under you? Get real, those dreams never work." They hated him all the more for his dreams and for what he said. But Joseph was undaunted. Again he said, "I have another dream. This time not only eleven stars, but also, the sun and the moon bowed down and did reverence to me!" Joseph finally decided to tell his father who he knew loved him especially. Unfortunately, his father had to think about it and said, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Do you really expect that I, your mother, and your brothers would actually come down to this?" Joseph's brothers envied him and were jealous of him for his dreams, but his father pondered over it but would not believe.

I see so much of me in Joseph here. How I was like him when I first entered network marketing. I was sure I had found the way for me to be filthy rich and better yet, take all my family with me. I felt that if I could see it, a relatively unimpressive lad, then certainly my wise and marginally successful family would just love the idea, they did not. My presentation was about as effective and tactful as Joseph's. "Hey mom, hey dad, etc. get this. There is a way you can spend money being part of my down line and I will make money. Then I will help you find others and we will all make more money." Just like Joseph, I noted to my family, "Look we're all working (binding sheaves) but there is a better way and I will be at the top of it (your sheaves bowing to mine)." Needless to say, this was far from effective. Just like in the above story, my mother listened, pondered, and hoped it would work for me; however, she was skeptical to say the least. There is more wisdom to be found in young Joseph's tale. Shall we proceed?

One day Joseph was doing the task of watching over his older brothers for his father. In searching for them they conspired to kill him. They said one to another, "See, here comes this dreamer and master of dreams. So come on let's kill him and throw his body into some pit; then we'll tell everyone that something devoured him. That will be the end of his dreams!"

In case the analogy is not very clear, allow me to interpret at this juncture. When we upset the family status quo, especially with network marketing, we give off a message and sometimes we miscommunicate. Our desired message is that we really want to be better off then we are through owning our own business. This message can be offensive to some relatives and friends. They may be complacent and would rather you just quite and give up so their lives are not challenged. Some of them may desire success; however, they are afraid of the risk and unwilling to pioneer the distance. This may lead them to actually thwart your efforts for two reasons. First, if you do fail, they can say, "I told you so." Second, if you succeed, they "know" they can do it because it was artificially hard for you and you made it. As you will see, Joseph's own brothers betray him because of their envy and hatred. They especially hated his dream to be at the top. Sound at all familiar? Let's return to the story and see how Joseph fairs.

When Joseph had come to his brothers, they stripped him of his long garment which he was wearing: then they took him and cast him into the pit which was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat their lunch.

This is one of my favorite lines. Immediately after taking what was special to Joseph and alienating him in a pit without the basic elements of survival the brothers sit down for a quick snack. They return immediately to short sighted thinking and what makes them comfortable. Let me remind the audience the brothers were supposed to be tending their father's sheep (wage labor?). Joseph's brothers were ahead of their time, taking the extended lunch break! The brothers lacked a plan for personal greatness so they took "the next best route", destroying the greatness and dreams of another. You will see how soon the sell out of their own brother!

When the brothers looked up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites with their camels bearing goods to sell down in Egypt. The oldest brother, Judah said, "What good does it do us to kill Joseph and hide his murder? Let's sell him out to the 9-5 businessmen. Heck, it will save us the work of doing the murder ourselves and we get some cash."

How often do new networkers invest a little time, money, and sweat, only to be sold out by the venomous verbal attacks and jibes of family. They then retreat into the safety of whatever job they had before--nine to five drudgery. Joseph was a farm hand for his father--hard work. Joseph caught a glimpse of a little freedom and leverage from this way of life; however, his family sold out that freedom of thought and dream. They plotted to make Joseph a slave forever, but try as they like you can not keep a believer down.

Joseph was taken to Egypt in chains and sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. But the desire Joseph had pushed him on despite his lowly condition. He would not give up on his dream and though a slave, he was a successful and prosperous man. Due to his diligence in the small things of service and slavery to Potiphar, Joseph pleased Potiphar and was appointed supervisor over his house.

This is probably the most important lesson in Joseph. No matter what the circumstance he refused to give up on the dream. He plugged in and worked the system, whatever was there, even at the very bottom in full faith that he would make it to the top and the rewards would be worth the fight. It is interesting that in Joseph's case, the attacks and plots of his family put him in just the place to eventually create a whole dynasty. However, the road is not yet clear for Joseph.

After a time his master's wife saw that Joseph was a hunk and figured he must be ambitious because of his hard work. She said, "Lie with me. I'll see that care is taken with all your needs." This was a ruse, she figured. Ambitious people always want an easy way out. A lottery ticket to the top. With Joseph this was not the case. He refused and said, "Potiphar has kept nothing from me. He has trained me well and his wisdom has produced results. When learning from a successful person like him and being successful doing what he did myself, why then would I do what you suggest?" However, Potiphar's wife had learned persistence from her husband also, and she spoke to Joseph day after day

There are opportunities and there are money games. My mail box is filled weekly with subtle promises of $10,000 a week while I wait. Wait for what- -thirty days to pass for a full refund on a silly get-rich-quick kit? The same thing is true of the unending ads, card decks, etc. that appear in my e-mail or on news groups. Make a real decision about your primary program and work it. Be open to hear if a new opportunity comes by that better meets your needs or fits your vision; however, don't let your vision be clouded by the sweet promises of a seductive salesperson.

In Joseph's case, the woman eventually set him up for seeming failure. This is not unlike the companies in our industry that practice front end loading, over priced products, or unprofessional recruiting practices. Also this is like the companies that are actually scams or near scams. Some of the gold and silver programs come to mind. The point is that our industry gets a bad name and an honest, integrable networker has to face the public distrust of his field because of the wanton acts of a few. In our story Joseph is actually sent to prison. Perhaps he was doing one of those gold and silver programs and did not know he needed a securities license. The point will be that even if he entered into a poor company for his first try, he hangs on to the dream. Watch for Joseph's diligence even behind bars.

Joseph's master took him and put him in the prison. Joseph had learned that hard work and diligence would pay off. He tried hard work in jail. Due to his effort, Joseph found favor with the warden of the prison. The warden went so far as to commit into Joseph's care all the prisoners. Eventually whatsoever was done there, he was in charge. The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, and Joseph prospered.

Wow! Is there a lesson here. I know that if I saw the opportunity here, I might just have taken the liberty and run off. Who can imagine having prosperity and trust but no freedom? Joseph saw beyond this. He keep up his work and lived according to the trust that was put in him. We must be like this with our customers and our downline organization. We need to be honest and clear about what we expect and what will are willing to give. Trust is a valuable thing, it is the only thing in network marketing. Without it, word of mouth advertising will eat you alive. You may prosper in the short term; however, if you want the long term residual success that network marketing is famous for, then be diligent even when the duties seem to be locking you in a place you don't want to be. Remember success takes time.

After two full years of Joseph's sentence, Pharaoh had a dream. Pharaoh called for all the magicians and all the wise men of Egypt but not one could interpret the dream to him. At the word of mouth advice of one of Pharaoh's assistants who had been touched by the effects of Joseph sponsorship, Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. Joseph's keepers brought him hastily out of the dungeon. However, Joseph first shaved himself, changed his clothes, and made himself presentable; then he came into Pharaoh's presence.

If we treat even our one time customers with respect, they are likely to lead us to someone they know who can make all the difference in the world to our business. Also note, that Joseph was a consummate professional. He knew what was expected of him when meeting with the king. He made himself presentable. He knew that he was a large part of what he had to offer. His opportunity, in part, says, "Mr. Pharaoh, you sir can be like me (or another successful person in network marketing if you are not there yet.). And Mr. Pharaoh, I greatly admire how you lead all of Egypt and rule so justly. You are probably the most successful person that I know. It is an honor to help you out." Please notice next that Joseph does not enter into some fancy closing technique. He makes himself a consultant. He makes himself again a servant. Joseph listens closely to the concerns of Pharaoh. He hears a number of important points that he later uses from Pharaoh's disclosure to show Pharaoh exactly what he is facing. Then after clarifying the problem and situation for Pharaoh he offers the solution.

Joseph suggested "Let Pharaoh seek out and provide a man discreet, understanding, proficient, and wise and set him over the land of Egypt as governor. Further, select and appoint officers over your business (a downline). Joseph lays out a plan for Pharaoh's and Egypt's future in full detail. He explains the costs and the advantages. He explains what is expected and how following this advice will lead to the desired outcome. After everything was laid out for the king, Pharaoh made a decision. The plan seemed good in the eyes of Pharaoh; therefore, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "there is nobody as intelligent and discreet and understanding and wise as you are. You shall have charge over my house, and all my people shall be governed according to your word. Only in matters of the throne will I be greater than you."

That is the kind of leadership it takes to get the kind of commitment we need in our network marketing business. A little time and effort listening, building a relationship, seeing the end from the beginning (Joseph never said to himself, "I'm not good enough to sponsor Pharaoh."), and laying out a game plan for network marketing success are all things we need to do if we want to sponsor successfully. Until that time, hopefully it will not take two years of torture and imprisonment as it did for Joseph, we need to be faithful and diligent in the small matters. This business is a business of numbers and time. If you go though the numbers...you'll be there in SOME time. Some of you will be there in NO time.

There is one last important part to the Joseph story. After his successful rule of the entire Egyptian downline for seven years, his family finally comes back to him. Joseph plays a little trick on them; however, he warmly welcomes them back and gives them a place in his organization. We must never burn bridges. We must always make it easy for someone to enter our business. If we operate with integrity and respect, people will track us down. I finally know that is not just talk. I have had people on the net ask me about my opportunity based upon my participation on the net and in other professional arenas. Remember, the pay plan is not the biggest part of network marketing. Network marketing is just that net-WORK (not a net-WISH or net-WAIT) and it is marketing (showing the value of something to someone).

Good luck in your business and remember the story of Joseph if things are ever looking badly or if your friends and family are giving you a hard time. In closing I would like to quote again Mr. Hill. This quote focuses on the other point I shared from the Joseph story, never giving up even in the face of great disappointment.

"...often [opportunity] comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity." Napoleon Hill in Think And Grow Rich p. 19

Paul Boudreau, Jr. is a full-time marketer with TPN: The People's Network and ProSTEP. Before network marketing Paul worked in industry and social work. Paul Boudreau, Jr. can be reached for comment and critique at boudreau@niia.net.