Orrin Woodward on LIFE & Leadership

The subject of Networking can increase the temperature and lower the emotional intelligence of many fine people.  Why can it be such a heated topic at times?  I believe because it hits along the main ideological battles going on in our country currently.  Are people owed a living simply by being born in the USA?  Is the Biblical injunction, “He who will not work, will not eat” still valid today?  Should someone be guaranteed success in Networking Communities simply for signing up or is it reasonable to expect them to perform?   Is the person at the top in a Network someone who has earned this position through performance or just got in first?  Is it right for people to “make money” off of other people’s efforts?  These and many more questions are bandied about on a daily basis in living rooms, coffee shops and hotel meetings across the country. 

 

Let’s get one thing out on the table right away.  Networking success is not achieved by sitting at home and spamming the internet.  Networking success is not achieved by magically sponsoring 3 leaders and they do all the work.  The facts are that Networking is hard work, as is all achievement!  If you want big results and hard work scares you then don’t get in the Networking field.  All great achievement comes through learning the principles of delayed gratification for long term results.  Our culture is so self-centered today that the thought of delaying gratification even for a couple of months causes many to overheat.  I can’t blame them with a TV culture that has bombarded them with the belief that they deserve the good life with no effort or sacrifice, but eventually they must wake up to the reality of their situation to achieve success.  Charles Sykes wrote a several fantastic books called, “A Nation of Victims” and “Dumbing Down our Kids.”  The gist of the books can be captured by the titles.  When we lower the bar on people – we do not create more champions, but more victims.   This is what leaders do in a Network Marketing business, maintain a high bar for achievement.  Networking leaders teach people the true rules of life and help people become champions in a culture encouraging victims. 

 

In my opinion, there is no greater field to influence people in a positive direction than Network Community building.  Instead of waiting for our countries politician to fix our country, why don’t we get out there in the living rooms of America and teach these principles ourselves.  We can either be part of the problem or part of the solution and Laurie and I have chosen to be part of the solution!  Read this list of 11 rules of life that Mr. Sykes wrote in the second book with my thoughts on each underneath.

 

RULE 1 – Life is not fair – get used to it.

 

Life does not deal everyone the same hand.  Some our born billionaires through their daddy’s efforts and some are born broke and must work their way to the top.  In networking you may get help from your upline, may be in the hot spot for opens or may have nothing but the opportunity and your dream.  Either way, get over it and get moving.

 

RULE 2 – The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

 

We have too many people talking about self esteem without the corresponding teaching of work ethic to achieve a healthy self confidence.  Confidence can only be built by making the sacrifices that the average person refuses to do.  You begin to realize you are un-average only when you consistently do what the average person is unwilling to do.  I love everyone unconditionally, but my respect is earned through your performance period.  To gain confidence in the Networking field, you must be willing to be bad – long enough to get good.

 

RULE 3 – You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice president with car phone, until you earn both.

 

Quit looking for handouts in life and start serving other people’s needs.  Everything you need to know at the top must be learned at the bottom.  This is why so many second generation children accomplish so little.  Their parents believed they could skip the sacrifice step for their children and just hand people their victories.  Life doesn’t work that way so quit waiting for your ship to come in and start building it!  In the Networking field, your pay raise will become effective as soon as you do.

 

RULE 4 – If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.

 

To maintain any position in the information age, it will require constant increases in your knowledge and skills.  Those who think their education ends when their formal schooling ends are in for a rude awakening.  One of the best parts of the Networking field is the constant emphasis on learning and growing.  Customers in the Networking field and new distributors will vote with their feet if you do not serve their needs.  This is free enterprise so get used to it.  No one has to be part of your business and you earn their trust and respect every day.

 

RULE 5 – Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping they called it Opportunity.

 

If you think you are above doing the basics in the living rooms then you will never earn the right to speak on the big stages.  Achievement starts by doing the little things well and then receiving more responsibility from a job well done.  Everyone starts at zero points in Networking and has to earn their ranks.

 

RULE 6 – If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

 

You will mess up.  The only question is will you get bitter or better from the experience?  Leaders in Networking teach their teams to expect some setbacks, challenges, and failures on your way to victory.  The key is to learn from each one of your mistakes and never pass the buck.  Leaders have learned to accept responsibility and have no part with the current love affair with victim status so prevalent in our culture today.

 

RULE 7 – Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

 

No one is a self made person.  All of us have climbed onto the shoulders of the greatest minds and leaders in Western Civilization to enjoy the privileges we have.  Never take for granted all of the people in your life who gave you a hand up instead of a hand out.  If you desire to change the world, then begin by changing yourself.  All great movements begin with an individual who was moved to change.

 

RULE 8 – Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

 

Every night that you show the plan in a Networking business – you will pass or fail based upon your ability to sell your product and services.  If the prospect does not get involved then they did a better job of selling their convictions than you did of selling yours.  You pass or fail every night in this business and success is an inside job.  Just remember that failure is never final and that further growth will lead to victories.

 

RULE 9 – Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

 

The Networking field is open for business 365 days per year.  You must determine how hard and how long that you will work for your dreams.  It is sad that people will spend more time planning a vacation than they will in planning their life.  I love the saying, “If it’s to be, then it’s up to me.”  If your upline helps you then that is a bonus, but not a given nor a requirement.  If you have a training system, then plug in and get going.

 

RULE 10 – Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

 

In the field of Networking the fantastic lifestyles that you see are the result of hard work.  If anyone tells you that you can achieve that without a serious work ethic then they are lying to you.  You are only limited by your ability to dream in a good Networking business and most people do a great job of limiting themselves.

 

RULE 11 – Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

 

Hans Christian Andersen wrote his classic “Ugly Duckling” story to capture the essence of someone (through hard work & association) changing from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.  I love the Networking Industry because I have witnessed many people turn from the Ugly Ducklings into Beautiful Swans.  Yes, you will be criticized for telling people they can be Beautiful Swans, but I would rather believe that and be criticized than give up my belief in people.

 

Leaders teach people to dream and hope again.  There is no such thing as a “hopeless situation” only hopeless people in situations.  A leader’s role is to give them hope, give them ideas, and give them the skills to change their situations.  When they win, it is their victory, but you have the joy of having a front row seat in the process.  If you are a leader in the Networking field then what you do is a most noble of enterprises.  You have the honor of leading the most precious asset of any country and that is the people.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward