Monday, April 2, 2012

Saving Grace of a Network Marketing Business Opportunity

By Philip C. Hosmer


Back when I was in high school, my cousin and her husband visited with their two beautiful children and an Amway catalog. As I idly served myself a soda and cooed at my baby nephew, my mom looked on as she was introduced to "The Plan" and told that she could someday become a Double Diamond and leave behind her life of squalor. Yes! Through affiliate network marketing, Amway would be her saving grace and never again would she surrender all her valuable time to an ungrateful boss and dress her daughter in out of style hand-me-downs!

Ten years later, not a whole lot has changed. She still checks in with a grumpy boss and buys her consumables in regular retail stores. My cousin's husband no longer spoke of The Plan but did go on to enter bicycle races and other strenuous yet fun activities. I, on the other hand, did not escape The Plan. It reappeared all those years later when a friend presented it to me in ways that made much more sense and were more fun than turning the pages of a catalog and reading off pages of information in a little folder.

I was dipping my hands into paraffin wax and rubbing luxurious lotions on my face. I sampled energy drinks that got me through some of my toughest days at work. I washed my laundry in detergent that left my whites bright and colors, well, colorful. The network marketing business opportunity presented to me was obviously having a positive influence in all aspects of my life. Even my hair and nails were looking amazing after I started taking some of the nutritional supplements I purchased. There was only one thing that could make everything better than it was already feeling. I went ahead and joined the business and tried my hand at network marketing.

Though I was not as successful as others were in the business, I did hear stories that are still with me today. I listened as some of the best names in the industry shared the most painful memories of the lives they led before the Amway offered them a network marketing opportunity. They shared about physical abuse, suffering, poverty, and other experiences that struck a chord with me.

At times, the topics covered were not exactly appropriate for sharing in an arena occupied by hundreds of people coming in from all over the country. However, those stories needed to be told so that we could all realize that the business had much more to do with human experiences than with financial success. The wealth was merely a by-product of the heart and soul these people had put into their network marketing businesses. I did not run my business for more than six or seven months, but I still can't shake from my head the many lessons I learned about leadership, suffering, perseverance, and searching for the human connection that is necessary for many businesses to survive.




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