Update: Stepping out of the Comfort Zone

That was a fantastic lesson I learned in Kim Klaver's class "Promote Yourself with Class."

I totally revamped my profile on iGaggle to find people just like me who are looking for a specific kind of product. Not Wal-Mart variety but Guggi shoppers. And even more specific, Guggi shoppers for "Size 8 shoes". (If you have been following Kim Klaver's blog you know what that means.)

With my old profile, I landed 3rd as far as the question "With whom would you sign up (or not)?" I was blasted for being to "wordy". I wonder how I would rank with my new profile.

Comments welcome below.

In any case, it was a very successful week for me. I learned how to improve my profile to ask for people just like me, who are "Guggi shoppers" looking for a specific, high quality product (or a company marketing that kind of product).

I received 43 visitors to WinningInTheMargins.com (passkey: booklover) with 4 requests for more information. Not a bad week!

Have a great day!

Don't give up...

This landed in my email inbox a week or so ago and I thought it would make a great post as I'm sure, a lot of us have felt like quitting at least once...

Don't give up.....

One day I decided to quit...
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", I asked, "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me..."Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern
and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied. "When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took
very good care of them.

I gave them light.

I gave them water.

The fern quickly grew from the earth.

Its brilliant green covered the floor.

Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again,
nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
He said. "In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.

But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo
seed. I would not quit." He said.

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared
to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6 months later
the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing
roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."
He asked me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been
struggling, you have actually been growing roots".

"I would not quit on the bamboo.

I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others."

He said. "The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.
Yet they both make the forest beautiful." "Your time will come",
God said to me.

"You will rise high" "How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and brought back this story.

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
Never, Never, Never Give up. For the Christian Prayer is not an option
but an opportunity. Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is, tell the problem
how Great the Lord is!

Stepping out of the Comfort Zone

Stepping out of our "Comfort Zone" can be a HUGE obstacle for some of us. Me included. But sometimes we just have to "stretch" a little bit, and we are amazed of what will happen when we do. For one, it makes us feel great, like we accomplished something. And we may even find afterwards that it really wasn't so hard. Two, it can be very beneficial for our business. Three, we may inspire others to stretch a bit as well.

I did some "stretching" this week when I volunteered for a survey on Kim Klaver's blog titled With whom would you sign up (or not)?. It was the kind of
"jump-into-the-water-and-don't-think-about-it" kind of thing for me, but I am very glad I did. I am learning what I'm doing wrong on my profile and how I can improve it. Yes, it's scary to be out in the open like that. I feel very vulnerable, but at the same time very appreciative for any feedback positive or negative. It's a win/win situation and an invaluable experience for which I am very grateful.

Bad news travels faster than good news

While picking my book selection for this month I came across a great book "Made to Stick - Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die." Since the title sounded very interesting but I never had heard of it before I clicked through to the details and found the first paragraph started out quoting an observation of Mark Twain: "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get it's boots on."

I found that to be very interesting and very true at the same time. Another saying would be, "Bad news travels faster than good news." Somehow, this all reminded me of the business we are in. Network Marketing or MLM. How often have people raised their eyebrows when you told them you were with a Network Marketing company? MLM has become a bad 3-letter word. Why?

Because bad news travels faster than good news. Bad companies are grabbing the spotlight much faster than good companies. We hear first of what's bad before we hear what's good. The negative grabs the lime light. The negative draws attention. The bad or negative is what people remember. Why is that and how can we turn this around?

There is a lot of good in Network Marketing. High profile business people such as Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki and Warren Buffet are standing behind this industry. They see the value and the benefits of this industry. Large companies are using the distribution model of Network Marketing to move part of their products because they see the power of "referal marketing." It is a rapidly growing industry worldwide and looking forward to a very bright future.

We as distributors, reps or whatever we call ourselves must do our part as well to clean up the image of Network Marketing and MLM a bit and convert to the new way of doing business. Out with the "Old School" of recruiting, recruiting, recruiting and in with the "New School" leading with our exceptional products and building a strong customer base. A base of satisfied customers is the back bone of a successful business. Happy customers spread the "good news." Isn't that what we want?