The Power of Asking

Life will pay you whatever price you ask of it.

The problem is that people often ask far below what they truly want because of fear.  They are scared of being let down.  They are scared of "getting their hopes up".  They are scared of doing the things that they have to in order to get what they truly want. 

But it doesn't change the fact that life will pay you whatever price you ask of it.

You want more home parties, you need to ask for more home parties.

You want more recruits, you need to ask more people to join.

You want to learn how to better market and grow your business, you need to ask people who have the knowledge and skill to give you these resources. 

Life will pay whatever price you ask of it.

So here are some tips on the "Art of the Ask"

1) Ask specifically - clarity is power.  The more specific we are when we ask the more likely we will get what we are asking for.

2) Ask someone who has the "ability" to say yes to what you are asking for (for example don't ask someone who knows nothing about direct sales for advice on your direct sales business).

3) Create value for the person that you are asking (for example, if you are asking someone to join you have to show then why they will value from joining).

4) Ask with absolute certainty and focused believe that you will get it.

5) Ask UNTIL you get what you want.

Life will pay whatever price you ask of it.

Closing The Gap

You know you've found your WHY when you have an absolute burning desire to accomplish your goal.  It should be something that triggers emotion in you.  Once you have that then you start taking massive action without having to "talk yourself into it".  It's almost like your body will go on autopilot and start to take action to do whatever it takes to get your goal.  You don't get discouraged as easily, you don't give up as easily.  Burning desire for something is critical for you to have. 

Again, I can't stress how important your WHY is.  If your WHY is correctly aligned then you will have the burning desire. 

Here is a quick exercise that I use to drive my burning desire for my goals.  It is called "Closing the Gap"

1. Visualize in your mind what you want to accomplish and then FEEL the experience of actually accomplishing it (experience the emotions associated with you achieving this goal, ie. pride, pleasure, excitement, etc).

2.  Pull back to where you are.  Look at and identify the reality of today.

3.  Snap back to where you want to go.  Feel and see your WHY and your burning desire pulling you to take the actions that you need to accomplish your goal.  Then see yourself again accomplishing the goal.  Once you can see it in your mind then take the next step and experience the feelings associated with accomplishing your goal.

This little exercise, if you do it daily, will drive MASSIVE desire to accomplish your goal.  Once you have this massive desire you will take action.  Action will drive results. 

Getting Leverage on Yourself - Bringing Out Your Fight

Getting Leverage on Yourself - Bringing Out Your Fight

When pursuing a goal we all know that actions lead to results.  The trick is to get ourselves to take action consistently.  There are so many things that can get us off track from taking effective action that move us closer to our goals.  There is the obvious "daily tasks" in life that will often fill up our time.  Also, there are the fear based inhibitors.  Some of the most effective actions that you can take to move you closer to your goal will sometimes be the things that scare you. 

I've talked a lot in the past about how important knowing your WHY is.  Your WHY is the reason that you want to achieve a particular goal.  The more clear and compelling your WHY, the more you will take action.  If you aren't taking action then it is likely that you don't have a compelling enough WHY.  If your WHY is absolutely compelling then you will take action no matter what. 

Your WHY needs to evoke emotion.  It needs to create emotional leverage.  If your WHY isn't doing that then you should revisit your WHY.  The more emotional leverage you can create the stronger the force will be behind your actions.  The more courage you'll have, and the less discouragement and frustration will get you off course. 

Sometimes one of the best ways to get leverage on yourself is to actually get ANGRY!  Not angry at anybody, definitely not angry at yourself, but angry about the current circumstances that you don't want anymore in your life.  For example, some of the greatest action comes when people get so angry at their current setting that they are absolutely motivated to change it.  They get so angry that they will do whatever it takes to change their circumstances.

I'm not saying become an angry person, far from that.  I'm not saying take this emotion and internalize it so that you are negative to those around you, far from that.  What I'm saying is that even anger can be a powerful tool if it is channeled correctly.  When you get absolutely fed up with a certain circumstance you will do whatever it takes to change it. Sometimes anger is the only leverage that will work to get you to take action in the face of fear.

For example, you can sit and visualize your life on the beach all you want and it may not evoke the same type of passion as visualizing having to stay forever at a job that you hate.  When you think about the reality that you cannot change your life, that you have to stay at a job you hate, that makes you angry.  Once you get angry you are willing to fight to change it. Sometimes it takes fight to overcome fear. 

So often I've encouraged team members to find what brings out the fight in them.  If you are in a part time (or full time job) that you hate, and you want your business to provide a certain level of income so that you can leave that job, then one of the most effective ways to get you to work on your business is to place an image of your current job (ie. a corporate logo, etc) somewhere prominent where you can see it.  Each time you see it it will evoke emotion.  When emotion is evoked you will take more action.  The more you take action the better your results will be over time.

Even anger can be a powerful positive force when it is channeled for good. Find your fight.  Get leverage on yourself and you'll be surprised at the passion that will come out!

Understanding Internal Rules

Understanding Internal Rules

Our internal rules are what govern whether we will feel happy or satisfied when seeking to accomplish something. 

Let me explain what I mean - if you have an internal rule that says ______ must happen for me to be satisfied with my results, and then _______ doesn't happen, then you get discouraged or frustrated.

Here is the secret through - YOUR RULES ARE CREATED BY YOU AND YOU ALONE

Therefore you need to make sure that in doing the 100 day challenge (or in any other goal setting activity) you need to come up with rules that empower you.

Here is an example of a dis-empowering rule:

I have to accomplish my goal or I will not be happy
- this rule is dis-empowering because there may be factors outside of your control that will impact you.  Also (as is the case with me often) you may set goals so high that they stretch you immensely but you don't always accomplish them.  However in my opinion setting a really high goal and getting close to it is better than setting a small goal and accomplishing it.

For example, under which circumstance should I be proudest: 
- if I set a goal to get $2000 in PRV but I only get $1700
- or if I set a goal to get $500 PRV and get $1000

In my opinion the first one is the best because you got the best results. 

However I see far too often people getting discouraged because they "didn't reach their goal" when in reality they made great progress (greater than they would have made if they set a weak goal in the first place)

CAN YOU SEE THAT YOUR EMOTIONAL STATE IS OFTEN A MATTER OF YOUR OWN PSYCHOLOGY?

Here are empowering internal rules that you should incorporate into your business:

- I feel satisfaction if I gave my absolute best to a goal.
- It is ok for me to "fail".  I am like a kid, I'm experimenting with the world!
- What is most important is that I am stretching and growing.  This is more important than whether I actually get my goal.  Because the more I stretch and grow the better I can accomplish things in the future
- I feel satisfaction if I go outside of my comfort zone and overcome fear

CREATE INTERNAL RULES THAT SERVE YOU POSITIVELY.  BUILD THIS INTO A HABIT AND YOU WILL SEE GREAT RESULTS OVER TIME. 

Goal & Restraints

In a lot of goal setting literature you will often read about the "theory of restraints" philosophy of goal setting and achieving.

What this means is that between your current state and the completion of your intended goal there are a number of "restraints" or "obstacles" that you must identify and overcome.  The more successful you are in identifying and eliminating these restraints the more successful you will be in obtaining your goal.

Think of your current main goal for your business.  Then think about the obstacles or restraints that are in the way of you obtaining this goal.  Write them out each one, one at at time.

Then write out a plan to overcome each one of these restraints.  These little plans merge into your master plan for obtaining this goal.

This is a good little strategy that helps you come at your goal in a different way and is effective to work through the obstacles that stand in the way of your obtaining your goal!

The "Pull" Side of Goal Setting

The "Pull" Side of Goal Setting

It is very common for people to be scared of setting big goals (if this is you don't feel bad - most people feel this way). Why is this?

The primary reason is because we are scared of "getting our hopes up" and then being let down. This seems to be a very natural human reaction, one that everyone experiences (until you condition yourself not to, read on...).

It is very natural to have a fear of failure. I believe that one of the primary reasons that we fear failure is because we don't want to feel less significant than others. We intensely fear feeling inadequate because that feeling cuts directly to our feelings of self worth. When we feel inadequate, or less significant, we feel that "we are not enough". This is a terribly immobilizing feeling. We also intensely fear the feeling of being alone, and "failure" when interpreted in a dis-empowering way gives us a feeling of being alone.

This is why many people do not ever engage in the creative exercise of "lifestyle design" or "dreamscaping" as I call it. They never really truly embrace the creative process of asking themselves the question "what would my life look like in the best case scenario?". If they do engage in this process it is VERY common to censor their desire. If a desire pops in their head that seems unconventional, or "unrealistic" then it doesn't come into their dreamscape. Again, we don't want to feel that "we are not enough", we don't want to feel insignificant or inadequate if we fail. We don't want to let ourselves down, so we are very reluctant to engage in any exercise where we "dream" for more.

As a result, most people focus on "making a living" rather than "designing a life". We set impotent goals because deep down inside we have fear. We don't believe in our ability to pull off the dream, and we are scared to test our own boundaries and fail because if we fail it will cut into our self worth and make us feel worse than we felt before we experimented with this "dreaming" business.

WHEN YOU DO THIS YOU MISS OUT ON AN INCREDIBLE FORCE: The power of PULL

A clear and compelling vision for exactly what you want out of your life (no matter how ridiculous you think it may sound), has a tremendous PULLING influence on you. Dreams are a projection of the life we wish to lead. Therefore, when we allow them to "PULL' us, our dreams unleash a creative force that can overpower all obstacles hindering the attainment of our objectives.

To unharness this power a dream must be vivid, clear and compelling. A fuzzy picture of what you want out of life has very little pull power. The better you define a dream, the better you describe it, the harder you will work on it, and the stronger IT PULLS YOU.

When you live in fear you never get to experience this creative PULL.

Go the Extra Mile

Go The Extra Mile

A tremendously powerful life habit is going the extra mile in everything that you do. When you give everything that you have without worrying about what you may "get" in return, and do this day in day out, great things will come into your life. 

They won't always come exactly when you want them or how you may want them. BUT GOOD THINGS WILL COME. Not only that, but good things will come to you, when you have a habit of going the extra mile, when you AREN'T EXPECTING THEM. 

Over the years we have been the benefactors of random orders, random recruits and many other unexpected blessings to our business because someone said something to someone else about their positive experience with us. This is because we've built in the habit of going the extra mile in what we do.

At convention Dewitt Jones said something that had a major impact on me:

"Take the best that you have, give it all to the world, no matter what you get back"

The magic in this philosophy is that when you are willing to give your best to the world, no matter what you get back, GOOD THINGS COME BACK TO YOU.

So everyday in your business, as you are working hard, go the extra mile, give everything you have. If you don't "get" exactly what you want, exactly when you want it, have faith that good things will happen to you because they will.

Seven Master Strategies For Building The Direct Sales Business of Your Dreams

You're running a business!! Doesn't that make you feel great! You aren't an employee. This is a BUSINESS and best of all, THIS BUSINESS IS YOURS.
Challenge Tip - Be an Master Strategist

You're running a business!! Doesn't that make you feel great! You aren't an employee. This is a BUSINESS and best of all, THIS BUSINESS IS YOURS.

You can make it into whatever you want to. How much you put into it is what you are going to get out of it. ONLY YOU CAN MAKE THE CHOICE.

If you are going to go full out. If you are going to make this into something special you've got to have strategies.  But it won't happen on its own. Here are seven master business strategies to take your direct sales business to the next level!!

1. Know where you really are: be honest with yourself. If you need to work on your business. If you need to stop HOPING and start DOING then kick your own butt and make it happen. You aren't doing yourself any favors by misleading yourself.

2. Think innovation: How can you use technology to better your business. To reach more customers. To better communicate with the ones that you have. To offer better customer service.

3. Constant and never ending improvement in your value added marketing. You need to constantly be thinking about how you can improve your marketing. But thinking alone won't do it. You have to IMPLEMENT what you are thinking about!

4. Constant and never ending improvement in sales skills! This is a direct SALES business. So if you feel that you aren't good at sales then get informed. Get resources, read books, get coaching from me or Meghann Dahl Clements. Get the resources you need!

5. Constant anticipation: Think about unique ways that you can use the new products (Grace Adele, Sincerely Scent, Layers, Velata) to create new markets for yourself.

6. Utilization of the business structure you have: The unique and wonderful thing about this business is that there is a built in support network in your upline. USE IT. Don't delay. Use the training information from corporate. Use the materials that your upline SuperStar Directors are giving you!

7. Create a culture of raving fans.  Not only is your company a brand.  YOU ARE A BRAND.  Give the best service possible to create a culture of raving fans!!

Put these into play and have the best fall selling season of your career!!

See it

Every single day, one of the first things that I do is that I review my 100 day challenge sheet. I look at my goals that I want to accomplish.

I have written down not only my 100 day goals but also my "ultimate goals" with this company and in my life.

Then I take a moment to think about HOW BAD I want these to happen. I think about my WHY.

Then I think WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE if this came true - it it happened.

Then I FEEL exactly HOW IT WOULD FEEL if that dream came true.

The entire exercise takes about 5 minutes and at this point in my life it is such a habit that it happens automatically.

After I've done this for only 5 minutes I am filled with MASSIVE MOTIVATION FOR THE DAY. I'm not scared at all, I'm driven to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to make these goals happen. I'm not worried about "well what if it doesn't happen". That thought literally doesn't cross my mind. I am only focused on what I want and nothing else.

Then I look at the plan that I've made for myself for the 100 days (the actions that I'm going to take). Then the magic happens:

I GET TO WORK

Don't Trust The Skinny Chef

There is a famous quote by Warren Buffet (one of the richest men in the world). He said he doesn't use financial advisers because a guy who drive a Rolls Royce shouldn't ever take financial advice from someone who takes the train to work.

Now the quote is a little pretentious, but there is a real gem of wisdom in it that applies to building your direct sales business.

Only trust people who actually have real knowledge or experience.

One thing that each of you will encounter (if you haven't already) when building your business is negativity from certain people. I have encountered it a ton - especially since I left my law job to do this full time with my Meghann Dahl Clements, but here is the thing. In literally every case the people who are negative towards our business have one of the following characteristics:

1. They literally know nothing (in terms of first hand experience) about our business. They have never been in direct sales, they don't know truly how it works and how the compensation plan works, other than hearsay from someone else.

2. They have failed in direct sales in the past.

What is interesting however is number 2, in that when I push a little I find that they didn't take their business seriously like we do. They didn't work EVERY SINGLE DAY on it. They didn't push past their fears. They didn't dig in when the going got tough. They "tried" it for a bit, put in a half effort and then quit.

Trusting their advice is like trusting the poor banker.

I look to people for inspiration who have succeeded. I look to the American's who joined Scentsy a couple years after it was started and who now are making a ton of money (yes this is the case, some of the top paid consultants in this company DID NOT join the company when it first started, but got years after). I look to the real people who through determination, daily action and persistence built something great. Those are my models.

www.flamelesscandlescanada.ca 

10,000 Hours

The 10,000 Hour Rule (Accept That All Actions Will Not Go Exactly The Way You Hope, But Consistency Over Time Leads to Mastery)

You've all heard me say over and over again that this business is a numbers game.  This business is about planting as many seeds as possible, and that the more seeds you plant, the more plants will grow.

So if we truly believe this then we will accept, without resistance, the fact that not all actions will result in outcomes exactly as we want.  You've probably all heard of the 10,000 hour rule.  It has been written, in various places, that you only "Master" an activity when you have put in 10,000 hours into the activity.  I believe that this is true in our business as well.  Nobody becomes a sustainable SSD, and makes a significant income in this business (which would cover all living expenses & more) without putting in significant time. 

I don't know if 10,000 is the exact number of hours but it is definitely close.  If you think of the time Meghann Dahl Clements and I have put into this business it comes close.  Meghann has been doing it almost full time for almost three years.  Based on my calculations she consistently puts in a 45-50 hour week in this business, minus the vacation time, which equates to about 2400 hours a year.  Three years of that is 7200 hours.  You add my part time work for the past three years, plus my full time work over the past couple months and we are very likely over the 10,000 hour mark. 

Kind of interesting that we probably only recently crossed this mark and only recently our income in Scentsy became sustainable to make this a full time thing for both of us... 

When you are putting in that amount of time, you are going to have to experiment with various actions.  Not all actions are going to go exactly as you planned.  This has been the case with Meghann and I over and over.  We have tried and tried and tried and tried new strategies.  Some work, some don't.  We figure out which ones work and then do more of those.  The key point in all of this is consistency.  We are consistently taking action. 

If there is one principle that I could stress above all others in this group is that consistent daily action is the key to success in this business.  You can't get discouraged if things don't work out exactly as you planned.  You just keep taking massive action, day in, day out - and sustain that action for years. 

Sounds simple but that truly is the path to SSD.  That is the path to making this business something special that provides you with the financial freedom that you want.