News, comment, opinion, small-talk, tastes of this-and-that and a little propaganda. Continued…
My Questions For The Greatest Networkers…
I was having a Skype chat with a young friend from Pålsboda, Sweeden, Sven Wolf, and he was thanking me for a MasterMind Session I did with one of The Greatest Networkers, Randy Gage. Sven told me how he liked the way I “picked the minds of the successful people in the business,” and he wrote, “You really have a way to bring the best out of all the interviewees. I truly admire that skill.
I wrote back to him: <smile> Honestly, so do I. It comes from:
A. Knowing how to listen.
B. Being authentically curious and wanting to learn more about them.
C. Having my (whomever I’m speaking with) be more important than I am.
I learned the power of great questions long ago. One of my favorite quotes is from Tony Robbins:
“Ask lousy questions, get lousy answers.
Ask great questions, get great answers.
The Greatest Networkers in the World will be written by my recording interviews with each of The Greatest Networkers…, having transcriptions made, and then editing those transcriptions.
A number of people have asked— especially the people in the book <smile>— what questions I’m going to ask. Normally, my rule is to help the people I’m interviewing feel comfortable about the process so they trust me and relax, and I never speak about the questions I’m going to ask before hand.
I’ve learned through experience that doing that tends to have people make a script of their answers— even if it’s not written down, they still have ideas about the best answer for this & that question. And…
That’s NOT a conversation. And since I’m a believer in “Life is created in conversation”— as well as the truly generative power of language— an authentic, “present-open-connected” conversation with them is what I’m after.
However… in the case of this book, I AM telling The Greatest Networkers… the general gist of what we’ll be speaking about in their interviews. And, I’ll tell you, too, now.
I’ll begin by asking them where they grew up and what it was like for them. I’m not after their memoirs, but enough auto-biography that readers know what kind of circumstances these people were born into. Where each of The Greatest Networkers… came from as children.
My goal here is to have readers make an immediate (hopefully intimate) connection with them and to begin to “get” that these are ordinary, real people, just like you and me.
Next, I’ll fast forward to who & how they were as adults, just before they encountered Network Marketing. What were their lives and lifestyles like, their careers & families, who they’d become as human beings?
Then; how they first became involved in the business: What happened and what was it, specifically, that persuaded them to dive or tip-toe in?
And… what happened next? What was it like at the beginning for them? Did they take off like a rocket to the stars? Did they struggle? Did it take them months or even years to “get it” and begin to succeed doing the business?
For me, this next part is the heart of the matter:
What actions did they take that they now know were the keys to their success? What did they “deliberately practice” doing… What competencies and skills did they focus on developing that led directly to bringing out their greatness?
Along that way, I’ll ask about the values they have & hold dear personally— that have served & empowered them professionally.
I’ll ask about their mentors, who they were, what’s the greatest gift they got from them?
I’ll ask about who they admire most in this profession and what it is that has them admire them… and what it is about THAT that’s so important to them.
I may ask if there’s a book or books that made a huge difference in their lives? I might steal from Eric Worre and ask if there was a decisive moment that changed their lives (ala from The Greatest Networker… book) “for the better forever”. Was there a breakthrough, “Ah Ha!” or “Eureka” moment that turned everything around for them in their life & work?
Now, all the questions from the one about values on down may be for extra credit <smile>. I’ll finish with my favorite one:
“What the best thing for you about your life in Network Marketing?”
That’s it. That’s all. May change, but… not by much. That’s what you can expect in the book.
As said, “The questions are the answer.”
Human beings are hard wired to ask questions. “Why is the sky blue daddy? Mommy, why do I have 10 fingers and 10 toes?” And of course, more complex and probing ones.
As TR said,
“Ask lousy questions, get lousy answers.
Ask great questions, get great answers.
You can trust me to be as opposite from “lousy” as possible. <smile>
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Thanks.
I appreciate you.
Because Stories Are the Most Powerful Influencers
The Greatest Networkers in the World has the possibility of being the best-selling & most influential book in Network Marketing history. Here’s why…
21 ordinary people who became millionaires in Network Marketing & the true stories of how they did it.
That’s why. In word, it’s the stories.
In the New York Times best-seller, Influencers— The Power To Change Anything, the authors explore, with scientific methods, what it takes to create authentic & lasting change. The examples they researched and use as proof of the truth are astonishing; obviously impossible situations that were turned completely around and how that was accomplished.
For example: The Delancey Foundation, which takes homeless, drug addicted felons (typically with 15 or more convictions) and without the aid of donations, grants, guards, therapists or professional staff, has over 90 percent of these criminals and addicts never go back to crime or drugs.
Or the heroic efforts of The Carter Center in 1986 to eradicate the Guinea worm in Africa and Asia: 3.5 million were infected in 18 countries and an estimated 120 million people were at risk. The infection is a horrible living nightmare for the infected involving unbearable pain and a pattern of re-infection that contaminates entire populations for generations. Yet the eradication efforts have led to a 99.7 percent drop in Guinea worm prevalence! In some countries, it is completely gone!
More about the power of stories from Influencer…
“The most common tool we use to change other’s expectations is the use of verbal persuasion.” Yet as the book points out, “…verbal persuasion rarely works.”
“Whenever you use forceful or overt verbal persuasion to try to convince others to see things your way, they’re probably not listening to what you say. Instead, they’re looking for every error in your logic and mistake in your facts, all the while constructing counter arguments. Worse still, they don’t merely believe you’re wrong, they need you to be wrong in order to protect the status quo. And since the final judge exists in their own head, you lose every time.”
So, what does work?
“… if you want people to change their persistent and resistant view of the world, drop verbal persuasion and come up with innovative ways to create personal experiences. Second, when you can’t take everyone on a field trip, create vicarious experiences.”
“Entertainment education helps people change how they view the world through the telling of vibrant and credible stories.”
“Told well these vicariously created events approximate the gold standard of change— real experiences.”
“We merely need to be a good storyteller. We can use words to persuade others to come around to our way of thinking by telling a story…”
“Even the most educated of people set aside their well-honed cynicism and critical nature when listening to [or reading] a story. Because stories help individuals transport themselves away from the role of a listener who is riggorously applying rules of logic, analysis and criticism and into the story itself.”
“Concrete and vivid stories exert extraordinary influence because they transport people out of the role of critic and into the role of participant.”
“The more poignant, vibrant, and relevant the story, the more the listener moves from thinking about the inherent arguments to experiencing every element of the tale itself.”
“Stories don’t merely trump verbal persuasion by disproving counterarguments; stories keep the listener from offering counterarguments in the first place.”
And the final dimension the authors of Influencer offer for the power of stories:
Human emotion.
If the emotional connection isn’t made, people won’t act. More understanding & even new beliefs aren’t enough. People have to care about what they think and believe and caring comes from feeling awareness.
All of that may be too much. Sorry. I want you to get the awesome power of stories not only to change people minds, but change their actions.
What I’m after with this book is nothing less than a tool for the transformation of the way people think, believe, feel and act towards Network Marketing & Network Marketers.
For those who are in— I’m committed to having them learn, specifically, what they can change or continue to practice to become hugely successful.
For those men & women who are not yet involved in Network Marketing— I’m committed to having them be present, connected and OPEN to the possibilities our business offers them and CLOSED to ungrounded cynicism and being critical of this profession.
21 ordinary people who became The Greatest Networkers in the World telling the true stories of how they did it will accomplish that… for certain.
Two Amazing Greatest Networkers – Sarah Robbins & Lynn Allen Johnson
Over the years, I’ve made no secret of how hard it’s been for me to “find” Greatest Networker women. In a profession that’s nearly 80% female, why is that so difficult?
First is “find.” It’s more unconceal. Those women-on-top are there. They just don’t stand out, they don’t take the spotlight like the leading men.
From the Mars & Venus perspective, women keep score differently than men do. They measure their success in ways other than achievement titles and dollars: Relationships, friendships, how this or that feels. Bragging & boasting about their success is just not that important to most women.
NOT that they aren’t proud of their accomplishments. They are! And many of the women leaders I’ve met in this business are quite competitive, by which I mean they love to win (and some of them get a special big kick out of besting the men, too <smile>).
So, all of this & that to say how thrilled I am to find these two latest additions to The Greatest Networkers in the World book: Sarah Robbins & Lynn Allen Johnson. They are both amazing! Meet them now.
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Sarah Robbins was a kindergarten teacher by trade. Because of the economy, she was regularly facing the loss of her job. She was always looking for an extra stream of income, but nothing she did really clicked with her. (Sarah actually joined a Network Marketing company, but when the enthusiasm of the moment passed and she took a closer look, she decided it wasn’t for her and quit the very same day.)
Then she discovered Rodan + Fields (from the creators of Proactiv). In one school year, Sarah was able to surpass her full time salary, and she’s now able to earn more than double in one month what she would have earned annually teaching!
Truth be told (and I will), Sarah is not YET a million-dollar income earner AND in October she had her first six-figure month. (Please consider she’s been involved for only two years!) I predict that by the time you read the book Sarah will be an MLM millionaire!
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Lynn Allen-Johnson lived most of her life hovering just over the poverty line. She also knows what it’s like standing in line for food stamps. Lynn raised two kids as a single Mom, living in a small apartment and barely got by paycheck to paycheck.
All of that began to change when Lynn, in her 50′s, experienced severe health challenges. Her daughter sent her some products she hoped would improve her mom’s condition— and miraculously they did. In a matter of days Lynn had begun to dramatically reverse the decline in her health. Her friends, neighbors and co-workers kept asking what she’d done to look and feel go good, so quickly? An MLM star was born.
But it took Lynn four and a-half years to fully understand what she could really accomplish in this business. When she did, she went to work and made history. Lynn has been the winner of her company’s Presidents Award, given to the distributor with the #1 worldwide growth for two consecutive years. She’s also been one of the top 10 income earners for years and is a member of USANA’s Million Dollar Club.
“Lynn Allen-Johnson is living her dream and can help you live yours. She is growing in global stature as a role model and mentor for entrepreneurs via her writing, training and direct selling business success. When Lynn speaks, I listen!”
— Dr. Denis Waitley, author, The Psychology of Wnning
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Denis Waitley is a friend of mine. He turned me on to his friend Lynn. You are known by the company you keep. And I learned about Sarah from Donna Johnson. Donna is the #1 income earner in her company that competes directly with Sarah’s company, yet Donna is Sarah’s mentor. Greatest Networkers in the World indeed.
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Thanks.
I appreciate you.
Will Books Ever Be the Same Again?
Look Out Mama! If you have ANYthing to do with books— writing them, reading them, buying them, selling them… (Bald) “Heads Up!” Super Seth Godin is reinventing all things book. There are new rules. I’m already playing by many of them here with The Greatest Networkers in the World. More to come. Lots. The Earth is moving.
Here, from Seth’s blog, is the beginning.
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The Domino Project
Book publishing is changing. It’s changing faster than it has in a hundred years. I’ve been persistent enough to be part of that change, provoking and poking and wondering about what comes next.
Today, I’m thrilled to report on what’s next for me.
• To reinvent the way books are created when the middleman is made less important.
• To reinvent the way books are purchased when the tribe is known and embraced.
• To reinvent the way books are read when the alternatives are so much easier to find.
• To find and leverage great ideas and great authors, bringing them to readers who need them.
The notion of the paper book as merely a package for information is slowly becoming obsolete. There must be other reasons on offer, or smart people will go digital, or read something free. The book is still an ideal tool for the hand-to-hand spreading of important ideas, though.
The point of the book is to be spread, to act as a manifesto, to get in sync with others, to give and to get and to hand around.
Our goal is to offer ideas that people need and want to spread, to enjoy and to hold and to own, and to change conversations.
Working with a great team at Amazon, I’m launching a new publishing venture called The Domino Project. I think it fundamentally changes many of the rules of publishing trade non-fiction…
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Seth wrote LOTS more in his post. It’s here: Seth Godin’s Blog. Please read it. It’s important.
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I appreciate you.
Another New Greatest Networkers' Page – Donna Johnson
Just finished putting up another new page for a Contributor’s to the book— “Contributor,” that means STAR <smile>. This for “The Queen” of Arbonne International, Donna Johnson. Go up above on the navigation bar, under The Greatest Networkers. (Click her name link to get there from here.)
Donna Johnson is a former swimming coach who today lives with her family summers in Northern Wisconsin at their log cabin lake home, and winters in Cave Creek, Arizona, a secluded retreat, where her twin daughters started high school last fall. She also has 3 adult children, and a grandson, including Donna’s 27 yr old daughter Nicole, who is a VP with Arbonne. Donna and her children also own and run “Bananas Garden Resort & Spa” in Negril, Jamaica.
An Arbonne Pioneer of 23 years, Donna is her company’s 1st National Vice President and their top income earner.
What keeps Donna passionate about building her business when she could so easily retire? It’s the people! She has over 1000 Mercedes Benz drivers (Independent Regional Vice Presidents and National Vice Presidents) in her “SuccessLine,” and she doesn’t plan on stopping there! It’s about “3D Success” for Donna…
“Knowing that you’re making a difference, creating balance and financial peace.”
She knows that her company’s success is ONLY BEGINNING, and she wants to continue to impart her wisdom and passion for her incredible company, and help those that want to make it to the top, “Get there and stay there!”
To learn more about Donna Johnson, visit her website here: Donna.MyArbonne.com.
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Here’s the first of the items we’ll be putting into the Free Library by Donna (and the link on this page and on her page are working now):
Click the player below to listen streaming on-line now [01.09.23 Mp3]:
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I appreciate you.
More to come. Promise.
Another New Greatest Networkers' Page – Jordan Adler
Just finished putting up another new Contributor’s page here on the site. This for Send Out Cards Super-Star Jordan Adler. It’s up above on the navigation bar, under The Greatest Networkers. (Click his name link to get there from here.)
Jordan’s page include a picture & bio, and there are live links on the page for articles & an audio that will soon be up in the Free Library as well.
There’s an hour-long MasterMind Session I did with Jordan, appropriately titled Beach Money in Mp3 you can listen to on-line and/or download. Plus two articles from Jordan, 10 Ways to Create Beach Money and Three Chapters from Beach Money both in PDF files. Yours to keep & share.
More to come. Promise.
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I appreciate you.
New Page Added To the Website – Randy Gage
I just finished putting up our very first Contributor’s page here on the site. This for Randy Gage. It’s up above on the navigation bar, under The Greatest Networkers. (Click his name link to get there from here.)
I’m always (almost) amazed how long it takes to get pages posted. Anyhow… the page include a picture & bio of Randy, and there are live links on the page for things that will soon be up in the Free Library. They are available on Randy’s page now.
There’s an hour-long MasterMind Session I did with Randy, How To Build a Multi-Level Money Machine in Mp3 you can listen to on-line and/or download. Plus, The MLM Revolution: A Manifesto, a 42-page eBook and Do You Want the Red Pill or the Blue Pill? a 9-page article, both in PDF files. Yours to keep & share.
And, there’s a link for you to listen to Randy’s classic Escape the Rat Race audio, it’s available along with a host of other great articles, audios, ebooks and more in the Free Library at The-NEW-American-Dream.com. Click the link to get there from here.
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Millions of Network Marketing "Thousandaires"
“I’m not interested in thousands of
MLM millionaires.
I’m committed to creating millions of
Network Marketing ‘thousandaires’.”
I’ve made that remark for years. It’s has gained a new importance— and truth— for me as I dig deeper into The Greatest Networkers in the World book project.
Fact is, there already ARE thousands (many thousands) of MLM millionaires around the world. And as professor Paul Pilzer predicts, there are going to be 10 million new millionaires created in the next five or six years— and a significant (very) percentage of them will be Network Marketers.
I have a very strong intuitive sense that the vast majority of those men & women who became millionaires in this business were destined to do so from the get go. They may not have known that, nor had the vision or even belief in the possibility, but if you knew the language you could have easily read the writing on their Facebook walls that predicted their tremendous success.
I have no doubt at all that the stories of the men & women in the book will Inform, Involve & Inspire the “millionaire within” many readers to come out and play full on. That is, after all, one of the book’s Raison d’êtres.
What I believe to be far more significant for our profession and the individual men & women concerned are the growing number of “thousandaires” who will be created as a direct result of learning from The Greatest Networkers in the World sharing their secrets of success.
“Secrets…” Yes, secrets. NOT that these Greatest Networkers… have keep their tools, techniques, tips & training hidden from view. Each and every one of them is a passionate proponent of the “Please Plagiarize Principle” of Network Marketing success— “Here’s what I’ve done that worked. Take it. Please. And make it your own.” Duplication drives the engine of this business. That’s a fact.
What I’m talking about is my personal & professional commitment for the interviews this book is built from to dig down to a whole new level of revealing the specific deliberate practices & principles in action that Jordan Adler, Margie Aliprandi, Sandy Elsberg, Randy Gage, Dr. Sven Gobal, John Haremza, Beth Jacobs, Donna Johnson, Frank Keefer, Jimmy Kossert, Warren Nelson, Orrin Woodward and the other famous others DID that directly created their extraordinary success.
I believe it falls under the category of “Having a goal bigger than you are.”
I’m ready. You? I sure could use your help… <smile>
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I appreciate you.
What Makes "The Greatest Networkers in the World" Great? (Part 3)
This is the finale of the “What makes them so great” posts. I know I’ve played the pedant (all too well) here and I do apologize— but only just a little. This three-step is SO important and has shone (and shined) a whole new light on this book project that’s adding tremendous value. Here’s what I mean…
Any book that simply tells the stories of these once ordinary men & women who became extraordinary in this business will be a very good thing. Readers will be compelled to become believers— in the profession itself and also powerfully persuaded & opened up to their own possibilities for success. You know, the “If she can do it… he can do it… I can do it” complex.
As said, good things, but what if there was more?
What if the book dug down into those specific, essential, bedrock things The Greatest Networkers… DID that made them so super-successful?
THAT would be a book truly worthy of The Greatest Networkers… themselves, and THAT would be a book worth 100-times more than the time you invested in reading it and the price you paid for it. (At a retail of $14.95 that’s not that big a deal <smile>)
THAT would be a book that actually entertcated (entertained & educated) and edutained (educated & entertained) people. It would go beyond belief to give you the awareness AND proven things you could DO to become one of The Greatest Networkers in the World.
It’s parent sold more than a-million copies. A book that delivers the value of what’s truly possible with The Greatest Networkers in the World, will do so much more. It could easily turn out to be the most important book on Network Marketing you’ve ever read.
The last post: What Makes “The Greatest Networkers in the World” Great?
(Part 2) left you with this:
The differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain.
The burning question I have is, “Specifically, what things did The Greatest Networkers in the World determinedly & deliberately practice that made them great?”
I want to explain that more & better, so… I will. Here.
In Talent Is Overrated, Colvin proves his point with many examples from such a wide-enough selection of domains of life & work as to take away any “take my word for it” contradictions of the idea’s validity readers may have.
One such illustration was in the form & person of Jerry Rice.
Jerry Rice is the greatest pass receiver in professional football history. His records for receptions and touchdown receptions surpass the second place holders not merely by 5 or 10 percent, but 50 percent! It is highly unlikely his records will ever be bested. Some experts say Jerry Rice is THE greatest football player of all time.
How did he get so good?
“Rice was the greatest because he worked harder in practice and in the off season than anyone else.”
Now add this surprising bit: “Rice did not possess outstanding speed.” And even more, “One of the greatest-ever football players devoted less than 1 percent of his football-related work to playing games.”
From Colvin’s book:
“In team workouts he was famous for his hustle; while many receivers will trot back to the quarterback after catching a pass, Rice would sprint to the end zone after a reception. He would typically continue practicing long after the rest of the team had gone home. Most remarkable were his six-days-a-week off-season workouts, which he conducted entirely on his own. Mornings were devoted to cardiovascular work, running a hilly five-mile trail; he would reportedly run ten forty-meter wind sprints up the steepest part. In the afternoons he did equally strenuous weight training. These workout became legendary, and other players would sometimes join Rice to see what it was like. Some of them got sick before the day was over.”
Okay, that’s Jerry Rice and that’s sports; what about other things, such as music, chess, or business. Pick a field any field, the findings were the same. The great performers in EVERY one were men & women who engaged whole-heartedly and whole-bodily in determined & deliberate practice.
Colvin’s book continues by examining the concept of “Deliberate Practice” in practice.
“Deliberate practice is characterized by several elements…
- It is activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teachers help;
- It can be repeated a lot;
- Feedback on results is continuously available;
- It’s highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual, such as chess or business-related activities or heavily physical, such as sports;
- And, it isn’t fun.
So, what are those abilities, activities, awarenesses, characteristics, competencies, factors, functions, skills, tasks, techniques… The Greatest Networkers in the World practiced so deliberately and with determination that “made” them so Great?
I don’t know… yet.
I’ll have to write the book to learn what they are and you’ll have to read the book.
Stick around the weblog here. I promise many “leaks” of what’s going on & in the book as we write along.
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I appreciate you.
What Makes "The Greatest Networkers in the World" Great? (Part 2)
In his book, Talent Is Overrated, Geoffrey Colvin dug deeply into what separates great performers from good ones. He began his digging & drilling by eliminating those things that did NOT lead to greatness: “It isn’t experience. It isn’t specific inborn abilities. It isn’t general abilities such as intelligence and memory.” So, what does “drive” great performance?
Colvin discovered two things: Hard work and Deliberate Practice.
Thing is, we all know many, many people who work hard. Pick any field of endeavor. For our purposes here, take Network Marketing. Around the world there are hundreds-of-thousands of men & women who, when they are working their business, work hard. How many of them achieve greatness? How many of them could be called The Greatest Networkers in the World?
So from any domain of work: art, music, writing, business, sports… we know that hard work alone does not result in great performance. As the previous post revealed, one thing that was held in common by the greats in every field was that, “no one, not even the most talented” performers, became great without at least ten years of very hard preparation.” The “Ten-Year Rule.”
Anything else? The key is in the phrase above, “years of very hard preparation.” Colvin explains from the scientist’s research…
It could be put very simply: What the authors called “deliberate practice” makes all the difference. Or as they stated it with stark clarity in their scholarly paper,
The differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain.
And so it is with The Greatest Networkers… What makes them expert, masterful, great, is years of Determined & Deliberate Practice.
The burning question I have is, “Specifically, what things did The Greatest Networkers in the World determinedly & deliberately practice that made them great?”
Neither you nor I will know until the book is written. But in the next post, I’ll dig up some clues.
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I appreciate you.
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