Tweet

How to Stay Motivated When You Seem to be Failing.

Written by: Martin Malden

Article Overview: If you're a member of an MLM business you probably receive lots of rah-rah emails and participate in conference and training calls. The intention is to motivate you, but if you're struggling with the business they can actually have the opposite effect. That's what happened to me, and here's how I dealt with it.

How to Stay Motivated When You Seem to be Failing.

For MLM’ers, or people in network marketing companies, receiving the supposedly motivational emails and call previews about how much success people are having can be more of a turn off than a turn on. I know – they turned me off. They made me feel inadequate, frustrated and angry.

So how did I deal with that?

The first, and unquestionably the most important, step goes back to your own mindset.

If you’re really in this business for the long haul, if failure is not an option for you, then you have the soundest base possible for dealing with this.

This is an absolute requirement. Without a mindset like this you will, sooner or later, pull out.

So, with that as my foundation, the next step, for me, was to start picking out the facts. You have to be brutally honest with yourself here because this can very easily be confused with looking for excuses. For your own sake be brutally honest.

Here are some examples that I’ve been through where the facts explained some of the success that was being trumpeted and where the hype was exposed for exactly that. Once you get to grips with this in your own business you’ll find it much easier to deal with those ‘motivational’ emails and calls.

If you can do that, and stick with it, ultimately you will be successful.

I joined a new business about a year ago. All the hype at the time was how this person made $52K in their first month and how that person earned $10K a week.

Six weeks into the business I had made $0. Still the emails kept coming, previewing calls where these mega earners, who had earned more in a month than they had in a year before joining this business, would be spilling their secrets etc, etc.

By this time I was feeling totally inadequate and ready to quit. I felt that I’d been misled, conned, scammed – all the angry emotions that people go through.

Then, as I began talking to people in the business I came to understand why this person had made $52K in their first month or $10K in a week. They had done it all before.

They had been in previous MLM or network marketing businesses, had a list of thousands of people who were interested in that type of business and had simply brought them across.

This could not have been more different from my situation – but it was never loudly proclaimed. Or even proclaimed at all.

I was new to this type of business. I had no pre-existing down-line I could bring across. No wonder these people were pulling in the big bucks while I was making nothing.

These were not excuses – they were (and are) the facts. And as soon as I understood them I began to understand what I had to do.

I also realised that these ‘success models’ had started where I was. And that, in one case, it had taken them the best part of 20 years to develop a Rolodex that was big enough to pull in commissions of that order in the first month or so of a new business.

I also, quite by accident, discovered that these ‘motivational’ emails are not always to be taken at face value. I received one such email that talked about how ‘independent, 3rd party sources’ had reviewed the business and found it to be the best business around, etc, etc. When I checked out the ‘source’ I found it to be an affiliate – very far indeed from being an independent source!

Far from being disheartened, grasping these realities turned me away from quitting. They motivated me far more than all the hype. I began to look at my own business practices and to measure myself against my own yardstick. I started setting short-term goals, and as long as I could see I was improving month-by-month, I was OK with things.

And improving didn’t just mean making more money each month. Although I’m making money now, and I’m qualified in the business, I’ve not earned more money each month. Some months it’s less. Last month it was $0 again.

Improving means I know more this month than I did last month. I’m better at something now than I was last month. I can do things now that I couldn’t do last month. My knowledge of this business and what it takes to be successful is better now than it was last month.

I set myself targets to learn new things. To test new marketing techniques. To adopt new strategies.

These are not huge steps. They’re small steps. But as long as I’m making progress that I can measure, and as long as I keep on making that progress, I know I’ll get there in the end.

For me, failure is not an option. That mindset helps me to be dispassionate, objective and honest when I review my progress.

You have to be honest with yourself. If you’re not being honest with yourself then you will, eventually, pull out. And all your investment of money and time will have been wasted. Better, in that case, to pull out now and cut your losses.

If you’re interested in learning about the different types of businesses you can set up online and ways to promote them why not register for my Internet Marketing Course? It’s totally free to register and will come to you over a course of 9 emails.

Related Articles
  Home Business Success Tip: Mindset
  “Top Twelve FAILING TO DO Items That Will Undermine Your Business Success, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  Motivation and Ability
  The ‘Key’ To What Really Motivates You to Achieve Your Dreams!
  How MLM Leaders Can Motivate Their New Distributors

Article Tags: absolute requirement, earners, emotions, ers, failure is not an option, hype, long haul, mindset, network marketing companies, new business, own business, sake, six weeks



Related Forum Posts
Re: My first video in over a year - Thanks guys - I appreciate the feedback! I'm just working my next video and I like it even better! Stay tuned!
Re: FREE Toronto Referral Workshop - Kevin, I'll try to get a copy of the slides and summarize the 14 Strategies. Stay tuned!
Re: WorkfmHomeDiva is in the House! - Hi, name is Melissa Burns. Stay home working mom, and loving this site!
Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! - Self motivation is the key to entrepreneurship, without it you are doomed. Hold your head up high and don't let the small things got you down. Stay positive and persistent and you shall have prosperity.
Re: 10 More Ways To Get Business From Twitter - Point taken GT - Next week I'll post a couple examples of how I've used Twitter in the past week that has had an impact on my business (and anybody can copy). Stay tuned!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Ten Twitter Tips For Work-at-Home Moms

Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry

The Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.