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Friday, March 14, 2008

Linear Income vs. Passive Income

When one first starts a home business, he/she is often very excited about the possibilities that being the boss; having time freedom; and being in control of the paycheck can bring. We get excited about a compensation plan, and the lifestyle that we see someone else enjoying. We hear that it was done through Network Marketing, and we decide to pursue this.

The step that is all too often missed is the one on really taking time to get educated about what success in this business really means, and really takes. And, it does take an education and while it is simple, it is not as easy as most glossy brochures make it sound.

It's important to note that the time you invest in your business will pay off for you in the future, even if right now it seems that it is just money going out and not as much coming in. I know that feeling because I have been there. What we cannot do is take a look back after the end of the first month and make a decision right then based on how much we have spent in time and money, and how much we have earned in profit.

How many months does it take for a realtor to sell a home after the listing? How long does it take a songwriter to get a song published and performed by an artist after it is written? Success in a network marketing career means moving beyond the employee mindset of expecting a paycheck at the end of the week based on hours contributed. It does not and will not ever work that way.

Once I understood the difference in "linear income" vs. "passive income" I knew I had to continue pursuing my dream to be successful in my network marketing career. I knew that once I mastered it, I would be financially free for the rest of my life. Please take some time to educate yourself on the differences and understand investing in yourself for your future.

Linear income is created when we trade time for money. Work 1 hour, get paid for 1 hour. Residual income can create continuing pay on that 1 hour worked a long time ago. Today, people ask me what I made in this business my very first month. The answer is – "I don't know, I am still getting paid on those efforts."

My first month in the business, I signed up 5 or 6 people who also wanted residual income through our program. Well, that's what they told me, anyway. Guess what? All of them quit but one. She stuck with it and today, we can both retire on what we make by not quitting. We just kept at it. Sponsoring 5 or 6, and knowing that maybe only one would stick around for the payoff.

If I had worried about the fact that more people quit than stick with it, I wouldn't be where I am today. And, you wouldn't be hearing from me. I might be at a job instead. But, I committed myself to the education process. I educated myself enough about the network marketing industry to know that it is not get rich quick. It is slow and steady. When I felt discouraged, instead of picking up the phone to quit, I picked up a book on success. I listened to a tape. I invested in myself.

As I educated myself, I knew that in the beginning, I would be working many more hours than I would get paid for. In the future, I was told that I could expect the reverse to be true. And, today, I get paid for many more hours than I work.

This is time and income leverage. And, it is powerful. The absence of stress over money is like nothing I could have even described.

Do you want the same freedom and lack of stress in your life? Are you willing to make the commitment to education; to self motivation instead of quitting when you have a bad day; to failing forward one step at a time?

You possess everything inside of you already that you need to be successful. Open up that door and release it to the world. Have and be the greatness you were born to achieve. It's not hard. It's about commitment and taking action.

EXPECT Success!

Jackie Ulmer

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

How Strong is Your WHY? How Motivated Are You?

Take a deep breath and take a deep look within. Ask yourself a simple question - What motivates you and pushes you to move forward? Then ask, is your motivation strong enough to see the job through?

Tonight, after finishing a high energy conference call, my son invited me to dinner at our favorite restaurant. (He knew I would pay!) It was just the two of us and I jumped on the chance to have some one on one time with the 15 year old!

One of his cross country team mates was our server. It was a very quiet evening, so we spent some time chatting with this kid. I started thinking about the work schedule associated with waiting tables in the evening and I know that high school classes start at 7:20am, and it was after 8pm when we were there so I wondered how he gets enough sleep.

I asked him what time he gets off work and he ran through his schedule with me.

He gets up at 6:30 and starts class at 7:20. Because he is a Senior, he gets out at 1:20 and goes for a run with the track team, for two HOURS! He goes home, showers and goes into the restaurant, arriving by 4pm. He gets home by 10pm, DOES HIS HOMEWORK, goes to bed and does it again the next day.

He does this schedule 5 days a week and works one extra day on the weekend. And, don't forget about those track meets - he is a long distance runner. Seems that endurance skill is paying off for him in other areas of his life.

"Wow" I said "You are very inspiring, why so much work?"

Did I mention that he is a straight A student with a full load of honors classes, carrying about a 4.3 GPA? He beamed when he told me he was just accepted into Notre Dame AND Perdue, and he will be paying his own way through college. He shared with me that Notre Dame is $50,000 a year, and his heart is set on being there this fall.

He knows the value in stamping "Notre Dame Graduate" on his resume after college and he is highly motivated (his words) to work hard, earn money and be there as a 2008 fall freshman. (Yes, sharing network marketing with him crossed my mind, and I know where to find him!)

I don't know his whole story; don't know his parents; whether they are in the picture or what. Seems these days, sadly, there are a lot of kids raising themselves. 18 years old and he already understands that motivation comes from within. He has his eye on a prize, he knows what he wants and he is willing to work hard to make it happen. His parents certainly did one thing right! He could surely get into a fine school here in California, pay MUCH less and still get a good education. But, he knows what he wants and he is pursuing it with passion.

All of this while delivering top notch service to the 3 other tables he was serving. He shared his story in the most upbeat, matter of fact way you can imagine. I left him a nice tip and note that it was a contribution to his college fund and I sure wanted to read about him in our local paper.

What an amazing kid, and an amazing story. I am inspired and have not stopped thinking about him and his quest for success. I believe he will get there. I'm motivated to help him.

So, again, I ask the question - What motivates you and pushes you to move forward? What is your reason for getting up and taking action in your business? What prize do you have your eye on? What will it mean to you when you achieve it? What will it mean if you don't?

I hope you are as inspired by G's story as I am. The wisdom of an 18 year old. I'm sure glad my son was there to hear it.

EXPECT Success!

Jackie Ulmer

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Am I Normal? Building This MLM Business Online?

It's 3:00AM and instead of sleeping, I'm trying to figure out how to get listed near the top of the search engines. Am I normal?

Am I normal? I pondered that question this morning while I quickly checked email one last time before shuffling the kids in the car and off to school.

Am I normal? It crossed my mind again while racing back toward my home office as I watched a group of moms head to the bagel shop for coffee and a chat.

Am I normal? This afternoon, as my neighbors talked intensely about the latest episode of Gray's Anatomy, my mind kept wandering back to my web site, and I wondered if that was normal.

Those around me tell me I should quit thinking about business so much and just enjoy my children, which I do, but I still wonder, am I normal? Is it wrong to want more?

Am I normal? My friends look at me as if they've seen an alien when I tell them that I'm never going back to my corporate marketing career. I'm building an Internet empire from my home, would they like one too?

Now, don't get me wrong. I love life and live it to the fullest, with lots of playtime. But, ambition and the challenge of "building the perfect beast" push me relentlessly sometimes. I figure you can relate if you are reading this article. You are looking to create something bigger than yourself, too!

But, it's a crazy world we live in. A world where people have learned to stifle their dreams, their desires, their creativity. We are taught to "settle"for what we are dealt in life. All too often, when we try to move beyond that, those closest to us try to hold us back, save us from ourselves.

"Consider yourself lucky for what you have."

"It's a good job and the benefits are great."

"The average American family has thousands of dollars in credit card debt."

"It's too risky."

I don't know how you feel, but I want to LIVE my dreams, have my heart's desires and allow my creativity to blossom. I want to be my own boss, work in my PJs if I choose, take a four hour lunch to go shopping and fire myself when I'm not measuring up. (Of course, I'm eligible for rehire tomorrow!)

Normal SHOULD be waking up when your body is rested, not when the alarm clock rings.

Normal SHOULD be taking a vacation when it fits your family's schedule, not when your seniority allows.

It SHOULD be having a parent at home when a child comes home from school.

To me, normal ISN'T sitting in rush hour traffic twice a day. It ISN'T working fifty weeks in exchange for two weeks off a year, or five days on for two days off a week. It ISN'T wearing my name and picture attached to my clothing.

Everyone must determine their own definition of what "normal" is and isn't. For those of us who have decided to step outside the box, take control of our lives and build our own business, normal is anything BUT normal!

Life is full of risks, it's true. But, everything great that has EVER happened has done so with some degree of risk. I don't want to get to the end and WISH I had taken just a few risks.
I'm urging you to take some risks with me! Step up to the plate! Decide what it is you want out of your life and your business and GO FOR IT!

FORGET ABOUT NORMAL!

Create your own "normal!"

We are at the very beginning of the new millennium! The Internet is overflowing with possibilities, as it breaks all growth records ever set by anything, and it is just not NORMAL!

As I lay in bed, building my empire (business) on my laptop, I realize just how much I love my other-than-normal life. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

The clock says 10:07 PM.

Ahhh, lunch break!

EXPECT Success!

Jackie Ulmer