Time is an interesting thing.  Most people measure it in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years.  However, the reality is; time is an illusion.  The only time you really have is NOW.  The past is gone and the future is not here; you only have NOW.

Our mind is a wild and unruly thing.  It spends most of it’s time remembering the past or considering the future, and neither really exist.  Only NOW exists.  Our job needs to be to focus on the NOW, live in the NOW, and enjoy the NOW. 

Why spend time considering the past?  It’s over, and nothing can be done to change it.  Many people consider the future; usually in the form of worry, doubt or fear.  What good does it do to worry about something that has not happened?  Our job is to train our mind to focus on the NOW and live in the moment.  When we do this we free our life of regret (past) and worry (future).  We can enjoy where we are—right NOW.

The theme of our company convention this year is the Power of NOW.  It is NOW that you can enrich your life.  It is NOW that can make a difference in someone else’s life.  It is NOW that you can make that phone call. It is NOW that you can write that ad or blog to grow your business.  It is NOW that you can encourage a team member.  It is NOW that you can hug your wife, husband, or children.  There is power in NOW and NOW is the only time for you to take action.

Forget the past. Regarding the future; don’t worry about it because it will be determined by how you handle your NOW.  So from this you can see that there is nothing more powerful than your NOW. 

Don’t get caught up in the illusion of time; rather focus and enjoy the NOW! 

Why do so many fail in their network marketing endeavors?  Why are people compelled to jump from program to program in search of success?  The main reason is because of broken focus.

In his eBook, Success in 10 Steps, Michael Dlouhy (get your free copy at http://mlmsuccessmanual.com) instructs network marketers to focus until your eye cross.  That is opposite of what many teach.  The term “multiple streams of income” gives people the idea that they need to get into 6 different businesses in order to be successful.  The problem with that thought is that no one can do well in any of those 6 businesses because of the lack of focus on one particular business.  The opposite of focus is confusion!

Broken focus leads to going broke.  The average person cannot focus on more than one thing at a time and expect to be good at it.  Have you ever been in a crowded room, talking to someone, and all of a sudden you begin to focus on a conversation next to you?  What happens?  Well, from my experience, frustration sets in because you cannot focus on either conversation and you end up just getting bit and pieces of both.  The same thing happens when you join multiple businesses or affiliate programs.  You “think” that you are the jack of all trades, but you become a master of none of them!  You fail, get frustrated and eventually quit!  You go back to your job and remain unfulfilled.  What a tragedy!

My advice is to find a 5-pillar company and focus on that one company until your eyes cross.  Dream about it, talk about it, get on the necessary calls, listen to your sponsor, read positive books, stop listening to the trash on TV…especially the news and stay focused.  When you do this you will experience a dramatic improvement in your life.

For more about what I meant by a 5-pillar company download the free eBook that I mentioned earlier: Success in 10 Steps at http://mlmsuccessmanual.com.    You will be amazed and thankful for such an awesome training that you receive from the eBook and the free audio trainings that I will send you after you read the book!

If you watch TV or listen to the radio there is a good chance that your mind has been used as a trash can.  This “trash” has made your mind predominately negative, sarcastic, and unthankful. 

The Vietnam War was an American tragedy.  Our soldiers sacrificed their lives in a war that was ill executed; not because of them or their commanders, but because of the media! 

To explain what I mean, I would like to share a quote with you from General Vo Nguyen Giap, a honored and respected North Vietnam leader, that will shock you:

“What we still don’t understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi.  You had us on the ropes.  If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender!  It was the same at the battles of TET.  You defeated us!  We knew it, and we thought you knew it.  But we were elated to notice that your media was definitely helping us.  They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefields.  We were ready to surrender.  You had won!”

General Giap confessed what I hope most Americans now know.  The Vietnam War was not lost in Vietnam—it was lost at home.  It was lost in the heart an mind of many American's due to the influence of our new outlets.  This is the same slippery slope, sponsored by the U.S. media, currently underway to defeat us in Iraq and all other U.S. involvements.

Why do I mention this?  I do so because this is what can happen to you in your network marketing business.  If you listen to the media (and our politicians), you will begin to believe that we are headed for a recession, the economy is tanking, and we need the government to help us survive.  As I heard someone say one time, “The media is responsible for predicting 40 of the last 2 recessions!”  There track record is terrible!  Why would you trust the media for information?  Besides, even if there was a recession, you don’t have to participate in it!  Remember, your attitude determines your altitude! 

If you believe everything you hear in the media, you are going to be defeated, just like the U.S. was in Vietnam.  I would suggest that you change your mental intake.  Stop listening to the news the TV, radio or in print.  Rather pick up a good book or CD program that will feed your mind with positive thoughts.  Those positive thoughts will change your life!  You will win the war in your network marketing business...guaranteed!

Network marketing is the greatest business on earth.  It’s people helping people.  It is not easy; if it were everyone would be a success.  Don’t believe the lies that you can’t do it or that you will fail.  Don’t believe what you see.  You may look at your business right now and feel that you are a failure.  The only way that you will fail is if you believe that you will.  Don’t believe the “bad press” of your current circumstances.  Rise up, right now, from the ashes you may be laying in and continue to pursue your dreams!  Don’t let ANYTHING or ANYONE stand in your way.  Open your mind to good information and close it to all the garbage being broadcast through the media, politicians, and even you circle of “friends.”  Believe in YOU.  Believe in your DREAM and you will find yourself, someday living what your mind conceived, believed and achieved!

Children are fascinating aren't they?  They fearlessly explore and in the process discover new things.  They are very trusting and open to new ideas.  Little children are like sponges that absorb everything the see, hear, and handle.  One the other hand they are like lumps of fresh clay, ready to be molded by the environment they are in and the people they are around.  Children are dreamers with vivid imaginations that seem boundless.  They are not afraid and are bold to declare what they want to be "someday."

With children, there are no limitations; only possibilities.  That's what I love about them.  They are free to express themselves and don't seem to be intimidated or lack self-esteem.  Children are adventurous, fun, and filled with energy.  No wonder Jesus said, "Do not suffer them from coming to me; for of such is the kingdom of the heavens." 

Look in the mirror.  What happened?  We adults are fearful unwilling to explore new things.  We are suspicious of everyone and hate change.  We are still sponges, but what we absorb are not the positive things in life, but rather the negative things.  The older we get the more limitations we experience due to limiting beliefs.  Wow, what a change a few years can make.  However, it is not too late.

We can reclaim our child-like faith and move mountains by opening our minds and hearts to new ideas and boldly go where few are willing to go today.  We can take charge of our present and future by dreaming and pursuing those dreams. 

Everyone in this community is here because they want more.  You want more wealth and time freedom because by possessing both, you can give more to the ones you love and those around you.  Since you have your dream, don't give up.  Don't let anyone rob you of the vision you have for your future.  God have you a mind and a will to control it.  He also gave you feelings to let you know if you are heading in the right direction or not.  To top it all off, He gave you a spirit to contact Him and know Him.

So go ahead, dream big and dream often.  Chase your dreams with all your heart.  When you get there, we will all rejoice with you.

Did you know that 155,000 join a homebased business every week worldwide?  That is staggering!  What this show is that people are hungry for success and want to live a life of financial freedom and have time to do what is important to them in life.

The sad part is that most will fail.  They will fail because of several reasons:

• Lack of a strong reason for going into businss for themselves
• Poor Sponsorship or lack of mentorship
• No system in place that they can plug into for success
• Drained of funds do to poor advice from sponsors or the company they represent
• The compensation plan does not work in favor of the affilicate
• Poor company leadership.  No experience in network marketing themselves
• Over-priced products
• Poor or zero training for new affiliates
• Sponsors who don't care and are more interested to their own success instead of those they sponsor
• Need I say more?

If you are among those who are frustrated, please do yourself a favor and download the eBook SUCCESS IN 10 STEPS by Michael Dlouhy.  This eBook saved me years of frustration and wasting countless dollars on advertising that does not work.  You can get your copy at http://MichaelPuskas.successin10steps.com.

You don't have to worry; it's free and there are no strings attached.  If you have been reading my blogs here at MLM Jive, you will have to agree that most of them are to edify the networker.  Yes, I am involved with an awesome network marketing company, but I have never promoted it in my blogs.  I truly want to help others succeed.  You can judge for yourself.

The great part about the 155,000 per week is that this proves that the fields are white and ready to harvest!

I wish everyone in this community massive success with their respective businesses.  God richly bless you all!

Last night I talked to a young lady who wanted to join my business.  I heard some apprehension in her voice and talked her out of doing anything yet.  You may think that I am crazy, but our goal as network marketers is not to push people into something they are not ready for.  I instructed her to go back and sit down and ask herself, "Why do I want to start my own businss?"  I told her that if her reason for starting a homebased business wasn't strong enough, she would eventually fail. 

Too many people are promised big checks with little effort.  I promised my contact hard work in the beginning with big rewards later.  I told her the truth.  I would rather have 5 people with a strong reason for joining my company than 1,000 who get excited for a week and do nothing afterwards. 

Why are you in network marketing?  What is your reason?  The bigger the reason, the less chance you have of quitting when things don't go the way that you would like.  Success is not for the weak of heart.  A price must be paid, but once it is you will find yourself living YOUR dream.  It's your "why" that will get you through. 

Will the young lady I talked to last night join my team?  I believe that she will when SHE is ready.  I believe I earned her trust and that is something we all must earn to have lasting success.

People often ask where is the best place to make an investment?  What I suggest is to invest in yourself; primarily in your mind.

God has give us something very precious and powerful.  With our mind we can create anything or any life that we want.  Everything you see in your environment came from thought; either the thought of God or of man.  Every created thing began with imagination.

That is why I would urge you to fill you mind with positive thoughts.  Feed your mind with positive books.  Here is a small list that have helped me:

• Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
• Your Best Life Now, Joel Osteen
• The Law of Attraction, Michael Losier
• The Power of the Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murphy
• Psyco-Cybernetics, Maxwell Multz
• Dream Seed, Mike Murdock
• The Bible

These are just a very few of the books that I have read recently.  I also make my car a rolling school of success.  I am constantly listening to the best of the best in human developement because I want my mind to be filled with possibilites and thus experience and life of such.  Every single day I make good deposits into my mind. 

Our mind in like a computer.  Garbage in;garbage out.  Awesome in; awesome out!  You can't get something out of a computer that was not programmed in, so don't expect to get anything good out of life that has not been programmed into your mind.

I challege you to invest in you mind each day.  Take at least 15 minutes to read a few pages from a book.  Invest in CD programs for they will change your life; they have changed mine.

Small investments in your mind each day, over time, will add up to a big success.

Network marketing is all about teamwork.  No one can successfully build a huge organization by themselves.  It takes mentoring and duplication.  Here is and example of the power of duplication.  This is what could happen if you sponsor one person a month and teach them to do what you do:

Month One:                  1 + 1 = 2 (That’s you and your first affiliate)

Month Two:                   2 + 2 = 4

Month Three:                4 + 4 = 8

Month Four:                   8 + 8 = 16

Month Five:                    16 + 16 = 32

Month Six:                      32 + 32 = 64

Month Seven:                 64 + 63 = 128

Month Eight:                   128 + 128 = 256

Month Nine:                   256 + 256 = 512

Month Ten:                     512 + 512 = 1,024

Month Eleven:                1,024 + 1,024 = 2,048

Month Twelve:                2,048 + 2,048 = 4,096

To give you an idea what this could mean dollar-wise, I will give you an example of my company.  If I had 400 people in my organization (not direct sponsored, but as outlined above) I would be making over $10,000 a month!  You will have to check you compensation plan to see what it would mean to you personally, but you can see how valuable sponsoring just one person a month could be.

So, after 12 months of sponsoring only 1 person per month and teaching them to do the same thing that you do you could end up with almost 4,100 people in your organization. 

The secret is to be coachable and become a mentor to your affiliates.  Teach them to do what you do and this could happen to you. 

The key is to keep it simple.  Whatever you do must be duplicatable and simple enough that anyone could do it.  You will never be able to copy yourself, but effective and simple systems are duplicatable. 

I don’t want to make this sound like it is easy because it is not.  If it were, everyone would be in the millionaire line.  You must be prepared to pay the price.  You must learn from your mentor and copy what they do.  You must spend the time and effort to make the necessary calls and stay connected to your team.  If you do, you cannot help but succeed and have an organization that will produce tens of $1,000’s a month in residual income. Keep your mind focused on what you want and keep charging like a rhino through the forest until you reach your goal.

Study the above chart closely and appreciate the power of one!  I will see you at the top!

Your life is composed of a chain of decisions.  The life you now live is the result of all the decisions you have made up to this point.  If you want to change your life, just change the decisions that you make.  Even your indecision is a decision.  Your indecision means that you have decided not to do anything different.  Many people go through life as a ship without a rudder.  They are blown about by the winds in their environments and wonder why they are not among the “lucky.”

Do you want to change your life?  Start by making good decisions.  Start tonight before you go to bed.  Decide to wake up the next morning feeling thankful, good, positive, and ready to take on the new day.  When you rise up, decide to set your mind on the things in life that you want and off of the things that you do not want.  Decide to not listen to negative radio broadcasts in your car.  Instead decide to listen to positive CD programs and music that uplifts you.  Decide to not participate in watching “bad-news” broadcasts.  Decide to engage in positive self-talk.  Decide to speak forth your goals and dreams, and doing so will increase the belief that your dreams and goals will come to pass.  These are the kinds of decisions that will change the outcome of your life.

For network marketers, decide to do something every single day to build your business.  Even the little things add up!  Make that call to a prospect.  Attend that team call.  Call your sponsor for encouragement and idea sharing. Tell someone about your business. Email that contact.  Read a portion of a positive book. Whatever you do, remember that it all adds up over time.  If you do nothing; that nothing will add up to a big zero.  If you do anything; those little anything’s will add up to a big thing down the road.

What will stop you dead in your tracks?  Not taking control of your life through making little positive decisions.  Don’t go for the big single decisions; you might not be able to sustain doing the big things day after day.  Just make little decisions toward you goals and dreams; and before you know it you will be where you want to be.

Remember, your life is a chain of decisions.  Everything you do is based on a decision.  Make good decisions every single day and I will see you at the top.

I like the term, "New Year."  A new year is just that: New!  It's time to forget the things behind us and stretch for the things before us.  It's time to forget our past failures and focus on our future successes.  It's time to take a fresh look at our lives and go for our dreams once again.

Whatever kind of year you just emerged from; rejoice!  Be glad because you have emerged and are here to keep on until you reach your destiny.  We are all here for a reason and we will not be happy until our "reason" has been discovered and fully realized.  You are in network marketing for a reason.  You chose this course because you believed it would be the vehicle to get you to where you wanted to be.  Though it may not have been as easy as you were led to believe; it's still the greatest "profession" on the planet! 

My friends, all things are new, so brush yourself off, get up, revisit your dreams and go for it!  If you need help, I am here to help you in any way I can.  After all; isn't that what "network" marketing is all about!

Have a great 2008!

Michael Puskas

If you are looking for a get-rich-quick opportunity, you may find something out there; but chances are you will not succeed in the long run.

There are plenty of programs on the internet that offer $500 or $1,000 per sale.  That sounds great on the surface, but for long term success—forget it!  These programs require a high start-up cost and lots of money for online advertising.  If you don’t know what you are doing, and most don’t, you will be sorely disappointed.  These programs give you a one-time income opportunity at a high-cost for advertising.  So the promised $500 may only be $200 by the time you spend advertising dollars on Google Adwords, solo ads, classifieds, etc.  Also, with some of these programs, you have to pass-up your first sale or two.  They call it your tuition for training.

Some may declare that they do get income on there directly sponsored affiliates, but again, that’s one time and very hard to come by because most people just can’t sell high ticket “services.”  Besides, most do not have enough advertising dollars to be successful because they have to fork out all their money on the “opportunity.” 

One program that I was involved with taught people how to promote products and services online. Later I found out that I could get that information online for FREE!  Right now if anyone needs to know how to promote their product or service online, contact me and I will show you.

These are not the only downfalls; programs like this offer no residual income.  If there is no residual income you might as well keep your day job because you will never obtain the financial freedom that you seek.  You are just a commissioned salesperson in such cases. 

If you want true financial freedom, you must promote consumable products that everyone will want and use whether they are “in the business” or not.  Granted, on the surface, this looks like the slow way to gain wealth.  But that is only on the surface.

Let’s say you make a whopping $500 per sale.  How many people do you think can cough up that kind of money?  I can tell you from experience, not many!  Not only that; everything is dependent on you “making the sale.”  If you stop selling, your income stops as well.

Now let’s say you promote affordable consumable product that a lot of people use and can afford.  I will use energy drinks as an example. There are about 70 million energy drinks sold in North America every day!  How possible do you it would be to get 25 people, who drink energy drinks already, to purchase your affordable energy drink product on a monthly bases? I think that this is VERY possible.  Now let’s say you can get these 25 people on an auto-ship program; where they receive their energy drinks every month without the hassle of remembering to order them.  Do you know that that will yield $500 per month on a RESIDUAL basis!  You don’t have to re-sell those people every single month—they are already sold!

What does residual mean?  Residual income is income that keeps coming automatically.  An insurance salesperson enjoys residual income from the policies that he sold to you ONCE.  I haven’t seen my insurance representative for years and he keeps making money off of the original policies that he sold me!  To fully understand the power of residual income, consider a dead man pulling in $45 Million a year off of work he did decades ago!  His first name is Elvis.

Which do you prefer?  Would you like to become a salesperson that has to keep selling to get your $500 per month?  Would you not rather get a few people involved with a product, that they already love, on auto-ship, to receive $500 per month in RESIDUAL income that keeps coming in whether you keep promoting the product or not?

To me, I would rather build a customer base that will provide RESIDUAL income.  I don’t want another job of sell, sell, sell, to keep income flowing.   The fact is, most people can’t or won’t do that.   To produce a residual income stream does take more time, but once you do it; it’s done!

If you are looking for a get-rich-quick opportunity, go to Las Vegas.  If you are looking for long term wealth and early retirement, become a real network marketer and work your tail off for 2-5 years.  Sure it takes time and hard work, but believe me, it’s worth it!  Just a few years of labor for a lifetime of favor!

One more thing; these so-called opportunities that speak ill of MLM, network marketing, selling, phone calling, making lists, nickel and dime incomes, 3-way calls and the like are so full of B.S. They are pure hype; appealing to the laziness in every one of us.  Does this offend you?  Why do you think only 5% of the population is financially independent?  The reason is that success is a labor.  You have to WORK at it.  You have to go through the gauntlet if you want to achieve greatness.  If it were easy, everybody would be rich and free of debt.  Read the stories of Edison, Ford, Hill, and other successes.  I would also ask you to read my blog entry on the Pursuit of Happiness and you will get the picture. 

Tis the season to slack off.  At least that is what I am seeing and hearing in the MLM world.  Thanksgiving was the start of a long holiday season, at least here in the U.S.  As a result, many network marketers slack off do to vacations, shopping, parties, etc.  However, this is the best time to push, push, push.  This is the time to do what others will not do in order to gain more market share.

If you want to be a lasting success in network marketing you need to develop a Rhino spirit.  You need to put your head down and charge.  I can guarantee you that if you do that, when you lift up your head; you will be further along then you were before!  Now is not the time to take it easy.  Now is the time to go for it!

So, I challenge you to do one, two, or more simple tasks every single day in order to promote your business.  It's the little things done over time that add up to big results.  If you try the do big things everyday, you will probably not continue for very long.  That's why little steps are better; you can sustain that kind of activity for a long time.

What will you do today to build your business?  What will you do everyday?  If you take action everday you will succeed.  This is for certain.  I hope to see you at the top!

Note:  This article in intended to add hope and assurance to anyone who reads it.  My goal is to augment to life of all those I come in contact with.  I wrote this particularly for fellow network marketers who are struggling to make their businesses grow to achieve the financial and time freedom that we all desire.  Faith plays a huge role in living a successful life.  I hope that you will find this encouraging as you make your pilgrimage here on earth and do it with zest and thankfulness. Now let’s endeavor to answer the question, “What is faith?”

The Bible (Hebrews 11:1) answers this question the best, “Now faith is the assurance of what is hoped for, the conviction of what is not seen.”  Wow, is that a loaded statement!  Faith is the assurance, the pledge, guarantee, and certainty of mind that what you do not see, IS!  Faith is the conviction, the certainty of what is not seen as already existing.  Faith is believing in something that you cannot see as already yours; you are just waiting for its manifestation.

Another one of my favorite Bible passages is in the gospel of Mark and it says, “Have faith in God.  I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, ‘be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore, I tell you, all things you pray and ask for—believe that you have received them, and you will have them.”  This is one of the most profound verses I have every read about faith.

Faith believes that you have RECEIVED, already, what you asked for.  It is only when you believe is such a way that you will have what you want.  Notice that there is also the matter of speaking involved.  You also need to speak the things you want into being.  You need to speak of what you want in such a way that you talk as though you already have it! 

Faith is an elusive thing and very hard to possess in a world where everything seems to go against it.  We have a tendency to believe what we see, hear, feel, touch, and smell.  Our five senses are so strong they can wipe out faith very easily.  Our environment speaks doubt, fear, and unbelief into us and leaves us unable to possess the things in life we really want.  People and circumstances around us destroy our faith and leave us like a ship without a rudder; tossed by the winds of life with little or no sense of direction.

What do you really want?  That is the first thing that you must focus on.  Do not even think about what you do not want in life; pay attention to the things you want.  Think about them, write them down, dream about them and speak of them as though you already possess them and you shall have them.  Stay clear of negative people and news outlets.  They will only derail your faith.

There are several good illustrations of people who possessed outstanding faith, but my favorite is Thomas Edison.  Here is a man who believed that he could harness to power of electricity to produce light.  His dream was to produce the first incandescent light bulb.  Here is a man that tried over 10,000 times to make his dream a reality.  Think about what people said about him!  He probably heard all kinds of discouraging things like: “That will never work!” or “When are you going to give up on that contraption?” or “You are crazy for wasting you time on something that clearly won’t work!”   No doubt he heard it all, but that did not stop him.  Why, you may ask?  He never gave up because he believed that he already possessed the answer.  His belief overcame the doubt and fear that sometimes passed through his mind.  He stay focused and on course.  He thought it impossible not to have what he set his mind on…and he was right!  Thomas Edison became one of the top inventors of all time because of his belief.

Thomas Edison did something that 99% of the population would never do.  He took action every single day until he received what he believed he already possessed.  After over 10,000 attempts (some would call failures), Thomas Edison received the answer to his challenge while coming out of one of his infamous cat naps.  If anything should encourage you to keep on keeping on, it should be the story of this man! 

You can have anything that you can imagine if you would only believe!  If you believe you can, you will!  What do you want?  Have you reached the point that you feel that you have already obtained it?  Do you feel that what you want is already yours?  If you do, you will most assuredly acquire it!  This is a law!  As there is a law of gravity; there is the law of faith.  The law of faith will work every time, without fail. 

How does one get such faith?  Mainly by hearing and speaking.  Give heed to what you hear.  Surround yourself with positive speaking and speak to yourself positively.  Ask yourself good questions, and the answers that you seek will come.  Speak of what you want.  Surround yourself with C.D.’s, videos, and people that support you in your quest.  Eventually you will build up such faith that, though you don’t actually possess what you want yet, you feel as though you already possess it…and guess what?  You will possess that thing!  Stay clear of negative people and environments that do not feed your belief.  Don’t give any attention to them.  Most people are just jealous and will hold you back if you are not careful. They will tell you that your dream is crazy and it won’t work.  They will tell you to play it safe and don’t take risks.  They will tell you to calm down and think about how stupid your dream is.  I am telling you right now; don’t give those thoughts any attention! 

What I am writing is as certain as the sun rises in the east and settles in the west.  You can have what you want if you take possession of your mind, focus on what you want, speak of what you want and allow faith to possess you and bring to you that very thing!

There was a woman in the Bible that suffered from hemorrhaging for over 38 years.  She spent all of her livelihood seeking medical help, but to no avail.  She heard about Jesus and all the healings that he performed.  That hearing caused faith to rise up in her heart.  She eventually sought Jesus but could not get to him because of the crowds.  So she thought to herself, “If I could only touch the fringe of his garment, I will be healed.”  She took action and, I believe crawled to Him through the crowd and touched the hem of His garment and was immediately healed!  Though many surrounded Jesus and were touching him, only one truly had faith and because of her faith Jesus perceived power going out of Him from her touch of faith.  When Jesus perceived this, he said, “Who touched me?”  His disciples said that everyone was touching Him, but he knew there was one who touched Him in faith.  Eventually the woman rose up and confessed that it was her.  Do you know what Jesus then said to her?  “Your faith has healed you!”  Who healed who?  To the woman, Jesus healed her; but to the Master, the woman’s faith healed her.

This is an important lesson.  Your faith is powerful and God responds to it by manifesting what you believe.  That’s why Jesus and the woman had the responses that they did.  You do your part…believe--and God does His part—manifesting what you believe.  It’s more up to you than Him.  He has know problem, it’s you that needs to develop the faith that makes dreams come true.

Napoleon Hill called God, Infinite Intelligence.  He did this as to not offend anyone regarding their particular belief in God.  Personally, I believe in one unique God, the Creator of us all and Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind.  He is awesome and we were fearfully and wonderfully made by Him.  We were made to know Him and enjoy His creation and all the wonderful things that He provided for us.  He gave us a mind, emotion and will to build successful lives on this earth.  Don’t forfeit your right to have and be anything you want to be by not exercising the law of faith.  What the mind can conceive and believe; it can achieve.   So do what you can, feed your faith by positive thinking, hearing, and speaking.  Before you know it, you too will develop unstoppable faith—the kind that moves mountains!

Thanksgiving is a special time a year.  A time when we all need to be reminded how blessed we truly are.  I think that it is good that every one of us take time to thank God for our health (at least we are still alive), our families (though some have passed on), our homes (though we dream for better), our ability to gain wealth (though it may not be fully realized yet), and so much more.  Our creator has been good to us and for this we give thanks.

And it wouldn't be so bad to thank our spouses and parents; our mentors and friends that have made our life a little better while on our earthly journey.

I would like to wish you all a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Holiday.  Thank you for all your contributions to this community.  And if you are not from the United States of America; it wouldn't hurt to give a little thanks anyway!

God bless you all!

Michael Puskas
Your Fellow Network Marketing

I recently finished watching the Pursuit of Happyness for about the third time.  You may ask why a busy guy like me takes time to watch movies, especially multiple times!  I watched this particular one and recommend it to fellow network marketers because it depicts what a dream combined with a positive mental attitude and determination can do for a person.

The movie (based on a true story) starts out with Chris Gardner (Will Smith) who had a dream of making it big in his own business selling bone scanner machines.  He pre-purchased several machines (exhausting his savings) with a belief that he would become rich selling this new cutting edge technology.  These machines were better than X-rays, but many physicians thought that they were too costly for the slight difference that they made. However, this did not stop Chris from beating the pavement every day in the “pursuit of happiness.”  He hit the streets every single day with the belief that he would sell the machines once doctors saw how they worked…it was a hard sell for the most part.  Because of his “seeming” failure his relationship with his wife was stressed, to say the least.

One day Chris was walking in front of an office building in downtown San Francisco and a man pulled up in a very expensive sports car.  This caught Chris’ eye and he asked the man what he did to earn enough money to drive something like that!  The man told him that he was a stock broker.  That started Chris dreaming of a better life as a stock broker.  In other words, he saw what one man did and realized that he could duplicate it to have the same success.

Chris had a dream and a positive mental attitude with determination, however his wife did not.  As a result she left Chris and her son. Through a lot of twists and turns, defeats (mainly) and triumphs, Chris’ dream became a reality.  He became a stock broker for Dean Witter, after a six-month apprenticeship which paid nothing!  He eventually became a partner in his own company and ultimately sold his share in a multi-million dollar deal just last year!  This was a true rags-to-riches story.

Why am I sharing this? Because in it is a lesson for all of us network marketers.  You must have a dream, positive mental attitude and determination to have any amount of GREAT success.  At first it seems that the deck is stacked against the person in the “pursuit of happiness,” but once you have a major breakthrough the pendulum begins to swing in your favor and success just flows!  This has been true of anyone that has had tremendous success; history is full such evidence. 

Therefore, I would recommend that your get a copy of the movie and watch it.  It is an excellent true story and will inspire you to keep on keeping on until your dreams come true.  Just watch the Pursuit of Happyness and you will see what I mean.  

When people think of network marketing there are many reactions.  Some think of specific companies like Amway, some think of “pyramid schemes” and others think it just doesn’t work.  There are many more reactions and reasons for them as well.

Network marketing is, in my opinion, the best way to make your dreams come true.  It is simply referring people to products and services and getting paid for doing so!  Do you know that literally everyone has been network marketing nearly all their life?  Every time you recommend something to someone, you are, in reality, network marketing!  My question is, why not get paid for it?  Why not find a product that you love and recommend it to everyone you know while getting paid for it in the process?

The network marketing concept has been a successful means of moving products and services even before formal advertising existed.  God Himself used this “method” of spreading the good news.  Jesus trained 12 disciples to convey to mankind the good news of salvation and through those 12 men the gospel has successfully reached the four corners of the earth!  This was all done by word of mouth!  My question is; if this concept was good enough for Jesus Christ, isn’t it good enough for you?  If this concept works for all the major companies on this planet; don’t you think that it will work for you? 

One thing I want to make very clear, network marketing is not easy!  You have to work at it.  You will need to:

• Tell people what you do
• Make phone calls
• Participate in conference calls
• Keep updated with regards to what is going on in your network marketing company
• Use the products that you promote
• Mentor your team
• Advertise
• Be willing to put in at least 2 hours per day to do all the above mentioned things

Network marketing is a business and the successful people treat it as a business and not as a hobby.  If you treat network marketing as a hobby, you will not be successful.  If you treated your job as a hobby; you would be fired, wouldn’t you?  Remember, if you get in network marketing and want to make your dreams come true, treat it as a business!

Network marketing is not a scam; however it is receiving bad press by all the online scam artists.  Here are some of the things you will see online:

• No selling
• No phone calls
• No lists
• No contacting family or friends
• No conference calls
• No three-way calls
• Automatic
• Make money without effort
• Money just flows into your bank account
• Not MLM

These are just a few of the things you will see.  Things that give people the impression that this is easy and you don’t have to do anything to make money.  This is NOT network marketing, this is what I call hype!  This is false advertising that gives people false hopes and crushes dreams.  These promotions take your money, offer no real mentoring and leave you on your own to figure it all out.  This is sad and it makes me sick!  There are only a few people that can do these types of so-called businesses and chances are very high that these “opportunities” are not going to work for you.  Many of these are not even legal, as such; they will not be around for long.

I would suggest that if you are in a network marketing business and not successful, take a look at the company with which you are involved.  Do you have good mentors?  Is the compensation plan geared toward the affiliates or more toward the “top dogs” in the company?   Are the policies and procedures slanted toward the company or does it protect the affiliates as well?  These are questions that you must ask yourself and then take steps to correct the problems that are causing you the lack of success that you desire.  It may include jumping ship and finding a company that offers what you will need to succeed.

If you are looking for a network marketing opportunity, be sure to do your due diligence.  Don’t fall for the hype.  Don’t be pressured to join anything until you are sure of the following:

• Will you have a mentor who will help you to succeed and be there when you need them?
• Is there a system in place to insure success?  People are not duplicatable, but systems are!
• Is the compensation plan friendly toward the affiliates?  Do not join anything until you have read and understand the policies and procedures!
• Are there awesome products involved?  Will people still use the products even if they decide not to do it as a business portion?  Are the products too expensive? Is there more than one awesome product involved?
• How long has the company you are reviewing been in business?  If it is a “prelaunch” do yourself a favor and run!  Don’t join anything that in not proven!  The best time to join a company is after all the “prelaunch” bugs have been worked out and it has proven systems in place.
• Make sure that the leaders in the company have been in network marking themselves and not just investors or MBA’s that can’t even spell MLM!

What is network marketing?  It is the best way to achieve financial freedom and have control of your life.  Anyone with a strong enough reason can be extremely successful at network marketing; however, do not be deceived into thinking that it is easy.  It is not easy, but it is worth it. 

Network marketing is the only vehicle that I know that doesn’t take an arm and a leg to participate in and can give you the financial and time freedom that you seek.  So re-evaluate what you have been doing, and if it’s not working you need to make some changes.  If you need mentoring, I will be happy to do it at no cost to you.  I enjoy seeing people succeed and I know that with some hard work and determination, in a relatively short time, you can be a success story because you were born to succeed.  You just need to be shown how!

There is a wonderful parable that Jesus gave in the gospels that I would like to borrow and apply to network marketing.  It is the story of a sower who went forth to sow seed. 

As network marketers we are constantly sowing, at least that is what the great ones practice.  We sow the message of our awesome company, products and services.  We sow the word about how fantastic our compensations plan is and how you can make a great supplemental or full time income in our businesses.  We are willing to train and mentor our people, but here is the reality:

Some seed fell along the path.  These are they that hear what we have to offer and say, “Not for me.”  In your wildest dreams you cannot understand why they don’t see what you see.  Some people will just not get it.  They are closed-minded and seem content with working a job making someone else rich; even though they complain about it all the time.  You see these people, they could do much better, but just don’t get it!

Some seed fell on the rocky places.  These are the ones who get excited about what they hear and ask for more information.  They even say, “I am going to do this.”  You are sure they are going to become an associate and you send them what they asked for and never hear from them again.  They will not take or return your calls and you wonder, what happened?  Well, they probably talked to their spouse or other family members, a friend or someone who said, “Are you crazy!  That won’t work!  You have tried that before and failed!  They are just out to get your money!  Stick with your job, it’s safer!  I had a friend who tried that and failed!  That sounds like one of those pyramid schemes to me!”  And the hits keep coming.  All their excitement gets stripped away by “helpful, caring” people who just don’t get it.

Some seed fell among the thorns.  These are the ones who get excited; they jump on board and want to work the business.  They may even sponsor one or two themselves; then it happens, the excuses start pouring in.  They start missing the training and team calls, they seem to disappear.  When you call them they list all the reasons why they can’t continue.  Their dreams were choked by the worries and activities of life and before you know it, at best, they are just a consumer of your product, if you are fortunate enough to have one!

Are you discouraged yet?  I hope not, but if you are new to network marketing, you might feel like giving up now.  I believe that the main reason people give up is that they never had a big enough reason why they were going become a network marketer in the first place.  They had a hope or a wish, but not a dream so big and so strong that it would carry them through ANY disappointment.  Friend, if your reason for anything is not strong enough, you will fail!  That is just the way it is.  The good part is; there is one more ground that the seed fell on…

Some seed fell on the good ground where it produced 30, 60, 100 times more than what was sown.  You see, you sowed one seed in one person, but it produced 30, 60, 100, 1000 or more people in your organization!  I don’t know what the percentages are, but you can rest assure that there is good ground out there and they will more than compensate for all the others who produced very little or nothing from your sowing efforts.

The moral of the story is not to be among the losers who give up because they have let others dictate what their life should be like.  Not even Jesus let Peter deter Him from going to the cross to die for our sins when he attempted to keep the Lord from fulfilling His mission.  Don’t bury your talents and let your dreams be dashed by anyone.  You can do it, you can make it.  All you need is a dream big enough to sustain you through the tough times which will and must come.

Success is not for the weak at heart.  Success is granted at a cost.  Many think it is easy to be successful, but there is a price to pay.  However, once you pay the price, stick to your guns and charge like a Rhino toward your dreams; before you know it, you will be there! May this MLM success secret—Sowing Seeds for Success, be a blessing to you as you labor to make your dreams a reality.

Identifying personality types is critical to understanding others and being understood by them.  I know many of you are familiar with the four main personality types.  You have probably heard them labeled with weird names that you can barely pronounce.  But I have learned them as four colors.  The four colors of personality are: Yellow, Blue, Green, and Red.

Yellows make up 35% of the population and are open in indirect in nature.  Their motto is, "Let's be friends."  They are usually teachers, nurses, counselors, daycare workers and the like.  They are casual and comfortable dressers and Yellows have a soft and gentle voice.

The strengths of a Yellow are in the fact that they are dependable, team players, patient, supportive and nurturing.  Their weaknesses include over-sensitivity, followers, and they are not goal oriented.  Yellows take things way too personal!

Keywords for the Yellow are: Teamwork, together, relationships and family.  The dislikes of the Yellow are pushy people, bullies and conflict.

The next personality color is Blue (like me!).  Blue's make up 15% of the population and are open and direct.  The motto of the Blue is, "Let's have fun!"  The common occupations of a Blue are sales, entertainment, and public speaking.  The Blue's voice is loud and fast...really fast!  They are easily excited! Blue's dress is stylish, colorful and flamboyant. 

The strengths of the Blue are in the fact that they are promoters, convincing, enthusiastic, creative, and high in energy.  Blue’s run like freight trains and try to do 50 things at once.

The weakness of the Blue is that they talk too much.  They will talk over you and out-talk you.  Silence with a Blue is not golden.  Blue’s are poor savers and follow-uppers. Blue's are unorganized (you should see my desk) and exaggerate (I try not to, really!). 

The keywords of a Blue are fun, awesome, and excitement.  The Blue's dislike not having fun, facts and figures, too much detail, being alone and did I mention, not having fun!

Next in line are the Green's.  Green's make up 35% of the population and are indirect like the Yellow's but self-contained.  The motto of the Green's is "Let me have the facts and figures...all of them!"  They people can drive the Blue's crazy!

Green's are usually accountants, engineers, researchers and have a soft and polite voice.  Green's dress conservative and formal.

The strengths of the Green's are that they are organized, planners, accurate, and persistent with great follow-through.  Their weaknesses are in being over-analytical, hard to please, depressed (I wonder why), and lonely.

The keywords that a Green would use are: Why, graphs, charts, research, exactly.

Dislikes of the Green are pushy people, no facts, and being late.

Last but not least are the Red's. Why did I put them last...to irritate them!  Red’s make up 15% of the population and their motto is, "Get out of my way!"  Red's usually occupy the positions of CEO, attorney, airline pilot, name buildings after themselves and like to be called "The Donald!"  Red’s are direct and self-contained.

The speech of the Red is forceful with volume...can you hear me!  The strengths of the Red's are in the fact that they are focused, goal oriented and intense.

Yes, the Red's have weaknesses, but they will never admit it.  The weaknesses of the Red’s are: Ego, short tempered, domineering, impatient, and un-coachable.  You just can't teach them anything!

Keywords to look for in a Red are: Money, money, and more money, power, control and they are too the point.  Red's hate indecision, chit-chat and the feeling of losing control.

Why mention personality types?  I mention them because if you know how to relate to each person that you talk to, you will be more successful.  You will know what they like and dislike, thus helping them to like you more!

My advice to you is to learn the art of identifying personality types.  If you want to find out more, please contact me and I will forward more awesome information to you.

Luck is something that millions of people wish for every day.  That is why millions are spend for lottery tickets every year in the pursuit of luck.  Luck is why there is a Las Vegas—the city of “luck.”  What most people do not realize is that there is no such thing as luck!

We were blessed by God with gifts and talents to have and do anything in life that we want.  He has given us the power to create our lives to be any way that we desire.  Where is this power?  This power is in our mind.  Everything natural thing that we see in this universe comes from the thought or mind of God.  Every invention that we see in our environment came from the thought or mind of man.  Humans are god-like creatures that have the capability of creating their own “luck.”

What is the main difference between the poor and the rich?  The main difference is in the way they think.  The poor think in terms of lack.  The wealthy think in terms of abundance.  The poor have a “can’t do” attitude and the wealthy have a “can do” attitude. “Luck” is not something that just comes to you; it is something that you create.  As it has been said by many, “We make our own luck.” 

So how do you get “lucky?”  You get “lucky” by changing the way you think.  So-called luck happens when preparedness meets opportunity.  Opportunity is literally everywhere!  You just need to be prepared when an opportunity shows up in your life.  People with an abundance mindset rarely, if ever, experience lack.  People with a health mindset rarely get sick.  It’s the improper use of our mind that causes most of the problems that appear in our environment.

So, how to get lucky?  Get your mind off the things that you do not want and set it on the things that you do want.  If you want health, do not entertain thoughts of sickness.  If you want wealth, do not entertain thoughts of lack.  Focus on what you want.  Think about what you want.  Dwell on what you want.  Talk about what you want.  Pray for what you want and what you want will gradually appear in your life.  You don’t have what you want because your primary focus is on what you do not want.  You say that you want to be wealthy, but when you see a bill you cannot pay, you focus on that and cancel out the movement of wealth toward you.  You say you want to be healthy, but you focus on the pain that your are experiencing and cancel out the movement of health toward you.  The Bible calls this being “double minded.”  A double minded man can never be “lucky.”  You have to know what you want and give it your full attention.  Jesus asked the blind man, “What do you want?” and the blind mind answered, “That I might receive my sight.”  The Lord said, “Let it be according to your faith.”  The blind man did not argue that he was blind.  He simply believed and was made well.  Jesus told him that it was HIS (the blind man’s) faith that made him see.  That is what we all must do to experience so-called lucky happening in our lives.

Don’t get caught in the trap thinking that you ship will come in.  Your ship is already here and laden with all the things you want.  You just have to accept them by faith.  Believe that what you want is here and it will appear to you.

The biggest problem that most have is an unclear, scattered mind that is full of unbelief and chatter that comes from TV, newspapers, gossip, images of lack, and other trash that comes from various sources in our environments.  If you want to experience massive “luck” stay away from sources of discouragement, talks of sickness and poverty, and the like.  Stay away for new broadcasts that declare impending economic gloom and new viruses that are on the rise.  Instead read good, wholesome books that feed the mind with positive thoughts and your can-do attitude.  What I am referring to is a mental cleanse.  Our mind needs washed from all the garbage conveyed to us by the naysayer’s of society that feed your fear and feed off of your fear. 

How to get lucky?  Make your own luck.  Get your mind cleansed and set on the things you want and run from the things that you do not want!  Don’t spend one moment entertaining things that will corrupt your mind and keep you from your dreams.

I just received an email from a team member that was inspiring.  It said that network marketing is like an aircraft taking off; it expends more energy to take off and reach cruising altitude than any other time of the flight.  This is so true in MLM as well.  To get YOUR business off the ground will take a lot of your time and energy at first.  But once you reach cruising altitude in your business, it gets much easier.  From my experience this takes a good two years. 

The question is, do you have what it takes to get where you want to go?  Most people just putz around hoping that they will get "lucky!"  Forget about luck!  The successful make their own "luck" by taking consistent action every single day.  If you want to be successful, get off the ground first! If you don't know how, call me!  I will help you build your business and provide the inspiration that you need to make your dreams come true.  I don't care what business you are in, I will give you a helping hand.  I hope that you can see that from my blogging on MLM Jive.

When you start out in network marketing you are like a jet loaded with tons of cargo.  That "cargo" wants to keep you from taking off.  The amount of "baggage" you have will determine the amount of fuel and thrust