Saturday, December 6, 2008

Having a Goal

You may have heard the saying "If you don't know where you are going, then you are probably already there." Until I started my journey I never realized how true that is. They said to me "look at the last 5 years of your life. If you don't make any changes then the next 5 years will be similar to the last 5 years." That got me thinking. I didn't hate the last 5 years of my life. But it was nothing spectacular either. Just running the rat race. And not getting ahead of anything. Just staying the same. I really think that we stop focusing on the future, and get so caught up in whats happening now. Ever since they told me that I have started picturing the future and setting small goals to get to where I want to be in 5, 10, 20 years. I have also heard it said this way "Life is like a camera, what you focus on you will develop." In any profession you start out with ambition and go through the training to become. You focus on the skills it takes, learn them and they become you. That even applies to bad things. The more you focus on hatred for someone, the more it builds up until you despise them.

I suggest you find something that you want to have, or do, or get done within the next few months. Figure a way to divide it into 2-4 steps to get there. Then write down those steps. Look at them everyday and ask to yourself, "What am I doing today to hit this next step?" Before you know it you will have made that want into a reality. Start out with something small and get some results, then the sky is the limit.

Justin

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Give Happy to Be Happy

Serving. That is a huge part in being a Leader. The title "Give Happy to Be Happy" is something I hear Chris Brady say all the time. If you want to be happy then give happy. We were at an event last night called the Festival of Trees. There was this lady with a double wide stroller and was struggling to get out the door. When I saw this I walked over and held open the door for her, and with a big smile said "This should help make it easier." She got through the door, looked at me, smiled and said thank you. There was almost a sigh of relief feeling that came from her when she said thank you. Little things like that go a long way in peoples lives.

I absolutely love what I heard Dallin Larsen say
"Life is like a tennis match. He who serves best usually wins."

Justin

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Mentor Wisdom

Having a mentor is important in Leadership. You may have heard the expression "Lead, Follow or get out of the way." I believe you must first Follow, then Lead. However you should never quit following. Attach yourself to someone out front that you can trust, who is Honest and has Integrity. That will make all the difference when you have challenges.

I leave you today with a quote from one of my mentors,
"You can't Teach what you don't know, and you can't Lead where you wont go."


Justin

12/3/08

I would like to add another quote that rings so true. It is about learning from failures. If you really understand that in order to be successful you must "fail forward" you will also understand that you can learn and grow from everything you do.

"Lesson continues until lesson learned."
"

Monday, December 1, 2008

Leadership Gold

I am re-reading Leadership Gold by John Maxwell. I read chapter 4 last night. I absolutely love it. It is titled "When You Get Kicked In The Rear, You Know You're Out In Front"
It talks about criticism and some ways to handle them. Because every time you are out in front leading, someone will always have some criticism toward you. I've heard it said that most people want you to get by, just not by them! I have not read to many of John Maxwell's books yet, but I did hear him speak once and he is the real deal. Charlie "Tremendous" Jones says "You are the same today as you are going to be in 5 years except for the People you meet and the Books you read."

So lets meet new people and read new books. There is a list of books on this site that I recommend or any of the books recommended on any of my links would be great ones to read.

Justin

a.k.a
Average Joe

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Direct Selling - What is your opinion?

Before I get started on the subject of Network Marketing, Direct Selling, MLM, and so on. I thought that I would start with the question "What are your feelings about that industry?" I would like to hear from people who have both succeeded and failed. I would like to talk about which opportunities you tried. Why you think that you have succeeded or failed. There are many different companies out there, and many people involved as distributors. I believe the hope that they bring back into peoples lives is what most attracts us to them. Sort of a Plan B approach to making money. And logically it has to work. It is worth trying anyway. Isn't it? I mean what if it works, what if my friend or relative showing me this idea does it and I don't? All these went through my head the first time I sat down to presentation. That is after the several months of me putting him off, until I finally said if I come will you stop bothering me? My life has been forever changed since then. I will tell more as days come, but first I would like to hear from some of you.

Joe

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Welcome

In this past month our country voted for a new President. Both parties have their pros and cons. Both parties have their differences. What I think surprises me the most, is how divided our country has become on some issues. There are absolute truths. Without them we are giving up what the signers of The Declaration of Independence fought and died for. I believe that common sense has been lost through generations. I believe that self government or taking responsibility for one actions are gone. Those are some of the principles that made this country great. Our country has come to point where saving money on Christmas shopping (not Holiday shopping) is more important than a persons life. I am sure you have heard about the poor gentleman at a store in New York that was trampled to death after the doors were opened. Reports say that some people were angry that they closed the store down and they couldn't shop any more. I bet the family of that worker doesn't care to save money on their Christmas shopping. What dollar amount can you add to a human life?



In the next several post I will share from some of the books I have read about Leadership and will also share some of my current experiences. I am very young in my journey, and do not intend to ever sound like I know everything. I will say that I look forward to many discussions from all angles and views of leadership development and network marketing.

Joe