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9 things Successful People do Differently

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This article is written by Heidi Grant Halvorson, now we can all share the knowledge and practice what successful people do.

Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.

To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.

3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.

Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.

7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.

To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.

8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.
If you want change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, I hope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to your advantage from now on. Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. It's never what you are, but what you do.

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). She is also an expert blogger on motivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today. Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com. Follow her on Twitter @hghalvorson

10 Reasons Why You Should Never Get a Job !!!

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It’s funny that when people reach a certain age, such as after graduating college, they assume it’s time to go out and get a job.  But like many things the masses do, just because everyone does it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.  In fact, if you’re reasonably intelligent, getting a job is one of the worst things you can do to support yourself.  There are far better ways to make a living than selling yourself into indentured servitude.

Here are some reasons you should do everything in your power to avoid getting a job:

1. Income for dummies.

Getting a job and trading your time for money may seem like a good idea.  There’s only one problem with it.  It’s stupid!  It’s the stupidest way you can possibly generate income!  This is truly income for dummies.

Why is getting a job so dumb?  Because you only get paid when you’re working.  Don’t you see a problem with that, or have you been so thoroughly brainwashed into thinking it’s reasonable and intelligent to only earn income when you’re working?  Have you never considered that it might be better to be paid even when you’re not working?  Who taught you that you could only earn income while working?  Some other brainwashed employee perhaps?

Don’t you think your life would be much easier if you got paid while you were eating, sleeping, and playing with the kids too?  Why not get paid 24/7?  Get paid whether you work or not.  Don’t your plants grow even when you aren’t tending to them?  Why not your bank account?

Who cares how many hours you work?  Only a handful of people on this entire planet care how much time you spend at the office.  Most of us won’t even notice whether you work 6 hours a week or 60.  But if you have something of value to provide that matters to us, a number of us will be happy to pull out our wallets and pay you for it.  We don’t care about your time — we only care enough to pay for the value we receive.  Do you really care how long it took me to write this article?  Would you pay me twice as much if it took me 6 hours vs. only 3?

Non-dummies often start out on the traditional income for dummies path.  So don’t feel bad if you’re just now realizing you’ve been suckered.  Non-dummies eventually realize that trading time for money is indeed extremely dumb and that there must be a better way.  And of course there is a better way.  The key is to de-couple your value from your time.

Smart people build systems that generate income 24/7, especially passive income.  This can include starting a business, building a web site, becoming an investor, or generating royalty income from creative work.  The system delivers the ongoing value to people and generates income from it, and once it’s in motion, it runs continuously whether you tend to it or not.  From that moment on, the bulk of your time can be invested in increasing your income (by refining your system or spawning new ones) instead of merely maintaining your income.

Sure it takes some upfront time and effort to design and implement your own income-generating systems.  But you don’t have to reinvent the wheel — feel free to use existing systems like network marketing and affiliate programs.  Once you get going, you won’t have to work so many hours to support yourself.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be out having dinner with your spouse, knowing that while you’re eating, you’re earning money?  If you want to keep working long hours because you enjoy it, go right ahead.  If you want to sit around doing nothing, feel free.  As long as your system continues delivering value to others, you’ll keep getting paid whether you’re working or not.

Your local bookstore is filled with books containing workable systems others have already designed, tested, and debugged.  Nobody is born knowing how to start a business or generate investment income, but you can easily learn it.  How long it takes you to figure it out is irrelevant because the time is going to pass anyway.  You might as well emerge at some future point as the owner of income-generating systems as opposed to a lifelong wage slave.  This isn’t all or nothing.  If your system only generates a few hundred dollars a month, that’s a significant step in the right direction.

2. Limited experience.

You might think it’s important to get a job to gain experience.  But that’s like saying you should play golf to get experience playing golf.  You gain experience from living, regardless of whether you have a job or not.  A job only gives you experience at that job, but you gain ”experience” doing just about anything, so that’s no real benefit at all.  Sit around doing nothing for a couple years, and you can call yourself an experienced meditator, philosopher, or politician.

The problem with getting experience from a job is that you usually just repeat the same limited experience over and over.  You learn a lot in the beginning and then stagnate.  This forces you to miss other experiences that would be much more valuable.  And if your limited skill set ever becomes obsolete, then your experience won’t be worth squat.  In fact, ask yourself what the experience you’re gaining right now will be worth in 20-30 years.  Will your job even exist then?

Consider this.  Which experience would you rather gain?  The knowledge of how to do a specific job really well — one that you can only monetize by trading your time for money – or the knowledge of how to enjoy financial abundance for the rest of your life without ever needing a job again?  Now I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have the latter experience.  That seems a lot more useful in the real world, wouldn’t you say?

3. Lifelong domestication.

Getting a job is like enrolling in a human domestication program.  You learn how to be a good pet.

Look around you.  Really look.  What do you see?  Are these the surroundings of a free human being?  Or are you living in a cage for unconscious animals?  Have you fallen in love with the color beige?

How’s your obedience training coming along?  Does your master reward your good behavior?  Do you get disciplined if you fail to obey your master’s commands?

Is there any spark of free will left inside you?  Or has your conditioning made you a pet for life?

Humans are not meant to be raised in cages.  You poor thing…

4. Too many mouths to feed.

Employee income is the most heavily taxed there is.  In the USA you can expect that about half your salary will go to taxes.  The tax system is designed to disguise how much you’re really giving up because some of those taxes are paid by your employer, and some are deducted from your paycheck.  But you can bet that from your employer’s perspective, all of those taxes are considered part of your pay, as well as any other compensation you receive such as benefits.  Even the rent for the office space you consume is considered, so you must generate that much more value to cover it.  You might feel supported by your corporate environment, but keep in mind that you’re the one paying for it.

Another chunk of your income goes to owners and investors.  That’s a lot of mouths to feed.

It isn’t hard to understand why employees pay the most in taxes relative to their income.  After all, who has more control over the tax system?  Business owners and investors or employees?

You only get paid a fraction of the real value you generate.  Your real salary may be more than triple what you’re paid, but most of that money you’ll never see.  It goes straight into other people’s pockets.

What a generous person you are!

5. Way too risky.

Many employees believe getting a job is the safest and most secure way to support themselves.

Morons.

Social conditioning is amazing.  It’s so good it can even make people believe the exact opposite of the truth.Does putting yourself in a position where someone else can turn off all your income just by saying two words (“You’re fired”) sound like a safe and secure situation to you?  Does having only one income stream honestly sound more secure than having 10?

The idea that a job is the most secure way to generate income is just silly.  You can’t have security if you don’t have control, and employees have the least control of anyone.  If you’re an employee, then your real job title should beprofessional gambler.

6. Having an evil bovine master.

When you run into an idiot in the entrepreneurial world, you can turn around and head the other way.  When you run into an 'idiot' in the corporate world, you have to turn around and say, “Sorry, boss.”

Did you know that the word boss comes from the Dutch word baas, which historically means master?  Another meaning of the word boss is “a cow or bovine.”  And in many video games, the boss is the evil dude that you have to kill at the end of a level.

So if your boss is really your evil bovine master, then what does that make you?  Nothing but a turd in the herd.

Who’s your daddy?

7. Begging for money.

When you want to increase your income, do you have to sit up and beg your master for more money?  Does it feel good to be thrown some extra Scooby Snacks now and then?

Or are you free to decide how much you get paid without needing anyone’s permission but your own?

If you have a business and one customer says “no” to you, you simply say “next.”

8. An inbred social life.

Many people treat their jobs as their primary social outlet.  They hang out with the same people working in the same field.  Such incestuous relations are social dead ends.  An exciting day includes deep conversations about the company’s switch from Sparkletts to Arrowhead, the delay of Microsoft’s latest operating system, and the unexpected delivery of more Bic pens.  Consider what it would be like to go outside and talk to strangers.  Ooooh… scary!  Better stay inside where it’s safe.

If one of your co-slaves gets sold to another master, do you lose a friend?  If you work in a male-dominated field, does that mean you never get to talk to women above the rank of receptionist?  Why not decide for yourself whom to socialize with instead of letting your master decide for you?  Believe it or not, there are locations on this planet where free people congregate.  Just be wary of those jobless folk — they’re a crazy bunch!

9. Loss of freedom.

It takes a lot of effort to tame a human being into an employee.  The first thing you have to do is break the human’s independent will.  A good way to do this is to give them a weighty policy manual filled with nonsensical rules and regulations.  This leads the new employee to become more obedient, fearing that s/he could be disciplined at any minute for something incomprehensible.  Thus, the employee will likely conclude it’s safest to simply obey the master’s commands without question.  Stir in some office politics for good measure, and we’ve got a freshly minted mind slave.

As part of their obedience training, employees must be taught how to dress, talk, move, and so on.  We can’t very well have employees thinking for themselves, now can we?  That would ruin everything.Manager forbid you should put a plant on your desk when it’s against the company policy.  Oh no, it’s the end of the world!  Siti has a plant on her desk!  Summon the enforcers!  Send Siti back for another round of sterility training!

Free human beings think such rules and regulations are silly of course.  The only policy they need is:  “Be faithful. Be smart.  Be nice.  Do what you love.  Have fun.”

10. Becoming a coward.

Have you noticed that employed people have an almost endless capacity to whine about problems at their companies?  But they don’t really want solutions – they just want to vent and make excuses why it’s all someone else’s fault.  It’s as if getting a job somehow drains all the free will out of people and turns them into spineless cowards.  If you can’t call your boss a jerk now and then without fear of getting fired, you’re no longer free.  You’ve become your master’s property.

When you work around cowards all day long, don’t you think it’s going to rub off on you?  Of course it will.  It’s only a matter of time before you sacrifice the noblest parts of your humanity on the altar of fear:  first courage… then honesty… then honor and integrity… and finally your independent will.  You sold your humanity for nothing but an illusion.  And now your greatest fear is discovering the truth of what you’ve become.

I don’t care how badly you’ve been beaten down.  It is never too late to regain your courage.  Never!

Still want a job?

If you’re currently a well-conditioned, well-behaved employee, your most likely reaction to the above will be defensiveness.  It’s all part of the conditioning.  But consider that if the above didn’t have a grain of truth to it, you wouldn’t have an emotional reaction at all.  This is only a reminder of what you already know.  You can deny your cage all you want, but the cage is still there.  Perhaps this all happened so gradually that you never noticed it until now… like a lobster enjoying a nice warm bath.

If any of this makes you mad, that’s a step in the right direction.  Anger is a higher level of consciousness than apathy, so it’s a lot better than being numb all the time.  Any emotion — even confusion — is better than apathy.  If you work through your feelings instead of repressing them, you’ll soon emerge on the doorstep of courage.  And when that happens, you’ll have the will to actually do something about your situation and start living like the powerful human being you were meant to be instead of the domesticated pet you’ve been trained to be.

Happily jobless

What’s the alternative to getting a job?  The alternative is to remain happily jobless for life and to generate income through other means.  Realize that you earn income by providing value — not time – so find a way to provide your best value to others, and charge a fair price for it.  One of the simplest and most accessible ways is to start your own business.  Whatever work you’d otherwise do via employment, find a way to provide that same value directly to those who will benefit most from it.  It takes a bit more time to get going, but your freedom is easily worth the initial investment of time and energy.  Then you can buy your own Scooby Snacks for a change.

And of course everything you learn along the way, you can share with others to generate even more value.  So even your mistakes can be monetized.

One of the greatest fears you’ll confront is that you may not have any real value to offer others.  Maybe being an employee and getting paid by the hour is the best you can do.  Maybe you just aren’t worth that much.  That line of thinking is all just part of your conditioning.  It’s absolute nonsense.  As you begin to dump such brainwashing, you’ll soon recognize that you have the ability to provide enormous value to others and that people will gladly pay you for it.  There’s only one thing that prevents you from seeing this truth — fear.

All you really need is the courage to be yourself.  Your real value is rooted in who you are, not what you do.  The only thing you need actually do is express your real self to the world.  You’ve been told all sort of lies as to why you can’t do that.  But you’ll never know true happiness and fulfillment until you summon the courage to do it anyway.

The next time someone says to you, “Get a job,” I suggest you to reply  “No, please… not that!  Anything but that!”  Then poke him right in the eyes.

You already know deep down that getting a job isn’t what you want.  So don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise.  Learn to trust your inner wisdom, even if the whole world says you’re wrong and foolish for doing so.  Years from now you’ll look back and realize it was one of the best decisions you ever made.

Final thoughts

While I wouldn’t recommend starting an network marketing business for everyone, for many people it’s one of the best ways to generate income without a job. It has certainly worked disgustingly well for me. If you’re interested in learning more about this option contact me through my e-mail especially for those who live in Malaysia.

Jakim's answer

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Longterm Business

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Starting a Network Marketing Business

There are many things to consider when starting a network marketing business, so first a reality check and this is really important. If you start a business expecting to earn a wage from day one, no matter what business you’re in, it probably won’t happen. Why? If you expecting that when you paid the capital [package fee] then, sit back and do nothing and expecting me[us] to do the work for you, then I’m sorry to say, i'm not your guy. Additionally it is important to understand that as a business owner each week your income will vary and there will probably be some weeks where you won’t get paid at all. The main difference between a business owner and an employee is that while the employee continues to get paid a wage regardless, the business owner does not and when you start a business this is the sacrifice you must be willing to make. If you are not willing to make this sacrifice, your business (regardless of what it is) will be short lived. Business owners are generally rewarded handsomely in the long term but it is no secret among entrepreneurs that in the short term things can be tough.

A network marketing business is no different from any other business model and therefore it is important to emphasise that this business vehicle offers a long term financial solution and should not be considered a get rich quick scheme [skim cepat kaya] . If you are expecting to be earning thousands of ringgits within your first few months in return for a part-time effort, there is a fair chance you’ll be disappointed and I would be cautious of anyone who tries to tell you otherwise, the reason being that it is difficult for most of us to learn the how to and the do’s and don’ts in the business in the first few months, consider you first 6 months as you learning period, don’t give up and attends all the training provided by the company, for example, Kenshido International and Edata Networks provide numerous training and workshop to help and prepare our new distributer/ e-learning consultant to be successful. Some of the training provided is S.U.W.5 [seminar usahawan wave 5] to introduce our consultants on our products and marketing plan and T.T.C [table talk closing] to help and train our consultant to speak on their own and many more. Don’t get us wrong, yes it is possible to earn very good money using a network marketing business in a short period of time, however for the majority of people it takes time.

This information is not to discourage people from looking at a network marketing business, as arguably it is the simplest and most affordable method of achieving financial freedom. Instead it is to educate and reinforce the message that network marking offers a long term financial solution and therefore you should be willing to make a long term commitment to get your desired results. The good news is that perseverance pays off, the sacrifices you make today, will pay you back many times over in the years to come. Network marketing is a business model that promises high profit for low capital and had change the life of over 5,500 people in Malaysia  from commoners to millionaires.

The Initial Challenge for all Network Marketing Businesses

You’ve just start your new business and it would appear that you have already encountered your first challenge – cashflow. The biggest problem that most people will face early in their new business is that you seem to be spending money to help get your business established, but you are yet to see a return on investment (ie you’re not earning anything yet). Does this differ from any other business model? No, all new businesses encounter this same problem, particularly if they don’t have the financial backing to start with. The advantage of starting a network marking business is that it is probably costing you under $100/week to maintain, if you had started out renting a shop front or in a franchise, it could be costing you thousands. Additionally your network marketing business offers you an uncapped earning potential and a leveraged income and therefore it doesn’t get any better. However, in Score A program, you only need to buy our portal [even one set] to start your home based business and there is no membership fee.

Any traditional business owner will tell you that when you first start your own business, you can expect it to cost you for the first couple of months (be in the red). In fact most small to medium size business are in the red for a number of years before they start to earn positive cash flow and this helps to explain why so many small businesses close down within the first 5 years. The good news is that unlike most business adventures, if you’re actively working your new network marketing business it shouldn’t take long before you to start to see a return on investment, most likely in the first few 

months you will have your positive income.

Understanding the Big Picture

When you start out in any business it is important to keep the big picture in mind and understand that while you may be seriously underpaid when you first start out (eg work 10 hours to make $10) in the long term, network marketing also allows you to become seriously well paid once your business is established. Over time you could easily be earning up to $500 per hour. Essentially as your downline and customer base continues to grow, the power of leverage will allow your residual income to grow exponentially.

A good way to visualise this is process is in the exponential graph featured below.

People fail in business because they expect success to happen, what they fail to realise is the success comes to those who make it happen and in network marketing a consistent, part time effort, over time can reward you handsomely. There is no one in this world that could argue that the network marketing business model doesn’t work, as each day it helps to establish more and more millionaires, over 5,500 in Malaysia alone. Anyone who fails at network marketing does so not because the business model doesn’t work, but because they (the business owner) chose not to go to work. People who drop out of network marketing do so because they either weren’t committed enough, or were not willing to persevere. Everybody in any given network marketing company has exactly the same products, the same comp plan and the same tools, the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is the individuals commitment, dedication and persistence towards achieving their success.

Goal + Action = Result

Robert Allen is a famous author responsible for publishing the largest selling financial success books of all time. But if you take the time to listen to his story it was evident that Robert had the big picture in his mind all along. In 1980 Robert publish a book titled “Nothing Down: How to Buy Real Estate with Little or No Money Down” and although it became the greatest selling real estate investment book in history, Robert spent well over 1000 hours writing it before he made any money.

While Robert was making the necessary sacrifices to write his book he admits that there were teenagers at MacDonald’s earning more money than he was and although it took two years before the money started to role in, it was definitively worth the wait. Today, Robert continues to earn royalties and has been paid millions and millions of dollars in return for the time it took to write this book. Just like Robert, smart businessmen see the big picture and are willing to sacrifice short-term pain for long-term gain.

Going forward what does this mean? Just like any other business model in network marketing you will need to make a long term commitment to get results. Additionally you can probably expect that in your first couple of months that you will experience a negative cash-flow and that it will take time to establish your business. Keeping the big picture in mind, over time the growth of your business will start to become exponential as the power leverage begins to take effect. Only then will you be rewarded financially for all your ground work

.

Essentially when you first start out in your network marketing business you will need to make a commitment for at least your first year and give your business the concerted effort it needs to become established. If you can get every new recruit to do the same, everybody in your organisation will be rewarded handsomely. Remember when prospecting your goal is to find the right people not just the willing.

Although we should work towards achieving the big picture it is important to remember that “perseverance is not a long race, it is many short races one after another.” Identify your long term goals and set little goals along the way to help you achieve it, overtime your pay check will start to grow exponentially.

Is Network Marketing a Pyramid Scheme?

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If not, what's the difference between network marketing and a pyramid scheme?

Let me guess, somebody has just approached you and asked you to join their network marketing business and your instant thought was - is this one of those pyramid scams? So, you are no difference when compared to me. When my friend introduce me to score a program,network marketing under Kenshido International, my first thought is that this is pyramid scheme and not going to last long. so, i refused to listen to any explaination they offered to share with me. However, somehow i come across with   Kenshido Syariah Compliance about their plan marketing,i read it and  then i myself join this network marketing on my  own.8


You made the right decision to do some research and be concerned, because pyramid schemes are illegal and can put you in to a lot of trouble. The good news is that network marketing or multi-level marketing is a legitimate and legal business model. On this page we will help you to identify the differences between network marketing and pyramid schemes, including a checklist of things to look for.

To start with we will review the similarities and then work to distinguish the two.

Generally, the initial concern for people when introduced to a network marketing opportunity is when they see the compensation plan which resembles a pyramid in shape. Instantly they fear the worst as they draw a resemblance to illegal pyramid schemes. The truth is that this pyramid structure is the same as every other sustainable business model across the world. This is best highlighted in the diagram below (figure 1.)

figure 1

Is it the shape of the business model that dictates whether a business model is illegal?

No, of course not. If this were true every profitable company, government,and school would be illegal and shut down. It is not so much the shape of the pyramid that people should be concerned about, more the way in which the pyramid is created that distinguishes whether or not it is legal. Let’s review.

Pyramid Scheme (illegal scam)

A pyramid scheme can be defined as a fraudulent money-making scheme that is based on a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme without a legitimate product or service being delivered. Eventually the number of new recruits fails to sustain the payment structure and the scheme collapses with most people losing the money they paid in.

In a more practical sense, probably the easiest way to identify pyramid schemes is firstly there is no legitimate product or service involved (ie you do not get a legitimate product in return for your initial investment). The second way to identify pyramid schemes is that you do not get a financial return unless you have successfully introduced a number of new recruits into the pyramid. Basically, pyramid schemes concentrate on the money that you could earn by recruiting new people into the pyramid and generally ignore the marketing and selling of any products or services.

Network Marketing (legitimate, legal business model)

The concept behind network marketing is a distribution model that allows a company to sell their products directly to the consumer. Choosing to use a word of mouth approach (networking) instead of advertising through traditional streams (eg media). Therefore instead of paying the media for advertising, network marketing companies are structured to reward distributors through commission in return for selling their products and finding new customers.

Therefore the main focus of a network marketing company is product distribution. In fact, in a legitimate network marketing company, distributors are not required to recruit new distributors in order to earn a commission, they can earn money purely by selling the company’s product.

Although distributors can choose to sell the company’s products to earn their commissions, not everybody wants to be a sales person and therefore choose to recruit more distributors into their organisation as a means to build their referral base. Not only does this create a group of loyal customers, it also allows you to leverage the efforts of others to create a residual stream of income.

“I would rather earn 1% of 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts”
- John Paul Getty (American Billionaire)

Therefore the recruiting element of a network marketing business is merely a way of distributing more products and helping to build a leveraged income.

Why do distributors in network marketing normally receive a commission when a new recruit joins their organisation?

To join a network marketing company you have to purchase an initial start up kit. This kit usually includes training, some sales and management tools to assist you to build your business, and a certain amount of product. Because there is a certain amount of product included in the start up kit, the sponsoring distributor is now entitled to a commission. For example, when becoming associated with a network marketing company there are normally a number of different business options available, what’s the main difference between the cheap business options and the more expensive ones? The amount of product you receive in the package, that is the more you spend up front, the more product you receive as part of your initial package and the greater the commission the sponsoring distributor is now entitled to.

The opposite is also true, most network marketing companies now offer a very low start up option where you do not have to purchase any product to get started, just the training and business tools. In this scenario the sponsoring distributor does not receive any commission in return for you joining their organisation, they do however now have a new distributor (and customer) who they introduced to the business and therefore any future product that is bought or sold by this new recruit is eligible for commission.

In summary, when trying to understand network marketing, distributors are paid a commission - not for recruiting new members, but for the amount of product that is sold through their organisation. Therefore recruiting new members into a network marketing company is purely a way of expanding the distributor’s network and customer base. Any commission made through recruiting new members is a result of the product sold in the start up package and not for the recruiting itself.

Another big distinction between pyramid schemes and network marketing is the fairness of good maths. To prevent network marketing companies from falling over like pyramid schemes (where people at the top make all the money and people at the bottom lose everything), there are restrictions placed in the network marketing company’s compensation plan that limit the number of people who can earn a commission off any given sale. Basically there are only so many ways you can split a dollar, therefore, network marketing commissions only travel so far. This not only makes the business model sustainable but also makes it fair in the sense that it doesn’t matter if you got in first or last, you have the same opportunity as everyone else.

Please bear in mind that every network marketing company’s compensation plan is structured differently. To learn more about the basic structures please refer to the compensation plan chapter after finishing this page.

So in summary, despite the fact that network marketing and pyramid schemes share a few similarities (i.e. the pyramid shaped business model shown in figure 1, and that in both you can recruit new members) network marketing is a legitimate business opportunity and one where you can earn a substantial legal income. You don’t have to take our word for it, network marketing is now being endorsed by a number of leading businessmen worldwide.

“If I lost everything and had to start again, I would find myself a great network marketing company and get to work!”
- Donald Trump (David Letterman Show)

A word of advice when looking into a network marketing business opportunity - unfortunately some pyramid schemes have tried to mimic the network marketing business model before being discovered as fraudulent, therefore you have every right to be initially concerned. For your benefit we have put together a list of questions that you can ask yourself prior to signing the dotted line to help you identify a legitimate company from a fake one.

In particular, the following 2 questions:

1. Is there a legitimate product involved? 
   What do you get in return for your start up investment, other then the potential to earn good money? If you're not getting a product or service or if the training tools appear to be overpriced you could have discovered a scam. For more information about recommend products please refer to the "choosing the right product" chapter.
   
2. Do you get commissions based on product distribution or on recruitment? 
   If they are paying commissions based purely on recruitment, walk away now.

Additionally, you should also consider the following factors that might influence long term success.
Be aware of hype and ground floor opportunities

Although some people might claim you earn more money if you get in first, this is never the case and these are companies that normally fold within the first couple of years. It is much safer to join a company with a proven track record.

Does the company have a proven track record?

If the company has been around for a few years then there is a fair chance that governing bodies that police pyramid schemes have already pulled the business model apart and given them the ok. Publicly traded companies are normally your best bet.

Will the company buy back any unsold product?

Most network marketing companies have a money back guarantee which means that if you are unhappy with the products you can send them back for a refund. Given that the majority of your start up kit was product, if you’re not happy with the business you should be able to send back any leftover product to refund most of your start up costs. Try network marketing and potentially become very wealthy, or if it’s not working for you send your product back for a refund, it’s a win-win! Naturally a pyramid scheme is not going to refund your money.

Is this a get rich quick scheme? 

Although there is a lot of potential to earn very good money in network marketing very few have made it quick, most make their millions through consistent effort. So if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

Shop around

If you are looking into the industry for the first time don’t be scared to look at other business models and products, particularly if you don’t know which company to join. There are many discussed within this webpage.

What training do they provide?

A good company has a solid training system.

To finish with, we strongly advise that you take the time to make your decision, don’t be pressured into joining right away, do your homework. This webpage will give you most of the information you need including background into the industry itself, what it takes to be successful and common mistakes to avoid.

If this webpage has helped you in any way, we are glad to be of assistance. In the spirit of networking please feel free to recommend this webpage to others to help give the industry a good name.

What Is Network Marketing?

Assalamualaikum ...

Network marketing is becoming very popular among many people around the world. Here is a simple guide to understand what network marketing is. Network marketing is a simple business model in which a network marketing company distributes its service or product through the individual contractors. Network marketing is also popularly known as multi-level marketing business, tiered marketing, and affiliate marketing. There are many popular companies out there in the market that are into this business, in Malaysia, most commonly heard of is Zhulian, Uptrend, Amway and Kenshido International.

The working of network marketing can be best understood by the franchise model. In franchising, the business owners are given the rights to sell product or service with the parent company’s name and brand. Along with this, the business owners get training, support, and other necessary things required to run the business. While network marketing is not totally like the franchising, it is similar to franchise model. In the network marketing business model, the individual contractors are hired by the companies to sell the product or service and distributer make profit by selling the products to their own customers.

The key factor and most attractive offer in this business is that the individual distributer cannot only make profit by selling products, but can also expand their sales team and build a long list of downline members. This way the marketers not only make profit from the sales made by them, but also make profit from the sales made by their downline members. This business has the ability to generate revenue from multiple sources and therefore this is what makes the business so popular.

However, there are certain things that should be considered when joining the network marketing business. The first thing is the legitimacy of the company. Next is the length of period the company has been in business. Most network companies require some initial investment from the distributer set up the business so the distributer  should be ready to spend some amount on the business. Next important thing to consider is the company’s return policy and the products popularity. Finally, the distributer should analyze the compensation plan offered by the company. Other than this, the distributer can look for training and support from the company.