Golf and Network Marketing

I'm not a golfer - but the rest of my family loves to golf. Seems like a waste of a beautiful day chasing a little ball around a course - especially when you slice the ball (again) and goes into the rough or a stupid sand trap. But watching the US open at Pebble Beach reminded me of a great deal of the success and failure in small business - especially in network, MLM, and Internet marketing.

Most people join an MLM or network marketing company with the purest of intentions. They want to better provide for their family, spend more time at home and overall improve the quality of their life and the lives of their loved ones. I know many wonderful and talented people (women in my circle of influence mostly) who have been working their on-line businesses for months and haven't seen a penny of income. They follow the guidelines, attend vast numbers of seminars, and spend a great deal of money on classes, products and advertising. And because no money has been made - they feel like failures.

So how does this relate to golf? Seems a little random - but it's not really. First of all, the golfers at Pebble Beach didn't start out making millions of dollars. In fact they probably didn't start playing golf with the idea of making money at all. They love the game. Their love of putting that silly little white ball just where they want it to go is what drives them forward (pardon the pun). And it's that consistent and persistent goal to get better that allows them to make the millions.

How would it make sense to anyone that if you don't love what you do or what you sell that you could make any money doing it? Making money is only the by-product of doing what you love. Sure there are people whose only goal is making money - but those people probably aren't reading this blog.

The thing is that these wonderful friends of mine have learned a great deal from their adventures in on-line business. Almost all of them, to a T, are fabulous Internet marketers and know more than 95% of the world about marketing on the Internet. They discovered and developed skill sets that they didn't know that they had. They write articles, build websites, are social media queens and net workers extraordinaire. But they still haven't made a dime.

So here's a thought for those of you who might be finding yourself in a similar situation as my friends. Stop thinking of yourself as a failure. If you don't love selling ________________ (fill in the blank) then maybe it's time to move on to your next step. Maybe now that you know how to market and have discovered new skill sets that you never knew you had, maybe it's time to stop doing what you don't like to do and start doing what you love. Market the skills you've learned to other network marketers. The good Lord has given us all gifts and talents. So market your ideas, your homemade crafts, your non-profit, your small business, your photography. Leverage the power of the Internet just like you've learned to market you.

Take a tip from those crazy golfers. Do what you love. Be consistent and persistent. Keep your eye on the ball - then swing with all your good effort.

Then yell FORE really loudly. And sooner than you think - you'll make that hole in one.

FORE!!!!!