Author Archive
Excerpt from “The Right to Lead”, by John Maxwell
Posted by: | CommentsThis is a little different. I just had to share this excerpt from a book by John Maxwell called “The Right to Lead”. No plagiarizing. These are not my words and I will give a link to the book:)
Here’s the excerpt:
What gives a man or woman the right to lead? It certainly isn’t gained by election or appointment. Having position, title, rank or degrees doesn’t qualify anyone to lead other people. And the ability doesn’t come automatically from age or experience, either.
No, it would be accurate to say that no one can be given the right to lead. The right to lead can only be earned. And that takes time.
The Kind of Leader Others Want to Follow
The key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making yourself the kind of person they want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go.
As you prepare yourself to become a better leader, use the following guidelines to help you grow:
1. Let go of your ego.
The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. Perhaps that is why Lawrence D. Bell remarked, “Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things, and I’ll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.”
2. Become a good follower first.
Rare is the effective leader who didn’t learn to become a good follower first. That is why a leadership institution such as the United States Military Academy teaches its officers to become effective followers first – and why West Point has produced more leaders than the Harvard Business School.
3. Build positive relationships.
Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. That means it is by nature relational. Today’s generation of leaders seem particularly aware of this because title and position mean so little to them. They know intuitively that people go along with people they get along with.
4. Work with excellence.
No one respects and follows mediocrity. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their all to what they do. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great passion and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.
5. Rely on discipline, not emotion.
Leadership is often easy during the good times. It’s when everything seems to be against you – when you’re out of energy, and you don’t want to lead – that you earn your place as a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sand of emotion.
6. Make adding value your goal.
When you look at the leaders whose names are revered long after they have finished leading, you find that they were men and women who helped people to live better lives and reach their potential. That is the highest calling of leadership – and its highest value.
7. Give your power away.
One of the ironies of leadership is that you become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You’re meant to be a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your grasp.
In The Right to Lead, you will hear from and read about people who have done these same things and earned the right to lead others. Because of the courage they found and the character they displayed, other people recognized their admirable qualities and felt compelled to follow them.
The followers who looked to these leaders learned from them, and so can we. As you explore their worlds and words, remember that it takes time to become worthy of followers. Leadership isn’t learned or earned in a moment.
Hope you enjoyed. I did.
Rhonda
*Note: If the aforementioned link doesn’t work, go to SimpleTruths.com.
Do We Compromise Our Integrity & Belief System As A Network Marketer?
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I want to share a story I heard today from a dear friend. This may come as a shock to some and not so much to others.
My friend shared how his sister, who has been in the nursing field for 30 years, spoke with him the other day. He asked what she was doing. She replied “I’m filling out my resume”. He proceeded to find out why.
Now this sister was approached sometime ago to take a management position for a well known medical facility. She had experience in several different fields of expertise.
She was approached by someone in a higher management position and told her they needed to speak with her. When asked what the meeting was about, she was told that some of the other managers were upset that all their nurses were coming to her for leadership and medical advice. Her manager asked her to be less of a friend and more of a manager.
Keep in mind this is a six-figure position she is in. Most people would just bow down and accept the changes. My friend’s sister asked “Are you serious that you want me to be less of a friend?” The answer was yes and she was asked to go home and consider her decision.
This is a single mom with a son in college. So she went home to consider her decision and came back the next day and turned in her resignation.
Why would someone with a six-figure position and 30 years experience with a child in college turn in their resignation over a request to change who they are?
She did this because she was not going to compromise her moral standards and what she believed in and that was being the leader she was meant to be and providing excellent patient care and advice.
Do you think she will be able to find a nursing position in another respectable hospital that cares about their staff and patients? I think so.
Too many times, we compromise what we believe in to do something we know is morally unacceptable and then wonder why we can’t sleep at night.
Is this the only time in Corporate America something like this has happened? Unfortunately, no it is not. Things like this happen everyday.
Do we need more people like my friend’s sister? You betcha. If I could, I would clone that woman 1,000,000 times.
My friend did not disclose the name of the medical facility. All I can say is that I hope I never have to end up there in her old department with a bunch of “professionals” that don’t care about my well being.
In our network marketing businesses, we are like my friend’s sister. We have been given an opportunity to be a leader and to teach others to be leaders. If someone is not willing to be teachable, it may be time to move on to the next person.
To Your Success,
Rhonda
If You’re Serious About Being a Network Marketer, Stop Selling $6.00 Romance Novels!
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I was going through my Twitter direct messages today and I couldn’t believe how many times followers try to sell you their $6.00 romance novel or their $9.95 report on “How To Make Serious Money Online”.
Now, here’s my beef: If your going to sell a report for $9.95 about making serious money online, how many of these reports do you have to sell to make serious money online? 20,000? 25,000? Can it be done? Absolutely. How many people do you know that want to give all their time for 5-10 years before they sell enough to have serious money? Personally, I can’t think of any.
When I think of serious money, I’m thinking 5 figures a month, 6-7 figures a year. Maybe I’m a minority thinker, but I doubt it.
I have a personal email I’ve had for over 10 years. Needless to say, I get tons of spam daily because this is the email I’ve used to check on different opportunities over all these years. Some of the stuff people try to sell…Come on!! It’s ridiculous, but when targeting desperate people, almost anything sells and when that innocent buyer makes a purchase, they are delivered something entirely different from what the ad was promising them in the first place. Hmm, sounds a bit like politics.
If you’re going to promote something, don’t you want to promote something of value? Something that would be life-changing for someone like a $39.95 ebook about SEO strategies, etc? Last time I checked, I don’t know too many romance novels that gave much value. I’m not knocking authors…we all have to be an author if we’re going to play the “internet games”. I just don’t think that a direct message on Twitter is the place for $6.00 romance novels.
The purpose of a direct message on Twitter is to form and build upon a relationship with a potential prospect. If you go trying to sell them a $6.00 book right out of the gate, they aren’t going to take you too seriously. If you want to promote your romance novel, send out a tweet and let the prospect decide if they want to check it out. Let’s face it, people hate to be sold to. They like to shop and if you give them a great bargain or something of value they can’t live without, they will buy.
I believe this concept is so important for people just starting out in their network marketing business because everything is like a trip through “Charlie’s Chocolate Factory”…it all looks good, but it’s not necessarily good for your business building.
If anyone else has any thoughts on this topic, I would love to hear them.
To Your Success,
Rhonda
How to “Roll” Out a Perfect Batch of Network Marketers
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Not to toot my own horn, but I’m a pretty good cook. (Thanks mom and grandma)
However, today had its possibility of proving me wrong. I’m right in the midst of making homemade yeast rolls. Got all my ingredients mixed together. Covered up my bowl. Let it sit on top of the warm stove to raise.
Now, I’m off to do some marketing on the computer, the church bulletin, etc. A couple hours have gone by and I’m thinking “Aww, it’s been plenty of time for my dough to double”. So I proceed to go check and guess what…Yep, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Now I’m having Déjà vu dreams of a Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich battle. Sheer terror falls on my head.
So I think to myself, where oh where did I go wrong:
√ Put yeast in hot water (nearly burnt my finger)
√ Just bought the yeast. Good until like November 2011
√ Flour purchased a couple weeks ago
√ Re-read recipe three times
√ Cover dough and put in a warm place
It’s all checking out so what in the world could be missing?
I start re-checking things again, but I must admit I’m in a hurry because I have got a lot to do today. Geez, surely this dough knows I’m busy.
So needless to say, I’m stressing a bit and come to find out what was missing?…Nothing was actually missing. It turns out, it was more like something being done incorrectly because I didn’t follow the recipe “exactly”. You see, sometimes it takes a little heat to get a “rise” out of something and…if you give something too much heat, you’ll “kill” it. This is just what happened. For those of you that like to bake, did you notice the first item on my checklist. Yep, “Put yeast in hot water”. Like a lobster, when I put the yeast in hot water, I killed it!!
Wrong!! I should’ve seen the red flag when I almost burnt my finger
You see, when you get yeast too hot, it kills it and you will not get a rise out of it, I don’t care how much heat you give it. Much like the people we talk to about our network marketing businesses. We may have all the ingredients, but if we get careless and try to hurry up and get a quick rise out of our prospects without following the “recipe” exactly, this is what happens:
We may just find that we turned up the heat a little too high and killed the possibility of our prospect ever being interested in what we have to offer.
Now, here’s what happens when you take the time to create an awesome team…
Um, I meant to say an awesome batch of self-rising yeast rolls.
When you take the time to read the recipe clear through and follow everything exactly, you end up with some mighty tasty rolls. It’s like your network marketing business…apply the principles (ingredients)in the right order and you can create a dish (team) that is the envy of your “recipe club”.
(Just so everyone knows, I did end up making a second batch of rolls, following the recipe exactly as it was written, and the rolls turned out “yummy”)
To Your Successful Recipe Box,
Rhonda:)
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How Long Will You Persevere For A Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich?
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Chapter 1-Network Marketer vs. “The Jelly Jar”
All I wanted for lunch today was a simple Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich. Simple, right? You get a couple pieces of bread, slap on some peanut butter and then you slap some jelly on top of that. Voila! A good old-fashioned Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich. Quick & Easy…
Wrong!! At first, it was going well. I got my bread laid out, put my peanut butter on both slices. And then…it was time for “THE JELLY”. I mean, really, how hard can it be to put some jelly on a piece of peanut butter slathered bread? A three-year old could do it, right?? Well, it was more difficult than I had anticipated.
So here we go; we’re ready for “THE JELLY”…Ready, Set, Argh!…Ready, Set, Argh!…Ok, one more time…Ready, Set, Argh! Nothing. That lid was obviously not coming off without a fight. So, I was persistent and consistent (not to mention frustrated). However, I was not giving up without a fight either. I wanted that Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich!!!
Chapter 2-Victory At Last
I decided to go round me up some posse…yep, I got me a lid “gripper”. Ok, this will do the trick. I’ve got me some help. Here we go again…Ready, Set, Argh! Still not working. Ok, let’s add a second “gripper”. Nope, not gonna budge. Ok, that is it…3 “grippers” and no more! This will work or else. I had that jar on the counter, then I had it pushing against my stomach, then back on the counter and finally, after what seemed like hours of persevering, my little homemade jelly jar finally decided to give in and I was victorious after all. (Oh, I might mention I used the hot water torture treatment also).
You’re probably wondering, was the wait worth it? Yep, best danged Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich I ever had. Why? Because I worked really hard to achieve that goal. Uh hum…I mean make that PB & J sandwich:)
Chapter 3-The Reward Is In The Sandwich
Ok, ok, I do have a moral to this story. Goes something like this:
How often do we find ourselves giving up on something just before the victory is won?
We do things like get one “No” and say “That’s it, this thing doesn’t work” and we quit.
We’re not consistent and persistent in our efforts to find that right “jelly jar” that is going to open up and become a part of our team.
Sometimes we’re gonna make a mess in the process of preparing our sandwich (i.e. learning new things), but we have just got to clean it up and move on.
Some other times, we may have to use a hot water torture treatment (aka tough love, compassion, call it whatever you want) to make that prospect/team member remember the pain of why they’re working their butts off in the beginning to be rewarded with _______________ (fill in the blank with their Why).
As I’ve said before, no one ever said network marketing would be easy or everybody would be successful. The victors are those that have an “I’m never going to quit or give up” attitude.
Chapter 4-The Final Chapter
So let me ask you again, “How long will you persevere for the best danged peanut butter & jelly sandwich you’ve ever tasted?”
The reward will be complete satisfaction and you will have learned how to defeat that “jelly jar” so you can be victorious over and over again.
May your belly be full all the time,
Rhonda 
P.S. Please do me a favor. If you enjoyed this post, please click on one or more of your favorite share buttons at the bottom of this post and share it with others. I thank you in advance.
What Type Of Fruit Is In Your Network Marketing Basket?
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Today, I was reading through my Weekly Wisdom I get in my email box from ChristNotes.org. It was talking about the fruits of the spirit…Love, Joy, Peace, etc.
I was just thinking how that can relate to our network marketing businesses. How often do we stop and check how fresh the fruit is in our businesses…Passion, Compassion, Caring, etc?
We need to ask ourselves if we are passionate about what we do. Can we tune out all the everyday noise to focus on our business? A fruit tree is passionate about soaking up the sun and rain. We should be passionate about soaking up the knowledge and vision for our future. It’s not always fun to take the heat or get our feet wet, but sometimes it’s necessary to bear the good fruit.
We should also ask ourselves if we are compassionate in our business. There’s a time to think about ourselves, but there are many more times we should be thinking about others. Keep in mind how it felt when you were brand new and uninformed. A mere little seedling that needed sun and water to grow. As you develop, it’s time to use your branches to empower others. You have to nourish that seedling (beginner) in order for it to develop into a full grown healthy piece of fruit (new leader).
Let’s not forget about caring for others. In the beginning stages of the seedling (beginner), we are like the leaves that shelter them from the elements…birds, scorching sun (naysayers). As they develop and start to ripen, they are ready to go out on their own so they are picked and provide nourishment to many.
As they ripen and are ready for picking, unfortunately, some are rotten and must be dropped from the tree (leader) so as not to affect the other bountiful fruit (those that are producing). This not only happens with fruit trees but with mankind also.
Sometimes the fallen fruit is just bruised a little and the small affected area can be cut away and the fruit can be revived to a healthy, nourishing state once again.
We must always strive to keep the fruit in our basket fresh and that means constantly adding new, fresh pieces of fruit.
May your basket always be overflowing with fresh fruit,
Rhonda
Sandra Bullock Divorces Jesse James!!
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I know you’re thinking “What does that have to do with internet marketing?” Actually it has a lot to do with it.
Did you know the term “Sandra Bullock” was the #1 trending topic on Yahoo today? How did it get to be #1 you ask? The answer is simple: Everyone is talking about it. It even beat out the search for “NFL Draft”. Sorry guys 
(Just for the record, a divorce between Sandra Bullock and Jesse James is only talk, not a fact at this point.)
So is everyone talking about you or what you have to offer? Are you afraid to put yourself out there? Wouldn’t it be great to be the #1 trending topic on Yahoo? (In a different way of course:)
Lots of questions, I know. However, I don’t about you, but I’ve had the concept of “You, Inc” preached to me for about a year now, which is a great thing. It’s not easy to rank for a name, especially when the name ends in Miller:)
However, I am now ranking on Page 1 of Google for my name and I have been competing with another Rhonda Miller who is a well known choreographer/dancer. I’ve also been competing with a lawyer and a couple of doctors.
I have done this by driving traffic to my blog site, which has my name in it – obviously. If you don’t have a blog, I suggest you start one and try to get your domain name as your name or at least with your name in it like I did. Otherwise, you are missing out on a lot of SEO marketing. Personally I use Wordpress. There are tons of options out there, but Wordpress seems to be great if you are a beginner.
As for Sandra, I wish her all the best
To Your Success,
Rhonda
Is Social Media An Internet Playground…What Do You Think?
Posted by: | CommentsI read lots of articles with lots of different opinions about social media.
Some say it’s just a waste of time; it’s something for kids to do; you won’t build a lucrative business from chatting about the weather with a bunch of people you don’t know.
Others say it’s a relationship building source, which is the true key to long-term business relationships.
What do you think? I would love to know the different ways everyone views social media. Be specific if you wish.
Please leave your comments below and let others know how you use social media.
Have a Socially Acceptable Day,
Rhonda
Why Are Network Marketers Hated?
Posted by: | CommentsDoes it usually seem that unless you’re confronting another network marketer, people instantly hit their “turn on my shield” button? Reminds me a little of the daughter, Violet, from the movie “The Incredibles”.
I believe the reason most people turn and run is because for the last 30-40 years we’ve been taught, as network marketers, to recruit friends & family, abide by the 3-foot rule and lie to people when inviting them to an office or hotel meeting. Over time, everyone gets fed up with these approaches. I know my family got sick & tired of being approached with every opportunity I started. You can become like “the little boy who cried wolf”…people will start ignoring you and blowing you off for everything for fear of being prospected.
The trouble with most organizations is they try to get the new recruits to “duplicate” what the seasoned members are doing. The problem is the new person ends up trying to duplicate the person, not the system.
Everyone thinks they have to be better or keep up with the person teaching them. This isn’t going to happen and this is why people quit and put a “Bad Review” out there for all of the 97% to read. I tell the people I talk to upfront “This is going to take some time so you need to give it a fair chance”. Hence: Just be yourself. Don’t try to be someone else because you will fail everytime.
You Mean I Can Just Be Me?
Being yourself is what attracts other like-minded people to you. Isn’t this what you want? The great thing about the network marketing industry is that we get to pick and choose the people we want to work with. It’s “our” business. If you can’t relate to your business partners, they’re not going to remain business partners very long. They’re going to become disgruntled and, OOPS, there comes another “bad review”.
In my experience, most people are looking for someone who is a real person, not someone who lies to them to get them to sign up for their biz opp and then expects them to repeat that same process. Your prospects just wants someone to care about them and their troubles. -Here comes that listening thing you need to get good at-. How many times have you heard “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. Don’t try to sell your product, sell yourself. This is what people are buying into.
I Have To Recruit How Many?
And what is up with trying to recruit a 100 people per month. How in the world do you think you can possibly work efficiently with that many people every month?? Unless you have an army trained to mentor them, they are going to go AWOL. I hate to sound like a broken record, but you know what happens when they go AWOL on you, they write another “bad review” that tarnishes your name and your company’s name. As much as we want to save everyone, you can only save the ones that are willing to be saved.
Like I said before, it takes time. Don’t try to be mysterious to the people you talk to, tell them the facts and the fact is: It’s going to take some time to learn a new skill and become good at it. Usually the overnight success stories are already about someone who is somewhat versed in their particular area or they’re just a natural. However, the other 99.9% are not; so don’t lie to them pleeeeez. When they ask me how long it will take, I’m big on returning a couple remarks: 1) “I don’t know; it depends on your work ethic”. 2) “How long did it take you to finish school when you first started?”.
Let’s be fair and honest with ourselves and our prospects. Maybe then we can keep the “bad reviews” at a minimum. Network marketing is really a great experience if you are willing to be coachable and then to be a good coach.
To Your Success,
Rhonda
P.S. I would love for you to share some success stories below. Just leave a comment with a good story that might just help someone else.
Leadership Action Plan
Posted by: | CommentsOur company just had the most amazing leadership call. Sometimes I think we tend to forget why we’re doing what we’re doing.
If you don’t know what your “WHY” is, then how are you going to know why you’re doing that thing you do. I think we sometimes get caught up in being active, but we do not know why we’re doing the action, therefore, it’s more like being busy than being action oriented.
Right before the leadership call, I had read an article by Jay Kubassek talking about showing up to his office and noticing a sign on the neighbor’s door about being shut down due to massive back rent not being paid. Now I would venture to say this business, at one time, was busy, but for some unknown reason, there was no “WHY” in their reason they were in business.
It is said that a man can grow his income exponentially, but if he does not work on himself, that income will come right back down to the same level as the business owner. Unfortunately for this business, it was too late. I don’t want it to be too late for me or for you.
We are only given one day at a time. Once that day is over, we can never get it back. I would guess that 97% of the population was never brought up on a planned schedule. I mean a schedule where you plan the following day hour by hour. Is the schedule always going to be perfect; are there things that happen in life? Yes, but how much time do you honestly spend being busy getting nothing done? We’ve all heard the saying “Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day”. Why, then, has the 3% rule always been in effect, meaning that the majority of the wealth has always belonged to the top 3% of the population?
I’ll tell you why, it’s because the 3% doesn’t listen to the 97%. The 3% does what the 97% won’t. As Jim Rohn would say in his early days, “I sure hope things will change”. Then he learned that the only way things were going to change is when he changed.
You have to figure out your “WHY”; then you have to figure out the purpose and reward for your “why”; then you have to figure out how achieving that reward will make you feel; and finally you have to figure out your massive plan of action to get you there. If you don’t know how to do this, ASK how to do it. You cannot get your questions answered if they are never asked. On a personal note, the size of your question determines the size of your answer.
Here’s a handful of things I do:
• I have a note on my bathroom mirror that says “What did I produce today?”
• I spend 30-40 minutes every morning reading something to empower me for that day
• Another thing I have is a whiteboard that has my “WHY’s”, dates to achieve them and how much income I need to get me there.
• I have pictures of my goals posted everywhere. This can be magazine cutouts, printouts from the computer, etc. Put them in areas you frequent daily like the bathroom mirror, the kitchen cabinets, the frig, the TV:) (I don’t have any there because I don’t watch much TV). Tape them in your car. Put them on the ceiling above your bed. Whatever it’s going to take to keep you focused on your “Why”. I think you get the idea.
Now you might say “I don’t have time to do all of that. I only have an hour, maybe two per night”. Okay, you may have 1-2 hours per night, but what are you doing when you’re eating breakfast, what do you do at lunch? I don’t know about you, but I can read and eat at the same time if that’s what it takes to incorporate a small amount of personal development time into changing my future.
What about the commute to work? Turn off the radio and turn your vehicle into a mobile university. Put in a tape or CD. MP3 players are readily available now. Download some personal development and listen to it during your commute, while you cook, while you clean, etc. How strong is your desire to change?
Now let’s look at what you are doing with those 1-2 hours per night? Do they consist of reading e-mails, listening to a training call, organizing your desk neatly? Those are not action items. If you need to check emails, end supper 15 minutes early and be diligent about skimming the emails; read the important ones and delete the not-so-important ones or leave them for checking on the weekend. I can tell you this has made a big difference in the extra amount of time I have.
Now, for that 1-2 hours per night you have…you should be working on whatever methods of advertising you have chosen to “act” upon. If you have made a commitment to work on your business 1-2 hours every night, then have some sticktoitiveness. If you’re tired, which are you more tired of; being physically tired or being sick and tired?
Finally, ask yourself “Was I productive or busy?” – “Who would follow me?” – “Would I want me on my team?” Be honest with yourself. Your action plan could change someone else’s life; maybe even your own.
To Your Success,
Rhonda
