My Venture with MLM

I tried Multi-Level Marketing. That was two years ago, but the memory is still very fresh in my mind.

I cannot consider myself successful from that venture, however I have learned some of the most important things in life in the hardest way. Some of these are outlined here.

1. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is not a scam, however people who are doing are the" ones making it a scam. If you wish to join MLM, be sure that the company is authentic, real and does not belong to those so-called "pyramid scams."
2. People who adhere to the idea that everyone who joins MLM will succeed are doomed. Yes! MLM companies cannot guarantee you success in this venture. Your success is totally dependent on yourself. I repeat, your success is dependent in you.
3. In joining MLM, you need to learn the skills needed to become successful. You must be the BEST or else no one will join in you.
4. Those people who are outgoing, people-oriented and have strong personalities are those who have greater chances of success.
5. People who claimed that MLM needs very little capital are definitely wrong! In joining MLM, you need large amount of money to build your business.
6. They say that it's a relationship business. Yes it is. But remember, a business founded on relationship is very fragile. Once the relationship is not going well, business will surely fall.
7. Never pay for the membership of your down lines. This is my greatest mistake.

So why I am writing these? 

I am not bitter or against MLM. But I just want to guide those people who wish to join.

The bottom line is this. When you join MLM, be sure that you understand what it is all about. Don't let other people fool you. Be wise. Life is too short and our resources are limited. Evaluate your capacity. Ask yourself questions like: "Do I love doing this?", "What do I really want?"

You are the captain of your own ship, so don't ever let yourself controlled by people around who just exploit your weakness and lack of knowledge. Study. Learn. Identify your desires and wants in life and above all Trust in God.

Beware of Anything that Glitters

There is no such thing as "free" in this life. Everything has a corresponding price.

However, there are a lot of what they call as 'opportunities' that may catch our attention. They are very tricky sometimes that we may become attracted to them and focused our attention to them instead of doing what we love most. They may rob us our right when we try to assume the life of other people.

Beware! Don't let the glittering shadow fool you or else you will miss the real thing.

Dwell on the things you love, do what you want to do. Give your best, your very best! For it is the thing that we could have done but we did not give our best that we regret most.

Life is too short. Don't ever let anything deceive you from doing what you love to do.

What Do You Really Want?

Knowing your purpose is easy. However, for some people it seems that this issue is takes a so many years to understand. I also did not understand my purpose in life until I watched this video.

First and foremost, I have to convince you that everyone of us here living on this planet was created for a purpose. Each of us is unique from each other, so this means that our purpose is also unique, different from other person.

So how to we know our purpose in life? I myself have asked the same question over and over in the past.

I have burned a lot of bridges and moved away from my comfort zone in order to succeed, however I end up broken, tired and frustrated.

Until I read a very interesting book by Dr. Robert Anthony entitled "Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do." It made a sense in me.

In order to know your purpose, you must start in understanding yourself clearly. You must know the things that you love most. Do what you love, period. That's it.

Steve Jobs, Apple's Founder and CEO greatly influenced the way I think. As he clearly pointed out, do not live on other people's dogma. Trust God and trust yourself, your capacities and your aspirations. You have a reason to live, a reason that is unique and totally different from other people. Do not compare yourself to others and more importantly, do not spend your life living on the life of other people.

Life is very short. With all the bewildering "pitfalls" this life has to offer, we are sometimes tempted to adopt the purpose that is not for us. However, if you have a clear reason and purpose in mind, you will not be drawn from these pitfalls, instead you are focused to one clear goal in your life.

The reason why I have shared you this very inspiring video is that I want you to have a clear view of what to achieve in your life. And though I am still starting my journey, I am glad that I have found this new light and set my foot in the right track that leads to success.

God bless and enjoy the journey ahead!

The Starting Point

The first and the most important in the achievement of your goal is to determine your starting point. One must know his purpose in order for him to see clearly his goals in life.

As John Maxwell pointed out in his very famous book The Success Journey, the first step  is to Know Your Purpose.

Why is this important? 

One funny anecdote tells a traveler on a train who was asked by the inspector of  his ticket. The man pulled our his bag and looked for it but never find it. He looked every corner but it was all futile. When the man was already very desperate of not being able to find his ticket, the inspector kindled him not to mind that ticket because He knew he had one.

However, the desperate man responded that the reason why he is so disturbed is that he really need to find the ticket for it is the only thing that can tell where he is going!

Such a very ridiculous story. That man didn't even know where he is going.

So, do you know where are you going?

What is your purpose of existence?

In the next post, we are going to discuss this very important point.

Failure, Is It Part of the Game?

Are you broke? Or are you broken?

While looking for opportunities on the web, I have found this question that has made a life-long impact to my life.

I remember when I first received my first salary. I felt I am the happiest man on earth. I boasted and felt overconfident for the money that I have earned. I bought the things that I wanted. Spend here, spend there in order to satisfy my needs and wants.

However as time went by, I've found myself wrapped in debts, loans and other liabilities. I borrowed money in order to pay my debts, and borrowed another to pay the new debts. It is just a kind of a cycle. I want to escape, I want to move on but I cannot. It seems that the there is a centripetal force that keeps me on track.

I experienced financial crises, failures and frustrations. There were times I questioned why this happened to me.

I reasoned that this is due to my big responsibility as a breadwinner for my family. My parents don't have a stable income and I am the one who provided their needs and sent my siblings to school.

However I learned that there is no other reason for what happened to me. As William Ernest Henley  said in his very popular poem Invictus, "I am the captain of my soul," there is no other to blame except me.

Though failures sometimes robbed our most important assets, it will surely leave something more important - learning. From my failures, I learned golden ideas - priceless learning that cannot be bought with money.

And though I am broke, but I am not broken.

Here I started to pick up the shattered pieces in me. As a wounded soldier, I stand again nursing up the wounds and putting  the fragments of the past together as I face the new challenges that lie ahead.