Building Your Network Marketing Business is Not a Sprint - It's a Marathon

Are you building your network marketing business going full speed like you would run a sprint?

I’m back in the saddle again after an enjoyable break. I cheated a little and did not totally keep away (from the computer) like I had planned originally but I did take it very easy. And I took a lot of time to think. I guess, I really needed that. Both, the break and the time to think. I was going full speed ahead, always afraid I’d miss something if I didn’t and I lost myself along the way.

I am a very competitive sort of person. I hate to be left behind and I hate to lose. I am also very driven which, I guess, goes right along with being competitive.

Take time to smell the daisies while building your network marketing business.

I used to keep insane hours, working from when I first got up until going to bed. Notice, I said “used to” because there will be some changes from here on forward.

“Working” didn’t mean 12 hours of income producing activities. A lot of the time was spent on learning new things, growing my list and driving traffic to this blog. While these activities eventually mean income, they will take time.

Building your network marketing business takes many different activities. There are a lot of pieces to the  puzzle. Each one of them important to make the picture complete. But it is not a sprint. It’s a marathon.

Before I went on break I had drawn out my goals for the rest of the year. Going over them again now, I realized that I have set my deadlines very tight. Too tight. On purpose, because I wanted to reach my goals faster. But why really? Just so I can prove to myself that I can do it? Nonsense. I’ve proven that many times over. The first time I was 10 years old. I think it’s time to “live a little.”

You can’t run a marathon from the start to the finish line like you would run a sprint, at your top speed. You would never get there. You will have to pace yourself through the 26 miles, taking in some water along the way to keep you hydrated.

I know that some of you reading this blog post are just like me, building your network marketing business going at it at full speed. I know, because  I read your blogs. If you can keep it up through the finish line good for you. But the likelihood is pretty slim. Most likely you will get burned out and maybe even quit.

Slowing down is perfectly okay. You don’t have to prove yourself to me or anyone else. The only person you are accountable to at the end is YOU. If you are reaching the goals you have set for yourself and you are happy with your accomplishments then that should be good enough. The important part is … to reach the finish line.

Are you pushing yourself too hard building your network marketing business just to prove to yourself (and maybe even someone else) that you can do it? That’s the way I am, but I am trying to change. When someone tells me I can’t do something, I am bound and determined to prove them wrong. Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

To Your Success!

Ilka Flood
The EnlightenedNetworker

P.S. If you found value in this post, please share it with your friends. Be sweet – retweet!

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Self-discipline Key to Achieving Your Goals

Achieving your goals is a lot easier if you practice self-discipline on a daily basis.

Let me explain what I mean by that.

I got up this morning and looked at my “To Do List” for today. It’s not very long, but there are some items on it which I really dislike doing. However, they are important tasks that I need to do in order to move my business forward.

Now, would it really make such a big difference if I just skipped today and had some fun instead? At first thought, no, probably not.

BUT … who is to say that I wouldn’t feel like skipping them again tomorrow? What if tomorrow, I feel the same way as today and I just don’t feel like doing them … again?

That would set me back two days in achieving my goals.

Well, okay, two days. Big deal! What’s all the fuzz about?

I will tell you what the fuzz is about. If I skipped today, and tomorrow, then skipping another couple of days down the road won’t be such a ‘big deal’ either. Do you see a pattern here? It’s the pattern of mediocrity.

Temptation, the mother of breaking the rules …

Just think about it this way. You are on a diet and your kids want you to bake some brownies. You stir up the ingredients, pour the mix in the pan and stick it into the oven. Nothing to it, right?

However, after just a short while the aroma of the baking brownies fills the air and you can hardly wait until they are done.

You think to yourself, “I’m only going to have one. One little brownie isn’t going to make much of a difference.”

You take your first bite and that brownie just melts in your mouth. “Hmmm, delicious!”

“Okay“, you say, “let me have just one more. One more little brownie isn’t going to do any damage.”

And there, in an instant, you blew your diet.

The next day you get on the scale and find out you just had undone what you had been working on so hard all week. Was it worth it? I doubt it.

If you give in once to your temptations, it’s easier to do it a second, a third and a fourth time and so on.

That’s where self-discipline comes in.

You can’t give in!

You’ve got to stick to the plan you’ve laid out to achieving your goals.

You do have a plan, right? I’m sure you’ve heard the saying,  …

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

Or, … “If you aim at nothing, you’re sure going to hit it.”

Did you know that only 3% of adults have written goals and plans how to get there? And, they earn more than the other 97% put together.

That is why achieving your goals first requires writing them down on paper and then the self-discipline to work on them on a daily basis. Without skipping even a single day. Of course setting realistic goals makes them a lot easier to achieve.

This post was inspired by a link that dropped into my inbox this morning. An exert of Brian Tracy’s book:

“The Power of Discipline – 7 Ways It Can Change Your Life”

Enjoy reading it. I am sure it will help you in achieving your goals. It sure saved my day.

To Your Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. You don’t have to share this post, but if you do, you might just encourage someone to sticking to their plan and achieving their goals. So please go ahead and click the Re-Tweet and Facebook Share buttons above. Thank you!

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By Jack Canfield

1. An affirmation is a positive statement affirming your being in the state of having already accomplished the goal.
2. So many affirmations out there. Why not create your own? Start with the words “I am” and remember to use present tense.
3. Remember, affirmations CHANGE things. They Release the Brakes (and the breaks) and change your limiting beliefs.
4. Remember to state affirmations in the positive. Affirm what you WANT, not what you don’t want.
5. Affirmations program your subconscious mind.
6. Keep your affirmations brief and repeat it often! Carry it in your pocket. Post-it to your steering wheel. Send it to your own voice mail.
7. The Law of Attraction is INTENSIFIED by affirmations.
8. Include an action word for your affirmations (ending in ing).
9. Include at least one DYNAMIC emotion or feeling word in your affirmations.
10. Use affirmations to greatly accelerate your success.
11. Make affirmations for YOURSELF (not others).
12. Use affirmations to create the life you DREAM of.

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