Building a network marketing business is tough. Nobody said it was going to be easy.  Well, if someone did, they were not telling you the truth. It’s an uphill battle at first, but then it gets to the fun part…the part where “you can sleep when the wind blows.”

During that first part you are often tempted to quit. Don’t give in to temptation. Nothing worth having comes easy. In the beginning of building your network marketing business you do a lot of work and get only paid a little. But if you don’t quit if you keep your eye on the price and work hard then eventually you will reach a stage when you work very little in your business and get paid a lot.

Let me share a little story with you that will paint a picture in your mind you can pull up when things get tough, when you get frustrated, when doubt sets in and you are tempted to just “throw the towel.” Trust me, I’ve been there, plenty of times….

Do You Sleep When the Wind Blows?

Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the region, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received nothing but refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer.

“Are you a good farm hand?” the farmer asked him. Well, I sleep when the wind blows, answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!” The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I sleep when the wind blows.”

Enraged by the old man’s response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, and he returned to bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

~Author Unknown~

I love inspirational stories like this one and I hope you liked it too. I think of it when I hit a rough spot, when things don’t go the way I would like them to go. It compels me to push right through; it reminds me to not give up. Quitting is not an option, no matter what.  Because for one I don’t like the alternative, and two, I would like to sleep when the wind blows, meaning never have to worry about money ever again….And I’m not there yet.

So, how about you are you willing to do whatever it takes, so one day you don’t have to worry about money ever again? Make some noise in the comment section below. You know I always love your feedback.

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

No related posts.

I know people always make fun of his accent, because after all these years that he has been living in the United States it is still very strong. But behind that heavy Austrian accent is a very smart man, and a very successful man.  Not only in the world of sports or Hollywood but also in business and politics.

So I think you would agree with me when I say, when Arnold Schwarzenegger shares his secrets to success he speaks with authority.

While scouring YouTube for inspirational and motivational videos the other day I came across Arnold’s “Six Secrets to Success Speech.” In it he shares 6 rules that when followed will lead to success.  They are very simple, to the point, and I’m sure you’ve heard them before.

Without further ado here they are…

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Six Secrets to Success

1. Trust Yourself!

2. Break Some Rules!

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail!

4. Don’t Listen to Naysayers!

5. Work Your Butt Off!

6. Give Something Back!

I encourage you to watch this short 4 minute video and listen to what Arnold has to say in detail about each and every one of these secrets to success.

Was I correct in assuming that you have heard all this before?

Well, all this wisdom that was just shared with you doesn’t do you any good if you don’t act on it. One of my favorite quotes about taking action is this one by Mark Twain….

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”

You only have ONE life to live. So listen to the little voice inside of you and trust your gut. If you want something go after it.

As Arnold says…”None of these rules work unless you do.” Take his six secrets to success to heart, work your butt off and you surely will see results.

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. 10 Principles of Success [Infographic]

To answer that question first of course you will have to pinpoint exactly what you are afraid of.

In network marketing that could be a variety of things. For example: fear of rejection; fear of talking to strangers; fear of picking up that 500 pound phone and present your opportunity to somebody you don’t know, or worse somebody you do know well.

To tell you the truth, making cold calls has always been my weak spot. I don’t like it and I haven’t done it in years. Personally, I don’t think it’s a very effective way to be prospecting because even if you are a master at it, the people you bring on to your team most likely are not.

But even if you market your network marketing business online in social networks such as Facebook, or LinkedIn, eventually you will have to take the conversation offline and that means you will have to pick up that phone to follow up with people.

So how do you overcome that fear
and pick up that phone?

There’s really no other way around than to just do it. So get over it, pick up that phone, start dialing, take a deep breath, and start talking.

When you hang up, after the conversation, you will feel….”Oh, that wasn’t so bad. Actually, that was pretty fun.”

Little girl overcomes fear of first ski jump.

I came across this incredible video of this little 4th grader’s first ski jump. She is standing up on that ramp looking down at people way below her that seem like tiny little ants. Through positive self-talk she’s trying to overcome her fear.

She’s absolutely TERRIFIED! You can hear it in her breathing and you certainly can hear the trembling in her voice as she assures herself that she can do it.

And then suddenly she’s off. At first you can still hear that fear but half-way through the run, fear gives way to the excitement of the moment…and then jubilation sets in as she completes the run.

You’ve got to watch this!…

This is one brave little girl!!

I don’t know if I could have been as brave as her at 9 years old. Most likely not. I probably would have messed my bridges up on that ramp.

The reason I shared this is because this little girl gave a great example of how to overcome your fear.

Through positive self-talk, re-assuring yourself that you will be alright and that you CAN do it…and then just doing it.

No matter what our fears are, oftentimes they are all in our head. They are holding us back from what we could become. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to look back on my life someday and think, what if?

One thing’s for sure, I’ll be thinking about this brave little girl a lot. She’ll be my poster girl for overcoming my fears in the future.

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

No related posts.

Most of you who are my regulars know how much I love quotes. I leave quotes everywhere. Here on my blog, in the comments I leave at my blogging friends’ blogs, on my Facebook Wall. Just everywhere I go I seem to leave a trail of quotes.

When I checked my first report at Tynt, a service I just recently installed that helps keep visitors on my site longer and improve my SEO, I found out that one of the most popular keyword phrases that people used to find my blog was “networking quotes.” (By the way, thanks to Adrienne Smith for writing a very informational post about this service….“How to Get Others to Build Your Links”)

I thought, wouldn’t that make an interesting topic? So, hence this post.

As network marketers we know that without networking and adding new people to our team on a continuous and consistent basis we have no business at all.

So I went out into cyber space and did a little research to find quotes about networking as well as network marketing quotes. And this is what I came up with ….

First some Quotes about Networking

• Robert Kiyosaki says, “The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work.”
• “If you want to go somewhere, it is best to find someone who has already been there.” -Robert Kiyosaki
• “It’s all about people. It’s about networking and being nice to people and not burning any bridges.” -Mike Davidson
• “The bigger your rolodex, the bigger your business.” -Anonymous
• “The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity.” -Keith Ferrazzi
• “It isn’t just what you know, and it isn’t just who you know. It’s actually who you know, who knows you, and what you do for a living.” -Bob Burg, Best-selling Author of Endless Referrals and The Go Giver
• “Position yourself as a center of influence, the one who knows the movers and shakers. People will respond to that, and you’ll soon become what you project.” -Bob Burg
• “The successful networkers I know, the ones receiving tons of referrals and feeling truly happy about themselves, continually put the other person’s needs ahead of their own.” -Bob Burg
• “I like to define networking as cultivating mutually beneficial, give-and-take, win-win relationships… The end result may be to develop a large and diverse group of people who will gladly and continually refer a lot of business to us, while we do the same for them.” –Bob Burg
• “Networking is an essential part of building wealth.” -Armstrong Williams
• “A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.” John D. Rockefeller

As network marketers we often run into doubters, dream stealers, yes even ridicule. So we need inspiration, encouragement, approval and assurance. We need those bigger than us strengthening us in our belief that we are in the right place doing the right thing for US.

And who better to listen to and look up to than those who are successful and have inspired millions before us.

So here are some
Network Marketing Quotes I came across…

Some of these I have quoted in blog posts, on my Facebook Page or on Twitter before.

• “Of all the entrepreneurial opportunities available today, one of the most important is direct selling, also called network marketing.” — Paul Zane Pilzer, Famous Economist and Best-selling Author
• “If I had to do it all over again, rather than build an old style type of business, I would have started building a network marketing business.” -Robert Kiyosaki, Investor, Entrepreneur and Best-selling Author.
• “Network marketing gives people the opportunity, with very low risk and very low financial commitment, to build their own income-generating asset and acquire great wealth.” -Robert Kiyosaki
• “Network marketing is the fastest growing business model in the world today.” -Robert Kiyosaki
• “If you are a person with big dreams and would love to support others in achieving their big dreams, then the network marketing business is definitely a business for you. You can start your business part-time at first and then as your business grows, you can help other people start their part-time business. This is a value worth having – a business and people who help others make their dreams come true.” -Robert Kiyosaki
• “Take responsibility for your finances or get used to taking orders for the rest of your life. You’re either a master of money or a slave to it. Your choice.” -Robert Kiyosaki
• “I am often asked if Network Marketing is a Pyramid Scheme. My reply is that corporations really are pyramid schemes. A corporation has only one person at the top, generally the CEO, and everyone else below.” -Donald Trump, American Business Magnate and Co-author of “Why We Want You To Be Rich”
• “Network marketing is based purely on relationship selling, which is the state of the art in selling today. Small and large companies throughout the country and the world are realizing that individuals selling to their friends and associates is the future of sales, because the critical element in buying is trust.” — Brian Tracy, Author and Motivational Speaker
• “No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that we need to learn to achieve our goals.” -Brian Tracy
• “All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.” -Brian Tracy
• “Nothing happens until somebody sells something.”  -Mary Kay Ash, Founder and CEO of Mary Kay Cosmetics
• “Success in this industry is not in finding the right person, but in becoming the right person.” –Dr. Forrest Shaklee, Founder of Shaklee
• “I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.”  -J. Paul Getty, American Industrialist
• “Every single successful entrepreneur I know has studied and accumulated information on their industry that is the equivalent of a Master`s or PHD”. ~Mike Dillard
• “Don’t let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream, and he thinks you’re crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you’re lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn’t understand.” -Robert G. Allen, Businessman, Financial Writer, Real Estate Investor and Motivational Speaker
• “No matter what your product is, you are ultimately in the education business. Your customers need to be constantly educated about the many advantages of doing business with you, trained to use your products more effectively, and taught how to make never-ending improvements in their lives.” –Robert G. Allen
• “Take action every day. It doesn’t have to be dramatic action, but every day, stick with it. Spend time on things that make you proud, that stretch and strengthen you.” -Phillip Humbert
• “Win with your heart, not your head – win on emotion, not in logic; have a passion about what you do; nobody wants a boss , everybody wants a coach.” -Art Williams, Founder of Primerica Financial Services
• “Don’t wish things were easier, wish you were better.” –Jim Rohn
• “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune”. _Jim Rohn

I hope these quotes about networking and network marketing soothed your network marketer’s soul and gave you the lift, inspiration, motivation and encouragement you need to keep going.

“Never give up!”

To your massive success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. Who Are You Catering to in Your Network Marketing Business?
2. How do you overcome fear?

Now focus and belief are areas I struggle with myself occasionally and  I know I’m not alone. But both focus and belief are two of the very key ingredients to success. Success in anything for that matter.

What do you visualize when you think
“Focus on one thing?”

I visualize this…

When our boys were just kids they went out into our cul-de-sac one day and did a little experiment with a magnifying glass and the newspaper they found lying in our drive way. I’m sure you can guess what’s coming.

They angled the magnifying glass so that the sunlight would totally concentrate in the middle of the lens and the beam would create a very small area on the newspaper. All of the sun’s energy was focused on that one small area of the paper and before long it was on fire.

(Unfortunately our boys were curious if that experiment would have the same results on grass. So a short time later they tried it out in the gulch near our neighborhood. Luckily they didn’t set the whole neighborhood on fire but just a little area of the grass. But boy did they get in trouble for that!)

So you see, when you really just focus on ONE thing and put all of your energy in it then you will set it on fire.

Believe in yourself with every fiber of your being.

The same goes for your belief. You absolutely have to believe with every fiber of your being that you will succeed.  Think about it, if you don’t believe in yourself, who will?

I know it’s hard sometimes, when you don’t see results although you have been working so hard.

You’ve been planting the seeds, you’ve been watering them, however you don’t see anything grow. It’s very easy then for doubt to creep in, isn’t it?

When that happens to me, I think of the bamboo story.

You may know the story. It goes something like this…

See when you plant a bamboo seed in the ground you don’t see anything grow for the first year, yet you need to water it constantly or it will die. You don’t even see anything grow in the second year, or the third, or the fourth for that matter. But if you don’t keep watering it, it will surely die. So you do.

Then finally in the fifth year you will see a tiny little sprout appear from the earth. That is of course, if you hadn’t given up on it in the meantime.

So if you kept up your belief and didn’t quit, and kept watering that little seed you will be nicely rewarded as this little bamboo sprout will grow to 100 feet high within the next six month.

Now the story of the bamboo is really a great example for believing in yourself because, just because you don’t see anything grow doesn’t mean there is nothing going on.

You see, during those 5 years of seemingly nothing happening, that little bamboo seed grew strong roots that gave it what it needed to survive.

The moral of the story is, that just because you don’t see any results means that there are none. So keep planting those seeds and keep watering them and eventually you will reap the rewards of your labor and create the success you desire.

And now on to the great video who was the inspiration for my blog post for today.

Let Tyler Perry show you how to …

Focus on just one thing and  then don’t stop believing in yourself!

If you found this post inspirational, please  pass it on to your friends. And as always do leave your feedback in the comments below. Thank You!

To your massive success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

No related posts.

Writer’s block, arrgghh!  Not a single usable blog post idea comes to mind. Nothing! Zilch! Nada!

If you are anything like me, you are starting to get pretty nervous right about now. You know that your readers are waiting for your blog post. You don’t want to disappoint them, yet for the life of you you can’t think of anything that would provide the value your readers are used to.

Pretty horrible feeling, isn’t it?

What happened to last night when the juices were flowing, well, bubbling over actually and keeping you awake? Where are those great ideas now and why in the world did you not get up and write them down?

Because you thought they would still be there in the morning, right?  But they’re not. They’re gone. Gone forever.

Darn!

But all that “shoulda, coulda, woulda” doesn’t help you now, does it?

Writer’s block is a terrible thing and it gets the best of us.

Yes, you could try to go for a walk. Or, you could take a shower and wash that frustration right out of your hair. You could try some uplifting music.

Or, …you could try any of these…

21 Sure-Fire Blog Post Ideas

1. Lists – People love lists. So you could write a blog post about…
   “Top 10____,” “Best of_____,” “Recommended Reading List,” “Top Recommended Business Tools,” or whatever really.
2. Reviews – Have you read a great book lately? Write a review about it. Or how about a product review? Or a company review? Reviews are great to give people inside information about something.
3. How To Tutorials – I personally am a great fan of these. I love step-by-step tutorials on how to do something. (I even found a tutorial video about knitting on YouTube recently. Can you imagine teaching someone how to knit on YouTube? Crazy! )
4. Awards – I have been nominated for several of these in the past.  Let’s see there is the “Blog Mastery Award” and the “Versatile Blogger Award.” They are a lot of fun. You should try it some time.
5. Tips and Tricks – These are always welcome. Maybe you’ve learned a new skill recently that you could share with your audience.  My friend Adrienne Smith just shared how to install Facebook Timeline for example.
6. Quotes – Oh I love quotes and I imagine (at least that’s what I see around Facebook and Twitter) so do many other people. Quotes can be very motivating or inspiring. At times they can even make us laugh. And who doesn’t welcome a good laugh every once in a while.
7. Guest Posts – Why not invite another blogger in your niche to write a guest post for you? This is really a win-win situation for both you and the person who guest posts on your blog. You get a break and he or she gets more exposure.
8. Share a Video – Maybe you found a great video on YouTube about a topic related to your niche. Why not share it on your blog?
9. Things you don’t know about me – This could really be fun! Write a post about a few things your audience doesn’t know about you. Blogging is all about building that personal relationship. Here’s your chance to be” really up close and personal.”
10. Highlight a person that you look up to and maybe learned a great deal from – I wrote this post about Mavis Nong, a young lady whom I really admire and who taught me a lot about blogging. When I grow up I want to be just like Mavis.
11. Visit a forum in your niche and look for problems/questions people are posting – Pick one and answer it on your blog. (And then link back to it from the forum for extra traffic.)
12. Make a list of your favorite blogs – Share the blogs you visit on a regular basis with your readers. If you find value in the information shared by other people in your niche, so will your audience. I just did that kind of in my last post.
13. Share an inspiring story that relates to your niche – People like uplifting stories they can relate to.
14. Google Alerts – This is a great one too! Set up Google Alerts in your niche to get ideas on what to write about.
15. Pain or pleasure – Wouldn’t you agree that we as human beings respond best to either pain or pleasure? So, what’s the biggest problem people in your industry face? Write about solutions that could ease their pain.
16. Share your biggest goof offs – You will find that other people are really not so different from you. So go ahead, share your mistakes, your mishaps, your goof offs. I bet you’ll find people that can relate.
17. Comments – Read through your comments. Often the comments people leave you provide excellent topics to expand on.
18. Point out common mistakes in your industry – You’ve been there and done it. Or maybe you were lucky enough and someone took you under their wing. Now it’s your turn to pay it forward and prevent someone who may just be starting out from making those common mistakes.
19. Re-purpose existing content – Re-write an old blog post and give it whole new view point. Or better yet, turn it into a SlideShare presentation or a video.
20. Expand on someone else’s blog post – Maybe you have come about a great post by someone else, but there is something they left out or something you could expand on further.  Go for it!
21. Share your Top Posts – There’s a reason these are your top posts. People searched for them, they like them. So share them – again— because your new readers may have missed them.

So there you have them 21 ideas for blog posts if writer’s block should hit you one day. I don’t know of anyone that hasn’t happened to before. If it hasn’t happened to you yet …trust me, your time will come. But now at least you are prepared.

Oh, and please,  I would so appreciate your feedback. So if you have any other “blog post ideas” please feel free to share them with us in the comments below. Thank you so much!

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

No related posts.

Tim shared his disappointment about a prospect he spent money and a lot of time on, educating him about his product and then in the end, lost to his sponsor. The prospect’s reasoning, Tim’s sponsor was a “bigger deal.” Huh? Are you for real?

Sound familiar?

If you’ve been in the network marketing industry long enough, I bet it has happened to you too at least once. I know it happened to me before.

Yes it stings. Your ego gets rattled a bit, but you can’t let that get to you. And for God’s sake, don’t let self-doubt creep in. It has nothing to do with you.

When someone passes you by and joins with your sponsor instead, because “he’s a bigger deal” there’s nothing you could have done. Don’t worry, karma will take care of it. What goes around comes around.

Besides, every big shot started out as a little shot that kept on shooting.

But on to the story I was going to tell you….

The Donkey in The Well

One day a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The poor thing cried piteously for hours as th farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally he decided since the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. So, the farmer invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed shovels, and began to shovel dirt into the well.

All the other farm animals were very upset about this, because the donkey was their friend. But they discovered there was nothing they could do to help him. At first, when the donkey realized what was happening, he cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw.

With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off, and take a step up on the dirt as it piled up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well, and trotted off!

Takeaway from this story: Life is going to shovel dirt on you. All kinds of dirt. But each obstacle, road block, and yes, lost prospect can be a stepping stone. What happens to you isn’t nearly as important as how you react to it. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not giving up!

Shake it off, and take a step up!

There will be many more detours on our way to success. Taking the “scenic route” can be a great learning experience. I am a strong believer that everything in life happens for a reason.  Sometimes we find out what the reasoning was for certain things that happened in our life, and sometimes we don’t.

So, never let self-doubt creep in. Keep believing in yourself…
and keep on shooting!

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

No related posts.

Well, on New Year’s Eve I received my first annual report titled “Your 2011 Year in Blogging.” What I found out in this report was very interesting to say the least.

For example it showed me…

• How many visitors I had during the past year.
• Where they came from.
• My top referring sites.
• Busiest day of the year and the most popular post of that day.
• Which posts received the most views in 2011 and the most stunning revelation that some of my most popular posts were actually written BEFORE 2011. Hmmm! That oughta give me something to think about.
• It also revealed my most commented on post and it told me who my most active commenter was…and a lot more.

Overall this little plugin gave me quite some insights which I am very thankful for. If you haven’t installed it on your own blog you can find it here Jetpack by WordPress.com It also prompted me to think about making some changes to my blog this year.

But before I do that I would love your input and  I would like you to be completely honest please.

Top Commentator Award

As you can see I already changed the way I will highlight my Top Commentators from now on forward. In the past I wrote a post at the beginning of the month thanking the top 3 commentators for the past month.

A couple of things happened … Sometimes they were the same people just in a different order. The other thing and what I kind of didn’t like was that the post I wrote to thank and congratulate them was only visible for a short time before it scrolled down on my blog.

I thought a better idea would be to spotlight the Top Commentator in the sidebar where it could stay visible for the whole month. Since there isn’t much room in the sidebar I thought of just highlighting the #1 Commentator for the month.

Your thoughts, suggestions, ideas?

Most Popular Posts

I mentioned above that some of my most popular posts were “How To” posts. To add a “How To” category has actually been on my mind for quite some time. So you can expect me to share more of those in the future.  Is there anything in particular you would like me to share with you?

The other most popular post where story posts  like…

“What Can You Learn From A Mayonnaise Jar And Coffee About Life”

“Can You Make A Difference? | The Starfish Story”

“Whatever the Mind Can Conceive and Believe | An Inspiring Story of Determination and Realizing Your Dream”

These types of posts are actually my favorites too so if you would like more like these just let me know.  I am here to please

Please leave me your feedback in the comment section below. Thanks so much!

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. My Sincerest Thanks to The Enlightened Networkers November Top Commentators

Why are quotes so popular?

Well, for starters they inspire, motivate, encourage and empower us. They give us hope, they teach and at times they even make us laugh.

“Bessie Braddock (to Winston Churchill): Winston, you’re drunk. Churchill: Bessie, you’re ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober.”

Sometimes they are the golden words of great leaders leaving behind their wisdom in just a few simple words. Other times they are the empowering and encouraging words of successful people we are looking up to.

Walk into any doctor or dentist’s office and most likely you will find some pictures with quotes hanging on the walls. My husband, who recently was called for jury duty even found quotes hanging on the walls of the court house.

Why?

Because people want to be surrounded by positive thoughts. With all the negativity around us we are clinging to those things that are positive, that give us hope, encourage us.

If you have a MLM home based business like I do, then you know, that there will be times when things don’t go smoothly. The road to success is paved with many obstacles and challenges. It takes courage, persistence and perseverance to stay the course.

Quotes are the perfect “motivational candy” I need to keep me going, keep me motivated and inspired when I hit a rough patch either in my personal life or in my business.

I would like to share 25 of my favorite motivational quotes with you.

Here they are in no particular order. It will be really hard to pick just 25…

1. “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending”.  _Author Unknown
2. “You are today where your thoughts brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” _James L. Allen
3. “GREAT stands for: Get Ready for Everything And Try.” _Author Unknown
4. “It is funny about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the very best you will very often get it.” _W. Somerset Maugham
5. “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” _Isaac Newton
6. “You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” _ Les Brown
7. “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” _Friedrich Engels
8. “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” _Vince Lombardi
9. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.” _Vincent T. Lombardi
10. “Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.” _Thomas Huxley
11. “Minds are like parachutes, they work best when open.” _Author Unknown
12. “I Could Have Quit $10,000,000.00 ago.” _Dayle Maloney
13. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” _Albert Einstein
14. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying… “I will try again tomorrow.” _ Mary Anne Rademacher
15. “Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction.” _Author Unknown
16. “Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” _Brian Tracy
17. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” _Martin Luther King
18. “Success is something you attract by the person you become.” _Jim Rohn
19. “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” _Zig Ziglar
20. “It’s not where you start – it’s where you finish that counts.” _ Zig Ziglar
21. “The only thing that stands between a person and what they want from life is often the will to try it and the faith to believe it’s possible.” _Rich DeVos
22. “To begin is the most important part of any quest, and by far, the most courageous.” _ Plato
23. “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, Just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat. “ _Napoleon Hill
24. “If you can DREAM it, you can DO it.” _Walt Disney
25. “That’s why when people say, ‘Zig, motivation doesn’t last’ I say… ‘Bathing doesn’t either, that’s why I recommend it daily!” _Zig Ziglar

Like I said motivational quotes have become part of my daily routine.

I just simply love them and I love to share them with others.

Here are a couple of ways I do that…

I tweet them out to my followers on Twitter.

I share them with my friends on Facebook.

I add them to blog comments.

I send them out in greeting cards.

If you can come up with other ideas on how to share motivational quotes or if you would like to add your own favorites, I’d love to hear them. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

To Your Success…

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. If you liked this post, please don’t forget to share it with your followers on Twitter and Facebook.

P.P.S. For more motivational quotes please visit my friend Mavis Nong.

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New Year's Resolutions

It’s 6 days in to the new year. So how are you doing with those New Year’s Resolutions? Are you still keeping them, or did you throw some of them overboard already?

Statistics show that “45% of Americans usually set New Year’s Resolutions;  17% infrequently set resolutions; 38% absolutely never set resolutions.”

I’m afraid I belong in the second category. I very infrequently set resolutions.  I always vow to do better next year, … but then, oh well.

I am also very good in breaking them. Not on purpose of course.  I have every intention to stick it out, but then reality and life set in.

The two most popular New Year’s Resolutions are …

1. Improving your health
2. Improving your finances

While pretty broad I think those are great goals to set for ourselves and they are on my list again this year. Along with two others…

1. Simplifying my life and business
2. Keeping my focus

Let’s see how I will do as the year progresses.

What I like about starting a brand new year is that I can leave the old one behind. So no matter how I did, how bad I might have messed up or how many of those New Year’s Resolutions I may have broken, it doesn’t matter anymore. I can start with a clean slate.

Years ago, when our boys still played competitive ice hockey, there was a Bauer Hockey commercial which to this day remained my favorite commercial ever.

It went like this…

“If I give you a clean sheet, what will you write?
Will your words be long and graceful, or short and sweet?

Will it be poetry, or just plain English?
If you have something to say, say it now.

For soon, always too soon my sheet will be filled.
And this chapter will end sure as the next will begin.

… With a clean sheet… you authors … and a million possibilities.”

I absolutely love this!

You can apply this to anything you wish.  A new career, a new day, a new month and definitely a new year as well.

Before you lies a brand new book with 365 clean, bright and empty pages.

What will you write on them?

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. I would love to see your feedback in the comments below. (This is a DOFOLLOW blog and you will get some link juice back for commenting.) Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions this year?

P.P.S. If you liked this post please share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. Thank You!

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