with Norine Arundell

Clearly there is a lot of money to be made in the MLM Industry. This poses a few questions: Why are there so many people coming into this business not meeting their financial expectations? Why are there so many people not even getting their feet wet or getting started? What seems to happen to the grand plan? Why are so many people tucking their tails between their legs and going away ?

Well, it just doesn’t happen that a person wakes up one morning and decides; there is nothing to do today, why not start a networking business? Rather, there is a need or a want, a passion if you will, to change their circumstances and add something to their lives. Money may be the necessary component to make that change. But I believe it’s all about lifestyle- the ability to live the lifestyle of your choosing.

I present to you the visual image of a Money Tree. The general myth is; at any time the fruit from this tree can be harvested and ergo all needs magically fulfilled. But that’s not how it works. We are all handed a “Money Tree” when we start our new network marketing business. But the success lies in how we nurture and care for that tree.

How would you take care of a brand new money tree so that it would produce all the money you wanted for as long as you wanted?

Would you plant it somewhere in the back of your garden, and forget about it? Would you tell yourself; oh later I will go out and give it water. But maybe it will rain and I won’t have to! Would you think people would laugh at you if you told them about your tree? Would you believe your tree will produce as much money as you would want? When you went out one day and saw the spindly little tree all dried up, would you say; “That’s what I thought! It didn’t work.” Or…

Would you find out from the person who gave you the Money Tree exactly what was required to keep your tree healthy and flourishing? Would you spend time thinking about the best way to do those things? Would you follow their advice? How much time would you take on a daily basis to do so? With which of your friends, family and acquaintances would you want to share your excitement? How many of them would want a Money Tree of their own, especially if you offered to help them get one and care for it the way you cared for yours? How many of them would want a Money Tree to pick as much money as they wanted and begin to reach their dreams? Would you be happy to help them grow their trees?

From a bigger perspective, all of these trees you help grow become branches of your own Money Tree. It’s up to you to determine how large of a tree you want. It’s up to you to fertilize your tree so that your tree grows strong and can support all its branches.

The choice is yours. This Money Tree represents your business and you get to decide how and what it will turn out to be. A spindly little tree that dries up from lack of care or a healthy flourishing tree, reaching out from all of its branches, to the sun.

Here are some ideas that have helped me and can help you grow a healthy flourishing Money Tree that reaches to the sun:

• This tree is a Money Tree not a Magic Tree. There is a huge difference between these trees. With a Money Tree there is work to be done ! With a Magic Tree all you would have to do is pick a magic wand and wave it whenever you had a need to be met. That doesn’t happen with a Money Tree. However magic can happen while you are growing your Money Tree. I do not have any experience with a Magic Tree but I do with a Money Tree. That work word I used in connection with the Money Tree does not have to mean all of the fun is gone! There is fun INSIDE the work.
• It is your choice to choose a mindset. Think for a minute of a hobby you enjoy, where you have the most fun. Growing your Money Tree can be just like that. If you are having fun doing your hobby, you will enjoy it. Having fun and enjoying your work is a mindset you can choose while growing your Money Tree.
• When you’re having fun and love what you’re doing, you will give that project a great deal of focus and attention. Anything you focus on grows, like “making mountains out of mole hills .“ CONSISTENT focus and attention is essential to growing a healthy flourishing Money Tree
• The trick is to focus on the positive not the negative You WILL run into negative circumstances as you grow your Tree. Hurricanes, dry spells, earthquakes are synonymous with, getting sick, a drop in economy, close relatives passing away. Outright disasters may not occur but small things often do, like getting distracted by other things, or not seeing the money come in right away. You need to hang in there. It’s a process. And one thing that can keep you positive is repeating this mantra, “This too shall pass”.

Now, if you are going to spend so much time growing this Money Tree, don’t you want to make sure that it is the best type of money tree for you, a good fit for your personal needs? There are many different brands out there. A little research and a lot of questions will give you some of the answers you will find helpful.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Why do I want to invest my time in THIS kind of Money Tree, i.e. (Fill in the blanks of the types of trees there are)?
• What do I expect in return for my time and effort?
• What are my long term and short term goals?
• Is it all about money? If so, check in with your gut, be brutally honest and ask, what do I really want to do with the money?
• How much time am I willing to give to insure my Tree grows strong?
• Am I coach-able, meaning willing to follow the system that the person above me (your “upline”) has in place? Sometimes, that’s very uncomfortable.
• Am I willing to step out of my comfort zone, where the real growth occurs?
• Do I have a strong belief that if I make the choice and do the work, my goals will be accomplished?
• Do I like and trust the person who is offering me the opportunity to grow a Money Tree?
• Am I willing to spend a lot of time with him/her?

Here are some questions to ask the person who is giving you this opportunity, your sponsor.

• How long has this brand of Tree been around?
• How successfully have others grown this type of Tree?
• Can I meet them or talk with them on the phone?
• What did it take to grow the Tree?
• How would they assess the level of difficulty?
• Do they enjoy the lifestyle required to grow a Tree like this?
• Are they living the lifestyles of their choice?
• Do they have a system in place that I can plug into?
• How much time do they have available to help me?

After this process is completed, Two more questions need to be asked of yourself: Can I do this? And do I want to? The choice is always up to you. It really boils down to how big your desire is to make a change in your life so you can create and live the life of your choosing? And, how many people do you want to help do the same thing? It starts out about you, and turns out to be about others. I love this quote from Danny Thomas: “All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what we gain in life or accomplish for ourselves. It’s what we do for others”

It takes passion, commitment and a keen nurturing heart to grow a tree of many branches. But if you fertilize with patience, kindness and integrity, you will provide the catalyst for change in not only your own life but the lives of many others.
Remember, its always YOUR choice

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 8th, 2006 at 12:51 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.