Being in direct sales twenty five years, I like to say that nothing ceases to amaze me. Yet I still continue to see things that make me scratch my head and no-so-silently utter, “wow.”
If you’re in direct sales, it’s likely you are titled an Independent Consultant (or Representative or Distributor or Manager or Director). Synonyms for independent are “self-contained” and “self-sufficient”.
I’ve been accused of being harsh because I expect independent consultants to be independent. I’m certainly here to mentor and help and support. I enjoy helping others build their businesses. Keywords are help and support. That doesn’t mean I do it for them. Remember the adage about teaching a man to fish?
The Other Message
I found a Facebook message waiting for me in my Other folder this morning: “All I get are emails from you (which by the way, I only send when I have with helpful information to pass along or that may benefit team member’s businesses). I need help. That team Facebook page isn’t any help (yes it is if she’d read it). The Training Center isn’t any help (it’s loaded with every topic imaginable in a variety of platforms – audio, video, text, etc.) and the Resource section isn’t helpful (documents up the wazoo) and either is that book that came in my starter kit. (She’s referring to the step-by-step start up guide). I need help.”
Hmm. Okay. Do I really need add any additional commentary here? I merely responded “What specific questions do you have?” I have yet to hear back. Then I started thinking about all the quotes, phrases, saying about initiative and helping yourself. Here are just a few that came to mind:
According to Wiki, “The phrase “God helps those who help themselves” is a popular motto that emphasizes the importance of self-initiative. The phrase originated in ancient Greece and may originally have been proverbial. It is illustrated by two of Aesop’s Fables and a similar sentiment is found in ancient Greek drama. Although it has been commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the modern English wording appears earlier in Algernon Sidney’s work. The phrase is often mistaken as scriptural, but it appears nowhere in the Bible.
“The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.” ~Swedish Proverb
“Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.” — George Washington Carver
Wisdom Inspiration Accomplishments
I found the information below online. I don’t know who to credit for compiling such a great list. Nonetheless, it’s chock full of wisdom about accomplishments, responsibility, excuses, initiative and success.
“No matter how old you are now. You are never too young or too old for success or going after what you want. Here’s a short list of people who accomplished & (against the odds) great things at different ages…
1) Helen Keller At the age of 19 months Helen became deaf & blind. But that didn’t stop her. She was the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
2) Mozart was already competent on keyboard & violin, he composed from the age of 5.
3) Shirley Temple was 6 when she became a movie star on “Bright Eyes”.
4) Anne Frank was 12 when she wrote the diary of Anne Frank.
5) Magnus Carlsen became a chess Grandmaster at the age of 13 years.
6) Nadia Com?neci at age 14, gymnast of Romania, scored seven perfect 10.0 and won three gold medals at the Olympics.
7) Tenzin Gyatso was formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama November 1950, at the age of 15.
8) Pele soccer superstar was 17 years old when he won the world cup in 1958 with Brazil.
9) Elvis was a Superstar by age 19.
10) John Lennon was 20 years & Paul Mcartney 18 when the Beatles had their first concert in 1961.
11) Jesse Owens was 22 when he won 4 gold medals in Berlin 1936.
12) Beethoven was a Piano virtuoso by age 23.
13) Issac Newton at 24 wrote Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
14) Roger Bannister was 25 when he broke the 4 minute mile record.
15) Albert Einstein was 26 when he wrote the theory of relativity.
16) Lance E Armstrong was 27 when he won the tour de France. (okay let’s scratch this one!)
17) Michelangelo created the two of the greatest sculptures “David” and “Pieta” by age 28.
18) Alexander the Great by age 29 had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world.
19) J.K.Rowling was 30 years old when she finished the first manuscript for Harry Potter.
20) Amelia Earhart was 31 years old when she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
21) Oprah was 32 when she started her talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind.
22) Edmund Hillary was 33 when he became the first man to reach Mount Everest (highest Mountain in the world).
23) Martin Luther King Jr. was 34 when he did the speech “I have a dream”.
24) Marie Curie was 35 years old when she got nominated 4 Nobel Prize in Physics 1903.
25) The Wright brothers, Orville (was 32 ) & Wilbur (was 36) when they invented & built the world’s first successful airplane & making the first controlled, powered & sustained heavier-than-air human flight.
26) Vincent Van Gogh was 37 when he died & virtually unknown yet his paintings today are worth millions.
27) Neil Armstrong was 38 when he became the first man to set foot on the moon.
28) Mark Twain was 40 when he wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and 49 years old for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
29) Christopher Columbus was 41 when he discovered the Americas.
30) Rosa Parks was 42 when she refused to obey bus driver’s order to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger.
31) John F. Kennedy was 43 years when he became President of the United States.
32) Henry Ford was 45 when the Ford T came out.
33) Suzanne Collins was 46 when she wrote “The Hunger Games.”
34) Charles Darwin was 50 years old when his book On the Origin of Species came out.
35) Leonardo Da Vinci was 51 years old when he painted the Mona Lisa.
36) Abraham Lincoln was 52 when he became president.
37) Ray Kroc Was 53 when he bought the McDonalds Franchise and took it to unprecedented levels.
38) Dr. Seuss was 54 when he wrote “The Cat in the Hat”
40) Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III was 57 years old when he successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549, in the Hudson River in, 2009. All of the 155 passengers aboard the aircraft survived.
41) Colonel Harland Sanders was 61 when he started the KFC Franchise.
42) J R R Tolkien was 62 when the Lord of the Rings books came out.
43) Ronald Reagan was 69 when he became President of the United States.
44) Jack Lalanne at age 70 handcuffed, shackled, towed 70 rowboats.
45) Nelson Mandela was 76 when he became President”
I’m wondering if after reading those forty-five above accomplishments, any direct sales consultant who previously thought of his or herself as dependent now has the confidence to do what it takes to be independent and accomplish some goals!
See you at the top!
About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/