Glory Days: Recipe for Success

How come others could do it but I just couldn't seem to get it done? Why did I feel so uncomfortable? Out of my skin? I was doing everything my sponsors and upline coaches were telling me, but it wasn't working and I was miserable.

I knew of successful working mothers in the network marketing industry and I knew of successful single dads, too. They had triple the obstacles I had. So why was I having such a hard time?

Well, I thought about that and I remembered something from my high school days (the "Glory Days", a buddy of mine called them during a recent reunion) that got me to thinking.

In high school, I was on the track team and my best race was the mile. I also ran the half-mile and the mile relay occasionally. (I'm dating myself now because everything's in meters nowadays!!)

During my senior year, I set a goal for myself of running a 4:10 mile. My previous best was a 4:27 in which I placed second at State Championships the previous year. Our school record was 4:24 and the All-time Nevada State High School mile record was 4:19 set in 1965—so my goal was pretty "out there". (What's the point of a setting a goal you know you can reach anyway, right?)

I even had a t-shirt printed up with "4:10" in big numbers across the front. I would wear it during warm-ups at each track meet. Some of my teammates thought I was nuts and I would hear guys from other schools crack jokes as I jogged by.

(Sound familiar?)

Anyway, I worked my tail off that season. I put in 50 to 70 miles a week. I trained everyday after school from 2:30 to 5:30pm with races on Saturdays and a long run on Sundays. 4 days a week I jogged 3 miles in morning before school.

I would even run through the halls from one class to the next during school, I put off staying out late at night with friends and I didn't have a drop of alcohol the entire season.

My coach taught me the importance of having a good attitude and supporting my teammates during workouts—cheering them on, etc. (I had no clue how important that was! When I supported my teammates, it came back to me ten-fold.)

I learned about meditation and the art of visualization and I experienced myself winning the State Championship in the record-shattering time of 4:10, over and over again. I was on a mission!

Three weeks before the State meet, I broke our school record by one second with a time of 4:23.

Before I tell you what happened next, let me just tell you why this story is so significant....

When I started my network marketing career, I failed miserably for years. I had a sponsor and upline that was extremely well-versed in the traditional marketing methods of MLM. (And you know what that means...)

Well, I would put some time in here and there. Buy leads. Make calls. Put out flyers. Hand out samples. Buy more samples. Hand out CDs. You know the drill...a part-time effort.

The thing is, I wasn't comfortable with old school, traditional network marketing. So uncomfortable in fact, that I was always trying to reinvent the wheel instead by designing my own flyers or other marketing pieces.

Consequently, procrastination became enemy number one. I would spend my time getting ready to get ready to work on my business.

And inconsistency become enemy number two. I would get on phone and call leads for two hours one day and forget about it the next. (Calling cold leads was painful—almost as bad as going to weekly opportunity meetings!)

I just didn't feel good about the type of marketing methods my sponsor and upline advocated. I felt like a fish out of water. Awkward. It was hard for me to put in the necessary work consistently over time to produce the results I desired.

It just wasn't working. I wasn't making any progress and I felt bad about myself for it.

This was the exact opposite of how I felt in high school track where I was in alignment with my coach, team support, training and my goals. I had confidence in myself and in my abilities. Putting in the work was natural. I was in the flow.

When I look back at my accomplishments during that high school track season and break down exactly why I was able to do what I did, I see the recipe for success:

1. A worthy goal
2. Good coaching
3. An excellent plan I felt good about executing
4. A great attitude, helping others
5. Dedication, ambition, determination
6. Good diet and plenty of rest
7. Consistent action
8. Belief and confidence through meditation, visualization and results

It's clear to me I needed to apply these same principles to my network marketing career. If I could do that then success would naturally follow!

Today, I continue to learn from excellent coaching. I feel comfortable with executing my plan in Attraction Marketing. I'm in the flow. I'm taking consistent action, and I'm seeing results, which increases my confidence.

It's apparent to me that if you're lacking in any one of above ingredients, you'll have a tough time reaching your goal. So make sure you're involved with the right company, following the advice of an excellent coach and feel good about your plan of action or you could be in for some misery.

So, back to what happened....

Well, a week after I broke the school record, I came down with a cold. Not good. We had a State Qualifying meet that weekend where I needed to place in the top 4 to qualify.

It was a cold windy day and I wasn't feeling that good but somehow still managed to win with a slow 4:29. Whew! Now I had to recover and get ready for the State finals the following weekend.

In the back of my mind, I wasn't very confident about my ability to reach 4:10 or to even break 4:20 after that last race, but I kept up with my routine anyway.

I never lost my vision or focus on my goal and kept up the intensity of my training. I worked. I prepared. I visualized. I pushed away doubts. I kept wearing my 4:10 t-shirt.

Two weeks later in Las Vegas, I became the State Champion and All-time Nevada State High School record holder in the mile run with a time of 4:15.

Not quite 4:10, however, it was 8 seconds faster than my personal best and 4 seconds faster than the All-time High School State record!

I was beyond thrilled. It CAN be done!

Your Partner in Success,

Steve Lauri