Have YOU Staked Your FLAG?

STAKING YOUR FLAG:

This is a VERY SERIOUS QUESTION and a huge pet peeve of mine as well as other top leaders in our industry, so here is a basic question? Where are you staking your flag? When you stand tall, look someone in the eye, and stake your flag into the ground, what opportunity are you involved in giving 150% of your attention to? Where is your main focus? You can’t focus on opportunity A if your attention is on opportunity B and/or CDEF & G. Don’t get me wrong… I am a FIRM and strong believer in multiple income streams, but if you’re out there trying to build 3, 4 or 5 opportunities, I would take the bet that you’re broke or not making any serious money with either of them. If you insist on working multiple companies, make sure they are not related in any way.

Example: two of your companies offer health and wellness products. It would be wrong, dumb and unethical to work both of them. You can’t advertise that ViSalus has great meal replacement shakes and then follow that statement the next day saying Evolv Health also has great shakes. If you’re in a health company, an eBook company, a digital services company, a travel company, and/or a trading currency and precious metals company, it’s okay if that’s what you want (even though I highly encourage you not to), but make sure if you’re in multiple “product based companies” that those opportunities don’t offer the same type of products.

Being in too many opportunities and advertising a new deal each week like soooo many people do really aggravates me when I see it. It aggravates me because they are giving this industry a bad look. When they fail at building 5 companies it will be the fault of the 5 companies, not become of them.

For the people who are in multiple companies and chasing those silly $5.00 and $10.00 programs, I consider them money chasers and I feel it makes them look desperate and unstable in their life financially and in their business. It tells me if I signed up with them that they wouldn’t be there “for me” too much longer because they will shift their attention to something new before I ever get started. Stay away from these people NO MATTER HOW WELL YOU KNOW THEM OR WHAT THEY PROMISE YOU. They do not care about “your” long term success. If they cared about your long-term success, they will stay put, stake their flag, work their business and drag you along with them. Every time you follow these people to a new opportunity, all you’re doing is padding their pockets and hurting any chance you have to establish yourself in this industry and create the residual wealth you’ve after.

With that… here is a question to ask yourself, “would you consider following an unstable person or someone who can’t decide what they want or someone who can’t commit to something long-term?” Would you want to follow someone that’s all over the place advertising everything out there? Of course you wouldn’t, so if you’re that person, most people will not follow you either.

Fact: I went after a young lady who is in 5-7 online programs, yes, those silly $5.00 and $10.00 deals. Every week she’s promoting something new… something ground floor (blah blah blah). When I introduced her to my company, she replied, “I’m too busy with my other opportunities to focus on something new and I don’t have $50.00 a month right now”. This is the same person who’s telling me and the world that I’ll make thousands in a few weeks if I join “her” company and team, yet she doesn’t have $50.00. Sound familiar…?

Let’s be honest, we are all in this industry for one of a few reasons. We want to be part of a cause, we love the products, or we want the income that can offer us financial stability. So how would you feel with a sponsor who is promoting everything there is and jumping from opportunity to opportunity? Would you even trust them? Would you consider them serious marketers? How would you feel knowing you've staked your flag and the person who enrolled you is all over the place promoting 2-5+ companies? How would you feel when you reach out to them for help and they can't help you because they haven't learned anything about the business “you” enrolled in to partner with them? These people know just enough to get into a program and pass out their referral links. Sadly, people follow them to every silly opportunity and lose money each time.

These people hustle their entire life and “never” create any real wealth or anything “residual”. And these people will tell you they are Network Marketing Professionals? Seriously!!! In my opinion, these people have no place in our industry. Why?… because they make what we do look bad, they hype up a false reality, they make unrealistic promises, and once they’ve suckered you in and they’ve made a few bucks signing you up… they move on to the next big thing, inviting you again, so you can waste even more money and never see anything develop.

This is what rookies and very inexperienced people do – they follow these so called industry leaders and fall into the same trap over and over. All they do is spend money with the hope of something big, but the reality is they spend money and never make money. Once the hustling stops, so does the income, and when the income stops, it’s everyone else’s fault, it’s the opportunities fault, it’s the people’s fault or it’s the industries fault. Go look in the mirror and you will find the problem staring you right in the face. If this is you… “YOU” are the problem. Don’t be this person please.

Think about what I’m telling you here. When you're following these people, do you really feel confident they will be there for YOU when you need them? They may just leave you high and dry to go try something new. Are you going to be able to keep up with all these opportunities and lose even more money before you realize the truth and say “what in the heck am I doing”? Network marketing is not a free education. You're going to spend some money before you figure out what you're doing. So why not learn early and spend less in mistakes?

What credibility would you or anyone else have who is out there promising all these great things with every new opportunity they find? I get pitched every single day and it makes me laugh when people tell me how I can make $10,000.00 in the next 30 days or earn life changing money month after month doing nothing, but getting in. Shut the front door!!! These people telling me what I can make in 30 days have yet to make $1.00. As soon as I ask for a check, they go away and leave me alone. Gee... I wonder why?

These people will say things like “You don’t have to do anything, just get in and watch the spill over”. This is crazy talk, folks. They will tell you that you only have to pay one time and you will make a killing, so let me clear that up. If no money is coming in to fund the development of products or the opportunity, there is no money for YOU. There is no such thing as paying once and making money month after month. Nothing in = nothing out. These people will tell you that you can get in and NEVER recruit and have your organization filled “for you”. I can’t help but shake my head and laugh at that. Sorry, but these people are straight up reckless and have no place in our world of network marketing. Please avoid opportunity requests from people who advertise like that.

Fact: If you don’t build a team you will NOT have a team and you will not make any substantial amounts of money. I don’t care where you go or what opportunity you’re part of. No work + no team building = no money!

If you are fortunate enough to get into a company “early”, then yes, there is potential spillover, which is a term we use to explain the people who fall below you that you didn’t place yourself. If you get in with an opportunity that is years old and established, the majority of the spillover has already occurred because the top leaders are already placed and “their” following is already placed. You will have to create your own wave and your own momentum. Recruiting is where people fail the most and it’s a subject that new members give ZERO or very little time in to develop their recruiting skills.

The people pitching you on an opportunity with a claim that you will make thousands of dollars haven't made but a few bucks themselves. Most haven't made 1 cent when you compare what they've spent in total and what they've received. If you're spending $150.00 month after month to make $25.00, you're not making money. If you continue that pattern for months and months, it’s time to get a job, this isn’t for you.

Don’t believe me…? Go look at all those online opportunities that pop up out of nowhere and see who the leaders and members are. What you will find are the same people who are dragging in the same people that they drug in to their last opportunity. To these so called leaders, it’s all about the quick buck and the numbers, but at YOUR expense. The more people they get in early, the more they make. They promise large team builds and other inviting things because they need to build fast. They already know what they're promoting is not going to last, so they have to use tactics that will get you in as quickly as possible. Once they make their money and the so called team build slows down or in many cases never happens, they jump on the next program and invite you again, and "silly you" will follow them because they are your online friend and you haven't lost enough money yet. Wake up people.

Open your eyes and you will see it’s always the same people, the same crowds, and the same owners and the “same” top leaders who make all the money. If you don’t believe me, go spend some money and see for yourself. If losing money is what will get your attention, then go lose some money. Go follow some eager and inexperienced dummy who tells you to follow them because they are part of a massive team build. Go follow them because they tell you their opportunity is the best program ever… and you can make $10,000.00+ a month in no time at all. SMH!!! Then wait a day or two and watch that same person pitch another opportunity, making the same claims. If you’re not one of the very first, you will lose more money than you will ever earn and you will invest more time working on being defeated and broke than staking your flag and creating a residual income. Seriously… stop the madness! Maybe if you lose enough money, you will start to understand why I created this section and STOP jumping into these worthless programs.

These programs I talk about are just that. They are programs, not companies and they typically fail in a matter of weeks because no one can stay focused long enough to work that program. As soon as things slow down or the members see the next sparkling opportunity, they run to that and abandon what they just got YOU involved in. Is this sinking in yet?

Stop falling for these programs. All you’re going to do is spend money and confuse your following because when they lose money, guess who they are going to blame? They will be coming after YOU for refunds and you can bet your life they will never follow you again in another opportunity. Is your credibility and your integrity worth those few dollars?

You CAN NOT and WILL NOT survive if you’re promoting multiple opportunities that are not part of a calculated or strategic system of opportunities. You can find thousands of opportunities on any given day, but only a handful are honest or will even be around in the coming years. Do you know the ownership of the company you’re in? Can you access them? Do they have a training program? Do they have a stable and secure back office with tools, funnel systems and lead capture pages? Are any of the top leaders recognizable? What experiences have they had and can they be trusted? On a financial level, how stable is the opportunity? If you can’t get this information or learn who’s behind these opportunities, you might want to look at something else to help you earn a “residual income”.

Listen… if you’re all over the place, if you’re promoting multiple opportunities, if you’re jumping on every new opportunity because you think it will be better over there, I can assure you of one thing! You will DIE in this industry. You will spend LOTS of money and you will NOT make money. And most importantly, you will not have a following because no one will take you seriously or TRUST you. If you’re leading and no one is following you, you’re just out for a walk. No following = no team = no residual income = go get a job.

If you’re not striving to earn a “residual income”, you are wasting your time. Stake your flag into a solid company that has products and/or services and a reputation to be proud of. If someone approaches you about another opportunity, JUST SAY NO and let them know you've staked your flag.

As I’ve already said, I’m all for being in more than one opportunity because it creates a multiple income stream, however, you need to put most of your focus on your main opportunity and let it be known where you stake your flag. There are thousands of little programs where you can make a few bucks, but these programs don’t stay around very long because the people in them don’t “stake their flag”. Once the leaders leave to focus on something new, their last program from 2 days ago dies out. Don’t be fooled by the false hype. Stay away, please.

You need to decide what you’re going to do and what company you're going to follow. Whatever that decision is, you need to stake your flag, and push that opportunity as hard as you can for at least a year WITHOUT considering the next shiny opportunity that hits your inbox. If you believe in what you’re doing and if you’re passionate about what you’re doing, you will do just fine without jumping on the next new thing. WORK what you already have and you will do fine. Learn to say NO and learn to tell people you are happy where you are.

Jumping from company to company does you NO good unless you have a following of several hundred to a few thousand people who will follow you.

If you’re promoting an opportunity and telling the world it’s the best thing to ever hit the market and then days later you post ANOTHER opportunity telling the world about how amazing THAT opportunity is, consider how you are viewed. You need to stop the madness, stake your flag and BUILD A NETWORK with TRUST. If you don’t have anyone below you in anything you’re doing, YOU DON'T HAVE A TEAM. If you can’t build a team in opportunity “A”, you’re not going to build a team in opportunity “B” C or DEF & G. Stay true to where you stake your flag and you will see amazing results.

If you’re building a little side company while building your current company, my bet is that both of your businesses are suffering. STOP now while you can. Give your current opportunity 100% of your focus for a year and you will be amazed at the results. Don’t let any other company or opportunity get in your way.

If you chase everything that comes along, you will never see long term success. No following = no team and that means no residual income to rely on. Focus on building a team and creating wealth as a TEAM. For those who chase the money, that’s all they will ever do. If you’re that person, take a look at your following and take a look at your bank account. Something tells me the low balance will be the same for both. Am I right…?

I see so many people joining program after program and all they do is waste time and money. Don’t be that person. If you look at all the top income earners in any business, you will see one common denominator with all of them - they are all promoting their 1 opportunity. You won’t see these top income earners blowing up Facebook groups and other social media platforms about this and that and what the next big thing is going to be because they are focused on what they have already started. They have staked their flag. They became successful “because” they staked their flag. They worked their main opportunity and didn’t let anything else get in the way. They didn’t walk away in 2 weeks because they didn’t make retirement money. They worked and they worked and they worked. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. Why don’t you water your own grass and see how it looks when you take care of it.

If you’re new to this industry and you don’t have a stable residual income, why would you start something else? If you are at a good paying rank, making $5,000.00+ per month, you can dabble here and there, but my guess is if you’re making $5,000.00+, you will want to make $10,000.00 because what you’re doing is working. A second opportunity will get in your way if your current business isn't running on autopilot. If you’re in a handful of programs, get out of them and figure out what will make you the most money “residually” and stick to that. Don’t feel bad about dropping the other programs. You owe nothing to anyone, so trust me… those people will be fine without you.

There are a select few who chase money and have a following, but it takes a very special and “connected” person to pull that off. They show up in massive team numbers, get a program started, make their money and jump on the next deal when they can get in at the top. This is NOT a good practice for the average person or for those without a solid and sizable following.

What’s the secret?… well it’s actually very simple. Top leaders promote “their” main opportunity and they stake their flag in that opportunity. THAT’S it folks. Don’t over think this! They have staked their flag and that is why they are successful. They are in one company and one company only. They have the self-control that does NOT allow outside interference or the influence of others to steer them away from what they are doing. Successful people stake their flag while others who are not as successful continue to chase the money. Do today what will pay you tomorrow and for the rest of your life. Leaders build leaders!!! Are you a leader?

Think long and hard before you join “any” company. Picture yourself in that company and visualize what you can do in that opportunity to make money. If you don’t have a following or the ability to add members to the program, why would you join? You can't make money if you can't build a team. All you will do is spend your hard earned money. Does that make any sense?

If you love a company so much that you want to stay with them, become a customer and enjoy the products or services, but don’t try to build a business until you’re ready for the task and ready to stake your flag.

Don’t trust your friends either because they may be in the same situation as you. They may have joined something because one of “their” friends asking them to join and you were the “next” friend in line. Make sure you know something about the program, the company, the owner, any programs or companies they've launched in the past, what their track record looks like, if you can access them, if you TRUST them, if they have an office somewhere that you can visit, and so on. Be smart, not sloppy.

If you’re promoting an opportunity that’s not working out for you, you need to look at yourself and not fault the opportunity. I believe the problem and the solution can be found in the mirror. Go look and see for yourself!

STAKE YOUR FLAG AND STAY TRUE TO YOUR OPPORTUNITY…

Here is the key to multiple income streams. You can’t survive in more than one opportunity if one of them isn’t growing and creating an income stream without you. Your main opportunity needs to run on autopilot without your daily attention. It makes no sense to be in 2, 3 or 4 opportunities when none of them are off the ground yet making you money. If a few bucks here and there is what you call making money, you have a lot of learning to do.

Focus on one business and NOTHING else until you’re at a point where it’s growing in your sleep and then maybe work with something else. Why pay money to be in 5 programs when NONE of them are developing or paying YOU? Makes no sense, yet sooooo many people do it.

STOP enrolling in multiple opportunities without first establishing a solid income stream in your “main” company and stop asking the same people who have proven to never do anything to FOLLOW you. This will only hurt you and stop you from building any type of sustainable income. Work your current company until you’re pulling in $5,000.00 or more a month before you even consider something else. People want to see consistency and they want to know you will be there for them long-term. Trust me… people are watching you, so put on a good show.

If you “pay” for someone to be on your team who is all over the place doing other things and will not commit to staking their flag in your current company, you will be throwing your money away. These people will have no skin in the game so they will not care if they make it or not. They have nothing invested “to” care about. This person you “think” you’re helping will have plenty of money when the new iPhone comes out, but they won’t have enough to invest in their own business. Please don’t pay for people. If they want to be on your team bad enough, they will find a way. If they have to look around their house to find things they can sell on eBay, they will do it when they have a strong enough WHY.

Tip: If you insist on promoting multiple opportunities (bad idea), DO NOT go public with them. Limit your promoting to private messages or be face-to-face with your prospects. NEVER CROSS PROMOTE.

“A man who chases two rabbits won’t catch either one…”