[Editor's Note] I'd like to introduce John Counsel to you. An expert in network marketing, not to mention one of my all-time favorite people, John has a delightful way of communicating.

His diversity in experience and his enthusiasm for life come through loud and clear in his writing. I have welcomed John on the HomeBizBytes writing staff because, quite frankly, I know very little about network marketing, while John is a true expert. His bright and fresh concepts will sometimes strike a nerve and often ring true. His no-hype, get-to-the-point style is "spot on" as John would say in his Australian way.

I am delighted to include John as a regular contributor to HomeBizBytes and hope you will embrace what he has to say. [End Editor's Note]

If you really think about it, network marketing is a weird business, full of the oddest paradoxes.

Take sponsoring, for example.

Who are usually the most excited, enthusiastic and successful sponsors?

That's right... NEW people!

The people who know least, have fewest skills, don't even know The Plan... they're ignorant and incompetent, but they don't care. They're on fire.

They just DO it.

Then, just when they've settled in and learned all the essential knowledge and skills they need to succeed... they STOP sponsoring!

Huh?

What happened?

They're like a glass of champagne (or soda pop, depending on your preferences). Fill it up and it bubbles over, everywhere. But, left standing, it soon loses its fizz. It goes flat.

Sound familiar?

Does this happen to YOUR people?

Does it happen to YOU?

Has the fizz gone out of your MLM bizz?

The bad news is that it happens to ALL of us, sooner or later. We all go stale. Our excitement fizzles.

The good news is that it can be fixed!

And it's so quick and easy to fix you'll wonder why you never thought of it before, it's so obvious.

In order to fix this problem, we need to understand what causes it.

Why do they stop sponsoring once they gain all the knowledge, skills and experience to be brilliantly successful? Where does their excitement go?

Imagine that a new restaurant opens not far from where you live or work. People rave about it. They urge you to try it. So you do.

Boy... they weren't kidding. The atmosphere is fantastic, from the moment you enter. The service is exemplary. The menu is mouthwatering. The prices are surprisingly reasonable. So you order.

The presentation of your meal is stunning. The portions are generous, the quality of the food and standard of preparation are flawless. It melts in your mouth and drowns your taste buds. Bliss!

You can't wait to tell your friends and colleagues.

Okay... stop right there.

What just happened?

This chart sums it up. Note the three segments:

Segment A represents what you've become used to. No excitement here, except for the first time it happened. Then it became your norm, your standard. It's the level of fulfilment you've come to expect.

Segment B represents what you just experienced, the degree to which your expectations were exceeded. This DIFFERENCE is what determines your excitement. They're in direct proportion.

Of course, if the experience falls short of your normal expectation, woe betide the provider! Either way, nobody can shut you up about how you FEEL!

It's the measure of your EMOTIONAL response to what you experienced. If the difference is positive, you want everyone to know how you feel about it. And if it's negative, you STILL want everyone to know how you feel about it!

Now... here's the $64,0000 question:

What happens NEXT time?

How does the restaurant ensure that you continue to experience a difference? (Because it's the difference that creates your excitement -- the emotional payoff.)

The challenge for the restaurant, of course, is that your expectation, your new norm, is no longer A. It's now B.

In fact, it's even worse than that, because your MEMORIES of your initial experience have usually overshot reality -- they're now at C!

How on earth can the retaurant continue to exceed your expectations, realistically?

They can't.

The best they can hope to do is to maintain the established level of expectation so you're not disappointed. They do this by changing the menu, by quality control, staff training, etc, etc, etc.

But it soon wanes, anyway. Your expectations have risen to a new level, and there's no longer any real EXCITEMENT involved. It's still good, but it's no longer FABULOUS.

Just like your network marketing business.

When you first experienced the product benefits, it was EXTRAORDINARY. Then, when people joined you and your bonuses started to arrive, that was even more exciting!

But the excitement soon fades. The extraordinary quickly becomes very ordinary.

This is normal. It happens in all aspects of life.

So how can we fix it?

If it's not practical to continually increase our level of experience and emotional payoff, what's the answer?

I've already given you clues, several times. But let me give you another.

I have two little granddaughters, Ainsley (4) and Nadia (2). They're my eldest daughter's children. I love the days when they come over to see me at my home, where I work. I can always find reasons to interrupt work for them. :)

During summer, it's fun to lie on the grass and show them all kinds of natural wonders, like ladybirds crawling on your fingers, or clouds changing shape.

Whooooaaah!

Hold it right there... these are things that I grew blase about by the age of five, almost 50 years ago. How come I'm suddenly enjoying them all over again?

Ah... but are these what I'm really enjoying?

Or am I enjoying experiencing my granddaughters' excitement? Sharing something that's familiar to me -- but a whole new world of experience for them?

Are you getting a glimpse of the solution here?

What do most people really want out of life?

I mean REALLY want -- after money and status and all those other mundane, ordinary things that bring no lasting happiness or fulfilment?

I ask this question a lot. And I keep on asking. I really DIG, in mentoring sessions, in workshops, in everyday conversations.

Know what I almost always find, buried deep down where people feel vulnerable and uncomfortable?

We all want to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

We want to raise the level of peace, happiness, love, prosperity, selflessness... all those truly noble qualities that, deep down in our hearts, most of us never really believe we can change.

But we so desperately WANT to be able to make that difference -- to make the world a better place.

Think about it.

Dig deep.

Isn't that what you'd love to do, ultimately?

To make a lasting difference in other peoples' lives?

Do it.

Start today.

You have the power to do it, right now, with your network marketing opportunity. It doesn't matter how stale or jaded you or your people have become, you can change that IMMEDIATELY, and put the fizziness back in your business, starting NOW.

Here's how...

PRINCIPLE: "You can't share what you don't have!"

Step 1: Re-new your excitement in your PRODUCTS.

• * How about actually BUYING and USING them? (Hey -- 80% don't. It's hard to stay excited when you don't even use 'em! You know I'm right.)
• * Order three products you don't normally use and experience the benefits, personally. Do whatever has to be done to gain the benefits.
• * Don't stop! Keep on doing it. Become the proverbial "product of your product."

Step 2: Duplicate yourself as an excited CONSUMER.

• * Get out there and SHOW others how excited you are. Don't try to sell them... TELL them. These products will make a difference to them! True excitement is infectious. Let yours work for you. They'll want to experience it, too.
• This will get you some new customers -- and you'll renew your excitement in the RECIPROCAL income opportunity (personal retailing, the fastest way to earn income in network marketing).

Step 3: Duplicate yourself as an excited RETAILER.

• * Hey... this business WORKS! You can make MONEY! Share how you feel about it with others -- this can make a difference to their incomes!
• Remember... TELL them. Don't try to sell them!
• This will get you some new distributors, and you'll renew your excitement in the RESIDUAL income opportunity -- the safest way to earn income in network marketing! (But don't forget about the reciprocal income. That's where the REAL income base lies. Sponsoring just adds the leverage that creates residual income.
• Forget about "a lot of people doing a little." Make it "a lot of people doing a little MORE."
• When that happens, you'll be jumping out of your skin with excitement!

Step 4: Duplicate yourself as a SPONSOR.

• * Show your new people how to do it -- and keep it safe and simple. Don't complicate it. Show and tell. Get excited by the RESULTS you experience (not the PROMISE of future results) and share how you feel with people. Remember -- "you can't share what you don't have!"
• Learn to make a difference in small ways. They soon produce a groundswell, then a flood, as people do as you do. (Note: "as you DO." Not as you SAY. Big difference. Try it. It works.)

That's it. The whole shootin' match.

No matter how long you've been in network marketing, get back to the coalface and stay there. You rob yourself of the REAL ongoing excitement of this business system if you lose sight of this reality.

Your excitement will die, fast, if you just sit back and expect constantly newer and higher levels of fulfilment from your own achievements. That excitement is once only, every time.

I've yet to see anyone reaching a six figure income (or higher) who gets any more excited than a brand new distributor sponsoring their first person, or getting their first customer or their first bonus payment.

It's all about the DIFFERENCES, remember?

Your continuing excitement will come from the excitement you help create for your new people, with your products, your reciprocal income opportunity and your residual income opportunity.

Not from "motivational" seminars and workshops.

Not from books and tapes.

These things are just handy reminders. That's why the excitement you feel from them doesn't last. They're based on the PROMISE of fulfilment, not the reality. (They're still valuable, but they're no substitute for the real thing.)

So MAKE a difference.

To yourself, first, then to others.

Show them how to change their everyday experiences and results, and how they feel about them.

It's that simple.

It's that powerful.

Why not try it? You can't lose.

Start right NOW.

As my friend, MLM author, trainer and leader, David Nelson, says... "Our THOUGHTS determine what we WANT. But it's our ACTIONS that determine what we GET!"

Be true to yourself.

Just DO it.

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You shouldn't assume that your current basic homeowner's insurance adequately covers your home-based business. Your home-based business adds a unique set of liabilities to your property, including the cost of replacing inventory or office equipment. Also to be considered is the possibility of injuries connected to any product or service you sell.

Something to consider: the cost of replacing business property versus receiving reimbursement for the purchase price. The trick is to strike the balance between assuming the right amount of risk--taking a higher deductible--with the cost of recovering any losses to your business as well as your personal property.

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