The times, they are a changing. . .

So much has changed since the era of pushy sales and enrolling anyone who can fog a mirror, and yet the perception lingers that network marketing is the worst thing since income tax. We have Tim Sales' Professional Inviter and Michael Oliver's Natural Selling, to name just two supreme examples of how to connect with people without creating awkwardness and resentment, and yet the negative perception lingers.

We have online training resources, full marketing support from our companies in the form of brochures, DVDs, slide shows. We have Web 2.0 social networking. We have strong upline, downline, crossline support. We have the freedom to work at home, on our own timeline, setting our own schedules, and yet the perception lingers.

We have more and more companies turning to network marketing as the business strategy of the future. We have icons of the business world, like Donald Trump and Bill Farley, turning to network marketing. We have websites that address people's objections in an unbiased, undramatic, truthful, coherent style. . . . and yet the perception lingers.

Changing that perception is like pulling a nail out of a thick board. We don't know if the nail is about to come out of the board, or if we have to pull and pull and pull to get it out. It doesn't really matter how much nail is left in the board; our job is to pull until it comes out. And it will come out.

Public perception may be about to change. Perhaps next month the shift will start appearing here and there. Perhaps next year. It doesn't matter how close we are to the perception change; our job is to help the change happen.

My colleagues and I just created a meetup group using meetup.com. We are moving forward with a positive attitude, determined to further the effort of changing the public's opinion about network marketing.

Our vision is to create greater understanding by the general public of the truly amazing opportunity that is possible through network marketing, available to anyone who sincerely yearns for greater financial freedom and greater time freedom.

Our purpose is three-fold: 1) to bolster our resolve to create successful network marketing businesses by surrounding ourselves with like-minded souls; 2) to mastermind positive actions and identify resources that will help us spread the truth about the positive aspects of network marketing; 3) to invite guests who would benefit from learning more about network marketing in order to overcome their own objections.

Our goal is to help people realize their dreams, using network marketing as the vehicle to personal freedom.

It's easy to do, and you can do it wherever you are. Check out meetup.com. It is powerful.

Learn to thrive in a down economy

Do you know of many industries that are doing well right now? We know that bankers, auto makers, many of the formerly stalwart industry are faltering. Scores of people have been laid off and are having trouble finding their next job. The media have created a fear consciousness around all of this, so we're all shivering in our boots, hoping it doesn't hit us or our loved ones.

In the midst of all of this, network marketing is thriving. In every economic downturn in the last 40 years, network marketing has blossomed. The reasons are interwoven.

In network marketing, there's no one to fire you. You are the boss. You decide how hard you work, when you work, with whom you work. If you decide to take the day off, no one is looking over your shoulder asking "WHAT???!!!" Whatever you do is your decision. You are the boss. No one can take your job away from you.

In network marketing, all you need is the desire to help others. In a down economy, there are lots of people looking for help. You can help them turn their lives around and really make something of themselves. It is the most rewarding industry out there. You can have an impact.

In a down economy, people become more open minded about opportunities. They're willing to think outside the box. Once they've looked outside that box, they will be amazed at the possibilities. Their enthusiasm will spark; their creativity will blossom; their hope will rise.

Robert Kiyasaki of the Rich Dad/Poor Dad book series describes network marketing as the single best avenue for going into business for yourself. All of the tools are there for you to use. You don't have to develop any marketing brochures, CDs, DVDs. The slide shows are ready to go, market tested, powerful. The back office and websites are up and running, waiting for you. For a small initial investment that anyone can afford, you step into a supportive, interactive system that teaches you what you need to know to succeed.

Paul Zane Pilzer, a noteworthy economist, predicts that thousands of millionaires will create fortunes over the next 10 years. How??? Network marketing. Pilzer predicted the crumbling of large corporations. Changes in tax laws and the speed of innovation in software and the internet have shifted the advantage to individuals, away from large corporations that can no longer adjust quickly enough to meet continuing consumer demands. These large corporations didn't crumble because of global influences. They crumbled because the hot shot, intelligent, motivated, clear thinkers are no longer joining corporations. They're building their own small, innnovative companies.

The timing is perfect. Thousands of millionaires over the next 10 years. Would you like to be one of them?