Why Network Marketing??? Why NOT!!!

 

My Salute.....To My Upline

It is time that I dedicate a post to my mentor, my upline, who has not only been a wonderful companion but an excellent guide to me on this excellent and marvelous journey towards achieving time and financial freedom.

How I got introduced to him can be seen here and here.

It is a coincidence that both of us have had our ample contribution to the Indian Army as officers. So, expecting from him the traits of a good leader, with excellent inter-personal skills and an eye for detail was a given thing. And I was certain that he would not be wasting his time and energy to polish those qualities of mine when I stepped into this business.

Since he had joined this excellent opportunity with QNet, much before me, he was completely clued up about the aspects that needed attention for anyone to be successful over here. The best part was, that he also knew well in advance as to what approach would be the best for me to know about those and imbibe them quickly. Being very down to earth and humble, he has but naturally never taken credit for those qualities and has always accredited them to his mentors, the wonderful couple team of Malckolm & Michelle Desai.

The very first day when I joined, his opening statement was, “I will not only show you the way on which to run, but I will run along with you till the finish line”. That’s complete selflessness. It clearly indicates that he is not concerned only about his cheques, but yours too. The most outstanding feature of his professionalism is that he never misses out on making a contact with all the members of his Team. He makes a diligent endeavour that no member of his team loses sight of his/her respective dreams, and then cajoles, coerces, pushes them to put in the required effort to fulfill them. And, when each one of us achieves our short term goals, we have none amongst us who is more delighted and happier than him. His personality is so magnetic, that even if a downline desires to avoid him, for reasons like inability to carry out the laid down activities, he still reaches out to him in a completely fearless manner. It has only come out of the faith that each has reposed in him, and the sence of belief that he has inspired, that each member of the team clearly understands that he only has their benefit upmost in his heart as well as mind.

Without being verbose, as the essence of his qualities may get lost in the text, I just summarise his personal and professional attributes which have had an immense impact on all of us in the team, and has propelled us towards prosperity.

• He is completely welcoming and approachable, yet knowing to avoid mixing business with pleasure. 
• He has complete grip of the business, and completely aware of the policies, procedures and products of QNet. However, he has not limited himself to this and has an excellent idea of the complete direct selling industry. 
• He possesses excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. He is completely adept at coming down to the level of the person with whom he is interacting, and make him feel at ease. 
• When any member of his team faces challenges, he comes forth as a bundle of motivation, full of innovative ideas and accurate and appropriate feedback. Never hesitant to call ‘a spade – a spade’ he exercises full right to trespass and speaks ‘what we do not want to hear’ without hesitation or guilt, something which is a fallout of his genuine concern for us. 
• Helps all of us to expand our business, even globally, by coordinating with and providing ample support from our grand uplines. 
• Extremely sensitive to the needs of his team members, both at personal and professional front. 
• Is connected to his team, not only professionally, but on the personal front as well. Being aware of family details of the team members, and wishing them (rather surprising them) on special days like birthday and marriage anniversary comes very naturally to him. It thus paves the way for him to bond emotionally with each of his team member. 
• Keeps us continuously informed about the events related to systems and other activities taking place, both at national and global level, and guiding as to how these can be suitably exploited for personal development and enhancement of business. 
• Very competent in nature, and has the ability to instill the same spirit in his team. Never ready to accept defeat, he has ensured that we have no SIRs (sleeping IRs) or even DinoSIRs in our Team. Even the thought of quitting does not come to us, when he is there to guide us through this path, at every step. 
• Has both, a vision, and a mission, individual and for the complete team.

I know that he is one who would like to stay away from the arc lights and be a silent worker, working relentlessly for the welfare, benefit , success, prosperity and happiness of the people around him. However, at this instant, I cannot help but to pay my respect, gratitude and obeisance to him, by openly stating that I am extremely lucky and fortunate to be in the shadow of such an excellent upline.

The Infectious Smile

He is none other than, Col Narasimha Mudakatte (Retd) from Bangalore (India).

Sir, my salute to you.

Seek Change...Standing Still Does Not Lead To Progress

We would have definitely noticed that the moment we not only make an effort to change towards progress, but also when we merely express a desire to change, that we find advice to the contrary from all possible quarters. It’s just because it is the natural tendency, of not only the human beings but all living things to resist change. In case of us, where we can make use of our brains better than the others, this occurrence is more pronounced and evident.

Majority of people don’t like change. Change can be very precarious. The change business can be intense, challenging, uncomfortable, and can even threaten the status quo in ways many people either don’t want, or just don’t like. They hate having to adapt to change. The bottom line is – change is seen as bad. And since the majority feels so, they feel it’s their birth right to impose it on those who want to break away from the line.

How many of us can honestly admit that we embrace change and are comfortable with it? Change means we may have to leave our comfort zone, think outside the box or modify our standard way of thinking. Easier said than done, for most of us.

 We need not feel that we must forever be what we presently are. There is a tendency to think of change as the enemy. Many of us are suspect of change and will often fight and resist it before we have even discovered what the actual effects will be. When change is thought through carefully, it can produce the most rewarding and profound experiences in life.

The scale of change can be almost infinite. It can manifest itself in so many ways. Every single one of us will have experienced different changes, the ones we did want as well as the ones we did not want. And the changes we made no matter how painful they were for us or others.

Change can be our teacher. We can learn from it. A key to change is in learning. Sending our children to school, just as we were sent to school as children ourselves is something we almost take for granted. But yet we put children into a massive new situation where total change occurs, and we can imagine the seismic shift that follows as they discover all these amazing new things. New knowledge, new ways of understanding, new rules to learn. And learning new disciplines. Growth is associated with change. We learn to change. Growth is a by-product of change.

When a plant became root bound and began to deteriorate, a young boy decided to transplant it to a larger container. Carefully he lifted the greenery from its small pot and put it into its larger home, trying to disturb the roots and soil as little as possible. The novice gardener watched and waited. To his dismay, the plant still struggled. He then expressed his frustration to an experienced gardener who offered his services. When the plant was placed in the gardener’s hands, he turned the pot upside down, pulled out the plant, shook the soil from the roots, and clipped and pulled all the stragglers from the root system. Replacing the plant into the pot, he vigorously pushed the soil tightly around the plant. Soon the plant took on new life and grew.

How often in life do we set our own roots into the soil of life and become root bound? We may treat ourselves too gently and defy anyone to disturb the soil or trim back our root system. Under these conditions we too must struggle to make progress. Oh, change is hard! Change can be rough. However, we need to realize that finally, change WILL BE rewarding.

Yes, there is pain in change, but there is also great satisfaction in recognizing that progress is being achieved. Life is a series of hills and valleys and often the best growth comes in the valleys.

First, we must understand the need for change. An unexamined life is not worth living. Being aware of the fault and the need to change is a most important step. The recognition of the need to change has to be a greater force than the luxury of staying the same.

Second, the facts must be authentic. We need to know how, what, where, and why to change.

Third, a system for change must be established. Our change must be planned and orderly. After our system for change is established, it must be followed through to completion, even though it may disturb our very root system.

Fourth, we must be totally committed to our plan for change.

A Chinese proverb says, “Great souls have wills; feeble souls have only wishes.” Unless we have the will to improve, all the other steps to change will be wasted. This last step separates the winners from the losers.

I Wish.......

One day, when I reached home from office, very late in the evening, tired and irritated, my son walked up to me and asked very sweetly, “Dad, how  much do you earn?” I found this extremely silly, and so I did not reply. He continued to stand there silently, watching me unpack and change my dress. Then, again he asked, “Dad, how much do you earn per hour in the office?” This question really pissed me off, and I shot back at him in a loud voice, “That’s none of your business. Now off to bed you go so that you wake up on time for tomorrow’s school.”

Immediately sadness descended on his face and he quickly turned away to probably hide it from me, and ran off to his room. I did sense this feeling, but shrugged it off. However, my conscience kept pricking me. I had my mind immediately flooded with thoughts like, ‘poor child, he’s been waiting to talk to me for the whole day and I just shooed him away while he tried to strike a conversation’, ‘he was not asking for heaven, he was just being inquisitive and I should have simply answered ’ and many more on the similar lines.

I felt heart broken, and decided to make amends. So, I walked over to his room. His face on the pillow was facing away from the door. I sat down, and touched the pillow. It was moist. The poor fellow was crying, and that made me feel even worse. And the moment I placed my hand on his head, he started to cry even more. I rolled him over and picked him up in my arms and hugged him. I felt extremely bad and angry at myself at this point of time.

With a little consoling, I calmed him down and he stopped crying, probably after feeling the warmth of affection. And, then I said, “Son, I am sorry. I should not have behaved in the manner I did, and then hurt you.” He replied, “It’s okay Papa”. Then to steer away, I engaged him in other talks related to his school and other activities during the day. He soon became normal and I could see the smile returning to his face. Then I told him that I need to go and prepare for next day.

The moment I stood up, he very innocently asked once again, “Papa, how much do you earn per hour?” For a moment, my fuze blew off and in a flash I was angry at him within for asking that silly question again, but somehow managed to retain composure. After taking a few deep breaths and moments of silence, all the while when he kept looking at me, I said, “Why do you ask, son?”

“Just tell me Papa”, he replied.

“Five hundred rupees”, I said.

“Can you please give me one hundred rupees”, he requested sweetly with a glint in his eyes.

“Sure”, I said, and took out my wallet and gave him a crisp one hundred rupee note.

He became very happy and excited on receiving it from me. He quickly got down from the bed and rushed to his study table. He opened the drawer and pulled out an old pencil box and returned to the bed and sat in front of me. And then, when he opened the pencil box, twisted and crumpled notes of denominations of 50, 20, 10 and 5 fell out of it.

While he became busy in arranging them, my anger suddenly shot up. “So, this is what the brat has been upto. Collecting money with flimsy excuses”.

And then even before I could snap at him, he extended his arm towards me with all the notes neatly collected in his hand, and said with a very innocent sweet smile, “Dad, here are five hundred rupees. Can  you please give me an hour of yours tomorrow, as I want to play with you, something which we haven’t done for months now”.

And, then the obvious happened. I cried inconsolably.

No, this really did not happen with me. It is actually an adaptation of a email which I had received quite some time back. However, it is quite probable that is waiting to happen with very many of us.

I WISH…………..this does NOT happen with you.

                                                      *****

I have this friend who worked for a particular big corporate company at Gurgaon. He was on a very important position and earning well. Unfortunately his aged father, who stays at Chandigarh, got unwell. He had to therefore take some leave and rush to attend to his father. The ailment was treated and his father recovered. However, there was  a requirement of prolonged hospitalization of his father, for which the presence of my friend  was essential at Chandigarh. His aged mother would not be able to manage this crisis alone, and there were no siblings or close relatives to fall back upon.

He brought this to the notice of his bosses in the company, and requested for permission for a little more absence. The reluctance from their side was evident, however they granted him two more weeks. Sadly, the hospitalization was to be for about a month.

So, just before two weeks were to end, he again approached his boss, with a request for another two weeks leave.

“Please find yourself another JOB”, was the curt reply he received through the Secretary of his boss.  

I WISH…………..this does NOT happen with you.                                                      

*****

Neetu is the name of my wife’s friend. She is the mother of a cute seven year old child. While her husband works for a flagship company, she also goes to teach in a reputed school. Both of them earn handsomely and stay in a rented bungalow.

It happened on a particular second Saturday of a month. On this day, the periodic Parents-Teacher Meet was scheduled in her school. When the family woke up in the morning, the parents realized that Rahul (their son) was quite unwell with severe throat infection and high fever 101 degrees centigrade. She was in no position to miss her school because of the PTM. So, she asked her husband to take leave and stay back at home to look after Rahul. However, he too was not in a position to do so as he had to attend an extremely important business meeting with a client from China.

Left with no option, she rang up one of her doctor friend and enquired about the medicines which could be given to Rahul. Fortunately she had those medicines available at home. She then gave those medicines to Rahul, comforted him and guided him before leaving for school. Her husband had already left for his office and poor boy Rahul was left all alone to fend for himself at the home. Luckily, Rahul was already getting used to such situations and was mentally prepared for it, which may not be the case with every child.

She did go over the formalities of the PTM at her school, but all this while her heart and mind were worried about the well being of Rahul. With God’s grace the situation did not deteriorate  an d the fever had come down by the time she returned from school.

I WISH…………..this does NOT happen with you.

                                                      *****
I have this good friend, who’s doing extremely well in life. He is financially well off, owing to the income which he had from his  small business unit engaged in manufacturing. He had no business partners and this  factory was the outcome of his dedicated hard work and toil, which he managed independently.

He is particularly careful about his health and loves to exercise regularly. Unfortunately, one day while doing a household chore and in the process of lifting some heavy weight, he severely strained his back and suffered a slip disc in the backbone.

The pain was debilitating and he was bed ridden for a very long time, during which he had to undergo regular physiotherapy treatment for relief from the problem. This led to his continuous absence from his business unit and the production began to suffer. It became extremely difficult to manage the daily functioning of the unit and also to attend to the aspects related with the workers. Somehow it got managed for little less than two months, but thereafter it became extremely impossible. His brothers provided him the support they could, but it did not work out. The workers at the unit began to leave and the work was on the verge of a standstill.

Finally, he decided to shut it down completely, as it was impossible for the work to progress without his physical presence at the business unit premises. He suffered financial setback in the process, but luckily he was able to convert the premises into a ware house and give it on lease to a few companies, and the losses could be minimized.

I WISH…………..this does NOT happen with you.

                                                      *****

Abhishek is a good friend of mine. We took pre-mature retirement from the Army nearly about the same time. While I had to move to a far off place down South to find a job, he was comparatively luckier as he found a good job in New Delhi itself. He could now stay with his aged parents and take care of them. His wife also picked up a good job and her income supplemented their earning to maintain a desired standard of living in the capital city.

He lost his mother a year back. His father was able to overcome this grief in a few months and adjusted to the lonely life, waiting for everyone to fall back home from school and office. Sadly, his father has now started showing signs of early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. This is the time when he needs complete support of a caregiver, the best being someone from the family. However, the dilemma is completely killing for my friend Abhishek. He and his wife are at important juncture of their respective careers, and none can afford to let it go. I feel extremely pained when we meet and find this dilemma quite evident in his daily life and body language, and his often expressed desire for time and financial freedom.

I WISH…..this does not happen with you.

*****

‘He’ is younger to me, but not in the J.O.B. (Just Over Broke) cycle. He has already built his pipeline of wealth through this excellent opportunity.

He gets up early in the morning (does he still have to!!!), does his prayers and then settles down to enjoy a cup of tea in the company of his wife in the balcony of their house, while his pet Dalmatian runs around in the garden.

Then, he takes his dog for a walk, and at the same time sees off his son in the school bus.

Leaves the dog at home thereafter and off he goes to gym for an hour long sweat out.

Returns to home, freshens up, and enjoys a healthy breakfast at peace with his wife, who in the meanwhile has been through her yoga session.

After a little while, having attended to his mails and other important household chores, goes to spend time with his parents, who stay in the same colony, but in a separate house. Helps them with their requirements, enjoys some refreshments with them and returns about two hours later.

Gets into his Skoda Octavia, and off he goes to his music teacher. Yes, he is passionately into learning what he always dreamed about. Playing a saxophone!!! Returns after about an hour.

Spends quality and quantity time with his wife, before lunch, who’s trying to master her painting techniques.

Takes a small siesta, and then he is waiting at the entry gate of the colony, to receive his son back from school.

The complete family takes an hour’s nap after their son finishes lunch. Then it is homework time for the son for two hours, assisted by his wife, and he either attends to his prospects explaining them the benefits of this opportunity, or is busy enhancing his knowledge through books or other AV media.

Once done with that, the wife goes for her evening walk, and he and his son are off to play cricket/badminton/tennis/table tennis or swimming, at facilities already available in their colony.

And, thereafter the family get together happens at his parent’s house over the evening tea.

Back home, the child is busy with TV or other toys, wife gets busy in the kitchen, and he with his evening prayers.

Post dinner, the family sometimes watches TV together, or play some board game, and enjoy the mutual company. On alternate days, they take an evening walk in the colony.

This is normal daily schedule.

Apart from that, he manages to take his complete family (including his parents) for family vacations either in India or abroad twice a year. He plans his holidays well……as he has no one bossing over him and waiting to disrupt his schedule. He is always available to his parents, be it for any minor household chore or something important like their periodic medical check ups.

On weekends, the family is usually enjoying a movie together, or an outing in a resort close by, or enjoying watching a play or other artistic performance, or calling on family and friends.

On Sundays, the family goes to attend their religious congregation, and thereafter for some charitable activities (which he much prefers not discussing).

A very down to earth man, a very jovial and cordial family, and without a hint of show off or ugly display of wealth. Hat’s off to my friend….he is a smart guy…..who has already ensured that a firm foundation is laid for his son…..and that the son will not only be able to pursue his dreams and hobbies/likings, but will also be available to his parents like a big happy FAMILY.

What a healthy life style……. NO stress…..NO worries……. complete time and financial freedom.

I WISH……. THIS HAPPENS WITH YOU (and in quick time with me too……. well, I’m already half way up there).

Amen.