“Try on” what I have to share and see if it fits. If not throw it away. If it does fit, wear it, and if it blesses your life like it has mine, you will want to share it with everyone you meet. The cry of the business world goes out, ‘Do unto others before they can do unto you!’ Twenty plus years in the corporate world instilled in me that this was the best philosophy for achieving success. When I entered into Network Marketing my mentors (also corporate escapees), echoed the very same business beliefs and style. Slam people with lots of stuff, sling them against the wall, see what sticks and run fast to find the next one (or to get away from the ones who didn’t stick and began to chase you). Some will, some won’t, so what, next! Love money and use people (LMUP). What a great philosophy to live by right? Yes, if you want to be the President of the No Friends Left Club. NULL So after nearly three decades of LMUP as my credo, only moderate success to show for it, no long term residual and not many friends left, I came to the realization that this might be where the phrase, “It’s lonely at the top” came from. I surmised that the people who did make it to the top probably had no friends left to share their success with, thus the inherent loneliness. Now maybe you have experienced this in your life or maybe not. Maybe you were the leader of the pack or just played follow the leader. Regardless, “try on” what I have to share and see if it fits. If not throw it away. If it does fit, wear it, and if it blesses your life like it has mine, you will want to share it with everyone you meet. So what is “It”? I’m getting there, don’t rush the story. Slower is often better than faster. For nearly five years “I stepped away” from this Industry and I served as a Praise and Worship leader for a large church in Texas. I will tell you this, I learned more about people and about life in those five years than I had in the previous 15 years with a Ph.D. from the School of Hard Knocks. In that brief period I found a new mentor. One who led me down a different path. One who shared incredible insights that have made a dramatic shift in my life. My mentor shared “it” with me from the “Owners Manual of Life”, the perfect blueprint for success. So the time has come for me to reveal the secret of success to you.
It is called Servant Leadership and it is based on Loving People and Using Money (LPUM).
The Gospel of Mark says it all. Mark 10:43-44, “This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, he must be slave of all. (Good News Bible) As humans “being” we are called to “do” for others. We “do” by using the gift we have been given. Yes, it is true. All of us have been given at least one gift from God. I know I didn’t believe it. Then I found it in the Manual. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each one, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God. (Good News Bible) The key words in this scripture are not that we have been given a special gift. They are that we must use it for the good of others. Our responsibility is to uncover, develop and utilize that gift. The challenge (at least it was for me) was worrying about how I was going to do what I was called to do and learning how to avoid playing small in life. Nothing is ever accomplished this way.
We are all called to play large in life, really large, larger than we can possibly imagine. To make a difference, to leave a legacy, something that can only be done through service to others.
When I stopped worrying (I went back to my owners’ manual) Heb 13:21 – May the God of peace provide you with everything good in order to do His will…. I began to understand my gift and started to develop it. I was excited that I had a piece of the puzzle of life and by sharing my piece I was able to guide others to finding their piece, in finding their gifts and adding value to their lives and giving the glory to God. Please understand, I am not an expert on the Bible, there are parts I can not even seem to comprehend but, I have learned and continue to learn some powerful insights and lessons about life. The lessons I have learned are blessing my family in more ways than I could have ever imagined; creating abundance in friendships, abundance in giving, and abundance in receiving. So just how do I apply Servant Leadership into my business? Here are the key steps I offer to my leaders to follow: 1. Develop the why in your life and your business. What is your Mission, Your Vision, Your purpose? (MVP) 2. Write these down so you are vividly clear on them. (Use a pencil if you like as these will change as you grow) 3. Communicate with and find out who your three, four, or five key leaders are? 4. Have them develop their goals, their MVP. 5. Have them write down their goals. 6. Have them communicate their goals with you. Giving you a copy. 7. Put your goals in a drawer, an envelope, under your pillow, anywhere out of sight. 8. Take the goals of your leaders and post them in plain view. Stick them in your wallet, your purse, above your desk, on your bathroom mirror, etc. 9. Focus on each of your leaders and guide them, assist them in reaching their goals. 10. When each of your leaders has reached their goals, guess what? Your goals will be reached. Here are a few indicators that you are truly experiencing Servant Leadership: 1. Your focus is on the success of others 2. You share more stories about other people’s success than your own 3. You spend a great deal of your time on recognition and encouragement of your people 4. You do not focus on your personal challenges 5. You choose your words carefully, using only empowering words that build up people 6. You realize everyone is not like you and love them anyway Job endured insurmountable suffering in his life and came out understanding that God can do all things. Job 42:2 – “I know you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.” God has a plan for each of us, He has a special gift he has given to you. Use it. Share it. After all of the trials, tribulations and suffering that Job went through what did he do? Job prayed for his friends. Job 42:10 – After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. I have chosen to focus on others, serving them to reach their goals, to living the life of their dreams. I know in my heart that the relationships I build with this kind of Leadership can never be broken and the friendships that develop in the process become one of the greatest assets in my life. What do you chose to focus on? Will it be LMUP or LPUM? Where will your life lead you and what will your legacy be? Will you find the gift God has given you and share it? Or will you play small the rest of your life? The challenge is presented. The choice is yours.
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Ted maintains a business that does in excess of $7 Million a year in 19 Countries around the Globe. He has shared the Network Marketing Business model with thousands in the U.S., Japan, Sweden and Finland.
Ted is the VP of Development and training for the NetworkMarketingMagazine and LiveOnlineMeeting.
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