In today’s post, I want to talk about habits of successful network marketers. A habit is “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” It’s something that you do frequently, even if you don’t realize it. It’s second nature, something ingrained in you that you do without thinking about.
Watching television is a habit. Going to the gym every day is a habit. Saving money is a habit. What you buy when you go grocery shopping is a habit. Reading daily (or not doing it) is a habit. Smoking is a habit. Eating healthy is a habit. Eating junk food is a habit. How you drive to work each day is a habit.
I’ve learned that we are all creatures of habit. We drive to work the same way each morning. We go to bed at the same time each night. We wake up about the same time each day. We eat certain foods week in and week out. We do the same thing most weekends. We are attracted to certain types of people.
Some of our habits are good and some of our habits are bad. Ultimately, our habits will determine where we end up in life. Good habits can lead to good things and bad habits will lead to bad things. Successful people form good habits.
Fortunately, we have the ability to change our habits and form new ones. No, it’s no easy to do and it’s not always fun, but it is possible. How long it takes to form new habits will vary from person to person. Some people could do it in as little as a few weeks and other people might take 90 days or more to form new habits. I consider that a small sacrifice to do something that could change your life for the better.
When it comes to network marketing, you need to develop certain habits if you want to become successful. When you study the top earners in our industry you will notice certain habits they have in common, to include:
- They are open minded
- They learn from their mistakes
- They rarely complain
- They like people
- They work their business every day
- They look for the positive in things
- They are busy and productive
- They focus on the money producing activities
- They utilize their own strengths, talents and abilities to build their business
- They schedule and manage their time effectively
- They have self discipline
- They don’t make excuses; they accept responsibility for their business
This is just a short list of the success habits that came to my mind. I’m sure there are many other winning habits as well.
One of the best things you can do is evaluate your current habits. For a few days, write down what you do each day. How much television do you watch? Do you exercise? What foods do you eat? Do you read every day? Do you set goals? How much do you complain? What time do you wake up and go to bed? What clothes do you choose to wear? How much time do you work your network marketing business each week?
Evaluate yourself in each one of these areas and try to come up with a list of your good habits and bad habits. Once again, we all have good and bad habits.
The next step in the process is to make a list of habits that you want to develop to help you move your MLM Business forward. Don’t pick too many things, but come up with three to five new habits that you would like to develop that will get you to take action consistently and grow your business. Here are a few examples:
- Plan out each day
- Contact five people per day
- Read for 20 minutes every day
- Call two team members each day
- Spend 10 minutes on product education every day
- Make 3 phone calls every day
- Follow up with 2 prospects every day
Once you’ve completed your list, rank them in order of importance. Start with your number one new habit that you want to develop and focus on that habit for the next 30 days. For example, if you want to form a habit of reading for thirty minutes every day, make a commitment to read for 30 minutes every day, for the next 30 days. By the time the 30 days are up, your new habit should be ingrained in your mind. If it’s not, do it again for another 30 days.
After you’ve formed your new habit, move to the next habit on your list that you want to form and continue this process. Within a year or so, you should have your new habits formed and be well on your way.
The bottom line is that our habits will ultimately determine where we end up in life. We all have the ability to get rid of bad habits and form new habits. No, it won’t always be easy or fun to do, but if it’s important to you I know you can make it happen.
What are your thoughts? What do you do to form new habits? What habits do you think top earners in our industry have? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
People are definitely creatures of habit…
Creating new habits will only help you in your business. If someone doesn’t know where to start, the ones that were outlined are a good start:
Plan out each day
Contact five people per day
Read for 20 minutes every day
Call two team members each day
Spend 10 minutes on product education every day
Make 3 phone calls every day
Follow up with 2 prospects every day
That many seem like a lot, but once you get into the routine it’s not time consuming at all.
If you have a team member who always has excuses why they can’t….move on. I’m not saying not to be there for that person, but don’t spend as much time with them as you would with someone who takes your advice and is productive.
Most importantly…if you aren’t willing to do those things that you are asking, you can expect anyone else to.
Yes, our habits definitely make or break us. It’s vital to form winning habits if you want to win. To create a new habit, just do something for 21 days. That’s all you need to do. And, the more you do things, the easier it gets.
I think the hardest part of forming new habits is actually doing it. You have to get to the point where you actually want to do it, then take initiative. And it’s still not going to be easy, because a lot of times old habits get in the way. But if you stick with it, like you said, after 3-4 weeks or so, you will have the new habit formed and you can move on to the next one.
I know when I work on new habits, I just think about how badly I want whatever my goal is. That’s my inspiration, that’s what pushes me through.
Yes, if you don’t want to truly form the new habit it will never happen.
I have found that if you really desire to have a new habit, the key is to commit to doing that habit day in and out. If you have to write it down to remember, do so. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you should do is what you want to become a habit if it is possible to do so. If thinking positive is your goal, when you awake, either listen to a positive message, read some positive quotes, and by all means…speak positive words into your own ears. After awhile, it will become automatic.
Absolutely. We are all creatures of habit. It takes 3-4 weeks to form a new habit. Do it each day and it will get much easier for you.
Even more difficult Chuck can be breaking old, and bad habits.
One of the worst habits we as humans seem to carry is negative thinking. So much of that is a product of what we see, and who we have around us. One habit I have started using is to get away, or escape from negative people. If they persist on being negative, I find someway to get away. If I am “trapped”, I will use other ways to escape the negatives (headphones, pay attention to someone different who is positive, maybe go hide in the restroom). If we can keep our persons away from negative influences, it will help us maintain a more positive self image.
I agree. I try to avoid negative people at all costs. I just don’t have time for it. I work hard to protect my attitude.
Sometimes we are in situations where we just cannot escape from negative people. It may be in our job, or in our home. The best way to defeat this I have found is to be sensationally positive. What I mean about that is to actually go overboard when you are around negative people. When they say the trash stinks, you could say “yes, but we are blessed to have trash cans. Isn’t it great!” If they have any common sense, sooner or later they will get the hint that you do not want their negative atmosphere. Usually the positive approach you are using will rub off, or they will just shut up and pout.
Good points, Greg. I try to avoid negative people at all costs, but I understand sometimes it is hard to get away from them. Being overly positive will definitely get them to be quiet, and a few of them might even turn into positive people.
So I definitely think that finding the positives in the situation and rarely complaining go hand in hand with one another. When you choose to focus on the negatives and complain about them, you are wasting time and doing absolutely nothing to improve your situation. It is those people who focus on the positives that make progress in this business because their sights are set on the possibilities. Granted you have to choose to be positive because I do think that the natural inclination of most people is to highlight those things that are wrong. But if you can train yourself to do that you set yourself up for more success.
You can either make excuses or you can make money, but you can’t do both.
You provided a great system to develop new habits.
I know that I have somewhat used your system by building a positive attitude. I vowed that no negative would come out in anything I wrote or said for 1 week. If I found something negative, I deleted it. It helped immensely. I found myself being more positive about everything and with that came good tidings.
I will print this and remember it. I know I have other habits I need to develop better. Time management is one that I have been working on.
Thanks my friend for this great post. It will help.
Forming new habits are vitally important if you want to be successful.