I’d like to take a few moments and tell you why you need to take 100% responsibility for your own network marketing business. To some of you, this will already be common sense. To others, this might be an eye opening lesson.
I should begin by telling you a story. One of the first lessons I learned as a young Army Second Lieutenant was to take responsibility for my own actions and for the people I led. My supervisor sat me down when I was brand new to the unit and told me that good leaders do not make excuses. They cowboy up and always accept responsibility for their actions, and for the actions of the people they lead. The bucks stops at their desk. They do not blame their failures, mistakes or short-comings on anyone else but themselves.
This lesson has proven VERY valuable in my life and in my businesses. We live in a society where just about everyone has a victim mentality and blames their lot on life on anyone and everyone but themselves. People blame their failing marriages on their spouse. They blame their lack of career success on their boss. They blame their current “life” status on their upbringing. They blame their financial future on the economy or the government. And the list goes on.
Truth be told, I’ve never met a successful victim. The only people I’ve ever met who became successful in life were people who took 100% responsibility for their own lives. They knew that their future and their success were in their own hands, and they embraced that responsibility.
When it comes to your network marketing business, you have to take responsibility for your own business. You have to realize that NO ONE cares about your future, or your business, as much as you do. Blaming your upline, the company, your downline, or the industry for your shortcomings and lack of success will not help you in any way.
Sure, it might be convenient to justify your lack of results by blaming someone else. But how responsible is that? Do you respect leaders who pass the buck? Do you want to work for someone who never accepts responsibility for their mistakes? I hope not.
If you want to be successful in life, you must look at the person staring back at you in the mirror and say “if it’s meant to be it’s up to me!” That is the attitude of the winner.
Of course, there is still no guarantee of success, especially in business. Even if you “man up” or “woman up” and take responsibility for your network marketing business you could still fail. That is part of being an entrepreneur. Truth be told, I could accept failure in business if I knew I gave it 100% and left nothing on the table. But, I couldn’t live with myself if I knew I didn’t give it 100%. And I could never live with myself by blaming someone else for my failure.
Stop blaming your sponsor for quitting. Stop blaming your upline for being to busy to help you. Stop blaming your team for not producing. Stop blaming the company by saying that the products don’t work, or that they are too expensive.
Remove the words, “I can’t” from your vocabulary and replace it with this phrase: “I can. I will. I shall.” Just about anything in life is possible if you set a goal, develop a plan, work your plan, learn as you go, persevere until you succeed AND take responsibility for your actions.
At the end of the day, do the right thing and stop making excuses and blaming others for your lack of results in your business (or life). Accept your own fate, give it your best shot, and see where the cards fall. You might not end up on the mountain top, but wherever you end up the view will be good because you know you gave it your best.
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.
I 100% agree. Taking responsibility for how things are working or not working is the key to success in network marketing. Once you change your mindset and realize that what you do today is going to determine what happens tomorrow, the business will begin to grow. It really doesn’t matter if you have a supportive upline or not, you ultimately are responsible for your own success or failure.
All successful people take responsibility for their lives. You don’t need a good upline to succeed. All you have to do is man up or woman up and do the work.
The first thing I must say to this post is a”Hearty” AMEN!
It is easy to blame others when something goes wrong, but truth be told, the wrong was my own fault. If I put another person in the place to cause the problem, and did not oversee it correctly, it is my own fault.
You mentioned that our business could still fail even if we own up to the faults. In all actuality, I don’t see this as failure, but as education. If we own up and see the errors we made, it is success because we can make changes so those errors will not be made again even if it is in a new business venture.
Thanks for this post Chuck; I needed to hear it–or should I say: read it!
Glad I could help, Greg. Taking responsibility for your own life is the key to success.