Dreams are very powerful. As young children, we are naturally dreamers. We think we can do anything in life. We talk about what we want to do and what we want to be when we grow up. We think we can conquer the world. Our parents and family encourage us to dream big. They tell us that if we set our mind to something, we can achieve it.
It’s not until we are young adults, and have worked in the corporate world for a few years that we stop dreaming! It’s sad, but most people, by the time they are 30 years old (if that) have completely given up on their dreams. Instead, they have “settled” for their lot in life and just accepted their current situation as their life long reality.
I once heard that the only difference between a grave and a rut is the dirt in your face! I couldn’t say it better myself. There is very little purpose or enjoyment in life if we have nothing to look forward to. Trust me, there are a lot of things to look forward to other than the upcoming weekend or the next payday.
Dreams are what keeps the world going. Dreams are what give us hope. Dreams are what leads to new inventions and technology. Dreams are why people start new businesses.
Many people enter the network marketing industry with the hope of turning their lives around for the better. Many people are sick and tired of being sick and tired and are looking for a better way to make a living and make a life. Many folks are looking for a Plan B, or an exit strategy from the traditional employment (or business) world.
What attracted me the most to this industry were the possibilities. Sure, there is no guarantee of success. Yes, most people fail. But certain individuals have definitely transformed their lives for the better. There is definitely unlimited potential to create a dream life via network marketing.
I learned about the concept of dream building in my first network marketing company: Amway. To this day I have never found another network marketing company or group of distributors that does dream building as well as Amway does.
During my time in Amway we would drive through expensive neighborhoods, view expensive cars, and talk about our dreams. We would talk about what we would do with our life if money was not an option. We would talk about our inner most goals and desires.
To this day, more than 12 years later that experience has a profound impact on my life.
As a sponsor or upline, it’s vital that you get your prospects and team members to dream build. You want to get people talking about what they want most out of life, what their hopes and dreams are, and what their ideal life would be like.
You want to do this because this is what will keep people in the business during the tough times. This will be the FUEL that keeps them moving forward. If you can remind someone of their WHY and talk about their dreams when they are down and out, it’s highly unlikely they will quit.
Here are a few things you can do to help your network marketing team dream build:
# 1 Have a Dream Night – Why not have a dream night with your team? Once every three to six months, get together with your serious people and have a dream night. Have a nice dinner, a speaker, and talk about your dreams with others. Have successful distributors talk about how the business changed their life for the better.
# 2 Spend a Day Once Every 90 Days Dream Building – In addition to the dream night, schedule a day once every few months where you and a small, select group of people can drive around town and dream build. Visit a resort, a fancy neighborhood, a luxury car dealership, an expensive restaurant, a million dollar home that is for sale, take a trip to the beach or whatever else you can think of. Get people thinking big.
# 3 Find Out Each Person’s WHY – Another great tip is to find out each person’s WHY. Know WHY the person joined the business to begin with and what they want to accomplish with the business. Everyone is motivated differently and has different aspirations. When you know someone’s WHY you can encourage them and motivate them effectively.
# 4 Create a Dream Board – Create your own collage or dream board. Cut out pictures of things you want to have or achieve in life and paste them onto a poster board. Hang up your collage/dream board in your house and refer to it daily. Help your team members do the same thing.
# 5 Share Success Stories with Each Other – Have successful distributors in your company share their success stories with you. Have them talk about what their life was like before the business and what it was like after the business. Have them talk about their struggles and disappointments as well.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that dreams are powerful. Dreams keep the world moving forward. Dreams are what will keep your distributors in the business during tough times. By helping your team members learn how to dream again, you can accomplish great things with your network marketing business.
What are your thoughts? What do you think about dream building in network marketing? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. 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.
I really enjoyed this post. I have always been a big dreamer and had amazing parents who supported what I chose to do even if they didn’t like it. Dreaming big has served me well over the years. I have been able to share with others some of the suggestions you have in your post. I plan to start implementing a Dream night. Thanks for the suggestion!
Yes, being a dreamer is good, but only if we can get off our butt and do something about it.
I love this post! I think that having dreams and chasing your dreams make you a more successful person, no matter what you do. Even if you fail or fall, you still learn something and you still went after what you wanted. I love the idea of having a dream board! I am definitely going to try that.
Dreams are the motivation that will keep you going and moving forward in life. Without dreams nothing else really matters.
These are some great tips on dream building.
It is so true that our dreams can keep us going when the times are difficult. Every business has tough times.It could be the economy, the time of the year, or some other hardship.
When I was in sales, we took dream building even steps further. If someone had a dream for say:a brand new BMW, everyone would work together and draw up the figures to make that dream come true. First, it was find out the cost of the dream item. We would then break it down in how many sales per week he/she would need to attain the dream. By giving a person something to shoot for, we found many worked harder to get it.
Another good way to realize your dream and keep it in the forefront of your mind is to have a picture of it in front of you at all times. If you have a dream of owning a new Mercedes, put a picture of it in your workspace, on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror, etc… Having that in front of you at all times will help you shoot for it harder when you are having stressful moments. I believe this same principal is also taught by Amway too. I have never been an Amway member, but I have known people who were.
Good point Greg. It’s very good to keep pictures of what you want to achieve. The brain thinks in pictures and visualizing what you want is very important.