Good morning! I hope your day is off to a nice start.
Yesterday I posted about Groundhog Day, and I made a mistake. I caught it later in the day but decided to leave it there to see who would point it out. Nobody did. So, given that the groundhog saw his shadow today and we all agreed (apparently) that means an early spring, I say let’s make it a decree. Otherwise, we’re stuck with six more weeks of winter.
Now, I know some of you like winter. According to a travel industry survey, 23% of adults prefer to spend their time in winter destinations. That’s almost one in four. I found another statistic that says about a million babies each year are dropped on their head at birth. Coincidence? I think not.
That said, if you like playing in the snow – if that’s what you dream of while the rest of us are dreaming of sunny days on the beach – more power to you. Get out there and enjoy it. Because the groundhog says you only have six more weeks before it’s gone, and the groundhog is never wrong. You know, except those times when he really is wrong. Which, as it turns out, is about half the time.
I read something the other day that stuck in my mind. “If you don’t chase your own dreams, somebody else will hire you to chase theirs.” That may not be an exact quote, but it’s close enough. Most of those people flying north in ski clothing instead of clocking in at the office have one thing in common. You know, aside from being dropped on their head.
Years ago, I spent my days building and refurbishing luxury motor yachts for people who made a whole lot more money than me. My first day on the job, I helped a captain find a box of Waterford crystal that was covered up in a corner. He was frantic. Not as frantic as I was when I found out what was in that box. Ten minutes earlier, I’d been kneeling on it. Total cost for that box – $15,000.
Every day, really expensive boats would cruise past, driven by people my age who apparently didn’t have to work that day. And most of them probably made more money that day than I made in a year. They were out enjoying their dream because they paid somebody else to make it possible. You know, somebody like me.
Now, it would be easy to belittle somebody like that for taking advantage of us poor folks, living a life of luxury while I went home smelling like sawdust and turpentine. But let’s be real. If it weren’t for people like that who can afford to live their dreams, I’d have been sitting in an unemployment line waiting for the next rich guy to come along.
As long as you’re working for somebody else, you’re making them more money than they’re paying you. That’s just the way it is. And if they can get a dozen people like you to make them a little bit of money each, it adds up. Give them a hundred or so more, and they’re making money while they sleep. I tried that once. I got fired.
Okay, I’m kidding. I’ve never fallen asleep on the job. Not as far as the boss knows. But you get the point. Almost 90% of us work for somebody else or are self-employed in a small business that requires our daily participation. And somebody much higher up the ladder is earning a premium on our work. Maybe a little, maybe a lot. But the bottom line is, we’re worth more.
So, it stands to reason that if you want to be on the receiving end of that equation, you need to start a business of your own and build a team of people whose efforts contribute toward your income. In most businesses, that means employees. And who wants the headache of dealing with that every day? Not me!
But what if you could build that same team of people, except instead of making them work to support your dreams, you helped them build their own? Sure, you’d get a small cut, and the bigger your team, the bigger that cut would be. But instead of sending people home smelling like sawdust and turpentine, you’d lead them closer to their dream.
In his bestselling book, Robert Kiyosaki named network marketing as “The Business of the 21st Century.” It’s a business model that works, simply because it’s based on mutual benefit. Do the people at the top make the most money? Sure. Just like in every other company. The difference is the people at the bottom can increase their own income any time they want.
Network marketing is one of many ways you can build an income that supports your own dreams instead of somebody else’s. Is it right for you? Only you can answer that. But it might be worth a closer look if your income continues to fall short of your dreams.
That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!
© 2021 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
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