Simple steps

At times when we get an idea to do something we haven't done in a while, or maybe we've never before and it feels like the whole world is watching.  Maybe we just don't feel we can give as good a presentation as that other person, or be as good on the phone as we would like to be.   Or we want to approach someone about the products and/or the opportunity......BUT WE DO NOTHING.

I've done this in the past so I know many of you have done the same thing. Do nothing. I think there are two possible reasons this happens.   
1. Fear 
2.  Not being prepared. 

I can't teach you how to overcome fear but I think part of the answer is #2....Not being or feeling prepared. 

Keep in mind that the first step is our thoughts. If we think it, that is probably our truth.  We buy into our own thoughts  and just kind of say to ourselves, "Next time I'll be better prepared."   To me the major point in doing the things we think are difficult is to watch our thinking and learn to fight back mentally and have some good self talk. Get prepared mentally. Talk nicely to yourself. Understand that it's okay for a person to say "No." You're looking for those people who want what Shaklee has to offer and are willing to do what we do.

If we really believe that Shaklee is different, is the best, has the best products, and we have an opportunity that can literally change a persons financial future, let's offer it to the world.   Have a strong mind set.  Start thinking better.   GO  4  IT.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

Taking responsibility

Everyone who is involved with Shaklee is an independent contractor and that simply means that we are self-employed.  We do not work for our upline or the company as we are the CEO's of our business as well as CEO's of our future.  Personally I have enjoyed being CEO of our future for many years as I never would have said I was an entrepreneur in the beginning.   I wasn't looking for a business I was looking for a job and I feel incredibly blessed that I learned how to be an entrepreneur. 

Of course since we all are CEO's, the person in charge of what we want as well as being in charge of what has to be accomplished, it is vital that we have good work ethic.   We have to be willing to put ourselves doing the right things which means we must be self-motivated.   Basically each individual is responsible for their own motivation and inspiration.   The other thing I learned very early in the game is this is in many ways an attitude business.   You and I are responsible for our attitudes.

This brings up a question.  What do I have to do to have a good attitude, be motivated and be inspired?    What do you read?  Who do you listen to?  Are the people you spend time with encouraging?  Do you know what/who inspires you?   Are you attending meetings because in my opinion when I look back at the years when I got started I always felt better leaving a meeting than when I arrived.  That is one reason I personally believe so strongly in meetings.   Nothing beats eye to eye relationships.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

Do you dare to follow your dream?

What I’m going to do today is give you a couple quotes I found in a book titled Dare To Lead,
By Brene Brown.  As you read these simple quotes don’t just read them and move on to the
next word.   Ask yourself a couple questions and maybe even print these out and ponder over
what is being said by the writer.

“To dare is not saying “I’m willing to risk failure.”  Daring is saving “I know I will eventually fail,
 and I’m still all in.”  I’ve never met a brave person who hasn’t known disappointment, failure,
 even heartbreak.

“What stands in the way becomes the way.”
-  Marcus Aurelius

What’s standing in your way from building your future by building your Shaklee business? 
Is it prospecting?  Giving a presentation?  Maybe it's follow-up. Doing meetings? 

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

Knowing how to win/develop is key

Developing first level Directors is something you can learn how to do, and believe me, it doesn't just happen because someone says they love the products or they love what Shaklee represents. Learning to win in athletics is the same as learning to develop Directors. Building a successful Shaklee business is such a head game, meaning it's about how we think, our attitude and our expectations.

I saw a brief interview where the player said,"Nothing is going to hold me back from putting out 100% effort because I have this deep desire to win."

I loved hearing that because I believe that is one thing I know it takes to win or to build Directors.  An attitude that says NOTHING will stop me from putting in the effort and making it happen. Of course, yes, it does take hard work to find that right person and then to help guide and teach them how to become successful at the Director level.

Let me suggest that you consider to accept that same attitude about your future success in Shaklee.  It doesn't matter if you are very part time or if you are full time; it's about attitude and putting in the effort to make things happen. 

Go for it!

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

She finished!

Yesterday as I was checking into LifeTime to do my daily workout I noticed that the young woman who works there was wearing a plastic boot. I asked her what happened and she said she fractured her foot last week as she was running in a local marathon. I asked her if she was able to finish as a marathon is over 26 miles. She said when it happened all she could do was walk the remaining distance which was over 5 miles. So that’s what she did. She walked the last 5 miles

I made a comment about how difficult it must have been and she said,“I wasn’t going to quit after preparing for weeks and months on my daily runs. I was going to finish and I did!” Her finishing time was over 5 hours and she walked the last 5 miles with a fractured foot! 

I walked away feeling very inspired. I’m not sure most people would continue to the finish line but this young woman knew that she had prepared for months and she wasn’t about to quit. I was impressed.

What’s the point with this little story? She had put in the work to be prepared and she wasn’t about to quit. I can’t help but think that she put in many hours over time but nothing was going to stop her.   This has been on my mind quite a bit since yesterday. I wonder how many people have started a Shaklee business and then because of an obstacle of some kind just called it a day.

It’s not easy running a marathon. It’s not always easy building a Shaklee business. But when a person has decided to finish what they have started, they do whatever it takes.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

Get to be free of doubt

On Sunday at church I heard these words....."To be free of doubt...." Later in the day I was going over some notes and I read that again...."To be free of doubt." I couldn't help but think about how important it is to be free of doubt while building this business. Doubt makes us hesitate and not take steps to grow like we are capable of doing.

If I think back I know I was excited when I first heard about this opportunity. I didn't know squat about anything but I was curious and somewhat excited. Of course the opposite of doubt is belief and when our business changed was when my belief changed. My belief about the company, the products, the idea that incomes were being earned by scores of people, and probably the major turning point for me back then was when I got to the point where I knew that I knew we could build this business to whatever size we chose. That is what I call...I broke the code.

Being free of doubt is like carrying mental weights around and all of a sudden that weight is gone,  and having belief is exciting and makes it much easier to talk to people, get appointments, etc.   So what is it that helps build belief?  What you read, who you spend time with, and who you listen to.  If you have great positive books and stories to read, you're around people who are encouraging and positive...like Shaklee meetings, and you listen to CDs and watch DVDs that have potential to help you learn and helps build your confidence...that to me is how you can be FREE OF DOUBT.

Doubt is like being handcuffed - belief is exciting and builds confidence. Everyone has the choice of how they want to live and having that freedom from doubt and negativity is an incredible blessing.  Of course doubt has a way of returning but once you know how to fight back - by reading a good book, talking to those who encourage, and listening to good messages - you'll always be the winner.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

Do you have a plan for your business growth?

The following quote is from the book Thoughts are Things by Bob Proctor.   It's very simple
but very accurate when having the desire to build a business like we have.

"The true mark of success isn't in the opportunity, it lies in what you do with that opportunity.  
Opportunity is always knocking.  Start doing the right things in the right order, and you'll start
hearing that knock."

One thing that quote is saying to me is no matter what we might want to do, there will be a process
to follow. Many people think about what they want and don't seem to buy into the idea that writing
out goals is what they have to do. Once goals are on paper the question is what are the steps (process)
we have to follow?

Example, let's say your goal is to become debt free. What are the steps that are needed to achieve that? Maybe it's about becoming an Ex. Coordinator.
The steps might look like this: I will approach 2 people a day; I will have 3 appointments a week; sponsor 1st levels weekly; present the opportunity at every appointment; increase my GPV 100 per week or 400 PV per month for 6 months; and conduct in-home events for products and earning opportunity.

Now we have a plan to follow and this is when the learning starts and of course how a person get's
really good at doing the basic fundamentals is by repetition. When you improve yourself and your
skills, growth happens. Think about it. Then create your plan for achieving what it is you want.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

Stories are powerful

I’ve been thinking about what we did the first 12 months after we joined Shaklee. I had made the
decision that we were going to build this business no matter what it might take. The reason I
was committed to become successful in Shaklee was because I wanted everything Shaklee was
offering. It didn’t grow as fast as I thought it would but I knew from experience that a key for
 improvement meant I had some learning to do.

One major thing we learned was we had to learn how to tell our story. We didn’t have much to
talk about but the reason I say we had to learn telling our simple story was because that is what
I saw our sponsor do every week. He told his story about the products and about how he saw the
future of this business. I heard his story many times but I always left the meetings feeling better
than when I arrived. In other words, I always got inspired at the meetings.

I went to meetings every week. Actually, I attended two meetings a week for the first 6 to 7 months.
The meetings my sponsor did in his home had 3 to 6 people attending. The meetings grew larger
than just a few people but what I remember most was the success stories and testimonies about
the products.

Do you have a good simple story to tell? Do you find yourself telling your story at every appointment? I can assure you that the more you tell your story, you will experience growth.

Stories have power.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

It's about choices

Are you happy with your effort for the past couple of months? If you are then just continue to keep at it as consistency is what will create growth. If you aren't satisfied with your last months' efforts...not a problem. We all get to start over again and make sure that this month will be more productive.

Everyone should have a plan to back up their goals. No goals and no plan equates into very little if any effort. My guess is if you are reading this right now you want to grow your personal PV. You want to make a difference for yourself and your family.

Why not decide right now that this month is going to be better than last month? It's all about making choices. It's about our attitude and our choices. It's your decision and only you can make it.

Think about it! Work hard! Have fun! You won't regret it.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

We are mountain climbers

I am very thankful that I found Shaklee over 48 years ago. I had no idea what was true and what wasn’t but I decided to invest some time to see what’s what. I learned early that having a vision for what you might want would be a key factor. At first everything felt like there was a mountain to climb but the more I learned the more my belief grew and the mountain started to look like it would be doable with the right leadership. My vision seemed to see a smaller mountain because others were making their business work and that was encouraging. In this business we are mountain climbers.

What’s interesting about this business is there comes a day when the mountain kind of tells us that we can do it. We can make this work. That moment comes when suddenly we find that we are able to believe.  You are able to see everything as being doable. Maybe this belief came from an inspirational talk you heard. Maybe it was because of a book you read. Maybe it was that one meeting that was really special. Once you find yourself able to believe, to really have belief, that’s when you know you can build yourself a wonderful future.

It’s now commitment time. It’s kind of a leap of faith. You’re inspired. You’re thinking different.  You keep telling yourself that you can make it fly. It’s time to make a decision. Period. It won’t always be easy but if those other people could make it work so can you.

It’s time to move forward in spite of our fears and doubts. There will be questions and there will be a learning curve. You must be willing to learn from those who have achieved. Our job is to keep our dream alive and do whatever it takes to build the kind of business you really want.

You’ll never regret working hard at building your future.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

I suggest you read this a few times - slowly

I found the following in the book KNOW….DOUBT  by John Ortberg. 

If I leap, if I trust,
I do not know for sure
What will happen.

What I do know is this:
If I don’t leap,
If I don’t trust,
If I don’t hope,
If I don’t ask,

I will never soar.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

Simple ideas for the day

Here are a couple principles to consider. If the question is what does it take to get myself and my
business to improve, here is something to think about.

The most effective way to improve is by repetition. The more you do the same thing over and
over, and over, the better you will become.

There is no problem that you’ll ever have in your business that can’t be solved by increased activity.
Increased activity is a cure-all for most of the questions about growth.

What do you have planned for today? Why not take 10 minutes starting right now and plan what
you’ll do today? This is a simple way to get yourself started doing the things you want to get done.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke

Are you encouraged?

"What's the single most important thing you do as a leader?" As I was reading an article this kind of jumped off the page at me because in our business we are called sales leaders so it makes sense to learn what leaders should be like. The answer given is, "That's easy.  The single most important thing I do is to make sure I stay encouraged." It goes on to say, "If I'm not encouraged, eventually nothing else matters."

This brings up a question to me: what do I have to do to make sure I'm encouraged? I would have to say that for the most part being around other people who are inspired and encouraged has really helped me. This means going to meetings, attending webinars, going to every event possible, read good books, have a mentor who encourages because that's what they do. Over the years I have lost a lot of sleep after attending a meeting and hearing someone tell their story. Very simply, stories inspire and encourage.


Do yourself a favor and make it a point to do something every day that has potential to be encouraging for you. If you do this I can assure you it will make it easier to be doing the things we need to do in order to grow personally as well as grow our business.

Enthusiastically,
Gary Burke