Shiny Happy MLM Distributors

Thank you all for the extremely kind response I received from so many after my last post about my near death experience.

I received pages and pages of emails, and even flowers and gifts in the mail! Way beyond what I expected.

I'm humbled and grateful to have so many people caring for me.

Then there were a couple of letters that said something similar to this:

"Gosh, Barry, I can't believe you admitted that you had a health problem. Aren't you concerned that this will make people think your MLM company's products don't work?"

It's an honest question, so I don't want to be too harsh on those who asked it. But it really does point to something that has been, and continues to periodically raise it's head as a problem in our industry:

HYPE!

Do you really think that there is any nutritional network marketing company where EVERYONE who takes their super miracle juice has been able to avoid having a heart condition, or cancer or diabetes or a stroke or ...?

Obviously the truth is quite the opposite: Every nutrition company has people taking their products who have those conditions.

There's a reason that nutrition company's have to put disclaimers on their products, and it's a good reason: Nutrition is not medicine.

Distributors sometimes treat those disclaimers as annoying big-brother controls imposed by an evil coalition of the government, the AMA and the "money-hungry" drug companies.

It's convenient to have such an enemy, and it makes for a great story. And there may be just enough of a partial truth to it to make it believable. I acknowledge that.

But there have been times when our industry brought some of this on ourselves by making inappropriate claims for the products we market.

The best way to keep the government from over-regulating our industry is for us to self-regulate and stop making outlandish medical claims.

Look at the history of network marketing. There have been some exciting new product launches promoted with tremendous enthusiasm as an incredible product that was going to change the world.

Where are those products now?

They're still on the market. But the initial excitement isn't there any more for any of them.

Why?

Perhaps after people took them for awhile they found that they still got sick, had some health problems, and they weren't the "cure-all" promised.

This doesn't mean they weren't good products with excellent benefits that could be promoted with enthusiasm. It just means that they were sometimes hyped beyond reason.

In fact, if you look at some of the companies that hyped those "sizzle" products, you'll find that most of them have sizzled out. They're out of business, have shrunk dramatically in size, or have switched their product focus.

Why?

Because you can't sustain a business on hype. It's a self-defeating business model.

I'm of the opinion that most legitimate MLM companies have good products. We can share the legitimate benefits of them without having to make medical claims, and without having to pretend that they are cure-alls.

By promoting our products enthusiastically, but without hype, we can build long-term businesses without fear of government intervention or dramatic customer attrition.

The power to give our industry a bad name, or to repair it's reputation, is largely in our hands.

The Rumors of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

It's been a long time since my last entry.

You know, this is a common problem with bloggers! As I read through other people's blogs I find that comment a lot. Seems like most bloggers go through periods where they have difficulty posting on a regular basis.

But I have a good excuse:

I was knock, knock, knocking at heaven's door.

Last month I discovered that I had coronary artery disease. After a scary episode at home, I went to the hospital where they found that one of my arteries was 99% blocked. So they performed an angioplasty and inserted a stent.

Not an uncommon practice today, and much less invasive than the bypass surgery my Dad had to endure.

But after returning home, I developed excruciating pain in my right kidney. So I was back in the hospital within 24 hours of coming home.

The pain I experienced is impossible to describe. The nurse asked me to rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10. At first it was a 9. Then it went to 10,000!

At first the doctors believed it was a kidney stone, but after a scan they found that I had a growth on my right kidney.

This was a major problem.

I found myself being transferred to the oncology unit.

Two cardiologists came into my room together (never a good sign) to explain to me with grim faces that after the heart procedure I was on blood thinning medication and couldn't have surgery to remove the mass on my kidney ... and they couldn't stop the medication for at least a year. Frankly they didn't know what to do.

OK, now I was scared.

I'm only 49 years old. My Mom and Dad both lived well into their 80s. And with all the advances in medical technology in recent years, and in the years to come, I had planned on living to be at least 100.

They decided to call in a specialist who proceeded to conduct more tests on me. This went on for a couple days during which I had plenty of time to stare at the ceiling and reevaluate my life.

• Am I happy and proud of my life?
• Did I fulfill my purpose on earth?
• Did I make a difference?
• How many people would say their life is better because I was here?
• If I'm given more time, how would I use it?
  

Fortunately the story has a happy ending.

Tests revealed that the growth on my kidney is an inert and benign cyst. So they'll keep watching me, but at this time it doesn't pose a threat.

So they sent me home.

I was completely exhausted and could barely get around. The heart procedure, and the intense kidney pain had sucked all the energy out of my body. In addition I was now on a hand full of medicines each day, many of which said "may cause drowsiness." I was back home ... but in a wheel chair.

Then unbelievably, a few days later, the kidney pain returned. But this time it was even worse than the first time (which I didn't think was possible).

I couldn't get out of bed, so my wife called an ambulance.

The trip to the hospital was absolutely excruciating as I could feel every bump the ambulance drove over (they should put luxury suspensions in those things).

There was no doctor in the emergency room, so I was given no pain medicine and just suffered for hours in absolute agony.

When a doctor finally arrived, he had a scan conducted and said I had passed a kidney stone (again?). However the specialist later said it may have blood clots.

I was sent home the next day and have stayed out of the hospital since then.

I'm getting my strength back and doing some walking around the neighborhood now (with my new dog "Hero").

I've even got back to doing a little network marketing and have sponsored some people since then.

So what does all this have to do with MLM?

First, I just wanted to let you know what's been going on with me on a personal level and why I haven't posted to my blog for over a month.

Second, as I reevaluated my life during this traumatic time, I realized that I don't regret being involved in this wonderful industry at all. In fact it has been a wonderful blessing.

The one thing on my mind, more than anything else, was how my wife and kids would get along without me. It gave me great comfort to know that they would be fine.

Sure, we have life insurance. But better than that is the passive residual income I've established with my MLM company. And because I'm with a good, honest company that really cares about it's people, I know my family would continue to be supported by that passive income.

In addition, I thought about all the people I helped realize their financial goals.

Money isn't the most important thing, but it sure does help us achieve the most important things.

It's not just about the greenbacks. The many people I've helped acquire full-time passive incomes:

• are now able to stay home and raise their children
• have more time to spend with their spouses
• have less stress in their lives (which helps with their relationships and their health)
• are able to give more to their favorite charities
• have the time and money to pursue their dreams

Yes, I feel very good about that. I'd say my time in this industry was well spent.