SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013
CONTENTS
PERSPECTIVES 5 LEADOFF
Hundred Percent Responsible
Dr. Josephine Gross Becoming an entrepreneur is not easy; most of us feel unprepared. Thankfully, in our business we are never alone.
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SPECIAL SECTION Networking University Letter from the Dean – Webinar Schedule - Faculty Recommends
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WORDS OF WISDOM About the Entrepreneurial Spirit Memorable quotes by Bill Gates, Anita Roddick, Mark Cuban, and others.
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OUR TIMES – PART 1 How do you teach former employees to become successful entrepreneurs? • Andreas Papakostas, Apply Universal Laws • Dr. Vijay Eswaran, Playing the Game of Life • Jamie Messina, Don’t Postpone till Tomorrow… • Ann Feinstein, Escaping the Corporate Cubicle
DEPARTMENTS 17
18 PRESENTING Power Up Your Meetings Joe Heaps and Dave Reed The sooner you embrace cutting-edge technologies when planning events, the better your events will be.
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September/October 2013
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 7 Habits of Happier People Mark Fournier Understand what makes you happier, then apply those happiness factors consistently so they turn into habits.
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CONTENTS
FEATURES 22
LEAD INTERVIEW Help Me and Let Me Help You Dr. Bakary Kante, a U. N. Environment Program director based in Kenya, is launching a think tank for African governments, entrepreneurs, and educational institutions to come together and explore sustainable business practices based on cooperation, partnership, and contribution. Having a strong personal testimony of how network marketing changed the lives of his family and loved ones, Dr. Kante will be working with African heads of state to embrace and promote network marketing as a powerful vehicle and proven solution to some of the most pressing problems challenging his continent.
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NT INTERVIEW The Gift of a Lifetime If you ask network marketers around the world where they got their entrepreneurship education, many will credit Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad books. Fewer are familiar with the coauthor to the series, Sharon Lechter, a world-renowned entrepreneur, author, and speaker in her own right. Sharon founded Pay Your Family First, a financial education organization, and YOUTHpreneur, an innovative new way to spark the entrepreneurial spirit in children. Since 1992, she has dedicated her career to the creation and distribution of financial education books, games, and other experiential learning tools and events.
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MASTER NETWORKER The Perfect Business Based in Australia, Anthony and Megan Wolfenden lead a global organization spanning five continents. From 1996 till 2006 they were corporate executives for a large IT firm in California, until the tech industry took a nose dive. Seeing their friends lose their jobs and homes, they looked for opportunities to diversify their income. Learning to think and act like entrepreneurs, Megan and Anthony now own a business they are in control of, where success is determined by their own efforts, and where they set their own goals and schedule.
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MASTER NETWORKER Lifestyle by Design Based in Vancouver, Canada, Ken and Lisa Seto are a dynamic and reputable couple in the network marketing space. Ken has been a top earner in the profession for almost two decades. As a result of building businesses in Asia, he became an expert and consults with companies and field leaders looking to launch in Asian markets. Lisa met Ken at a network marketing training in the late nineties. She grew from being his admirer and supporter, to becoming his partner in business and in life, to blossoming into an accomplished leader and trainer herself.
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Networking Times
CONTENTS
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OUR TIMES – PART 2 How do you teach former employees to become successful entrepreneurs? (Continued) • Patrick S. Tulloch, Preparing the Mind • Kim Klaver, Why A Students Work for C Students • Evan Klassen, Work Harder on Yourself • Keith Kochner, Three Keys for Home Business Success
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COUNTRY OVERVIEW United Kingdom: A Business Alternative for Young and Old Lynda Mills Direct selling is the UK’s largest provider of part-time independent earning with over 400,000 direct sellers involved.
RESOURCES 68
JUST FOR FUN Word Puzzle
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LIFETIME MEMBERS Description of Lifetime Loyalty Leaders program and members list.
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DEPARTMENT AND OUR TIMES SUMMARIES Overview of articles in this issue.
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THE CLOSE You Are Enough Joe Garcia Remember you are “made in the likeness of God.” Start teaching this belief to your teams and you will harvest greatness.
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September/October 2013
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Cofounders Dr. Josephine Gross Chris Gross Publisher Bob Proctor Publisher Emeritus Frank J. Keefer Founding Editor John Milton Fogg Consulting Editor John David Mann Editor in Chief Dr. Josephine Gross Design Editor Yan Z. Hughes Contributing Writers Magdy Abdullah, Armon Anderson, Steve & Kori Burgess, Tom Chenault, Eileen Chua, Faouzi Daghistani, Casey Eberhart, Dr. Vijay Eswaran, Ann Feinstein, Paula Foeller & Mitch Spangler, Mark Fournier, Jason & Michelle Fraser, Joe Garcia, Glenn Head, Joe Heaps, Shelley Ke, Evan Klassen, Kim Klaver, Keith Kochner, Jamie Messina, Lynda Mills, Andreas Papakostas, Dave Reed, Don Shan, Patrick S. Tulloch , Andrea Waltz & Richard Fenton, Debra Warren, Val Wolfenden, Garth Wright, Helen Newham, Manu Rekola Web Services Lyman Benton, Yan Z. Hughes, Jim Richardson
Global Prosperity through a Philanthropic Economy® Gabriel Media Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Chris Gross Controller Yan Teng Board of Directors Michael Cunningham Chris Gross (Chairman) Dr. Josephine Gross Glenn Head Don Karn Bob Proctor George Shaw Networking Times is published six times a year by Gabriel Media Group, Inc. Copyright © 2013 Gabriel Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.networkingtimes.com Toll Free: 866-343-4005 Int’l: 818-727-2000 editors@networkingtimes.com 4 4
From the Desk of Dr. Charles King
President of Networking University Entrepreneur: noun, a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. Entrepreneurship: noun, the process of discovering new ways of combining and employing resources and managing risks toward an objective of profitability. Origin: 1875-80; < French: entreprendre, “to undertake” The word entrepreneur can be traced to economic scholars writing in the 19th century. Joseph A. Schumpeter, an economic scholar, was the first to connect the role of the entrepreneur in economic development. Decades past before entrepreneurism was rediscovered by traditional economic theorists. The first course in entrepreneurship was offered at Harvard Business School in 1947. The first conference focused on small businesses was held at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland in 1948. Peter Drucker started a course in entrepreneurship and innovation at New York University in 1953. The first academic conference on entrepreneurship research took place at Purdue University in 1970.
Top 10 Entrepreneurial Skills Adapted from NFTC.com (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship)
1. Problem solving and positivity 2. Social and cross-cultural skills 3. Information and technology literacy 4. Flexibility and adaptability 5. Initiative and self-motivation 6. Leadership and accountability 7. Goals and results orientation 8. Comfort with risk 9. Persistence through failure 10. Lifelong learning Dr. Charles King is Professor of Marketing at the University of Times Illinois at Chicago Networking
LEAD INTERVIEW
Help Me and Let Me Help You Dr. Bakary Kante: Creating Wealth in Africa By Dr. Josephine Gross
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couple of years ago, at an international networking marketing convention in Malaysia, Dr. Bakary Kante was introduced to us as a United Nations diplomat based in Kenya and ardent proponent of network marketing in Africa. Dr. Kante and I met several more times and bonded over passionate discussions (mostly in French) about environmental issues, social justice, the empowerment of women, and the future of Africa. As we were preparing this issue on entrepreneurship education, I reached out to our African friend, whom others would address as “His Excellency,” asking if he could connect me with a representative for Africa experienced in network marketing who could speak to our topic. “Can I be your candidate?” he replied, and he went on to share with me his plans to leave the U.N. in the near future and launch the Africa Sustainability Center, “a leading think tank on sustainability, rule of law, and private-public partnership, focused on creatively stimulating new ideas, approaches, policies, and technological adaptations to facilitate the advancement of Africa’s interdependence in our new globalized economy.” In laymen’s terms, Dr. Bakary Kante is creating a structure for African governments, entrepreneurs, and educational institutions to come together and explore sustainable business practices based on cooperation, partnership, and contribution. Having a strong personal testimony of how network marketing changed the lives of his family and loved ones, Dr. Kante will be working with African heads of state to embrace and promote network marketing as a powerful vehicle and proven solution to some of the most pressing problems challenging his continent.—J.M.G.
Tell us a little about your background. I was born in a tiny village on the border of Senegal and Mali. I grew up in a family of twelve brothers and sisters, and my father has never in his life earned a single penny in salary. The first time I saw a nurse I was nine years old. As was the case with most families in the villages, we owed everything to the environment. As a child, I was keenly aware of nature as the source of our livelihood: I could go catch a big fish in the river and bring it home without paying a single penny. My brother could go hunt and bring back meat; my sisters could go harvest fresh fruits and greens, all without paying a single penny. Newly appointed youngest ever Director General of the Environment for Senegal, 1984.
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NT INTERVIEW
The Gift of a Lifetime A Conversation with Sharon Lechter, coauthor of Rich Dad Poor Dad By Dr. Josephine Gross
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f you ask network marketers around the world where they got their entrepreneurship education, many will credit Robert Kiyosaki and his Rich Dad books. Fewer are familiar with the coauthor to the series, Sharon Lechter, a world-renowned entrepreneur, author, and speaker in her own right. Sharon is the founder and CEO of Pay Your Family First, a financial education organization, and YOUTHpreneur, an innovative new way to spark the entrepreneurial spirit in children. Since 1992, she has dedicated her career to the creation and distribution of financial education books, games, and other experiential learning tools and events. She has also been a certified public accountant (CPA) for over thirty years and is a certified global management accountant (CGMA). Sharon met and started working with Robert Kiyosaki in 1996, and over the next eleven years, they built the Rich Dad brand into an international powerhouse. In 2008 Sharon was appointed to the first President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. That same year, she was asked by the Napoleon Hill Foundation to help re-energize the Napoleon Hill’s teachings just as the international economy was faltering. Her bestselling books Three Feet from Gold and Outwitting the Devil were both written in cooperation with the Napoleon Hill Foundation. The recipient of numerous educational and philanthropic leadership awards, Sharon is on a mission to make financial literacy a mandatory course in American high schools and views network marketing as an powerful catalyst for teaching the world about entrepreneurship.—J.M.G.
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Networking Times
Where did your passion for financial moment onward I dedicated the rest of my career literacy originate? to financial and entrepreneurship education, I started my career as an accountant and was moving fast up the ladder in the CPA firm I worked for, but it wasn’t long before the entrepreneurial bug bit me. I started building companies when I was about twenty-six because I had been raised in an entrepreneurial home and understood the importance of working hard to build assets for yourself. After my husband Michael and I were married and had children, we realized our kids didn’t like to read. My focus turned to finding ways to ignite the love of reading. I met the inventor of the first “talking” book and helped him grow that industry of children’s books that had sound strips down the side. In 1991, we moved to Arizona. My oldest son had gone off to college in the fall of 1992 and got into credit card debt. I remember it was December 1992 when I found out. I was certainly angry with him, but I was even angrier with myself. From that
September/October 2013
helping people understand how important it is to take control of their financial lives.
How did you get involved with Robert Kiyosaki? I met Robert in 1996. He had this idea for the CASHFLOW game, but it was just drawn out on a piece of paper. He had come to visit my husband, who is an internationally known intellectual property attorney. Michael introduced us and I helped Robert get the game to the point where it could be commercialized, and Michael helped us get a patent on the game. It was during this process that we began talking about writing a book and I became Kiyosaki’s partner on Rich Dad Poor Dad. The book was released in April 1997, and in September he asked me to be his business partner on the game and we started our company, CASHFLOW Technologies, Inc.
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MASTER NETWORKER
The Perfect Business Anthony and Megan Wolfenden: Capitalizing on Globalization By Dr. Josephine Gross 40 40
Networking Networking Times Times
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nthony and Megan Wolfenden are an Australian couple leading a global network marketing organization of several hundred thousand business partners spanning five continents. From 1996 till 2006 the Wolfendens lived in California, where they worked as corporate executives for a large IT firm, until the tech industry took a nose dive. Seeing their friends lose their jobs, then their homes, they looked for opportunities to diversify their income and fell in love with network marketing. “Becoming entrepreneurs after being employees for so long seemed scary and daunting,” says Anthony. “Now the idea of being an employee is scary. We could not imagine a routine job where we spend the day in an office year in year out. We enjoy working on new and exciting projects of our choice. We love that we can determine which region to build our business in next and where we are going to focus. Every city offers new lessons and ways for us to improve.” Because they learned to think and act like entrepreneurs, Megan and Anthony now own a business they are in control of, where success is determined by the effort they put in, and where they can set their own goals and schedule. “Every day is exciting,” says Megan. “We meet new people all the time and see our team members achieve their life goals. Entrepreneurs want to create something, be it teams, businesses, service, ideas, or inspiration to others. Network marketing is the perfect business for this.”
introduced them to network marketing. “We were young and quite confident about our future as employees,” says Megan. “We did not see the benefit of being our own boss… We had a lot to learn.” Anthony was working in IT and Megan got started in banking and finance. “We liked the idea of wearing suits and traveling into the city each day,” says Megan. “We were not really hungry to do the business, but we were great at doing homework: reading the personal development books and listening to tapes. We even made the required number of calls each week and showed presentations to unqualified prospects.”
With their two sons, Peter and Sam, in Hawaii.
Changing Careers Anthony and Megan met as undergraduate students at university in Sydney. Just after they graduated and got their first jobs, Anthony’s mother, Val, and her business partner Helen,
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MASTER NETWORKER
Lifestyle by Design Ken and Lisa Seto: Celebrating Free Enterprise By Dr. Josephine Gross
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ased in Vancouver, Canada, Ken and Lisa Seto are a dynamic and reputable couple in the network marketing space. Ken has been a top earner in the profession for almost two decades. As a result of building businesses in Asia he became an expert and consults with companies and field leaders looking to launch in those markets. Originally from Manitoba, Lisa moved to British Columbia in 1995 and a few months later met Ken at a network marketing event where he was training. She grew from being his admirer and supporter, to becoming his partner in business and in life, to blossoming into an accomplished leader and trainer in her own right. Today Lisa builds teams in North America while Ken focuses on the other fifteen countries their company operates in. Ken and Lisa have created their dream life, travelling to different countries and taking vacations with great friends several times a year. Their focus today and vision for the future is to help create this lifestyle by design for anyone who is ready to join their team.
Ken’s Debut In 1994, Ken was in dire straits financially and looking for something to supplement his income when a friend approached him about network marketing. “I didn’t know a thing about the business,” says Ken. “I joined because I liked the idea of working for yourself but not by yourself, and creating success by developing a team.” Ken’s friend was brand new to the business herself, so she couldn’t teach him much. Ken soon found out that the company had been around for many years and that most people, when he mentioned the name, would run the other way. This was a surprise to Ken and made it hard to get his business off the ground. Instead, he focused on growing his understanding of how the business worked and the personal development trainings the company offered. Later that same year, Ken got involved in another company, which he considers his first company, because that’s the first company he really worked and became successful at. “This company was newer and had a different compensation plan,” he explains. “It also offered an innovative system that made it much easier for anyone to succeed.”
September/October 2013
Ken was hungry to make money so he applied himself, doing the basic daily activities the system prescribed for rapid results. “The problem with network marketing is that most people, because of the low cost of entry, don’t take it seriously,” he says. “My upline had made an audio cassette tape (this was before the Internet or even CDs) that briefly explained why people should take a look at the products and the opportunity. I would contact people, tell them why I got involved, then I would share the tape with them. If they showed interest after listening to the tape, we got together.” At luau in Hawaii.
Ken was averaging six to eight presentations per day, be it by phone or meeting someone in person. He would follow up with those who were ready to start. On Saturdays he would give a
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DEPARTMENT SUMMARIES
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LEADOFF Hundred Percent Responsible Dr. Josephine Gross Some of you may have been catapulted into the world of entrepreneurship by circumstance. Perhaps you got divorced or became a single parent; or you lost your job or became disenchanted with it. Even if you are a born entrepreneur, know that many of your current or potential business partners are in the thick of major transition. Leaving the perceived security of economically depending on a government, an institution, or a corporation, they are entering a state of financial autonomy, selfsufficiency, and radical accountability. Becoming an entrepreneur is not easy—most of us feel unprepared. Thankfully, in our business we are never alone. Page 12
OUR TIMES—PART 1 Andreas Papakostas, I believe your entrepreneurial skills will develop when you know exactly what you want and why you want it. Dr. Vijay Eswaran, Entrepreneurship education cannot be taught or learned by rote. It needs some level of experiential involvement. Ultimately, it is about playing the game of life. 70
Jamie Messina, If you stop doing the actions that provided your success, you may not feel it today or tomorrow, but the lack of consistency will catch up to you and erode your income. Ann Feinstein, I shared my dream with one of my corporate mentors, who patted me on the shoulder and said: “Ann, the only security you will ever have in life is what you create for yourself.” Page 18
PRESENTING Power Up Your Meetings Joe Heaps and Dave Reed To create a successful event— one that encourages conversations and interactions between the organizers, speakers, and attendees—you must use technology. If you don’t adopt current and new technology options in your live events, your attendees will notice and find ways to use them without you. This article lists a few technologies to consider as you plan your next event. Some are best used before the event to help you prepare so everything comes together smoothly, while others are designed to be used during the event.
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 7 Habits of Happier People Mark Fournier Studies show that the most profitable investment we can make in our organization isn’t in technology; it’s in creating happier, more empowered team members. Although it is important to understand what makes us happier, this isn’t enough; we must consistently apply our understanding if we want consistent results. Where do you find proven support systems for creating happier habits? The empowerment community, training, and mentorship that come with being part of a network marketing organization are a great starting point. The best way to form habits is taking any lesson or skill you wish to master and immediately applying it to your life, then teaching others that which you wish to master. Page 60
OUR TIMES—PART 2 Patrick S. Tulloch, Achieving success is not an event, but a process that develops over time, similar to your traditional education. Stay focused, keep the end in mind, and adopt a never-quit attitude.
Networking Times
DEPARTMENT SUMMARIES
Kim Klaver, To ace an exam one needs to be driven to get it right according to someone else’s rules. Entrepreneurs experiment according to their own rules. Evan Klassen, I was broke and desperate so I took a huge gamble and raised $20,000 to attend an entrepreneur school. This provided the foundation for the rest of my life. Keith Kochner, Entrepreneurship is like running a marathon. Determine a pace for yourself to run your race, because if you don’t, you will fall flat on your face. Page 66
COUNTRY OVERVIEW United Kingdom: A Business Alternative for Your and Old Lynda Mills Direct selling in the UK is a thriving business sector that contributes the equivalent of over £2 billion ($3 billion USD) to the national economy each year. This recent growth is partly due to the country’s stagnant economy. Direct selling offers an alternative to traditional employment, offering people the opportunity to be their own boss and work flexibly. The first direct selling company started operating in the UK in 1959. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the UK DSA and its September/October 2013
members companies, public perception about direct selling and multilevel marketing is improving, but continued positive press is needed to make people aware of the nature and legitimacy of the business model.
Answers to the Word Puzzle
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THE CLOSE
You Are Enough Joe Garcia The self development industry can create the belief that we are not (good) enough right now, thus feeding our mindset the idea that the next book or program will provide the major breakthrough we have been looking for. The truth is, we have within us everything we need to be successful—the tools, the brains, the ability to manifest our dreams. Go out today with this awareness while building your business, and let your next personal development book, audio program, or seminar simply remind you that you are great, you are incredible, you can succeed now. Start teaching this belief to your teams and you will harvest greatness.
(Over, Down, Direction) 1. EMPLOYEE (4, 7, SE) 2. ACCOMMODATE (13, 8, S) 3. ERODE (8, 15, E) 4. YOURSELF (2, 3, S) 5. TOMSCHREITER (1, 4, E) 6. UNDERTAKE (15, 14, N) 7. INTERNET (9, 7, SW) 8. LIFELONG (8, 20, W) 9. EDUCATION (5, 13, NE) 10. PROFITABILITY (14, 13, N) 11. YOUNG (10, 16, SE) 12. FORGIVING (1, 16, E) 13. QUESTIONABLE (1, 1, SE) 14. GUILTY (4, 16, NE) 15. RICHDAD (1, 11, N) 16. MASTERMIND (10, 17, W) 17. MEDIOCRITY (14, 19, NW) 18. EVERYONE (12, 13, NW) 19. COLLABORATIVE (1, 13, NE) 20. ENVIRONMENT (12, 1, SW)
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