Is it timing? Hard work? The perfect company? Who you know? How much you know? The economy?
While all of those or some of them may fit into the overall picture of creating success in your life, and certainly not to be ignored, there is ONE thing that will make a big difference for you in your life when you decide to ACT on it.
I know that there was a time in my life where I was wondering, “What is it? What's the answer to me winning in my life? WHEN is it finally going to happen for me? How in the world do I do this??”
I struggled pretty hard for the first couple years of being an entrepreneur, but I wanted it so bad, that I kept searching and doing and searching and doing…until I finally broke through.
So…again, what is the answer to your success??
I just gave it to you! It's in the question. It's in the art of asking questions…and asking the RIGHT kinds of questions.
Seem too simple? Too easy? Don't underestimate the power of simplicity. Sometimes in life we have things that stare us so boldly in our face that we can't even see it.
One of the most powerful tools at your disposal is YOU. In fact, you hold the reigns to everything.
Your life is in your hands.
YOU control your destiny.
No one else but you.
And…it's well time you OWN IT.
I know…seems like quite a burden, doesn't it? The answer to your success is you. All that weight, all that responsibility, on me? Yes. It is.
It's you stepping up to the plate and swinging the bat. It's in you deciding once and for all that you are going to take action and never stop doing it…and do whatever inquiring is necessary to get the answer to the things you don't yet know, so you can go about acting accordingly.
You control it. It's not the economy. It's not the company. It's not your boss, your sponsor, your comp plan or your product. It's in YOUR hands. That's the beautiful thing about self-employment. The world's your oyster. It's your puzzle. Your game. You control the start. And, you determine whether you win or lose.
YOU are the one in control of your life and where you lead it.
The time is NOW to step up the that level of responsibility and take 100% ownership of it.
The ULTIMATE level of maturity is taking full responsibility for where you are right and and where you'll be going in the future. Own it. And…if you don't like it, change it.
Don't know how to change it? I get it. Been there. I've been stuck before. I've been in state of not knowing, of misunderstanding, of not comprehending. The way you change it is to change what you know, increase your knowledge, your understanding, and you do that by ASKING.
Now granted, you can't simply ask a question, gain the knowledge and not act on it. I hate hearing the term “Knowledge is power.” I don't think so. I think knowledge is great to have. It's nice to know. But…it's what you DO with what you know that makes all the difference in the world.
Remember when you were a kid? I know. Maybe it's been a bit, but you can recall. Take yourself back in time, or simply look at your kids if you have them.
Kids ask. And…they NEVER stop asking until they get what they want, whether it's the answer to their question, or the cookie they've been begging you for for an hour straight right before dinner.
There's a great book on the basic subject and the POWER behind simply asking questions. It was was written by two friends of mine, Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz, and it's called ‘Go for No'.
Let's take the kid example for a moment. And, this is just the very simple act of ASKING, not even going into the deeper idea of asking more detailed or high quality questions. Remember this, the simple act of ASKING will provide you answers. Here's a little gist of it.
The kid, “Dad…can I have a cookie?”
Dad, “No.”
The kid, “Dad…can I have a cookie?”
Dad, “No.”
The kid, “Dad…can I have a cookie?”
Dad, “No.”
The kid, “Dad…can I have a cookie?”
Dad, “No.”
The kid, “Dad…can I have a cookie??
Dad, “Yes…here's your cookie!”
Now…in this example, it's the repetition of the question, continuing to ask for something until you get it that caused the result. In this case, dad gives in and gives his kid the cookie.
Most network marketers or sale people hear the word NO one time, and they're done.
I'm not suggesting that you don't listen to the person's answer and keep asking the same question. But…it's worth noting that if you want something, you can certainly keep on asking until you get whatever it is that you are seeking.
Of course, you can step it up a notch and get your questions, your ASKING game up a bit and learn to ask questions in different ways to elicit the response you are looking for.
Your Strength and Power Comes from Asking the Right Questions
If I don't know the answer to something, the only way I'm going to get it is to ASK for it.
We ask stuff all the time…then we get into network marketing, and we often become so uttterly concerned about how someone might respond to us, that we never even ask anything. Bad move if you ask me.
You asked her to marry you and you got an answer.
You asked for the waiter to bring your check, the check came.
You asked for someone's opinion about how you look in those jeans you're trying on.
You asked for a favor and it was given to you.
You asked to borrow money, and they loaned you some.
You asked for directions and they pointed you in the right direction.
You ask…you get. It's that simple.
Whether you are religious or not, you've heard the phrase,
“Ask and ye shall receive.”
If you don't know where it actually comes from, it's in the Bible, in Matthew 7:7.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you.”
This isn't a religious post, but one that gives you some simple guidance on the importance and the power of asking.
My Question to you is Very Simple
How much asking are you doing every day?
One of the most powerful and simple things we can do in literally every aspect of our lives is ask. The more inquisitive you are, the more answers you're going to get. You know the deal…“inquiring minds want to know.”
And…when it comes to network marketing, there is certainly an amazing amount of power you have in your hands when it comes to finally discovering the answer to your success.
When you ask, you get.
And…you know what? I'm pretty darn sure that there are an awful lot of people out there wondering what is the answer to their success, but they're not even asking.
So…a couple things to keep in mind:
#1. You have to ACT in order to get a result. And,
#2: You have to ASK in your acting.
I have a challenge for you in this post, and I talk about it in this video. So…please make sure you watch it in it's entirety so you get the entire point of this post.
I actually talk quite a bit about the power of asking questions in my new book, Fearless Networking.
The Power of Asking Questions and The Answer to your Success
Action is everything! Asking questions in the midst of our action makes everything more fruitful.
As sales professionals or network marketers, we ought to be asking lots of questions. We don't just spew out information in “hopes” of someone joining because we're such great talkers.
In fact, I've heard people say things like, “Man…you've got the gift of gab! You're probably great at sales!”
And, while being a great communicator serves you well, the talking part of communication is only one element. It's in the listening where all of our answers are found. It's where we get to disover the most important things we need to know about the person we are communicating with, and it's where we discover something about ourselves as well.
Too often in our crazy, non-stop world where our days are filled to the brim with “stuff”, we get caught up in ourselves and forget to be focused on others. Most people ask questions, not for the answers themselves, but to simply respond.
Here's a quick question to ask yourself.
This is POWERFUL.
“Do I ask questions to simply respond to others, or am I asking to understand?”
Put another way, “Am I listening to simply respond or am I asking to really understand?”
That's worth pondering on for a few minutes.
Look around. Check people out. You see it. People are WITH one another, but they are elsewhere. They are physically present, but they're really not there. They're spacing out, daydreaming or putting their head down in their mobile device. Make this your mantra: “Wherever you are, be there!”
Let's take this whole concept into the context of building a successful network marketing business.
Who do you communicate with on a daily basis when it comes to your business?
You very likely talk to your leaders, your sponsor, your prospects, and your team.
So…if those are the areas where we communicate most:
HOW can we go about communicating with those individuals more effectively, so that we can get the answers we're seeking, and more effectively work with those people we are engaging with in conversation?
Asking Better Questions from your Experts or Upline Leadership
If I wanted to really understand more clearly how my upline expert or leader who is getting huge result in their business, but I'm not getting the kind of result that I want, I may ask questions like this to my leader:
Of course, these are some samples or ideas that you can use to get your mind going in terms of asking questions and getting the kind of answers you may be looking for to create greater successes by learning form others who are already doing it.
Asking Better Questions to your Prospects
Now…I'm not saying that you prod your prospect with all of those questions, but when you ASK questions, they will give you answers. What is it that you want? What do you want to know?
If you never ask, you will never get anything. And…if you do, it will be scraps. I'm pretty sure you want more than table scraps.
Take what I've given you above, get your JOURNAL out and start assembling a list of questions that might help you get the answers you are looking for!
Asking Better Questions to your Reps or your Team
Again…this isn't the “ultimate guide to every question” you need to be asking. I'm simply getting your mind moving and thinking about the whole idea of asking questions, and NEVER assuming.
I want you to use your MIND and help you, help you find the answer to your success.
When you Shift the Focus to Others, your Success Becomes Easier
Zig Ziglar, who was one of the most influential speakers, motivators and sales trainers of our time had a very simple quote and it is TRUE. 
This is a UNIVERSAL TRUTH in every business and in every relationship in your life.
Think about it. If your object is to serve the needs of others, and you go about helping to fulfill those needs, you will live a rich life…financially and in many other ways. The level of personal fulfillment you will experience by helping others get the things THEY want will fill you in ways you can't even begin to imagine.
In network marketing, you cannot succeed unless you help others succeed. It's HOW the business works and WHY it works. It's not about taking or “getting yours”. It's about finding people who have needs, desires, and wants…and showing them how they can get those things.
How do you know what someone wants unless you ask them? The simple answer is that you don't know until you ask.
Never Assume you Know, Ask
We make assumptions all the time. It's like we think we're mind-readers or something. The more adept at communicating you become, the more you realize how much we ALL do it.
Get yourself into the position of being in inquisitive, curious. Ask questions. Get answers. And…people will literally fall all over themselves for you when you do it. Not joking in the slightest. When you SHIFT from “ME” to “YOU”, meaning that you are totally focused outwardly and authentic in your approach, everything you need to know comes your way easily.
By the way, I'm doing a LOT of asking these days! I get the opportunity literally every week to pick the brains of some of the most successful people in network marketing and ask them about HOW they did it.
So…if there is ANY QUESTION you'd like for me to ask some of these network marketing superstars that I get to interview, let me know WHAT your question would be, and I'll make sure that I include your question in my talks with these folks!
Have an amazing day!
