What’s Love Got to Do With Business?

Last month, I made my biennial trip to Salt Lake City to attend the company’s global convention. There were the usual sessions where the top achievers in the company shared their awe-inspiring success stories. 

However, the sharing that made the most impact on me happened outside of the main convention agenda. And it had to do with L-O-V-E. We had just finished a full day and night of meetings. Tired as we were, a group of us decided to drop in on one of the parties nearby. The host was Alan Nagao, one of the biggest distributors in the US, and one of the biggest-hearted men this side of heaven.

We were expecting to just socialise a bit, nibble a little and zip off. What we had not expected was a 25-minute impromptu sharing by Alan on goal-setting and the secret of his own success. It was such a bonus, coming at the end of an already awesome day. He shared that when all is said and done, if you did not manage to reach your goal, one important question to ask yourself is: “Did I love myself?”

He explained that to love myself is to give credit to myself. That means to pat myself on the back, not occasionally, but many times throughout the day. Talk to myself to acknowledge myself for things done well. Not just big things but small things as well.

This evening, the truth of this nugget of advice hit home as I sat on the steps of The Pinnacle @ Duxton, cooling off after climbing two sets of 50 storeys. I caught myself saying to my buddy: “I was so slow; I think I did badly today, compared to you.” I noticed my mood and spirit sank as soon as I said all those things. I realised that my modus operandi was to look at what was missing or not right, and what should have been done. I didn’t even congratulate myself for climbing 100 storeys at the end of a working day!

So, I turned myself around and said, “Wow, well done, Hwee Suan. You started training on a 50-storey building. You did 100 storeys almost without stopping. You are one faithful, consistent babe when it comes to exercise.” Almost instantly, my mood lifted; I felt better and happier!

I began to see the wisdom of this advice about loving and acknowledging myself. 

Firstly, if I am harsh on myself, I am likely going to be harsh on others as well. If I can’t see the good in myself, nor encourage myself, I can’t do that for my business partners. Also, if I think I am not good enough or doing enough, then my less experienced business partners may feel that there is no hope for them! That would not help them to “love themselves”!

Instead, I really want to love myself so that I can love my family, friends, customers, and business partners. I know I will be a happier person for sure, and I will definitely have more friends and business!  

Secondly, if I see only what is missing or not good, I think I would give up on myself in no time! I suddenly realised this is why so many people give up on the network marketing business, even though they could see the promise when they started. As they move on in the journey, they start to condemn themselves and, very soon, they believe their own negative self-talk and talk themselves out of the business.

I hear my own voice a lot throughout the day. Thus, I must learn to say empowering and encouraging things to myself AND to others if I want to succeed in this business. I think this is KEY for me at this point in my journey.

Alan sang a little ditty at the end of the sharing:

I love myself so much

So I can love you so much

So you can love you so much

So you can start loving me!

This may sound cheesy to those who are just reading this, but that night, listening to Alan, I was moved by the simple truth in this chorus. I believe this is the chief reason for his phenomenal growth. Love is the reason. Love has everything to do with success in the MLM business. 

I came away from that convention with a new habit of giving myself credit each day. Already, I am feeling a lot more empowered and uplifted. I see many things going right, in my day, and with me. Something tells me I am going to experience some big shifts in my life soon!