To set the table for this question, let me share with you some comments made on my Facebook wall earlier today:

since there’s a more than 95% FAILURE rate in this industry, I’d say that means that there’s something VERY wrong with it… companies are NOT set up properly, the role of a sponsor is VERY important to new and inexperienced people…

For far too many “sponsors”, their idea of “training” is to throw a bunch of worn out email and pdf’s at the new recruit and tell them to “get on the corporate rah rah” call… … which can be great… but are more like eating Chinese food… awesome while it lasts and, 20 minutes later, you can’t remember what you ate (heard) and you are hungry all over again.

Let me first say that I believe any sponsor worth his salt is going to provide training and support to his team. It’s not even a statement that needs to be made because….well, it should go without saying.

With that said, though…..how much support does a new distributor need? Obviously it’s a question that will have many answers depending on who you ask. But it makes me think about how things were when some of us joined the industry years ago.

When I got started in my first serious endeavor, I went home from the meeting with

– a company catalog
– an 8-page booklet packet of 8 1/2×11 sheets that looked like it was a 10th generation copy of how the pay plan worked
– the “pink copy” of my enrollment form
– a cassette tape about the company

That was it. And that was probably more than a lot of the old-timers got when they joined the industry 10 and 20 years ahead of me.

And yet, I made it work. I enrolled 6 people in my first month. Within 90 days I was earning enough to quit my job. If I needed something and didn’t have it, I either figured out how to do without it….or I create what I needed.

Back in the old “Dead Doctors Don’t Lie” days, thousands of people got started and received little more than I did. Maybe a few copies of the cassette tape to hold them over until their own order came in. A booklet that explained how the tape system worked. A price list for products. That was about it.

A friend of mine joined Excel telecom in the 90s. He got a few nicer materials than I did but it was still nothing to really write home about. Most of it was company “propaganda”….no real sales tools or instructions on how to start building a business.

Fast-forward almost 20 years. Even the most LAME network marketing company offers 10X the amount of support that I (and many of you) lacked when we got started. And, from what I see, it seems that most companies offer at least some or all of the following:

A full schedule of conference calls
Recorded calls
PDF files
Weekly webinars and “over-the-shoulder” video training
Replicated squeeze pages
Printed materials
Autoresponders
Company sponsored promotions
List-building tools
Social media tools

And I understand that some of the things that we offer are a bit more complicated than the old days of “make a list of people you know”.  But, at the same time, whenever I hear people who say they “couldn’t make money because they didn’t have any support”……

….I find myself thinking, “Really?  You honestly think you didn’t have any support?  You’ve got 100X the support that many of us had when we got started.  And yet we had more desire than excuses. ”

So it all begs the question:  are people in our industry REALLY lacking support?  Or are they lacking in self-reliance?

What do you think?

{EAV_BLOG_VER:42fc24f4dbd8e408}

Hey, if you’re not using Empire Avenue, yet, be sure to check it out here.

It’s a great tool for managing your social media statistics….but it’s cleverly disguised as a “stock trading” game where you can buy/sell your friends.

Click here to get your free account and you’ll also start off with 2,000 free bucks!

Have you ever noticed that a child will suddenly start laughing for no apparent reason at all? That they almost always have to skip or run where they’re going instead of walking? Or that they jump out of bed first thing in the morning already excited about their day?

Why do they do it? Because they stand in absolutely AMAZEMENT of it all.

I want to be like that again. And I’ve taken steps toward that life by consciously SEEING how incredible everything in my life is. I don’t just mean the big things.

For instance, I love hearing The Eagles harmony on “Peaceful Easy Feeling”. I never get tired of it. I love “Stardust” by Nat King Cole and “Smooth” by Carlos Santana.

I love the Bradford Pear trees in our neighborhood. They look completely white and when they start dropping their blossoms it’s like it’s snowing in 70-degree weather.

I love coming back from the restroom at a restaurant and finding that my food has arrived. I love sweet tea. I love chips and salsa. I could eat chips and salsa every day of my life and never get tired of it (and often behave as though that’s my goal).

I love watching Easton eat an apple. He leaves a tiny little tooth-shaped trail all around the apple because he never bites in the same place twice.

I love rain. It wouldn’t bother me at all if it rained a minimum of three days a week and at least one of them can be a thunderstorm.

I love going to the movies with Jessica and losing ourselves into another world for 90-120 minutes while sharing a large pop-corn (no butter) and a large Coke. Then talking about the movie in the car on the way home.

I love the color of the sunshine in Italy. I love staying in a great hotel with Jessica and having those great city-walk adventures where we just walk out of the hotel, pick a direction and walk around holding hands, looking in shops, buying snacks.

I love seeing how big Will is getting. He’s going to be taller than me, I think. I love that Pate can entertain himself for hours with a pad of paper and colored pencils.

I love Jessica. Everything about her. It’s a cliche’ I know but it really is amazing being married to your best friend.

I even love those few gray hairs that I’m starting to see in the mirror when I’m getting ready in the mornings. Turn color, just don’t turn loose.

I love that I can go to my sink and get clean water anytime I want. Millions of people can’t do that.

I love good friends. I love having people in my life who are better at something than I am and they’re willing to show me something. I love encouragers.

I love authenticity. I love when someone’s willing to be themselves instead of playing a role or trying to fit into someone else’s preconceived expectations.

Hopefully reminding myself of these things regularly — and noticing lots of new ones — will help me recapture that spirit I had when I was a kid. Whenever everything was just amazing and you couldn’t help but go through the day in awe of it all.

What about you? What makes you happy?

With all the talk about investing in gold and silver as a way to hedge against inflation and to protect your wealth from the economic uncertainties…..you might not have heard that some organizations are actually doing their best to suppress the price of silver. It’s been said that “silver is the most manipulated commodity on the planet”.

Mike Maloney is the author of “RichDad Advisor’s Guide To Investing In Gold and Silver”. Here’s a video from him that explains why he doesn’t MIND that silver is being manipulated. Pretty interesting!

I like his basic point near the end:

“I’m not a gold bug or a silver bug. I’m really a cycles guy. Silver, I believe, is the best way to get a whole bunch of cash flow, real estate, high-dividend-yield stocks, or something that is creating income every single month. What you eventually want is cash flow.”

Bottom line: we’re about to cross the threshold into the biggest wealth transfer in the history of our planet. Those who understand what’s happening have an opportunity to become overnight MILLIONAIRES. Those who don’t will definitely be caught with their pants down.

When Mike Dillard re-opens The Elevation Group, I recommend you get involved. You can click here to get on the early-bird notification list so you don’t waste another second finding out what most people don’t know. It’s eye-opening information!

Tony Rush
http://www.tonyrush.com

Did you enjoy this post/video?  Please post your questions and comments and Share or Tweet this to others!  Thanks!

Over the last few years, I’ve done well over 1,000 conference calls and teleseminars on becoming successful, earning money, creating a life of prosperity, etc.

On most of them, I’ve signed off at the end of the call saying, “Have a great day; you deserve it.”

When I started using that phrase, it never occurred to me how much it would mean to people. At conferences and seminars around the world, people have walked up to just say “Thank you for telling me I deserve something. No one has ever told me that before.”

It’s very humbling.

Who knew that three little words — “You deserve it” — could have such an impact on so many people? Why is that?

I think it’s because most people have been so beaten down by negativity in their life that many of them don’t feel like they deserve good things.

I can relate to that because — due to heavy involvement in a particular ultra-conservative religious denomination in my youth — I spent years being told that my basic nature as a human being was to do evil….and that I was incapable of doing anything worthwhile on my own.

The oft-quoted Scripture to support their view was that my “righteousness was as filthy rags in God’s sight”. (It’s part of a verse in the Old Testament).

As a result of that teaching (and the people I associated with), becoming wealthy was something that never occurred to me.

Why would it?

I didn’t have a college degree.

No one in my family was wealthy.

And the dominant teaching I got at church was that I didn’t deserve anything at all.

What’s the outcome of living in that kind of environment?

Sally decides there’s no point in trying out for the lead role in the school play. “I probably won’t get it anyway”.

Tom knows the answer to the question but won’t raise his hand in class. His self-esteem is so low that he figures that — if he gets the answer wrong — everyone will laugh at him or find out he’s stupid.

Rachel goes on a job interview but doesn’t expect to get it. After all, why would God reward her with a good-paying job when she’s good-for-nothing?

Randall doesn’t get a promotion at work even though he’s a great worker. Without even consciously thinking about it, he figures that God gave the promotion to someone else because he hasn’t been going to church regularly lately.

Bob decides not to ask out the girl he adores because he figures she’ll turn him down. Why on earth would she say “yes” to a date with him?

In these and a thousand other ways, people misconnect the dots: they think that every negative thing that happens to them is a result of their own lack of deservability.

“After all,” they think. “Who am I to play big in life? Who am I to think that I could be great at anything?”

And — if it’s left unchecked — that attitude and mentality will dog their every step through life. A tiny, negative little whisper in their ear that says, “There’s no need to try. You don’t deserve it.”

And here’s the thing: I wasn’t really conscious of all that going on. I doubt most people are. That little voice in your head sounds logical, doesn’t it? Especially when it disguises itself as the voice of your Dad or your Mom or your best friend. It’s pretty easy to fake yourself out and think that all that negativity is actually the right way to think.

So, imagine how refreshing it was when I got involved in personal development and discovered that….I DID deserve to live a wonderful, prosperous life! I DID deserve to set big goals and expect to achieve them! I DID deserve to see myself as a unique, talented, gifted person who could create my own life by simply choosing my thoughts and actions.

What a difference it makes to simply accept a few different realities:

– You DESERVE a beautiful home.

– You DESERVE to wear beautiful clothes

– You DESERVE to drive a safe, beautiful and reliable vehicle

– You DESERVE to eat the best foods

– You DESERVE to be free from excessive work and toil

– You DESERVE to be healthy and vibrant

– You DESERVE to have plenty of free time to enjoy your friends and family

– You DESERVE to have the time to study and read and learn about the things that interest you

– You DESERVE to be able to travel and see as much of the world as you possibly can

– You DESERVE to visit the museums of the world and stand in awe at man’s ability to create beautiful things

– You DESERVE to earn a large income so that you can experience financial security

– You DESERVE to be able to go to sleep each night free from worry and stress about bills

– You DESERVE to love yourself for who you are and what you’re capable of achieving

The list goes on and on.

You….deserve…..to…….live….a….properous…..life.

Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Not your parents.
Not your friends.
Not your pastor, rabbi or teacher.

You were not put on this earth to “just get by”.
You were not placed here to “settle” for a mediocre way of life.
You were not meant to be alone.
You were not meant to doubt your abilities or potential.

I’m writing this on the first Monday of 2011. It’s about 5:15pm here in Alabama

And in a couple of hours, I’ll host another conference call for some people who may be where I used to be:

They might be a little bruised.

They’re a little nervous about what they believe is possible for themselves.

They might be a little beaten-up by life.

Some of them might be where I was: misled and deceived some negative environment they’ve been stuck in……

….and once again, I get to be the ONE person in their life who tells them something they’ve been STARVING to hear and didn’t even know it.

That they deserve it.

You do, too.

You really, really do.

Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Especially that person in the mirror.

You rock.

Tony Rush

http://www.tonyrush.com

As always, please share your thoughts below.  And please use the ShareThis or Retweet options to let others know you enjoyed it!  Thanks!

My buddy Jason Moffatt turned me onto this and I wanted to pass it along to you, too.

You can find me on About.Me at http://www.about.me/tonyrush

I just registered my About.Me website. It’s a new system that is really picking up a lot of attention.

Rather than being another me-too social network, it’s really an all-in-one-place where people can get a quick glimpse at YOU as a person.

It looks like a lot of people are using it as a place to do a one-page resume of sorts….or to just let people see who they are “at a glance”.

Anyway, I think this is going to be one of those things that takes off REALLY BIG in the near future.

So, even if it’s not your cup of tea, it’s a good idea to go ahead and register for your account so no one swipes your name.  (Maybe you know what it’s like to not be able to get your name as a domain name or a username with some systems because someone beat you to it.)

Here’s a quick video that shows you mine (http://www.About.Me/tonyrush.com) and some tips on setting up yours.

As always, please leave your comments or questions below…and don’t forget to Share This or Retweet it!  Thanks!

Tony Rush
http://www.tonyrush.com
http://www.MeetTonyRush.com

I get asked every day, “Tony, what’s the best way to create my own website?”

After all, if you’re marketing online, you’ve got to have your own site. Even if you’re going to market affiliate products for someone else, you’ll want to have you own lead-capture page sitting in front of their sales page so you can capture their information and send email to them.

But, if you’re not technically savvy, even setting up a SIMPLE website can be a pain.

After all, you’ve got to:

- set up your hosting
- design the site itself (HTML/CSS)
- write the copy
- build the funnel

Well, those days may be over. I just ran across a new program that basically solves ALL of that for you. Check it out here.

Finally, you’ve got complete control.

No more webmaster.  No more copywriter.  No more graphics designer.

Practically everything you need to build an exclusive, productive sales page (or lead generation page) is at your fingertips.

And I mean, everything.  Video pages.  Squeeze pages.  Sales pages.  Thank-you pages.  Testimonial pages.  It’s brilliant.

Take a look at this video:  http://www.tonyrushblog.com/sitemaker

It’s powerful.  It’s plug-and-play.  And there are ZERO recurring fees.  It’s a tiny, one-time expense and you can use it for ALL your business needs forever.

Fair disclosure:  If you buy this, I might make a few bucks.  But, I get a lot of people who ask me to recommend stuff every week and I say ‘no’ to 99% of the stuff because it’s not something I would use personally or feel good about recommending to you.

THIS, on the other hand, is the real deal.

Go take a look right now:  http://www.tonyrushblog.com/sitemaker

I’m not a conspiracy theorist.  And I don’t buy into the normal “doom and gloom” that the talking heads on the news are fond of pushing out every day.

But, at the same time, it’s foolish and naive for someone to look at the weeds in their garden and say, “There are no weeds!  There are no weeds!” and expect the weeds to go away.

This is real and it’s happening.  And it’s downright scary.

Let me put this into perspective for you:  if you lost, say, $5,000……don’t you think your family would be upset?  Don’t you think that you’d have some explaining to do?

Well, isn’t it interesting that the Federal Reserve can lose $9,000,000,000,000.00 (that’s $9 TRILLION)…….and they act like it’s no big deal?

If you have not registered to attend Mike Dillard’s presentation about our economy and the “black box” financial strategies of the ultra-wealthy, click the link below to make sure you don’t miss it.  (If you’re in the United States, his presentation is Monday night.  That’s Tuesday around lunch if you’re in Australia)

Click Here To Watch Mike’s Video And Register For The Presentation

Watch this video and see what you think….

7th Dream Pictures recently did a short profile about me and my family and the difference that working from home has made in our lives.

I have to admit. Some of it was very embarrassing to share on-camera. We were very candid about our background and where we started from.

Are you ready to make this kind of difference, too?

If I’ve learned anything in this journey from “struggling and broke” to “prosperous and abundant”, it’s this:

Life is a choice.

God that sounds so….California.

But it’s the truth.

Most people are struggling and frustrated because they’ve never actually made the DECISION to be successful.

And most of those who are immersed in self-help materials and “The Secret” and all the other stuff that’s out there……well, most of them are still struggling.  They’ve just figured out how to struggle with a positive mindset.  But, at the end of the day, if all you know about “positive thinking” and the “law of attraction” isn’t giving you THE LIFE YOU WANT……then what good is it?

Here’s a screenshot from the last 8 days of our business:

Some people will see that and think I’m showing off.

And I’m not; I’m making a larger point:  if a former bookstore clerk and gospel pianist can work from home and earn $19,000 in net profit a single week…..then you can too. I’m pretty sure I’m not doing anything you can’t do.

I’ll show you how I do it. Visit http://www.TonyRush.com for details and I’ll be glad to get you all the details.

Tony Rush
334-655-8194

Andy Jenkins knows how to make you want it bad. Some of you guys may remember his launch of “Video Boss”. I was completely blown away — not just by the launch materials — but by the platform he was using to serve all those great videos, content, social-media interaction, etc.

Then I saw it again when Frank Kern did “List Control”. Same exact platform. I got suspicious. Then John Reese did it for “Outsource Force” and Jeff Walker used it for “Product Launch Formula 3.0″

I had to have it. So, I called in every favor I had and managed to finagle myself into the Kajabi beta-test program. This thing is absolutely amazing.

Now, I want to tell you up front that there are going to be a lot of people telling you how great Kajabi is. But the truth is that there’s only a couple dozen of us who have been allowed full-access to the system throughout the beta-testing.

So, this is going to be one of the few reviews you’ll read about Kajabi that’s based on 100% user experience.

So, what is Kajabi and why should you care about it? This video will answer the question better than I can put it into words:

Click Here To Discover Kajabi

Kajabi is a platform and content management system that helps marketers store and deliver content, set up product launches, funnels, squeeze pages, sales pages, run membership sites and so much more. It’s basically the first time in the history of internet marketing that all of these things are under one roof and they’re push-button simple.

Those of you who know me know that I’m not a technical guru. I’m interested in the RESULT….not the “what do I have to click to make it happen” kind of stuff. Using Kajabi for my own projects in the last couple of months has been a breeze.

Drag-and-drop content creation has never been easier. Uploading videos that are automatically configured to play on iPads and iPhones (take THAT Adobe!)…..creating funnels……sales pages……creating a “community” around the content that you provide. Rolling it all out according to your timeline…..it’s never been easier.

Uploading videos is simple. There’s no additional hosting costs and you don’t have to fool with Amazon S3 or any of that stuff. It’s all push-button simple. The social interaction is amazing; comment moderation and interaction between members is remarkable. (As a ListControl customer, I suspect that Frank Kern’s staff had AT LEAST a 75% reduction in customer service tickets because the “side-to-side interaction” between customers allowed members to help members. Without that, everyone would have had to constantly send questions to the Customer Service department. That feature alone probably saved Kern thousands of dollars in customer service expenses over the entire course period.)

Building new content pages is a breeze. You literally just click a button, fill out the forms and Kajabi does the rest, making sure that it all looks JUST AS SWEET as what you saw during the big fancy-pants internet launches by the big boys Kern, Reese, Walker and Jenkins himself. (By the way, Andy Jenkins is one of the masterminds behind this whole thing. And it’s SLICK.)

I can go on and on. I was going to do some walk-through videos but Kajabi themselves is going to be releasing some soon and theirs will be incredible. So, stay tuned.

If you want to check out Kajabi for yourself, click the link below: