President's Message - Don't Sit Down! April 2001

Since the beginning of 2001, Marketing Executives all across North America have been getting busy and making the most of the opportunities before them. Thousands of people have started enrolling new customers. Many more are adding new names to their contact lists, setting appointments and doing presentations. There have been hundreds of groups who have started a new Fast Track program. I'm excited about what I've seen happening! I know that everyone who decides to focus on these basic activities will see their businesses grow this year.

With so much activity going on, people will soon be reaching new milestones and drawing closer to their goals. They are racing forward, working their businesses with a sense of real commitment. That commitment will be the factor that will help them reach their goals and see new levels of success.

I recently heard a story that captured the true meaning of commitment. This story takes place along the streets where the New York City marathon is run. The marathon brings over 25,000 people from all over the world to compete, from age 18 to 90. With so many contestants, many volunteers are needed to assist the runners at certain points along the course. Last year, one of the volunteers was a young doctor who offered to help with any medical needs. When he arrived, he was assigned to the station at the 19-mile mark. This station was in a strategic place - after running 18-20 miles, the body hits "the wall," as marathon runners call it. Essentially, what that means is your body is worn out. All your energy has been used up, and there is no more fuel or fluids to keep the body going. The only way to keep running is to overpower the fatigue with a mental determination to take step after step.

The young doctor began to treat the runners who jogged into the little roadside tent. They would sit down, then the doctor would wrap ankles, give glasses of water, massage cramped leg muscles and do everything he could to get them ready to hit the road again. He quickly finished and told them they could now go out and finish the race. But they didn't move. They couldn't. Once the runners had sat down, it was like their bodies were glued to the chair. The physical fatigue would overcome them and their mental determination to finish the race was gone.

So the doctor changed the way he treated the runners. Each time someone came into the tent, he immediately asked them, "Do you want to finish the race?" If they said yes, he would not let them sit down, but asked them to remain standing. He wrapped ankles, bandaged scrapes, and massaged muscles while they stood. He made them keep moving while drinking water. Then the runners were able to keep their focus on the marathon and regain the momentum they needed to finish. "Don't sit down," the doctor said hundreds of times that day - and each runner who did not sit down went on to finish the race.

There were two key elements that made it possible for those worn-out runners to finish the race: One was the mental decision that they were going to run the full race. The other was their physical momentum and sense of commitment that never stopped because they never sat down! By following these two principles, we, too, can finish our race and reach the goals we've set for our lives.

The first step is to decide to finish. When do you make that decision? Before you start! If you haven't resolved upon finishing the race, the obstacles that get in your way will be too much. You'll be tired and ready to quit after a while - and without the mental determination to keep going, your race will end right there. Don't let that happen. Decide now that you want to finish.

Then decide why. Your why is the driver, the reason behind the decision. If you lose focus on your why, you forget the reason you made the commitment in the first place. What is your why? What is waiting for you when you reach your goal? What will you gain? Why is that important? If you create a vivid picture of the rewards in your mind, you will get past the obstacles and reach the end.

The second key is to never sit down. Once you've begun, once you've even got a small amount of momentum going, never pause. Momentum is precious! Momentum can be kept up with a small amount of energy - but starting over will take ten times the effort. So never cease pursuing your goal. Never give yourself an excuse to "sit down."

How do you "sit down" while building your Melaleuca business? By never adding new names to your contact list. By setting fewer appointments. By doing presentations only now and then, instead of weekly. By skipping a Fast Track or a Melaleuca meeting in your area. Once you let up on these basic activities, you're taking fewer steps towards your goal, slowing your pace and letting go of your determination to reach the finish line. You're giving a mental signal that the commitment is gone. If it's not urgent to get involved in these basic daily activities, neither is it urgent to reach the end of the race. Remember, each race is made up of thousands of steps. The next step you take is just as important as the last step that takes you over the finish line. Take the next step now! Then immediately take the next step! It is crucial to take these small daily steps, for that is the only method that will move you toward your goals.

Nothing has surprised me quite as much since Melaleuca began as the type of people who have become successful, and the people who have not. I learned a long time ago that I could not predict who would go far in this business. When I tried, I was often wrong! Those who seemed to be dynamic, powerful leaders often quit before they reached their goals. I wondered why. Then I recalled this quote from President Calvin Coolidge: "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." There is the key! The ability to press on, to never "sit down" while building this business makes more difference in finding success than does talent or personality or influence.

As a leader in your Melaleuca business, you need to commit to reach your goals no matter what! By committing to reach your goals, you commit to help other people reach their goals as well. How can you do this? By focusing on the seven basic activities. By teaching the 3s, 4s and 5s you enroll to keep doing those basic activities, and by setting the example yourself. By keeping in mind your why and encouraging your organization to dream and set goals and determine their why. And by pressing on, never stopping, and never sitting down!

When you reach your goal, you'll look around and see all the tough miles behind you . and even greater goals ahead! Each time you reach a goal and set a new one, you'll keep building the momentum in your business and keep finding more success. If you learn the two keys to running a marathon - deciding to finish the race, then never sitting down - you'll conquer each goal and reach each dream. Put on your running shoes, get out on the road, and don't sit down!

Sincerely,

Frank

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