Catch the Wave and Get Out of the Rat Race
Become Your Own CEO
(Adapted from a discussion between Gary and Mary Young, of Young Living Essential Oils.)
Welcome to the Rat Race. Does it ring a bell?
The alarm clock goes off — again — way too early. You stumble to the shower, get a quick shave and dress on the run. You grab a large muffin (bran, of course) and an even larger travel mug of coffee as you race out the door.
You barely make it to the station before your commuter train pulls out. Then you sit in a cramped car for the next hour, trying to drink your coffee and read the paper. As it turns out, this is your only quiet time for the day.
At the end of your commute, it's another race to get to the office. Jostling crowds press from every side. It's a relief just to finally be in your tiny cubical and catch your breath. Then in eight, ten or twelve hours, you get to make the commute back home and start the process over in the morning.
Lots of stress, little security — and never enough time or money to pursue the life you've always dreamed of.
There's more to life. There's got to be.
Realizing your dreams, and why it's so hard
Have you ever wondered or asked yourself what it would be like to be financially independent? I've asked myself that question so many, many times. I honestly couldn't imagine what it would be like.
I used to think about it and talk about it and dream about it, and wonder how something like that would ever be possible. In our current economy, the opportunities for this are rare.
Why is that?
Limitations of the corporate structure
First, there's the limitation of corporate advancement.
What happens in most corporations when they replace the CEO? Do they promote someone from within the company? Not in most cases; they bring in someone new. They're looking for new blood, the outside person. That means, they're never going to reach down into the ranks and pull someone up, are they?
Very rarely.
And so, for the employee who's on the very bottom of this pyramid structure, the best he can ever hope for is that he might climb up to middle management. And often times, people retire from the same position they had when they started.
Second, there's the limitation of job security.
So many people fall victim to corporate downsizing, business mergers and sell-outs and acquisitions. And today, we're seeing more and more of our jobs going overseas. Today's workers are losing their security, they're losing their paycheck.
It's really sad, isn't it?
Just recently, a computer software company laid off 9,000 people. And the VP was sitting at his desk, a guy walks in and hands him a brown envelope. He opens it, and it was his notice. It was his last day on the job. After 26 years with the company, with his position, he felt that he had security. And he had retirement coming. And all of a sudden, it was gone. Dashed on the rocks.
I've traveled all over the world, to Japan, China and to Europe, and I've met so many people from different cultures. And what kinds of things are you seeing with them? The same things that exist here. It's everywhere. There is no security in the corporate world today. And there's not going to be.
Third, there's the cost to your family.
See what's happening: You trade your time and effort for a paycheck and some sense of security. You make countless sacrifices, deferring life today for a better life tomorrow; hoping your commitment to the job will be rewarded with advancement and a comfortable retirement. But all-too-often, this hope is not fulfilled.
But something that's maybe even worse: While you pursue the corporate dream, the children are left at home with the baby sitter. The children know the baby sitter — and the baby sitter knows the children — better than the mother and father do.
The Scene Today
Testimonial: Almost all of my friends are corporate people, in higher corporate jobs. They all tell me the same things: the money's not worth it, because they have no freedom, they have no time with their children.
I share with people that you don't have to do that anymore.
Family Farmer: It's been a long day. It's been a long season. And all of this for what? I'm still going to end up having to go to the bank and borrow more money for next year.
And how many times am I going to have to miss my son's 4-H meeting? Having to stay out in the fields, missing dinner.
Fry cook: Well, it is a job; it's just now where I wanted to be. And time is passing me by.
Doctor's office: Oh no! I didn't realize what time it was? This is the third time this month I've forgotten my date with my wife.
But how can I go home now? I've got three more patients to see, I have to finish up these charts, and then I've got this conference call in five minutes with Dr. Jones. You know, I really love these patients, but I don't have a life.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Catch the wave of the next big trend.
A wave creates action. I look at a trend as an ocean wave moving toward the beach. The surfer who really wants to ride the wave doesn't get behind the wave and let it pull him; the place to be is in front of that wave, letting it drive you.
What is the next big trend?
Do you know how many Baby Boomers were born in the United States between 1946 and 1964?
76 million. That's 1 billion world-wide.
These baby's had to have diapers, they had to have food. As they grew, they had to have toys. Then there were clothes, entertainment. And later, a different kind of food, because they were starting to become teenagers, and they wanted to eat differently.
When we look at this time period, look at the trends that evolved: Gerber baby food came along right on the crest of that wave. Who else came along and got in front of that trend? Fisher Price toys. And what happened? They made millions of dollars. Then, as they went from babies to teenagers, what evolved in the 60s? The fast food industry.
Do you know how many Baby Boomers were turning 53 years old in 2001? One every eight seconds. It'll be this way for the next 18 years.
And what do all of these aging Baby Boomers desire? To have good health and longevity.
We're at the cross-roads of another phenomenal trend.
The strongest trend in the world today, bar none, is the desire people have to have good health. Position yourself there, take ownership there.
Sixteen years ago, Young Living started doing that with the knowledge of aromatherapy, using essential oils as a natural way to rebuild one's health. And now, we can look out and see that crest starting to build. And it's coming in, and it's gaining speed every day.
Where do you want to position yourself?
So how are you going to get on that wave and ride it.
Take a look at the pyramid of corporate structure. As you're starting out in your career, there you are at the bottom. Twenty years, 10,000 punch cards and three mergers later, and you've only reached middle management.
But now, think about this: What if those below you in the structure could actually propel you to the top of the corporate structure? Is it only a dream?
It is a dream … come true.
Living the Dream
Testimonial: I'm the CEO of my own business. I'm an independent, self-employed person. And I build businesses.
Testimonial: I appreciate the opportunity of being a CEO of my own company. I have ideas of the way I'd like to see things done. … and this business gives me the opportunity to add the level of detail, both in education and in management, that I really appreciate being able to do it my way.
Testimonial: It's my choice to choose to have a busy day, and to work from the first thing in the morning to the end of night. It's my choice to take an airplane and fly to a distant area to train my organization there. It's my choice to do a conference call, or it's my choice to go play on a beach somewhere for a day. Maybe not a day; maybe at least a week.
But it's my choice; and that is awesome. It's my choice how much money I want to make. It's always my choice.
Network Marketing: A powerful new trend in business
So, what do all of these CEOs have in common? Each is reaping the financial harvest of a powerful trend in the business world today: Network marketing.
The growth of network marketing continues to outpace the retail industry. No matter when or where you begin, you are your own CEO, thanks to the magic of network marketing. It gives you total control over your earning power, your organization and your destiny.
Everyone has equal potential to reach their goals and dreams. Everyone, including you.
The Genius of Network Marketing
Testimonial: For 25 years, we were the CEOs of our own corporation, with a huge staff and many sub-contractors. Financially, we were on top of the world; and then, with the snap of a finger, it was all gone. For seven and a half years, we were financially destitute. We had no dreams, no hope, and no future.
But now, we have our health back, we have dreams, we have hope, and we have a future as the CEOs of our new company, through network marketing.
We didn't believe in network marketing. We thought it was a scam; a get-rich-quick scheme. But today, we are the CEOs of our own network marketing business, where we have discovered that it's the purest form of business: one person helping another to succeed. In the corporate world, that's not necessarily the case.
How does it work? Take a tube of toothpaste in the grocery store, for example. Let's say it costs $3.79. That money is divided a number of ways before it ever gets to the retailer:
- It costs 25 cents for the manufacturer to fabricate each tube of toothpaste. Then he takes a 59 cent cut.
- The national warehouse gets 59 cents, and so do the regional and local warehouses.
- Advertising costs 59 cents.
- And finally, the retailer gets his 59 cent cut.
However, if the right network marketing company makes the toothpaste that will be sold for $3.79, it's a completely different story:
- The company takes half of that, about $1.89, to pay for manufacturing, research and development, marketing and so on.
- The rest goes directly to the distributors. Directly to your organization.
They typical business model
For the typical retail business today, making money is tempered with liabilities. For every dollar that comes in (and even if dollars don't come in), a certain amount goes out in overhead expenses:
- You pay a lease on a store,
- You pay insurance on the store and its contents,
- You pay staff salary,
- You pay employee benefits,
So when you earned your 59 cents, not much of that goes into your pocket. But with network marketing, all of that is different.
- There is no store to lease, because you can run it out of your home.
- There is no insurance to pay, because you have no "store" or inventory.
- You have no staff salaries to pay.
- And, because you have no employees, you don't have to pay employee benefits.
Best of all, when you get that $1.89, all of it goes into your pocket.
Yes, all of it.
That's exciting.
The power of leverage
There are only so many work hours in a day. And the only way you can make more money when you're in a fixed income situation, dealing with retail, dealing with corporate structure in the corporate world, is to take on a second job or to work more hours. If you want to escape that, the best way is by leveraging yourself through duplication.
By yourself, you can work only about eight hours a day. But let's say you had about 2,000 people in your organization who were active, who were duplicating what you were doing. If you were working eight hours a day, and you had 2,000 people who were working eight hours a day, that's 16,000 combined hours per day. That's powerful leveraging.
There is no way that a person in the corporate world, in the business world, can put in those kinds of hours.
A business with real value
A common misconception of network marketing is that you don't really own anything. You don't have a building, you don't have inventory, so there can't be any real value in the business, itself. But that's not true.
Once you've built an organization with consistent volume, your business can be valued like any other business. And you're the CEO. If you want to sell out and retire, it's your business to sell. Or, if you want to give it to your grand kids, it's your business to give away. And, if you choose to retire on the residual income of your business, as long as the volume stays there in your organization, your checks will continue to grow, giving you the freedom to do whatever you want.
Benefits of Network Marketing
Testimonial: My partner and I operate over 24 restaurants in two states, and what I find amazing is that, in the restaurant franchising business, it takes over $1.3 million to open up a restaurant. With network marketing, you can get into it with little or no investment at all. You can just begin.
Testimonial, Dr. Terry Friedman:
I had a clinical practice that involved being there early in the morning, every morning during the week, and you had to stay with a strict schedule of appointments all day long. So it was really more than a 9-to-5, but it was that too.
And some days were really hectic.
The difference now is that I can schedule the time as I feel it should be scheduled, giving me more free time for writing and lecturing, and doing the things that I really enjoy. It has allowed me to help people in a broader way now than just the one-to-one.
Choosing the right company
The surging trend of alternative health, and the power of network marketing will leverage you upwards. Now all you have to do is choose the company that will sponsor your climb.
Young Living Essential Oils stops at nothing to bring the world's finest products, innovations, support and training to its distributors. With an ever-expanding network of research facilities, farms and other subsidiaries, it's mission to bring new sources of health and financial freedom to the world cannot be stopped.
And, with over 250,000 distributors selling products in 20 different foreign markets, including Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and Russia, it's no wonder that, just seven years after it's opening in 1994, Young Living's sales had increased 20-fold. In the four years following that, it has had a sales growth of over 4,000 percent.
What Young Living Can Do for You
Testimonial: This is a wonderful company, and it's making it financially possible for me to achieve my life-long dream.
Testimonial: This thing just snow-balled. And it snow-balled because, the bottom line, I shared myself. I shared myself in a way that allowed my friends to do what I was doing.
Testimonial: With Young Living, I found that I could create an income with ease. And that freed me, big time.
Testimonial: I choose to go to my private practice, because I enjoy what I do.
Testimonial: I now pay more in taxes every year than what I used to make.
Testimonial: In a very short period of time, I built an income where I can now enjoy a life-style that previously I could only dream of.
Gary Young: And folks, I can't express enough to you the deep appreciation that I have for the people that are surrounding Young Living, and supporting us in our quest to have the very best in the world, without compromise.
What Young Living Can Do for You
Testimonial: Young Living is an amazing company. We have the best leadership in the world with Gary and Mary Young, and we have the best products in the world, bar none.
And our products are good from beginning to end. There are a lot of companies out there that have a single product that may be really good, but everything else is just like background material. All of our products are wonderful, and they're all cutting-edge. You could build a business on any one of them. And it has the best support in the office staff. We just have a fabulous company.
And it's making a difference in people's lives, physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially. It's an awesome company.
Testimonial: The reason I chose Young Living is because I had someone on my back for a couple of years saying, "Try our products. Just try them."
As a chiropractic physician for 28 years, I've been bombarded by every company: "Use our products." "We have the best products." "Try this, try that"; and I've done that. But Young Living has really set a higher standard, one that no one else can compete with, and that's purity of products. I don't have to worry about the products being right, and when I recommend a product to a patient, I very, very seldom have a patient who says, "This didn't work for me." And very seldom will you have that in any other company.
Testimonial: Quite a few years ago, we were the CEOs of our own corporation, and for several years, we did very well. But then, foreign competition came in and just blew us out of the water.
A few years after that, we became involved in another corporation, and it was going well. The same thing happened. Let me tell you, it's no fun.
But then Young Living comes along, and we're the CEOs of our own corporation again; but we don't have the responsibility, and we have the time to do the things we'd really like to do. We don't have to worry about shipping and handling all of these odd things, and worrying about all the employees and the details of things. We can just do our thing. And it's wonderful.
There's no comparison between being the CEO of a corporation and being the CEO of our own organization in a network marketing program like this. It's wonderful.
Testimonial: Prior to getting involved with Young Living Essential Oils, I spent 10 years on a full-time basis working in the field of network marketing. I earned a great income, had a great life-style. The problem I had, however, was that the companies I worked with didn't stick around. It was a very volatile, unstable environment. I found that I was literally an MLM orphan, continually looking for a true home.
Well, all of that changed when I found Young Living. An acquaintance sent me the tape, The Missing Link, and as soon as I heard that tape by Gary Young, I knew I was home.
This company has it all: an excellent pay plan, tremendous leadership, integrity, training, support, and most important for me, I know it's going to be around for the long term. It has a proven track record; it's rock solid.
I'm earning a great income here. I have financial security. And I have a family and a home.
Testimonial: Pursuing dreams, for me, is everything. If a person doesn't have a dream or a goal, their life is worth nothing. They do not have to regard themselves as a pawn within the system. It must be a life of six spokes in the wheel: mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, family and money. Young Living adds to all of those.
Gary Young: There was a time in my life when I learned a valuable lesson about how precious life and freedom are. I had none. As a result of an accident, I was left paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. I was sitting in my wheelchair, in terrible pain. I lost my business — my ranch — everything I had worked for all my life. And, according to the medical prognosis, I was never going to walk again. But I learned that life is worth living. No matter how it appears in the moment, life is full of opportunities; all we have to do is just reach up and take hold.
You see, becoming your own CEO is not just about the opportunity for success and prosperity; it's about what we all want: happiness and freedom.
The open sea, exotic places to explore, new challenges, forgotten talents, and time with the most important people in the world. Don't let financial bondage paralyze you and steal these dreams away. Let Young Living help you take them back.
Catch the wave: become your own CEO.
