or... "Shut up and buy the damn Dealer Kit!

Does staying inside your comfort zone REALLY stunt your growth?

A few months ago, I got into some heated discussions on a forum or two.  It seems that the locals felt I was using "scare tactics".... telling people not to follow their dreams.... telling them, in fact, that they shouldn't even try.

Cowpies!!

I'm a firm believer in going after your dreams and thumbing your nose at anyone who says you're nuts.  If not, I would have closed down my word processing service before it even had a chance.  They all laughed at me for trying to start a business when what I really needed was a J-O-B.  I was so self-conscious about the whole thing that I never told anyone what I did for a living (which really puts a damper on getting new clients).  For years I felt like a little kid "playing business."  But I had the last laugh, because 20 years later, what eventually evolved into a medical transcription service is still making a pretty good living for my family.

One day I knew I had to get out of the transcription business or bust, so I decided to go into sales because everyone knows that's how you make a bundle of money when all you've got is a high-school diploma.

I did everything I was supposed to do.  I admit I fell for lots of scams, but I also joined up with a couple of very solid companies. 

I read the motivational books.  I read the marketing books.  I had strong company support.  I had strong upline support.  And I had products I could be proud of.

I worked my hiney off, and I stuck with it long past the point where I should have quit.

And I fell flat on my face.

So I moved back into my comfort zone, and I'm thriving.

Well, this bugs a lot of people... especially MLM zealots.

I'm not here to knock MLM.  In fact, one of the things I failed in was Mary Kay, and I KNOW Mary Kay is a reputable company and an outstanding opportunity.... for SOME people. 

But not for me.

The consensus on these forums seemed to be:  "If you have strong upline support, a great product, determination, and the courage to try, you WILL succeed!"  (I shouldn't say "consensus"... it was more like a war cry.)

I argued:  "If you have strong upline support, a great product, determination, and the courage to try, you HAVE A BETTER CHANCE of succeeding."

I had "former wallflowers and introverts" coming out of the woodwork telling me that by sticking with it and having the courage to "step outside their comfort zone," in "just five short years" they had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and learned to LOVE the business and LOVE the people- contact.

I'm very happy for them.

I don't have five years. 

I have bills to pay NOW.  And my daughter and grandson aren't getting any younger; one more year and they'll both be in "real" school.  I need more TIME to call my own.... I need more MONEY to pay my bills.... and I need them both as fast as I can get 'em.

That doesn't mean I'm not willing to work, and it doesn't mean I'm afraid to try something new and different.

All it means is that face-to-face selling was pure torture for me.  I hated every minute of it, and it wasn't getting any easier.  One day as I dragged myself out of the car to visit yet another prospect, I reconnected with reality.  It was so sudden and so powerful that I felt like I'd walked into a brick wall nose-first:

"WHY THE **HELL** ARE YOU HERE?  WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO YOURSELF??  WHAT KIND OF IDIOT HAS TO BE MISERABLE TO FEEL SUCCESSFUL???  WHY THIS DETERMINATION TO BE SOMETHING YOU'RE NOT???"

I got in the car and went home.

I headed straight for my comfort zone and have never looked back.

It will be a while before I can dump my transcription business, but things are getting better all the time.... and I don't hate getting up in the morning anymore.  But that's not all.  See, I actually LOVE what I'm doing (when I'm not transcribing).

Does this make me a coward?

Does it keep me from growing?

My critics said, "You can't GROW unless you're willing to step outside your comfort zone."

Maybe they're right.  Maybe I'm stagnating.  Maybe this new little white patch on the end of my nose is mold. 

Then again... maybe it isn't.

Hasn't anybody ever heard of "aptitude tests"?  What is their purpose, if not to steer you toward those things for which you are best suited and weed out people who just don't have what it takes to do a job well?

A big chunk of our personality makeup is genetic.  Last night on the radio, I heard about a "new study" that says it's 50/50 (50% DNA and 50% environment).  My friend The Shrink goes beyond that.  She says "the biggest part" of our personality structure is genetic.

Well, there's always a "new study" popping up, so forget the numbers.  They don't matter.  What I know for sure is that to SOME extent, "I yam what I yam."

And so are you.

We can choose to fight it all the way.... or we can choose to accept ourselves as we are, focusing on our strengths and working around our weaknesses. 

I don't see anything wrong with choosing the latter.... and choosing NOT to do battle with those weaknesses day in and day out hoping to eventually erase them.

If you're searching for "the perfect business for you" and nothing seems to be working out, maybe it's because you're looking in all the wrong places, like I was.  Until I found internet marketing, I didn't know there really WAS a "perfect business for me."

So take inventory of your strong points.

Quit listening to the few who have been transformed from shrinking violets into great leaders.  That's swell for them, but you don't have to follow in their footsteps to feel successful.

And NEVER listen to anyone who says, "If all the elements are in place, you can't fail."

You can ALWAYS fail.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try.  It just means there's more than one way to define "success," and my way doesn't have to be your way.

There's nothing wrong with growing INSIDE your comfort zone.

Next time someone tells you there is, take two giant steps backward and ask yourself what they have to gain by convincing you....

and what you have to lose by letting them.

Take me back to the Scams 101 Index!

MaaMaw here!      For a year and a half, I tried everything I knew to make money on the internet.  Nice store, good products, great prices!  I worked my hiney off... and I could count my sales on one set of toes. In 1998, I stumbled on Corey Rudl's MAGNIFICENT internet marketing course, and I've made between $350 and $3,000 every single month since then.  Rich?  Nope... but I was able to dump the business that ruined my life for 25 years, and that's good enough for me.                                                                                         Here's how I turned things around . . . . .