Mark Yarnell's Blog2008-09-06T01:58:32Zhttp://markyarnellblog.com/atom.aspxQuick BlogBecause You Want To Be!tag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-08-13:78e5d066-5f39-44c0-811b-c4b5398e270bMark Yarnell2008-08-13T12:22:47Z2008-08-13T12:06:00ZOccasionally I flip open one of Larry Winget’s books like You’re Broke Because You Want To Be.
I do that to remind myself that it’s okay to tell the truth even if it makes some people uncomfortable. His books always comfort me after I’ve had several calls from people who tell me they just can’t succeed at MLM.
Winget reminds me that life is not necessarily made up of the haves and have-nots. In some cases it’s made up of the wills and will-nots. Sometimes I hear so many sad stories and excuses back-to-back that I begin to buy into them. In reality, most people need to stop rationalizing and start working.
Remember one important fact: in order to have what you’ve never had and get something you’ve never gotten, you have to do something you’ve never done.
Sacrifice has always been one of the cornerstone principles of success and I’ve found no exception to that rule among the dozens of wealthy Networkers I’ve interviewed for my books and articles.
Everyone paid the price necessary to succeed. No one ever lucked into $100K a month.
Wishful thinking won’t cut it. There is no “secret” to effortless wealth. You cannot expect to earn the big checks if you’re being mentored by those who haven’t.
Thousands have now joined our Holy Grail Associates Club and enjoy our free newsletter. Many have made the small sacrifice to purchase the first four volumes of the Holy Grail Collection, studied them and applied our strategies.
And guess what -- not one of those people has called me to complain about problems and discuss how it cannot be done. The calls I get on a regular basis are from people who refuse to invest in their own education to learn how to build a profitable business.
Larry Winget’s book title, You’re Broke Because You Want to Be, offends some people. It will probably never sell a fraction as many copies as others that promise “secrets” and “shortcuts” to wealth, but I love his books because, just like me, Larry doesn’t make the rules. He just figures them out, plays by them and wins.
Radical Wealth in our great industry is about aligning our intentions with our actions. If you intend to succeed, I suggest that you act. And your first action should be to make certain that you and everyone in your downline visits MarkMLM.com.
Had you taken that action a year ago, you could be reading this blog on a laptop in Tahiti, sipping a pina colada.
Where are you now?
]]>Chasing The American Dreamtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-08-05:6eaa497b-6b88-4d6d-9fc7-2a4e4ee98e34Mark Yarnell2008-08-05T14:47:32Z2008-08-05T14:40:00Z Years ago, I began tying my own flies and it has become a bit of an obsession with me.
There are an infinite number of possibilities when tying flies, but the most effective ones simulate specific insects. We call it “matching the hatch” and we tend to gravitate toward those particular flies that imitate an aquatic insect once we see it on the water.
Trout are very aware of which insects are hatching on any given day, so catching a large rainbow requires the angler to be observant.
The bigger the trout, the smarter it is. Big fish are big because they’ve outsmarted many fishermen for many years.
Globalization, outsourcing and downsizing have affected trout fishing dramatically. Instead of being able to purchase a great fly from an experienced fly-tyer, most fishermen are forced to purchase flies tied by seven-year-old African children who are paid pennies an hour to churn out dozens of flies using the cheapest possible materials. Since most fishermen don’t tie their own, they have to purchase cheap, assembly-line copies and never know any better. Fish do.
The best fly fishermen tie their own flies slowly from their personal stash of expensive feathers, beads, hooks and fabrics of every imaginable color and texture. The ultimate reward comes from our own inventions and creative insect copies.
In my tying years, I’ve created over a thousand such flies and only one has proven to be highly effective. I have one special room filled with fly-tying materials from all over the world and I’ve spent countless hours tying wet and dry flies.
On the rare occasion when a new effective pattern is invented, the rumor spreads quickly among our small community of fly fishing enthusiasts. If someone in England creates a successful fly, we’ll know about it in British Columbia in a matter of days and begin to immediately copy it. There are very few secrets in this sport.
And that brings me to the purpose of this blog. Two weeks ago I made a momentous discovery. Somebody had created a new insect pattern that is so blasted effective that they named it, “The Guaranteed.”
I bought the last four Guaranteeds I could find anywhere in our province and immediately began to search for the rare peacock neck feathers required to make it.
Literally, everybody was out of those feathers, partly because they’re so expensive and partly because very few flies, until now, required their usage. At 50 cents to $1.00 per feather, most tiers consider the peacock neck plumage an absurdity.
I have a different opinion. Any feather that will catch a big rainbow trout is priceless. Thanks to my 23-year Network Marketing career, I view rare feathers as a necessity, not a luxury.
So, all my friends wanted me to tie up some Guaranteeds, but there were no feathers anywhere. Then I found a farmwoman in the backwoods of Oregon who had peacocks all over her acreage and literally bags of neck feathers.
She asked me how many I wanted at a few cents apiece and I asked, “Do you have any hefty trash bags?” She laughed and collected a couple of hundred which cost me less than the overnight Fed Express charge to ship them. She thought I was nuts paying $50 for overnight delivery. I thought I’d died and gone to trout heaven.
I spent the next hour calling all my fishing buddies who were as excited as I was about the miracle discovery. When my wife Valerie came home, I explained my unbelievable find and she later told me that she had never seen me quite so excited.
That night, as I sat back contentedly and thought about my good fortune, it occurred to me just how silly life really is. Here I am approaching sixty, having enjoyed a life filled with mansions, airplanes, jet boats, Lotus Esprit Turbos, Swiss Chalets and Aspen ski homes. I spent six decades chasing the American Dream and no matter what I acquired, I always wanted more.
I used to think that I could find contentment and fulfillment if I just accumulated the right material possessions…and I was right to a certain extent.
I just wish someone had enlightened me when I was much younger to the real meaning of life, but no one told me the truth. So let me spare you years of unnecessary stress and toil.
Here’s the ultimate secret:
Serenity is the ability to derive absolute fulfillment from a bag of nickel feathers that may or may not arrive overnight.
]]>Far Worse Than Ignorancetag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-07-29:74e3433a-6f97-4bad-a4be-2210d4afce75Mark Yarnell2008-07-30T17:57:10Z2008-07-29T17:15:00Z I’m asked a lot of truly interesting questions from a very broad cross section of professionals. Some answers require a lot of thought while others require none.
The question I’m asked repeatedly is one of those that’s quite simple to answer. But the answer is very important. Here’s the question:
“Do most Networkers fail because of ignorance?”
No. Most Networkers fail, not because of ignorance, but because of the illusion of wisdom.
Our industry, unlike medicine, law, teaching, stock brokerage or accounting, has no requirements for participation. Even real estate sales people take tests that demonstrate minimum standards of competence. Fail, and you’re denied a license.
In fact, if you get caught impersonating a police officer, you’re in trouble. But if you’ve never recruited one person, sold one product for a Network Marketing company or ever participated in any MLM venture, you can still fabricate your credentials, slap up a pretty website and sell the illusion of wisdom about how to succeed in Network Marketing.
Not only can people impersonate successful distributors, but they can actually earn a lot of money teaching what they’ve never done. But wait, there’s more…
Not only can an incompetent sell the illusion of wisdom, but if he or she provides a large enough financial incentive to MLM leaders, affiliates will promote his or her training materials to their downline. But wait, there more…
If a person is a celebrity author with brand name recognition, all they need to do to sell their books and tapes is say something nice about the MLM industry. Evidently, Networkers are so starved for credibility and recognition, that anyone who has ever achieved success in any field will be welcomed by our profession like some liberating hero.
A person who has been on TV a few times or written any bestseller on any subject need not even create the illusion of wisdom. Presumably, their celebrity alone qualifies them to deliver speeches, and sell books and training information that will help Networkers succeed. But wait, there’s more…
If your company owners like to schmooze with celebrities, you’ll notice that every year at the annual convention, when the most loyal and committed leaders make a pilgrimage to the biggest corporate event of the year, everyone will be treated to celebrity speeches.
If Paris Hilton needed the money, I’m sure she’d be keynoting several MLM conventions. Those of you who have been in this industry for several years may remember that immediately before his murder trial, OJ Simpson was a keynote speaker at the annual convention of one of the most respected MLM companies. He was their celebrity pitchman because he once played football. Go figure.
So, how do we professional Networkers help new people avoid falling prey to the illusion of wisdom? I have a simple plan.
First, introduce your people to this blog article so they can appreciate the problem.
Second, teach them to verify the credentials of any Network Marketing trainer before buying materials. Often, a simple e-mail request for proof of credentials and follow up verification will suffice. Call their former company and verify their income claims.
Third, send an e-mail to your corporate leaders requesting a speaker at your next convention who is a recognized industry professional like Rod Cook, Jerry Clark, Sandy Elsburg, Todd Falcone or Dr. Charles King.
Fourth, do not, under any circumstances, promote training materials to anyone in your downline, no matter how much you’re financially incentivized, until you are absolutely certain that the trainer’s credentials are legitimate and you’ve successfully applied his or her strategies.
Fifth, encourage distributors to get out of their seats and into the streets. Cyberspace is crammed with the illusion of wisdom…and very little substance.
Internet training is far too seductive and filled to the brim with get-rich-quick schemes aimed at vulnerable new business builders. But a pretty website does not a competent mentor make, and it’s our job to warn folks.
Remember, unlike virtually every other field in capitalism, we have no competency tests, minimum standards of performance or standardized licensing procedures. Like the early days of mixed martial arts, “there aren’t any rules!” Most new distributors do not fail because they’re ignorant. They fail because someone who has successfully created the illusion of wisdom sells them a system.
]]>What Inspires You?tag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-07-20:4f9fb226-4360-4c8b-8319-e9c58a4b4ae4Mark Yarnell2008-07-20T14:43:35Z2008-07-20T14:39:00ZRecently, I was inspired by an act of true kindness. I wanted to pass on that inspiration and submitted this article which was published, in our newspaper, The Daily Courier.
MERMAID RESCUES SIDEWALK SAILOR
Recently, I witnessed a random act of extreme kindness and I’m thankful to have been present.
At the busy intersection of Harvey and Richter, the light changed and an elderly person slowly rolled onto the highway. For some reason, the wheelchair malfunctioned and the person was trapped on Hwy 97.
A petite young woman jumped from her SUV and raced across several lanes, grabbed the back of the wheelchair, and struggled to push the person to safety all the way across Harvey. She then ran back to her own vehicle just in time for the light to change and drove off anonymously as many of us sat and marveled at her decisiveness and bravery.
In my 58 years, I’ve witnessed many acts of kindness for which the activity itself was reward enough to the unselfish participant. But written across the young woman’s SUV was the word, “Mermaids” so I felt compelled to acknowledge her decency, although I have no idea who the Mermaids are.
But about one thing I am certain. On that Saturday, on a busy street in Kelowna, one Mermaid became an angel.
By Mark Yarnell
Inspiration comes from many sources when we’re tuned in.
Please send us a message (holygrail@telus.net) and tell us what inspires or has inspired you? Where do you find your inspiration? Please share a story with us. We’d love to hear from you.
]]>What to Do the Next Time You Doubt Your Potentialtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-07-09:177bba9a-54cd-4ccf-9c9b-51441d3b45f4Mark Yarnell2008-07-09T16:15:39Z2008-07-09T16:09:00Z“Families is where our nation takes hope, where wings take dream. I know how hard it is to put food on your family.” –George W. Bush (2005 speech)
The next time you are feeling down and out…the next time you are rejected by prospects or scolded by an upline leader…the next time you feel like quitting Network Marketing altogether and returning to traditional business…the next time you question your own ability to become a wealthy, successful leader…pull out the above quote and re-read it several times.
Surely you’re capable of earning $100,000 a month in a system of global capitalism which is led by individuals who have made it to the very pinnacle and then articulate such brilliance from on-high.
Or better yet, purchase the book from which I’m quoting: The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips and One-liners, by Carroll and Graff and immerse yourself in the absolute genius of international leaders and billionaires.
Trust me---you can succeed in Network Marketing.
]]>How to Earn and Keep the BIG Checks Coming Intag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-06-26:ef1229a8-6e2d-4b74-8d69-3c0b3c675687Mark Yarnell2008-06-26T09:26:18Z2008-06-26T09:22:00Z“People can always be counted on to do the right thing – after they have exhausted all other possibilities.” – Winston Churchill
I’m always fascinated by the amount of money people spend on training systems that DO NOT WORK before they throw up their hands and purchase the Holy Grail of Network Marketing volumes.
It’s become so absurd in recent years that corporate managers who sit on their butts drawing salaries are creating training systems for entrepreneurs in our industry.
Authors, consultants and celebrities are being paid huge fees to speak at Network Marketing conventions, in spite of the fact that they’ve never built squat.
It’s no wonder so many people keep switching companies as if the solution were to be found in some magic pre-launch or one secret strategy.
Do you really want to know how most of us get to the huge checks and keep them coming for decades? OKAY. Here is it.
Do one thing at a time. Do it right. Finish it.
And before you waste another penny on any strategy, lead list or training system, make absolutely certain that the individual selling it has earned at least $100,000 a month in Network Marketing for several years, consistently.
]]>13 1/2 Years Left...And Countingtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-06-13:d01501ec-e9f2-4005-8a7d-db9c7a95f7b0Mark Yarnell2008-06-13T18:58:31Z2008-06-13T18:54:00Z “America is sleepwalking into the future. In fact, we have walked out of our burning house and we are now heading off the edge of a cliff.” – Dan Garner
A year and a half ago, when I recorded a sizzle call on www.15yearsleft.com, some people rejected my position, calling it “too negative.” Others considered it the ultimate new recruiting tool.
Today, people are paying closer attention to my analysis. Why? Because less than two years after my predictions, gas has gone to $4.00 a gallon, schools and businesses are so worried that they’re scaling back to a four-day week, and the worst mortgage meltdown since the great depression has caused record foreclosures.
So let me reiterate…get your prospects to www.15yearsleft.com and make certain that all your new recruits purchase and study the first four volumes of The Holy Grail of Network Marketing.
Folks, this is just the beginning of large-scale change in our society and Network Marketing is the best viable exit strategy. We’re now down to less than 14 years.
]]>Unlock Your Potentialtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-06-10:875d7902-12c8-4508-919d-b1d354a2a53bMark Yarnell2008-06-10T12:57:03Z2008-06-10T12:52:00Z
“Aligning our intentions with our actions is the key to unlocking our potential. It is something you can learn, but in exchange you have to give something up.” – Larry Winget
People are often amazed by the story of Kathy Denison, the maid-turned millionaire whom I was lucky enough to sponsor on my front line in NuSkin. They are so intrigued by her rags-to-riches account that they miss the basis of her success - sacrifice.
Kathy gave up her cleaning business, her friends and everything she loved in Aspen when she packed a u-haul and moved with her teenage daughter to San Diego to build her Network Marketing business.
In exchange for wealth, Kathy gave up her entire environment, borrowed money, and moved to a city with a huge population and much more potential – one where she knew nobody. She sacrificed the familiarity of her comfort zone for the excitement of wealth.
What are you willing to give up in exchange for the ability to unlock your potential?
]]>If I Were Kingtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-06-08:8a7c76eb-944e-4191-aa65-b2a52508c463Mark Yarnell2008-06-08T11:15:40Z2008-06-08T10:57:00ZMy worldview has become such a tapestry of ideas that it is becoming virtually impossible to credit everyone properly for their individual contributions to the picture. So let me just say at the outset of this essay, that most of my proposed solutions to the issues discussed in my earlier blog called, “Dumbed Down Without a Fight,” are not a result of my own original thinking.
I’m often asked for my sources because people want to read some of the books I’ve read and when possible, I disclose them. But these solutions are a compilation of three decades of living, reading and thinking and that’s a long time. So I would urge you to accept what makes sense and reject what doesn’t. Think for yourself. Don’t worry about who said what.
First, I’d like you to know my motive for writing this. I now realize that the two factors most responsible for my serenity were a direct result of nothing but luck. I am, like everyone else, a product of heredity and environment. I had absolutely no role in the selection of my parents, nor my time and place of birth. Over time, I learned to control my own choices and emotions and that ability has served me well.
Along the way, I discovered three distinct categories into which I’m certain humans fit. I call these categories IG, DG and PG.
THE IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION CATEGORY (IG)
Immediate Gratification (IG) is the primary category because it contains as many as 75% of all human beings. Half the poor souls in this world are born into impoverished cultures where their entire lifetime focus is about finding enough food for the very next meal.
IG people on some continents have been known to engage in behavior that the rest of us can’t grasp. Some sell their children into slavery, auction off one of their own kidneys or climb on tiny makeshift rafts and risk their lives at sea, praying to reach a land of better opportunities.
They aren’t the only ones in the IG category. Those born into cultures of wealth and privilege often face the flipside problems of clinical obesity and diabetes, alcoholism and drug addiction, crime and punishment, boredom and suicide.
Throughout all human history, the manner in which IG people function has depended largely on their time and place of birth. Those born into cultures of poverty are often doomed to a life of subsistence living, that is, wandering around with wooden bowls searching for roots and grub worms to eat. Those born into cultures of plenty have to figure out how to avoid the seduction of whiskey, pastries and greasy meat. That’s been the story throughout recent history. Think about it. Today, as always, the two leading causes of premature human death are related directly to starvation or obesity depending on where IG people happen to have been born. So, that’s the first group.
Before discussing the other two, let’s examine why the world has always been in crisis mode. Rape, plunder, war, suicide and sexual abuse have always plagued us in spite of our alleged progress as civilized primates. I’m convinced that our human brain has genetically evolved to survive in immediate gratification mode because until just recently human beings have always lived in scarcity.
We know intellectually that it’s more sensible to make sacrifices and avoid the huge pitfalls of immediate gratification, yet most seem to be cognitively hardwired to be IG humans. We’ve all seen poor immigrants come to North America and work their fingers to the bone in order to create better lives than those they’ve left behind, only to have their children grow up as slackers. That’s the way it works. Those who sacrifice the most, ultimately enjoy the wealth that comes to many DG members. But that often doesn’t last for more than one or two generations.
Poor Africans and South Americans born into IG environments, have a justifiable reason for spending their lives in search of their next meal. They are IG by birth. In our world, people fully understand why it’s best to make sacrifices and delay gratification, but most can’t. We make feeble attempts like New Years resolutions, but we soon break those. By mid January everyone is right back into their overeating, over-partying, underperforming modes. Does that make them stupid? No. It makes them typical IGrs who comprise 75% of the population.
Only those willing to make sacrifices will ever escape and most people would rather risk death by answering their cell phones in traffic rather than turning off the ringer until they arrive at their destination safely. In fact, cell phones are a perfect illustration because they’re the ultimate example of predatory capitalists manipulating consumers deeper and deeper into the IG category.
It’s been estimated that 74% of Americans own and use cell phones. That’s a very close number to the estimated 75% people in category IG. Why do 26% of the people in America not own cell phones? After all, they’re so cheap that many homeless people carry them. Here’s why. The minority of people who understand the importance of prioritizing effort and sacrifice above immediate gratification will never tether themselves to a wireless feed drip of irrelevant minutiae which encourages them to be diverted from their intended objectives. Are they smarter? No. They are card-carrying members of DG and they’ve decided to self-regulate behavior. Two out of ten human beings have demonstrated that it’s possible to delay gratification and that’s category number two.
THE DELAYED GRATIFICATION CATEGORY (DG)
The second group, DG, those capable of delayed gratification, make up around 20% of the population. They are those who learn to make the sacrifices necessary today in order to enjoy the postponed cumulative benefits of tomorrow. By avoiding the seduction of immediate gratification, they hope to one day enjoy the results of their self-discipline. Many do, but many also die along the way because that’s what happens in life. We die and we have no earthly idea of when or how that’s going to happen. All we know for certain is that our odds of death are one out of one.
THE POSTHUMOUS GRATIFICATION CATEGORY (PG)
The final five percent of human beings fall into the PG category - posthumous gratification. They don’t expect to be taken seriously until long after they are dead and gone. PG humans often become experts in some narrow field or niche domain, live long enough to educate others about their chosen field, and then live out their lives on the fruits of their delayed gratification. They may become celebrities and enjoy worldly status, but that’s usually an accidental bi-product, rather than their intended objective. They do what they love in a field they enjoy and they hope that perhaps, long after their death, people will benefit from their life’s work.
Of the 5% that fall into the PG category, a small number spend their early years in IG, their middle years in DG and their final years, if they are lucky enough to be granted longevity, in PG. They differ from other PG people in two very important respects. Instead of becoming an expert in one field, they focus their spare time learning from experts in multiple disciplines. And instead of becoming celebrities, even when offered that opportunity, as many are, they choose instead to enjoy their anonymity and avoid the pitfalls of stardom. They are content to write about what they learn. They have enough self-esteem, money and time freedom to do whatever meets their needs. The last thing they are willing to do is give that all up for their proverbial fifteen minutes of fame.
Such people are not the most educated or intelligent, nor are they absent of all character defects. To suggest otherwise would be quite disingenuous because although I’m a member of this tiny minority, I’ve had to stumble through my own fair share of self-induced narcissistic dramas. While I’m fairly content today living in my own skin, that hasn’t always been the case. Even now, I realize that my decision to stay at home with the people I love where I can trout fish or paraglide daily stems primarily from selfish personal choices, rather than some deep spiritual commitment to Buddhist-like nonattachment.
And that brings me back to the motive for this essay. It’s simple. I find gratification in the knowledge that my years of research have led to some conclusions that might one day, long after I’m gone, prove not only accurate, but also beneficial.
As a minority member of the PG group, I have no delusions that what I write today will influence any significant number of my contemporaries. Beyond the usual number of kind e-mails from a handful of readers, I’m content with the simple joy of writing and the knowledge that if these solutions were implemented, they might influence the course of human events. For me, that’s motive enough.
SOLUTIONS
In this, the second essay of a trilogy beginning with “Dumbed Down Without a Fight” and culminating in “Welcome to Game Internet,” I will offer smart solutions to dumb problems. I called this essay, “If I Were King” because to make these changes as a politically elected member of any Democracy would be impossible, given the huge number of special interest groups who profit directly from infomania and other forms of commercialized stupidity. Now for some solutions.
Eliminate Lobbying
First we eliminate all lobbying of all elected officials. People should go to jail for bribery, not earn millions. If I were King, my first act would be to decree that lobbying is illegal.
Ban Pharmaceutical Advertising
Next, we ban all pharmaceutical advertising. On this entire planet only two civilized nations allow the pharmaceutical industry to advertise directly to consumers: New Zealand and The United States. There’s a good reason why 91 countries have banned such activities.
Pharmaceutical companies not only invent products that sometimes have horrible side effects or often don’t work, they also invent new diseases whenever they want to create new profit centers. “Social Anxiety Disorder,” “Restless Leg Syndrome” “ADT” B.S.!
Let’s knock off the big pharma ads. They are manipulative. The only serious virus we need to cure is mindless consumerism.
Decriminalize Drugs
Next, we decriminalize all drugs. I don’t expect most people to know American history so permit me to point out that when heroine, marijuana and cocaine were legal in the US prior to 1914, there was far less addiction, few crimes related to drugs, and very few prisons. People simply went to their pharmacist each morning, got their drugs, then went home and caused no trouble. Today, prisons and illegal drug trafficking are two of America’s biggest growth industries, exceeded only by pornography. Police, lawyers, judges, drug cartels and terrorist organizations are making so much money that they want to hide the truth.
Here’s the truth. In every civilized nation where medical professionals legally dispense drugs to anyone who wants them, including England, crime and addiction are far lower than in the US. That cannot be debated.
Let me give you one more irrefutable fact: methadone is far stronger and lasts hours longer than heroine. Anyone in America can walk into any methadone clinic, take a simple blood test to prove that they have opiates in their blood, and pay a couple of dollars for a full day’s high. They can do that legally every day. So why don’t you ever hear about methadone addicts committing crimes? Because it’s available every day, legal and cheap. The reason such a powerful, legal and cheap opiate drug is available in every community is that there are a handful of huge pharmaceutical companies making a killing by selling a product stronger than heroine and keeping it all very quiet. It was Bayer who sold the most heroine until a few politicians decided there was a problem. There wasn’t.
Addiction levels have absolutely no relationship to drugs being legal or illegal. But if they are illegal they create massive amounts of crime and crime in America, just like pornography, is a huge growth industry. Addicts don’t commit crimes unless drugs are illegal and therefore over-priced.
Clean up the Eastern Garbage Patch
If I were King, I’d lead an initiative to clean up the Eastern Garbage patch between Japan and the United States. What’s that, you ask? It’s a swirling vortex of poisons, plastics and trash roughly twice the size of Texas, growing exponentially, and killing every living mammal, bird and plant in a several thousand-mile triangle.
You don’t hear any of the presidential candidates talking about that one, do you? Why? Because it’s going to take another 25 years to reach any shore, at which time most politicians plan to be dead. Obviously, they could care less about their grandkids or California real estate values in 2032. And by the way, why not check out Eastern Garbage Patch yourself (Google it) and read what unbiased scientists and journalists are saying.
Ban Cell Phone Usage in Vehicles
Next, I would make cell phone usage in automobiles punishable by one month in prison. Every 16 minutes, some idiot causes a cell-phone-induced traffic fatality in those nations that still allow and encourage their usage…you know, like America. It would be very easy to run a cell phone check on a driver in any accident by having police simply contact service providers to determine if any accident perpetrator was talking on a cell at the time of the accident. If they were…boom! Off to jail.
Withdraw Self-Esteem Programs from Schools
Finally, I would pull self-esteem programs out of all school systems in North America. I agree with Dr. Jean Twenge: instead of creating well-adjusted, happy children, the self-esteem movement has created an army of little narcissists.
Decades of research have shown that high self-esteem does not cause good grades or good behavior. The purpose of school is to help children learn and assist them in developing strong self-esteem through experiencing successes and bouncing back from failures.
Most of the 25 to 39 year old guys you see skateboarding around every city looking at their text message screens feel very hip. What they don’t realize is that in ten years many of them will be pushing shopping carts full of cans or waiting tables all thanks to the self-esteem movement. Many are convinced that they will become great writers or major league stars if they “Think they can.” That’s “The Secret?” Think positive thoughts, believe in yourself and get ready to claim your abundance because the whole universe is conspiring to acknowledge your greatness. Right.
Tax Junk Food
If I were King those are the first few solutions I would implement. There would be many more like a huge tax on fast food, candy and pastries so we could diminish diabetes and clinical obesity and fund universal health care. Caps on Spending
Caps on political spending would be imposed so that many professional women could afford to run for President.
Prioritize Rebuilding New Orleans
We would abandon all space missions until we’ve rebuilt New Orleans and fed all of America’s poor children.
Eliminate Corporate Tax Loopholes
We’d eliminate all corporate tax loopholes and impose a 10% flat tax on all citizens.
Vote on Military Invasions
Military invasions of any country would require a 2/3-majority vote of all our citizens.
I could go on and on, but the reality is that I’m not King and never will be. Most primates appear to be cognitively hardwired to pursue immediate gratification and that probably won’t change. But I hope that anyone who picks up this blog two hundred years from 2009 will appreciate the fact that, although impotent and in the minority, a few folks in the 21st century were not living in denial. We saw the problems and we saw the solutions. We did our best to make the facts available to everyone, but most people were too scattered to pay attention to reality. We tried, and in our attempts to sound the alarms, we found personal contentment although the masses were too involved in the immediate gratification of digital gizmos to pay attention.
Excuse me, but I’m now leaving to go paragliding. To anyone reading this in 2200, let me explain paragliding.
“Before your great-great-great grandparents moved underground, primates used to live on the earth’s surface. Back before the comprehensive animal extinctions in the early 21st century, a decade before planetary air and water toxicity reached lethal levels, we humans actually built our homes above ground. Back then we had mountains which were real high peaks and humans could run off them with beautiful wings and soar on thermals with the eagles. What were eagles? They were huge birds who had six-foot wingspans and survived by hunting salmon. What were salmon? They were a beautiful species of fish that lived in clear water rivers and streams. What was clear water? Oh, never mind.”
]]>The Spirit Beartag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-06-04:854d7972-2822-4c5b-98fa-57ef8f6f51baMark Yarnell2008-06-04T20:09:57Z2008-06-04T19:23:00Z Dear Friends & Members of The Holy Grail of Network Marketing,
Last fall, as Valerie and I floated down a wilderness river in the forest near Bella Coola, B.C., we encountered a number of grizzly bears feeding on the spawning salmon. The male grizzly that Valerie captured in the photo below was more curious than aggressive. It inspired me to write a short poem about spirit. We felt that it would be nice to share it with our friends and members of The Holy Grail. Feel free to pass it on if you feel moved to do so.
Enjoy, Mark
The Spirit Bear
Beyond each green cathedral, And shadowed human shrine, A silent strength remains in wait, A predator…sublime.
That courage born in every child, To challenge and compete, To taste the joy of victory, And learn from each defeat…
Still lingers just beyond one’s sight, More camouflaged each year, As weeds of age grow taller, Obscuring dreams once clear.
But lest you think the joy is gone, From goals you once believed, Until you take your final breath, There’s much to be achieved.
For just beneath the surface, In spite of aging’s toll, There dwells the spirit bear of youth, Your boundless human soul.
-Mark Yarnell
]]>Dumbed Down Without a Fighttag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-05-07:c9369132-0d6f-425e-b6c2-758e1a9d7111Mark Yarnell2008-05-07T11:29:45Z2008-05-07T11:25:00Z I think it’s time for rational, mature adults to step up to the plate and tell the truth about the state of humanity. I’m going to do that right now. But even more important than my telling the truth is your spreading it so that we can deal with it. Here’s what I would appreciate. If what I write makes sense, please send information about this blog to everyone you can reach.
Although Random House recently approached me to do so, it would mean absolutely nothing for me to write another best selling book in a society where 95% of all citizens do not read one book a year. But with your help, we can get this information to the masses in time to alter our course somewhat. Without your technological assistance, these ideas will continue to be overlooked and ignored. We’ve all got a dog in this fight and most of us realize that our societal direction is becoming psychotic.
First of all, I take no credit for the ideas I am about to share. I’m a simple Missouri guy who, thanks to risk, sacrifice and hard work, created the wealth and time freedom to embark on two decades of pleasurable study and research. For the past twenty years I have made it my hobby to read as many as five books a week by some of the greatest minds in business, science, technology and culture.
Second, I have purposefully read books on both sides of issues so as to not fall victim to confirmation bias by reading primarily those authors who support my personal opinions.
Third, I’m not a conspiracy theorist who finds adversaries behind every tree, nor do I believe that our current social and economic problems are hopeless.
Fourth, I have no political agenda in spreading this information. It’s up to you and me, and not some new president or celebrity, to make changes. What we need immediately is a widespread return to common sense which no celebrity or politician has been able to facilitate.
It’s all up to you and me.
Finally, if you’re happy with the human condition as it exists, you need read no further and certainly need not recommend this essay to anyone. If for example, you are better off emotionally and financially than you’ve ever been or if you feel that spending trillions of our tax dollars to send Americans to Mars by 2020 makes more sense than solving the mortgage crisis, the US deficit and feeding the 30,000 kids who die each week from hunger, this essay will only anger you. Stop reading right now.
Before I begin, I would like to give some of the credit for the ideas shared in this essay to Benjamin Barber, author of Consumed, and consultant to numerous civic leaders on every continent in the disciplines of democracy, citizenship, culture and education. Barber serves as Distinguished Senior Fellow at The University of Maryland.
I would also like to call your attention to a book called Moving Cultures by Andre Caron who holds the Bell Chair at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Emerging Technologies at the University of Montreal. And I learned a great deal from Marc Houser’s book Moral Minds. Hauser has a background in evolutionary biology, and psychology and serves as Director of the Cognitive Evolutionary Mind, Brain and Behavior program at Harvard University.
Now to my thesis concept. I believe that North American Society is being dumbed down and its citizenry systematically converted from energetic producers to passive consumers. I believe that you and I can and must reverse that process if we are to preserve capitalism.
In this first essay I’ll offer some insights into how we arrived here. It does absolutely no good to assign blame to any sector of an economy for creating profitable systems when that’s the stated objective of every for-profit company. My purpose is to eliminate stupidity, not draw attention to those who have figured out how to profit from it.
The dumbing down of America was officially launched when the corporate world discovered that people could be seduced into a world of digital communications and trapped there. Corporate strategists facilitated a slow addiction to social connectedness by convincing people that they don’t just need tools for urgent communications, but rather that all communications are themselves urgent. They aren’t. In fact, most are irrelevant.
The result is a culture of widespread attention deficit disorder where meaningless, superficial and shallow dialogue have become more important than focus, concentration and productivity. “Quick, pull your car over. Your babysitter is calling because she can’t find the ketchup!” Or worse, keep right on driving while you talk to her and risk a head-on. Cell phone induced traffic fatalities occur every 16 minutes.
By popularizing a widespread attitude of infantile habits and behaviors that legitimize childishness and immediate gratification, an army of mindless consumers has been ushered into a kind of “Stepford Existence” where everyone gets to be master and commander of their own little screens and ringers.
Once rational adults are frozen in perpetual adolescence, they remain youth consumers even when they become adults. The process is what I call the Peter Pan syndrome. In case you’ve forgotten Peter’s philosophy, here’s a direct quote from the book and movie: “I don’t want to grow up. I don’t want to be a man. I want to always be a little boy and to have fun.”
In fact, if it hadn’t been for his sister Wendy’s common sense, Peter and his siblings would have been flying around in their pajamas flinging tinker bell dust right into adulthood.
Or to put it in today’s context - unless rational adults start telling the truth, many will continue rolling around on skateboards listening to Moby, answering cell phones, flinging e-mails into Cyberspace and playing Grand Theft Auto well into their fifties.
And who can blame all the intelligent, responsible thinkers among us for keeping quiet? Many of us see the insanity, but what sane person likes to be emotionally hammered by special interest celebrities?
We’ve all witnessed the same scenario over and over. The second step in the infantilzation of America has been for special interest groups to trot out pseudo experts in order to systematically discredit those who point out that the Emperor has no clothes. Nobody likes to be publicly ridiculed as “dinosaurs, technophobes and ludites who, ‘just don’t get it’.”
It’s gotten to the place now where any credible authority who holds a magnifying glass up to America’s cultural stupidity becomes the victim of public attacks. Let a PhD in quantum physics point out anything that diminishes the stock values of some aerospace or pharmaceutical giant, and you can bet that within a week there’ll be a panel of experts on Larry King spinning some rumor about that expert’s former relationship with a goat. Or you’ll find out that his daughter used to be his son and now heads up Lesbians Against The Bible. I think you get the picture. Thinking people have become a bit gun shy. Credible experts are mercilessly attacked by hired guns with minimal expertise.
So back to my thesis. The problem is that we are allowing ourselves to be systematically dumbed down without a fight. We’ve been led to believe that communications are urgent, immediate gratification is more of a priority than focused effort, consumption is more fulfilling than production, and being stuck in adolescence is not only possible, but desirable.
The self-esteem experiment initiated into our school system twenty years ago has churned out an entire generation of narcissists who believe that they can achieve all their goals with or without skills or experience if they just dare to dream. If you want to know much more, read the fabulous book Generation Me.
Books like The Secret perpetuate that same myth among adults. For the first time in human history the Internet has opened an infinite portal of human philosophy, history and wisdom. Yet according to Google’s own statistics, the top searches from 2001-2005 were Eminem, Britany Spears, Pamela Anderson, Harry Potter, Janet Jackson and Paris Hilton. Go figure.
Clinical obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Grand Theft Auto III outsells Beethoven, Bach and Mozart combined. Millions of people have decided to take prescription drugs for PR-created maladies like restless leg syndrome, rather than depending on the former cure known as walking. And those who do walk have been persuaded that they need ski poles.
With all this going on, it would seem that most adults with an IQ above room temperature would be highly cynical, negative and demoralized. Millions of Americans are! Others, like me, are incurable optimists. I give thanks every day for the good fortune of having been born in the greatest country on earth at the greatest time in human history.
I believe in the intelligence and resourcefulness of my North American brothers and sisters and I think the solutions to the challenges we face are not only within reach, but doable.
First though, we all need to take a deep breath, stand back and view our civilization from a posture of common sense and clarity.
The purpose of this essay was simply to get your attention. If I succeeded and you share some of these same concerns, tell other people the truth and we’ll get a dialogue started. I think you’ll agree that the path forward is not nearly as daunting as our celebrities and leaders would have us believe.
We have to begin by giving up a few bad habits and before you know it, stupidity will gradually begin to wind down and rational adult decision-making will return to its rightful position in society.
Believe it or not when I was young, air was clean and pornography was dirty. Drive-bys are nothing new - that’s what our family did every Christmas Eve. We kids put on our pajamas and Dad drove us around town so we could look at all the beautiful lights. There were two gangs on our block. I was in the gang of guys that played baseball. The guys in the other gang were more into fishing.
You may think of me as an old guy, but I must tell you, the 60s were cool years to be a teenager. Like dude, real cool. So chill and help me spread the word.
]]>NETWORK MARKETING - A VEHICLE FOR CHANGEtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-04-29:fadf90e8-05cc-443d-b260-2c0fd03cfebeMark Yarnell2008-04-29T11:46:21Z2008-04-29T11:39:00Z Although many of the best authors in numerous fields are of the opinion that most Americans are not prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to change the direction of humanity, I refuse to abandon my optimism.
Right before the fall of the Roman Empire, Livy wrote, “We have reached the point where we cannot stand either our vices or their cures.”
While necessary changes may appear difficult, we better get to work because history is very clear about one fact. When any world power in the past found itself with both its moral ecology and economic growth in disarray at the same time, it slipped into dictatorship.
I believe that today it’s different because of two new and unique cultural facts. First, digital communications provide us for the very first time in human history with the ability to get the facts to the masses in a hurry. That means that if something really makes sense, everyone can learn about it in time to initiate change. That’s the main reason I ask you to please pass this blog forward if you agree with it.
Second, Network Marketing is a new profession without any earnings cap and it provides a vehicle for average people to rapidly accumulate the money, power and time freedom necessary to facilitate change. That’s why I continue to champion this industry. To cash in now, kick back and disregard everyone else, would be to give in to the poverty of affluence. As long as so many others are suffering, no amount of personal material belongings can bring anyone complete happiness and fulfillment…certainly not me.
I believe that three things are self-evident. First, change is possible if enough decent people create the personal wealth and time freedom to facilitate that change.
Second, if we offer the best strategies in the best field in order to assist people in the accumulation of personal prosperity, millions of decent folks will then have the time and incentive to join us and accept the challenge.
Third, I believe that those who acquire our training materials and accumulate enough personal resources and free time to make a real cultural difference will respect us enough to participate in our social initiatives.
It is simply no longer acceptable to deny the human condition in our quest for personal prosperity. Perhaps you agree.
So here’s the deal. We’ll help you acquire the funds, then let’s give everyone the same opportunity.
Remember, we live in a very unique time. Those millions of folks who desired change in every previous historical empire, lacked the communications tools we have and the personal funds available to us.
Those poor souls with big hearts, though in the majority, simply lacked the ability and resources to demand changes that were in the best interest of the masses. In the history of all humanity, we alone have the capacity to refocus our efforts and redefine destinies.
I believe the masses in every generation have always been decent folks who were unfortunately born into caste systems of labor and poverty governed by ruling elites who were focused on perpetuating their own wealth, power and control.
That’s not the case today. But if we continue to allow ourselves to be dumbed down without a fight into robotic consumers who refuse to embrace the higher ideals of character, morality and charity, we will have no one to blame but ourselves when our culture follows in the footsteps of all others and descends into a swirling vortex of mediocrity and institutionalized greed.
And please don’t be delusional. Every world power and advanced human civilization has been sucked into the same vortex which we are now poised to enter. There are no exceptions in all of recorded history. My analysis may not be pleasant, but it is factual. Let’s deal with it.
]]>Let's End the Blame Game in Network Marketingtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-04-12:e79df121-8bd2-4b0f-8395-ff965a06670cMark Yarnell2008-04-12T14:54:15Z2008-04-12T14:52:00ZLast week I watched a documentary about people who were dying. The interviewer was asking them all kinds of questions and an answer from one guy really grabbed me. It was indicative of how defeatist some human beings in western culture have become. The guy was 300 pounds overweight, dying from complications related to his weight and he knew had less than a week to live. The interviewer asked him, "Are you scared?" He said, "No, but I'm a bit angry. I just can't believe that my friends and family allowed me to get this fat."
I couldn't believe my ears and yet I hear a similar version of this attitude from Networkers who blame others for their own mediocrity. If I could wave a magic wand and create one universal mindset among entrepreneurs it would be simply this, "I am responsible for my income."
In Network Marketing the only objective is to sell products or services and recruit new distributors. No upline ever dragged anyone across the finish line. We're paid to sponsor and sponsors are people who provide opportunities.
Can you imagine Tiger Woods saying, "I can't believe Nike let me lose the Masters!" Nike is his sponsor, not his babysitter. Don't waste time worrying about your upline and never waste time babysitting your downline. Do support those who are working, but don't feel responsible for those who project their failure onto you.
A leader is someone who consistently demonstrates what's possible. That's what makes Tiger Woods so great. He keeps winning because he keeps doing what he's paid to do. You are today exactly where you have chosen to be and it has absolutely nothing to do with anyone but you.
The same is true about everyone in your downline, so don't waste your time pandering to those who want to blame you for their averagism. You provided them access to the greatest opportunity in capitalism, what they do with it is solely up them.
]]>No Exit Network Marketingtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-04-12:0d6fcca9-6741-49f2-a071-b0165e6d936dMark Yarnell2008-04-15T09:35:25Z2008-04-12T14:40:00ZLast fall my wife Valerie and I found ourselves in a set of circumstances which few will encounter except in their darkest nightmares. We were floating down a gentle river in the wilds of Bella Coola, British Columbia during salmon spawning season. Les, our guide anchored the front of our small oar boat on a gravel bar.
He and I were fly fishing upstream when Valerie noticed a mother grizzly and her 3 two-year old cubs feeding on the opposite shore a considerable distance from us. I told Les and he immediately motioned for us to return to the boat.
By the time we both got back into the boat, all four grizzlies had made it across the river and down our side, nearly to the boat. They were close enough that Les, our guide, whispered for us to remain calm and quiet. He didn’t want to spook them by lifting the anchor and the oars were facing the wrong direction in about three feet of water. So we just sat there.
To put it simply, we were trapped with absolutely no exit strategy. At first, I couldn’t accept our plight. I was shell shocked by the size of those grizzlies and how close they were and I urged Les to pull anchor. He wouldn’t. Instead, he whispered that they were mostly interested in the salmon and that we just needed to stay calm and quiet. Bears can run 50 kilometers an hour through shallow water and we didn’t have a motor, gun, or access to bear spray. We had zero chance of escape.
It was the second time in 58 years that I was truly caught without an exit strategy and everything happened in dream-like slow motion. It reminded me of how trapped I felt when I joined Network Marketing.
At no time did any of the bears express aggression. For quite some time we watched as they caught salmon, ripped them apart and gobbled them up. They were curious about us and kept moving closer to our little boat, but were obviously more intent on fattening up on fish before their coming hibernation than munching on us.
Valerie clicked a tremendous number of photos and when Les saw that the grizzlies were full and that mother bear was now standing on her hind legs looking at us and sniffing the air, he slowly and silently lifted the anchor and turned the oars around. We drifted slowly away with the current, hearts in our mouths, eyes locked on the bears, and praying they wouldn’t come after us.
We’ve sent photos of the bears to family and friends and most were shocked that the photos were taken with a simple camera and no telephoto lens. The idea of being that close to four grizzlies is overwhelming to many who see the pictures.
What I took home from that marvelous encounter was a simple realization, but one that makes sense. In life, it’s impossible to fully understand our capabilities or our potential until we find ourselves in a position with absolutely no exist strategies. We can all make assumptions about how we might react without a safety net, but that’s all they are - assumptions.
I’ve met many wonderful people in my 22 year career in Network Marketing many of whom will never know if they could have achieved wealth. Most saw the huge upside potential and many thought they were giving our industry their best effort. When they quit, they were puzzled as to why they had failed to get to the big checks. They’ve had many excuses: poor upline, mediocre training, lousy management and bad luck. But we’ll never know for sure why they failed because they all built exit strategies into their networking careers and then quit before they had time to give it their all.
It’s frightening to feel trapped without options. That’s why so many folks “dabble” in Networking. They never give it a real shot because they never abandon their other options. Most of us who were, either by choice or necessity, forced to sink or swim, became wealthy. That’s why brilliant people from all professions are baffled about how they failed in MLM while high school drop-outs, cops and maids have earned millions.
What I’ve learned during my decades in this industry is that a maid with no other options is a better recruit than an executive with choices. If you want to find out what you’re really worth in our great industry, cut off all your exit strategies, make a five-year commitment to one company and then sacrifice a few bucks and invest in The Holy Grail Training. You may be shocked at your own courage once you have no exit strategy.
One thing is for certain, you’ll never know until you try.
]]>Tricks of the Network Marketing Trade - ARFtag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-04-12:e2b7c80b-e12e-4ac4-a86b-1164c365ca18Mark Yarnell2008-04-12T14:38:49Z2008-04-12T14:36:00ZOver the next year I’m going to introduce you to some “tricks” that we Networking veterans have used for years. Many have been forgotten and most will amaze you.
That’s what tricks do - they amaze those who have no idea how they’re performed, but they’re quite simple to execute with a little practice. Each trick is designed to keep attrition rate at a minimum. Nobody wants to lose customers or distributors, yet when I perform these tricks at a Network Marketing convention, Networkers are amazed. Often they laugh uproariously and give me a standing ovation because the tricks are so compelling and dramatic.
Sometimes new distributors ask me why everyone doesn’t know these tricks. I think part of the problem is cultural amnesia. As humans progress, they forget what they did a week ago. You probably can’t say for sure what you had for lunch last Tuesday. But in the last ten years we’ve progressed so rapidly that most of us are now living in a culture of 21st century technology with a 20th century brain.
There’s an added cultural lag in which the speed and intensity of technological change has overwhelmed human perception and historical reflection. People caught up in technology have forgotten many of the tricks and tools which work in Network Marketing because they’ve lost sight of the primary purpose of our profession.
We are in the “word of mouth” advertising business – nothing else. The fact that we can now reach vast numbers of people technologically or that we can reach them twice as fast, in no way changes the core objectives of our profession.
The tricks I will share with you in many upcoming blogs are valuable if you want to lower attrition and earn ten times more money. Unfortunately as seasoned Networkers have retired, many of their tricks have retired with them. So pay close attention because these tricks will amaze you and they work.
Today’s trick is called…ARF. Those are perfect letters because this trick will cause pseudo-experts to sit up and bark. Nothing will cost you more customers or distributors than uninformed outsiders with biased opinions and no concept of your product or opportunity. They can ruin your people’s attitudes and cause them to fail if you don’t prepare them.
While there are many variations of ARF (Accountability Release Form), I’ll give you one example. I got so fed up with medical professionals telling my customers that they didn’t need my products that I developed a simple form that I sent to every new customer. It included the following cover letter and instructions:
Dear Betty,
Congratulations. You’ll love the benefits of our products. I’m pleased to put in writing my belief that they will truly help you.
Because many people have not reviewed our technology, some who don’t understand it may suggest that you don’t need the products. In order to protect you against uneducated opinions, please make sure that any medical practitioner who offers an opinion, signs the Accountability Release Form I’ve enclosed. If they decline, it’s because they are unsure of their recommendation.
Enjoy the products!
Cordially,
Mark Yarnell
***
ACCOUNTABILITY RELEASE FORM
As a medical professional I have reviewed the research concerning the product _____________ and recommend that _________________ (Person’s Name) not take it.
I accept accountability and full legal responsibility for my recommendation.
Witness _________________ Signed ____________________ Date _______________ I say, if doctors are going to shoot off their mouths, make them put it in writing!
This is a wonderful tool and if you let your imagination run, you’ll think of many additional applications. For example, I had an ARF for distributors who were approached by competitors trying to cause them to switch companies. The ARF forced competitors from other Network Marketing companies to put in writing that if my distributor switched companies, their new sponsor would accept full responsibility for the financial outcome of that defection.
It was amazing how no doctor or recruiters from other companies were willing to put in writing what they were so freely willing to assert verbally.
The ARF process is a very simple tool that may save you hundreds or even thousands of customers and distributors over the years.
And if you like this one, you’ll love BOOF! You’ll learn about BOOF in a soon to be released blog.
Happy Networking!
Mark
]]>Soaring with the Eaglestag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-04-05:a18e20d0-99f4-4977-a5d6-7e34d3929dbfMark Yarnell2008-04-05T13:35:38Z2008-04-05T13:33:00ZA few days ago I stood on Blue Grouse Mountain with three friends and prepared to launch my paraglider. It was one of those perfect days when cycles of thermals were blowing up the face of the mountain and several gaggles of eagles were circling calmly in pockets of warm rising air. After doing a pre-flight examination of my wing, which had been sitting in my garage during the winter months, I flipped on my vario and prepared to launch.
I blew my first launch because I was rusty and did everything wrong including jumping into my harness before becoming airborne. I had to abort my first attempt, which is always embarrassing in front of your buddies who are all veterans of the sport. There’s a bond among pilots that is very strong and when a veteran blows a launch, he has to listen to a bunch of condescending remarks because nobody like to criticize other paraglide pilots. Never mind that I did everything wrong, I had to listen to my pals tell me why it wasn’t my fault. I knew better.
The next launch attempt was picture perfect and I caught a nice thermal out front and began a slow climb. That’s when I discovered that the batteries in my vario were burned out. I couldn’t believe it. A vario is a small device which emits a digital beeping noise as you begin to gain altitude in a flying machine. Paragliders fly so slowly and thermals are often so mild that you often don’t know you’re climbing until the vario alerts you. Once alerted, you can begin a turn which allows you to do 360s in the center of the rising air and gain a lot of altitude. We call that “coring a thermal.” I knew my vario wasn’t working because the thermal I entered was powerful and I was gaining altitude rapidly without the customary beeping sound.
I didn’t own a vario my first year of paragliding so in order to gain altitude in thermals I had to look for circling birds. Once underneath them, I could rise. I’d forgotten all that because for nearly a decade I had depended on my little vario to guide me. Somewhere along the way an expert pilot convinced me to purchase a digital vario and it was a definite advantage…I thought. Anyway, back to last week.
As soon as I was dumped out of that first thermal, absent my vario, I instinctively began looking for circling birds. It didn’t take long to spot four eagles and head for their thermal. As soon as I got there, I began to rise silently in the same warm air. Within five minutes I was soaring nearly even with the bald eagles, something I hadn’t done in years. With a vario, finding thermals is easy. One does not need birds to ascend. Then two things occurred to me that I hadn’t considered for many years. First, the absence of digital noise was marvelous. Second, soaring with bald eagles is much more pleasing than flying alone.
It was a wonderful day and I remained aloft nearly as long as I would have if my vario had been working. But when I got home, I made an important decision. I decided to remove my vario from my harness and never use it again.
Sometimes in life, serenity trumps efficiency. I suppose that’s why years ago I decided to avoid the use of cell phones and text messaging in Network marketing. It wasn’t that I doubted their speed and efficiency so much as the fact that I like the process of human bonding and face-to-face dialogue. Network Marketing, like paraglidng, is about seeking out and soaring with the eagles, not listening for ringers. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with the digital interruptions of noisy technology, but serenity is my goal…and I definitely am achieving that.
Given the clarity of hindsight, it’s difficult for me to imagine how I could have traded the magic of paragliding with hawks and eagles for the noise of a digital vario. But recently I saw a nice couple in a fine restaurant talking on cell phones and paying absolutely no attention to each other and it made sense.
A luxury once enjoyed soon becomes a necessity. Sometimes we need to experience life as it was before technology to fully appreciate the serenity always available to us with the simple flip of a switch or the serendipity of burned out batteries. Soaring with the eagles in real life or MLM requires skill and experience. Sometimes technology just gets in the way.
]]>Extraordinary Books. Intriguing Ideas. Fascinating People.tag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-04-01:4d7cd11f-c91a-4d3d-9954-d1241d3cafa7Mark Yarnell2008-04-01T18:44:04Z2008-04-01T18:18:00Z Through these three categories, I’ll provide you with a personal glimpse into my world - a window into my life that I hope you’ll find both stimulating and informative. Most of the time I’ll relate the topic back to Network Marketing.
Some of the people you’ll meet through the blogs are authors, but most are folks that may never write books or become celebrities, but they have great stories to tell and they have greatly enriched my life. Some are Networkers, others aren’t. What they all have in common is one simple thing - my life improved when I met them and for that reason I want you to meet them too and learn some new intriguing ideas.
These are people whom you would probably never meet unless you read my blogs. Thanks to Network Marketing I’ve got the time and opportunity to pay attention to some very colorful characters and authors. I’ve long believed that everyone is my teacher. I learn lessons from a lot of very diverse people because I pay attention to what they have to say. When you read my blogs, you’ll find some real nuggets of wisdom from these characters. I did.
I begin with a blog in the fascinating people category featuring a guy from the backwoods named Tim Meissner. Tim has made a small fortune in MLM, but he also hunts and fishes… not ducks and bass, but grizzly bears and fifty pound trout.
I don’t hunt, but I’ve spent a lifetime fishing and when he offered me the chance to pull in a fifty pound lake trout I figured he was nuts. Whoever heard of a fifty-pound trout? Halibut, sure. Trout, no way.
But Tim taught me two things - anybody can accomplish anything if they know where to go and what to do when they get there. Not long ago, I had no idea where to go or what to do to catch monster trout. In fact, a few weeks ago I didn’t think they even existed.
Look at the pictures below. We threw those trout back and caught several more, all of which we released. Not only do monster trout exist, but now I know where they are and how to catch them. Now I realize that they inhabit lakes all over the place and yet I didn’t even believe they existed a week ago.
Thinking about this in relation to Network Marketing, selling and recruiting are just like angling. There are big fish everywhere, but you can’t catch them if you’re trolling for little ones in the wrong places with the wrong bait.
And that brings me back to my very first point. One of the greatest rewards in Network Marketing is the fascinating people we meet. If it hadn’t been for Network Marketing I would have never met Tim, would never have learned from him and would never have caught a monster trout.
What an industry! What a lesson!
]]>How You Can Create A Several Million Dollar Yearly Incometag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-03-14:5d2e4aa4-c300-41e1-84c4-ae7155c79767Mark Yarnell2008-03-14T08:51:10Z2008-03-14T08:00:00ZHow You Can Create A Several Million Dollar Yearly Income
I receive many inquiries from people who have often gone to great lengths to find me, and then suppressed their pride and ego just long enough to call my number.
Most of us, especially those regarded as leaders, demonstrate courage anytime we ask another person for help. I respect those who call. Once I’ve assured them that I’ll never betray their trust or anonymity, they usually feel comfortable unloading their problems. Over the years I’ve heard it all.
Although the challenges facing Network Marketers are quite diverse, the underlying problem is always the same. People who contact me are struggling between the world as they would like it to be and their world as it actually is.
They’ve either read one my books or heard one of my recordings and they know that my fun life for over two decades has resulted from a successful career in Network Marketing. What people really want to know is how I created an income of several million dollars a year.
Most people really believe that if they could earn $300,000 a month, their life would be exciting. And you know what? They are absolutely right. Several million a year rocks.
Some people pretend that they fear big money because it seems so “greedy” and “unspiritual.” Of course, that’s a load of hogwash. Anyone with an IQ above room temperature knows that nobody is going to hold a gun to their head and force them to buy a bunch of Lamborghinis or shop for all their clothing at Neiman Marcus. Anyone with big money can use any or all of it to help others. Fear of greed or love of money are marvelous excuses for wallowing in mediocrity, but that’s all they are - excuses.
Others call me to either try to figure out how I got so lucky in such a confusing field like MLM or to discredit our profession because they’ve failed. They feel a need to prove to themselves that they are okay and of course, I always assure them that they’re fine. But I make certain that they fully understand that neither their failure nor my success have anything to do with luck. I busted my chops for ten years in Nu Skin and eight years in Legacy before retiring and creating The Holy Grail training program.
What always used to amaze me was how some people I trained made big money while others failed miserably. In hindsight, I can now tell you exactly why that happens. Those who did what I taught them prospered. Those who didn’t, failed. Period. End of story. Unfortunately, many people would rather learn how to do something than actually do it.
What makes the Internet so appealing, according to my few acquaintances who’ve made a bundle online, is that it’s all about selling information and doing nothing. In fact, they’re selling information about how to sell information while sitting at home doing nothing.
That may work in virtual reality, but in the offline real world of Network Marketing, those who get to the huge checks do two things. First, they learn from people like me exactly how I got there. Second, they go to work and apply what they learned. They don’t look around for other systems and they refuse to be seduced by upstart, ground floor, “hurry and take a position before you miss out” type companies.
But here’s what’s interesting, to get back to my main point…most people who call me because they’re struggling are not just making one or two little mistakes. They’re doing everything wrong. I’m a pretty good Networker, but I’d fail using the strategies most people describe. It’s almost as if a million monkeys are somewhere in the world typing on a million typewriters and every time one of them churns out a couple of semi-coherent pages, within a week or so someone on the Internet is marketing it as “The Newest MLM Secret.”
I spent two decades digging for the information I can make available to you in one week. I spent thousands of dollars learning stuff from leaders on every continent. It’s now available for a dollar or so a day. It took me several years to organize the materials into The Holy Grail Collection, but it will take you only a few weeks to study and learn it all.
You’ll have everything you need to earn $300,000 a month or more. But here’s the catch – you have to order the first four volumes of the Holy Grail, study the materials very carefully, then go to work doing exactly what we teach you.
Next, you need to insist that all the new people you recruit are willing to make that same commitment. I don’t care if your upline, crossline, company president, best friend or pastor tells you not to use The Holy Grail, that’s what you need to do.
I truly believe that each of those people cares about your success, but Network Marketing is about wisdom. My dad loved me tremendously, but he had never earned over $100,000 a month, so he couldn’t guide me to a place he’d never been. Instead he tried to tell me that my efforts wouldn’t work.
It was a total stranger named Richard Kall who taught me how to achieve the big money and yet he hardly knew me. But he knew how to achieve wealth in MLM and he taught me. It was a sacrifice to fly to Long Island and be mentored by him and I had to borrow money to do it. But what’s a thousand bucks when one can learn to earn a hundred times that amount every month? If a new recruit can’t sacrifice a few hundred dollars for the first four volumes of The Holy Grail, what does that tell you?
Richard taught several of us and those who listened and took action became very wealthy. You and I may never meet, but I know exactly what you need to do to get to the big money. If your spouse or upline or pastor could teach you how to earn over $100,000 a month, you’d already be there. They just can’t take you where they’ve never been. And for purely ego reasons, some will erect a wall of resistance against those of us who can give you the tools you need.
Here’s one promise I can make with 100% certainty. Most people who resist The Holy Grail are not making the kind of money we can teach you to make. As childish as it may sound, some leaders will not be very happy when you pass them by.
You pose absolutely no ego threat to any leader who is already enjoying total wealth and time freedom. But remember, if you achieve in five months what some other leader in your company has not accomplished in five years, that can be embarrassing. Just don’t let anyone’s resistance block you from being a leader.
If you’re ready to become a leader, first you’ve got to quit being a follower. That will involve risk, effort and sacrifice, which is exactly the price we paid to get where we are.
I’m tired of sitting back politely while a handful of misguided, self-appointed leaders promote delusional systems to vulnerable human beings who are trapped in a swirling vortex of recessionary economics, fiscal irresponsibility and lowered expectations.
If you’re searching for some metaphysical “secret” shortcut to unearned wealth, I’m not your man. Keep playing the lotto and forget about The Holy Grail.
But, if you decide to accept responsibility for your current reality, make the sacrifices necessary to achieve radical wealth and risk a few hundred dollars on our proven system, order the first four volumes and fasten your seatbelt.
There’s an economic tsunami right off shore and we believe that Network Marketing is your best life raft. I can give you the oars, but you have to start paddling.
]]>The Gold Rush Is Ontag:markyarnellblog.com,2008-02-26:485bc916-331d-406a-83f7-521cc21450bbMark Yarnell2008-02-27T17:12:20Z2008-02-26T09:33:00ZI never signed up as a therapist, but I’m constantly hearing from people with very real problems. They call because I’m one of the original survivors of the MLM Golden Years.
Back in the mid-eighties the rumor began to circulate that broke Missouri guys like me were cash flowing millions of dollars in the “formerly hated” pyramid industry. The gold rush was on, and just like all other gold rushes, everyone wanted to get rich fast. Fueled by rumors and promises of easy pickings, millions jumped on board in hopes of striking it rich.
Those of us who have studied the Canadian and U.S. gold rushes are amazed by the similarities between the MLM and precious metal rushes. Here’s what happens when the rumor of easy wealth circulates throughout the world.
First, people with the skill and work ethic to actually find gold make a discovery. They tell a few close friends or family members and the excitement begins when those people embellish the story and tell their own friends. The next thing you know, there are twenty locals with staked claims and big piles of money. That soon grows to a hundred and gold fever sets in. You know, kind of like an MLM company in its pre-launch or first couple of months. Everybody is hyped-up and excited. What happens next is eerily similar to all gold rushes. Many poor souls never find one nugget and it’s easy to understand why that happens.
First, many people who show up at the site are completely unskilled as miners. Most have none of the proper clothes or tools and have never even seen the territory they’re entering. During the Yukon gold rush, fully 1/3 of all the Europeans and Americans showed up with no pick, horse, mule, shovel, pan, overcoat, or boots. Thousands died walking up mountains in street shoes and windbreakers in -40 degree weather and 20 feet of snow. Others bought mules and winter coats in Dawson Creek, but neglected to take enough food and water for the trek. Mule and horse bones littered the mountains for years.
By the time the gold rush fever ended, less than ½ of 1% of all participants got rich. During the real gold rush, most towns grew overnight, and then went under. Those lucky enough to survive went home and told everyone the horror stories of the gold rush. Gold seekers went broke while many of the local saloon owners, prostitutes, clothing and shovel merchants made fortunes. Remember, in every gold rush there are unqualified people on the sidelines selling tools, maps, clothing and food. They’ll tell you what to wear, the route to take and sell you supplies they think you need even though they have never spent one year prospecting themselves. And as soon as the gold runs out in one area, they’re off to the next…selling the tools.
When I field calls from network marketers who are miserable or frustrated, it’s usually because they’ve never earned one good check. They think the gold just isn’t there any more. They think there are too many miners, and all the best claims are taken. They tell me I was lucky to be one of the original miners and some even ask me to tell them about the good old days of the MLM gold rush. So here’s the truth.
My geology friends up here in B.C. tell me that there’s a thousand times more gold than was ever discovered during the good old mining days. Two summers ago, a kindergarten girl on a gold panning demo back behind her school found a nugget worth over $300,000.
Last winter a couple of skiers from Oregon scratched one of their skis on a rock, saw gold sticking up, filed a claim, and sold it for over three million dollars to a mining company less than a year later. There’s still gold everywhere, but most people don’t luck into it.
And there are still people getting rich in MLM because there’s more potential today than ever before, but most people don’t just luck into it. And there are dozens of incompetent merchants sitting on the sidelines getting rich by selling maps and tools, some of which are non-existent. That’s why they’re called virtual.
The gold era of MLM is here now. But I’m noticing that it’s the old miners with a sincere work ethic who are getting to $300,000 a month, while people who don’t know any better are squandering money on fake maps and bogus prospecting tools that lead nowhere.
Listen carefully folks, you can get rich in MLM, but the gold is in prospecting and not in surfing. There are not now and there never were any shortcuts. You need the right knowledge, tools, attitude and strategies if you’re going to “luck” into the gold.
You’ll notice that our Holy Grail training emphasizes proven strategies that have created riches and the truth about hard work. We don’t sell shortcuts or secret maps because there aren’t any.
If you’re willing to invest in the first four volumes and go to work, we can help you. But should you decide to digitally slog through 20 feet of snow in street shoes following the treasure maps of people who have never found one nugget, but have plenty of advice, please don’t call for therapy when your frost-bitten toes fall off and your family disappears.
]]>Your First Laugh in 2008!tag:markyarnellblog.com,2007-12-31:6d6ac722-d34d-40ad-bda0-8b6952e2b446Mark Yarnell2007-12-31T13:34:46Z2007-12-31T13:23:00ZThis is one of the best Networking jokes I’ve ever heard and I hope it starts your New Year right. Many thanks to Mitch Langen of Asheville, NC who called and shared it over the phone. We’ve been friends for years and I consider him one of the all-time greatest Networkers in the world. I had the good fortune of sponsoring him once, and I marveled at his work ethic and creativity. I’m not surprised he came up with this joke that made me laugh until I got a headache.
I suggest you send it to your downline. They’re all sitting around bored by now, full of turkey and ham, praying for an e-mail. Be sure to tell them that this is from Mark Yarnell and that if they join the Holy Grail, they’ll get their own newsletters, strategies and concepts that will allow them to make so much money in 2008 that they’ll be able to purchase their own jets and islands in the Pacific. One of our Holy Grail members recently made an offer on Long Island. It was her second choice because her Upline had already snapped up Bermuda.
Here’s Mitch’s joke:
A guy calls a friend about an upstart MLM, ground floor deal. Here’s the conversation:
Bob: “Hey Steve, I’ve got to get you in this unbelievable company. I know you’ve always wanted the perfect ground floor deal and this is it.
Steve: “What’s the product?”
Bob: “It’s a special beet juice from the Amazon that cures cancer, heart attacks, arthritis and completely stalls the aging process. It’s been approved by the FDA as an all natural cure-all.”
Steve: “Wow! What about the comp plan?”
Bob: “It’s a unilevel that pays 25 generations with a matching bonus on all front line and a 5% profit pool for everyone who does $5 a month in sales.”
Steve: “Wow! What about the owners?”
Bob: “The owners are Microsoft, Bayer and Bank of America and they’ve committed 7 billion dollars for the roll-out.”
Steve: “Wow! Can I leave the check to my kids when I die?”
Bob: “Yes, as a matter of fact, upon your death, the monthly check is placed in a lifetime annuity fund by Bank of America and your family gets an extra 5% interest paid monthly for life. Your kids will actually inherit more than you earned.”
Steve: “Wow! How much does it cost to sign up?”
Bob: “Five dollars, but that $5 leverages you $300 worth of products and qualifies you to receive full downline commissions for your first 24 months. After that, it’s five dollars a year to qualify.”
Steve: “Oh Wow! Bob, I have one last question. In two weeks, I’m scheduled to have my head surgically removed, frozen and placed in cryonic storage for seven years. I already have a donor body from a young Brazilian who will be 18 so my head will be sewn onto a new young body in seven years once doctors have finished developing a cure for my rare blood disease. Will the company let me keep my position and continue in seven years exactly where I left off?”
After a long silence…
Bob: “Gee Steve, I don’t think so. I haven’t seen that in the policies and procedures.”
