Getting Out of My Own Way

It would be nice to be able to tell you that I am not a vain person, but the truth is that it is hard to shake free of the socialization we receive in the arms of our families, the confines of our schoolrooms and the cocoons of the various other social institutions that contribute to the identity and sense of self that we carry into our later lives. I grew up in one of those infamous Garrison Keillor families –“ where all the women are strong, the men are good-looking and the children are above average.” That said, I have worked diligently over my lifetime to instill some humility into my soul and some of the painful experiences that life inevitably brings have knocked me around enough that I can eat crow with the best of them.

But one of my biggest hurdles is one that I’m currently working through which stands in the way of my being the successful entrepreneur that I aspire to be. I realize that I define myself by the attributes of my education and previous professional accomplishments, and sometimes that gets in my way of going forward into new and uncharted territories. I share this confession with you because I don’t think I’m the only one carrying around this burden. I think there are lots of women, many of them fellow Baby Boomers, who were encouraged to be all that we could be, go for the gusto, and push to excel -- and we did exactly as we were told. Statistics show that we attended college in record numbers and swelled the ranks of lawyers, doctors and even engineers changing the landscape of the professions in many, many ways. We entered into our careers proud to call ourselves feminists, charting the waters for our daughters and granddaughters so that they would not have to experience being second class citizens in the world of work. We were both successful and unsuccessful in that venture (more women are in the work force than ever before yet pay inequity is a relentless reality that demands our attention) but that is the topic of another article!

Armed with our education and our drive, we moved into the workforce and made our mark. Now we are nearing the end of our 40 year plans. Many of us are facing the reality that we have uneven work histories, having taken off time for child-bearing and family care giving. Others were forced into multiple job changes due to corporate turnovers, mutations and buy outs. Still others are facing the realization that they won’t be bringing a pension with them as they leave the workplace, so they will need to rely on Social Security and personal savings as their major income source in their later years. All of these realities are leading many women in the direction of starting their own businesses. But here is where my personal dilemma comes in. I think many of my “sisters” carry the same concerns about personal identity around that I do—and we let that get in the way of being successful entrepreneurs! We see ourselves as nurses, sociologists, nutritionists, teachers –enter your own profession here. And when we are approached to join in direct marketing (or—shiver—multi-level marketing[MLM]) we mentally back-pedal because that is somehow not consistent with our mental image of ourselves.

What are we facing? FEAR. Fear of giving up a “regular paycheck” even though that paycheck reflects far less than we’re worth and may not be all that secure, depending on the nature of the industry we’re in. Fear of giving up benefits even though the cost of those benefits increases, and their worth diminishes, with every annual pay cycle. Fear of moving from a comfortable (albeit boring) 40 hour/week, 40 year plan into the unknown world of commerce.

But here’s the reality. We need to get out of our own way and acknowledge that direct marketing is the wave of the future and we have the advantage of being in on the ground floor. Battles were fought and won during the youth of this industry, and now the laws and rules are in place to protect both the consumer and the distributor, so the image of the dreaded “pyramid” is a thing of the past. MLM is simply a different business model that is being used by some very successful and reputable companies. You might be surprised to learn that business mogul Warren Buffet owns several MLM companies, a testament to the fact that these companies are likely to maintain (and indeed increase) their value in the years to come. Money tycoons Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump’s latest bestselling book, Why We Want You to Be Rich, has an entire chapter devoted to the MLM model, and both of these ultra-successful entrepreneurs note that if they were at the beginning of their careers they would get into a network marketing opportunity. With the recent amazing technological changes in communications we now have tools to make this business doable from virtually any spot in the world – without concern for office space, employees or customer traffic.

So join me in putting the ego aside, to embrace a new way of life with a career that offers you the time and money freedom that you desire. Yes, I’m proud of my past accomplishments but they are simply that –past accomplishments. Now I have a new challenge ahead of me that holds the promise of just as many personal, and possibly many more financial, rewards as I move into a new phase of my life. I hope that you, too, will consider moving past your previous identity to find something exciting in your future!

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