Hey guys, it's Thomas J, and today I want to go over the most important thing in your business. I didn't get this right for a long time and got nowhere, so stay tuned and that's what we'll talk about in a sec. (00:11) This is Thomas J and you're listening to rocket science. MLM. Here's the science. How do real MLMers, like us, who have full time jobs, families, and a million other things vying for our time, grow a profitable home business, recruit A players into our downlines, and create extra income to achieve escape velocity from our nine to five without sacrificing the very time we are trying to get more of. And do it without bugging friends, family and coworkers or posting endlessly on social media. That's the critical question, and this podcast will give you the answer. My name is Thomas J and welcome to my journey to build a better MLM vehicle with rocket science. (00:51) What is the most important part of your business? Let me ask you a few questions. First, what is different or unique about your business? Is it the product? No. With MLM, we all have the same product, as the rest of the distributors in our company. What about that really awesome comp plan? Nope. Same thing. Is it the money you make? For a few, yes, but for most of us, we're not there yet. We can't use the money we are making as a differentiator to get our teams started. It's a chicken and the egg situation. We can't use success to get people to join our team until we have it, and to do it we need people to join our team. What about that amazing product experience? Well, you're getting warm, but that's still not it. An amazing testimony is great for selling product. You need them, but you need to get people to receive the testimony first. (01:43) Plus, the product testimony doesn't really help much with recruiting. You sell the same product as the team from the same company with the same comp plan. You have the same tools and the same trainings available to you. The only thing that's different is you. You are the most important part of your business. This is the first piece of the blueprint to build our new vehicle. I've named this step astronaut selection. I've talked before about wanting to be an astronaut, but the astronaut program is very selective. Thousands apply, but only a few are selected. And what most don't know is that even to apply, you need to meet some pretty lofty requirements. Within your MLM business you really need to know who you are before you can attract others to join you. For me, it happened in a few steps. (02:32) First, I had to recognize my uniqueness, then I had to be myself , and finally become the hero of my story. So I first had to become aware of who I was. For years, I thought I wasn't special. I guess, I was trying to be humble. I had to realize that I did have something to offer. I had more than a product. I had more than an opportunity. I had me, I am awesome and you are too. You just have to find it. Here's how it clicked for me. My wife and I won a trip to Cancun with our company. It was the first real contest that we had won. By the skin of our teeth, we squeaked through with just enough product volume and people joining our team to qualify for a weekend in an all inclusive resort. Although, a week before we left, we were told that we needed to create a little training presentation to give to the group. (03:21) The weekend wasn't all going to be just fun and relaxation. We had a few hours of meetings to attend. I think they did this so they could write off the trip as a business trip. I think, I even wrote it on the plane. It was just lighthearted and fun. Someday I'll resurrect the talk, and maybe make it a podcast. What we talked about though was the matter that made up our dreams. Basically it was a kind of a Scifi take on how to bring your dreams into reality. I mean, what do you expect from a aerospace engineer? Well, one of the Vp's started calling me a rocket scientist after the talk. He was so excited to be around a rocket scientist. Every chance he got he brought it up and to him it was a big deal. Even the owner of the company picked up on it and he started saying he had a rocket scientist and his company. (04:07) I mean for me it wasn't. Everybody I work with is the same as me, and it really didn't click in my brain that other people would find it cool. So start paying attention. Your friends will tip you off. If you aren't sure what's unique about you, ask those around you. Even your backstory can make the difference. My son has this marvel encyclopedia that lists all the superheroes from the marvel comics. It's actually been pretty useful over the last few years as the marvel universe has expanded on the big screen. He was reading it the other day and had a little revelation. Many of the superheroes are like superman. They could fly. They were super strong and invulnerable. When he mentioned this to me, it suddenly hit me. The heroes were different not because of the powers, but because of their weaknesses. I mean superman had kryptonite, but the others had something else. I know superman is not marvel, but it seemed like a lot of the marvel characters had superman like qualities. But they all had a different backstory. Where they came from and their limitations made them unique. Because of this, they could have their own story. (05:15) For me, I have this cool rocket science thing, but I have a ton of obstacles too. With that cool title comes a full time job that limits my time. Maybe that's my Kryptonite. On top of that, I have a family of eight. Trying to find quiet time to work on my little MLM project is hard. The time I do have, usually when the kids are sleeping. That's what leads me to build this better vehicle. I can't do it the traditional way without ignoring my friends and short changing my employer. But even though I recognize all these things, I wasn't ready. I had to become me, and a better version of me. The best me, the loudest me, I've heard it said. In the past, I thought I had to get better at the skills. MLM is big on personal development, but they don't really teach exactly what you need. (06:02) You can train on the right techniques for three way calls or how to invite someone to a meeting. These things are all good if that's what you want to do, but they just didn't fit me. Marketing online with these new techniques we're learning takes a mind shift. Your MLM will probably not be teaching you this. I had to become Thomas J MLM rocket scientist, and I'm still working on it. I'm a little nerdy, and I like to geek out about talking about funnels. I'm a family guy, with significant time pressures. I don't have everything figured out, but I'm walking down the path. I had to acknowledge all my strengths and uniquenesses while not ignoring my weaknesses and limitations. When you recognize who you are and start becoming that person you can be, then you can be the hero in your own story. Remember, marketing is telling stories. (06:50) Every story needs a hero. A hero's journey is usually similar in every story. You have that thing they need to do, like save the princess or win the championship. That's that external struggle. Then you have the personal or internal struggles to deal with. Usually through trying to accomplish the main goal, the hero grows as a person and overcomes that internal struggle. In some cases the internal success is more important than the actual external goal. So what I'm saying is this, be the hero of your own story. Don't focus on your abilities or your skills. Focus on overcoming your obstacles. Yes, showcase those things that are good, but don't hide the flaws. People can't relate to a perfect person. Every hero has a flaw and the journey he or she takes will have setbacks and personal growth. For some, they fail the overall mission, but overcome some internal personality flaw. (07:47) Lightning McQueen keeps coming to mind. In the first cars movie that we watched over and over and over again when my son was small, Lightning is the fastest and the best race car. The rookie that has everything going for him. But his ego was the flaw. In the end he lost his mission to win the Piston Cup, but he won that internal struggle of ego to truly become the best. I'm sure his fan base grew exponentially after he actually lost the race, and those fans were more loyal than those fair weather fans, Mia and Tia. If you don't catch the reference, go watch the movie again. You don't need kids to like it. It's a pretty good movie. (08:28) I've spent a lot of time this episode on you because it's the foundation. We can't build a rocket without an astronaut. All the automations and funnels will not work without a person to drive the ship. People need to be open to the message before you can tell it to them. You do this by giving them something that is interesting, but relatable; is unique, but flawed. Next episode we'll talk about, how we approach those people and who we're trying to reach. If you want to grab a copy of my blueprint and follow along, head on over to a rocketsciencemlm.com and that's it for now. See you later. Thanks for listening.