Recently, something remarkable happened that might very well change the trajectory of my business.

It may have the potential to change yours, too.

This remarkable thing happened while I was on vacation.

Generally, I always try to stay in touch with my team. I am deeply passionate about those who put their trust in me, both personally and professionally.

I am committed to growing my teams and the company we are building together. I am nearly always available for support and education.

On vacation, however, I like to check out.

I disconnect from the world.

After all, I work hard, and everyone needs some quality down time. My family needs down time with me too.

So, that was our plan for the two-and-a-half weeks we were vacationing on our favorite lake in north Idaho: nothing and more nothing.

But sometimes what you plan isn’t always what you get.

From the moment we arrived, the phone started ringing and several urgent crises began to unfold. They demanded my attention, and my time, and I spent a good portion of my “vacation” back at work.

Really? Of all moments in time to have people problems, it had to be this very same week?!

Needless to say, I was frustrated.

My vacation was ruined, right?

Maybe not.

All of this transpired the same week I dropped my youngest daughter off for a week of camp.

It was Monday and we decided to get to the boat dock early to be ahead of the rush of flying sleeping bags, pillows, backpacks and duffle bags.

It worked. When we arrived, a lovely woman with four kids was at the front of the line.

We were second.

We introduced ourselves briefly and over a simple conversation of niceties discovered some similarities and common ground. We talked about the area and camp and her time spent there as a little girl too. We exchanged information and said our goodbyes to the kids. I enjoyed our quick meeting and hoped we’d have the opportunity to connect again on Friday at pick up.

My wish came true.

As a professional entrepreneur, I’m always in the market for making new connections and building relationships with dynamic people. After all, I’m in the “people business,” which means that nearly every person I come in contact with has the potential to be a successful prospect, customer, client, business partner, or friend.

But something happened during this Friday pickup that was different.

When we met on Friday at kid pick-up, my new friend asked me a simple question, “How was your week?”

Usually, I feel the need to sugarcoat my reality. Because the value of my business is based on the value of my network, I feel like I need to keep morale up by painting my life as being all hearts, stars, and puppy tails.

But the truth is, that wasn’t what my week was like at all.

My week wasn’t all hearts, stars and puppy tails.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

It was actually filled with lightning and thunder and difficulty and pain and challenge.

My answer rolled out without even thinking. “You know, I’m in the network marketing industry,” I said. “I build people and teams, and this was a tough week; several things just fell apart.”

Not that big of a deal, right?

It was a really big deal.

My honesty immediately opened the door for her to share some of the struggles in her own business too.

One thing led to another and, as we carried sleeping backs, pillows, backpacks and duffle bags to the car, she asked more about my business, my company, and my products.

Just two days later, as I was driving back home, our relationship blossomed from meeting on the boat dock and visiting at pick up to becoming business partners.

Isn’t this the dream of every network marketer?

Yes.

By taking ownership of my current reality, I actually wound up opening the door to a more meaningful dialogue and conversation. It was where our real connection, and friendship, actually began.

It’s pretty incredible what can happen when we show our most vulnerable and authentic selves to the world.

I’m not suggesting that any of us go out and start complaining about our days; when we’re honest, there’s a lot more going right in our lives than there is going wrong.

I didn’t have a thing to complain about at all, actually; I was on vacation, soaking up the sunshine and sharing precious time with my family.

My heart was full of gratitude.

But the question about my week…well, that certainly was worthy of an honest and heartfelt answer.

I made a lifelong friend and new business partner not because of shared interests or even the quality of my company’s products, but because I chose to be authentic.

Our ability to connect with others will be defined by the authenticity we share with them.

Contact