I've tried "these" before...

For the first time in a very long time, I actually walked away from a prospective team member - willingly - happily even. Why? Let me tell you the story!

I met up a friend I hadn't seen in a quite a while. Several years, in fact. She was still working for the same store I met her in. I used to work there part time to make ends meet. She asked what I was doing and I told her. She expressed some interest so I gave her the DVD of the business presentation, not really expecting she would watch it or get back to me. Surprise! She did and called me the next day. She wanted more information. Usually all it takes for someone to make up their mind is to see the DVD, but I'm willing to give someone all the information they need. So next I got on a conference call with her and the number 2 guy in the entire company. She was very excited after that. When can we get together? She wanted to know. I told her I would stop by today, even though it is Sunday and I normally don't work much on Sunday.

I arrive at her house, paperwork in hand, thinking this is it. She is so gung-ho and excited, she is going to take this and run with it and truly change her life. I knock on the door and she invites me in. We sit down, I take out the paperwork, ask her what name she would like her checks in, and hear, "I'm not sure about this. I've tried these before and none of them worked." Well, I stopped dead. Which of "these" has she tried? The list is long - Mary Kay, Avon, Quixtar, Melaleuca, Excell...she's tried just about every business opportunity in existence and NONE of them have worked for her.

Now I know that every opportunity is different. And I truly think Fortune is the best. But still - to have tried that many and not had any success at any of them? That's almost impossible. So I asked her why she didn't have any luck with her previous endeavors. The list of excuses was almost as long as the list of things she had tried and failed. No time, no money, didn't know anyone to show the products or business plan to, no support from her sponsor, no training...on and on she went. She blamed everyone and everything and took absolutely no responsibility for her failure.

I know most of these companies. They are all fine companies with good products and great people working them. I could understand if she had tried one or two with no luck. But according to her, she's been involved in 7 different businesses, none of them more than a year, and all of them a dismal failure.

I listened to her a little while longer telling me how most of "these" companies were just successful for only a select few. And then I said something I almost never say. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe you aren't ready for this yet. Why don't you think about it some more and call me when you are ready?"

I expect she never will be. Meanwhile, I'm just moving on. Next!