Living in Auto Pilot

This image came across my Facebook newsfeed today and I couldn't help but think about how fortunate I am to have figured this out early in my adult life. My life was interrupted back in 2009 by a man that introduced me to a company and changed me forever. See at the age of 26, I was already slipping into a life of auto pilot, (reminds me of the movie, Click) living for the weekends, drinking to escape, planning my vacations with more care than my life, same day over and over, not thinking about the future. Actually, every time I thought of the future, I was scared. I was terrified of being average, but at the same time did not have a vehicle to do something amazing. So I stopped thinking about the future all together.

I was desperately praying for something to cross my path. I knew I loved to help people, I knew I loved health and wellness, and I knew I wanted to live a life of abundance,  financially so that I could be free from debt stress and be able to give generously. I also wanted to have total time freedom. That's a pretty tall order, but that was the dream that was placed in my heart! How scary is that? How in the world was I going to chase that dream? At this point in my life, I already did chase my passion of health and wellness... but quickly found out that I pursued my dreams at the expense of my future! I was in time debt and money debt! I kind of gave up and thought that auto pilot, was the grown up life that I was assigned to. After all, who was I to be special and do something extraordinary?

When I was first introduced to my current business, I thought this is exactly what I've been praying for. I also was extremely skeptical but I was desperate for change so I kept researching.  I saw these amazing young leaders building huge teams, living lifestyles that I thought were only reserved for the "lucky" few that were born into money or climbed the corporate ladder to a CEO position or had an idea that took off. But what I also saw was regular people, earning incredible income by helping others. And I saw a way for us to do the same! I was excited and I was ready to share with everyone!! Who wouldn't want to come on this journey too?!

Apparently, a lot of people! haha! We got called a lot of things, most of the people that we thought would support us didn't, people laughed, I'm sure they still are making fun of us, some people watched to see if we would quit.... we did for a little. We let other people's opinions dictate what we were going to do with our lives, just for a little though. Turns out people's opinions don't pay our bills. And since they didn't care when we were drowning in debt and on the verge of alcoholism why would it matter what they thought now that we were on a path to better our future?  We did a lot of things wrong in the beginning, but we knew that quitting was never in the plans for us so we sucked it up and kept pressing forward.  We would do whatever we had to, to see this through. We were committed to a plan that was going to allow us to live a life that only 1% of the world population will ever have the chance to experience.

Of course it was going to be hard, of course people wouldn't understand, of course all this talk of living an extraordinary life, goal setting and not settling for less would make people uncomfortable. Of course we would have to learn some new skills and become a different people. Of course we would have to make sacrifices, take risks and face uncertainty.

5 years later, all I can say is this;  IT WAS WORTH IT!! Every day I wake up with a driving purpose and every night I go to bed with a satisfaction that I can promise you only feel when you are truly living! Our journey has inspired hundreds to join us, we have started a wave that has positively affected thousands of people and we're just getting started! We're able to give more, we're helping families get out of debt, start businesses, sharing opportunities for mommies and daddies come home from their jobs to raise their children together, we're able to donate our time and volunteer and our local communities are better because of it. Its been incredible to see people on our team transform into leaders, to fight for their future, to become more than they thought they ever could be and to then lead their own teams on the same journey! Its been humbling to be able to have a small part to play in their story! I love people and this has given me the opportunity to connect with and help so many!

Because of the organization we have built to bring products to the marketplace, we're on track to earn a six-figure income this year! That's crazy to me! Shameless plug here: I am in love with the direct sales business model! Where else can a stay at home mom and her husband do that with part time effort? ...without overhead, employees, or a huge investment? I promise, we're regular people. This is not an advertisement for my company, but it is one for direct sales as an industry. I'm not saying its for everyone! Its not, but can we stop calling it a "pyramid",  those are illegal. I'm talking about legitimate direct sales, make sure they are members of the Direct Sales Association.  People that say it doesn't work or that it is scheme are probably just uneducated about what it is we actually do. OR maybe they joined one and treated it like a lottery ticket instead of a business... which happens all the time too. Because its not traditional there is a lot of core values changes that have to happen for people to understand what we truly do. Took me about 4.5years to wrap my mind around what we had our hands on. Its hard to reverse 18plus years of traditional thinking...go to school, get a good job, hope you planned for retirement, retire... The truth is that thinking was not going to get me an extraordinary life, that was going to get me average. As scary as it was to leave the conventional path, AVERAGE was even more terrifying for me.

Are there bad network marketing companies? Yeah there are... do some research if you are thinking of opening a business then treat it like one if you want to be successful!  There are a lot of wonderful companies that have a long history, a good track record, amazing products and lots of happy customers! Are you going to have to work? Absolutely! Is there uncertainty? You bet! But with that comes uncapped potential and a lot of opportunity!

I am not on auto pilot, I'm living with a burning passion to make a difference. Yes it is very challenging at times! Yes I cry... a lot! I doubt myself! I let others get to me. BUT I also know without a shadow of doubt, that dream was placed in my heart on the day I was born and God gave me the opportunity to accept the challenge to follow the tug or turn a blind eye and live in auto pilot. I am glad I accepted the challenge!

Don't ignore that pull on your life! You were created to be extraordinary! You don't have to know all the hows to start listening to your heart! LISTEN! Pay attention! Be open for opportunities when they cross your path! Be curious. Allow yourself to dream, to ask...what if?  Obviously, your dreams are different, your journey will be different. BUT I know that all of us were born with a dream in our heart and purpose for our life! I'm challenging you to believe that and to get out of auto pilot! The world needs more people that are alive!