The late Norman Vincent Peale was a controversial preacher who burst into public consciousness with his best-selling book, "The Power of Positive Thinking". He believed that ordinary people could become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things, and when they believe in themselves, they have the secret of success.

So many people trying to start a business, don't believe in themselves. They look for advice from self proclaimed "gurus" and try very little on their own. Any MLMer will tell you about the power of duplicatable systems. While much of this is true, and it is not always necessary to re-invent the wheel, many miss a very important point.

A duplicatable system does not demand that you memorize a script. It basically means that you know your product, and have seen what has worked for others, and follow their lead. If you add your own ingenuity and your sales efforts, you will do even better.

If you aren't the creative type, it really is best to follow a tried and true system. But if you are, you are selling yourself short if you don't branch out and develop some of your own techniques. If you believe in yourself as well as your product you have a winning combination.

If you look back in history, you will see many examples of ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary results. Many of the best known people who have left their mark in the pages of history, failed a number of times on their climb up the ladder.

This is not a "history lesson" so we won't go into the specifics, but there is no doubt this is true. These people all had something in common. They had self confidence as well as tenacity in achieving their goals, and a sense of fulfillment. Most successful people have a "can do" attitude. While failure is always a possibility, they don't become fixated on avoiding failure and approach life with an upbeat attitude.

You must however have a goal clearly in mind. This can be referred as a vision of what you want your life to be. It's like the parent asking their child what they want to be when they grow up. If you don't have a clear vision as to where you want to be, your odds of success are greatly diminished. You, and only you, can decide where you want to go on your travel through life.

But you can't sit on the top of a hill and think pleasant thoughts all day. You have to come down to the real world and set your goals and objectives. You have to set priorities and have a plan to meet them on a regular basis. You must have a plan of action, and follow it. In other words, "plan your work and work your plan". While things come up to delay you at times, you must meet your goals each day. You must be organized, and have a system in place to attain your objectives. Without one, your ship will certainly founder. Excuses don't count. Leave these behind you. Build your own personal image of success.

Do you spend any time honing your skills? Community involvement is a great way to do this. Get out and meet people. Do some public speaking - anything to allow you to practice your techniques when dealing with people. Most sales are not product driven. If people believe in you, you are more than halfway home to making a sale.

If you are fired with enthusiastic ideas and allow them to dominate your thoughts, you will find that new horizons will open. As long as your enthusiasm lasts, so will new opportunities. Don't wait for the world to beat a path to your door - it won't. Search out and seek new ventures.

Allow yourself to think outside the boundaries. Remember, failure is merely a stepping stone on your road to success, and if you exercise positive thinking, you will reach your objective.

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