Being a role model for your kids is something that all loving parents under the sun strive to be — it’s honestly why I get up every single morning!
Setting a good example and showing up for them prompted me to start a network marketing business some 14+ years ago now.
My career up until this point has taught me so much about myself and my own abilities, but more so about what it means to be a good role model for my kids and instil values in them that last a lifetime.
I want the lessons I’ve learned in network marketing to help inspire you to be an even better example to your kids!
In this article, I share 7 things that being in the MLM business has taught me about being a role model that my kids can look up to, what the most critical role model qualities are and some of my absolute favourite role model quotes — because, everyone needs a little inspiration every now and again!
What Network Marketing Has Taught Me About Being
a Role Model For My Kids
1. Empathy
No one is immune to the rollercoaster ride that is the human condition.
Understanding that we are all fighting our own battles is where empathy comes in.
Being empathetic is one of the most important — and immensely powerful — qualities I’ve tapped into working in the network marketing business.
In our industry, one’s business is only as strong as their ability to network.
Without empathy you have no way of truly understanding what people around you are going through and how you might be able to inspire them to work alongside you.
Growing your business all comes down to being a good listener and leading with your heart.
The same is true for raising your kids.
Expressing empathy towards them when they feel they are not being heard shows them you are willing to listen and take in their perspective.
Empathy teaches them about walking in someone else’s shoes and giving someone the time of day to ultimately inspire compassionate action — something the world can do with a whole lot more of today!
Read my article “Work Life Balance: How To Manage Life As A Full-Time Working Mum” here.
2. Respect
Being respectful is one of the many positive outcomes you achieve when you really empathize with anyone that you approach in this business and, for that matter, in life.
Treat someone like how you would like to be treated.
Everyone is different, we all have our own goals and dreams, but when you treat those in your network and everyone else with respect it builds healthy relationships and a team that is dedicated to being the absolute best.
Now, it doesn’t always mean that if you treat someone with respect that you’ll get the same treatment back.
The important thing to remember is that all we really have control of is our own actions and how we conduct ourselves — and our kids are watching and learning from us all the time.
Showing your kids to give respect and that they are respected gives them a sense of acceptance and feeling of maturity that hopefully leads to responsible behaviour and better decision-making.
A little bit of respect goes a long a way and is exactly what makes a good role model!
Read “Good Parenting Tips For Improving Your Parenting Skills”
3. Hard Work
As the saying goes, “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”
When it comes to succeeding in the network marketing game, there is absolutely no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and cracking on with it — you have to walk the talk!
Even though it has never been easier to get started, getting to #1 in the UK is not something that just happened overnight.
It took a burning drive and desire backed up with good old fashioned hard work over more than a decade to make my way to the top.
I felt like it was my mission to work as hard as I possibly could to give my kids the lives of their dreams and the whole process has shown them the value of complete dedication to whatever they choose to focus on in life.
We live in a society where we are all measured by our actions and cultivating an attitude of hard work and taking action is what separates those that succeed and those that never really get going.
The work you put in on a daily basis is a constant reminder to your kids what is necessary to reach goals they set out to achieve.
By teaching them that they need to work for what they want out of this life, they learn the necessary skills to execute on fulfilling their dreams and makes everything earned so much sweeter.
4. Confidence
I’ve written a fair bit on how to be more confident and harnessing this quality is paramount to building any long-term network marketing business.
It’s the ability to network effectively, to know — and BELIEVE in — your product and what you’re selling, to have compelling presentations, to grow a confident team and so much more.
This is a skill that I had to learn from the ground on up and one that improves the more you put yourself out there!
We’re all afraid of what we don’t know how to do well.
The trick to becoming successful is challenging yourself in areas that are not your forte, learning as you go and surprising yourself along the way.
Putting myself out there helped me grow in confidence with every single passing year and it’s a valuable skill that I have been able to pass onto my kids.
I have shown my kids that confidence is so much more than being successful…
It’s about teaching them to be comfortable in their own skin, knowing when to stand up for themselves (respectfully of course) and taking on challenges — especially if it scares them.
Read my article “9 Ways to Increase Productivity Working From Home During Covid-19” here.
5. Optimism
Without a fair dose of daily optimism delivered through self-development, gratitude practices and physical exercise — to get all those happy chemicals coursing through my blood — I’d say my business and attitude towards it would not be where it is today.
In life, the only constant is change!
So much rides on our ability to approach the changes around us with optimism.
14 years in the network marketing business has taught me about the value of looking on the brighter side of life despite all the ups and downs every one of us inevitably face.
It goes back to controlling what we have control over and treating each day as a brand new opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life — that’s what really makes me happy!
With my kids it’s about helping them cultivate habits that keep them naturally happy, staying active and fostering a can-do attitude and happy hunger for life.
After all, you are who you surround yourself with!
Being a role model means having the right attitude for success and taking as many people along with you for the ride.
Read “7 Business Motivation Tips For A Booming Network Marketing Business”
6. Integrity
Honestly, the network marketing industry has gotten a bad rap due to a number of fraudulent companies over the years and it’s a shame that often we’re painted with the same brush…
Being open, honest and trustworthy is the only way that one can feasibly grow a substantial network that aligns with how an MLM business is supposed to work for everyone.
Luckily, I’ve been blessed to work with a company like Forever Living that upholds the same core values that I do when it comes to building a business where people are our biggest asset.
Following through with what you say you’re going to do with integrity is key to winning trust and a hallmark of a successful business.
We’ve all learned about “honesty is the best policy” and with our kids it means leading from the front, having those hard but necessary conversations, creating a safe space for them to express their thoughts and holding them to task to finish what they start.
Having integrity is as much about being honest as it is having a sense of pride in what you dedicate your life energy to.
7. Humility
We’re ever-evolving beings figuring out how to navigate our own way through this thing called life, “learning on the job” and making (many) mistakes as we go.
No one is perfect.
We don’t always make the right decisions.
I have certainly made many mistakes in my professional life that I have to live with…
Eating some humble pie is a dish that I’ve turned to to help me discover how I could have handled a situation better — hindsight is 20/20 after all — but, most importantly, it teaches me how to not make the same mistakes so I can ultimately be a better person.
Having humility is about failing forward.
When we take an objective stance when things go wrong, we give ourselves the opportunity to correct the course so that we are remembered more for how we handled it than the actual mistake.
It’s a lesson that I continue to learn to this day and one that we can show our kids that it is not our mistakes that define us, but how we rise to make things right.
This teaches them about admitting when they’re wrong and becoming accountable for their actions because this is the intersection where they can start to build bridges to overcome missteps more efficiently in business and life.
Read “23 Reasons Why Network Marketing is the Biz To Be In Right Now”
Start Being A Role Model You & Your Kids Can Be Proud of!
Throwing kids into the mix is something that no one can ever really be 100% prepared for (just ask my mum;), but helping to nurture, love and teach your kids to become decent human beings is honestly one of the most rewarding experiences available to us on this journey.
I sincerely hope that my insights have provided you with some inspiration to listen a little more patiently, to forgive a little more quickly, and to love a whole lot harder!
I’d love to hear more about what values you resonate most with when it comes to raising your kids and who some of your biggest role models in life are?
Please leave me a comment and feel free to share this article with anyone that can get something out of it by clicking the social icons below.
With love,
Nat
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