April 1999

Upline Times

Coy Barefoot

News bytes in this edition of Upline Times:

1. X Report
2. Living Large
3. Resolve to Win
4. In the News
5. Need Some R&R?
6. Changing Business

X Report

The young adults of Generation X continue to defy the "slacker" label some have tried to put on them. Consider the facts: Generation X, those born between 1964 and 1980, is responsible for 70% of all new business start-ups.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that X-ers work almost four hours more a week than most Americans. A recent CNN/Time poll found that three out of five of these supposed slackers aspire to be their own bosses. Forbes magazine even called Generation X "the most entrepreneurial generation in American history."

"X-ers are no slackers," says Meredith Bagby, author of Rational Exuberance: The Influence of Generation X on the New American Economy. "We have just been misread. Many see our opting out of traditional career paths as being lazy. Really, we are just reevaluating the choices of predecessors and seeing (as every generation does) whether we can have it all-- and on our terms."

Any X-ers in your life that might be interested in taking a look at a sure-fire way to have it all?

(Source: Success magazine, September 1998)

Here's a Dream Gift for the future Diamond: Consider this Great Estates package from Christie's, which includes three-- count `em, three-- luxury homes for one luxury price. You will start the year in "La Jolla, California, in a 50,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance-style estate built on five acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean and consisting of 30 principal rooms, 15 fireplaces, 28 bathrooms, a large courtyard with two fountains, a tennis court with pavilions, and subterranean parking for up to 30 cars."

Ready for a vacation? Then whisk off to your home at Aspen, "a 4,014-square-foot contemporary located on 37 acres, ten minutes from downtown. Built of logs, glass, and stone, it affords privacy and beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and streams."

And when you're really ready to get away from it all, hop aboard your private jet and head to your palace in Portugal, "a 15th-century, 20-room palace located 30 minutes south of Lisbon. It features magnificent gardens with mazes and a fountain, and a highly respected working vineyard."

Total price tag for all three estates: $46 million. Private jet not included.

(Source: Robb Report, December 1998)

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. -- Albert Einstein

Take a moment to check how you're doing on your New Year's Resolutions for 1999-- are you still committed? Are you on track to your goals?

According to researchers, 23% of New Year's Resolutions don't last the first week. Forty-five percent are kaput by the end of the first month. How about you?

(Source: NBC News, February 15, 1999)

From this month's Great Press file comes word of a recent article in the Fortune & Your Company on-line business magazine (cgi.pathfinder.com/yourco), which dug up some great advice and news about the Network Marketing industry.

According to the author, Sheryl Nance-Nash-- and this will come as no surprise to faithful Upline readers-- "Network Marketing is hot. It's a $60-$70 billion industry that is experiencing 10-12% annual growth. These days you can sell just about anything on a one-on-one basis-- from cosmetics to financial services."

Nash polled some industry gurus to come up with familiar but solid suggestions: Passion is the key; be enthusiastic about the products and the company; tap into your warm market first, then follow your upline's lead to access colder markets; avoid hype; sponsor upwards and find self-starters who are hungry for success; be prepared to invest some time, and meet challenges head-on; and most of all, believe in yourself.

The article concludes with some sound advice from John Parker, director of North American distributor relations for the Amway corporation: "This is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it's not about luck. It's about putting in a consistent effort."

And, we might add, it's about reaping phenomenal time and money rewards for yourself and your family that just don't exist in corporate America. Keep spreading the good news.

(Source: Fortune & Your Company, February 18, 1999)

Always rating high on the Dream Lists of Network Marketers is prized membership in the Vacation of the Month Club-- that jet-setting band of successful entrepreneurs who have the time and money to explore every corner of the world at their leisure. The wage slavery existence of two weeks of vacation per year (if you're lucky) just doesn't cut it for these winners. With that in mind, here's a look at the average vacation days given to workers around the world. Those of us toiling in the States don't have it near as good as some others. But if you're a committed, persistent Networker, you're on your way to 365 days of vacation every year. Go for it, and enjoy the trip!

• Austria 30 days
• Sweden and France 25 days
• Germany 24 days
• United Kingdom and Spain 22 days
• Australia and Switzerland 20 days
• Japan and the United States 10 days

(Source: Hewitt Associates, 1999)

Big Business continues to morph and change as the 21st century approaches. A 1998 survey of 68 large, multinational corporations discovered the shape of things to come.

Sixty-two percent of those companies surveyed say they expect to increase the number of part-time workers on their payrolls. Eighty-five percent said they will increase the number of telecommuting jobs, which means more employees will work out of the home. Eighty-four percent of the big companies said they have plans to make work hours more flexible for their employees, offering alternatives to the 9 to 5 five-day work week.

What does this mean for the American worker? It means no matter how accommodating the job might become, you still have a boss. And who wants a boss, when you can be the boss? Any Network Marketers out there ready to lose their bosses for good?

(Source: Time magazine, November 9, 1998)

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Reprinted with permission from Upline, Upline Times-April 1999, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com

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