Having been involved in network marketing for a number of years, and having struggled at the beginning, I have sympathy for those that just can't quite get the results and momentum they see others getting.

We tend to get the ‘what's wrong with me?' syndrome. Well, there's nothing wrong with you. It's the system.

Whenever something isn't going according to plan, it's almost always the system. What do I mean? Well, let's take a look at a very common scenario:

John is taking a look at a network marketing opportunity. He takes into consideration how much money he is told he can make, and how much money the top income earner is making. He also thinks about how unsatisfied he is in his current job. This network marketing business allows him to dream big, and imagine a better lifestyle. He gets pumped up, and signs up.

His sponsor is calling him every day for the first few weeks, motivating him and telling him to just keep calling people and he's going to get a huge check!

Well, at about this point, many people start to get burnt out. Maybe it's after one month; maybe five. But at some point that initial energy that pushes people to keep calling friends and family, and talking to everyone they know…well eventually it fades and if there isn't a huge check to show for it, a new distributor understandably gets discouraged and doubt sets in.

However, this is not what people think about when they sign up. They sign up based on emotion, and also based on how much they like or get along with the person presenting.

Now from a business standpoint, how much sense does this make? You're making a business deal and signing a contract, and all you've taken into account is how much you like the person in front of you and whether or not they can get you pumped up?

For EVERYONE – whether you're new or a scarred veteran – it's time to re-evaluate everything. The majority of people in network marketing have never made more then $30,000 in one year and have never worked for themselves. They've always had someone managing their lives, and they're used to doing just enough to stay in their job.

How can this same person expect to, overnight; start making six figures, become a leader, create a schedule for themselves, and stop thinking like an employee? For most, they CAN'T.

What is your sponsor and your ‘upline' doing to build your:

Time Management Skills?

Money Management Skills?

People Management Skills?

Communication Skills? (in person and especially over the phone)

The skills you need to actually create a real downline?

The skills you need to TRAIN your downline?

Well, we haven't thought about this, have we? Take a look at your lives and the lives of people around you, and think about how most people rate in those skills above. Most people only know to work from 9-5, then party, eat and sleep until it's time to work again.

Most people live paycheck to paycheck. ‘Money Management' is a foreign term to them.

Most people are employees, and simply do the tasks they're assigned. People skills and communication skills are at an all time low with many people working in cubicles, watching three or four hours of TV every night, and not needing to interact with new people to get by.

And it's diminishing, with the internet and automation playing a larger role in life. People are taught many things in school, but we're not taught how to communicate effectively.

So, what did the presentation say about this absolutely necessary education? Nothing, probably. Well, it's time to either go to your upline and demand help in this area; because if they're making money, they are proficient in these skills. Or find another organization that will provide this.

Or, you could educate yourself now that you know what you need to learn. Either way, you're not going to just all a sudden increase your income TEN-FOLD just by talking to friends and family. Let's be real. You have to develop some very real and specific skills, and develop a very real and specific system for your business to run on.

Then, you can take that to the bank.