In May of 2001 I was working for a major computer corporation when I got the notice that the corporation I worked for was going to be doing some layoffs to prepare for the eventual merger with another computer corporation. I was assured by my boss at the time that there was no way, I'd be included in that layoff. That I, was one of the top producers and they would never layoff their top producers. But before the end of June I was notified that in fact I was being laid off and the official date would be no later than the end of September.
On the 1st of July I was entered into a severance package that gave me until the 9th of September 2001 to transition. So of course after the initial shock and disbelief that it was in fact happening to me, I immediately updated my resume and started submitting it to every company that had anything to do with computers within a 100 mile radius. That eventually was opened up nationwide. Well, everyone knows what happened on September 11th 2001. We all have our own terrible memories of that time. But, during that time our economy from the technical side also went into a downward spiral of cutbacks and layoffs. Within the technical community if you had a job that was not being cut then you'd better hold on to it. If you were without work, the future looked bleak.
Like so many of us I had been living financially on a month to month basis with not enough savings, too many credit cards and too much debt. So I had to do something. I decided that there are thousands who are doing a home based business and very successfully too. So I dove in. I joined first one and then another opportunity doing everything I could to make it work. I purchased so many courses on self development, motivation, business development, how to sell, what to sell etc... etc... etc... I bought leads and more leads. Then I was told by my sponsors that the problem was I didn't have poster. That to my prospects I came across as being "needy". I needed to fix my mindset. So I spent more money to learn how to do that. The problem was I was needy, I was broke!
I had gone through all of my severance, all of my savings, all of my 401k. I was 50 years old with nothing to show for it. I couldn't answer my phone without talking to a creditor who was threatening to sue me. My family and friends had loaned to me, or given to me all that they could. The car dealer came by one day with a tow truck and politely took by my prized truck. They were not sympathetic to my plight at all. During that time the bank was not happy with my payment history for the loan on the house. Getting up every morning to face the challenges of that day were to say the least, kind of stressful. It was during this time when I was feeling the "things couldn't get any worse" feelings, that my wife (at the time) lost her job and I began to feel a little desperation. Ok, maybe a lot of desperation coupled with some depression. With nothing left and no income coming in, I finally lost my home. At this point I am as close to living my life on the street as anyone can possibly be. But I knew this is not me. That's when I looked back over everything that had happened and realized. All of those things don't define who I am and what I'm about. Those experiences no doubt had an influence on allowing me to develop my expertise, my goals, and my dreams. I could feel sorry for myself or I can use those experiences to guide me towards my future. I can use those experiences to help others not follow those paths. I can take what I learned and what I've become to add value to many others. I will and I do. But all of those times don't define who I am.
If we are to be someone in this industry that others will join and trust. That others will share their gifts of friendship with. Who others will share their dreams with. Then we have to let them know who we are and what we're about. Standing for what we believe in. Being able to be trusted that our guidance is right and pure and not self serving. That's why I look for friends and not prospects. Partners not down lines. How can I say I have succeeded if everyone who is working with me is not successful. I didn't have to go through this. My mentor was wrong, he just didn't have a duplicatable system for generating leads, and buying leads is a scam. Now that I found a way to generate leads and have a system that others can duplicate and generate their own leads anyone can be successful.
I did have to go back to work. Building a business doesn't happen overnight but by finding a way to build it without going into debt, knowing I found a way to build it without ever going into debt again means "I failed my way to success". Now I can help others do the same thing by just reading a book. I'm not telling you this to elicit any sympathy, I'm just trying to tell you... I know who I am.
Les Taylor
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