Last week, my wife Julie and I reached a significant milestone in our network marketing company. A number of people who have seen us struggle for some time have asked, “What did you do to get there?”

Here are the five things that helped us get the traction we needed.

There was a time in our network marketing career when we worked with a leader who was very particular about how things were to be done. There was One Way, and One Way only, to build a network marketing business. The problem was, the “One Way” did not work very well for us, and we didn’t enjoy it very much. Doing the activities felt laborious, and thus we avoided doing them.

The faulty assumption we were being taught was that utilizing our unique skills would ultimately hurt our business, since it wouldn’t be duplicatable. About a year ago, we made the decision that if we were to stay in network marketing, we were going to do it in a way we enjoyed, and accept whatever consequences came of that.

A few months later we started working with a different leader who encouraged people to be who they were while building their business. This was incredibly energizing for us, and for the first time since we started network marketing, we build a strategy that aligned to our strengths. Even further, Julie and I divided the work between the two of us to further maximize our individual strengths. The net result? Network marketing was no longer a burden. We love it, and it has become a natural part of our daily life.

With that said, I need to clarify two things. This does not mean we only do things that are easy. We both push ourselves, improve ourselves, and try to keep just outside of our comfort zones. The difference, though, is that the hard things make up 20% of what we do, rather than 80%.

This also doesn’t mean we invented a new system. We follow the same system our upline uses. The only difference is the way we work within that system aligns to our strengths.

The next important thing Julie and I did was break down our strategy into activities and tasks that we perform every day. These are specific items that are discrete and actionable. Hare are a few things that aren’t specific enough: market online, do some writing, follow-ups, personal development, etc. How do you know when you’ve completed those things? You don’t. That means every day you’re going to have to decide what is requred to check the box.

Instead, we write things like: Review goals, connect with 15 people on Facebook, process all new messages, create a list of people that need to have follow-up today, write a blog post, Read chapter 5 of Success in 10 Steps, etc. Notice there is no ambiguity in these. We either did them or we didn’t.

Julie has a white board she uses, and I print off a 3x5 card for each day (that I carry in my pocket). When we wake up, we know exactly what we need to do, and in what sequence.

While the first two items helped us develop a stable cadence of daily activities, they did not get us the results we wanted. Our next step was to apply the Plan-Do-Check-Adjust process to see where we were getting hung up. (Note, until you have a stable cadence of daily activities, this step is almost impossible to do. You have to have a stable process before you can improve it.)

Once we identified the where the “log jam” was occurring, we did something that DOES NOT come easy for us — we asked for help. We called upline and sideline leaders to get coaching and to get unstuck. Of course, once the logs started moving, we would find they piled up somewhere else. So we made another call. And another.

We still don’t ask for help as much as we should. We’d like to think we’re smart enough to figure these things out on our own. The fallacy with that is success has nothing to do with how smart someone is. No one has all the skills and experience necessary to be successful in network marketing on their own. Okay, maybe 1 in 10,000. Think you are one of them? If you were, you wouldn’t be reading this post.

Swallow your pride. Get on the phone.

This would be an easy one to miss, but upon reflection, it has been important.

Here’s a little secret: Julie and I have spent most of our network marketing careers feeling inadequate. Do you know how hard it is to step out in front when you feel inadequate? (I’m guessing you know.)

You want to know another secret? There ARE NO SECRETS! I’ll bet you already know 90% of what you need to know to be a leader. The other 10% only comes by doing. But people are always looking for that last 10% to come in the form of a magic bullet. That’s why so many people continue to spend vast amounts of money joining affiliate programs that are supposedly the next best thing.

Leadership does not equal knowing everything. Leadership is being comfortable NOT knowing everything.

Julie and I have mentors who believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. This allows us to step forward in the dark.We believe in our team members more than many believe in themselves. We are there for them when they take those steps forward in the dark. Feeling uneasy about taking those steps does not mean you are doing something wrong. Relax, and know there is nothing you can do that is wrong.

And lastly, we’re fortunate enough to be in a network marketing company that continues to enhance its compensation plan as the company grows. Every year, for the last 5 years, it has made enhancements that put more money in the pockets if its distributors. The last round of enhancements made it possible for us to qualify for this level sooner rather than later. We sincerely appreciate being in a company where the compensation plan is working for distributors, rather than against them.