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On Easter Sunday my husband and I decided to play Monopoly. It’s been at least 25 years since I’ve played. Maybe closer to 30. I had gotten the Yankees Collector’s Edition back in 2001 and never opened it. Sunday was opening day.
We played the “quick version” of the game which means that the banker (me) shuffles the property cards up and gives each player three cards. I was blessed with Babe Ruth which is the equivalent to Boardwalk. The Great Bambino was shining down on me.
I got off to a rough start and kept having to pay my husband for landing on his properties. We basically blocked each other from getting a full set of properties to build upon but I was lucky enough to buy Derek Jeter (I wish!), the blue property that goes with Babe Ruth, and I bought the 3 orange properties of Mattingly, Jackson, & Munson. My husband didn’t have any complete sets so he was unable to buy “luxury boxes” (houses as they are known in the regular game), so the largest amount I owed him was $50 cause he owned 2 bases.
Once I gathered enough money I started putting those luxury boxes on my 5 properties. And by golly he kept landing on them! But each time I had to collect his rent I felt bad for him. Seriously. When he had to fork over $500, $600, $1,100 my heart sank! I wanted him to win too! He’s like “uh, that’s not how this works. Someone wins and someone losses. I’m losing”.
Mind you, every game we play he usually wins. Othello. Rummy. Rumikub. Chutes & Ladders. I rarely win. I’m not a sore loser, THANK GOODNESS and he’s not a throw-it-in-your-face type winner, which is good for our marriage, but you’d think with my rare win I’d be ecstatic! My not enjoying this well-earned win really got me thinking. Why was this win not as satisfactory as my other wins? What was it about this game in particular that got me feeling bad for him? Then it clicked. Money.
Not real money of course, but the sense that he was losing all his money. I was gaining, but he had to sell off properties to pay his rent to me. And I didn’t like it. My gain was at someone else’s expense. Someone I care deeply about. The metaphor was just too real for me.
In network marketing gaining income happens when other people gain income. I don’t want to just take someones money from them. First of all that’s illegal, but more importantly (to me) its so far from my purpose. I want to show people that there are better products out there that they can safely use for their families. I want to help people support their bodies in a manner that doesn’t compromise one body system for another. I want people to take pride in what they do for themselves and support them to live their best life possible. And if what they need is more financial stability, then I want to show them that network marketing, while not perfect, is a viable option for them. You see, in helping them, I help myself. My income is secondary to theirs. I want all of us to buy as many Deter Jeter’s as we want!! How awesome would that be?
So maybe I over thought all this and it doesn’t make any sense to you. But the more I grow my network marketing business, the more it solidifies my appreciation of a business model that supports everyone. Not just the guys at the top, but anyone who’s willing to do the work. I’m willing to go the distance.
Don’t let the fear of striking out hold you back. ~Babe Ruth