BALANCED LIFE

Balancing Your Life

There was this very ambitious and successful executive who was given the charge of setting up a project for his company. He was very busy and aspired for a raise on completion of the project. One day he fell sick. He was asked to get some medical investigations which he ignored because he thought he will waste time and the project will get delayed and he will miss out his promotions. Few weeks later his condition deteriorated and he had to undertake the investigations which revealed that he has a terminal decease which in few weeks has become irreversible and he had only 30 days to live. Suddenly the project and his ambition became insignificant. He resigned immediately and expressed his desire to spend the remaining days with his loved ones.

What is the lesson ? How would we actually like to spend our time? What are our priorities ? What will make us happy ? Do we have a balanced life ?

There are six major areas in our life … The 6 F

FAMILY

FITNESS

FINANCE

FRIENDS

FAITH

FAME

If we decide on the priorities on the 6 F and allocate 10 on a scale of 1 – 10, and draw a graphical representation, it becomes a perfect circle. But when some areas of life are getting less time and some take more time, the graphical representation is a not a circle. The wheel of our life can not move forward smoothly.

We all aspire to have a balance in all areas. Many times we get involved in few areas and neglect the other areas. At some stage, the neglected areas start showing the adverse results which affects all the areas. We can easily review and take corrective actions only once we understand the importance of having a balanced life.

Opportunity

What is an opportunity ?
Dictionary defines it as
a. A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.
b. A favorable or suitable occasion or time.
c. A chance for progress or advancement.

Some Opportunity Quotations

• The meeting of preparation with opportunity generates the offspring we call luck.(Tony Robbins)

• Your big opportunity may be right where you are now. (Napoleon Hill)

• Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. (Napoleon Hill)

• The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.(Ayn Rand )

• Ability is nothing without opportunity. (Napoleon Bonaparte)

• The more you seek security the less of it you have. But the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the security that you desire.(Brian Tracy)

• Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, you ruin a wonderful business opportunity. (Karl Marx)

• There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity. (Douglas MacArthur )

• Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage(Niccolo MachiavelliC

• Equal opportunity means everyone will have a fair chance at being incompetent. (Laurence J. Peter)
  

• If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade. (Tom Peters )

• There is far more opportunity than there is ability. (Thomas A. Edison)

• Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. (Thomas A. Edison )

• The follies which a man regrets the most in his life are those which he didn't commit when he had the opportunity. (Helen Rowland )

• Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven't courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others. (Samuel Johnson )

• The only thing worse than an opportunity you don't deserve is blowing an opportunity. (Michael J. Fox)

Business opportunity
What is Business opportunity ? A business opportunity, in the simplest terms, is a packaged business investment that allows the buyer to begin a business. There are two types of business opportunities
1. Traditional Unlike a franchise, however, the business opportunity seller typically exercises no control over the buyer's business operations. In fact, in most business opportunity programs, there's no continuing relationship between the seller and the buyer after the sale is made.
2. Franchise Technically, all franchises are business opportunities, but not all business opportunities are franchises.
We shall look at franchise because it offers equal opportunity to every one
What is Franchise ?
A franchise is a right granted to an individual or group to market a company's goods or services within a certain territory or location. The franchisor (the company owner) sells the rights to the franchisee and then typically receives a fee for ongoing support, therefore having a vested interest in the success of each franchise.

Advantages:
- There is a higher likelihood of success since a proven business formula is in place. The products, services, and business operations have already been established.
- Bankers usually look at successful franchise chains as having a lower risk of repayment default and are more likely to loan money based on that premise.
- The corporate image and brand awareness is already recognized. Consumers are generally more comfortable purchasing items they are familiar with and working with companies they know and trust.
- Franchise companies usually provide extensive training and support to their franchisees in effort to help them succeed.
- Many times products and services are advertised at a local and national level by the main franchise companies. This practice helps boost sales for all franchisees, but individual franchisees don't absorb the cost.

Disadvantages:
- Franchises can be costly to implement. Also, many franchises charge ongoing royalties cutting into the profits of franchisees.
- Franchisors usually require franchisees to follow their operations manual to a tee in order to ensure consistency. This limits any creativity on the part of the franchisee.
- Franchisees must be very good at following directions in order to maintain the image and level of service already established. If the franchisee is not capable of running a quality business or does not have proper funding, this could curtail success.
Sometimes franchisors may be lax on their commitment to support the franchisee. Also, they may make poor decisions that would have an ill effect on the franchisee. Therefore, it is important to research any franchise concept thoroughly before signing any agreements.

Network Marketing or Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) - A business model that needs a distributor network to build the business. It involves selling products directly to consumers, as well as through a network of other agents whom you recruit. You usually earn commissions on both your sales as well as those of the other agents you recruit.
Co operative stores started membership based group of consumers where consumers get the discounts and in some places the profits are shared with the members.
Network of Consumers Networking business can also be operated based on self consumption and expansion of the group. Based on the structure of the network group and the turnover, you get an incentive which is like sharing the profits with the members in a co operative store but, in an organized way and an opportunity to earn HUGE INCOMES for people who are willing to put some effort.

Why Choose Network Opportunity ?
1. Provides an equal opportunity to everyone to fulfill their dreams
2. Low cost to start
3. No risk
4. Very low operating cost
5. Very little time can be given so you don’t have to give up whatever you are already doing
6. Proven system
7. Ongoing Support system is available
8. Guidance, help and counseling is available from experienced people in your group
9. No hassles of a traditional business which is taken care of by main partners
10. Works on the strength of all the team members so you don’t have to be good in everything
11. Success is predictable
12. Can give you an ongoing Passive Income

Network Business Models : There are two types of business models

1. Binary Model : Two teams are built, Left and the Right and each member has to build Left and Right Teams. If the Left and the Right Teams are balanced, incentives are paid. Such models generally have capped the upper limit of earnings. The common belief is that the person above will always earn more money. It is true only if he is balancing his Left & Right team. If he is not balancing but the person 3 deep below him is balancing his Left & Right team, he will earn more. Businesses which are paying only out of the amount taken from new member, keeps accumulating the amount as “Due” which you get subsequently when you balance out the 2 teams.

2. Multiple Team Model : There is no restriction on how many teams you build and so there is no upper limit to your earnings. In this people following one pipeline at a time are getting better results. A person may join at any position but if he has built more teams, his earnings are more.

Next post will talk about what one should see while selecting a Network opportunity and some of the opportunities available in India.