It is a wonderful thing to dream, but it’s an even better thing to act upon those dreams. Throughout my life I’ve dreamed of a certain lifestyle, certain freedoms and the chance to do the extraordinary, but it wasn’t until after college that I realized dreams were just realities waited to be acted upon. This realization changed my life, up until about 21 I’d always assumed that you could dream but life happened to you regardless. This couldn’t be further from the truth and as I ‘wake up’ more and more from the fog of ‘the real world’ I see that your life can be as big as you dream it but your dreams can only be as big as you are willing to act upon.

This is actually reason for celebration, it means you don’t have to wake up everyday and think ‘what will life hand me today’ instead you can literally happen to life, all it takes are baby steps. The way I act upon my dreams is three fold, I’ll explain my ‘action plan’ below:

1. Quantify the dream. Don’t say ‘I want to be rich and happy’ you must find ways to measure how rich and what ‘happiness’ looks like. So when you have a dream immediately put it onto paper and force yourself to quantify it. Now ‘I want to be rich and happy’ turns into ‘I want to have $100,000 in the bank in 2 years and I want to have met and married my dream girl’.
2. Map out the dream. So now that you know what ‘rich’ and ‘happy’ look like you can start to draw a plan (the more detailed the better) to get there. If you are driving somewhere you’ve never been you’d be a fool to not have a map (or mapquest) so why in life if you are heading towards a goal you’ve never achieved before would you leave the specifics to chance? It’s foolish, and more important it’s laziness masking itself with titles like ‘carefree’. So now assess your life as it stands, say you are working a job that pays $12 an hour part time, you aren’t going to get to your monetary goal this way so it’s time to change course. Develop an action plan based on what you like to do and what could possibly bring in extra income, then follow that plan to the T. What helps me is reading success stories, it not only inspires you but helps get your creative juices flowing about the hows of your specific goal. Secondly you want to meet and marry your dream girl, well if your single right now – or not with your dream girl – you’ll have to change course fast. Start meeting new people, go to a match maker, check out a dating site, ask your friends to set you up and actively search out the girl of your dreams vs. waiting on ‘chance’.
3. Live the dream. Now as you act every day on these goals it is time to live ‘as if’, this means reminding yourself all the time of what your life will look like in 2 years and why you are going for those goals. It means not worry about finances or finding the right girl anymore because you know deep down in 2 years time you’ll be there. Thinking as if is a vital part of reaching your goals but must be paired with quantification and mapping out your dream… if it isn’t you aren’t ‘living as if’ your delusional

Now it’s time for you to act, comment below on at least one of your dreams and quantify it. In a month or so come back and reply with any progress you’ve made, this social pressure alone will help you push yourself out of your comfort zone and into the land of the living. It is time to seize your dreams, it’s time to stop moping and stop making excuses – nothing is impossible when you pair an ardent dream with incredible action.

This is a wrong way of thinking; one that needs to change. If you want something, you’re going to have to go out and make it happen.

I’m learning this first hand. For years I talked about business and being successful. In reality I was waiting for success to land in my lap. I was hoping it would be handed to me with the least effort possible, and in turn my first couple of businesses were mediocre. I applied the least amount of effort to everything I did.

And then one day a light bulb went off.

I’ve found a lot of success already, because I’m pouring blood, sweat and tears into making it happen. I’m getting out there and hitting the pavement, shaking hands, staying up late working on projects, making phone calls, doing follow ups, going to networking events, building my following on twitter, keeping up with it on facebook, etc. I’m putting in the work, not just sitting back and hoping it will come to me. I stay up late and fry my eyes with two 24inch computer screens, doing favors, hoping for some return. I’m taking a huge risk on all of this right now. But with risk, comes great rewards. If this thing is going to happen, I’m going to make it happen.

Now, here’s the deal. We all know this principle. So why are so many of you waiting around for success to land in your lap? Equally, why are so many of you thinking that you should be handed that next big promotion without doing any work?

If you want something, you’re going to have to pursue it. You’re going to have to bleed out of your eyeballs to make it happen. You’re going to have to be relentless in some cases. You’re friends will probably think you are crazy. Forget them. Your friends are probably losers anyways. Stop dreaming pie in the sky and start making the pie. (Does that even make sense?) You’ll probably have to get outside your comfort zone for starters.

My wife wants to buy a Hummer. A freaking Hummer in this economy! And guess what, she’s going to drive a freaking Hummer because WE ARE GOING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Only one way that is going to happen. Not by me sitting around hoping to get lucky, but by me getting out there and MAKING IT HAPPEN.

Stop waiting for lady luck, get up off your ass and MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Word of the wise, there are NO SHORT CUTS to SUCCESS. So avoid the MLM’s.

Do you hate pumping gas? The routine feels like such a hassel to me. I have to fight to find a free pump most times, and if I do find a free pummp, then I’ve got to make sure I pull up to it with the tank on the right side. You’ve gotta get out of your car, walk around, go thru all those annoying menu’s on the pump. Or worse yet, go inside and prepay. Ugh, yuck.

So you’re probably wondering what pumping gas has to do with Multi-level Marketing. Well there I was, minding my business one fateful afternoon when young man on the other side of my pump decided to pitch his MLM to me.

“Wow, nice Audi, what kind of gas mileage does that thing get?”

“I manage to get about 21-22 city and 27 highway” I replied.

He replied unusually enthusiastic with an “AWESOME MAN!”

“Hey, can I ask what you do?”

Ahh… my favorite question! So I responded; “I hike, camp, rock climb, go kayaking, build websites, read, stuff like that.”

The puzzled expression on his face was a dead give away I had just given him a curve ball to his usual elevator pitch.

Pausing for a brief moment, he replied; “Oh wow, good deal man. I’m actually working with a business team out of Raleigh, North Carolina, helping folks develop web based businesses. We’re actually looking for some sharp folks like yourself who are looking to earn some extra income. Do you keep your options open?”

Carefully thinking over my reply, I realized this was a ploy to get me to come see some MLM plan. More than likely he was your typical IBO with Amway.

“Do I keep my options open? Well who doesn’t keep their options open! Especially if you believe that we live in the land of opportunity. But I’ve learned to carefully evaluate those opportunities and to recognize dead end opportunities without wasting my time. And I’m afraid I’m all to familiar with our pitch. So, to answer your question, I’m not open to your offer at this time.”

From the look he gave me, I knew I had just sunk his battleship.

Has this happened to you? Have you been approached by some young adult, who appears well dressed and genuinely polite?

If you where genuinely dumb enough to say yes, chances are you’ve given your phone number to an IBO. He or she will most likely call you within 1 to 2 days to setup a time to do an in-person meeting. The entire point of this quick meeting is to gauge your interest in coming to see his “business plan” and meet his “business partners”. (Just know that I’ll be using the word “BUSINESS” loosely.) During this entire process the individual will pretend like they’re being selective about who they let in on their opportunity. (It’s a lie, they’re desperate and need you to succeed.)

If you’ve already allowed this individual to schedule a time to come meet you, I’ll save you the trouble now. He/She will come over, show you some fancy little brochure and ask if you are interested in making an extra two to three thousand dollars. If you say yes, then chances are you are going to an open meeting where some person will speak to you about how to make money while drawing circles on a white board.

At the end, you’ll either sign up, or realize it’s a big fact pyramid scheme.

A little background on my perspective

I’ll give you my perspective on the subject since I was once a dumb IBO with “Amway”.

Now I will be honest, Amway is not a scam. Nor is Amway a pyramid scheme. If it was, it’d be illegal and shut down. At the same time, Mary Kay and Avon would also be shut down. They all share the same basic business model with a few variations.

Second thing I will add here is that there are a lot of really decent and honest people in these systems. And just like with anything, there are dishonest people as well. No avoiding that, it’s just a reality of life.

It is also possible to make money with these systems. However, you need to be well aware of some serious flaws within these systems. I personally believe you have greater chances of winning the lottery than making it in Amway.

Most people in Amway are going just short of broke. If you attend one of these business meetings you’ll be presented with a display of just how easy it is to get setup in business for yourself and to start making money. They’ll draw some circles to show you how fast you too can be a millionaire. They tell you all you have to do is get 6 people under you and then you’ll be rich. They’ll probably even give you a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad. (Which by the way,  Mr. Kiyosaki was sponsored by Amway to write that book.)

And they’ll tell you all about the wonderful support and training system you’ll be getting with this new business. And how you’re going to be a part of a TEAM. Everyone will hold hands, and mentor you and invest in your success. It will be flowers and rainbows and unicorns.

But there is a BIG FAT LIE right in the middle of this whole “Business System” that you won’t see at first. Most people don’t realize there are TWO businesses at work here. If you sell products, you get a portion of those sales. That’s a no brainer. If you sign up other IBO’s, you will get a portion of their sales.

The REAL SCAM and the scam that Amway itself turns a blind eye to on a regular basis is the training systems. You see, to become an IBO you have to be registered by another IBO, called your “upline”. Once registered you can sign up all of your friends and anyone else you’d like. The people under you are called your “downline”. Now generally once registered you’ll be a part of some business team. You could always go rogue, but I doubt many people ever do that or know that they can. Besides, it’s the team that is providing all the training you are going to receive to run your business successfully. (Supposedly)

Once you join up and start going to these weekly meetings you will be reminded over and over again how important it is to cut off negative associations and to listen to the CDs promoted by the training system.You’ll be encouraged and reminded over and over again that you need this training to be successful in business. According to them, you can’t succeed in your Amway business without listening to their CDs, without attending their seminars and 3 day conferences. You will also be told to buy books from their system and sign up for over-priced web hosting, voice-mail and a half dozen other useless services you could get elsewhere for free.

However, the money spent on this per month still seems trivial to the average cost spent on getting a traditional business off the ground. Most IBO’s never realize how much money they are actually spending in comparison to how much they actually make in Amway because the money invested is so low. Until you start to add up the money spent over the course of a year do you begin to see the real damage being done. The average IBO is typically in the red.

Let’s do the math, from my experience. (numbers from 2006)

It cost $151.00 dollars to register, and I also had to buy my 100PV (Point Value of products purchased from Amway to get paid) which was $175.00. I was also signed up on the book/CD program which was $60.00 a month.

The very first month I had spent a total of $368.00 (Not counting the open meetings).

Each Tuesday I was suppose to come attend a weekly meeting, it cost $4.00 dollars to attend.

$4 x 52 weeks = $208 (If an important speaker came out, I had to pay $6).

Now lets add up 11 months of 100PV and 11 months of the books/CDs.

$175 x 11 = $1925.00

$60 x 11=$660.00

Then there was the 4 major conferences every year at $110 dollars a ticket  which equals $440.00 a year.

So far that’s $3619.00. I haven’t even included how much money was spent on gas and food yet.

Do you see where this is going yet? If your Amway business doesn’t earn you over $4000 dollars a year, guess what? YOU ARE BROKE!!!. YOU MIGHT AS WELL DO THIS WITH YOUR MONEY:

The problem here is that the whole system is promoted like it is the most cost-effective way to do business. The truth is, it isn’t. You will be spending more money a year running your Amway Business than you are likely to ever make. Check Amway’s own stats. Most of their IBOs never make more than $100.00 a year.

Thinking about quitting then? You will be brainwashed to believe the people who fail or quit the system are weak and don’t want their freedom from the 9-5 bad enough.

BULL CRAP. I have watched good people in this system work and work only to ruin their lives. My previous upline for example, ruined his first marriage and has been in the business for longer than 10 years and still isn’t “FREE” from his job. He still works a JOB and pours money and time into Amway, believing that someday he’ll be on a stupid island with a bunch of other dummies.

So where is all this money coming from that these Kingpins, the Diamonds of Amway, are always talking about? Well it’s not Amway, because they limit how much you can make. You can only ever make $32,000 dollars from Amway. The real money-maker is the books, CDs, and conferences. That is where all the real money is that THEY are making off of you. I would attend a conference with a stadium of thousands of IBOs and listen to a fat man on stage tell me he put the whole event on just to make me successful. Bullcrap. How do you think a concert works? What’s $110 x 5,000 IBO’s. Answer: $550,000 dollars. More than enough money to bankroll production and have lots left over.

The  real kicker though was the local business meetings. I took it upon myself to find out how much money it cost to rent out the space they where using. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but by my estimation at $4 a head with about 500 IBOs in Va Beach, they where raking in $800 dollars every Tuesday after expenses. Whose pocket did that end up in? Yes, the guy in charge of the meetings.

You see, it’s not Amway, it is the training systems that are the real scam. I figured this out early on, but I, like many other people, stuck around because I believed in the other things they promoted. Things like helping people get free, living better lives, and fixing broken marriages, etc. I saw the business have a positive impact on the lives of people. Truly, at each conference I went to, I saw people give their lives by the hundreds to Jesus Christ. How is that not a good thing? But the sad fact remains, there is a darker, more damaging side to MLM.

The truth about the real money is never openly disclosed. Most people never truly succeed at this business, and I suspect 98% are going broke.

If you are in Amway right now, I URGE YOU to examine what you’ve accomplished and how much you’ve actually made. Put everything down on paper.

Are you genuinely profitable?

(I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter below in the comments. I will allow all comments so long as you are not directly insulting me or another person. )

1. BECOME PASSIONATE
   If you are really going to change your lifestyle and start LIVING, then you are going to have to become passionate. No more straddling the fence there, Buster. It is time to commit to your dream, to that vision of how you want to live.When I became passionate and put real emotion behind my dreams, I went from that guy who was always going to do something, to the guy who HAD DONE SOMETHING.

   I’m sure you have heard people say that you need to find what you are passionate about and then pursue it. That’s great for finding a way to make an income, but if you don’t have passion for very much, you won’t achieve anything beyond that. You need to become passionate about the vision of the life you want. Do you want a new red sports car? Then get passionate about it.

2. START READING
   The lazy man of mediocrity sits in front of his TV and absorbs. There is a reason it is called the “Boob Tube”. If you want to grow and live a successful lifestyle, it is time to start reading and educating yourself. I never really liked to read, but my mentor always told me it doesn’t matter if you like to read or not, you just need to do it. Commit to read at least 30 minutes a day.But what to read? Check out my book list here for starters. Also, start seeking out websites and blogs on what you’re trying to achieve.  Not only do I read books on entrepreneurship, personal development, finances and investing, but I also read blogs on these subjects.

   But that’s not all, I read travel blogs and magazines too, because that goes back to step 1 and fuels my passion for how I want to live my life and what I want to do.

3. STOP COMPLAINING
   Seriously, stop complaining about your boss. Stop complaining about your spouse. Stop complaining about the government and everything else you whine about. Do you know who complains? LOSERS COMPLAIN. If you make up your mind to stop complaining and only notice the positive around you, you’ll notice a huge improvement in your attitude and in the circumstances of your life.
4. START DOING
   Doers get things done. Don’t wait for other people. Get out there and take action! Stop waiting for lady luck and make it happen yourself. It is that simple. If you want to change your life, then you are going to have to start taking action. That’s how I did it, and that’s what you need to do.Idleness will lead to nothing.
5. GET OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
   If you are comfortable where you are at you will be stagnate. The only thing in nature that is stagnate is a swamp. Everything else is either growing or dying. So what are you doing? If you want to grow, you will have to get outside of your comfort zone.I learned this while rock climbing this summer, hanging onto the side of a cliff a thousand feet up, going well outside my comfort zone. Every time that my mind wanted to give up, I’d push myself and find that I was capable of more than my mind wanted to believe.  Every time that I retreated and failed to push myself, giving up, I have regretted.For example, if you are afraid of being around a large crowd of people, then you NEED to hang around a large crowd of people until you are comfortable. You grow the most when you are outside your comfort zone.
6. START LIVING
   Quit your job if you have to. You only get one life. Why waste your life? You need to start living! Start doing some of the things you dream of doing. You don’t have to do all of them at once, and maybe some of them require you to be more well off. Start small and work your way up towards your goals.Trust me, you aren’t living while working in a cubical 60 hours a week hoping for the weekend. That is not what we were created to do. That is not a life.

So that’s it. If you want to live an awesome life start there. I’ll share more insights as time goes on.

A little something about me: My name is Michael Key (as you no doubt notice from the domain name).  Most people just call me Mike.  I’ve lived in Virginia Beach, VA all of my life. Luckily for me, I was able to escape the rat race a year ago and spent the last year enjoying my life, part of which was spent traveling the country, selling a business, and getting married.

So what is this site supposed to be about? Well, first let me say, I have no formal qualifications to be any kind of “guru”, “life coach”, or “teacher” who will share with you all the secrets to go from zero to a bazillionaire overnight.

But that which I lack in training, I make up for with real world experience and a desire to share that experience with others. I have, after all, managed to quit the rat race, gain control over my time and money, learn sound financial investment, and successfully run several small businesses. Now I am working on developing muses to create a passive income.

So, this site is all about one man’s journey as an entrepreneurial ninja to realize his dreams. It’s about my personal development, lifestyle design, my adventures and the ramblings on topics that have helped shape, stretch and mold me into who I am today.

I’m hoping I can help others, maybe even inspire someone who thinks that circumstances are to great to overcome. Believe me, I have overcome a lot in my life. I just want to share with others. So here I am.

So thanks for reading.