Many years ago I was a college professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. My discipline was magazine writing and my job was to show students how to get published in magazines and other forms of media. In other words, I taught students how to market themselves and their articles.

I recall a conversation with a young woman who came to my office one day and told me that her goal was to get published in Reader's Digest magazine. At that time I had yet to be published in Reader's Digest, but my students knew I was working on that goal myself. Reader's Digest was not only widely circulated, it also paid writers top dollar, so it was a popular destination for writers, new and experienced alike. I asked my student what she knew about the content of Reader's Digest. Well, she knew that the magazine covered a plethora of topics and she had already come up with a long list of possible articles.

"But what do you know about the content?" I asked her again. The expression on her face was blank. "What do you know about the preferred writing style for the Reader's Digest? How many of the magazine's articles have you studied, line by line, to understand how to write an article for Reader's Digest?" The expression was still blank. She hadn't done her homework, and so I told her so. "Okay," she said, "but that's beside the point. I still want to be published in Reader's Digest."

Yes, and so do countless other writers! They want to HAVE what they want, and they want it now. But only those who are willing to prepare themselves to be published in Reader's Digest will ultimately HAVE the distinction of being published in Reader's Digest. As I said to my student, "Once you prepare yourself, you will know how to market your articles so that an editor at Reader's Digest will send you a letter of acceptance rather than a letter of rejection."

The same is true in network marketing. Nowadays my student is likely to say, "I want a huge, productive downline." A fantastic goal, indeed! You can HAVE it, too, if you're willing to prepare yourself to market your business effectively. But I need to ask you this question: "Is preparation part of your marketing mindset? Or are you attempting to do your marketing without being prepared?" People often overlook preparation. And consequently they think their marketing isn't working because they don't know how to market, or others are better marketers, or they don't have the right education, or...whatever. No, their marketing isn't working because their mindset is wrong!

One of the greatest lessons I've learned from Zig Ziglar, the master of personal development, is simply this: You have to BE before you can DO, and you have to DO before you can HAVE.

It's human nature to change the order of those words. We'd much rather HAVE, regardless of what we may BE or DO. And why not! Being and doing require preparation, and they get in the way of what we want to HAVE.

But ole Zig has it figured out, as you well know if you've listened to his tapes or read his books (and what kind of a network marketer do you expect to BE if you haven't?) Zig knows from experience that the first step is to BE the right person. Until we understand what we want and why we want it, and that we're capable of getting it, and worthy of it, we're not going to HAVE it. We need goals. We need to build our self-esteem. Sadly, many network marketers lack in these areas. They simply have not prepared to BE the right person.

How do you BE the right person? There are many ways. Find a mentor and get coached. Look to your upline for help. Read books, listen to tapes, and attend training meetings! Start to BE the right person immediately.