As I drove through the rolling foothills just past the edge of the southwest side of the city, I was in awe embracing the beautiful scenery. The sky behind the mountains with the prominent untouched natural landscape, the river and the majestic homes that formed the community, were all setting the stage for the profound morning I was about to embark upon.
When I arrived at the address of my destination I was taken aback by how large the home and the lot were compared to others in the cul-de-sac.
I was greeted at the front door by the assistant to Paula Hawrysh, he ushered me inside and took me immediately to the area of the home which he referred to as the ‘pool room’.
What a place, it has an Olympic sized swimming pool in and floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the majestic Rocky mountains.
The water in the pool rippled with a few splashes as Paula was just completing her routine morning swim. I was seated pool side at one of the cabana tables and offered a selection of beverages.
Paula greeted me from in the water and proceeded to get out and towel off. She appeared happier than a four-year old on Christmas morning.
Paula came over, shook my hand, welcomed me, thanked me for coming and joined me at the table.
‘So, what exactly is the detailed purpose for this interview?’ she inquired.
‘Well, you see I was given the task of looking at the top 20 income earning Canadians and picking one which I would write my article on and the main focus is on how they succeeded and what they attribute to their massive success.
Upon going through the list I realized that you are right here in my backyard. When I looked further into you and your accomplishments I was honestly taken back by what you have achieved and the wealth you have created in such a short period of time. And that’s when I Knew you had to be the one I wrote my article on”.
“Well I am very flattered,” she responded while trying to look away. She turned back to me and stated “Okay well, let’s get to it!”
I honestly wasn’t sure where to start. But thankfully I had compiled a list of questions to prepare for this interview.
I began with “first question: When you started on your venture of Network Marketing, what was your driving force or your inspiration to getting started?”
“Well you see, I had been exposed to Network Marketing for over half my life before I decided to actually do a business. I had witnessed my father attempt over 25 different businesses over the course of my lifetime, he made some money but nothing ever stuck. My mom, aunt, uncle and cousins had attempted the industry as well and nothing was ever long-term. When approached with Kyani I was beyond skeptical. I actually told my friend I want nothing to do with your business and nutritional products don’t work but I’ll listen to what you have to say out of respect to you. And he was buying me lunch so I figured I could listen to his lip service for an hour.
Truth be told that if he hadn’t offered me $1000 cash if I could find something bad about the product I never would have joined. That resulted in my own due diligence that lead to selling myself of the company and the products and the business was a by-product of that. I believe it was about eight days later I joined. I honestly had no intention to the business full-time, I just wanted my family and friends to get healthy. But after my personal experience with the products and the experience and results my family members were having it was a no brainer to share this with others. And that was when I really saw a way out of the rat race. I decided four months into the business that I was never going to work for someone else again in my lifetime. And I never looked back.
At that time my nephew was a few months from being born, my brother was fairly new to the responsibilities of marriage and my father was on the verge of bankruptcy and about to lose the lake property that he had spent over 25 years building. I knew there had to be a better way and I saw Network Marketing as the vehicle to that better life. I also at that point in life had enough sense in my head to understand that if you want something you’ve never had before, you have to do something you’ve never done before.
I had come from a family that was average income earners never anyone in my family made more that $100,000 annually and I knew I wanted more. I wanted to be able to provide for my nephew, help my brother financially and get my dad back the property he was meant to spend the remainder of his years. That was really my driving force. And from the first Ferrari I saw as an adult I always knew I wanted one to call my own.” Paula smiled the largest smile I saw during our interview when she spoke of her Ferrari.
“What do you attribute your success to? Meaning what are some of the things you were able to utilize to help you achieve your multi billion dollar earnings?” I was uncertain how this question would play out and how it would be received.
“Well” Paula began and then paused, “you see there are many factors that contribute to long-term sustainable success. Honestly if I had to select just a few I would say overcoming resistance, never losing site of the vision and good financial management.”
I was a little shocked how short the answer was. Yet she answered so precisely. “Could you elaborate on those three reasons and why they helped you to achieve your success?”
Paula sat back in her chair and said “Okay…. there are tons of things that make or break a person in business. Some people take too much to heart, some don’t operate with integrity, and others just simply couldn’t make enough money to save their lives because their spending habits are so poor. By the time I had made my first $100,000 from Network Marketing I already knew those practices from the traditional businesses I managed and from the corporate jobs I had held. Overcoming resistance is the most significant for me because it came from all different parts of my life. My family, my friends, my mentors and business partners even from my roommate who was in the same business I was. When faced with resistance or adversity there are two things you can do. 1. You can quit or 2 you can decide that you are going to use that resistance to catapult you further towards your vision. Most people use it as an excuse to quit. I did the opposite. I knew that every time I failed I was five feet, five inches closer to where I wanted to be because I was failing forward. I also knew that it was up to me and no one else and that if I wanted my life to have great things I had to face my fears and get my actions in line with my thoughts and desires.
When we talk about never losing site of the vision this is key. You have to start with the end in mind. The problem is people go through life thinking ‘I’ll figure it out when I get there’ but ‘there’ never shows up in their life. And that is due to not defining your dreams or goals. You can’t hit a target you cannot see. When I knew I wanted a Ferrari as an example I was actually manifesting Ferrari’s everywhere I went. I would see them three or four times a week and the adrenaline rush every time I saw one pushed me forward to obtaining one.
Financial management is equally important as the first two I listed. Money doesn’t make people better it simply amplifies who they are. If you are someone who consistently lives paycheck to paycheck there is nothing anyone can do for you. You will always be that way even if your employer tripled your paycheck tomorrow. Now financial management skills can be taught and they can be learned but that starts with admitting you have room for improvement and most are not willing to make that admission.
Businesses fail and close shop everyday and it is always due to a bad business decision that someone made that ended up affecting the financials of the company. What people fail to realize is our personal finances are no different. People don’t just go into foreclosure or bankruptcy for no reason, it is usually because they are living outside of their means and then when something happens they don’t have a contingency in place for those “rainy days” for lack of a better way to put it.”
“What you are saying makes a lot of sense” I casually replied to Paula. I was so thankful at this point I had brought my recorder cause this stuff was gold and there was no way notes were ever going to help me reiterate what she was sharing. “Now did you have all of these principles down pat when you stared in Network Marketing?” I was secretly hoping the answer would be yes cause that would explain the quick rise to success.
Paula laughed and laughed, “No, of course not” she giggled at me. “However I do learn fast and had a few good people to teach me some sound principles right from the get go. I do also attribute the learning fast to my need to do things correctly the first time. I call it my OCB.”
“O-C-B? What is that?” I questioned.
“Obsessive compulsive behavior. I don’t call it a disorder. I call it a behavior. I don’t need to do things several times or in a certain pattern I just need to make sure it is done correctly the first time and as efficiently as possible” Paula responded with a laugh. “It drives most people crazy with how particular I am. But it is also part of what makes me, me. So I would never change it.”
“I honestly have never hear that, but hearing the way you explain it makes a lot of sense.” I scrolled through my list of questions as to what to ask next. I wanted every question I asked to breed more content. “Alright so next question, how did you turn a network marketing business into multi billion dollar wealth?” At this point I was almost on the edge of my seat due in anticipation of the answer I was going to get.
“Well, you see, I was never focused on becoming a billionaire. I really only wanted a nice house with a pool, a Ferrari Spider 488 and to help my dad and my brother. But I knew that in order to get those things it had to be about helping others get what they wanted. In the words of Zig Ziglar – if you help enough people get what they want, you will have everything you want – this principle I never lost sight of. Not even after I purchased this 5 bedroom 6000 sq foot house and had it renovated to put in the pool, bought my BMW Z4 and Ferrari Spider 488 (which my company paid for), set up a trust fund for my brother and nephew for $250,000 and bought the lake property for my dad. None of those things stopped me from continuing my focus of helping others get what they wanted out of life and the business. And when I stared teaching that to my team members that’s when the real growth started to happen. It wasn’t about nice things, I mean don’t get me wrong everyone wants nice things, but what are you doing to get them? You have to operate with honor and integrity.
After I made my first few million in Network Marketing I decided to pay it forward. I invested in a few small businesses, more so as a way to help my friends, and they understood and signed a contract to adhere to those principles as well and when they committed to that it resulted in their success as well. Which in turn I had added success as from being a business partner. This is where I attribute my financial management to my long-term success. If I had just spent a better portion of the money or poorly invested it I wouldn’t be where I am today. Not even 20% of the way.
The good management of money I already had coupled with a sound financial planner I hired allowed me to purchase my island set up tourism there and increase my wealth three-fold in a few short years. And I still have not stopped building my Network Marketing business because it aligns so strongly with my morals and integrity and really is the avenue to give people back hope”.
Paula leaned forward to look at my list of questions. “I hate to be cut this party short but I am running low on time with you and I see you have a plethora of questions left there. Could we cut if off after one or two more questions? I don’t want to be late for my next appointment and as you can see I fit you in between my morning swim and my morning meeting,” Paula smiled at me in a way I couldn’t have said no to even if I wanted to. She had some kind of way to make people feel comfortable. It was like she was wrapping you in a warm blanket.
“Of course” I replied, “I actually only have one last question. If you could send a message to everyone in this world to help them over come adversity to allow them to succeed what would that message be?” At this point I double checked my recorder to make sure it was still recording as this was an answer I didn’t want to miss.
“It’s simple. Well I guess not. I have two things I would share. Is that okay?” Paula asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes of course, ten would be fine!” I chuckled.
“Alright. The first is simple. Thoughts become things, choose the good ones. And the second would be; All deliberate change must first come from denying the logic that gives us most comfort, which can be really uncomfortable until of course, there is change.
These are two quotes that I have had on my bedroom wall for the last 15 years. And they have stood true through all the ups and downs in my businesses and my life. You get what you think about most of the time and you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable to get what you want out of life. Simple in word, not so simple to apply. But when applied you can’t put a price on the results.”
- John Smith, Columnist for The Canadian Press
MKMMA- Master Key Master Mind Alliance 