Direct Selling Success

Chapter 7 How to Prospect Brilliant Talent

As I hurried out of my house, I stopped to pull out my cell phone, and punched in my mother’s number. Unfortunately, I got her voicemail. So I left the following message:

• “Hello, Mrs. Gage. I just want you to know that your son is on his way to have lunch with the president of the United States. Love you, bye.”

My mom raised three kids, by herself, knocking on doors, selling Avon products. And this was back in the day. Not like today, where someone takes a catalog into their office and asks their coworkers if they want to order anything, or they post catchy memes on Instagram. My mom went house by house, apartment by apartment, literally knocking on doors to support her three kids.

I wish I could tell you that I appreciated my mother’s effort at the time and understood the sacrifices she made to take care of us. But that would be a lie. Finding my purpose and how I wanted to live my life was a tortuous process, for both her and me. I was a teenage alcoholic and drug addict, which led to a lot of poor choices. Things came to a head when I celebrated my 16th birthday in jail, awaiting trial for armed robbery.

I was fortunate to have people who cared for me and reached out to help, allowing me to alter the trajectory of my life. So in 2012, when I left her that message, it was for one simple reason. I wanted her to be proud of who she was and what she had done for me.

Any time I face a difficult decision these days, I stop to take a ...