Choosing Character Over Reputation in Business
Every marketer says they have integrity right up until it costs them a sale. Dave Wood spent seven years failing in network marketing before he ever made real money, and what he found on the other side of that failure was a room full of people asking how to suck as much money out of a crowd as possible. He picked a different path, and he’s been keeping score on it ever since. Here’s the episode.
I want to start today’s episode by repeating one of my favorite quotes, from a mentor of mine and also a best-selling author, Orrin Woodward, as he’s discussing the transformative power of resolutions. He says, resolve to choose character over reputation anytime they conflict. This idea really resonated with me personally, because of some of the experiences I’ve had working with people over the years since I started marketing online in 2009.
Character Over Reputation
One of my favorite quotes in the book is from a writer named Orrin who wrote a book called The Closet Journey. What does Orrin really mean by this? Well, I go back to a quote from my father growing up. My dad used to say this: you don’t do the right thing because you get something, you do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. And if you do the right thing with the right intentions, you’re always going to be blessed. While character is nice and all, you might be wondering, okay, so I do the right thing, I got it, my dad said that too, or maybe your mom said that, or maybe they both did. So how can I make money by having character? Great question, right?
Well, to help you understand the power of intentions, let me share some personal stories with you. I got started working in the network marketing profession originally in 2002, and I failed miserably for most of the next seven years, only having a minor success, and I mean minor. From 2006, 2007, that was in a company named Agile Enterprises, run by a friend of mine named Glenn Jensen, who I still keep in contact with today. Those seven years, where I wasn’t creating all the freedom and riches that I wanted, were some of the best learning experiences of my entire life. They were lessons that now have paid me millions and millions of dollars, and helped me do $195 million in sales online. For example, over that seven-year period, I was only introduced to traditional network marketers who really cared about their teams.
I didn’t know how blessed I was during that time, doing business with people I could totally, completely trust, until I started working on the internet in 2009, and I was exposed to the self-centered, opportunistic attitudes in a lot of the internet marketing crowd. Now, don’t think I don’t love the great marketers and the gurus I know. A ton of internet marketers are awesome, ethical, incredible people, knowledgeable, and they really make a lot of money by helping their customers win, like I do. But I’ve also had the learning experience of meeting literal straight scam artists who will do anything in their power to get someone to buy something they never even plan on delivering, and they know the person doesn’t even need it. When I first met people like that in 2009, I just didn’t get it at all, because I was raised in a good family with no abuse, no violence, good values, and I have good relationships with my parents. So when I ran into someone with a complete lack of that, to be totally honest, I didn’t understand it.
Exploiters and Producers
So when I got started online, I remember going to my first event. It was a crowd of marketers I’d met, that I’d started making money with. They taught me a lot. And I remember being backstage, and the owner of this company pulled us together in a small group, and he said this: “So how can we suck as much money from this room as possible?” Now, don’t get me wrong, I like making money a lot, like we all do. It’s one of the reasons I’m making this video, to help you get rich the right way if you want to. It’s just that I went to the event to train people and help them succeed, and I didn’t need the money. I didn’t get the weird attitude they had about it.
So when I read this chapter of Resolved, I want to challenge you, as you’re watching this, to make a personal resolution with me for yourself and the way that you market, the way that you sell, the way that you run your life, and that’s to resolve to choose character over reputation anytime they conflict, from this moment forward. It’s going to pay you way more money if you do that. There are times when doing the right thing has cost me millions of dollars, and I’ve done it anyway. There are times when I’ve gone long periods without making money, and I’ve stuck to my vision, I’ve stuck to what I said I’d do, regardless of what’s going on around me. And the best part is that choosing to do the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do, has always actually, truthfully paid me way more than any other way of doing things, even when it didn’t look like I was going to make more money at the start.
There are three principles Orrin covers in his book, taught by John Wooden, that should be burned into all of our hearts and minds. But I have a better way of phrasing them. If we do these three things, the internet would be a totally different place than what you’ve seen. Wooden says it like this. Number one, never lie. Number two, never cheat. Number three, never steal. I like to change the framing on things to be more congruent with positive internal representations that create a powerful and successful life. So my reframe on John Wooden’s laws is, first, always tell the truth. Second, always act in a way that’s congruent with your values and who you are. Third, always earn your money by giving the market more value than you’re ever paid.
If you follow these three frames, you’re going to be a better person, and you’ll be wildly and unusually successful over your entire life, not just right now. You may even get rich now, get rich quick, if you could believe that or not. There’s an interesting quote from Jack Canfield, the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and it says this: the belief that you and your abilities are not good enough to get what you want, and the false belief that you can’t handle the consequences of people knowing the truth about you, is simply another way of saying, I’m not good enough. My reframe for that is this: telling the truth is a product of a powerful self-esteem. So choose to have the belief that you and your abilities are more than enough to create your dream lifestyle and chosen relationships. Because when people know the truth about you, they’re going to love you, because you are good enough, you are powerful enough. And you know what happens when you’re transparent and honest about who you are? People pull out their credit card. Lots of people buy from you because they trust you, and I’ll tell you why, because you are good enough to create the life that you want. We’re all flawed, and we make mistakes, and when we’re humble and when we admit them, people know we’re real people, just like them.
Another concept I took to heart from chapter two of Resolved is the difference between exploiters and producers. Orrin Woodward says there are only two distinct paths a person can take in his life. He can either choose to produce results through performance, or search for ways to exploit other people’s production. So they can choose to exploit or produce. What will you choose? We’re always going to win over time, and bigger, by giving value in exchange for money. If we seek to always give more value than the money we ask for in return, it creates what’s called reciprocity, that comes back to us multiplied. Our environment around us is a product of who we are and the value we’re willing to give. And anytime I’ve seen someone earn or receive more than the value they’re giving, this is a warning, their income collapses back to who they actually are and what they’re given. So if you want to earn more money, give more value. Really simple formula, right? And give more value by deciding you are going to become better and step into a life of character. Do what you say you’re going to do, because you’re more than enough. In fact, I believe better than enough. One time I heard a quote that said, whatever you think you are, you’re always more than that.
Human beings like you are amazing. Remember that you’re good enough to tell the truth. You’re good enough to be transparent. Choose the path to your future by being honest and giving value in the marketplace. Solve people’s problems. It’s a better way.
Full episode transcript
Lightly edited from the original recording — fillers removed, nothing added. Income disclaimer.
Hey there, my friend. It's Dave Wood. And today I'm going to help you to get a little bit richer by experiencing episode two of The Daily Shortcut. If you pay close attention to this episode, you're going to learn how to build a massive residual income online and real-time freedom without any scheming gimmicks. So you can build a business while you have life at the same time in a faster and also more powerful way.
You're going to learn how to create trust, how to build lifelong relationships, and create tens of thousands of loyal customers who come to you hungry and willing to buy from you. I'm going to give you what I call daily shortcuts to create more powerful relationships, attract better customers to you, and have a better lifestyle at the same time. This is my gift to you for watching this episode as my way of saying thank you. I want to start today's episode by repeating one of my favorite quotes by a mentor of mine and also best-selling author. Warren Woodward, as he's discussing the transformative power of resolutions, he says, resolved to choose character over reputation anytime they conflict.
This idea really resonated with me personally because of some of the experiences I've had in working with people over the years since I started marketing online in 2009. Today you're going to learn a better way if you pay attention and you implement The Daily Shortcut with your free audio, PDF workbook, and action. Alright, let's get into it! One of my favorite quotes in the book is from a writer named William Oren who wrote this book called The Closet Journey. What does Oren really mean by this?
Well, I go back to a quote from my father growing up. My dad used to say this. You don't do the right thing because you get something. You do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. And if you do the right thing with the right intentions, you're always going to be blessed.
While character is nice and all, you might be wondering, okay, so do the right thing? I got it. My dad said that, too. Or maybe your mom said that. Or maybe they both did.
So, how can I… make money by having character? Great question, right? Well, to help you understand the power of powerful intentions, let me share some personal stories with you. I got started working in the network marketing or the direct sales profession originally in 2002, and I failed miserably for most of the next seven years, only having a minor success. And I mean minor.
From 2006, 2007, that was in a company named Agile Enterprises. It was ran by a friend of mine named Glenn Jensen, who I still keep in contact with today. Those seven years where I wasn't creating all the freedom and riches that I want were some of the best learning experiences of my entire life. For example, over that seven-year period, this is an example of a learning, I was only introduced to traditional network marketers who really cared about their teams. I didn't know how blessed that I was during that time doing business with people I could totally, completely trust until I started working on the internet in 2009, and I was exposed to the self-centered, opportunistic attitudes in a lot of the internet marketing crowd.
Now, don't think I don't love the great marketers and the gurus I know. A ton of internet marketers, they're awesome, they're ethical, they're awesome, incredible people, knowledgeable. They really make a lot of money by helping their customers win, like I do. I've also had the learning experience of meeting literal straight scam artists who will do anything in their power to get someone to buy something they never even plan on delivering, and they know the person doesn't even need. When I first met people like that in 2009, I just didn't get it at all.
Why? Because I was raised in a good family with no abuse, no violence, good values, and I have good relationships with my parents. So, I ran into someone who had a complete lack of desire, to be totally honest. I actually didn't understand it. So, I get started online.
I remember going to my first event. It was a crowd of marketers that I'd met, that I'd started making money with, right? They taught me a lot. And I remember being backstage, and the owner of this company, they pulled us together in a small group, and he said this. He said, so how can we suck as much money from this room as possible?
Now, don't get me wrong. I like making money a lot like we all do. It's one of the reasons I'm making this video to help you get rich the right way if you want to, right? It's just that I went to the event to train people and help them succeed, and I didn't need the money. I didn't get the weird attitude they had about it.
So, when I'm reading this chapter of Resolved, and I want to challenge you as you're watching this to make a personal resolution with me for yourself and the way that you market, the way that you sell, the way that you run your life, and that's to resolve. To choose character over reputation anytime they conflict from this moment forward. And it's going to pay you way more money if you do that. There are times when doing the right thing has cost me millions of dollars, and I've done it anyways. There are times when I've gone long periods of time without making money, and I've stuck to my vision.
I've stuck to what I said I'd do, regardless of what's going on around me. And the best part is that choosing to do the right thing, because it's the right thing to do, has always actually, truthfully, paid me way more than any other way of doing things, even when it didn't look like I was going to make more money at the start. There are three principles Oren covers in his book. They're taught by John Wooden that should be burned into all of our hearts and minds. But I have a better way of phrasing them.
I'm going to give you in a second. If we do these three things, the internet would be a totally different place than what you've seen. Wooden says it like this. Number one, never lie. Number two, never cheat.
Number three, never steal. I like to change the framing on things to be more congruent with positive internal representations that create a powerful and successful life. So my reframe on John Wooden's laws are, first, always tell the truth. Second, always act in a way that's congruent with your values and who you are. Third, always earn your money by giving the market more value than you're ever paid.
If you follow these three rules, you're going to be a better person. If you follow these three frames of John Wooden's laws, you'll be wildly and unusually successful over your entire life, not just right now. And you may even get rich now. You might get rich quick, if you could believe that or not. Now, because people want to pull out their credit card and buy things from leaders who resolve to have character like you, that's why you should do it.
There's an interesting quote from Jack Canfield. He's the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. And it says this, The belief that you and your abilities, they're not good enough to get what you want. The false belief that you can't handle the consequences of people knowing the truth about you, which is simply another way of saying, I'm not good enough. Well, it's a pretty good saying, right?
My reframe for that, though, is this. Telling the truth is a product of a powerful self-esteem. So choose to have the belief that you and your abilities, are more than enough to create your dream lifestyle and chosen relationships. Because when people know the truth about you, they're going to love you because you are good enough. You are powerful enough.
And you know what happens when you're transparent and honest about who you are. Do you know? People pull out their credit card. Lots of people buy from you because they trust you. And I'll tell you why.
Because you are good enough to create the life that you want. We're all flawed and we make mistakes when, and when we're humble and when we admit them, people know we're real people, people just like them. Another concept that I took to heart from chapter two of Resolved is the difference between exploiters and producers. Oren Woodward says this, he says, there are only two distinct paths a person can take in his life. He can either choose to produce results through performance or search for ways to exploit other people's production.
So they can choose, to exploit or produce. What will you choose? We're always going to win over time and bigger by giving value in exchange for money. If we seek to always give more value than the money we ask for in return, it creates what's called reciprocity from the divine that comes back to us multiplied. Our environment around us is a product of who we are and the value we're willing to give.
And anytime I've seen someone earn or receive more than the value they're getting, this is a warning. Their income has collapsed back to who they actually are and what they're given. So if you want to earn more money, give more value. Really simple formula, right? And give more value by deciding you are going to become better and step into a life of character.
Do what you say you're going to do because you're more than enough. In fact, I believe better than enough. One time I heard a quote that said this, it said, whatever you think you are, you're always more than that. Now that's a belief. It's exciting, right?
Human beings like you are amazing. Remember that you're good enough to tell the truth. You're good enough to be transparent. Choose the path to your future by being honest and giving value in the marketplace. Solve people's problems.
It's a better way. Thank you for tuning in to episode two of The Daily Shortcut and paying attention carefully to this episode. I want to empower you to powerfully grasp and implement these ideas to create a better business. More powerful lifestyle at the same time. And it's my gift to you for attending today's show.
I've prepared three powerful shortcuts for you on the next page that will help you discover yourself more deeply and make decisions that will create a more powerful future. Daily Shortcut number one, with the help of our amazing team, we've created a PDF workbook of today's lesson. It will help you take these ideas and directly implement them into your business and life. In addition to that, you'll receive a printable PDF of today's lesson. It will help you take these ideas and directly implement them into your business and life.
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