Hello, all you ntwrkrs! It’s truly a delight to be here, sharing valuable insights with you. I am thrilled to be a part of this incredible book and to connect with amazing ladies from all corners of the world. It’s a privilege to be sharing my experiences with you, and my chapter, It’s All About Discipline: 7 Daily Practices That Create the Foundation For Success, is all about the topic of—yes, you guessed it—discipline!

If you’re reading this book, it’s evident that you aspire to achieve success. Perhaps, like me, you desire it to happen quickly, but it’s critical that you don’t achieve that success at the expense of other vital aspects of your life. My journey in Network Marketing has taught me the importance of balancing success at work with success in other key areas of life. But to do this, you must remain in control of all parts of your life, and self-discipline is the key.

Early in my career, I began watching documentary films featuring successful individuals. Their stories inspired me as I navigated the challenges of this profession! In most of these documentaries, I found that a common theme emerged: despite consistent successes or windfalls of good luck, every time a successful person abandoned self-discipline in one area, things went terribly wrong. Marriages crumbled, health deteriorated, and other challenges crept in quietly until they became catastrophic, threatening to steal all the prosperity they had built for themselves. And, as you might imagine, the opposite was also true. When they exercised discipline and focus in other areas besides their careers, their businesses grew and thrived. In this chapter, we will explore seven daily discipline practices that form the foundation for lasting success. 

You might be wondering, what does she know about discipline, anyway? Well, four years ago, I faced one of the most challenging periods of my life. Having just completed nursing school, I learned about a job opportunity at a major hospital in Romania. Even though I already had a master’s degree in European economics, I truly wanted to help people through nursing, and I found this position to be a perfect fit for my life and ambitions.

I locked myself in, studied diligently, and aced the hospital’s application exam with an impressive score. I was certain the hospital position was mine, but to my dismay, they didn’t offer it to me! When I inquired why I hadn’t been hired, the manager told me point blank: you’re not good enough. And even though all the evidence said otherwise, the rejection hit me hard and sent me into a deep depression. Additional job hunting in the nursing field proved fruitless. At one point, I even considered returning to my previous work in European economics.

As it turned out, life had other plans for me. I learned that it’s not how far you fall, it’s how high you bounce! Network Marketing entered my life, and even though I had never imagined finding career success outside a traditional full-time job, I achieved the title of manager within just one month. On top of that, I earned three times more than the hospital job would have paid me! By my third month in this new profession, I was able to bring my husband back home from his job abroad because my Network Marketing income exceeded his. I couldn’t believe that in that short span of time, I went from entry-level to director! Now, after four years, I’m second in my company in Romania, leading a team of over 30,000 members.

But my journey was far from easy. I started in a state of depression, had no prior experience in Network Marketing, and I faced health challenges that left me physically exhausted and emotionally drained. Yet, through self-discipline, I achieved success! Network Marketing answered many of my prayers, but only because I learned that success should not come at the expense of other aspects of life.

We often perceive discipline of any kind as something difficult and complicated, but it’s quite the opposite—it can simplify life and accelerate success. Self-discipline serves as the bridge between setting goals and achieving them. After all, in this modern life, it’s difficult for anyone to stay focused and achieve results amid life’s myriad challenges. Especially for women! As you read on, I want you to consider the following: Discipline will take you where motivation alone cannot. 

My professional experiences are full of examples where the simple solution of discipline came to the rescue. In my team, I’ve encountered various challenges like illness, personal loss, and family issues within my community. But after I imparted the importance of discipline, they found fortitude which enabled them to maintain unwavering determination in the face of adversity. 

As we journey together through these specific topics, it’s important to remember a few things about self-discipline: first, that it is a continuous journey and a daily choice. It’s not a one-and-done thing! Second, grace and compassion are essential. Yes, ambition is commendable, but never forget that people matter more than any achievement or accolade—and that includes you! Without self-compassion to accompany your self-discipline, you risk running yourself into the ground and you are also not able to fully enjoy your wins. And without grace for your team, you’ll miss out on the loyalty that comes from showing empathy to others during difficult times.

In this chapter, we’ll delve into the seven disciplines that can transform your life: physical discipline, educational discipline, spiritual discipline, communication discipline, emotional discipline, time discipline, and moral discipline. 

Are you ready to dive in? Let’s get started!

Physical Discipline

First, we’re going to talk about taking disciplined action to protect your body. Your body is the vessel you move through life in, and keeping it strong will enable you to excel in all areas. Don’t fall into the trap of being overworked and burning out! Instead, strive for a balance between work and rest. 

Did you know that chaotic sleep cycles can turn an otherwise positive person into someone who sees the world through a glass-half-empty lens? I experienced this myself after the birth of my first child. At the time, I was working a full-time job. To make sure I had enough time to fit in both new motherhood and work, I neglected my own needs. I skipped meals, I didn’t sleep, and I let myself become completely stressed without carving out time to take care of myself. This went on for too long, and as a result, I developed a thyroid disease. 

I became depressed and unhealthy, losing weight to a dangerous point. It got so bad that I had to quit my job, and a long healing period took place afterward. I promised myself I’d never let that happen again—and if you’re struggling with overloading your physical health to the point of illness or burnout, I want you to take the following action steps:

1. Find a way to reconnect with your body. Sometimes when we’re stressed, we forget to check in with our bodies to truly understand how we feel. But simple exercises like deep breathing, stretching, or other slow movements can help us to notice where tensions persist or pain is trying to get our attention.
2. Prioritize your physical health as much as your business. Making sure to set aside equal amounts of time for your work and your physical health will ensure that you stay healthy and balanced. Don’t just assume that you’ll remember—actually schedule time in your day for it!
3. Reserve time to recover from stressful situations. No one can prevent stressful situations from happening in life. If you’re alive, they’re almost guaranteed! But what you can do is ensure that before you dive right back into your regular routines, you give yourself a time buffer to get back to baseline. Remember, no one can pour from an empty cup!

Educational Discipline

This one is very important, especially in Network Marketing. Constant learning keeps you engaged, challenges you, and expands your skillset in this ever-changing profession. I always say that anyone who gets to a certain level in Network Marketing can change careers easily—after all, they’ve learned so many skills that can cross over into other industries.

Remember, though, that learning requires time and patience. Just because you learn a new skill, don’t expect instant results! To excel, you must practice, persist, and adapt your strategies as you learn and grow. This discipline is ultimately about adding value to yourself first so you can share it with others. I like to think of it like water from a fresh spring. When the water is constantly flowing, it’s so refreshing to take a nice cool drink! So, keep the knowledge flowing into yourself, and then pass it on to your team.

Educational discipline can also boost your motivation and enthusiasm. I remember when I joined Instagram nearly two years after starting my career in Network Marketing. At first, it was so frustratingly hard for me to grasp that I gave up on that social media platform completely. But later, I started following other content creators and learning from them about how to use it. I started believing in myself, and soon, I was using Instagram exclusively as my recruiting tool! I even had social media influencers joining my team because they were excited about the content I was creating. 

If I’d given up after my first attempt, I would never have found this kind of success, or been able to pass the information on to my team. And I’ve continued adding social media skills like TikTok and video editing—I’m “keeping the water fresh” for me and my team with continuous learning.

And don’t forget, education without action is fruitless! I’ve seen people attend Zoom meetings and in-person trainings to gain education and skill, but they think it stops there and the results just automatically show up. But they never get results! I like to tell my team that leveling up is 30% education and 70% action. It’s only through this action that your new skills pay off! Here are my tips to achieve educational discipline:

1. Discover what you don’t know. Do a deep dive into your profession’s most successful earners and identify three things they’re doing to grow their business that you don’t know how to do yet. 
2. Find the resources, gain the skills, and jump in. Sometimes this can be as simple as watching a YouTube video, practicing the skill, and launching it out into the world! Other times, you’ll find a steeper learning curve and you may need to buy a course or hire a coach. Either way, accept the challenge and persevere through the challenges and the impostor syndrome! Because education without action won’t get you anywhere.
3. Share your newfound knowledge with your team. Remember, you’ll empower your team to do amazing things if you directly share your knowledge and skills with them. This is how you find success at scale!

Spiritual Discipline

This section is all about building character and empowering yourself to perform in alignment with who you really are. To succeed in Network Marketing, you must connect with people genuinely, and this requires working on your spiritual side to foster qualities like kindness, empathy, and inner peace. We have a saying in Romania, “First, be human.” Success is not just about numbers or achievement; it’s about caring for people. And if you can do this, people will stay with you for a lifetime.

Proverbs 19:22 says, “What is desired in a man is kindness.” And I’m positive that I have earned more success, trust, and loyalty from being kind to others than anything else. To do this, however, you must be spiritually strong, and this boils down to resilience, peace, and an innate ability to reduce the “emotional size” of the situations you’re thrown into with other people. 

You might be wondering, how do you achieve spiritual strength? Well, just as with our bodies and nutrition, what you feed yourself spiritually influences your actions and character. Your input—thoughts, efforts, and choices—directly impacts your results! Engaging in practices like prayer and mindfulness will allow you to stay calm under pressure and maintain clarity in decision making so that you can keep people at the forefront of your business.

Alexander the Great requested that when he died, his hands were positioned to hang outside his coffin so that passersby could see that no matter how much success you had on earth, you couldn’t take your riches with you. The good news is that you can leave a lasting legacy of the kind of person you were while you lived. And yes, financial success is wonderful to have, but without empathy, kindness, and genuine relationships, it’s all for nothing.

I remember early in my Network Marketing career, I called up a team member who I thought could be performing better. I was very driven to achieve a new level at my company, so I didn’t even ask her how she was doing before I dove into a speech to motivate her to sell and recruit.

What I didn’t realize was that she had been in the hospital and was about to undergo a very invasive surgery. When I found this out, I felt terrible. I hadn’t even considered her personal life; I was only worried about my own career results. Since that day, I have made it a priority to put people and their humanness first, and my business ambitions second. Spiritual discipline keeps me grounded in service to others, so here are my tips to achieve this state of mind:

1. Clarify your spiritual beliefs. You need to understand what is meaningful to you so that you can establish your spiritual practices accordingly.
2. Free yourself from the bad and be filled by the good. If your time is taken up by bad habits, gossip, and immoral behavior, there won’t be room for the good things in life!
3. Remember: What goes in comes out. Keep yourself spiritually fit by putting together a routine for your spiritual practices. Make it as consistent as brushing your teeth! Choosing to put good things into your mind and spirit will result in amazing results.

Communication Discipline

Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful business, especially in Network Marketing. And it’s a dynamic skill that evolves over time—it must be worked on constantly! Communication discipline is about expressing your thoughts clearly by avoiding unnecessary details, delivering your message in a straightforward manner, and the ability to handle feedback gracefully, adjusting your tone and message based on context or audience. 

Developing this discipline is important for nurturing positive relationships, avoiding misunderstandings, and of course, achieving effective collaboration in both personal or professional settings. It’s also critical to use your sense of empathy to put yourself in someone else’s shoes so you can understand and acknowledge their feelings, concerns, and perspectives.

It’s also important that you don’t sound scripted! Authentic communication is the best way to connect with people, and you can customize and compliment as needed, depending on who you’re talking to. I don’t mean that you should be fake or superficial—I just mean that you should be sensitive enough to know who you’re talking to, and you should get a sense of what they most enjoy talking about.

In my own team, new recruits often ask me for a standard text to send to new prospects. They think that copy/pasting a text could convince someone to join their team, or that there is a magic formula that works for everyone! They hope that cold messaging a person on social media about business, without being personal first, will work. But it won’t!

This is why it’s so important to personalize each message. You only have one opportunity to catch that person’s attention and win their trust, so remember: a follow-up message will always help your recruitment efforts. I recommend following up after two days, then two weeks, and then two months. 

Once, I received a message from a man who made his money—and a lot of it—from selling an online course without investing in ads. I was so curious about his strategy, and I noticed that one of his secrets was a very good follow-up technique. I took note of this and made sure to incorporate it into my own strategy!

I’ll pause here to remind you that communication discipline is also about reaching out to people even if you’re scared to. It can certainly feel intimidating, but it’s by overcoming this fear that we open the doors to new possibilities and connections. So, if you want to get better in the area of communication, here’s what I suggest you do:

1. Work on yourself. Develop your listening skills, and know when and how to communicate, as well as when to refrain from communication. Practice empathy and understand different viewpoints, even in challenging situations.
2. Don’t just copy/paste messages. Instead, learn how to make strong, personalized messages that speak to the human on the other end of the platform! Don’t lead cold messaging with business talk—lead with personal talk. Don’t think because you reach out once you are done. Follow up is key!
3. Get out of their inbox and into their life. Remember, your potential customers’ inboxes are crowded! Break through the noise by creating personal connections outside of email.

Emotional Discipline

This discipline involves the ability to manage and control your emotions in a constructive way instead of letting them take over your life! By developing emotional discipline, you can navigate challenging situations without becoming overwhelmed by your emotions. It will also allow you to empathize with others, communicate effectively, and build positive relationships.

Remember that in Network Marketing, you’ll often encounter rejection or objections from potential customers, recruits, friends, or family. These moments can be challenging, but emotional discipline helps you handle them with grace. When someone refuses to join your team or expresses negativity about Network Marketing, it’s all the more important to maintain your emotional composure.

I remember a certain family member who was initially very resistant to Network Marketing. But when I heard her skepticism, instead of reacting emotionally, I remained composed and patient. Over time, her perspective shifted, and she eventually became highly successful in the business! This is a testament to the power of emotional discipline and the importance of handling objections with professionalism and understanding.

In addition, maintaining a balance between your business and personal life is essential for your emotional well-being. I’ve seen team members’ marriages fall apart when they neglect their loved ones due to their dedication to the business. It’s vital to prioritize your relationships and ensure that those you care about feel your love and attention. Remember, your loved ones can provide critical, loving support during challenging times! To master emotional discipline, I invite you to:

1. Practice composure and consideration when you’re met with criticism. Stay graceful when others aren’t and keep a smile on your face. You never know what kind of day someone else has had, or when their opinion on you or your business will change.
2. Remember that your team members are not copies of you. Each member of your team is a unique individual, and your team is made up of diverse personalities, situations, and communication styles.
3. Balance your work and your relationships. Your emotional well-being is tied to your relationships outside of work, so make sure they’re getting the attention they need. Success in your business alone does not make a complete life!

Time Discipline

Time discipline is another key aspect of Network Marketing success. It involves managing and utilizing your time effectively to achieve your goals. And though it may sound simple enough, many aspiring Network Marketers come into this profession with high expectations but fail when they don’t invest sufficient time in their business. They don’t understand that they have to treat Network Marketing like a job, where commitment and time management are essential!

To use your time wisely, focus on activities that genuinely contribute to your business’s growth. Sometimes, this means working on tasks that may not be your favorites but are necessary for success. Remember: busy does not mean productive!

Let’s say you are spending hours a day creating makeup how-to videos for social media. You might enjoy the work, and you might even be really great at it—but if it’s not getting you new recruits or driving traffic to your sales pages, then it’s not a good use of your time!

And, similarly to our discussion regarding emotional discipline, it’s critical to strike a balance between work and your personal relationships, it’s also necessary to keep harmony between your business and personal life. Set boundaries around when you work, prioritize self-care, and allocate time for the activities you love to do. To begin practicing time discipline in your life, do the following:

1. Set realistic expectations for the time you need to invest to achieve your financial goals. If you need help, talk to your upline about how much time you should allocate based on the results you want to see!
2. Examine the results of your actions regularly. Even if you love the work you’re doing, be brutally honest about how it’s impacting your business. If your current approach is not yielding the desired outcomes, be willing to admit that, and then adapt and change. 
3. Commit to consistently showing up for yourself. All the effort, scheduling, and software tools in the world won’t make a difference if you don’t actually show up and do the work. Keep your promises to yourself and your business!

Moral Discipline

Lastly, moral discipline is about adhering to a set of ethical principles and values in your thoughts, actions, and decisions. It’s about consistently choosing the right path, even when it’s challenging. Leaders with strong moral discipline demonstrate integrity, honesty, and a sense of responsibility in everything they do.

And while it’s common to talk about doing what’s right and honorable when times are challenging, it’s also important to talk about remaining humble and ethical in the wake of success. Sometimes, you can become so successful that it’s tempting to exploit people for personal gain—but focusing on helping people genuinely will attract people to you and reflect positively on your leadership.

Remember to lead with your heart in this business, with positive intentions and genuine care for people. At times, this can be difficult, especially if you’ve been involved in Network Marketing companies that have toxic cultures. Once, I had a woman join my team from another Network Marketing company where unhealthy competition was the way team members were motivated. Meanness, pettiness, and gossip were on the menu, it seemed, and no one was working to squash those poisonous habits. 

She dove into my team believing that we were the same way, and I had to gently redirect her away from what she had known for years. Before long, though, she saw that our intentions were pure, and we ran our business with honesty and integrity. Realizing we were different made her fall in love with our team and company, and she has been a loyal member ever since. 

But how do you maintain moral discipline? Part of the solution lies in staying away from those who do not have it. Choose the people you surround yourself with carefully and address any immoral behavior in your team. After all, it’s easy to be morally corrupted when you’re surrounded by people who are struggling with moral discipline. And upholding your morals requires constant self-reflection, understanding your values, and aligning your behavior with ethical principles. To establish and maintain moral discipline, I suggest the following:

1. Examine your motivations for everything you’re currently doing. Be honest with your findings: are you exploiting people for your own personal gain? If so, shift your focus to helping and caring for others, and your success will follow.
2. Work on your own virtues every day. Find people, books, and other resources that highlight ways to develop yourself into a moral leader.
3. Be aware of temptations that come your way, and practice resisting them. Each time we resist the temptation to become morally corrupt, either through immoral people or immoral behaviors, our moral strength and fortitude increase.

So, ntwrkrs, there you have it! 

Discipline is the driving force behind Network Marketing success. It takes you to places that motivation alone can’t reach. By cultivating physical, educational, spiritual, communication, emotional, time, and moral discipline, you’ll not only achieve success but also become an inspirational leader who positively impacts your team and the Network Marketing industry as a whole. So, stay disciplined, stay inspired, and continue your journey to success!