I actually got involved in Amway years and years ago when I had a very bad week as a Realtor®. Three customers had tanked on me in one week, and I’d been working with all of them for months. Amway was presented as an alternative to real estate, and I bit.

While Amway did not end up making me the money I had imagined, it did teach me a lot about how to look at my business and my life. At that time, Amway recommended a path to success that included three things: ‘books, tapes, and functions’.

Here is what they meant. Books – they recommended a book each month. That book was something like a Napoleon Hill or a Dale Carnegie or an Og Mandino; books that had something to offer that would make you a better person.

Next, was tapes. At that time (pre-CD days) you were supposed to subscribe to the tape-of-the-week. Each tape was made by someone more experienced in the business and listening to them provided training for becoming better at your (Amway) job.

Finally, functions. There were weekly meetings, monthly meetings and great big out of town meetings. They were educational, but their real purpose was to put you in touch with positive people who were moving on in their lives.

While I only stuck with Amway for a few years, I carried the philosophy into my real estate career. To this day I continue to read books that will help me understand myself and others and help me be a better person.

I continue to take advantage of opportunities to learn more about real estate and stay on top of the business and become better at what I do.

Finally, I learned that it was better to be around positive people than negative ones. Those friends who are always complaining about life and how unfair things are, yet do nothing to change their lives for the better – I don’t hang with them any more. I prefer to be with people who get up each day and believe they can make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.

So while Amway didn’t make me rich in the sense I had expected, it actually made me richer in a far greater way. I know that I have become a better person and Realtor® because of it.

Posted by: Crissie Cudd, Manager, Watson Realty, Southside Office