Every year we get asked to post this again and around Mother’s Day, we re-post it.
It’s always ranked in the top 3 of the 100+ blogs we post but today I’m sharing this with you at a different time for a different reason.
I’m on my way from Hawaii to Boston.  My Mom passed away on Saturday.
She did, really, teach me, just like most Moms do, everything I needed to know to be successful at network marketing.
Thanks for stopping by.
Moms and Networkers
Mom doesn’t know anything about Network Marketing, Â I think when she asks me how my business is going.
I think she doesn’t understand it …maybe it’s me that doesn’t understand.
MOM taught me everything I needed to know to build a network marketing business, she gave me network marketing skills.
Mother’s Day. Â Don’t we all feel like we should do a little more all year for Mom?
Would it really kill us to go to Mom’s house and leave the cell phone in the car, have a cup of coffee and just be ‘present’?
Can’t make up for the past, you know, all those times we’re a ‘little too busy’ to just visit?
She was never too busy for me.
Don’t we all feel like we like we could all do a little more recruiting?
Would it really kill us to sit at our desk an hour a night and dial the phone and be ‘present’?
Can’t make up for the past, you know, all those times we were making ourselves ‘little too busy’ to just dial?
Why are we always too busy to actually do the business?
Moms
She encouraged me to dream.
She knew my dreams and encouraged them and me.
She asked me about them.
She found places, like where to get me signed up for Little League, and got me there. So many countless things.
Networkers
We encourage others to dream.
We tell them they have to have a ‘why’.
Tell them to write it down.
Do we know their dreams like Mom knew ours?
Do we find articles, pictures, and events that support them?
After they do write it down, do we ever, like Mom, ask them about it again?
Moms
Mom was a hands-on-teacher. Â Not a school teacher.
She was patient. Â Persistent. Â Insistent.
She never quit when I struggled. Never.
Yeah, she made me read the directions, sit there while I read them… and answered a lot of the same questions over and over.
Asked me if I understood them and then she showed me how to do things right, no matter how many times it took.
She taught me skills.
Am I a hands-on teacher or do I just ‘plug’ them in?
Do I quit on them when they struggle and rationalize it as ‘they don’t want it bad enough’?
Do I make sure they get the directions and make sure they understand them?
Could I be a lot more patient when I have a rep on the phone and they are not ‘up to speed’?
Am I as willing to answer the same questions over and over?
Do I teach skills or just keep selling the dream?
Moms
Mom never quit setting an example of excellence, even when people were not looking.
Never.
She never asked me to do anything she was not doing herself.
She was never a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ Mom.
She never quit on me.
Networking
Do I set an example of excellence?
…even when others are not looking?
Do I dog it and tell others what to do even though I am not doing it myself?
Am I a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ managing MLMer?
Do I quit on myself and others with the lie that tomorrow I will double up?
Moms
My Mom had to quit school and take care of her brothers and sisters when her Mom died.
Got her GED in her 50s.
Went to college, studied hard and graduated with highest honors in her 60s.
She was excused from her finals her last year.
Took them anyway, wanted to test herself.
All A’s, of course.
She knew she’d Ace the tests.
Always prepared. Well in advance.
Pride.
Networkers
Am I staying a student, continuing to grow as a person and learn about people and my trade?
Or am I surfing the web for short cuts?
Do I have pride in my profession and performance or do I look for the easier, softer way and pretend I am ‘working smarter, not harder?’
Am I ready for the daily test of growing a business?
Am I prepared to succeed to the point that I know that I will?
Moms
Manners.
Please and thank you, no elbows the table.
Listen first. Ask for permission to speak, don’t take it.
Respect their needs, forget your wants.
Never talk about people that are not present.
It’s OK to disagree but don’t be disagreeable.
Honesty is the greatest of all manners.
Networkers
Do I have manners?
Do I belittle people mentally or with other reps who do not join?
Do I tell people why I am calling or ‘pretend to be their friend’ so I can use their words against them later to look?
Do I ask if it is OK to tell them about my business?
Am I focused on their needs or just trying to scare them about the future?
Do I listen? Do I take a ‘no’ as graciously as a ‘yes’?
Am I honest?
Moms
She never hesitated to go the extra mile for us.
Never stopped looking for the extra mile.
Networkers
We have a chance to do this for others every day AND get paid for it.
Do we look for it? Â Take it?
Moms
My Mom is 89, legally blind and needs help.
Told her she has 2 choices.
Assisted living or move 6000 miles from Massachusetts to Kauai, HI and live with us.
She’s was living in the town she was born in.
Mom said she was scared. Â Said she’s used to where she lives. Â Knows where everything is and it’s comforting.
She packed and she’s here in Kauai.
Courage. Mom’s have courage.
Picking up the phone takes some courage.  At least we like to pretend it does.
 Not as much as moving 6000 miles to a place you’ve never been to at 89 and blind.
Do I lack courage or am I just lazy? Â Mom’s are not lazy.
Rejection? Mom never accepted any obstacle as a reason to let fear determine her life.
Santa Januszewski will be 89 on October 12, 2010.  
Columbus Day. How appropriate. She still has the guts to explore.
Networking allowed me to step up and doing something special for myself and our Mom.
I wonder how much sooner great things would have happened in the lives of others if I had not made the mistake of thinking Mom knew nothing about Network Marketing?
Like a little boy, I foolishly thought my business was so different that she’d never understand it.
Turns out she knew everything IMPORTANT about it before I was born.
Happy Mother’s Day
UPDATE... 2012. Santa Maria Piccolo moved back up in New England, turned 91, was still checking up to make sure I’m doing the right things and brushing my teeth…
She passed in her sleep at around 4:oo AM Sunday morning, December 1st.  But she created a legacy of right thinking, and I would be remiss if I did not share with you how grateful I am to both the lessons and to network marketing.
You see, while I feel really sad, and that will come and go for a while, I am filled with gratitude for the lessons she taught and networking.  Network marketing gave me a chance to create money and time …and bring her here.
And spend a year, daily conversations about her life.
I had the time. I had the money.
But what made it all happen?
Really?
When I told my Mom what I had as a vision, she looked me dead in the eye and said, as only a tough Italian can do,
“When will you begin?”
believe,
Mark Januszewski
World’s Laziest Networker
Mark,
Your mother was a very beautiful woman and a great influence on you and many others. She helped you to be a better man and you help others to reach their potential – what more can anyone ask?
Take care my friend and accept the warm wishes and condolences that will surely come your way.
Neil
Nice!
Mark,
This just sets the example for all of us. This makes perfect sense. I’m going to save this one to my computer and read it everyday. My daughter see’s what I do. I want her to know exactly what shes going to be doing when she graduates from high school. Thank you so much Mark for your tips!
Cindy Marshall
Thoughts and Prayers for you and your family Mark.
Thank you so much for sharing that. It is so true and will help so many of us in this business. So so sorry for your loss, she was a beautiful lady in and out.
Thanks again Sharla Vincent
Wyoming
Thank you for this! What a wonderful tribute to an awesome mother/network marketer!
Alan
Hi Mark
I’m sorry to hear of your Mom’s passing but glad you get to mark the milestone that it is not only in her life but yours too. My Mom is 84 now and she means to me what I sense your Mom means to you.
Take care – thanks for all your pour into us G90Growers.
Blessings to you and Davene
Jonathan
(The Brit from Oregon!)
Thank you for sharing. My condolences to you and your family.
Mark,
You were very fortunate to have such a wonderful mother for such a long time in your life. No doubt you made her feel very good through your success. She taught you well and she had a good student. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Patrick
What a beautiful story, Mark 😉
It made me really thinking again of our great profession : to be available to our love-ones and people around us, who’s sometimes, suddenly needing help… My mother’s living in Finland, I’m in Belgium. I’m sure to think over my future, to be able to take off if she needs me. Thank you for sharing your story..
Mr Mark J
My deep condolences on demise of your mother.She was an inspiring mother and you are a dutiful son. You got excellant messages from your mother and we caught those messages thru you.MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE
R KRISHNAMOORTHY
Thank you for sharing . God Bless You Mark and your family 😉
Mark I am so glad you were able to spend the time with your Mom. She loved you & is so proud of you. Now you have an angel you know watching over you. Sending prayers of comfort & strength to you & your family
Thank you Mark for sharing your sadness and your gratitude. For me ‘When will you begin?’ is newly every day. Thank you for showing the way.
Hi Mark,
Thank you for sharing. One of the things your mom always knew, we now know…..you are a good son.
God bless
Thank you for sharing those beautiful words! I worship my mother..she is an incredible woman..she has always, and continues to encourage ,teach & support me…I am truly blessed to be her daughter! I am praying for your peace and comfort as you lay your dear mother to rest with the Lord. Thank you again.
Mark — read and felt every word here like it was my own experience with my Mom and her never ending belief, love, guidance and full out support she gave me as well. What a beautiful tribute to your life with Sanata and such a moving and authentic comparison to our role and responsibility as network marketing leaders … to be present with no regrets.
It is wonderful to have such great memories of your Mom. That is truly riches.
Your comments are very inspiring especially when I have never experienced having a mother filled with love, mine was filled with bitterness and hatred. I was the second of three boys, the others she liked but me she hated. I reminded her too much of the man that left her, my real father. All this has inspired me to write my book: “A Fallen Leaf”, how I survived the family built on hatred and denial. I got information about you Mark, reading the blog “The Daily Way Home. Ryfs web site keeps me inspired. I am very happy for you having such a loving mother, you have much to be grateful for and understanding you and what you do is my intent. I want to live, TO LIVE!
Thinking of you and wishing you and your family Peace, Mark. Thank you so much for posting this now; it’s a gift to us all. It seems you really learned to make every day Mother’s Day. By stepping up and doing your work, I believe you gave her the greatest gift a Mom could ever ask for… that living her life with integrity inspired you to do the same. How blessed you both were to have shared your lives with each other.
Mark,
Thank you Mark for allowing us to share in your sadness and gratitude!
Anna
…no words, speechless.
Oh, Mark, it was with joy that I read the tribute to your mother! The things that you learned from her were akin to what I learned from mine, and that I hope I have taught my own children. However, as I started to close the blog, I caught the date and realized that the last post was just this week, and my heart grew heavy. My mother went to be with God in 1993 and there has not been a day that I have not yearned for her physical touch just once more. My dad went to be with her last December, and they are at home together now! May God grant you peace that only He can give…xoxo
Thank you for sharing about your mother’s passing. Your words of gratitude for her life, teaching, and belief in you and the love you have for her comes through your words and praise of her. She will always be in your heart and a part of you as her memory comes to you in the days to come.
Thank you for sharing this with us. Great story. Your Mom is great. My mother is great too. I have had the privilege of getting reacquainted with my Mom as adults this year living together. I left home after high school and have been on my own ever since until this year. I have learned so much and continue to learn so much from her wisdom and experience. She raised all 8 of us as a single mother.
Mark,
Praying for you my friend. Thanks for sharing and touching many lives. My mom passed 2 years ago at 89 years old. Know what you’re feeling.
God Bless,
Scott
My amazing Mark J,
being sad and grateful off and on for a while is being human. If you were not I would think you are an alien.
Mom’s that are our teachers, coaches, nurses, principles, our best and harsh critics, guidance counselors, touchstones, best listeners, our network marketer up team, our angels from heaven teach us one thing…. that we have all the same qualities within ourselves some awaken and some are just awaking to this reality.
People who are able to experience this love in their life time are able to pass on the legacy of love. Those who experience the opposite of love, grow up and realize that they have the love within them and they create the love experience by serving others.
You my Friend, are truly a gift from heaven and your Mom. I was able to have 2 years with my angel and she asked me to celebrate her life not her death. You are doing just that with this blog today!! I thank God, your Mom and you Mark for being alive and able to spread the love!!!
Love you Brother!!
Joe
Dear Mark,
Please accept my condolences. If I would have a chance, I would do it personally (by phone, or face to face) like a human being. But since we live in the digital era and we communicate by putting pixels onto the computer screen most of the time, I am doing it that way. Nevertheless, I do it as a human being.
With every good wish,
Lukasz
Mark, My deepest condolences to you and your family in this time of such great loss. How wonderful it must have been to have your Mom with you in Hawaii and have such quality time & be “present” with her. Thank you for sharing her story with us, what an amazing lady.
Blessings,
Dawn Martin
Thanks for this amazing post Mark J. You like my better half have a amazing heart and your mom was blessed to have had a son like you for sure. Your present role along with your lovely wife and crew is a definite blessing for all of us who are following your teachings that will better our lives in our future. Your mother was your blessing and it shows. Thank you so much sir and we love you!!!
Beloved Mark know you are thought of and prayed for. Thank you for all you do because she still lives through you.
Mark,
What an awesome testimony of your Mother. She is looking down and so proud of you.
May each memory of your Mother be a shining prayer that reaches to the heavens.
The ones we love are never lost…..they live within our heart.
A mother’s love is forever. May your memories bring you comfort and peace of heart. Treasure the year she lived with you as it will bring smiles to your heart.
In love and Sympathy for your loss,
Rita Allaire
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His loved saint” PS116.15
So sorry to hear of your loss. May your many memories of a wonderful life give you some comfort. Sending you my deepest sympathy in these difficult times…
Mary Dickens
Our hearts go out to you and your family. I try to understand what you are going through this moment in your life. You know, when my Grandmother(who raised me) passed away, it felt like part of me died. As time has gone by and healed all wounds, I now carry the best of her inside of me. Like you, I too remember what she taught me, and it brings a smile to my face, it warms my soul. She’s like an ‘Angel’ on my shoulder.
Mark, thank you for sharing what is inside your heart and for all the wise advise you have given us. After what you wrote, I now see where you get it all, you too have an ‘Angel’ on your shoulder.
We love and respect you Mark!
Ferdinand’
Mark,
My heartfelt condolences-
With your help, your dear Mother has become immortal. Thank you so much for sharing her with us!
Warmest regards,
Guy
Mark
My condolences for your lose, best wishes to you and yours god bless
Hi Mark, my deepest condolences on the passing from this life of your incredible mother.Her example was sensational and the great news is that since we’re spirit and spirit is eternal, she lives eternally. May she RIP and blessings to you and your family. Thanks for the incredible good you do My friend.
Thank you for sharing Mark, this tribute to your late Mother is beautiful and wow that photo of her as a young woman she certainly was beautiful. May she rest in Peace. Blessings to you and your family.
Mark, my condolences on the passing of your mother. She certainly made an impression on you. I appreciate all you do and your mothers spirit is reflected in your work. May you and your family find peace in this time of loss.
Well she is certainly a dear person. Reminds me of my Mom. Peace be the Journey. God Bless all Mom’s!!!!!!!!!