MKMMA – Week 17: Great Opportunities in Disguise

“I have been given eyes to see and a mind to think and now I know a great secret of life for I perceive, at last, that all my problems, discouragements, and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise.” – Greatest Salesman in the World, chapter 11.

Over a week ago I had a big jolt. I received a call from my Nikken upline leader, Reid Nelson, telling me that he was leaving Nikken. This is a man who has been in Nikken for 20 years, a Royal Diamond earning a very large income in Nikken. He said Nikken was going in a direction that he didn’t like. It’s true that Nikken is changing. You have to adapt as the world changes or you will be left behind. The changes are best for the majority of the distributors, and especially for customers. For whatever reason, he is gone and I was slightly tempted to go with him. There were several people between him and me but all in between were not very active and I relied on him. I never thought he would leave.

I had to decide how I would react. Would I be resentful and bitter? No. Would I be able to succeed without Reid? Yes. This would make me stronger. Would I quit and join some other company? No. I’ve been with Nikken 15 years and I’m loyal. I love Nikken.  I remembered what Og said in GS in the World. This is a great opportunity in disguise. That evening was hard, emotionally, working through it. The next day I had decided that in reality, Reid leaving was a good thing and it was good that he had left.

In the previous months, since doing the MKMMA and working on getting my business going, I had been contemplating a lot who I would choose to be my mentor. Reid was certainly qualified, and willing, but with the changes in Nikken, I had the feeling that Reid wasn’t on board and I wanted someone else. I wanted to focus more on customer acquisition, where I felt to him, it would play a small role, even though he said that the changes only meant taking better care of customers. I felt like we all needed to be united and if Reid wasn’t then Nikken wouldn’t grow as much. Not only had he left, but several leaders in his downline, as well. Somehow, I knew it would all work out.

On Tuesday, the global president of Nikken, Ben Woodward, held a special call for all of Nikken. Without going into everything that he said, he said that he believed in the new model so much that he would be stepping down as president and becoming a field leader and be a mentor and help to all the consultants starting February 1. He would be an upline to most people in North America, South America and Europe, taking the spot that was left behind by Reid. So, soon I will have a new upline leader in Ben. I am thrilled.  I like Ben. I’m glad that he knows me. He is one of the best, having been a successful leader in Nikken before he became a corporate leader.

Not only that, I learned yesterday that a leader in my upline that had been inactive in Nikken was now active and is excited about the changes, so I’ll have someone else to help me and work with. There are plenty of others not in my direct line willing to help, but I feel better about staying in my direct line.

Good things do come out of problems, discouragements, and heartaches are great opportunities in disguise. I look forward to working with these great men, and to my future.