I served an LDS mission from 2004 - 2006 in Concepcion, Chile. If you're not familiar with the LDS church that means that at the age of 19 I moved to and lived in Chile for 2 years with the sole purpose of sharing my religious beliefs with the people there.
I learned Spanish and had a ton of great experiences. Most importantly, I met a lot of wonderful people during those 2 years but since I have been home (over 10 years) it has been difficult to maintain contact with most of them. Recently I discovered that a Chilean missionary that had served alongside me in Chile had moved to Utah not long ago with his wife and 2 kids (let's call him Dave for privacy reasons). When I realized that they were living only 45 minutes from me I found Dave on Facebook and invited him to lunch. It was so great seeing my old friend! His English had gotten quite good and he seemed like he was in good spirits. I was eager to hear what his story was and what his plan was for the future. What he shared with me over lunch that day was a pretty powerful reminder that this life is freaking tough and I often forget how blessed we really are.Dave shared with me that he had worked and lived in his home country of Chile since finishing the mission but always felt like he and his family would be better off if he could somehow bring them to the United States. Chile is actually more advanced than most people realize but it still has its fair share of problems. According to Dave the government there is a mess, jobs are scarce, and any other opportunities are limited. He explained to me that his biggest motivation for wanting to come to the United States was because he wanted better opportunities for his kids. Better schools, better programs, more possibilities. So, long story short, after he was let go from a job that he had held for 8 years, he looked at his wife and said that if they were ever going to take that leap of faith and come to the U.S. then there wouldn't be a better time. So they pooled their savings and the severance he received from his company and they moved to Utah. No family in Utah, no job lined up, nothing. Just him, his wife, and their 2 little boys ages 1 and 4. Sounds terrifying, right??
At this point they have been living in Utah for 6 months. Since arriving, he's struggled to find decent work due to the strict laws regarding Visas. He also grossly underestimated the amount of money it would take to get here and get settled. He worked for Carl's Jr for a while and now works 2 jobs where he cleans office buildings at night and does business to business sales for that same cleaning company during the day. He works his tail off and makes roughly $2,000 a month and works 65 hours a week. Surprisingly, he's not miserable - he's an optimist. He's certainly not ecstatic about the way things have shaped up so far but he figured going in to this that it would be tough for a while before he really gained some traction here. In his mind the sacrifice is worth it because it will provide a better life for his family in the long run. His wife on the other had is miserable. She is struggling to adapt because she doesn't speak any English (that makes it way harder), she's bored and can't work because daycare would cost more than what she could earn, they are struggling to make ends meet, and her husband is never home. She is already looking for a way to return to Chile and get back to their previous way of life. Like Dave she sees way more opportunity here but she's just too unhappy. Dave is hoping things start looking up soon so that she feels the desire to stay.
As I listened to Dave tell me this story my heart hurt! To make that sort of sacrifice with your family and then be faced with such a tough situation is my worst nightmare. But here's the happy part of my story: I have a solution. I shared with Dave that I work with a network marketing company that is completely unique and offers a terrific financial opportunity to anyone that's serious about extra income. I wasn't trying to "sell" him on anything, I was offering him a solution! As we spoke more about the company and the ways you can make money he became more and more interested and excited. He said that he needed two things for his wife to be happy here:
1. More money.
2. Something for her to do.
This network marketing thing fit the bill! He could partner with his wife to create more income and it would give her with something to work on during the day! I got him signed up on the spot and he left our lunch feeling rejuvenated.
To sum it all up, I have no idea if Dave will build a big network marketing business. That all depends on him. I will of course be here to help, he can plug into our awesome system, and he'll be given the tools to succeed, but it is still up to him to run with it. That said, his story is just the most recent that reminds me of why I love network marketing. This industry sometimes gets criticized yet I don't know many other industries that change lives the way network marketing does. I seriously can't think of a single one. Whether you just want to get healthier, look better, or make money, network marketing offers a solution. Instead of just settling for a crappy situation and assuming it was just the card you were dealt, do something about it. Network marketing exists for people like you! Only you can change your life for the better so give network marketing a FAIR look. You won't be disappointed.Comments on my blog are always welcome. However, if you'd like to reach out to me privately my email address is kalfreedomgroup@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!
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