Network marketing offers us the perfect environment to grow and reach our utmost potential.  Studies show that at least 85% of the world’s people suffer from some degree of lacking self-esteem. Although one might think that such challenges are only characteristic of the poor, uneducated, or lower socio-economic members of society, people from all walks of life can suffer situational or more widespread challenges with their levels of self-esteem.

Network marketing distributors are likely to suffer from similar statistics when it comes to being deficient in self-esteem in one or more areas of their lives. Some struggle with their communication, may feel socially challenged, or have difficulty establishing close or intimate relationships. Others experience low self-esteem with regard to their physical appearance or their health. Many may not be having any fun in their lives. All these qualities detract from the likelihood that they will achieve the level of success they desire in their businesses or personal lives.

Lack of belief in oneself will inevitably translate into becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. When networkers lack belief in their inevitable success, their energy communicates this missing element loud and clear to prospects and team members.

Lacking belief in oneself and low self-esteem are the number one reason why people fail to succeed in network marketing.

As with any type of sales occupation, to get to the “yeses” one must be willing to plow through a far greater number of “No's.” Those lacking self-esteem have a tendency to take rejection personally. Instead of embracing the belief that network marketing is simply not for everyone, they instead misinterpret their prospects’ objections to mean that there must be something wrong with them. Many lacking sufficient self-esteem fear being invalidated so they don’t prospect anywhere near the numbers required to achieve the success they desire. They opt for doing what is convenient rather than what will lead to the results they hope for. They choose looking good or being liked instead of risking rejection.

When they fail to encounter immediate success with minimal ineffective effort, they will likely use the evidence they have created to justify their decision to quit by saying “no one wants to do this!” Not only do those lacking sufficient self-esteem tend to avoid the consistency (day in and day out prospecting) and persistency (rigorous follow up) required to be successful in this business, but they also tend to exude such qualities as doubt, timidity, low energy, lacking confidence, and diminished personal power.

Their self-doubt kills their charisma factor and attractiveness as a business partner and sponsor.

They self-sabotage by putting forth an energy and action level that is typically consistent with failure. They fail to master their new profession with the same educational commitment given to traditional professions. They then get to be right about expecting to fail and return to the resignation that characterized their lives before being introduced to their networking opportunity. Those possessing a tarnished self-image also tend to falter in their ability to communicate cleanly and powerfully. Their presentations lack power and fail to convince others that they are successful and if their prospects join them in business partnership, they will be successful as well. Many are prone to taking things personally resulting in an unending sequence of upsets, broken relationships, and disappointments.

Top network marketing success requires personal leadership as well as the ability to champion others to step into leadership.

Leadership involves risk and the willingness to regularly stray outside one’s comfort zone. Those lacking sufficient self-confidence to take these risks into unknown areas have a negative expectation for their futures. They expect to struggle and fail instead of realizing that they possess all the qualities required to breakthrough whatever challenges come their way. This expectation naturally becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Many lacking self-esteem are driven to succeed. They compensate for feeling deficient in other areas of their lives by working harder and finding a place they can excel through their work. This provides them with a new focus where they can win but it doesn’t fulfill their neglected needs in other areas like relationships, recreation, personal and spiritual development, health and appearance and their ability to lead balanced, fun, and fulfilling lives.

It’s not that there is something wrong with finding a niche where one can be successful and feel good about oneself. However, many of those lacking self-esteem in other areas find themselves driven to accomplish, driven to prove their worth. Since business may be an area where they can shine, they neglect other areas to focus excessively on business.

For networkers, such a driven attitude usually results in fun being missing from their business building activities. If you are not having fun, you’ll be far less likely to attract others to you.

Your prospects are already likely to be lacking fun in their 9 to 5 jobs, so why would they want to join you if your business is not fun and fulfilling? Even if those driven to prove their worth do find success in building their network marketing businesses, since their actions are built upon the erroneous belief that they are somehow not good enough, somehow defective or unworthy of being fully loved and accepted, there is little lasting satisfaction in their accomplishments. It’s as though they are climbing a ladder with the top of the ladder hidden high in the clouds. They think that if they can just climb high enough, they will surely be successful. They will have proven their worth. They will find satisfaction, happiness, and fulfillment.

However, as they climb higher and higher, they never seem to arrive. There are always new goals and objectives challenging them to prove their worth. The more they achieve, the more they have yet to go. Try as they will, they never seem to fully measure up. Or, if they do, it is short-lived and fleeting at best. There is no arriving to the point where they find what they long for so badly — the peace of mind that comes from self-love and self-acceptance. Because the foundation of their ladder is grounded on quicksand, they often find themselves sinking as rapidly as they climb. In fact, from their perspective, they will never reach the perfection they seek so badly. They will always find evidence to highlight their flaws and reinforce their fears of being unworthy, unlovable, defective in some way.

No one needs to settle for failure and a dimmed existence due to a lacking sense of self-worth.

Most people either make up or buy into thoughts that there is something wrong with them, that they are somehow inadequate, not good enough and not worthy of being loved and accessing all the good things that life has to offer. If they are willing to examine their past to get to the source of their resignation and diminished self-esteem, they can reinterpret what happened to them in such a way that they can heal the past and eliminate the constant barrage of negative self-talk while making a conscious decision to live their lives from a decision to strive for excellence and contribute to others.

By developing a firm belief that they can impact people and the world around them and that they are, in fact, very worthy of receiving life’s blessings, they will manifest happiness and fulfillment. Network marketing is all about empowering others to shine and become successful. It provides endless opportunities for personal development and escaping the traps of low self-esteem. In addition to the cost of never finding true happiness, long-term fulfillment, or peace, lacking self-esteem impacts network marketers in many other ways. For example, by not getting to the source of their self-esteem issues, they sacrifice their personal power, their ability to best pursue their life purpose and fully manifest their gifts in the world.

If our energy is spent by being preoccupied with our weaknesses or being incomplete with our past, we can never be fully present to today and so we sacrifice our true potential to bring about the sort of results we desire.

Our relationships suffer as we will misinterpret the words and actions of others in a way that invalidates us and has us feel badly about who we are. We may be so driven to prove we are good enough that we sacrifice our personal effectiveness and charisma by focusing on ourselves and our deficiencies rather than on the wants and needs of others. With such a misdirected, selfish focus, can we wonder why no one wants to do our business?