As an avid student of Network Marketing I have had an opportunity to read and re-read a pile of books, e-books, magazines and articles on the topic. A pile large enough that my wife sincerely wonders what they could all possibly say that is so different from one another.

The truth is that they don't often have all that much different to say - it's just that they say it differently from one another. Have you ever had the experience of having someone explain something to you and leaving you more confused than before? And then someone else comes along and explains the same thing and it all makes sense? That's the result I've gotten from all of this study.

One thing that every author, speaker, DVD guru agrees on, though, is this: there is an element of personal development that is essential to MLM success.

At first I thought that this was really corny, carnival barker-type stuff. Raise up the tent for the big revival rah-rah meeting! I completely discounted it. After reading, listening to, and watching all of these very sincere people tell me about it for so long I thought I was immune to it.

Then something happened. I was driving down the road, talking to a new recruit in my organization (Hands-free cell phone. I promise.) and I realized that I was talking the same talk! After the call, I spent some time in real soul-searching and discovered that all of this communication with people, all of this learning about their needs, all of this encouraging their success had been somehow transformative. "Oh, NO!" I thought. "I've become one of THEM!"

Well, I'm happy to have made the change. This MLM thing has helped me listen better. It has helped me be more encouraging and solution-oriented. It has made me pay more attention to the needs of the OTHER person.