Talk! Talk! Talk! We are in a business where talk reigns supreme, and the boldest talkers are always at center stage. Claims run rampant about everything from ad responses - to phenomenal product results - to bodacious income projections.

Sometimes this talk sways the uninitiated, and if they fail to seek any type of verification before taking action, they might find that they have based their decisions and plans on pipe dreams and smoke screens.

However, before I leave the impression that talk is always cheap (and therefore frivolous), I need to emphasize the legitimate role of responsible talk in MLM. Responsible talk in our industry accomplishes a number of things:

It speaks public commitments into existence which then create the forum for public accountability that is so helpful to those who need a support structure for continuous production;

It helps people design a time frame for success (i.e., I'm going to lose 20 more pounds before Easter);

It excites and motivates others to think bigger;

It sets a climate for accomplishment in the organization which stimulates others to make commitments;

It intensifies focus for everyone so they can evaluate their goals, large and small.

We consider this type of talk to be positive because it results in benefits like those listed above. However, empty rhetoric, or worse yet, distorted testimonials and promises spoken, but not kept, have damaged our industry tremendously. When people keep talking about the future and how much money they are going to make, you need to come out from under the ether and look at what they've consistently done over the past year or years and compare those results to what they are saying.

I used to --- out of ignorance --- stand in front of the room and ask the question, "How many of you would like to make $10,000 a month?" Every hand would go up . . . and that got me excited! I didn't learn for several years that I was asking the wrong question.

Of course, they all wanted $10,000 or more each month; they just didn't aspire to the levels of commitment, focus, and keeping of production schedules that were needed to produce such a monetary result.

In those days, I didn't comprehend those levels myself as my own business was not making $10,000 a month yet. I daresay that if I had known and identified the work habits and time constraints required for a $10,000 monthly result, I would've had far fewer "takers."

I don't want to discount the importance of "speaking things into existence," because I do feel that public declaration can go a long way towards helping people get on track and stay on track. Just don't be misled by unsubstantiated talk. Most of the companies in our industry are bigger on telling you what you can do, particularly in reference to your earning possibilities, than in sharing what others like you have really accomplished. Before you put a lot of time, energy and money into a game plan, check it out carefully to make sure that the speaker has lived what he or she is speaking and that it was indeed successful.

Industry legend Richard Brooke says, "Success comes through you before it comes to you." By speaking your commitments into existence, you can attract energy to you, which will support your making things happen . . . if you are truthful and focused while honestly sharing both those times when your accomplishments are measuring up and those times when they have fallen short of what you have said.

We must be ethical and honest at all times. Too many distributors will say anything to prospects to get them involved. Check out some of the ads in any papers or letters, and you'll see what I mean. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true. Greed often clouds our judgment about what to believe.

We must be careful that we speak honestly, respecting our prospects and giving them the best that we can offer. We need to distinguish the wide array of benefits and contributions that our MLM opportunity presents. We need to talk about what they, the prospects, want, and we need to focus our speaking, and then our actions, on team efforts.

Only then will talk really become a vehicle for helping dreams come true.