You know the reaction you get from some people when you tell them you’re involved in Network Marketing? They cringe and ask, “Is that one of those pyramid schemes?” They act like you’re Dr. Evil in an Austin Powers movie and quickly back out of the room. The funny thing is that every business is a network and if it’s a successful business, it’s involved in marketing.

In fact, networking and marketing permeate every aspect of our lives. For example, this computer you are using now is only possible because of a network that a company has built. So is the electricity that runs through it and the rest of your home. The car you drive was built by a company that brought together networks to produce it. The steel, the rubber, the interior and even the gas in the tank is only available thanks to these networks.

It doesn’t stop there. The food we eat and the water in our homes are also part of a network. The roads we drive on, the gas stations and supermarkets we shop at, the televisions and movies we watch and rent, the cable and satellite subscriptions we subscribe to are also vast networks that were built.

Everything we own and didn’t make ourselves is part of a network and the fact that we are aware that these things exist is due to marketing.

Wal-Mart, Costco, Home Depot, McDonalds, TGI Fridays, Sears, BlockBuster Video, Denny’s, Sam’s Club, Nike, Levi’s, Budweiser, Yahoo, Google, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Starbucks, The New York Stock Exchange, all newspapers and magazines, Expedia, Century 21, Bank of America, radio stations, CNN, ABC, CBS and we could go on forever. They are all networks that were created to provide people with the number one product in the world; Convenience.

So why do people cringe when we mention that we are involved in network marketing?

The simple answer is that they don’t understand that everything is a network. Life has become so convenient that we have forgotten that someone actually built a network to make our lives easier. The truth is, we work forty hours or more a week to be able to support someone else’s network, all in the name of convenience.

The job that most people work at is part of a network. Truck drivers, builders, store clerks, bank tellers, insurance salesmen, police officers, firefighters, politicians, writers, manufacturers, real estate agents, etc. etc. all work for networks. Once they receive a paycheck, most of their spending goes to supporting other networks.

All of the largest and most successful companies have built, own or control their own networks and what prevents most people from building their own networks is laziness, fear and stepping out of their convenient comfort zones.

The one thing all successful networks have in common is that someone built them to begin with. Some of the largest global companies started at a kitchen table with just an idea and a few motivated people. People with a vision. People willing to build a business because they had a strong vision and why.

So when people look at you like you’re crazy for even thinking about building your own network marketing business, they’re right! And I promise you, every one of the CEOs who started the companies mentioned above were also called crazy. Donald Trump was told that his first big project would never work and that he would never get the funding for it. Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, couldn’t get a single publisher to publish his book and is a best-selling author who failed English in high school. Sam Walton, who founded Wal-Mart, dropped out of high school and was told by everyone that he was crazy to think that people would shop at a store! Bill Gates was told that no one would want a personal computer and that businesses were the only market. In fact, every crazy idea has been primarily responsible for the advancement of society and life as we know it.

There is not a day in the life of most people that they can get through the day without being part of a network in some way. By the time they wake up and brush their teeth, they support a network (Colgate). When they turned on a light bulb they supported the power company. When they dressed, they supported the textile industries. When they eat breakfast, they support agriculture and grocery networks. When they drive their car, they support car manufacturing and the oil networks. When they listen to the radio they support the radio networks and when they go to work, nine times out of 10, they are working for a network.

So many people supporting so many networks is good for business and the economy.

For all those people who say, “Is that some kind of pyramid scheme?” when you tell them you’re in network marketing, I offer this suggestion. Explain to them what you learned in this article and it will open their eyes in a new way. Some will understand that unless they build a network of their own, they will always be working and supporting others. Some will never understand and are good customers. Either way, you can’t lose.