Michael Jackson is the model of somebody who did what he was passionate about and turned it into amazing success. He lived his lifetime purpose and loves. As an MLMer, I bet you must have heard ‘Man in the Mirror’ dozens of times. He loved singing, dancing, performing, and so forth. We can all learn from what he modeled.

I’d enjoy sharing some accounts of what he means to me and some stories from subscribers to show just what an impact MJ was able to cause in his enterprises. When I was younger, the Motown 25 Special was being shown on TV. Michael sang “Billie Jean” and did his moonwalk. I found a recording of the show, and I looked at it daily for at least a month. I was so stunned by him. From that minute on, I needed to know more about entertaining. I began envisioning myself performing every song that I heard on the radio. Years afterwards, I even started performing in front of audiences.

One subscriber writes to say, “In 1984, my parents brought me to watch The Victory Tour. My parents bought a Michael Jackson poster that’s still hanging in my room right now. I as well still have a closet in my room with Michael Jackson memorabilia. I’m so relieved that I kept everything.”

Another subscriber writes to say, “As a kid, yearly, I had a Michael Jackson birthday cake. He was a huge part of my childhood, and I’m so grateful for every joyous moment.”

Michael was as well a humanitarian. He enjoyed helping people. He had such a thoughtful heart.

He was an exceedingly hard worker. He paid attention to detail, and he made his aspirations become a reality.

We should all endeavor to work a little bit harder, determine goals, and make our aspirations comes true. Let’s as well forever remember the importance of repaying and assisting others. Dream up ways you are able to make a difference in someone’s life. Put a grin on a stranger’s face. Get out and do something you’re passionate about. Find and live your life’s role and passions. Do something to make the Earth a more beneficial place.

This article comes to a close with the following citation from Michael’s song, “Man in the Mirror.”

“If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make that change.” Use your best tools to inspire and help others, find your passion and execute it and work diligently and then you’ll be an MLM success.

Michael Jackson has been parodied by many musicians and comedians throughout the years, e.g. Wacko Jacko and the all the songs that Weird Al Yankovic did. If you are in MLM, you can expect fierce competitions, rival products, (products that looks just the same as yours in another competing MLM), just like MJ. You must stand above the rest.

Duplication is said to be the ultimate form of flattery. Some examples of those who took MJ’s work and made it their own; Mad TV parody’s of Michael Jackson, “Weird” Al Yankovic’s “Fat” video or “Eat It” video, in 1984 Steve Martin did an impeccable parody of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean. Comedy singer “Weird” Al Yankovic has heaped praise on Michael Jackson, insisting the late King of Pop helped turn him into a household name in America.

Weird Al famously parodied Jackson’s “Beat It” and “Bad” in the 1980s and scored massive hits with both and the late superstar signed off on both songs, giving Yankovic permission to poke fun at him.

There are 100s of MLM businesses present today. For each business there are 1000s of distributors present. So in a market overwhelmed with 100s of businesses and 1000000s of distributors, how would you get noticed and how would you get leads? You have big competition and you need to stand out from your competitors. You’re not only vying against distributors of other MLM programs, but you’re also vying against the distributors of your own programs. With such competition, you have to try hard to get noticed. You need branding. With our business we must make sure that we remain the front runner that everyone recognizes… like MJ did with his branding of the unmistakable glove, the dance moves, the unmistakable voice and creativeness in videos and songs.

Branding means formulating a brand of you and your business, which is unique. Branding means producing an identity that’s easily recognizable. Branding is the marketing strategy that big business uses.

There are many concepts needed in brand building. Brand building takes time. You have to let people to start remembering you the way you want them to. The process can slow but once you get it, then you are able to keep the brand alive for a long time. Michael Jackson had his branding down so well that his ‘mark’ will live on for many years beyond his passing. He will still be selling products even though he is gone.

How well do you have your branding techniques down and do you think MJ would have gone as far without his?

Even though Michael Jackson will always be recognized as a gifted entertainer first and foremost, the star will also be remembered for the legal troubles that plagued him throughout the latter half of his career and the persecution that followed. Every leader faces persecution.

Public opinion about Jackson was split after the settlement was announced in one of his trails. Some took the action as an admission of guilt by the singer. But others were sympathetic toward Jackson, who, having spent his childhood as a performer, was robbed of a normal upbringing. When one is at the top of the pack, they will ultimately face some form of persecution in their time as a leader.

Being a leader means recognizing passion, authenticity, integrity, and ethics as the cornerstones of effective leadership upon which we lay the foundation to bring about change. And these are private choices, not simply what we come to know by studying about leaders and leadership. Being a leader means knowing who you are at the deepest level. If you want to be a nobody, just hide under a rock… you’ll never lead people in your business or your life.

To know who you are you can think back over your personal history and identify the four or five most important events or episodes in your life, the moments that have defined who you are today. Michael Jackson had many past life events to draw on… the fame as a young child… the reported mistreatment from his father… etc. Think of the kind of leader you want to become, including the most important goals you have for the contributions you want to make to the world – your legacy- what will make you a star. Learn how to allocate your time and energy–the amount of attention you pay to various people and projects in your life—this can help you assess whether you’re actually doing what you care about doing. In recent years Michael Jackson’s attention was given to his children and his success afforded him that luxury.

At times during the super starts life it seemed as if the odds were so stacked against him that he wouldn’t go anywhere but down. However a true leader knows that the more the odds are against you, the bigger your rewards are at the end of the day.

Everyone has their own opinion on whether or not the accusations about Michael Jackson were true. This still doesn’t change the fact that the persecution he received showed him once again in the light of a leader and millions waited for the next piece of news. Don’t you agree?

Every leader, who is a great leader, lives and breathes his dream – Michael Jackson wanted to make music and he believed in his product and his dream. At the beginning, Quincy Jones didn’t want Billie Jean to be on Thriller. But MJ stood his ground and told him that it would BE A HIT. That is what resolve MLMers should have, a strong belief in their dreams and product.

By MJ believing in his product and dream, the result was that he was one of the best selling artists of all time. To this day, the music he produced on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad is played in every nook of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all…talent, grace, professionalism and commitment. Michael Jackson was the consummate entertainer and leader and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the globe eternally. He in so many ways transcended the culture. He burst through roadblocks, he altered radio formats! With music, he led the way for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to affect the mainstream world.

We all should be aware that growth in leadership is a continuous process and show this knowledge in all we do. The process of stagnation happens when you’re not moving forward, and you could actually be moving backwards. Everything that’s not in a state of growth is in a state of decay. Reaching even the highest position in network marketing does not mean you are able to sit back and do nothing. This mentality won’t help you become a leader within your company. Genuine leaders are those who continue learning and improving themselves, and can inspire others to do the same, like Michael Jackson.

Leaders are human beings and are like the rest of us, but with the attitude of ever pressing forward. There’s nothing to keep you from reaching for this. Even though you might not see enormous results as a leader you must always feel as if you’re growing. It takes time to develop to this stage in your MLM career. A leader you must be patient with the procedure and grow the qualities to make the dreams come to life.

The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a greater impact on music than any other artist in the history of music with his leadership qualities. He was a wizard. He was what we all endeavor to be. He will always be the “King of Pop”. Remember that life isn’t about how many breaths you take, but about how many instants in life that takes your breath away. Striving to be a great leader and seeing a dream come to life can cause those moments when your breath is taken away. Striving for this type of leadership quality can only benefit your business and your life.

For anybody who’s ever seen, felt, or heard Michael Jackson’s art, they should feel honored to have been alive in this generation to feel the magic of a true leader.

Michael Joseph Jackson also known as “The King of Pop” began a solo career separate from “The Jackson 5” in 1971 while still a member of the group. Michael Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller remains the world’s best-selling album of all time. Sadly he suffered an untimely death (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009). The passing of the super star left people across the globe dumbfounded and deeply saddened at the loss of such a brilliant musical and business talent. You may be wondering what this has to do with your home business… well there is a lot that MLMers can learn from the late Michael Jackson.

Being a visionary in the MLM business is ones ticket to success, just as it was for Michael Jackson in the entertainment business. He was one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two times, achievements like “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time”, 13 Grammys, 13 number one singles and sales of over 750 million records worldwide. The man had vision and used that in every facet of his career.

You, as an MLMer can take a lesson here and you can build your network out of your vision for it – or by allowing your circumstances to dictate and determine its path. A well known fact about Michael Jackson was his widely publicized legal troubles as well. However, this visionary didn’t let his circumstances stand in his way. If we choose ‘vision’ it can make the impossible, possible… if we choose ‘circumstance’ it will have us throwing our hands in the air with frustration and disgust at the world for serving us a “raw deal.”

If we decide to make our decisions based on circumstances, we put all of our attention on all the reasons why it’s impossible to manifest our dreams. We tend to see only our limitations. Forget about searching for something groundbreaking and never before done. What a shame this would have been in the case of the first ever black music video on MTV (Billy Jean), which was due to the vision and talent of Michael Jackson. Sadly, it’s human nature to look for and collect evidence that proves your point of view and to routinely discard ideas (without a second thought) that don’t… unless you are a visionary.

Visionaries say: “I will make this happen regardless of the circumstances (MTV had never played a black music video until Michael Jackson made it happen). The world will either see me victoriously pounding my chest from the top of the heap or find me continually striving for more ways to archive the vision because I refuse to give up. I will not be denied!”

So yes my friends, MLMers can learn a great deal form the late, great “King of Pop” Michael Jackson. He refused to give in; he refused to settle and was forever, until his last breath, looking for the vision. Forever trying to outdo himself and bring new ways of looking at the familiar and presenting it so that it could not be ignored. The world and our businesses would be a much brighter place if we all strived to be visionaries.