Leave Nothing To Chance

 

Contrary to what many think, paving your path towards success does not have to be a lonely business. You don’t have to create a unique game plan or a different strategy. You just need to borrow a successful person’s belief, learn from them, and allow their experiences to guide you. Carissa Rogers has known this to be true. In this episode, she joins John Solleder to share with us her journey from the food bank to fortune in just four years! She talks about the things she learned from successful people, their three common denominators, and why she chose network marketing. Imparting lessons from her own, Carissa then shares her secrets to successfully getting started in the industry—one of her main ingredients: be coachable.

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Watch the episode here

 

Listen to the podcast here

 

Food Bank To Fortune In 4 Years! With Carissa Rogers

It is my pleasure to introduce one of the young superstars in our industry. Somebody who’s been lighting it up with her company and doing a terrific job. I keep following her on Facebook. It’s an interesting career because you’re the second person that I’m interviewing who was the offspring of one of my friends that I worked with within the industry way back. It is my privilege to welcome Miss Carissa Rogers to the show. How are you?

I’m good. Thank you for having me. It’s an honor to be here. I’ve known you for almost my entire life. It’s cool that we’re able to do this together.

It’s been a privilege to watch you develop in your business and doing all the great things that I know you’ve been up to. I noticed on Facebook that you, your husband and the kids that you’re building a brand-new house there in Florida, so congratulations. Tell me about that a little bit.

Thank you. This one hits a little bit differently because we had a crazy 2020. In 2020, I was able to bring my husband home, which had been a goal of mine for over three years. I wasn’t able to do it at the company that I was with previously. I’ve been with many companies. It’s surreal knowing that my company and I have been able to buy and build this home. All because of this incredible industry that I wish that everybody would get their hands on because the check is great, but there is nothing that I have found that is better than freedom. You can’t put a price on it and I never want to see it go. It’s amazing.

I always ask this as one of my standard questions. How were you introduced to the industry and how long ago?

That’s ironic that you’re asking me this question because if you don’t know me and John’s story, my mom and John were friends back in the cookie days. I was eleven when I met you. You and my mom were the first two people that I knew to be in the industry. That’s how I discovered it. My mom got out of it and you kept with it, so that’s amazing. You guys were the reason that I learned about it. I was reintroduced to it when I had a friend who was selling things. This was several years ago. I didn’t realize that you could replace your income. I’ve joined network marketing so I could pay my car payment a couple of hundred bucks a month. Ironically, I went over to my old upline’s house because I was cleaning her house and she showed me her income for the year. It was over $100,000. I went home and I was like, “I need to learn how to do that.”

You can’t put a price on freedom. Click To Tweet

One other thing that was dramatic in my point to the destination where I’m at was I was working in corporate America. I was working at a hospital doing financial things and I went to pick up my baby at the time and they taught him how to clap. He was about nine months old. Most parents would probably have been so happy. I drove home and I remember the car I was driving. I had a gold minivan. I was driving home bawling because I’m like, “I’m different. I don’t want that. I don’t want anybody to teach my kids how to do this.”

I went home, prayed, researched, and made bracelets. I tried everything. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom that I made the decision because that’s what it takes. You’re one decision away from your best life. I was at a store with my three kids. They were younger. They were in diapers. I have my older son. I remember my oldest got cereal and my two youngest wanted milk. My husband and I have always had separate bank accounts, which worked out great. He wasn’t with us. I checked my bank account and I didn’t have enough money for both items.

It was the lowest point in my life, but probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. If you’re in that situation right now, keep going. I remember I went home, I prayed and I cried. In that same week, an opportunity with a mentor attached that God knew that I needed was there for me sitting. That was the year that I retired. That was the first month that I didn’t have more. I was determined to get my husband home with me and now we’ve been able to do that. Long story short, I hit rock bottom and it was the best thing that has happened to me.

Sometimes, circumstance drives us to do what we don’t think we can do and we find out we can do it. That’s what happened with that story. Here’s something, too, that’s funny because I ask everybody that question. I can remember back and I want to say you were eleven. I was in Florida doing a meeting with your mother and she said, “Would you mind if we pick my daughter up from school? She’s getting out early and if she can come lunch with us?” It was a holiday or something. I said, “Sure. Why not? I love kids,” so we did. You told me during that meeting, “I know what you and my mom do. I want to do the same thing. I want to be an MLM.” Your career started a long time before. Do you remember that by any chance?

I remember conversations that we had. I definitely remember you and I remember being there with you. I remember being so intrigued by how you were able to do what you did and nobody told you what to do. That for an eleven-year-old, I was like, “How do I get there?” Everybody’s telling me what to do at eleven. It’s surreal and ironic that we had that conversation at that point many years ago and we’re here now.

I know you’ve been featured in the last book that I wrote, which is probably the last book I’m writing, by the way. Podcasting is much more productive. You can reach more people. Anyway, it’s Leave Nothing to Chance. In that book, there are fifteen principles, as you will know. Is there one that stands out that you want to talk about a little bit?

They’re all good. You touched on every good point. If you’re in this industry, you need this book. I wish that I would have had this blueprint to this industry when I first started because I probably would have gotten here a lot faster. The first four are so important. The one that stands out the most is the mindset. I feel like every single thing comes back to mindset, even the first one, which is wake up. It all starts with our mindset. Everything we teach falls back to mindset. Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right. If you say, “My business is so hard,” it’s going to be hard.

Instead, I’ve learned to change my words, and then it changed my thoughts and that helped change my life. That’s when I discovered mindset and I learned, “No one’s in control of my life, except for me and the decisions I make.” My mindset that follows, “I’m going to have to be the one to propel me into the dream life that I deserved and everyone deserves.” I feel like everything comes back to mindset. That’s a nonnegotiable for me every single day. I absolutely feel like if I didn’t have a good mindset, I probably would have quit or I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at now if I didn’t master that.

Also, your why, that should change over time. At first, mine was to pay $400 for a car payment that they gave me and I clearly could not afford it. My husband was like, “You can get it and find a way to pay for it.” I was like, “I’m going to figure that out because I wanted that white Pilot.” It’s important to write it down because on the hard days, the days it sucks. It’s going to happen. There are going to be days where you want to throw in the towel. Just don’t because it is so worth it. My why had changed over the course of the three years that I’ve been retired because I saw that joy that it brought me to have this freedom, and then I saw my husband struggle and belittled by his boss, and I didn’t want that for him anymore.

I worked hard in order to bring him home and write it down. Writing down your why it’s so important. I would say everything comes back to your why mindset. Balance is also so important. There are so many things. I heard some stories about how you can have all the things in the world, you can afford everything that you want, and be on a tropical island. If you have a tickle in your throat and you weren’t taking care of your health, what do you have? The same fall in line with God. That’s so important. I’ve learned over the years to study people and to study successful people specifically. I’ve found many common denominators and one of those was balance, including God, family, health and everything. It’s important. That was my long answer to that.

You're one decision away from your best life. Click To Tweet

I’m interviewing so many people and doing this for as long as I’ve been doing it for many years. I’m just a kid. I’m just getting started. It’s so funny, whether they’re older than me or younger than me when I interview them, the people who have it together are like, “God, family, fitness.” There’s not a lot more time for other things beyond that. You spend most of your day on those three things, including in your self-development in all three areas. There’s not a lot of time for a lot of other stuff. That’s for sure. Moving on, I have to ask you this though. What did your husband, the kids and your mom think for that matter, when they first saw you with your story written in the Leave Nothing to Chance book? What was their reaction?

They were so proud. It’s so funny because when I first started and I got serious and when I made that decision that I was going to retire from 9:00 to 5:00, I hit it from my family and my friends. I’ll tell you why. I had a best friend of more than twenty years and I told her my dreams. I told her what I wanted to do and how I wanted to raise my kids and work from home. I was willing to do whatever it took to get there as long as it was legal. I told her that and she laughed in my face. I haven’t talked to her since that day.

I’m human. I’m like everyone else. I feared that rejection, but I learned along the way not to. Until I borrowed someone else’s belief, I hit it until I became successful. What I’ve learned, too, is that if I were to say, “Dad, I’m so excited. I’m going to quit my secure job. I’m going to go work online and I’m going to raise my kids,” they’ll be like, “Oh, no.” They don’t do it because they don’t love you. They do. They do it to protect you. I didn’t want all of that in my head because I knew that I love so hard that it would prevent me from doing it. To see the progression from 2017, where I retired and then 2020 to where I brought my husband home. Around that time was when I was featured in the book. We moved into a nice house. It was all a surreal moment. It’s cool considering our history and how we’ve known each other for so many years.

Self-development is so important. I know you’re a student of it. Let’s say hypothetically that you’re deserted on a beautiful island. Amelia Island is a nice Island where you live. You’re going to be there for a while. Besides the Holy Bible, which I know is important to you, you can only bring three books with you. What would those three books be?

It’s funny that you knew that Bible would be one of them because that is the foundation to it all. He guides you along those choices, too. That’s a whole another episode, but it would absolutely be the Bible and The Secret, which changed my life. When I first heard about The Secret and saw it, I was like, “That’s fake. That’s a bunch of crap. It’s not real. There’s no way there’s a secret to life that nobody has told me about.” I was 35 at the time, and then I was like, “My life is in a bad place right now. I hit rock bottom.” I was like, “Why don’t I give it a try?” I did, and then I was like, “Lauren, it worked.” I kept repeating it and it kept working, and then I kept visualizing.

For me, I have to go back to someone like Joyce Meyer who keeps that balance because we come back to the balance. Joyce Meyer even talks about it all the time. She says, “What comes out of your mouth, comes into your life.” That’s something that I have to go back and forth with on the two because I live the principles and I’m even married. I’m a big audio fan. I was working seven days a week and I didn’t have time to sit down and read a book. While I was working on business and my thumbs were about to fall off, I would listen to it or I’d watch it on Netflix.

 

The Secret, and then also, You Are a Badass. I love that one because it’s real and authentic. It comes back to mindset. You can learn all of the network marketing tips and tricks, but if your mind isn’t in the right spot, you’re not going to be able to implement them. I find that everything comes back to mindset. You Are a Badass is good. She does curse a lot, which I’m not a huge fan of, but she keeps it real. I’ve learned, too, that if you’re not real with yourself, at first, I would say, “I don’t have time for that.” Yeah, I do. I was watching Netflix at night, so I cut that out.

When I got real and raw with my truth, that’s when I propelled into my greatest life. It would absolutely be those three books or audios or whatever it is. I have all the books. I tell Lauren, “Read it, and then tell me about it.” I’ve got ADHD, so I’m reading five things at one time, but if I have an Audible in my ear, I can finish that audio. Whatever you have to do for you to get it in your brain, do that, and whoever works for you. You might like Jake Ducey, Mel Robbins, Tony Robbins, or whatever, that goes for anybody, latch on to that because every time, that might change, too. Listen to whoever you like and whoever resonates with you, and you’ll be able to propel into your greatest life with you.

I’m more willing to listen than I am sometimes to read. I’m a big reader. I love to read. I was at the gym one time and I listened to the podcast that I had done with my mentor, Larry Thompson, who I’ve known for 38 years or so. I listened to that to make sure there’s nothing wrong with it when it goes out to market, even though it’s already out when I’m listening to it. I do it every Tuesday morning. Because it’s a private gym, I’m there by myself, so I have the key.

I listen to at least two other podcasts. Sometimes, I’ll listen to Rick Warren. Sometimes, I’ll listen to something about health and fitness because I’m training or a podcast in our industry. You’re absolutely right. There’s so much great information today that when I was younger, these apparatuses didn’t exist. You could only read. Read, listen, and learn is the message that you’re making. Let’s talk a little bit about multilevel strategy and let me set this up for you two ways. We’re going to have two questions for you on this.

In this one group, you’re in the middle of these two groups. Let me describe these two groups and get your reaction. The first group is people who are about 25. In some cases, they are college-educated. In some cases, they’re not. They know how to launch the space shuttle with an iPhone, but perhaps are unemployed. Circumstances, coming out of COVID. Perhaps they had a career path that they were going to do or whatever. Of course, we know what happened. In many cases, they are probably living at their mom and dad’s house and saying, “What am I going to do with my life?”

They didn’t consider network marketing. Maybe it wasn’t even on their plan B and they weren’t even aware of it. Perhaps nobody’s ever talked to them about it. That’s one group. The second group of people is 55, 60, 65 years old. Everything was going on nice and the economy was doing well. They were making money and they were starting to think about retirement and slowing down. Maybe they owned the business or maybe they were a senior-level manager in somebody else’s business. They were getting to the end of the road workwise and they were starting to look at their next life. All of a sudden, we know what happened.

That group of people also, let’s say that they had never considered network marketing before. We’ve got this young group and we’ve got this older group and they’ve never considered network marketing. Because of the circumstances, maybe they still have a job but their income is not what it was previously. They’re saying, “Let me look at this.” They walk into your living room and they say, “Carissa, why network marketing? Why now network marketing, more importantly?” What’s your answer to them?

Whether you think you can or you can't, you are right. Click To Tweet

Network marketing has had a bad name in the past. Multilevel, pyramid schemes, or whatever you want to call it. That was of the past, but we have progressed into such a beautiful thing with our social selling. I’m with you. When I was in high school, we did not have the internet. We started to get dial-up, but it was horrible. I grew up with encyclopedias. We didn’t have what we have now, so it’s a beautiful thing. If you think about it, we do this all the time. I don’t know about you, but I’m a big foodie. If I find an amazing restaurant, I’m going to be the first person to jump on Google and I’m going to give them a five-star review.

Do I get paid for it? No. If you find a life-changing product or product that you love and you can’t shut up about and you can’t stop talking about, why not share it with the world? Why not share this gift? What we have is a gift. It’s such a beautiful thing to be able to communicate with others the way that we are now. When I first started on this journey in the middle of bags, jewelry, and everything that I sold, I remember going out, driving far, and going to a meeting. I will cry on the way home saying, “I missed my kids. I’m tucking them in and prayers.” I’m like, “It’s going to pay off.”

Now, we don’t have to do that. We have our world at our fingertips with the devices that we have. Why not put yourself out there? Why not share with the world this gift that you have that could absolutely not only change thousands of other lives, but change your life, your family’s life, and the future of your family’s life? Noah sees what I do and he wants to do what I do. I can tell that he’s not going to go work for anybody. He’s got that entrepreneurial mindset. It’s a beautiful thing, what we have here. Why not share it with the world? Why not let it change your life like it has thousands and millions of others?

Second question on multilevel strategy. You started a lot of people in your business and you’ve been doing this now for a long time, so you have had a lot of success yourself. Our success in this business comes from helping other people and growing other people as we both know. That being the case, how do you start somebody? Do you go with a 24-hour, 48-hour one-week or one-quarter plan? What’s your preference?

When you bring me into the business, what do you tell me to get me started so that I start to see that early success? What I used to call ink striking paper, which these days is all credit cards. People used to write checks, believe it or not. Ink striking paper or whatever analogy you want to use. That person sees a result in your bank account, even if it’s something nominal, even if they make $20, $50, or whatever the number is that they know that it’s real? How do you get them started? What’s your secret that you can share with our audience in getting people started successfully?

If you’re in our industry and you’re not doing what I’m about to tell you, if you do this, it can absolutely change the entire game for you, your team and your company. If you have a business and if you are not plugging people into a system, you are missing a big old boat. I can tell you right now. There’s a couple of reasons why we do this. We want people to get connected. We want people to see what we have to offer. We have a Facebook group with so many testimonials that have over 400,000 people in it that go in and share their story.

 

You get them plugged into a training group where all the training already is done and you hold their hand along the way. Make sure they know where to go to find information because here’s what I’ve seen happen. I have been the person to learn all the things, all the science of this, and the comp plan of this, but then I will tell someone that, and they will look at me and be like, “Carissa, I can’t do that.” They go home and they’re like, “I could never do what Carissa was doing.” I make it known that I’m not going to be the one to sit there and give all of the information.

However, I will point you to our tools to be able to go and do that because Jenny can come in and see me do all that and say, “I can never do that.” Automatically, she quits. If she sees I was pointing to the tools that are already in place that your team or your company has already put out there for you, then you are ahead of the game. I’m a strong believer that tools are so important to be able to present to everyone that you come in contact with.

How much technology do you use? A couple of different categories. What’s your favorite technology for organizing your group to communicate with them?

We have a Facebook group and we make sure that everyone is plugged into the group, and then we tag people on testimonials. We utilize Facebook more so than any other piece of technology. I would say the next would be Zoom. A lot of people use Instagram, but Facebook is more for people my age or older, so that’s where we’re staying. We’re also open to other technologies. There are many new technologies coming out and different ways to communicate with other people across the world like WhatsApp. There are so many things.

Be open to learning. If I don’t know, I’m going to call my twelve-year-old son to help me figure it out. I’m not Facebook-savvy and I’m not savvy as far as devices go. What’s cool now is if I don’t know how to look something up, I know how to Google stuff. Everybody can. We go on YouTube. University is what we call it. All of us network marketers went there. That’s how we use that. You don’t need an upline to be able to hold your hands. That’s great if they’re there with you, but you don’t need that to be successful. I can’t tell you how many times an upline of mine has quit in the past.

If you have a computer or phone and internet, then you can do anything that you want. You can even learn how to put a car engine. The sky’s the limit with technology. We are so lucky. I feel like so many people, if we put them back into our era, they may not know what to do. It is such a blessing to be able to have so many different things to be able to utilize and go to, so you don’t have to open an encyclopedia. We are blessed to be in this time. We don’t have to go to a meeting at the Hilton or at the Olive Garden or wherever. You can if you want to. It is your business at the end of the day. It’s important to remember that there’s a lot of people who do this business and they’re not technology savvy and they’re not willing to be, so they do it in person. At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that it’s your business. You run that how you see fit.

Learn to change your words, and then it will change your thoughts. That will help change your life. Click To Tweet

My dad was an electrician and he goes off to work every day with multiple tools in his tool belt. Some days, he would use probably all of them, and some days, maybe just use a hammer or chisel or screwdriver depending on what the job was. That’s where we’re at multilevel. We got all these amazing technologies that you discussed. We still have the ability to sit down with somebody and say, “Let’s have a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Let me show you the plan. Let me show you the product,” or whatever. Use them all is my advice to people. Would you agree with that?

Absolutely. There are so many tools. Why not use them all? You’re going to find something that you love more than the other, so then you learn to be that expert in it. I don’t know Instagram, but I have learned Facebook. Am I a pro at it? Absolutely not. Do I know how to work the algorithm? Yeah, because I read an article. Anybody can do what we do. I feel like a lot of people overcomplicate this industry so much. It’s the same with mindset. They overcomplicate it, but with this industry, it’s so simple. People just have to do it and put themselves out there. At the end of the day, it goes by how bad do you want it? Are you willing to learn things? Are you willing to put yourself out there? If you are, go because your life can change.

Let’s talk about lifestyle a little bit. We know where you were and we know where you are now. How is that changed not only your perspective, but the lives of your kids growing up having a super successful mom that they look at? They see you doing what you’re doing. They see you working from home. They see you being available still for their ballgames, recitals. They also see you working from home. How is that changed their perception of the world versus where you were a few short years ago?

It’s surreal. Noah was with us and he remembers that we were at a food bank not too long ago. When he wanted to buy something at the grocery store, he knows that mama couldn’t do it. Now, we can. He shakes his head and he’s like, “I can’t believe this.” It’s cool to see him watch it through my eyes because he has seen the poverty that we were in and where we came from, and where we are now, and how we get to homeschool all of our kids. We get to have daddy home with us and we get to have mama home with us.

We’re so present with our kids while other people aren’t raising them and teaching them the things that I feel like I should have taught them. It’s surreal. It’s amazing. I will say that I wake up every morning with a grateful heart because you never know. It’s so important to stay in gratitude because when you are in gratitude, you will receive more. When you complain, you remain. When you are in gratitude, everything is more beautiful. Life is more beautiful. You can’t complain when you’re in a gratitude state of mind.

That is a great way to put it. Carissa, in wrapping up, we have many different types of people reading this. By types, I mean age group circumstances. Some are career network marketers. A lot of people who, like yourself, a few short years ago, were struggling. They got in a company and they may be doing well now and they want to do better. What are a couple of takeaways that you can give those people in terms of doing what you’ve done in the last few years in terms of doing it rapidly, most importantly? We’re at a time where rapid is going to be important with the way the economy is heading.

 

I did do it rapidly in 2017 when I found that mentor and I found that life-changing products, which is important. I was able to retire in one month and it’s because I hustled. I would say find a life-changing product. Find a product that speaks to you, changes your life, and you cannot stop talking about it, and then look at the comp plan. Make sure it makes sense. You want to be paid your worth. Trust me. I’ve been there, too, where I made 10% off of a product and where I’ve made 50% off of the products.

Money is important. The life-changing product is important. It’s all important. I would say also get clear and concise on your goals, where you want to be, and what you want. Write it down. There is no wrong answer. Whether you want to make $500 a month, $10,000 a month, $20,000 a month, or whatever that is for you and looks like for you, you can absolutely do it. In the meantime, while you are on your journey, borrow someone else’s belief. What I have found is that so many people don’t believe it.

In fact, this was me. I used to ask my mentor to see his weekly check because I wanted to visualize that for me. I popped that on my vision board and I remember seeing that number. I looked at it and I’m like, “Big.” I cannot even imagine making that. Lauren stopped what he was doing and he was like, “Carissa, you better start imagining it,” and I’m like, “Okay.” That’s the day that it started. I borrowed that belief that I could do that, too. I would say borrow someone else’s belief unless you have it yourself.

If you do it, you’re one step ahead. Borrow that belief because that, what I found, is so important. Do all the things, become coachable. I remember it was 2017 and I didn’t know much about Facebook. I was learning. I’d never done a live and that mentor told me after I spent hours on putting together a Facebook page and I didn’t know that’s not what you should do. It looks good and I showed it to my mentor and he was like, “Delete it.” I was mortified.

When you are in gratitude, you will receive more. When you complain, you remain. Click To Tweet

My initial thought was to push back like, “No. I spent hours doing and it looks amazing,” but I didn’t. I closed my mouth. I continue to watch the successful people and I did what he said to do. Being coachable and watching successful people are important. The cool thing is we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Somebody has already created it for us. What we have to do is be coachable, learn the things, and make them our own. Following successful people and doing what they do and emulating them, don’t be like them. Don’t lose you along the way. That’s important. Being coachable is so important, and then also, working on your mindset because everything comes back to mindset.

This has been a privilege. You’re knocking it out of the park. I couldn’t be prouder of you watching you grow up and now being a mom. This has been amazing. Continued great success. In signing off, folks, my guest has been Carissa Rogers. She is doing some wonderful things in our industry. You’re going to hear about her. If you haven’t heard her better yet, you can read Leave Nothing to Chance, our book. You can get it on Amazon. You can read about Carissa and a lot of other successful people that we’re interviewing on the Leaving Nothing To Chance podcast. The show comes out every single Tuesday, 52 weeks a year. Every week, we have a compelling guest like the great Carissa Rogers. Carissa, thank you once again and continued great success to you.

Thank you for having me. It’s been a pleasure.

Thank you.

Important Links:

• Leave Nothing to Chance
• The Secret
• Joyce Meyer
• You Are a Badass
• Larry Thompson – Past episode