You’ll notice that the subtitle of this blog is Demystifying Prosperity™ by Demystifying Technology®. Perhaps you’re wondering where these two trademarks come from. To explain I shall have to provide a brief history of my professional life.
Although I did not major in computer science in college—indeed, I went to college before such programs were widespread!—my first job out of college was with Boeing Computer Services, and I remained in IT for many years. I enjoyed working as a programmer and systems analyst, then as a consultant on various assignments. Recognizing that I enjoy teaching, I switched careers in 1987 and took a position as a technical trainer.
I ended up working for a company called Platinum Technology in Illinois. This started out as a dream job and ended up as The Job From Hell under a particularly incompetent manager. (I can’t watch The Office on TV, because it hits too close to home.) So in 1995 I quit and formed my own corporation with the incredibly clever name of Carl Eric Johnson & Company.
I did some contract training for Platinum and other companies but was dissatisfied with the quality of the courseware I was working with. So I spent the bulk of 1996 writing my own series of SQL courses. It was at this time that the catch phrase Demystifying Technology® caught on, so I registered it. My ability to demystify technology was proved time and again in the classroom, as I reduced complex topics around IBM’s database DB2 to concepts that my students could easily master.
I partnered with a company in New Jersey to market my courses, earning royalties every time they were taught. Sweet. Unfortunately, that partnership pretty much dissolved in 2001. They still sell my SQL courses, but not nearly as frequently as they once did.
I had enough money set aside to take the summer of 2001 off—my first summer off in decades. It was wonderful. But summer became fall became winter became spring, and before I knew it a whole year had passed. Now I needed to start looking around to see what I might do to make a living. Although I enjoy teaching, I was fairly burned out on DB2 and SQL. So I looked into passive ways to make money: stock investing, commodities futures, and real estate. I took various courses in all of the above and had some modest successes.
One of the courses I took was a CD series by Robert Allen, New York Times best-selling author of Nothing Down, Creating Wealth, and other books. The CD series was titled Multiple Streams of Income. It was a 6-CD set with a bonus 7th CD dedicated to network marketing. I was skeptical, having had a bad experience in the late ’70’s with a multilevel marketing company. But I respected Robert Allen and listened to what he had to say. I was intrigued. He explained what network marketing was all about and how to evaluate a network marketing opportunity. At the end he invited his listeners to call an 800 number to learn about the one network marketing company he endorsed. I did so, found out it was USANA Health Sciences, got an information packet in the mail several days later, and joined at the highest level within the week.
Wanting to share what I had learned about network marketing with others, I soon transitioned into Demystifying Prosperity™. I have several blogs and e-mail autoresponder series on the topic, and I am currently writing a book titled Demystifying Prosperity™: Why You Should Take a Serious Look at Network Marketing.
In recent years I have used more and more Internet technologies to promote my network marketing ventures, and so this is where the two (Demystifying Technology® and Demystifying Prosperity™) overlap. Rather than waste a lot of money on telephone leads any more, I am now learning how to use social networking (a k a Web 2.0) technologies to attract free leads to my businesses—so-called attraction marketing.
And just what are my businesses? Well, I am certainly still with USANA Health Sciences and will be for the rest of my life. I am also in Global Resorts Network, a direct sales company marketing memberships in luxury timeshare rentals. It is from my team at Global that I have learned all of my attraction marketing techniques. And I am sure that my book will open doors for me.
I am available for speaking gigs of anywhere from 45 minutes to several hours. If you have an audience who would like me to demystify prosperity for them, let me know. I love helping people realize that they do have options, especially in our current economy. Actually, there has never been a better time to get into network marketing.
