The Right Mentorship Matters!
"God doesn't give you dreams without giving you the innate abilities and opportunities to make those dreams come true. " Lesli Johnson
Hello my friend, Since you've made it this far, you must be very serious about finding the right business and the right business mentor. I applaud you!
Allow me to introduce myself and tell you a bit about me and about our Team. My name is Lesli Johnson and I'm a Sales Vice President with Jewels by Park Lane. I assure you, I didn't just happen upon this company by accident, I did a tremendous amount of due diligence before hitching my wagon to their star! In other words, I had a life and a very successful business before Park Lane entered the picture.
Since I believe that choosing the right business mentor and growth oriented team is important to your success, I'll candidly share a bit about myself and our Park Lane Dream TeamTM.
For starters, I have been in direct sales/party plan for 13+ years and I spent my entire career in just one other company. I built a multi-million dollar lineage in that company and I was "sitting pretty" as some have said. In fact, I'm proud to say I'm a million dollar income earner in this industry. Since I did earn well over a million dollars in my first party plan company, you're probably wondering how I came to so happily be a part of the Jewels by Park Lane family. I'll get to that shortly... we're jumping ahead of the story.
Let me back-track for a moment and tell you what life was like for me before I got into the home party business. Maybe you can relate to some of this...
I started my home party business in 1994 after being unemployed for a year.
Prior to becoming a work from home entrepreneur, I worked in entry & mid level banking jobs for about 20 years. What that means is I had a lot of responsibility for other people’s money, without actually having any money of my own.
Like most job's… my J.O.B. was truly the Journey of the Broke! Most of the time I found myself with pennies in my pocket and I was behind on my promises on more than a few occasions, if you know what I mean!
I drove a car that was so old the floor boards were rusted out and my legs got splashed with water every time it rained. In fact, my wintertime wardrobe always included dark slacks because they didn’t show the rain spatter quite so much! Can you even imagine!?!
Ultimately, I found myself working about 50 hours a week consistently and for my efforts I was given glowing employee evaluations, but absolutely no increase in my paycheck. You see, I was “topped out” on my employer’s pay scale. I was earning $30,000 a year, with no promise of future profits.
I was building someone else’s dreams… and doing a mighty fine job of it… and for my efforts I was living in a 900 square foot condominium and driving an old rust bucket of a car. Like a lot of my life, it looked pretty good on the surface, but underneath it was a rusty mess.
Well, one day, in a moment of total discouragement, after yet another glowing employee review and no increase in pay, I quit my J.O.B.
FREEDOM at last!! Or so I thought…
What I learned is… Freedom doesn’t mean the absence of a job… even the homeless man living under the bridge, has that.
Freedom means living life on your terms and for me, that means; meaningful work I love, an income that sustains my wildest dreams and the ability to spend my time doing the things I want to do with the people I want to do them with!
Freedom isn’t free, it never was, and it never will be. Freedom comes with a price and if you want it, you have to be willing to pay the price.
So back to my story… I left my JOB with great hope and anticipation for the future, however, after a year of unemployment, I had gone through all my savings, my 401k plan and had more garage sales than you could imagine just to pay my bills. I was to the point of buying my groceries on credit cards. Then one day, I thought “why not go on vacation to Florida?” I know, I know… a lot of people would consider a year of unemployment to be a vacation, but I needed sand and sun. Of course, in those days, I had to pay for my own vacations… or rather put them on my credit card. I hadn’t ever even occurred to me yet that FREE vacations could become a part of my lifestyle!!
So anyway… off I went. Putting another vacation on my credit card.
This is where you probably think I’m completely nuts, but this is where I say providence stepped into my life!
On that trip to Florida I was introduced to a work from home business I’d never heard of before … it was a home party/direct sales business selling candles and accessories! Well, I was intrigued to say the least because I certainly needed to earn some money! Things were getting desperate and it was obvious I didn’t want to go get another J.O.B.
I signed up on the spot and set out to learn everything I could about the home party industry. When I started I had never been in business for myself, nor had I ever sold anything... not even a hamburger. I was green to say the least, but I was excited.
All too soon, excitement turned to fear. I realized I'd have to go out and actually sell those candles. Do home parties. Be around strangers. Yikes!! But on the other side of that fear was my excitement. I believed what I had learned about the home party/direct sales industry and I saw real opportunity. I'd read enough to believe that a 36 year old woman without a college education, such as myself, could earn a six figure income and never work for anyone else ever again! That got me really excited! I was ready to work from home and create my own destiny.
Don't get me wrong, I was still scared to death to do my first shows, but I quickly learned that it was fun and I was earning good money. I found I have a talent for mentoring other women and I began to build a team. My new business venture was paying off. In fact, within about three years I was earning a six figure income!
So by now you're probably wondering where did it all go wrong and why did I leave that other party plan company.
I had earned over a million dollars in my other company prior to joining Jewels by Park Lane, so how did I end up here?
It's simple really. I had grown dissatisfied with my prior company on a corporate level. They had had four Presidents during my tenure with them and they were going in a different direction than my heart was. I was watching many, many women who had once been successful now struggling just to keep structure. In fact, I had seen many women lose structure, title and incomes. Worst of all, I saw them lose confidence in themselves. Many of them quit the business feeling like failures. It broke my heart and I knew something had to change.
Change Was Just Around the Corner... A New "Dawn"It’s an old adage that “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” and it certainly was true for me! When I was discouraged by what I was seeing in my old company, out of the blue, Dawn Sommers, a long term friend who had left my prior company, called me to tell me about the company she had joined, Jewels by Park Lane. As she began to tell me about their programs, I was intrigued. I thought they sounded too good to be true. The sad thing is, even if they were true, I didn't know how I could possibly walk away from my income in my prior company and start all over again at the bottom. She then told me about the Direct Appointment program. Now she had my attention but I still wasn't convinced. The old "If it looks to good to be true, it probably is" wall began to go up, but I was intrigued enough to agree to talk with Dawnette Dobrick, another friend who had been a Regional Vice President in my prior business with me. |  |
Dawn Sommers |
Receiving Recognition at JBPL National Convention |
$140,000 in the First 9 Months!
 | Dawnette shared with me that her best income year in our prior business had been $140,000 and that it had taken her eight years to build to that level. Then she shared with me that in her first nine months with Jewels by Park Lane, she had already earned more than $140,000. She explained to me that she built so quickly and strongly because of Park Lane's powerful programs. She assured me that everything Dawn had told me about Jewels by Park Lane was true. As she explained it to me, I felt tingles of hope but I quite honestly had a hard time believing it could all be true! |
Dawnette Dobrick |
Wife, Mother, $200,000+ Income Earner Pictured with husband, Al and their sons, Jordan & Jesse |
I had to see it for myself, so I agreed to let Park Lane fly me to Chicago to interview, and be interviewed by, CEO Scott LeVin and see if everything I had heard about this company was for real. After spending eight hours with Scott, and meeting some of the family, I left knowing that I'd seen the heart of the man and the heart of Jewels by Park Lane. A family owned and operated company who truly has a heart for the field.
The Heart of Jewels by Park Lane
Park Lanes' heart, their business philosophies, becomes evident in their Powerful Programs. I've never seen anything like it in the direct sales industry and when I could finally see that everything I'd heard was really true, I got excited for the first time in a long time! I began to dream again. I saw hope for so many who have been struggling in this industry.
I left with a vision of building a Park Lane Dream TeamTM of highly successful women! It was more than a vision, really... it was a mission and I knew that with Park Lane's stress free business philosophy, gorgeous jewelry and Powerful Programs, it would become a reality!
There IS Hope!
Many women are discouraged by life because they've given up dreaming. We used to dream, but we gave up because we weren't getting it. That isn't the way it has to be. I'm passionate about helping women who feel so beaten down and have had their self-esteem crushed and destroyed. Watching them come to life again is extraordinary.
There is hope, my friend. God doesn't give you dreams without giving you the innate abilities and opportunities to make those dreams come true.
My hope for you is that whatever your personal situation is; wherever you've been in your life; whatever has held you down and held you back; whatever success or failures you've felt in your personal life or in this industry... that you will believe in the power of your dreams and you will have the courage to pursue them.
My hope for you is that you will take Jewels by Park Lane for a test drive. See that it holds the promise of a better future and that myself and our entire Park Lane Dream TeamTM will be here to work with you, mentor you, inspire you, and believe in you until you discover your wings and fly. It would be our honor!
Here's What I Know for Sure...
Life is a personal mission and you only get to live it once. To thine own self be true.
Know your intentions, your dreams, your goals, your passions and find the situation that's most in alignment with where you want to take your life.
Remember, life is a growth process. What might have been perfect for you in one phase of your life, might not be so perfect in the next phase.
When we know better, we can do better.
Change is healthy and good! If you're not growing, you're dying.
Life and God and the energy of the Universe have a way of taking us exactly where we should be in any given moment, if we'll simply listen to the still, small voice within us. God speaks to us in whispers.
In closing, I'm blessed to have been introduced to Park Lane and I'm thrilled to be building, supporting and loving our Park Lane Dream TeamTM! Together we're building an amazing Team of visionary, faith filled, empowered women! I wish I could tell you that I was able to "retire" from my previous company but unlike Park Lane, they don't have a "retirement program". My twelve years of service and my multi-million dollar lineage stays with them. Alas, I'm grateful for it anyway! I've grown so much through the years and I've been blessed to know and love some amazing women! I've had some world class experiences. I've spoken from a stadium stage to thousands of anxious entrepreneurs. I've developed confidence and courage.
It takes courage to make a significant change. I applaud the choices you're making for you and your family, whatever they are, so long as you believe them to be the right choices for you.
Our Team is filled with women of courage, torchbearers if you will, unwilling to live a "status quo" life. I applaud each and every one of us who has the courage of conviction to stand strong when others are saying "sit down". We can't sit down! We must stand up for those who are looking for a better way. I love this industry called direct sales. I love the men and women I've worked with. I honor each and every one of them with the right to make the decision that speaks to their heart. There are many paths to freedom but the surest path of all is through joy... gratitude... and love.
CHAPTER TWO:
And they lived happily ever after. Please do contact me if I can be of service to you in any way or if you know someone who would be perfect for our amazing Team!
With a grateful heart,
Lesli
