Jeff Roberti

Jeff Roberti’s Millionaire Training Story

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Growing up in Sarasota, Florida, my family was not wealthy. We didn’t have any of the higher education or fancy backgrounds that others had.  What I always did have was a great work ethic. I was always a hard worker. Whatever I did, I was constantly the best at it, be it mowing lawns, waiting tables, cleaning pools, working construction, or stocking shelves at the grocery store. Starting in junior high, I had a burning desire to put in my best effort and a willingness to learn. I frequently found myself frustrated when I would come across some sort of limit working for someone else. 

While waiting tables at a beach and tennis resort (along with two other jobs), my longtime friend, Danny (Dan Stammen, Co-owner WorldVentures Holdings), and I were always figuring out what we were going to do with our lives. I thought I was going to be a real estate tycoon by becoming a broker with all sorts of agents under me. I had gotten my insurance and real estate license and was looking forward to having a career that would bring me abundance and financial independence.

One night, fate stepped in; Danny told me that a company called Herbalife was going to be hosting a meeting at a local performance hall. I remember thinking, Herbalife? What’s Herbalife? I thought the name was kind of funny sounding.

Danny told me, “Oh yeah, these people are selling this weight loss product, and all these average people are making above-average incomes.” 

That night I got sent home early from the restaurant because we were slow.  I believe everything happens for a reason, and it was God’s divine intervention. I took it as my sign and headed to the presentation. I was so skeptical at first.  I was sitting in the back row with my arms crossed thinking I had all the answers even though I had no money.  Then, out comes Larry Thompson and he starts talking about being your own boss and earning what you’re worth. Larry began sharing stories of everyday people earning extraordinary incomes.

I got excited. I remember thinking, Wow, you’ve got to be kidding me. These people are making $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $50,000 a month? I thought, If they can do it, I can do it. They are no better than me.

I decided to get started immediately with a Supervisor Pack.  I didn’t have the money, so I borrowed money by taking a lien against my car.  When my pack arrived, I remember putting on the LOSE WEIGHT NOW, ASK ME HOW! button that came with the kit and I started looking through the flipbook. I was in my early twenties, and I didn’t know a lot of people who were as hungry for success as I was. Most of my friends were wasting time partying at the beach and didn’t have anywhere near the same work ethic I had. 

The first step was to run ads in the newspaper, kind of like today’s social media. Concepts are constant, and the basics and fundamentals will never change. It was a technique I used to help attract a critical mass. I needed to get people in front of me so I could share the story, the company, the product, and the opportunity. I didn’t have money for an office space or a hotel conference room to do the presentations, but I still figured out a way to do three presentations a day with a group briefing. I got very creative and innovative with my newspaper ads, and I figured out how to run these ads and get the phone to ring. 

During this time, I got my hands on Larry’s The Millionaire Training and wore those cassette tapes out. Those tapes became my original training as far as understanding the concepts, basics, and fundamentals of how to build a business. I would listen over and over again and take notes which kept me in the game. I would run the ads and do the briefings, month after month, person after person. It wasn’t easy, though. Nobody was signing up to join.  I was often crying at night with no idea what to do. I had all this product, and no signups, but I just kept doing it. I stayed in the game and did it over and over and over again. I believed what Larry was telling me.  A few simple disciplines done consistently over and over would eventually equal multiple rewards.

This stagnation would continue for three or four months. I didn’t have enough money to book an actual conference room, so I would meet with people who responded to my newspaper ads in hotel lobbies or restaurants. I would do a presentation at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. with some Tuesday and Thursday night meetings thrown in. This was not an easy time in my life; I often got kicked out of hotels for trespassing.  I became friends with some of the service workers, and they wouldn’t mind too much as long as I tipped the waitresses refilling my iced teas and didn’t disrupt guests.

Things were looking pretty dark, and at my lower points, I would question and doubt what I was doing. One day, a man whose name I’ll never forget, Grover Flowers, came to one of my meetings and liked what I had to say. He said, “I’ll take one of those Slim and Trim Kits, and I want to buy an extra one because my friend needs to lose some weight.” Grover gave this kit to his friend Ed Powers, who was a former salesman for the Fuller Brush Company.  Ed was in very poor health, and he ended up getting great results from the product.

Grover signed up to become a distributor, then Ed signed up under Grover, and I enrolled them both under my dad who was still living at that time. That sale was what got my business rolling.

Ed went out and became a bonus winner in his first month. His sales were so high, he qualified for all of us to fly out to Los Angeles, California for corporate training. I had never been on an airplane.  I had never been out of the state of Florida!  I was a waiter used to making only one or two grand a month and all of a sudden, I had gotten lucky.  But it wasn’t luck; this all happened because I didn’t quit, and I kept at it long enough.

When I flew out to Los Angeles and sat in the training room with my long hair, my one suit and a skinny little tie getting to meet all these incredible people for the first time, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I could feel the excitement.  When Larry started speaking, I had chills go through my body. Larry began discussing some of the ideas in The Millionaire Training and here I was getting to hear it from him live and with intensity. (Larry gets so fired up when he’s speaking. It’s almost like a rant with lots of go, go, go!) I responded to that on a deep level. At that training, everything clicked. By the time I boarded the airplane to go home, I was a totally different person. 

Everything changed, from my presentations to the way I walked and talked. I had absolute confidence and certainty in my position. I was bulletproof, and people could feel that. During my time at corporate school with Mark Hughes and Larry Thompson, I found myself surrounded by schoolteachers, grocery store checkers, mattress salespeople, carpet cleaners, and truck drivers, who were all making $50,000 to $100,000 a month. I now was on fire and unstoppable. I worked day and night (18-20 hours a day) fully engaged and immersed in what I was doing. I just kept working and working.  I did well for myself even though I was not a big earner at that time. 

I tell people I got my Ph.D. in direct sales and network marketing during the two-and-a-half years I was at Herbalife.  Larry impacted and affected me giving me the belief that I could do it. I gained the perspective that, if they can do it, I can do it, too.  Larry would often pose the question, “Would you rather have the briefcase with $1 million in it or the briefcase with the skills of a person of someone who can earn a million dollars?” I picked the briefcase with the skills.

Unfortunately, in 1985, Herbalife faced a massive FDA lawsuit, and sales dropped significantly. Everybody’s checks were falling, including mine.  I stayed as long as I could. It’s one thing to be broke and not have money, but it’s even worse to get a little taste of success, and then be broke again. Everything I made was put back into the business. I was loyal and committed and didn’t want to leave Herbalife, but I was renting a room for $180 a month with only a mattress on the floor. I was at my lowest point financially. Even though I was broke, I had a sense of strength and confidence. I knew going back to waiting tables wasn’t an option for me. Fortunately, in January of 1987 a friend of mine from Jacksonville, Florida introduced me to the company, Juice Plus+.

At this time, I was 24 years old and thanks to Larry, I had my Ph.D. in direct sales and I was ready to get to it. I figured out a way to borrow some money again so I could sign with Juice Plus+. Somebody believed in me and gave me a loan so I could buy a little bit of product. Within the first three to four years, I’ve sold $2 billion worth of product. I was working endless hours like there’s no tomorrow because part of me didn’t believe it was going to last. So many of these types of companies are here today, gone tomorrow, but God blessed me and gave me something that was solid, stable, and lasting. I’m still with Juice Plus+ to this day.

I often go back and think, What if I hadn’t been sent home early from waiting tables?  What if I hadn’t met Larry Thompson? Who knows where my life would have been? I thank God that Larry changed my life. I give him the credit and the credit is due. He took a broke waiter who was hungry and put me in a learning environment that got me exposed to The Millionaire Training. I listened so many times I wore those tapes out. You can’t forget training like that; it becomes part of your DNA. Still, 40 years later, I listen to those tapes before I’m getting ready to go up on stage or traveling internationally. I’ve lived and worked in over two dozen countries, sold billions of dollars’ worth of product, and built a massive organization and residual income. I stay in the game today because I love what I do. I have success and fulfillment.

I am fortunate to have a business that’s full of relationships, love, connection, and growth. Aren’t you the happiest when you’re growing, and there’s progress? I have an opportunity to contribute and pay it forward. It gives me rewards both emotionally and spiritually when I get to do something bigger than myself – something that matters, that’s mission-driven, and cause-oriented, which allows us to touch and change people’s lives.

I tell people to look at their check as a measuring stick. The bigger your check is, the more significant impact you’ve had with your product, service, or opportunity. It’s a gauge of the lives you’ve affected and touched, directly or indirectly, through what you’re doing. Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure in life. I decided many years ago to retire into my business, not from my business, because if you love what you do, you get to add value to people’s lives. There’s emotional and spiritual revenue that comes from the work you do. You get to become rich in relationships and long-term relationships equals long-term success. Your focus becomes meeting other people’s needs, not your needs, which adds value to their lives, creating raving-fan relationships with priceless rewards.

 I was at my company’s big convention today, and I’m always up in the front row, taking notes (which I learned from Larry). He always says, “The million-dollar seats are in the front row, Baby.” As I’m sitting there, I’m hearing all these stories coming across the stage, and it moves me emotionally. I’m crying, seeing these average people share what’s happened to them. It’s not about the money or position. It’s about who they’ve become. It’s getting to hear about the adversities and challenges and how their lives have changed. When you’ve played a role in that, even a small one, it feels priceless. You can’t put a value on it. I thank Larry today from the bottom of my heart. He’s impacted me, and I in turn, have been able to change countless numbers of people lives around the world because of his teachings and The Millionaire Training which we now get to read and share. From Larry’s training, I learned the fundamentals, and it’s given me real clarity, and clarity is power because it allows you to cast a vision.

When it comes to Larry’s The Millionaire Training, it’s not a “one and done” deal. You don’t just listen once and set it aside. You’ve got to read it over and over and over.  I’ve said before, “It’s not when you remember, it’s when you can’t forget.” It becomes part of your DNA. I know those principles inside and out. You have to make a point to metabolize and implement what Larry is teaching you, like understanding the importance of employing yourself. There are so many great chapters, and you have to break it down and not only apply and integrate it in yourself but then teach it and share it with others. 

Larry’s trainings are like the Bible of network marketing. They are timeless and foundational to anyone’s success in this industry. The principles in his teachings will never change. You want to build your business on rock, not sand. You need solid basics to build from, and to do that, you have to start with The Millionaire Training. It’s non-negotiable. Read this over and over and internalize it.  Do it until you can’t possibly forget it. It will give you the strength to go out there and do what I did, even when everybody was telling me no. Because of the confidence The Millionaire Training gave me, I was able to keep moving forward even when times were hard and I was crying into my pillow nightly.

So many people in my position would have given up, but I believed in myself and had the wherewithal to keep taking that next step because Larry’s training was so embedded in me. I know it sounds sacrilegious equating it to the Bible, but Larry’s teachings are like reading scripture in the sense that you read scripture one day, and you get one thing from it, and then you reread it the next week and get something completely different from the same passage. It’s the concept of meeting you where you are in your growth with what the words are saying. 

Another critical aspect of the business I’ve learned from Larry is to keep things fun, simple, easy, magical, and duplicatable. There’s so much stuff people try to teach others to make them believe they have to go through all this training and personal development, but the kick is, you have enough in you right now! 

You are good enough right now to go out and share something you believe in.

The longest journey in life is from the head to the heart. I’ve always told my people to have emotional sincerity.  It has to come from the heart and truly be there to serve and share that gift of health or whatever your product or service is. You have to put other people’s needs ahead of your own.  You have to avoid making it too complicated. Keep it simple.  You want people to be able to say, “What I just did with you, could you do that for someone else?” If I can do it, you can do it, and plugging into The Millionaire Training gives you the belief, vision, clarity, and strength to be successful.