Starting Over – Rafael Rojas & Monica Rojas – Melaleuca

Rafael Rojas and Monica Rojas tell their story with Melaleuca

(español) Melaleuca -- Gente Cansada Del Marcadeo en Red/Multinivel -- Tired of MLM

You’d think by now, Rafael and Monica Rojas would be content with all the achievements they have racked up during their career with Melaleuca. After all, no one has achieved Corporate Director faster than Rafael and Monica’s record of just over 26 months. To top it off, they also hold the record for fastest time to Corporate Director II, III and IV.

But at Standing Executive Leadership Council in Tucson, Ariz. last March, Rafael felt that familiar itch to push himself even further after talking with Melaleuca President McKay Christensen.

“He was telling me about how running a marathon is hard, but running your second marathon is even harder,” says Rafael. “I thought about how that applied to my business and all of a sudden, the new goal was clear.”

And so, during one of the business sessions at SELC, Rafael stood up in front of hundreds of Melaleuca’s most successful leaders and announced that he was embarking on the second marathon of his Melaleuca career.

“From the first day I started Melaleuca, Corporate Director was my goal,” says Rafael. “It was a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice to achieve that. The first time, you want to prove to yourself, to your family and to everybody else that you can do it. But the second time is harder because everyone knows you’ve done it before and there’s not as much excitement. It’s a competition against yourself. You’re not doing it to impress other people or please anyone else. So it’s completely different this time around.”

And so the goal was set: Develop five brand-new Executive Directors in less time than when he first achieved Corporate Director. But why? With a monthly income regularly in the six figures and having captured the top prize in Melaleuca, what more do Rafael and Monica have to prove?

“It’s not about proving anything in the sense of ‘Look what I can do, I’m so amazing,’ says Rafael. “It’s about proving to people, ‘Yes, it can be done. And you can do it, too.’ I want to set the example for my team. There’s a difference between talking about something and actually doing it. So I want to show people it can be done. I’ve done it once. Now I want to do it all over again.”

Doing it all over again means developing Executive Directors, something Rafael has now duplicated with his latest leader to achieve that status, Josue Levis from Canoga Park, Calif. Enrolled in June of 2008, Josue’s story of how he came to Melaleuca sounds like a chapter right out of Rafael’s biography.

“He was skeptical, just like me. And it took a lot of phone calls and convincing, just like [Corporate Director II] Jeff Miller did with me,” says Rafael. “He was someone I knew from many years ago. He had a successful real estate business, but after the economy went down, the real estate industry in California went under, and he was looking for a different opportunity. He got a hold of me, and we talked sometimes five or six times a day for four months. He would call me with questions and concerns and was very cautious about getting involved with Melaleuca. It went on for a while and finally I told him, ‘Look, Josue. We can talk every single day for the next five years, but I know that eventually you will enroll with Melaleuca. I know you will. And it will change your life. So why not just do it now and start enjoying the benefits rather than waiting just because you’re skeptical?”

That call to action inspired Josue, who enrolled shortly after. What followed, says Rafael, was a textbook example of how a leader is born.

“I tell my leaders, ‘Once you enroll, I’ll go work with you,’” says Rafael. “And I did that with Josue. I told him I would come to California to help him get started, but before I came, I wanted him to line up everyone he knew and start making appointments. I arrived in L.A. and got settled and called him that evening to ask him what the plan was for the next day. He told me he had an appointment lined up for 7 o’clock. I told him, ‘Josue, what are we going to do all day if our appointment is at 7 at night?’ Frankly, I was kind of disappointed. I mean, I came all the way from Texas to help out this guy, and now we’re going to be sitting around all day doing nothing? That’s when he told me, ‘No, Rafael, the appointment is at 7 a.m.’”

That willingness to get to work and go the extra mile, says Rafael, is the hallmark of a true leader, someone willing to do what it takes to have success. Rafael and Josue did presentations and one-on-ones non-stop for the next week and a half, and before he could blink an eye, Josue was a Director IV looking at a first-time check of $3,284.

“I worked with him for that first 10 or 15 days and then I left California and let him get to work,” says Rafael. “I told him, ‘Now it’s your turn.’ And I watched him to see how he was doing, if he was enrolling and giving presentations. Then I went back and did the same thing I did with Josue with one of his leaders who is really committed. And it just duplicates. You do that a couple time and if they are a real leader, they start to run on their own. They take off.”

That ability to find and develop leaders is what has propelled Rafael to every advancement level, and now to Corporate Director V.

“I heard a saying once, that you can’t turn a duck into an eagle,” says Rafael. “If it’s a duck, it’s a duck. So I put them through the process that brings out their true nature. If they are a real leader and have that motivation, the process will bring it out. I look for someone who has that dream and desire and passion and just needs some help. I look for those things like Josue setting up an appointment at 7 a.m. That’s what shows me who is going to be a leader.”

With Convention only days away, Rafael and Monica are excited for yet another celebration of milestones. Two years ago in Atlanta, the couple rode into town as Melaleuca’s newest Corporate Directors and the first Hispanic Corporate Director in the company’s history. Last year, they left town with the company’s most coveted award, Marketing Executives of the Year, and the distinction as the fastest growing business in Melaleuca history.

After all the praise, the awards, the keynote speeches and trips around the world with President’s Club, however, Rafael and Monica are looking at this year’s Convention from a new angle.

“Last year, we came to Convention really at the top of our game. It was so exciting to see so many of our leaders taking home the top awards and winning President’s Club, but deep down I was also worried,” he says. “When you have that much success, it can be easy to sit back and be complacent. When that happens, you go backwards. You don’t have a lot of time in this business to just sit back and admire where you are. You always have to be moving. So I was worried what was going to happen over the next year.

So this year we’re coming into it knowing that there is still a lot of work to be done. We can’t live off the glory of that Convention forever. The last thing I wanted to do was win Marketing Executive of the Year and then drop off the map. I wasn’t happy with maintaining, either. We won that award, and immediately, I wanted to grow. So that’s why this advancement is so exciting. We’ve been able to prove that you can do it once, and then do it all over again. It is possible.”

Rafael and Monica also get the sense that their group is also coming to Convention more mature.

“We grew so fast and people made money so fast that, in a way, it’s dangerous. You stop doing the right activities, and a lot of people went through that,” says Monica. “This whole year was like a learning year for everybody—for us and for our leaders. We learned that you can’t take your foot off the gas. Now everyone knows that. You can tell people that if they don’t do the right activities, they will hit a flat spot, but they won’t believe you until they experience. We’re all on the page and we all understand what happens if you don’t do the right activities.”

All the success in the Hispanic market, while exciting, was also very new and happened very fast. The past year has been a wake up call for some in his group, says Rafael, that getting to the top of the mountain doesn’t mean you get to automatically stay there.

“Last year we took home a lot of awards and earned a lot of money,” says Rafael. “But this year has been a wake up call that you have to keep doing the right activities, or all that recognition will only be a thing of the past. So that’s the attitude we’re coming to Convention with this year, and I’m happy about that.”

In all great productions, there is the host on the stage in the spotlight, and the behind-the-scenes talent making the show run smoothly. Monica has been described by many as the machine behind the machine that is this thriving Corporate Director V business.

“I remember at Road to Executive Director one time they asked me how I balance all my time and responsibilities,” says Monica. “I think I’m still trying to come up with an answer. All the little things we need in order to advance, that’s what I take care of. Whether it’s a phone call or setting up a hotel ballroom or making sure someone makes Director by the end of the month. Rafael works so hard and seems to be everywhere at once. I just try to keep us grounded and make sure nothing slips through.”

“She is amazing,” says Rafael. “She is always there to take care of whatever needs to be done. None of this would be possible without her.

In the end, like the greatest champions of sport who always push towards the next title or the next record, perhaps no award or no advancement will ever be “enough” for Rafael and Monica. But that is what makes them true champions: the never-ending desire to succeed, and in succeeding, to show others the way.

“I never want anyone to be able to say that I told them what needed to be done and then didn’t go out and do it myself,” says Rafael. “This isn’t just about me. This really is about helping people find their potential. Because when you help people find their potential, you end up finding your own.”

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Tagged as: Melaleuca, Melaleuca Business, Monica Rojas, Rafael Rojas