At the tender age of 20 years, today’s Silver President and Leader of Excellence, Jürgen Bruckner from Austria felt caught up in his 9 to 5 nursing home job, taking care of the elderly. Without a doubt a noble and valuable task but not quite the life Jürgen imagined. That’s why he took the decision to become the master of his own fate and is today one of the most successful PM-International Team Partners of his generation. We had the honour to ask Jürgen a couple of questions about his life and his career:
You went to nursing school. What made you change your mind and start with direct sales?
“I was taking care of 90-year-old people every day. Most of them had the need to share their wisdom and experience with you and if they really liked you, they’d tell you that they don’t want you to waste the one most precious resource you own: Your Time! They all expressed the same regret and I will never forget it: What if? What if I had had the courage to do this one thing? I will never forget this sentence, because at some point I saw myself sitting there, all wrinkled up and grey, talking to some kids feeding and cleaning me: “What if I just had had the courage to do that one thing?”. That’s when it hit me. I needed to change my life and turn it around. This was not the future I wanted to live.
What made you start with Direct Sales?
“I grew up with 3 siblings. My father kind of raised us alone. We never had money! And when I say never, I mean NEVER! Ski classes, travelling, and all the other things my classmates enjoyed doing were not accessible to me. That’s why I started jobbing at a very young age. At my very first job, at the age of 16, I was selling charity subscriptions. And to be completely honest: I loved it!I learned one of the most important lessons ever: How to handle rejections. Three in a hundred people agreed to buy a subscription from me. I didn’t know how to call it back then, but to change that, I discovered duplication and I started recruiting people, organising them and motivating them with little incentives like a Schnapps for the most sold subscriptions for one day! Not quite comparable with the World Tour, the Europe Tour or even the PM Car Program but it worked nonetheless! I understood that I was able to make a difference in my own life by making a difference in other people’s lives!”
How did you manage to have so much success so quickly?
“I have to admit that I had a really good mentor. His Name? Joachim Heberlein. He’s not in my upline, nor am I in his team, so him mentoring me was a completely altruistic act of kindness and motivated me by truly believing in me. I had to learn so much, and god knows, I did so many mistakes in the beginning. But Joachim continued to believe in me, empowered me and set free a force that was in me all along. I used his knowledge and his experience whenever I had a question. Every time I was in a situation where I was losing hope, had set backs or was stuck with an obstacle I couldn’t solve myself, I called him. Now that I have my own downline and my own team, I’m doing the same with them. They contact me every single day! Problems, ideas, solutions, it doesn’t matter. They talk to me and I can share my experience with them.”
How do you stay motivated after a setback?
“It’s simple. It’s all in your head. Looking at the opportunities direct sales presented to me and still presents, I’m simply focusing on the positive things it brought to my life, the many inspiring people I met, and the many skills I’ve learned.
What advice would you give somebody your age, starting to think about what to do with their life?
GO FOR IT! It’s always worth giving it a try! Listen to the people who are doing it and rid yourself of all prejudices! You can start today if you want, you don’t need a special degree or pass a test. It’s just so easy. I was in a very bad spot when I started and I had nothing to lose, yet I won everything: financial freedom, the most flexible flex time you can imagine, and so much more.
Are you going to be on this year’s Europe Tour to Calabria?
“Of course! With PM-International, the travel incentive is always fun, and you meet amazing and nice Team Partners from all over Europe. I know, because I’ve been taking advantage of this incredible incentive since the day I’m allowed to qualify for it for 6 years in a row. Greece, Italy, Spain, Malta, Croatia and this year Italy again. That’s 6 unforgettable vacation sin a row. It’s so inspiring to finally meet other successful Team Partners! You also learn so much from the others. Plus, it helps you staying tuned for novelties, the latest developments and last but not least, the legendary parties are not to be missed either!”