Dwight Agnor: A Man On A MILA Mission

This month’s Lifemax Spotlight Leader is Dwight Agnor. Dwight is on a mission to change Asia, one bag of Mila at a time, and while he is 13 hours ahead of the Home Office, he is leaps and bounds ahead of many industry networkers out there because of his passion, tenacity, and heart. In a unique approach to this month’s spotlight, Lifemax VP Communication Jenni Smith writes her personal take on what makes Dwight tick in our spotlight below.

Getting In

“I have never been an MLM person, never been involved, and never wanted to be,” proclaimed Dwight at the beginning of his YouTube video message to me. With a thirteen-hour time difference, Dwight’s video messaging is one of several ways he’s learned to bridge the international gap without missing a beat in networking and communication. “The only reason I’m involved in Lifemax,” Dwight continued, “Is because I believe this product is the best I’ve ever seen in my life, and network marketing is the greatest and fastest way of doing that.”

Admittedly, this is not the first time I’ve heard these words from a Lifemax distributor, but they still carry a bit of surprise each time they’re uttered. Our Lifemax family is full of what I now affectionately term, “pre-Mila network marketing skeptics” because these very individuals who are creating sustainable success patterns are the ones who wouldn’t give network marketing a second thought until they were introduced to Mila. I myself was a pre-Mila skeptic before Lifemax came into my life, but that’s another story for another day.

As a personal member of the Agnor fan club ever since he showed his chivalrous side while carrying my gala dress out to my car after ELEVATE 2010′s Sunday leader-led training, I jumped at the chance to help share Dwight’s story with the field.  After all, I’ve been closely following his progress since he proclaimed his lofty plans to generate huge growth in Southeast Asia, and it’s been a privilege to watch him do exactly that.  In fact, his video message uncovers that he’s shared Mila with hundreds of people so far, and that those have gone on to share Mila with many others. The result? For Dwight, “The lives that have been affected — changed dramatically — is overwhelming, and it’s just my passion. I feel a moral obligation to do what I’m doing.”

Staying In

Whether you have the privilege of meeting Dwight face-to-face and get the occasional personalized video message, or you just have the opportunity to exchange a few emails or Skype calls across time zones, getting to know Dwight Agnor is akin to packing a picnic for a long drive in the country only to find that you’ll instead be taking the high-speed rail to an unknown fairyland with Captain Happy as the daily tour guide. What I mean by that is that he presents himself as a polished, yet comfortable, professional networker without being intimidating or in-your-face, but somewhere between a handshake and a hug, his incredibly vibrant passion explodes, and you’re instantly taken under his wing and into his whirlwind world of getting things done, Dwight-style. He’s fast-moving but smooth; quick-witted but humble; and he’s got a tenacious spirit that is simply contagious.

And on that subject, Dwight commented that, “Tenacity is what makes anyone a successful person. There have been many times I wanted to throw my hands up in the air, but I just get back up and hit it again and again because I have learned in life that tenacity is the difference between winning and losing.” Without any pressing, Dwight volunteered (with a smile on his face) a story of one such experience where he not only wanted to throw his hands up in the air, but his computer out the window! After months of work on a social media project, he lost his entire account along with all the connections and contact information he’d gathered. But even that couldn’t stop Dwight, pictured to the left with Lifemax CEO Paul Rogers.

Never one to let any situation get him down, Dwight shared with me that he got right back on that horse again. He explained that it’s always disheartening for him to see distributors give up when they have the slightest bit of discouragement or don’t see the money rolling in overnight. In fact, he practices candor and transparency with his prospects from the beginning, stating, “If that’s the way you feel, don’t get involved! This is a long-term, every day investment in your life, maybe not full-time, but every day. Your mind has to be involved and you must have the tenacity to make a commitment that you are going to do this for the next four or five years of your life, every day.”  In addition to maintaining daily responsibilities to his team and his customers, Dwight has been building his business by traveling between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore once a week (a five-hour bus ride each way) since he arrived.  He plans to add Jakarta to his weekly travels as well, commenting: “I have never seen an opportunity like this in my entire lifetime.  I want to win BIG in Asia!  And I believe that leaders must lead by example.  I am trying to set an example to my leaders and other distributors that this is what it takes to win big!”

The College Analogy

Dwight shared a very interesting analogy with me that I wanted to be sure to pass along. He began with the obvious, stating, “No one goes to college thinking they’ll just try it for a few months and see what happens. No one expects great results in a few months. People go to college knowing they’re going to have to spend time and money—a few years at a minimum—and they’re going to graduate, often owing a lot of money, and often with no job!” On the other hand, he went on to explain, “If you put the same amount of time and concentration into this opportunity, you’re making money the entire time but at the end of four years when you ‘graduate’, you’re so far ahead of the game.”  Well said, Dwight.

Santa Dwight

Before closing out this leadership spotlight, I have to share one last story.  Torn between spending his first Christmas away from family and his dedication to his Southeast Asia post, Dwight made the sacrifice to spend his holidays in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  He and his team went to a local church service where they learned of a woman who’d taken 18 abused children into her small, meager home.  Driven to locate this pseudo-orphanage and bring Christmas to these children, Dwight and his group rallied to deliver presents to each and every child, with Dwight dressed as Santa, to boot!  And in true Lifemax style, the team shared Mila with the under-nourished children by adding it to the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and more which they brought along to share.  This was a Merry Mila Christmas to be sure.

The Team Players

Dwight also wanted to give special thanks to his incredible team who have worked tirelessly to open up a new training center in Malaysia, develop intense training curriculum and soundly structured materials, and share Mila with the world:  Jet, Carol, Samantha, and Jacqeline — the Southeast Asia Superstars!  To date, Dwight’s team has enrolled over 500 Lifemax distributors in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Jakarta (Indonesia), and will soon be posting business opportunity presentations and training sessions open to ALL Lifemax distributors.  This team takes pride in treating all distributors and their guests with dignity and respect, so look for new opportunities to explore Southeast Asia with Dwight’s team soon!