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Published on 17 Jan, 2025
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” – Mahatma Gandhi 
Back in 2021, I was introduced to Isagenix and the industry of network marketing. 
 
Using Isagenix’s nutrition program I experienced great results. I dropped 5kg in 30 days. The last bit of stubborn fat from my belly was torched away. And I went on to have one of my best years of footy at the age of 30. We won the premiership that year.   
 
I enjoyed the business aspect as well. I quickly realised that network marketing is a leadership business. To do well, you must become a leader and help develop other leaders. That’s how you experience leveraged and residual income with this business model.  
 
We built a great team of likeminded people. We were having lots of fun building together, and earning some extra income on the side to help us achieve our goals. 
 
Things were going well. 
 
Until one nasty comment derailed us.
 
It was early Saturday afternoon. I was getting ready before footy. I checked my Facebook notifications and saw I’d been tagged in a post.
 
A guy I used to go to school with (who was notorious for being a pot-stirrer) posted:
 
“Isagenix and the Side Hustle Secret are a pyramid scheme. Prove me wrong.”
 
And he tagged myself and my teammates who I was building the business with. 
 
He wanted a reaction and an argument. 
 
None of us gave him that satisfaction.  
 
But I felt angry. I felt attacked. And the thing that annoyed me the most, was that he was attacking my team mates. I knew my skin was thick enough to brush off his nasty attack, but how would it affect my teammates?  
 
I messaged him to find out why he’d posted this. He accused me of using my influence as a financial coach to scam people.
 
He attacked my character and my integrity. And that hurt. Because I knew that was never my intention. 
 
His comment would continue to haunt me for the next couple of years. I would often think about it and get angry. Wishing I had written a smart comeback to counter his attack. His nasty comment was living in my head rent free. Causing damage.
Negative emotions eat you from the inside 
During my 12 months studying with Bob Proctor, we read and unpacked a book called ‘Working with the Law’. In this book was a chapter on forgiveness
 
The book spoke about an experiment conducted by Professor Gates of the Psychological Laboratory of Washington, D.C. In this experiment they wanted to test how different emotions affect the body. 
 
They collected samples of perspiration (sweat) from each emotional reaction the participant was experiencing and did a chemical analysis on it. They discovered bad emotions (such as guilt, anger and resentment) produced a strong acid test. 
 
Now you know what happens when you put acid on your skin?
 
It burns. 
 
And if acid is left on your skin it will destroy your flesh. 
 
So when you constantly harbour negative thoughts which create negative emotions like guilt, anger and resentment –  you are quite literally poisoning yourself from the inside out. 
Forgiving my attacker 
It took me a long time before I could forgive the man who had wronged me. But I knew if I continued to hold onto this feeling of resentment and anger it would cause me far more damage than him.  
 
I decided to call him. 
 
And not only did I forgive him, I thanked him for what he said. Because his comment was a catalyst to help me grow. 
 
And upon reflection, I realised perhaps there was some truth in what he said. Maybe how we were conducting ourselves gave others the impression it was a scam. And as the leader of the team, it was my duty to accept that responsibility.  
 
He was quite taken back from the phone call. It seemed as though he had long forgotten the comment he made.
From this one small act, I was able to completely let go of the anguish this caused me. And it never bothered me again from that day.
Final Thoughts
It’s much easier to play the victim and hold onto your resentment when you’ve felt wronged by others.   
 
Forgiving your perpetrators and letting go can feel almost impossible. 
 
Ryan Holiday wrote in, ‘Right Thing, Right Now’ (a book about the stoic virtue of justice):
 
“Forgiveness is not martyrdom – it is a kind of conquering, transcending the opponent, the situation, and yourself. 
 
Nothing frustrates evil quite like forgiveness. Nothing befuddles hatred quite like not getting hatred in return.” 
 
When you can forgive those (including yourself) who have caused you pain, you set yourself free. And you can see the person who hurt you, was also there to give you a lesson.
Have a great day, 
Marshy
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WHO IS MARSHY?

Financial Habits Mentor & Host of the Podcast 'Money Mastery with Marshy.

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