A few weeks ago, on a Wednesday, at around 11:30am, I was scheduled to meet with a member of my team who was here in southern California for a few days. She was in San Diego, on her way to Los Angeles, and we chose to meet at a restaurant just off the freeway in Orange County where I live.

I got to the restaurant first, took a seat near the hostess station and waited. A woman sat down next to me, apparently waiting for her party to arrive. I saw some paperwork in her hands and recognized the name of the network marketing company on the brochure. I started chatting with her and she proceeded to take a sample of one of her products out of her purse. Before she could get into her pitch, the couple she was waiting for arrived. Off they went to their table to discuss business.

A few minutes later, a man came in, carrying a notebook. In the clear outer sleeve he had inserted the cover of a business opportunity magazine I recognized, featuring his network marketing company. He told the hostess he was meeting someone and asked to have a look around the restaurant to see if they had arrived. I later saw him doing a flip book presentation with his guest. He was showing him the comp plan.

My associate arrived and we got a table. After we were seated, I told her what I had seen while I was waiting and my conclusion that network marketing was "taking over". Okay, I didn't use those words, but I recall thinking that here we were in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, in a not very crowded restaurant, and there were three of us here who were in network marketing businesses.

I think that means something.

It means the world is a different place than it was twenty years ago, or even ten, at least here in southern California. Of course everyone knows southern California is where everything happens first, so if you live somewhere else, be aware of what's coming to your community.

It's a good thing.