June 2008
Art of NetworkingBe sure to set your printer to "landscape" mode before printing.
Art of Networking
Onffline Networking?
The ultimate form of business networking.
 |
Onffline Networking ends the debate over whether online networking is more effective than offline networking (or vice versa); it embraces both tactics to create the "ultimate form of networking." Onffline Networking is being embraced by professionals both young and old as a way to communicate across multiple generations to gain visibility and more opportunity.
By combining the best of what online networking has to offer (quick introductions, transparency) with offline networking (human interaction, personal branding) professionals who practice Onffline Networking have a higher likelihood of getting noticed and eliminating the potential of alienating a particular demographic.
As technology improves and professional networks continue to grow, the two types of networking will converge. Most people you meet offline will have an online presence, and many people you meet online will want to eventually connect offline. It's the best of both worlds.
After facilitating hundreds of networking events around the country over the past five years, I've met many people (mostly in their 40's and 50's) who naïvely think that face-to-face networking is the only way to network. Some comments I often hear are:
- "I've always found success networking face-to-face. Why change?"
- "Online networking is for kids. I'm a professional!"
- "Online networking is too impersonal. My business requires human interaction."
- "It takes too long to meet people the old-fashioned way. I can meet 1,000 people online in a week!"
- "Offline events are expensive and time-consuming. It's so much cheaper to network online."
- "Offline networking is a thing of the past. Online is the future."
The point is … why not do both?
Below are some suggestions for incorporating an Onffline Networking plan into your daily activities.
Onffline Networking Recipe for Success:
- Join an offline leads group (e.g. BNI www.bni.com). Become a part of a highly structured business organization that keeps you accountable and guarantees you'll meet new people. Continue the dialogue 24/7 with each of these members in an online environment. Then leverage the online network to grow your own network by connecting with other people your group members already know.
- Join an online business network (e.g. Fast Pitch! www.fastpitchnetworking.com). Join an online business network designed to help you not only make connections but also promote your business. Doing so will help increase your visibility across the entire Internet, and ultimately create more opportunities to meet more people offline.
- Join an online social network (e.g. Facebook). Let's face it, we all want to socialize. Socializing online can also be a great way to network and indirectly promote your business if done correctly. Be careful, however. Mixing your business with too much pleasure can be risky for your brand.
- Attend at least three offline tradeshows/conferences per year. Although tradeshows can be time-consuming and expensive, they are a great way to network in a different environment. Tradeshows often bring people together from different backgrounds and locations, which can help broaden your reach.
- Schedule at least 50 face-to-face meetings with people you meet online. Make it a point to network face-to-face with people you meet online who have the potential to help you grow your business, particularly people who are highly connected themselves. Come full circle with these people. This is Onffline Networking at its finest.
Onffline Networking Quick Tips:
Online Tip: Use online networking as a screening process to pick and choose who you want to connect with on your terms. Use the online environment to begin a conversation which may eventually lead to an offline meeting. Continue to leverage the online network to grow the relationship further by passing referrals and inviting other people to join you. Consider creating your own online groups based on different affiliations. Encourage your online group members to meet offline. Note: Do not use an online network to try and make a sale. Be patient and save that for future offline meetings.
Offline Tip: Use offline networking as a way to establish your identity within the community. First and foremost, be yourself and always look for ways to help others. Always dress professionally and practice communicating your message (i.e. 'Make Your Pitch'). Encourage the people you meet offline to also connect with you in your online network. Use your online network to refer business to the new people who join your network.
Good Luck!
Bill Jula is the CEO & Founder of Fast Pitch! www.fastpitchnetworking.com, one of the most successful online business networks in the world. Fast Pitch! allows business professionals to make new connections and market their business online. Fast Pitch! fills a void in the marketplace left by social networks such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn by giving small business owners the tools they need to effectively market themselves and their business.
 |
The Age-Old Question: How Do I Get More Referrals?
The simple (but not easy) answer.
Over the years there is one question that crops up time and time again: "How do I get more referrals?"
The answer is simple, but not easy. It includes both a mindset and a skill set. The mindset involves a concept that most members have heard from me—"give referrals."
Let's operate from the assumption that a chapter gets that. No, really. I mean the chapter has to fully get it and engage it before the second part comes into play—the skill set.
The skill set is all about creating a culture of learning at both the macro and micro levels of a chapter.
This is where there's a disconnect for chapters looking for more referrals. The macro-dynamics of a BNI chapter are intentionally set up to create and foster an active learning environment. This has to be overlaid on a micro-dynamic of creating and fostering active learning at an individual level. Let me illustrate what I mean by "micro"—or individual—learning.
We still have members who are doing one of two things during their 60-second introductions:
1. Trying to close a deal or make a sale to the members; or
2. Being too general and all-encompassing.
In a micro-dynamic that fosters active learning, you are teaching your fellow members how to bring referrals to you. In other words, you are training a referral source. We have talked for years about the members of your chapter being like a sales force for you. We even use the phrase "Sales Manager's Minute" to drive this point home.
But how do you do this? How do you turn this minute into an educational moment that teaches members how to refer you?
Develop a curriculum for each week's meeting—weeks or months in advance
Seriously, you need to take a week-by-week approach to what you are going to teach in your 60 seconds so that your members can refer you effectively. Winging it during the introductions will not create that active learning environment predicated on training your referral sources. It will not teach others who to refer to you or how to refer you to others.
The more specific the presentation you do, the better. I understand that sounds counter-intuitive—it's like telling someone driving a car to "turn into a skid," but the truth is that being specific and compiling it into a weekly curriculum will get you more referrals.
Practice the Reciprocity Ring
Awhile ago, I conducted a BNI exercise for a chapter called the Reciprocity Ring. (If you don't know what that is, you should ask your director to do it for your chapter; if your director doesn't know what it is, ask him or her to contact BNI HQ.) During this exercise, members are taught to ask for a referral by a specific individual's name and title.
On this day, I asked people to share the name of someone with whom they've been trying to make a connection. A member of the chapter named Sally stood and asked for a referral to Marty R., the top salesperson for the last ten years in a row for Century 21 Real Estate.
Another member by the name of Janet stood up and said, "Sally, Marty is my sister-in-law!" Sally exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, why didn't you ever tell me?" and Janet replied, "Why didn't you ever ask?" Why, indeed!
Teach your members "Who" and "How"
When you teach your members who to refer to you and how to refer you to others, you are creating within them an instinctual, automatic response to specific phrases, actions, or observations. You are teaching them your language of referrals. Your language of referrals is going to be different than each other member.
Can you see why having 52 weeks a year is necessary to train your sales force well?
Gauge what your chapter needs to learn
This micro-dynamic of active learning is layered under an overall macro-dynamic of active learning within your chapter as a whole. Look, we felt this was so important that we created a position within your chapter to focus specifically on education: the Education Coordinator.
There are so many BNI-produced free supplemental educational materials that you could easily become overwhelmed. Your members are all at different levels on the networking growth curve. Not only do you need to know where you are as an individual in this developmental process, but you also need to know where your chapter is as a whole.
If you were going to ask someone for directions, you would start by telling them first where you are starting from, wouldn't you? By the same token, you would tell a doctor what your symptoms are before asking him to heal you.
There are tools to help you evaluate where your chapter as a whole is in this process and where you as an individual are as well. Your director is available to help you make this evaluation. Your leadership team can provide guidance to members and the education coordinator can give you a wealth of information, week by week. These folks can guide you to the materials relevant to where you and your chapter are in the learning process.
Engage the tools for active learning
There are many educational tools available to help foster this active learning environment. The BNI podcast at www.BNIpodcast.com is a weekly podcast that I do personally for BNI members which is offered absolutely free every week. My blog at www.NetworkingEntrepreneur.com is updated every few days and offers a chance for you to interact with others, as well as myself, personally!
I write monthly articles at Entrepreneur.com, which are also free to download and review. www.NetworkingNow.com offers a free month's membership to BNI members (use the coupon code: free30days) and contains a lot of downloadable material. BNI's monthly newsletter, SuccessNet Online, is another resource of free educational material.
In addition to these free support materials, there are other BNI resources in which you can invest, such as the books I have written on networking and audio cd's produced on networking.
You have a choice today. You can get plugged into BNI and the educational aspects of networking through these supplemental resources I've talked about in this article and create both the macro- and micro-environments of active learning.
Don't just keep on doing business as usual in your chapter if you are not already seeing this active learning environment in action. I promise you, that age-old question—"How do I get referrals"—will stop cropping up. Your members will be too busy taking care of the referrals that are coming in.
I told you—the answer would be simple, just not easy. First, give referrals. Second, create an active learning environment as an individual and as a chapter. It's that simple.
Called the father of modern networking by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder and chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. His latest New York Times best selling book, Masters of Sales, can be viewed at www.MastersBooks.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company. He can be reached at misner@bni.com.
BNI in the News
BNI—Old School Tip, New School Results
Metro Brokers' Brian Macmillan uses a BNI referral group to generate extra real estate business.
Brian Macmillan from Metro Brokers is a great young example of a proactive busines generation lifestyle. Are you still waiting around at home for someone to call you about buying or selling a house? You've all heard about "joining a leads group." This story will get a couple things straight.
Click here to read the article.
Network Like a Professional
Go beyond exchanging business cards to building relationships.
Today's Financial Women prominently featured Dr. Ivan Misner and BNI Executive Director Hazel Walker in this article concerning some of the most valuable fundamentals of business networking.
Click here to read the article.
Beat the Recession: Refuse to Participate!
Are you sick of the "R" word? Do you skim over recession-laced articles online? Is your industry set for a downturn during the recession? Today I found a really amazing response to the thought of an oncoming recession from Ivan Misner, founder of BNI, a business networking company. In fact the idea is so simple you might even be dismissive of it. But I challenge you to take this advice to heart. Just refuse to participate in the recession. Phew, easy enough to say anyway.
Click here to read the article.
Chance to Nominate Top Young Employee
Montrose firm offers £1,000 award
An Angus business group is offering a £1,000 award for the county's top young employee.
The Nexus (Angus) branch of Business Network International, based at Montrose, is looking for young people aged between 16 and 25 for its Young Employee of the Year award which will be open to all businesses in the area.
Click here to read the article.
Face-to-Face Networking is Vital
Even in an age of e-mails and the Internet, it seems that there may still be a place for the traditional business network, with entrepreneurs meeting weekly to swap contacts and help one another to grow their companies.
Business leaders in Dundee think that networking can still pay dividends and are today officially launching a new lunchtime meeting.
The Verdant Chapter of Business Network International (BNI) is the first Scottish group to meet at lunchtime, instead of the organisation's traditional 7 a.m. gathering time.
Read the article.
Tweede Chapter Launches
"De Ondernemer," a Wegener-owned regional business newspaper, recently featured an article about the launch of the second BNI chapter in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.
Click here to read the article.
Business Networking the BNI Way:
We have breakfast and exchange cards!
BNI Montreal collaborated in a feature article on networking which definitely placed BNI in the forefront of networking and improved our visibility. The article was published on April 26, 2008, in the French-language newspaper La Presse, a major daily paper of Montreal with over half a million papers in circulation. It was featured in the special Career & Opportunities section.
Click here to read the article.
 |
Referral Power!
The key to making your chapter a superstar.
In the summer of 2000, I wrote an article for SuccessNet entitled "The Power of 40/90," which discussed how important it is to productively grow your chapter. By request, I am offering this as an updated version of that article.
There are many chapters with good averages, but what does it take to be better than average? Here are current statistics of two of our chapters:
| # of Members | Yearly Revenue | Revenue per member |
| 20 | US$533,166.00 | US$26,658.30 |
| 35 | US$1,950,820.80 | US$57,377.08 |
You can see how your chapter revenue more than triples as your number of chapter members double.
Then sometimes there is a superstar. Congratulations BNI Olney Thursday Breakfast Chapter! Here are their impressive statistics:
| # of Members | Yearly Revenue | Revenue per member |
| 24 | US$3,290,185.00 | US$137,091.04 |
And they're not the only superstar out there. I feel the true essence of a successful BNI chapter is exemplified by the BNI Gaithersburg Wednesday Lunch Chapter. In 2007, without including repeat business, BNI Gaithersburg Wednesday Lunch Chapter had a total of 1,984 referrals from their 35 members, and their revenue was $10,480,000. Their closed sales average was 49% and the value of each member was $299,428.57. That's certainly productively growing your chapter!
How did they do it? Susan Bierly, BNI Gaithersburg Chapter of the Decade member and President of IMC Water Coolers, LLC, explains: "What we have observed over the last 14 years is the number of members we have directly correlates to the referrals we pass. The philosophy in our chapter is to hold our members accountable for production as well as the quality of our production. The quality of our 1-to-1s directly affects the quality of referrals.
"When you walk into a meeting each week with the attitude of training your sales team to go out and find new business for you, it makes it the most important appointment you have all week."
There is a common thread among the most successful BNI chapters: they follow the BNI agenda each week; they have a very strong Membership Committee; and, they work completely as a team. I also notice that these chapters are the most focused at Leadership Training and are very goal-oriented.
So what does it take to make your chapter a superstar? It really is not that difficult. It starts with focused goals and working with your local director to achieve them. You need to run the meeting as a business not a club. In other words, you just need to follow the BNI plan! There is a lot of experience to draw from, and you have a great support team to help you along the way.
Abraham-Hicks states, "It is as easy to create a castle as a button. It's just a matter of whether you are focused on a castle or a button."
Now is the time to create your BNI Chapter Castle!
My BNI Story
 |
| Photo courtesy of Spectrum Photography |
Dr. Jeremy Ciano can't thank his BNI network enough for helping him open his private practice, RevolutionEYES, in November 2007—it's his dream come true.
But it was actually Ciano's fellow members who wanted to pay tribute to the Network Masters chapter member by awarding him the 2008 BNI Member of the Year Award.
Fellow chapter member Bridget Gurtowsky says, "Ciano genuinely believes in Givers Gain, and is always working hard to generate business for other members. He is a solid representation of the ultimate BNI member."
Ciano joined BNI in 2003 and he quickly realized there was a direct benefit to being an active participant. Because it was risky putting his reputation on the line for a business owner he didn't know, he made it a point to get to know everybody. He even branched out and visited other chapters on a regular basis.
"I made appointments to have a personal meeting with a BNI member virtually every day until I got to know everybody," he said. "They became my friends, and I felt more comfortable sending them referrals. I think they felt the same way."
Ciano says the direct referrals are a big reason he continues to schedule meetings with every new chapter member; but it's the fringe benefits that are beyond measure.
"Having the peace of mind to know that things will be done correctly, when promised, and at the prices quoted, is a huge value to me," Ciano says. "But, best of all, these are my friends, and I'm happy to be working with them."
Submitted by Jill Bode, Head PR Chick - BNI Central Indiana
 |
Based on other networking group experiences, BNI has given me the best return on my investment. In the eight months I have been involved with BNI as a founding member of the BNI WealthBuilders chapter in Western Pennsylvania, I have had more sales from BNI than that provided by other networking groups over a five year span.
I made Givers Gain my #1 goal, and it is the main reason for my success.
Brian J. McKee, Publisher McKee Magazines Inc., www.mcmags.com
Submitted by Mel DePaoli, BNI Director - Western Pennsylvania
Constructing Success
After working out of the back of an ophthalmologist's office, our company, Calsea Vision Aids Inc., decided to move into an adjacent building, which was larger. I had just recently joined the BNI Flying Fish Chapter and decided to use the group to help us with our challenge. We needed to complete the upgrade and necessary installations all within five weeks.
"We make wood look good." That was the hook of BNI member and carpenter Adrian Powlett of Adrian Powlett Enterprises. Since I found this memory hook captivating, Adrian was the first person I contacted for help.
Adrian had never refurbished a doctor's office before, but he was definitely up for the challenge. We had a very limited budget and many big ideas—Adrian took them all into account. With little compromise, he was able to set up two new offices by finding products we could afford and, where possible, reusing the material from our old office.
During the process, Adrian changed his category from carpentry to construction and we immediately sourced his services to install a wheelchair ramp for patient access. He worked long, late hours and was always there when we needed him. The support he offered was unimaginable—he was able to construct our dreams!
The directors of Calsea Vision Aids Inc. thank and fully recommend Adrian Powlett. We know that we would never have been able to complete our project at the price and in the timeframe we had without "the man who makes wood look good."
Submitted by Eugene Holder, Calsea Vision Aids Inc., Education Coordinator - Flying Fish Chapter
Achieving the Impossible
Not long after the Sheridan chapter in Wyoming began, one of its members, Mark Pixley, was involved in a serious auto accident. A lover of hunting and the outdoors, Mark was unable to walk and regained only limited use of his hands and arms.
Devastated by the news, the Sheridan chapter rushed to support his efforts to recover and some time later, joyfully welcomed him back to meetings. Attending in a motorized chair with his dog companion at his side, Mark was able to resume his membership and just recently finished his duties as chapter president.
But the desire to experience the outdoors and continue hunting did not leave him. Testing out a series of options, Mark found that he was able to successfully operate a crossbow. With the help of his brother, Mark spent many hours practicing and eventually learned to place his trigger finger all the way through the guard and use a wrist movement to "pull" the trigger. Last year, he took a buck deer from about 50 yards.
Mark is now working to form a Handicapped Sportsmen Companion Club, which would pair able-bodied sportsmen to assist disabled sportsmen when they are in the field to fish or hunt. He has informed the chapter that next he intends to conquer fly fishing.
BNI is more than a group of people passing referrals. It's about compassion, trust, and wholehearted support of one another. The Sheridan chapter is always there to encourage and cheer on Mark as he refuses to let an accident that occurred four years ago slow him down.
Submitted by Paul D. Gray, Executive Director - BNI Wyoming/S.E. Montana
 |
The following poem was written by Ann McKenna, Education Coordinator for the BNI Synergy Chapter in Western Pennsylvania. She delivered the poem as an Education Moment at her chapter meeting.
The BNI Way
By Ann W. McKenna
We meet every Friday promptly at seven.
Chatting and greeting in networking heaven.
The meeting is structured, minute by minute, with announcements and reports,
About 1-to-1s, referrals passed, money made, but never about sports.
In my "Marketing Moment" it's all about me.
I want to teach you about what I do, so you can refer me to all who you see.
The "I have" portion of the meeting allows us to share wisdom…perhaps a pearl,
To share a testimonial or, better yet, to pass a referral.
Promptness and attendance are essential and we are held accountable.
But BNI has proven that the success these rules lead to is clearly insurmountable.
Members are creative, driven, focused and full of energy.
What else would you expect from a group who calls itself Synergy?
"How can I help you?" "Who's your best customer?" "Who do you want to meet?"
We're here to network, not net-sit or net-eat.
Leads, advertisements, cold calling—what a pain!
None of these are done at BNI. It's all about Givers Gain.
Submitted by David L. Holzer, BNI Director - Western Pennsylvania
Big Thank-You
I want to say THANK YOU to Dr. Ivan Misner for BNI.
Without BNI I would not have been fortunate enough to have ever met our Executive Director Glenn Kirkwood. I am confident all BNI Directors are proven leaders and have the highest core values (in fact, of the directors I do know, this is absolutely the case).
Having said that, Glenn Kirkwood is an absolute standout. Glenn has given me so much without any thought of how, when or why he would gain.
I've known Glenn for a short-time, and in that time he has really helped me develop my business by maximizing my potential through the BNI system.
So again, I want to say a really big THANK YOU.
Luke Munro, BNI Starship Chapter, Narellan, Australia
Thanks from the UK
I joined BNI last November in the Black Pear Chapter in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, UK.
I was fairly new to running my own business and can honestly say BNI has been the best thing I have done to help me expand my business and build my personal skills.
Thank you to BNI.
Jamie Jenkins, Black Pear Chapter, Bromsgrove, UK
Breaking News
Revving Up for the BNI Bike Ride
 |
| Sam and Dorit Schwartz with the BNI Bike |
My team and I have been participating in various fundraising events, collecting funds, and promoting the Ride. You can also participate in this worthwhile event by joining other BNI members in:
- Donating through the Misner Foundation (specifying the BNI Ride);
- Joining us for a day ride;
- Joining us at one of the networking events that will take place along our route; or,
- Promoting this to other people you may think will be interested.
Submitted by Sam Schwarz
Executive Director, BNI Northern Virginia
National Director, BNI-Israel, BNI-Hungary, BNI-Romania, BNI-Bulgaria
New Promotional Video from BNI Canada
 |
Click here to view the video.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse Attend the BNI National Conference!
 |
Special guests included Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Jim Blasingame, Bob Burg, and Fred Johnson.
Throughout the event guests were treated to a special performance by musician Fred Johnson. There were 15 break-out sessions full of great information and BNI HQ would like to thank all the presenters for taking the time to conduct excellent sessions.
 |
- Mickey and Minnie
- New director orientation conducted by the "Above and Beyond" team
- All the directors
- Tracks listed on the agenda
- Operations/administration break-outs
- Office systems
- BNI Connect
 |
Jim Blasingame Interviews Misner, Dominguez, Macedonio and Three BNI Directors at BNI Conference
At the BNI National Director's Conference in Orlando, Florida, in May, Jim Blasingame conducted five live interviews that are now archived online and available for you to download and listen to at any time.
Simply click on the link below to access these great interviews:
Ivan Misner: Networking is a powerful tool and Dr. Misner tells Jim about the Achilles heel of networking and how to use this concept to better understand networking strengths.
Connie Hinton and John Meyer: Making connections is an important part of running a successful business. Connie and John talk about how to connect with people through networking and also discuss the current economy and how you can refuse to participate in a recession.
Hazel Walker: What's the difference between the way women and men network? Hazel goes over these differences as well as the strengths and weaknesses associated with both women's and men's networking styles.
Mike Macedonio: How do you create referrals for life? Mike gives Jim some expert tips on how to do this.
Norm Dominguez: The profile of a typical BNI member has changed a lot since the beginning of the organization. Jim talks with Norm about current BNI members and how the organization works for them.
To access and listen to any of these interviews now, please visit: http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-archives-categories/networking_18.html
Words of Wisdom From Brian Tracy
BNI Members get 25% off BTU course fees. For more information, please click, call or e-mail: www.briantracyu.com/bnimembers; (866) 505-8345, Extension 21; bni@briantracyu.com
Also, until June 15, 2008, BNI Members get 50% off a Crash Course to help them improve a specific skill in a cost-effective manner. To learn more, click here.
 |
Why success demands goal-setting and persevering to the end.
More than 5,000 years ago, in the ancient mystery schools of Egypt, the mental and spiritual laws and principles of success were taught to students who dedicated their entire lives to learning the "Esoteric Arts."
One of these "secrets" was the Law of Attraction, which said that your mind is a magnet and that you invariably attract into your life people and circumstances in harmony with your dominant thoughts, especially those that are emotionalized.
Today we say, "Like attracts like" and "Birds of a feather flock together." From ancient times, it was known that your mind sends out vibrations, like radio waves, that are picked up by the minds of other people who are tuned into the same rate of vibration.
The force that determines the sending power of your mental vibrations is the amount of emotion, positive or negative, that you put behind a thought.
If there is something that you intensely desire, something that excites you, you will send out powerful, high-frequency vibrations that can travel long distances in split seconds and cause your phone to ring from someone you have not heard from for months or even years.
Because your mind is so powerful, especially when backed by emotionalized thoughts, you must handle it carefully, like a child handling a gun. The Law of Attraction is neutral. It works on both positive and negative thoughts. It brings into your life whatever you are thinking about on a regular basis with either fear or desire.
When the book The Secret came out, along with the movie, I was happily surprised to see that the first half of the movie comes from my audio program and seminar "The Psychology of Achievement," which was produced initially in 1981.
The weakness of The Secret is that it is "necessary but not sufficient." Of course, it is important that you think positive thoughts and that, by so doing, you will attract positive people and circumstances into your life. But it is not enough.
Arriving at Your Destination Point
In response to The Secret, I decided to write a book which is called Flight Plan - The Real Secret of Success. In this book, I explain that life is very much like a long distance flight. When the plane takes off, it will be off course 99 percent of the time. Nonetheless, the plane will eventually arrive at its destination, even thought it was off course most of the time.
In my experience, the real secret of success consists of three major factors:
- You must be absolutely clear about your destination. By this I mean you must have clear, written, specific, measurable goals, committed to paper and organized into specific, step-by-step plans of action.
Before you can set your goals, you must know exactly who you are and what you want. You must do a thorough analysis of yourself, your life, hopes, dreams, and ambitions. Then, you create a "Flight Plan" to get you from wherever you are today to wherever you want to be in the months and years ahead. - You must take off! You must have the courage to step out in faith with no guarantee of success. You must be prepared to launch in the face of your fears, doubts, and natural reluctance to break out of your comfort zone. Les Brown says, "To achieve something that you have never achieved before, you must be prepared to do something that you have never done before."
Once you have launched toward your goal, like an airplane, you will meet with unexpected turbulence, headwinds, updrafts and downdrafts, lightning, storms, and every sort of mechanical problem. You must be prepared to make continual "course corrections" as you move toward your goal. - You must resolve in advance to persist in the face of any difficulty or problem that you experience. Perhaps the most important quality for success is, and always has been, the quality of persistence. You must resolve in advance that you will never give up. You must resolve in advance that you will view every temporary setback or difficulty as merely a signal that you need to make a "course correction" as you move inevitably toward your goal.
This is a great time to be alive. The very best days of your life lie ahead of you. The highest income of your life is still to come. The greatest experiences of your life are still to be experienced.
There is very little that you cannot accomplish if you will file your flight plan. Determine exactly what it is that you want to achieve, take off toward your goal with no guarantees of success, and then make continual course corrections until you finally succeed. If you resolve to do these things, nothing can stop you from creating an extraordinary life.
 |
About Brian Tracy:
Brian Tracy is Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations.
Brian Tracy has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and addressed more than 4,000,000 people in 4,000 talks and seminars throughout the US, Canada and 46 other countries worldwide. As a keynote speaker and seminar leader, he addresses more than 250,000 people each year.
Brian has studied, researched, written and spoken for 30 years in the fields of sales, entrepreneurship, economics, history, business, philosophy and psychology. He is a top-selling author of 42 books that have been translated into 35 languages and which are sold in 52 countries.