← BNI & The Power of One
BNI & The Power of One
BNI 765: A Time to be Thankful
00:15:39
In this episode we discuss the importance of being thankful and taking time to reflect.
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:40]
A
Welcome back to B and I in the Power of One podcast. Thank you for joining me again today. We are the day before Thanksgiving, so just something a little bit different. Been traveling a ton the last couple weeks. I know that seems to be a common theme. It kind of is in my life. I will do 17 right round trips this year. And so we've been gone just for our big recognition events. We do a regional awards event in each of my regions each and every year to celebrate all the successes our chapters and individual members had for the previous leadership term. So the fall becomes very, very busy. I'm a huge believer. Recognition is one of our core values. These events are tremendously important to recognize not only what's happened, but to inspire the future activity and everything else. And. But there are a ton of work we had just in the last two weeks when we were down in our Florida regions. We had over 400 people I think at, at each event. So it takes a little bit of time away. And I wanted to do something a little bit different today as we get back into the swing of things here. We're one month left basically in 2024, which is crazy. But just talk real quick, real short around being thankful. It's appropriate time or tomorrow being Thanksgiving to reflect on all the things we are thankful for. And I'm sure many of you who are listening spend time doing that. If you haven't, you really should. It puts a lot of things in perspective. I think gratitude really helps inspire all of us to do more with all the opportunities that we do have in front of us that we can often forget about, can often lose sight of just because of day to day and the hustle and bustle of life and the stresses that come along. With all of that, we can lose sight of it. And so I'm not going to talk about, you know, going to all the sappiness of all the things I am thankful for. There's. There's too many to list anyways. But I do think it's important to be thinking about what lies ahead and especially with what we have, all of us as B and I members, the opportunity, the value that, what it means to be a B and I member the fact that, you know, 98% of the business market doesn't have what we have by having a chapter of members around us, peers, friends, who are all there to help us and to have a team. Most people don't have that, you know, maybe they have a team that works for them or with them in their, in their business. But to Have a team outside of that that is dedicated and, and focused and wants to help us is really an important thing. We had it. And sometimes tragedy, sometimes tragedy can, can really force this reflection. It's a unfortunate circumstance here up in our hometown. It was a tragic accident the other day, one car accident that killed three. It was a set of grandparents and their daughter who is a mother of two young children. Those two young children happen to go to my kids school. Her oldest son happens to be a friend of my son in his class. And when these things happen you just tend to, it tends to put a lot of things into focus for all of us. And to have it happen this time of year with the holidays and Thanksgiving and everything else is just extra heartbreaking. But also again brings into focus all the things we should be thankful for because at the end of the day we don't really know. We don't really know when it's going to be our time or what could happen to us or to any of our loved ones. And so having that gratitude is vital. So when you think about your B and I membership, I would challenge you to be thinking about what are you grateful for? What can you be thankful for around your chapter and your membership. A lot of people enter BN and we get so focused on what results am I getting and how do I get more results and how do I produce bigger and better referrals. And that's fine, that's completely natural. But it can cause us to lose sight and not think about all the intrinsic values, all the things that are beneficial of being a part of this amazing organization. This is, I mean for me, I've been in B and I more years of my life than not. It has provided me so many different opportunities to meet so many amazing people, both who are, who are members of ours, who are team members of ours, past, present, I don't future team members of ours that we'll get to work with lifelong very close friends out of this organization. It's provided an opportunity to build a business that provides for my family and I'm thankful for just the opportunity to maybe help somebody know. I know what it was like as a member to struggle. I witnessed firsthand what it's like for as a member and even as a, as an executive director with a very small region what that's like to be struggling with. When I, you know, my parents first got involved and I was working with them and so just to have the opportunity to, to be able to help somebody, maybe get through that or even avoid that, I'm I'm extremely thankful for what this organization provides me. I'm extremely thankful for all of you who happen to listen to this through the last couple weeks of travel, met a lot of members who brought up the podcast, that they listened to the podcast, that they enjoy the podcast, and that's humbling. I still, every time somebody says, you know, I really enjoy your pod or I listen to your podcast all the time, I always apologize. My natural reaction. But thankful for the opportunity to do that, to have the technology to be able to do that, to have a topic that we're so passionate about, that we want to talk about it on an ongoing basis. We've done 130 podcast episodes in 20, 24 so far. To even be able to do that, like, that's not a bragging, but to have the interaction from you guys who are listening, to have people submitting questions, to have people submitting their weekly presentations, to have the opportunity to work with Mike, who it's not only a joy to do, but that's a second cousin of mine. So to be able to have that time together, it's just provided so much and continues to do so. And I'm forever thankful for that. And think about as being a member, like, again, you have this amazing opportunity in front of you to really not only just grow your business, maybe change your business, maybe grow your business in a. In a way that brings more meaning to you, brings more time to you. You know, I tell people you should be joining, should be building a network around you to help make your business more efficient, effective, and enjoyable. That's the opportunity that exists. And no matter what's been happening in the chapter, no matter what results you may or may not be getting at this point in time, doesn't take that opportunity away. Right? Maybe we need to reflect on, are we capturing that opportunity, we fully tapping into it, are we taking advantage of it, are we giving our all into it? And. And if the answer is no, then you have an opportunity to do that. You have an opportunity to change your outcome. You have an opportunity to engage more. But to have a team around you who is willing and able to meet with you every single week to hear from you on how they can help you is such an incredibly powerful thing that I think a lot of us, present company included, when I was a member, and even to this day, many times just kind of take for granted. You know, just because anybody could find a B and I chapter to potentially be a part of doesn't mean most do, or you'd be surprised at how many people still have no idea it exists. Right? And for anybody who's a young professional, if you found B and I in your 20s, like I was fortunate enough to do, or your early 30s, be forever grateful for that. I've talked to multiple members the last couple weeks who are really highly successful people who have said to me things like, I didn't find B and I until I was in my late 40s. I didn't find B and I until I was in my 50s. I, you know, I didn't find B and I until much later in their career. And they reflect back and go, man, imagine what I could have done if I found it in my 20s and 30s. And if you did and you have what, a massive opportunity that exists in front of you to be a part of something and develop something that's going to last your entire career and could really be the catalyst for what that career could be. Think about just being thankful for the relationships that develop out of your B and I chapter, not only with your current members, even people that were members of your chapters that maybe you became friends with or you're at least connected with that you can reach out to. You know, always super heartbreaking when these tragedies happen and you realize, like, how much help a family needs or a person needs when the tragedy and, you know, people put out on, you know, Facebook and these things and donations and all these things happen. And I think about, you know, how lucky we all are to have a network that I know that if something tragic were to happen in my life, I've got a network of people that I can reach out to in that time of need that will be there, will be there, ready to help me. I don't need to feel alone, because I'm not, and so many people are. If something were to happen in their business, in their personal life, they would quickly realize how alone they really, really are. And I don't think B and I members would suffer from that. That challenge. You have this team around you, these relationships you are developing that many can and will be lifelong despite the status of a membership and how that continues to grow, right? That you have this opportunity to be. You have a structure. You have this. This chapter. You've got this brand that's going to continue to help you attract more people and more relationships and more opportunities as you move forward. It's just, I think, a lot of times something that. That we lose sight of. So I would challenge all of us to spend a little bit of time today and tomorrow and maybe over this long weekend, reflecting for all the things that we are thankful for and how important they are, and reflecting on where maybe we're losing some insight on that. Maybe things that we're taking for granted. And, you know, include your B and I membership in that thought process, include your fellow members and in your chapter and what it means to have that and what has it done for you and what could it do for you and what do you need to do to ensure that those things kind of happen? Right. We all have this amazing opportunity in front of us. Yes, it looks and smells and feels like work because it is in many ways, but it is an opportunity that again, 98% of small business owners and sales professionals in this country don't have right now. Don't have. And that's something to be thankful for. That's something to be taking advantage of. And I don't think we, we do the second part of that until we do the first part of it. And all the other things in your life, family, friends, relationships, all of that. I remind my kids and I remind myself all the time that, you know, when things are going are the hardest, you know, my kids might be struggling with a subject in school or my son, like, complaining about how hard, you know, a practice was or a game was or whatever, or, you know, I, I am like everybody else and will complain about certain things during certain days, about how hard things can be, that there's always probably millions of people who would kill to be in that situation, to have the experience of, of that hard situation, Right? Like, how many kids would. Would kill to be able to play the sport my kid plays and know what a hard practice is like, but they're unfortunately not able to or don't have access to or whatever. How many people would kill to be in your situation on that hard day? Because, you know, their experience and their things that they're going through are much more difficult and much more extreme or much more limited. Just like, you know, I have to remind myself sometimes I take these, like, gym classes, and I'm like, in the middle of it, and I'm like, I don't want to be here. This, this is so difficult. And it helps at times remember, like, there are people in the hospital right now wishing they were able to do what I was able to do. There are people who are incapable physically of doing what I'm doing right now who wish and would kill to be able to feel what I'm feeling right now. And so even every little thing of our lives, that is true and that's a moment to be thankful for. That, that opportunity we have, no matter how difficult in the moment it may seem. And I think B and I can be very difficult at times. And yet, you know, no matter how hard it is, there really is no B and I emergency, which is great. But no matter how hard it is, man, there are millions of people, millions of business owners, millions of salespeople who would, who would kill to have that hardship. So be thankful. I'm thankful for all of you. I'm thankful for so many people. Again, I won't list, but I really appreciate everybody who continues to listen, who continues to engage. I do hope you're finding value out of this. I do hope you have time to reflect. We will be back full board next week. One month left to go to finish this year. We'll be talking. We'll do a lot more weekly presentations coming in. We're going to be hammering those your questions. We'll talk about goal setting and how we're all going to make 2025 the best year we've ever had. Have a fantastic, safe, Happy Thanksgiving.