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Episode number 965, delay success or accelerate failure.
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You're listening to the official BNI Podcast with BNI founder and Chief Visionary Officer Dr. Ivan Meisner. Stay tuned for networking and referral marketing tips from the man who's been called the father of modern networking, along with suggestions and insights into getting the most from your membership in the world's largest networking organization, bni.
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Hello everybody and welcome back to the official B and I podcast. I'm Priscilla Rice and I'm coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I'm joined on the phone today by the founder and the Chief visionary officer of BNI, Dr. Ivan Meissner. Hello Ivan, how are you and where are you?
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I am back home in Austin. I just got back from Portugal, had an amazing trip and always love visiting members from all over the world. It's a blast to meet people from different countries. They're so much the same in terms of their love for the BNI program. So I really enjoyed my visit.
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Oh, it sounds wonderful. And so what are you sharing with us today?
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Well, I'm going to share some material out of some content from my book, Networking's a marathon, not a Sprint. I've talked about some of the content. I know I've had some of my co authors on podcast, my co authors Phil Berg and Bharat Daga, when networking is a marathon, not a sprint. So I'm going to share some material from that and I think it's really relevant to bni and we wrote that book with BNI in mind in the sense that it takes time to really build a successful network. And I've talked to people who like, well, I was in bni. I was in for six months. I left and it didn't work for me. Well, yeah, you were in for six months. It's a marathon, it's not a sprint. It takes time. And the most successful networkers understand from the very beginning that networking like, like training for a marathon gets results over time. So you have to prepare well and plan for long term success. Networking should be thought of as a, as a long term strategy and not as a get rich quick strategy. Yeah, there's been and always will be some quick wins. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut. But the most successful networkers that we know have arguably achieved consistent success year over year by networking with a long term mindset. And this is, you know, that's a phrase that we had in networking's a marathon. My co authors and I in the world of professional relationships and Business growth. You know, if you want to create professional relationships and grow your business, networking plays a pivotal role. And I've witnessed this firsthand, the sort of transform, transformative power that it holds. Networking is not merely a sprint to collect business cards, that's a huge mistake. And to make quick connections. Rather, it really requires patience, perseverance and the cultivation of genuine relationships. That patience and long term vision certainly help as we are better off delaying our success rather than speeding our failure. It takes time to develop a network of trusted individuals. People who've been in BNI for any length of time know that like a marathon runner, there'll be times when progress seems slow and the finish line feels distant. But really staying committed, consistent and focused networking will almost always yield invaluable rewards that that Sprint can never provide. Networking, I think necessitates dedication, perseverance and the cultivation of authentic relationships built on trust and credibility. The VCP process and by understanding networking and that it's a long term endeavor, we can appreciate the true power it holds in creating opportunities. So I say it's the members embrace the marathon, forge lasting connections that'll propel you forward into your journey to success. I shared this story, Priscilla. I shared this in a podcast years ago, a BNI podcast years ago, but I'm gonna share it again because it fits so well here. Many years ago, a friend of mine, Emory Cowan, shared a powerful and I thought, humorous story about patience. When he was a young man, he bought some peaches at a farmer's market in Atlanta. And you know, Atlanta's known, it's famous for their Georgia peaches that are grown in orchards in the Fort Valley region. And they're renowned for their sweet, juicy taste. So he, he bought a whole bushel of them, he brought em home and with visions of peach pies and cobblers, you know, dancing in his head. And he ate some immediately. But most of them simply sat out on the kitchen counter, he said. And one morning he walked downstairs and he was hit by the aroma of peaches filling the house. And he knew that something would have to be done with them sooner. They'd spoil. And he thought, wine, wine, why not make some peach wine? He knew that his parents, who lived not far away, had an old ceramic crock pot and an old family recipe for fermenting wine from the peach fruit. So he picked up the crock pot, cleaned it, and on the way home he bought some cheesecloth for the top and he bought some yeast and sugar for the ingredients. And by the time he got home he was really excited over the project, and he. He could almost taste the wine as he cut up the peaches, added the sugar and yeast, and closed the top of the cheesecloth. Closed the top with cheesecloth. But the process of making wine is slow. That's how this fits into my topic. It's slow takes time. He was a little impatient. He was a young man, and with the crock pot safely stashed in the cool basement, he would come home from work every day, you know, really excited and go down and to the basement and smell the brew and give it a taste. But it wasn't ready. It wasn't even close to being ready. And as the days went by, he became more intent on having the wine and nothing was happening fast enough for him. So one afternoon he was really frustrated it was taking so long. So he carried the crock pot to the kitchen and he wanted to speed up the process of fermentation. So he, he removed the contents, used a blender to further emulsify the peaches, and added more sugar and yeast. And he was really satisfied with what he had done. And he returned the crock pot to the basement and waited for about a week to taste the batch again. And he was really excited. He went back down to the basement and he sampled the brewery. And he shared with me that when he tasted it, he knew it was absolutely the best batch of peach vinegar he'd ever had. Anyway, he went on to say in his vinegar making, triumph became really a life shaping parable for him. Whenever he was tempted to rush the process of forming relationships, whether in business or a networking group or in his personal life, he was reminded that some things just take time to achieve success. And he said that relationships require that time, that energy, that persistence, and most of all, that, that patience. Disappointment is totally related to expectation, and too often the expectation is unrealistic. That's why when new members come into bni, you need to tell them that this is. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time. And when it comes to networking and building relationships, it's better to delay success than to accelerate failure. Hence the name of my podcast today. Networking truly is a marathon. And if people come into it understanding that they're going to be a lot more successful. If you're listening to this, have every new member who joins your chapter, have them listen to this episode so they understand that B and I will work for them. But it just takes time, patience, and a commitment to the system and the process. That's my message for today. Priscilla, any thoughts before we wrap, I
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have one thought, which is, when you're joining bni, I think that you should be reminded or told for the first time that you actually, the meeting is just one aspect of what you're joining. You also have to make time for one to ones. That's really important. And you have to have time to maybe go to other meetings. I mean, just whatever you can pick up by doing things with other BNI members, I think is really important.
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And you know what? Ironically, just today, I did a webinar and I had someone say to me, I have members who complain that I have to spend too much time in bni. Yeah, buck up, buttercup. Come on. I mean, really, this is your. This is your marketing program, right? You know, when you spend too much time in bni, what, going to the meetings and getting referrals, telling people what you do, explaining your program, doing one to ones where you get to talk more about what you do to people. You know, talk to people about what it is that you do. You visit other chapters. All of these things that you just described. Yeah, that's. That's activities and what you need to reframe it as activities to build your business. It's part of the marathon. It's part of building those relationships. So these aren't activities to benefit bni. These are activities to benefit you by using BNI as your marketing platform. And if you use B and I as your marketing platform and you understand that it takes time, you're going to do really, really well. I mean, I'm really glad you brought up those things because ironically, that very question came up earlier today for me from a BNI member.
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Right. Okay, well, great. I'm glad that you went and explained it further.
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Well, that's my message for today. Unless you have anything to add.
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No, that's it for me.
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Thank you.
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Thank you. This podcast is sponsored by MeisnerAudioPrograms.com these audio programs will provide you with the tools and the inspiration to powerfully enhance your B and I experience. So check out the great material that's available to you@meisneraudioprograms.com and use the promo code IVAN5O for 50% off of everything. All of the proceeds go to the B and I Foundation. Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another exciting episode of the official B and I podcast.