Shockingly, (or maybe not) the number of people who will give lip service to the power of the idea of investing in their future, but fail to show up when it counts, is quite high.
I know! Who would have guessed? (end sarcasm)
As soon as you ask people to put money on the line, sacrifice their time and show up, they scatter like mice when you flip the lights on.
Why?
Good question...
The traditional excuses are "it's too expensive" or "I don't have time."
I personally don't believe that the majority of us are struggling for cash so much that when we are offered an incredible opportunity we can't find a way to take advantage of it.
I personally don't believe that we have that many things on our calendar that, when we encounter an awesome opportunity, we can't move a few things to potentially transform our lives.
So I sat myself down and tried to figure out why and I think there are three major reasons:
1) Failure to focus
I see so many people who fail to truly focus on their proclaimed goals and priorities. When the opportunities arise to advance, they often times either don't see the opportunity, or they don't see how it advances them towards their goals.
Note the bit about "proclaimed." Before someone get's insulted, let me clarify. I've seen time and time again where someone claims repeatedly, loudly that they have one goal. However, when we look at how they live their life, there is nothing there to back it up and when I've called them out on it, they realize pretty quickly that their true goal is not 'North' as they claimed.
Reason #1: Our goals are not the same as we think they or maybe we're not focused on them.
2) Too many opportunities
Let's be honest, there's something awesome happening pretty much every single day! I know people who are self-proclaimed event-junkies! They run from event to event looking for motivation to be successful and with the mindset of "if I get one good thing out of this, it was worth it!" Problem? They get ten good things, and never implement a single one!
As I am writing this blog post, there is a great event going on in San Antonio right-now! I'm here instead, wrapping up a blog post so I can go teach business owners about lead generation.
I think that there are so many incredible opportunities out there, that we get overwhelmed and have no idea how to pick and choose which items are actually helpful to us!
I recommend figuring out now, while you're rational, what types of events are worthwhile for you to attend? Once you've got your list of criteria, you can objectively compare all the amazing opportunities that come your way and find the ones that mean the most immediately!
Reason #2: Too many options & we don't know how to pick...so we decide not to decide!
3) We don't know how to capitalize...
Honestly, this was my challenge for years!
I was definitely committed to my goals, and had a pretty good idea of what types of events would be worthwhile for me. But I would freeze at the opportunity to go to those events because "What do you say?" would cross my mind, or "No one will want to talk to you! Just go next year when you've lost more weight."
So I came up with excuse after excuse about why I couldn't attend. "Plus," I'd always reason, "There's no guarantee that I'll get any ROI on that investment!"
Enough is enough!
I had to put a stop to that side of me that convinced me to stand on the back wall quietly and hope someone would see me and start the conversation.
But I knew from previous experience that hitting up the free/low-cost events wouldn't get me far. I went to lots of those my first year in business and didn't get anything out of it, much less great connections.
So I started paying for events. Dropping $200 here or there to attend an event that I knew would be filled with people I would WANT to associate with.
That was key for me! It had to be filled with the people I wanted to network with because I KNOW the power of the people you associate with!
And in 2017 I made more money in my first three months of the year than I made my entire first year in business!
Reason #3: We don't know how to get the most out of the event, so we let all kinds of obstacles convince us not to go...
I've got several major upcoming events that I am either attending, supporting or hosting over the next few months, I'd encourage you to look at them closely & find at least ONE that moves you towards your life goals as well.
Selling to CEOs
November 9th
An all-day sales training event designed to help you sell to top-tier decision makers!
The Ferrari Kid Gala
November 11th
Network with the elite of San Antonio & enjoy a stellar dinner to support San Antonio's version of Make-A-Wish: The Ferrari Kid!
TEDxSanAntonio
November 18th
TED Talks are all about sparking new ideas & thoughts and then talking about them with some of the best minds in the area!
HRC Gala
December 2nd
The one time a year that all the supporters of the Human Rights Campaign get together to dress up, support the cause & rub elbows with each other!
GROW Retreat
January 5th & 6th 2018
A two-day business-owner-only retreat designed to help you figure out how to double or triple your business!
Check out the full calendar of upcoming events that I will be speaking at Here