difference

Make a Difference in Someone’s Lifestring(41) "Make a Difference in Someone’s Life"

My previous blog this week was about the 2020 Misner Leadership Scholarship winner, Jenna Valdez. My wife and I have been issuing these scholarships since 1999 to worthy students at Gladstone who have been actively engaged in leadership during their tenure at the school. When we issue the scholarship each year, we ask the recipient to help young people when they are an adult. We ask that they continue to be a leader by contributing to others in the future and to make a difference in someone’s life.

The leadership experience I received while at Gladstone changed the direction of my life. It was an integral part in helping to shape the person that I would become as an adult. It laid the foundation for many of the choices I made in college and throughout my professional career. There were individuals in my life who made a difference in my life. In this five-minute video, I tell the story of how one of these people really made a positive impact on my life. Back in high school, he helped to shape me into who I am today. He believed in me and gave me a chance when it seemed that no one else would. I learned from him to take time every day to make a difference in someone’s life.

Who made a difference in your life?

It is important to recognize the people who have made a difference in our lives. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge and understand how they positively impacted us. It can help us to gain clarity about ourselves as individuals about our personal values and ambitions. There probably is someone you can immediately call to mind who has impacted you and really made a difference in your life. Whether it happened recently or during your formative years, they made a difference in your life. Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Everyone who got where he is has had to begin where he was.”  Therefore, I firmly believe that our teachers, educators, and mentors play a huge part in helping us to get from where we began to where we want to go.

Please share your story below about a person you are grateful to. Let us know how they positively influenced your life and made a difference in your life. I would love to read your story about someone who impacted you in a way that helped you get where you are today.

Emotional Intelligence

Build a High (EQ) Emotional Intelligencestring(40) "Build a High (EQ) Emotional Intelligence"

Building your “Emotional Intelligence” also known as “Emotional Quotient” or “EQ” is extremely important right now. Emotional Intelligence is the ability we have to manage our relationships with other people. EQ is the skill we developed as business owners before the pandemic to network with others face-to-face and build our “social capital”.

However, physical isolation and working from home has led to changing the way we are networking these days. We currently cannot network in person nor meet with clients at our places of business. Instead, our networking is online and our businesses are virtual. Therefore, managing our relationships with other people by building a high-EQ is even more important than ever.

The higher your Emotional Intelligence is, the more natural your ability to network will be. You can improve your EQ by understanding and applying some important online networking concepts.

Develop a dynamic online networking style

Networking is so much more than attending the typical face-to-face meet-n-greet routine events. These days, we are not attending face-to-face events; we are networking online and by telephone. Therefore, your networking style needs to also change to maintain your social capital. Developing an online networking style that is deliberate, dynamic, and habitual will help you to build higher Emotional Intelligence.

This can be done while working from home by reading books and other internet articles about online marketing and learning from others their techniques for applying your previous word-of-mouth networking skills to networking online. Adapting your networking skills will take conscious practice and application before they become habits. Build a high-EQ by creating a dynamic plan to network online these days.

Network online appropriately 

Be sensitive to the fact that we are all in this together when building your online networking style. Businesses not used to networking online promote their company with an almost vulture-like intensity. They flood social media with direct sales ads and posts about their business to people they hardly know. This will result in lowering your Emotional Intelligence. Furthermore, the business world has changed and networking has adapted to a virtual market. We are no longer able to attend face-to-face networking events to pass out our business cards, obtain transactional leads, and ask someone the ubiquitous “what do you do?”.  Instead, we need to post regularly on our social media pages, build our relationships with others, pass referrals, and ask others “How can I help?” Understanding how to network appropriately online is another sign of a high-EQ networker.

Stay connected and follow-up with others

Picking up the phone and staying connected with clients, customers, and colleagues is an area where the high Emotional Intelligence networker excels. A skillful online networker will never miss an opportunity to follow-up after an introduction to a new business contact. I recommend that you write testimonials on the social media business pages for your referral partners. Plus, reach out and do the same for those businesses you have used both personally and professionally over the years. Leave a comment on a few of their social media posts too. I also recommend that you request your clients, customers, and colleagues to write testimonials and reviews on your social media pages too. Now is a great time to create a newsletter that you can email to all your clients about the current changes to your business, special promotions, how you are helping others, and include the URL links to all your social media pages. Ask them to like and follow each of your pages in addition to a request for testimonials from them about your business.

Following up with others on referrals (received & given) is not our favorite thing, but it is something that needs a lot of finesse and demands diligence. Pick up the phone and call. Many business people are working from home alone and do not have other people to talk to. Keeping your name, your business’s name and your expertise in front of others is very important these days. And it’s important to follow up more than once. High-EQ networkers use their telephones, social media pages and emails to network online and re-connect with each other often to build a strong long-lasting relationship.

Maintain customer loyalty

Many entrepreneurs focus so much on bringing in new business that they miss the boat on maintaining customer loyalty with gratitude. Keeping current customers coming back and referring others to you is important for business success and growth! The entrepreneur who understands this makes their customers feel valued and appreciated. They will come back and refer others to you, even if you are working from home. Becoming friends with each person with whom you do business is an indicator of a high-EQ networker.

Business owners will be referred to and promoted by others because of Emotional Intelligence and their ability to develop social capital. With online networking these days, high-EQ networkers can maintain a strong word-of-mouth based business.

One Million Thank Yous

One Million Thank Yous – International Networking Week®string(62) "One Million Thank Yous – International Networking Week®"

Welcome to the 13th annual “International Networking Week®”. During this first week in February, we at BNI and other organizations around the world celebrate networking worldwide. “International Networking Week” is an initiative of BNI created  13 years ago. This year, we are asking you to help us to spread One Million Thank Yous all around the world. Therefore, please provide gratitude and appreciation for those who helped us to grow our businesses this week. I would appreciate sharing this video with your chapter members as the “Educational Moment” this week. Thank you.

With gratitude, I believe, comes stronger connections. Think about those who’ve helped you throughout your journey. Have you thanked them? Well during “International Networking Week”, we invite you to do so. We all have people who are in our story, people who have helped us in some way. This is the perfect time to reach out and tell them “thank you” for what they have contributed to your life and to your business.

Identify those people and give them “The Gift of Recognition”. You can even thank someone at your BNI meeting or at a networking event this week. Demonstrate your gratitude for the things that they have done for you. Therefore, you can also consider sending a letter or thanking them on social media using the hashtags #BNIthankyou and #INW2020 with your posts. The truth is that the goodwill that you demonstrate will draw others to you just like a magnet.

With gratitude, I want to begin this week by thanking “YOU”. With your passionate commitment to networking, BNI is continuing to impact and enhance lives all around the world and I appreciate you. Furthermore, feel free to share in the comments about someone that you appreciate and thank them here for something that they have done in your life.

One Million Thank Yous

In conclusion, I want to say thank you to the following BNI National Directors for writing guests blogs for International Networking Week about “gratitude” this week:

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Wishing everyone a fantastic International Networking Week® 2020!

 

2020 International Networking Week

2020 International Networking Week ®string(37) "2020 International Networking Week ®"

The 2020 International Networking Week ® is an initiative of BNI®. It is an opportunity for business owners to show appreciation for their valued customers and contacts from networking.

This will be a week of global recognition and gratitude from February 2 through 8, 2020 to thank those business owners who have helped you to grow your business while networking. Furthermore, this year’s action item is to recognize and thank those people in your BNI chapter, chamber of commerce,  and other networking organizations. Take a moment to say, “Thank You” in person, in your meeting, and on various social media platforms.
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The focus of International Networking Week is to bring together representatives of government, businesses and community leaders from around the world to network and to recognize the power of networking. Speakers will offer advice and information on how businesses can grow and succeed through good networking practices.
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The 13th Annual 2020 International Networking Week is just around the corner. Therefore, it’s time to build your powerful personal network now. Invite various business owners who have helped you to grow your business to your BNI chapter or to your networking mixer. Invite them to network and to recognize the power of networking from February 2 through 8, 2020. Check out the promo video for the 13th Annual 2020 International Networking Week. Please use the hashtag with your photos and posts: #INW2020

 

The 2020 International Networking Week theme is “One Million Thank Yous”

Expressing gratitude completes the feeling of connection. Many people in your life have helped you in one way or another. Therefore, have you thanked them? Consider sending a letter to someone telling them what their actions meant to you, even if—especially if—it happened long ago.   It costs little or nothing. Furthermore, it almost always follows suit that they will demonstrate their gratitude for what you do.

When you show an interest in others by noticing the good things they’ve done; they will be drawn to you like a magnet.  Therefore, it will accelerate the relationship-building process and enhance their overall impression of you.”

In conclusion, the goal of International Networking Week is to celebrate the key role that networking plays in the development and success of businesses across the world. Networking events are being held globally to celebrate International Networking Week. For more information about these international events during the first week of February or to promote your local networking event on our 2020 International Networking Week website please see: internationalnetworkingweek.com

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2019 Video Messagestring(31) "Thanksgiving 2019 Video Message"

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. There is no time like the present to pause and acknowledge the people that we are grateful for. Please click here to watch my personal video message about Thanksgiving then take a moment today to show appreciation for and to return gratitude to others.

Giving thanks every day, not just on Thanksgiving.

I really appreciate you taking the time to watch this video and if it gets you thinking about what you’re thankful for. Therefore, I would really love for you to share your thoughts in the comment below.  Gratefulness can be contagious so don’t be shy–share what you’re appreciative of no matter how big or small it may be.  Thanks! 🙂

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving Messagestring(24) "Our Thanksgiving Message"

Here we are, celebrating another Thanksgiving day in America. Beth and I have a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is our good health. Just to bring you up to speed, we both received the “all clear” this year after learning about a threat to each of our health. Me with prostate cancer that seemingly came out of remission. Beth with a breast cancer diagnosis.

 

As you might imagine, good health is one thing we are extremely thankful for today. We want to share what we have done to move from having cancer to having complete health with you. Because so many of you have expressed interest in having the same kinds of powerful results, we have created a joint-venture with Majors Enterprises to bring you a 90-Day Misner Plan Challenge at the start of the New Year.

 

Beth and I will be donating all the proceeds to charity for nutritional medical research. The health coaches who have put this challenge together are the best of the best. We are certain you will benefit greatly from their expertise and support along the way. So, if you’ve done a Misner Plan Challenge before, this will blow you away. If you have never tried the Misner Plan to recover your health, what are you waiting for? Learn more here: Misner Plan Webinar

 

A Special Gift for Your Thanksgiving Table

 

As our Thanksgiving gift to you, here is a link that will take you to a recipe for my personal favorite Thanksgiving dish: Misner Plan Corn Casserole.  Please add this recipe to your table tomorrow as part of your Thanksgiving feast.

 

Enjoy, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2016 Video Messagestring(31) "Thanksgiving 2016 Video Message"

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. There is no time like the present to pause and acknowledge the people that we are grateful for. Please click here to watch my personal video message about Thanksgiving then take a moment today to show appreciation for and to return gratitude to others.

 

I cannot fully express my appreciation by giving thanks once a year, or even every day of the year. That’s why I have embedded gratitude as a guiding principle for my words, my actions, and my thoughts.

Happy Thanksgiving

Classic Video Feature–“Making a Difference in Someone’s Life”string(85) "Classic Video Feature–“Making a Difference in Someone’s Life”"

I have been doing video blogs for quite a few years now and it occurred to me that some of the videos I’ve previously posted focus on timeless topics that deserve to be revisited and not buried way back in the video blog archive.  For this reason, I’ve decided to occasionally feature a “classic” video blog from my blog archive and today I am sharing the first one–“Making a Difference in Someone’s Life.”

There are little ways and big ways of making a difference in someone’s life.  More likely than not, there’s someone you can immediately call to mind who has impacted you and really made a difference in your life, whether it happened recently or even back during your formative years.

There are definitely certain individuals in my life who have made a big difference for me and in this five minute video, I tell the story of how one of these people in specific really made a positive impact on my life back in high school and helped shape me into who I am today simply by believing in me and giving me a chance when it seemed that no one else would.

After watching the video, please share a story of your own in the comment forum below about a person you are grateful to for the way they positively influenced your life and made a difference for you.  Taking this opportunity to tell your story and publicly recognize a special person who impacted you is a great way to show them gratitude and a fantastic way to inspire others to strive to be positive influences themselves.

 

Treat Loyalty Like Royaltystring(26) "Treat Loyalty Like Royalty"

In this video, my lovely wife Beth brings up a phrase she has often heard me mention in many of my presentations and in various conversations over the years–“Treat Loyalty Like Royalty”–and she asks me to explain what exactly the phrase means to me.  Beth goes on to reveal that she believes just as strongly as I do in the importance of treating people like royalty when they’ve consistently shown you loyalty and commitment in one way or another.

Whether they are employees or people you do business with, if you treat others like royalty when they show you loyalty, your ‘return on investment,’ so to speak will be beyond worth your efforts.  After watching the video, I’d love to hear about some of your experiences where you’ve worked with someone who has been loyal to you and how treating them very well in return has been well worth your efforts . . . or, also, how you worked with someone who you were very loyal to, how they treated you like royalty, and how it paid off for both parties in the long run.  Please share your story/stories in the comment forum below.  Thanks!

Making a Difference in Someone’s Lifestring(43) "Making a Difference in Someone’s Life"

There are little ways and big ways of making a difference in someone’s life.  More likely than not, there’s someone you can immediately call to mind who has impacted you and really made a difference in your life, whether it happened recently or even back during your formative years.

There are definitely certain individuals in my life who have made a big difference for me and in this five-minute video, I tell the story of how one of these people in specific really made a positive impact on my life back in high school and helped shape me into who I am today simply by believing in me and giving me a chance when it seemed that no one else would.

After watching the video, please share a story of your own in the comment forum below about a person you are grateful to for the way they positively influenced your life and made a difference for you.

On Friday, April 5th I will review all the comments and I’ll pick the top three standout stories.  If your story is one of the top three, I’ll send you an autographed copy of Masters of Success and, additionally, if you have a current mailing address for the person who made a difference in your life, I’ll send an autographed copy of the book along with a personal note of recognition to them as well.  A little bit of recognition can mean a lot and, who knows . . . simply bringing to light that you are grateful to them may even find you making a difference in their life.

Behind the Scenes of the “Today” Showstring(49) "Behind the Scenes of the “Today” Show"

Many of you know that I was on the Today show a couple of weeks ago to talk with Kathie Lee and Hoda about my new book, Business Networking and Sex (not what you think).  Some of you might like to hear the “real” dirt on what Hoda and Kathie Lee are like off camera.

Ready for it??  It’s really juicy!  Here it comes . . . they are fun and professional.  OK . . . maybe that’s not juicy but it’s the truth.

Both women were very friendly and welcoming to me before the interview started.  In the few minutes we had during the break, they engaged with me and asked questions.  They also talked a lot about Hoda’s Mardi Gras beads and, well . . . that conversation I really can’t repeat here.  Let’s just say that my contribution to that topic started and ended with me making one comment: “Ummm . .  I’m not sure I know how to participate in this conversation.”  To that, everyone laughed and I was off the hook–PHEW!

The “Today” show is a really well-oiled machine that operates like a media factory.  Yet, at the same time almost everyone was very friendly and professional (starting with Gil, the producer, and going all the way through the sound crew in the studio).  It’s hard to visualize just how many people are running through the studio facilities in the morning – trust me, it’s a lot.  People are lined up, ready to go in both the makeup room (yeah, yeah, – they put make-up on me) and the Green Room (where people wait just prior to going on camera).

You may note that I was on air with Nicole Williams.  A lot of people have asked me about Nicole and why she was part of the interview with me.  Well, I’m not sure if it is true, but I’ve been told that since this was my first BIG national TV show, producers sometimes worry about someone one “freezing” on live television with the hosts (what can I say, they don’t know me well) so they sometimes bring in another person to give a different angle, add color commentary, and be there to ‘catch the guest’ if they fall, so to speak.

Nicole is an author and expert in her own right (having written the book: Girl on Top – about career success for women).  However, Nicole told me before we went on that this interview was about my book and that she was there to support that and not take over the interview.  I must say she did just that and was a real professional in the process (thanks Nicole, I see why they make a habit of bringing you back on the show to support other guests).

What we all see on the TV screen is very similar to what I saw off camera – except that there is an incredible whirlwind of activity that takes place with moving people and props from one area to another in between segments.

I have to say that it was truly a great experience and a lot of fun.  Showing gratitude is an important part of networking.  So, let me do that here…  I’m grateful to my publicist, Sara Jennings for having lined this up, to my co-authors Frank De Raffele and Hazel Walker for writing Business Networking and Sex with me so I had such solid, cutting-edge content to talk about on the show (I’m also grateful to Frank for being there at the show for moral support), to Gil (the producer) for believing in the topic (and that I’d be a pretty good guest), and of course to Kathie Lee, Hoda, and Nicole for doing–what I felt–was a great interview in four minutes.  Thank you all!

 

 

 

Who Made a Difference in Your Life?string(35) "Who Made a Difference in Your Life?"

Last week, I posted a video of me accepting an award at Citrus College (click here to view that video and the accompanying blog post), a community college in Southern California,  and in the video I mention that one of the best professors I ever had throughout my ten-year college education was one of my professors at Citrus College.

In the video above, I talk about this particular professor, Dr. Shirey, and I explain why and how he impacted my life in a positive way.

I think it’s really important to recognize the people who have made a difference in our lives and acknowledge and understand what it is that they did (or do) that has positively impacted us because it can sometimes help us gain clarity about ourselves as individuals when it comes to the focus of our values and ambitions.

Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Everyone who got where he is has had to begin where he was.”  I firmly believe that the teachers, educators, mentors, and other stand-out people who make a difference in our lives play a huge part in helping us to get from where we began to where we want to go and if there is someone who impacted you in a way that helped you get where you are today, share your story/stories in the comments section and give a shout out to those who’ve helped you!