Set a Vision That Makes a Difference

Set a Vision That Makes a Differencestring(36) "Set a Vision That Makes a Difference"

August 1, 2022
, BNI, our perception, our reality, our vision controls, vision

I believe that anyone can do extraordinary things with the right mindset, a plan and effort. I believe that our vision controls our perception, and our perception becomes our reality.

Set a vision that makes a difference to the people around you – then hold the vision, NOT the obstacles. This is something that is so difficult for a lot of people; they continuously focus on the obstacles. The truth is if you want to be successful, hold the vision, not the obstacles. Forget about the noise and distractions all around you. There have always been distractions and there always will be distractions.  Set a vision that makes a difference to the people around you.

Our vision controls our perception, and our perception becomes our reality.
Don’t become so attached to a limiting belief that you can’t see what is possible. Move past limiting beliefs and move towards meaningful beliefs.
Remember to keep your focus on your vision.

Thinking Big

Thinking Bigstring(12) "Thinking Big"

June 16, 2022
, , BNI, Decision Making, Dream Big, vision 14

This is my belief about thinking big. Our vision controls our perception, and our perception becomes our reality. Don’t become so attached to a limiting belief that you can’t see what is possible. Move past limiting beliefs and move towards meaningful beliefs. Think big.

The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little results. Think big goals and smash other people’s expectations of you. You know, it takes the same energy to think big as it does to think small. Sure, if you think big, you’re sometimes worried about whether you can achieve those dreams or not. But when you think small, you’re disappointed in yourself because you didn’t achieve the success you want. Personally, I would rather be a little bit worried than disappointed in myself. Think big. It takes as much energy as thinking small, but you can end up in a much better place.

Be a Product of Your Decisions

Do not let small minds convince you that your dreams are too big. There are those voices rattling around that will stand on your shoulder and tell you why that dream isn’t realistic. I had that. Remember the story of my dream of having 10,000 chapters? Did I let that guy influence my dream? No, I didn’t. Don’t let small minds influence your big dreams. I’ve seen ordinary people do extraordinary things throughout my career. I believe anyone can do extraordinary things with the right mindset, plan, and effort.

The last time I was on Necker Island, I heard Richard Branson say that if people aren’t calling you crazy, you’re not thinking big enough. I love that. And he’s absolutely correct. To inspire others, though, you must first inspire yourself. If you want to be big, you need to start thinking big and behaving big. Don’t be a product of circumstances. Be a product of your decisions. One of my greatest lessons in life was learning that I can alter my circumstances by first altering my beliefs, then my attitude, and eventually my behavior. If you have the power to change lives, grasp it.

Think big. Think big, my friends. Think about how you can change people’s lives. Anything less is not a good use of our opportunity.

lens

See the World Through The Lens You Choosestring(41) "See the World Through The Lens You Choose"

June 14, 2021
, , Characteristics, vision 8

Two people sitting in a room, at the same table, having the same meal at the same time, can actually be worlds apart. How? Because they look at the world through a different lens.

I love astronomy, and I’ve learned that by choosing different lenses or filters for my telescope, I observe different things in the night sky. By just changing the lens, the things I view can appear or disappear before my eyes. Objects can be overwhelmingly bright and painful to view or they can be a beautiful sight to behold. I believe our lives are similar. The lens we choose to see the world through can greatly influence the things we see and experience.

Years ago, I realized that I needed to evict people from my life because the lens they viewed the world through was negative, fearful, hurtful, and sometimes caustic. It was not the lens I chose.

Focus Your Lens, Change Your Words, and Inspire Your World

The first thing I realized when I came to this conclusion was that words matter. What you say about your world experience helps determine the world you live in and the people you attract into your world. What you put in your head shows up in your world. Whether you’re talking about an abundance mentality vs. a scarcity mentality, the law of attraction, or the glass being half full, words matter.

The most common example of this in my life involves my “being busy.” I talk to so many people who say, “You must be so busy.” I no longer say “yes” to that question. Today, I say, “I have a full life.” You can be busy — or you can have a full life.  Almost everyone says that their life is busy. But busy shouldn’t be a goal you pursue. Having a “full life” is a goal worth pursuing and having a “full life” brings me joy. Truly words matter.

Back in 2012, I was diagnosed with cancer. I never said to people, “I have cancer.” I always said I was “diagnosed” with cancer. It was my diagnosis; it was not who I was. It took a while but now, rather than saying that I am in remission, I prefer to say, “I am healthy”. Words matter.

Last year drove home my point. While everyone was talking about being in lockdown or quarantine, I spoke about experiencing the “Great Pause” in life. The pause button was pushed on all of our lives for over a year. I found that how people responded to the Great Pause made a tangible difference relating to their experience and their life. Those people who learned how to embrace that mentality, when possible, were much happier than those who were mired in the horror of the situation.

When my wife of 31 years passed away in 2020, it would have been easy to say I was horrible when people asked me how I was doing. But instead, I tried to reframe the grief I was experiencing into something that would allow me to have a different worldview. I’d answer friends by telling them that it is “one day at a time for me” or, “I’m putting one foot in front of the other.” Feeling horrible was the truth, but I also believed that living in that mental space would not help me through the difficult times. One day at a time, and one foot in front of the other, was the lens I chose to focus on. Even when you feel horrible, words matter.

We live in fearful times. I’ve learned people get frozen by fear or they get focused by fear. I propose that you get “focused by fear”. Focus on a lens that will help you see through the fog of chaos that surrounds you and look for the possible.

Look for the positive. Look for how to reframe your situation so you can deal most effectively with the hand you have been dealt. Choose the lens that you see the world through. And always remember that words matter.

garage to global

Garage to Global ® – Another Four Lessonsstring(48) "Garage to Global ® – Another Four Lessons"

January 27, 2020
, , , Culture, Garage to Global, vision

I literally built my business from operating out of my garage to a global enterprise with over 9400 BNI chapters in more than 70 countries all around the world. Overall, I have twelve lessons for you that I’ve learned from taking my business literally garage to global. I’ve covered eight so far in previous blogs.

Here are the final four lessons on how I took BNI literally from my garage to global organization

Culture eats strategy for breakfast.

I think culture is the secret sauce to a successful organization. Your organizational culture is critical to your success. If you are part of a company that has a horrible culture and an amazing strategy, you’re not going to do well. However, if you are part of a company with an amazing culture and a really good strategy, you are going to be the industry leader.

Know your mission.

Get really clear about what your mission is. The mission of BNI is to help members increase their business through a structured, positive and professional referral program that enables them to develop long-term, meaningful relationships and referrals

Work in your flame, not in your wax.

Do the things you’re passionate about, and hire people to the stuff you hate doing. When you’re in your flame you’re doing things you love to do. When you’re working in your wax it’s taking all your energy away. There are times we may have to work in your wax. However, as soon as possible, you will want to hire somebody who your wax is their flame and they’re excited to do that.

Share a vision that everyone is striving towards.

BNI has dominated its industry in almost every market for decades because of a shared vision and a shared implementation of that vision. Vision is where you want to go and your mission is how you want to get there. BNI’s vision is “Changing the Way the World Does Business”.

So, these are the final four of my twelve lessons on how I took BNI literally from my garage to global organization. If you missed them, here are the links to the first blog and the second blog in this series.

2020 Vision

Having Clear 2020 Vision Goalsstring(30) "Having Clear 2020 Vision Goals"

December 30, 2019
, , , Dream Big, Goals, Video Blog, vision 5

It’s almost the New Year! Since it will be 2020, I thought it would be perfect to talk about 2020 vision. Please watch this video.

There is an old phrase that hindsight has 2020 vision. While that may be true, but I also believe that foresight can have 2020 vision. The challenge is, you actually have to think about your future. Really spend time and think about it, even if it’s just a few hours. Give some thought to your future. When I talk about setting goals, I find that people are a little like Bobblehead Ivan here. Yea, yea, yea, I need to set goals. Yea, you need to set goals. Goals are just a vision of where you want to go.

Goal Setting

Every year for the last 40+ years (yes, even before I started BNI), I have taken time during this period of the year to reflect. I start by looking at the past year and see how it played out according to my plan. Where it worked, I celebrated. Where it didn’t work, I analyzed why. More importantly, I contemplated how I could make it work.

Then, I did my real vision making. I thought about what I wanted to achieve during the next year and then three to five years out. Finally, I gave consideration to where I would be 10 years out. I started this process when I was in my early 20’s. In fact, I actually created a 40-year plan for myself back then. You can see that plan on the blog post listed below:

https://ivanmisner.com/life-lessons/

Truly, anything past five years is an educated guess. I get that. But it’s also something else. It’s a game plan. It’s a vision for where you want to go. Your one year plan should be really specific. Your 3-5 year plan should be strategic. And anything longer is highly strategic (which you’ll see if you read my 40-year plan). You can’t hit a target you don’t aim at. Create a target. That’s the vision. Take aim, that’s the action.

Here are three things I want you to do over the next couple of days to create your 2020 vision.

  1. Dream big. Create your 2020 vision.
  2. Have a Plan. How will you achieve your 2020 vision?
  3. Take action. Actually do the things you create in your plan.

Do those three things this year and then do me a favor. Mark your calendar for the end of 2020 and post a message about how this changed your life. I’m going to be looking for it.

If anyone wants to comment now about your 2020 vision, I’d love to see it. I’m Ivan Misner and this is 2020.

andy lopata

The A-Z of Networking: V is for… (by Andy Lopata) [PART 2]string(60) "The A-Z of Networking: V is for… (by Andy Lopata) [PART 2]"

January 3, 2019
A to Z’s of Networking, Andy Lopata, Guest Blog, Guest Video, Video Blog, vision

This month, Andy Lopata shares more of his networking tips which begin with the letter “V”

  • Value
  • Variety
  • Versatility
  • Virtual
  • Vision
  • Vitality
  • Volunteer

and more about Networking “V” previously in PART 1: click here

Click here to watch this video

Please click below to see Andy’s playlist of his networking tips from A to Z.

https://ivanmisner.com/category/a-to-zs-of-networking/

By knowing why you are networking and what you want to achieve, it is possible to plan accordingly and get great, measurable results. If you have any comments about Andy’s “S” list or any additional “S” words about networking you will want to add to the list. please leave me a comment below.

Andy Lopata

As a business networking strategist, Andy Lopata works with companies on how to use networking tools to develop their businesses. Networking is not just about sales. Whether for lead generation, breaking down silos internally, recruitment and retention of top staff or developing future leaders, networks and collaboration have a key role to play. Andy works with clients to help recognize that role and put the strategy and skills in place to leverage it.

vision

Vision with Tiffanie Kellog and Deb Cheslowstring(43) "Vision with Tiffanie Kellog and Deb Cheslow"

May 4, 2017
Guest Video, Tiffanie Kellog, vision

Creating a vision that is unrealogical. What is your vision?

Is your vision UNREALOGICAL???

You probably are not even sure what that means! This month, Tiffanie is joined again by one of her coaches, Deb Cheslow, of Cheslow Achievement Group, to explore a conversation around vision… and hopefully, yours is UNREALOGICAL!

At Cheslow Achievement Group, our vision is to continually develop mind, body, and spirit, living a life of prosperity and joy, so that we may change lives for the better and empower others through teaching, coaching, and training, to seek out their own purpose, live their lives to the fullest and realize their dreams.

Click here to watch the video to learn more