The Olympics

Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937)  (French Educator, primarily responsible for the revival of the Olympic Games in 1894)

quotes:

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”

So how does that link to BNI?    Well I’m sure you can guess …. That it’s the taking part that counts.  The fact that we get here every Friday morning and participate …. clearly puts us ahead of the crowd.    The quote on the banner outside that we see every week is so true ….

So few people and businesses have a plan... 

So few people and businesses set goals…

So few people train …

So few people have any form of continuing professional development…

Watching people like Sir Chris Hoy, (hopefully Sir) Bradley Wiggins and Michael Phelps etc... this last few weeks must I am sure inspire all of us …. but they haven’t achieved their dreams overnight …. It’s been years and years of early starts and sacrifices to get where they have in life…..

Some of their events may have ‘sprint’ in the title …. but none of their journeys have been ‘sprints’   … most have been a hard slog ….  and at times seemed like a marathon….. but it has been the compound effect of little steps and little actions that have pushed them to new heights throughout their lives.

So for us in business, I am not suggesting that we need to sleep in our back bedrooms in an oxygen tent (like Bradley Wiggins) or live on top of a mountain for months on end, training at altitude (like Sir Steve Redgrave) …. I am just suggesting that we take regular small steps to develop our business …. set goals …. and most importantly embrace the opportunities we have through BNI.

Think about it for a moment … and then think about your own business…..  Has Gary become successful overnight? No……  Has Karl …. No? …. Has Julie? No (a long hard slog, particularly taking on a new print shop recently in Walsall) …. Has Brian (how many other people would want to turn their hand to a new profession as a florist and open a number of other stalls) … what about Mike (travelling 160 miles+ every day to work…..

So what are the small steps we can take….. think about BNI every day….. referrals, visitors, new members, one to ones, training etc.....  all give us the great opportunities to be ahead of the competition out there.