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Ignore the Doomsday Headlines

Continue to flex your networking muscles.

By Dr. Ivan Misner, BNI Founder and Chairman

Today's news is full of economic soap operas. In the United States, Congress, the White House, and the pundits are debating the so-called bailout of yet another pillar of Corporate America. European nations and others around the globe are struggling with recessionary pressures. Voices everywhere seem to be spouting economic doom and gloom.

Now, please, lean in close and listen carefully. I'm going to ask you to do something difficult, yet very important: Ignore all those doom and gloom voices.

It's not that I want to deny reality. Nor am I judging whether all those important voices are right or wrong.

What I am saying is, all those voices are sending you useless information. Not only are they urging you to be afraid … very afraid … they are completely ignoring the solutions on which you need to focus. There's nothing like good old fashioned fear to freeze an entrepreneur in his or her tracks!

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt wisely said during America's Depression that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, he left something out. When you are in business, at any time in any nation, the other thing you have to fear is inaction. Not very poetic, I know, but it's true.

Let others worry about the macro economic picture. You have a micro economy in which you are a vital and central player. Does the government or an economist know the ins and outs of your business better than you? Have you received any calls lately offering to bail you out with taxpayer money if your business slides to the brink of ruin? I'm guessing the answer is "no" to both questions!

You already know this in your gut: No bailout is coming your way … unless you do it yourself. No rescue plan is being prepared for your business … unless you prepare it yourself. And no solutions to your problems will be developed … unless you develop it yourself.

The more you focus on fear, the more afraid you will become. The more you focus on obstacles, the larger they will loom. And the more you focus on today's global economic doom and gloom headlines, the less time, energy, and faith you'll have to focus on building the prosperous, successful, well-networked business you really want.

A close friend of mine recently got hit by a car and spent weeks in hospitals and rehab centers. He says he learned a few things about fear during this time. When he tells himself, while perched on one leg to perform some ordinary task, "Wait … I might fall over," sure enough, he falters.

But when he tells himself, "I have perfect balance," something funny happens: He remains steadily upright longer than he thought possible.

Your business is not much different. If you tell yourself, "I can't succeed in this economic downturn," you probably won't. But if you focus on specific solutions to the particular issues and challenges and opportunities of your business—your niche market, your current and prospective customers—you are likely to enjoy more success than all the naysayers put together would have predicted.

What the bigwigs of Wall Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, the London Financial District and the European Central Bank don't seem to understand is this: Out here in the real world of entrepreneurial small business, "Givers Gain."

Want to help the economy? Just turn to your BNI network, find someone who needs help, then give them all the referrals you can.

By sticking together and helping one another, we can face down the doom and gloom; we can build our businesses despite the headlines; and, we can show others around the world the economic power of persistent, skillful, and generous networking.

Called the father of modern networking by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder and chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. His latest New York Times best selling book, Masters of Sales, can be viewed at www.MastersBooks.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company. He can be reached at misner@bni.com.

Tags: fear, Ivan Misner, October 2008 Edition, opportunity, Recession

6 Responses to “Ignore the Doomsday Headlines”

Paul J. Chrisco, Business Leaders Chapter, St. George, Utah Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I particularly enjoyed this statement: “But if you focus on ‘specific solutions’ to the ‘particular issues’ and ‘challenges’ and ‘opportunities’ of your business—your niche market, your current and prospective customers—you are likely to enjoy more success than all the
naysayers put together would have predicted.” Very well said!

It is funny for me to read that now after I have done exactly that which you speak of. I isolated the problem areas and came up with solutions to them that are working as we speak—and my business is growing again at an astounding rate.

What did I change? I started taking an active role in my advertising, I implemented the necessary tools to become as efficient as possible and I decided that I was going to not only grow in a dire economic state, but I was going to dominate my market. After careful planning and execution I am seeing a bright tomorrow on the horizon.

I also like this quote as well, “Want to help the economy? Just turn to your BNI network, find someone who needs help, then give them all the referrals you can.” This has been an area where I have focused a lot of time and energy over the last year. I take the time to recognize the businesses in our chapter that are struggling and looking for the opportunities in not only my clients, but anyone I come into contact with. I like to refer to them in my mind as my projects for the current month.
William Osgood Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Nothing to fear, but fear itself is the beginning of inaction as Dr. Misner pointed out. When business owners and entrepreneurs begin to focus on problems and not on the solutions to the problems then the results they received are problems and more of them. Consequently, you get additional problems and the original grow into huge monsters.

Why? Because your are focusing on the problems. Therefore, the worst possible action a business owner can take right now is to do nothing or to hunker down as many say. To stop doing anything proactive right now is a kiss of death for a small business and sometimes even larger businesses.

Conversely, when a business owner focuses on solutions, she is opening up a whole realm of possibilities that didn’t previously show themselves. Why did she miss the opportunities? Because she was focused on the problem.

When we change our thoughts to be thoughts of victory and solution creation, we open ourselves up to tremendous opportunities. Opportunities that can change our business forever, opportunities that can take our business to the next level.

Paul talked about expanding his reach. Doing more marketing and advertising. That certainly is one strategy in a depressed economy. If you don’t have those kinds of funds, I would encourage you to look for other strategies. Dr. Misner and many BNI members could help you with this. But, whatever you do, DO SOMETHING!

Dr. Misner encourages the BNI membership to look for ways to help. To help businesses within their chapters is a phenomenal strategy to seize the moment; of Giving first and receiving later. In this case, the moment to give, to help his members businesses. After all, isn’t that what BNI is all about? Givers Gain?
Peter Martino Says:
February 9th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
While working a home show this past weekend it was discouraging to hear the “doomsday” speak of some other contractors both working at the show and visiting. I asked some of them if they are doing anything differently due to the economy, and much of the responses were that they were actually doing less to actively promote their businesses. Of course this is always a great opportunity to bring up the value of BNI, and I did. United Home Experts has 6 guys in various BNI chapters in Massachusetts. Within our company the attitude is be poised and ready to scoop up the opportunities left behind by those contractors who can’t overcome the negativity surrounding a tough economy. We plan on having a great year.
Nancy Gascoyne Says:
February 12th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Great article. Quoting FDR, got me thinking about the remainder of his inaugural address. If you want to read the entire address go to http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057/

FDR’s words are fabulous and reference exactly what is going on in today’s world. But it is so comforting and inspirational to understand that we are still in control of what we do and how much business we can create if we work together and use the tools and knowledge that BNI provides.
Bryon Rankin Says:
February 17th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
When Dr.Misner spoke of his friend who went through rehab after a car accident the story reminded me of a quote by Henry Ford: If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.
George Forde Says:
January 6th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
What FDR wisely spoke to was THE HEART of the Nation when he said “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”, what he also left out, by design, was to THE BRAIN of the Nation. It was, “From our nation’s current abundance of FREEDOM, earned by others, we will celebrate and buy a World Empire through institutions that I will give birth to like the MHA (precursors to Freddie and Fannie, in addition to 100′s of others) that will take more value than they give, ultimately run their course into predictable bankruptcy and abyss. If people question it along the way, we will tell them it is the moral thing to do, because it is our standing in the world, and hence, the people who question it, are by default immoral.”

The real immorality was buying an empire to serve oneself with the freedom that our forefathers died and payed for. When you are in business, neutralize your fears by facing them, obviously so you can stay active, but from there, use your BRAIN to take an accounting of where the world is so you can take the RIGHT action…those that are the best practices for the current state of the world.

6 Responses to “Ignore the Doomsday Headlines”

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