Recently, a client of mine wanted to increase her network of contacts and had joined a couple carefully chosen professional networking groups. Upon walking into one of them, it quickly became evident that she had walked into a room full of people with much bigger, more successful, and established businesses than hers.
Naturally, she felt a little over her head!
When the meeting was over, she wondered if she should bother to return to this group, thinking she should spend time with smaller businesses that are more like hers. After gathering some information about the type of networking group this was to ensure it was a good fit for her business, my answer was to ABSOLUTELY return to this group!
Why?
Because she was putting Power of Association to work!
So, what IS the Power of Association? Well…
- Do you want to be a millionaire? Spend time with millionaires.
- Do you want to be an instructor? Spend time with instructors.
- Do you want to be a coach? Spend time with coaches.
- Do you want to be a runner? Spend time with runners.
- Do you want to double your sales? Spend time with businesses that have doubled their sales!
In short, the people we spend our time with greatly impact our thinking – and it’s our thoughts that take us where we want to go!
You see, if you want to grow and expand, you’ll need to learn how to think like big business owners think! And you’ll never learn from people who have never done it! So if you want a bigger business, spend time with people who have bigger businesses than you do.
Now, please understand that I’m certainly not trying to encourage anyone to ditch their friends! What I am saying is that intentionally choosing to spend time with those who are where you want to be will teach you to think like them! Your “caught” thinking will take you to where you want to go!
On my last podcast, I interviewed the incredible Cheryl Leitschuh. A legend in the field of small business coaching, many of Cheryl’s clients describe her as the “yoda” for small woman owned small businesses and solopreneurs. It was an honor to hear her share her years of experience in our brief 30 minute discussion. Do not miss her show!
One of the things she discusses was a story similar to my client’s. She shares that early on in her business, she had joined a Mastermind group, where she realized that she was surrounded by businesses much larger than hers. Cheryl shares what she learned from them that she could not have learned anywhere else.
So what do you want out of your life and business? Find people who have those things and spend time with them – you’ll be surprised at what changes for you!
