Aaahhh! The beginning of a new term. (sniff sniff) Do you smell that? (sniff) Yep, that's definitely the sweet fragrance of opportunity! We're all starting fresh with new goals and new international and local board members. It's a time to let go of what isn't working and clean out those stale routines. Here is the chance to engage our new members at the beginning of something wonderful. Time to plan your takeover if you haven't started already.
What are you going to do to shine for your local association or region? If you're waiting for someone to notice or ask you for that wonderful idea, don't! If you would like to "move up the ladder" in Insurance Professionals there is no better person to get you there than you. Those of you who have thought about working on the national level get your motors started. I bet there's a national job/committee/task force that's perfect for your talents. Who are you going to network with? Who are you going to share your ideas with?
I want all of you to take an evening for yourself and think BIG. Then I want you to go back and think EVEN BIGGER! Yea - THAT big! Think BIG for yourself. Then think BIG for your Local Association. Then think BIG for your Region. And then SHARE your ideas! Your ideas won't do you any good keeping them to yourself. I know from personal experience that not all of your ideas will be warmly received. Don't get discouraged from that, just keep trying. I'm a fan of the Law of Averages. That means at least one of those ideas is going to be wildly successful. If you haven't hit on the wildly successful idea yet keep coming up with more ideas until you do!
When it came to thinking big I had a leg up from my mentor. Margie had sights on me being Rookie of the Year before I did. She made sure I was involved wherever I could be. Of course, it helped that I was really enjoying myself. (Remember that, it's good advice for our new members and the long timers, when working on your projects try to have fun even when the project may not be. It'll keep you, and them, coming back for more.) I remember once, before our mentoring relationship, when Margie and I were at a Council meeting talking and Margie started listing off committee's and positions that she thought would be good for me. I could see that she was serious and expected me to follow up on at least one of these suggestions. It surprised me because I hadn't had anyone take such a direct interest in helping me to gain experience. I just looked at her for a moment and asked, "Am I your pet project?" She answered back "Yes!" with a look on her face that said, you're just figuring this out? That's when she also suggested I keep up a resume. If you were a fly on the wall it wouldn't have been hard to see Margie was destined to be my Mentor. Or as I like to refer to her, MMMM (My Main Mentor Margie).
Taking that BIG chance on an idea can be daunting. It could even mean the loss of something important - like a job! I've said it before - that is one of the superb advantages of membership to Insurance Professionals. You can take those BIG chances without fear. If you fail, well, you've gained valuable experience on how to try it again without losing those important "somethings" - like a job! You keep trying until you're an expert and then you take your expert knowledge and use it in your career. Where you can gain important things with that knowledge - like a job!
I can't encourage you enough to use your membership to help you lose the fear of the unknown and gain knowledge and insight. If you're someone who's been "out there" in our association and feel that maybe you've participated enough, I say you're wrong. Now that you've gained what you were looking for, mentor our younger and newer members to do the same. In working on our own fears or helping others with theirs we are all becoming better members and in turn making Insurance Professionals a better association.
So, do you have a few thoughts bumping around that might turn into a BIG idea? I'm sitting here already revved up and thrilled about your ideas. I would LOVE to have all of you come up to me next year at National in San Diego and tell me what BIG goals you reached for yourself, your local association and your region. Heck, if you make that goal before national reach out to me sooner. <<INHALE>> I love the smell of opportunity.
