The C***** C***** has focused peoples minds on how to ensure their businesses survive. The two things that often go in a downward market is marketing and training. Ironically these are the two things that will determine how well you do in a tough market, i.e. who knows about you and how skilled are the people working for you.

I am not going to emphases the huge benefits of training in this posting, (however please do see www.performancecoachingandtraining.co.uk for more details!!!) One of the most cost-effective ways of marketing is networking. You ask any business and they will say that the word-of-mouth referral is the best. It is personal, it shows trust and the turnaround from enquiry to business is much shorter. There are many aspects of networking that you can familiarise yourself with to ensure it works for you.

One aspect is the support you give to others. You can get all you want and desire from networking events by helping others get what they want. Ask yourself this, if you went to an event and there were people there who were solely focused on getting what you want, either by getting you contacts, giving you referrals or giving you advice, would you want to help them as well,? Of course you would. The difference here is that don’t go to networking events expecting others to help you.

One golden rule in networking, is go to events with the intention of seeing how you can help others, with the expectation of not expecting anything back. The nature of how business works and the ways humans operate is that we are all looking to make our business flourish and our lives easier. We like people who know their stuff and we especially like people we like. We are naturally attracted to them. 

Networking is a slow burn. By going to events regularly people get to know you, you get to know people. You expertise will be talked about and you will talk about other experts. By giving to others, they will like what they see and tell others about you. This is the funnel that will generate business for you, that is fun, effortless and profitable. Above all have fun, if you are feeling nervous when you go to events you can be sure many others are too, even the seasoned networker, I should know!!!

Getting healthy and being healthy is one thing that all of us want. So whatever you are going to do, how can you make sure you stay with it. Whether it’s the gym or anything else there are two things that you can do that will greatly increase your chances of reaching your intended goal.

What is your WHY? Is this BIG enough? When we want to get fit or lose weight we often only look at the surface benefits, for example, I want to get fit because I need to. Yes but why? I want to lose weight because it means I will be healthier. OK, what next? You see, when we do something and you only have what I call surface motivations, the motivation tends to diminish.

If we don’t see results immediately, we start letting life get in the way, i.e. “I can’t go to the gym because I was working late and I was tired”; “I have to miss the class because I need to meet a friend.” What happens is that we manifest reasons for ourselves, that on the surface seem logical, that conspire us to not keep up with what we started, because the why wasn’t big enough. So is getting fit, or being healthier not good enough reasons? Sure they are, but then don’t be surprised if you don’t keep the activity going. To get the true reason behind the WHY, we need to get deeper.

So ask yourself this question, What will getting fit mean to me? What will being healthier mean? What will losing weight mean I can do? Now you will have a variety of answers, like, being fitter would mean I have more energy in my life. OK what would this mean to me? This would mean I would feel less tired. What would this mean to me? That when I spend time with my kids, we do more than just sit and watch TV. We actually enjoy the time with each other and get more out of it. What would losing weight mean? This would mean I would feel more confident in myself? What would this mean? This would mean that I would be able to start to enjoy what I do at work, for example. What would this mean to me? This would mean I wouldn’t be waiting for to come everyday and actually enjoy my job and therefore perform to the best of my ability. And what would this mean? This would show my employers how valuable I am to the company and be recognised accordingly. Now these are just examples of what can happen when you go beyond the surface motivations.

So, now if your motivation of going to the gym was so that your career opportunities would be enhanced, would that be a big enough WHY? In the process, you would lose some weight, get fit and be healthier, while all along the reason that kept you going to the gym was the benefits that you would gain in other parts of your life

This concept in the first instance may seem unusual, however when practiced can give you some fantastic results. You often hear in the sporting arena that the athlete is ‘trying too hard’ , What does this mean? Well most times is means that they are trying to do what they have to do so much, that they go beyond the point at which they are performing at their best. When I talk about letting go, what I am referring to is letting go of any resistance, need or want that will prevent you from getting what you want. For example you want to lose weight so much, you need to be healthier, you want to get fit. Assuming you know your true WHY behind what you want to do. What else can trip you up?

Well take this scenario, you start going to the gym to lose weight, in your own mind the why has been established, and after a few sessions you don’t see the results that you want, you might start feeling a bit anxious, you start feeling a bit of resistance to going, or you start to do more, train harder, doing more sessions, whatever it is the result is that you no longer enjoy going, and when you do, you can’t wait until the session is over. However the want/need is so great you actually start to not get the results you want. You have an intention of losing weight, but is the wanting preventing you from actually having it? Letting go is a way of releasing any emotional attachment you have to that situation. So that the athlete who is trying so hard wants it so much, they end up not getting it.

Ask yourself this question, Could I let go of wanting to lose weight? At this point answer simply Yes or No. Wanting something is an emotional reaction to the situation. When we want it, we crave it, strive for it, and desire it. This has little to do with what our intentions are. Once we have settled on an intention we don’t actually pay much attention to it, we just do whatever needs to be done. When you start wanting something, you attach emotions to it and this is when you get stressed and tend to react in a way that will prevent you getting the results you want.

Now ask yourself again. Could I let go of wanting to lose weight? Yes or No. Answering yes means that you release yourself from the want. This still means you do what you intended to do, i.e. go to the gym follow the program etc, but you let go of the wanting. Taking this to the next stage once you’ve let go of wanting to lose weight (or whatever it is for you) ask yourself this question Could I let go of wanting ________________, (insert hear whatever is your bigger WHY) All you are doing here is letting go of the want, not what you intend to do. Try this for a few sessions and see how you get on. You may be surprised at what results you get and more importantly how you feel.