Notably Green: What did I sign up for?

From July 2019

Why did you sign up to be a part of BNI? Different people have different reasons. Some are looking for more business, more referrals. Some are looking to build relationships and meet referral partners. Some are looking for training to become a better business person.

Those are all great reasons, but none of this comes overnight. It takes time and for some it takes more time than others. It's more of a marathon than a sprint.

Last Thursday I participated in my 6th Peachtree Road Race. Each year has been a different race. The first year it was cool. There were people sitting along Peachtree Street wrapped in blankets. One year it was raining and they flagged some of the late corrals and stopped the runners for awhile because of lightning. The other years, it's been a typical Peachtree Road Race - hot and humid - with this being the hottest on record. By the time we crossed the finish line it was at a red alert.

And why am I telling you this? As we were heading up Peachtree getting ready to make the turn to head towards the finish line and Piedmont Park I saw a man holding up a sign similar to the one above, it did make me smile. This year was a hard one. First because it was so hot and humid and I had not quite trained as hard as I had in past years. And instead of doing my run/walk intervals, we walked the majority of the course. You would think that by walking, it would have been easier, but my legs are still screaming with soreness. I'm still questioning why I'm so sore. Was it the conditions, my lack of training, or because I walked instead of run/walk? I think it was that I did something different than what I trained for. I trained to run/walk, but walked the majority of the time, thus using different muscles. I finished standing up and for that I am grateful.

Again what does this have to do with BNI? Over the last couple of days, as I've thought about what topic to write about, that sign keeps coming to mind. As I've been on Facebook and saw many of my friends and of the many BNI members I know post their photos of the Peachtree, it brought to mind the relationships I have with these individuals and their commitment to most everything they do. They signed up and paid their money to participate in the Peachtree Road Race. They trained. They participated. They crossed the finish line and they got the T-Shirt. Because the Peachtree Road Race is the only race where you don't get the T-Shirt until after the race. They committed and they accomplished their goal. Isn't that what BNI is all about? You don't get the results until you do the work required?

I believe BNI is a lot like the Peachtree Road Race, in that you're not going to reach the goal you want to achieve and get the t-shirt, unless you make the time and commitment to put forth the effort to do what it takes. It takes the commitment of making the time to do the activities, i.e. training, one to ones, meetings, etc. And it's also about putting forth the effort to not just do the activities, but to learn to do the activities effectively. It is true, what you put in, you get out.

So what did you sign up for? To immediately start getting referrals and business? Without putting in the time and training? Like going from the couch to a 10K, it's not likely there will be a good finish. And even if we did the initial training, we have to keep training and sometimes do different training to keep up with the times and the conditions. Like, if I'm going to walk the course in 90 degree heat and humidity, then that's the way I have to train. BNI is the same. In order to stay competitive and up to date, we have to learn new ways of doing things if we want better results.

I'm the type of person that it takes me a while to make a decision and make the commitment, especially when it comes to putting my hard earned cash down. But once I do, I'm all in. I'm going to set a goal and do my best to learn what I need to learn to do what I need to do to recoup my investment. So if you paid to do this, what are you doing to get the most value from your investment?

Here are some of those people who made the commitment, did the training, and got the T-Shirt for the 50th running of the Peachtree Road Race. If you were one of them, please let us know.