Is There a Bear in Your Backyard?

As a Canadian I was talking to my business partner Charlotte the other day telling her about the Bear we had in our backyard.

The kids had come in saying "we have a bear in the yard" and their dad said, "oh you're just telling a story!".

We soon believed them though when a friend phoned us on her cell phone "Uh, you better bring your kids inside cause I just saw a small black bear going into your yard!"

So Charlotte said, you better blog about that because "Only in Canada" do you hear stories like that. Eh??

This got me thinking....How many times do we sabotage ourselves in our business with this kind of thinking???

Seriously, think about it!

Someone tells us....."Hey, look Mr. CEO is making XXX amount of $$$ and he's going to be in your city(or backyard)...you should check him out and see how he's doing that!" And for some strange reason, we don't believe that person who is so close to us! A friend, a relative etc....It's sad that we no longer have a STRONG belief of what our own friends/relatives are telling us, yet they truly have our best interest at heart!

Then along comes Sally Sue, who kinda knows us in a general way...says the exact same thing and we Believe her Automatically.

Why is that???

Why on earth have we gotten to the point that we would believe something a near stranger would say to us over the input we get from our own family/friends?

I heard a few years ago a survey (I think about 20 yrs ago)was done through Bridge Ratings that asked what ...or who our "Circle of influence was??"

On the top 3 were:

1)Religious Leaders
2)Teachers
3)Family Friends & Acquaintances

The same survey was repeated 20 yrs later with the results being top 3:

1) Stranger with Experience
2) Family Friends & Acquaintances
3) Teachers

The shift in this is due entirely to Internet & Info Products!

So I guess its good news that we are getting a higher level of influence from our friends and family than we did 20 yrs ago, and even better news for us in the business world that we can "Brand ourselves" as the true Experts that we are in our field!

I encourage you as a business owner to get "yourself out there". Instead of getting people to "pay you" just for a quick sale, start giving away your awesome tips and ideas! Be the leader of your business, the Leader of your Circle of Influence! This will pay you in the long run....trust me!

To your Amazing Awesome-ness!!!

Jody Maley