My Advice To You: “Get Out There!”

The title of today’s message needs a bit of clarification, but it is absolutely imperative that I share these thoughts with you. This is a true story. This is a story that I had internalized years ago, but needed to be reminded of as recently as last Friday. Please do not sell today’s lesson short. It could very well change your life for the better for years to come. I will try to keep your interest.

A particular conference was on my calendar for over a month. I knew as a public speaker that nothing but good could come from my wandering the trade show aisles. This alone would serve as a walking example that “Marchev is alive and well.”

For those of you who know me appreciate that one of my favorite reminders involves “visibility.” Getting out where the action is happens to be one of my favorite, dog-eared reminders. Hence, this conference provided another opportunity to show my face to be seen, to be “visible.” Until…

My computer crashed on Friday morning. Very few things other than a surly postal clerk can hit my hot-button as effectively as a persnickety computer. You heard me correctly. Even I have a dark side.

As noon approached I made the conscious decision to stay back at the fort to “fix” my latest dilemma. And that is when it hit me. As if I entered a scene from Ron Serling’s Twilight Zone, I heard me talking to me. “Hey Bub! What possible good as it relates to your eating habits can lying under your computer desk vs positioning yourself down on the active trade show floor do for you?” I wanted to fix my computer. But I knew the right answer. I showered. I dressed. I drove. I entered the exhibit area. And boy am I glad I did.

I won’t bore you with the details, but as soon as I turned corner #1, it began to happen. I bumped into former clients asking that I contact them. Friends from past seminars stopped to chat. Cruise line contacts acknowledged my presence and were reminded that “Marchev” is still available when the need presents itself. Magazine editors asked that I contact them. It was like a chain reaction of positive vibes kicked in as soon as my feet hit the carpet.

I could feel my smile along with a refreshing bounce in my step. The flow of positive energy reminded me that I was exactly where I was suppose to be on this particular Friday afternoon. I was working. I was marketing. I was having FUN.

And why, you may ask, am I sharing this story with you? As some famous sleuth once said, “It is elementary my dear Watson.” Ever since I entered the game of business back in 1973, I have an unblemished track record of achieving good and positive results every single time I attend a trade show, conference, or large group gathering.

My decision to get out of the office has never failed me. I attend. I watch. I listen. I think. I grow. I establish new contacts. I rekindle old contacts. I become energized. I benefit. My family benefits. Never, not once, has this failed to be the case.

On a sunny Friday afternoon I made the initial decision NOT to attend a conference trade show. As smart as I profess to be, I was a heartbeat away from making a huge mistake. I would not have realized it at the time, but this would have proven to be an enormous judgment error. As long as you don’t walk around with a bag on your head, good things come from attending these events. Lots of good things.