It’s funny, but sometimes doing the ordinary and mundane can lead you places you never expected. We have been members of BNI since 2015. We go to the weekly meetings, currently on Zoom, do all the things expected and hope that in so doing we will generate some additional business. That’s why we are there after all, isn’t it? We just want more business.

But whatever events or organisations you are involved with, whether it is BNI or something else, there are other aspects that actually are equally important, and which ultimately follow on from the regular mundane “going through the motions” stuff that we all do. It is the stuff we learn and the insights and inspiration that we gather along the way which makes us better people and better at what we do so that, as we progress on our journey, we can be more effective so that we are better able to contribute to our own success and the success of others. But you have to be open to absorbing the ideas and learnings that present themselves.

This morning as I thought about what I was going to write this week, I was at a bit of a loss. So, I carried on with my regular Saturday morning routine. Every Saturday morning, when I first sit down in front of my laptop, I watch a pre-recorded webinar. These webinars are held weekly and are put out by BNI, as part of their Business Booster series. Now these are broadcast live through the week at times that just do not suit my schedule, so I watch the recordings on a Saturday morning. It works for me.

This morning I looked back to see if I had missed any and I watched one originally recorded back in April. It was by Chad Hymas, and it was entitled “Success and the bird next door”. The title almost put me off watching it at all. I am now glad that it didn’t and that I watched the recording. I would recommend that you Google Chad Hymas. Do it and you will understand why.

This man wanted to farm and in his early 20s had an accident on the farm which left him a quadriplegic. A 2 tonne bale of hay fell off his loader and crushed him in his cab, breaking his neck and smashing the lower part of his face. That was 21 years ago. He had a wife and 2 small sons and must have been an inch away from death.

But what of him now? He is an international speaker, travelling all around the world to speaking engagements, spending most of the year away from home. He uses a normal wheelchair. He does not use an electric one, because airlines don’t like them because of the weight and the charging arrangements overseas do not always fit.

He still has the farm and the same wife and 2 grown up sons. He and his wife have also adopted 2 other children. He has been judged to be one of the top inspirational speakers in the world. Not bad for a farmer paralyzed from the neck down.

By any measure he has been incredibly successful, probably far more so that if he had just been a farmer. Adversity has made him a success.

So, lets talk about you and the problems you are facing. You may have been knocked back and sideways by the pandemic, you may have all sorts of business issues, but at the end of the day, why should that be holding you back. You still have your health.

Chad Hymas makes the point that you do not need to try to think out of the box. Throw the box out of the window. Then move on.

Go check out his website and watch some of his videos. It’s powerful stuff! Then think about your own situation.

If you want to carry on this discussion but you are not sure where to find us, go to our website where you will also find some interesting reading.

Alan E Long

The Long Partnership

07770 738770