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Man, the summertime crazy has commenced. It took everything I had, and little less sleep, to get this episode out this week. My schedule was jam-packed and I have family coming to visit so my schedule is going to be all out whack for a couple of weeks. I’ll have a week of rest after (or not) and then I’m off to Podcast Movement.

The old me would have become insanely stressed out and resentful, and the people around me probably would have been very aware of it. I would have tried to get rid of as much on my to do list as possible to try to alleviate the stress.

The old me would have battled with myself about doing an episode this week and I probably would have done it but it would have been because I didn’t want to look bad. I would have been motivated by a fear that if I didn’t do this episode I would lose momentum, and lose the faith and trust of those of you who look forward to the 100% Jodi episodes each week.

The Emotion I Want to Motivate Me

I’m not going to deny I’m a little wound up this week with everything but I wanted to do an episode this week because I’m motivated from something different than fear. The emotion I’m motivated by is love.

I love doing these episodes. I was hesitant at first. I was excited and nervous and testing out the waters with different topics but now I’ve hit a groove, gotten your feedback and now 100% Jodi is a labor of love.

As much as possible do things coming from the emotion of love. I think we can agree it’s much more enjoyable to be feeling love while you are taking action than it is to feel fear.

I would much rather do an obstacle course loving the exhilaration rather than running it half freaked out by the obstacles I have to overcome.

Sometimes it’s not even fear we need to shift but there can be something really special that can come about when we add love to the mix.

I remember when I joined BNI my chapter took attendance but they didn’t enforce the attendance policy. That seemed fine with everyone because everyone seemed to give a best effort to attend…until they didn’t.

When I was the President of the chapter from 2012-2013 I had some real concerns with what I was seeing. With my personality type, and my background in corporate you know I went to the reports to see what was going on. Sure enough, when attendance was good there were corresponding increases in the numbers of referrals passed and the amount of money we tracked in closed business.

When attendance went down so did the referrals and money made by the members.

It’s Good to be Resolved and…

Okay, so after looking at the BNI reports for my chapter for attendance, referrals passed and money made by the members, it was plain as day what I needed to do but this would be a major culture shift and I had only been in the chapter for a year and a half. A large number in my chapter had been in the chapter for more than 10-15 years, some of them for nearly 20 years.

However, the solution was clear but I needed to do this right. So I presented the information first to the members who were in leadership roles in the chapter and proposed that we start enforcing the attendance policy. They were surprised but the numbers didn’t lie and they agreed to the change.

With their support I prepared a PowerPoint presentation to do at an upcoming meeting. I was a little nervous given some of the personalities that were in the chapter at that time but I knew it was the right thing. I was resolved. And I was preparing for the presentation with that energy.

My friend Michelle who is also a member of my BNI chapter, chatted with me the day before my presentation and asked me how I was feeling. I’ve mentioned her before as the friend who balances me out and this demonstrates exactly how.

I told her I was ready, I was resolved and it was the right thing to do. Michelle replied, “And remember you doing this because you love them.” She was exactly right! I wouldn’t have risked so much if I didn’t love the people who were in the room but I wasn’t present to it as I was preparing my data and creating the slides.

Every Type A Woman Should Have a Friend Like This

I started my presentation by asking everyone in the room if they had hit their money goal the prior year. Only one person raised their hand. I then told them that my goal as their President was to change that. The reason people join BNI is to make more money. Everything else, and there’s a lot of other things, are a bonus. People leave BNI if they are not making enough money for their efforts.

I delivered my presentation focusing on how the attendance policy was going to help them make more money and achieve their goals. At the end of the presentation I decided to be completely transparent and I told them I wanted to do this because I loved them and I wanted them to be successful.

Everyone agreed to my proposal to start to enforce the attendance policy. We’ve been enforcing the attendance policy ever since and my chapter has gotten better every year.

On your part it feels better to come from a place of love, and it feels better for the other person as well. People can sense the intention behind what is said and an action taken. They may not be able to name it exactly but they do get a sense of whether it feels genuine or manipulative.

If you’re not coming from love you are likely being somewhat manipulative.

Things that will take us out of love:

• Money fears are soul sucking
• Conflict in an important relationship
• Judgment of another or a situation
• Challenges to our values
• A lack of love in others

We have to consciously choose love in these situations because it’s too easy to get sucked into fear and anger.

If you find yourself getting sucked into negative emotions come back to a place of love. How do I do this is focusing on the things that I love. I might get fearful about some aspect of my business but then I think about the women in this community. I remember why I work so hard and why I continue to challenge myself to put out good content.

When I get stressed out about a lack of time I remind myself that it’s my expectations of myself that causes the time crunch and that I love peace of mind more than perfection. I then do what I can from a place of love. And sometimes I surprise myself; because I’m so calm doing my tasks they actually get done more quickly because I’m not so easily distracted.

Make Plans and Take Action from a Place of Love

As you start planning your days and your to do lists begin by getting yourself, not only in a good state of mind, but a good state of heart as well. Remind yourself of what you love and once you begin to lighten and feel the good emotions, then take action.

Especially do this before every meeting or phone call. Get to your set point of love and go from there. I guarantee you, you will see a difference in your productivity, your results and the effect you have on other people.

This is simple but not easy. It’s a practice and I am constantly getting off track and going into auto-pilot, catching myself and resetting my mindset and my emotions. It takes some effort but it is SO WORTH IT.

Thank you all for joining me and here’s to your success!!

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Resources

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