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September 06, 2008

Sometimes You Need to Put Yourself in MOTION

“You have to be in it to win it” - NY Lotto

There are times where you need to put yourself into the mix in order to take advantage of opportunities. Sure, there will be times in your life where an opportunity will seek you out. But for all other times, if you are not around, that chance meeting isn’t going to happen. This is why I make an effort to put myself out there, go to a variety of events, hold meetings in the lobby of certain hotels and why I make an effort to host my own networking events and encourage people to connect with each other.

This is what I call “Putting Yourself in Motion.”

Recognizing this is one thing. Being able to act on this while overcoming your own inertia is the harder part. At least it usually has been for me.

But whenever I’m feeling a little lazy, I remind myself we often need to leave our comfort zones, challenge ourselves, and push ourselves to the edge in order to take advantage of chance opportunities.

“Sometimes you can influence chance by playing along”

Looking back, many opportunities happened because I was in the right place at the right time. Some may consider this being lucky, something which I would not deny, but why not empower yourself to be lucky every once in a while? Why not put yourself in play and put yourself in the right place at the right time too?

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How about you? How often do YOU Put Yourself in Motion? What would you advise others to do?

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Posted by jeff on September 6, 2008 05:28 PM | Permalink

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Comments

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Posted by: wholesale jewelry at May 28, 2009 03:41 AM

I kept that company running until I left the UK and sold the "departments" off as individual businesses to the employees who ran them.

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Posted by: m555m at September 9, 2008 07:49 AM

New reader of your blog and so glad I found it. Found you via Twitter. Last two posts have been very timely for my husband and I and our business.

This has been a year of putting myself out there in situations that are not necessarily things I would choose to do, but it's all been worth it, both personally for my own growth and in several instances for our business. No question that luck has to be part of the equation, but last time I checked, luck didn't have a GPS system programmed to my office.

Posted by: kathy at September 7, 2008 07:15 PM

For the most part, most people never really find themselves in the right place at the right time. For me, it's a matter of making wonderful things happen one step at a time...a phone call here, an email there, etc. Suddenly, you realize that a series of small actions have lead to wonderful things. You may want to read "One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way" by Robert Maurer.

Posted by: Mimi at September 7, 2008 05:40 PM

I would add that being in the right place at the right time ONLY works if you are entirely present in that place, at that time.

I had an experience on Friday where I happened to be in the right place, to overhear a phone conversation, someone having a problem that they couldn't solve that I knew I could solve. Instead of walking away, I first apologized for eavesdropping, then told them I could solve the problem, left my card, and walked out.

45 minutes later I got a phone call, and 2 hours later I was sitting in a meeting with a very high profile organization, discussing how my company was going to help them.

Right place, right time - and right presence - all critically important.

Thanks for another inspiring post, Jeff!

Posted by: Susan Murphy at September 7, 2008 01:19 PM

Jeff, this was indeed inspiring and parallels some of my own thinking about entrepreneurship.

Do you find that as you get more deeply involved in your business gatherings that you start to "rate" your online and offline opportunities, for those which have a greater or lesser chance of yielding results?

I find that this is important for efficiency of time and (personal) energy, but conversely, some of my best experiences have come from whence I least expected. I think it's important to take the odd leap to an unusual gathering once in a while; like a measure of mutation in the genetics of your networking.

Curious to hear more about your own experiences, and your tips for hosting your own meetings and networking events.

Cheers,
Asheen

Posted by: Asheen at September 7, 2008 10:47 AM

Thanks Jeff,
Very inspiring. I'm just recently been thinking about increasing my offline activity. I'm sure that you have a ton of advice and ideas for
crossing the line: http://usingit.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/how-do-you-cross-the-line/

Keren

Posted by: Keren Dagan at September 7, 2008 09:23 AM

Getting yourself out there is part of how I've been able to move from one place to another over and over and hit the ground running. It helps that I'm addicted to learning new things and I'm good at teaching what I've just learned. So, my strategy is to learn something useful and then teach it to a bunch of people.

When I lived in the UK, I started a consulting company with the computer equipment in my house, 500 pounds in my pocket and a string of speaking engagements. In two weeks I had contracts, and two employees. I kept that company running until I left the UK and sold the "departments" off as individual businesses to the employees who ran them.

When I moved to Israel, I'd made some connections already, but I pushed my network up a few notches by arranging in advance to give a presentation at a local Linux group just a couple of days after I arrived.

Sometimes I just want to go hide in a corner and write, and not have to go anywhere. The problem with that is that if you don't meet people in person, you don't close the loop. You are an idea on the screen or on paper, but you don't have the recognition that comes with being acquainted in person.

Posted by: Lisha Sterling at September 7, 2008 09:21 AM

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