By Jim Cathcart
What motivates you?
Last weekend I rode my motorcycle, a Yamaha FJR1300, from Thousand Oaks, CA to Phoenix, AZ and back. I was there to attend a conference of the National Speakers Association. I'm a past president of NSA.
The motives that caused me to attend were:
- The need to stay up to date on developments in professional speaking
- Concerns about the economy and seeking ways to deal with it
- A desire to spend time with my trusted colleagues and friends
- and an excuse to go for a long motorcycle ride. (Probably in that order.)
I met with publishers, speakers, authors, internet marketers, trainers and humorists. We all compared notes on what we were doing differently in this volatile marketplace. It was well worth the trip.
While attending this event I got in 17 hours of motorcycling (much of it across the vast Coloradoan Desert), borrowed the guitar from cowboy guitarist Doug Smith, and played about twenty oldies songs for my colleagues at one of the dinner events.
I also met with my buddy John Schaefer and got to see his Titan Custom motorcycle. Take a look at these photos! His bike cost more than twice what I paid for my first home!
Mine is the blue Yamaha, his is the extreme custom. I don't know whose Lamborghini that is but I'm grateful for the eye candy of having it there.
No, I didn't ride in my business clothes, and I'm not telling you this story to brag. Well, not completely anyway. What I want you to notice is how much fun I was able to have while attending a business conference. You can do the same in your own way.
Look at the events you have coming up: business meetings, outings, projects to work on, assignments to complete, etc. Then ask yourself, "How could I incorporate a little fun into the experience?" (And maybe save some money at the same time. My ride cost me hundreds less than a plane trip with all its attendant expenses.)
Could you do the work in a more enjoyable place?
Could you involve some other people in the experience to increase your learning or ease your workload or change the nature of your experience? (I once had a book to read for work and my sister and I read it aloud to each other alternating chapters. We both learned and it was more fun.)
Could you combine your workout with a needed discussion, maybe meet a colleague for a run or visit to the gym?
Are there some uncommitted times available for you to insert a bit of fun into your work?
Would it help for you to take the long road to the event so that you get some "windshield time" afterwards in which you can reflect on what you've learned?
Is there a free evening where you could go to dinner with new friends or colleagues and build some relationship assets?
The key to all of this is for you to be pro-active. It only gets better when you decide to make it so. Now, get out there and have fun...whistle while you work.
P.S. Stay tuned to www.cathcart.com for the big changeover. We will be converting my website and my blogs into ONE new website with blogs and videos galore.
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