International Speaker, Peak Performance Trainer and Business Mentor Arnon Barnes encourages us to get out of ‘stuck’ by returning to the power of proximity.
Have you ever heard the saying, ’Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are?’ This month I want to focus on an influencing power that most people tend to either forget about or simply underestimate. I’m talking about the people in your life and the importance of surrounding yourself with people that will uplift you, encourage you, and ultimately help you on your journey to achieve more success, more happiness, more wealth and even more love and connection. Whenever I am coaching a business leader, one of the questions that I find intriguingly useful is to ask: “Who are the people that you are surrounding yourself with, on a daily, weekly or a monthly basis?”
And here is why that question has helped me transform so many businesses all around the world. I find a lot of business owners and business leaders find themselves at some stage of their career in a place called ‘stuck’. Have you ever felt like that? I’m sure you have.
And although there can be several reasons for this, I believe a critical reason that lots of people feel stuck is because of a lack of growth. So how can we grow our business and our income exponentially and get ‘unstuck’? And also, here is a question that I have found to be useful at times: “Who is a person or a company that if I could connect with and win their business, well simply put, life will never be the same again (in a positive way)?”
What we, as business owners, want to pro-create is something called The Power of Proximity! We all know many people. Some enter our life through relatedness others through choice. However, what most people don’t realize is that today we live in an age called ‘the connection age’. And based on research it has been proven that we live in an exciting (digital) era through something called the ‘6 degrees of separation’ theory, we can connect with anyone on the planet. In other words, we all are a maximum of 6 introductions away from meeting anyone that we want to meet. All we need to do is activate the chain.
Because of that, if you’re in business today, one of the most effective and efficient ways to grow your business, grow your influence is to make greater impact and add more value to the marketplace. A great way to do that is simply to surround yourself with people that will have the power to support your vision, your product or your services. By either them being loyal consumers of what it is that you have to offer, or, maybe even more important, by asking them to connect you to people that want what you have to share.
I have clients that have built multi-million euro companies, and their marketing strategy is simple but very effective. They use The Power of Proximity! They surround themselves with people that are decision-makers, people that can help them elevate their activities by simply making one phone call, one introduction or a recommendation. These people have the power to influence.
So, ask yourself, who are the influencers that you have around you? And are they really people that can direct traffic towards your business? Or perhaps you need to ‘up your game’ and start surrounding yourself with bigger players. If you feel stuck it could be because you find yourself bored ‘playing the same game’ at the same level, with the same people all the time.
Maybe it is time to for you to start playing a bigger game? And by surrounding yourself with bigger players you give yourself an uncomfortable task and that is the task to grow. Growth is what nature demands of all of us. Remember, you’re either growing or dying. There is no in-between.
By pushing your boundaries and your willingness to get uncomfortable; to meet and surround yourself with bigger players, power players, influencers, you will see how magic starts to happen for your business because as soon as you leverage off the concept of Proximity is Power you will find yourself on the short-cut trail to achieving what it is you really want to achieve for your business.
At my events, a common question people ask me all the time is: “How do I make more money?” I strongly feel that is the wrong question. Even though, yes, most people are looking for money, the reality is that you don’t need to look for more money, you simply need to look for more people, and not just anyone, but rather the right people.
Are the people that you are currently surrounding yourself with the people that have the power to influence?? Do these people know the ‘big dogs’ in your industry? And can they create an opening, a short-cut for you so that you can utilise the power of proximity to meet and connect with the right people? The people that will take your business, your life and your bank account to the next level.
Meet and work with Arnon Barnes live? Join one of his next upcoming events in Europe. For more information on the event, or coaching, contact his office via info@arnonbarnes.com
