I’ll admit it, for a long time the whole social media thing had me in a tizzy, I just didn’t get it. How was any of this going to help me personally or professionally? I couldn’t answer the question, so I did nothing.
Then one day I decided to take a ‘flying leap’ – I joined a group on LinkedIn and posted a question about a company that was pestering me for money to do business with them (doesn’t sound quite right does it?). I wanted to know if anyone had experience with this outfit. Within minutes of hitting enter on my keyboard, there were a dozen comments from people warning me to steer clear. Not only did I receive responses in the LI discussion thread, but people emailed me directly, while others called to warn me. Two great folks, Michael Benidt and Sheryl Kay chimed in and wrote about all of this on their blog.
I was overwhelmed by the fact that people reached out to me and shared their wisdom and prior mistakes. Because of their willingness to connect with me, I saved a bunch of money and headaches as well. None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t taken that initial ‘flying leap’ into the unknown.
Taking that ‘leap’ helped me learn that social media is about sharing and community (among other things), but most importantly I learned that growth often times comes by delving into some areas head-first. This ‘flying leap’ thing is beyond social media, it’s about any and every area of our lives where we’ve chosen to sit on the sidelines because we don’t get it, maybe it’s challenging or we just plain old hard.
For me this time it was social media (and I still need to do a whole lot more ‘leaping’ for sure) where I had to take a ‘leap’, but there are so many other areas I could tell you about. One of those is money. Actually handling, understanding and managing money felt like the bane of my existence for much of my life. Growing up it wasn’t something we talked about. In college I struggled with it because of the need/want pull, and never having developed good money habits, or discipline. And well into adulthood, I felt the most overwhelmed because I was making a lot of money, but in debt up to my eyeballs.
I didn’t recognize it as such back then, but I took a ‘flying leap’ by attending a financial workshop my church was hosting. “I don’t need to go”, I thought and grumbled under my breath, “this is for people with financial problems.” (OMG, I was in such deep denial.) I went anyway, and what a life-changer! Some things I heard were new; other were not. The trigger was how the ideas and information were conveyed. No mental ‘beat downs’ or finger pointing about how terrible I was with money, but rather simple, down-to-earth explanations and examples that were enlightening and fun. Encouragement and support filled the room that day. I left there truly inspired and motivated to make changes in my financial life and I did!
That workshop was over 20 years ago and the experience continues to fuel me today. Bringing the same type of inspiration and motivation back then to others today, is one of my reasons for being on this earth. If I can help you move forward, even one inch in your financial life, then I’m a happy camper!
What about you and your money? Have you taken a ‘leap’ to learn more, explore new or old information to enrich your financial life? The ‘leap’ could be attending a financial workshop, reading a money book, posting a question on a discussion board or in a LinkedIn group, maybe even having a chat with your spouse or sig about your financial dreams. Or are you possibly missing out on a world of information, ideas, goal achievement and satisfaction because you’re sitting tight and doing nothing?
Take the leap and watch what happens.
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