Birds Of A Philly Feather
No blog posts from Engel for a week or so? Here’s why…
I spent four days in Philly attending the National Speakers Association:
www.nsaspeaker.org
When I first got out of college, I joined up with the NSA St. Louis chapter. Joining the NSA nationally AND the STL chapter are two of the best business decisions I ever made. I served on the board of the STL chapter for a few years, was mentored by some of the best speakers in the biz and saw my mission and career expand at an exponential rate.
Then, I got married and relocated to Orlando. The local meetings were held two hours from my home and, believe it or not, I’m not real good at driving. Then, a few other distractions came along…like moving to NYC for a year and going to grad school. And, then I had a lean year or two while I had some pressing priorities. All in all, I let my membership lapse since 2008 or 09.
Within the last few months, I joined NSA again. This also brought about going to the Philly convention. Within an hour of registration, I was kicking myself for ever, EVER letting membership lapse. NSA is just such a wealth of information, guidance, mentoring and it includes some of the world’s best thinkers. A few hours after arriving, I was not only kicking myself, but feeling ashamed.
Ashamed? Yes. See, I thought NSA was an expense. Truth be told, annual membership is pricey, attending a convention is an investment of a few thousand dollars and, well, I guess I just didn’t think it was worth it. Man, was I wrong.
See, NSA doesn’t just help me build my business and help me get my message into the hearts and minds of more folks, but it’s inspiring. It’s educational. And, it’s fun. The people I met were fantastic and, tomorrow, I have two conference calls with people with whom we can form mutually beneficial relationships. I heard the CEO of Operation Smile give one of the most heartfelt speeches I’ve ever heard. I learned and was inspired by an adventure racer. I learned new tips and tricks for engaging and connecting with those who want more of the Marcus message. It was simply fantastic.
If birds of a feather truly flock together, well, consider me the bird and NSA the flock. I am honored and humbled to call some of these fantastic people friends.
