Laid-Back Networking

Last night I was at a networking event put on by Drew McLellan with McLellan Marketing Group and Jeff Garrison with JCG Consulting.

It was what Jeff Garrison likes to call “laid-back” networking . . . and it was just that.  Most of the time we agonize and focus on things we feel like we have to do to create an impression with people, but these two made an impression simply by focusing on not having too much of a focus and removing the BS.  It appeared everyone there was having a great time.   I look forward to the next event.

One of the best conversations I had last night was with Adam Carroll with Four Legacies Mortgage.   Adam and I had connected through a number of the networking sites such as LinkedIn, but we hadn’t come face to face yet.   We both started our careers in sales, then became business coaches, and today we have our own businesses.   A portion of Adam’s business that I enjoyed learning about was speaking.  Adam speaks to college students about their financial life after college.   He talks to them about focusing their years immediately following college on their finances and eliminating any debt from their world.   He said:

Kids graduate college with $50k in student loans.  If they are lucky they get a job paying $45k per year and they can barely afford to pay all of their bills.

He talks to them about becoming focused on their debt and doing whatever it takes to eliminate it . . . OBSESS! He said this means limiting things like eating out, going out, and other activities that would stifle any progress toward becoming debt free.  We continued to talk about how people tend to do the opposite and how much this limits their opportunities in as little as a few years down the road.

Adam and I both share a passion and have put ourselves on a mission to help younger people open their eyes, take control of their futures, and plan according to their passions.  To many young people get done with college, get the job, and reward themselves with the latest and greatest bell and whistle that ultimately limit their opportunities in life.   And we wonder why so many people feel like they have no options and are prisoners in their jobs . . . they have created a lifestyle that doesn’t allow anything else.

Being proactive is an approach to life that we as a society lack.

If you have a passion, you better find a hobby that fuels it because you won’t be making any changes any time soon!

We Don’t:

• Take the time to understand what we’re passionate about.
• Think how our actions today may limit our options tomorrow.
• Create a plan to accomplish our goals.
• Understand that it is even possible.

We just go with the flow.

Take a look around and pay attention to how the “flow” is working!

Jason Kiesau Finances, Personal Leadership