How goes it today? I have to interrupt my blog series for just a moment. I am responding to someone who visited my website with a comment. I feel compelled. It connected with me this morning as my children began to stir. It was a response to my introductory podcast for my new blog series. This is an individual who has visited a couple of times. They were very kind in their comments about my information and then offered the following “and you give it away for free.”
May I say first off, thank you for your kind words. And second, thank you for validating what was a difficult decision for me almost two years ago. I was in the process of writing my second book and was discussing with my peer/format person about the extent I should offer extensive answers and information about management training (what I do for a living). He gets this and I trust his incredible judgment. He asked “Do you really want to give so much information away in the book? Why would they want to hire you after they read it?” Logical, right? I didn’t answer him right away. I had to think about this for a bit. On one side, his right-ness is about the fact I am in business and must provide for my family. Yes, this is a passion, but I must keep the lights on, so to speak.
There is another side. Give freely. Share your passion as a means to expand what is possible. Sound a little “tree-huggy”? Maybe. So I decided, no, I will put everything in the book. I will start developing a site and provide blogs about what I think may help someone else out. I will give it freely. I have a heart to share ideas and see what happens next. My wife once said, “You are the most hopeful person I have ever met.”
Ahh. This is where it gets tricky, why give it away? I believe in the following…“everyone knows what to do, but not everyone does what they know.” This is what I provide in my business; the bridge from knowing to doing. In a way it is not the learning I am worried about, it is the adoption. There are so many very smart people who are in business. They are entrepreneurs and they know what to do. What happens is someone like me provides a new and broader perspective on how to get people to understand and adopt certain behaviors – in my case, retail management. This is my profession. So here is the tricky part, is that arrogance? To assume a smart person can build a million-dollar business and not get training? If you know me, that is not my mindset. I have a heart to grow others. It is not arrogance, it is a realization that everyone can benefit from a new perspective; especially as it pertains to growing others (given the generational reality).
Where does this come from? Big picture, my faith and what I believe. Because of this faith, I believe we must be encouragers and embracers of others and their needs. I am still a business owner. I still believe information has value. I also believe to share a little is just as important as giving immense value at a price. Contradictory? No, I disagree. I can provide anyone a tip or two, but what they do with those tips is up to them. That’s when people like me can help. And I have a business that provides tips to grow others. That reality has a cost associated with it. Oh no, the next tricky part, does that make me some leachy capitalist? The only thing I will say is, if something has value in your life to whatever extent, would you be willing to exchange that same value? This is not a sales pitch.
I say this as a final thought, thank you for your thoughts and words. I will continue to write posts as I have. I will continue to explore things that may help someone else. I have a heart to share. If you use them and flourish, awesome. If you want more, cool. If you want me to help, great. It is still a sunny day.