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View information and suggestions at
www.NGEclubs.com
- Purpose: The entrepreneurial journey
provides a wonderful gateway for Connecting Now With Later.
"What do you want to do the rest of your life?" is a question that
some respond to immediately, while others are quite sure yet. Once
an individual has developed a direction...character development,
personal accountability, flexibility, core values, ethics,
perseverance and a sense of humor are some of the topics that
emerge as important concepts to be considered.
- View yourself as a coach. Facilitation is an
art – designed to develop a group dialogue, with the facilitator
stepping forward if the conversation is getting off-track or needs
to go to a deeper level.
- Ask open-ended questions that foster more
than “yes” or “no” responses.
- Use ice-breakers at the beginning of some
meetings. Example: “Two Truths and an Exaggeration” – Each person
in the group shares two real events that happened in his or her
life, along with one fanciful story. “I once met the actor, Denzel
Washington, on the street and he stopped to talk with me for 2-3
minutes. When I was 13 years of age I spent a summer on a farm in
South Carolina with my uncle. I swam competitively in the
freestyle competition and came in second when I was 11 years of
age and was in the top swimmers in the State.” The group then
determines which one of the three stories is not true about the
person. This is an engaging way for people to get to know each
other, having a bit of fun while doing so.
* Another ice-breaker: The "Ah and "Um" Game -- Give a 20 second
overview of your business for 20 seconds without saying "ah" or
"um." It's very hard for, ah, most people to, um, do.
- Some groups have at least one person who
loves to talk and who is adept at high jacking the evening by
introducing topics that have nothing to do with the subject matter
of the evening. There are also some hyper-needy individuals who
are like bottomless pits, pulling everyone’s focus in his or her
direction. Be aware of these types of personalities and develop a
strategy for keeping the meeting moving in a productive direction.
- Respect the schedules of the Next Generation
participants by always starting the meetings on time and ending on
time.
- Chairs in a circle may work the best until
the meeting gets too large.
- Each week it might be good to have someone
communicate for 3-5 minutes on, “My biggest mistake and what I
learned from it” or something like that. Be creative with the
topics. The individual then gets to pick the next person to talk
the next week.
What a Typical
Meeting Might Look Like:
Here’s a meeting
agenda that may work for your Next Generation Entrepreneur Club (90
-100 minutes total for meeting):
i. Start with greeting everyone. 3 minutes.
ii. Personal “laser-introductions” of all the participants (e.g.
name, what business you are building, number of years in business,
and what brought you to this meeting today.) 60 – 90 seconds for
each person (depends on the number of people in the group).
iii. Have someone communicate on “My biggest mistake and what I
learned from it” or something like that. That person then selects
the person who will share next week. 3-5 minutes.
iv. Read the chapter of the book out loud together. This can be
accomplished by one person or by having each person read one
paragraph until it is finished. 10 minutes.
v. Break up into small groups by having everyone count
“1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3” until all have an assigned number. Each of the
three groups go to separate parts of the room or another room to
discuss the questions of the workbook. Each group appoints a leader
whose job it is to make sure that the group keeps on schedule and
then to report back to the whole group. 20-30 minutes.
vi. After the separate discussions, each group comes back to the
main room and a designated person from each group expresses a
summary of the feedback from his or her group. 15 minutes (5
minutes for each group)
vii. Problems, Questions and Solutions: A few people can share a
brief overview of current challenges they are experiencing in their
particular businesses. The rest of the group weighs in, sharing
wisdom lessons they have learned in similar situations. The Club
leader must use excellent facilitation skills to make sure that time
spent on each problem and solutions is maximized. If it is a
complicated personal issue, either the facilitator or a volunteer
from the group can arrange to talk with the individual after the
meeting or on the phone the next day. (Depends on how much time
is left)
viii. Close out with some affirmations and encouragement – cookies,
coffee and soda provide an opportunity for some to hang around for a
while and talk if they want.
Well-prepared Questions
Groups function best with questions that help them observe,
interpret, and apply what they are learning. The questions should be
forthright enough to allow each person to take a turn as moderator,
moving the group paragraph by paragraph through a chapter. The
facilitator must not assume that everyone understands the material
covered.
Operating Guidelines
The following ground rules protect the individuals in a group:
1. Confine the discussion to the chapter being studied. This keeps
the newcomers at equal advantage. As the weeks go by, of course,
everyone's scope of knowledge enlarges, and the group is able to
refer back to chapters previously studied.
2. Expect everyone to be responsible for pulling the group back from
digressions. The facilitator’s job is greatly eased if others in the
group help say, "We've gotten onto a tangent. Let's get back to the
chapter."
These guidelines keep a group focused.
Suggested Ground Rules for the Group: Each group
may want to set up their own purpose statement and a set of ground
rules that everyone accepts. Below are some suggestions:
- Because small businesses are the direct
extension of individuals, personal matters are brought forward to
the group. If there is to be the expectation of honesty, there
must be a pledge of absolute confidentiality among the members of
the group. Trust, emotional safety and mutual respect are the
foundational building block.
- No one will use put-downs or personal
attacks.
- Treat others as you want to be treated.
- Each person has two ears and one mouth.
Listen carefully before speaking. Earn the right to be heard.
- The meetings are for networking, but trying
to recruit other participants into a network marketing business is
discouraged.
- The NGEC meetings are designed to be
an emotionally safe place for people to sometimes share what
others may perceive as an off-the-wall entrepreneurial idea.
Judgments are not to be a part of these meetings. Treat others the
way you want to be treated.
- Meetings will start on time and will end on
time. Participants are encouraged to talk afterwards, if they
want.
By the way, Dr. Freeman's books are
currently in 28 foreign translation editions.
Check out the open
letter inviting you to participate in more of these foreign
translation projects.
>>>>>>>>>>
FREE mp3 Sampler of
Audio Book <<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>
Press Release / What Makes This Book Unique? <<<<<<<<<<
~ Letter about
If Nobody Loves You,
Create The Demand from
a prisoner ~
Dr.
Freeman, I find it appropriate to write you from the most humbling
place I have ever been. I'm not exactly sure why, but who am I to
argue with the wind. I've recently decided to commit to exploring
life on different terms by changing my beliefs and accepting
certain struggles with open arms and mind. I find it necessary to
thank you for bringing comfort along the way.
I am now two
months away from release in a correctional facility. I was given the
gift of life through incarceration. After several years of
trafficking marijuana, the last two while struggling with a deadly
addiction of painkillers, I was finally forcefully removed from my
lifestyle and given an opportunity to reflect. It wasn’t until two
months ago that I committed to walking away from the temptation of
fast living and find comfort in sacrifice and struggle.
I'll save you
the dramatics involving my journey to this point because I believe
my struggle has been trivial compared to others that go unnoticed or
are seen but never spoken of. I've always had the ability to find
comfort and support from my loving family, I simply chose not to.
The mistakes I made revolved around my believing success in life was
measured by other people's perception of one's monetary value, not
by the satisfaction one feels from being content with life itself. I
now have found a new approach to life and holding myself to a
higher standard as a person.
For the last
year I've been concentrating on a project to keep myself busy during
my stay and following my release. My love of creating and enjoying
all forms of music has inspired me to address several issues I've
found to be problematic, both as an independent in the industry and
a patron of others. My goal is simply to empower other independents
by providing direction through knowledge and resources using a web
based network – eliminating unnecessary middlemen and expenses along
the way.
While attempting
to better my knowledge and approach towards my goal, I received a
copy of If Nobody Loves You,
Create The Demand
with my normal regimen of materials. I began reading strictly
from an entrepreneurial perspective; I finished reading as an
adoring admirer, morally
obligated to make a better effort in my way of life.
I've never felt it more important to shy away from the dangerously
easy way of obtaining money than I did as I finished your work.
To say why, I'm
without a definitive answer. I'm fairly certain you weren't writing
to show convicted drug addicts how to embrace struggle and sacrifice
while struggling to sacrifice. But, I also believe you'll appreciate
knowing you have not only reached someone in my position, but
potentially saved them as well. I am 28 and have never been so
positively influenced by another individual's work. I believe I
owe you much more than the cost of your book.
I've
waited a short period of time to write this letter in order to be
sure my feelings are genuine.
I keep your book where I can see it daily and make mention of it to
others frequently. My father is helping me with my project and had
this book sent in. He has been told that that we will one day use
your professional services to benefit our team.
I tell myself
one day I'll be able to shake your hand and ask if you remember the
letter you received from a prison. At that time, if I have not met
my goals, I will tell you how much just having a goal is worth to
me. Sir, I thank you for the comfort and confidence you have
provided me during this transition in my life. Please don't be
surprised or feel obligated to respond if I send you an occasional
update while I attempt to make a something from a whole lot of
nothing.
Thank you for your time and efforts,
Sammy
|
The Four-CD audio book (ISBN: 978-1-934068-29-8...read by author in a
professional studio) version is available, which includes a bonus of the entire book MP3-ready for your Ipod or
other MP3 player! --
