Today I was in the beautiful state of New Jersey for ProfitCon 2019.
ProfitCon is the annual conference for Profit First Professionals.
I always enjoy getting to go to conferences.
I find that it usually allows me to step away from my business.
It gives me an opportunity to look at my business and life from a different perspective.
Additionally, I get the chance to talk with my colleagues.
It also gives me the chance to evaluate my life and business compared to where I was the last time I attended the last conference.
I’ve been looking forward to ProfitCon for a few months.
I was surprised today as I stepped back to see how I was talking to people and the emotions that I was experiencing.
One of the things that surprised me today is a feeling of frustration.
Many times during the day, I found that I was disengaged from a couple of the speakers.
I’ve heard that sometimes the experience we have in any given moment is more a reflection of our current state than the experience itself.
I heard the following story once.
Mr. James was looking to move into a new town and met with a Susie Jo, a Realtor.
Mr. James asked Susie Jo, “What are the people like in this town?”
Susie Jo responded with a question, “What were the people like in the town you just moved from?”
Mr. James responded, “Oh, they were wonderful. They were so nice and friendly.”
Susie Jo then said, “The people in our town are wonderful. They are so nice and friendly.”
A few days later, Mr. Smith met with the Susie Jo, the Realtor.
Mr. Smith asked the Susie Jo, “What are the people like in this town?”
Susie Jo responded with the same questions, “What were the people like in the town you just moved from?”
Mr. Smith responded, “Oh, the people were rotten. They were so mean. I couldn’t wait to move.”
Susie Jo then responded by saying, “It might be wise to look for another place to move because the people in this town are rotten. They are so mean. You’ll probably want to move away from here.”
The point of the story is the lens through which we look at life often colors the way we experience life.
Last fall, I got a new client, and she talked about how bad her last accountant was.
I listened to her and concluded that maybe her last accountant was just a bad accountant.
Then a few weeks later, I received notice from her that was extremely nasty where she berated me at every instance that she could.
I was astounded because I had delivered work beyond what I originally had promised.
Then I realized that she was probably just a disagreeable person.
I suspect the new accountant she hired will probably get blamed for all sorts of problems.
This new accountant will be a horrible accountant in a few months.
In the future, I will be listening more to the words and tone behind the words that a person uses.
The words and tones are a good indication of the type of person I’m going to be dealing with.
If I see red flags in the words and tone, I will be best served to tell this person that I’m not the best person to be working with them.
As I’ve listened to the way I’ve been talking to people today, I’ve been observing the things I’ve been talking about.
I’ve also listened to the tone of the words I’ve been using while I’ve been talking with people.
Half of the speakers at today’s conference were not a good fit for the things I’m personally working on right now.
I had a few conversations with people in the hallways in between sessions that were very meaningful.
However some of the speakers today were not very interesting for me.
There are a couple of reasons why I think that today was not great for me:
1. Some of the speakers were covering topics that are not relevant to me right now. As I was sharing my thoughts with someone today, I shared that a few of the speakers spoke about the importance of having the right mindset. While I recognize that having the right mindset is important. Currently having the right mindset is not an issue for me. I wouldn’t be growing a seven-figure business by June 30, 2020, if I had an issue with mindset.
2. I’m going through a period of business where I’m working on getting traffic to my business. This is a bit of a challenge because I have to test and measure and figure out what works in my paid advertising. Once I get that figured out with my business, I’ll be able to transition to the next phase of my business.
3. Maybe I’m just tired and need a break.
4. Maybe I don’t need any new information. I’ve already gotten everything I need for now.
It’s hard to know which of the following reasons are the main cause.
Then again, it may not really matter which one of the above is the main cause.
It’s also possible that it could be a combination of all of the above causes.
In the end, I’ll let this go to bed when I lay my head down on the pillow tonight.
Tomorrow will be a new day, and I’ll be able to start the day with a fresh start.
The one thing I really have enjoyed today is having the opportunity to talk with some of my colleagues.
I’ve enjoyed hearing their experiences as well as sharing my experiences with them.
I’m proud of the fact that I get to be a part of the Profit First Professionals family.
This year was the fifth anniversary of Profit First Professionals.
We ended the day with a symbolic gesture.
Mike Michalowicz shared a story that he and Ron Saharyan had a glass of red wine five years ago when just the two of them were in the room.
As Mike and Ron toasted each other, Mike said, “One day we will be in a room of a couple of hundred people toasting the celebration of Profit First.”
Today there were a couple of hundred Profit First Professionals in the room as we all celebrated Profit First Professionals.
It was a beautiful moment.
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