Wow! I’m right attending a big convention for the national speakers association. I want to say that the attendance is close to 2,000. Many of the top celebrity speakers such as Les Brown, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield and many other big names are attending. I’m so jazzed up for being here. It’s the best investment in my career!
As busy as I am speaking all over the country, this is the one convention that I really look forward to attending. You could say it’s because of the great food or learning opportunity. That would partly be true. However, let me tell you why I am so pumped up about being at this convention.
It’s because I get a chance to connect with the top movers and shakers in my industry. Here they are very approachable and open to sharing. I get to pick their brain. That’s powerful! Unless you are in my field, you would never really understand why the national speakers association is so valuable to me and all the other professional speakers.
Do you belong to the national organization of your field? If not, you are making a huge mistake. It’s probably the reason why you are experiencing blockage in your field. I highly encourage you to join and attend the conventions even if you can’t afford it. Find a way. The first few years I couldn’t afford the fee to attend the national speakers association‘s convention either. But I made the sacrifice. That should tell you the size of my commitment.
Not only that you will cut your learning curve, you will also connect with the top names in your industry. It’s a unique way to leverage relationships. Oops, my next session is about to start. Let me run. Let me put this way for you: If you are not a member of your national association, you must not be a professional in your profession.
It seems to me that is a no-brainer. You need to belong where your peers hang out so you can pick their brain. Birds of a feather flock together. Professionals flock together. Besides, sometimes we can feel all alone in our profession. It’s important to connect with like minded individuals that can challenge you to keep pressing on when the going is tough.
Oh, did I mention that the attendees of the National Speakers Association are speakers? Duh! Obviously they are. Well, here’s why I am mentioning it: It appears as if everyone is speaking and no one is listening. Well, maybe one day someone will start the National Association of Listeners.
Hello Rene,
I just wanted to say thank you for challenging us to be a part of a professional speaking organization. It’s funny, I just looked at Toastmasters International website today. I felt the need to be around other speakers. Prior to my most recent book being released, I started feeling like I was on the edge of something great. Now that’s it’s published and released I sense a type of blockage. But daily, I feel dis-contented with my current employment. Grateful for the income, but I still feel a sense of “uneasiness”, so much so that it becomes somewhat stressful. I feel burnt out at times. Ever felt that way?
I know that my life calling is greater than myself. A friend of mine said that I’m in a cage and it’s getting too small. I’m ready to give birth to what God has impregnated me with. So, making the sacrifice to attend a National Speakers Association Conferenece would be very beneficial to me at this point in my life.
Peace and blessings,
Patrina Gardner, author, speaker, life coach