Saturday, August 8, 2015

Creating Space In Your Members Head For Passion For Your Association


With any human being there is only so much space in our head and our heart for emotion and Associations bank on getting their portion of that space to create passionate members who lead them to success and overall strength passion.
 

When someone’s glass is overflowing with the demands of daily life members have no room for either emotion or passion for an association to make a connection. When you look at associations we are all about engaging a member’s passion with our purpose to have a positive impact on the association cause.  If there is no room for the purpose and passion of the association retention and volunteerism suffer. 

Hear me on this. If a member is NOT personally fulfilled in life they cannot be professionally fulfilled in the long term.  If they are not professionally fulfilled you will not reach them as a member. 

Anyone reading this understands the personal daily grind of life. For many
trying to keep all the balls in the air in meeting the demands on your life can truly suck the passion right out of your soul. Studies show the frustration and challenges faced by many of our members:

  • 55% of Americans are unhappy in their current job
  • Over 60% of Americans have some type of debt in collection
  • 50% of marriages are ending in divorce
  • Over 60% of America are overweight
These are a lot of our association members. While they are dealing with debt marital issues
unhappy with their job or battling health issues we are trying to grab their attention and get them involved in our associations. Unless we can make a personal and emotional connection
especially with the younger generation associations will always struggle to sift through the maze of the daily grind.
 

Between all of the personal and professional responsibilities and demands in our members’ lives it can be almost overwhelming to many. Just to name a few are: 
  • Increasing debt
  • Family responsibilities
  • Overwhelming children activities
  • Work related demands and stress
  • Relationship issues
  • Volunteering
  • Not enough time to get everything done
  • Health issues creeping in
 The 4 numbers I mentioned earlier illustrate this. Just these four areas of people’s lives are enough to create undue stress and anxiety that makes it hard for members to buy into the passion an association desires and needs.  When members are overwhelmed personally they are overwhelmed at work. If they are overwhelmed at work they have no emotional space to become connected passionately to the cause of the industry association. In life many want to improve their circumstances but many don’t know how to or what path to take. They want more than a return on their investment…they want a RETURN ON LIFE.

People need hope. They need to know there is a path for moving from struggle to success…from sorrow to joy...from no time to “I got this”… from emptiness to fulfillment. They need a path that can actually help them live out their hopes wishes and dreams that they aspired to when they left their parents house after high school and college.
 

I want to encourage associations at the 2015 ASAE Annual Conference to give thought to the following: how can you help your members find that path of hope success and fulfillment
that will help them to eventually free up the space in their head and connect in with your association.
 

 I have a first step for you to consider:
 

Being a consummate life coach I personally launched a new ground breaking personal development book on July 4th of this year called How to Get People to Scream Your Name and Beg For More.  It speaks to this very topic and since its launch has been changing the way reader’s think about their life.
 

It unpacks the following four components in everyone’s life helping them to live the best life possible and reach their hopes wishes and dreams:
  • 4 areas of life that everyone must plan for in order to reach your dreams. 
  • 4 elements that keep you from reaching your dreams. 
  • 4 elements that control 99% of your success in reaching your dreams. 
  • 4 characteristics you must possess to reach your dreams.  
Consider getting your copy of my new book and see if this message will resonate connect
and inspire your members to make positive changes in their lives.  Making those changes will most likely free up the emotional space in their head you need to connect them with the passion of your association.

If this book resonates with you I would love to speak at your next conference bringing hope and inspiration that your members need in order to live passionately and empowering them to get engaged in your association. Check out the following links:
 

- Read the first chapter for FREE by CLICKING HERE
- Purchase the eBook/Audio version on Amazon by CLICKING HERE
- Purchase a printed copy for a special $15 ASAE conference rate: CLICK HERE
- Submit a keynote RFP by CLICKING HERE
 

Regardless of what you do let 2016 and 2017 don’t just give your members a return on investment.  Give them a RETURN ON LIFE. Members who receive a return on life
will create more passion and member engagement than you could ever pay for.