To The Next Level
Giving's Greatest Reward
By Gordie Allen

Recently, someone at a Leadership Team Training Meeting asked me, "Gordie, how come you know so many people?"

"Because every day, I make it my point to introduce two people to each other," I said.

Absolutely nothing is more energizing than bringing two strangers together for their mutual benefit. I owe my commitment to this ideal to a movie I saw in 2000, starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joe Osmont, entitled Pay It Forward.

Young Trevor McKinney, troubled by his mother's alcoholism and fearful his abusive but absent father will return, is intrigued by an assignment from Mr. Simonet, his new social studies teacher.

The assignment: to think of something to change the world and then put it into action. Young Trevor's idea is to a "pay a favor not back, but forward"—repaying good deeds not with payback, but with new, good deeds, done to three new people.

Trevor's efforts to deliver on his idea bring a revolution, not just in his life, but his mother's, his physically and emotionally scarred teacher's, and, also, to a circle of people completely unknown to him.

Shortly after seeing this movie, I made its message my mantra and applied it to my weekly networking efforts. At first it was challenging, but once I got the hang of it, it became easier. Before long, it was second nature. Weekly soon became daily.

Bringing two strangers together for their mutual benefit is really about "paying it forward"—or Givers Gain. It's my daily good deed. Accomplishing this simple assignment is exhilarating and energizing.

People never forget who brought them together, especially when some good comes from the introduction. The result: they most often voluntarily reciprocate. The proof can be seen in my startup BNI chapter.

Tuesday, January 16, 2008, I invited 28 people to join me to start a new BNI chapter in Winter Garden, near my home, at the new Winter Garden Village Mall.

On Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 27 of the original invitees attended our first meeting. Four weeks into our Pre-Core Training we had 25 members, and after our Visitors Day in May our number stands at 35.

As you "pay it forward," introducing your friends to each other, remember to never ask for anything in return; do it because it's the right thing to do, and do it daily. Paying it forward will then pay off big.

Gordie Allen is on the Leadership Team of the Central Florida Region's newest Chapter, BNI's Referral Masters. He is a Marketing Consultant with Leads-Plus, Inc. He invites all of his BNI friends to enroll in his blog at www.salesprospectingtips.com.