I just returned home from speaking at The Stronger Business Summit in Athens, Georgia last week. It was only my second time in this quaint but lively college town, having spoken at the event last year as well. When I speak at events like this, it’s a win/win/win for me just about every time. Not only do I get to engage with the audience while doing my presentation, it’s also one of my favorite places to be for creating solid connections. Attending live events presents what has become a rare opportunity, to be in a building of like-minded people, who are not only willing to invest in themselves, but doing so in a curated environment that is conducive for great connection. If you have thought about attending live events, conferences and retreats and have dragged your feet, let me let you in on a little secret about what you might be missing. The conference organizers are doing a great service that is often under appreciated. They take their passion, their ideas, their connections and their money to create an event that brings people together from all over. Instead of you having to build all of the connections, do the reach outs and put the time into doing it all individually, these organizers do the heavy lifting of bringing these people together in one venue! Do you see why this can be so valuable? If done well, you can begin building a network in a certain industry with just one conference. I’ve seen it happen with others, as with myself. The other win that comes from it is not just the connections with the movers and shakers in said industry, but the content that they are excited to provide for you. Often, keynote speakers give a similar speech in the different places they talk, but the great ones go out of their way to personalize it to that specific audience. The keynote speaker at the Stronger Business Summit was Jesse Cole, the eccentric owner of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. If you are not familiar, the Bananas have taken the baseball world by storm with their outrageously fun version of the sport called Banana Ball- where fans can catch foul balls for outs, batters have been known to hit while wearing stilts, and games have even been played backwards, starting with the ninth inning and ending with the national anthem! Cole and Banana Ball have taken off so strong that not only have they landed at TV show called “Bananaland” on ESPN, but they just announced that they will take their special brand of baseball across the United States next year playing to packed stadiums. In fact, in Savannah, the Bananas have a waiting list of more than 80,000 people! Cole arrived on stage at the Stronger Business Summit dressed in his signature yellow tuxedo and top hat, which he has been wearing since he and his wife Emily bought the struggling team back in 2015. He detailed the early struggles, the money issues and what it took to get a dead in the water minor league team in place to make a cultural and creative shift to where they are today. So not only was I able to speak earlier in the event, and connect with some amazing people, I got to sit in the front row and learn from Cole. As I assess, that type of event fills so many of my business buckets. Teaching, connecting and learning. Cole’s new book, Fans First, is about this journey they have taken to make the Savannah Bananas a national sensation. When Cole announced that they would be taking the team on the road, he invoked the memories sports fans have of the Harlem Globetrotters. When seen in that vision, it’s easy to see the unlimited potential that lies ahead. As I listened to Cole give his performance, I was reminded of something. All of us in business- whether we are doing well or struggling- need refreshers from time to time to either wake us up or shine a light on something which we aren’t seeing. So often, small business owners try to do too much. Early on- and sometimes beyond that- we are responsible for so much of the work and vision. We’ve been disappointed by contractors or employees and the tendency is to take on more of the work because we know that nobody cares as much as we do about the business. So the heavy load consistently falls on our backs. Aside from the tasks, we know that relationships truly are the engine that fuels business. It’s been stated that 73% of work comes from word of mouth marketing. In other words- it comes from relationships and connections. We know that we should send that thank you note, that little gift or make that introduction. But there are so many people that you don’t know where to start. So you do what most do- which is nothing. But Cole cited a quote from Andy Stanley. “Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone,” Cole restated. Sometimes, the right worlds come at the right moments. I heard that loud and clear. I have struggled with this for the past month as I honed my presentation. I had so many people that I wanted to do things for. But as the workload of the speech increased, when it came to the relationships, I wound up not doing much because I felt that it wasn’t enough. Cole would love to reach out to every fan. But he knows he can’t. But he can do it for one person every day. He proceeded to pull out his phone and record a personal video for Reggie, an employee that goes above and beyond for the organization. With the crowd in the background chanting Reggie’s name, Cole did for one what he wished he could do for everyone. And in a moment, he made his employee’s day while inspiring and enlightening the crowd in Athens. For me, it took the pressure off. It reminded me that this didn’t have to be hard and it didn’t have to be stressful. When we get overwhelmed, it’s easy to feel burdened. When we are burdened, it often leads to becoming paralyzed by thoughts and fears. But, if we just did for one what we would like to do for everyone, we would consistently lift others up, keep our momentum and make much more of a difference than if we tried to do everything but accomplished nothing. Today, do for one what you wish you could do for everyone. Have an AMAZING day! Vincent | 
