Читать книгу How to Ask for What You Want and Get It! - Lucille Orr - Страница 10

It’s not what you know, but who you know. I’ve proved this well known statement to be very true and that’s why networking is so powerful in today’s society.

I’ve seen some amazing changes in people who’ve attended regular networking meetings and seminars, especially the women who’ve taken the time to enter our awards and speaking competitions. By sitting down and writing their own success profile it’s given them confidence to either attempt something new or expand an existing business.

Often we presume we’re not doing much with our lives and that our achievements have been average, however — when we start to document our experiences — we realise just how much we have achieved and it inspires us to do more.

If you’ve never spoken publicly empower yourself by offering to speak in front of a group of people you know well. You may be overwhelmed at the thought of standing in front of an audience but once it’s over you’ll be delighted with the warm response you’ll receive.

Many who have participated in speaking competitions or been guest speakers at our networking meetings have told me how surprised they were to find they actually enjoyed speaking and were thrilled to discover their own achievements were far greater than others in the audience. Jenni Roberts, a beautician in Sydney was very shy the first time she spoke at one of our dinner meetings; three years later she was earning a minimum of $1,000 for every speech.

Sophie, a 31 year old financial consultant, was a high achiever in her company and as she wanted to become a speaker, I organised for her to speak at a Sales Seminar for a large manufacturing company. She was paid $200 for her very first professional presentation.

Your knowledge and experience is valuable to others so don’t underestimate your earning potential. Some speakers are making as much as $5,000 a day in Australia and I’ve met international speakers who earn $10,000 an hour.

You can gain immense personal pleasure and satisfaction by writing your own autobiography that can be passed on to your children. It makes a valuable family heirloom. You may even decide after you’ve written it that it’s worth giving to a publisher as it could become a great help to others and a new rewarding career could open for you.

I’ll never forget the first Australian Executive Woman newsletter I prepared. I worked all night to cut and paste together my eight page publication. Having had no sleep I was on the steps of the Adelaide Post Office when they opened the next morning. The man who gave me an official publication number for it must have had difficulty keeping a straight face.

Today, 25 years on, I’ve written and published six books, five in Australia and one in Japan. My own publishing company assists other authors to publish their books. We are also publishing e-books, so call us if you would like us to help you publish your book. I believe we all have a book inside of us.