Episode 669: I Refuse to Participate in a Recession / 第669集：我拒絕參與經濟衰退的活動

 第669集：我拒絕參與經濟衰退的活動

這是自1985年BNI成立以來的第四次經濟衰退。在這些年裡，米斯納博士發現，心態與你能否順利度過經濟衰退有很大關係。

在20世紀90年代初的經濟衰退期間，米斯納博士參加了一次交流活動，在這次活動中，幾乎每個人都完全專注於經濟有多糟糕，他們的表現有多糟糕。然而，令他驚訝的是，他遇到了一位房地產經紀人，他的業績是迄今為止最好的一年，因為他專注於機會。

那位房地產經紀人給自己做了一個鈕，上面寫著 "我拒絕參與經濟衰退"。 (見第48集和第56集，米斯納博士2008年對這個故事的看法)。

那個按鈕和那次談話總結了一個教訓，在以後的經濟衰退中不斷重複。

• 通過恐懼集中注意力，而不是被恐懼凍結。
• 加倍努力建立網絡。
• 找出你所在行業的增長點。
• 如果您專注於問題，那麼您將成為問題的專家。

如果您專注於解決方案，那麼您將成為解決方案的專家。

• 創建自己的鈕，拒絕參與經濟衰退。

本集由Ivan's Inner Circle贊助。今天就成為創始會員吧

第669集完整版

Priscilla

大家好，歡迎回到BNI官方播客。我是Priscilla Rice，我現在從加州伯克利的Live Oak錄音室為您播報。我今天在電話中加入的是BNI的創始人和首席願景官，Dr. Ivan Misner。你好， Ivan 你今天怎麼樣？

Ivan

我很好，Priscilla。我很想你問 "你怎麼樣，你在哪裡？"但我得告訴你，不用像我一樣經常旅行的感覺真好。我想我已經告訴過你了 我在一家航空公司就有230萬英里的里程了

Priscilla

哇。 那真的很多。

Ivan

是的 因此，能夠在奧斯汀待在家幾個月很高興。 但是我希望我不必因為我們正在經歷的事情而留在這裡。 但是，您知道，我總是盡力幫助您。 所以今天的話題是，我認為是一個很好的話題。 它是“我拒絕參加經濟衰退”。

我於1985年創立BNI，從那時起，我就幫助公司度過了之前的三個衰退時期。 自1980年代中期以來，我們現在已進入第四次衰退。 在經歷了四次衰退之後，我在此過程中發現了一些東西。 我了解到，心態與成功駕馭艱難的經濟有很大關係。

Goulston博士和我們在上一個播客中談到了這一點，我認為這是真的。 當我在90年代初的經濟衰退期間參加一次大型社交活動時，這對我來說真的很清楚，這是我在BNI經歷的第一次經濟衰退。 當我在這個社交活動中在會議室裡走來走去時，我相信這是一項會議活動，我發現實際上討論的唯一主題是經濟衰退以及對人們的不利影響。 幾乎每個人都完全專注於可怕的事情。

這真是令人難以置信的壓抑。我是說，真的是這樣，這是唯一的討論話題。我發現自己在房間裡徘徊 當我看到有人站在一個角落裡。我想，我會去跟他說話， 我走過去，並介紹自己給他 我問他做什麼，他告訴我，他是在房地產。當他告訴我， 我準備好了這種衝擊 恐怖的故事 如何糟糕的房地產市場 在這國家， 我想這個事件是在康涅狄格州 。

但相反，他說事情對他來說真的很好。 我很驚訝，我說：“等等，你說你在房地產上，對嗎？”

他說：“是的，我在房地產。”

我說：“這裡的房地產市場已經大幅度下降，不是嗎？”

他說：“是的。” 他笑了一下。

我說："那你今年過得好嗎？"

他說：“嗯，實際上，我有史以來最好的一年。” 我感到震驚。

我問："你知道嗎，你在開玩笑嗎？這是你第一年做房地產嗎？"

他說："不，不，我做了十多年的房地產了。"

我說，"考慮到經濟狀況，您怎麼可能做得這麼好？？" 他說，"哦，我沒有，我沒有穿它。"

他伸進口袋，掏出一個大鈕扣。 然後按鈕說，我拒絕參加經濟衰退！

我看著他，我說："就這樣？你有一個按鈕，上面寫著，我拒絕參與經濟衰退，所以你的生意興隆？"

他說，"嗯，這不僅僅是按鈕。" 他說："是伴隨著它的態度。" 他告訴我，"你看，在困難時期， 幾乎總是有機會存在。如果你想成功， 你必須專注於這些機會。"

現在我真的很感興趣，他把我迷住了。我說："好吧，帶我去學習吧。現在房地產市場跌跌不休，到底能有什麼樣的機會呢？"

他說："兩個大的。" 他說："第一，有一些房地產投資者，他們買了房地產來出租和租賃。我要去找他們，分享房地產現在正在出售。我對他們說，'不要成為那些幾年後來找我的人，說，哦，我應該買下那個房產，你給我看的那個複式樓。" 他說："我現在就給你看這套複式樓，因為你今天就能以低價買到它。"

他停了下來，他說："第二個，是第一次購房者。" 他說："我要向他們解釋，他們一年前買不起房，但今天可以買，因為現在利率下降，市場下跌。所以一年前買不起房的首次購房者，今天就可以買到了。"

他還說："我賣的房地產比以往任何時候都多。雖然幾乎所有人，當然是在座的各位，都在糾結於經濟和價格的下跌。但我卻賺得盆滿缽滿。"

他實際上非常隨意地指向了不同的人。 他說：“你知道，那是那邊的房地產經紀人。 ” 他說：“您與他們中的任何一個交談過嗎？”

我說：“是的，我有。”

他說：“我說對嗎？”

我說，"是啊，他們說的都是生意有多差。"

他說：" 最酷的是，明年我的競爭會比現在少一半。因為我在尋找機會。他們所做的一切都是在糾結於事情有多糟糕。而他們並不是在尋找這些機會。

最後，他談到按鈕確實代表了一種態度，以及在艱難時期必須採取的行動。 因此，您從態度開始，然後找到可以關注的可行的事情。 他說自己可以接受經濟衰退，因為，明年很多競爭將消失。

而我從中發現的，是我在播客上多次談到的，是人們被恐懼凍結與被恐懼聚焦。那間屋子裡的大多數人都被恐懼凍住了。他非常專注。他認識到經濟不好，但他被經濟所專注，而不是被經濟所凍結，讓經濟嚇到他。我發現，他的故事並不是一個孤立的故事。在我經歷的四次經濟衰退中，我都看到了這種情況。

多年後，我遇到了一個人，他在1990年經歷了多年後離開了他的工作崗位。他離開了他的工作，兌現了他的退休資金。他決定成為一個企業家。他開始了自己的移動和存儲業務。他從字面上開始用一輛卡車和一個存儲設施，與辦公室。他打開了他的門。他是如此興奮地開始他的旅程。那是2008年初

而當他加入到創業的行列時，經濟大衰退向他襲來。他一蹶不振。他所有的希望、夢想、現金都即將蒸發。

但他的態度和我說的那個鈕扣的人很相似，他在網絡方面加倍努力。他沉浸在網絡團體，他加入了BNI分會，這就是我聽到他的故事，建立他的引薦。而與此同時，他將Self Storage計劃融入到他的業務中，幫助在這段時間內合併房屋的人。這是經濟衰退期間為數不多的增長領域之一；搬家--不是增長領域，倉儲--是增長領域，對於人們來說，尤其是正在整合房屋的人們。

最重要的是，他也拒絕參與經濟衰退。當其他人在恐懼中僵持的時候，他卻專注於解決方案。他走出了那場經濟衰退，比他的公司進入時更大、更強。今天，你可以找到他的許多卡車，不只是一輛，許多卡車和美國各地的多個地點。

創業者現在遭遇了雙重打擊。先是COVID-19，現在是經濟衰退。我所知道的是，如果你專注於問題，你將成為問題的專家。然而，如果你專注於解決方案，你可以成為一個專家的解決方案。這些解決方案將使你渡過COVID-19的鬥爭和我們現在正在經歷的經濟衰退。

強大的心態始於相信你能找到解決當前狀況的辦法。信念是你內心深處的那個小聲音，它在向你低聲訴說著可以做到的事情，而你周圍的每個人都在叫囂著不可能做到的事情。正確的心態，加上行動計劃，將帶領你成功地度過這個動蕩的時代。

我一個人，普里西拉（Priscilla）今天要出去，我要製造更多鈕章，因為我在1990年製造了很多按鈕。我要出去，我也製造了更多按鈕，說“我拒絕參加經濟衰退。 。” 我邀請各位成員也這樣做。

你怎麼看，Priscilla？

Priscilla

哦，我認為這是非常積極的，Ivan。而且，你知道，我們都需要 那一點點的積極性和希望 和前瞻性思維 它給你的東西期待 如果你能花時間 尋找這些解決方案。所以我認為這是一個偉大的信息。

Ivan

是的，謝謝你。你知道前三次經濟衰退都發生了什麼嗎？現在說這些還為時過早 但你知道，發生了什麼事會員 在我們的前三次衰退，Priscilla？

Priscilla

它成長了嗎？我想是吧？

Ivan

是的 有趣的是，在短時間內，人們可能會說：“哦，是的，我負擔不起加入網絡小組的費用。” 但這不會持續很長時間，因為事情不會變得更好。

然後人們開始說：“你知道，我需要做點什麼。 而我們發現的-COVID，這對我們來說是第一次，在這裡我們所有人都一起學習瞭如何處理這個問題-但是在經濟衰退時期，我們明白了。 我們知道如何應對衰退。 在經濟衰退期間，我們的會員數量增加了，因為在任何困難的時期中，您比以往任何時候都需要網絡。

所以對於你邀請加入BNI的人來說你要對他們說"不，不，你不能不參加這樣的項目" "因為這能幫你度過難關" 就像那個搬家和倉儲公司的人，就像我說的那個房地產經紀人。這些都是我們的重要教訓，我們都可以藉鑑。

您知道，關於房地產的故事，我保證在以後的播客中，我會照我說的做。 在創辦BNI之前，我有很多成員問我有關房地產業務的信息。 今天仍然存在，普里西拉。 我向所有人保證，在某個時候，我將對我的房地產投資做一個播客。 今天就這樣，Priscilla。

Priscilla

好的，太好了。 謝謝你，Ivan 那非常非常好。這個播客的讚助商是Ivan的內心世界。去看看有哪些精彩的內容，這裡的地址是：www.ivansinnercircle.com。他為你收集了各種有趣的話題，你可以了解，也可以參與。

非常感謝您的收聽，我是Priscilla Rice。我們期待您下週再次加入我們的節目，參加另一集精彩的BNI官方播客。

Episode 669: I Refuse to Participate in a Recession

August 19, 2020 by Ivan Misner 5 Comments

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Synopsis

This is the fourth recession since BNI was founded in 1985. Over the course of those years, Dr. Misner has discovered that mindset has a lot to do with how well you can get through a recession.

During the recession of the early 1990s, Dr. Misner attended a networking event where almost everyone was completely fixated on how bad the economy was and how badly they were doing. To his surprise, however, he met a real estate agent who was having his best year yet because he focused on the opportunities.

That real estate agent had made himself a button that said “I refuse to participate in a recession.” (See Episode 48 and Episode 56 for Dr. Misner’s 2008 perspective on this story.)

That button and that conversation summed up a lesson that’s been repeated in subsequent recessions.

• Get focused by your fear, rather than frozen by it.
• Double down on your networking efforts.
• Identify the growth areas in your industry.
• If you focus on the problem, you become an expert on the problem.
  If you focus on the solution, you become an expert on the solution.
• Create your own button and refuse to participate in the recession.

This episode is sponsored by Ivan’s Inner Circle. Become a founding member today!

Complete Transcript of Episode 669

Priscilla
Hello everybody, and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I’m joined on the phone today by the Founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Ivan. How are you today?

Ivan     
I am doing fantastic, Priscilla. I miss you asking, “How are you and where are you?” but I gotta tell you, it’s nice not having to travel as much as I have traveled. I think I’ve told you this, but I have 2.3 million miles on one airline alone.

Priscilla
Wow. That’s, that’s a lot.

Ivan  
Yeah. So it’s been nice being able to stay home in Austin for a few months. But I wish I didn’t have to stay here because of what we’re going through. But, you know, I always try to help with the positive. So today’s topic is, I think a good one; it’s “I Refuse to Participate in a Recession”.

I started BNI in 1985, and since then I’ve helped navigate the company through three previous recessions. We’ve now entered our fourth recession since the mid 1980s. And having experienced four recessions now, I’ve discovered something along the way. I’ve learned that mindset has a lot to do with how one navigates a tough economy successfully.

Dr. Goulston and us, we talked about that in a previous podcast, and I think it’s so true. This first became really clear to me when I was at a large networking event during the recession of the early 90s, it was the first recession I experienced in BNI. And as I walked around the room in this networking event, it was an, I believe, a chamber function, I discovered the virtually the only topic of discussion was the recession and how bad things were for people. Almost everyone was completely fixated on how horrible things were.

It was incredibly depressing. I mean, it really was; it was the only topic of discussion. And I found myself meandering around the room when I saw someone standing in a corner. And I thought, you know, I’ll go talk to him, and I walked over and introduced myself to him and I asked what he did and he told me he was in real estate. And as he told me that, I prepared myself for this sort of onslaught of horror stories as to how bad the real estate market was in the state, I think I was in Connecticut at this event.

But instead, he said that things were really going well for him. And I was surprised and I said, “Wait, you said you’re in real estate, right?”

He said, “Yeah, I’m in real estate.”

I said, “The real estate market here has dropped significantly, hasn’t it?”

He said, “Yeah, it has.” and he had a little grin.

I said, “And you’re having a good year?”

He said, “Well, actually, I’m having my best year ever.” And I was shocked.

I asked, “You know, are you kidding me? Is this is this your first year in real estate?”

He laughed. He said, “No, no, I’ve been in real estate for more than a decade.”

I said, “How could you possibly be doing so well, given the economy?” And he said, “Oh, I’m not, I’m not wearing it.”

He reached into his pocket and he pulled out a big button. And the button said, I Refuse to Participate in a Recession! (big exclamation point).

I looked at him, and Priscilla, I said, “That’s it? You have a button that says, I Refuse to Participate in the Recession so your business is booming?”

He said, “Well, it’s not just the button.” He said, “It’s the attitude that goes along with it.” He told me, “You see, during difficult times, there are almost always opportunities that exist. And if you want to succeed, you have to focus on those opportunities.”

And now I’m really intrigued, he had me hooked. I said, “Okay, take me to school on this. What kind of opportunities can there really be right now when the real estate market has taken a nosedive?”

And he looked at me, Priscilla, and he said, “Two big ones.” He said, “First, there are real estate investors who buy properties to rent and lease. I’m going to them, sharing that real estate is on sale right now. And I’m saying to them, ‘Don’t be one of those people who come to me in a few years and say, oh, I should have bought that property, that duplex that you showed me.'” He said, “Let me show you this duplex now because you can get it at a steal today.”

He paused and he said, “The second, is first time home-buyers.” He said, “I’m going to them and I’m explaining that they couldn’t afford a home a year ago but they can today, because now the interest rates are down, the market is down. And so first time home-buyers who couldn’t afford to buy a home a year ago, could do it today.”

And he said, “I am selling more real estate than ever. While almost everyone, certainly in this room, is obsessed with the economy and the drop in prices. And yet I’m making a killing.”

And he actually pointed very, very casually at different people. He said, “You know, that’s a real estate agent over there. That’s a real estate agent. That’s a real estate agent.” He said, “Have you talked to any of them?”

I said, “Yeah, I have.”

He said, “Am I right?”

I said, “Yeah, all they’re talking about is how bad business is.”

He said, ” The cool thing about that is I’m gonna have half the competition next year than I have today. Because I’m looking for opportunities. All they’re doing is obsessing about how bad things are. And they’re not looking for those opportunities.

And he wrapped up by just talking about the fact that the button really represented the attitude, and the action that one must pursue when times are tough. So you start with the attitude and then you find the actionable things that you can focus on. He said he was okay with a recession because, you know, a lot of the competition is going to be gone next year.

And what I discovered from this, was what I’ve talked about multiple times on the podcast is people getting frozen in fear versus focused by fear. Most of the people in that room were frozen by fear. He was very focused. He recognized that the economy was bad, but he was focused by it rather than getting frozen by it, letting it scare him. I found that his is not an isolated story. I’ve seen this happen during all four of the recessions I’ve experienced.

Years later, I met someone who left his employment, years after the 1990 experience. He left his employment, cashed out his retirement money. He decided to become an entrepreneur. He started his very own Moving and Storage business. He literally began with one truck and a storage facility, with an office. He opened his doors. He was so excited to start his journey. It was early 2008.

And as he joined the ranks of entrepreneurship, the Great Recession came crashing down on him. He was devastated. All his hopes, his dreams, his cash were about to evaporate.

But he had a similar attitude to the guy that I was talking about that made the button, and he doubled down his efforts in networking. He immersed himself in networking groups, he joined a BNI chapter–that’s how I heard his story–to build his referrals. And at the same time, he integrated Self Storage programs into his business to help people who consolidated homes during this time period. This was one of the few growth areas during the recession; moving — not a growth area, storage — growth area, for people, particularly, who were consolidating homes.

The bottom line was that he also refused to participate in the recession. And while other people were frozen in fear, he was focused on solutions. He came out of that recession, larger and stronger than he was when his company went into it. And you can find him today with many trucks, not just one, many trucks and multiple locations around the United States.

Entrepreneurs have been hit with a double whammy right now. First COVID-19, and now a recession. What I know to be true is that if you focus on the problem, you will be an expert on the problem. However, if you focus on solutions, you can become an expert on the solutions. The solutions will get you through both the COVID-19 struggle and the resulting recession that we’re experiencing now.

A powerful mindset begins with the belief that you can find solutions to the current situation. Belief is that little voice inside you whispering to you about the things that can be, while everyone around you is screaming about the things which can’t be. The right mindset, along with a plan of action, will lead you successfully through these turbulent times.

I for one, Priscilla, am going out today and I’m making more buttons, because I made a lot of them in 1990. I’m going out, I’m making more buttons that say “I Refuse to Participate in a Recession.” And I invite you, the members, to do the same.

What do you think, Priscilla?

Priscilla            
Oh, I think that’s very positive, Ivan. And, you know, we all need that little bit of positivity and hope and forward thinking and it gives you something to look forward to if you can spend time looking for those solutions. And so I think it’s a great message.

Ivan     
Yeah, thank you. And you know what’s happened in the previous three recessions? This is too early to tell. But you know, what happened to membership in our previous three recessions, Priscilla?

Priscilla        
Did it grow? I’d imagine, right?

Ivan       
Yeah. And what’s funny is, for a little short period of time, people may say, “Oh, yeah, I can’t afford to, you know, join a networking group.” But that doesn’t last long because things don’t get better.

And people then start to say, “You know, I need to do something. And what we’ve discovered—COVID, this was a first for us, where we all learned together how to deal with this—but recessions, we got that. We know how to deal with recessions. Our memberships go up during a recession because you need your network more than ever, during any difficult time.

And so for people that you’re inviting into BNI, you want to say to them “No, no you can’t afford NOT to participate in a program like this, because this will help you get through difficult times.” Like that Moving and Storage guy, like that real estate agent that I talked about. These are important lessons for us that we can all learn from.

And you know that real estate story, I promise at a future podcast, I will do what I said. I’ve had many members asked me about the real estate business that I started before I started BNI. It’s still around today, Priscilla. I promise everyone, at some point I will do a podcast on my real estate investments. That’s it for today, Priscilla.

Priscilla       
Okay, great. Thank you, Ivan. That was very, very nice.

The sponsor for this podcast is Ivan’s Inner Circle. Go check out the great content available and here’s the address: www.ivansinnercircle.com. He has assembled a variety of interesting topics for you to learn about and also participate in.

Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another exciting episode of The Official BNI Podcast.

https://www.bnipodcast.com/2020/08/19/episode-669-i-refuse-to-participate-in-a-recession/