Is the success of your business really personal? Don’t you wish more people realized that?

Are you tired of feeling like all the emails you’re getting are just ways to extract more and more money from your wallet?

Me too.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m in business too, and I know that what I can teach and do for you is worth investing in.

But I get the feeling that most of the people who are trying to help you succeed online are not really taking this as seriously (or as personally) as they should. After all, it’s your life and family at stake here.

This past week, I had several experiences that hit me over the head on this subject. This is kind of a rant, but I hope it helps you see the shift in my thinking that I’ve been needing to make. And it perhaps makes you think about keeping what’s important to you front and center.

bob jenkins and jim jenkinsThe biggest was the splash that my brother made at the NAMS event in Atlanta. He was a big hit there – and not just because he’s my brother. I know that his sense of humor and excitement for his growing business stands on its own.

It had been about 5 years since we last saw each other – which is way too long. Spending time with him, and seeing how internet marketing can truly help him reminded me of how important it is to me to help him succeed with his online business. His son and daughters (my nephew and nieces) depend on it. And he’s depending on me to make sure he gets the right information at the right time.

I also know he’s counting on me to be there for him now, like he was there for me when we were kids. We joke now about the practical jokes (like when he loved to serve me a grilled cheese sandwich with the plastic wrapper still around the cheese). But he was a great big brother.

So when I teach my SIMPLE system and various internet marketing lessons, they must pass the “Jim test”. If what I’m sharing can’t make a difference for him, or if I would feel weird recommending a tool, service, or program to him, then I simply won’t do it.

I don’t talk about it much, but I have a pretty weird family. Having my brother attend his first event, watching me “do my thing”, and meeting so many awesome people in my life was awesome. And it reminded me that succeeding in my business really does impact a lot of other people, too.

Another epiphany I had came during my own mastermind meeting in Las Vegas the 2 days before NAMS. It was the first time that I had been on the “hot seat” (Adam calls them profit seats), where my business was under the microscope of 20 other peers. I love this group because it has such a wide variety of people in it. But many of them are coaches, and they have their “BS Detectors” turned up super high.

Within a few minutes, a couple of them had shattered the exterior issue I presented to them, and had me dealing with things much deeper under the surface. Among other things, they helped me realize that

a) my ability to connect with people in person was not transferring recently to my online training, and

b) I’m at my best when I’m vulnerable and relaxed – having fun and being the quirky geek that I am instead of trying to fit some external expectations that don’t feel natural.

This was not easy for me to hear. In fact, it was completely unexpected and emotionally draining. I do a pretty good job of keeping personal stuff at arms length, because I’ve been practicing it for about 30 years now. This past week has helped me realize that it’s not only hurting me, it’s hurting my ability to help you as well.

Thanks for letting me share this with you today.

I hope you remember to take what you do personally, and recognize how much what you do means to the rest of us.

Bob

p.s. Special thanks to Nancy, Therese, Judith, Jim, Jamie, Therese2, Patti, Lis, Debbie, Kathy, Adam, Bo, Heather, Bobby, Scott, Nicole, and many others for shaking the tree for me this week.

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