I have to tell you a story. It goes right along with my last post. A few weeks ago when I was at the National Speakers Association convention there was a big announcement scheduled. They had us all in the grand ballroom and began to roll out the announcement. It truly ended up being a big one. The name that

had been the association name for 40 years was being changed. The National Speakers Association (NSA) was being changed to Platform, an association for professional speakers. The reasoning was that so many

people had gotten this NSA confused with the government NSA (National Security Agency) as well as some other reasons. They even used the funny saying we are the NSA that talks, not the NSA that listens. As

we were sitting there hearing all the wonderful things that this new name would bring, everything seemed like it was a go. The whole room applauded and even gave a standing ovation. The board of directors

gave us all a nice gift with the new name and brand on them. It was a cool travel USB charger and a nice luggage tag. See the picture. When the convention ended is where the story begins. Many people were not happy about this change. They did not want to let go of the old name. The social media sites blew up with negative and hurtful comments. I was watching this all unfold in horror. There were people I looked up to as motivational and positive people, people who spoke to groups on accepting change, and embracing the future, who were very much not themselves. I was not partial or impartial to the change. For me I really didn’t care either way. I am just happy to be part of the

group and be around the people and the friends I had made. This was just a simple name change to me. However it was far from that for others. Some were even canceling their memberships with NSA and the things they were saying and the jokes they were making actually hurt me for some reason and I had nothing to do with this. I couldn’t help

but think of whoever it was who had the idea to change the name to Platform. Whether it is a good name is not the issue here. This person, and I don’t know who it was, thought it was a good idea, and

thought it was the best choice for this organization. They had the guts to stick their neck out there so far that they risked

everything for this organization. Some of their peers attacked them over this decision. They spent who knows how many thousands of dollars on this roll out and they were very proud of what they had come up with. It severely backfired on them. Once the anger and commenting reached an all time boiling point, they asked for an emergency meeting. They asked us all to send them messages with our opinions and input on this matter. I heard that a very small amount of us actually took the time to send our input. Based on what happened with it and the entire name Platform was dropped and they completely pulled the plug on the entire direction they were going. There is so much more to this whole story but where many of you have no idea what the NSA (the ones who talk 🙂 is I just wanted to share what had happened. So here is what I learned from this all. Some people get way to angry over things, and they don’t look at the perspective or feelings of the person they may be lashing out against. Some people and I include myself in this category have a very hard time with change. Change is important and it is very necessary to keep things fresh and new. Lastly and most importantly, if someone as big as the NSA can spend that much time, and that much money, making such a big change, letting all pride go out the window and pull the plug and redirect themselves so quickly, then what is my excuse? I learned so much from this decision. I saw people commenting on getting rid of their new toys that say platform now that they are going away from this name. I decided I wanted to keep mine. It is a constant reminder that when I start off in a direction, if something doesn’t feel right, then it’s ok to stop and turn around. Just because I make a decision doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind. Even if it is a big decision and I am embarrassed or afraid to stop. Even if I am a so far into the decision that I don’t feel like stopping is an option. These guys could have let the complaining members drop out. They could have moved ahead and continued with the rollout. Most of the people would have stayed. It would have probably been just fine. However they showed how much they cared, and listened, and for this I am a true fan of the National Speakers Association, or whatever they choose to go by. They have my support no matter what and have proven that they are an organization of great integrity. I hope I can always live my life remembering it is never to far to turn back. It’s always ok to admit when you may have made a mistake or are wrong. And always listen to others around you. Their input may be invaluable. I don’t know if you will get anything out of this but it was something I got a whole lot out of. Have a great week.

Eric

Concert Alerts

July 24th at 7pm in Vernal Utah

August 8th at 8pm Washington County Fair, Utah

August 9th at 7:30pm Carbon County Fair, Utah

August 16th at 6pm Rush Valley Days, Rush Valley, Utah

Congratulations to Heather Weaver for winning the complete set of CD’s on Facebook. We will be doing more giveaways in the future.

Happy Birthday Mom. Thanks for making the decision to take control of your health 5 years ago. Glad you are still here with us today. You are a true inspiration.