What I learned from Brian Tracy

A few weeks ago, I taught a three-day business-building course through CreativeLive, which is an online learning platform. The response was overwhelming. I received no less than 200 messages about my course from across all my social network platforms.

Feedback is what trainers and business building experts, like me, look for. To be honest with you, I am a huge sucker for thank you notes and messages from people who tell me about the difference in their lives that I helped inspire. I have learned that it can take one sentence, one story, and sometimes just one word to trigger a person to spring into action. Often his one thing is the catalyst for a huge life change.

In the feedback I received, there was a note from a woman named Sanjida from Bangladesh, a country in South Asia east of India. She told me she had stayed up all night so she could listen to the free live broadcast of my CreativeLive course because she had no way to purchase the course so she could watch it later. It’s not easy for her to get a credit card and she couldn’t pay by PayPal—and she was broke anyway. But, what Sanjida did have was a burning desire to make her business happen. She felt she needed the course materials and lessons I shared to build her idea systematically into a viable business strategy. So, Sanjida sacrificed three nights of sleep to hear what I had to say.

I believe teachers and trainers carry a great amount of responsibility. We must take our jobs very seriously because the lives, businesses, and emotional wellbeing of other people are at stake. Sanjida’s message was another reminder of my responsibility. Before I tell you the rest of her story, I’ll like to share a story of my own with you…

I will always thank the remarkable Brian Tracy for being the first to teach me the lesson that every person matters. I was Brian’s ‘celebrity’ wrangler during Craig Duswalt’s Rockstar Bootcamp. After his talk, it was my job to ensure Brian got to his car and drove away without being mobbed by fans. But, what happened instead was a life lesson for me.

It’s easy to assume that people who have achieved celebrity status are unapproachable. That couldn’t be further away from the truth. People who have ‘made it’ are usually very nice and professional, and truly appreciate and care about their fans.

As we were walking through the conference building toward the valet parking, Brian was approached every 10 feet by someone with a question or a comment, or with a book in hand that they wanted him to read.

Brian’s reaction was not at all what I expected.

He listened with great patience and sincere interest to each person he met, even though it significantly delayed his departure. When I finally reminded him that he only needed to say the word and I would whisk away his fans so he could get on his way, Brian just shook his head and said simply, “Every person matters.”

Those three words changed my life.

Fast-forward to my CreativeLive workshop and back to what I want to tell you about Sanjida. Instead of telling me a sob story about her tough situation and feeling sorry for herself, Sanjida reminded me that during the course I said I like to barter deals. That’s true—I barter deals all the time. Sanjida mustered up the courage and presented her own barter proposal to me. She had done some research and correctly realized I don’t convert many of my quotes into image tiles. She offered to do this for me. In exchange, she asked that I purchase access to my own course for her so that she could rewatch it and work through the course materials. Sanjida sent me a few samples to show me what she can do even before having an agreement with me.

I was blown away. It takes a specific kind of person and attitude to “lean far out of the window” like this. Sanjida doesn’t seem to suffer from the silent career killer. Needless to say, I am taking her up on her offer and will do this barter deal with her. How can I not?

What a great life lesson. When we demonstrate our willingness to make things happen and we focus on providing a genuine service to people—magic happens. Sanjida knew what she wanted, she asked for it, she got creative, and she succeeded.

I have a huge grin on my face as I sit here and write this post. Thank you, Sanjida, for believing in yourself, having the courage to approach me, and for reminding me that every person matters.