Pour out your cup.

It's your job to pour out your cup of knowledge, to share what your have learned, into the cups of other people. It's not your job to fill their cups and you are not responsible for what they do after you've poured, you are just responsible to pour yours out.

It's convention season and I love it. It's a time, at Maize Quest, when we get together with our operators at the Maze Master Summit. We share ideas, network, introduce our clients to each other and host guest speakers to enrich our business lives with new, fresh information. It's a wonderful time.

Over the past few weeks I've caught the 'bug' of this rich information sharing as I've called to touch base and personally invite our clients to the Summit. Our operators have had such a wide and varied set of experience, just in one year, that we started collecting pictures and stories for our "My Best Idea" segment of the Summit.

Pour out your cup. I came across this idea somewhere, probably on a Podcast. It's the idea that it is our responsibility to share, give, help and care for other people.

That's nice and mushy, touchy-feely-blah-blah-blah, but I really liked the second part of the thought: It's not your responsibility to fill their cups, it's just your responsibility to pour.

It's as if the mere act of sharing, of pouring, creates the benefit to you. Most of us can relate to a situation in which we gave our time or talents to an organization or group of people and came away feeling richer for the experience. You didn't solve all the group's problems that day, but you received intrinsic benefits just the same.

Let's face it: We've all been on receivers from great people who willingly share their knowledge. We've all gotten a great idea from someone else, snagged a marketing tip and added a product after learning from someone else who sold it. We all owe a debt to the greater universe for some part of our current success. Pour away! Share your knowledge! Add to the conversation. More is more!

Giver or receiver. Being on the pouring side of the equation is just part of concept. While I believe you will receive benefit from pouring, we all benefit from receiving; receiving knowledge, ideas, feedback, understanding and a sense of community. Remember the responsibility for filling your cup, rests squarely with you as well. Chances are that you can't fill your cup from a single source, so you must actively seek new sources. You must, in this situation, be an active giver and an active receiver.

Why we go to conventions. When it comes to sharing information, we, as direct marketers, have limited options on a daily basis. We are distributed across the globe, but conventions bring us together. Where else can you go to a meeting and come away with multiple $1,000 ideas?! I know I'll have my travel budget paid for before the end of the Bus Tour.

This big reason I enjoy conventions, NAFDMA and the Maze Master Summit being my favs, is that I enjoy the company of people who understand. People who understand my business, face similar challenges and have successes they want to share. Sure, I do my share of pouring, but its the refilling of my cup from so many varied sources that fires me up for another year of hard work.

So, what do you get out of your off-season? Do you have a plan for rejuvenation through kindred spirits sharing failures and victories? I'll be at NAFDMA and hosting the Maze Master Summit for our operators. I certainly hope you avail yourself this opportunity.

It's your responsibility to pour out your cup for the benefit of others, but luckily the pressure's off - you are not responsible for filling anyone else's cup but your own.

Have a great week,

Hugh

PS Drop me a line if you're heading to NAFDMA! We're launching our newest game there - think technology + corn maze...