Friday, August 31, 2012

SuccessNet Online ? Blog Archive ? The Personal Side of Networking

The Personal Side of Networking

Submitted by Glenn Warner


Shelley, my wife, is one of a 65-member BNI chapter, and I am in a 23-member chapter.

While she has been in BNI for four years, I have only been a member for seven months. Over the years, Shelley has experienced Givers Gain. I personally experienced it for the first time recently--and I will never forget it.

I just found out my mom has terminal breast cancer. She has a mental illness as well, which can make some days harder than others. To help my dad during this tough time, we worked to find his legal papers, my mother's living will, and others important documents. Having had these documents finalized over 20 years ago, they were apparently lost. We scoured the house for two days and only found one piece of paper with a law office name on top.

When I returned home with this sheet of paper, I told Shelley about the hard time we had finding my mom's will and living will. Shelley looked at the name on the paper and said, "That law firm is represented in my BNI group, and I just had a 1-to-1 a few days ago with the main partner."

I was thunderstruck. Shelley emailed the lawyer on the spot--2 am--explaining my predicament and requesting he call me in the morning.

As you know, most law firms open at 9 am. But at 7:56 am, my phone rang. It was the law firm. Again, I explained how my dad had lost the legal papers. After a pause, the lawyer told me he would call me back in five minutes.

When the law firm called back, the lawyer told me he had on record all the paper work and asked, "Glenn, how can I help you with this now?"

When I asked about how the living will worked for the conditions at hand, Tim gave me all the details my family needed to help us do the right thing for my mom--per her request.

The true power of BNI is what happens with members outside of the weekly chapter meeting. Without networking, it would have been very hard to help my family during an emotionally charged and difficult time. My mom only has a few weeks to live, but because of BNI, she will live out her last days under the terms she requested.


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Source: http://successnet.czcommunity.com/my-bni-story/the-personal-side-of-networking/13470/

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