Youve just received your umteenth flyer or email about a trade association meeting or seminar, and theyre starting to all look alike.

If youre like most, youll file away the best looking pieces until the dates of the events have safely passed by.

But are you missing out?

Is there news of an urgent nature that youll regret not hearing if you dont get to the Quarterly Society of Taxidermy mixer?

Not likely.

Youll miss something even more important: the stimulation.

Attending seminars and conferences and even networking meetings pays off, but not necessarily in the ways that we expect. By going, youll have to shift your routine, dent your ironclad calendar, and break loose from your everyday moorings.

And this, in itself, might stimulate your imagination, recharge your batteries, and even increase your self-esteem.

I did this ther other day. Instead of conducting my business with a client entirely by phone, I decided to hop a commuter flight and visit in person.

Technically, I didn't accomplish much more by way of building my business than I would have done through remote control. But I made the effort, spent some dough, became big as life, checked out his premises, first hand, and I left with at least a half dozen new ideas.

I couldn't have learned more if I had attended a one-day seminar at twice the price.

Keep in mind the saying: If you always do what youve always done, youll always get what youve always gotten!

So, the next time youre invited to something, find a way to say yes.

You have no idea how many things youll get out of it, until you go!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman 2006