A big part of the BNI experience relates to sharing stories. Stories of success and failure in business, stories about new innovations or service offerings and stories describing your business.
One person with a fascinating story to tell and who believes strongly in the importance of sharing stories, is New Zealander Samuel Gibson. Samuel says he resisted telling his story for many years – trying his best to blend into the background – but now at 38 HE is happy to share his incredible, inspirational one.
It wasn’t ever too easy for Samuel to blend into the background because he was born with a genetic bone condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or Brittle Bones. He can’t walk, is 3 feet tall, and yet considers himself lucky. His story is one of triumph over the odds and success in business and life.
Growing up in a loving family environment, Samuel just wanted to be like all the other kids. He did what the other kids did even if it meant breaking a bone or two along the way. One thing for sure, Samuel was not going to become a statistic; not going to put his life on hold. The attitude he developed, the lessons he learnt and the obstacles he had to overcome along the way makes for an inspirational story that he now wants to get across.
Samuel’s story is a valuable one for BNI members because as a successful entrepreneur, many of his beliefs he says will (or should) be shared with those at BNI. Five key beliefs he lives by are:
- Find your passion and then devote yourself entirely to it – Your business should be something you love and are passionate about; Samuel believes in taking whatever it is that you love and making this your business/life.
- Be better at what you do than anyone else – Find your point of difference and maximise this. You have unique talents; use them in your business.
- Draw on others for support – Nobody can do everything themselves, we all need support. A network of support like BNI will make things much easier in your life and work.
- Focus on what you can do – Again, we all have our own special talents. Rather than focusing on what you can’t do, look at your talents and see how these can be utilised most effectively in your business.
- Follow your inspiration – Samuel created a special wheelchair that is now distributed internationally. The inspiration for it came from Samuel’s own life, but the idea for the chair itself hit him like a bolt from the blue. He believes in following through on your inspiration.
Samuel’s story is truly amazing and his core beliefs will connect with many BNI members. He will be speaking at an upcoming Big Breakfast event in Hawkes Bay. If you are interested to learn more about him and connect with him just ask your education coordinator for his details.
