A Word of Advice…
The Energy of Many
By Jeff Busch
OSCAR WILDE SAID THAT THE ONLY THING TO DO WITH GOOD ADVICE IS PASS IT ON, which makes sense, because you’ve hopefully already used it. You experience, you learn and you share knowledge with family, friends and peers. But there exists a fine line between imparted advice and mere solicited (or unsolicited) opinion.
When Editor-in-Chief David Basler walked into my office to discuss the opportunity of writing this month’s Energy of Many column and told me the cover story was called “The Best Advice I Ever Got,” I was immediately intrigued.
It’s such a simple word, but with a very broad definition. Everyone is familiar with advice, we all receive it and we all give it, but it’s one of those words that everyone ultimately defines differently. Advice that I accept and use may not be the same advice that you accept and use.
By my definition, advice doesn’t exist at the personal level until you’ve absorbed it, acted upon it and others hold you accountable to it—until that point, advice is just words.
We can absorb information and lessons from our peers, bosses, coaches and teachers; we can attend conferences, webinars and classes; we can participate in lively discussions, panels and collaborations—but until we absorb, deliberate and act, well…what’s the point?
It is critical, as you grow in your professional life, that you consider the words of the wise, query those who have successfully navigated similar situations and then ultimately personalize and act upon their advice knowing the act is a reflection of you.
Often, the advice you receive may not seem like advice at all. It could start out as a general conversation or information you’ve discovered; finding advice that caters to your specific needs can be difficult and frustrating.
The search for intelligible and intelligent advice about the meeting and event industry probably led you to MPI in the first place. And it’s for that very reason that MPI presents an expanded World Education Congress agenda July 24-27 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
With more educational tracks, business and networking opportunities than ever before, you’ll get thousands of opportunities during the four-day annual conference to absorb all types of information and ideas. You’ll find the tools necessary to turn the advice of your peers and educators into personal actions you can apply to gain new inspirations.
Who knows, maybe the best advice you’ll ever receive is to attend the WEC or maybe a life-changing piece of advice is waiting for you in a session room or in a conversation with one of our amazing general session keynotes.
The advice that is most relevant and resonates with you is ultimately what you must act upon and pass on. That’s the energy of many in my mind—MPI community members inspiring each other translates into a successful future for all of us. One+
JEFF BUSCH is MPI’s vice president of strategic communications.
He can be reached at jbusch@mpiweb.org.