Jack Canfield interviews Ivan Misner, founder of BNI, about why success comes down to doing common things uncommonly well. Misner says successful people and average people know the same ingredients: passion, goals, vision, system. The difference is execution. BNI operates in 47 countries with thousands of chapters.
Questions this video answers
47
Chapters
Hi, I'm Jack Canfield from the Inner circle club@jackcampfield.com and I'm here with Ivan Meisner, who I just spent the last hour and some minutes interviewing about networking and about success. And you're the author of 12 books and the head of the founder of BNI, which is an international networking organization with 6900 chapters. More than that.
5900.
Coming up to six. See, I'm already at the 6000 level because I can see it growing. But anyway, we had a wonderful conversation, and you shared a number of things that I thought was really valuable. Talked about success being the uncommon application of common sense or common knowledge. Can you unpack that a little bit?
Sure. Success is the uncommon application of common knowledge. And I came to that because I would talk to business people and I'd ask them, what's it take to be successful? And they'd say, goals and passion and vision and system. And then I'd talk to really successful people that were in my book, like Aaron Brockovich and Buzz Aldrin, and I'd ask them, what's it take to be successful? And they'd say, passion and goals and vision and system. The same list. Then I started asking my college students when I was a professor, and you know what they said? Same exact list. Passion and goals and vision and system. Except for one thing. They thought luck had something to do with it. And my idea on luck as it pertains to sustained success is the harder you work, the luckier you get. So I thought it was interesting that the average business person, really successful people, and college students all agreed on what it took to be successful. So if we all know what it takes to be successful, then why is it that we're not all as successful as we'd want to be? I think it's the uncommon application of common knowledge. It's taking these ideas and applying them in an uncommon way. I didn't create networking. I just created a system to network. And I had a lot of passion for it, and that's what took my business off. And I think anyone can be successful if they just take those basic principles and apply them with passion and with system and with vision. Whatever works for them, but apply it consistently.
Well, I listened to you answer all those questions and talk about it, and you literally applied that wisdom to your company and grew this amazing international company. How many countries are you in now?
47.
47. 47 countries around the world. And so if you're interested in becoming more successful in applying what you're calling common knowledge. But for many people, they don't even know that knowledge yet. They're going to learn about that on this interview. Come to the Inner circle club@jackcampfield.com and learn from Ivan Meisner and many of our other experts there. Look forward to seeing you at the inner Circle Club. Jackcampfield.com.
