76 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2
Change. Ivan How do you try to keep up with
change?
Ivan Misner: Well I think it’s important to
read, I think it’s important to study, to go to
conferences, to learn. There have been very,
very few conferences in life that I have gone
to that I did not walk away with at least one
nugget. Sometimes many, many, many more
nuggets, including my own BNI conferences,
I mean I have been to 40 or
50 of my own
conferences
over the last
several dec-
ades, probably
more than that and I always learn something
from one of my directors. Always some nug-
get that I can use.
And so be a sponge, and you want to be able
to deal with change, be a sponge. You know I
tell you; it was actually my mom probably
taught me a lot about change. My mom was
the happiest person I knew in life and she
had more health issues than anybody I knew
in life; I mean serious health issues.
But she was always happy and I remember
asking her once, 'what's the secret to happi-
ness? Because you are always happy?' And
she said, 'You have got to learn how to deal
with change, and then deal with it again, and
again and again.' Because life is learning how
to accept and live with change, because your
life is going to constantly change and you
can either fight it or go with it, and find hap-piness within that change.' And I think busi-
ness is very much the same, businesses are
going to change, times change. So, stay on
top of the game. You know be a life-long
learner, and learn to go with the change.
Neil: What is your favourite book on entre-
preneurialism, business, personal develop-
ment, leadership or motivation? Can you tell
us why you have chosen it?
Ivan Misner:
Well let’s say
do you want
one on a cou-
ple of those
areas or?
Neil: If you want to give more than one,
that’s fine. Yeh.
Ivan Misner: Yeh so from a business perspec-
tive, it would have to be The E-Myth and
that was written by Michael E. Gerber... if
your listeners if you have not heard of The E-
Myth, go pick up a copy of it, it’s a great
book, I have gotton to know Michael, you
know I read this book in 1986, maybe 87,
but I got to meet Michael a few years ago,
amazing guy, fantastic book. And it talks
about the myth of being an entrepreneur,
not that you cannot be an entrepreneur, but
being an entrepreneur is different than be-
ing a manager. That you have to really have
to learn to work on your business, not just in
your business.
If you are an expert at making widgets. Your'You have got to learn how to
deal with change, and then
deal with it again, and again and again.