Sometimes you just need to volunteer.  I could, without much trouble,  make the argument that nearly all of my speaking today came largely from my volunteering to lead a round table discussion at a conference that no one else wanted to lead.  The topic was “Dealing with difficult employee Issues like pornography, personal hygiene other difficult behaviors in the workplace.

I don’t remember exactly why they didn’t have someone to lead it… I just remember hearing them talk about not be able to find someone.  So I volunteered and said, “I’ll do it.”

It turned out to be a wonderful session… we laughed, learned and talked about the tough stuff.  It seemed that I may have even had a knack for it.  The feedback was positive and the event planner appreciative.  A post conversation led to an invitation to prepare a future session.  That particular meeting planner has become a dear friend and has hired me for 8 consecutive years now.

At another event someone was needed to act as a “GameShow” host .  So I volunteered and said, “I’ll do it.”.  It also was great fun.   It also was followed with a conversation where I received appreciation and another invitation.

I am guessing the majority of you reading this could share stories about how volunteering to help or lead some unwanted or difficult project opened doors and accelerated your journey of success.  (Stories/comments always welcome at www.kirkweisler.com/t4d)

 The last couple years I have been blessed to serve as the Mater of Ceremonies for the annual ITSMF USA Fusion Conference.  In addition to my MC duties I volunteered to fill other roles which as led to other opportunities.  This year I will MC and serve as one of the 4 Keynote speakers.  The Topics for each Keynote are pretty fun.  BOOM, ZOOM, VROOM and my keynote titled which is “From DOOM and GLOOM to BLOOM”.

The Economy is still recovering, conferences are working hard to stay in the game, serve their constituents and not lose money.  So I volunteered to do 10 recordings about reasons not to miss the event.  I’ve never done anything like this…and I told them they didn’t have to use them unless they thought it would do more good than harm. They used them!! (To hear them click HERE)  I volunteered to do the Keynote and additional work for the same fee as last year when I didn’t do the extra work.  Please don’t misunderstand me here… I’m not trying to sound like some sort of saint…I’m just saying that Volunteering to do extra stuff has never done anything but bless my life and enhance my career. 

So remember…  “Volunteering can open more doors, more quickly than 1000 applications, interviews or Monster Postings.”  Volunteering can give you a chance to shine, a chance to serve, and a place to connect with others who just may be looking for someone like you.

Kirk Out