This week the new picture was out on the store shelves right on the Nabisco Barnum’s Animals boxes and packages of their well known snack. No longer was the image of the caged animals present on the packaging. Now the happy animals were displayed roaming freely together across the boxes and packages of Nabisco’s Barnum Animals.
USA Today reported, “After 116 years, animal crackers are no longer behind bars. The packaging of Barnum’s Animals, a classic Nabisco snack, doesn’t depict the exotic creatures in cages anymore. Instead, a zebra, an elephant, a lion, a giraffe and a gorilla are out roaming among grass and trees.”
The pressure which ultimately caused this change to take place came from PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. There are over 6.5 million members of PETA.
There are a number of issues to discuss in relation to this specific story. Now is not the time, maybe one day in the future, not today.
Today, the question I ask you is – Are You In A Cage?
Are You in a Cage You Have Created For Yourself?
If you work in an office environment do you keep to yourself most of the time? The door to your office is kept closed. The screen of your PC or laptop are not visible to someone entering your office. The majority of your day you are on the phone. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Maybe it is not you – it is someone you work with.
Maybe you run a small business or your own business. You rarely go out to networking events or gatherings. You rely on a third party for your marketing efforts. You may run some Facebook ad campaigns through them or on your own. Does this sound familiar to you? Maybe it is not you – rather it is someone you know.
In both of these examples, isn’t the description similar to being locked in a cage?
It is a cage of their creation. Do you want to remain locked up in your cage? The fact is to become comfortable going out and networking is something you have to work on. You must begin with the understanding that regular networking is about creating relationships. It is not about selling and closing deals right then and there with people you are first meeting.
It is about creating your own network. This is an important part of your career and advancement as it is to a small business owner or a solopreneur or freelancer.
Take the action steps necessary right now to free yourself for your cage.
Stop hiding in your home office behind a laptop screen. Go out and meet people in person and have conversations. Map out a plan to attend networking events. Then follow up with the people you met there and connected with.
Mitch Tublin is the CEO and Founder of Wenkroy International LLC a boutique consulting company with a main focus on Strategic Business Consulting, Training and Business Coaching. Our passion is to take people to the next level in their life and in their business.
