Walker College of Business

Yadkin Bank Honors Convocation April 22, 2016 
Guest Speaker: Vanessa LeLiever Murray
Founder & Marketing Consultant, TAKE Success LLC

I would like to share with you the reasons why I love the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University. This university transformed me. This university provided me with experiences to engage with people from around the world. This university prepared and inspired me to be my best self. This university gave me the courage to take risks. This university made a positive impact on my life and gave me the vision and voice to make a difference in the world.

I know it has done the same for all of you being honored today. The faculty lives for your success. They strive every day to implement the strategies and tactics that fall underneath the mission statement of the college. For our guests, I’d like to read you the first sentence of the Walker College of Business’s mission statement: We deliver transformational educational experiences that prepare and inspire students to be ethical, innovative, and engaged business leaders who positively impact our community, both locally and globally.  Today is a testament to the faculty’s dedication to hard work and their mission as much as it is to yours.

When I was asked to speak today, I was surprised – what could I offer to these outstanding students that they don’t already know? Then it hit me. I was living out the mission statement and have achieved success in my career by following five simple principles or as Jim Rohn calls “Philosophies.”

#1. Eat Breakfast
Those were the wise words of my father, who is an MD, the very first day of arriving at Appalachian State University.  I was ready for a ‘big talk’ but he pulled me aside as I was moving into my dorm room and told me “Vanessa, don’t forget to eat breakfast.” It wasn’t until I was much older in my adult years I knew what he really meant: get up early, get dressed, get prepared for the day, and eat the most important meal of the day all before 8am. There is a book called The One Thing by  Gary W. Keller, Jay Papasan that talks about this very philosophy as well as the Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod– six activities that set the most successful people apart from others all done before 8am in the morning: 1. Affirmations 2. Meditate/Silence 3. Reading 4. Exercise 5. Visualization 6. Journaling And I’ll add my favorite: eat breakfast. 

#2. Think BIG and Write Down Your Goals
If your goals don’t scare you, they are not big enough. If you don’t feel like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, you haven’t been transformed. I was a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual in Seattle for seven years, and I’d have all my clients write down their goals on their discovery agreement. Some would tell me, "Vanessa this seems silly," and I say, "it may but there is power in writing down one’s goals." Guess what? When they did write down their goals, they happened to come true – starting a family, buying their first house, taking a sabbatical from work, saving for retirement, etc. Think big, and write down your goals. There is a book called Write It Down, Make It Happen that proves this philosophy.

#3. EIWP-GP
Before I tell you what that acronym stands for, let me share a story. It was April 1998, and I was in a dorm room in Aarhus, Denmark with a fellow marketing student during an exchange program with Dr. Bonnie Guy and Dr. Unal Boya. We were talking about our plans once we graduated and got into the “Real World.” She had a great offer with Earnest, Julio & Gallo, but it required six months in Seattle. I had a paid internship at a prominent advertising agency in Toronto, Ontario lined up and had plans to start my career there in the big city. Well, it was that night that Margaret said to me, “come with me to Seattle! When will you ever get this opportunity again?” I replied “No, that is not my plan.” She replied, “Some plans are worth changing and trusting your wings.” I’m sure glad I listened to her, as I would not have met my husband, had a great career, nor had my three kids if I didn’t choose a new plan. Everything Is Working Perfectly according to God’s Plan. I didn’t make up this acronym, actually, it come from this book Golden Nuggets by Dr. Dennis C. Golden, who, coincidently, has a  granddaughter, Savannah Golden, that goes to school at Appalachian, and I had the pleasure of sitting down with him last week to review my speech with him. EIWP comes from Mari Stoner who writes “Everything Is Working Perfectly according to an incredible divine plan allowing us to receive exactly what we need, at exactly the right time to accomplish it. We draw people and experiences into our lives to help us to learn about love and how to love unconditionally. These interactions are not always positive, but they are always perfect.” 

#4. Leverage your Connections and Always keep People over Product
In my line of work, I make a living connecting brands to their target audiences, creating engagement conversations and result in sales. People are the key to this connection. In today’s world, people know more about your products and companies and are further down the sales pipeline for most buying decisions. Yet they still buy from those that they like and trust. Remember as you go into the world –it’s the people that matter and your connections that will propel you.

#5. Know your Purpose & Live your Mission Statement
To know your purpose, you must understand your WHYs. Start With Why – another great book by Simon Sinek, write down your goals, know your purpose, and live in your mission. Two quotes from one of my favorite keynote speakers, Gary Vaynerchuk, or as many would know him on SnapChat as Gary Vee, says: “skills are cheap, passion is priceless” and “mo matter what you do, your job is to tell your story.” Don’t forget to live your mission statement.

Lastly, start TODAY. 

 

 

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