Teresa de Grosbois: Igniting Wildfire
Shawne Duperon: So besides inner dialogue, what else do you see stops people from really obtaining their potential influence?
Teresa de Grosbois: The biggest mistake that I see people in business make is what I would affectionately call “the premature ask.” (Laughs) The premature ask is the equivalent of you have just moved into a new place and the neighbor comes by and says “I love that lawnmower. I can’t wait to borrow that baby.” At this point, you would be rolling your eyes and in your head saying “who did I just move in next to?”
The business equivalent of this you see at networking functions. The guest of honor will walk off stage and there will be a line of people waiting there to speak to them. Half of them will have a book or a CD in hand; the other half want to buy them a coffee or lunch. All of those could be considered premature asks because the speaker just met them. Giving your book or your CD to an influential person is almost like going to the new neighbor and saying “you are going to love my kids. You’ll really enjoy babysitting them.” It may be true, but it is way too early in the conversation. Premature.
Shawne Duperon: I have heard you share that time is the most precious commodity of influential people.
Teresa de Grosbois: Influential people really do value their time differently. One of the key habits of influential people is they tend to work in a way that reaches a lot of people at once. They don’t work with people one-on-one. Therefore, they value their time differently.
To use an extreme example – if you considered a television reporter or someone who hosts a television talk show, you know they routinely speak to a million people. They may literally have thousands of people wanting to buy them lunch or coffee on any given month. It is just not possible to do that. 
Shawne Duperon: Thank you, Teresa de Grosbois. Now, where can people get the book?
Teresa de Grosbois: Please go to www.MassInfluenceTheBook.com
Shawne Duperon: Any last words?
Teresa de Grosbois: Give yourself permission to live your dreams because that’s where you will be most authentic. When you do what you love, you will have the most personal power. And it will be so easy for you to develop influence just by building powerful relationships with other influential people.
