Tommy Spaulding, the keynote speaker at the 2014 NCRA Convention & Expo, held July 31 – Aug. 3 in San Francisco, left attendees at the Premier Session talking about his insightful and uplifting stories well after he exited the stage. Spaulding, who served as the youngest CEO of the organization Up with People, provided a heartfelt and often humorous look into his life, including the academic challenges he faced throughout high school and college due to having dyslexia, and how he learned early on that developing deeper relationships through giving to others and putting them first can benefit everyone, a practice he calls “netgiving.” Much of his talk was based on his latest best-selling book, It’s Not Just Who You Know, which earned the #2 spots on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists, as well as the #1 spot on USA Today’s top sellers list.
Among the insights Spaulding shared included:
- It’s not just who you know, or what they can do for you, but what you can do for them.
- Motives matter.
- Establishing a deeper connection is about authenticity, not manipulation; reciprocity, not selfishness.
- Every relationship is a two-way street; we never know when a chance encounter can change the direction of our lives.
