Summary: Synopsis About a year ago, Dr. Misner was walking along a crowded street in Paris. One pedestrian really stood out to him: she was walking directly toward him with her head down, focused on her mobile phone. She was on an obvious collision course, and Dr. Misner thought "Look up. Look up! Look up!" At the very last moment, she did, and appeared completely shocked that she was about to walk into someone. This encounter is a perfect illustration of the way that we can be physically present but not mentally present. And though mobile phones are a huge distraction, this is about more than turning your phone off in a BNI meeting. If you are not completely present, not just in BNI meetings but in all areas of your life, you are doing yourself a disservice. Engage fully with everything you do when you are doing it. When you're at BNI, set aside work and family. When you're with your family, set aside your work. When you're at work, set aside other things. The things you set aside will be there when you come back to them. Brought to you by <a href="http://networkingnow.com">Networking Now</a>. Complete Transcript of Episode 425 - Priscilla: Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. I am joined on the phone today by the Founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Ivan. How are you and where are you? Ivan: Hi Priscilla. This week, I am in Omaha, Nebraska for a BNI chapter. Actually, I have a key note presentation for an insurance organization and then I am visiting with local members here in Omaha, Nebraska, so it is a great region. It is fun to be here. Priscilla: Oh good. Tell me, what is this about? Looking up. Ivan: Look up. I love the way you did it, too because the way you said it, it was exactly the way it was going through my mind when something happened. It was about a year ago and I was in Paris. I was walking along a really crowded street in Paris and people were walking in both directions and they were walking with purpose and direction. There were families and business professionals. There were tourists. One pedestrian really stood out for me because she was right in front of me, a little ways in front. She was in front of me and walking directly at me. She was kind of walking at a little bit of an uneven, irregular pace. She had her head down. She wasn't looking to the left and she wasn't looking to the right. She wasn't looking around. She wasn't even looking at the sidewalk or at her feet. She was looking at her mobile phone. Priscilla: Right. Ivan: She was texting while she was walking on this really crowded sidewalk. It was really interesting because there was no one between her and I but other that that, the sidewalk was packed with people. She was on this direct trajectory to collide with me. I remember she was far enough away. I was walking towards her and there were people behind me walking so I couldn't just stop. Have you ever just stopped at an airport and people bumped into you? Priscilla: Yeah. Ivan: It would have been that on the sidewalk. So I am walking but I am kind of going slow and I am thinking, "Look up. Look up. Look up." I was saying this softly, repeating it under my breath as she approached me directly. She was about to run smack into me. The sidewalk was so full to the left, to the right and behind me that I couldn't step to the left of the right and I couldn't stop without colliding into other people. I was really on the verge of crashing into her when I was about to say something- although, I was in Europe and I may have spoken in English. She may not have even known what I was saying. At the very last moment before she crashed into me, she looked up.
