The people who help you to share your message with the world are just as important as the message itself.
Having a positive message to share with the world is important to the success of any company. Without positivity, including results that show progress and growth, any business or organization will lack support, and is doomed to failure. For some businesses, this might just mean reorganizing and trying again with a different plan. For fields of work like mine – helping people overcome addiction – failure can literally be a matter of life and death.
A positive message is, however, only part of the equation. A positive message has to be shared in a positive way, and the people who help your business to share its message are just as important to your success as the message you are sharing. Employees that interact with clients or customers give the first and last impression of what you and your company stands for, and it is important that your employees feel valued and appreciated for their efforts. Your clientele will only be as happy as your employees are.
In the substance abuse treatment field, one of the most effective ways to get our message of leading a healthier and more productive lifestyle across to as many people as possible is found in participating in various events through corporate sponsorship. Operating several addiction recovery centers gives me plenty of opportunities to do this, and, sometimes, this can be as much fun as it is work.
Sharing a Positive Message With Others
Of the many examples that I can give from my own personal experiences, the sponsorship of Peckfest 2015, a two-day country-rock music festival in Point Pleasant, VA, through Best Drug Rehabilitation was perhaps one of the most fun events we have done. Named for Gary Peck, the owner of the Kanawha River Campground where the festival was held, Peckfest was one of the stops for the “Taste of Nashville” Tour, a showcase of many of the music scene’s rising stars and established names. The event saw hundreds of attendees over the weekend of September 4th-5th. We were able to share our positive message in a positive way, and everybody had a great time, creating lasting memories, and lasting company name recognition.
Our sponsorship of Peckfest also allowed us exclusive access to speak with many of the performing artists. They graciously agreed to tell us about their views and experiences with substance abuse, which there certainly is no shortage of in the music industry. Among those who spoke with us were Jeff Dane, Tom Dixon, songwriting duo Double Barrel, Mike Short Jr., and many others. Here are just a few examples of what they had to say about addiction in their industry, and in our nation as a whole:
“Even if you’ve had a problem (with addiction) at some point in your life, it doesn’t mean it’s over. You have an opportunity to change that and you have to want to do that.” – Tom Dixon
“Go be addicted to something positive. If you want to make nutcrackers for a living, be the best at it. If you want to be a musician, be the best musician you can be. Make that your drug.” – Jared Elledge of Double Barrel
“I think a lot of it is to distance yourself from the people that influence those bad decisions. It’s not always easy. But, at the end of the day, the only one that matters is you.” – Mike Short Jr.
In addition, the fact that a substance abuse treatment center can support an event like Peckfest reinforces an idea that is central to the field – that life is still enjoyable without drugs or alcohol. One of the biggest fears that the intake coordinators at Best Drug Rehabilitation hear from the people that we see at our recovery center is that they just don’t believe that they will ever be able to have fun or enjoy life again. They seem to have lost the simple innocence of enjoying the little things in life and in finding the beauty that our world offers to us every single day. Sponsoring Peckfest helps us to show them that this simply isn’t true by demonstrating that it is not only possible to have fun without drugs or alcohol, but that it is even preferable. As an added bonus, there is no risk of waking up hung over or wondering what happened the night before.
Raising Awareness and Saving Lives
Having performing artists, or civic activists, opinion leaders, athletes, or any high-profile celebrities sharing your message is a great way to reach out to new audiences. When raising awareness about the need that you are trying to fulfill, or the problem that you are working towards solving, having this kind of support is truly invaluable to your company’s vision.
Using positive influence to achieve positive results is vital to the success of any company, no matter what your field of expertise might be. Popular musicians, athletes, civic leaders, and anybody that holds any sort of influence over people’s opinions and ideas can be extremely beneficial you and your company. With the positive results from this practice, we can become even more capable of making our world a better place for everyone. We can continue to fulfill the need that we have seen in the world on an even greater scale. For me, this means that we are able to save thousands more lives from the deadly consequences of addiction.
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