Opening Volley

[ekartal6]

Originally Posted by gromicko

Jim, no. Actually, we're getting many complaints about our entrance requirements. People are saying we've gone overboard and that we simply require too much www.nachi.org/membership.htm

Nick, are you kidding?

[John McKenna]

It would seem that the InterNACHI benefits is the ultimate DRAW... But on the other hand... I know that there are some who think they must create something to appease the anti-NACHI complainers and by creating something outside of NACHI it will therefore bring them in. I believe this thinking is silly, non the less, it exist among some.

[Nick Gromicko]

You all know that the President of ASHI, many on CREIA's Board, and CalNACHI's Keith Swift are all personal friends of mine. If I continue with this thread I'm going to offend all of them.

I'm apologizing now for where this thread might lead me.

I'll continue...

[Nick Gromicko]

Erol, no I'm serious. Today we got a full page complaint email from an existing inspector who decided to join InterNACHI, then changed his mind because we have too many educational requirements. As you know, earlier this month we increased our membership requirements again with the addition of our Green Building course, a 10 hour course with 49 quizzes and a final exam: http://www.nachi.org/gonegreen2007.htm

Anyway, because we made this course free and open to all (one can take it before applying for membership even though you don't have to complete it right away to join) we had a fella start it (presumably to just get it out of the way) before applying for membership. He didn't even get 1/2 way through and he was emailing me and calling the office mad as hell. He didn't say anything bad about the course, but called us a bunch of ****holes for requiring so much of members. I was polite and told him to join ASHI. Whereby he replied "I'm already a member of ASHI you ****hole!" and then he hung up.

Joe Farsetta wrote a pretty good online course on plumbing inspections for us. Gerry Beaumont wront a pretty good online course on plumbing inspections for us. Kenny Hart wrote a pretty good online course on plumbing inspections for us. None, IMHO, were perfect (close though)... so they were never released. 2 weeks ago I hired an expert (a veteran inspector who also holds a degree in education and a PA teaching certificate) to take the best from all 3 courses and create the ultimate, comprehensive plumbing inspection course out of them. We'll credit all 4 authors. Anyway, our plan is to release this long awaited course and make it an additional free membership requirement. Maybe that fella I spoke with today is correct... we're ****holes .

[John McKenna]

Well, at least we will be educated A-Holes...

[Nick Gromicko]

John, the real success of anything (be it a home inspection business or a large trade association like InterNACHI) has nothing to do with the physical world. The benefits of an association are the "physical" part of the association... something that can be counted and touched. That stuff is nice, but has little to do with the association's success. Success comes from spirit (at this point I should disclose that I am in no way a religious person and haven't been to church in many years). The spirit of something makes it move. In interNACHI's case, we are propelled by angels (yes I mean those little white things flying around with wings). They have joined in our mission to do good, good for inspectors, good for consumers, good for the world.

My advice to all who are analyzing something (be it a trade association, a stock, a woman, whatever) is to look at the spirit of it.

I always say that if you can touch something, it isn't there. What I mean is that all that you can physically feel with your finger tips, in other words matter... doesn't matter. The physical world is the absence of the real one.

Get this, and you get rich in both worlds.

[John McKenna]

Originally Posted by gromicko

John, the real success of anything (be it a home inspection business or a large trade association like InterNACHI) has nothing to do with the physical world. The benefits of an association are the "physical" part of the association... something that can be counted and touched. That stuff is nice, but has little to do with the association's success. Success comes from spirit (at this point I should disclose that I am in no way a religious person and haven't been to church in many years). The spirit of something makes it move. In interNACHI's case, we are propelled by angels (yes I mean those little white things flying around with wings). They have joined in our mission to do good, good for inspectors, good for consumers, good for the world.

My advice to all who are analyzing something (be it a trade association, a stock, a woman, whatever) is to look at the spirit of it.

I always say that if you can touch something, it isn't there. What I mean is that all that you can physically feel with your finger tips, in other words matter... doesn't matter. The physical world is the absence of the real one.

Get this, and you get rich in both worlds.

I agree. When I was at a chapter meeting a few months ago in Dallas, I heard a large educational provider say that he "feels a comradeship and helping spirit among the NACHI people that he does not see or feel in the other associations".

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by jmckenna1

I agree. When I was at a chapter meeting a few months ago in Dallas, I heard a large educational provider say that he "feels a comradeship and helping spirit among the NACHI people that he does not see or feel in the other associations".

It's a Fact John, a fact indeed, I feel it myself believe me.

[Nick Gromicko]

John, you and I only met once and I could feel that same thing between us. That educational provider felt it too. My staff feels it. Today I dumped a big project (the online repair estimator thingie) on them and asked them what they think it is that we need for this project to succeed and what will it take to make it the best. Each of them answered differently but no one actually mentioned anything real in their answer. It was all talk about working hard, team cohesiveness, thinking outside the box, etc. Nothing one could put one's finger on (touch).

[Nick Gromicko]

There is a line in the Bible somewhere that says "when two or more are gathered..." I don't know where it is becasue I don't read the Bible. But one might ask... why are two or more needed?

I know the answer. There is no space between one. It is the space between that is everything. Again, if you can touch it, it isn't there.

[Nick Gromicko]

Anyway, this message board is full of space between all who are gathered here.

[John McKenna]

Originally Posted by gromicko

There is a line in the Bible somewhere that says "when two or more are gathered..." I don't know where it is becasue I don't read the Bible. But one might ask... why are two or more needed?

I know the answer. There is no space between one. It is the space between that is everything. Again, if you can touch it, it isn't there.

Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. The name is more than the spelling, it is the spirit of helping someone for a good purpose. That is his name, however you spell it.

[Nick Gromicko]

Mathew was talking about the nothing between the very small at the atomic scale and how something (matter) is really mostly the nothing between (that matters) and he was talking about this message board and the people gathered here. The recognition of what appears to the asleep to be nothing, is the something that I attribute our success to. The more CalNACHI or any trade association recognizes the midst, the better chance it has of succeeding. The midst is everything.

[Nick Gromicko]

And membership benefits are really nothing more than the physical results (the flowers) that come from the power of the midst. It is not a chicken or the egg dilemma, I know which one came first.

[Nick Gromicko]

Tomorrow night at 6:37 pm I fly to Fort Lauderdale (I land at 12:30 am, Friday early morning). I come home Saturday morning. I'm only going to be on the ground for one day to meet alone with an industry leader regarding a big project we've been working on which will cause an expansion of our industry allowing InterNACHI members to enter all sorts of new areas and will provide massive consumer-direct marketing for members and their inspection businesses. We both so very much want InterNACHI members to prosper. And though we are two thousand miles apart, we've already worked out every detail of the project via phone and email. However, before we crank this thing up, the "two" of us need to "gather together" in room, alone, to ask for help from a third party who will be there. And with that kind of help...