Hey Roelf, Five days ago, I sent an email to everyone who is registered for LIFT saying that I think the fears around the Coronavirus are overblown, and that we’re proceeding with LIFT. Well, things have changed; the volume of infections is rising, the United States has instituted a travel ban with Europe, and the World Health Organization has upgraded the status of the disease to “pandemic”. I met with my leadership team yesterday afternoon, and asked them a single question: “Forgetting all business considerations, do you think proceeding with LIFT is the right thing to do?” It’s not as easy a question as you might think; of course there’s the real (and perceived) health risk – which is hard to gauge, given the challenge of separating fact from fear-mongering. We weighed that risk against our responsibility to help our students build a business that supports their lives and dreams; something that is becoming increasingly urgent as people are required to work from home, and the economy slows down. We discussed and debated. We considered proceeding with LIFT – since the scale of the event is well below any thresholds that governments and health organizations are suggesting for cancellation. Ultimately, though, we all agreed that what matters more than anything is the health and safety of our students, and our team. There’s the health risk, and the risk of spreading the disease. There’s the risk of being stranded in quarantine somewhere, unable to return home. And there’s the fear of catching the virus in the back of everyone’s mind, and the minds of their loved ones. So we made the decision to change the plan for LIFT, in two big ways. First, we’re postponing the in-person event. Not canceling; LIFT is too important to too many people. But postponing, to August – by which time experts feel that things will have calmed down. I’ll have more details about that shift in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that. But we aren’t just pushing it off. Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need for exactly the online business growth training that LIFT offers, so we’re taking an unprecedented step: Second, we’re delivering LIFT virtually. It’s still happening, on April 2-4. Everyone who is registered for LIFT will be invited to participate, and we’ll also open it up to the thousands of people who’ve asked if there is a way to participate virtually. The answer has always been no, but for this one time, we’re making an exception and making it happen. I’ll have more details about these shifts in the next few days. As you can imagine, things are a bit crazy here at Mirasee HQ, so please bear with us as we sort through all the changes and figure everything out. 😉 In the meantime, let’s all keep cool heads. I know it’s easy to feel your heartrate rise under the barrage of never-ending “if it bleeds, it leads” news reports. But that doesn’t help anyone. My suggestion is to turn off the news entirely. Get your information from real scientists. And remember that we’re all on the same team – with our neighbors, with our colleagues, and with the world around us. Even when it’s safest for us to physically stand apart, we stand together. Danny Iny
Founder/CEO at Mirasee |