It can be so easy to forget the power of a first impression. 

Think back to your last job interview, or maybe even your first date: how much time did you invest in making sure your first impression communicated the right message?

First impressions matter! 

We recently hosted men and women for our Summer Coaching Networks who came from all over the country to learn from Mark Waltz, GCC's Pastor of Connection and Multi-Site.

Here's just a few highlights from the first hour of the session:    

• With vision, you need to know where you are so that you know where you can go
• Analogy of being in a shopping mall and planning which stores you want to visit
• You can’t get where you want to go until you are honest about where you are. What steps are going to be required, how do you take them, and where are they going to lead.
• You can’t be any other place than where you are because you’ve taken the steps you’ve taken

What one or two words comes to mind when you see these images:

• Starbucks
• BMV
• The person to your right
• Last hotel stay
• US Postal Service
• Your local church
• Last movie preview you watched
• A Walmart store
  

As a true test of first impressions and associations, imagine a photo of a boarded up, run down home. What do you think of? A quick survey of the room, none of the answers were about the structure we were looking at – all of them were judgments about the people (homeowners) we have never seen or met. 

Your first impressions – or associations – with these images matter. 

If you missed this session, get tuned in from more info on the upcoming Fall Coaching Networks sessions.