Join this summit to network, gain valuable insights, and learn from experts across a variety of business topics. To learn more and register, click here: https://georgiasbdc.org/training-program/0852-001-gwi-veterans-summit-2026/

Hey Leaders, Welcome to Week Six of our Book Feature Friday series featuring Intentional Living by John C. Maxwell. This week, we are exploring: Add Value to Others from Your Sweet Spot Every person has a unique combination of strengths, experiences, relationships, passions, and abilities. Your sweet spot is the place where what you do well connects with an opportunity to serve others. Intentional leaders understand that they do not need to imitate someone else’s contribution to make a difference. Your greatest impact will often come when you recognize what you have been uniquely equipped to offer and intentionally use it to add value. Some leaders are gifted communicators. Others are excellent organizers, strategists, listeners, teachers, problem-solvers, encouragers, connectors, or builders. One person may add value through coaching. Another may create systems that help an organization function more effectively. Another may see potential in people who have been overlooked. Another may bring creativity to a problem everyone else has accepted. Your contribution does not need to look like anyone else’s. However, discovering your sweet spot requires honest reflection. What comes naturally to you? What work gives you energy? Where have you consistently produced positive results? What do people regularly ask you to help them accomplish? What skills have been developed through your experiences? Passion alone is not enough. Ability alone is not enough. Opportunity alone is not enough. Your sweet spot is often found where your passion, strengths, preparation, and the needs of others intersect. Once you recognize it, continue developing it. Growth allows you to become more valuable so you can add greater value. Leadership Reflection What abilities or experiences allow you to serve people especially well? Are you intentionally using those strengths, or are you spending too much time comparing yourself to others? This Week’s Intentional Living Challenge Identify three strengths you possess and one need you can address with each strength.

Your team stopped believing your words the third time your actions said something different. Not the tenth time. Not the fifth time. The third time. That's how fast trust erodes. Not in a scandal. In a pattern. The gap between what a leader says and what a leader does is the most expensive real estate in any organization. People don't quit bad companies. They quit leaders whose words stopped meaning anything. "We value your input." — but no one's input ever changed anything. "My door is always open." — but walking through it has consequences. "We take care of our people." — but the last three who needed it got left. The MFLB Words Pillar isn't about speaking better. It's about saying less and meaning more. It's about treating every commitment like a contract — because your team already is. The gap is where trust goes to die. Closing it isn't a communication strategy. It's a character decision. Name it. Own it. Close it. What's one promise or commitment you've made that your actions haven't backed up yet? Still Forging, — Derrick | The Forge | MFLB #TheForge #MFLB #IntegrityLeadership #ForgedLeadership #DerrickFarmer #Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Integrity #CharacterFirst #LeadershipTrust

Join SCORE on Wednesday, August 19 at 1:00-2:00 EST for “Getting Seen: Sharing Your Passion to Build Authentic Connections.” This FREE one-hour webinar is designed to help small businesses and nonprofits turn their unique voice and passion into content that builds genuine relationships and delivers measurable results. (Constant Contact) You'll learn how to: ✅ Move beyond simply posting and build a stronger brand presence ✅ Create content that turns followers into loyal customers and supporters ✅ Extend your reach across platforms without doubling your workload Presenter: Tracey Lee Davis, founder of ZingPop Social Media and a Certified Content Marketing Strategist. (Constant Contact) 👉 Reserve your FREE spot: Register for the SCORE Webinar This is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs who want to become more visible while staying authentic to who they are and what they do.

If you're starting or growing a business, SCORE has four timely webinars this week that are worth checking out: 📌 Aug. 17 — Developing a Business Plan 1:00–2:00 PM ET • FREE Walk away with a blueprint or first draft of your business plan. 📌 Aug. 18 — Legal Basics for Small Business 11:00 AM–2:00 PM ET • $10 Learn the basics of federal, state, and local compliance and how to minimize legal risks. 📌 Aug. 20 — Becoming a Better Borrower 6:30–8:00 PM ET • FREE Learn what lenders look for, how credit scores matter, and what goes into a loan application. 📌 Aug. 21 — Sales for Non-Sales Professionals 1:00–2:30 PM ET • $10 Learn how to connect with customers, overcome objections, and confidently move conversations toward a “yes.” 👉 Reserve your spot: SCORE Webinar Registration & Full Details These are great opportunities to add practical tools to your entrepreneurial toolbox—often for little or no cost. Take advantage of the resources available to you!