Thursday, October 04, 2007

66 Tips For Better Networking - #39

Route 66 - The Journey Toward Success

Networking Is Not Enough.

Knowing people is not enough to lead to the success that is desired. Many confuse meeting someone with having them as part of their network, and mistakenly imagine that there is enough of a relationship to lead to business referrals.

Having met a person means little to your future. Most that we have met in our journey through life never lead to the type of connections we long for when we think of networking. To develop a true link to another person we must invest time in the relationship and discovering shared interests and experiences.

At any one time the people you know are more or less mutually committed to each other. Some that we used to be close to have drifted away, and new friends have filled in these gaps. To keep old relationships alive and active we must tend to them like a farmer tends to his crops. We must cultivate and care for other people and have a deep interest in their future in order to forge solid bonds.

I know many people who have invested much time in networking who never reaped any rewards. This is because they confused meaningful human relationships with collecting business cards or digital links online. To find the opportunities that come from knowing people at a level of their soul can only come to with effort.

Invest your time in doing more than meeting people, invest yourself assisting others. Discover the goals that populate the hearts of those around you and find ways to lead them toward achieving their success.

Do more than meet people. Know people. Help people. Connect people to those who can make a difference in their lives. Revel in the success of others. Be not selfish with your knowledge and connections. Thrive.

Have A Great Day.

thom

1 comment:

Robert Hruzek said...

Thom, you're so right! It all comes down to being willing to be the first to "give" of yourself. People instinctively notice that and in general, will eventually respond in kind.

And as with most good things, you have to give it time. There's nothing more of a turnoff than when someone tries to force this process to go too fast.