MetaGreg

continuing the networking lessons from Never Eat Alone…

Now that you’ve realized the importance of having the right people around you, how can you get started building your network?

Ask
If you need help, ask for help. If on your way home you see a small bookshelf on the sidewalk and  wonder if it is being thrown away, ask the owner if you can take it.  If you are looking for a mentor,  get a list of successful businessmen in your community and ask them if they can review your business plan.

Share your passion
Make a list of things you are passionate about and use Google to find out the people who share your passion.  Share with them a book you’ve read, or a video in YouTube that would interest them.  If they ask for help, maybe in their blogs or in forums, offer yourself.  Remember, passion is contagious.

Friendship is created out of the quality of time spent between two people, not the quantity… It’s what you do that matters, not how often you meet.

Seek out other people
It is tempting to stick with people we already know. After all, they watch the same movies as we do, play the same games, etc. etc. If you want to enlarge your network, you need to go out and meet other people. There are many ways to meet other people. You can join Meetup and start attending meetings that you like. You can also get involve in community projects.

Take names
Magazines release a list of influential people in their industry at least once a year. The cover page usually has the letters “Top 50″ or “Power 50″ in big fonts so you will never miss them. Compile a list of journalists, industry analysts, bloggers, CEOs you want to meet someday. I know we all want to meet Paris Hilton. We also know it’s a long shot. So for now, keep a list of people you want to meet someday and call them your ‘Aspirations’. For the rest, start reaching out to them. Most them are already using Twitter, blog, and Facebook accounts.  With technology these days, it is inexcusable not to have an idea of what they are doing.

Never, ever, disappear
Always make sure that people can still remember you.  People are just an email and phone call away. If they don’t answer your email or take your call, don’t be downtrodden. Most likely, they are just busy. Broadcast to your network regularly by sharing a good article or a project you are working on right now. If someone offers you a job you can’t take, forward it to your network.

Connect your circle with someone else’s
One sure way to enlarge your network is to connect with someone else’s network. You can co-host an event or share names.

Be indispensable

Indispensability comes from being a switchboard, parceling out as much information, contacts, and goodwill to as many people – in as many different worlds – as possible.

Be interesting
Nobody wants to be around a boring person. OK, maybe some do. But if you want to have a large personal network, you must be someone worth talking to. Even better, someone worth talking about. Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, “Would I spend an hour eating lunch with this person?”.  Try to be honest, please.

Just do it
Don’t be afraid of the risks. If a prospect mentor turns you down, find another one. If people don’t answer your emails, email them again and again. A simple search in Google would give you thousands of thousands of prospects. Don’t be afraid you won’t find people that share the same interests as yours because that will never happen. Everyone is connected.

Ultimately, everyone has to ask himself how they’re going to fail. We all do. The choice isn’t between success and failure; it’s between choosing risk and striving for greatness, or risking nothing and being certain of mediocrity.

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Photo courtesy of s.o.f.t

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