Message # 130 Connections are everything…ask any electrician

This message is especially dedicated to the great Kim Henchinski.

You can call it networking.

You can call it connecting.

You can TRY to achieve success on your own…

but you won’t be able to do it.

You see, if you ask all of the successful people in the world how they became successful, if they are honest with you, they will give you a list of people. They may talk about their team or mentors, perhaps their parents or friends. If you really think about it, EVERYTHING that you have came from others…your ipod, your house, your car, even your body.

Before I started Tennis Solutions, I didn’t network much; definitely not outside of the tennis industry. Then, once TS was formed, I began networking with anyone and everyone; networking became a way of life as I attended networking meetings and events, sought out experts…I even network at the grocery store now.

Had I not networked, I definitely would not be where I am today. I wouldn’t have a blog, I wouldn’t have make connections with some of the greatest experts in the world or attended the Princeton Sports Symposium yesterday at the University. I was basically networking, connecting with some of the most influential people in the sports industry; there were presidents and CEOs of major companies, sports writers, agents for professional athletes, and even a life coach. I spoke briefly to the key people (I did my homework) that I wanted to meet and even some attendees that were quite interesting. I told them about what I do and my ideas and many of them said that they would like to hear more. As I ALWAYS do after an event, I will be emailing all of them after I finish my blog entry. And then I will stand out even more…why? Because they gave out hundreds of business cards, but I will be one of the few that follows up the next day. All I do is tell them that it was a pleasure meeting with them and mention something we spoke about. From there, I try to arrange a meeting, face-to-face with them.

When you seek out the top people in the industry, and form a connection with them, then you have power. This works because all the top people know each other and if one of them likes you, you’re in. Then THEIR network becomes YOUR network. Regarding the people who are not as well known…you never know who THEY know, even if they cannot help you directly. You see, most people just try to connect with people they think can help them, but that mindset is limiting you from a sea of people.

The other thing about networking is that you should offer to help them out first, or give them a piece of advice, perhaps just a compliment will do. When you help others, they will be more willing to help you out in the future. You will stand out from all the other people who just connect when they need something.

So if you want to get to the next level, start connecting with people; tell them about what you do, your goals and type of people you’d like to meet. It’s called selective focus; when you start concentrating on a specific thing or topic, you start meeting the right people, the right books start coming into your life, you see articles in the newspaper, etc.

Nobody’s going to ring your doorbell and hand you success, you need to take the action yourself and start CREATING your future.

Thanks for reading.