Step 7 – Network
Thank you for continuing your Passion + Purpose = World Change Journey with us. If you missed any of the earlier steps, you can easily go back and get caught up. You can start with Step 1 here.
Now we have reached a very key action step on your journey – Networking. I realize that many of you may not know what this is and if you do, you may not know how to do it.
So let’s start with what networking is. Networking is connecting with people you know to ask them if they will help you on your journey and if they know others who may be able to help you as well.
The secret key to networking is to not only take, but to give. What I mean by that is to always ask how you can also help them. You never know when you may have information or possibly a connection who could help them. Also, it is very important to write a thank you email or letter after you meet and I always suggest doing it within 24 hours.
When you write the thank you, think of something you can share with them that could help them. It is also very important to continue building and nurturing these connections. Stay in touch with them. Share with them what has unfolded with your journey. Continue to share information/connections/ideas that can help them.
In step 5, we talked about the importance of a tracking system. It is also important to do that here. Make a list of all the people you know in your network and find a place to track this. Who are they? How do you know them? When did you reach out to them?What did they recommend that you do?
When you make a list of people in your network, think of all the people you know from these groups:
-family
-friends
-your parent’s friends
-sports teams
-community service teams
-people you go to for things like haircuts, dentist, etc
-church if you go
-your teachers, other adults in your school
-if you have had a job, people you have worked with or are working with
-anyone else you can add to this list that you know
It is so important to start sharing your dreams with as many people as you know, you just never know who will open the door for you. I had one client who had just graduated college and her Mom hired me to help her. She said I have no idea what my passion is. What I do know is everyone has their passion inside and it just takes asking the right questions to unlock what is inside. So that is what I did. I asked her a lot of questions until I was able to see clearly what her passion was.
We uncovered that it was Global Women Policy Issues in Sacramento. So once we got clear on this, I had her share her dream with everyone in her network. And lo and behold, the person who was able to help her was her Mom who had a friend who worked in that exact area. So the truth is sometimes it is the people closest to us who can help us, but they can only help us when we get clear on what we want to do and then share that with them and ask them to help us.
Social media is also key to sharing your dream with your network – Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. And just like we talked about earlier, it is just as important to give help as it is to receive it.
So get out there and start sharing your dream today and help others live their dreams as well.
About the Contributor: Marcy MORRISON is one of Your Monthly Mentors and the founder of Careers with Wings. She embodies that which she strives to evoke in others – energy, enthusiasm, passion and fun. Often referred to as bringing sunshine to every room she enters, Marcy helps others uncover and find their dream career via her books, “Finding Your Passion: The Easy Guide to Your Dream Career” and “Falling in Love with Me: A Personal Journey and A Guide to Falling in Love with You”. She is a sought out career expert nationwide with her work appearing in/on MSN CareerBuilder, San Francisco and San Diego Univision, CBS Los Angeles, ABC Washington D.C., FOX New York City, San Diego Business Journal, and on San Diego stations including KUSI, Channel 6, FOX, and Channel 10. Read More…
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