WEBVTT 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:19.780 Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building 00:00:19.780 --> 00:00:23.000 Profitable Connections, the podcast where we 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:26.460 explore the art and impact of powerful relationships 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:30.559 in business and life. I'm your host, Michael 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:34.460 Foreman, and today we're diving deep into one 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:37.679 of the most transformational concepts in networking, 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:42.299 developing a connector mindset. Joining me is 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:44.359 someone who just doesn't talk about connection, 00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:48.829 she lives it. She's built her career around understanding 00:00:48.829 --> 00:00:52.909 ecosystems, elevating success circles, and helping 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:55.929 people turn their relationships into real results. 00:00:56.250 --> 00:00:59.170 If you've ever wondered how to move beyond surface 00:00:59.170 --> 00:01:03.270 -level networking and actually tap into the full 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:06.430 force of the people around you, this episode 00:01:06.430 --> 00:01:10.939 is your playbook. We'll unpack how to find your 00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:14.239 support ecosystem, build career momentum through 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:17.719 connection, and engage your network in a way 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:21.180 that drives long -term success, not just short 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:24.400 -term wins. Get ready to shift your perspective 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:27.879 and sharpen your networking game, because today 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:30.480 we're not just making contacts, we're making 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:34.299 moves. Let's welcome to the show Sabine Gideon. 00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:39.049 Sabine, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. I'm 00:01:39.049 --> 00:01:41.409 excited to be here. I loved that introduction. 00:01:42.590 --> 00:01:46.310 I work hard on it. So why don't you just give 00:01:46.310 --> 00:01:49.090 us a little insight of your background, and we'll 00:01:49.090 --> 00:01:52.560 take it from there. Absolutely. I'll cut to the 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:55.299 short of it today. Like I run a business that 00:01:55.299 --> 00:01:57.640 is a professional development firm. So I work 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:00.200 with individuals and organizations who are looking 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:02.420 for coaching in the space of executive coaching, 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:05.060 leadership development. I do a lot of workshops 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:10.180 for organizations and associations as well. Part 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:13.379 of why I feel like I've been able to remain in 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:16.840 business today is for the use of my network or 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:19.800 being able to leverage it in a way that is mutually 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:23.020 beneficial. But that actually started in my corporate 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:25.259 career. When I first started Corporate America 00:02:25.259 --> 00:02:29.199 right out of undergrad, I majored in HR, went 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.319 into HR. I'm also a background. I'm an immigrant 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:34.900 from Haiti. So I came here just shy of four, 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.490 first generation, everything. That's important 00:02:38.490 --> 00:02:41.770 because the narrative that was taught in my household 00:02:41.770 --> 00:02:44.409 was you got to work hard. You got to work hard. 00:02:44.490 --> 00:02:47.469 The way to advance in life is to work hard. And 00:02:47.469 --> 00:02:50.370 so that's the model that I applied, did all the 00:02:50.370 --> 00:02:52.889 things, was the first and whatnot. And then I 00:02:52.889 --> 00:02:55.310 got into corporate America and I was working 00:02:55.310 --> 00:02:57.770 hard. I was taking on all the extra projects 00:02:57.770 --> 00:03:00.569 at the time. FaceTime was a big thing, right? 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:03.009 So you get in before your boss, you leave after 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:05.469 them, leave your emotions at the door, all those 00:03:05.469 --> 00:03:09.099 messages. And I even also took on all the dots. 00:03:09.259 --> 00:03:13.219 And dots is a term coined by one of my former 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:15.860 managers. And dots are development opportunities 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:19.419 that suck. So basically, it was the projects 00:03:19.419 --> 00:03:21.939 or the things that no one else needed to do, 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:24.319 no one else wanted to do, but needed to get done. 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:26.620 And of course, my hard work mindset, I'll take 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:29.020 on the dots, thinking that was going to somehow 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:31.439 elevate me or at least get me the recognition 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:34.580 for the next step. And it didn't. I learned then 00:03:34.580 --> 00:03:38.719 at 23 or 24 that the reward for hard work is 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.280 more hard work. And so that's when I started 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:43.860 observing the people around me. I started asking 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:46.680 the question of, OK, wait a minute, what else 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:49.919 do I have to do to move ahead? And I started 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:52.159 to pay attention to some of my colleagues who 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.729 were. navigating seamlessly easy throughout the 00:03:56.729 --> 00:04:00.750 organization. And I refer to, it's a few people, 00:04:00.789 --> 00:04:03.770 but I refer to them as one, as Bob. So if anyone's 00:04:03.770 --> 00:04:05.729 listening, your name is Bob, please don't take 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:08.490 offense to this. But I started observing Bob 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:11.050 and what I noticed that Bob was doing differently 00:04:11.050 --> 00:04:13.969 than me was that he was having meetings with 00:04:13.969 --> 00:04:17.490 our manager, the senior level manager. At the 00:04:17.490 --> 00:04:19.389 time, I didn't even know that that term was called 00:04:19.389 --> 00:04:21.910 a skip level meeting. He was getting invited 00:04:21.910 --> 00:04:24.750 to projects and doing things that like, I was 00:04:24.750 --> 00:04:26.230 just like, wait a minute, he get that. He's, 00:04:26.230 --> 00:04:28.810 I used to say mediocre at best. It sounds a little 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:33.009 harsh now, but I observed and rather than sit 00:04:33.009 --> 00:04:35.290 in my bitterness and resentment, I was just like, 00:04:35.370 --> 00:04:38.819 okay, if Bob is able to get these. special projects 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:41.519 or he's navigating his career differently because 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:44.560 he's, one, having conversations with people who 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.579 are in positions of authority or influence. Two, 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:50.180 he's letting them know what it is that he wants 00:04:50.180 --> 00:04:53.519 to do next. And then most importantly, he's finding 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.699 out what's important to them, what's on the horizon. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:00.000 And he's positioning himself for those opportunities. 00:05:00.339 --> 00:05:03.680 And so I started to apply what Bob was doing 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:06.439 in my corporate career where, yes, I had mentors, 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:09.240 I had coaches, but I was starting these conversations 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:11.300 more strategic where I'd go in with the senior 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:13.720 leader instead of asking, hey, tell me about 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:16.279 your career and how you got here. It was more, 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:18.819 oh, so you've been in this role for a while. 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:20.800 Where do you see yourself next? What are some 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:22.399 of the challenges? What are some of the things 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:24.970 that might hinder you from moving? towards that 00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:27.750 and as I uncovered these things that's when I 00:05:27.750 --> 00:05:31.689 started to one find people resources whatever 00:05:31.689 --> 00:05:34.670 I could be of value to support that to build 00:05:34.670 --> 00:05:37.629 that relationship and move forward and so that 00:05:37.629 --> 00:05:40.509 was the long of the story but I took what I learned 00:05:40.509 --> 00:05:44.550 in corporate because that that change really 00:05:44.550 --> 00:05:47.389 catapulted my career until I got to the place 00:05:47.389 --> 00:05:49.889 in corporate where I was just like ah I don't 00:05:49.889 --> 00:05:51.850 want to do this anymore. This is not where I 00:05:51.850 --> 00:05:54.910 see me fulfilling at the time, my purpose and 00:05:54.910 --> 00:05:58.689 my great legacy. And I stepped out and started 00:05:58.689 --> 00:06:00.730 my business. At the same time, we were just talking 00:06:00.730 --> 00:06:03.329 in the green room. I left corporate America, 00:06:03.449 --> 00:06:05.850 started the business, and then moved across the 00:06:05.850 --> 00:06:09.250 country to California and San Diego, where I 00:06:09.250 --> 00:06:12.649 knew. barely anyone. So as you can imagine, that 00:06:12.649 --> 00:06:15.889 was not an easy experience, but I leveraged what 00:06:15.889 --> 00:06:18.089 I had learned earlier in my career, which was 00:06:18.089 --> 00:06:21.069 networking. And so I took to LinkedIn, I took 00:06:21.069 --> 00:06:23.829 to local events, and that's how I was able to 00:06:23.829 --> 00:06:26.350 build my business. It'll be seven years in July 00:06:26.350 --> 00:06:29.810 as of the time of this recording through my network 00:06:29.810 --> 00:06:33.110 in a brand new city, in a, not a brand new industry, 00:06:33.250 --> 00:06:37.980 but definitely a new business. Great. And really, 00:06:38.100 --> 00:06:40.800 you went to the school of hard knocks. I tell 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:43.019 everybody I went to the school of hard knocks. 00:06:43.180 --> 00:06:46.319 I learned what not to do before I learned what 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:50.519 to do. And really, from what I hear, is that 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:54.060 you learned what to ask. You didn't just let 00:06:54.060 --> 00:06:57.680 life happen. You have to just you have to go 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:00.459 for it. And I really found out at an early age 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:03.959 that it's not going to be given to you. You've 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:07.050 got to take it. And you've got to see the opportunities 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:09.970 because they're all around us. You have to see 00:07:09.970 --> 00:07:13.470 the opportunities and you have to seize the opportunities. 00:07:14.170 --> 00:07:17.810 So that's very good. Okay, so let's set the tone 00:07:17.810 --> 00:07:21.310 a little bit. You talk about developing a connector 00:07:21.310 --> 00:07:25.410 mindset. What does that mean in practice and 00:07:25.410 --> 00:07:28.860 how can someone start building it today? Yeah, 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:32.560 great question. So mindset in general, right? 00:07:32.699 --> 00:07:35.660 As a business owner, I've had to learn the hard 00:07:35.660 --> 00:07:37.519 way because when I was in corporate, we didn't 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:40.220 talk about mindset. And before Carol Dweck with 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:43.540 her book, Mindset, that wasn't as much of a common 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:46.019 thing. I'm a firm believer that our mindset, 00:07:46.100 --> 00:07:48.060 which are our thoughts, our beliefs, and the 00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:50.000 emotions that we've attached to certain things 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:53.579 is 80 % of our success in any venture, right? 00:07:53.660 --> 00:07:57.420 So whatever goal you have. 80 % of your ability 00:07:57.420 --> 00:08:00.360 to be successful in achieving that thing is going 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:02.860 to be around what you think, what you believe 00:08:02.860 --> 00:08:06.680 is possible for you moving towards that. And 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:09.720 then 20 % is execution. So when I think about 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:11.620 the Connectors Mindset and the way that I teach 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:15.199 it is really around most people, we talk networking 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:17.550 because this is our life, right? For most people, 00:08:17.610 --> 00:08:19.850 networking is like a four letter word, right? 00:08:19.970 --> 00:08:22.209 Like it is just the thing that no one wants to 00:08:22.209 --> 00:08:24.910 do. It's bad. It's icky. It's all the things, 00:08:25.009 --> 00:08:28.750 all the labels. Right. And so when people have 00:08:28.750 --> 00:08:31.350 that mindset around something that is probably. 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:34.279 Outside of communication, I think the greatest 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:37.159 skill that you can have, it's really important 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:39.399 to help them break down, okay, what challenges 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:41.759 or roadblocks are you having towards that? So 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:43.559 when it comes to the connector mindset, it's 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:46.899 really an understanding of this is you building 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:49.909 a relationship with someone else. And there are 00:08:49.909 --> 00:08:52.590 certain elements that I include in that. So with 00:08:52.590 --> 00:08:55.289 the connector mindset, it's taken from Stephen 00:08:55.289 --> 00:08:58.149 Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. 00:08:58.370 --> 00:09:01.470 You make deposits before you make withdrawals. 00:09:01.490 --> 00:09:03.690 So what does that mean? That means that if you're 00:09:03.690 --> 00:09:05.250 looking to connect with someone, and I think 00:09:05.250 --> 00:09:07.789 I heard you share on one of your earlier podcasts, 00:09:08.029 --> 00:09:12.450 you have that framework of form, right? You can't 00:09:12.450 --> 00:09:15.240 get to form. Unless you've actually asked some 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:18.539 questions. Unless you've actually taken the time, 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:21.480 invested the time to understand what's important 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.360 to this person. What do they have going on? Understanding 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:26.539 how you can help support them. So I'm really 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:29.519 big on, and Bob Berg is another, the go -giver, 00:09:29.580 --> 00:09:32.379 right? So it's when you meet someone, identify 00:09:32.379 --> 00:09:34.799 what's important to them. What do they have going 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:38.159 on? You looking at your resources and your capacity 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:42.240 and then giving to them. And when the time is 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:44.320 right, asking. So that's the first thing about 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:47.639 a connector's mindset. The second piece is really 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:51.659 you doing a value assessment. So not a values 00:09:51.659 --> 00:09:54.220 assessment. We have our values, our core values, 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:57.820 but a value assessment. So you assessing yourself. 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:00.840 What are your skills? What are you good at? What 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:03.279 do you bring to the table? What is your knowledge? 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:07.539 What do you know? Who do you know? What experiences 00:10:07.539 --> 00:10:10.320 have you had that could be of support to another 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:12.539 person? And then what are your opportunities? 00:10:12.779 --> 00:10:14.879 And so your opportunities could be the places 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:17.980 where you have a gap. You're not so good at it, 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.279 right? Let's just say you and I met at a networking 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:22.559 event, right? And so you ask, oh, so tell me 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.259 about yourself. I'm an executive coach, a leadership 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:27.559 development consultant. I've been here in San 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:30.159 Diego for the last seven years. But quite honestly, 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:32.980 I'm at a point right now where I need to build 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:36.409 my community here locally. And so. having the 00:10:36.409 --> 00:10:39.129 opportunity to network and navigate the business 00:10:39.129 --> 00:10:41.309 community here would be really helpful for me. 00:10:41.470 --> 00:10:43.750 So if you saw what I did with that value assessment, 00:10:43.950 --> 00:10:45.830 like I talked about my skills, I talked about 00:10:45.830 --> 00:10:47.809 the things that I was good at, but then I also 00:10:47.809 --> 00:10:51.090 infused, this is where the opportunity is, right? 00:10:51.190 --> 00:10:55.110 So now that's given that person the space or 00:10:55.110 --> 00:10:57.690 an opportunity to use the word again, to say, 00:10:57.830 --> 00:11:00.710 oh, really interesting, tell me more, or who 00:11:00.710 --> 00:11:02.750 would be a good person for me to connect you 00:11:02.750 --> 00:11:05.519 with? And so it's doing the work. It's almost 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:07.899 you have to do the work up front before you even 00:11:07.899 --> 00:11:12.100 step into a networking room or a Zoom or any 00:11:12.100 --> 00:11:15.399 virtual place. But you're getting clear on what 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:17.580 you're bringing to the table, what your opportunities 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:21.080 are. You're building the confidence. to be able 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:23.679 to articulate that to someone else. And then 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:26.500 you're also ready to give so that you don't have 00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:29.120 that block of, what if they ask me for something? 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:31.440 Or what if they're expecting something of me? 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:34.440 You've done that pre -work so that it's a nice, 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:40.379 natural, casual exchange. You touched on so many 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:44.259 points that were so relevant to what networking 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:48.460 is. But one thing you said, because - You're 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:51.259 very confident in what you're doing. The mindset, 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:54.580 you've totally accomplished what you've set out. 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.559 Let's go back about 10 years in your corporate 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:02.440 environment and your mindset was completely different. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:06.259 Very quickly, how did you shift that mindset 00:12:06.259 --> 00:12:09.039 from that corporate world to where you are today? 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.039 Yeah, it's a really great question. So back, 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:15.440 if we go back 10 years, networking, if it was 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:17.419 a four letter word now, it was something else 00:12:17.419 --> 00:12:20.139 before, right? It was just that you walk into 00:12:20.139 --> 00:12:22.899 a room, you grab your drink, you grab your cheese 00:12:22.899 --> 00:12:24.879 plate. And as soon as you go to put something 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:26.659 in your mouth, someone walks up to you like, 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:29.340 hey, what do you do? Or you're exchanging all 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:31.500 these business cards and then never did anything 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:34.899 with them. Luckily for me, I had the same senior 00:12:34.899 --> 00:12:38.779 manager who gave me the DOTS acronym. She, when 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:40.590 we would go to networking events. And granted, 00:12:40.649 --> 00:12:43.149 I was also in recruiting in the earlier part 00:12:43.149 --> 00:12:46.090 of my career, which required me to be out and 00:12:46.090 --> 00:12:48.389 about having conversations, meeting and greetings. 00:12:48.470 --> 00:12:51.690 But I think my work forced me into that space. 00:12:51.870 --> 00:12:54.289 But when I went to just casual networking events, 00:12:54.429 --> 00:12:56.830 she used to give me the charge of you need to 00:12:56.830 --> 00:12:59.700 collect at least three business cards. right 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:02.059 within that event. And then you need to follow 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:04.259 up with these people. And so that was something 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:06.779 that I started doing from a networking perspective. 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:09.700 And so that became the tactical side of it, right? 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:13.820 This is what I do. It wasn't until when probably. 00:13:14.970 --> 00:13:17.649 So I didn't share this part. The last organization 00:13:17.649 --> 00:13:20.490 that I had, they moved me around quite a bit. 00:13:20.549 --> 00:13:23.250 So within a two year period, I went from living 00:13:23.250 --> 00:13:25.809 in Connecticut most of my life to Houston to 00:13:25.809 --> 00:13:28.750 Charlotte and then West Palm Beach. Right. And 00:13:28.750 --> 00:13:32.029 so if we really track back 10 years ago, that 00:13:32.029 --> 00:13:34.190 was the catalyst for me to change my mindset. 00:13:34.750 --> 00:13:37.629 Because now I didn't have the community that 00:13:37.629 --> 00:13:40.529 I had most of my life. And so knowing that you're 00:13:40.529 --> 00:13:43.190 moving around every eight months, you have to 00:13:43.190 --> 00:13:45.730 get into whatever city environment that you're 00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:48.610 in, build relationships, understand who people 00:13:48.610 --> 00:13:52.009 are, and be able to make the best of that knowing 00:13:52.009 --> 00:13:54.809 that you're going to leave. And so for me, the 00:13:54.809 --> 00:13:57.970 catalyst was actually all of the moves and the 00:13:57.970 --> 00:14:00.850 external things that were happening where I realized, 00:14:01.070 --> 00:14:03.490 okay, this is, I'm here for a while. I got to 00:14:03.490 --> 00:14:05.409 build relationship really quickly, build rapport, 00:14:05.690 --> 00:14:07.750 gain the trust of the people that I'm working 00:14:07.750 --> 00:14:09.730 with, the people that I'm around in community, 00:14:09.789 --> 00:14:12.570 and then move to the next place and do it all 00:14:12.570 --> 00:14:15.870 over again. So I didn't understand, to answer 00:14:15.870 --> 00:14:18.250 your question or finalize it, I didn't understand 00:14:18.250 --> 00:14:21.090 that there was a mindset shift that happened. 00:14:21.309 --> 00:14:24.970 I think I did it more so out of, necessity because 00:14:24.970 --> 00:14:28.590 of the situation that I was in. Necessity is 00:14:28.590 --> 00:14:32.090 the mother of invention, right? So you don't 00:14:32.090 --> 00:14:33.970 really know you have to do until you have to 00:14:33.970 --> 00:14:35.629 do it. It's like, you don't know what you don't 00:14:35.629 --> 00:14:40.350 know. Very good. Okay. So what role has your 00:14:40.350 --> 00:14:43.909 network played in your biggest career breakthroughs 00:14:43.909 --> 00:14:47.029 or pivots? Yeah, that's another really great 00:14:47.029 --> 00:14:49.750 question. So I'll go back to when I first moved 00:14:49.750 --> 00:14:51.610 out here to San Diego. Like I said, I knew a 00:14:51.610 --> 00:14:54.559 handful of people. And I had signed up with this. 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:56.679 It was like a challenge, some Facebook group 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:59.740 challenge of a conversation challenge. And at 00:14:59.740 --> 00:15:02.500 that time moving here, I had a limited amount 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:05.200 of savings trying to get this business up. And 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.759 so literally I took to LinkedIn and this is this 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:10.580 was my strategy. I would not advise it. And LinkedIn 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:12.840 doesn't let you do it as much anymore anyways. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:17.519 But literally I identified and scoped out. Everyone 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.120 who was like in HR related role, because that 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:23.500 was my background here in San Diego. And every 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:26.460 day I set a goal of reaching out to a hundred 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:29.279 people here in San Diego. And the, and it wasn't 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:31.259 about like gaining business. It's literally, 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:33.320 I'm here in the city. I don't know anyone, but 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:36.120 HR was a common ground. And so I would just send 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:39.600 out messages or invite, Hey, I'm new to San Diego. 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.080 Would love to connect with you. And I said, yeah, 00:15:42.100 --> 00:15:43.980 I'm like starting a consultancy in a leadership 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:47.100 development firm. Right. And so. Every day, I 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:49.620 think for about six months, so just almost six 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:52.539 months, Monday through Friday, not took the weekends 00:15:52.539 --> 00:15:54.840 off, but reached out to a hundred people. Then 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:57.240 when they would connect with me, I'd follow up 00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:59.500 and say, hey, thank you so much for connecting 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:02.340 with me. If you ever want to do, back then we 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:04.340 did more in -person stuff. If you ever want to 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:06.139 meet for coffee or lunch, please let me know. 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:09.580 I can't remember what the statistics were, but 00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:12.820 probably maybe 20 % of those thousands of people 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:14.960 that I reached out actually came back to me. 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:18.080 And maybe some of them we met up with, some of 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:21.860 them we just kept in touch. But I remember vividly 00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:26.320 probably around the fifth month of doing this, 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:29.159 I got someone who like booked a discovery call. 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:32.220 And I got on the discovery call, not knowing 00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:34.059 who this person was or where they were coming 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:37.659 from. And they were like, oh, such and such gave 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:40.779 me your contact information. She said the name 00:16:40.779 --> 00:16:43.100 and the name didn't even register to me. I was 00:16:43.100 --> 00:16:45.360 like, I have no idea who that is. I'll ask her 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:48.139 later. Long story short, Michael, that turned 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:51.659 out to be the biggest contract that I have had 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:55.659 in my entrepreneurial career to this day. And 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:57.659 I can tell you the person that she said gave 00:16:57.659 --> 00:17:01.220 her my name. I reached out to this person. I 00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:03.159 was like, by the way, like, how'd you get in 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:05.359 touch with me? Or how'd you know about me? She 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:07.660 was like, oh, I put feelers out with my network. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.940 So it's almost like the person who ended up being 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:14.240 the recommendation was someone I had no contact 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:18.000 in. But the seeds that I had sown over that five, 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:21.559 six month period is what allowed enough people 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:25.259 to get to know me, see that I was genuine, throw 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:28.039 my hat in the ring that led to that success. 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:33.740 One thing that I try to teach all of my clients 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:38.259 is that you're not only talking to the people 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:40.500 that you're talking to, you're talking to their 00:17:40.500 --> 00:17:44.440 network of people. And because I've gotten so 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:47.859 many referrals from two and three people removed 00:17:47.859 --> 00:17:51.400 that I'm like, how did you get my name? And he'd 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:54.440 give me the name and it didn't ring a bell. So 00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:57.380 I asked that person, oh, Joe, what's his face? 00:17:57.900 --> 00:18:00.220 Give me your name. I'm like, oh, I know Joe, 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:02.400 but I didn't know you. But I want to thank you 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:04.640 for the referral and everything else. But it's 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:08.599 amazing that you can speak to a person like at 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:12.480 a Chamber of Commerce event, 45 people. But you're 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:16.099 talking to those 45 people's network and it goes 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:18.839 on from there. So, yeah, so the power of networking 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:22.660 is just an incredible thing. Incredible. You 00:18:22.660 --> 00:18:26.950 emphasize ecosystems. How can somebody identify 00:18:26.950 --> 00:18:29.650 and tap into theirs if they don't know where 00:18:29.650 --> 00:18:33.460 to start? Yeah. So you actually set it up perfectly 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:35.920 with what you just said, right? That we're not 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:38.559 just engaging with a person, but we're engaging 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.299 with that person's networks, right? And so when 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:43.059 you think about ecosystems and you think about 00:18:43.059 --> 00:18:44.740 networking, most people are going to think about 00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:46.539 professional, right? Who are the people that 00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:48.720 I work with now, the people I've worked with, 00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:51.119 maybe past clients, right? But think about it 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.160 bigger, right? So there's our personal ecosystem. 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:57.390 That's the friends, the family, right? There's 00:18:57.390 --> 00:19:00.630 the community ecosystem. So that's the city that 00:19:00.630 --> 00:19:03.230 we live in, the town that we live in, like all 00:19:03.230 --> 00:19:04.910 of the things, right? The people who take care 00:19:04.910 --> 00:19:06.950 of our lawns, right? Like they're part of that 00:19:06.950 --> 00:19:09.809 ecosystem. When you think about finances, right? 00:19:09.970 --> 00:19:12.470 That's the, if you have a banker, like that's 00:19:12.470 --> 00:19:14.569 your banker, that might be your mortgage loan 00:19:14.569 --> 00:19:16.930 officer. That might be, yeah, I don't know, your 00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:19.490 financial advisor, right? So there are these 00:19:19.490 --> 00:19:22.890 ecosystems that we have educational, right? So 00:19:22.890 --> 00:19:25.190 that might be the people that you are part of 00:19:25.190 --> 00:19:28.170 your alumni. be past professors that you've worked 00:19:28.170 --> 00:19:30.390 with, right? When you start to look at it from 00:19:30.390 --> 00:19:33.289 an ecosystem in these categories, we can see 00:19:33.289 --> 00:19:36.809 that our networks are so much larger than we 00:19:36.809 --> 00:19:38.710 believe them to be. I think I was listening to 00:19:38.710 --> 00:19:41.150 something not too long ago, and it said the statistic 00:19:41.150 --> 00:19:44.450 where most people know about 600 people, like 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:46.230 maybe like people that you can actually name 00:19:46.230 --> 00:19:49.349 that you've engaged with. So now take that 600. 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:55.000 and multiply that out to their 600. That is huge. 00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:57.359 And when I talk about networking from the perspective 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:00.900 of looking at your ecosystems, most people don't 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:03.480 even think about, oh yeah, my realtor is part 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.160 of my network, right? My investment banker is 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:08.200 part of my network. Oh, the person who does my 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:11.759 taxes, that's part of my network. And so it's 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:14.640 really broadening out, not just from the people 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:16.940 that you deal with on a day -to -day basis or 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:19.519 maybe one or two times a year, but looking - 00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:22.740 at the, I think it's five or six ecosystems overall 00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:26.240 of individuals. And I think the most underused 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:29.819 ecosystem, and this is a tricky one because friends 00:20:29.819 --> 00:20:32.299 and family aren't going to be your clients and 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:34.220 like, they're never going to be your clients. 00:20:34.339 --> 00:20:37.279 But if you can get friends and family to understand 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.759 what it is that you do, like they are your best, 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:43.500 they can become your best supporters and marketers. 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:45.759 I have to stress that they have to know what 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.440 you do because I have family members. who are 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:51.480 close to me who still don't know what I do. So 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:54.559 there's that. They just have to understand and 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:56.380 understand who it is that you want to partner 00:20:56.380 --> 00:20:58.819 with. And usually they're your biggest advocates 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:01.680 that can spread the word. Yeah, I have a lot 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.259 of family members that say, what do I do? Oh, 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:07.480 he talks to people. What do you mean he talks? 00:21:07.619 --> 00:21:10.299 I go across the country. I go on different stages. 00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:14.200 I go into big business. I do workshops. I do 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:16.920 a whole lot. I don't just talk to people. But 00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:21.019 that's a whole nother ballgame. Okay. So many 00:21:21.019 --> 00:21:23.619 people think networking is just about meeting 00:21:23.619 --> 00:21:27.900 people. How do you move from connections to real 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:31.720 mutual support? Yeah, that's a really great question. 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:34.740 And networking is so much more than meeting people 00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:36.579 because we meet people all the time, right? It 00:21:36.579 --> 00:21:39.400 doesn't necessarily lead into anything. So I'm 00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:43.839 really big on human interaction and human relationships, 00:21:43.900 --> 00:21:48.519 but... systemized processes in the background. 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:51.420 So for me, like I mentioned, when I was Meet, 00:21:51.539 --> 00:21:54.259 I was reaching out to 100 people on LinkedIn 00:21:54.259 --> 00:21:56.819 every day, right? There was a spreadsheet that 00:21:56.819 --> 00:21:59.380 was systemizing it. There were calendar invites 00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:01.980 that were reminding me to follow up with people. 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:03.559 There were things that were happening in the 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:06.740 background then. over time, all these cool tools 00:22:06.740 --> 00:22:09.240 that have come up have really shifted that. So 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:12.079 for me, and this is, and I'm speaking from the 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:15.539 perspective here of my, what I consider my personal 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:17.700 network, right? So not my broad network. I have 00:22:17.700 --> 00:22:20.079 14 ,000 people on LinkedIn, right? I don't know 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:22.440 all of them, but there is a circle. There is 00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:25.700 a core group of about 100 people that I am intentional 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:28.900 about keeping in touch with. Now, at this stage 00:22:28.900 --> 00:22:31.599 in my life and business, I can't remember all 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:33.440 these other people, all these people all the 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:36.180 time. So I keep I use a tool like Streak. And 00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:37.660 I don't know if you've ever heard of Streak. 00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:42.200 S -T -R -E -A -K. So it's a Google. Is it a CRM? 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:45.140 Yeah, you can use it at that. Yeah, it's a Google. 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:48.299 Chrome plugin. And what I love about Streak is 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:52.900 that I can go in and say, all right, on May 15th, 00:22:52.900 --> 00:22:54.799 I spoke with Michael. This is what we talked 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:57.420 about. Let's set a follow -up for three months 00:22:57.420 --> 00:23:00.880 from now. Three months from now, there's a calendar 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:03.539 invite. It creates a calendar invite. And I get 00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:05.599 an email the day before that says, hey, Sabine, 00:23:05.660 --> 00:23:07.539 you need to reach out to Michael. And I could 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:10.099 put notes in there, right? So I use Streak for 00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:12.859 my personal network, the people who have built 00:23:12.859 --> 00:23:15.599 relationships with us as past clients. These 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:18.339 are prospects or leads. These are individuals 00:23:18.339 --> 00:23:21.680 and organizations that I hold dear to my circle. 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:25.319 Now, the CRM, the official CRM, which I use for 00:23:25.319 --> 00:23:27.599 active campaign, that's what I keep for like 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:30.539 leads. prospects and businesses so I separate 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:34.519 the two out because I think there's the value 00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:37.099 of that larger network and keeping in touch with 00:23:37.099 --> 00:23:40.339 them in like more automated spaces but the people 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:41.960 who are actually the ones that you're giving 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:43.680 referrals they're going to give referrals you 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:46.279 need to add that human touch or that extra touch 00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:48.940 so that's what I use that system for I think 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:53.730 that Very good. No, it did. It answered it perfectly. 00:23:54.170 --> 00:23:57.750 Let's talk about career circles. What are they 00:23:57.750 --> 00:24:00.730 and how can someone build and revive theirs right 00:24:00.730 --> 00:24:04.220 now? Yeah, great question. So I'm going to respond 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:06.980 to this in the sense of most of the people that 00:24:06.980 --> 00:24:09.599 you're dealing with are entrepreneurs. I have 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:12.000 a career circle for people who are in corporate 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.299 trying to build their board of advisors, but 00:24:14.299 --> 00:24:17.279 I got this from the notion. I think her name 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:19.920 is Jane. I can't remember her, her last name 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:22.579 right now. It's from the book, the super connectors. 00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:27.319 And so I read this book years ago and she gave 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:31.500 the concept of your five. you're 50 and you're 00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:34.420 100, right? So these are like the circles of 00:24:34.420 --> 00:24:37.640 people that you maintain contact with. And so 00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:40.140 your top five are usually like the people who 00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:42.460 are like closest to you, right? So it could be 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:45.079 the husband, the wife, the kids, a mother, whatever 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:47.160 the case may be. The top five people, I like 00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:48.579 to say, these are the people that you're not 00:24:48.579 --> 00:24:50.980 afraid to ugly cry in front of, right? This is 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:53.859 your support circle. And it could be best friend, 00:24:53.960 --> 00:24:55.940 whatever it is, but these are the top five people. 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:58.680 And you're likely... keeping in contact with 00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:00.799 these people at least every day, if not every 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:02.839 day, at least once a week, right? So that's your 00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:06.279 core circle. Then your 50, then your next level 00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:08.980 is your top 50. These are individuals that are 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:11.220 a lot broader, right? And these are considered 00:25:11.220 --> 00:25:13.299 the people that are part of your circle of influence. 00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:17.180 And these can include clients, past employers. 00:25:17.579 --> 00:25:19.660 They can include people you've done business 00:25:19.660 --> 00:25:21.519 with. If you're part of a chamber, people within 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:23.960 the chamber. These are individuals that you're 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:26.940 touching base with at least once a month or maybe 00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:29.920 every other month. but that there's a continuum 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:32.799 connection where you are touching base with these 00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:35.579 people. And then the larger group is the top 00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:38.730 100. this is like your most fluid, right? Because 00:25:38.730 --> 00:25:40.750 people are going to come in and out depending 00:25:40.750 --> 00:25:42.930 on what happens in life. So there are people 00:25:42.930 --> 00:25:45.009 that for a few years, you're really close with, 00:25:45.069 --> 00:25:46.490 you're keeping in touch. They're part of the 00:25:46.490 --> 00:25:48.789 chamber. You see them every month and then something 00:25:48.789 --> 00:25:50.950 happens and you don't see them for a while. So 00:25:50.950 --> 00:25:54.230 this top, this next level of 100, these are the 00:25:54.230 --> 00:25:56.690 people that they're the farthest removed from 00:25:56.690 --> 00:25:58.450 your day -to -day. So maybe you're touching base 00:25:58.450 --> 00:26:01.410 with them on a quarterly basis. Maybe it's even 00:26:01.410 --> 00:26:03.789 more than that every six months, but these are 00:26:03.789 --> 00:26:06.200 people that somehow they came into your circle. 00:26:06.259 --> 00:26:08.299 Maybe you met them at a networking event. Maybe 00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:10.480 they were a referral at some point that didn't 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:13.599 materialize, but you want to keep them in your 00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:16.279 orbit. And so when you think about these success 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.579 circles or these career circles, it's really 00:26:18.579 --> 00:26:22.279 helping you maintain who are the people that 00:26:22.279 --> 00:26:24.240 I want to touch base with. As we talked about, 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:27.640 if we really know 600 people, none of, I don't 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:28.920 know about you, but I don't have the capacity 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:31.460 to keep in touch with 600 people. But when you 00:26:31.460 --> 00:26:35.819 can narrow it down to these. or 150, this allows 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:38.440 you to create a schedule, whether you're putting 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:40.900 it in streak or your CRM or whatever the case 00:26:40.900 --> 00:26:44.680 may be, to have that, those touch bases of what's 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:47.099 happening with them. And then as people leave, 00:26:47.180 --> 00:26:49.799 of course, you'll meet new people. So that's 00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:52.480 where that comes from. I will tell you in all 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:57.660 honesty. I really tried the 150 people of keeping 00:26:57.660 --> 00:27:00.359 in touch and keeping track. For me personally, 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:04.740 that was a lot, as you can imagine. So for me 00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:07.720 right now, it's, I just focused in on my core 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:11.740 50 and then, I'm sorry, my core five and then 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:15.609 my next level 50. And for me, that... That feels 00:27:15.609 --> 00:27:19.390 authentic. That feels genuine. I do. I love connecting 00:27:19.390 --> 00:27:21.490 people when I'm like, hey, what is it that you 00:27:21.490 --> 00:27:23.769 need? How can I help support you? I don't want 00:27:23.769 --> 00:27:27.049 to have to ask 150 people that and then not follow 00:27:27.049 --> 00:27:31.109 through on being able to support them. It's it's 00:27:31.109 --> 00:27:33.809 so very important. And 50 seems to be a very 00:27:33.809 --> 00:27:37.119 manageable number. So you really don't want to 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:39.539 go more than that. And if you go less than that, 00:27:39.539 --> 00:27:41.740 you're not really living up to your potential. 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:45.279 So 50 is a very good number. And as long as you 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:49.519 can stay up on it, it's good because I always, 00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:53.420 I educate as many people as I can. The follow 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:56.920 -up with people is more important than actually 00:27:56.920 --> 00:27:59.519 meeting the person. So you have to always keep, 00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:02.339 and what I do, I have a secret sauce for follow 00:28:02.339 --> 00:28:05.319 -up. But after all that is done, you want to 00:28:05.319 --> 00:28:07.160 stay in front of them, but you don't want to 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:10.160 be annoying. So you put them like into a newsletter 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:12.480 or something else like that. So you always keep 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:14.880 your name in front of them. So it's always good. 00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:18.259 But the follow up is so very important. OK, can 00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:22.319 you share an example of when a when your success 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:25.400 circle helped you overcome a major challenge 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:30.269 or seize an opportunity? Yeah. So literally just 00:28:30.269 --> 00:28:33.849 last year, I not to go into the details, but 00:28:33.849 --> 00:28:37.309 I had this brand that I had built for quite some 00:28:37.309 --> 00:28:39.910 time and I was actually in the process of relaunching 00:28:39.910 --> 00:28:44.990 it. And I. Without knowing it, I got served a 00:28:44.990 --> 00:28:48.809 cease and desist for the portion of the brand 00:28:48.809 --> 00:28:51.769 name by someone who had the trademark, even though 00:28:51.769 --> 00:28:54.650 they weren't operating in my particular space, 00:28:54.890 --> 00:28:58.109 but their trademark covered the executive coaching 00:28:58.109 --> 00:29:01.349 training space. And so they exercised their right 00:29:01.349 --> 00:29:04.470 to serve the cease and desist. And so, as you 00:29:04.470 --> 00:29:07.549 can imagine, that was gut -wrenchingly painful 00:29:07.549 --> 00:29:10.809 to have to experience as a business owner. And 00:29:10.809 --> 00:29:13.130 not only just as a business owner, but like this 00:29:13.130 --> 00:29:15.529 was something that I had been dreaming up since 00:29:15.529 --> 00:29:19.410 2017. So I was still in corporate as I was like 00:29:19.410 --> 00:29:21.430 dreaming up what like my business was going to 00:29:21.430 --> 00:29:23.769 be. So there was a lot of emotional attachment 00:29:23.769 --> 00:29:27.369 to the name and to the vision that I had put 00:29:27.369 --> 00:29:30.609 towards it. Nonetheless, it was what it was. 00:29:30.750 --> 00:29:33.730 But honestly, looking back, it was probably the 00:29:33.730 --> 00:29:35.710 best thing that happened to me because again, 00:29:35.829 --> 00:29:39.319 when you're genuine, when you give before you 00:29:39.319 --> 00:29:41.700 ask, when you truly have the heart to support 00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:44.640 people, when it comes time for you to need that, 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:46.400 people are going to turn around and do the same 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:49.859 thing for you. And so I had a colleague, and 00:29:49.859 --> 00:29:52.720 this was someone that I had brought on as a consultant 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:55.440 or subcontractor when I had another opportunity. 00:29:55.819 --> 00:29:58.420 And in conversation, I was just explaining to 00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:00.279 her, this is what I have going on. These are 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:03.839 my backup plans. And at the time she had an opportunity 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:08.220 for a subcontractor to come on. And so not only 00:30:08.220 --> 00:30:11.440 did I, was I able to go in and subcontract and 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:13.920 generate revenue from that particular project, 00:30:13.960 --> 00:30:17.160 but the project that I worked on actually was, 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:19.660 it was part of a program that I had developed, 00:30:19.940 --> 00:30:23.720 but it was developed, right? because I was subcontracting 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:26.200 that I had the time and space to really further 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:29.880 develop it. And so not only did I gain by working 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:33.000 with them, but now this program is this more, 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:36.480 so much more robust program that I'm, I've been 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:39.240 taking to the market and organizations have been, 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:41.359 have been saying yes, and I've been able to implement 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:44.019 it. So it's like the thing that was the catastrophe, 00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:46.920 my network came through for me. And not only 00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:48.819 did they come. through for me in the short term, 00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:52.380 but it's also resulted in earnings well past 00:30:52.380 --> 00:30:55.559 that particular project. Yeah, you would be surprised 00:30:55.559 --> 00:31:00.660 at where success finds you. And you get your 00:31:00.660 --> 00:31:04.740 success from your failures or things that stop 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:07.819 you. Because if you, I'm sure you have the same 00:31:07.819 --> 00:31:10.579 mindset that I do. They say, no, you can't do 00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:13.480 that. What do you mean I can't do that? I'm going 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:16.099 to do it. I may go around you. I may do it a 00:31:16.099 --> 00:31:19.039 different way, but I'm going to do it. And that's 00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:21.420 the mindset that you have, and that's why you're 00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:24.940 successful today. Okay, so in your experience, 00:31:25.259 --> 00:31:29.420 what are the most common mistakes people make 00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:34.069 when trying to network? build influence. Let's 00:31:34.069 --> 00:31:36.410 do the trying to network because I've had a couple 00:31:36.410 --> 00:31:39.269 of those lately, right? Especially on LinkedIn. 00:31:39.410 --> 00:31:41.549 And I'm sure you experienced this, right? So 00:31:41.549 --> 00:31:45.190 it's the, hey, let's connect or I noticed your 00:31:45.190 --> 00:31:48.220 thing. Let's connect. And no sooner do you hit 00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:51.220 the accept button, here they are. I'm a financial 00:31:51.220 --> 00:31:53.779 advisor and I can help you with this. Or I'm 00:31:53.779 --> 00:31:55.380 dry and I can help you with this. And it's just, 00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:58.259 you know nothing about me. You cannot help me 00:31:58.259 --> 00:32:01.079 with anything. Or better yet, I had this example, 00:32:01.359 --> 00:32:04.180 this perfect learning lesson. So last year I 00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:06.759 did a talk and I did it on networking for this 00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:09.160 organization. And one of the people who was there, 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:11.900 she connected with me. We had an exchange back 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:15.349 on LinkedIn. And I left it like, obviously, I 00:32:15.349 --> 00:32:17.230 just taught this, right? If you ever need anything, 00:32:17.470 --> 00:32:20.670 reach out to me. So it was probably almost a 00:32:20.670 --> 00:32:22.569 year because she just reached out about last 00:32:22.569 --> 00:32:25.710 month. So maybe we'll say 10 months since I've 00:32:25.710 --> 00:32:28.049 heard from her, since we've talked, since we've 00:32:28.049 --> 00:32:31.529 connected, engaged in any capacity. And I get 00:32:31.529 --> 00:32:33.390 this message on LinkedIn and it's just, hey, 00:32:33.529 --> 00:32:36.410 I'm looking to connect with marketing people. 00:32:36.529 --> 00:32:39.549 And I figured why not come to the queen of networking 00:32:39.549 --> 00:32:44.319 for some help? And that was it, Michael. Like, 00:32:44.380 --> 00:32:49.700 it was just like, oh, okay. Like, luckily we 00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:52.740 had the like chain of communication where I could 00:32:52.740 --> 00:32:54.960 go back and be like, wait, who is this? What 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:58.289 is it? How did she find me? And so that is a 00:32:58.289 --> 00:33:01.349 misstep, right? So two things, you don't wait 00:33:01.349 --> 00:33:03.690 till you need something to connect with someone. 00:33:03.789 --> 00:33:06.109 That's first and foremost, right? You build the 00:33:06.109 --> 00:33:08.569 relationship over time. And as whether it's a 00:33:08.569 --> 00:33:11.190 platonic relationship, a male, female, whatever 00:33:11.190 --> 00:33:13.650 the relationship is, it requires an investment 00:33:13.650 --> 00:33:16.769 of time, right? So that's first step. Second, 00:33:16.990 --> 00:33:19.150 I'm looking to connect with people in marketing. 00:33:21.869 --> 00:33:24.890 There are 9 billion people on this planet, right? 00:33:24.970 --> 00:33:28.329 That could be anyone. Be specific. Be specific 00:33:28.329 --> 00:33:31.049 about what it is that you're looking for and 00:33:31.049 --> 00:33:33.910 how that person can actually help you. Second 00:33:33.910 --> 00:33:36.450 or third, it would have been helpful if she would 00:33:36.450 --> 00:33:39.150 have said, hey, I've noticed that you're connected 00:33:39.150 --> 00:33:42.750 to these people or I've noticed that you have 00:33:42.750 --> 00:33:46.200 connections to these companies, right? Is there 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:48.240 anyone in there that you can help connect me 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:50.759 with? And so it's just, it's the, you wouldn't 00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:53.339 walk into a networking event. I think that's 00:33:53.339 --> 00:33:55.200 where the challenge is when it comes to online 00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:57.859 networking, right? Like you, I wouldn't walk 00:33:57.859 --> 00:33:59.839 into your chamber and be like, oh yeah, Mike, 00:34:00.039 --> 00:34:03.059 connect me to all the people in HR. You'd look 00:34:03.059 --> 00:34:05.759 at me with that awkward look on your face. What? 00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:10.130 But I feel like that. understanding that awareness 00:34:10.130 --> 00:34:13.090 goes out the door when we're doing it on a social 00:34:13.090 --> 00:34:17.309 platform like LinkedIn. So again, one, make sure 00:34:17.309 --> 00:34:19.210 that you're staying in connection with that person. 00:34:19.449 --> 00:34:23.710 Two, help them help you. Who is it that you're 00:34:23.710 --> 00:34:26.170 looking for? How will that help benefit? And 00:34:26.170 --> 00:34:29.030 then third, again, going back to the give before 00:34:29.030 --> 00:34:31.530 you ask, you should have started with a, hey, 00:34:31.730 --> 00:34:34.150 how are things going with you? What's new? What 00:34:34.150 --> 00:34:37.030 can I support you? So I think it's just the decorum 00:34:37.030 --> 00:34:40.059 of, Dealing with a human being and not having 00:34:40.059 --> 00:34:43.400 that mindset of networking is all about an exchange 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:46.780 for something versus that networking is actually 00:34:46.780 --> 00:34:49.639 about collaborating with people so that you can 00:34:49.639 --> 00:34:51.500 get what you need. They can get what they need 00:34:51.500 --> 00:34:55.199 versus I'm going to take or I'm going to only 00:34:55.199 --> 00:34:58.099 be the giver in a situation. Yep. You should 00:34:58.099 --> 00:35:01.400 always. I have thousands of connections also 00:35:01.400 --> 00:35:05.550 on LinkedIn. One thing that I've always noticed 00:35:05.550 --> 00:35:08.010 is that the people that are truly interested 00:35:08.010 --> 00:35:12.530 in a relationship, not just the client aspect 00:35:12.530 --> 00:35:15.489 of it, but a true relationship, they start out 00:35:15.489 --> 00:35:17.989 like we're standing next to one another. Hey, 00:35:18.070 --> 00:35:20.250 Michael, how you doing? What's going on? You 00:35:20.250 --> 00:35:22.869 know, they start out the whole paragraph before 00:35:22.869 --> 00:35:27.190 they ask. So if you treat it as if you're talking 00:35:27.190 --> 00:35:29.849 to them or talking to the person, you'll go so 00:35:29.849 --> 00:35:33.920 much further. Okay, you've built. strong networks. 00:35:34.619 --> 00:35:39.239 What are one to two daily or weekly habits that 00:35:39.239 --> 00:35:43.420 keep your relationships thriving? Yeah, I love 00:35:43.420 --> 00:35:46.840 that question. So something that I have been 00:35:46.840 --> 00:35:49.739 doing, so I've, I had a podcast or I have a podcast. 00:35:49.760 --> 00:35:51.800 It's just on break and I've been on a lot of 00:35:51.800 --> 00:35:54.500 podcasts. And obviously I talk to people and 00:35:54.500 --> 00:35:56.199 you're going to get this question after the fact 00:35:56.199 --> 00:35:59.659 too. But like when I get off of a podcast, I'll 00:35:59.659 --> 00:36:02.019 always ask the host, like, what do you need? 00:36:02.139 --> 00:36:05.019 How can I support you? Are you looking for guests? 00:36:05.239 --> 00:36:06.719 What kind of guests are you looking for? What 00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:09.480 topics? And so I have a whole spreadsheet that 00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:12.000 I have been tracking of podcasts that I've been 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.059 on, the links, what we talked about. And so as 00:36:15.059 --> 00:36:16.880 I'm meeting people and it doesn't have to be 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:19.539 other like. podcasters, but as I'm meeting people 00:36:19.539 --> 00:36:22.000 out and about at events, maybe on podcasts or 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:23.860 whatever, and I ask them, what are you looking 00:36:23.860 --> 00:36:26.000 for? And especially with entrepreneurs, like 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:28.079 it's always around marketing and business development 00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:31.239 and whatnot. And if I hear that they have a podcasting 00:36:31.239 --> 00:36:34.119 strategy or podcasting is part of their marketing 00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:36.760 strategy, I'll say, oh, okay, what are the topics? 00:36:37.260 --> 00:36:40.119 I go in, I look at my list of podcast relationships 00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:42.840 that I've built and I'll say, hey, OK, I'm going 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:45.460 to introduce you to this person. And so for me, 00:36:45.500 --> 00:36:47.940 that's one of the things that I do that biweekly. 00:36:47.940 --> 00:36:50.840 That's biweekly. The second piece is I do a lot 00:36:50.840 --> 00:36:53.179 of virtual coffee. So I go to events and I'm 00:36:53.179 --> 00:36:55.780 always like, OK, let's connect on LinkedIn. My 00:36:55.780 --> 00:36:58.300 strategy is usually if I meet someone in person, 00:36:58.420 --> 00:37:00.420 I connect with them on LinkedIn immediately. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:03.039 During that time, I say, hey, let's set up a 00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:04.960 virtual coffee or in -person coffee if they're 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:07.429 here. During that conversation, it's really just 00:37:07.429 --> 00:37:09.289 to get to know them, understand what they have 00:37:09.289 --> 00:37:12.170 going on, who it is, what it is that they need. 00:37:12.230 --> 00:37:14.150 At the end of the conversation, I always ask 00:37:14.150 --> 00:37:16.750 the question, what can I do to support you? And 00:37:16.750 --> 00:37:18.670 if they're like, oh, I'm looking for this, whatever 00:37:18.670 --> 00:37:20.989 it is. Okay, cool. I think I might have someone 00:37:20.989 --> 00:37:23.489 that I can connect you with. I literally set 00:37:23.489 --> 00:37:25.730 a goal, Michael. I started it this year. I've 00:37:25.730 --> 00:37:27.750 never set it as a goal before, but this year 00:37:27.750 --> 00:37:30.639 I started setting it as goal. Every week, I have 00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:32.860 to connect at least two people with each other. 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:36.420 So like, literally, it gives me so much joy to 00:37:36.420 --> 00:37:38.539 be like, hey, let me do this warm introduction 00:37:38.539 --> 00:37:41.039 to someone. And now that I've actually set it 00:37:41.039 --> 00:37:44.480 as a goal, every week, there's at least two or 00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:47.099 three connections that I'm making. Again, that 00:37:47.099 --> 00:37:50.980 is nothing in return. That is me. It goes off 00:37:50.980 --> 00:37:53.199 of that Ziegler quote, where he is just, you'll 00:37:53.199 --> 00:37:55.579 get what you want if you can help more and more 00:37:55.579 --> 00:37:58.210 people get what they want. I'm butchering that. 00:37:58.309 --> 00:38:01.989 That's right. I'm a big Zig Ziglar fan. But I 00:38:01.989 --> 00:38:05.590 too, I do that. I have not set that as a goal, 00:38:05.690 --> 00:38:10.070 but I average two to three times a week where 00:38:10.070 --> 00:38:12.530 I take two people and I put them together. I 00:38:12.530 --> 00:38:16.530 refer each other and I step away. I just did 00:38:16.530 --> 00:38:19.769 it this morning and they both thanked me so much 00:38:19.769 --> 00:38:21.530 and everything, but that's not the point where 00:38:21.530 --> 00:38:26.289 I am in my circle. I am known as I get two people 00:38:26.289 --> 00:38:29.190 together, you know, and I love doing just like 00:38:29.190 --> 00:38:32.630 you. I love doing that. I love doing it. It gives 00:38:32.630 --> 00:38:35.829 me such a good feeling that I can help because 00:38:35.829 --> 00:38:37.469 I know it's going to come around. I know it's 00:38:37.469 --> 00:38:40.210 going to come back around, but that doesn't take 00:38:40.210 --> 00:38:43.329 away from the feeling that I helped two people. 00:38:43.690 --> 00:38:46.170 Yeah, I really enjoyed that. It is an amazing 00:38:46.170 --> 00:38:48.829 feeling. So I label people like that as super 00:38:48.829 --> 00:38:51.309 connectors. And I feel like everyone should have 00:38:51.309 --> 00:38:54.630 a super connector in your life. And I'm usually 00:38:54.630 --> 00:38:56.969 the super connector. So it's, I don't have a 00:38:56.969 --> 00:38:58.550 super connector, but I'm going to find one, but 00:38:58.550 --> 00:39:00.750 I'm usually that person. And what I explain to 00:39:00.750 --> 00:39:02.630 people is when you have a super connector in 00:39:02.630 --> 00:39:04.329 your life, you have to understand that you're 00:39:04.329 --> 00:39:07.670 not bothering them. Like they actually like generate 00:39:07.670 --> 00:39:12.159 joy. off of connecting people. And so that's 00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:14.699 not something to abuse, of course. Certainly 00:39:14.699 --> 00:39:17.179 you don't want to abuse that, but just understand 00:39:17.179 --> 00:39:19.860 the gem that you have when you have someone who 00:39:19.860 --> 00:39:23.659 actually generally enjoys it. Okay, good, good. 00:39:23.780 --> 00:39:26.239 Let's elevate the conversation just a little 00:39:26.239 --> 00:39:29.340 bit. How do you approach networking differently 00:39:29.340 --> 00:39:33.380 when it's about long -term success versus immediate 00:39:33.380 --> 00:39:37.170 gain? Yeah, that's a really great question. And 00:39:37.170 --> 00:39:39.369 I'll just, if you don't mind, I'll use a personal 00:39:39.369 --> 00:39:44.469 experience. So here in San Diego in particular, 00:39:44.570 --> 00:39:47.449 being like, I feel like I'm still the new kid 00:39:47.449 --> 00:39:49.030 on the block, even though I've been out here 00:39:49.030 --> 00:39:52.610 almost six years, I have realized that the culture 00:39:52.610 --> 00:39:56.389 here. there's people do you've said this right 00:39:56.389 --> 00:39:58.210 and you've heard this people do business with 00:39:58.210 --> 00:40:00.530 people they know and trust right and when you're 00:40:00.530 --> 00:40:03.150 new to a city or when you're new to an environment 00:40:03.150 --> 00:40:05.869 and when you're new to i think southern california 00:40:05.869 --> 00:40:09.170 and its culture it's very much stranger danger 00:40:09.170 --> 00:40:11.610 type where people are nice don't get me wrong 00:40:11.610 --> 00:40:14.539 people are very nice But building that trust, 00:40:14.659 --> 00:40:17.800 that trust takes a very long time. And so that 00:40:17.800 --> 00:40:21.119 first year that I was here, which is why I navigated 00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:23.960 using LinkedIn first and then building the relationship 00:40:23.960 --> 00:40:26.539 in person. And even to this day, I walk into 00:40:26.539 --> 00:40:29.760 some organizations that like I've been part of, 00:40:29.800 --> 00:40:32.219 or I've done things with them and people are 00:40:32.219 --> 00:40:34.239 still like, I'm sorry, what's your name? And 00:40:34.239 --> 00:40:41.530 I'm like, yeah. Every one of these meetings. 00:40:41.710 --> 00:40:44.150 And not to mention that I'm the only woman of 00:40:44.150 --> 00:40:47.030 color in here. You realize that it is what it 00:40:47.030 --> 00:40:51.559 is. And so for me. That giving before you ask, 00:40:52.639 --> 00:40:55.780 that sowing those seeds, that being a value of 00:40:55.780 --> 00:40:58.800 people, I have learned that my environment, this 00:40:58.800 --> 00:41:00.960 is what the environment requires because this 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:03.900 is the business culture here. And there are organizations 00:41:03.900 --> 00:41:06.320 here. There's one organization in particular, 00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:08.900 it's similar to Vistage, if you're familiar with 00:41:08.900 --> 00:41:12.619 Vistage. Yeah, it's very similar. And so just 00:41:12.619 --> 00:41:15.260 like Vistage, you can go in, you can do presentations, 00:41:15.559 --> 00:41:18.420 you can do workshops, and you can do talks. they 00:41:18.420 --> 00:41:20.739 ask me, like my answer is always yes, right? 00:41:20.860 --> 00:41:23.780 Because this is an organization where their members 00:41:23.780 --> 00:41:26.440 are individuals that I want to build relationships 00:41:26.440 --> 00:41:29.980 with, because I know the long term, it's a long 00:41:29.980 --> 00:41:32.559 term play. And I also understand what the reward 00:41:32.559 --> 00:41:35.920 is for that. And so I've gone in, I've done multiple 00:41:35.920 --> 00:41:38.980 talks for multiple of their groups, I've presented, 00:41:39.139 --> 00:41:41.139 I've done all those things, because I understand 00:41:41.139 --> 00:41:44.780 that this is not about a, I did this, so you 00:41:44.780 --> 00:41:48.469 give me that this is more of a Long -term, if 00:41:48.469 --> 00:41:51.070 I'm going to be successful in business here locally, 00:41:51.409 --> 00:41:54.510 and this is where the local business people are, 00:41:54.750 --> 00:41:57.369 this is where I want to invest my time, my energy, 00:41:57.449 --> 00:42:00.650 give value, because I know, we know, like those 00:42:00.650 --> 00:42:03.090 seeds come back at some point. That's great. 00:42:03.250 --> 00:42:05.489 And that was a perfect answer. It really was. 00:42:05.690 --> 00:42:07.570 I thought I would get you a little bit with the 00:42:07.570 --> 00:42:10.869 question, but you answered it perfectly. Let's 00:42:10.869 --> 00:42:14.730 bring this podcast full circle. And if someone... 00:42:15.509 --> 00:42:19.469 listening is feeling stuck, isolated, or like 00:42:19.469 --> 00:42:22.650 they have no valued network, what's the very 00:42:22.650 --> 00:42:26.309 first step you recommend they take? Yeah, I'm 00:42:26.309 --> 00:42:27.929 going to ask you to do that value assessment. 00:42:28.130 --> 00:42:30.269 That's going to be the first thing, right? Because 00:42:30.269 --> 00:42:33.449 that is a mindset and that is a perception that 00:42:33.449 --> 00:42:36.929 person may have, right? So you get down to what 00:42:36.929 --> 00:42:39.429 are your skills, right? What are you known for? 00:42:39.889 --> 00:42:42.559 Where do you have expertise? And what are your 00:42:42.559 --> 00:42:44.880 strengths? And I forgot to say this before, but 00:42:44.880 --> 00:42:47.320 when it comes to the strengths, oftentimes what 00:42:47.320 --> 00:42:49.619 we think are our strengths really aren't our 00:42:49.619 --> 00:42:52.300 strengths. And I say that because we can walk 00:42:52.300 --> 00:42:55.480 into a room and walk up to someone and spark 00:42:55.480 --> 00:42:58.719 up a conversation and be okay with it. Not everyone 00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:02.079 can do that, right? So we may have not seen our 00:43:02.079 --> 00:43:05.860 ability to network as a strength or better yet, 00:43:05.900 --> 00:43:08.699 our ability to connect people and connect the 00:43:08.699 --> 00:43:11.760 dots for people as a particular strength. And 00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:13.159 so when it comes to our strengths, if people 00:43:13.159 --> 00:43:14.800 are sitting around, oh, I don't really have any 00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:16.320 strengths or I don't have valuable strengths, 00:43:16.460 --> 00:43:19.440 ask the people around you. Ask the people who 00:43:19.440 --> 00:43:21.840 know you best. One, especially family, they're 00:43:21.840 --> 00:43:24.280 going to tell you the truth. And two, if you 00:43:24.280 --> 00:43:26.219 have colleagues, just ask them, like, what is 00:43:26.219 --> 00:43:29.460 it that you've noticed that I do really well? 00:43:29.639 --> 00:43:32.000 Because sometimes we'll be surprised at what 00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:35.440 people take notice of as a core strength of ours 00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:39.079 that we take for granted because it's just what 00:43:39.079 --> 00:43:41.380 we do. So getting clear on what your strengths 00:43:41.380 --> 00:43:43.460 are and then being completely honest with yourself 00:43:43.460 --> 00:43:46.420 about where your opportunities are. The opportunities 00:43:46.420 --> 00:43:49.119 are important because that adds that level of 00:43:49.119 --> 00:43:51.780 humility when you can say to someone, hey, I'm 00:43:51.780 --> 00:43:53.699 really good at this. I'm really good at that. 00:43:53.739 --> 00:43:55.739 This is what I'm looking to do. But I really 00:43:55.739 --> 00:43:58.940 have, I'm really struggling here. People genuinely 00:43:58.940 --> 00:44:02.239 naturally want to help other people, right? I 00:44:02.239 --> 00:44:04.159 truly believe that my heart of hearts, maybe 00:44:04.159 --> 00:44:06.280 I'm naive, but I believe that people really want 00:44:06.280 --> 00:44:08.739 to help others. And so when you can humble yourself 00:44:08.739 --> 00:44:11.219 and say, this is a shortcoming, whatever term 00:44:11.219 --> 00:44:13.320 you want to use, and this is where I could really 00:44:13.320 --> 00:44:16.079 use your help because I've seen you do this well, 00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:18.639 or I admire this about you, people are going 00:44:18.639 --> 00:44:20.539 to jump on board and they're going to want to 00:44:20.539 --> 00:44:23.840 help you. So first and foremost, to answer the 00:44:23.840 --> 00:44:26.360 question, right, start with challenging the mindset 00:44:26.360 --> 00:44:28.300 that you don't have anything to bring to the 00:44:28.300 --> 00:44:30.960 table. And you can do that by building up your 00:44:30.960 --> 00:44:33.179 confidence and doing that value assessment. And 00:44:33.179 --> 00:44:35.239 then when you're asking others what your strengths 00:44:35.239 --> 00:44:38.000 are and you're hearing other people tell you 00:44:38.000 --> 00:44:40.539 what they admire about you, what they think you 00:44:40.539 --> 00:44:42.780 really do well, that's an immediate confidence 00:44:42.780 --> 00:44:46.900 boost right there. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Sabine, 00:44:46.900 --> 00:44:49.900 I can go on talking to you for another two hours. 00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:53.940 You are very easy to talk to, and you really 00:44:53.940 --> 00:44:57.139 come with such a great amount of knowledge, whether 00:44:57.139 --> 00:44:59.199 it's from your corporate background or you're 00:44:59.199 --> 00:45:01.460 learning every day. And I see that you learn 00:45:01.460 --> 00:45:04.260 from every customer. You're learning from whether 00:45:04.260 --> 00:45:07.699 it's lessons or books or whatever, but you're 00:45:07.699 --> 00:45:11.760 doing a fabulous job. Sabine. If somebody wanted 00:45:11.760 --> 00:45:14.039 to get hold of you, either to be coached or just 00:45:14.039 --> 00:45:17.059 to say hello, how can they reach you? Thank you 00:45:17.059 --> 00:45:19.280 for asking that. So LinkedIn is where I hang 00:45:19.280 --> 00:45:21.739 out. You can find me on LinkedIn. My handle is 00:45:21.739 --> 00:45:24.619 my name, Sabine Gideon, or you could reach out 00:45:24.619 --> 00:45:28.579 to me via my website at sabinegideon .com. It's 00:45:28.579 --> 00:45:31.480 beautiful. Sabine, I will speak with you soon. 00:45:32.039 --> 00:45:36.360 Thank you, Michael. Well, hold on, folks. Don't 00:45:36.360 --> 00:45:39.159 go anywhere. Let me just read a few of our sponsors 00:45:39.159 --> 00:45:42.860 that we have. Struggling to reach success? Maybe 00:45:42.860 --> 00:45:46.079 it's time to quit. 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This is something I believe in wholeheartedly. 00:46:27.989 --> 00:46:31.429 Revved Up Kids is on a mission to protect children 00:46:31.429 --> 00:46:35.269 and teens from sexual abuse. exploitation, and 00:46:35.269 --> 00:46:37.650 trafficking. They provide prevention training 00:46:37.650 --> 00:46:41.110 programs for children, teens, and adults. To 00:46:41.110 --> 00:46:45.050 learn more, go to revvedupkids .org. That's R 00:46:45.050 --> 00:46:53.070 -E -V -V -E -D -U -P -K -I -D -S dot org. Well, 00:46:53.230 --> 00:46:56.550 that's a wrap, folks. A huge thank you to our 00:46:56.550 --> 00:46:59.409 special guests for sharing such incredible insights 00:46:59.409 --> 00:47:02.789 today. And of course, a big shout out to you, 00:47:02.889 --> 00:47:06.510 our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending 00:47:06.510 --> 00:47:10.110 your time with us. Remember, networking isn't 00:47:10.110 --> 00:47:12.750 about being perfect. It's about being present. 00:47:13.030 --> 00:47:15.789 So take what you've learned today, get out there 00:47:15.789 --> 00:47:19.059 and make some meaningful connections. If you 00:47:19.059 --> 00:47:21.559 enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, 00:47:21.880 --> 00:47:24.639 leave us a review, and share it with someone 00:47:24.639 --> 00:47:26.820 who could use a little networking inspiration. 00:47:27.699 --> 00:47:31.119 Let's keep the conversation going. You can find 00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:35.480 me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or my website, 00:47:35.739 --> 00:47:39.519 Michael. Remember, until next time, keep practicing, 00:47:39.800 --> 00:47:42.719 keep connecting, and keep building those relationships. 00:47:43.239 --> 00:47:46.760 This is Michael signing off. Take care and happy 00:47:46.760 --> 00:47:47.199 networking.