You Need To Network

Dear loving people,

After a keynote speech I delivered at an annual general meeting of a women’s consortium, a young lady walked up to me asked “you seem to be on the better side of life, and do have this flair for conversations, what is your secret?”

Her question got me laughing and I told her that people don’t just find themselves on the better side of life by some sort of chance. You work for everything you get. While I conversed with her, Adrienne E. Gusoff‘s words flashed into my mind "Living in a vacuum sucks."

This is very true, working for your success requires that you create relationships with those who are already making it. It has to be like that because working alone is part of a failure mechanism. The main aim of relationships is to connect with the thoughts and feelings other people are having. Oftentimes, rephrasing something they've said is a good way to show you understand the emotion behind the message. They'll be far more inclined to connect with you if you're prepared to show this level of commitment. That is how you tap from their ingenuity for your own growth.

Another ingredient has to do with what Margaret Millar says "Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses." While it’s profitable to linkup and to sell yourself, choosing your words can make or break an encounter with someone else. But doing so does not have to be hard. Ultimately, it's good to know that as long as you're prepared to make an effort, there are friendly people all over the place just waiting to converse. Go up to them and make them feel you care about what they say not about what you have to say.

You can create any profitable network you want if you put your heart to it.

Stay Ahead, Be the Real You!

Dear Loving people,

As you cruise on towards success, one pitfall is sometimes playing-the-tough-guy game; craving to be what you really are not. Why not be the decent you that you naturally are and for once be sincere to your own very self?

Don’t always seek to steal the show at all cost, rather cruise along with the cool-headers, then you will easily identify pitfalls before jumping into them blindly. However, “don’t be afraid to run too fast only to stand still”. Just be the real you.

Voltaire said "A witty saying proves nothing." Don't use the conversation to show off how knowledgeable you are about things nobody might even care about. And don't use it as a chance to complain about other people or your problems. In other words, don't talk for the sake of talking. If you don't have anything good to say, you're better off not speaking at all. Just be the real you.

Instead, be as neutral as possible. Start with something small like a sincere compliment or even something as clichéd as the weather. When it comes to dealing with people you're just getting to know, it's best to save the potentially controversial topics and heated opinions for later. Just be the real you.

Cyril Connolly was right when he said "All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of others." You don’t want to be one of such.

After all, you are the only CEO of your own life. Just be the real you.

Good Reflection

Dear loving people,

Find here some purposely selected quotes and my comments for you to ponder over as you go through the rest of the week.

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word. - William Thackeray

Remember, people don’t care how you feel until they know exactly how much you care about them.

Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach. - Napoleon Hill

Remember, success is so enriching that its worth your patience, in fact, it’s worth the wait.

Let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those that never happen. - James Russell Lowell

Remember, somebody said had I known, don’t and never permit yourself to be the next.