Networking to expand your network doesn’t work. I’ve tried it. I’ve exchanged thousands of business cards and connected with hundreds more over LinkedIn. But nothing happened…not until I adopted an organic networking approach.
Organic networking
Connection isn’t arbitrary. In business, in romance, in friendship, people connect over value; that’s how networks start. And they grow in relation to the value shared.
Let’s say you pan for gold and catch a couple flecks. You might connect with a local jeweler or a hobo on the street, but that’s about it. When you dig deep and come up with a thousand bars, however, you’ll have people come out of the woodwork to share your value and to make it grow.
That’s the idea behind organic networking.
Though we don’t have hoards of gold to start our networks, we all have something even more valuable: information that makes life better for others. (Unlike gold, information is inexhaustible.) We all have advice and experience that can help someone excel in their relationships, careers, hobbies or passions.
It might not be much value at first. But if you direct all of your energy into growing that value instead of looking for quick networking breaks, you’ll have an unlimited supply of value with enough time and persistence. With all that personal investment, you’ll be crazy about sharing your value. That’s when your network starts to explode.
My organic networking breakthrough
I started my writing career because I wanted to help people avoid the heartbreak I had experienced. I didn’t know much more than what I had done, and that it had caused me pain. But even that little bit was valuable enough to build a small audience. I got published.
Then I dug deeper into relationships. I wanted to share more value and to make a bigger difference to my audience, and by breaking down my experiences I discovered that I sucked because I didn’t know myself. So I started meditating and journaling and reflecting on anything that could grow my self-knowledge.
I wrote about my insights and transformation every day, and I got better at writing. I got better at storytelling. I got better at giving people value that could enhance their lives.
Then I started getting connections.
Recently, one of my entrepreneurial idols reached out and wanted to hop on the phone. Gerald saw my website and had some points to…